Oppn to escalate protest program

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, April 17 – The main opposition CPN- UML and the other supporting left parties today declared that they would intensify their protest program from Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala from his office.

Speaking to journalists during a quickly called press conference in the capital today, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, a powerful CPN-UML leader, said that the party along with the other left parties have decided to continue their street protest against the Prime Minister for the third day. The left parties will organize a "peaceful rally" on Wednesday at 3 pm from Ratnapark.

"Our protest rally is going to be a peaceful one but if the government tries to intervene and uses force to disrupt it, the government will be responsible for any ugly turn of events," he said.

He also said that the protest program would no longer be limited to the capital. "It will spread to all major districts from tomorrow," Oli said.

Addressing the press conference, General Secretary of the main opposition CPN-UML, Madhav Kumar Nepal said that no "foreign backing" would be sufficient to keep Koirala in power.

"No external saline to prop up the government would help Girija Prasad Koirala to stick to his chair," Nepal said.

However, Nepal said that his party has not filed any formal complaint in this matter in the embassies of the concerned countries. But Amik Sherchan, leader of the United Peoples’ Front said that his party has submitted a written complaint to the concerned embassies.

The leaders of all the agitating left parties were present during the press conference organized a few hours after their release. Majority of the leaders were taken into custody this morning as they were preparing for their ‘peaceful protest rally’ at Putalisadak.

The left parties claimed that altogether 53 leaders including 23 MPs were detained. Though most of the central leaders and the MPs have been released, Oli claimed that more than four dozens of cadres are still detained.

General Secretary Nepal lambasted the government for arresting the leaders and cadres of the party "without any cause."

"The police who arrested me did not have any arrest warrant nor had I done anything against law," he said furiously. "I was just standing at the pavement when they arrested me."

Nothing can be expected from this weak and corrupt government which has not been able to protect its citizens while police are being mercilessly killed in the districts and millions of rupees are being looted from the banks, Nepal said.

Ruling out any possibilities for talks with the government, Nepal declared that the country was heading towards conflict and the only way out was the PM’s resignation.

The leaders also accused the police of vandalism. Referring to a photo in the first page of Kantipur daily, which displayed broken windows, Oli claimed that it was the police who had thrown stones. But when told that there also was another photo featuring a boy throwing stone, Oli said that it was not abnormal for the party cadres to retaliate to the police oppression as the leaders were being abused, assaulted and detained for no reason at all.

The second consecutive day of protest today was also not free from violence. Several incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from various parts of the capital.

According to a press release issued by the Home Ministry at least three government vehicles were damaged by pelting stones and a motor cycle of a corporation was set on fire.

The release also states that some force had to be used to maintain law and order at several places. 68 persons including some lawmakers were detained and released after a few hours, the release adds.

In today’s protest there were indications that even the underground Maioists were supporting the left protest. According to the eyewitnesses, few people who burned tyre in Teku shouted Maoist slogans before leaving the scene.

The left parties also organized torch rallies at various parts of the capital as a part of their protest program this evening. Such rallies were seen in Teku, Kalimati, Sinamangal, New Road, New Baneshwore, Budhanilkantha, Maitidevi and Kathmandu Ganesh Thaan in Kathmandu and Mangal Bazar in Patan. In Bhaktapur the police disrupted similar torch rallies in Sallaghari and Thimi.

According to the police altogether seven people involved in the rallies have been arrested. Police said all the detainees would be released on Wednesday after regular questioning.

CIAA to take few weeks to decide on Lauda case

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 17 – Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the constitutional anti-corruption body, will take at least "few weeks" more to conclude its investigation on the controversial Lauda Air deal, said a CIAA source.

"However, it will not take more than a month to conclude the investigation," the source said.

As the ruling Nepali Congress and the main opposition CPN-UML are locked in a disastrous stand off regarding the Prime Minister’s resignation for his alleged role in the deal, all eyes are fixed on CIAA’s decision.

Observers say CIAA’s next move will be crucial in the face of the current confrontation between the ruling party and the main opposition.

After completing the investigation, CIAA is likely to opt for one among the three available options. First, it can summon the Prime Minister for interrogation if it deems necessary. Second, it can spare the Prime Minister but file a case against other officials including the then Tourism Minister. Third, it can dismiss the case.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has publicly said that he would immediately resign if CIAA implicated him and summoned for interrogation.

The source also said that a two-member probe team led by Commissioner Bashu Dev Lamichhane completed its "necessary investigation" in Austria about a week ago. The wide-bodied jetliner leased by the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation belongs to Lauda Air, an Austrian airlines company.

The team had five separate meetings with the Austrian government officials, Austrian intelligence agency, Austrian special police and the Lauda air officials at the airline headquarters in Vienna.

The main opposition and other five opposition parties are demanding Prime Minister’s resignation for his alleged role in the irregularities surrounding the Lauda Air lease case. The six left parties including the main opposition have even resorted to violent street protests in a move to oust the Prime Minister from his office. RNAC had decided to obtain the jetliner violating the Parliamentary Account Committee’s directives.

Most of Kalikot district under Maoist control

Post Report

KALIKOT, April 17 - Since the two of the only four remaining police outposts away from the district headquarters, Manma, were removed, people of this Maoist affected district have been forced to live under the reign of terror.

Kalikot is one of the districts worst hit by the Maoist insurgency in the mid-western region.

