Nepal: Why are Nepalis burning effigies of Prime Minister Balen Shah?

New Delhi: The chaos in Nepal bordering India has now become a whirlwind. Rautahat is an area of ​​Nepal adjacent to Sitamarhi in Bihar. Maulapur municipality comes in Rautahat district. The residents here protested fiercely on Thursday. They also burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Balendra Shah. Residents accused the central government of bringing the local administration to a standstill by not appointing a chief administrative officer of the municipality.

What is Balen Shah's role in this?

According to the protesters, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration had transferred Chief Administrative Officer Suresh Babu Ghimire to the municipality, but he never took charge. Later the ministry recalled him, but no one else was appointed in his place. Due to this, the municipality has been left without any top administrative officer.

What problem are people facing with this?

Local people say that due to the absence of a Chief Administrative Officer, there has been delay in development works, utilization of budget, salaries of municipal employees and teachers, payment of social security and other essential public services. Municipal school teachers have reportedly not received salaries for almost six months. Teachers had earlier staged a 'pen-down' protest.

What did the Mayor say?

For this reason, beneficiaries of the Multi-Sector Nutrition Program (which includes pregnant women and new mothers) have also reportedly not received payments. Waste management has also been affected due to sanitation workers stopping work due to non-payment of outstanding salaries. Mayor Reena Kumari Sah accused the Central Government of deliberately creating an administrative crisis by not appointing the Chief Administrative Officer at the crucial stage of budget implementation. He alleged that this delay was done with the aim of obstructing the functioning of the municipality and preventing the implementation of the budget.