Construction entrepreneurs in Humla have brought air service to a complete halt on Sunday to prevent contractors from arriving in the district for tender bidding. They have launched the protest for five days on the pretext of adjusting airfare and took the decision to close air service, according to sources, to keep at bay contractors of Surkhet and Nepaljung from tender bidding invited by District Police Office and Ranasur Battalion of Nepal Army (NA) for food supply. A meeting of the agitating entrepreneurs held on Saturday decided not to let any aircraft land at Simkot Airport for five days starting from Sunday. “I have heard that they launched the protest aiming to bag the tender without competing,” said Chief District Officer of Humla Shiv Prasad Nepal. Security agencies have invited separate tenders of about Rs 80 million for food supply. While Sunday was the last day to submit applications of the tender at NA battalion, the tender invited by the police office is expiring on Monday. Their protest affected various airline companies as they could not operate service on Sunday. The airlines companies said they did not operate due to security reason. Sources claimed that the security agencies did not pay heed when the Civil Aviation Authority demanded security for airlines. Tsering Lama, a districtbased construction worker, said their protest was not to prevent contractors from tender bidding. “We just demand adjustment in airfare of cargo and passengers,” he added. In a stark contrast to their claim, Jhupala Rawat, who managed to reach the district to bid the tender, could not submit an application. He said some local goons stopped him from submitting his application at the NA battalion.
