Court orders compensation for house destroyed in explosion

Kathmandu, January 9 — Kathmandu District Court has directed the trekking company Elite Himalayan Adventure, operated by mountaineer Nirmal Purja, to pay over ten million rupees in compensation to the owners of a house in Kapan, Kathmandu, which was destroyed in an explosion two years ago.

The house, owned by Tanka Ghising and his wife Dalmu Kittar Ghising, was damaged due to the explosion caused by unauthorized storage of oxygen gas and LPG cylinders by the company.

The court's decision was based on an engineer's report stating the house was no longer safe for habitation.

Ghising had previously approached multiple government and judicial bodies seeking compensation but did not receive any response until the court ruled in their favor.

The legal team representing the Ghising couple was led by lawyers Ananta Raj Luintel, Bikash Bhattarai, Kirtinath Sharma Paudel, and others, while the company's senior lawyer, Yubraj Kumar Bhandari, defended the company.

This is considered the first significant ruling under the law requiring compensation for damages caused by negligence since its implementation in 2018.