KATHMANDU, August 13: The agitating construction entrepreneurs took their protest to a new level on Sunday morning by padlocking the offices of the director general of the Department of Roads and the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation.
In a resolute display of their concerns during the third phase of their protest, the members of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) not only padlocked the government departments but also conducted a sit-in. The federation’s President Ravi Singh led a team that padlocked the Department of Roads, while Senior Vice-President Ang Dorji Lama led another team to picket the Department of Irrigation.
The protest event saw the intervention of police, resulting in the apprehension of more than 50 construction entrepreneurs, including Senior Vice-President Lama. The detainees were temporarily held at the District Police Range, Lalitpur before being released.
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The FCAN has embarked on the third phase of protest due to two primary issues: the delay in payment by the government and the non-extension of ongoing projects. The federation claims that the government owes them a substantial amount of money. This delay has created a host of challenges and setbacks within the construction industry.
Central to their demands is an extension of contract periods and adjustments to project prices in alignment with the prevailing inflation rate.
Speaking at the sit-in program, FCAN President Ravi Singh pointed out the detrimental impacts of the government's inaction towards the construction industry. He highlighted that the industry has been severely affected due to a lack of coordination among government agencies. President Singh clarified that the federation's demands aim to benefit the overall construction industry of the country, rather than merely focusing on the interests of the entrepreneurs.
