Protesters have vandalized vehicles of various ministries in Province 5 on October 4 in the protest against the proposal to make a permanent capital in Bhalubang of Dang.
Protesters pelted stones at Chief Minister Shankar Pokharel at Milan Chowk while returning to Butwal from Kathmandu via Bhairahawa Airport. Chief Minister’s bodyguard Chhavilal Rawal, 44, sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The Chief Minister was attacked by stones. The vehicle (Lu 1 Jha 498) in 7890 and a vehicle in escorting was damaged. Police have arrested nine Nepali Congress cadres, including a journalist, on the charge of throwing stones.
Kamala Pandey, Station Manager of Radio Namaste FM and Rupendehi Correspondent of Radio Nepal, Muktiraj Poudel, Central Vice President of Nepal Students Union, Harilal Pandey, Mayor of Tilottama, Bishnu Pokhrel, Young Leader of Nepali Congress and Candidate for Provincial Assembly Member, Shiv Prasad Gaire, Prakash Gaire, Dayaram Pathak, Keshav Aryal and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki have been arrested, informed Yubaraj Giri, General Committee Member of the Nepali Congress.
Police also fired a few rounds in the air at the scene. Nepali Congress cadres had protested against the Chief Minister coming from Bhairahawa by displaying black flags in Kotihawa, Manigram and Shankarnagar areas.
Similarly, a vehicle (Lu 1 Jha 445) belonging to the Parliament Secretariat was vandalized in front of Sindur Hotel in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan-6, while a vehicle (Lu 1 Jha 421) belonging to the Ministry of Land Management and Agriculture Cooperatives was vandalized by throwing stones at Butwal Sub-Metropolitan-4 Traffic Chowk.
The District Administration Office has banned the gathering of more than five people from October 4 to 7.
The District Administration Office has issued a restraining order on the directive of the provincial government after the main opposition party Nepali Congress made public the programs of agitation including Rupendehi Dam and the siege of the provincial assembly against the proposal to move the permanent capital of the protest.
Itabhatti Chowk in Butwal Sub-metropolitan-9 in the south, Kalika Mandir Chowk in the north, Tinau Khola in the west and Kalika Path from Kalika Mandir to Itabhatti Chowk in the east, Butwal Sub-metropolis-4 Jaycees Chowk where Chief Minister’s Office is located. According to the District Administration Office, the area up to the line, Hatbazar Line in the west and Siddhartha Highway in the east and ministries are Sundar Chowk in the south, Bhudki Chowk in the north, Siddhartha Highway in the west and Bhatbhateni Chowk in the east.