Tourism entrepreneurs and employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) held a rally in Kathmandu last week to pressurise the government not to impede the procurement process of aircraft for the national flag carrier.Starting from Lainchaur, the rally moved the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Jhal Nath Khanal.Addressing the rally, tourism entrepreneur and member of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) Sunman Pandey said the objective of the national tourism campaign – Nepal Tourism Year 2011(NTY 2011) – would not be fulfilled if the NAC’s process of procuring aircraft was cancelled.
The collective action took place the day before Airbus released lock-up money to the value US$750,000 (INR337 lakh) to NAC last week. Nepal’s national carrier had paid the amount to the French aircraft manufacturer 16 months back for the purchase of two aircraft. The aircraft purchase deal between NAC and Airbus had become a matter of controversy after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Ministry of Finance found that it was not in line with the Public Procurement Act. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had probed into the case and filed a case against then chairman of NAC Sugat Ratna Kansakar along with five other senior officials at the Special Court for not abiding by the procurement law and causing a loss of US$750,000 to the country.
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