Lalitpur, November 8:

Locals of Lalitpur continued their demonstrations the second day today against the Maoists’ demand to provide food and shelter to their cadres, who will come here to attend a mass meeting to be organised by their party at Tundikhel.

The agitated locals took to the streets and gheraoed the office of the Newa National Liberation Front, a sister organisation of the CPN-Maoist, disrupted traffic and burnt tyres in the middle of roads at different places between Pulchowk and Bagmati bridge.

Raj Kumar Pradhan of Mangalbazaar requested commuters and public transport operators to support the locals, “as the Maoist activities have tortured them”.

The locals, including MPs Raghuji Panta, Krishna Lala Maharjan and Shushila Nepal, did not stop their agitation even after the Maoists apologised to them for the inconvenience.

They also staged a sit-in at the main gate of the Maoist Contact Office in Kupondole and tried to vandalise the office but the security personnel barred them from doing so.

Maoist district secretary Dipesh organised a press meet at the office and said that they had not pressurised anybody to accommodate their cadres. “We have just requested them

to help us,” he said adding: “But, we have kept a record of those who did not help us financially,” he told reporters.

The protest started from 8 am and ended at around 3 pm. The locals of Pulchowk, Kupondole, Dhobighat, Jawalakhel, Mangalbazaar, Sanepa, Bakhundole joined the protest.