By Deepak Adhikari
KATHMANDU, Nepal
Police in Nepal arrested more than 60 protesters on Sunday during a demonstration against the draft of a much anticipated constitution.
Shops and schools were closed in the capital Kathmandu on the first day of a two-day nationwide shutdown organized by an opposition coalition of 33 parties. Traffic in Kathmandu was also halted, with very few vehicles plying on the normally busy roads.
“We have arrested 61 people for vandalizing vehicles and engaging in violent activities,” Nepalese police said in a statement on Sunday.
Protesters damaged a minibus and a bus early Sunday in Kathmandu, the statement added.
Police also reported that several vehicles were damaged by protesters in districts in the country’s southern plains.
Political disputes have delayed the constitution for a decade since the end of the civil war in 2006. A rush to push through the document in the wake of two devastating earthquakes has been met with protests from pressure groups and minorities, who claim their rights are being sidelined.
The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists said police arrested roughly 40 of its cadres and leaders.
“The draft of the constitution must be revoked because it is against people’s sentiment and against people’s mandate,” the party said in a statement.
Protest organizers were not immediately available for comment.
A group of young men and women with placards reading ‘Nepal is open’ and ‘Shutdown doesn’t help build the country,’ protested against the shutdown in Kathmandu.
The general strike has also drawn criticism from people who questioned its implications.
A report by Nepal’s central bank published last year stated that each general strike incurs a loss of 1.8 billion Nepali rupees ($25.6 million) for the country’s economy.
