Nawalparasi section of east-west highway closed again, thousands stranded

Thousands of passengers have been stranded along the east-west highway with local residents of Amarapuri in Nawalparasi district again blocking the highway section, demanding compensation to families of four people who were killed after being run over by a passenger bus on Saturday.

Hundreds of passenger buses and trucks have been stuck on both sides of the highway, reports say. Traffic along the highway has come to a standstill after the protesting locals vandalised nearly a dozen vehicles in the morning.

They have demanded Rs 1 million compensation to the families of the four victims each and free medical treatment to three others who were injured in the accident.

All four victims, who were hit by the bus heading for Kathmandu from Dhangadhi, were local residents.  Three injured persons have been undergoing treatment in Kathmandu and are said to be in critical condition.

The locals had agreed to stop their protest for a day on Tuesday, but again started obstructing the highway around 8:00 am today after the negotiation with the Mahakali Transport Entrepreneurs Committee could not arrive a compromise. nepalnews.com mk Aug 27 08