Electricity brings hope to locals of Baidi VDC

By Krishna Adhikari

TANAHU, Dec 27 (RSS)- Baidi VDC, a cluster of remote-lying villages in Tanahu district, sees all kinds of development potentialities, now that it has entered the age of electricity.

"We have great opportunities on hand since we have the much needed electricity. The village has seen light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t have to buy expensive kerosene either and the destruction of forest has also been put at rest," says septuagenarian Tej Bahadur Ranabhat.

Hem Raj Shrestha, a class ten student at Adarsha Shiksha secondary school, says, "With our rooms lit with effulgent bulbs, it is now easier for us to study at home."

Electricity has contributed as much to the progress of educational sector as to the economic and social sectors. The school pass percentage is definitely up.

"Besides, with the student flow from other parts of Tanahu and neighbouring Nawalparasi district swelling perceptibly, plans are now afoot to introduce computer education at schools," says headmaster Bishnu Parajuli of the school.

In fact, life-style in the villages has changed a lot, thanks to the 35 kw Chheranga Khola micro-hydel project. The co-operation of UNDP, Rural Energy Development Programme, the Tanahu DDC, the Baidi and Kota VDCs, the Agriculture Development Bank and the local community has really paid off.

A total of 223 households have been directly benefited from the project constructed at a cost of Rs. 3,749,473 at ward No. 4 and 5 of Kota VDC and wards 4 and 8 of Baidi VDC.

A consumer fee of one rupee per kw has been fixed on the electricity generated from the project whose per kw of investment stands at Rs 115,083. This contributes Rs 17,834 monthly to a local fund.

Chairman of the project working committee Akkal Bahadur Shrestha, recounting his experience on how the success of the project could spread the ripple of development, says, "Our conclusion is that development lies in unity and even difficult task could be easier to do if there is unity and commitment."

According to Shrestha, the action group aims to use the electricity more in running water mills and small industries.

Apart from producing energy in the rural areas, the Rural Energy Development Programme also helps to promote various activities such as women empowerment, environment protection, capital mobilisation, skill development, organisational development and technological reinforcement.

With the implementation of the programme, income generating potential of the locals have been increased through training on poultry farming, pig keeping, carpentry, masonry and hotel management.

Heera Shrestha says she now earns Rs. 200- 300 daily as the training on sewing and weaving enabled her to start a gainful pursuit at home.

However, Dirgha Bahadur Nepali, who earns his living by selling oranges, complains that he could not find a lucrative pursuit as he is yet to get power supply.

"Once electricity is available, it would be easier to work late into night and this could help children in their study as well," says Sun Kumari Shrestha of Khalte. "We women, like men, could become equal partners of development through women’s groups."

Use of bio-gas and improved oven along with electricity at each household has helped in the preservation of forest at wards 4 and 5 of the VDC, located eight hours’ walk from the headquarters Damauli.

Assistant resident representative of UNDP Dr. Bhesh Raj Dhamala says the national policy should lay emphasis on increasing energy consumption. This is because for no economic prosperity would be conceivable without increase in per capita energy consumption.

Annual per capital energy consumption in Nepal is put at only 15 giga zule or 4,100 kwh, whereas it is 91,000 kwh in a developed country like Canada and 25,000 kwh in Greece. Judging by the consumption of electric energy, it is 498 kwh in India annually, 140 kwh in Bhutan, 73 kwh in Bangladesh and 50 kwh in Nepal.

36 such micro-hydro projects have been established in 10 districts in co-operation with the Rural Energy Development Programme. From these projects, 5,807 households have benefited from 666 kwh of electricity produced.

The Rural Energy Development Programme, initiated in 10 districts by the UNDP and HMG in 1996, has been implemented in 15 districts. Poverty alleviation and environmental protection has been boosted from this programme which aims to enable the community in project implementation in the concept of sustainable development.

National programme manager of the Rural Energy Development Programme Kiran Man Singh says, "the programme has been successful in mobilising participation of the locals in the rural development. It has also significantly improved the living standard of the impoverished classes through social mobilisation, besides the development of energy sector.

"The programme lays stress on sustainable development through savings mobilisation, income generation and women’s participation in rural areas", Shrestha says.

This is the first project to have women’s initiative in plant operation management of the Chheranga Khola micro-hydro project.

Freedom fighters honoured

BUTWAL, Dec. 27(RSS)- Former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana honoured 23 democratic fighters who were jailed in the course of the 1990 people’s movement at a function organised to mark the third anniversary of the Siddhartha Publications Pvt. Ltd. and the 13th anniversary of the "Lumbini" daily newspaper in Butwal on Tuesday.

Addressing the function, former speaker Dhungana said that although the newspapers have proliferated in the ten years since the restoration of democracy, they have not been able to give due coverage to the message of nationality and people’s voice.

"Democracy is in peril due to the lack of democratic culture among the political leaders", he said, adding that people’s aspirations for a more reformed democracy should not be construed as anti-democratic movement.

MP Surya Prasad Pradhan urged all the political parties to work together to solve the problems facing the country.

