KATHMANDU : Professor Dr. Yadunath Khanal (left) launching a book on former PM Bhattarai by Dr. Rajesh Gautam (centre) at the capital on Monday, while Bhattarai (right) looks on.

Campus shut down against fee hike

Post Report

DAILEKH, Dec 18 - Students of Naryan Campus have resorted to a lock-out for an indefinite period to protest against the campus management’s unilateral fee hike, the levying of examination centre fees and the unavailabilty of library facilities.

Students have said they have taken the action in response to the delay in executing the all-party agreement reached last month at an interaction programme.

At the programme, it was agreed that the examination centre fee would be met through external sources. It was also agreed that the monthly fee increase from Rs 150 to Rs 250 would be reconsidered.

Asked about the delay in implementing the decision, campus chief Malla said the examination centre fee is to be sent to Tribhuvan University. It is not certain whether the amount would be received from external sources which was decided at the interaction programme and the time for filling up forms in the university was going to expire. Hence, it was a compulsion for the campus management to impose the charge.

Classes were boycotted since last Wednesday and the students resorted to a lock-out, but the campus management has not shown particular interest in resolving the issue.

The campus had received recognition from Tribhuvan University four years ago to run the Bachelor’s level classes under the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Families asked to leave their dwellings

Post Report

LAMAHI, Dang, Dec 18 - At least, 300 families from the Bhalubang colony area in Lalmatiya Village Development Committee-3 are in search of permanent settlement after the government decided to evacuate them from the area they have been living in over the last 29 years.

The families came here from different parts of the country when the East-West Highway was being built.

Hari Kumari Shrestha, chairperson of the Action Committee for Permanent Settlement, said that their future became uncertain when the Regional Temporary Command Post of Police was established along with the Bhalubang Urban Development Committee around 18 years ago.

Locals said that they had no other option than to launch a movement against the administration when chief of the command post, Bijaya Pratap Shah, publicly announced the evacuation.

Locals concede that a plot of six bighas of land where the police command post is located is public property. A police officer from Dang, Tulsipur said that the government needs to acquire three more bighas of land to turn it into a brigadier camp. The police officer admitted that the post cannot be expanded without relocating the 5,000 people living there.

Lalmatiya VDC chairman, Surya Prakash Adhikari, however, was of the view that the government should not remove them from the area, where they have been squatting for the last 30 years.

Chairman of Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association in Bhalubang, Ram Prasad Tiwari, said that the administration was thinking about removing at least 35 huts immediately. A local woman, Bati Shahi, said, "We would rather sacrifice our lives than leave this place. They have no right to evict us from our homes like wild animals."

Locals also said that the VDC has been collecting land revenues from the people and the Bhalubang Urban Development Committee kept their records about five years ago. They also claimed that the government allowed them to live in the area 23 years ago.

Senior Superintendent of Police in Tulsipur, Dipendra Bista, said that the land required for police usage, will be acquiesced and compensation will be given to the people.

At a joint meeting comprising police, VDC chairman, people from the Action Committee and the Urban Development Committee on Sunday, it was decided to resolve the problem amicably.

Plight of orange farmers

Post Report

TAPLEJUNG, Dec 18 - Man Kumar Limbu’s mouth waters at the sight of juicy oranges growing lustily on his own land in Dingla VDC in Taplejung district. However, he is compelled to sell all of them without ever tasting them."We will never know the taste of our oranges," he laments.

This is the condition of orange farmers all over the district. They sell the orange trees at a lump sum amount to contractors after bargaining the price before the fruits are ripe and they are not allowed to touch the oranges after they sell them.

The district is favourable for the growth of different fruits, particularly oranges and lemons. Many VDCs like Dingla, Dokhu and Thechambu are well-known for abundant growth of oranges.

There is a practice of buying the fruits from the whole tree at a lumpsum amount. The poverty of the farmers drives them to sell their entire orange crop and they enter into such bargains to maintain their livelihood. The oranges fetch good price due to improving road infrastucture.

"So what if we don’t eat our oranges? We get plenty of income by selling them," said Hima Gurung, 29 of Dokhu VDC-7.

This is the benefit people are reaping after the construction of road. "People have become development-conscious along with the constuction of roads and a transportation system," Taplejung DDC President Bijay Raj Thebe said.

