Police have detained 28 civil society members on the charge of breaching the area prohibited for protest.

Activists have denounced the declaration of the Maitighar to Baneshwar road section as a prohibited area, saying the order has curtailed people’s right to protest.

Police arrested civil society leaders as they marched towards Maitighar from Bhadrakali, protesting the decision. Sanjeev Uprety, a writer and civil society activist, said they have been kept at the Nepal Police Club.

On November 20, the District Administrative Office, Kathmandu declared the Maitighar to Baneshwar road section as an area prohibited for protests for a month. The order prohibits gatherings in groups of more than five people, staging protests, demonstrations, processions, hunger strikes, or meetings in the area.

The order was issued ahead of protests planned by UML youth wing and controversial businessman Durga Prasai.