Kathmandu, October 4

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has transferred general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Raj Kumar Chhetri today to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

A meeting held on Thursday at the ministry had taken a decision to transfer Chhetri from TIA to CAAN, informed Trilochan Poudyal, information officer of CAAN.

According to him, Chhetri will be working at the secretariat of Rajan Pokhrel, director general of CAAN. Although one more year was left before Chhetri’s tenure was to end, he has been transferred to CAAN at a time when the country is preparing for the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It has been said that Chhetri was removed from the GM’s post of TIA as he failed to fulfil his responsibility for the improvement of TIA. Moreover, it has also been reported that the ministry was unhappy that Chhetri was quite vocal and did not keep the issues in TIA under wraps.

However, CAAN claimed his transfer as a regular process. “As per the ministry’s decision, he will be working at the DG’s secretariat and it has not been finalised yet whether he will return to TIA or not,” Poudyal said, adding the transfer was a regular administrative process.

“There is no other reason behind his transfer.”

Chhetri was appointed as GM of TIA in July last year after CAAN removed Devanand Upadhyay from the post for failing to fulfil his responsibility. Prior to his appointment, Chhetri was working as deputy director at CAAN.

Chhetri was overseeing the second phase of TIA upgradation and work of upgrading TIA as a boutique airport. CAAN has handed over the responsibility of TIA to Senior Deputy Director of TIA Suresh Man Singh as the acting general manager. Singh has taken the responsibility of TIA from today, Poudyal said.