Kathmandu - Hundreds of civil servants in Nepal's restive south resigned en masse demanding better security, official media reported Thursday. The Rising Nepal newspaper reported 415 civil servants based in Siraha district, about 130 kilometres south-east of Kathmandu, sent their collective resignation letter to the prime minister.
It followed a 10-day long protest to draw the government's attention to growing violence directed against them.
However, the civil servants say the government has remained indifferent to their demands.
"There is no alternative left for us but to take the step," chairman of government employees union Dhak Bahadur Adhikari said. "Despite our 10 days of protest that closed virtually all offices, the government has not listened to us."
There has been growing violence against government employees in south and south-eastern Nepal particularly by Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM), a breakaway faction of the Maoists.
In the latest such violence, a junior officer was abducted and killed by JTMM activists in the district.
The closure of government offices in the district has also affected businesses, schools and custom offices.
JTMM says it is fighting for separate state in southern Nepalese plains known as Terai and has warned government employees to leave the area.
It has so far rejected government efforts to start peace talks to end the violence.
Terai region has seen some of the worst violence since the signing of a peace accord between the government and the Maoists rebels nearly a year ago.
Nearly 100 people have died in simmering violence in the region since the beginning of the year.
