Oct 24, 2008, 10:51 GMT
Kathmandu - Nepal's former king and his family members face a possible cut in their electricity supply due to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid electricity bills, officials said Friday.
The officials said they have had no response from former king Gyanendra or his family members despite notices warning them to pay the outstanding amount or face electricity cuts within 15 days.
The deadline is the first week of November.
'The former royal family owe the electricity authority 77.7 million rupees (983,000 dollars) over the past three years,' said Arjun Kumar Karki, the executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority. 'The fine alone is worth 12.5 million rupees.'
Officials said the electricity authority had taken the decision to cut electricity supply to homes of former royals last week as a last resort to collect unpaid bills.
Until monarchy was abolished by Nepalese politicians earlier this year, the former monarch had 22 palaces and residences spread across the country.
Most of the palaces were nationalised by the government following the end of the monarchy in May.
'Those who have been served notices to pay include the former king's daughter, nieces and other close relatives,' Karki said.
Since moving out of the main palace in Kathmandu in June, Gyanendra now lives in a government owned retreat in the outskirts of the city.
The former royal family members reportedly stopped paying electricity bills after Gyanendra grabbed absolute power in 2005.
He was forced to give up power following mass demonstrations in Nepal a year later.
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