RAUTAHAT, JUNE 29
People's representatives of Rautahat's Garuda Municipality have been protesting against what they called an illegal way of holding the municipal assembly.
The protest started four days ago after Deputy Mayor Punam Chaudhary and other elected representatives of the local level padlocked the municipal office and started a sit-in there accusing the mayor of holding the municipal convention by sidestepping the legal process and bypassing a majority of executive members.
The protest that lasted for seven hours starting from 10:00am continued into the fourth day today as well, leaving regular services disrupted.
On his part, Mayor Kanthamani Jayasawal denied the charge of bypassing the deputy mayor and other executive members, adding that attempts were being made to hold dialogue with the protesters. "The claim that the municipal assembly was held by bypassing the deputy and other executive members doesn't hold water," he argued, adding that there were multiple talks about holding the municipal convention.
Apart from the deputy mayor, six ward chairpersons and 31 members are participating in the sit-in. Meanwhile, though the municipality had prepared its budget worth Rs 551.63 million, it couldn't be presented as scheduled on Monday, the second day of its 9th municipal council, after majority of the council members boycotted the discussion on the budget.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 30, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
