Mobile worth millions looted under cover of protest

Mobile phone traders have demanded action against a mob that looted shops in the Gongabu area in northern Ring Road yesterday.

A cinema hall was damaged and mobile shops at Lotse Mall in New Bus Park of Gongbu were looted by a mob during the agitation yesterday evening. However, not a single political party has condemned such criminal activities, yet.

The mobile phone traders have but demanded compensation from the government for the losses incurred. Taking advantage of the protest by public transport workers, looters had made off with mobile sets worth millions in the robbery.

The Prime Minister himself looks after the Home Ministry but neither the Home Ministry nor the PM Office condemned the incident. The government had also announced public holiday yesterday in the memory of ‘Janayuddha Diwas’ – a memorial day of starting of Maoist insurgency in Nepal some two decades ago, though the conflict pushed the country a century backward economically.

The shop owner and vice president of the Federation of Nepal Mobile Business Association (FNMBA) Arjun Chalise said that mobile phones worth around Rs 80 million to 90 million were looted from his two shops located in the Lotse Mall. 

The association – holding a press conference at Lhotse Mall in Naya Bus Park today – demanded full compensation from the state for the loss and damage to the owners of mobile shops that were robbed and vandalised in the course of the protest of transport workers' demonstration in Gongabu. President of the association Bharat Bhattarai asked the government to compensate the traders. “The government should take action against those involved in Monday's incident,” he said, adding that the shops were looted in a broad daylight robbery. “We will launch protest programmes, if the government fails to compensate us for the losses incurred within 48 hours.”

The transport operators yesterday staged a demonstration against the traffic police’s ‘stringent’ rules, and Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s announcement to not let long and medium route public vehicles park in open spaces other than inside the New Bus Park at Gongabu.

The demonstration took a violent turn when the agitating protesters set fire to two traffic vans, venting their ire against the police, who they say overcharged fines. 

They also vandalised the supermarket’s building. The ‘protestors’ looted and vandalised the mobile phone shops during the demonstration of the transport workers.

Videos of protestors looting mobile phones from a mobile shop operating at Lhotse Mall in Gongbu have also been released on social media. 

On Tuesday, home secretary Binod Prakash Singh telephoned Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dhiraj Pratap Singh and instructed him to identify those involved in the incident and take immediate action.

The spokesperson of the Home Ministry Jitendra Basnet said that the incident has drawn attention of the ministry.

Bhattarai also accused the government for not showing any concern and remained silent on the state incident for 15 hours. “Monday's incident will confirm how weak the country's security system is and that the state should pay the entire compensation for the incident,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry late afternoon instructed the police to investigate the robbery of mobile shops during the protest of transport workers.

Meanwhile, 10 individuals have been arrested in connection with the vandalism and robbery of the mobile shops.

Agitating sugarcane farmers stage protest in Kathmandu

Sugarcane farmers from across the country today staged protest at Maitigar in Kathmandu against the delayed payment of outstanding dues from sugar mills.
Organising a protest, they said that they were compelled to start the protests as sugar mills were reluctant to issue almost Rs 1.5 billion pending dues to farmers. Farmers had been staging protests in their respective districts against the delayed payment for their produce has shifted their protest movement to the Capital as the government was reluctant to address their concerns. As their concerns remain unaddressed, farmers not only staged a protest in Maitighar today but also organised a sit-in programme in front of Singha Durbar to pressurise the government.
“The crushing of new sugarcane is soon to start,” president of Nepal Sugarcane Producers Federation Kapil Muni Mainali said, adding that sugar mills have, however, not cleared the payment for last year’s cane to farmers. “We were forced to launch protests in Kathmandu as the government is doing nothing to ensure that farmers get their payments on time.”
Among the various sugar mills, Annapurna Sugar Mill has yet to issue payment worth Rs 50 million, whereas Sri Ram Sugar Mill has not paid almost Rs 420 million since the last three years, they claimed, adding that the Sarlahi-based Maha Laxmi Sugar Mill too has been delaying payments worth Rs 210 million. “Likewise, three Nawalparasi-based sugar factories – Indira Sugar Mill, Bagmati Sugar Mill and Lumbini Sugar Mill – are yet to clear Rs 210 million to cane farmers.”
Mainali also said that Annapurna Sugar Mill, Shree Ram Sugar Mill, Mahalaxmi Sugar Mill and three other sugar mills in Nawalparasi have shut down their operations saying that they will not be able to operate the factories, if they make payment to the farmers.
The sugar mill owners have not paid them since 2013, though they have entered into an agreement, he said, adding that the farmers took to the street demanding the immediate payment to them despite cold and chilly weather. “Factory owners had promised farmers that they will clear their dues in installments but farmers said they cannot trust the mill owners.”
The government has fixed the purchase price of sugarcane at Rs 563.56 per quintal but the sugar mill owners have paid Rs 500 to the farmers, they claim, adding that the mill owners have not been releasing payments to farmers though they have been selling sugar and the demand for Nepali sugar is also increasing in the market.
However, president of Sugar Producers Association Sashi Kant Agrawal said that the domestic sugar mills have not been able to sell their product following huge imports from India and Pakistan two years ago. “The sugar import from India has not stopped yet,” he said, adding that cheaper sugar is entering the country – both legally and illegally – as the Indian government has provided a subsidy of Rs 18 per kg in the export. “Unless the import stops, the sugar producers will not be able to pay farmers due to price difference on imported sugar and domestic product.”
The factories have been running in losses – and are not able to make payment – thus the government needs to prepare a payment schedule for farmers and make payments accordingly to resolve the sugarcane farmer issue, added the president of the association – which claims that there are around 15,000 farmers engaged in commercial sugarcane farming in Sarlahi alone including 100,000 farmers in 15 districts – Agrawal.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has sent a letter to the Home Ministry today to take action against sugar producers, who have failed to pay farmers.