Despite the political commitments in party election manifestos and the legal remedies sought by various stakeholders, the country witnessed 1047bandas and 407 transport strikes in the last five years. According to Nepal Police, bandas and strikes peak whenever the political scenario inches towards a conclusive situation or takes a new turn.
On Monday alone, more than 51 districts across the country witnessed different strikes, including transport halts, school and college closures and business and industrial shutdowns, according to a report issued by the Peace and Security Section of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"Even though protests and demonstrations are essential rights in a democracy, the enforcement of strikes through the threat of violence poses a huge challenge for the security sector," said DIG Kamal Singh Bam, spokesperson of Nepal Police.
Police also say that general strikes and other protests have become 'effective bargaining tools' for not just the political parties and their wings but also armed groups, ethnic communities, regional groups and other entities.
In the past five years, protests by the UCPN(Maoist) against the president's decision to reinstate the then sacked army chief, a terai strike led by the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, protests for an autonomous Madhes province, protests for an undivided Far-Western Region during the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly, indefinite strikes by the Tharu community in Kailali and Kanchanpur demanding a Tharuhat province, and protests by the Mohan Baidhya-led alliance during second CA election were some of the major strikes that crippled daily life across the country.
According to a report by Nepal-based UN agencies, people suffered the effects of strikes for more than 10 days straight during which there were no negotiations between the government and the protestors.
RPP-N was the first party to announce a policy of 'no banda and strikes' in its election manifesto but last month the party announced a Nepal banda to protest use of excessive police force against its cadres during demonstrations.
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A police survey on bandas and strikes states that the tarai districts are badly affected during any kind of protest. In later days, the number of bandas and strikes in the far-western tarai has overtaken the number in Madhes, the report states.
"The culture of bandas and strikes was generated by the political parties themselves and now the situation has gone out of their hands," said Lal Babu Yadav, a political analyst and TU professor.
Until people appreciate that exercise of the right to express grievances and put pressure on the authorities often creates inconveniences for the general public, the situation will continue, experts said.
