Nepal royals may face light-outs

Kathmandu, Oct. 23: Months after losing his crown, deposed King Gyanendra may face lights-out over unpaid electricity bills to the Maoist-led government, who were instrumental in the abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy in Nepal.

The Nepal government is set to serve a 15-day notice to former King Gyanendra and his relatives demanding payment of pending NRs 7.7 crore in electricity bills, the head of the country’s power company said on Thursday. State-run Nepal Electri-city Authority (NEA) has decided to cut power supply to palaces and residences of former King Gyanendra and his relatives if they fail to pay the pending electricity bill in the next 15 days.

NEA executive director Arjun Kumar Karki took the decision in this regard on October 17, the Kantipur online quoted a source as saying. The royals paid no heed to the request of the NEA in 2007 to pay the electricity dues.

Since the reinstatement of democracy in 2006, the state electricity body has repeatedly asked the former royals to clear the dues. Fed up with their non-compliance, the NEA has instructed its distribution centres to implement the decision. Nepal is facing nearly 30 hours of power cuts per week owing to a power shortage. In the two-point decision taken by Mr Karki, NEA’s distribution centres have been ordered to recover the money within 15 days or to cut electricity, and to return the generators provided to the palaces by state electricity body.

The authorities have also decided to put out a notice in the newspapers asking the former royals to pay their long due electricity bills. The unpaid electricity bills by the former king and his relatives amount to a whopping NRs 7.7 crore, which includes a fine of NRs 1.25 crore.

According to the report, the NEA has written to former princesses Shova, Dilasa, Sitashma, Helen, Bharati, Pooja, Jyotsana Devi Basnet, and to former queen grandmother Ishwori Rajyalaxmi, who had since expired, to pay the dues. Besides, NEA had also sent letters in this regard to the comptroller department, Chhauni Bangla, Nirmal Niwas, Nagarjun Royal Forest, Narayanhiti Kharcha Adda, Himagriha Pokhara, Ratna Mandir in Pokhara, Diyalo Bangla in Bharatpur, and Rani Durbar. —PTI