KATHMANDU, APRIL 20
In a dramatic development of a pro-monarchist demonstration today, top leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) were apprehended on the premises of Singha Durbar (government executive secretariat). They were released later in the day.
All seven people detained and taken to District Police Complex in Bhadrakali have been released, according to the complex's SP, Apil Raj Bohara.
The Seven included RPP chair Rajendra Lingden, Gyanendra Shahi, Buddhiman Tamang, Amar Pariyar, Saroj Ghimire, Kiran Duwal, and Kailash Katuwal president of the RPP Youth Front.
RPP leaders claimed that the government's move to nab RPP leaders was merely a ruse to conceal massive corruption in the construction of Pokhara International Airport. Recently, a report released by a parliamentary committee on PIA has sparked widespread public concern about massive corruption of Rs 14 billion.
RPP leader and lawmaker Deepak Bahadur Singh stated today, "The arrest of leaders including Party Chairperson Lingden and Shahi was an attempt to derail the issue of corruption at PIA. There is mammoth corruption of Rs 14 billion in PIA."
On Saturday, the RPP had announced that they would protest in the prohibited area. Subseq6, the Home Ministry issued a statement warning people not to engage in such activities.
Following that, the RPP protested in Singha Durbar. Police attempted to stop them, but they were apprehended as the situation escalated.
An 11-member subcommittee formed by the House of Representatives' Public Accounts Committee to investigate alleged irregularities in the construction of the PIA stated in a 36-page report released Thursday (April 17) that a large sum of money was embezzled during the project.
RPP lawmaker Rajendra Lingden had led the parliamentary committee. Lingden earlier told The Himalayan Times that widespread irregularities and corruption were committed in the project and the concerned government agency must investigate the case. "We found that employees from bottom to top were involved in irregularity and corruption," he had said.
Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Pradeep Adhikari was the head of the PIA project.
According to the parliamentary committee's report, CAMC Engineering failed to complete the work of digging, refilling, and adding gravel to the runway and other key airport components, despite a contract requiring it to do so. It has also found that the construction firm was paid for project components that were never completed, such as a fuel supply facility and a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system.
Lingden has also shared the conclusions of his subcommittee report on his Facebook wall, saying that there were irregularities and corruption from the very beginning of the contract process.
During the construction of the project, there were widespread irregularities from both financial and technical perspectives. He wrote that a three-member task force was formed contrary to the Public Procurement Act and prevailing norms with the intention of increasing the project cost through a policy decision.
Lawmaker Lingden stated that repeated violations of the original agreement in granting tax exemptions led to financial irregularities worth Rs 2. 22 billion in the PIA project. He urged authorities to conduct a thorough legal and technical review and take action against those involved in corruption.
The PIA, built at a cost of Rs 22 billion with a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, was completed on December 29, 2022.
Despite being officially opened in January 2023, the airport has yet to operate regular international flights, with the exception of a few chartered services, particularly from China.
There are currently only domestic flights in operation. According to the subcommittee, the report identifies several issues that plagued the construction process and is expected to inform the government's future decisions about the airport. Only one of the two planned runways is operational, and the other has been closed due to safety concerns.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media after the leaders, including himself, who were arrested during a protest at Singha Durbar were released, Lingden stated that the movement will continue.
"We had a successful movement thanks to everyone who helped us today," he said. "But we will continue to promote new programmes and agitations."
