Dadeldhura, May 22

Party politics has pushed Dadeldhura Campus, which has been mired in disputes since its establishment, on the verge of closure.

Disputes often take place over the appointment of employees at the campus in Amargadi Municipality.  The campus once had around 2,000 students from seven hilly districts of far-west Nepal. At present, hardly 200 students are studying in the campus.

As many as 45 staffers in different departments, including lecturers, are working in the campus. Monaj Pathak, a local social worker,  said Nepali Congress and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) are competing to appoint their cadres as campus staffers since its establishment.

Following disputes on the appointment of staffers, a group of Free Student Union students affiliated with the NCP smashed window panes and doors of the campus last Friday.  Police arrested the students, who were released in the evening the same day.

The group of students had gone to the campus to padlock it on Sunday morning. The students halted transportation service for three hours in Bagkhor after security personnel barred them from entering the campus.

According to Dadeldhura  District Police Office, hundreds of vehicles heading towards hilly and Tarai regions were stranded at Bagkhor following the students’ protest.

Meanwhile, Campus Chief Gangadatta Upreti claimed that the staffers were appointed following due procedure. He said that some disenchanted students protested as the campus had refused to appoint their relatives.