Melamchi water to cost thrice the current tariff

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - The tariff for water will increase by at least three-fold after Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) begins to supply water to Kathmandu valley some time around 2007, said officials from Asian Development Bank (ADB) that approved US$ 120 million loan for the multi-billion rupees project.

As the consumers pay about Rs. 8 per cubic meter of water at present, this would effectively increase to Rs 24 per cubic meter.

"This would mean that a family using about 30,000 litres of water per month would have to pay about Rs. 500-600," said Suman Sharma, ADB’s liason official to the project.

The water would be expensive then but it is still better than paying for water they don’t get or from tankers, said ADB’s Nepal Residential Representative Richard Vokes.

Vokes informed that the work on the access road should begin by May next year and we expect other grants and funds to come into place by March. " The civil construction works for 26-kilometres long tunnel will begin in 18 months time, he said.

Vokes said the water would only meet the demand of the population for the next 6-10 years after completion of the first phase. However, the phase II and III that is to begin construction in the next few years that should meet the drinking water demand of Kathmandu valley until the year 2030.

"About 60 per cent of the water from phase I (170 million litres per day) will go to meet the unmet demand of the present leaving only 40 per cent to meet the future expansion," Vokes said.

Vokes made it clear that none of the work on the tunnel will begin unless private operators are in place.

The loan was agreed in principle between a negotiating team from Nepal and the Bank on November 18. The repayment period for the soft loan will be 32 years, including a grace period of initial 8 years during which Nepal can withhold payment of the loan. During the grace period, interest rate charge will be 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent thereafter.

Besides ADB, Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), Norwegian Aid Agency(NORAD), Nordic Development Fund (NDF), OPEC Fund and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) have already committed to jointly fund the project along with the ADB.

Top level finance officials deny RBB, NBL privatisationPost Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - The nation’s top financial officials today denied the process of handing over the management of two largest and semi-state-owned banks as a move to privatise these ailing institutes.

"It is neither our objective nor our target to privatise these two ailing and failing banks," said Dipendra Purush Dhakal, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central regulatory body of the banking system.

The government had decided to hand over the management of Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) and Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) and sought proposals from private management groups. The call was responded by 41 proposals out of which eight have been shortlisted.

Questions were being raised about the government’s move by the opposition parties and the main opposition CPN-UML had been accusing the government of trying to eventually sell out these two banks.

The contract once finalised will allow the private operator to run the management of these two banks for the next two years with a provision for one year extension.

NBL which was established 62 years ago and RBB 35 years ago are the oldest commercial banks that handled most banking until the country opened up the doors for foreign collaboration banks in the mid-eighties.

"The state of these banks is critical and unless there are major reforms made there would be negative impact not only on the banking sector but on the whole economy too," said Dr Bimal Koirala, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.

Records showed that the RBB has over Rs. 8 billion stacked just in principle amount of bad loans and the interests on the loans sanctioned by the bank add up to Rs 9.67 billion.

Officials of the bank have openly admitted that these loans that amount to billions of rupees are yet to be settled and the bank has little hope, if any, of recovering much of these loans.

Figures released by NBL also show that out of its total disbursement of Rs. 22 billion; 31.63 per cent of loans are in defaulted category, majority of which have been defaulted for years.

Few months back, an investigation report by an international audit firm on the financial position of NBL had said the bank’s lending process, loan files and the loan portfolio itself were deeply flawed and the bank was technically insolvent.

London-based KPMG Barnet said that by international standards, NBL suffers from serious, critical shortfalls in all key areas.

"This is an attempt to improve the management, accounting, transaction, operation and loan process of these banks under the government’s policy of reforms and restructure in the finance sector," Dr Koirala said adding that there would be transfer of knowledge working in collaboration with people having international exposure and experience.

Dhakal said though KPMG Barnet that had prepared the report on the banks had applied for the contract, it could not make it to the short list. There had been allegations that KPMG with its knowledge of the loopholes in these banks was getting an unfair advantage over other applicants. The hand over is expected to take place by April next year.

Both Dhakal and Koirala were summoned by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today to furnish information on the matter.

Concern over food security as population outdoes production

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - Experts and planners often take comfort in the fact that Nepal has never passed through a predicament of mass starvation and banking on that fact, easily write off such possibility in future. But, that could be too simplistic a generalisation to head-off long-run food security risk.

The growing mismatch between the food production, especially the major food grains for mass consumption, and population growth rate, hints towards grey line for future. According to government statistics, food grain production in Nepal during the period 1984-99 increased by a mere 38 per cent- 7 per cent less than the cumulative population growth during the same period.

