KATHMANDU: Despite police intervention, the Supreme Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneur (SFNNTE) today organised a peaceful protest rally demanding the government to rollback its decision of phasing out cooking gas-operated three-wheelers.

Ram Kumar Blon, coordinator

of the ad-hoc struggle committee

said that the security forces

prevented them from organising

rally for more than an hour. Police stopped 70 tempos at Bouddha

and Gaushala, 50 at Kalanki, and other 70 at Kaushaltar area, when they were taking part in the rally.

According to him, around 300 tempos took part in the protest programme in Kathmandu.

“The police prevented us from organising a peaceful rally stating that it was the order of Home Ministry,” informed Blon. “Although we don’t have to face lathicharge, police dispersed us time and again,” he said.

The rally was organised from Balkumari at Koteshwor that

went its way through the capital

and converged at a corner meet

at Shanti Batika, Ratnapark.

The SFNNTE has plans to gherao the Department of Transport Management at Koteshwor on Wednesday, besides a chhakajam in the area. It has been pressing the government to address its demands within October 7. Blon even threatened that they would resort to valley bandh and nationwide general strike if the government continued ignoring their demands. They are protesting the ministry’s decision to phase out cooking gas-run tempos. The SFNNTE has demanded 99 per cent tax waive while importing alternative vehicles.