The local administration has ordered a curfew from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m., according to Chief District Officer (CDO) Baldev Prasad Gautam.With the curfew order, political parties had to cancel their peace rallies scheduled for 3 p.m.
CDO Gautam informed that as the protests had gone out of control and were taking a violent turn, the DAO has also declared areas with government offices a prohibited zone effective from Wednesday and until further notice. Meetings, gatherings and rallies have been banned in the restricted zones.
The local administration has also declared the area where the house of CA member and Nepali Congress General Secretary Purna Bahadur Khadka is located a prohibited zone.
Locals have been staging protests since the last four days, demanding that the mid-west region should be left intact and Surkhet developed as the capital of the proposed province.
Life in the Birendranagar valley has come to a grinding halt because of the four-day protests. Personnel from the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have been deployed throughout the district headquarters area.
On Monday, two local agitators were shot dead and 50 others injured during police action after protests against the proposed provincial demarcations turned violent in the district.
Likewise, the locals of Jajarkot have closed down the district to extend their support to the ongoing protests in Surkhet.
"We stand by the demands of Surkhet locals. We'll stage a strong protest if our demands are not met," said Khim Bahadur Shahi, a civil society leader from Jajarkot.
A huge mass of local agitators had gathered at district headquarters Wednesday. Following the demonstration, security arrangements have been tightened, according to the local administration.
Organizing a press meet, Yagya KC, coordinator for the undivided mid-west civil struggle committee Banke, urged the ruling parties to correct their decision on delineation of the provinces before things turn even more violent.
Protests demanding undivided Karnali continue
Protesters in Karnali Zone have also continued their indefinite strike for the fourth consecutive day Wednesday in Mugu, Kalikot, and Jumla. They have been demanding that Karnali Zone be made a separate Karnali province. They are also protesting against the inclusion of the zone in the far-west province.
During protests in Mugu on Wednesday, a large number of women were among other local agitators gathered at district headquarters Gamgadhi Bazaar.
Similar demonstrations continued in Kalikot. Marketplaces and the Karnali Highway remained completely obstructed due to the protests.
Local agitators have sought the resignation of 10 CA members from Karnali Zone, including Mahendra Bahadur Shahi of Kalikot, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi of Humla, Lalit Jung Shahi of Jumla, Mohan Baniya of Mugu and Dhan Bahadur Buda of Dolpa, through CDO Pradeep Shrestha.
Demonstrators, in a memorandum submitted through Kalikot DAO, accused the CA members of overlooking the identity of Karnali Zone. They have hurt the sentiments of Karnali folks, they said.
The fourth-day protests in Jumla were led by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. Local agitators including children, youths and teachers under the leadership of ex-lawmaker Devilal Thapa staged rallies and demonstrations at the local administration offices. They also burnt effigies of the leaders of the four political parties.
Protests continue demanding undivided Rapti and Tharuhat
Demonstrations also continued in Salyan and Rukum districts Wednesday, demanding an undivided Rapti Zone. The ongoing protests that began Sunday have thrown life out of gear.
They are staging protests against the major parties' decision to divide Rukum between two federal provinces. As per the decision, the eastern part of Rukum will be included in province no. 5 and the western part in province no. 6.
Likewise, as per our correspondent Dil Bahadur Chhatyal in Dhangadhi, an indefinite strike called by the Tharuhat Struggle Committee has crippled life in Kailali and Bardiya districts. They are agitating against the separation of Kailai and Kanchanpur from Tharuhat and inclusion of these two districts in the far western region.
The banda has also adversely affected the people in nine different districts as transportation was closed in Kailali, the gateway to the neighboring districts.
In Bardiya, various industries, academic institutions and transport services have come to a halt for the second consecutive day Wednesday. They are demanding an autonomous Tharuhat province stretching from Kanchanpur to Chitwan, and an Eastern Tharuhat Kochila province from Dhanusha-Siraha to Jhapa.
(Republica correspondents Narendra Upadhyaya from Surkhet, Pavitra Kumar Shahi from Jajarkot, Arjun Oli from Nepalgunj, Suman Malla from Mugu, DB Budha from Jumla, Hirabahadur Gharti Magar from Rolpa and Dil Bahadur Chhatyal from Dhangadhi contributed to this report.)
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