KATHMANDU: Nepal's new Maoist government has declared war on sleaze in the capital Kathmandu, saying the increasing numbers of massage parlours and nude dance bars are driving up crime and immorality.
The ultra-leftists pledged radical change in the impoverished nation after they won landmark polls in April which placed their former warlord leader as prime minister of the world's newest republic.
For Bamdev Gautam, Nepal's new home minister, that means battling Kathmandu's mushrooming adult entertainment sector, which he describes as a "breeding ground for depravity" and "at the heart" of an urban crime problem.
"This is a movement against social evils. We've seen the growth of vicious immorality among Nepali youth because of these late-night restaurants and dance bars," home ministry spokesman Modraj Dottel explained.
During the civil war, when government troops were battling the Maoists, there was a heavy security presence in urban areas and many residents felt safer.
But urban areas in Nepal have now been hit by a slew of kidnappings, muggings and knife attacks since the end of the
Maoist insurgency in 2006, with gangs exploiting political instability and a lack of policing.
The rise in sex-related businesses has also created more human trafficking, sexual exploitation of young girls and a rise in HIV infections, activists say.
Parts of the capital, like Thamel, the main tourist area, have turned into red light districts -- bad news for the Maoists, who promote themselves as champions of the poor and exploited.
Thamel is falling under the "control of gangsters and petty criminals whose sole purpose is to promote prostitution, vulgarity and dupe tourists and locals," said a notice by a Thamel residents' group placed in local papers recently.
The ultra-leftists pledged radical change in the impoverished nation after they won landmark polls in April which placed their former warlord leader as prime minister of the world's newest republic.
For Bamdev Gautam, Nepal's new home minister, that means battling Kathmandu's mushrooming adult entertainment sector, which he describes as a "breeding ground for depravity" and "at the heart" of an urban crime problem.
"This is a movement against social evils. We've seen the growth of vicious immorality among Nepali youth because of these late-night restaurants and dance bars," home ministry spokesman Modraj Dottel explained.
During the civil war, when government troops were battling the Maoists, there was a heavy security presence in urban areas and many residents felt safer.
But urban areas in Nepal have now been hit by a slew of kidnappings, muggings and knife attacks since the end of the
Maoist insurgency in 2006, with gangs exploiting political instability and a lack of policing.
The rise in sex-related businesses has also created more human trafficking, sexual exploitation of young girls and a rise in HIV infections, activists say.
Parts of the capital, like Thamel, the main tourist area, have turned into red light districts -- bad news for the Maoists, who promote themselves as champions of the poor and exploited.
Thamel is falling under the "control of gangsters and petty criminals whose sole purpose is to promote prostitution, vulgarity and dupe tourists and locals," said a notice by a Thamel residents' group placed in local papers recently.
"The residents of Thamel would like to heartily thank the home ministry and the government of Nepal for taking this great step to curb hooliganism, muggings (and) open prostitution," the residents said. Action is certainly being taken.
On a recent night in usually vibrant Thamel, the streets were empty by 10:30 pm, with police patrolling and locking up entertainment spots and chasing away customers. Still, not everybody is happy.
Bar and restaurant owners say they are worried the crackdown is discouraging foreign tourism -- a vital income-earner for Nepal -- by lumping legitimate nightlife businesses in with those offering sex.
Prabin Rayamajhi, who owns "De La Soul," a cosy bar in the heart of Thamel that offers alcoholic beverages but no floor shows or sex, said the forced early closing hours were killing business.
"I'm gradually letting my staff go as I can't afford their pay," he said, adding that otherwise he supported the need to control a boom of bars with names like "Pussy Cat Bar" and "Krazy Girl."
"If this crackdown continues, many legitimate businesses like mine will go under, throwing thousands out of work," he said.
Dance bars, the main target of the crackdown, are really feeling the pinch of the ultra-leftist government.
"I really don't know what I'll do if this place shuts down," said 23-year-old waiter Dev Bahadur Pulami in the deserted "Ice Dance Bar", as 12 women danced half-heartedly to an empty room.
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