Norway opens embassy

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 12 - Amid the sounds of Jazz music played by Norwegian musicians and aroma of delicacies especially flown for the occasion, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek today opened the Norwegian Embassy calling for greater cooperation and friendship.

Though the two kingdoms have had diplomatic relations for the past 27 years, the Norwegian mission at New Delhi, India, has been looking after diplomatic affairs of the two nations.

"We hope the friendship between the two countries will develop with the opening of the embassy," Vollebaek said before declaring the embassy formally open.

Norway is the third Scandinavian country to set up its Embassy in Kathmandu, the other two being Denmark and Finland.

Nepal and Norway established diplomatic relations in 1973. Norway has been providing financial and technical support in hydropower and social sector through non-governmental organisations (NGOs). There are currently 13 Norwegian NGOs in Nepal.

Norway included Nepal in its priority list of aid recipient countries along with 11 other third world countries in 1996. Norwegian aid is concentrated in three main areas. Under energy, they are investing in hydro-electricity and under social sectors on education and health while their third programme has been to strengthen democracy.

Norway, which has harnessed over 90 percent of its hydropower potential, first started its aid to Nepal on power development.

"Hydropower is an important part of cooperation between the two countries. I hope this can be developed further," Vollebaek said.

Studies have shown that Nepal has the potential to produce 83,000 megawatts of power but at present produces less than 300 megawatts of hydro-electricity power.

In recent years Norwegian entrepreneurs have started investing in Nepal. Khimti Hydropower (60 MW) was the first one established through private investment where 85 percent of the shares are invested by Norwegians.

In Melamchi, Norway government has committed a grant of US dollars 24 million, provided that certain conditions are met.

"We hope the days ahead will be much more fruitful and the embassy will not only help strengthen relations at government level but also act as catalyst of greater cooperation at the people and private level," Nepalese Foreign Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said.

Vollebaek flies to the Bhutanese capital Thimpu on Thursday after completion of his three-day visit to Nepal.

3 succumb to small pox

JAJARKOT, Jan 12 (PR) - Three children, two below the age of five, have succumbed to small pox that is found to have spread in the western part of the district since last week.

According to the district public health office, cases of small pox has been found in Junga Thapachowr VDC ward no 6, Durta and ward no 9 Sorari.

Small pox vaccine, BCG, which is given to all children under the Basic Immunisation Programme, is not taken regularly by some children in the rural area. According to the VDC Chairperson, children do not receive this vaccination as there are no vaccines available in the health posts or the parents do not bring the children for vaccination.

The public health office have said that a team of health assistants have been sent to the area health posts of the affected areas.

At the same time, in Dadagaun VDC, ward no 3, Chidari village, eastern Jajarkot, one child has succumbed to rabies. Forty seven animals in this village are also rabid. There has been a scare in this area as animals have been catching the disease. In the nearby Bahun village and Magar village, 7 people and 17 animals have caught rabies.

The rabies vaccine, which was supposed to reach the affected area has not yet arrived as the planes from Janakpur has not flown to the area.

‘RPP (C) still alive’

KATHMANDU, Jan 12 (PR)- Despite the defection of almost its entire leadership, including of its chairman Lokendra Bahadur Chand, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Chand) today declared that the party is "as it was."

At a press conference here Wednesday, RPP (Chand) chairman Rajeshwar Devkota, who was elevated to the position on Monday, said the defecting leaders had taken their decision on a "personal basis". He said the party would continue as it had in the past in spite of the defection.

Chand and many of colleagues recently joined the Surya Bahadur Thapa led RPP.

In a press statement issued today, Devkota castigated Chand for making the decision and also alleged that Chand had misdirected the media and the general public by spreading the rumour of party unification. The press release states, "His (Chand’s) act of making a personal decision and merging with another party and attributing it as unification on behalf a national party is an informal act which is against the spirit of the party constitution."

The party further came heavily on Chand for his "betrayal".

"Earlier the party was spilt due to differences of principle, and Chand and his opportunist allies joined our side due to their vested interests," states the release.

The statement also said that it would maintain nationalistic stance and would not "compromise" on its stands of protection of nationalism through democracy and reforms.

"In his (Chand’s) tenure as prime minister, he supported Mahakali Treaty and also opened the doors for handing out citizenship certificates to 3.6 million foreigners," said Devkota. "Finalising the Mahakali treaty without freeing Kalapani was a surrender and Chand did it in his tenure." India has been forcefully occupying Kalapani, an integral part of Nepal at its Far-western Region.

Devkota said the party would call a large conference and fix its new legislations and flag. He, however, didn’t specify the time frame.

