National
Graft scandal grips Aurahi municipal office
Office works at Aurahi Municipality in Mahottari have been halted for the past three days after the locals padlocked the municipal office over a corruption scandal.Office works at Aurahi Municipality in Mahottari have been halted for the past three days after the locals padlocked the municipal office over a corruption scandal.
Accusing the municipal staff of misappropriating funds, Aurahi residents had padlocked the municipal office0n Tuesday. They have been protesting by forming a struggle committee, led by Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal’s leader Daresh Yadav.
The committee has demanded that the municipal office make the spending details public, scrap double tax policy and people’s participation in project selection process, among others, to ensure transparency. Mayor Sunil Yadav has denied that there were irregularities in funds meant for development projects.
The locals are unnecessarily obstructing the municipality from carrying out its daily works, he said. The protesters say that they were compelled to padlock the office because the mayor was not ready to address their concerns through talks.
The municipality could at least hold talks regarding the demands of its people, he said.Mayor Sunil, however, said that it was the protesters who spurned the talks offer from the District Coordination Committee.