Koirala mulls cabinet size

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, March 19 - A day after winning the Parliamentary Party (PP) election, Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala today began discussing the formation of a new cabinet.

Koirala also discussed with his advisors the possibility of implementing the recommendations of Administrative Reforms Commission of 1992 while forming the new cabinet. The commission, formed after Koirala occupied the Prime Minister’s Office in 1991, had recommended that there should be only 18 ministries. "The new Prime Minister would like to bring down the number of Ministries from the present 27 to 18," said a lawmaker and an aide to Koirala. "But I don’t see that happening given the fragile political equation. Koirala will have to make lot of compromises..."

According to another Koirala aide, the initial cabinet would be a "small one with room for expansion later, much as he did in 1998 when he headed a minority government". "Koirala has been discussing the new cabinet with his close aides."

Most names currently being considered are staunch Koirala loyalists but the aide said "there is a possibility that some people from the other side could also be included."

The inclusion of supporters of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Sher Bahadur Deuba would be to minimize opposition inside the party and strike a balance between the majority and minority groups, he said.

However, the minority faction confirmed that they had not been approached yet. "We have not been asked to join them yet," said Chiranjivi Wagle, a prominent member of the Bhattarai-Deuba camp.

The list of possible cabinet inclusions from the minority camp in all probably will be directly sought from Bhattarai.

Meanwhile, Koirala and Bhattarai met briefly early today before Bhattarai moved out of the official residence at Baluwatar back to his old residence at Bhaisepati.

Koirala defeated former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Saturday’s PP election securing 69 votes against 43.

As the leader of the party with majority in parliament, Koirala will be appointed the new prime minister Monday when the Royal Palace opens for business after the weekend.

Koirala succeeds Bhattarai who quit on Thursday after 69 lawmakers from the ruling party rebelled against him, expressing no confidence at the prime minister.

The rebels, who were mostly Koirala supporters, accused Bhattarai of poor performance and failing to show any leadership qualities and heading a "directionless government."

Koirala plans to meet all NC lawmakers early Monday to take stock of the current situation before he heads to the Royal Palace later in the day.

GBM scheme nit-picked at

By Kavita Sherchan

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 19- Water resource experts from South Asia today criticized the framework for the development of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) region as simple, rhetoric and lacking in analyses.

At the regional presentation on Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin on the third day of the 6-day World Water Forum, water resource expert from Nepal Ajay Dixit said the same arguments were being repeated for the past 15 years. Dixit said the approach has to be forward looking and more focused if integrated development of the GBM basin is to be achieved.

Mohan Man Sainju, Director of Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) Nepal, George Verghese from Centre for Policy Studies India and Q K Ahmed, chairman of Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad made a presentation on the GBM region.

The framework for the GBM basin was prepared by the three institutes after a meeting in 1998. The framework states that poverty alleviation and environmental conservation can only be achieved if the region is "considered for sustainable development on holistic and integrative basis." The session was expected to outline the process and results of the effort and plans for future. Critics also stressed the need to involve the governments in the process.

A representative from Bangladesh said cooperation in the GBM basin could not achieved with the commitment from Nepal and Bangladesh alone. "The commitment has to come from the big brother India," he said.

Jayant Bandhopadhyay from the Institute of Management, Calcutta, India questioned the validity of the data. "The data we have is what the engineering department produces," he said. "We cannot start projects based on the inadequately prepared data system." He said large projects were being recommended without the clear picture of its impact.

Experts also questioned how it was possible to talk about regional cooperation in harnessing the three rivers without discussing bilateral issues.

Activist from Nepal Gopal Shivakoti Chintan said the Mahakali Treaty between Nepal and India has not dealt with the lower riparian issues and the issue of equal sharing. Another participant Ajay Karki, a civil engineer from Nepal, asked why China was not included in the process while it has a major role in the Brahmaputra river.

Development of water resources in GBM basin is expected to improve the waterways in Bangladesh and generate hydropower in Nepal besides controlling flood and irrigating the plains in the region.

The report has pointed out hydropower development, flood management and flow augmentation and water sharing as the basis for regional cooperation.

More than 3,500 people worldwide are participating in The Hague meeting.

More branches merge fearing Maoist rebels

By a Post Reporter

GULARIYA, Bardia, March 19 - Bank branches located in the remote areas of the country’s Maoist-affected districts are being shifted and merged with other banks at safer places.

Agriculture Development Bank-run Small Farmer Development Project in Margadi VDC, in northern Bardia, was shifted and merged with a district branch here today.

The move follows constant Maoist activities in the area. A week back officials had shifted a Nepal Bank Limited branch from the same VDC to Nepalgunj.

So far authorities have shifted around 13 bank branches situated at isolated places of western mid-western and far-western regions, including Achham, Jumla, Jajarkot and Syangja.

In Sandhikharka, the district headquarters of western hill district of Arghakhanchi, Maoist’s have been blank-firing near a Rastriya Banijya Bank branch for the past few days, according to our Butwal-based reporter. Arghakhanchi is less known for Maoist activities.

Jet lease ruled out

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, March 19 - Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has turned down the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC)’s request to lease a Boeing-757 for three weeks without calling tenders. It has also disapproved request to extend the lease period for the China South West Airlines aircraft which is part of RNAC’s current fleet.

The national flag -carrier’s 9N ACA Boeing-757, one of RNAC’s own jets, is scheduled for a check in Brunei in the third week of April. RNAC had asked the government to allow direct dealings with a leasing company to bring in a similar aircraft to meet the flight demands for the period.

"In a letter that arrived here last Friday, the Ministry turned down RNAC’s requests citing they cannot permit leasing of an aircraft without calling global tenders," said a high-level official of RNAC.

