KATHMANDU, April 3: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has issued a directive to stakeholders to immediately implement the recommendations of the inquiry committee to strengthen and make the security arrangements of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) more effective.
During a stakeholders discussion at the Home Ministry, Home Minister Lamichhane instructed the stakeholders for the implementation of the committee's report, led by National Security Adviser Shankar Das Bairagi.
In the discussion, he asked for effective coordination between the agencies at the TIA and not to be involved in blaming each other.
Home Minister Lamichhane asked the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs not to utilize the special room of TIA.
"The practice of keeping citizens waiting for hours should be minimized, and the trend of unnecessary passenger inconvenience under the pretext of security or other administrative management should be stopped,” he said.
He urged against using budgetary constraints as an excuse for sensitive matters such as providing services to citizens, establishing international identity, and ensuring security.
Home Minister Lamichhane said that representatives of all agencies working at the TIA need to make clear criteria for VIPs and organize arrival and departure. He said that security challenges have increased as VIPs fail to uphold their dignity and neglect protocol.
After the recovery of around 61 kg of gold that was taken out of the airport, the government formed an inquiry committee under the leadership of National Security Adviser Bairagi to strengthen the security of the airport last August.
The report submitted by the committee has suggested to form a separate air security service of Nepal Police, remove the security guards of the private sector from the airport and transfer the employees who have been working for more than two years.
The committee's report also includes recommendations for the procurement of modern equipment and detectors, enhancing the effectiveness of the diplomatic cargo screening system, establishing an integrated airport intelligence system, and upgrading airport technology through timely amendments to the Immigration Act and regulations.
The stakeholders discussion involved secretaries from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, along with the Inspectors General of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, the Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the General Manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation, the Director General of Department of Immigration, Tribhuvan Airport Immigration Office representatives, and Customs Office representatives.