Rajbiraj, February 8

A bitter row has erupted after the name and centre of a rural municipality was changed in Saptari recently.

Locals of Tilathi have been staging protest after Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality decided to move its centre from Tilathi to Koiladi. Tilathi locals have been staging relay hunger strike since Tuesday. The agitators have also padlocked the rural municipality office.

Local Dev Narayan Yadav said chair of the rural municipality Satish Kumar Singh held a meeting at a party palace in Rajbiraj and decided to change the name of the municipality to Khadojita and shift the centre as well.

Tilathi locals have been demanding that the decision be revoked. They have also demanded that the rural municipality make the details of its expenses public. However, rural municipality chair Singh argued that Koiladi was more convenient for the people than Tilathi.

Meanwhile, Belhichapena folks have also hit the streets against the rural municipality’s decision to move its centre from Belhichapena to Nargho. Demanding that the decision be revoked, Daya Ram Yadav and Dambar Narayan Sah of Belhichapena -4 and Dambar Mahato of Ward No 5 of the rural municipality have filed a petition at Rajbiraj bench of Janakpur High Court.

Rural municipality chair Paramananda Yadav said the decision was taken with the consent of 24 of 34 members of the village council.