Melamchi case hearing on Sunday

Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, July 22:

The hearing on the Melamchi Drinking Water Project (MDWP) has been scheduled for Sunday after the defending lawyers demanded that they be allowed to question all the three senior government engineers “according to the judicial practice”. The royal commission bench on July 10 had directed the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works to form a committee of senior government engineers to calculate the cost of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project (MDWP) by studying its geographical situation and related documents. The committee had onlast submitted the report to the Commission. The lawyers, who took the statement of one of the engineers, Shiva Raj Sharma, today, demanded that they would take the statement of the other two engineers, Kamal Raj Pandey and Keshav Bahadur Thapa, who were summoned

by the royal commission, but did not appear today. Meanwhile, supporters of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) organised a protest rally near Pulchowk demanding immediate release

of their party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and party leader Prakash Man Singh. The rally was organised as Deuba and Singh were being taken to the commission office. Police intervened the rally.