Kathmandu, August 7
Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya has bought a luxurious vehicle for his use by spending Rs 12 million from the KMC budget.
The new Toyota Fortuner has already arrived in Kathmandu recently.
Registration of the new vehicle is underway and the Mayor will begin riding the new vehicle within few days, a KMC source informs.
Currently, Shakya is using another classy vehicle worth around Rs 10 million. The four-year-old car was being used by the Chief Executive before Shakya’s election to the top post.
KMC staff say the vehicle is in a good condition.
Earlier, the Mayor had said he would not waste the revenue collected from taxpayers while traffic police requested him to fix potholes in the city. But, he has not said anything about the decision to buy new vehicle.
A people’s representative commented that the recent decision of Mayor has raised eyebrows of many stakeholders.
Meanwhile, a new vehicle worth Rs 8 million has been brought for Deputy Mayor Hariprabha Khadgi.
The metropolis has allocated total Rs 70 million to buy vehicles for people’s representatives at various levels. The source says the Mayor will provide new vehicles to some of his favourite ward chairs within this year.
KMC spokesperson Gyanendra Karki, however, defends the decision claiming the new vehicle was purchased in order to maintain dignity of the KMC chief. “The decision was made as the Mayor’s vehicle should match the dignity of his position,” he says, “This should not be taken critically.”
