Lalitpur decorated for I Love Lalitpur

Post Report

LALITPUR, Oct 19 - On the eve of the Light Festival of Tihar, the residents of Lalipur, the historic
city next to Kathmandu, did their best today to decorate it with a mixture of cultural gesture and
modern commodities to mark the week-long programme, ‘I Love Lalitpur’.

With oil lamps and electric bulbs, traditional musical troupes and Western bands, yomari (the
traditional sweet cake) and hamburger -- the city of arts presented its dual character, and sought
the residents’s concern about the city which they are proud of.

Mayor of Lalitpur Buddhi Raj Bajracharya said this event would make Lalitpur a topic of talk for
both local visitors and tourists. "I Love Lalitpur Programme is a key to people’s awareness to
Lalitpur’s originality, which would ultimately open a door to its development," he said.

Joint Secretary of Lalitpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Sunil Chitrakar said the
main objective of the event is to promote Lalitpur as a destination for shopping, sightseeing and
entertainment. "We want people to show their concern toward this city which is rich in both
commercial as well as tourist potentials."

While Mangal Bazar was reviving the cultural heritage and night market, the over-a-hundred stalls,
mostly of the industries from Lalitpur, at Jawlakhel’s Tihar Fun Fair offered a wide variety of
merchandise for Tihar shopping.

The crowded array of stalls outside the zoo included those of handicraft centres, souvenir shops,
hotels, restaurants and bars.

The campaign is to add one more colour each day to boost the image of Lalitpur. On Thursday,
Lujhyaa Kalakunja presented cultural dances and Sushil performed magic show. On the days to
come, martial arts, children’s cultural programmes, traditional feast and pop concerts will
illuminate the week-long programme.

The programme is organised by LCCI with support of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Patan
Tourism Development Organization, Lalitpur District Development Committee and other bodies.

Smugglers chase after customs chief

Post Report

BIRGUNJ, Oct 19 - Birgunj-based Customs Officer Ishwor Pokharel was riding his vehicle through
the bypass road on Tuesday. All of a sudden, he saw a group of smugglers on bicycles entering
Nepal across the Nepal-India border. By the time Pokharel stopped his vehicle, all of the
smugglers ran away leaving the goods they were carrying.

He got his assistants load all the smuggled goods in his vehicle. Immediately, around 200
persons turned up at the spot and forcefully reclaimed the illegal goods from Pokharel’s vehicle.

Customs Chief Pokharel on Wednesday went to the border village, Inarwa, with reinforcement and
got his men to seize all the smuggled items on his vehicle.

By the time the reinforcement team was about to leave the village along with the confiscated
goods, a large group of smugglers gathered there within a minute and rounded up the Customs
team. They used their mobile phones to notice their friends about the seizure of the goods.

Pokharel warned them, "Those who attempt to touch the goods will be shot." The smugglers
were scared following the stern warning from the Customs Chief. The smugglers, then, escorted
past the vehicle until it entered the Customs Office.

"What a situation is this! In the past, smugglers would run away as soon as they saw the police
on patrol. These days, they do not hesitate even to chase after us," said Pokharel, "I will not
leave stones unturned to curb smuggling."

PM’s effigy burnt

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Oct 19 - The group of nine leftist parties today burnt down the effigy of Prime
Minister GP Koirala in downtown Ratna Park, saying that Koirala was responsible for the recent
hike in the prices of petro-products.

The rally which started at 5 p.m. went around the city’s major thoroughfares--Ason, Indra Chowk
and New Road--carrying an effigy of PM Koirala and returned to Ratna Park. They converged into
a mass meet there before torching the effigy.

About 300 activists including leftist leaders as CP Mainali of CPN-ML, Amik Sherchan of UPF
and Prem Suwal of NWPP chanted anti-government slogans denouncing the hike during the
protest meet.

The leftist parties are due to stage a half-an-hour-long chhaka jam at the same place (Ratna
Park) tomorrow afternoon after 4 p.m.

The government on October 13 decided to hike the prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LP gas
to Rs 47, Rs 27.50, Rs 26 and Rs 550 respectively, up from Rs 40, Rs 23, Rs 13 and Rs 465.