Community School locks down Municipality Office

By Bishnu Prasad Pokharel,Damak, May 7: A community school in Jhapa has locked down the administrative building of Damak Municipality in protest. Led by Gagan Puri, Chairperson of the Management Committee of Saraswati Secondary School in Damak-8, a group comprising teachers and guardians staged the symbolic closure on Tuesday morning.

According to Chairperson Puri, the protest was sparked by the encroachment of land registered under the school’s name, where various structures have been built—one of which houses a private school that has been operating for years. 

The group is demanding the removal of the illegal constructions. Puri stated that despite repeated promises from the municipality to act, no concrete steps were taken, compelling them to launch a protest.

“Even after multiple appeals to the municipality, the private school named ‘Godmother’ refused to vacate the premises,” Puri said. “We drew attention to this issue just two weeks ago, but since no action has been taken, we were forced to pressure the municipality through this lockdown.”

Mayor of Damak Municipality, Ram Kumar Thapa, responded by saying that efforts to remove the private school have been ongoing. “We have issued official letters instructing the school to vacate the land. We are not idle and remain committed to resolving this,” Mayor Thapa asserted.

The municipality had also issued a public notice advising parents not to enrol their children in the said private school. Reportedly, Godmother School had requested some time and claimed they are in the process of constructing new infrastructure elsewhere, which is why they have not yet vacated.