CPN-Maoist captures Himal Cement Factory

KATHMANDU, OCT 19 -

The CPN-Maoist on Thursday captured the defunct Himal Cement Factory located in Chovar, Kathmandu, by hoisting the party flag on the factory premises.

Around a dozen cadres of the CPN-Maoist-aligned All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions (ANFRTU) reached the factory and announced they would not let the government sell the factory’s property.

Addressing the crowd, ANFRTU Chairman Ramdip Acharya said the government should reopen the factory, which the government shut in 2002 citing environmental pollution.

“We have hoisted the party flag with a motive of preventing the government from selling equipment and production plant of the factory for peanuts,” Acharya told the Post. “We have not captured the property.”

The trade union said the factory should be relocated if the government has concluded that the factory caused pollution in the valley. The factory, built in 1974 under the support of the German government, was closed down after Chovar locals launched a campaign against the pollution caused by the factory.

Addressing the party cadres at Chovar, Acharya warned that the party would set up a camp of its youth wing, National Youth Volunteers, to safeguard the property. He also demanded that the government provide alternative jobs to over 500 factory workers who suffered from the factory closure.

ANFRTU central committee member Janma Dev Jaisi said their move was aimed at pressuring the government to safeguard state-owned companies.