Sarlahi, April 30:

Life in the Tarai districts remained affected today, the eighth day of the indefinite bandh called by the Chure Bhawar Ekata Samaj (CBES).

Traffic on Mahendra Highway of Sarlahi remained halted. CBES activists stopped eastward-bound passenger buses at Chandranigahapur of Rautahat. Hundreds of passengers, including children and elderly, have been left stranded due to the bandh. Hundreds of stranded passengers were compelled to walk in the scorching heat to reach Hariwan of Sarlahi and Bardibas of Mahottari.

Business centres along the highway areas such as Karmaiya, Hariwan, Nawalpur, Lalbandi and Ranigunj remained closed.

Meanwhile, workers of Golchha group last night took away zinc plates, which were in a cargo truck that was torched by CBES activists on Saturday. Some 20 zinc plates were destroyed, an employee of the Golchha group, Laxman Singh said, adding that some zinc plates were recovered with the help of CBES activists.

CBES activists on Saturday had torched the truck (Na 3 Kha 3166) after it met with an accident at Sukepokhari of Hariwan while being escorted towards Biratnagar. Life in Rautahat, Bara, Siraha and Sunsari districts were also affected by the bandh. Businessmen in the region said the industrial sector of the region has been hit the most by the continuing strikes. “We are incurring a loss of millions of rupees daily,” a local industrialist said.

Meanwhile, CBES Nepal demanded the immediate release of its vice-chairman Babu Thapa. The statement also demanded the declaration of a separate Chure Bhawar federal state, formation of a panel to probe into police suppression of the peaceful CBES agitation, compensation to the family of one killed during the agitation and action against the culprits.