Dhankuta, December 15

Locals of Dhankuta staged a demonstration in Dhankuta Bazar today to pile pressure on political parties to make Dhankuta the provincial capital of Province 1.

The rally was spearheaded by Dhankuta Chamber of Commerce and Industry. After the completion of provincial and parliamentary elections, discussions on naming provincial capitals are on.

Bidur Subedi, a local, said they were drawing attention of political leaders to consider the possibilities of making Dhankuta the capital of Province 1 as it had all necessary infrastructure and other facilities.  “Dhankuta has as many as 291 government offices and more than 48,600 ropani government land could be used for immediate infrastructure which could save more than four billion rupees,” added Subedi.

People participating in the rally opined that Dhankuta was the most suitable place for the capital of Province 1 because of its geographical proximity with all the districts of the province. Various professional organisations and other organisations related to ethnicity also joined the peaceful agitation.

“As Dhankuta was the regional headquarters of 16 districts of eastern region in the past, it has enough area and infrastructure to be the provincial capital. Dhankuta has been the administrative centre of the region for decades. Hence, we staged a demonstration to exert pressure on the government,” said Dhankuta President of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Umesh Ghimire.

The demonstrators claimed that people from Terhathum, Bhojpur, Sankhuwasabha and Khotang, among other hill districts of the province, also were in favour of making Dhankuta the provincial capital. They said they would organise candle rally and if needed launch stringent protests.

The rally that started from Bhim Narayan Chowk of Dhankuta converged into a corner meet at Madan Chowk. The demonstrators also submitted a memorandum

to the Office of the Prime Minister through the District Administration Office. They also submitted the memorandum to the regional administrative offices.

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