KATHMANDU: Lakheys were dancing. People were playing dhime and swaying their bodies to the tune. They were chanting and walking united.

Thousands of people gathered yesterday at Maitighar Mandala demanding the government to scrap the controversial Guthi Bill, in a peaceful rally which looked more like a cultural fest, one of its kind.

The Guthi Bill against which people from the Newar community, along with others, have been protesting for two weeks was withdrawn by the  Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation on June 18.

However, doubting the intention of the government and seeing the possibility that it might be presented in the parliament again, Kathmandu denizens came out into the streets calling for scrapping of the bill.

"Lawmakers should respect the diversity of our country. They have to leave their ingrained biases and treat every culture equally," said Pabitra Kasa, Secretary of Nepal Lipi Guthi, Jyatha. Kasa added that the government should rather act as a watchdog to make sure that the guthis are functioning efficiently but they should not interfere and take the rights of guthiyars as it will bring threaten the culture of Nepali people.

The protestors were also found dancing and chanting the slogans in Nepal Bhasa to showcase their love for their culture.

"This is not only a protest. This is a way through which we want the government to know how much we love our culture," said Binod Awale from Patan who was also a part of the protest. "A few years ago, they brought a bill which was of a similar nature. They have done that again. We need to make sure that the bill gets scrapped to aware lawmakers that they cannot pass any kind of arbitrary laws," Awale added.

The bill has been in the news for some weeks now as the critics believe that the government is disdaining the significance of guthis by converting all of the private guthis into public property and ending the role of current trustees.