Kathmandu, July 9

District Administration Office, Kathmandu, has proposed to keep Thamel and Durbar Marg open 24 hours.

A committee formed as per the action plan of the Home Ministry prepared the report to study the possibility for keeping the two major areas of Kathmandu open 24 hours.

The committee was headed by Basudev Ghimire, deputy-chief district officer of Kathmandu. Officials from Metropolitan Police Range, Teku; Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, Singha Durbar; Metropolitan Police Circle, Durbar Marg; Metropolitan Police Circle, Lainchaur; and Kathmandu Metropolitan City were members of the committee.

Chairman of the committee Ghimire said although they had proposed to keep these places open in the past as well, the idea could not be implemented due locals’ protest and security concerns.

Ghimere claimed that keeping Thamel and Durbar Marg open would help attract more tourists and generate more revenue.

Officials at KMC, however, expressed reservation about the proposal. KMC spokesperson Gyanendra Karki said that it would be counterproductive to take such decisions in haste without keeping in place a robust security mechanism. He also said if such adecision was taken, locals would stage protest.

Similarly, chief of City Police of KMC also suggested that the government install CCTV cameras at the required places and manage 24 hours public transport service before taking a decision on allowing Thamel and Durbar Marg to remain open throughout the night.