Japanese PM arriving today
May seek support for seat in UN Security Council

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is arriving here tomorrow on a
one-day official visit, the first-ever by a Japanese prime minister to Nepal since diplomatic
relations were established in 1956.

The visit will strengthen the existing relations, which both the sides described as one of
"friendship and cooperation".

"The visit will strengthen the rapport between the two leaders (prime ministers)," Gyan Chandra
Acharya, Spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Kathmandu Post here today.
"This is the first visit abroad by the Japanese PM since he was re-elected in July this year," said
Acharya, adding, "This in itself is an indication how important is South Asia to Japan now."

Acharya also said that the two prime ministers are likely to devote most of their time to trade and
investment matters between the two nations.

Shedding light on Japan’s assistance to Nepal, Spokesman Acharya said that Japan had not yet
commented on the utilization of the fund provided to Nepal. Japan is the largest bilateral donor to
Nepal.

"Japan has not yet solicited our support," said Acharya, replying to a question if Japan had
asked for Nepal’s support to its claim to permanent seat in the Security Council (SC) of the UN.

At present the permanent members of Security Council are China, France, Russia, UK and USA
who have the coveted veto power. India and Japan both are eyeing a permanent seat in the SC
from Asia if ever its expansion takes place.

Acharya said that the issue might come up in the meeting between the two PMs.

Meanwhile, a press release from Japanese Embassy here said that the two prime ministers "will
exchange views on overall bilateral relations and other matters of mutual interests".

"The Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Nepal represents a clear expression of goodwill of Japan
to the government and the people of Nepal," adds the statement.

After being received at the airport by Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, PM Mori will
attend luncheon hosted in his honour by Koirala at the State Hall, Singha Durbar. Before his
return to Japan, Mori is scheduled to meet His Majesty King Birendra.

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to South Asian region concludes tomorrow with his day-long
visit to Nepal. He went to Bangladesh, Pakistan and India before coming to Nepal.

Mori was born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1937. Graduating from the School of Commerce of
Waseda University, Mori - a former journalist - was first elected to the Japanese Parliament in
1969 in which he is serving his 11th term.

The Japanese PM had held several important posts both in his party, LDP, and government. He
became Prime Minister in April this year when Keizo Obuchi, the then PM, slipped into a coma.

Maoists strike the Capital
School buses burnt, Police Club bombed

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - At least one person was badly injured while three school buses were
completely destroyed here by suspected Maoist rebels late last night, police said.

A group of some 20-25 unidentified persons entered the school premises of Modern Indian School
at Chovar at about 11:30 pm yesterday and started to pour kerosene and petrol on a number of
buses parked there.

They then hurled home-made bombs at the buses, torching three buses, a police source told The
Kathmandu Post, showing parts of home-made bombs loaded with explosive gelatine, recovered
from the site.

One bus conductor sleeping inside a bus got burnt while others managed to escape safely, the
School Principal VN Ratnakar told The Kathmandu Post.

According to Gobardhan Khatri, a security guard at the school, the hooligans, some carrying
pistols, absconded immediately after setting the buses on fire. They, however, made no move
that could ascertain them as Maoist insurgents.

"Major catastrophe was averted by the drivers, sleeping inside the buses, who duly drove the
other buses away from the three burning buses," Ratnakar said. "Thanks also to the police who
promptly arrived at the site with fire fighters and tamed the fire..." Two of the three burnt buses
were almost burnt to bare skeleton.

Despite no propaganda campaign by the hooligans during the incident, both the school
management and the police suspect the insurgents behind the explosions. "We never had any
differences with any communities ...," Ratnakar said, hinting that the Maoist elements were the
obvious suspects as the school blasts were in line with the series of blasts yesterday across
various parts of the Valley and the country at large. Maoist leader Prachanda had vowed to
retaliate against the government’s recent decision to crack-down on the insurgency sternly.

"Explosive gelatins recovered from the site too suggests that Maoists were responsible for the
destructions," said the police source. "We have, in fact, arrived at the conclusion that the
Maoists were behind the school blast." He, however, declined to further explain the case,
referring to the decision of the Police Headquarters not to disseminate any information pertaining
to Maoists insurgency to the public.

