Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, June 2:

The second day of the transportation strike that coincided with a general strike called by another sister organisation of the Maoists, Dalit Rastriya Mukti Morcha, crippled normal life across the country. Surprisingly, most people seemed unaware of the bandh organisers and their reasons for calling the strike. The transportation strike affected the entire valley, with very few vehicles plying. No long-route vehicle left New Bus Park from where hundreds of vehicles used to ply to various parts of the country.

Garbage kept rotting in piles at chowks and crossings, with no vehicle of the municipalities around to collect the refuse. In Kathmandu, traffic police impounded a few public vehicles and made these ply in addition to the trolley buses and 12 Sajha buses. Most transport entrepreneurs, however, chose to take their vehicles off the road. Some motorcycles, tempos and private vehicles plied but all had their number plates covered. Educational institutions, shops, factories and business houses along the main markets remained closed although some shops located in the inner rings of marketplaces and interior lanes were open.

No untoward incident was recorded in the Valley today. The rebels, however, exploded several bombs in Dhading district on Tuesday night.