Himal Press 
ITAHARI: The Biratnagar High Court has issued an interim order against Dharan Sub-metropolitan City’s decision to increase the drinking water tariff.
A division bench of High Court Judges Bimal Subedi and Suryanath Prakash Adhikari issued the interim order on Sunday, hearing a writ petition filed by Bhim Bahadur Khadka of Dharan-17.
Khadka had filed the writ petition on August 8, seeking an interim order to prevent the implementation of the Dharan Water Supply Management Board’s decision to increase tariff rates.
Earlier, the high court had issued a show-cause order to the defendants and scheduled a hearing for August 18 to decide whether to issue an interim order. After hearing arguments from both sides on Sunday, the High Court issued the interim order as demanded by the petitioners.
The high court’s order means the new water tariffs will not be implemented. This has put additional pressure on Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang who also serves as the chairperson of the water board.
The high court order has also increased pressure on Mayor Sampang to implement the three-point agreement that he signed with the agitating 10 parties.
