Animal health experts meet

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, June 7 - Animal health experts today began a three day workshop on the Status of Animal Health in Nepal at the Department of Livestock Services, focusing on the supply of antibiotics and disease.

They pointed out that the challenge faced was to identify and control disease in animals as quickly and as accurately as possible.

"Much disease is due to lack of nutrition which leads to deficiency resulting in sickness in livestock," said Dr M N Shrestha, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

He added that laboratories were necessary for quick identification and control of viruses. "The sickness found in animals in the field must be taken to labs," he said. "That must be our aim - from the field to the lab to control the sickness."

The experts questioned whether Nepal was ready to combat and control the outbreak of any new and as yet unrecorded diseases. "The authencity, reporting and recording of the diagnosis of such outbreaks has become a matter of great urgency," said Dr S N Mahato, co-ordinator of the workshop.

Saying that bad meat affects people, the experts called on veterinarians to take this into account aswell as identifying the problems in the commercial industry and the markets.

Dr DR Adhikary, veterinary officer at Animal Health Department while saying that Nepal has one of the best livestocks in Asia pointed out that that the government had given important emphasis to livestock production in this year’s budjet stressing that it played a significant role in the nation’s economy.

The quarantining of fish to check for disease was also a major area of concern for the experts.

"Chief livestock diseases such as RPFMD, because we cannot control it on our own, must come under the help of international standard control laws," said Dr Mahato. Already three acts, with finacial help from the European Union, will come under opertation this year to tackle the Gaugoti disease.

Children enlisted by Maoist workers

By a Post Reporter

JAJARKOT, June 7 - The 12 year old sister of Shiva Hamal of Daurikanda in Khalanga-9, a student of class 5, was persuaded by the Maoist workers to go with them in the forest. He ventured to bring back his only sister but he was beaten so severely by them that he could save his life only after begging for pardon.

Similarly, another student of class 5, Sabitra Adhikari 12 was also enlisted in the "People’s War" physically but they did not acknowledge before her father and teacher Sher Bahadaur Adhikari that they had taken her with them. It is informally heard that she is seen roaming in the forest.

The number of school children below 15 years of age is increasing these days apart from the involvement of many students and teachers in the past in the prolonged people’s war.

Five boys and 3 girls of one school, Shiva Primary School of Daurikanda in Khalanga-9, have entered the underground life. Parents are worried and many of them have re-admitted their wards either to Brahmapur Primary School at ward No 8 or to Bageswori primary school. Only 5 students are being taught by 3 teachers in that school at present.

" I wonder how they lure the students. It is difficult to stop them. Other children are also worried," a teacher told The Kathmandu Post.

Six boy and 3 girl students of Shankar Bhawan secondary school, aged 11 to 14 years, were taken by the Maoist workers in the forest along with them. "Apart from maintaining special vigilance, we have urged the guardians to be specially careful," headmaster Gyan Kumar Khadka told The Kathmandu Post.

The workers of CPN (Maoists) have taken with them in the forest 3 boy and 2 girl students of Kalika Primary School of the Dinga village in the same ward two girl students from Dipendra Primary School and two oppressed class students of class 4 from Bageswori primary school.

Guardians are in a big dilemma whether to send their children at school or not. One guardian who is also a government employee said the minor school children have also been pushed to the forest to lead the hard life of Maoist because most of the teachers are supporters of Maoists.

From Lahan VDC alone 91 people have been enlisted by ther CPN ( Maoist) on their side. Of them 31 are women, 13 are aged below 15 years and the rest are youths, it was admitted by the Maoists during the collection of population data at the local level.

An official of the district education office said he could not deny the fact that there was participation of overwhelming number of teachers and students in the ‘people’s war’. He said teachers, guardians and political parties should together try their best at the local level to prevent minor children from being enlisted to fight in Maoist war.

Badi women eventually finding right track

By Pramod Pradhan

TULSIPUR, June 7(RSS) - With support from society materialising, Hira Nepali, 37, of Tulsipur Municipality Ward No 6 is pressing forward enthusiastically with her movement against the prostitution prevalent among Badi women in Dang district.

Nepali, herself from the badi community, has been working actively since 27 years against prostitution which is an ancestral tradition among Badi women.

She is one of the active members of the Tole Development Committee which was registered in 2056 BS with a view to carrying out various programmes designed to discourage prostitution engaged in by Badi women at different places in dang district.

