Nepal Buddhists demand construction of shrine

Buddhist community halted traffic here to protest against a refusal to allow them to build a religious shrine at Kakre Bihar in western Nepal, which they say is an important holy place.
The protesters picketed Singha Durbar secretariat that houses Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday, throwing traffic out of gear for hours.
Authorities have rejected calls by the monks to allow them to install a five-metre Buddha statue and shrine in Kakre Bihar, saying it is a protected forest area.
Despite a government formal request, over 76 organisations and Buddhist community picketed all four gates of the country's administrative hub.

The agitators also staged a similar protest in Maitighar Mandala, Anamnagar, Bhadrakali, Padmodaya and Kalikasthan in Kathmandu.
"We will come up with the third phase of nationwide protests if the government continues to ignore our demand. We will wait and see for now," said Nagendra Kumal, chairman of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities.