Recently, videos have been going viral on social media claiming that the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has removed the chairs placed for pedestrians to sit on after Balendra Shah resigned as mayor.

After receiving criticism and various comments, the metropolis has clarified that the chairs have been removed for maintenance and management. Suresh Rai, head of the public works department of the metropolis, said that the metropolis has started repairing the iron and wood chairs placed on the Singha Durbar-Bhadrakali road section.

He said that work is underway to repair, maintain and paint the old and worn-out chairs, increase the number of chairs in places with high passenger traffic, maintain uniformity by placing the same type of chair in one place, and make the chairs attractive and user-friendly. 'We have started work to increase comfort by keeping in mind the needs of pedestrians such as age group and physical condition,' Rai said, 'There is no plan to remove the chairs placed earlier. There may be an exchange to maintain uniformity.'

He said that chair management is underway on the roadside, parks, and river corridors.

A total of 140 public chairs were placed in various places within the metropolis since Asoj 2081. Of these, 11 chairs have been placed on the pedestrian path from Bhadrakali to Singha Durbar road section. In addition, chairs were placed in places such as Bagmati, Bagmati River Corridor, Guheshwari, Koteshwor, Kalmoch.

The metropolis has stated that more chairs will be placed in the coming days. In the second phase, the metropolis has stated that 49 chairs will be placed in places such as the Survey Department, Tinkune Koteshwor section, Ratnapark, Maitighar, Bawarmahal, Kamalpokhari. Similarly, in the third phase, the metropolis has also stated that 150 chairs will be placed in various places based on demand and need.