Kavre, June 18:

The Kavre Bus Entrepreneurs’ Association today threatened to declare the Arniko Highway closed from Wednesday if the political parties and civic society failed to declare local road networks a peace zone and if buses seized by locals protesting road mishaps are not released at the earliest.

Association president Atma Ram Thapa told a press conference this morning that his association would resort to this measure if the 15 buses, running on the Banepa–Nepalthok road section, seized yesterday by the locals at Narke are not released.

Locals of Narke have taken control of 15 buses after a bus (Ba 1 Kha 1021) heading from Nepalthok to Banepa hit a motorcycle (Ba 3 Pa 4328) and injured its two riders at Panitanki on Arniko Highway on Saturday, Thapa said.

Akash Lama and Dharma Raj Lama of Kharpachowk village development committee were injured in the mishap.

Both were taken to B&B Hospital in Lalitpur, police said. The driver of the bus that hit the motorcycle is in police custody.

When bus entrepreneurs agreed to foot the medical bills of the injured, the two Lamas’ relatives rejected the offer.

The association, protesting the seizure of the buses, has called a general strike tomorrow.