Home Ministry also pointed at the Maoists for the school explosions and also for all the prior
explosions across the country yesterday. "The school bombings and the rest of the series of
explosions yesterday points at the insurgents..," said the Home Ministry Spokesperson
Gopendra Pandey.

Likewise, a pipe bomb was hurled at Mahendra Police Club in the heart of the capital at about
7:00 pm yesterday. A site visit to the Police Club showed minor damage to the eastern wall of
the Club, adjoining Biswobhasa Campus. "We were playing bingo while the pipe bomb suddenly
exploded," said a police personnel at the Club. "Thanks God! no one got injured." Female police
cadres were organising a fair while the bomb exploded at the crowded club premises.

Similarly, a bomb exploded near a house of Ram Krishna Tiwari at crowded locality of Jhalgal in
Lalitpur district yesterday almost simultaneously with the Police Club explosion.

Serious ‘crisis of confidence’ foiling Deuba’s peace efforts

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - Coordinator of High Level Consensus-seeking Commission to hold
dialogues with the underground Maoists, Sher Bahadur Deuba today blamed "serious crisis of
confidence" as the factor foiling his efforts to pursue face-to-face dialogue with the Maoists.

"Despite my untiring efforts to broker talks between the government and the Maoists, it is evident
that a serious crisis of confidence exists," the former Prime Minister said in a statement issued
today. "Lessening if not overcoming this crisis of confidence is a prerequisite to start any
substantive and meaningful talk and dialogue."

Talking with The Kathmandu Post by telephone late in the evening, Deuba also said that he was
suggested by his colleagues to resign from his position of the Commission’s coordinator. "But I
did not like the idea," he said, "considering the interest of the nation as well as the people. I
should not shy away from this responsibility."

He added in the statement, "I would like to reiterate my continuing desire to pursue face-to-face
dialogue with Maoist leadership. This conflict (Maoist’s `People's War’) has now gone beyond the
confines of political concern. It has now become a humanitarian crisis which is affecting all
Nepalese, regardless of their political persuasion."

"It is now urgent to start a humanitarian dialogue to bring an end to this tragic situation. We are
children of mother Nepal; killing each other serves no one’s purpose. Nation building is a major
task ahead of us all. Development is not possible without peace. Therefore, the violence has to
end from all sides."

While reassuring what he described as all possible efforts to facilitate a humanitarian dialogue
with the Maoist leadership, Deuba said that his earnest endeavour is towards creating
atmosphere for dialogue which would be firmly rooted in an environment of mutual trust and
confidence.

"I will spate no effort to ensure that a face-to-face dialogue through appropriate channel is initiated
with the Maoist leadership and carried to its logical conclusion," he said.

"It is not easy to surmount the obstacles in this path and will necessarily take time. Therefore, I
would like to appeal all concerned to think seriously about the gravity of the situation and extend
a hand of cooperation in the greater national interest."

Deuba’s statement came two weeks after Maoist General Secretary Prachanda or Puspa Kamal
Dahal rejected possibilities of holding talks with the government, saying that the government has
failed to create the "minimum environment" required to hold talks.

Despite exchange of letters between the Maoist leadership and the Deuba Commission, the two
sides have failed to broker the much-hyped talks. The nearly-five-year-old ‘War’ waged by the
underground Maoists has taken the lives of over 1,300 people, including policemen, Maoists
insurgents and general public.

NC talks still at deadlock

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - A brief meeting of two leaders - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and
his predecessor Krishna Prasad Bhattarai - today failed to break the deadlock plaguing the ruling
Nepali Congress (NC).

Girija Prasad Koirala went to meet Bhattarai at his residence in Bhainsepati but nothing was
achieved as both of them clung to their stance. Bhattarai had failed to show up at the
parliamentary committee meeting held at the prime minister’s residence at Baluwatar yesterday.

According to party sources, the prime minister refused to step down from either party
presidentship or the premiership as demanded by Bhattarai faction.

Then Bhattarai told Koirala to talk with the dialogue committee comprising Sher Bahadur Deuba,
Chiranjibi Wagle and Purna Bahadur Khadka.

Koirala source however said Bhattarai responded that he would first consult with the dialogue
committee before taking the dialogue further.