He also remarked that it was poverty which has compelled people to sell all their oranges without sparing any for themselves or their children. Local Development Officer, Pradip Bajracharya, agreed with this statement.

Those who are not so hard-pressed for money spare a few orange trees for themselves and sell the remaining ones at a bargain price.

DDC Vice-President, Ram Subedi, hoped that living standards in this district would rise as a result of the growth of oranges, lemons and other fruits.

In World War II, Gurkhas were part of Indian Army: Ben White

When the visiting British Secretary of State for Defence Geoffrey Hoon landed in Nepal, the issue that received top priority was none other than the Gurkha issue.

But to add to that, many questions were left unanswered. Especially when the Chairman of Britain’s Defence Council, who holds a cabinet ministerial post, arrived in Nepal where the Security Council has been in the spotlight ever since Maoists escalated their attacks. Plus, the visit was at the invitation of Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya.

As Defence Secretary Hoon returned to London last Friday morning, after completing his two day visit to Nepal, his press officer Ben White spoke to Satish Jung Shahi of The Kathmandu Post during an exclusive interview and addressed a wide range of issues.

Excerpts:

Is Britain compensating former Gurkhas who were held as prisoners-of-war (POWs) by the Japanese during World War II, as has been the case for their British counterparts?

- The issue was raised. But it has been looked at in quite some detail back in Britain and already by a legal team. And, obviously the difficulty is that in 1945, at the end of the war, the Gurkhas were part of the Indian Army rather than part of the British Army. They did not join the army until 1947.

So the difficulty is obviously that they were not serving Britain at the time that they were taken by the Japanese. And on that basis the decision is being made so far that we can’t actually pay that compensation.

Mr. Hoon has said that he continues to look at the issue.

* Does Britain have a record of how many Gurkhas were held as POWs then?

- I don’t think there is an exact figure. No, it’s several hundred I think. But I don’t know exactly how many.

Did Britain discuss the Maoist issue during talks with the Nepalese Defence Minister?

- It was discussed at various points during the visit. Clearly, it is a problem, which the Nepalese government has to face, and Mr. Hoon has sympathy with them for having to face that.

But, I know, that the way that the Nepalese government is dealing with it, by using the police rather than by using the army, and overseeing it from that point of view, is difficult for a Defence Minister, who is thoughtful for soldiers and not for police, to talk in detail. But it was mentioned and there was a certain sympathy for the Nepalese government.

Your Foreign Minister, when he was here, had pressed on the issue of resolving the Maoist insurgency through talks rather than by using the army or the police. What has Britain has to say now?

- Clearly, it is better that these situations are sorted out through diplomacy and talks rather than having to resort to using your armed forces. That would be the best way to resolve the situation.

But, as I said, I understand that it is a difficult situation.

What has Britain to say as some of their poverty alleviation programmes have also been affected by the Maoist insurgency?

- Mr. Hoon certainly saw the work of the Gurkha Welfare Scheme and we went up to one centre and we also went up to the headquarters in Pokhara. So he has a good understanding of the work of the Trust (Gurkha Welfare Trust) including the community work, whether the water project or the school project, and that he supports wholeheartedly.

The funding of the schemes, initially for administrative and the staff cost, is provided by the Ministry of Defence. The costs beyond that are provided through charitable donations. And, it is something obviously that we support fully...and if there are any problems, in any parts of the country, where that work is being obstructed by certain groups then clearly that is no good thing. And we hope that the Trust and the scheme can work without any interceptions.

Is the British government revising the "pension package" for the ex-Gurkhas?

- The pension package was increased earlier this year and as you probably know the ex-Gurkha soldiers had a doubling of their pension. You probably also understand that the whole pay and pension system is tied in a deal with India, Nepal and Britain signed in 1947, the tri-partite agreement. So, it is fixed to that and there’s a limited scope to what you can do.

But earlier this year, the British government made a change to the system and as a result, more servicemen are receiving twice as much as they did earlier this year. So, now we met some of the pensioners during the course of the visit and I think that they had expressed their appreciation for further increases.

There has been much disagreement among former Gurkhas saying that the increased "pension package" announced last year included many discrepancies between the pension of the higher level officer and the lower level officers. What do you have to say about that?

- The pension scheme does distinguish according to rank and the length of service. As is the pension scheme operated for British soldiers in the UK.

