Kathmandu, July 25:

Secretaries of Village Development Committees (VDCs) across the country today said their protest and strike would continue. The three-day strike called by them was supposed to end today.

Chairman of the VDC Secretary Rights Protection Committee, Bhuwani Prasad Ghimire, said the secretaries will not return to work until the government guarantees security in a written statement.

“Local development minister Dev Gurung had said that the government is positive on our demands. But as the issue is related with other ministries also, we cannot heave a sigh of relief until those ministries also assure us that they will address our demands,” Ghimire told this daily.

The secretaries held a meeting with the local development minister and Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula earlier today. The Home Minister, however, did not sound positive on meeting the secretaries’ demands, Ghimire said.

The VDC secretaries have also been demanding that murdered VDC secretaries be declared martyrs and their families compensated.

Meanwhile, a report from Pyuthan said VDC secretaries continued padlocking the DDC and district technical offices in the district for the eighth consecutive day today. All administrative work has come to a halt in the offices. The secretaries stood outside the offices. The secretaries in the district have been demanding that murdered VDC secretary Ramhari Pokharel of Govindapur VDC be declared a martyr.

In Dolakha, president of the VDC Rights Protection Committee and Chilankha VDC secretary Kamal Kumar Chhetri said secretaries of all the 51 VDCs today decided to go on an indefinite strike.