SARLAHI: Farmers staged a road blockade in Lalbandi on Thursday morning to protest the municipality’s decision to impose an export tax on vegetables.

The demonstration took place along the East-West Highway, with farmers placing their unsold produce directly on the road in Lalbandi-7 near the vegetable market.

The protest follows a decision by the Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Wholesale Traders Association, which announced on Wednesday that its members would stop purchasing vegetables from farmers unless the municipality revoked the newly imposed tax.

Acting on this decision, traders refused to buy vegetables brought to the wholesale market on Thursday morning.

With their produce left unsold and no buyers in sight, many farmers — some of whom had traveled from distant areas — were left stranded and frustrated.

The blockade disrupted traffic on one of Nepal’s busiest highways.