People Defy Unjustified Banda in Madhes

Update (8 March)

Defiance of MPRF strike continues countrywide: Strike orders issued by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have been defied in various districts across the county. However, some districts in eastern Terai remain affected by the strike. In Morang, local administration, with the help of eight parties, civil society and the parties affected by the banda, has opened up shops, markets, factories, transportation services and educational institutions that had been shut down by MPRF, in Biratnagar. (more)

Update More people defy MPRF strike:

Industrialists, businessmen, transport entrepreneurs and workers, rickshaw pullers, ambulance drivers, teachers, students and members of the general public in Biratnagar took to the streets in retaliation against MPRF activists after the latter vandalized even ambulances and cycle rickshaws ferrying patients Wednesday (8 March). The locals fought back against the second day of the MPRF-called indefinite shutdown, which has taken a severe toll on normal life. Locals carrying sticks and swords chased away the MPRF cadres from Bargachhichowk when the latter were forcing locals to down their shutters. Several places in Biratnagar remained tense for hours after frequent clashes between the locals and protestors at Barghachhi and Pipalchowk areas. (more)

Original Post:
People from around Terai (plain parts of Nepal) have started defying unjustified and ill-intended general strike (Banda)

Hundreds of sugarcane growers in Parsa district demonstrate against the indefinite shutdown by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum yesterday. They said the MPRF workers defied their high-command’s order to allow farmers to transport their produce to factories during the strike. Farmers say their produce could go to waste due to the strike. Pic by Updendra Lamichhane via Kathmandu Post

Once again, the indefinite general strike (banda) called by a dubious organization called Madhesi Peoples’ Rights Forum (MPRF) has brought pain in the life of many in Terai. The only intention of MPRF (which is also known as Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF)) is to disrupt the upcoming Constituent Assembly elections. It would be ignorance on our part to believe that the organization is fighting for the rights of Madhesi people. No. Even after major demands of the Madhesi people have been addressed (and are in the process of being so), the organization of Upendra Yadav, has gone into creating havoc in Terai. Look at the demands: resignation of Home Minister and formation of a probe commission to look into the alleged suppression of the recent Madhesi movement. Do these two demands really qualify for a large scale protest like the one that’s being launched in Terai? No. You fulfill these two demands, and Yadav, a pawn of a foreign intelligence agency, will come up with other demands. This is not a political movement for sure and this must be ignored with defiance. People have started doing so. In Nepalgunj, people under the leadership of local business owners and in Jhapa people have gone with their usual routine defying the banda. People have taken out rallies against banda in several parts of Terai.

Businessmen and locals in Nepalgunj staged peaceful demonstrations in defiance of the indefinite strike called by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) yesterday. Urging locals to open their shops despite the MPRF’s strike, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the trend of frequent strikes by different groups. However, a clash ensued at Triveni mode inside the town as Forum cadres, hiding inside local buildings’ verandahs and rooftops, pelted stones and bricks at the demonstrators. Some businessmen and passersby were injured during the incident. (more here) Pic by Janak Nepal

An ambulance negotiates its way through burning tires lit by protesting activists of Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) at Bhrikutichowk of Biratnagar Sub-metropolis, Tuesday. Pic by Bhim Ghimire via Kantipur

A young man in Jeetpur, Bara takes school kids back to home as schools remained closed because of indefinite general strike (banda) called by MPRF. Disappointment persists among students and guardians in southern Nepal because of frequent bandas that disturb school routines. Pic by Updendra Lamichhane