Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Maoists impose indefinite banda in Arghakhanchi

ARGHAKHANCHI - The Maoists called an indefinite Arghakhanchi district banda after their cadres were injured in a clash with the local Jeep Entrepreneurs’ Association.Educational institutions, markets, offices and the transportation have come to a standstill since Wednesday morning. The cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL), the Maoist youth front, have shut the markets in the district headquarters Sandhikharka.
The Maoists called the general strike demanding free treatment and compensation for the injured cadres and operation of buses in all VDCs of the district where jeeps operated. Maoist district secretary Chandra Bahadur Khadka said that the banda would continue until their demands are fulfilled. The 10 injured persons from both groups are being treatment at the district hospital, said the district police office.The curfew clamped in Sandikharka since yesterday has however been relaxed since this morning, informed the district administration office. The district administration had imposed a 12-hour curfew in Sandhikharka effective from 6 pm Tuesday, following a dispute between Maoists and jeep entrepreneurs that sparked into a clash between the two groups over a petty issue—failure of a jeep to allow a bus carrying Maoist cadres to overtake it.