Wednesday, February 8 2006 11:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kathmandu: The controversial municipal polls, the first in seven years, opened across Nepal under tight security today (Feb 8,2006).

In Kathmandu's historic Durbar Square, voting booths were open but no one had come to vote shortly after polling began at 0745 IST.

The Government has given the green light to security agencies to shoot people disrupting the polls called by King Gyanendra, reports said.

Heavily armed police and army soldiers patrolled the streets in the capital Kathmandu as a rebel-called general strike entered its fourth day. The turnout for the municipal polls is expected to be thin with Maoists rebels and opposition parties urging a boycott of the polls and calling them a ploy to legitimise the King's seizure of absolute power just over a year ago.

Voting will be taking place in only 36 of Nepal's 58 municipalities, while in the other 22, candidates have been appointed unopposed. More than half the 4,146 seats remain unfilled.

Opposition political leaders made appeals to voters to boycott the polls, while government ministers urged people to vote.

Maoist leader Prachanda in a statement yesterday urged voters not to take part in the polls, saying "our party would like to make a final and special appeal to the general public .

To boycott the municipal polls and take the movement for democracy and peace to a new height.

Just hours before the start of the local polls, Maoists intensified their attacks. Reports said the rebels bombed government buildings in an eastern Nepal town of Dhankuta and set the local education office and bank on fire.

Separately, the rebels bombed a polling booth in Jaleswor, about 300 kms southeast of Kathmandu.

Yesterday the rebels launched a series of attacks. They struck at two places killing eight security personnel and losing four of their own cadres.

A Government circular yesterday asked civil servants to compulsorily cast their votes in the elections called by the King claiming that it is the first step towards resuming full-fledged democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom.

Home Minister Kamal Thapa told reporters yesterday that security forces have been instructed to shoot if there are any attempts to disrupt the polls or harm the voters.