The threat appears real if one is to analyse the production rate of paddy, the staple food for majority of Nepali people. According to FAO data, paddy production has grown by an average of 1.5 per cent in between 1989-1999. Rice, which supplies 77 per cent of total Dietary Energy Supply in Nepal, has not kept pace with the growth in population.

Nepal is already into problems. The country, which once used to export food grains, now imports it. And, acute food shortage often confronts remote western hilly districts like Humla and Jumla. There are many other districts where food is deficient but manage to meet the demand by importing grain from neighbouring districts or from other side of the border - thanks to the porous Nepal-India boundary.

If the gap between population growth and paddy/rice production is not bridged soon, experts fear that, the list of districts facing food shortage may rise.

Douglas Cason Coutts, Representative of World Food Programme says, "With a weak economy, Nepal must enhance its production level to ensure food security in the long run".

While rich developed nations may not require to be self-sufficient in food, since they have the capital to import grain to feed their masses, economically weaker nations must try to enhance their productivity and be self-sufficient to ensure food security, adds Coutts.

The Rome Declaration on World Food Security says a nation is said to have food security when all its people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

By that standard, Nepal already lacks food security since over 20 percent of its population are undernourished. The reasons are aplenty, but one of the chief factors is the failure of grain production to outstrip the population growth rate.

A senior official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Lakshman Gautam, says, "Nepal’s per capita food grain production is in a declining trend."

Experts even argue that it would be wrong to see food security problem through the economic jargon of aggregate equilibrium between demand and supply. Due attention must be paid to upgrading of distribution network and enhancing the purchasing power of the common masses.

"Production alone, however, does not determine food security. Distribution and purchasing capacity of the common masses are other important determinants," said Coutts. "Immediate efforts to address food security in remote areas must be initiated. Pressure may otherwise build up on urban and Terai areas, in the form of migration from rural areas."

Widespread poverty and low purchasing power of the citizens, accompanied by a fluctuations in production is a big challenge to ensuring food security, argues Ratnakar Adhikari, General Secretary of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE).

The concern for food security is further reinforced by the fact that Nepal is working vigorously to join World Trade Organisation (WTO), the multilateral rule based trading system.

WTO agreements contain provisions which, critics argue, directly threaten food security of a country, especially that of food importing nations. And, that is what rings the alarm for Nepal.

Will the Dragon shed its fears?

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - On Sunday, a delegation from the Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan led by its foreign minister is set to arrive in Kathmandu to begin the Tenth round of bilateral ministerial-level talks.

As such, the coming week is going to be a crucial time for Nepal, Bhutan and above all, for the nearly 100,000 Lhotsampa refugees languishing in seven UNHCR-run camps in eastern Nepal.

Though it is clear by now that both Nepal and Bhutan will ostensibly try to thrash out an agreement on how and when to begin the key refugee verification process according to the four categories of refugees agreed earlier, it is also clear that resolving this vexed issue is not going to be easy.

The four categories that Nepal and Bhutan agreed earlier are: genuine Bhutanese, Bhutanese who willingly emigrated from their country, Bhutanese with criminal backgrounds and non-Bhutanese.

In the Eighth round of talks, Bhutan finally agreed in principle to the verification process, and in the Ninth round, both the sides agreed to set up a joint-verification team to begin that process. The issue rests there, at the moment.

In the coming Tenth round, the onus is on Nepal to try and convince Bhutan to accept a new proposal floated by the US early this month that could begin the verification process. But some irritants linger, like the definition of a "family unit" - the term that could make or break a refugee’s fortunes.

The two sides have failed to agree on what constitutes a family - whether everyone over 25 is part of a family unit and thus should be verified together. Or whether all the refugees should be verified individually irrespective of their age.

This is a key point since Bhutan has stuck to its guns for the latter while Nepal, after much prodding by both the UNHCR and the US (which has lately been showing considerable interest), has agreed to the former. During the coming talks, this is where the give and take will centre.

Nepal’s foreign ministry officials admit that stakes are very high for both the sides. Nepal has nevertheless accepted the US formula, but Bhutan has still to give a concrete reply.

It remains to be seen whether Bhutan sheds its fear of non-Bhutanese being repatriated. Knowledgeable government sources say that this fear and suspicion has come in the way of Bhutan agreeing to any worthwhile solution.

Former foreign minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, during whose tenure the Eighth round of talks were held, said that Bhutan had to work with Nepal to resolve the issue due to the increased international pressure. He stressed that Nepal should not compromise on the repatriation of eligible Bhutanese refugees. "No one would willingly leave his or her country to languish in refugee camps."

Dr Mahat also spoke for the need for India’s role, despite the bilateral negotiation. "The implication for India too is high. If the youth in the camps take up arms, it is India, besides Nepal and Bhutan, that is going to suffer," said the former foreign minister.

