KATHMANDU, July 30: A government delegation has held talks with Mayor Tirtha Raj Bhattarai of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality. Mayor Bhattarai has been staging a hunger strike at Maitighar Mandala with a seven-point demand.
A high-level team from the Ministry of Urban Development met Bhattarai at Maitighar to discuss his demands. The delegation included Ministry Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Mainali, Director General Machchha Kaji Maharjan, Deputy Director General Sunil Kumar Thakur, and President of the Municipal Association Bhim Prasad Dhungana.
On behalf of Mayor Bhattarai, a delegation led by Deputy Mayor Bishan Rai is preparing to hold further discussions with the Ministry of Forest and Environment. With the government showing interest in dialogue, there is now a possibility that the demands may be addressed.
Citing government indifference to his demands, Mayor Bhattarai began an indefinite hunger strike at Maitighar Mandala, Kathmandu. He had earlier staged a satyagraha to draw the government’s attention to his demand of declaring Khotang as the “Capital of Bamboo.”
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Bhattarai said he was compelled to begin the hunger strike after the government failed to respond. People from different walks of life, including organizations, civil society members, students, and the general public, have expressed solidarity with the movement.
On Sunday, Mayor Bhattarai held a sit-in protest at the southern gate of Singha Durbar, displaying bamboo items such as bedding, straw mats, traditional woolen blankets and other bamboo products.
Through a municipal assembly decision, Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality has consistently urged the government to formulate necessary policies and create an enabling environment for the nationalization, production, industrialization and consumption of bamboo.
To promote bamboo, the municipality organized a three-day "First National Bamboo Conference" from February 27 to March 1 last year at the district headquarters, Diktel. Since being elected in the 2022 local elections, Mayor Bhattarai has been actively involved in bamboo promotion.
In his office, he uses bamboo-made items such as a desk, chairs, sofa set, tea table, coat rack, hangers, pen holder, telephone box, mobile holder, and bookshelf. He has demanded that the government create an environment for industrialization and commercialization through bamboo promotion, enabling locals to engage in entrepreneurship, generate employment, and increase income.
Despite raising these demands based on the municipal assembly’s decisions and the conclusions of the national conference, Bhattarai said no action has been taken, prompting him to escalate the movement.
The municipality has emphasized that bamboo is easily available at the local level and is deeply connected to Nepali culture, tradition, and daily life, and therefore, the government must facilitate its proper utilization.
