Over the last one and a half weeks, half a dozen construction equipment, including excavators, deployed by contractors in Morang, Jhapa and Bara were torched, allegedly, by the cadres of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal.

Contractors said the torching happened following Chand’s party’s demand for donations and builders’ refusal to comply. Three excavators deployed by Bhimeshwor Drilling Tatha Nirman Sewa at Ramite area of Miklajung Rural Municipality were torched last week. Bhimeshwor, in partnership with Sharma and Company Private Limited, has been building a road there.

According to Ramesh Sharma, owner of Sharma and Company, Chand’s Party was demanding one percent of the contract value as donation. “After we refused to donate the amount, they planted the bombs in six excavators deployed at Ramite and the bombs planted in three excavators exploded, damaging the equipment,” said Sharma.

After the incident, a group of the contractors took the issue to the District Administration Office, Morang. However, the Chief District Officer at Morang, Madan Bhujel, told the Post that there was nothing they could do, as the incident took place when the construction equipment was left with no security. He also said that he had advised the contractors to coordinate with the security agencies and give timely information to the administration to tackle any threats they faced. 

However, this is not a lone incident of vandalism. In the last one and a half weeks, two equipment—an excavator and a loader—deployed by Sharma and Company were also torched in Jhapa. “These equipment were deployed to build a bridge over Ratuwa Khola at Damak,” Sharma said.