Exactly one year ago this week, the Maoists detonated a roadside bomb in this isolated valley in Chitwan that killed 38 people.

It was by far the worst terrorist attack perpetrated by the Maoists in the conflict and the scars of that tragedy are still so raw in this lush land that no Maoist has been allowed into this sliver of Nepali territory between Chitwan National Park and the Indian border.

Three of the dead were security personnel riding the bus but 72 civilians were wounded in the blast and many of them have been physically disabled for life. Villagers have said they won't allow any rebels into the territory until the Maoists meet their nine-point demand for an apology, punishment for perpetrators and compensation.

Above: Dhankumari Paudel is wheelchair bound and has finished all her savings in treatment, Krishna Adhikari used his crutch to shoo away Maoists last month and Sabitri Dhakal is still in bed in Bharatpur Hospital. (ALL PICS: EKAL SILWAL)

Five Maoists did go to Kalyanpur last month to try to sort things out but they were roughed up, detained for three hours and let go only after they promised that they would relay the demands to the party leadership.

"We won't allow the Maoists and their leaders even to step into our village unless they bring those responsible in front of us," says Krishna Adhikari who used his crutches to hit out at the Maoists who visited the village to stick up posters of Prachanda.

GROUND ZERO: Madi school children show a visitor the exact spot of the riverbed at Bandarmudhe where the bus was blown up last year (up)

"They claim that they are now powerful so in that case they must address our demand of treatment, compensation and education for the families affected," adds Sashidhar Lamichane.

The bus bomb shocked the nation and drew major condemnation from all over. Even Comrade Prachanda admitted in an interview recently that he was shocked
and had trouble sleeping for two days after the attack.

Local Maoists like Jagatraj Adhikari quit the movement after the blast saying they didn't want to be associated with a terrorist outfit.

Megh and Januka Tiwari who lost their mother in the blast.

The Shaligram Travels bus was crossing a dry river bed 70km south of Bharatpur at 8AM when a wire-guided explosive was detonated underneath it. The bomb was so powerful it literally lifted the bus metres into the air, killing many of the women and children inside. The men who had clambered to the top of the bus survived. Of the 12 soldiers who had hitched a ride, three were killed. (See: 'Mass murder in Madi', #251)

Locals say they want to talk face-to-face with Baburam and Prachanda and ask them for an explanation and apology. Narayan Prasad Subedi lost his father and tells us: "We want to know how killing 35 innocent bus passengers helped their cause."