BIRGUNJ, Jan 7: People of Birgunj, the heart of the ongoing Madhes movement, are now tired of bearing losses and the disturbance for the last five months. They have started questioning how long they will this movement continue.
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Enthusiastic supporters from the villages, who had participated in the movement with hopes of their demands being addressed by the government, have already returned. The movement in Birgunj is now under the control of some cadres of the Madhesi parties and urban youths. A common understanding, however, is that the movement should end with a significant achievement.
“Protests have affected the livelihoods of the locals to a great extent. Their plights have seen no end as the movement continues,” Manoj Patel, a local said. Despite strong protests, the government is yet to address the issues.
Although people have hit the streets to demonstrate against the current movement, they are now fed up of all this, according to a local teacher Birendra Pandey. He opined that the current crisis is the worse chapter in history of Nepal.
“This is the golden age for smugglers and black-marketers,” Pandey said, adding, “Shortage of essential goods, financial loss and violence are witnessed everywhere.”
Farmers in Madhes are the hardest hit among others due to the ‘longest ever’ protest in the country. According to them, they invested a lot in agriculture but the value of their products has come down due to the protests.
This time, both small and large scale farmers are facing similar plights, said Jitendra Prasad Chaurasiya, a large scale farmer of Bahuarwabhatha VDC-3, Parsa. “I had to invest a lot at the time of sowing wheat, but I haven’t got the proper amount in return because of the protests,” he said.