Koirala had met Bhattarai earlier this month too, where Koirala had agreed to comply with at
least two demands put forth by the rebel camp. The two demands that Koirala agreed to comply
were -reshuffle of the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC) and the cabinet but he did not
give a time frame when he would fulfil them.

The rebels want Koirala to resign as the party president and appoint former prime minister and
Bhattarai supporter Sher Bahadur Deuba as the acting president. They have also been
demanding for around three months postponement of the party’s general convention, which is
scheduled for November.

TIA in need of one more Radar

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - Nepal’s only international airport needs one more Radar to avert fatal air
disasters in future, as well as to enhance flight safety standards to cater to the growing air traffic,
civil aviation officials said here on the eve of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s landmark
visit to the Himalayan Kingdom.

Mori, who happens to be the first Japanese Premier to visit Nepal, is arriving here on a
10-hour-long official visit tomorrow. Japan is Nepal’s largest bilateral donor, and has been
instrumental in providing assistance -- both financial and technical -- in the area of air navigation
safety, besides aiding Nepal in such crucial social areas as education and health.

It was the Japanese assistance worth Rs 1.75 billion (US $ 34.53 million) in the mid-nineties that
made the installation of a Radar system at TIA possible, according to officials. The assistance
followed the recommendations made in a study report on "TIA modernization plan" by a team of
JICA experts.

Following the 1994 study, the team recommended the installation of Terminal Radar, including
Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) and Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR), at TIA as an urgent
measure to enhance air safety.

The Radars together can detect aircraft flying within the range of 60 nautical miles radius from
Kathmandu airport, thanks mainly to Nepal’s rugged topography which often tends to "block" the
Radio signals thrown by the aircraft-monitoring-machine, according to technicians at Civil Aviation
Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

The modernization effort followed two major aircrashes--that of a Thai Airways plane which
skipped Kathmandu airport on a cloudy monsoon day before colliding head-on on a mountain
near Gosaikunda, and that of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which a few months
later crashed at a hill while approaching the airport--in 1992.

But even as officials and technicians at CAAN concede that the installation, completed in 1995,
has substantially enhanced air safety, they say much still needs to be done.

The first step, according to them, would be to install one more Secondary Surveillance Radar
(SSR) on one of the strategic hilltops -- such as Phulchoki, Nagarkot -- surrounding the Valley.
Installation of an additional SSR was also recommended by the 1994 study.

"The air safety level will increase considerably after the installation of one more SSR on of the
hilltops," said a senior technical officer at CAAN, TIA. If installed on one of the hilltops, the SSR
would comfortably detect -- and subsequently help navigate -- a deviated aircraft flying within a
range of say 200 nautical miles, technicians say.

"But due to its absence," he adds, "we (the Air Traffic Controller staff and airlines pilots) are still
facing serious challenges, specially during monsoon and foggy winter seasons."

A fresh example of the "serious challenge": On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 9 a Thai
Airways Airbus 300 had a miraculous escape over Bhattedanda -- the same point where the
ill-fated PIA aircraft crashed in 1992 -- as the airlines’ pilot "unknowingly breached the standard
profile of approaching".

CAAN officials refuse to divulge full details surrounding the "miraculous escape". But, according
to a knowledgeable technician, the aircraft had "descended a bit too low" while approaching the
airport that day.

Experts say pilots have to follow a specific descending procedure from over NOPEN near Simara,
16 nautical miles south of Kathmandu, while approaching the Kathmandu airport which is
sometimes described as one of the most difficult-to-land airports of the region.

Radars help enhance flight safety by detecting the exact location of the flying aircraft by keeping
constant surveillance on them. Air Traffic Controllers positioned at the airport read the Radar
signals, and subsequently alert the pilots in case of any danger.

There has been a sharp rise in the air traffic movement in and around TIA after the mid-nineties.
The airport recorded movements of 300 aircraft on a particular day last year, and the movement is
expected to go further up with increasing number of -- both domestic and international -- flights
operating.

IT most important sector for development

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC) Prithvi Raj Ligal
has said that the government would incorporate the suggestions put forth by NPC through its
Information and Communications (ICT) Policy and Strategy into the Information Technology (IT)
Policy, which is in its final stage.

Ligal expressed the view while addressing the National Stakeholders’ Workshop organized today
to publicly discuss the ICT Policy and Strategy draft prepared by the NPC.

