HM's health satisfactory

KATHMANDU, July 7 (RSS) - The cardiac evaluation of His Majesty the King including coronary angiogram was completed today at Cromwell Hospital in London, UK.

According to attending physicians, the results are satisfactory.

Women Commission soon: PM

KATHMANDU, July 7 (RSS) - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said that National Women Commission will be constituted as early as possible.

Responding to verbal question posed by Shanta Manavi of the CPN-UML during the question hour at the National Assembly today, Prime Minister Koirala said that as the budget for the National Women Commission has already been earmarked, it would be constituted within the fiscal year 2057-58.

Koirala, furnishing replies to Bishweswara Dahal, also of the CPN-UML, said that HMG had effectively implemented the provisions of the Foreign Employment Act 2042 BS and the Foreign Employment Regulations-2056 BS.

Indian Home Secy ends visit
Travel documents required for air travel

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 7 - Indian and Nepalese citizens will be required to show "travel documents" while flying into each other’s territory, officials from both sides said today.

"We discussed the issue regarding travel documents for people of India and Nepal by air. Both countries have agreed that by Oct. 1 this system should be implemented," Indian Home Secretary Kamal Pandey told reporters before flying home on completion of a four-day official visit to Nepal.

Pandey said by Oct. 1 both countries would have put in place a system which will require people travelling from India to show either a passport, Election Commission identification card, central or state government card or special certificate from the mission in case of any exceptions.

Nepalese Home Secretary Padam Prasad Pokharel said Nepali nationals will have to show passport, citizenship certificate or voter’s identification card to fly to Indian destinations.

The new arrangement comes just months after an Indian Airlines passenger jet was hijacked few minutes after take off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport last December.

In the months that followed, India had been demanding beefed up security measures for air travellers. Indian Airlines resumed flights to Nepal only last month.

This arrangement will not affect people travelling on land through the over two dozen border points.

"The border is long and porous and for centuries people have been coming and going across. If we introduce a system that is going to hamper the trade and transit, it will affect life on both sides," he said. "We can’t implement something that is so draconian to stop all movements across the border."

The Indian delegation led by Pandey held extensive talks on Wednesday and Thursday discussing "security perception of both countries and the need for greater cooperation, and faster implementation of prompt responses between law enforcement and intelligence agencies of both countries."

On top of the agenda was the discussion on the Indian allegation that Pakistani Intelligence agents were active in the Nepali territory targeting sensitive Indian points and the concern that Maoist rebels from Nepal were getting arms and training in India.

"Both the items were discussed ... We discussed them in detail," Pandey said but refused to elaborate on what they had decided.

He said a mechanism has been put in place whereby at operational level, concerned officials will meet one on one and officials on both sides will meet frequently and will have constant contact on the phone to resolve cross-border criminal activities.

"Officials of security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies on both sides will meet and they already met once yesterday agreeing to meet again and again to sort out problems," Pandey said.

Maoists kill VDC official

By a Post Reporter

DAILEKH, July 7 - A group of Maoist insurgents killed a Nepali Congress VDC official here yesterday.

Some 20-25 insurgents thrashed to death Danda Prasad Timilsina of Dailekh Beltar Village Development Committee-4 while working in his harvest field and at around 5:30 pm yesterday, said the Chief District Officer Shankar Prasad Koirala.

According to the Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikram Gurung, a police team has been dispatched to the site for investigation.

Timilsina was elected to the post of VDC Deputy Chairperson from the ruling Nepali Congress.

2 Indians with arms nabbed

By a Post Reporter

RAJBIRAJ, July 7 - Police nabbed two Indian nationals with unauthorised arms and ammunitions at a village here bordering India yesterday.

Javed Ansari and Ranjeet Kumar Mandal of Neaur, India were arrested with two sets of four-nought-four guns, seven rounds of bullets and two hand made bombs near Rampura Malhaniya Village Development Committee in Saptari, police said.