Both the decisions from the Ministry come after Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had goaded the government to select the company after a pre-qualification global tender on a 35-day notice. CIAA had also cited irregularities during the leasing of a Boeing-737 belonging to an Yugoslav company.

Meanwhile, according to the official, a high-level committee of RNAC left for China last Thursday to extend the lease term of China South West Airlines.

TKP reporter released

PALPA, March 19 (PR) - Jagdish Bhattarai, TKP’s Palpa correspondent, was released today from the local prison after serving one week jail term. Addressing a felicitation programme organized here today by the Nepal Journalist Federation, Bhattarai thanked fellow journalists and the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF) for their solidarity. "I hope my jail term will further embolden journalists to use their pen against the distortions existing in our society," he said.

Bhattarai, editor for a local weekly Nava Janachetana, was found guilty for the contempt of court last August for the editorial published in the newspaper. The Palpa District Court asked him to tender an apology or face a seven-day prison term and a fine of Rs 500. The NJF vice-president, Megraj Sharma today hailed Bhattarai’s decision as "gutsy which has gone a long way toward enhancing the public standing of the journalism sector and in raising voice against distortions." In the Nava Janachetana editorial, Bhattarai had threatened to publish names of corrupt judges and civil servants.

Holi moves on to Terai today

By Shyam Sundar Shashi

JANAKPUR (Mithila), March 19 - As the full moon rises over Kathmandu tonight and Falgu Purnima or Holi comes to another end in the Valley but down south, in the Terai belt, the new day will bring in their own celebrations.

Holi has always been celebrated a day later in the Bhojpuri and Maithili speaking districts of the south, adjoining India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states. The festivities are said to go back to the time of Ram and Sita, to the epic Ramayana.

It relates how the people of ancient Janakpur, in the Treta age, the second in the Hinduism’s four age cycle, welcomed the return of Ram and Sita, after an exile of 14 years with fountains of red vermilion or Abir. Many believe that this tradition has its roots here.

"You can look at the celebrations here according to classical tradition," says Dr. Dhireshwor Jha, former head of Maithili Department at Tribhuvan University. "The city’s relation to the ancient holy epic has only underlined the importance in religious terms of Holi, especially if you see it as a festival connected to the Kshudra (untouchable) caste."

In the modern context, however, differences in social standing and class are said to be erased during Holi, helped by the singing of intimate and joyful folk songs.

Not that it is sexual, but it is happy abandon. Within the Maithili tradition, folk songs have always been the medium of cultural expression.

"During this occasion everybody chips in. Even 60 year old women are overcome with intimate emotions," says Professor Rajendra Bimal. "When a 16 year old son wipes some Abir on the cheeks of a sister-in-law the same age as his mother, then that moment really points to the heart of our culture."

At the height of the celebrations, during the night of the full moon, a bonfire is built out of cut wood, leaves, hay and dung and the ash from the fire is smeared over the body. This act, Dhura Uraudu, is typical to Mithila.

But as in most places, tradition here, too, is turning a corner. And it starts with the young.

"We would drink Bhang and play with Abir and rose colours but nowadays the trend is getting almost violent and a cause for concern," says 82-year-old Lal Bihari Shah.

Adds Dr. Ram Babu Raman Jaiswal, "There are kids out there wearing white enamel paint on their lips which can seriously do damage to the eyes and skin of their users."

Jails found inhumane

KATHMANDU, March 19 (PR) - Basic environment in Nepalese prisons is not in keeping with the international standard since the country’s over seven dozen prisons are more like a place for torture rather than rehabilitation centres, experts said here today.

"Prisons in Nepal do not meet the international standards as stated in the United Nations Constitution," said Ahmed Othmani, Chairperson of the Penal Reform International (PRI), a London based NGO. Othmani was speaking at a press conference held here today to hightlight the PRI’s recent five-day prison tour to six prisons in the eastern region.

Also participating in the March 12-17 tour were the representatives of Center for Victims and Torture (CVICT), a local NGO.

Referring to Biratnagar, Rajbiraj, Bhimphedi, Ghorahi, Tulsipur and Birgunj prisons, Othmani said, "The prisons in Nepal lack a humane-environment... The prisons not only lack basic physical infrastructures. Jail officers are not trained and we found evidences of prisoners still being subjected to physical punishments."

According to him, authorities’ failure to rehabilitate inmates has been one of the major problem in the prisons. About 7,000 inmates are currently imprisoned in the country’s 73 prisons.

President of CVICT-Nepal, Dr Bhogendra Sharma, said the vulnerable categories like the mentally ill and the juvenile under the age of 16 are facing problems in the prisons. He stressed that those in vulnerable category should be accommodated in separate places.

"Instead of being rehabilitation centres, the prisons have become a place for torture," he said reminding that the United Nations constitution requires authorities to refrain from torturing, besides providing adequate physical condition (such as availability of sufficient food, clothes and space). "Our prisons do not have such facilities."

The officials said they found Bhimphedi jail "worst" among the six prisons they visited. "There are 114 prisoners stuffed while the jail’s capacity is only 35", Dr Sharma said, adding that the team adjudged the Rajbiraj prison as the best.

He added, " Despite the minimum aid the prison receives from outside sources, it has been able to make use if its resources effectively and also give a humane-environment that other prisons severely lack. Though much needs to be done, the other prisons can learn a lot from it."

Major problems, as listed by a PRI report distributed today, include lack of dedicated and trained staff, neglect of vulnerable categories like the mentally sick and juveniles, lack of adequate supervision and accountability, among others.

Meanwhile, Othmani also expressed confidence that the government may introduce measures at ameliorating the lot of the inmates. He also said the team has already recommended all that needs to be done in this context.