By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 23: Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ Monday said that the government had instructed the Nepal Police to execute festival-centric special security plan for next two months in the Kathmandu Valley.
Speaking at a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee (SAGC) of the Federal Parliament this morning, Minister Thapa said the festival-centric special security plan will take effect from the last week of September and will last till mid-November.
The government has prepared necessary security planning to avert possible road accidents during the festival period and control black marketeering. Necessary mechanism and manpower would be deployed in the field to control unsocial activities, he said.
“Helping desks would be established in the border areas to facilitate the arrival of Nepalis from India to mark the great festival of Hindus,” Minister Thapa said.
The plain-cloth policemen would also be deployed to control possible crimes and violence against women during the festival time, he said. There will also be help desks in the highways throughout the festival time to tackle the practice of charging higher bus fares, he said.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Prem Kumar Rai urged all Nepali citizens not to accept and made transaction of banned Indian currencies of 1,000 and 500 denominations.
“We urge all Nepali citizens and the Nepali workers who return from India don’t make any transaction in the banned denomination currency in Nepal as the currencies are banned in Nepal too,” secretary Rai said.
Meanwhile, SAGC’s President Shashi Shrestha issued directives to devise security strategies for controlling possible criminal activities such as theft, robbery, black marketeering among others that occur during the festivals.
“The government need to pay attention to ensuring security in all places, including the border points as a huge number of Nepali migrant workers from India come home during the festival season," Shrestha said.