Police is of the opinion that the culprits entered the country from Sunauli border post and reached the district with criminal motives.

"The confiscated weapons have been submitted to the District Police Office, Sunsari and the culprits have been taken into custody for necessary investigations," said Superintendent of Police Sanandan Kurmi.

Govt to monitor NGOs strictly

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 7 - The government plans to enact laws to monitor the non-governmental sector that have so far been given a free hand, said a minister of state today. Child abusers will also be dealt with an iron hand in future, said state Minister for Children, Women and Social Welfare Kamala Pant.

She said a Bill will be introduced in the next session of Parliament that would monitor the performance of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). "We have let the NGOs work according to their wish," said Pant at the inaugural function of a six-country training for social workers. "It is high time we saw that all these NGOs are working as per the agenda they submit to the government and how they are performing to achieve their goals."

According to Pant, the next session will also see a Bill that would put behind bars those found abusing and sexually exploiting children. "A Bill that will amend the Child Act 1992 will also be introduced in the next session," said Pant.

The 12-day course for international trainers - who would further provide training on psychosocial and medical services for sexually abused and sexually exploited children and youth in their home countries - is organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in collaboration with World Education Nepal and Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN).

Nanda Krairiksh, chief of Human Resource Development, ESCAP said the incidence of sexual abuse and exploitation of children and youth is on the rise.

According to her, a research conducted in 1998 found that there were no specialized health and social services for the victims of sexually abused and exploited.

"Generally, when it comes to dealing with the sexually abused children people focus on medical and physical state of the abused," said Hiroko Tanaka, social affairs officer at ESCAP. "We need to train the service providers and get them acquainted with the psychosocial problems of the sexually abused children so that they understand their state and deal with it more sensitively." SAARC Secretary General Nihal Rodrigo stressed on the need of effective cross-border action "in order to deal with the human toll of sexual exploitations".

Rodrigo said that SAARC has reached an agreement on a draft Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution.

"Given the cross-border nature of the problem and the long and often powerful reach of the traffickers, dealing with the problem will not be easy," Rodrigo warned.

Twenty-one participants from seven Asian countries - Bangladesh, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka - are attending the training.

Nepal terms his cadres ‘sluggish’

POKHARA, July 7 (PR) - General Secretary of the main opposition CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal today said that his party cadres have "turned sluggish and self-centred and have failed to address the needs of the public".

"CPN-UML cadres and leaders are presently confined in obtaining tickets for the election," said Nepal at a party function today. Nepal urged the underground CPN-Maoists to give up arms and participate in elections adding that the government had failed to resolve the Maoist problem. "The present Nepali Congress government has largely failed to resolve the problem," he added.

"It is not impossible for the government to fulfill the four-point conditions put forward by the Maoists," said Nepal. Maoists have asked the government to make public the whereabouts of CPN-Maoist cadres who have disappeared in police custody among others as a pre-condition for the talks.

Discrimination still exists for Dalits in RNA

By Khim Prasad Ghale

KATHMANDU, July 7- Dalits allege that discrimination is still prevalent in the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) even after the Constitution guaranteed each and every citizen of Nepal equal rights irrespective of caste, creed and ideology.

"We are experiencing humiliation more in the army than in society," says an army man on condition of anonymity " We have to suffer discrimination from the very beginning of recruitment simply because we are from lower castes".

According to him, people from the socially oppressed castes are recruited in lower posts such as band masters, tailors, cobblers with rare exceptions in high ranking posts. In most of the barracks, they are segregated and live in huts outside the barrack buildings and they are not allowed to eat in the army mess, he adds.

Local Development Ministry has declared 21 castes as suppressed communities. People from these castes get only few opportunities in the army , says legislator of National Assembly Lal Bahadur Bishwokarma

"Quite frequently, armymen of dalit castes come to me to vent their grievances".

Article 11, Clause - 4 of the Constitution of Nepal 1990 states, "No person shall , on the basis of caste, may be discriminated against as untouchable , be denied access to any public place or be deprived of the use of public utilities ".

