Quick Updates:
State has again turned ruthless. They even took away the bodies of dead protesters from Model Hospital, Bagbazaar. As I write this, half an hour black out is being successfully observed. The authorities have extended the curfew from 8 pm to 3 am. From 3 am there is two hour break.And, again it will be resumed. But, nothing has deterred the people so far. The agitaton has reached every nook and cranny of the country. There are reports of tremendous protests across the country.
Tinkune, 6:30 PM
As I write this, around one hundred youths are chanting anti-king slogans here. One young lady asked me to join the protest even after seeing my journo card. A while ago, I saw people preparing pulthas for black out-cum-torch rally which is slated for 8:30 pm today. This shows the zeal and enthusiasm of people. They have defied curfew and come to the streets in almost all corners of Kathmandu. These young people are dreaming of new Nepal. And, any compromise that doesn’t satisfy their demands will be redundant.
According to reporter Rajaram, three protesters are killed in Kalanki today. This is the first time protesters of ongoing movement have been killed in Kathmandu Valley.
Koteshor, 2:30PM
According to Kantipur reporter Balaram Baniya, around 30 thousand protesters defied curfew in Koteshor. They marched from Madhav Nepal’s house to Koteshor Chowk. They are chanting slogans. In Koteshor, people of all walks of life have participated in the peaceful rally. They already broke three police barriers and are now staging sit-in protest. In Satdobato, two prosteters are seriously injured while other 66 are among the injured. Kantipur reporter Ujir Magar is also injured.
Shantinagar Gate, 2:00pm
Protesters coming from Khari Ko Bot captured the main road for few minutes. They were chased away by security forces.
One lakh protesters are marching from Budhanilkantha to Chabahil.
Kalanki, 1:30 PM
When police opened fire at the peaceful protest in Kalanki, many people were injured. Reporter Rajaram told us that he is handling an injured person. He said there was blood all over his hand while he was speaking to us. Similarly, in Satdobato, clashes occured. Many people are injured. In this kind of scenario, the casualties will not be known immediately. But, what we can say is, people are participating in overwhelming numbers. And, they are ready to sacrifice for a better Nepal.
According to Nepal Magazine reporter Rajaram Gautam who is in Thankot now, around one lakh protesters have gathered in Thankot. They are heading towards Kalanki. They are stretched over three kilometer in the Highway. They gathered from Satungal, Matathirtha, Dahachowk, Balambu, Gurjudhara, Syuchatar villages. Policemen have blocked in Thankot some 5-7 thousand protesters coming from different parts of Dhading.
At 12 today, all the denizens of Kathmandu are requested to go to their rooftops and chant slogans for loktantra (full democracy). In the areas around Ring Road, people are marching to defy the curfew. The processions are taking place mainly in the suburban areas such as Bhaisepati, Satdobato, Chabahil, Kalanki, Gongabu, Kirtipur, Mandikhatar etc.
Hundreds of protesters are marching towards city. But, the core of the city is wearing a deserted look. In Baneshor, there’s a lull; few people are seen requesting security personnel to allow them to cross the road or run errands.
Meanwhile, Indian special envoy Karan Singh and Foreign Secretary Shyam Sharan are busy meeting political leaders. Today morning, they met Surya Bahadur Thapa and Pashupati Shamsher Rana. King is rumored to give speech calling the political parties for dialogue.
United We Blog 
Comments
160 responses to “General Strike Day XV”
More than my medication ,you all need a daily dose of humour.Look at the situation lightly and you guys will not get as worked up are you are.Afterall what else do we have left now.At least for the time being.
Now its humor eh? Do you even know what that means? I don’t think so.
m, just read your own latest salvo on Cuba and I hope you will realise you have just supported my argument against a communist state. You talk as if ‘economic reasons’ are a frivolous thing. Try eating only one good meal a day for a month, wearing only two sets of clothes a year and you will come to realise economic freedom is not a frivolity-especially when all medicene stocks are in short supply and you feel unwell.
And stop saying ‘go to Cuba yourself’ like a broken record. What, are you going to provide me with the air tickets? You are now sounding very silly trying to defend your ‘communist state is the best for Nepal’ theory.
We keep heaing that Burundi in Africa is a suitable place for hunting and shyam shran and Jaswant singh going acompany the king for his ashylum
Kirat,
The point lies in the reasons behind the prosperity and poverty of countries in the Americas. Most countries in the Americas are deeply impoverished, but this is not because they lack resources, labour, factories, or mines. It is because those resources and means of production are owned mainly by foreign capital, mostly US capital, and so the returns to this capital are repatriated to the US. This is what underlies the wealth of the US economy. Similarly cheap goods and labour from all over the 3rd world, produced under conditions owned by 1st world companies, results in the 1st world having its vast level of wealth. It is not the case that each country is simply rich or poor on its own basis.
Cuba, on the other hand, is not a part of this world system directly, rather it trades commodities on the world market as an equal with other countries. Quite frankly it is poor because it is resource-poor; there are very few resources, only small amounts of nickel and soil that is bad for agriculture because iron levels are high. It is an island, so costs of trade are very high. Cuba has always been poor, and it will probably always be poor without foreign assistance. It is not a country like Argentina or Mexico that has enough resources that it could theoretically be very rich all on its own.
The point is what it has *done* with the resources it has. And if you compare it to countries with comparable levels of resources, like Honduras or Guatemala, where the resources are being sucked out in order to fuel the US economy, Cuba is doing fantastically better, if nothing else because Cuba’s meager resources are being used for Cubans, not being taken away with virtually no remuneration as happens in most countries in the 3rd world.
m, thank you for taking the trouble. But my point was that communism does not work. I guess you’re never going to accept that. That’s ok. You have a right to believe what you want to. I believe in the free market but with certain social safeguards for the poor and disadvantaged. Each to his poison.
Oh and thank god you’ve stopped asking me to go to Cuba. I couldn’t afford it.
Kirat,
I prefer not to believe in any social system as a religion. I am a social scientist (and not an armchair one). I have also seen from personal experience that socialism put in practice can work very well in certain situations, in addition to having many problems. I have seen the alternatives and what the free market produces politically and economically. I do not claim to have any easy answers.
If you want to dismiss everyone who has ideas that run contrary to the free market by putting them into a convenient stereotype (‘idealist’, ‘wannabe’, etc.) then go ahead. I do not do the same to you, because I prefer to give people credit and assume they have good reasons for thinking what they do.
In any case, the point for me is not the system, but the results of the system. If a free market system prevails in Nepal, then I hope that you are 100% right. My own experience and the countries I have studied, both socialist and capitalist, leads me to believe otherwise. But go ahead and dismiss me as an idealist.
Hey m,
You sound sour. Don’t be like that. As I already stated you are free to believe what you want to. It’s just that initially you were praising communism and that raised my hackles. From your latest post I can already see a remarkable climbdown from that red tower-which is great. Our thoughts seem to be edging closer. Well if Nepal gets a system you like than I hope that works for the people too.
Well finally some sign but not need to be excited….We must have cautious hope toward this ruler and the ‘will be’ ruler-the parties.No compromise of our rights….Hate them or like them…Maoist must be addressed and given a way to come to peace…Everyone is feed up with Violence of any sort from any side..So let’s pray…and hope for the best…let’s hope Pashupatinath have given him some budhhi..but let’s be ready to face his final hit if he tries to impose one….LET’S BE READY BROTHERS AND SISTERS COZ AS I AM WRITING THIS BLOG I AM HEARING OF THE GREATEST RALLY IN THE HISTORY OF NEPAL MARCHING…..
Awesome site!