Highway not black-topped even after 15 yrs

By Lila Ballav Ghimire

DHANKUTA, April 26 - Fifteen years have passed since the 26-kilometre-long Hile-Basantpur highway was constructed but it is yet to be black-topped.

Hile lies at ward No 1 of Dhankuta district while Basantpur lies in Tehrathum district. The highway extends up to the headquarters of Tehrathum district on the one hand, while on the other, it extends further to the headquarters of Sankhuwasabha district via Budhe Sansare.

More than 50 passenger transports have been plying on this rough road for the last 15 years apart from trucks carrying goods. Buses, trucks and taxies have been plying up to the district headquarters daily since last year. However, they stop going up to the district headquarters immediately after the beginning of the rainy season. This has adversely affected thousands of local passengers. That is why the prices of consumer goods have gone up suddenly in Basantpur of Tehrathum district.

Similarly, vehicles going to the headquarters of Sankhuwasabha district via Budhe Sansare have stopped plying after the road has been damaged and people have been compelled to walk for nine hours to reach the district headquarters.

Prices of goods also go up when buses and trucks cannot ply up to the headquarters of Tehrathum district. They cannot go beyond Basantpur during the rainy season.

The highway bifurcates to headqurters of Sankhuwasabha and Tehrathum districts only after it reaches Basantpur. Therefore black-topping of this important road has been the election issue in different elections, but Members of Parliament representing these areas have not raised the issue in the parliament after their victory in the polls. They only deceive the voters, said Member of Dhankuta Tarun Dal and resident of Teliya VDC Post Prasad Ojha.

Roads Office invites every year for gravelling of Hile-Basantpur highway. The highway is gravelled every year but it returns to its old shape after a week of gravelling. Together, the contractor and the engineer can do anything. We have not seen the improvement of the road, said Krishna Guragain of Bhirgaon.

The transport entrepreneurs have also been demanding time and again with extreme measures like transport stoppage, but the agencies concerned have turned a deaf ear to such demands and bad road is the reason of many accidents, transport entrepreneur Madan Dahal said.

Relief aid to fire victims

By a Post Reporter

MAHOTTARI, April 26 - Relief materials are being distributed to the victims of fire that spread across the district last week. According to officials from the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), in a span of one week, from April 12 to April 20, the fire that spread around 15 VDCs of the district gutted 110 houses leaving 82 families homeless. The fire was controlled by Jaleshwor Fire engine, the only fire-engine here.

The dry season, increasing temperature and the high winds that prompted the fire has destroyed property worth Rs 932 thousand 500 and food grains worth Rs 78 thousand, officials said.

According to Bijaya Kumar Chaudhari, office assistant of NRCS, the society has provided relief materials worth Rs 3 thousand to each family.

While NRCS has distributed a total of Rs 246 thousand, the Disaster Relief Committee Trust here has distribut cash of Rs 1000 to Rs 3000 to 28 families. A total of Rs 58 thousand has been distributed by the trust said Chief District Officer Lakshmi Prasad Bhattarai. According to Bhattarai, more relief materials are going to be distributed.

Livestock smuggling on the rise

By a Post Reporter

BIRATNAGAR, April 26 - The smuggling of cows and oxen from Morang district into India has gained momentum.

There is a ban to export cows and oxen from Nepal into India but the export of these animals from the bordering points has not been stopped.

According to Superintendent of Police Kalyan Kumar Timilsina, police have arrested Samsul Miya of Kadmaha VDC along with 60 cows and oxen as he was exporting these animals from Kadmaha and Nocha point at night.

Police had also seized 43 cows and oxen and handed them over to Rani Customs Office about two weeks ago.

According to police, Miya told them that it was his occupation to export cows and oxen and that the animals were being smuggled out for meat purpose.

These animals are purchased in different animal markets of eastern Nepal including Domana, Damak, Inaruwa, Duhabi, and Surunga before smuggling them out to India from Kadamaha, Nocha, Gaderiya, Amaibariyati, Sonapur, Budhnagar, Nayabazaar and Jhurkiya.

Police have also arrested Raj Dev Mandal,, Hajari Gohit and Chaite Mandal of Nocha VDC on the charge of smuggling of cows and oxen into India. They claimed that they get 60 rupees for export of one animal.

Woman dies in mishap

By a Post Reporter

MAHENDRANAGAR, April 26 - A fifty-year- old woman fell off a government-owned jeep and succumbed to injuries, here today.

Nanda Devi Paal from Majgaun 16, died of head injuries while she was being taken to the hospital. According to the driver Khadka Singh Bista, Paal had attempted on getting off the jeep before it stopped and thus fell off. Bista is in police custody and investigations are going on.

Doms deprived of power facility

RAUTAHAT, April 26 (PR) - Although many villages of Rautahat district are electrified, the Doms of Santapur village have been deprived electricity facility.

Samus Dom says they need landowner’s certificate for installing electricity in their house but they do not have even an inch of land. Therefore, they can do nothing than see the bright light in other people’s houses.

Landless and backward people like Dom and Musahar burn a bottle lamp in their house since they do not possess land and land owner’s certificate which is essential for electricity installation in any house.

One Dom complained to The Kathmandu Post that people of other castes treat them disparagingly. When they request to use a bulb in their house with people of other castes they remind them that they are Dom and they should not forget their position in the society. According to Raj Kumar Thapa, an employee of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) unit branch Chandra Nigahapur, none of the Doms and Musahars had applied for installing electricity in their houses after the Seventh Electricity Project started to install electricity in this area since 2054 BS.

Headmaster Ram Kumar Koirala is of the view that poverty is the root cause of the inability of these backward people like Doms and Musahars in installing electricity in their houses as they live for two ends meet.

Prizes to musicians

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, April 26 - In the presence of luminaries from the field of literature and music, the Narayan Gopal Trust distributed prizes to the most promising musicians at the Royal Nepal Academy on Tuesday night.

The Trust, with financial help from the government, was set up in the memory of music maestro Narayan Gopal who passed away in 1992 leaving the nation in unlimited void. It distributes prizes to senior and upcoming musicians every two years.

First prize went to Sailesh Singh, music teacher at Bhanubhakta Memorial higher secondary school, second to Binod Baniya and third to Nitin Chandra Pokherel. Consolation prizes went to Sushila Thapa and Pawal Chamling Rai.

A number of other musical luminaries and music organisations were honoured by the Trust with certificates of appreciation for their contribution in the field of music.

And the many present during the function felt the presence of the late Narayan Gopal through his heart-touching songs that capture the Nepali spirit.