Dhankuta, January 16

Dhankuta denizens today staged a sit-in at Eastern Regional Administration Office in Dhankuta demanding the status of capital of Province-1 for the district. The locals chanted slogans and took a round of the town before reaching ERAO.

The protest mobilisation committee coordinator Sundar Babu Shrestha said they organised the sit-in to press the government to make Dhankuta the provincial capital. He added that strategically and geographically Dhankuta was suited to become the provincial capital.

District dwellers have protested to draw the attention of the government. They said Dhankuta was suitable for establishing provincial ministries due to the presence of adequate physical infrastructure and government land.

The protesters said declaring Dhankuta as capital of Province 1 was also in line with recognition of the district as a historical administrative centre in the past.

Dhankuta Provincial Capital Campaign Coordinator Niran Rai said Dhankuta was favourable as more than 350 physical infrastructure and 48,635 ropani government landexisted there. Representatives from political parties, local bodies, entrepreneurs and civil societies, among others, have participated in the month-long protests in the district and the capital Kathmandu.