Bamboo campaigner Mayor Bhattarai breaks hunger strike

Kathmandu, Aug 3: Mayor of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality Tirtharaj Bhattarai ended his hunger strike on Sunday.

Mayor Bhattarai was on a hunger strike at the Maitighar area in Kathmandu since July 30 by putting forth his demand for promotion and consumption of bamboo goods and other locally available agricultural products. Bhattarai broke his hunger strike following an agreement on his demands in the presence of Minister for Health and Population Pradip Paudel and Minister for Forest and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri.

As agreed, the Urban Development Ministry would give a final touch to the bamboo building code to welcome the use of bamboo products in the construction works. Likewise, Khotang district would be declared the hub of bamboo, and the district would be promoted as a zone for bamboo study and promotion. The agreement includes buying bamboo products with top priority in the agencies under the Ministry of Forest and Environment in the first phase, and implementing the guidelines approved by the government for the purchase and use of domestic goods.

Earlier, Bhattarai had put forth 7-point demands before the federal government, including the erasure of legal hurdles that ban the use of bamboo in furniture and building. He demanded the policy-level decision of the federal government on the promotion of the use of multi-purpose bamboo so that even the local levels would be forced to use and promote it.

Together with this, he had also demanded to force the plastic companies pay a 10 percent tax to the local levels.