MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND SUPPLIES Rajendra Mahato has said that price of fuel will not be increased before the elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA). "Given the nation's absorptive capacity, we cannot go on without hiking the price for a long time. But the parties have said we must not hike the price before CA elections," Mahato said. Mahato said that any hike in fuel price could be exploited by nefarious elements to trigger unrest to derail the elections. At a program organized by Gas Dealers' Association on Saturday (May 19), Mahato said the private sector will be involved in order to ease supply of fuel.
THE WORLD BANK HAS ISSUED A STATEMENT strongly condemning the recent abduction and murder of Navaraj Bista, an engineer working for the Udaypur District Development Committee. Bista was a staff with the Rural Access Improvement and Decentralization Project funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agriculture Roads (DOLIDAR) of the Government of Nepal. He and three other project staff were abducted as they were returning from a field training in Siraha district on May 11. The Janatarik Terai Mukti Morcha (Goit Faction) claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and the subsequent murder of Bista. "We are deeply shocked by this incident," said Mr. Ken Ohashi, World Bank Country Director for Nepal. "Development workers, be they engineers, teachers, or health care providers, should not be subjected to political violence. If their safety is not assured, we will be forced to assess whether our development assistance should continue in such areas." The World Bank has also expressed condolences to the family of late Bista and sympathies to project staff traumatized by the incident. The World Bank also expresses gratitude to human rights professionals who helped secure the release of the other hostages.
A SERIES OF TREMORS HAVE HIT eastern parts of Taplejung district on Wednesday (May 16). According to reports, moderate to strong jolts were felt by villagers on Wednesday, which is said to have damaged dozens of houses and killed unknown number of cattle in around seven VDCs including Mehele, Khewang and Mamankhe. As per the report by Nepal Television, Nilgiri secondary school in Mehele, too, has been damaged by the jolt. Human casualties, however, have not been reported yet. The report said that on Wednesday, strong quakes – whose intensity in richter scale are yet to be known – hit the region at 10 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Terrified by the series of shocks and aftershocks, villagers are staying in open spaces, said the report. Security team is said to have been dispatched to the region to assess the situation and help the villagers. The affected villages lie some one and a half day of walking distance away from district headquarters.
APPA SHERPA HAS BROKEN HIS OWN RECORD by successfully scaling Mount Everest 17th time on Wednesday (May 16). He was leading Super Sherpa expedition team whose all members have scaled the 8850 m high mountain. Likewise, Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who holds the record for climbing Everest in quickest time, has also scaled the Everest for 13 th time, according to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
NEPAL TELECOM (NT) is launching Third Generation (3G) mobile services from Thursday (May 17). The service is being launched on the occasion of International Telecom Day. NT officials claim that Nepal is going to be the first country in South Asia where 3G mobile services have been launched. According to NT director Buddhi Acharya, the SIM card for 3G service will cost Rs 4195 and its charges will be similar to that of prepaid mobiles. The NT has fixed Rs 10/min for video conferencing facilities. It has fixed 2 paisa per byte rate for video streaming. Currently, four television channels including Kantipur TV will be available.
EPALI ARMY (NA) HAS TAKEN ACTION against 14 of its personnel who have been found guilty of irregularities while finalising ration tender. Heads of the Rukum-based Bhairabi Dal Battalion, Dailekh-based Shri Bhawanibax Battalion and Sridal Barrack based in Tehrathum and some other officials have been found guilty of wrongdoing while awarding ration contracts to private sector bidders. According to the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR) of the NA, a court of inquiry set up to investigate into the scandal found them guilty of irregularities. The quantum of punishment to the guilty officials ranges from warning to 60 days detention to suspension of promotion for two years.
