Incident Reports

Youths protest irregularities

2019-12-18

Madhes, Saptari, Dakneshwori

Local youths in Saptari’s Dakneshwori Municipality staged a demonstration here today accusing the municipal authorities of failing to maintain financial transparency in its undertakings.

Earlier, the local youths had submitted an application to the municipality asking he local body make public its accounts and bills and receipts.

As their demands went unheeded for more than a week, angry youths resorted to padlocking the municipal office on Sunday.

Local youths burning a tyre to protest irregularities in Dakneshwori Municipality in Pato Bazaar, Saptari, on Wednesday. Photo: THT

“As the municipality chose to sit on our demands for so long even after the lock-out, we had to turn the screw,” said Arabind Kumar Mandal, a demonstrator, while another youth Pradip Yadav suspected rampant financial irregularities at the municipality.

“Why would they have to withhold information of public interest even after we had invoked our right to information?” he said, lamenting the hassles that the service seekers are putting up with amidst financial irregularities and negligence of the employees towards reporting to duty on time. The agitating youths have also sought an investigation into the irregularities through a high-level probe panel.

“The municipality hasn’t done even 700,000 rupees worth of work and showed 2 million rupees as expenditure.

We approached the office seeking information related to public interest by citing the constitutional right, waited for 10 days and then padlocked it four days ago and still no result, which is why we had to agitate,” said local Krishnanand Yadav. Further, they have warned of stern agitation if the municipality continues to refuse to address their demands.

Meanwhile, regular services at the municipality has been affected with the office remaining closed for the past four days.


Details and Impacts
Violent / Non-violent Nonviolent
Primary Form Demonstration
Primary Cause Issues related to corruption (other than tenders)
Actor 1 - Number of people 24
Actor 1 - Affiliations Protesters/demonstrators
Actor 1 - Youth youth
Actor 2 - Number of people n/a
Actor 2 - Affiliation (Target) Local authorities (incl VDC, district, gov. line agencies at local level except education and health)
Actor 2 - Youth na
National/Online Media

0 Comments