I would say that a system based on seniority is not unusual and, we think, that the package offered is a good one for Gurkha soldiers.

Did Britain raise the issue of former Gurkha soldiers organisations, particularly GAESO (Gorkha Army Ex-servicemen’s Organisation) , "intimidating" the former Gurkha soldiers for their movement?

- I don’t know the answer. We know, Mr. Hoon knows that there have been some problems in certain areas. And clearly, we hope that if people are being intimidated then the government will do anything it can to address that problem.

We know that some of the Welfare Centres have been targeted at a very low-level basis. And clearly that is about the situation and, I understand that, it is something that is difficult and I hope that the government can deal with it in a good, constructive way.

Has Britain been investigating the accusation that there is in-service discrimination within the British Army? Especially, when one of the former British Gurkha has even approached the British Court?

- The British Army runs a non-discriminatory policy. We have a equal opportunity policy. Obviously, when there are any accusations, then they are investigated fully.

I noticed here you have the case of Hari Thapa. That is the case that is presently on-going and is being dealt with by the court. So, it is difficult to talk about that in any detail.

But the policy of the British armed forces, whether it is the Army, the Navy or the RAF (Royal Air Force), is of non-discrimination and to treat all fairly. We hope that there is no discrimination in the army and as I said, if there is any allegation then they are investigated very seriously.

Will the growing resentment among the former Gurkhas affect the future recruitment in the British army?

- There are two things to say to that: Firstly that the Defence Secretary met with pensioners, whether they were service pensioners or welfare pensioners. He met with some of the regimental associations
and although these issues were talked about, it does not appear to be a huge issue.

And, in actual fact, these people are very proud to be serving with the British Army. They enjoy the links that Nepal has with Britain. They have enjoyed their time in the British Army. And they are broadly supportive of Britain and the government.

We also went to Pokhara to the recruiting centres. So, the young boys who were hoping to join and you can see with the shear numbers involved that, clearly, joining the British Army as a Gurkha is still a very popular thing. And Britain has a traditional long friendship with Nepal, based largely on the relationship with the military.

And, we would hope that would continue and certainly the thing is that there are still a large number of young Nepalese men who are keen to join the British Army and we hope that continues.

Lone SLC girl examinee fails test

By Khagendra Bhandari

BHOJPUR, Dec 18 - When Sharmila was studying at class 10, people in her village would say with pride," There is someone in our village who is studying in class 10. Now she will pass SLC examinations and become a masterni (lady teacher).

But unfortunately, Sharmila failed in the test examinations and left the school for ever. She got married and now she is the mother of a son.

Sharmila is still the most educated woman at Chaukibari,located at ward No 4 in Sanodumma VDC which can be reached after four to five hours’ walk from the district headquarters. If you ask anyone in the village about the highest educated person in the village, the same reply comes promptly from everyone.

"Mani Kumar is in class 10 now. He will perhaps pass the SLC," said an elderly man, Jit Bahadur Rai, jubilantly.

The Kirant locality of Chaukibari is very close to Manedanda secondary school in Bastim VDC, but it is very backward in the field of education. About 90 percent residents have to depend on their thumb impression when they have to sign any document.

"If the people of Bahun and Chhetri castes were also living side by side with us, we could perhaps be wiser. But the people of Rai community have thick brains; how can they read?" said Durga Bahadur Rai haltingly.

Some people speak Nepali with difficulty while there are some people who do not even understand the Nepali language in this locality.

Deu Prasad Rai, who left school when he was studying in class seven said, "I was not eager to study in those days. Now I am repenting." His neighbour Nabin Rai is studying in class nine in Manedanda secondary school.

Sharmila, who failed in the SLC test examinations but is still the most educated person in the village said, " I thank my mother that she sent me to school in those days when all the people were uneducated in our village."

There are 344 people in the 63 households in this ward. Ward chairman Dal Bahadur Rai says, "I feel very odd to be the ward chairman of the ignorant people."

People have little land for cultivation and whatever they have is also not fertile. Therefore, most of the people work as porters and earn their living. Some of them also bring stones from the nearby precipices, prepare a janto (grinding stone) and sell them.

Dharma Raj Pant of Plan International, who has been closely watching this locality and engaged in uplifting the condition of these people says, "If we are to improve this community, we must first of all take initiatives to change their mentality. It may still take many years."