Nepal government gears up to break Terai strike

Nepal's government Tuesday started marshalling its forces to break the indefinite strike called in the Terai plains in the south by ethnic Indian protesters, beefing up security on highways to give confidence to transporters.

After a weeklong transport strike and blockade of trading points on the Indo-Nepal border, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, a socio-political group demanding an autonomous Madhes region for plains people in the Terai belt, began enforcing an indefinite general strike in the plains from Tuesday.

'We are fighting for our rights and our fight will continue till we get them,' Upendra Yadav, chief of the forum, told IANS. 'If the government really wants to correct social imbalances, it should punish the Maoists who broke the peace pact they signed and killed our supporters.'

At least 31 people have died in the protests so far while property and infrastructure worth millions have been destroyed.