Kathmandu, June 19 -- owned Industrial Zone Management Limited has begun disconnecting electricity and water supplies to factories operating inside industrial estates that have failed to clear outstanding payments for land leases, buildings, water and electricity.

The company said it cut utility connections to 167 factories across ten industrial estates on Wednesday and Thursday after they failed to pay their dues despite a seven-day notice issued on June 8.

Of those, 87 factories cleared their outstanding payments and had their utility services restored on Thursday, while 80 remained disconnected as of Thursday evening, according to Padam Oli, general manager for IZML.

The company said utility disconnections are still pending for anot...