"Though important points of this policy have been incorporated in the IT Policy prepared by the
Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), today’s deliberations would add more to the policy.
Since the draft is more comprehensive it may also contribute to Cyber Law", said Ligal.

Cyber Law and IT Policy were said to be tabled at the 18th session of the parliament but they
could not get through however.

IT is the most suitable and important sector for the development of Nepal considering its
topography. So the government should declare IT industry as a priority sector, Ligal added.

Dr Rameshananda Vaidya, an NPC member, shedding light on the ICT Policy and Strategy said
that the principal objective of IT development is to ensure peoples’ universal access to information
and to contribute to the national economy, to good governance and to make social services
easily available to the general public.

While formulating ICT strategy we should focus on peoples’ access to information, necessary
training and education for IT and identification of IT services, their expansion and application
aspect, he said.

While striving for advanced technology, we should not forget the need of the common people and
look for an alternative. A study shows wall paper, community audio tower, cassette magazine,
FM stations and local TV stations are the alternative media, Vaidya said.

In order to ensure the people’s access to information and to develop the IT industry, telecom
infrastructure and development of appropriate content are basic necessity.

Distance learning can be facilitated by the introduction of internet in a mountainous country like
Nepal. Similarly, education and IT should be developed as complementary to each other.

Talking about e-governance, Vaidya said government needs to establish public websites, set up
e-market place for government procurement and political leaders should have website to be in
touch with their electorate.

In his inaugural speech, Minister for Science and Technology Surendra Prasad Chaudhary said
that transforming a nation into a knowledge-based society is the major challenge today and those
who fail to reap the benefit of the IT industry will be hundred years back in overall development.
The efforts made by the government in the field of IT has received loud and clear response, he
said.

The ICT Policy and Strategy draft was prepared by the NPC after carrying out six separate
researches central to human resource development; information and communications
infrastructures; e-commerce/e-services; e-governance; software production and universal access
to information.

If the suggestions made by today’s gathering are encompassed in the IT Policy and Cyber Law,
they will definitely render them comprehensive and appropriate. The draft can also be browsed at
the website Nepalnews.com.

B’desh minister calls for regional approach on health related issues

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24- The visiting Bangladeshi Minister for Health and Family Welfare has
stressed the need for an integrated approach to combat new emerging health diseases in the
region.

Minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim expressed his country’s full support for joint effort among the
sub-regional countries namely Nepal, Bangladesh and India in health sector.

"The major health challenge in our region is because of the gap between the haves and the
have-nots. Unless this gap can be bridged the real health issue cannot be addressed. Therefore,
our own consorted effort is more vital than seeking foreign aid," said Minister Selim.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over inconsistency and often inflated price of essential and
life-saving medicines in the region, the Bangladeshi minister said, "By year 2006 South Asia is
likely to witness unaffordable price of medicines due to high export of medicine from this region
as a result of WTO move."

Minister Selim expressed hope of further cooperation between Nepal and Bangladesh in the field
of pharmaceuticals. He also hinted that the Bangladesh government is considering to increase
the present quotas given to Nepal in medical studies in Bangladesh.

Earlier today, Minister Selim met Health Minister Ram Baran Yadav, Commerce Minister Ram
Krishna Tamrakar and will meet PM Koirala tomorrow.

The press interaction, organised under the aegis of Nepal-SAARC Journalists’ Forum, was also
attended by Bangladesh Ambassador Cyril Sikder and Syed Modasser Ali, Member, Executive
Board, World Health Organisation (WHO).

SEAR ministers inspect TB Centre

By a Post Reporter

BHAKTAPUR, Aug 24 - Health Ministers from nine countries of the South East Asian Region
(SEAR) inspected the facilities of National Tuberculosis Centre (NTC) and observed activities of
SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC) here today.

Health Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India,
Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand and host country Nepal inspected the facilities.
Delegation accompanying the respective health ministers also made the inspection. Sri Lankan
Health Minister did not arrive to take part in the health ministers’ meeting.

The ministers had gathered here for the 18th meeting of SEAR health ministers which started
yesterday. The meeting takes place every year in different countries. This is the third time Nepal
is playing host to health ministers’ meeting.

