Indefinite Bandh Day 5

My latest round-up of articles about the bandh in Nepal; see below for my own pictures of the day.

Maoist General Strike Enters Day 5; Normal Life Badly Hit; Clashes in Birgunj
“Marketplaces, educational institutions and industries have also remained closed for almost a week now. Daily wage workers are badly hit due to the strike as they have not been able to work for many days.”

Capital Tense as Maoists, Locals Clash in Several Places
“Tension escalated in several places of the capital after the local youth leaders of the ruling parties took to demonstrations against the Maoists on Thursday”

DISTRICT ROUND-UP: Clashes in Several Places; Curfew in Humla, Birgunj, Dhankuta

“As the general strike called by the UCPN (Maoists) continues to cripple the normal life across the nation, voices against the banda seems to have gone louder with the increasing reports of confrontations between the locals and the Maoists…”

Clashes in Nepal as Frustration Grows at Shutdown
“Two doctors are working 24 hours and a few nurses are working double shifts,” Philip Shyam Ranjit, a doctor at B&B Hospital’s emergency department, told AFP. “A lot of people have no access to medical attention.”

Waiting at the Top of the World
“Tempers are flaring. It would not take much for people’s discontent with the strike to tip into civil unrest.  Even before the strike, the country had entered an advanced state of entropy…”

Maoists Officially Decide to Fight Back Retaliation
“The UCPN (Maoist) on Thursday decided to retaliate against those who attempt to assault its cadres, concluding that premeditated attacks are being launched with the government backing against the Maoist during the course of banda.”

YCL Claims ‘Vigilante’ Groups Instigating Clashes During Maoist Protests
“YCL [Young Communist League] Nepal will counter any move by vigilantes to defy the peaceful demonstration by the protestors,” the statement said.

Time is Running Out for Attempts to Settle the Country’s Confrontation
“NEPAL’S Maoists can put on an impressive display. For the past week they have endured torrential rain and outbreaks of diarrhoea to bring the capital, Kathmandu, and the rest of the country, to a halt…”

Maoists Returning Homes on Daily Basis
“Those men and women on the way back said they decided to return home as they faced food and shelter problems in the capital and they started suffering from different diseases. “

Vacate Schools, Colleges: Student Unions
“The examinations of twelfth grade have been disrupted due to the general strike. Schools and colleges have been converted into Maoist camps. This has violated students´ right to education. We condemn such acts,” said a joint statement issued by the student unions.

Kalimati Veg Market Runs Out of Stock
“He admitted that consumers are paying exorbitant prices for even decaying vegetables due to the absence of proper mechanism to regulate market during strikes.”

Markets to Open from 6-10 pm
“Maoists on Thursday decided not to disrupt vehicles carrying vegetables. The party also decided to let the markets open from 6 pm to 10 pm. “

Tourists Caught up in Nepal Maoist Strike
“Hotel and restaurant owners say that Maoist supporters have threatened them, telling them to remain shut.”

Maoists Thrash 4 Journalists in Nepal
“Nepal’s Maoists have thrashed and beaten up four journalists while enforcing their strike in the national capital despite their commitment to respect press freedom.”

Trouble in Paradise

It’s a beautiful day.  Not too hot, not too cold… pleasant breeze.

This morning

Who wouldn’t want to enjoy it, maybe go outside, get some work done?

The morning's normal rural-urban life in Kathmandu

Well, these people, I suppose:

Part of a wave of Maoists that started heading up the street mid-morning

Many of the Maoists carried sharpened sticks

There were a lot of them

For us, the bandh has been very quiet.  We’ve stayed at home, reading the news or watching the television, doing housework.  But this morning we kept looking out windows to find the source of the shouting, then dashing up to the roof to take pictures of the people marching down the street.  Several hundred must have passed, in at least three different waves.  They disappeared to the north, toward Budhanilkantha.

A section of one of the crowds

Soon after, the media outlets lit up with the news from Budhanilkantha, with video on the TV and articles online.

Capital Tense as Maoists, Locals Clash in Several Places
“Tension escalated in several places of the capital after the local youth leaders of the ruling parties took to demonstrations against the Maoists on Thursday”

General Strike Turns Violent; Clashes in Various Places
“Situation is tense in Budhanilkantha, too. There were clashes between locals and Maoist cadres this morning. At least three persons including a minor were injured in the incident. Police fired six rounds of tear gas shells to take the situation in control. “

Meanwhile I was watching the sky.  The breeze had kicked up; it whipped my clothes around me and made it harder to hold the camera.  I watched the lowering clouds descending from the barrier of hills at the edge of Shivapuri National Park.  They rolled over Budhanilkantha first.

It started to get darker

Clouds engulfed the hills just north of Budhanilkantha, then rolled south

I think the gods are crying

Nepali of the Day:

baadal lagyo:  it’s cloudy

paani paryo:  it’s raining

malaii dukha lagyo:  I’m sad