Shital Niwas wall also to be razed

SANTOSH P POKHAREL

KATHMANDU: Shital Niwas, the Office of President, in Maharajgunj is going to lose its front wall as the road-widening drive in the Capital city continues.

Last week, the Kathmandu Valley Town Development Implementation Committee wrote to Shital Niwas informing that the front wall of the building had to be demolished as it was built by encroaching upon road. It has been found that the Shital Niwas wall has been built by encroaching upon four-five metres of public land. According to a source at KVTDIC, the Office of the President, however, has decided to demolish the wall itself once it constructs a new wall inside.

“The Office of the President has received information regarding wall demolition. It has no reservations though as it’s government property,” said Rajendra Dahal, press adviser to the President. The Lazimpat-Maharajgunj road section is a VIP area with embassies of different countries, including those of the US, Japan, Pakistan, and residence of former king Gyanedra along the road section. Most of the walls of those VIP buildings have been built by encroaching upon public land. “A public notice has been issued to this effect and we have also separately informed the foreign missions,” said Chief of KVTDIC Bhai Kaji Tiwari, adding Nirmal Niwas will also be informed soon. According to him, there won’t be any problem to execute the KVTDIC plan as far as government buildings are concerned. “Even some private house owners have asked us to provide information on how much land they have (mis)used,” said Tiwari. “But we will go ahead

KVTDIC , along with Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, has already demolisedh illegal structures in several parts of the valley.

Govt vows to evict squatters

KATHMANDU: The government has vowed to evict the squatters who are living on the river banks of the Capital city by encroaching upon public land. A meeting of the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilisation held at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday committed to enforcing the existing law to evict the squatters.