Kathmandu, September 6
A private company which was managing Dharahara before the historic tower collapsed in the magnitude-7.6 earthquake on April 25, 2015 has been blocking the Kathmandu Metropolitan City from beginning the reconstruction, it has been learned.
Sidewalker’s Traders had signed a contract with the KMC to operate and manage Dharahara for 20 years, but the tower collapsed two years ago.
However, the company is still collecting rents from stalls being operated at the premises and is reluctant to leave the space to let the local governmental body begin reconstruction. It has been refusing to terminate the contract also.
Meanwhile, it has been learned that the company has stopped paying the tax to the KMC after the earthquake. Earlier, it was paying around Rs 300,000 a month as the tax.
“The company should have paid the tax every month,” KMC Revenue Division Chief Dhruba Kumar Kafle says, “But, we are yet to collect as much as Rs 4 million.”
