06 March,2009 02:57 PM IST | | PTI
Curfew was imposed on Friday in Chitawan district in central Nepal to control the situation after two boys were killed during a police firing as Tharu ethnic groups continued their strike for the fifth consecutive day.
A 19-year-old boy Kamal Chaudhari was killed yesterday as police used force to clear obstacles placed by the agitators to enforce closure.
Another teenaged boy named Bipin Khadka also died in another police firing today, according to Informal Service Sector Centre, a rights watch group.
However, demonstrations continued despite the curfew orders and the situation has remained tense the whole day in the area. Over a dozen demonstrators and half a dozen policemen were injured in the clashes, according to police sources.
Alliance for Human Rights, another watchdog, expressed concern over the killing and asked the government to initiate dialogue to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, four vehicles including a truck bearing an Indian number plate were damaged by the demonstrators in Nawalparasi district in western Nepal, according to media reports. Hundreds of passengers have been stranded due to the strike.
Meanwhile, tourists arriving in Lumbini to visit the birthplace of Lord Buddha were stranded as the transport services have been halted.
The indefinite strike called by Tharu ethnic groups have affected over a dozen districts in Terai region. Vehicular movement has stopped in most parts of the East-West Highway due to the bandh.
The Tharu Welfare Forum and other ethnic groups have called the strike demanding exclusion of Tharus and indigenous groups from the category of Madhesi to provide them separate identity. They have also rejected the demand of the Madhesi groups to declare entire Terai region as a single autonomous state.
