Nepal paralysed by indefinite strike, again

KATHMANDU: Sectarian violence simmering in eastern Nepal paralysed the kingdom on Sunday as transporters called an indefinite nationwide transport strike after arsonists torched and stoned over a dozen vehicles. 

The busy streets of Kathmandu Valley, usually the scene of chaotic traffic snarls, remained bereft of traffic as the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs, who run most private bus and other vehicular services in the country, enforced an indefinite transport strike from  on Sunday.

Hundreds of people and unwary tourists walked to their destinations. People arriving by air were stranded at the Tribhuban International Airport. In many cases, people returning from an overseas trip were seen grimly heading home wheeling their suitcases or shouldering the luggage. 

A few taxis and private cars were seen on the roads. However, they tended to avoid trouble-prone spots in the capital, including Kalanki area, where violence erupted Saturday.

The latest disruption is the sequel to the violence that engulfed Lahan town in Siraha district in southeastern Nepal on Friday.

A little-known group, calling itself Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, enforced a strike there, ostensibly to pressure the government into releasing 14 of its members who had been detained in Kathmandu for torching a copy of the new constitution.

Forum activists clashed with Maoist guerrillas during the closure, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old boy in Maoist firing.

Following the killing, a rampaging mob went on the warpath, vandalising and torching 14 public vehicles. The clashes between protesters and the police have continued since then.

On Saturday, mobs stoned vehicles belonging to the UN and National Human Rights Commission when rights officials tried to reach the spot.

To bring the situation under control, the administration Sunday imposed daytime curfew from 11 am to 2 pm.

Even as clashes continued to erupt in Lahan, transport entrepreneurs called an indefinite strike from Sunday to show their anger at the continuous attack on their vehicles in southeastern Nepal.

The plains have been restive since Xmas Day, with a succession of organisations calling closures and transport blockades.