Butwal, October 30
Kamal Gautam, central vice chair of the CPN-UML–affiliated trade union GEFONT, passed away after collapsing during a protest in Bhairahawa on Thursday.
He fainted while addressing a demonstration held by industrialists and workers in front of the Nepal Electricity Authority’s office to protest the disconnection of power lines to industries over a trunkline dispute.
Gautam was immediately rushed to Crimson Hospital in Manigram, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, hospital spokesperson Chandrakanta Basyal confirmed. The 65-year-old leader died of a heart attack.
A permanent resident of Jyotinagar, Butwal Sub-metropolitan City–3, Gautam was also a central committee member of the CPN-UML and had been active in the party and GEFONT since 1997. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
The protest was jointly organised by industrialists’ associations and workers against the NEA’s decision to cut power supply to 10 industries along the Butwal–Bhairahawa corridor. Gautam was speaking on behalf of the workers when he collapsed.
