CPN-UML blocking traffic at the capital's Ratna park in a Chakka Jam on Tuesday, organised to protest the recent price hike of petro products.

NC leader plays the Maoists' game

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NEPALGUNJ, Oct 17- Just as rebel leaders are calling to reveal the whereabouts of their captured colleagues, General Secretary of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala has also called on the Maoists to reveal the whereabouts of captured Nepali Congress activists.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post on Tuesday, Koirala said: "The government has not laid any precondition to hold talks with them (Maoists). Maoists also should do the same if they are really interested for dialogues with the government."

Koirala, who is also a member of the High Level Recommen-dation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem, said, "Maoists are searching for their cadre. They should also make public the whereabouts of some 200 to 300 abducted NC cadre."

Chairman of the committee and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, issuing a press statement on Sunday, stated that the Maoists were ready to hold talks, putting all their activities to a stop, if whereabouts of their colleagues, including Dinesh Sharma, was made public.

However, a statement issued by General Secretary of the Maoists Comrade Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal) on Monday stated that in addition to the whereabouts of their comrades, the government should immediately stop state-sponsored terrorism before holding talks with them.

Minister rules out immediate petro price revision

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KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - Ram Krishna Tamrakar, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Supplies ruled out any possibility for revision of petroleum prices under the present international price scenario.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post today, a day after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala promised to look into any prospect for downward revision in the last week petroleum price hike, Tamrakar said," So long as the international price shows no sign of downturn there is no room for downward revision in the petroleum prices."

He, however, said that prices would be revised if international price declines significantly.

Bowing to swelling international prices, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-owned monopolist in the import of petroleum, increased the prices of petrol by 17.5 per cent, diesel by 20 per cent and kerosene (open market price) by 100 per cent last Friday. Similarly, the price of cooking gas was hiked by 18.27 per cent.

Despite mounting international pressure, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is unlikely to increase production sufficiently enough to calm down the currently swelling petroleum prices. The international petroleum prices has further increased, albeit nominally, since Friday.

Minister Tamrakar also ruled out possibility for increasing the present 3 litres per family per month quota for subsidized kerosene. " Present subsidy bill for kerosene is 1.5 billion rupees and if we increase the quota to 6 litres, the bill will rise to 6 billion rupees, which will be beyond the financial capacity of NOC and the government," said he.

Nepal for the first time inherited the practice of introducing dual pricing in kerosene from India. Indian Oil Corporation supplies up to 2.5 litres of subsidized kerosene per family per month.

The government has, however, made an important change in the distribution system of subsidized kerosene. It has delegated authority to ward offices in municipalities and Village Development Committees to issue ration cards for distribution of subsidized kerosene. Earlier the government had authorized district administration offices as the responsible bodies to issue petroleum ration cards, inviting a scathing criticism against the arrangement.

According to the new arrangement, consumers in hilly districts can obtain their annual quota of subsidized kerosene at one go. Likewise, cooperatives or other community based organizations will be supplied with subsidized kerosene if they wish to involve in its distribution.

Maoists kill villager for allowing police post

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BANKE, Oct 17 - Maoist guerrillas killed a villager in Bajura district while severely beating some villagers as revenge for allowing a police post in their village.

According to the injured villagers of Pandu Sain Village Development Committee, the Maoists attacked them with guns, khukuris and batons. They first shot Man Singh and then hacked him to death with a khukuri. Most villagers were dragged out of their houses.

Nine seriously injured people were flown to Nepalgunj for treatment in the Bheri Zonal Hospital. The condition of some of them is said to be critical.

According to Gopal Jung Jethra, president of Maoist Resistance Committee, the villagers had stayed in a group in order to thwart precisely such an assault.

PAC calls IGP over ‘corrupt & abusive’ oil deal

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KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today summoned the Inspector General of Police to question on the agreement between the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the petrol station at Naxal run by the Police Welfare Fund (PWF).

The sub-committee formed to probe into the deal under the coordination of Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani and has N P Saud and Krishna Lal Maharjan as members has summoned the police chief to be present on Friday.

