• NARAYANHITI RESTAURANT ISSUE
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 6
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has formed a probe committee to carry out an investigation regarding the decision process taken in order to give permission to Batas Group for running a business, including a restaurant, inside the Narayanhiti Palace Museum.
Joint-Secretary at the MoCTCA, Hom Prasad Luintel, is the coordinator of the committee in which Under-Secretary at the Employees Administration Section, Tek Narayan Poudel, Comptroller General at Financial Management Division, Suryamani Gautam, Under-Secretary Purushottam Khatiwada are the members.
Similarly, Section Officer Tanka Bahadur Negi is the member-secretary of the committee.
Minister Prem Bahadur Ale shared that the probe committee has been tasked with submitting the report within three days after carrying out an investigation regarding the restaurant planned to be constructed at the Narayanhiti Palace Museum premises.
Minister Ale had, on January 4, directed the Narayanhiti Palace Museum and Republic Memorial Management and Operation Development Board to stop the ongoing construction work of the restaurant at the Narayanhiti Palace Museum premises.
Writing a letter after the Minister Ale's direction, Narayanhiti Palace Committee has already directed the B Management Pvt Ltd to stop the construction activities until next order.
The committee had inked an agreement with the Batas Company to run a restaurant on 10 ropanis of land of the museum.
There was widespread criticism after the report that a restaurant was being built inside the Narayanhiti Durbar Museum, an archaeological site.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
