Kathmandu, September 1

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is all set to demolish Bagh Durbar to construct a new office building.

According to KMC, Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya  after taking the oath of office on May 31 had decided to construct a new office building for KMC.

A study had also been conducted on whether Bagh Durbar could be used after retrofitting as engineers had found the building unsafe in the aftermath of the April 2015 earthquakes.

Joint Spokesperson at KMC Numaraj Dhakal said the latest study report, which was submitted two weeks ago, stated that Bagh Durbar was badly damaged and could not be retrofitted.  “We had been waiting for this report and finally KMC has decided to demolish the building,” Dhakal told The Himalayan Times, adding that Bagh Durbar’s demolition will begin in one-and-a-half months.

According to KMC, the new building will be constructed in three years. However, cost estimates and design of the new building have not yet been prepared.

After the demolition of Bagh Durbar, the KMC office will temporarily be moved to Kathmandu District Coordination Committee building in Babarmahal. Dhakal said if everything went as planned, the KMC office would be temporarily shifted to Babarmahal within two weeks.

Currently, KMC office, which has more than 200 staffers, is operating from Bagh Durbar. “We have demanded two flats and DCC Kathmandu is positive about it. So we are preparing to shift to Babarmahal as soon as possible,” he added.

Earlier, KMC and the Department of Archaeology had differences over whether or not to demolish the historic Bagh Durbar, which is located to the west of Tundikhel.

The palace was built by the first prime minister of Nepal, Amar Singh Thapa. The building was later occupied by royal family until it was handed over to the government.