Valley
KMC marks 20th anniv
Amid failure to hold local body elections, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Tuesday celebrated 20 years of becoming the country’s first metropolis.Amid failure to hold local body elections, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Tuesday celebrated 20 years of becoming the country’s first metropolis.
Kathmandu city office, established on December 17, 1919 to sweep the streets used by royals, was officially declared a municipality on February 13, 1947 by the then Prime Minister Padma Shumsher. The municipality was declared a metropolis on December 15, 1995. Though Janakman Shrestha was the first elected mayor of the city, only two mayors have completed a full term in office due to political failures and
inability to conduct local-level elections. Since 2002, the metropolis is being run by civil servants.
At the programme organised in Bhrikuti Mandap, State Minister for Local Development Kunti Kumari Shahi said it is up to KMC employees to provide quality services in the absence of elected representatives. Meanwhile, KMC Executive Officer Rudra Singh Tamang pledged to improve urban transportation in the city with large-sized public buses, promote electric vehicles, develop parking facilities, introduce house pooling for core city areas and complete Kathmandu View Tower, among other projects.