DHARAN: The Sunsari chapter of Nepal Indigenous Nationalities Federation, claiming that authorities paid no heed to its six-point demands, padlocked the office of Dharan municipality on Thursday.

The federation had demanded to allocate one per cent of the total municipality budget to indigenous nationalities. The 13th municipality council is scheduled to be held

here in Dharan on Monday, when the meeting is expected to allocate its budget in various sectors. Last year, the municipality had allocated Rs 350, 000 saying for the indigenous nationalities.

“They are forgetting that 70 per cent of the people living in Dharan belongs to various indigenous

nationalities,” said Subhchandra Rai, Sunsari secretary of the federation. “We padlocked the office as our demands were not addressed.” He further warned of intensifying the protests if their padlock was open prior to addressing their demands.