Bara, April 5 :

Women in Nijgarh Village Development Committee of Bara have begun patrolling at night with arms as criminal activities to check the escalation in criminal in the surrounding areas of the Mahendra highway. Thousands of women here are compelled to go out every night on patrol, carrying homemade arms, said Sabitri Bharati, a local of Nijgarh-6. Night after night, women from nine wards of the VDC go on patrol.

The night patrolling was initiated last Sunday, Bharati told this daily. “The women patrol till midnight. After midnight, it is the men’s turn to patrol,” she said, adding: “Due to night patrolling, the activities of smugglers have also been affected.”

Those going on night patrol will soon be provided identity cards, said Gyanendra Choulagain, chairman of the Industrial and Commerce Union, Nijgarh. As incidents of dacoity had risen here, the people were compelled to go on night patrolling, said Choulagain.