Dipendra Jha
During my most recent visit to the Madhesh, I spent a few days in Birgunj, Simara, Lalbandi, Bardibas, Janakpur and Rajbiraj. There were a few things that came as surprise.
In peaceful Birgunj, it’s wedding season
I had been Birgunj before also, but during my last visit, it looked like a battle zone; there was not a single car on the road, and everywhere I went, I saw army, police, people and closed shutters. That is why this time around also, I had made up my mind that I would encounter a similar situation in Birgunj. When I got out of the ariport, I got a cab, which offered me a ride to Birgunj Ghantaghar. On my way to Birgunj, I could not see any ‘andolan’. None of the shutters were closed. Light vehicles were plying, and everything looked normal.
I asked a protester, they say the andolan is Birgunj-centric, but I see that everything is back to normal. The protester said, the protesters have not tired, the people are tired, this is wedding season.
So where is the andolan? I went to the border crossing. There I saw people from different political parties sitting down. One woman showed me her bandaged hand, “Some goons attacked me.”
I only saw 15-20 people picketing the border crossing on Miteri bridge. I saw that people were crossing from under the bridge. I saw tempos, e-rickshaws make their way till the crossing.
I asked them, there are only 15-20 people here, is that it? What was actually happening was that the 20 represented 20,000. A few days ago when people from across the border attacked the protesters, thousands of people showed up in support. When the protesters call for support, I saw that thousands of people show up. It would be suicidal for Kathmandu, and Baluwatar in particular, to think that there are just 20 people enforcing the blockade. Thousands of people identify themselves with the protesters. This was surprising to see.
I talked to the leader there. Forum’s Bijay Yadav is there, I talked to him at length. He said the people are confused because the Morcha leaders’ visit to Delhi sent a message that New Delhi wants the blockade lifted. The leaders went to Kathmandu, they did not come here. This is one of the reasons why the andolan has slowed down, he said.
The other important thing (Yadav said) was that the agitators allowed the schools to reopen in the morning. But they could not go to school because of the cold, so we decided at the district-level to allow schools to run even during the day.
Business people in Birgunj also have their qualms. All other crossings are open, there is no andolan there. Why only us? How long will we have to bear losses?
I left Birgunj, crossed Simara, I saw no signs of the andolan. Everything is as usual, vehicles are on the road.
The other thing to be noted is that gas cylinders and fuel jerry cans find their way through the smaller crossings. On night buses, you find more jerry cans less people.
The people say there is no shortage in Kathmandu, because everything is going there. They may have to pay a bit extra, but there is no shortage. The shortage is in the Tarai, we cannot afford anything.
Stopping by the Churiya
I was on a private vehicle, and there were no signs of any obstruction. What was going on is that if you have a poster on a vehicle saying that it the bride and her groom are on board, the protesters let you pass. I was on one of those vehicles.
I was hungry when we reached Lalbandi, and I wanted to have samosa. My travel companion, a local leader who was wearing a kurta, wanted to get off, but he said, “They will say oh you are the ones enforcing the bandh.” He was afraid. I told him I would go get the samosa, but the driver did not let me go.
That night we stayed in Bardibas. They asked me, we are in Churiya area, would you still spend the night here. Yes, I will. I stayed the night there.
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