Business community organises street protest demanding security
Concerned by the recent spate of physical attacks on them the business community on Sunday closed down all the factories and other businesses operating in the Kathmandu Valley.
They said that attacks including killing, extortion and abduction of industrialists and businessmen have increased in recent times, and demanded that the government ensure adequate security so that they would be able to operate businesses without any fear.
The closure of the industries and other businesses in the Valley comes a day after unidentified assailants stabbed an Indian businesswoman to death and left her husband seriously injured at Gucchatole of New Road area.
Organising a protest rally in the capital city, country’s leading industrialists and entrepreneurs accused the government of not being sensitive towards providing security to the private sector entrepreneurs.
Addressing the rally in New Road, the commercial center of Kathmandu, FNCCI president Chandi Raj Dhakal said the business community would be compelled to wage phase-wise protest if the government didn’t do something to stop the growing attacks against them. He also demanded that those involved in carrying out attacks against businessmen be immediately apprehended and stringent action be taken against them.
Similarly, industrialist Binod Chaudhary warned that they would have to close down all factories and businesses and take to the streets if attacks against them continued unabated.
The rally went through main thoroughfares of the city, finally converging into an assembly where the protesting business people warned of further protests if the government failed to provide security to them.
Three days ago also, unidentified persons shot at businessman Shashi kanta Agrwal in Baneshwor, injuring him in the process. Agrawal is a former treasurer of the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Following the attack, leaders of the business community had warned of street agitation unless the government assured of security in the industrial sector within 48 hours.
From the past some time industrialists and businessmen in the capital including other major towns and cities across the country have been a victim of series of attacks including abduction and extortions by criminal gangs.
Over the past few months, the police have busted few such criminal gangs involved in kidnapping businessmen, and most of whom are found to operate from India and use Indian mobile SIM cards to issue threats and demand ransom. nepalnews.com ag Mar 02 08
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