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| NEWS FLASH 2000- LAST UPDATED : Sunday, March 18, 2001 10:21 PM + 5:45 GMT | |
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NC gathering held to discuss political crisis Kathmandu, 18 March: The mega gathering of Nepali Congress leaders and workers from all over Nepal as called by president of the party and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was held in Kathmandu today to discuss and suggest solutions to the present political crisis the party is facing. Problems like the continued disruption of parliamentary proceedings by five opposition parties in parliament were discussed. All district committee chiefs of the party, lawmakers, present and formers central committee members and pro-NC intellectuals were present in the gathering. Opening the gathering Koirala briefed the workers about the present political scenario and the move by opposition parties in parliament to oust him from the post of prime minister. Koirala also asked workers to suggest strategies to be taken to foil the opposition move. Participants suggested that the problem needed to be solved by the central committee of the party and the parliamentary board. Any decision taken by central committee would be acceptable to all workers of the party because the present crisis needs to be sorted out through a united approach by the central committee and parliamentary party, said Krishna Prasad Sapkota, one of the participants. According to Narhari Acharya, the spokesperson for the party, Koirala clearly outlined his position before the workers while stating that he would never give in to the pressure of opposition parties to step down. Five opposition parties including main opposition CPN-UML have been obstructing proceedings of the House of Representatives ever since the 19th session of the Parliament started five weeks ago demanding Koirala's resignation. However senior leader, former president Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was absent in today's meeting. The meeting is to continue on Monday. Nepalnews.com/yl/at Kathmandu, 18 March: The NEPSE index fell by 7.41 points at the end at the end of a five-day trading Friday despite an increase in transactions. Trading opened at 397.61 points Monday and closed at 390.20 points Friday. Although transactions increased by Rs 56 million during the week, the index of commercial banks fell to 435.72 points as compared to 445.32 points the previous week. Altogether 169,220 shares of 32 companies valued at Rs 90.6 million were traded. Nepalnews.com/br/at Fires destroy goods worth Rs 30 million, claim two lives Kathmandu, 18 March: In one of the most destructive fires in the capital in recent years, merchandise worth some Rs 30 million was damaged at four establishments in Kathmandu valley overnight, police said Saturday. Fires spread over four different areas including Suraj Arcade in Makhaan near Hanuman Dhoka, the newly constructed Pashupati Plaza off New Road, Sherpa Outdoor Goods Industries in Thamel and a carpet factory at Imadol in neighbouring Lalitpur district. The causes for the fires are not known yet. In another fire in a village in Pyuthan district in west Nepal two children were killed and another was injured while property worth over a million rupees was gutted Friday, police said. Nepalnews.com/br/at CAA orders sacking of six Buddha Air officials Kathmandu, 18 March: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ordered the dismissal of six Buddha Air officials, including a captain, after an aircraft of theirs took off from the capital for Pokhara Saturday without five passengers, including Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel. Flight 651 of Buddha Air took off for the resort town without the passengers although Poudel and other passengers had reported on time for departure. The CAA termed the action of the airline as "reckless." Nepalnews.com/br/at Section of Kathmandu-Bardibas highway opened Kathmandu, 17 March: A 22km section of the 158km long Banepa-Bardibas highway linking Kathmandu and the tarai districts constructed with Japanese assistance was inaugurated Friday by Minister for Works and Physical Planning Mahanta Thakur. The section links Dhulikhel and Bhakunde Besi in the mid-hills. A 37km section linking Bardibas in the tarai and Sindhuli district was completed in 1997. Construction of the 34km section linking Sindhuli and Khurkot and another 32km section linking Khurkot and Nepalthok will start soon. The Rs 7 billion project will be the third road link between the capital and the rest of the kingdom. The completion of the highway will reduce travel time from the capital to central and west Nepal districts by more than eight hours. Nepalnews.com/br/at Four ambassadors present credentials to King Birendra Kathmandu, 17 March: His Majesty the King accepted credentials from four newly appointed ambassadors to Nepal in the Narayanhity Royal Palace Friday evening. The newly appointed are Ambassador Lucia Muving of Zimbabwe, Ambassador of Nigeria Kabiru Ahmed, Ambassador of Canada Peter Sutherland and Ambassador of Mexico Petro Gonzalez Rubio. All four are resident ambassadors in New Delhi. Nepalnews.com/yl/at Property worth millions gutted Kathmandu, 17 March: Property worth over a million rupees was gutted when a fire broke out in two major business hubs in Kathmandu Friday night. The Suraj Arcade, a popular shopping complex, in Indrachowk, close to the historic Basantapur Darbar Square, and Sherpa Outdoor Goods Industries in Thamel were gutted by two separate fires. The fire brigade fought for more then four hours to control the blaze in both areas but the Suraj Arcade could not be saved because the limited fire fighters were already occupied in Thamel. The real cause of the fire