Bleak days for tourism industry
Hoteliers decide to close hotels, country to lose billions of rupees

By Gopal Tiwari

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 – In yet another blow to the country’s tourism industry, hotel owners have announced to shut down their hotels beginning December 11, 2000, inviting great havoc for the whole economy – probably the first time in the history of Nepalese business sector.

Despite the understanding today between the government and hotel workers on postponing the strike for two months and finding out an amicable solution on the imposition of 10 per cent service charge, the move by the hotel owners comes as a major blow to the agreement.

The hotel workers had postponed their strike at the request of the government and agreed in principle with the government, today, to study on the issue of 10 per cent service charge and find out a solution within two months. But, hoteliers say that they are compelled to close down their hotels because of the oft-repeated threats by the hotel workers.

The decision to lock up hotels across the country was taken by Industrial Friendly Committee (IFC), an association of 16 tourism related organizations including the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) and Nepal Bankers Association (NBA) in a meeting held in the evening, today.

The Industrial Friendly Committee (IFC) says, FNCCI had submitted a proposal to the government – on the pros and cons of the 10 per cent service charge – about three months ago. However, the government opted to remain a mute spectator till today. IFC had informed all its clients, last week, not to bring guests to Nepal, says the release.

In a joint meeting of the country’s tourism entrepreneurs and industrialists held today, hotels are not going to start their services unless hotel workers withdraw their demands unconditionally. "The joint committee says there is a need to amend in labour acts, maintain hotel security, among others."

The hotel workers came to a ‘surreptitious’ agreement barely six hours before the deadline to postpone the strike for two months, waiting for an amicable solution through high level committee formed by the government. The committee was formed under the chairmanship of Prithvi Raj Ligal, vice chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) one month ago.

Ironically, the hotel industry was not involved while taking the final decision on the service charge that took place in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel and hotel union leaders this afternoon.

IFC says, "The closure of hotels will have long lasting effects on the tourism industry and would take about 5 to 10 years to recoup". Above all, the banks will lose their billions of rupees of loan given to tourism entrepreneurs.

Hoteliers worry, that from December 11 onwards, there will be no tourist staying in any hotels of the country. It is sure to lose billions of rupees as revenues through the tourism industry that makes up of – travel industry, airlines business, hotel sector, restaurants, rafting and trekking, among others. IFC reports, "The industry is likely to make a loss of over 500 million in a day’s closure." A total of 2766 tourism industries including airlines and banks will be hit by the closure.

As the tourism industry also gives employment to more than 1.5 million people across the country – directly or indirectly – it will have a severe impact on ancillary industries such as horticulture, food products, fishery, poultry farming, among others.

No sooner the hotel owners informed last week of the industry’s closure beginning December 11, more than 90 per cent reservations have been cancelled till today, reports Hotel Association Nepal (HAN).

IFC asserts that, with the imposition of 10 per cent service charge in hotels, it will have spillover effects in all sectors of industries, health, education, tele-communications, among others. Hoteliers claim that there is no provision of 10 percent additional service charge even in India and Pakistan.

The country’s tourism sector alone contributes 4 per cent to Gross Domestic Product and employs millions of people. It alone earns more than 170 million US dollar a year. The closure beginning today, will virtually stop all tourist in-flow and the tourism related activities across the country.

Government schools in big dilemma over closure
Lover bull elephant makes stable his love nest

Post Report

MAHENDRNAGAR, Dec 10 - Love has the power to turn wildest of all animals gentle like a pet. The story is being played out by a wild elephant at the elephant stable, Sukla Phanta Wildlife Sanctuary. In love with a female elephant at elephant stable near local Sinhapur post, the wild bull elephant is not in the mood to return to the jungle. And, the security personnels of the national park could not muster their courage to force the wild animal engaged in mating, back to the jungle.

Megh Bahadur Thapa, chief of the sanctuary cautioned his security staff to remain patient before any attempt is made to drive off the wild animal back to the jungle. It is because, he does not want to repeat what happened a year ago at the Piparaiya stable. They had to shoot the elephant after it became unruly, when people tried to drive it off to the jungle by force.

Ramji Siwakoti, officer at the sanctuary believes that the wild animal would return to the jungle on its own after few days once the female goes off-heat.

Elephants are kept at the Pipraiya stable, which is 34 kilometres from the sanctuary office at Majhgaon, after four rhinos were translocated to Sukla Phanta recently. The elephants are used for patrolling and to keep an eye on the rhinos.

Call for Chitwan shut- down to protest killing

Post Report

CHITWAN, Dec 10 – To protest the killing of Gauri Sapkota, 24, by police, six political parties, on Sunday, called for a Chitwan shut down on Tuesday. Sapkota was killed after police opened fire on a meeting of All Nepal Women’s Association (ANWA) – a sister organization of the underground CPN-Maoist yesterday.

Sapkota, a resident of Bharatpur Municipality – 9 and a student at Law Campus, Kathmandu, died on the way to Bharatpur Hospital. The town remained tense for the whole day today. Police had opened fire in a meeting of ANWA, which was going on in Harikirtan, Bharatpur-6.

