Kathmandu, January 26

The government has decided to incorporate Tingla into Solududhkunda Municipality as demanded by the locals.

A meeting of Council of Ministers held yesterday took a decision to this effect. With the merger of Tingla with Solududhkunda Municipality, the locals’ demands had been addressed, said Minister for Supplies Min Bahadur Bishwokarma.

“I had purposed to the prime minister to include Tingla into Solududhkunda Municipality at yesterday’s meeting,” said Minister Bishwokarma, adding that the PM approved his proposal instantly.

He said that even though it was not the government’s business to divide or merge local levels, he did so to honour people’s demand. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Bijay Kumar Gachhadar and Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi also endorsed his proposal, according to Bishwokarma.

Locals of Tingla had been protesting against the Local Level Restructuring Commission’s decision to include Tingla in Necha Salyan Rural Municipality for about a year.  The locals had launched the “No Vote, No candidate” campaign during all three tiers of elections — local, provincial and parliamentary — to press for their demand.

The Election Commission had set up polling centres in Tingla but no one from the locality cast their votes in the elections. There are as many as 2,575 voters in Tingla.

According to Minister Bishwokarma, residents of Tingla were dissatisfied with state restructuring, as it compelled them to walk over four hours to reach the ward office of Necha Salyan Rural Municipality. “Now they can reach the centre of Solududhkunda Municipality within 30 minutes,” said Bishwokarma.

He also said local representatives of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centres were in favour of merging Tingla with Solududhkunda Municipality.