was not known but it is believed that it was caused by an electric short circuit. The actual damages could not be ascertained but Suraj Arcade suffered more. According to police, the damage could have been more than a million rupees. Nepalnews.com/yl/at Police recover 419kg refined cannabis Kathmandu, 17 March: Police recovered nearly 420kg of refined cannabis worth several million rupees in two major hauls from Dhading and Bara districts this week, officials said. 234kg of the illegal drug was hauled in nine sacks from an abandoned vehicle near Gajuri in Dhading Wednesday while another 185kg as well as some arms and ammunition were recovered from traffickers at a forest in Bara Tuesday. The traffickers decamped after an exchange of gunfire with police, officials said. Nepalnews.com/br/at Strike paralyses trolley bus service Kathmandu, 16 March: The only trolley bus service in the country, already plagued by mismanagement, came to a standstill Friday after employees went on a strike demanding the withdrawal of the government decision to break the service from the Nepal Transport Corporation (NTC) and turn it into a company. Employees did not allow the bus to come out of the garage in order to press the management to fulfil their series of demands. The trolley bus service is the part of the Nepal Transport Corporation (NTC) owned by the government but mismanagement within the organisation has resulted in staff members not being paid for several months. As a measure to save the service from further losses the government decided to break trolley bus from the Transport Corporation and turn it into a company. Employees have opposed this decision and have demanded that trolley bus service remain a part of NTC. Employees have announced a complete strike in all services of Nepal Transport Corporation and locked up the central office and all branch offices. In a statement issued today, Nepal Transport Corporation Employees Association vowed to continue its protest and strike until its demands were met. The association said that the initial strike is for four days, and that all services of the corporation will be closed until Tuesday after which the next phase of the strike will be announced. Nepalnews.com/yl/at Three killed, 44 injured in bus accident Kathmandu, 16 March: Three persons died on the spot and 44 others were injured, 11 seriously Friday, when two passenger buses collided at Manahari village near Hetauda Thursday night, police said. Eleven of the inured injured are being treated in the capital. The buses were plying between Birgunj and the Kathmandu. Nepalnews.com/br/at Hotel employees return to work Kathmandu, 16 March: Hotel workers returned to work Friday after the government invoked the Essential Services Act and banned strikes in all tourist service industries including hotels, resorts and restaurants, an official of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) said. However, because the demand for ten percent service charge in all fares made by employees is still on demand HAN will be monitoring the situation for next couple of days, Executive Director of HAN Madav Om Shrestha said. The workers union has threatened to challenge the government action in court. On Thursday, hotel executives served guests at all major hotels in the capital because of the strike. Hoteliers were considering declaring a lockout if strikes continued. Nepalnews.com/br/at Kathmandu, 15 March:The Central Bureau of Statistics will conduct the tenth national population census between 9-22 June. Nepal’s current population is estimated at 23 million. Nearly 27,000 persons, including 20,000 enumerators, will be mobilised to conduct the census. Although initial results are expected by the end of June it is not known when the exact figures of the count will be published. A 22-day training programme for district enumeration officers began in Patan Wednesday. Two officers from Kathmandu and one each from 74 other districts are taking part in the training programme. Eighty census officers will run offices in each district and 300 persons will work as area supervisors. Nepal has been conducting a national census every ten years since 1911. Nepalnews.com/br/at Hotel owner burnt to death in fire Kathmandu, 16 March: Tika Bahadur Tijila, a hotel owner was burnt to death Monday night when his Moonlight Hotel in Deurali village in Parbat district caught fire. 15 tourists staying in the hotel managed to escape from the fire. It is not known what started the fire. The remains of Tijila, 35, were pulled out of the embers by rescuers hours after the blaze. Although the tourists scampered to safety they lost all their belongings and damage was estimated at one million rupees, police said. Nepalnews.com/br/at Editor Sen released Kathmandu, 16 March: Editor of Janadesh weekly Krishna Sen was released from Jaleshwor jail Thursday evening in the presence of journalists, the Nepal Journalist’s Federation said. The Federation has withdrawn its planned weeklong protests following his release. Sen was re-arrested during the weekend outside Rajbiraj jail even after a bench of the Supreme Court ordered his release. The editor of the pro Maoist newspaper was arrested under the Public Security Act two years ago after publishing graphic accounts of a rebel attack on a police post at Bhattedanda. Nepalnews.com/br/at Maoists set entire village on fire Kathmandu, 16 March: Maoists torched nearly 150 houses at Mahuwa village in Saptari district Wednesday rendering about 200 persons homeless, police said. The rebels then fled with looted paddy from the homes of Arun Kumar Goit and Bindeshwori Goit. The insurgents and police exchanged gunfire at a police post near the village before the attack. Nepalnews.com/br/at
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