Protesters advocating identity-based nomenclature of the Koshi Province padlocked the offices of the Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City and all 20 wards on Thursday, demanding that the province be renamed.

The activists of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, Kirat Rai Yayokkha, the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities and some political parties that lobby for identity-based politics have been protesting against the new name of the province by forming a joint struggle committee.

The committee has announced plans to padlock offices of local units and remove new sign boards that bear the new name from March 28 to 31.

There is no sign of abatement of the protests against the naming. The activists advocating identity-based nomenclature have intensified agitation against the provincial assembly’s decision to name the far-eastern province of Nepal as Koshi.

Violent clashes ensued in Biratnagar, the provincial headquarters of Koshi, on Tuesday in which 25 people were injured, some seriously. Security personnel used water cannons and lobbed 36 teargas canisters to disperse the protesters.