Nepalgunj, January 4:

Life in various parts of the far-west and mid-west Nepal was badly affected today due to the transport strike called by the Mid-western Transport Entrepreneurs’ Association, Surkhet, and Bheri Integrated Bus and Minibus Entrepreneurs’ Committee.

The strike has drawn flak from all walks of life after it showed no signs of ending even as a week has passed since the strike began. People faced more difficulties today as motorcycles, tempos, cycles and rickshaws faced the strike callers’ wrath, police said. The strike callers did not even spared vehicles carrying human rights activists.

Passengers were stranded in Nepalgunj, Kohalpur, Guleriya, Basgadhi and other points as no vehicles plied on the road today.

The strike was called to protest the issuance of route permit to microbuses on Nepalgunj-Surkhet route. The dispute between the microbus operators and bus/minibus operators is continuing for the last two months. The microbus operators were on strike before December 30 demanding the permit while the bus and minibus operators began their strike after the microbuses were given it on December 30.

A dozen of human rights organisations and the civic society, issuing a press release on Tuesday, condemned the bus and minibus operators for launching strike for their selfish motives.

President of the Bheri Integrated Bus and Minibus Entrepreneurs’ Association, Dolnath Khanal, said the strike was in the interest of the bus entrepreneurs and all. Banke CDO Bind Kumar Adhikari said the microbuses were given route permit in accordance with the right of everyone to do business.