DHANKUTA/DANG: The locals of Dhankuta and Dang city in Province 1 and Province 5 have demanded the government to declare Dhankuta and Dang city as the capital cities of the provinces.

The locals of Dhankuta staged a sit-in at the Eastern Regional Administration Office on Sunday and submitted a memorandum to the Office of the Prime Minister.

Chairman of Dhankuta Industry and Commerce, Umesh Ghimire, argued that Dhankuta was appropriate as provincial capital from security and geographical view points.

Meanwhile, the denizens of Dang have hit the streets accusing residents of Butwal of lobbying to make Butwal the capital of Province 5.

The locals on Sunday took out a pressure rally in Tulsipur, Dang. The rally ended in a corner-meet where the attendees were made aware about infrastructural requisites such as Zonal Police Office, Tulsipur and High Court which are said to qualify Tulsipur as the Capital of Province 5.

“We will start agitations and stage sit-ins at the centre if Dang is not declared the Capital,” Tika Ram Regmi, Co-ordinator of Civil Society Dang said while addressing the corner meet.

Likewise, Female Rights worker Sushma Giri argued that Dang falls at the Centre of the Province while Butwal is near the border, thus, it would not be appropriate to opt Butwal as the capital over Dang.

“We can go to any lengths and scruple at nothing unless Dang is declared as Province 5 Capital,” Giri said.