There is a small red sticker on the wall to the left of the building entrance. Those who come with work don't seem to pay much attention to it. As soon as they enter the gate, they go to the employee sitting at the table and inquire about the service they have come to receive.

What does that red sticker say? It says, ‘Warning – This structure or some part of the structure as mentioned is seriously damaged and unsafe. Do not enter. Serious damage or injury may occur upon entry.’

This notice is pasted on the wall next to the main entrance of the main administrative building of Bharatpur Metropolitan City. On the first day of the ‘Gen-G’ movement, a demonstration was held in front of the Bharatpur Metropolitan City Office on the afternoon of Bhadra 23. The next day, along with many other government offices, party offices, individual homes and commercial establishments in the district, the Bharatpur Metropolitan City Office was also set on fire. The fire has also damaged the main building of the metropolis as well as various ward offices.

After having to rebuild the damaged offices and purchase the burnt tools, equipment, computers, printers and furniture, Bharatpur Metropolitan City has cut the budget for ward-level and city-level plans. ‘We have cut the budget by Rs 3 million from all 29 wards,’ said Laxmi Prasad Poudel, Chief Administrative Officer of Bharatpur Metropolitan City Office. He said that Rs 87 million will be raised from ward offices for reconstruction.

Similarly, the metropolis plans to raise Rs 84 million by cutting from the municipal level plan. Poudel informed that a total of Rs 171 million 16 thousand will be raised internally for the reconstruction of the metropolis. In the municipal level plan, Rs 23.6 million has been cut for infrastructure, Rs 22.4 million for youth and sports, Rs 10.7 million for revenue and administration, and Rs 8.6 million for livestock services.

Sheskant Poudel, head of the general administration division of the metropolis, said that 2.8 million rupees have been cut for tourism and industry, 4.4 million rupees for education, 9 million rupees for employment and cooperatives, 18.7 million rupees for service delivery and administration, 6.8 million rupees for the environment department, 1.1 million rupees for information technology, and 3 million rupees for the social department. 4.5 million rupees have been cut for disaster relief, 5 million rupees for the target group, 2.6 million rupees for health, and 5.8 million rupees for agriculture.

Three buildings of the metropolis - the administrative office, the building housing the revenue and maps, and the building housing the technical department - have been completely destroyed in the arson. The main administrative work of the metropolis is currently being done from the building built for the city police. Some work is also being done from the damaged building. In addition, fire engines, tractors, and vehicles have also been burned. Out of 29 wards, wards No. 3, 6, 19, and 21 have also been damaged beyond use.

‘Even if we calculate the cost at that time, the metropolis has suffered a loss of Rs 500 million. Now, the cost of rebuilding or purchasing it at the current price will be even higher,’ said Chief Administrative Officer Poudel. The new administrative building of the metropolis is being prepared.

There is no need to build a new building as the new building can be used within the next year. However, Poudel said that the budget has been cut because resources have to be raised for the ward office building and the machinery, equipment, and furniture required for daily administration. ‘Since the budget for programs such as training, symposium, seminar, awareness and development plans that can be done later has been cut, there is no material impact on the overall plan of the metropolis,’ said Chief Administrative Officer Poudel.

The ward in the hilly region of the metropolis that is less developed is Ward No. 29. Surya Bahadur Gurung, the ward chairman of that ward, said that he wondered whether the budget cut for animal services would affect the hilly region. ‘There are a lot of goats in our hilly region. It is doubtful that the lack of services such as vaccines will affect it. We have also discussed finding a budget and making arrangements for that later,’ said Ward No. 29 Chairman Gurung. He opined that it would be good to raise budget for the reconstruction of the damaged office.