Gatherings and Protests Banned in Key Areas of Kathmandu for Two Months

The Kathmandu District Administration Office has imposed a two-month ban on gatherings, demonstrations, sit-ins, and rallies in several parts of the federal capital.

An order issued Friday, October 17, by Chief District Officer Ishwar Raj Paudel prohibits assemblies of more than five people. The directive cites potential risks of vandalism, arson, clashes, riots, and public disorder during protests involving large or agitated crowds.

Invoking Section 6(3)(a) of the Local Administration Act, 1971, the administration has enforced the ban with immediate effect in and around major government and official zones, including the Office of the President at Sheetal Niwas.

The restricted areas include the vicinity up to the junction in front of the National Police Training Academy, 100 metres south of the Samakhusi junction, and the stretch from Samakhusi junction to the Samakhusi River toward the southwest.

Similar prohibitions apply around the Vice President’s Office in Lainchaur and the Narayanhiti Palace Museum area — from Kesharmahal Chowk to Lainchaur junction and up to the boundary of Hotel Malla. The restriction extends from Kesharmahal Chowk to the south gate of the museum via Jay Nepal junction, and from the south gate to the Mahendra statue.

In the Singha Durbar area, protests and gatherings are banned from the eastern corner of Bhadrakali Temple to the main gate of Singha Durbar, from the main gate northward to Padmodaya Secondary School junction, and eastward past the Office of the Auditor General to Anamnagar.

Additional restrictions apply from the northeast corner of Singha Durbar to Hanumansathan Temple via the east gate, from the Supreme Court area south of the main gate to the Department of Archaeology junction, and from there to Hanumansathan via the south gate.

The ban also covers areas near the District Court and the District Administration Office, as well as the Baluwatar area surrounding the Prime Minister’s residence.

Furthermore, restrictions extend to the vicinity of the residences of the National Assembly Chairperson, the Prime Minister, and the Chief Justice, as well as up to 100 metres east of the Nepal Rastra Bank junction.

(With inputs from RSS)