Kathmandu, Jan 8 (PTI) The Nepal government has formed a committee to probe the unlawful involvement of a controversial private company in running hotels at a state-owned dharmashala built with India’s aid for the visitors of the iconic Pashupatinath Temple, the largest temple complex and one of the biggest Hindu pilgrimage sites in the country.
According to officials at the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), which is responsible for managing affairs of the 5th-century temple, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation formed the probe committee led by treasurer of PADT Narayan Prasad Subedi.
Aasha Pandey, Bishwokaran Jayan, Devi Prasad Baral, and an Under-Secretary at the tourism ministry are other members of the committee.
The government launched an inquiry into the illegal involvement of Batas Group in running hotels at the state-owned Pashupati Dharmashala, a religious rest house for the visitors of holy Pashupatinath Temple, during former prime minister K P Sharma Oli’s tenure.
Pashupatinath Temple is the largest temple complex in Nepal. It stretches on both sides of the Bagmati River and attracts thousands of worshippers from Nepal and India daily.
PADT leased out the dharmashala to Hotel Ananda Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Batas Group, three years ago. The group has been accused of running commercial hotels at the dharmashala and rampantly charging money from the pilgrims for using it.
It has been found that the group charged up to Rs 3,000 per night for a two-bedroom while the structure has also been used for other commercial purposes such as wedding parties and other functions with high charges.
The trust leased out the three-storey dharamsala to the group for 15 years without preparing the legal ground for the lease. The dharamsala was built with India’s assistance of Rs 340 million some four years ago and houses 400 beds.
Founded in 1996, PADT is a trust established to conserve and operate the Pashupatinath Temple and other charitable institutions in the Pashupatinath UNESCO World Heritage Sites area.
Earlier last week, the Nepal government had formed a probe committee to look into the building of illegal structures inside Narayanhiti Palace Museum by the same Batas Group and ordered to dismantle the structures meant for running a restaurant. PTI SBP MRJ MRJ
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