Harka Bahadur Gurung knew he was putting his life on the line by not resigning as mayor of Pokhara, despite Maoist threats. "If the Maoists wish to kill me, let them do it," he used to say. "I am not corrupt, I serve the people." On 2 July, he was shot dead by rebels just outside his home. On Monday, thousands turned up at the mayor's funeral in Pokhara (right).

Harka Bahadur knew there was danger ever since the Maoists killed Birganj mayor Gopal Giri in April and injured the mayor of Butwal in an assassination attempt. He had been getting threatening calls, and told us recently: "Every day is a bonus."

In May, Harka Bahadur was shaken when the rebels killed tourism entrepreneurs Dil Man Gurung and Ishwor Gurung in Ghandruk. After the Kaski DDC president Kamal Man Gurung resigned under Maoist pressure, Harka Bahadur told the press in Pokhara that he would follow suit. He later changed his mind and obeyed the RPP's directive to remain in office.

The mayor was also under attack from the anti-'regression' parties who forcefully locked him out of his building last month. Harka Bahadur simply took his office to a chautari outside Pokhara and continued to issue citizenship papers, passports and other documents.

Harka Bahadur was a doer, and in the past nine months won accolades from citizens here who were sick of the violence and political disruptions that affected tourism. When the municipality did not have money, Harka Bahadur dipped into his personal bank account. His close friend Lieutenant Thaman Singh Gurung says, "Harka had integrity and he wanted to serve Pokhara." His project to rid Pokhara of garbage was beginning to work and will not suffer a setback.

Harka Bahadur thought his popularity and honesty protected him from the rebels. But, as with the DDC chairman of Rasuwa, hotel owners from Ghandruk, teachers and social workers from all over Nepal in the past seven years-the Maoists seemed to regard that popularity itself as a threat.

In recent weeks, Harka Bahadur had finally agreed to keep a bodyguard. Last month, security forces killed the local Maoist commander Raj Bikram Bhurtel and his wife, and the Kaski district administration said the situation in Pokhara had improved. The mayor started taking fewer precautions. Harka Bahadur is survived by four wives, five sons and three daughters.