Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Nov 3 (PTI) Nepal today placed its army and police forces on high alert as the opposition Maoist announced major anti-government protests to paralyse Kathmandu valley and shut down the country's lone international airport here.

Home Ministry officials said that the army and the police have been put on high alert ahead of the Maoists' plan to halt traffic movement in Kathmandu valley and shut down Tribhuvan International Airport on November 10.

However, the government is not yet considering to impose emergency, a senior minister has said.

"We have increased number of security personnel deployed in Kathmandu and other major parts of the country to prevent any untoward incident during the protests," Nepal Police spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma told PTI, making it clear that the government doesn't want to take any chance with the main opposition party.