Jumla facing worst times

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 12 - The current shortage of food grains and influenza epidemic are likely to strike Jumla more badly this summer, warned district authorities.

"The agriculture sector in Jumla has been clobbered as there has been no rainfall for the past two years and the chances of the harvest being rescued by the snow this year are remote. It didn’t snow early this month, the appropriate time to fertilize the crop there," former lawmaker Dilli Bahadur Mahat told reporters at a press meet here today where a joint delegation of 30 VDCs from Jumla was present.

Mahat said Jumla is also facing influenza epidemic due to unusually dry weather conditions. Some 625 people died due to a combination of food shortage and viral attacks in Karnali zone last year.

"The government’s recent decision to withdraw foreign grants-assisted food depots from the country’s inaccessible hill district is a severe blow to us," said lawmaker Devi Lal Thapa. "The stock being delivered to the remaining food depots is inadequate and the food grains also do not arrive on time."

President of Food Distribution Committee Tirtha Bahadur Budha said the stock last year was all used up in four months despite the government rationing 10 kg per month for a single family through ration cards. Budha is also the Chairman of Jumla District Development Committee (DDC).

The remote mountain district mainly depends on the food grains transported by air. The local cultivation there is severely affected by the blast disease which has damaged 75 percent of the local production. Some 16,880 quintal of rice was distributed in Jumla last year.

Locals say, the business of exporting apples has also been hit since private airlines started over-charging farmers for ferrying the orchard produce to the main cities.

At the press meet today, more than 40 representatives from Jumla including 30 VDC presidents, DDC authorities and teachers were present.

‘Insurgency a challenge’

By a Post Reporter

POKHARA, Jan 12 - Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka today said that the Maoist problem is a challenge, not a political problem.

He said so at a function organised for the district heads, police heads and chief police investigators of the western region.

Minister Khadka said, "the issue concerns human lives and is an issue of sovereign country. The entire administration of the Home Ministry has to be responsible along with the Home Minister."

He added that the Maoist problem did not arise after democracy but it has a strong backing. He said that those claiming to be Maoist are a tool to shake the government. He added that the government has accorded highest priority to control the issue.

He said that people as well as the government has relied on the home administration to control the problem and added that the situation has become better in his tenure. "If there have been any lapses in making the administration better, I am ready to introduce the changes," said he.

In a democratic system, the role of government employees is that of servants and added that they have to let go of authoritarian mentality.

He added that the four and half year old peoples movement has created a political instability and the reasons for the movement have to be thought about. "We, in the current government have come to power after self analysis and we have to understand the past too," he added.

He also said that the local government has to be active in tackling the problem. Around 60 participants are involved in this two day conference. The participants will be discussing on various aspects of the maoist problems including means of tackling it.

Three cops killed

NUWAKOT, Jan 12 (PR)- Maoist rebels have continued to escalate their violent anti-state campaign, striking yet again Tuesday night at a remote police post and killing three policemen and wounding three more, police reports said. One Maoist rebel was also killed in the attack.

According to information provided by the Chief District Officer of Nuwakot, the attack took place at a police station at Samri village. The deceased include one Assistant Sub-Inspector Tul Bahadur Gurung, and constables Rameshwar Raya Yadav and Kundar Kumar Raut. The dead Maoist has not been identified.

The CDO said that the rebels attacked the police post and set fire to it, provoking the police to fire back. The wounded policemen had already been air-lifted to Kathmandu this morning, he said.

The latest attack comes in the wake of escalating violence between Maoist rebels and police in various parts of the country. Earlier this month, a similar attack on a police post in Jumla district took the lives of nine policemen.

Meanwhile, another report from Nepalgunj said that a Maoist rebel was killed in an encounter with police in a jungle in Kalikot district Wednesday morning. The Mid-Western Region Police said that about 10-11 rebels attacked a police patrol. The rebel was killed in the ensuing firefight. The dead rebel, who is in his early twenties, has not been identified, police said.

Aircraft to have terrain warning system

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 12 - A group of international aerospace equipment suppliers are interested in installing Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) in aircraft flying into and inside Nepal. This, they say, will considerably enhance Nepal’s flight safety record.

So far none of the aircraft operated by Nepali airlines currently has this facility which warns pilots when they are flying too low or too close to the terrain. The enhanced system, unlike its forbearer GPWS, gives pilots much greater time to take corrective measures and avoid accidents, experts say.

"Both the Thai and PIA accidents in 1992 could have been avoided with this early warning system," said Hari Bhakta Shrestha of Civil Aviation Authority at an interaction programme here Wednesday. "The pilot of the Thai airliner, for instance, would have visualized the mountain, where the jet crashed, 117 seconds earlier."