The committee is maintaining surveillence against disturbances caused by people under the influence of alcohol, gamblers and others involved in prostitution in areas such as Ganeshchowk, Vankatta, Madannagar, Rajapur and Motipur in Tulsipur Municipality, Ward No 6 and parts of Ward No 4, secretary of the committee Narayan Prasad Sharma Saire told rss.

She launched a movement against the social malpractice upon a call from the then chief district officer. A queue of vehicles in such areas was a common sight in those days.

"I was then alone in my efforts and nobody dare to support me", she recalls."I had to work for some time on a daily wage of Rs 11 after my husband abandoned me, she further said.

Her elder daughter Nirmala completed her SLC sent up test while her son is in grade 7. she has had two grand children from her younger daughter.

She is currently supporting her family with a small grocery with vegetables.

Replying to a query, she says work being carried out by the committee is definitely commendable. an arrangement has to be made for alternative livelihood for such women.

Awareness against prostitution has to be generated among badi women, she says.

They can be prevented from resorting to such a calling here, but they can resume it after shifting to another location, 22-year-old Nirmala said.

In a bid to end the social malpractice, programmes for child education, informal education and income generation to be launched side by side are under contemplation, secretary Gaire disclosed. "However, not a single adult from the Badi community attends the adult literacy classes though people from other communities seem to do so", he said.

Though some non-governmental organisations claim to be working for the good of the badi community, such work has not yet taken place in the district, chairman of the downtrodden non-governmental organisations coordination committee nirmal nepali laments.

He disclosed that some women who do not belong to the badi community are engaged in prostitution pretending that they are Badi.

I also belong to the badi community. It would have been better if such a movement had started in the past. any social institution can take initiative to end the malpractice, member of the unit committee under the tole development committee himu nepali says.

Such development committees are being set up at Ghorahi of Dang district as well as at another locality in the district under the influence of work being done by the committee, chairman of the committee Bhim Bahadur Chaulagain said.

Indira Sharma, who is associated with Backward Society Education (BASE), is of the opinion that the development committee has in fact done a good job.

Fulbright Day observed

KATHMANDU, June 7 (PR) - The Annual Fulbright Day was observed here Tuesday to mark the commemoration of the signing of the binational agreement that established the Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States and Nepal.

The government of Nepal signed the agreement with the United States government on June 9, 1996. However, Nepali students were being sent to US under educational exchange programme almost a decade before the agreement was signed.

The 20th anniversary of the establishment of Hubert Humphrey Fellowship was also observed yesterday.

The Commission hosts Fulbright Scholarship, Hubert Humphrey Fellowship and East-West Scholarship.

Michael Gill, Director of the Commission introduced this year’s Fulbright scholars and Humphrey fellows on the occasion.

Akhilesh Upadhyay (Chief Reporter, The Kathmandu Post) is this year’s Fulbright fellow for Journalism, Mani Nepal for Economics, Rajiv Mani Nepal for Micro-biology, Samir Kapar for Computer Science and Sushila Maharjan for Urban Planning.

Likewise, Dr Madhav Prasad Ghimire is this years Humphrey Fellow for Environment and Kavita Sherchan (News Coordinator, The Kathmandu Post) for Journalism.

Sarala Joshi is this year’s East-West Scholar.

Annual Fulbright Day is organised every year to bring together Fulbright alumnis. There are around 400 Fulbright Alumnis, around 40 Humphrey fellows and around 100 East-West scholars in Nepal.

Bus kills woman

By a Post Reporter

BUTWAL, June 7 - A woman was killed as the wheels of a vehicle crushed her head here at Mahendra Highway at Banakadda, ward-9, Parhowa VDC of Rupandehi district on 9 pm, Tuesday.

The killed has been identified as the resident of the same VDC, 53-year-old Rita Budhathoki, wife of late Gautam Singh Budhathoki, according to the Regional Police Office.

The vehicle and the cause of the death have not been identified yet. Altogether four buses and trucks were caught by the police for investigation, according to the police.

Meanwhile, 20 Indian passengers were injured here at Bhaluhee Jingle, Devdaha when their truck crashed with a bus this morning.

The Indian truck with registration number GJTW 9930 was heading towards India when it crashed with the bus with registration number Na 1 Kha 8843.

Among the 20 injured, three were said to be in a critical state and were brought to Gorakhpur by ambulance, and the remaining 17 went to Sunauli, on their way home.

The Indians, who had come from Gujarat to tour Kathmandu, were on their way to home, according to the police.