Kathmandu, June 29

The District Administration Office, Kathmandu has served all dance bars, cabin and dance restaurants, dohori sanjhs and massage parlours operating in the capital a 35-day ultimatum to register with it.

According to a notice issued by the DAO yesterday, they were told to come to the legal fold under the ‘Sexual Harassment on Working Women at Workplaces like Dance Restaurants and Dance Bars (Control) Directive, 2009’.

Chapter 2 of the directive says that no one will be permitted to run restaurants and massage parlours without registering with the DAO. The concerned restaurants or message parlours are also required to prepare an inventory with personal details of all women and men employed by it and provide a copy thereof to the DAO and the nearest police office.

“If any restaurant or massage parlour fails to register with the DAO along with personal details of workers/employees within 35 days from the date of publication of the notice, the competent authority will initiate legal against such restaurant or massage parlour,” read the notice.

A DAO official said dozens of restaurants or massage parlours were operating in Kathmandu without registration. The concerned restaurant or massage parlour should fill up a prescribed form to mention the details of the type of business, name and surname of working women and men, condition and period of business and remuneration paid to workers/employees among others.

This is the second time the Kathmandu DAO has issued a notice to this effect.

Although it published a notice on March 24, 2014, calling restaurants and massage parlours to register with the DAO, only a small number of the had come under the legal ambit.

This directive is aimed at curbing sexual harassment at workplace and bringing to book the perpetrators.