THT 10 years ago: Teen Buddha comes back armed with a sword

Bara, December 25, 2006

Ram Bahadur Bomjan, a teenager who had suddenly disappeared while meditating 10 months ago, surfaced in Bara’s Charkoshe Jhadi, today.

Bomjan, a 17-year-old resident of Bara Ratanpuri, was first found meditating in a jungle nearly seven kilometres from the East-West Mahendra Highway. He disappeared from the spot on March 11.

Herdsmen Bal Krishna Ale, Jaya Kunwar and others from Dumarwana Mahendranagar today traced him at a deserted place in Baghjhori Bhataghari and told other villagers about him.

Scores of people thronged the site, soon after. An Armed Police Force team was deployed at the site around 4:00 pm. Bomjan is said to be visibly bulkier now.

He has long hair and is also carrying a sword. Bomjan told media persons that the sword was meant for his security. He said even Lord Buddha saw to his own security.

He urged people to shun applying red tika on the forehead and stay away from alcohol and violence. He explained that he was forced to vanish from the earlier site because of the constant stream of visitors, including drunkards.

In a video message to the media, he had said that he would return after six years. Bomjan added that he, however, decided to return sooner.

Responding to a query, he said that he is living on herbs.

Sugarcane farmers set to go on strike

Sugarcane farmers in Morang and Sunsari districts, demanding to raise the price of sugarcane, have decided to go on strike.

They are forced to go on strike as Eastern Sugar Mills Ltd (ESML) could not give them the right price of their produce, sugarcane farmers complained. Some 10,000 sugarcane farmers of Morang and Sunsari held a gathering today at Amahibelha and decided to go on strike.

Earlier on December 1, a gathering of sugarcane farmers demanded to fix Rs 225 per quintal of sugarcane.

Nepal Sugarcane Farmers’ Association (NSFA) and Nepal Sugarcane Federation (NSF) had earlier determined Rs 205 for a quintal of sugarcane.

The protest programme includes putting black flags in the vehicles carrying sugarcane from Tuesday and stopping the supply of sugarcane to the sugar mill on December 31, January 1 and 2.

“Sugarcane farmers are submitting their demands to District Agriculture Office (DAO) in Morang and Sunsari as well as to eight parties,” Murari Ghimire, secretary of NSFA, said adding that similar memorandum demanding a rise in the sugarcane price was submitted to ESML two weeks ago.

It has been purchasing a quintal of sugarcane at Rs 168 from its gate. And it has been purchasing sugarcane from the fields of farmers at Rs 159 for a quintal.