Despite this clear constitutional provision , there has been a severe violation of fundamental human rights, that too in an enlightened , responsible and organized body (Royal Nepal Army) of the government , says MP Bijul Bishwakarma.

Instead of giving priority to the socially and economically backward castes in the army, the malpractice of suppression in this sector has abstained them of many economic opportunities", says Chairman of Dalit Development Committee Ganesh Pariyar. He holds the view that the suppressed castes must get equal opportunities in the police and army.

Legislator Lal Bahadur adds " The dalits are getting few opportunities mainly because of the negative attitude of senior army officers. "This is the outcome of age-old tradition of Bhramanism and feudalism prevalent among the army personnel," he adds.

MPs representing Terai constituencies have been raising voices against the discrimination made in the army . especially to those from the Terai belt.

Racial discrimination in any sector, not only in the army, is a total violation of the Geneva Convention of which Nepal is a signatory.

"Though there has been protest against the racial discrimination prevalent in the army, so far, no petition has been registered officially, " according to Chairman of Parliament’s Human Rights and Foreign Affairs Committee Some Prasad Pandey. Legal action can be proceeded in the light of such petitions, he adds

Armymen say even the qualified Dalits are barred from promotion.

" I am a graduate and have been serving in the army for 12 years. Till now, I have not been promoted," laments another armyman.

But Defense Ministry has no information regarding this.

According to Keshav Rajbhandari , Secretary of the Ministry, " I know nothing of discrimination.. The division of labour is based on expertise in the army."

More services for heart patients

By Meena Kaini

KATHMANDU, July 7 - Take heart. Here’s a good news for the country’s thousands of heart patients.

The country’s "only" government-run exclusive heart-care centre Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center (SGNHC) plans to provide angiogram service at its hospital in Bansbari by the end of this month.

The centre has already installed catherisation equipment which will help in diagnosing the complexes of the heart. "This will make surgery much easier and cost effective" say cardiac surgeons.

SGNHC, established in July 1995, is a 60-bed hospital and its Out-door Patient Department is already operating. The manpower to carry out the operation, however, is not available in Nepal. For this the centre is bringing in a group of surgeons from India which will train the medical team at the Centre for three months.

According to Dr Damodar Pokharel, executive director of SGHNC, it will cost around Rs 20,000 to carry out angiogram service in Nepal once the equipment becomes functional. With the angiogram and angioplasty services available in the country, the total cost of stenting, inserting of tube within the constricted valves would come to around Rs 150,000. "This would cost somewhere between Rs 150,000 to 200,000 Indian Currency in India," says Dr Pokharel.

Dr Pokharel successfully carried out the first ever Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting on June 18, on 68-year-old Gyanu Sharma at Bir Hospital. He says that heart patients will not have to spend tens of thousands of rupees for treatment abroad in the future as most of the services for the heart patients are available in Nepal.

The by-pass surgery by Dr Pokharel has stirred enthusiasm and has brought hopes.

"The by-pass surgery is a breakthrough in the field of heart surgery," says Dr Lok Bikram Thapa, who is credited with starting heart surgery in Bir Hospital. "The way we have progressed and have been providing service to the cardiac patients is excellent."

Though there is no detailed survey to estimate the number of heart patients, doctors observe that one out of every ten hospital admission suffers from cardiac disorder. "And one out of each ten of these admissions need immediate surgery," doctors say.

A limited study by two cardiologists -- Dr Bishwa Man Singh Shrestha and Dr Prakash Raj Regmi - reveals that prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease in Nepal is 5 in 1,000 population, one of the highest in the world.

According to doctors, the unprecedented economic growth, rapid technological changes and major changes in lifestyle especially in the urban areas has led to the increase in Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).

However, the services available here in Nepal gives an optimistic picture: open heart surgery as well as closed heart surgery both are available in Nepal.

