Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 1:

The controversial commercialisation plan of the 172-year-old monument, Dharahara Tower, hit another snag after the Department of Mint (DoM) voiced serious concern over the shopping mall, being constructed along with the department’s boundary wall.

The Side Waters Traders Pvt Ltd. (SWT) recently began constructing a 126-feet long shopping mall, next to the tower of Dharahara. The mall will have 13 shutters along the boundary wall of DoM.

The DoM claimed nobody could construct anything along the bank’s boundary wall. Norvic Hospital at Thapathali had to pull down its own wall as it adjoined the bank.

DoM has already corresponded with the Ministry of Finance over the problem and it has been decided that a meeting of representatives of the DoM, Ministry of Local Development and Kathmandu Metropolitan City will be held on Monday to resolve the problem.

It is also expected that the Royal Nepal Army will also be part of the meeting as the responsibility to provide security to DoM falls on the army.

“The sudden construction of the shopping mall along our wall, and at the same height as that of our wall, has created security concern to our department, which is quite serious,” said Shambhu Thapa, DoM director, told this daily. He added that anybody could jump into the DoM’s compound from the roof of the shops now.

He said the construction of the park along the road from Tebahal to Sundhara has also created trasportation problem for the DoM.

“We have to bring heavy vehicles to trasport our coins from here. But as the constructors have made steps along the road, we cannot bring heavy vehicles into our compound. Carrying the packets of coins all along is not practical,” he added.

The private party, which leased the historical site for commercial purposes, has already stone-paved the road from Tebahal to Dharahara and locked it, denying access to the public.

DoM sources said that the constructors refused to stop work when they were requested to do so until such time as the meeting scheduled for Monday gets over.

Subhash Thapa, field incharge of SWT, claimed that everything was being constructed as per the rules and that as it was the KMC’s master plan SWT was only implementing it.

“We don’t have to stop construction. We have already got permission from the concerned agency, that is KMC. So, we will carry on,” he said.

Nobody was available in the KMC to comment on the recent protest from the DoM.

The SWT pays a sum of Rs 60,000 per month to KMC for using the spout and the tower, both constructed around 1832 AD by then Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, and for over 5 ropani of open space for commercial purposes.

KMC had made a similar contract with the SWT on June 11, 1998, to lease the area but the Supreme Court set it aside after lengthy legal action and counter-action on March 7, 2003, saying that the KMC had no authority to enter into the contract. But, the then KMC mayor, Keshav Sthapit, drew up a new contract with the same party seven months ago, allegedly without informing the KMC board members.