Nepalgunj, September 3:

People in Surkhet are rejoicing while locals in Nepalgunj are discontented following King Gyanendra’s decision to shift all government offices from Nepalgunj to Surkhet. King Gyanendra, during his visit to the Far and Mid-western regions of the country, had directed district authorities there to shift all government offices to the district. People in Nepalgunj, however, today condemned the king’s decision in a programme organised by the FNCCI, Nepalgunj branch. A local Dr Dhawal Shumsher Rana said the decision to shift all government offices from the border areas had already been initiated by the late king Mahendra. But geographically, Nepalgunj is an appropriate place for the government offices, he said. Kumar Sharma Acharya, central vice-president of the Nepal Bar Association, said shifting of the offices to Surkhet is not right. Satish Chandra Agrawal, president of the district FNCCI said businessmen will have to bear a huge loss if the offices are shifted to Surkhet.

The former central vice-president of the FNJ, Hemanta Karmacharya, also condemned the king’s decision. A team, under the coordination of Dr Dhawal Shumsher Rama, has been formed to to protest the king’s decision. The people of Surkhet have, however, welcomed the king’s decision. According to Basanta Thapa, DDC president, the locals have beniffited from the king’s decision to shift the government offices. He said the king had directed the shifting process two years ago during his visit of the area.

According to the Regional Administrative Office, Surkhet, the then home minister Purna Bahadur Khadka had directed the regional offices to shift all offices to Nepalgunj. According to a study, 37 regional offices are there in Nepalgunj. Meanwhile, the regional administrator, Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav, said he is working to implement the king’s order.