Maoists shut down Manipal hospital in Nepal

Supporters of Nepal Maoists, who have often been accused of resorting to violence and intimidation, have now targetted a medical college set up as a joint venture between India's Manipal Group and the Nepal government in the Himalayan nation.

Demanding salary hike and other benefits, a Maoist-affiliated trade union has called for the total shutdown of the Manipal College of Medical Sciences in Pokhara city.

Accusing the administration of breach of an earlier agreement, the Maoists union alleged that workers were being paid less than the govternment announced scale.

The strike took place a week after Nepal’s Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda expressed concern at the growing anarchy in the country and the culture of shutdowns to register protests.