Over 60 pc seats for Koirala supporters

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KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala can now expect an easy win in the race to the coveted post of ruling party’s President, as majority of the members for the general convention and the district chairmen are elected from his camp. According to the results of NC district level elections received till today evening, the Koirala camp has bagged about two-third of the seats for the general convention representatives.

The preliminary results obtained so far show that out of 800 convention representatives, Koirala camp has bagged over 530 seats while Deuba camp is trailing with just 270 seats.

The position of district chairman in Kathmandu went to Koirala supporter and State Minister for Health Tirtha Ram Dangol who garnered a total of 308 votes against 113 obtained by pro-Deuba candidate Dhyangovinda Ranjit. Damodar Gautam who was a rebel candidate but a Koirala supporter bagged 19 votes.

In Lalitpur, Sagar Shamser Rana, a Koirala supporter won the position of district chairman.

Likewise in the Prime Minister’s home district Morang, his close aide Ashok Koirala won the election by a comfortable majority. In today’s nation-wide election for the district committee of the party, eight of the district chairmen were elected unopposed while the elections in Bhaktapur, Arghakhanchi, Ilam and Udaypur were postponed due to various reasons.

According to a report from Dang, Tirtha Raj Sharma (Chaitu), a close aide of former minister and Deuba’s ally Khum Bahadur Khadka won the election of district chairman by 145 votes against 99 votes against his rival former MP Yagya Bahadur Budhathoki.

Mukti Prasad Sharma from Pyuthan won the chairmanship by 117 against his rival’s 40 votes. Ramkrishna Yadav, was elected chairman in Dhanusha and Nandamani Rai was elected in Bhojpur. All the three are believed to be Koirala supporter.

Raghunath Poudel in Tanahu defeated his rival Ramchandra Pokharel by 134 to 128. Poudel is backed by former Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi.

Yagya Bahadur Khatri in Jajarkot won the election defeating his rival and former MP Jhalaknath Wagle, a supporter of NC General Secretary Shushil Koirala. In Sindhupalchowk, Deuba supporter MP Mohan Bahadur Basnet was elected as the district chairman. He defeated his rival Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa by 165 against 128 votes.

Arun Prakash Singh Rathaur in Bardiya representing the Deuba camp won the election for district chairman today. He defeated his rival Narayan Prasad Upadhyay by 99 to 88 votes.

MP Mohammed Aftab Alam from Rautahat was elected district president defeating his rival former MP Brij Kishor Singh by 223 to 169 votes. He has chosen to remain non-aligned for the time being.

Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, a Koirala supporter was elected the district chairman in Humla. Likewise Satya Raj Bhandari from Bajhang, also from Koirala camp defeated his rival former MP Naresh Bahadur Singh by 83 to 65 votes.

Tapta Bahadur Bista in Surkhet was elected the party’s district chairman beating his rival Durga Keshar Khanal by 150 to 101 votes. Rajan Prasad Pant, of Koirala camp, defeated former MP Hari Prasad Nepal by 221 to 122 in district chairman election in Palpa.

RNAC staff protest Lauda Air deal

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KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - Employees from three unions at Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation today prevented RNAC top executives from entering the building, demanding the cancellation of the controversial Lauda Air lease deal.

Members of RNAC Employees Association, RNAC Employees Union and Nepal Airlines Pilots Association (NAPA) staged the demonstration from 9 a.m to 12 noon.

Captain S K Shrestha of NAPA told The Kathmandu Post that the protest was more symbolic in nature. " We want to raise public awareness over the deal which was clinched without any planning whatsoever," said Shrestha.

Shrestha reiterated that a fourth aircraft under the present international flight schedule would render one jet near idle, which, in all likelihood, would be RNAC’s own 757-jet. Shrestha revealed that only three extra weekly flights, totalling 36 hours more per month, have been planned by the RNAC management from December 1. While the widebody Lauda B-767 jet has been guaranteed a monthly 300 flight hours.

N B Rai of Employees Union said that the employees would gherao Hari Bhakta Shrestha and other top executives tomorrow to press their demand of cancelling the deal.

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee is expected to deliver its ruling on the recommendation of a three-member sub-committee that has recommended the cancellation of the deal and action against RNAC officials who pushed it through.

Similarly, the Supreme Court, which has issued a show-cause notice to the government and the Corporation over the lease deal, is expected to start its hearing tomorrow.

Renouncement, realization & campaign

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KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - What could be a happier moment for these two locals from Sindhupalchowk district, than to see their arduous struggle being finally realized.

