In most of Nepal, Maoists call the shots: [World News]: Nepalgunj (Nepal), Feb 11 : King Gyanendra may have assumed supreme powers in Nepal but in vast areas of this Himalayan kingdom it is the Maoist guerrillas who reign supreme. As one moves away from the bigger towns, the presence of the Maoists becomes increasingly visible. As if on a parallel track, the state becomes less and less stark. The rebels - who have been waging an insurgency since 1996 - appear to be in full command in large parts of Bardia district in northwest Nepal where their own FM channel blares out their daily news bulletins every evening. While policemen, including from the armed wing, rarely venture out once it gets dark, soldiers move only in groups and only in vehicles. Everything comes to a standstill at 8 at night when uniformed gun wielding cops and soldiers become as reluctant to step out on the streets as any commoner. Nepalese security forces can be seen at every step as people cross into Nepal from India at Nepalgunj. Many of them stand behind barbed wire fenced camps in different parts of the town, which is northwest Nepal's busiest commercial hub. Every road junction in Nepalgunj has been converted into a police picket. Barrels of semi-automatic rifles peep out of systematically stacked sandbags. For the next 20 km, the authority of the royal regime is visible - in the form of security forces. But barely 15 km further down in Bansgarhi village in Bardia district, the scene is very different. Even local police outposts look abandoned. "No government functionary dares to come here. The Royal Nepalese Army watches from helicopters in the sky," remarked a shopkeeper. As if it were a divine coincidence, within minutes two army helicopters flew over the main market, moving towards the district headquarter at Guleria. "The last time we saw the army here was some three months ago when a huge contingent raided the local lodges and some houses in search of Maoists but made no arrest," the shopkeeper told IANS. The Maoists, who Western diplomats say are on a roll, have attacked many places in this region. "No wonder not a single cop was in sight when nearly 1,500 Maoists took out a rally at Bansgarhi barely three weeks ago," a tea stall owner quipped. "It is ordinary people who bow down before the all-powerful Maoists and also face humiliation and harassment at the hands of arrogant policemen," he added. As it happens, no one is willing to be quoted by name. A local government official admitted: "The manner in which Maoists have spread their tentacles shows that nearly half the nation is under their control." On Saturday, Maoist rebels are all set to mark another anniversary of their armed struggle that has caused consternation throughout the democratic world, in particular in neighbouring India. Unmindful of the king's new powers, the Maoists have called for indefinite road blockades from Saturday. Locals say the protest will be successful because there is no one to oppose them. A local Maoist leader told IANS: "Whatever we do is for the ultimate larger good of the Nepali people." http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=70773