The residents of Dhankuta launched a protest on Tuesday against the endorsement of Biratnagar as the permanent headquarters of Province 1 by a two-thirds majority of the provincial assembly on Monday.

The locals rallied across the town and brought vehicular movement to a halt at Zero Point on the Dharan-Dhankuta road of the Koshi Highway. The “Dhankuta Rajdhani Banau Abhiyan Samiti”, the struggle committee, announced shutdown and various protest programmes against the assembly’s decision.

Sundarbabu Shrestha, coordinator of the committee, said they organised a one-hour vehicular jam on Tuesday. “We have been compelled to demonstrate against the decision after the authorities undermined the identity and history of Dhankuta. We have been demanding for the last five years that Dhankuta be declared the capital of Province 1,” he said.

Bijaya Santoshi Rai, a member of the struggle committee, said they have marked May 6 as a “Black Day” for the residents of Dhankuta. “We have also demanded that administrative services for the hill districts be provided from Dhankuta,” Rai added.

The protesters said they have announced a partial banda on Wednesday as part of a continued agitation. Last year, the residents of Dhankuta protested for two months after the government declared Biratnagar as the temporary provincial headquarters.