IOC last year had signed a deal with PWF to rebuild a petrol station on the southern perimeters of the police headquarters at Naxal.

In exchange, IOC got the exclusive rights to supply all lubricant and grease for the 40,000-personnel of Nepal Police for the next 15 years that would amount to millions of rupees.

After reviewing documents and agreements today during its meeting, Lohani said that not only the deal appears to be an outright case of corruption and abuse of authority, but there are many flaws in the agreement signed between IOC and PWF.

On the clause of arbitration, it says that "any difference or dispute between the two parties shall be referred to sole arbitrator who will be the Director of Marketing at IOC or some official of IOC nominated by the director."

"This is just outrageous and very unfair. In such cases, the arbitrator represents both the parties equally or one that is agreeable to both parties. If there is a case like that IOC (which will be both judge and the defendant) will definitely win and PWF will lose," Lohani said.

It also says that the "award of the arbitrator will be final and conclusive" meaning that if PWF is not satisfied with the ruling of the arbitrator appointed by IOC then it will not be able to file another case in any court.

Another point of concern is the claim by PWF that it is a non-profitable agency that is independent and autonomous.

"How can a body that is controlled and administered by police officials and stationed inside the premises of the police headquarters claim to be an NGO," Lohani said. "It is clear the organization is under the control of government and it failed to take the permission of government while signing the deal."

And if it was a non-profit organization how could it be dealing in financial transaction by selling the exclusive rights for supply to IOC for the next decade and half, he added.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this arrangement was signed by IOC and PWF on September 17, 1999, giving IOC not only exclusive rights to supply the grease and lubricants but also its dealers to fix the price they want without negotiations.

Govt preparing decree on Armed Police Force

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KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - In order to curb the Maoist insurgency, the government is preparing to bring about an ordinance for the formation of Armed Police Force.

"The government is bringing about an ordinance as the armed security force will be a separate entity under the Home Ministry which will be governed by separate acts and regulations," said a highly placed sources at Home Ministry talking to The Kathmandu Post.

"Armed Police Force will include riot police and hire other personnels from outside," said the source.

However, the recommendation of Armed Police Service Task Force (APSTF) six months earlier had proposed taking 50 per cent of the officials from the Royal Nepal Army and the remaining 50 per cent from the Nepal Police. The report had stated that the Armed Police Force will be used against insurgents, terrorists, to keep vigil upon border areas and during natural calamity. Former Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi on April 10 had said that the government was serious in immediately forming the armed security force as per the recommendations of the APSTF.

Bus park shift yet to materialize

By Tilak Pokharel

KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - With the traffic congestion increasing each day, various government and private authorities feel the need to shift the city bus park (Old Bus Park), located at the heart of the capital to somewhere out of the major city area.

"We have felt the need to shift the city bus park, but nothing has been formally decided as yet," says Krishna Murari Sharma, Director General at Department of Transport Management.

The city bus park situated at the heart of the capital is seen as one of the numerous factors that have manifested hours of traffic jam. The increasing number of vehicles, bus park itself becoming increasingly congested and the roads around the bus park getting narrower to accommodate the traffic flow -- are largely seen as problems giving way to the traffic jams everyday.

Sharma concedes that the present location of the bus park has created great traffic havoc. He, however, said that it would take some time before the bus park can be shifted out.

The City Bus Park established in 1983, which is currently under Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) was developed as a general bus park for all sorts - long and short route buses. But it was converted to a city bus park in 1994 after the new Bus Park in Balaju came into operation for the buses bound to long routes (out of valley).

Although there are nearly 1100 buses registered to operate in 15 different routes at the old bus park, only 700 buses are in operation. Out of the 700 operating buses, 80 per cent are mini buses (around 560) and 20 per cent larger buses (around 140), according to Hiranya Man Pradhan of Vehicles’ Entry Depo at the bus park.

According to Pradhan, eight to nine buses head out of the bus park in a minute causing heavy traffic jam.

