Biratnagar, May 3

Extensive Biratchhetra will be the permanent headquarters of Province 1 if the decision of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is anything to go by. The meeting being held for the past three days in Biratnagar, however, has failed to reach a consensus on the name of the province.

“As per the decision, the extensive Biratchhetra will be the permanent headquarters. While all the administrative bodies will be kept within extended Biratnagar, the legislative will be located in Sunsari’s Itahari,” said NCP (NCP) Province-1 In-charge Bhim Acharya.

Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai, however, wasn’t much forthcoming about the issues of permanent headquarters and the name of the province as the party itself hasn’t made public anything about the decisions on the twin issues formally.

“By now it is almost sure that extended Biratnagar will serve as the permanent headquarters for the province,” he said, refusing, however, to categorically reveal anything about the name of the province and the headquarters. He said that decisions taken in the party meeting have to be endorsed by the parliamentary party.

Further, the chief minister said they would solicit the opposition party for consensus over developing new administrative centre in the extended Biratnagar region.

“As the issue of permanent headquarters takes precedence over the name of the province, we are to settle that issue first,” he said, hinting at the least possibility for consensus on the name of the province during the present session.

Meanwhile, as the party struggles to settle the issues of the name of the province and its permanent headquarters, the meeting of the parliamentary party slated for today was cancelled.

According to CM and NCP parliamentary party leader Rai, a meeting of the parliamentary party would be held at 11:00 am on Sunday. “Once the parliamentary party is informed and once it endorses the decision regarding the provincial headquarters, it will be registered as a proposal in the Provincial Assembly on Sunday,” he said.