Protests over House dissolution throw city traffic out of gear

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 22

The demonstration staged by the Dahal-Nepal faction of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) over dissolution of the House of Representatives threw the city traffic out of gear after thousands of party cadres staged rallies from more than a dozen places of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

As the rallies with party flags, banners and placards converged into a mass assembly at Bhrikutimandap, traffic cops manning in the streets had a tough time to make way for the vehicles stuck in the midway.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shyam Krishna Adhikari, spokesperson at Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, said the traffic had come to a grinding halt inside the Ring Road and core city areas for hours.

The rallies taken out from different places were led by the central leaders of Dahal-Nepal faction and proceeded to Bhrikutimandap through Koteshwor, Baneshwor, Maitighar, Kalimati, Kuleshwor, Tripureshwor, Sundhara, Putalisadak, Dillibazar, Durbarmarg, Kupandol, among others.

Later in the day, the traffic congestion had its chain effect in the Ring Road as well. SP Adhikari said traffic police could not clear the obstruction in the streets due to the rallies taken out from different places simultaneously.

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Dahal-Nepal faction and other political parties are up in arms over Prime Minister KP Oli’s move to dissolve the HoR, which they have termed unconstitutional, undemocratic and a plot to betray the people and voters.