INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 3While communal riots have increased across Nepal, local authorities and district administration
offices have started using curfews as effective tool to control conflicts.
BRI Nepal: Bridging hearts and minds by linking
NHRC urges all to be sensitive about possible communal
riot
Particularly since the last few months
tensions among different religious groups have increased dramatically, giving a tough time to securities personnel
It all started with the Dharan incident, it was on the brink of communal confrontation in August
However, the District Administration Office, Sunsari, imposed a prohibitory order to prevent violent activities.Religious intolerance rose
in Dharan sub-metropolis after a video of people consuming beef spread rapidly on different social media platforms
Following the videos, Hindu radicals had invited a large number of people across Koshi Province to participate in the 'Protect Cow' rally.
In the meantime, security deployed around the metropolis stopped people and no casualties were reported.Similarly, in
Malangwa, Sarlahi, a curfew was imposed for a long time until normalcy returned.Finally, the denizens of Malangwa are leading normal life
Prohibitory order was imposed in Malangwa following a clash between Muslim and Hindu communities during the immersion of Lord Ganesha Idol
on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi
Around a dozen people were injured and a twenty-four-year old Rupesh Yadav resident of Musaili Malangwa-7 was brutally stabbed multiple
times with a dagger.According to his friend, he was attacked by a man from the Muslim community
Yadav is currently undergoing treatment in Nepal Mediciti Vayodha Hospital, Birgunj.Following the news of Malangwa, Hindus in Birgunj
Metropolitan City protested and tried shutting down the markets and shops, however, local authorities intervened and stopped such
activities.Later, Birgunj metropolis organised an amity rally to avoid any untoward incident
Mayor of Birgunj metropolis Rajesh Man Singh reached the DAO and submitted a memorandum to the acting CDO Shiva Prasad Lamsal
"Birgunj people are living in harmony and I have a strong belief that nothing wrong will take place here," said Mayor Singh
"External incidents are not going to disturb the peace in my place, we won't let it happen."On the other hand, it hasn't been even a week
since these disheartening incidents took place, and an indefinite curfew has been imposed in Nepalgunj
The District Administration Office, Banke issued a curfew order in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City and nearby areas
The curfew is effective from 1:00pm today.Prohibitory order was issued to avoid possible risk to safety of the general people and to stop
the occurrence of vandalism and stone pelting, according to CDO Bipin Acharya.The prohibitory order was to be effective within areas from
Rapti River Bridge in the east, the road leading to Indrapur of Khajura in the west, Ranjha chowk in the north and Jamunaha check point in
the South of Banke district.No one is allowed to organise any gathering or rally and people's movement has been restricted in these areas,
The local administration has informed that action will be taken as per the law if the order is violated.Issuing a notice yesterday, DAO,
Banke, had urged not to conduct any activities that hurt religious sentiments and not to blame each other on social sites
However, different organisations, including the Omkar Family and Hindu Society had organised goodwill rally in Nepalgunj, this morning.A
version of this article appears in the print on October 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
