Due to the irresponsibility and negligence of officials and high-level employees, the movement of Lumbini Development Fund employees is getting prolonged.

The agitating employees lighted candles and searched on Sunday saying that the officials and high-ranking employees, who have been outside for months, have been neglected while the agitation has been going on for three weeks. As a symbolic protest, the officers and staff including the president of the staff union, Abdul Offa, went to the room of the staff and searched for the officials and high officials. 

When the officials of the fund did not return to Lumbini, the movement did not seem to end. Officials are sitting in Kathmandu without taking initiative to solve the problem. This has made the staff even more angry .

For three weeks, the employees have been holding a sit-in and protest program, but the officials are not interested, and the employees are becoming agitated.   Movement led to unrest in Lumbini

The employees who started the protest program from July 8 have locked the Lumbini Development Fund head office from the 13th and stopped the entire work . Leelamani Sharma, a local tourism entrepreneur, said that even when the peaceful place Lumbini became restless, the silence of the stakeholders raised a big question mark.

It is seen that the fund made for the development of Lumbini does not even want to listen to the problem, so where is the fund going now? This is a work that causes chaos,' he said, 'This incident seems to be necessary to debate whether or not to keep the fund.'   

Union President Abdul Offa said that the bond of patience is about to break as the responsible officials of Lumbini Development Fund are not interested in the demands of the agitating employees' union with four point demands .

'Officials don't even want to discuss with them . Even after three weeks, they don't talk about negotiations . Sometimes, if you contact the vice president, they say that we are discussing in Kathmandu,' he said.

Fund Vice President Lyaharkyal Lama, Member Secretary Sanuraja Shakya, Treasurer Dhundiraj Bhattarai and Planning Manager Smita Bhatt are all in Kathmandu . Treasurer Bhattarai is undergoing treatment, while member secretary Shakya has resigned on July 5, but it has not been accepted. 

The employees' union has demanded that they should get accumulated leave, fund allowance and dearness allowance, and by amending the 079 staff regulations, all the employees under the service contract should be filled through a limited competitive examination.

Similarly, they have demanded that all the employees should be made permanent by approving the posts soon and that the permanent employees should be promoted according to the Fund Staff Regulations 079 .

Union member Abdul Ahad Khan said that the employees who locked the fund head office because the demand was not heard, have now decided to lock the entry gate, ticket counter and museum in a day or two to the fund master plan.

'There are two counters in Mayadevi temple to collect entry fee . Now we will strengthen the movement by locking there," he said.

All the employees of the fund have stopped the work by sitting under the mango tree near the main gate of the head office all day . The employees say that they are forcing themselves to protest more strongly because they are playing games without taking the initiative to communicate even when the employees are protesting and the work is stopped. The employees are disappointed saying that the chairman of the fund, Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Pandey is not interested. 

Why are Lumbini Development Fund employees protesting?

Lumbini is the most visited destination in the country. About 200,000 foreigners, more Indians and 1600,000 Nepalis come here every year. Even though the Deputy Chairman of the Fund, Lyharkyal Lama, is repeating that discussions are being held in the Ministry of Tourism for the solution of the employee movement, no initiative seems to have been taken for three weeks.