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Crisis in Nepal
By KTM Metro Reporter in Kathmandu
The indefinite strike enforced by the United Madhes Democratic Front (UMDF) since February 13 has disrupted the regular lives of Nepalis in Terai and in the Kathmandu Valley as well. The Madheshi Nepalis have been fighting for the proportional representation in all state agencies, and the to-be-elected Constituent Assembly, and for the autonomy of the Terai area.
Fuel supply has been trickled down in the Kathmandu Valley due to the strike in Terai. Due to the shortage of fuel, industries are running at the lowest level of their capacities; schools and colleges are closed; only about 30% of the total vehicles are plying on the roads; even hospitals and the banks could not run smoothly as they did not have fuel to run their generators when the power is cut following the load shedding schedule of the Nepal Electricity Authority.
The leaders of the UMDF and the Prime Minister have been talking to settle the Madheshi issues. However, the Prime Minister’s strong stance on not accepting the autonomy to the Terai has been a hitch to resolve the issues. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has been telling the public that he is going to resolve the Terai issues through a dialogue with the leaders of Madhesh; at the same time recently he instructed the head of security agencies in his home town Biratnagar to take strong actions to maintain security and law and order.
While all Nepalis have been preparing for an election for a Constituent Assembly, the Prime Minister, his Minister for Home, and his Minister for Peace and Reconstruction have been unable to bring peace and stability in the country. Elections in the Terai areas will be hard to hold if the current ongoing protests continue.
Some political analysts believe that Prime Minister Koirala has been deliberately delaying to settle the Terai issues and to resolve the shortage of petroleum products to put on hold the election for a Constituent Assembly, as the first session of it would declare the end of the monarchy. His daughter and Minister without portfolio Sujata Koirala has been openly engaged in saving the monarchy. She says that she has been assisting her father Prime minister Koirala in performing his duties.
