Kathmandu witnesses multiple relentless protests
KATHMANDU, APRIL 19
For the past few weeks, Kathmandu valley has seen relentless protests from various sectors. However, no concrete solutions have emerged thus far, despite the fact that sectors such as teachers, cooperative victims, loan shark victims, and doctors have been taking to the streets on a regular basis.
Cooperatives, microfinance, and loan shark victims, who announced a phase-wise protest beginning March 30 a day before the teachers took to streets and are also demonstrating in Kathmandu on a continuous basis. Their protests are concentrated in the Kshetrapati, Shanti Batika, and Bhadrakali areas.
Teachers began their Kathmandu-centric protest on March 31. Meanwhile, resident doctors have been protesting in the Buddhanagar Babarmahal area since April 3.
Furthermore, pro-monarchist demonstrations, which had been announced in stages since earlier in March, have continued. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), which advocates for the monarchy and a Hindu nation, has announced that it will also hold a demonstration in prohibited areas on Sunday.
RPP chair Rajendra Lingden previously stated, "Our party has decided to hold a protest in a restricted area of Kathmandu on April 20."
Earlier, on March 28, a protest in Tinkune turned violent, killing two people. Durga Prasai, the protest's chief instigator, and other RPP leaders have been arrested on charges that the protesters damaged, arsoned, vandalised, and looted private and government properties.
Former monarch Gyanendra Shah stated in a recent New Year's greeting message that he remains committed to the monarchy.
Teachers continued to protest on Saturday (today). Teachers have been protesting on Kathmandu's Maitighar-Babarmahal-New Baneshwor road for the past 18 days, demanding the School Education Act be promulgated.
Last year, the government agreed with teachers protesting in the capital that it would amend the bill registered in parliament to address the teachers' demands. However, after 18 months, parliament did not pass the bill, according to protesting teachers.
The Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee of Parliament is currently considering the teachers' proposed bill.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Speaker Devraj Ghimire met separately with Teachers' Confederation leaders until midnight on Friday. However, they are unsure whether the Education Act will be enacted immediately.
During the discussion, Prime Minister Oli reaffirmed his commitment to passing the Education Act as soon as possible through the process.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday urged the teachers to postpone the protest programs and return to the workplace, taking into consideration the time of students' enrolment, SEE answer sheet checking, and the national examination of grade XII.
Minister for Education and Science and Technology, Bidya Bhattarai, said the government has decided to summon the session of the federal parliament on April 22 for the purpose of passing the school education bill.
However, the Teachers Confederation has warned that teachers across the country will protest in Kathmandu until there is further assurance that the bill will be implemented with amendments.
On the other hand, due to the teachers' protest, transport services on the Maitighar-Babarmahal road have been disturbed for the past few days. According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Office, Kathmandu, traffic management on Kathmandu's roads has been difficult for the past few weeks. Vehicles travelling through the capital's New Baneshwor and Maitighar areas during the day have been forced to take a different route for more than two weeks.
Moreover, cooperative victims who have not received their deposits back from various cooperative organisations are protesting, claiming that government agencies have failed to take appropriate action to recover their savings from those cooperative organisations.
Victims of loan sharks have arrived in the capital, claiming that microfinance institutions and moneylenders have trapped them in debt and seized their property by charging them metered interest. All three groups are holding a joint protest with various demands.
Similarly, resident doctors from various medical colleges have taken to the streets to demand the implementation of the government-imposed minimum wage.
Doctors studying MD, MS, and MDS at private medical colleges have taken to the streets to demand the government's minimum wage of Rs 48,000 for hospital workers.
Protesting doctors have expressed that they were forced to take to the streets after both the medical college and the government ignored their demands.
