Ilam, August 31:

Businessmen and transport entrepreneurs here have complained that activists of the Sanghiya Limbuwan Rajyaparisad (SLR) have been forcefully collecting donations and threatening them.

Traders of Ilam bazaar, Phikkal and Pashupatinagar said that the SLR, saying that it needs funds for their agitation, has been demanding donations ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

According to them, the SLR has sent letters to non-government organisations and businessmen demanding donations within a month.

Victims said SLR cadres telephoned them and threatened to kill them if they failed to part with the demanded sum.

“The SLR has been troubling us by demanding donations,” chairperson of the Phikkal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI), Gyaniram Shrestha, said.

The PCCI, in a statement, also urged the SLR to stop collecting donations at the earliest.

The chairperson of the SLR, Sanjuhang Palungwa, however, said that the SLR has no policy of extorting money.

“We take whatever is given to us willingly. We will inquire into the reported donation collection drive in Ilam,” he said.

Though Palungwa said that only letters written in original letter pads and original bills will be used for collecting funds, the victims said SLR cadres are sending photocopies of the letters and the bills to organisations and individuals.

Transport entrepreneurs also said that SLR cadres are collecting funds ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 500 from every vehicle that plies in Ilam to Panchthar via Ranke bazaar. SLR cadres are also taxing goods supplied to Ilam from Panchthar via the bazaar, they said.