Indeed, foreign ministry sources point out the need for a third party mediation, at least to hear the appeal of any refugees who will not accept the verdict of the joint verification team. They say it could be either a country (India), or an individual or an organisation like UNHCR.

With India controlling the defence and foreign policies of Bhutan, many foreign policy analysts feel that India held a moral responsibility to help resolve the vexed refugee issue. After all, it was a close co-ordination between the two Indian state police forces - West Bengal and Assam - that brought truck-loads of Bhutanese refugees into Nepal, though the two countries do not share a contiguous border.

Butwal tense after 3 killings

Post Report

BUTWAL, Dec 22 - After three people were killed in separate incidents, the normal life in Butwal came to standstill after the ensuing violence following it on Friday, police here said.

A nine year old boy, Ram Prasad Poudel, was killed on the spot when a jeep bearing number Lu 1 Ja 815 hit him at Bankatta, 10 km west of here, on Friday morning. At a time the locals were barricading the busy East-West highway over the killing of the boy, another person, Baburam Acharya, a student of Butwal Multiple Campus, was killed by bus with registration number Lu 1 Kha 1632 in the downtown area, Thursday evening.

An eyewitness, Til Bahadur Chhetri, said that the bus driver, who absconded later, ran over and killed Acharya, by reversing the bus when he sustained minor injury when first hit.

A group of students and deceased’s relative gheraoed the local police station, demanding a compensation and action against the bus driver who "killed him intentionally". At the same time, an unidentified group brutally killed Jayashowr Bhattari, 39, the owner of bus (Lu 1 Kha 1525), in the city area around mid-night, Friday.

People resorted to vandalism when the police attempted to remove Acharya’s body, without properly conducting the on-the-site examinations. City dwellers accused the local administration of not taking prompt action to bring the situation under control.

The agitated crowd vandalised over 50 vehicles within half an hour, Krishna Neupane, President of Western Nepal Bus Entrepreneurs Association, told The Kathmmandu Post. Neupane also alleged that the agitators were responsible for killing the bus owner, Bhattarai.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Police, Area Police Station, Butwal, Rajan Kumar Shrestha, suspects that Bhattarai must have been killed by a criminal gang. A large number of riot-police were called from Bardaghat, about 40km east of here, to bring the situation under control.

All vehicle entrepreneurs, in an emergency joint meeting that was called on Friday, decided to suspend all transport services plying under the umbrella body for three days across the Lumbini zone. They have also made demands for compensation of the damaged vehicles, action against the culprits and security guarantee.

Police said that the last rites of all three deceased were performed on Friday, after taking them in procession around the city.

Local communities could do with this theatrical punch

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - What would you call an acting performance without any trained actors, without any written script, without any props and without anybody directing it? What would you say if told that the performance would get interrupted several times in between and the scenes of the play changed by the audience as the play goes on?

Well, the answer would be Theatre for Development (TfD). But what is it?

"It is very difficult to explain in few words what it really is", says Ramesh Puri of Save the Children Fund (UK) who has been working with the concept of TfD for development of Nepali children for some time. "TfD is acting out of real life experiences by some people of a community in front of the community, and that which always ends with an interaction", he adds.

Hari Khanal of Sarwanam, a well-known street theatre group and the National Co-ordinator for Forum Theatre in Nepal says, "Tfd is a form of theatre which only concentrates on the development aspect. It has no aesthetic side nor does it have any artistic side."

According to a report, Tfd is a participatory process of analysis. It is the collective remaking of the drama in order to reflect a deeper awareness of the inter-relatedness of social, economic and political forces in people’s lives. It links with their passions. It is a process that in a participatory way orders the sequence of analysis, improvisation, performance, and audience interaction.

The report further adds that TfD is the process in which the development needs of a particular community are addressed by using theatre to articulate those needs and explore possible solutions required to meet them. It is a process, which can include all sections of the community and enhances their confidence in giving expression to the reality of their lives and to their hopes and desires for improving the quality of life.

"Since the real people are asked to act out their real life experiences the burning social issue always comes up, and since the audience is always participating the mood and the feeling of the community in the issue being raised surfaces," says Puri.

"The discussion after the play brings realisation within the community. There is no message given through this for the people to feel imposed upon or any new idea planted so that there is nothing for the people to resist. The desire for change comes from the community itself and they solve the problems themselves," he adds.

TfD is relatively a new concept and it has only been a couple of years since it was introduced in Nepal. At present, it is undergoing an ‘observation period’ when the impact of TfD in the communities is being studied. Its practitioners say, that is the reason why it is still early to say if this concept and process of development has been a success in the country or not.

