KATHMANDU, April 9: The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has padlocked the Hotel Ananda at the Nepal-India Friendship Dharamsala run by Batas Group.
The PADT had locked the gate of the Dharamsala after the Batas group did not open the gate of the hotel on Friday. Hotel staff and guests were trapped inside the hotel when the fund officials locked the gate. The employees of the PADT had claimed that their agreement with the hotel had been canceled and the information had been made public through the national media and they should be allowed to monitor their property. However, the hotel management insisted on opening the hotel only in accordance with the law as there was an interim order of the court not to do anything that would affect the business.
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Although the officials of the PADT said that they did not come to lock the doors but came to see the property of the Trust, the staff of the hotel did not open the gate stating that the officials of the PADT did not have the right to lock it. The Trust then locked the outside of the gate and deployed armed police and security personnel. After the officials left, the hotel management tried to open the lock due to which a clash erupted there..
The lock on the gate was broken three hours after the Kathmandu District Court heard the writ petition filed by the hotel management against the Trust and issued an interim order under Section 156 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 2074, stating that no action should be taken to illegally affect the applicant's business. The court has also directed the PADT to submit a written reply within 15 days about why the agreement with Hotel Anand has been canceled.
After PADT canceled the agreement with Hotel Ananda, the Batas group filed a writ petition in the Patan High Court seeking an injunction against the decision to terminate the trust's contract. The court has called for a discussion on the writ on April 10. Earlier, a discussion was held on Sunday after the Batas group requested the court to change the judge.
According to the PADT, the agreement has been canceled as Hotel Ananda Pvt Ltd did not comply with the terms of the agreement reached between the PADT and Hotel Ananda. The Batas Group refused to receive the letter sent by PADT canceling the agreement, and also has not replied to a letter sent to the group's official email as per the direction of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale.
The Batas group has been claiming that the hotel side will lose Rs 250 million if the agreement is canceled.. An agreement was reached with Hotel Ananda and PADT to operate the hotel on May 13, 2019.