Representatives from such well known avionics companies as the US-based Honeywell and Allied Signal spoke at length of the EGPWS system, considered one of the safest systems in an aircraft.

First developed in the early nineties, EGPWS has been installed in over 4,000 aircraft around the world till date, according to Michael K Rurtherford, Honeywell’s Business Development Director for Asia Pacific region. The leading aerospace equipment supplier plans to install over 65,000 systems by the end of 2,000. India’s Jet Airways is South Asia’s first airliner to install the latest innovation.

Dwelling on the relevance of EGPWS in the mountainous country like Nepal, Assistant Minister Narayan Singh Pun, himself an accomplished pilot, stressed on the need to install the enhanced system in the aircraft operating inside Nepal so as to facilitate them approach and take off more safely. He said the enhanced system could also help the pilots of such recently crashed aircraft as Skyline Airline’s Twin Otter, Necon Air’s Avro and Lufthansa’s Boeing avert the tragedies.

The system helps pilots escape crashes by providing "most vivid visual pictures as well as audio warnings" of the terrains, say experts. However, the enhanced system’s forbearer GPWS only gives audio warnings. It has been installed only in those aircraft operating during night time, according to the Authority’s Shrestha.

At the programme, Honeywell officials also announced equipment assistance worth US $ 110,000 to Nepal. The equipment include, an EGPWS computer, an installation kit and a STC (Supplemental Type Certificate). The officials said the certificate is an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration of the US government) approval and will be installed in all 757 airplanes owned by Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag carrier.

Speaking at the programme, Minister for Civil Aviation Bijay Kumar Gachchhedar promised that "the government would leave no stone unturned to make our skies safer". But he did not say if the new system would be made mandatory on all aircraft flying inside and into Nepal.

He also said that the government has accorded highest priority on the question of safety and security of civil aviation in the aftermath of the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane and subsequent crash of a Skyline Airlines-owned Twin Otter.

Fasting workers critical

By a Post Reporter

RAJBIRAJ, Jan 12 - Two of the five fasting workers at Koshi Western Channel Irrigation Office are in a critical condition here.

The staff members of the Irrigation Office began their fast onto death with a three-point demand on Monday, asking the government to pay their dues immediately. They said they haven’t received their wages since last July.

Medical Superintendent of Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital Dr Murali Prasad Singh today described the condition of two of the striking workers as "critical" while all are facing severe dehydration. "They need to be rehydrated with saline water immediately but they have refused," said Dr Singh.

Fifty-nine other members of the staff are keeping round-the-clock vigil of their five fasting colleagues. All are wage workers employed by the Irrigation office for the last 15 years or so.

The workers, who claimed that their wages have been paid to "anonymous persons", are demanding investigation into the alleged irregularity. They also insist that their wages should be standardised.

Earlier, the strikers launched relay hunger strikes and lantern demonstrations and locked out their office staff to pressurise the concerned authorities to meet their demands. The agitation was stalled after Chief District Officer, Chairperson of District Administration Committee and the Irrigation Office chief said the demands will be met. However, the workers said they had re-lunched their agitation after the administration failed to keep its promise of resolving the stalemate within a specified time period.

Office Chief Shatrughan Prasad Singh said that he was "helpless" as he had to follow orders given to him by the Water Resource Ministry and the Irrigation Department.

Habitat chief visiting Nepal

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 12 - Millard Dean Fuller, Founder President of Habitat for Humanity International, which has already built houses for 70 thousand families in 66 countries, is paying a three-day visit to Nepal from January 18.

Fuller founded Habitat with his wife Linda in 1976, and has been very popular among the poor of the whole world as his institution helps them build their own house.

According to Ram Kumar Khatri, Treasurer of Nepal Habitat for Humanity, Fuller has received Presidential Medal for Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Habitat International signed an agreement with Social Welfare Council of Nepal in August 1997, since then it has built 110 houses in various part of the country. "The agreement has been renewed for another five years and around 1.2 million dollars is expected to be invested during the period," Khatri said.

"The vision of Habitat for Humanity is clear: a world with no poverty housing and no homeless," says Fuller. "Every human should have, at least, a simple, decent place to live. The missing component that allows miserable housing conditions in this world is the will to solve the problem," says Khatri quoting Fuller, who met the President in the US in 1996.

Nepal Habitat for Humanity builds houses on self-help basis. "Elibigle families qualify for an interest free loan that has to be repaid in equal installment over a period of 10 years," Khatri added.