Kathmandu. Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started internal preparations to invite heads of international cities to observe this year’s Indra Jatra. The sixth executive meeting on Sharwan 1 has already decided on this matter. The main ceremony committee will be chaired by Balendra Sah (Balen), the mayor of the metropolis, to implement the decision. In that committee, the deputy chief, the chief administrative officer, the ward president, and executive members will be members.
The implementation committee was formed in the preparatory meeting chaired by the head of the metropolis, Balendra Sah. The committee consists of Administration, Finance and Heritage Department, Hanumandho Palace Conservation Program, and International Relations Secretariat. Deputy mayor Sunita Dangol, Chief Administrative Officer Loknath Paudyal, and departmental heads were present at the meeting.
Indra Jatra falls on Friday 24th of Bhadra this year. The metropolis is preparing to invite leaders from 18 sister cities and 25 cities including 7 capital cities from South Asian countries (SAARC countries) to watch this procession. 4 officials will be invited along with the chiefs. Thus, if 4 participants come from each of 25 cities, 100 guests will come.
In 2076, 13 cities from 6 countries were invited. Among them, 41 guests including 4 mayors, and deputy mayors/vice presidents from 11 cities in 5 countries participated. In the following years, no one was invited from any city with international ties due to the Covid 19 infection.
The sisterhood of the metropolis
The metropolis has sister relations with 5 domestic cities and 18 international cities. Amargadhi Municipality of Dadeldhura, Chandannath Municipality of Jumla, Nawalparasi, Wardghat Susta Paschim Ramgram Municipality, Melamchi Municipality of Sindhupalchok and Pakhribas Municipality of Dhankuta District are municipalities with internal relations.
Among the international cities in China, 7 cities, namely Xi’an, Lhasa, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chengdu, Jinzhou, and Lanzhou, are sister cities of the metropolis. China is the first country to have sister relations with many cities. The United States is second only to China. It has sister relations with 4 cities namely Boulder, Fredericksburg, Eugene, and Rochester.
Similarly, it has sister relations with Matsumoto in Japan, Seoul in South Korea, Minsk in Belarus, Yangon in Myanmar, Pyongyang in North Korea, Varanasi in India, and Madrid in Spain. The process of establishing relations with Bangkok in Thailand is in the final stage.
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