Despite its obvious merits in a developing society like Nepal, TfD is not without its controversies, however. Some Nepali theatre activists are not ready to accept this as a new concept. They say that the concept was always there in Nepal and theatre activists had been practising similar kind of methodology and conducting plays throughout the country for quite some time.

"It is just another program where fund comes from outside and the majority of it goes back to the same place. The local communities are just being used for experiments," says a theatre worker who wished to remain anonymous.

But Puri challenges the statement saying; "TfD will not be what it is if theatrically trained people are involved. It is not a role-play; nor is it message-laden street theatre. This is what the people don’t understand. Their understanding of TfD is itself faulty."

Tension running high in Biratnagar

By Bikash Thapa & Binod Bhandari

BIRATNAGAR, Dec 22 - This eastern town remained tense for the third consecutive day, although the students’ union withdrew their protest call against the police’s action.

The police suspect the underground Maoists for the continuing tension. The Students’ Union of the local Mahendra Morang Adarsha Multiple Campus had withdrawn its protest call after students supporting All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary), the students wing of CPN (Maoist) rallied and chanted pro-Maoist slogans.

The campus has been shut down for indefinite period after the pro-Maoist students took command of the situation yesterday.

"Maoists must be behind the closure of the shops and tension amongst the people," a police officer told The Kathmandu Post.

"The police is given the charge of the situation in order to protect the campus property," said the campus chief Dr Upendra Koirala.

Eight students were injured in yesterday’s clash with the riot-police.

Fearing possible "seizure of opportunity" by the pro-Maoist students, riot-police has been massively deployed. The police reinforcement was called in from Pakali and Dharan, Sunsari and other places in Morang.

Police blame the Maoists as responsible for bringing life to a standstill and creating tension amongst the people. Police arrested four persons who entered the Baba Jute Mills in Adarsha Katahari Village Development Committee (VDC) and hurled stones at the industry forcing it to close down. Police suspected the four to be Maoists.

Except for a few pharmacies, none of the education institutes and industries opened on Friday. The industries and financial transaction in this industrial town has come to a standstill.

The customs office at Biratnagar stated that the export-import transaction has come to a halt since the past three days. The customs office, which used to collect around five million Rupees everyday, is not even collecting Rs 100,000 these days, said Madhav Pokharel, chief at the customs office.

The series of clash and tension erupted after transport employees manhandled a student in an argument over bus fare. Later, the students had attacked the police accusing them of lathicharging the students in a one-sided manner. On Wednesday, 69 students were injured after police fired tear gas shells and bullets at the agitating students who torched 11 passenger buses.

Meanwhile, in a joint press release issued today the students union of CPN (Maoist), CPN-ML and Unity Centre, have warned to take to the streets again stating that the administration was unwilling to sit down for talks and resolve the problem. The unions have said that if the police actions are not stopped immediately they will start their agitation and "the administration has to be responsible for any outcomes of the movement. We will be compelled to be armed and take to the streets if the safety of the students and their treatment is not ensured."

Their protest programmes include - closure of all the education institutes in Biratnagar, unfurling black flags at all the campuses, torch rallies and closure of the town for an indefinite period.

An all-party meeting under the chairmanship of the Chief District Officer Binod Gyawali took place till late in the evening. However, sources say that the meeting has been unable to make any breakthroughs.

Attempt to slander Nepali Muslims

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 22 - Close on the heels of Hindu fundamentalist leader Bal Thakeray’s call to abrogate voting rights of the Muslim community in India, an extremist Hindu organization affiliated to similar Indian groups has started to spit venom against the Muslim minority in Nepal too.

A newsletter called Hindu Sandesh published by Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh Nepal, a sister organization of India’s Hindu fundamentalist Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), has tried to slander Islam in its latest issue meant for private circulation among its members. An official of the Home Ministry made the newsletter available to The Kathmandu Post by fax.

In an article written by B N Jog, in its latest edition, the newsletter has tried to cast aspersions on the religion by saying, "Islam and terrorism were born together." The article laced with malice against the Islam religion also tries to argue that Islam is a convenient breeding ground for terrorism.

The eight-page -long newsletter has also printed a news-article which alleges that there is a conspiracy going on in Nepal to reduce the Hindu population to 20 per cent in the coming national census. The allegation is based on the organization’s preacher Subedar, an Indian national and the main propagandist of RSS in Nepal.

The newsletter has also tried to drag the Royal Family into the controversy by mentioning about an orphanage that the Muslims in Birgunj have been trying to build on public land for the last 20 years.

Mohan Rajpal, one of the activists of Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh Nepal argues in an article that a park commemorating the coronation of His Majesty King Birendra should be established on the same patch of land, where Birgunj Municipality permitted building a Muslim orphanage.