HETAUDA: The Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan has faced hassles in carrying out daily affairs due to lack of manpower as 55 posts remain vacant.

According to the Sub-Metropolitan Mayor Hari Bahadur Mahat, the Metropolitan is facing operational hassles after the local level elections led to merger of five village development committees into the Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan.

“Although the numbers of wards have increased to 19 from previous 11, the posts still remain vacant,” Mahat said.

Moreover, the tenure of 29 social volunteers deployed to the wards under Local Governance and Community Development Programme by Ministry for Local Development has also expired. The volunteers were assisting the civil servants in daily tasks of the wards. The Metropolitan is currently mulling over to increase the duration of their tenure.

Lack of workforce in technical sections and general administration along with government's reluctance to permit hiring of employees in contractual basis has added up to the operational difficulties, Mayor Mahat said.