Briefing the activities of STC and NTC to the visiting health ministers, Director of NTC and STC Dr
Dirgha Singh Bam said, Tuberculosis (TB) bacteria and HIV virus make a deadly pair increasing
the risk of TB infection 30 to 50 times more.

"If an HIV infected person receives TB bacteria, he or she has a chance of dying within weeks,"
Dr Bam said.

TB accounts for at least one third of AIDS deaths worldwide and 40 percent of deaths in Asia
alone. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than seven million people globally
have been co-infected with HIV and TB. Ninety-eight percent of them are in the developing
countries alone.

Speaking about the magnitude of TB, Dr Bam said, "TB kills over five thousand people in the
world per day. Currently, it has infected one third of the world population."

According to NTC, 45 percent of the population in Nepal is infected with TB, of which 60 percent
of them are in productive age group.

Because of effective DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short course) approach in Nepal, the
death rate has gone down to 8-11 thousand per year (1999) which was 15-18 thousand in 1994,
NTC sources said. Nepal adopted DOTS policy in 1995. Currently, there are 182 DOTS centres
and 575 sub-centres in 68 districts of Nepal covering 75 percent of the population.

‘Support election code by law’

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - The election Code of Conduct (CoC) formulated with the aim to control
astounding expenditure during elections should be supported by a law so that people violating it
can be put behind bars, said intellectuals and lawmakers today.

At a seminar organised to discuss the problems faced in implementing Election Code of Conduct
(CoC), former Chief Election Commissioner Professor Birendra Prasad Mishra said that

lack of an effective law prohibits both the election officer and the police from taking actions
against those violating the CoC.

"There is no well-defined law that clearly states what actions can be taken against those violating
the CoC," said Chudamani Raj Singh Malla, coordinator of GEOC.

Professor Mishra said that the CoC has not been enforced effectively because of widespread
political interference both in police force and administration.

Chief Election Commissioner Bishnu Pratap Shah said that the misconception that the
implementation of the CoC is only EC’s job should be eliminated to guarantee effective
implementation. "Improved and clear law alone would not do eliminate all the obstacles in
enforcing it," said Shah. "Everybody - from civil society to police to election administration should
be conscious and assist to implement the CoC."

"The election result can be invalidated by the Election Court if the CoC is violated but that is
possible only after the election results are declared not before that," said Shah.

Shah expressed bitterness over the fact that the Election Commission had not been consulted
and asked for its opinion on the recently-passed Bill to regulate the activities of political parties.

"If the election commission had been given a chance to sit in the discussions over the Bill the
outcomes definitely would have been better," said Shah. The Bill was passed by the House of
Representatives in the recently concluded session but since it has not been passed by the Upper
House it might take a long time before it actually gets the Royal Seal.

Ishwor Pokharel, CPN-UML lawmaker said that the monitoring of the election is not trustworthy
and the total expense that the candidates bear during elections is far more than what they
provide to the EC. "There is no method through which the election commission can verify what is
provided to them," said Pokharel.

Hiranya Lal Shrestha, CPN-ML leader said that the multinational companies, international
agencies and embassies were interfering during elections, which, he said "was also a part of
violation of CoC."

"The international agencies should also be made accountable for their activities," said Shrestha.
He also stressed on the need to form an interim government prior to elections to ensure that the
elections are fair.

PAC seeks govt’s position on ATR deal

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today asked the
Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to clarify the government’s position on the purchase of two
French-built ATR aircraft.

PAC has given the ministry ten days to come up clearly with the Aviation Policy and where the
government stood on the decision to buy the said aircraft.

"RNAC has said that it does not need the ministry’s consent in agreements dealing with
International flights. However, while taking loan for the purchase the government has to be
acknowledged," said Subas Nemwang, chairman of the committee. "What is the government’s
position on this issue? That needs to be clear."

Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Barun Shrestha had last week
said that the ministry was unaware of RNAC moving the deal until he read PAC’s notice this
week and has been reviewing the documents in this regard.

Early this month, RNAC had decided over the weekend to dispatch US$ 400,000 as refundable
commitment fee for the two aircraft.

On August 14, PAC had asked Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) to stall all financial and
other process regarding the purchase of the aircraft. RNAC was scheduled to dispatch the
amount the same day as the French manufacturer of the aircraft had promised to deliver the first
one this December and the second one a month later.

