Kathmandu: Maoists attacked a Royal property and set ablaze Premier Surya Bahadur Thapa's farm house in Nepal as normal life came to a standstill in the capital on the first day of the rebel-sponsored general strike.

The rebels set ablaze the farm house at Birtababiya village of Morang district on September 17 and looted property worth Rs 10 lakh.

They also destroyed a house at the Royal Garden at Thansing village in Nuwakot, Radio Nepal said. However, no one was injured in these attacks.

Maoists also set ablaze a school building in Dhading district, neighbouring Kathmandu, on September 17 night.

Life was paralysed and tourism was affected on the otherwise peaceful first day of the strike called by the rebels to press for their demands for a Constitutional overhaul and abolition of monarchy.

Schools and colleges were shut down and vehicles remained off the roads.

However, some tourist buses and bicycles plied on the roads. Government servants, bank staff and private office employees walked to their offices.

Kathmandu wore a deserted look from early in the morning as security personnel including Army were heavily deployed at sensitive places and government offices.

The shut-down programme was observed in Kathmandu valley peacefully without any incident of violence.

The strike affected the tourism sector with many tourists remaining inside their hotel room. However, some managed to ride around on rickshaw, the only means of transport available.

PTI