Fear grips Nepal after string of blasts followed by strike

After a string of blasts ripped through Kathmandu during the weekend, vehicles stayed off the streets in the Nepalese capital on Monday.

Another reason behind deserted roads on a weekday was the strike called by a former Maoist splinter group following Sunday's blasts.

Along with a slump in the number of vehicles on the road, the number of people going out for work also remained low, as a few schools and offices remained shut.

However, fear reigned amongst the public for the few that did venture out on Monday.

"I am very fearful, as a student I need to come to the campus; I have to walk all the way to the college, there is suspicion of bombs planted in all around, there is fear to walk on the road also," Ujjwal Neupane, a university student who came to college defying the strike told ANI.

The splinter group, Communist Party of Nepal, is suspected to be behind Sunday's blasts, which are the deadliest since the government imposed a ban on the group on March 12.

This is not the first time that a blast by the group has claimed lives. In March, a blast targeting Ncell (a private telecom company) office in Nakhhu, Lalitpur killed one civilian.

While the group is yet to claim responsibility for the attack, the police suspect the group to be behind incidents as pamphlets belonging to the group were discovered from the site of blasts. A handful of people from the party have been detained.

With the arrest and discovery of bombs at four different places on Sunday, criticism against the group has increased and the public has urged the government to sit down with the warring group to reach a consensus.

"Security in Nepal has become questionable during this particular time. So the government should talk with the concerned group, those who are not in favour of the particular situation. The warring side also has to negotiate with the government and they have to maintain peace," said a Kathmandu native, Ram Sapkota.

Meanwhile, Nepal Army's bomb disposal team disposed of a bomb inside New Buspark area on Monday afternoon in Kathmandu.

Apart from Kathmandu, bombs were found at highways and public places including Pokhara, Tanahun, Sindhuli Morang, Bardibas, Makwanpur. Apart from this, at least five vehicles were torched in various parts of the nation.