In Ichok village, some five hours uphill walk north of Melamchi Bazaar, northeast of Kathmandu -- Mala Tamang, who was once sold off to a Bombay brothel and the former middle-man Gyan Bahadur Yonzan, claim that no more women are being trafficked to India now.

And, it is hard to believe such a statement, specially of a place with houses having CGI roof, roofed allegedly with the money earned from selling their women. But, who else would know the village better than locals like Yonzan and Tamang, especially when both have been in the "trade" and have now renounced it. They are currently involved in the local AIDS awareness campaign.

For last couple of years, Yonzan, 25, has been campaigning in his village ever since his sister, who was also trafficked to India, succumbed to the deadly disease. Tamang, 30, on the other hand, now runs a similar campaign through women’s group organised by her.

Both of them jointly launched an audio magazine produced by Communication Corner (ComCon) voicing their issues, in the capital today. And not to forget the courage, devotion and sacrifice people like Yonzan and Tamang have made in saving more women from sexual exploitation and being sold off to brothels in India.

"At first, we were even chased by the locals with khukuris and we had to hold our meetings secretly in the dark. There were thirteen of us who initially started the program," says Yonzan, who initiated the formation of Samaaz Utthaan Yuva Club, which now runs the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign with more than 34 members on the roll.

"We took a lot of pain to convince the people and to educate them. Now, the villagers have begun to send their girls to school rather than forcing them to look after the cattle." said Yonzan, who is now married to a rehabilitated woman.

"Earlier, the only money that most of the villagers earned was from girl trafficking. What else could they do then?" adds Tamang who is married and settled now.

Ichok village has remained far cut-off from the routes of social workers and journalists for decades due to its tough terrain and difficult geographical location. The only other source of income here is cultivating maize and millet.

According to Jagat Basnet, a local tenant farmer in Sindhupalchowk, even organizations like Maiti Nepal are operating only up to Chanaute, a village three hours walk away from Ichok.

An ancient system of treatment still packs a punch

By Tashi Dolma Thinley

KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - The traditional Tibetan medicine "Bhoe-myen", has been in use for over 2500 years and is still popular even today amongst Tibetans. This traditional medicine is now becoming equally popular in Nepal and further afield.

Amji (Dr.) Tsultrimla of Chumsang Monastery, Boudha, who has been a practising doctor in Thahity for 42 years, reports that, on average there are 60-80 patients visiting Tibetan clinics in any one day.

"If the physician is able to make an accurate diagnosis and administer the right medicine, then Tibetan medicine is good for all kinds of illness. However, it has been particularly successful in the treatment of chronic diseases such as rheumatism and gastro-enteritis", Tsultrimla said.

There are three steps in the treatment: Observation, Palpation and medication. Observation is done through urine analysis and by observing the tongue. The second method of diagnosis is by checking the pulse rate.

Saraswati Manandhar, a patient visiting a clinic at Chhetrapati says, "It is unbelievable that the doctor can diagnose what I am suffering from even before I explain my symptoms. He can even tell me what I ate during the day".

Though practised separately by different communities, there is no basic difference between Tibetan medicine and Nepali Ayurvedic tradition. Amji Jigmela said that both are basically Ayurvedic in nature.

However, there is a difference in medication. Whereas Ayurveda uses a small combination of herbs for its medicines, in Tibetan medications, physicians churn out powdered pills after mixing 60-70 different herbs and flowers.

"With Tibetan medicine, we always treat the root cause of the disease and illness and not the symptoms, which is why one should continue with the treatment even when one feels fit and healthy," Dr. Tsultrimla said.

Nawang Ukyab, who suffered from sinus problems for two years, vouches for the effectiveness of Tibetan medicine. "The modern doctors prescribed me antibiotics. It brought swift relief but worsened the actual underlying problem. Then I went to a Tibetan doctor. He gave me medicines for 6 months, I am still on the course but I feel much better and have not experienced side effects".

Still, those who have just been introduced to Tibetan medicine remain skeptical as to its effectiveness. Ganga Limbu, who suffers from severe back pain and joint ache says,"A friend recommended that I take this course but I don’t like it because it is so lengthy."

