A meeting of the Provincial Assembly on Friday endorsed the proposal to name Province 7 as Sudurpashchim with a two-thirds majority.

Of the 53 provincial lawmakers, 38 voted in favour of the proposal. Twelve lawmakers from the Nepali Congress and two from the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal boycotted the assembly in protest.

The meeting also endorsed Godawari as the provincial capital. Godawari lies to the west of the Dhangadhi-Dadeldhura road Kailali, about 20km from Dhangadhi—the temporary capital. People of Dhangadhi have been agitated against the decision. The NC led a protest since Wednesday. (PR)