As the government-Madhesi Morcha face-off continues with neither side showing sincerity to forge a consensus, a fresh wave of violence has erupted in the country's southern plains.
Two protesters were killed and many injured in police firing in the eastern plains district of Saptari on Saturday night.
Police opened fire to disperse protesters blocking the East-West highway in Saptari. To implement the Morcha's decision to stop vehicular movement along the highway, they hurled stones and bricks at passenger buses being escorted by police.
Police said they first chased away demonstrators by using tear gas but had to open fire after hundreds of protesters carrying home-made weapons encircled them from all corners.
After 15 years old Biren Ram and 28 years old Nageshwor Yadav were killed, protesters turned more violent prompting local security officials to call an emergency meeting Saturday midnight and impose curfew along the highway in Saptari.
But protesters began defying curfew from early Sunday morning, clashing with police in various parts of Saptari. They also burnt down one police van and one police post.
After protesters set the police van (Na.1 Ja 1316) ablaze outside Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital in Rajbiraj, police stormed into the hospital compound and thrashed protesters as well as some health workers.
Health workers have condemned police's 'brutality' against innocent people in a press statement.
Protesters continued to clash with police in several parts of Saptari and other plains district throughout the day. Common people have locked themselves up in their own houses fearing being trapped between aggressive police and violent protesters.
In Barmajhiya of Saptari, protesters also broke the roadside railing of a bridge to block the highway.
In Nepal's southern plains, Madhesi people have been protesting against the country's new constitution over the last 100 days.
The Morcha, an alliance of four Madhes-based parties, has been spearheading the agitation to force the ruling parties, which voted the new constitution on 20 September by using their two-thirds majority, to redraw federal boundaries.
The Morcha has been pressing for other demands as well but it says redrawing federal boundaries is the bottom-line.
The Morcha wants just two provinces in the Tarai with Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa in the eastern plains province and Kailali and Kanchanpur in the western plains province. The ruling coalition has refused to insert these five districts into plains provinces.
Last week Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is now leading a negotiation panel formed by the government, floated what was seen by many as a middle-ground proposal. He had proposed an all-party panel to divide the disputed districts and place areas dominated by Madhesi people in plains provinces.
But the Morcha rejected Dahal's proposal, saying it will not accept any proposal on future arrangements. The next day, the Morcha announced fresh protest programs, including disruption of vehicular movement along the highway.
In September's end, the Morcha had changed its tactics and begun to block Nepal-India border posts avoiding clashes with police. No one, except an Indian protester in Birganj, was killed since then. But the Morcha's new strategy is likely to lead to more violent clashes and deaths in the Tarai.
In Kathmandu, Prime Minister KP Oli has called an all-party meeting to come up with a common proposal with regard to the Morcha's demands. But the opposition NC is unlikely to help the ruling collation.