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| BURNING THE MESSENGER: Freshly printed editions of Kantipur\'s eastern edition were taken out of a delivery van and set ablaze by Maoists near Biratnagar on Tuesday morning. The previous day, they damaged the main printing facility in Kathmandu and threatened to kill staffers at the Bharatpur plant. |
After suffering three weeks of shutdowns since August, the tarai is paralysed by another series of crippling strikes that have effectively closed down the East-West Highway before Dasain. There is deep frustration here with leaders in Kathmandu who are too preoccupied with politics to care. "We are fed up with the endless highway blockades, my business is finished," says Biratnagar transporter Shekhar Niraula. "This is why we need to get these elections over and done with. Politicians should stop punishing the people."
There is one banda after another till Dasain, some overlapping with each other:
. Sunsari, Siraha and Saptarai face an indefinite banda called by the Tharuhat.
. Three-day tarai banda 4-6 October called by Rajendra Mahato\'s Sadbhabana.
. Two-day Morang and Saptari banda called by the Biswas faction of the MJF.
. Indefinite eastern Nepal strike by the Limbuwan and Khumbuwan.
. Another two-day banda in Bara and Parsa on 9-11 October by the MJF\'s Biswas group.
With the Kapilbastu highway blockade by victims of riots, these closures have brought the country to a grinding halt at a time when people are travelling home for holidays. Bus companies have stopped taking bookings, schools are closed, term exams can\'t be held and the sick can\'t get to hospitals. A hitherto unknown group called the Garib Mukti Morcha held a two day banda last week in the Eastern tarai and set fire to three trucks.
A pregnant woman died after Limbuwan activists set fire to a bus at Belbari in Morang and a young man was killed when MJF activists hurled a bomb at a night bus in Parwanipur in Bara two weeks ago.
Meanwhile in Kathmandu, leaders are deadlocked over the Maoist demand to declare a republic before full proportional representation polls. Prime Minister Koirala is holding out, and the Maoists are smarting from universal condemnation of their attacks on Kantipur. If a deal is not worked out before the deadline for election nominations on Friday, poll postponement looks inevitable. Which means more uncertainty, more protests and even more shutdowns here in the tarai.
Kunda Dixit in Biratnagar
