Darbarmarg and Thamel are open 24 hours from New Year!

The District Administration Office, Kathmandu has drafted a procedure/criteria to make Durbarmarg, known as a commercial hub, and Thamel, known as a major tourist hub, operational round the clock.

The work has been carried forward in coordination with all agencies including tourism businessmen, hotel and restaurant operators. The District Administration Office has made a 'Code of Conduct and Safety Management Standard 2080 for full-time business operations' and has tried to operate night service as well. Accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs discussed with all related agencies on Friday.

In the discussion, Darbar Marg Development Board Secretary Uddhav Dhakal said that it was agreed to keep Darbar Marg open 24 hours from May 1.

In a discussion with all concerned bodies including Ministry of Home Affairs, District Administration Office, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Transport Department, Police, Chief of Armed Police, Businessmen, House Visitor of Thamel area, there was a discussion about opening Darbar Marg and Thamel round the clock. For this, the administration has conditions such as security, CC camera installation, salary to be paid to the workers as per the government, and the dance bar should be fully sound-proof,'' said Dhakal.

Paying special attention to cleanliness, not charging customers more than the menu, food quality, etc. are in government standards. Dhakal said that if the customer complains about these issues, the license can be revoked. "There are many complaints such as charging more than the menu while running the night business, making bills by adding things that the customer has not eaten," Dhakal said, "businessmen are not allowed to cheat." If there is a complaint of excessive price, there is a discussion about license cancellation. In view of this issue, businessmen should also install CC cameras, have community security guards, and mobilize police and traffic. According to the

board, there has been a discussion about conducting a food festival once a month at Darbarmarg. These decisions will help a lot to keep the economy running. Now 5 thousand people have got employment in Darbarmarg. If this sector operates round the clock, two thousand more people will get employment,' he said, 'starting from the new year, we will start opening branded clothing stores round the clock.' Board says.

General Secretary of Thamel Tourism Development Council Rajeev Pandey said that there is no immediate situation to open Thamel round the clock. He says that there are some problems for the 24-hour operation, such as noises at night, problems of landlords, lights, security. In the first phase, it has been agreed to operate the Darbarmarg round the clock. In the case of Thamel, we will also open the market there 24 hours after the problem of landlords running it, security of lights etc. is solved according to what is now," he said.

There is more commotion in Thamel at night. The houseguests are complaining that they cannot sleep. For that, they demand that discos and bars etc. restaurants should be made sound proof. In terms of security, more police are needed. "Recently, tourists are trying to stay outside the valley beyond Thamel, something needs to be done regarding this matter," said Pandey, "we will hold a meeting again in 5/7 days to finalize this matter." According to the council, there are about 10,000 businessmen in the Thamel area.

Assistant Chief District Officer of District Administration Office, Kathmandu, Hari Prasad Sharma also informed that preparations have been accelerated to make Durbar Marg and Thamel open 24 hours a day. We have continued discussions with all the agencies to run round-the-clock since May 1. We are discussing the draft of the standards. We are trying to include everything including security in it," said Sharma. "All parties concerned have been positive in the discussion." He said that they have also called the Department of Transport Management for a discussion as there may be traffic problems at night. "The issue of running city buses has also been raised," said Sharma, "If we will create an atmosphere, the businessmen are ready to operate round the clock." Such a decision was announced by the government nine years ago on the initiative of

businessmen. It was prepared two years ago. But it was not successful. General Secretary of Thamel Tourism Development Council Rajeev Pandey said that due to lack of infrastructure and CCTV, the implementation could not be implemented. He says that the current situation is different. 108 CCTVs have been installed in Thamel area alone. Infrastructure is good. More than 400 lamps have been installed. "Even if there is a complaint that there is a problem with some lights, we will solve everything by the second week of Baisakh," said Pandey.