Nepal has had an ominous history of forced strikes and blockades. It has become ‘fashionable’ almost to call forced closures since the establishment of the multi-party democracy since 1990’s. Every now and then the opposition parties disagree over a certain policy, Act or treaty, the political elites call for nationwide or regional strikes thereby blocking roads, closing down educational institutions, enterprises, and disrupting other economic activities.
The effect of strikes is most severe on those low-income groups of people who depend on their daily wages to earn a livelihood. Forceful shutdown of enterprises affects entrepreneurs and owners of all levels equally because they need to pay salary and other benefits to their workforce, in addition to having to pay rents on land and building, and interest on loans, all acquired from one financial institution or the other, whether or not there is any production at all. During Bandas, students are also deprived of their right to education in a peaceful environment. Schools and colleges fail to follow the academic calendar due to frequent protest programs. The problem becomes even worse when strikes target educational institutions by bringing issues such as banning private education, high fees in private organizations, rights of teachers, and the likes.
Read more of the post by Samriddhi’s Pramod Rijal at http://econitynepal.com/banda-and-its-impacts/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-2.