Butwal, Oct. 7 -- The appointment of former Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) executive director Kulman Ghising as the minister for energy and water resources in the interim government worries around 35 industrialists in Lumbini Province.

Their fear stems from Ghising's first ministerial decision to collect long-pending dues related to the dedicated-trunk line dispute, which has remained unsettled for nearly six years between the industries and the power utility.

Even during his earlier tenure as NEA executive director, Ghising had pressed industries to pay their outstanding bills for the trunk line connection. The industrialists, however, maintain that they never requested for such dedicated lines and have been paying regular electrici...