Illegal huts demolished in Kailali

By a Post Reporter

DHANGADHI, Sept 5 - Police demolished Monday some 50 temporary huts that had encroached the lush forest in Kailali district, east of Attariya market, a growing urban centre of the district following the completion of the East-West Highway.

Encroachment of the rain forest started since the construction of the country's trunk highway which connects the far-western region with the rest of the Kingdom.

"After the encroachers defied repeated requests and public notices, District Forest Office (DFO) was compelled to use police force to evacuate them", Assistant DFO Dirgha Narayan Koirala said.

Koirala also claimed that most of the people who have encroached the forest seem to be non-Nepali nationals and from eastern part of the country.

Some of the alleged encroachers, however, claimed that they have been living there for a long time. After the police demolished the huts from the forest area, the encroachers piled up their possessions on the busy highway bringing vehicular movement to a halt for sometime.

"With prospects of economic prosperity at Attariya, people from all walks of life have built concrete buildings encroaching the invaluable forest area," said Assistant DFO Koirala. Koirala also informed that some 4,000 huts and sheds built illegally in the forest area have been demolished over the last year.

DFO claimed that the encroachers have occupied the forest under political protection. "We cannot preserve the habitat of varieties of wildlife without cooperation from all political parties in local and central level," said Koirala.

Flood causes huge damage

By a Post Reporter

GULARIYA, Sept 5 - A heavy flood in the Babai river that came last Tuesday has affected Bhadapur bridge over the river and has cut the sides of the road which connects the southern parts of Bardiya and Banke districts.

District Irrigation Offfice Bardiya said that the heaviest flood in the past six years has washed away some fifty bigahas of land and forest planted on the banks of the river.

Every year the river has been shifting its course towards Gulariya Municipality which is also the district headquarters of Bardiya. Other villages lying close to the river are also in danger.

Baganaha, Baniyabhar, Padanaha, Sanosri, Dhadhahara Mohamedpur VDCs and Gulariya Municipality have been affected by the south-shifting course of the river that flows from the Dang Valley.

Deputy Engineer of District Irrigation Office Bishwombhar Chowdhary said that the budget allocated by the government for flood control along the river sides was inadequate. Chowdhary said his office had demanded the government a sum of at least Rs 12 millions for the purpose of embankments but the government allocated only Rs 11 thousand.

No protection works have been carried out because of resource crunch, said the officials at the irrigation office.

Four years ago, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), after conducting a detailed survey of the river, had estimated the cost of some Rs. 670 millions to carry out flood control measures.

District Development Committee Chairman Bharat Bahadur Shah said that an agreement between Nepal and Japan was supposed to be signed in this regard by the end of February, 2000. However, no agreement has been signed yet.

The government has allocated Rs 2.5 millions for the fiscal year 2000/01 which will be used to protect some of the most vulnerable areas that are likely to be cut by the river in the next year's monsoon, technicians of the irrigation office said.

15 arrested with arms 

By a Post Reporter

BHAIRAHAWA, Sept 5- Two people--Laxman Rajbhar and Santu Kumar Yadav both from Hati Bangai Village Development Committee-1--were arrested Monday on charges of possessing illegal arms and amunitions, according to police.

Police confiscated a home-made pistol, six rounds of catriges used in 404 rifle and a spring-knife from the persons arrested. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gupta Bahadur Shrestha said the accused were arrested from Siddharthanagar Municipality-8 when they reached the residence of a local lady on suspected condition.

DSP Shrestha said that the lady whom they went has also been taken into custody for necessary investigation. Shrestha suspected that the accused must be associated with some criminal gangs.

Meanwhile, a report reaching from Bara district stated that a group of 13 persons were arrested from a cache at Amalekhgunj along with arms and ammunition.

According to Superintendent of Police Parameshwor Sijapapti, police seized 303 rifles, a home-made pistol, two bored and 12 bored guns and 20 rounds of catriges. All 13 accused have been taken into custody for legal action, police said.

Maoists loot cash, destroy documents

BUTWAL, Sept 5 (PR) - A group of Maoist insurgents looted a total of Rs 2,26,048 from a branch office of Western Region Grameen Bikas Bank (Rural Development Bank) at Baletaksar bazaar, Gulmi,last week according to an employee of the bank Laxman Aryal.

The insurgents in army uniform entered the office at night and set all documents and furniture on fire after looting the cash realised from borrowers at the locality, Aryal said.

In addition, the rebels also set fire on the offices of Agriculture Development Bank and Small Farmers Development Project which were lying some two hundred meters away from Grameen Bikas Bank. Locals said the insurgents also delivered a speech before absconding from the place.

Meanwhile, police on Monday exchanged fire with the Maoist rebels at Chanaute of Kalpabriksha Village Development Committee, Sindhuli, some 25 km west of district headquarters, police said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Upendra Kanta Aryal said that a striking force of police exchanged fire with the rebels for one and half hour after a group of hundred rebels attacked them all of a sudden from a cache at night. No casualties of lives were reported from both sides, police said.

A total of 65 persons, including the police personnel, Maoists and ordinary people, have already died in Sindhuli district alone since the Maoist insurgents waged the five-year-old People's War in various parts of the country.