Phidim, August 11

Locals of Bharapa, Panchthar, have resorted to agitation protesting the idea of splitting the existing village development committee while restructuring local bodies.

Recently, a joint meeting of local political parties and the district-level technical committee had unanimously decided to keep five wards of Bharapa, (wards no 1 to 5, in the proposed Phalelung village assembly and wards no 6 to 9 in Phidim Municipality.

The decision has not only drawn flak from locals but also provoked them to form a struggle committee to fight for the cause.

A gathering of locals at Jorpokhari bazaar formed a 113-member Intact Bharapa Struggle Committee, seeking a review of the proposal to split Bharapa as part of the restructuring of local bodies.

Today, hundreds of locals including struggle committee representatives picketed the district development committee office and offices of local political parties, protesting the split.

They submitted a memorandum to Local Development Officer Komal Prasad Dhamala.

Speaking about the agitation, struggle committee coordinator Bimal Sapkota pledged not to be at peace until the decision was rectified.

“The decision is faulty and we’re ready to do anything to prevent it,” said Sapkota, while Bharapa VDC former chairperson Jaya Prasad Rijal also called for a review of the decision, reasoning that splitting the VDC and making it parts of larger bodies like village and municipal assemblies would not do any good for Bharapa folks.

On his part, LDO Dhamala hinted at the possibility of reviewing the proposal taking into account the locals’ concerns.

According to the struggle committee coordinator, they are mulling the shutdown of transportation and educational institutions if their concerns are not addressed.