JUMLA, AUG 17 - As the indefinite banda calling for a separate Karnali state turned violent, 13 protesters sustained bullet injuries in police firing in Jumla on Sunday. Three of them are reportedly in critical condition.
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Seriously hurt Hari Kunwar of Tamti-1, Padam Prasad Timalsena of Chandannath-4 and Santosh Budhthapa of Chandannath-3 were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.
Police fired “29 rounds in the air” as the enraged protesters tried to remove the signboard at the District Police Office. The demonstrators seized the signboards of most of the government offices in Khalanga, the district headquarters of Jumla. Security personnel had responded harshly after the protesters picketed the District Administration Office. The activists, however, claimed that the local administration opened fire to suppress their peaceful agitation.
Chief District Officer Deependra Raj Poudel said he had not given the orders to shoot. He said he had permitted only teargas firing. The local administration clamped an indefinite curfew in the district headquarters after the situation turned violent. The protesters set fire to five government offices by defying the order. They padlocked about three dozen government offices in Karnali.The indefinite banda affected life in Kalikot, Dolpa and Jajarkot districts as well. Scores of vehicles were stranded as transportation came to a halt on the Karnali Highway. In Salyan, the indefinite banda was called off for Sunday and Monday due to the general strike of the CPN-Maoist-led alliance.
In Surkhet, the local people continued their agitation on Sunday to protest the six-state federal model.
Public hardship continues
KAILALI: The western Tarai districts have seen no respite from banda in the past week. As the indefinite shutdown entered 11th day on Sunday, normal life was thrown out of gear in Kailali district. People are facing hardships as the prices of essentials have rocketed owing to the protracted banda. Financial institutions, including ATM machines, remain shut.
(With inputs from our local correspondents)
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