The government has called the ‘No Cable Car’ group for discussions on February 24, following their demand for a ministerial-level dialogue. The call was made after clashes between police and protesters in the Pathibhara area and at Birendra Chowk in Phungling Municipality-5 on February 22. The protesters have been demanding the cancellation of the cable car project and had earlier urged for a resolution through discussions. In response, the Ministry of Home Affairs formed a negotiation team led by Joint Secretary Prem Prasad Bhattarai. On February 24, Bhattarai, as the Chief of the committee, issued a press release inviting the protesting group for discussion. The decision was made in a meeting including the Members of the House of Representatives and the Koshi Provincial Assembly for a resolution to the ongoing dispute.
After the first round of discussion between the opposition and the government on February 4, the cable car construction was temporarily suspended. However, on February 9, following the protesters’ demand for ministerial-level discussions, construction work resumed. The government suspended the project again on February 22 after clashes with the protesting group in Phungling Municipality. It has now called for further discussions, emphasizing the need for an agreement through discussion and negotiation. As protests against the Pathibhara cable car project intensified, the government formed a negotiation team on February 2. A six-point agreement was reached between the protesters and the government on February 4, leading to the withdrawal of the transportation strike announced by the ‘No Cable Car’ group on January 28. However, discussions between the government’s negotiation team and the protesters on February 9 ended without a resolution. On February 10, the protesting group met with Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak to press their demands.