Sarlahi, October 3:

People in Sarlahi said members of the Durga Puja committee have coerced them into donating money for the Puja.

Businessmen, political activists, transportation entrepreneurs of the district have been hit hard. Mahendra Roy, a former minister of state, labelled the annual practice of forcefully collecting donations from the people of the Terai region during Dashain a social stigma. Members of the Durga puja celebration committee of Malangwa had beaten up a conductor, driver and helper of a microbus who did not provide donation as demanded by the committee members, said Gyan Bahadur Gole, president, Public Microbus Entrepreneurs’ Union.