Locals protest Maoist vandalism

Civilians and students at Ramnagar (Mirchaiya), protesting the Maoists' destruction of a private school building, today disrupted traffic on the highway for three hours - from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.
They demanded that the Maoists apologise for their act, return looted goods and restrict their entrance in the educational sector.
Traffic resumed after the local administration, the Maoists and the school administration agreed to hold a trialogue on April 23, the Mirchaiya area police office (APO) said.
Local Maoist cadres destroyed the building of Chandra Jyoti School that was being constructed by Dhaniklal Shah and Kishor Khatiwada on 10 katthas of land at Mirchaiya-4 at 11 pm on Tuesday. The Maoists took the construction materials away on a tractor.
"The Maoists were threatening since the start of the construction of the school building," Dhaniklal Shah said, adding that they had been claiming that the land belonged to Shova Shahi of the royal family. Shah and Khatiwada claimed that they purchased the land from Birenda Shah of Kalyanpur for Rs 30 lakhs last year.
Meanwhile, Maoist district secretary Abinash said that the land belonged to a relative of the royal family. "Our cadres stopped construction of the building.
Their stance was that the building should not be built on that land at a time when the process of nationalising the property of royal family has been initiated," he added.

Diversity Visa victims on fast-unto-death

Diversity Visa victims on fast-unto-death 
 
Seven members of the American Diversity Visa Victims Association today decided to go on fast-unto-death outside American Embassy in Panipokhari.
"The victims want that the American Embassy refund the money they spent to appear for the visa interview, along with necessary compensation," the DV victims said in a press conference organised today.

Ghanashyam Basyal, president of the ADVVA, said, "We don't want American visa. If people think that we are protesting to get the visa, they are wrong. We are against the American policy of rejecting Nepalis' visas without tendering any reasons."

He said the embassy made each of them spend Rs 55,000 for the visa and rejected it without sufficient ground. "There are some families with six members whose spent around Rs 330,000 but none of them got a visa," he added.

"Our efforts to talk to the embassy officials and the Nepal government went in vain. Their apathy has compelled the victims to go on fast-unto-death," said Govinda Adhikari, vice-president of the ADVVA. He said the government and the American Embassy would be responsible if something happens to those on fast. "We tried our best to make them understand our problem, but to no avail. We have enough evidence to prove that we are right," he added.

While, Sharon Hudson-Jean, acting public relation officer of the An American Embassy official, when contacted, said the embassy had already made it clear to the concerned people that compensation could not be granted. She added that the embassy wants them not to go on hunger strike. "We don't want any harm to their health," she said.

The DV victims started their protest in October. For two months they organised sit-in outside the American Embassy and since December 26 they had been on 24-hour relay fast.