BIRATNAGAR: The talks between the government and protesting groups over the proposed cable car project in the Pathibhara area concluded today without a resolution.
The discussions collapsed when the protest groups demanded to meet with senior political leaders, rather than continuing with the government’s designated negotiation team.
The government had established a negotiation team, headed by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Prem Prasad Bhattarai, to facilitate talks with the ‘No Cable Car’ group.
Amar Tumyahang, coordinator of the facilitation committee, explained that the talks ended without an agreement as the protesters’ demand for direct discussions with political leadership was not met, and earlier agreements remained unfulfilled.
The discussions began at 11 am after previous talks on Sunday had failed to yield a solution. Following the formation of the negotiation team, the government had suspended the protest activities of the ‘No Cable Car’ group.
In earlier negotiations, an agreement was reached for the unconditional release of those arrested during protests. However, the protesters argued that they were instead released on bail, which they claimed violated the terms of the agreement.
A week ago, the government formed the negotiation team, led by Joint Secretary Prem Bhattarai, to engage with those opposing the cable car project. In response, the protesting groups formed their own team, headed by Amar Tumyahang.
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