Every evening, Maoist rebels descend into Satra Saya Bazar (Lamjung district) to buy their grocery. The administration, police and local people all know about this. The Maoists come, do their shopping, and then vanish into their hideouts in the thick jungle by the Kirunge river. The villagers are afraid to venture into this jungle.
Two years ago, the rebels were chased away by the local people when they were trying to loot a bank, which has since been shifted to Besishahar after the incident. According to a local teacher, the shifting of the bank has created problems for the people.
The only news these locals get is through the radio, and alarm sets in when clashes between the police and the rebels are reported. Recently, such a clash took place here, terrifying the villagers. They could not see anything in the darkness, but could hear the sound of gunfire loud and clear. The locals believe that the Maoists will not harm ordinary people but are still afraid when they hear the sound of firearms. Meanwhile, there are others taking advantage of the situation and looting people in the name of the Maoists.
Another Maoist hideout is the jungle area between Puranakot and Gaunsahar. In the afternoons, it is reported that the rebels come to the banks of the local river to wash themselves, with a lot of them carrying arms and ammunition. The villagers have since stopped taking their cattle there for grazing.
Since the rebels frisk people in these areas, teachers who had to collect their salaries before Dasain were forced to take a circuitous route to the district headquarters. Recently, the rebels visited a local school and asked the students and teachers not to sing the national anthem, and threatened to tear up their Sanskrit books.