Khotang Mayor stages hunger strike at Maitighar Mandala

BY RAJ KUMAR BHATTARAI,Khotang, July 31: Mayor Tirtha Raj Bhattarai of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi Municipality, Khotang,has started his fast-unto-death at Maitighar Mandala on Wednesday after his demands were not met, following a three-day hunger strike, which he began on July 27. 

His demands include the formulation of policies for the management of monkeys and other wild animals, preparing building codes and norms to promote the use of bamboo and raw materials in government offices, enacting laws to control industries such as crusher plants that overexploit natural resources, creating laws to allow local governments to levy an additional 10 per cent tax on industries producing plastic waste and causing pollution, and taking action against contractors who have abandoned incomplete roads and bridges along the roads linking Kathmandu to Khotang to ensure their completion.

Mayor Bhattarai had earlier staged a hunger strike from July 27 to 29 daily from 9 am to 5 pm in Kathmandu. He had traveled to Kathmandu to stage the strike. When his demands were still not addressed following the three-day hunger strike, he began his indefinite hunger strike Wednesday morning, vowing not to break it until his demands are met.

Shaving his head and starting his strike by lying on bamboo mats, straw mats, and blankets, Mayor Bhattarai said he was ready to accept death but would not break his strike. A committee under the coordination of Deputy Mayor Bishan Rai has been formed to hold talks with the government, but no concrete decision has been reached so far.

Mayor Bhattarai, barefoot and carrying bamboo for his protest, had reached the southern gate of Singha Durbar, from where police took him to Maitighar Mandala and released him. He staged his hunger strike there for three days. However, after the government failed to fulfill his demands, he intensified his protest to an indefinite hunger strike.