The Patan High Court has issued an interim order to not demolish the houses built over the underground tunnel of Tukucha.
A bench of Judge Dipendra Bahadur Bam on Sunday has issued a short-term interim order to not demolish houses built in three plots (numbers 7; 3,038; and 3,039) at Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Ward Number 7 owned by Genex Investment, Uttar Man Lama and President Travels and Tours without completing legal procedures and paying compensation, according to Registrar at the court Thagindra Kattel.
The court has summoned both the sides on Wednesday and will decide whether to give continuity to the short-term interim order or not after hearing arguments of both the sides.
The court has pointed that the petitioners bought plot numbers 3,038 and 3,039 with area of over 10 annas 26 years back and received permission from the KMC to build house on that, and procured the house built in over nine annas of land in plot number 7 11 years ago and have been using that house.
Director of President Travels and Tours Bhola Bikram Thapa and others had filed the writ petition on Friday.
The Department of Archeology, meanwhile, is sending a team to the KMC to prevent additional damage in the underground tunnel of Tukucha calling the tunnel, built 130 years ago during the reign of Bir Shumsher, archeological heritage of historic importance.
“A brick tunnel seems to have been built in Gumbaz style to guide Tukucha underground. This automatically falls under our archeological heritage as it was built over 100 years back,” Director General at the department Damodar Gautam told Setopati. “Our attention has been drawn to the fact that deploying excavator may damage the archeological heritage. We are sending a team of two including an engineer and archeologist to discuss with KMC.”