"The bus park should not be situated at the core of the city and must be shifted to somewhere out of Ring Road to control the prevailing traffic jams," says Pawan Prasad Kharel, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at Valley Traffic Police Office. He says if the buses are allowed to come into the city only to take and drop the passengers and not park here at the heart itself, it can reduce the traffic confusions to a great extent.

Though KMC seems to be contemplating on the idea, it looks like it would be a long time before the plan actually gets materialised. Executive Officer at KMC Hari Prasad Rimal says that KMC is thinking about shifting, adding "but it cannot be translated into action immediately."

According to Rimal, Mayor Keshav Sthapit is thinking of building a commercial complex at the present bus park site after shifting it.

Hom Prasad Adhikari, General Secretary of Federation of Nepalese Transport Enterpreneurs’ (FNTE) suggests two sites for new city park - the site between Naikap and Satungal outside the Ring Road and the banks of Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers for inside. "The under-used land on the banks of these rivers can be well developed as a parking space for all sorts of vehicles," says Adhikari.

Damaru Ballav Bhattarai, Secretary at Ministry of Labour and Transport, preferred not to talk on the issue of shifting the bus park saying that there have been no formal decisions about the much-needed move. He, however personally agreed that the bus park needs to be shifted.

Too many aircraft... too little space

n By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Oct 17 -Pilots and air traffic controllers have raised serious concerns about the growing congestion at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

They warn, if appropriate precautionary measures are not taken in time to "disperse the crowd" of aircraft, the open skies - and the parking grounds - may soon turn unsafe. A few of them even go on to predict the possibility of mid-air collision - something that is unheard of in the 50-year history of civil aviation in Nepal.

"This is too much," says KB Poudel a senior pilot with Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC). "Before, there were only the hills and mountains, and birds and bad weather that scared us. But now we have started to fear mid-air collision above Kathmandu Valley."

Adds an Air Traffic Controller at TIA: "Anything can happen any time in such situations. At this time of the year, especially during peak flight hours like in the mornings when domestic airliners queue up to fly towards the mountains, air traffic becomes out of control. We can’t just handle the situation..."

It is natural for the Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots to fear given the sharp rise in the number of flights operating into and out of TIA. The Air Traffic Control tower at TIA handled a total of 286 flight movements - about two dozen of which international - on Sunday, and a total of 290 on the previous day. The number climbs close to 300 in November, as against 40 or below during the rainy season.

Similarly, 16 domestic airliners operated sightseeing flights to Mt Everest Monday. The airport handles as many as 30 mountain flights on a single morning during the peak autumn tourist season, although CAAN officials say that the number keeps fluctuating between 15 to 25 flights.

While the state-owned RNAC was the only domestic carrier before 1990, today there are already 30 airlines registered at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). And 21 of which are already operational.

Data made available by CAAN show that these airlines together own at least 50 aircraft, including helicopters. And the Avro- or Twin-Otter-dominated skies are continuing to be crowded with beechcrafts, ATRs, EMBs and SAABs, thanks to the expanding fleets of such leading airliners as Buddha Air, Mountain Air, Necon Air, Shangri-la Air, Skyline Airways and Yeti Airlines.

Officials say one of the reasons why TIA, Nepal’s only international airport, has been overcrowded with aircraft, supporting equipment and vehicles and passengers, is that most of the airlines love to make Kathmandu airport their base.

Knowledgeable officials say, no matter which airport -- Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Pokhara or Nepalgunj -- CAAN shows the private airlines as their base, they have a tendency to return to Kathmandu as their favourite nightstop, says an official.

"There are obvious reasons behind this," says an Air Traffic Controller. "It is Kathmandu airport from where they can easily operate mountain flights to the Everest."

An airlines can earn US dollars 100-plus from a third country tourist going on a mountain flight, as against around Rs 3,000 from a Nepali national.

TIA’s domestic apron can provide parking space for some 15 smaller aircraft, but one can count 20 or even more aircraft parked there at any given night. Private airlines officials assert each of the airlines need parking space for at least one aircraft at TIA.

Domestic apron is the only thing that has started to suffer. Air traffic controllers say at times they even have to tell the pilots of in-bound international airliners to put their aircraft on hold until the apron is cleared. Moreover, planes on both the domestic and the international flights use the same runway for take off and landing.

