Last Friday, Maoist-affiliated trade union forcefully closed down Lalitpur Industrial Area. And on Monday, Pokhara Industrial Area was also shut down. These closures have directly affected operations of more than 300 factories and other institutions located inside these industrial areas so far, inflicting losses worth millions of rupees a day on the companies.
"Many industrialists are now complaining that their raw materials are rotting," said Jagat Bahadur Rayamajhi, chief of Balaju Industries´ Association, an umbrella organization of industries operating inside Balaju Industrial Area. "The ban imposed by the Maoists on movement of finished goods from factories inside industrial district to the market is likely to inflict more losses."
Despite all this "the government has not taken any action to reopen the industrial areas," Rayamajhi said, venting ire at the state´s lackadaisical attitude. "And we don´t know how long the industrialists will have to suffer for the mistakes that they never committed."
The Maoists started shutting down industrial areas after police arrested Khadga Bahadur Tamang of Bara and Bikash Rai of Solukhumbu on charges of assault on Giriraj Bhandari, the former chief of Industrial Area Management Limited (IAML). Bhandari was beaten up during a press conference organized at IAML headquarters in Balaju last Sunday by a gang of around 15, allegedly led by Rajaram Thakuri aka Rohit, chief of All Nepal Trade Union Federation-Revolutionary (ANTUF-R), Balaju Industrial Area chapter.
Police say Tamang and Rai -- who work inside Balaju Industrial Area -- were among those who roughed up Bhandari, but the Maoist union claims they are innocent and should be immediately released without any condition.
Rayamajhi said: "We don´t know what went wrong between Bhandari and the Maoists. And we have nothing to take from both of them. Yet we are being victimized."
To prevent the liabilities from mounting, Balaju Industries´ Association is now planning to approach Labor Office and request the latter to allow industrialists to close down the industries for an indefinite period until an amicable solution to the problem is found. "In this way, we (industrialists) will not have to shoulder the burden of salaries and perks during the period of closure," Rayamajhi said.
The association has also demanded that IAML take responsibility for the entire episode and provide necessary compensation for the losses that industries are incurring due to the closure. It has also insisted that the management of Balaju Industrial Area waive off rental and utility fees for the period during which industries remained closed.
"On top of that, the management of Balaju Industrial Area Limited should also assume responsibility for any damages that might be caused to physical properties during the period when protests are going on," Rayamajhi said.
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