By Sudeshna Sarkar
IANS
Kathmandu : Residents of Kathmandu valley had the eerie feeling of living in the past Sunday after aggrieved teachers called a general strike, reviving memories of the turbulent days of the Maoist insurgency and the short-lived direct rule of King Gyanendra when shutdowns and violence had become a way of life.
The transport sector was the hardest hit and hundreds of people, caught unaware, struggled with a scorching sun and luggage to walk it to their destinations as teachers' unions backed by the Maoists enforced a closure in the valley to protest against "state atrocities".
Shops on main roads in the capital began downing shutters hurriedly as school teachers on the warpath, united under the banner of Nepal Educational Republican Forum, an umbrella of teachers' groups, began manning the main intersections in the capital, ordering plying vehicles to go back.
The lightning general strike, affecting Kathmandu and its neighbouring districts of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, was called by the teachers who have already shut down the kingdom's schools for the past 11 days.
Sunday's closure was called to register their anger at the police Friday baton-charging and breaking up their mass meet in front of the complex housing the prime minister's office, parliament and key ministries.
Gunaraj Lohani, leader of the protesting teachers, says nearly five dozen teachers taking part in the meet were injured in the police action.
The protesters are also demanding an apology from Education and Sports Minister Pradip Nepal, who told a private television channel that teachers who forced schools to close were virtually "terrorists".
The new unrest in Nepal's education sector began earlier this month when the teachers raised afresh demands for better pay and other perks and said earlier pacts with the education department had not been implemented.
Over 35,000 schools, where nearly 7.8 million students are enrolled, have remained closed for 11 days with the government failing to address the issue.
A cabinet meeting and a meeting of the eight leading parties ignored the growing crisis.
Now there is fear that the ongoing school strike will affect the school-leaving examination, the toughest examination in Nepal, called the "iron gate" because of the high percentage of failures.