Kamlaris to protest near Singha Durbar again

KATHMANDU, June 3: Irked by the police intervention in their protest programs, a joint struggle committee for abolition of Kamlari tradition has decided to stage a demonstration in front of Singha Durbar on Tuesday.



Meanwhile, the government on Monday formed a committee to hold talks with representatives of Kamlaris.

The committee led by Upendra Prasad Adhikari, joint secretary at the Ministry of Children and Social Welfare (MoCSW), has been asked to submit a report on ways to resolve the issues raised by Kamlaris after holding talks with them. The committee has also been asked to review progress made by the government towards addressing the demands of Kamlaris. The committee was formed by a meeting of secretaries of various concerned ministries on Monday. [break]



However, the joint struggle committee refused to hold talks with the Adhikari-led committee. "We will sit in talks only when the government forms a ministerial-level talks team," said Chandra Kumar Tharu, coordinator of the committee.



Meanwhile, the Nepal Police also formed an internal committee to look into the thrashing of protesting Kamlaris on Sunday. The committee led by DIG Bishworaj Singh Shahi has SSP Bijaya Lal Kayastha and SP Dhiraj Pratap Singh as members. The committee was formed after Kamlaris accused the police of using excessive force over them. The committee has been asked to submit a report in three days.

Various human rights organizations have criticized the police for baton-charging the Kamlaris.

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