The international apron has a capacity to accommodate seven bigger aircraft. A total of 16 international airlines are currently operating into and out of Kathmandu.

Besides pointing at the need on the part of the private airlines to strictly follow their bases, experts say that new routes -- like Bhadrapur-Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa-Pokhara -- needs to be opened at the earliest so as to diversify the aircraft and their movements.

A few even suggest that the government should open a new airport specifically for domestic airplanes somewhere near Kathmandu Valley. "The movements of aircraft from all the four directions has made it a really busy airport," says RNAC Pilot Poudel. "A separate domestic airport near the Valley could ease the pressure. Authorities need to think about this."

Lucky Shah, another pilot of Skyline Airways says that only the new airport would ease the pressure on the ground. "It’s high time the civil aviation authorities, experts and airliners sat together and chalked out strategies to enhance flight safety."

UML holds chakka jam against petro price hike

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KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - Thousands of vehicle around the capital got stuck for half an hour when CPN-UML activists blocked the road at Ratnapark, the heart of the city this evening in protest of the recent price hike of petroleum products.

Addressing the mass after the chakka jam, former lawmaker Krishna Gopal Shrestha said it was only an indication of the possible protest programmes against the price hike which has affected the whole of the national population.

"This is only a peaceful protest against the irrational decision. We can even launch ‘decisive movement’ if time demands," he said.

He urged the people to initiate separate protest programmes at local levels too and show solidarity against this sudden price hike.

On October 13, the government hiked the prices of kerosene by 100 per cent, diesel by 20 per cent, LP cooking gas by 19 per cent, and petrol by 17.5 per cent.

Earlier, nine left parties staged sit-in programme in front of the main entrance of Nepal Oil Corporation, the government body in charge of supplying petroleum products.

Leaders, representing various left wings criticized the government on this decision and vowed to continue protest against the price hikes.

They demanded the government withdraw the unpopular price hike and to quit if it fails to serve the people.

Meanwhile, various political parties and other institutions have expressed their concern over the price hike.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party decided to launch different protest programmes in a meeting held today.

An RPP release states that RPP Chairman Surya Bahadur Thapa will lead a delegation Wednesday to hand over a protest letter to Prime Minister Girija P Koirala. On 24 October, Tuesday next week, it will hand over protest letters to all district headquarters except in Bagmati zone and in Bagmati, it will stage protest rallies and mass meetings on that day.

Nepal Students Union has urged the government to withdraw the price hike and maintain the previous price.

A press release signed by Chairman Govinda Bhattarai states the price hike has affected those students who cook food with kerosene and demanded ten litre kerosene per student per month.

Similarly, a press release of Nepal Tarun Dal states that the price hike will affect agriculture, public transport and other sectors too.

Mob sets vehicle ablaze, abuse occupants

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KATHMANDU, Oct 17 - A gang of 25-30 unidentified people stopped a van, pulled its four occupants out, physically abused them and set the vehicle on fire at the road to Trishuli today, a lawmaker said quoting police officials.

Though there were no major injuries involved, the van was charred and the motive behind the attack is yet to be revealed. The attack took place about 50 kilometres west of Kathmandu.

The four identified as Shailendra Shrestha, Raju K.C. Bhuwan Shakya and Rabindra Joshi were on their way to Trishuli when their vehicle was stopped at Betini jungle near Ranipauwa at Nuwakot district, lawmaker Prakash Chandra Lohani, who represent the area in the Parliament, said quoting DSP Purna Singh Khadka.

It was still not clear why the attack took place and who these people were but these four were going to Trishuli to attend a case hearing on a land dispute.

Police said that they suspect a person named Dilip Prasad Pathak who the case was being filed against for the attack.

Among the occupants, Shrestha has been admitted in an unconscious state at the capital’s Bir Hospital and he was here for emergency medical aid, his family members said.

Police Inspector Min Prasad Poudel who was assigned to the area for inspection said three people have been detained by the police for investigation.