The police fired one round of bullet in air after an agitated crowd chanted anti-government and pro-Maoist slogans in front of the District Police Office and hurled stones at the office. The crowd also demanded proper compensation to the deceased’s family and treatment of the injured.

Among the nine persons arrested by the police during yesterday’s incident, Guru Prasad Sapkota and Rajiv Sapkota have been released, Ramesh Chand, the Deputy Superintendent of Police said. Among the detainees are Susma Khanal, district Secretary of ANWA and Sabitri Acharya.

In a press release issued by ANWA, Chitwan, the Association has declared the deceased as the first martyr of the district. "ANWA will retaliate the killing at any cost," the release said.

Meanwhile, leaders of a grouping of nine left organizations, by issuing the press release, flayed the police intervention in the ANWA meeting killing Sapkota and injuring many others today. The release has strongly demanded the formation of a judicial committee to investigate the incident and also demanded the immediate release of the detainees.

Sixteen human rights activists including Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Rajesh Gautam, Chaitanya Misra, Gauri Pradhan, Pramod Raj Kafle and Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan, by issuing a press release, have requested the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident and also demanded stern legal action against the culprits.

Weak laws blamed for rights abuses

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 - Minister for Finance and Defence Mahesh Acharya today said that the government cannot be given a clean chit when it comes to torture and violation of human rights.

"We condemn any mental and physical torture carried out by any side and party," he said at a programme organised to mark the Human Rights Day. "We should strengthen our legal system to give an impetus to safeguard human rights."

Member of the Constitution Drafting Committee Nilambar Acharya said that violation of rights is on the rise, with impunity becoming a common affair, and the government is largely to be blamed for it.

Speakers at the programme called for the need of effective implementation of the Torture Compensation Act and inclusion of study of human rights in the school curriculum. MP Navaraj Subedi pointed out the need of judicial police in order to punish the real culprits.

AI is carrying out various programmes aimed at eliminating torture and providing compensation throughout the year. The programme was launched in October 2000.

Legal experts have been calling for the amendment of the Torture Compensation Act, which came into effect from 1997, stating that the act is inadequate to penalise the culprits and provide compensation to the victims.

They have recommended amendments to the law, which include the judge and public prosecutors should systematically demand to see the medical records of the examinations carried out at the time the suspect is taken for remand at the first instance.

The recommendation further states that torture should be clearly defined in law as crime in accordance with the definition as set out in the Convention Against Torture, either by passing an amendment to the Torture Compensation Act or by a separate new legislation.

Meanwhile, at another programme to mark the Human Rights Day, Speaker Taranath Ranabhat said, "untouchability, which is still prevalent in our society is also a form of torture. We cannot ensure human rights to the people until we eliminate such social evils from our society."

Speaking further, he accused the political parties of using "criminals" during the elections adding that, it is the political parties who need to be committed first to ensure human rights.

It is the political parties who need to be committed to ensure human rights. But, when the political parties are summoning criminals from jails to help them tilt the people’s verdict in their party’s favour, then how can we ensure human rights to the general masses.

Ranabhat also distributed prizes to the winners of Inter College Elocution competition organized by the Amnesty International.

Pratibha Khatiwada of Kanya Campus was declared first and Chrinjivi Lamsal and Durga Prasad Pokharel of Balmiki Campus stood second and third respectively.

Rights activists flay govt’s inefficiency

Post Report

LALITPUR, Dec 10 - Human Rights activists gathered to celebrate the 52nd International Human Rights Day here today, flayed the state’s inefficiency in protecting the rights of the citizens in the country.

"Human rights is in peril since the government and other political parties are using it for their political benefit," said Kanak Bikram Thapa, a professor at Tribhuvan University. "Despite the state’s repeated commitments in implementing the human rights, the state itself violates it."

Thapa was speaking at a talk programme organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to commemorate the International Human Rights Day today.

Speaking on the occasion, former member of National Planning Commission and a sociologist Chaitanya Misra, urged the NHRC to initiate preventive measures of human rights violations.

Professor Balkrishna Mabuhang blamed the government of behaving in double standard in the treatment of dalits and the downtrodden community of the country. "Altogether 19 articles of the constitution are against these people," he said.

NHRC member Sushil Pyakurel castigated the government for not approving the NHRC Regulations, which the Commission had submitted for approval five months ago. He also described various activities carried out by the constitutional body, after it was formed six months ago.

On the occasion, a video "When Good Men Do Nothing" was shown, and different organisations including Maiti Nepal, CVICT, WOREC, Nepal Police, Inhured International exhibited human rights related materials. The video explained in details of the massacre of minority Tutsi people by majority Hutu people in Rwanda in 1994. Nearly one million Tutsi people were killed during ethnic violence in 100 days after United Nations recalled its troops.

Palmists at Tundikhel: More tactics than shastras

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 - Do you have a broken heart? Or are you facing bankruptcy? Desperately want some words of solace? Go to "palmists" squatting on the pavements around Tundikhel in the capital.

