RAJBIRAJ, August 12

At a time when voices for intact Rapti, Lumbini, and Karnali zones are gaining momentum, Saptari folks have followed suit demanding an undivided Sagarmatha zone under the new federal set up.

Taking exception to the proposed federal model which envisions Saptari and Siraha in a separate province among other districts in Sagarmatha Zone, Intact Sagarmatha Struggle Committee, Saptari, submitted a memorandum to the Constituent Assembly demanding that all districts of Sagarmatha zone be kept in the same state.

Committee coordinator Narayan Prasad Acharya handed the memorandum to Assistant Chief District Officer Shishir Poudel and sought the inclusion of Saptari and Siraha in the same province given their long-held social, economic, cultural, as well as historical ties.

If the two districts are separated from the others, their long-held closeness and unity among other districts will be destroyed, the memorandum read. Siraha and Saptari fall in Province no 2 while the rest of the districts are in Province no 1 as per the proposed federal model.

The committee held a massive demonstration with the demand in Fattepur of Saptakoshi Municipality on Wednesday.

Similarly, Eastern Tharuwan Kochila State Struggle Committee, Itahari, on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Saptari district administration, protesting the ‘design’ to tear the plains into pieces and keep them in separate provinces ‘to erase the identity of the indigenous communities’.

The committee has sought three identity-based federal states in the Tarai, honouring the identity of Tharus and other communities who are predominant there. Besides, special provisions and quota have also been sought for the Tharu populace in different sectors and fields of employment.