Communist leader Lama passes away

Bagmati, Nov 8 : A communist leader and former lawmaker Bir Bahadur Lama passed away this morning. Lama was receiving treatment for kidney disease for long, said the deceased’s daughter Shramik Lama.Elected as chairperson of the then Makawanpur district development committee in 2049 BS, Lama, central member of the then CPN-UML, won the 2056 BS general elections from Makawanpur constituency-3 as member of the House of Representatives.

In 2033, he escaped the Nakkhu prison along with communist leaders CP Mainali, Pradip Nepal, Gopal Shakya, Ghanendra Basnet and Dharma Ghimire by digging a tunnel. The incident is popularly known as ‘Nakkhu jail tunnel scandal’.He also took initiatives to construct the Madan Bhandari Highway linking Kathmandu with Tarai. Lama alongside the group led by Ashok Rai defected the then CPN-UML following disputes within the UML over state building with ethnic identity.