PM's call fails to impress far western agitators; bandh further hits life on day 7

Normal life in far-western region has come to a grinding halt on the 7th day of an indefinite bandh (shutdown strike) organised by various groups demanding "undivided far-west" on Thursday.

The bandh organisers apparently shunned yesterday's call from Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to end the bandh saying that the government was attentive to their demands.

Marketplaces in the major towns in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Surkhet and other districts remain shut while public transportation remains completely halted. Educational institutions also remain closed in the region.

Flights to and from Dhangadhi's Geta airport have been cancelled for the past three days with the protesters locking the main gate of the airport.

Backed by leaders of the major political parties from the region, various local organisations, except for the UCPN (Maoist), have jointly enforced the bandh to warn the political parties against dividing far-western region into multiple provinces while restructuring the state. Despite his party's objection, Maoist politburo member and commerce minister Lekhraj Bhatta has openly supported the demand of the agitating groups.

Twenty two CA members of the Constituent Assembly from the region, mainly those from indigenous communities, have objected to the demand for single province in the far-western region. nepalnews.com