Former minister Bishnu Poudel and former MP Ghanshyam Bhusal cautioned journalists against misusing their profession for vested interests.

Mayor of Butwal municipality Bhoj Prasad Shrestha, Binod Pahadi, Karna Bahadur Karki and central vice-president of the federation of Nepalese journalists (FNJ) Meghraj Sharma also expressed their views at the programme presided over by chairman of Siddhartha Publications Pvt. Ltd. Rishi Gyawali.

USEF official Subba dies

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 27 - Sukh Bahadur Subba,the senior programme officer who served for 34 years with the United States Education Foundation (USEF) passed away on December 23, according to reports that arrived here late yesterday.

Subba, through whom some 600 Nepali students received Fulbright, Hubert Humphrey or East-West Center Grants, is rememberd as their counsellor and advisor.

He also helped hundreds of American Fulbright scholars who came to Nepal, assisting them with everything from travel arrangements to housing, to advice on how to adjust to the Nepali culture.

Akhilesh Uphadhyay, a senior journalist of The Kathmandu Post who is presently a Fulbright scholar at New York University in the United States writes: "To me, Subbaji will always stand out as a patient man and efficient administrator who painstakingly made me write and help me re-write my papers after the acceptance of my Fulbright nomination last year. His style was short and succinct. That to me is his enduring legacy."

Subba, whose family hailed from Taplejung, was born in Burma in 1936 and had later settled in Darjeeling, India. He worked for several years in travel business before joining USEF in 1967.

Humla faces food shortage again

Post Report

SIMIKOT, Humla, Dec 27 - People of this famine-prone and remotest district of Karnali zone are again facing an acute shortage of food. Locals have begun to migrate towards the Terai region in search of food.

Two of the three food-depots located in Simikot and Shri Nagar are devoid of any stock and another depot at Sarkeghat has total foodgrain stock of about 40 quintals only, according to branch office chief of the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), Shankar Pokharel.

Four years ago, nearly 400 people succumbed to long-drawn-out famine and a large number of families had to migrate to other parts of the country.

Pokharel said that the food scarcity emerged in the district after the Cosmic Air, a private airline, which was awarded the contract to transport food-stuff to the district, stopped transporting NFC’s food-stuff in accordance with the agreement. The airline had agreed to transport food at a rate of Rs 27 per kilogram. Normally, about 70 per cent of the food-stuff should reach the district before the first snowfall, he added.

People of the district have to largely rely on food imported from other parts of the country. The climate and the terrain is unsuiatable to grow and meet the food required in the district.

The government allocated 6,500 quintals of food-stuff to this famine-prone district for the current fiscal year. Pokharel also said that the NFC, has, due to shortage of food, stopped distributing it to the locals for the last couple of months.

‘Govt fails to check price hike’

MAHOTTARI, Dec 27 (RSS): Joint-General Secretary of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Bhojraj Ghimire, speaking at a regional gathering at Gaushala in constituency No. 4 recently, said that party workers should go hand in hand to safeguard party’s norms and values.

He also alleged that the government failed to stem widespread corruption, control price hike and seek an amicable solution to the Maoists problem.

During the gathering held under the RPP constituency No. 4 regional chairman Durga Prasad Upadhyaya, a host of other speakers including ex-minister Ram Bilash Yadav, Janakpur zone in-charge Navaraj Subedi and RPP Mahottari district chairman Ganesh Prasad Yadav also spoke about the different aspects of the party.

Robbers loot cash, valuables in Jhapa

Post Report

BHADRAPUR, Dec 27 - Gang of robbers have looted eight houses in Duwagadi, Itabhatta, Haldibari and Garamani Village Development Committees in the last three days, police said.

A group of armed bandits robbed cash and valuable worth nearly Rs 500,000 from the home of Purnakhar Marasini on Charali-Bhadrapur road in the Duwagadi VDC. According to Shri Prasad Marasini, the bandits, at gun point, looted 60 tolas of gold and some cash from their home. They also beat the family members, Marasini said.

Likewise, another gang looted 10 tolas of gold and Rs 10,000 in cash from the home of Medini Oli in the Haldibari VDC-6, Monday. The same gang also robbed five tolas of gold from Chandra Kumar Rai and four tolas of gold from Gopal Shrestha, both Oli’s neighbours.

In another robbery in the Mechi Municipality-12, an unidentified gang looted seven tolas of gold and Rs 5,000 cash from Devi Maya Thapa’s home and four tolas of gold and Rs 4,000 cash from Medani Mainali’s home on Monday night.

Similarly, eight tolas of gold, Rs 5,000 in cash and four pieces of leather jackets were looted by the bandits from the home of Rajesh Dewan in the Garamani VDC-9 on Sunday night. Locals suspect that the bandits must have sneaked into the district from across the Indian border.

The incidents of robbery have increased in Jhapa district over the last five months and no gang has so far been apprehended by the police, locals said. Locals accused the police administration of not being vigilant and serious about the growing crimes in the district.