Five hundred and fifteen people at Kanda VDC in Bajhang have renounced their citizenships after the technical committee of Local Level Restructuring Committee (LLRC) decided against giving the VDC a separate village council status as per their demand. The villagers submitted their citizenship certificates to the Local Development Officer Pramod Simkhada, also the coordinator of the LLRC technical committee, in a show of protest at the district headquarters, Bajhang, on Wednesday. They also picketed the offices of the District Administration and the District Development Committee. Ujjwal Bohara, the assistant coordinator of Kanda Village Council Struggle Committee, said they have given up their citizenships after the restructuring committee did not heed to their wish. LDO Simkhada said the technical committee was not in a position to modify the local units without securing political consensus. “We are positive about the demand of the Kanda villagers," he said. "We are trying to settle the issue through dialogues with the political parties.” The technical committee has proposed including Kanda VDC in Talkot village council. “If Kanda is made a part of Talkot village council then we will have to walk almost five days to reach the centre. We want a separate village council status,” said Dolma Tamang, one of the protesters. Four Syangja villages stage demonstration People from Kyakmi, Chinnebas, Sekham and Sankhar villages in Syangja staged a demonstration outside the office of District Development Committee on Wednesday, claiming that the local political parties and the technical committee of the LLRC made the decision on local restructuring without consulting them. The technical committee of the LLRC has proposed five municipalities and six village councils for Syangja. The agitating villagers said though they had been demanding a separate village council all along, their voice was not heard. They have warned of intensifying their protest if the restructuring proposal is not revised.