Rather than reading palms, the self-acclaimed palmists try to please their hapless clients with sugar-coated words. People from outside Kathmandu are their easy prey from whom they charge between Rs 10 to Rs 50, for ‘reading’ palm, according to the dress-up and the behaviour of the clients. When they hear of their bright future, they never mind offering some tips too.

Local city police say there are over fifty such palmists around Tundikhel.

Krishna Prasad Dhungana, who has been earning his daily bread from reading other people’s palms for 12 years says, "It is human virtue to make others happy. So I don’t want to dishearten my clients by telling about their foreboding future. We know, most of them come to us when some problem gnaw their heart or luck refuses to shine on them."

Dhungana, 46, of Kyalthum village of Sindhupalchowk district worked as a teacher in a local school. He did not have School Leaving Certificate, a prerequisite for a primary teacher. He fled to Kathmandu after people discovered that he had no proper qualification. He joined the band of fortune-tellers. But he does not want any of his five children to take up his profession.

"I chose fortune-telling as a profession because I could not take lesser jobs since I used to be a teacher, he said. As a beginner, he studied a dozen books on palmistry. But practice helps him more than books on the shelf.

Similarly, 45 years old Ram Lama of Hetauda has been in the same Tundikhel periphery since 1988. He has been used to with his inconsistent daily earnings, which can vary from Rs 500 to zero.

He forecasts others’ future daily either reading the palm lines or with the help of rice grains. But he is not sure of his own future. He is waiting for his wife to return to him who left him three years ago. He said, "My wife is in Baglung. She does not want to come back to me. I am earning this much for my son’s future who lives with me."

However, Dr Dinesh Raj Pant, who has a seven or eight generation-long history of preparing horoscopes, says palmistry is a secondary school of astrology in the oriental shastras.

He bluntly said that most of the palm readers in Tundikhel take help more of tactics and less of the shastras. "While talking informally he picks out vital facts about the clients’ life and elaborates the same thing cleverly, reading his or her psychology," he said.

Dr Mangal Raj Joshi, the chairman of Royal Nepal Calendar Committee admits that it is a crime to give wrong information without proper study of the subject.

He insists that those who want to make palmistry a profession should go to proper institutions.

However, he does not like the idea of driving them away from Tundikhel. "But you can’t send them away. It’s their right to do their sort of business. Credibility matters in these jobs." he adds.

UML youths denounce policies of Govt, Maoists

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 - Leaders of the CPN-UML youth wing on Sunday, called upon both the government and the Maoists to end the existing violence in the country through the democratic process of dialogue.

"Both the government and the Maoists should correct their wrong policies and shortcomings and seek a solution through dialogue," urged the leaders of the Democratic National Youth Federation (DNYF) at a press meet today.

During the on-going fourth conference in the capital, DNYF passed 22 proposals - 16 on national issues and the remaining on international issues. The conference which started on December 6 will end tomorrow.

Praising the 10-point proposal of the CPN-UML, regarding constitutional amendment, they appealed to all concerned to be united for the execution of the proposal.

DNYF also condemned the government’s move of leasing the controversial Lauda Air jet, despite the instruction from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee not to go ahead with the deal. They demanded strong action against the wrong-doers.

The conference also denounced the policy of the international organisations, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for promoting the commercialisation and privatisation of education which has benefitted only the upper-class people so far.

The government’s education policy, said the Federation, has become a production centre for educated unemployed youth and stressed the need for "Janabadi Shiksha" (People’s Education).

However, their Janabadi Shiksha will be different from that of NCP-Maoist. The Maoists have been advocating for such education system, which according to the rebels, is possible only after the success of people’s war that they are waging for almost five years.

"We are for proper people’s education, which we will seek in the existing political system itself," said the newly elected DNYF President Gokarna Bista.

The Federation leaders also urged the government to formulate a "National Youth Policy" and establish a separate "Youth Ministry" since there are many problems of the existing 1.7 million youth of the country.

The Conference, participated in by 810 representatives, also elected their leaders for three years. Besides the new President, those elected are : Bhim KC as Vice-President, Rabindra Adhikari as General Secretary, Ram Chandra Rai as Secretary, and Basanta Nemwang as Treasurer. The conference has also elected 36 regional leadership.

CPN-ML meet busy discussing documents

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 10 – Two prominent leaders of Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) - Bamdev Gautam and Chandra Prakash Mainali - have presented their contradicting political documents in the closed session of the party’s National Convention.

Controversies have dogged the party, ever since Mainali and some central committee members registered an alternative policy document challenging the one presented by Gautam. According to Devi Prasad Ojha, coordinator of CPN-ML’s Publicity Committee, different political documents prepared by Siddhi Lal Singh, Shambhu Ram Shrestha and Hari Rokka were expected to be presented in today’s meeting.

"Discussion on the documents will be held on the following days," Ojha informed journalists. Tomorrow’s meeting will start at nine in the morning.

Meanwhile, the National Convention Health Committee has conducted almost 400 health check-ups and more than 100 representatives including 15 Central Committee members have donated their eyes posthumously.