Representatives of various Nepali organisations active in UK have urged the Nepal government not to rush its decision to sell the building that the Nepali embassy has been using for over the past 70 years.

Listening Attentively: (From right) Pramod Karki, Dip Basnyat, Ambassador Sharma and Suresh Pradhan
During an interaction with the members of a high-level committee formed by the government — to study the status of the building hired by the embassy and recommend procedures to sell or buy a new property, among others– organised at the Nepali embassy in London on Thursday, most of the representatives said the embassy building—a Crown Property located at the prestigious Kensington Palace Gardens– carried a historic value and Nepalese living in the UK had their sentiments attached to it.

President of Yeti Nepali Association UK, Chiranjibi Dhakal, said the embassy building was situated at a prime location and carried a historic value. He said attempts should be made to maintain the building as far as possible and that the Nepali community in the UK stood ready to offer their support.

Dr Krishna Adhikari of the Reading Nepali Society said the government’s decision to sell the embassy citing high maintenance costs was a wrong one. He said such an important decision should be taken by an elected government, not an interim government. He also warned that Nepalese residing in the UK could resort to ‘direct action’ if the government did not heed their views.

Bal Mukunda Joshi, a former tourism entrepreneur, and Uttam Amatya of the Friends of Britain and Nepal Nepal Tourism Organisation, however, said there should be no room for sentiments on an issue like selling the embassy building (that is on leasehold) and buying a new property on freehold. “Of course, there should be transparency and accountability in such sensitive matters,” they said.

Dr Govinda Dahal of Center for Nepal Studies making his point.
Speakers including Dr. Govinda Dahal of Center for Nepal Studies, Dr Ramesh Dhungel of SOAS, UK, Dr Raghav Dhital OBE, Vice President of NRN UK Khagendra Nepali, Ang Kaljeng Lama of Nepalese Democratic Forum UK, Kailash Biswokarma of Nepal-Scotland Society, Sher Bahadur Sunar of Farnborough Nepali Community and Chandra Bahadur Gurung of Ex- Gurkha Association, among others, asked the government not to rush their decision to sell the embassy building and take decision on the basis of cost and benefit and keeping in view of the sentimental of the Nepalese residing in the UK.

President of NRN UK Ashok Shrestha said it was a good idea to sell the leasehold and buy a new property on freehold but it did not look feasible given the costly real estate market of London. He said only elected government should take such a decision and that the money that is saved after buying a new property should be invested in tourism and trade promotion activities for Nepal and buying a community center, if possible.

Responding to the queries, Financial Comptroller General of the Nepal government and a member of the high level study team, Dip Basnyat, said the building was hired by the then Rana regime in 1934 and the lease was renewed for 99 years in 1980. He said the government had decided, in principle, to sell the embassy building as it could fetch a higher price if sold now and that money could be utilized to buy a property for embassy on freehold. He, however, said the government decided to review its decision based on concerns raised by media, parliamentarians and the Nepalese community in the UK.

Nepali ambassador to the UK and chairman of the high level committee, Murari Raj Sharma, assured that the study team will incorporate the views expressed by the Nepalese in the UK in its report and recommend the government on the basis of its findings. nepalnews.com Feb 2 08