A nationwide strike paralysed poverty-stricken Nepal for a second day on Wednesday as shops and businesses closed and people stayed at home, fearful of reprisals by Maoist guerrillas who ordered the shutdown.
The usually busy, winding streets of the Himalayan kingdom's capital Kathmandu were eerily silent, the main sounds an occasional whistle from a cycle rickshaw driver, the shuffling of pedestrians and birdcalls.
"I can't take the risk and open," hardware shop owner Indra Bhakta Shrestha said. "They (the rebels) may come with a list of people who opened their shops and attack later."
Visitors to the heavily tourist-dependent mountain kingdom were ferried to and from the international airport in buses with police escorts.
Security was tight with streets guarded by soldiers and police toting assault rifles. No trouble has been reported in the capital since the strike began but residents feared more rebel attacks once it ended and security was relaxed.
Bureau Report