Bir Hospital has been conducting closed heart surgery since the last ten years and the Teaching Hospital also has been carrying out the surgery since last five years. Open heart surgery has been carried out in Nepal since the last four years.

Non-invasive investigations like - Echocardiography, Tread Mill Test, Holter Monitoring and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring are easily available in Kathmandu.

KMC to involve pvt sector

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, July 7 - Private sector will be involved in promoting and maintaining different projects like drinking water, sewerage, management of solid waste and transportation, among others, to provide better services to the residents of the Kathmandu Valley, said town planning experts here today.

Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Keshav Sthapit said all internal preparations have been made and just like in the case of Gongabu bus park, "private sector would be given the charge to execute the plans and policies on different aspects of the city’s development.

He was speaking at a programme on City Development Strategy (CDS) Project Launching Meeting organised by KMC today.

Suryaman Shakya, chief of specialist team that prepared the CDS said, "Stakeholders too are responsible for all aspects of the city’s development; they will be held accountable for success or failure of the plan."

He also said a series of meetings will be conducted with various stakeholders and after incorporating their views, implementation of plans will follow.

The stakeholders are practically all the citizens : for example, people throwing solid waste and those who collect them, passengers and transporters, and patients and hospitals, among others.

Mayor of Banepa Municipality, Surendra B. Shrestha called on Sthapit to plan for intermediate cities. He said satellite towns of Kathmandu - Banepa, Dhulikhel and Panauti - should be involved in any long-term development strategy.

Torrential rains play havoc in Mahottari

By a Post Reporter

MAHOTTARI, July 7 - The incessant rain since yesterday has inundated 119 households and disrupted transportation in this terai district. The flood caused by the rain washed away 15 bigaha of fertile land with crops.

The water from the swelling Jangaha river inundated 82 households of Sunaul VDC. Similarly, the swelling Ratu river inundated 37 households of Kolhuwa Bagiya VDC.

According to police inspector Tika Ram Pandey, the villagers of Kolhuwa Bagiya are likely to smash the dam being built in Ratu river because the dam is causing flooding in the VDC.

According to the Chief District Officer Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, though the 37 households of Kolhwa Bagiya VDC have already received compensation, they did not move away. "We have sent 3 quintals of beaten rice and 60 kg of sugar to the affected households of Sunaul VDC," he said.

Maoist drop-outs fear police

By a Post Reporter

NEPALGUNJ, Banke, July 7 - Youths who quit the underground CPN-Maoists are opting to flee to India in a growing number fearing the police, say many who have undergone the trauma.

Sher Bahadur Shahi of Paink Village Development Committee-5 Jajarkot was expelled by the insurgents and he now can’t return home because he is scared of the police. "I am leaving for India," he told The Kathmandu Post. "I might not return."

Meanwhile, there are some who renounce the insurgency and return home because there are no police stationed in their villages. They are, however, now afraid of the insurgents who freely roam around in their villages. They allege that the insurgents are exploiting them for their cause. "I quit the Maoists but they still make me carry the gun for them," said a former Maoist cadre from Khalanga.

According to an insurgent, most of the expelled youths were those who joined the insurgency for their vested interests. Likewise, those indulged in financial irregularities or those who lagged in disciplinary grounds were also expelled, said the insurgent.

Police sources say some 650 insurgents,including 77 women, from 13 mid-western districts have quit the Maoist movement till date. Jajarkot tops the list with 199 insurgents who surrendered to police in the last five years. Likewise, 81 persons, including 18 women, from Surkhet also quit the outlawed party. Sita Acharya, 12, is the youngest insurgent from the district who returned to normal life.

Bardiya tops the women insurgents returning to normalcy with 21 out of 129 insurgents being women. Similarly, 33 men and one woman insurgent renounced insurgency in Dang.

Likewise, 20 persons, comprising two women, left the insurgency in Rolpa while 40 insurgents returned to normally in Kalikot, said police.