KATHMANDU: Pilgrims on their way to Shalinadi have been stranded in Sankhu because of the shutdown called by locals with a demand to retain Shankarapur Municipality in the to-be-restructured local body composition.

One of the oldest human settlements on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu Valley, Sankhu hosts the Swasthani Brata festival at Shalinadi during the lunar month of Magh.

The shutdown was called from 5 am from 10 am today after the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission proposed that the Shankarapur Municipality would be merged into the Kageshwori Manohara Municipality.

The locals have claimed that the merger would tarnish the historical, cultural and mythological importance of the Municipality.

Meanwhile, police have arrested 10 bandh enforcers from the area.