KATHMANDU, June 2: The Road Division Office, Kathmandu on Friday summoned Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Balen Shah (Balen), asking him to appear at the Division Office within three days to address certain matters. The Road Division Office has warned that failure to appear within the stipulated time will result in further legal action as the mayor had snubbed the letters of the division office already three times.

The latest letter, signed by the Chief of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu, Narayan Datta Bhandari, was delivered to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office on Friday, according to a source at the Road Division Office, Kathmandu. 

"Summoning the mayor to the office means initiating disciplinary action against the mayor," said a senior official of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu.

Bhandari, the chief of the Road Division Office, Kathmandu, has stated that the division office has initiated an investigation process regarding the unauthorized expansion of the footpaths on the New Road area.

Bhandari sent a non-gazetted first class officer of the Road Division Office, Tirtha Raj Joshi to the District Government Attorney’s Office (DGAO) in Kathmandu on Friday to understand the legal process regarding this matter. Joshi sought advice from the employees of the DGAO. After that, Bhandari wrote a fourth letter to Mayor Balen.

Even after writing the letter for the third time, Mayor Balen did not give any formal reply and the staff of the Road Division Office said that they had to write the letter for the fourth time as the KMC did not restore the destroyed road. An employee said that they are now in the mindset of going through the legal process.

According to sources at the road division office, two employees of the metropolis, Sunil Lamsal and Suroj Shakya, had a discussion with Division Chief Bhandari at the Road Division Office, Kathmandu office on Thursday.

According to the sources, they asked Bhandari not to proceed with any actions regarding the demolition of the roads in the New Road area. "The metropolis employees clarified that their concern lies not with the road division but with the higher-level decisions. Therefore, they requested to refrain from taking action and emphasized the need to work together," said one of the employees of the division office.

The employees of the Road Division Office and the Department of Roads are frustrated with Mayor Balen accusing the KMC of digging and demolishing the road on the Juddha Salik-Indra Chowk road section in New Road without the permission of the division and leaving the damaged road unrepaired.

Last Wednesday, the Road Division Office had written to Balen Shah for the third time warning him to restore the demolished road in New Road within two days. The division sent the fourth letter after the metropolis did not repair the demolished road within two days.

Prior to this, the division had sent similar warning letters to Mayor Balen. After disregarding the first, second, and third letters, the division sent the fourth letter.

The Public Roads Act, 2031 has provision for fines and imprisonment for those who damage, obstruct and destroy public roads. A few days ago, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Shah disposed of a truckload of garbage and dirt in front of the offices of the Department of Roads and the Road Division Office, Kathmandu.

A heated argument between Mayor Balen and ward chairman

In Friday's board meeting of the metropolis, a heated argument ensued between Mayor Shah and Ward-22 Chairman Chinikaji Maharjan. The area covered by Ward-22 includes the New Road locality. During the meeting, Maharjan raised objections to Shah's plans for demolishing part of the New Road, and Balen retaliated.

Maharjan insisted that the motor road on New Road should not be narrowed under the pretext of widening the footpath, whereas Balen argued in favor of expanding the footpath. Maharjan pointed out that narrowing the road would impede the entry of trucks and fire engines required for transporting goods into New Road.

"The footpath and the road constructed after the 1990 earthquake are also significant areas of archaeological importance. Therefore, preserving its originality is also the responsibility of the metropolis," argued Maharjan.

Maharjan said that rather than making the road narrow in the name of expanding the footpath, it would be more appropriate for the metropolis to manage the existing footpaths and roads properly.

 
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