DHANGADHI: The Chief Minister, ministers and provincial assembly members of Province 7 have been forced to stay in hotels and guests houses in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City, as their official residences are not yet ready for accommodation.

Delay in reconstruction and maintenance of the official government residences have forced the ministers and lawmakers to opt for alternative options like staying in hotels or renting other accommodations. If this continues, they will be forced to stay in hotels for over a week.

Chief Minister of Province 7 Trilochan Bhatta has been staying at the training centre of Agriculture Development Bank near Pushpalal Chok in Dhangadhi for the last five days post his appointment to the post. Prior to his appointment as the Chief Minister, Bhatta had been residing in Chatakpur-based Nayaram Hotel in Dhangadi.

Minister of Internal Affairs and Law, Prakash Bahadur Shah, has been residing in Dinesh Hotel near Laxmi Narayan Temple in the city. He has been staying there for a month.

Likewise, Minister of Trade, Tourism, Forestry and Environment Maya Bhatta, Minister of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives Binita Chaudhary, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure Pathan Singh Bohara have been staying in Shubham Guest House near Hasanpur.

Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Jhapat Bohara, and Minister for Social Development Dirgha Sodari have been residing in their own houses in Dhangadhi.

The Chief of Police in the province, Madhav Nepal, shared that though the ministers and lawmakers have been forced to stay in hotels, they have been providing security to the ministers and that the accommodation problem is for a short duration.

Chief at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Laxmi Ram Poudel, said repair and reconstruction work of the official residences and ministries is expected to be completed within a week.