Woman prevents nationalisation of slain Nepal King's property

After the abolition of monarchy, the government has made decision to nationalise royal property belonging to the late King Birendra and his family.

However, a woman has been barring the government officials from taking over a house in Chhauni that belong to the ex-royals.

Gyanu Shrestha has been using the one-storey building constructed in a 1,440 square-metre compound defying the Nepal Trust's order to vacate the premises.
"Every time the government officials visit the house to request the woman to vacate the house, they have to flee the site with humiliation. They return empty handed as the woman threatens to let loose her dog," Brinda Handa, Secretary of Nepal Trust Fund has told the Parliamentary committee.

The trust was formed four years ago to nationalise the property of the former king and manage funds generated from the nationalisation of the property.

The matter was raised at Nepal's one of the important Parliament Committees, the State Affairs Committee, The Kathmandu Post stated.During the discussions, the lawmakers made a mockery of the Home Ministry due to the issue.

"How can a government that cannot provide security to its officers from a dog provide security to the people," Maoist lawmaker Sudarshan Baral said.

He asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara to make a time-bound commitment on the issue of nationalising the royal property.
Responding to lawmakers' remarks, Mahara said the government will soon initiate steps to take the property under its control.

"The government has to respect basic human rights. It is not afraid of a dog," he said.
The trust had so far managed to take control of 5,064 ropanies of land (27.73 million sq ft) belonging to the ex-royal family.

A process was underway to nationalise Gokarna Forest Resort and its golf course and the 1,300 ropanies of land (7.12 million sq ft) in Kathmandu.

This year, the government found 43,100 Pound Sterling deposited in Nepal Investment Bank and Standard Chartered Bank by the former royals.

The trust is reported to have written letters to 10 countries seeking details of bank accounts maintained by Birendra, former queen Aishwariya, former Crown Prince Deependra and former Prince Nirajan who died in the royal massacre of June 2001.