KATHMANDU: A candlelight procession was held at Indrachowk in Kathmandu on Tuesday evening to celebrate the release of the arrested engineers protesting against the Balaju road expansion by the order of the Supreme Court.
The 'Upatyaka Road Expansion Victims Struggle Committee' and the massive civil movement have staged a candlelight procession as a token protest saying that justice has not been served even after the country became a federal republic.
Residents of the valley, activists and activists gathered in front of Indrachok Akash Bhairav to protest against the oppression of the mother tongue. He said that the activists were arrested for a week on the basis of speaking their mother tongue.
While the meeting was going on, Suman Sayami, Virochan Shrestha, Bhimdev Shrestha, Meen Shahi, Maheshwar Manandhar, Sanjay Tamang, Rukshit Shrestha and Dipen Shrestha, who were released from the court, arrived in Indrachowk. He was welcomed by the group present there wearing khada, mala and abir. After this, the candlelight procession passed through Basantapur, Kshetrapati and proceeded towards Kalimati.
At the rally, activists demanded the resignation of the Home Minister, saying that those protesting for the protection of their property were being held in illegal detention. They chanted slogans like 'Newa Ekta Zindawad', 'Nagarik Ekta Zindawad!' And 'Stop Land Encroachment'. All the released engineers participated in the procession in the afternoon.
Engineer Maheshwar Man Shrestha, who came to Indrachowk directly from the court, said that the government cowardly arrested him when he demanded ownership of his land. He said, ‘Engineers have been arrested while talking in Newari about the health condition of asthma patients in custody. This is an attack on the Nepali language and civilization. 'Shrestha declared that he would not stop speaking his mother tongue even after being arrested a thousand times.
Similarly, Sirjan Man Shrestha of Newa Students Union said that the new generation should be taught to speak their mother tongue. He said, "If we do not learn to speak our own language under any circumstances, this civilization will be in danger tomorrow." The history of the valley is in danger. 'He said that not only Nepali language but all languages, castes and communities should be identified.
Speaking on behalf of the massive civil movement at the Indrachowk assembly, Arundev Joshi said that the state did not recognize not only the Nepali language of Kathmandu but also the Doteli language spoken in Baitadi, Doti and Darchula. He said, "The power to suppress the mother tongue of the indigenous people of Kathmandu is encroaching on the language and culture of the border areas."
Speaking in the Tharu language, Engineer Sien Tharu protested against land encroachment and oppression of the mother tongue. He said that the government had allotted land to Tharu to build a Ram temple in Chitwan Madi.
Engineer Chandra Kumar Maharjan, who participated in the rally, condemned the government for encroaching not only on private land but also on historical heritage like Kamalpokhari.
Engineer Alok Siddhi Tuladhar said that he was no different from the anti-development activists and that the development concept taught by foreigners was not acceptable. He said that the heritage should be rebuilt on the basis of the history of Kathmandu.
The candlelight procession reached Kalimati and turned into a rally. State MP Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and other local politicians were present at the rally. Engineers were outraged at the ministers of the Newa community in the current government. The agitators lashed out at the ministers of the Oli government, saying that they had helped the regressive government even when their community was attacked.
Kalimati Road Expansion Victims in Kalimati joined the procession. He said that the government has been encroaching land illegally not only in Balaju but in the entire valley.
The Valley-wide Road Expansion Victims Struggle Committee has been saying that it will continue until all illegal land encroachments are rectified.
