According to Nepal Police spokesman DIG Keshav Adhikari, the shutdown was largely peaceful compared to the earlier ones barring some minor vandalism incidents. "There are some reports of vehicles vandalized outside the Kathmandu Valley. Two strike enforces were arrested in Khotang district and there are reports that about a dozen vehicles were vandalized in several districts," he said.
Students, professionals, businesspersons and daily wage-earners were greatly affected as educational institutions, offices, businesses and markets remained shut. In Kathmandu, strike enforcers in groups assembled at major crossroads and roundabouts and blocked vehicular movement. However they allowed vehicles of police, hospitals, press and diplomatic missions and those related to essential services.
The striking parties have said that the government led by the chief justice is unconstitutional and threatened to announce another stringent protest against the "syndicate of four major parties" and the government if their demands were not addressed.
Addressing a corner meeting at New Baneshwar, Netra Bikram Chand, the secretary of CPN-Maoist, said, "The current government and the four parties have been ignoring our demands in the same way as the then government did before we launched our people´s war in 1996." The government and the four parties are working unilaterally to hold elections and ignoring us as if we are hurdles to the election, he said, while warning that a new conflict would start if the demands of the agitating parties are not addressed before holding any elections.
A report from Dang district said, strike enforcers vandalized a bus (Lu 1 Kha 3238) and a truck (Na 4 Kha 8273) at Katuwa Khola the Lamahi-Ghorahi road section in Dang Sunday morning. Likewise, a truck (Na 4 Kha 9813) and some motorcycles were attacked at Tulshipur Chowk, Ghorahi.
A report from Gorkha district said strike enforcers associated with the CPN-Maoist attacked a private car (Ba 5 Cha 8238) at Harmatarichwok. CPN-Maoist district in-charge Parshu Ram Ramtel said, "We smashed the vehicle for it intentionally ignored our banda call."
According to police in Bhaluwang in Dang, two buses while attempting to aviod strike enforcers collided leaving 10 passengers injured at Shishaniya, Deukhuri.
Meanwhile about a dozen motorcycles and a truck were vandalized in Makawanpur district. Some vehicles that were commandeered by strike enforcers during the strike were released in the evening in Hetauda Bazar. Hetauda Chamber and Commerce Industry said protestors resorted to vandalism at four factories in the Hetauda Industrial Area. The chamber has strongly condemned the act.
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