Army urged to vacate

Dhading: The locals of Baireni VDC-8 of Dhading district on Monday urged the Nepal Army to vacate the forest land which they were occupying saying that it was a community forest under the responsibility of the community. The Forest Users’ Group said that the Balkumari community forest, spread over 27.75 hectares located at Baireni, had been used by the army for training purpose since 1998. The Balkumari forest, protected and used by the 175 local households for years, was handed over to the community by the district forest office in 2006, said president of the Forest Users’ Group, Chandra Prasad Khatiwada. —HNS

Six YCL cadres hurt

Dipayal: Six Young Communist League (YCL) cadres were injured when police used force to disperse them in west road division office, Dipayal, on Monday. The YCL cadres were preventing some contractors from getting their tender forms registered at the office. Pushpa Thapa of Lamki, Kailali, who sustained head injury, is undergoing treatment in a local hospital, while another cadre Shakti has been rushed to Dadeldhura for treatment. “The YCL cadres were obstructing some contractors from getting their tender forms registered at the office. We requested them to clear the way. The clash ensued after they refused to give in,” police said. The office had invited tender amounting to Rs 10 million for the construction of 24 roads in Doti, Dadeldhura and Achham. — HNS

Sand mine re-opened

Dhading: The sand mine, located in Baireni – 7 in the district and shut for the past 11 days, has re-opened from Monday. The stakeholders had stopped the operation of the mine since January 9, stating that the sand extracted from the mine, the biggest revenue earner for the district, was exported illegally. — HNS

Cry for development

Baglung: Maoist affiliated Nepal Dalit Mukti Morcha (Unified) padlocked the office of Parbat District Development Committee on Monday, demanding the DDC to provide them the amount allocated for the development of Dalit community. The padlocking obstructed work in the Parbat DDC the entire day. The Morcha padlocked the DDC saying that the fund of one million that was allocated in the fiscal year 2063/64 for the development of the Dalit community was not provided. — HNS