Nepalgunj, January 11:

Following a devastating blast at the office of the Nepalgunj municipality on last Sunday, staffers of the municipality have set up the ‘office’ on the ground on the office premises and begun serving the people from there, the municipality said.

Said Bhumi Bhandari, community mobiliser of the Village-Town Partnership Development Department: “We have been providing service to the people by setting up the office out in the open. However, the pace of work used to be faster before the blast because of computers.” Fighting cold in the open, employees have been discharging their duties.

Essential services provided by the municipality, including reference for citizenship certificate, are being provided from the makeshift office,” executive officer of the municipality, Indra Prasad Karki, said.

Stating that the municipality began operating from last Monday, Karki said that public services won’t be affected. Karki was on the office premises when the blast occurred. Though the pace of work has slowed a little, the staffers have been serving us, locals said.

The employees have been facing difficulties in discharging their duties as all important records and documents were destroyed in the blast. The municipality itself is unsure as to how long it can go on operating the office out in the open. “We should either construct a new building or rent a building for the office,” Karki said.