A committee headed by an RNAC board member had studied the prospects and recommended
this particular type of aircraft.

However, PAC is questioning how RNAC was moving forward to purchase the aircraft without
calling for tender bids as required and through direct negotiations.

PAC also questioned the government’s intention to privatise RNAC’s domestic services at the
meeting today. The government’s Aviation policy states that at first 49 percent of RNAC’s
domestic services would be privatised which then would be gradually increased.

Maoists escalate violence countrywide

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 24 - As the hope of dialogue with the government wanes, Maoists once again
escalated violent attacks across the country in which at least seven people lost their lives.

Three police personnel and four Maoist insurgents were killed Wednesday in separate incidences
of cross-firing between the Police and Maoist rebels in Sindhuli, Nawalparasi and Rukum.

According to the police, the insurgents have also exploded bombs in 17 districts including the
capital in the past two days.

Sub-Inspector Chandra Prasad Mishra died on the spot and four policemen were seriously injured
when the rebels attacked the police post at Rudrapur, Dauladi VDC at Nawalparasi district, last
night.

A group of 400 insurgents, having exploded the police post, looted two pistols, seven 303 rifles
and a 12-bored rifle from the police post with the placement of 18 police personnel.

Two police personnel -- Bhola Rajak of Dhanusha and Kedar Adhikari of Dhading -- and other
three Maoist rebels dressed in army uniform died on the spot at Majuwa Dobhan of Sindhuli
district, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Upendra Kant Aryal said.

The police personnel and the insurgent died on the spot when the insurgents fired at the base
camp of a police striking force at Jarayotar VDC-3, about 25 kilometres east of district
headquarters.

Sub-Inspector of Police Balaram Shrestha from Mahottari, Assistant Sub-Inspector Binod Khadka
Police and Police Constable Hari Poudel from Dhanusha who sustained serious injury during the
encounter have been air-lifted to Kathmandu for treatment, police said.

This is the first time that any police post in the district has been targeted by the rebels since
they waged People’s War five years back. Besides, two children -- Bal Bahadur Nepali, 12, and
Khadga Bahadur Shrestha, 14 -- who sustained injury in the cross-fire have been brought to
Kathmandu.

Similarly, a Maoist insurgent has been killed at Athbiskot VDC, Rukum where a group of rebels
clashed with the police. The police has recovered some explosives and home made guns from
the site of clash.

Another report from Dhangadhi states that the insurgents looted Rs 100,000 and five guns from a
Rastriya Banijya Bank branch at Bhajani VDC.

Similarly, the insurgents destroyed the office of Small Farmers Cooperatives by exploding a
handmade bomb at Hatiya Maidi, Dhading, according to DSP Madhav Kumar Thapa.

Likewise, a plastic industry has been partially damaged at Birtamod, Jhapa where the rebels
sneaked into the factory and exploded a hand grenade, Police Inspector Narayan Datta Poudel at
Birtamod Police Post said.

According to Chief District Officer, Morang, Yadav Dhungana, the insurgents planted a pipe bomb
at Land Revenue Collection Office meant for Sankhuwasabha district but nobody was reported
injured by the explosion.

Meanwhile, reports reaching from Rukum stated that the Maoists held torch light procession and
blank-fired in various parts of the district, according to the police. The insurgents also cut off the
supply of electricity to the district head quarters over the whole night. However, the police said it
received no information of any kinds of damages across the district.

In a separate incidence, a garage at Giri Khisti Police post owned by District Police Office in
Tehrathum has been damaged Wednesday as a result of heavy explosion planted by the Maoist
insurgents.

According to our Rajbiraj based reporter, although a heavy explosion was heard at the main gate
of Land Reforms Office, Saptari, no property was reported to have been damaged, the police said.

In a series of incidence of encounters and explosion, the insurgents exploded a heavy bomb at
Baba Distillery with damage worth Rs half a million at Birta Chowk, 28 kilometres away from
Rautahat district headquarters, DSP Ram Chandra Khanal said.

Similarly, the insurgents organised Wednesday torch light processions and blank-fired in most of
the Maoist-hit hill and Terai districts such as Pyuthan, Baglung, and Makwanpur.