Children languishing in jail with their mothers

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HETAUDA, April 1 - Sani Kanchhi Praja (Chepang) has been detained in Bhimphedi jail for the last six months after she was remanded into custody, but unfortunately her 18-month-old daughter is also sharing her days in the cell without any of her faults.

She even does not know that she is in jail. There is also another girl child in the jail.

Sun rays hardly enter into the female ward of Bhimphedi jail, which is located about 23 kilometres north-east of Hetauda. The girls wake up there, play there and go to sleep in loving arm of their mothers. However, the condition of the inmates is extremely miserable and highly unsuitable for children.

The female ward can accommodate only four inmates but seven women and two children have been crammed into the room. There is no room for the inmates even to sleep properly. The ward stinks so much that outsiders spontaneously happen to cover their nose if they happen to talk with inmates in the door.

"My husband does not like to take care of my daughter in the village. If I keep her with me here, I am unable to meet the expenses. She used to walk in the village, but now she is unable to walk. In the absence of sun’s rays she has turned pale," Kanchhi Praja said.

Dr Ram Lakhan Shah of Hetauda Hospital said the authorities should pay attention to proper sanitation in the ward to protect health of small children.

Kanchhi Praja has been remanded into custody when a 60-year-old man died after being pushed by her following his attempt to molest her.

Similarly, Bibi Maya Titung of Dhipal VDC-5 is also in jail on murder charge. She also has a nine-month-old daughter with her. Her husband, Prem Bahadur Titung, is also in Bhimphedi jail, male ward. They have been jailed on a murder charge of their sister-in-law (brother’s wife) alleging that she was a witch. Bibi Maya also says the environment is not suitable for nursing her daughter in the jail.

Another inmate, Sita Adhikari, who is languishing in jail on drug-trafficking charges said she was ill for many days but she has no money to buy medicines.

There is a legal provision to provide 100 grams of rice and 5 rupees to a child in jail, Jailor Dev Raj Adhikari said.

Adhikari admitted that all male and female inmates were finding it difficult to sleep due to lack of space. He also said female prisoners had also requested to run literacy class for them. This facility is so far being enjoyed by male inmates only.

Drought hits Mahottari

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MAHOTTARI, April 1 - Mahottari, the district which was hit by the excess rainfall during the past rainy seasons is now affected by shortage of water.

The district, which has suffered a loss of over 40 million rupees over the past two years due to flood water, is once again affected by shortage of water, although the loss has not been assessed.

Different VDCs including Bardibas are facing water shortage. Chairman of Bardiya VDC, Chiranjibi Hamal, said the government should provide relief to people affected by drought just as it was providing relief assistance to flood victims.

Social worker of Laxminiya-7 Bhajan Saha said people largely have to fight for drinking water in his village.

There is no water in the well during daytime. Early in the morning, people fight to collect the little water that is collected in the well at night.

The shortage of water is also being faced by more than 50 thousand people in different villages, such as Hatilet, Ramnagar, Belgachhi, Barekha, Pashupatinagar and Khayarmara.

According to Engineer of Mahottari District Drinking Water Office Dilip Pradhan, lack of funds has been responsible for the inability of the office in providing drinking water to the people.

The office has been distributing only 400,000 litres of water although people actually need 600,000 litres per day.

Two children commit suicide

MAHOTTARI, April 1 (PR)- An 11-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl of Bhamarpura VDC-6 have committed suicide, according to police.

Police found the body of the boy, Jitan Yadav, under a mango tree in which he had hanged himself with a rope on Friday. According to police, this is the first case of suicide committed by a young boy in the district.

Similarly, Man Kumari Waiba committed suicide by hanging herself by a tree near her house. No reasons that led the boy and the girl to commit suicide have been found so far.

The rope which the boy is said to have used for committing suicide is very thin and the tree used by the girl to hang herself is also very weak. Both cases have therefore been regarded with suspicion.

Police Inspector Ram Bilas Das of the Investigation Section of the District Police Office has said police investigation is under way.

Villagers interested to replicate Sirubari experience

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SYANGJA, April 1 - How would it be for naive villagers of Sirubari, near the glorious mountains of Annapurna range, to have opportunities of welcoming scores of tourists everyday? They may not have starred hotels like those of the capital city but still, they are rich in alluring natural scenery. The residents or this small village are doing their best to make this dream come true.

After travelling around the model rural tourist centre Sirubari, around 100 villagers of 8 Village Development Committees (VDC) have returned home, after learning skills of hospitality from the local villagers. Their visit and interaction even deepened the hope of the people of this small village to develop it in different way.

Padam KC, the chief of Tourism Office, said that Sirubari is being developed as a destination for village tourism for the first time in Nepal.

He said, "Two types of tourists generally come to Nepal: One go for cultural richness and other hunt for natural scenery. The first type of tourists confine themselves in the Kathmandu Valley and the next type want to spend their days in trekking around the mountain area. So the pressure of the tourists are in limited destination."

The government is scheduled to celebrate 2002 as the year of Destination Nepal. The people of Sirubari are working out a plan to open an 80-kilometer road starting from Dhorphirdi of Tanahu to Budhakot of Syangja. This ‘Millennium Trekking Route’ will benefit around 50 thousand dwellers of Dhorphirdi, Phirphire and Raipur VDC of Tanahu and Kima Baraha Chaur, Rangvhang, Pelkachaur, Majhkot Shivalaya and Banethok Deurali VDC of Syangja.

The locals say that the tourists will not have chance to enjoy cultured hotels and restaurants. Rather than being "tourists" as such, they will become villagers and live with them, eat with them. There will not be imported whisky but locally brewed rakshi, and they will take part in the common dancing floor of the village.

This is going to profit the whole village because the tourists will pay the sum to the committee allocated for that, which in its turn distribute the money to the locals.

A committee member says that the local villagers will host the tourists in their huts and also guide them around the village. "This way they can also cosume their agricultural production which is waiting for market far way."

A Phirdi-Majhkot Rural Tourism Development and Management Committee has been established under the chairmanship of Shyam Raja Mahat, the chairman of Dhorphirdi VDC.

Mahat says, "All the villagers will have equal share of the profit of tourism. This will help reduce the inclination of the youths to work abroad."

Chairman of Travel Agents’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) Pokhara Chapter Biru Bamjan says that this rural tourism is going to boost tourism in Pokhara itself. "Let the tourists have opportunity to be introduced with indigenous lifestyle and culture. This should be our purpose of promoting tourism in this Himalayan Kingdom."

Thousands take dip in Brahmaputra

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ASSAM, April 1 - Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees had a holy dip in the Brahmaputra river on Sunday in accordance with the age-old belief and tradition that their sins would be washed away.

According to legends, Parashuram, who was highly devoted to his father, had killed his mother on the order of his father. To repent and wash away his sin of killing his mother he approached Brahma, the creator who then asked him to dip in the "Brahmakunda" or the river Brahmaputra on the day of Chaitra Astami. Parshuram did as he was advised and got rid of the sin he had committed.

A large number of people throng to this river on this day since early morning in accordance with the same tradition hoping to free themselves from sins.

It is believed that those who take bath in the Brahmaputra on the day of Chaitra Astami will reap the fruits of visiting Manasarovar, the source from which the river Brahmaputra originates.

The river flows through the middle of Assam state in India, then enters Bangladesh and finally merges with the Bay of Bengal.

People from different parts of India and also from eastern Nepal have assembled to have a holy dip in the river on this sacred occasion.

Police have maintained special vigilance in the Brahmaputra valley to avoid any untoward incidents from extremists. Vehicles are being checked at different points.