KATHMANDU: An 11-member team of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), scheduled to visit the USA later this month, is under fire because of the huge sum required for the trip.

The team includes high ranking officials of the metropolis and representatives from the all-party mechanism, according to the KMC sources.

Noor Nidhi Neupane, an employee at the metropolist, said the proposed visit was disputed.

“I have heard that the trip has been cancelled because of the dispute. I know nothing more than this,” Neupane added.

Padam Keshar Adhikari, an officer at the foreign department of the metropolise, said the file of the visit was approved a few months ago.

Adhikari, too, said he had no more information about the issue. Saligram Rijal, under-secretary and assistant

executive of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, said the programme had neither been cancelled nor

moved forward. “It has been stalled for some reasons,” he added.

Devendra Dongol, senior planner at the KMC, said the visit without any plan, preparation and research would be meaningless. “It might have been fruitful to the KMC, had it been conducted in a planned way,” he added.

Meanwhile, the central office of the CPN-UML today expressed serious concern over the plan of spending a huge fund from the KMC’s coffer.

“We are against such irrelevant, aimless and illegal visit which is not beneficial for the KMC,” the party said in the statement. It also said the UML’s reprsentative will not leave for the USA.