Dog stops officials from taking over ex-King's property

Barking tactic

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

During the discussions, the lawmakers made a mockery of the Home Ministry. “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.