The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has raised more than a million rupees in fines in a month from illegal footpath shopkeepers, who have been selling petty items in various areas ignoring the metropolis rules.

According to KMC officials, monitoring has been stepped up at road sections in major areas of the Valley since November 10 and collected Rs1,006,800. “More than 100 people have been in a month,” said Bishnu Prasad Joshi, chief of KMC’s City Police. 

Around 100 personnel have been mobilised in 35 wards, with focus on the inner city areas, such as Paropakar Chowk, Indra Chowk, Asan, Bhotahiti, Jamal where such vendors  are causing inconvenience to the pedestrians, Joshi explained. Local clubs and traffic police are lending their support to the KMC in this effort to rid the footpaths of illegal vendors. 

Meanwhile, KMC City Police is planning to extend the crackdown on footpath occupants in Ratnapark, New Bus Park, Jamal, Sundhara, Kalanki, Gausala, Baneshwor, Koteshwor, Balkhu, Chabahil, among other crowded places.   

Fines against footpath shopkeepers in the restricted areas range anywhere between Rs100 and Rs15,000. Under the existing rule, the KMC can also confiscate their items.  

KMC Spokesperson Gyane-ndra Karki said they were considering adding more 

personnel to the metropolis police to tackle the menace. 

“We are in the process of recruiting more personnel in the city police, by as much as 100, to make this campaign more effective,” said Karki. Out of the total provision of 216, the KMC currently has only 116 personnel under the city police.