Ninety five per cent of Tibetan medicine are prepared from different kinds of ingredients and herbs like jaiphal, chuga, sukhmel, lishi, gurkhum, kagola etc and trees, mineral-rocks, resins, soils, precious metals, saps, etc. For the seven kinds of precious pills known as Rinchen rilpo, there are reportedly 70 ingredients. Some of these are purified gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, load-stone, gems such as coral, turquoise, pearls, lapis lazuli and the rare indigenous gem of Tibet - the Zsi.

The Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute, based in Dharamsala, India, is where Kathmandu-based Tibetan doctors are currently trained. Most of the medicines are also manufactured there. At present there are over 30 branches of Tibet Clinic in India and Nepal. A number of private clinics are also run in India, Nepal and abroad.

Experts call for penal reforms

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KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - Experts, on Tuesday, highlighted the need for reforms in criminal justice administration and in the penal system of Nepal.

"It is necessary to review and make essential reforms to the penal system and criminal justice administration," said Pradeep SJB Rana, Inspector General of Police. "New laws should be drawn up to combat newly-emerging crimes such as terrorism, human organ transplantation, child sex abuse, cyber crime and domestic violence, which have increased in proportion to the technological advances".

IGP Rana was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a two-day workshop on "Reforms in Criminal Justice Administration", which was jointly organised by the Police Headquarters and a government-formed task force to recommend suggestions on reform of justice administration in Nepal. The workshop is being attended by policemen, lawyers, advocates, human rights activists and experts from various sector where four different papers on the criminal justice system will be presented.

The task force was formed by the government, on the chairmanship of the Attorney General of Nepal Badri Bahadur Karki, including some police officials to advise the government on making amendments to the criminal justice administration of Nepal.

Inaugurating the workshop, Keshav Prasad Upadhyay, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said, "The present criminal justice administration, which is primarily based on the `traditional’ Civil Code (Muluki Ain), cannot fulfil the needs of the 21st century."

The genesis of the present criminal justice administration of Nepal is the Civil Code which was enacted in 1963.

"Newly emerging white colour crimes and organised crimes have challenged the principles of traditional criminal justice," he said.

IGP Rana said, fulfilling the ratification and commitments made by Nepal in the international conventions has cost a lot. He also stressed the need to promote alternatives such as probational and parole systems to minimize costs.

Udaya Nepali Shrestha, Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs informed that the task force would submit its report within six months.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kant Regmi, Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the law offenders should be harshly prosecuted.

6 private airlines apply for int’l operations

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KATHMANDU, Nov 28 - Six private airlines have presented their proposals to the government on Monday, for international operations, responding to the Government Notification made two months ago. Today was the last day to submit the proposals.

According to Yagya Prasad Gautam, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the six companies which submitted their sealed offer to operate short and long distance and cargo services are: Nepal International Airlines, Aero Nepal, Sita Air, Cosmic Air, Air Sangrila and Asian Bird International.

Gautam told The Kathmandu Post that only three of the six operators would be given permission to provide services - two in passenger category and one for cargo service. "Only those who meet the required standards will be given permission to operate," said Gautam, adding that if the proposals are not proper, all of them could be rejected. He declined to mention the deadline by which the permission will be granted.

The security deposit is five million rupees, a million more than the previous requirement. Also, the companies have to deposit five hundred thousand rupees as royalty for each route.

Although Nepal has air seat agreement with 31 countries, air link with all of them is yet to be established. The government’s move comes in the wake of state-owned Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation’s (RNAC’s) inability to expand its international services. Also, many tourists reportedly could not come to Nepal in the peak season due to lack of tickets at the transit points.

Jumla, Humla get season’s first snowfall

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JUMLA, Nov 28 - As snowfall started early this winter, people of this mountainous district are hopeful that they will not have to endure the problem of famine which they have been facing over the last four years.

Snowfall in the winter season is favourable to winter crops such as barley and wheat. Local farmer, Dharma Datta Adhikari, from Gajyangkot VDC-4 planted barley and wheat on his entire farmland after the snowfall this weekend and hopes to reap a better crop at the end of the winter season.

According to the Department of Meteorology, only 8.5 centimetres of snow fell during the winter season last year and 666.6 ml of rain.

Farmers in this district have not been able to harvest paddy over the last four years due to low levels of falling snow and rainfall during the plantation period and the disease of blast that destroyed entire crops of the region.

Meanwhile, a report from Simikot in Humla said that a foot of snow-fall has disrupted the only means of air transport to the district. The temperature in the district headquarters has fallen to minus three degree celsius.

Humla District Development Committee (DDC) Chairman, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, said that the scheduled annual meeting of the DDC this week will be affected due to the heavy snowfall.