Two major police striking outposts located at Kotbada and Phakha VDCs have recently been relocated to the district headquarters after the Maoist rebels attacked Rukumkot and Naumoole-based police outposts in the nearby districts, leaving more than 70 police personnel dead during the first week of April.

The number of police outposts in the district has now been reduced to two, down from total 16 posts due to the growing sense of insecurity and threat from the rebels.

At the time when the Maoists declared their People’s War in 1996, there used to be a large number of policemen patrolling each village of this remote district.

Five years later today, the situation has just reversed and the rebels appear to have an absolute domination in almost all the VDCs, a local farmer from Malkot village told The Kathmandu Post.

During his visit to the district amidst a tight security, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had promised to create an environment that would help displaced people repatriate back to their home to celebrate last year’s Dashain.

PM Koirala had also vowed to establish at least one police post in each of the VDCs to ensure security to locals from Maoist threats. However, contrary to his much-hyped promises, the people of this remote district are forced to live under the Maoist rule following the removal of various police posts from the Maoist hot-beds.

Locals said that they had no options but to comply with the insurgents.

A local from Manma was not fully confident that the district headquarters would be spared from Maoist attacks.

He said although the Royal Nepal Army has been on regular patrol at the district headquarters, the entire district cannot be claimed to have been under the government’s control after the policemen were shifted to district headquarters on security grounds.

Vets suspect spread of PPR disease in Humla

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 17 - Two veterinarians are leaving for Humla Wednesday to verify and sample the sheep and goats that succumbed to a mysterious disease in the last few days in southern part of the remote Humla district.

Sources from the Directorate of Health said two-member team of veterinary doctors have been sent to the affected area of Humla to probe the matter.

"This has been happening for the last 4-5 years specially in the Terai areas. On epidemiological pattern, I can confidently say that this is definitely the disease called Pestes des Petits Ruminants (PPR)," said Dr. Shubh Narayan Mahato.

On that basis of speculation, Dr. Mahato said he had already given the required vaccinations to a doctor based in Humla and two persons are being sent to conduct post-mortem and investigate the matter, he added.

Since such epidemic is consistent and severe, a National Control Programme was developed under which mass vaccinations are given to the sheep and goats on accessible roads, as they are prone to migrate, said Dr Mahato.

"But due to a budget restraint, the program was unsuccessful," says Dr. Mahato, "50 per cent of the program was funded by the Agricultural Development Bank under the Agricultural Perspective Loan (APL) and fifty percent was funded by the government."

"Now considering the severity of the problem, the control program will probably materialise again," he added.

Dr. Shree Ram Adhikari of the Central Veterinary Hospital in Teku too agreed that the probable disease was PPR. "Based on the research conducted by specialised vets for the last 2-4 years, it is the viral disease called PPR that generally affects the sheep and the goats".

More students expelled in SLC exams

By Nitya Nanda Timsina

BHAKTAPUR, April 17- Only a day after 70 students were rusticated for using unfair means while appearing for English examination, Rautahat recorded yet another incident Tuesday when about 22 more students were expelled from the examination centers after they were found resorting to unfair means during mathematics tests.

Dr Sahadev Bhatta, Controller of Examinations, Sanothimi said that on the average the examinations on Tuesday went off peacefully in the kingdom. "Except for such sporadic incidents in Rautahat and a mathematics case in Kathmandu the day went off peacefully," Dr Bhatta said.

In another incident in Rautahat Tuesday, a security guard was removed for his unsatisfactory performances and while a report from Nawalparasi said a proxy examinee Tribikram Regmi, 18, was found appearing for mathematics examination in place of symbol number 1440156T holder Tulsi Ram Mahat.

According to Dr Bhatta, the examinations have still been successful compared to previous years due to the introduction of reforms like subject coding and de-coding, conference making system and the introduction of parallel sets in compulsory subjects.

To remove the repeated incidents of cheating, the board has introduced a unique system called ‘distribution of parallel set of questions’ in the examination hall in which two students in a bench would be given separate questions for the same subject.

"I have got reports from the District SLC Examination Coordination Committee that there has been no untoward incidents in the examinations hall, as a result of the new reforms in SLC question papers, " said Dr Bhatta.

The measures introduced for the first time in the country will be evaluated at the end of the SLC examinations when its effectiveness will be adjudged, Dr Bhatta added.

On the basis of examinations reforms system, the office had conducted mock examination for grade 9 last year as a pilot system in which specification grids were prepared for every subject. The pilot scheme was carried-out in 13 districts covering a total of 2,000 students.

Dr Bhatta said he was excited that the reforms, though just in the initial phase, have drawn enough progress in its inception itself.

Asked if there were incidences of security problem, Dr Bhatta said that there has been absolutely no security problem in the past three days.

Despite the optimistic tone of the Board that the reforms introduced has discouraged students from copying, the three days of SLC examination had seen several students found indulging in malpractice either copying or using unfair means.

Meanwhile, a report from the District Education Office, Dang said a total of 13 students have been found indulging in copying today while two of the Examination Supervisors were found helping students to sneak chits into the examination hall.

Sub-committee formed to implement ISDP

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 17 - The government has formed a five-member political sub-committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ram Chandra Poudel to implement the recently announced Integrated Security and Development Package.

The provision of such sub-committee was stated in the plan presented by the government to His Majesty the King for mobilisation of all security resources in the Maoist affected areas along with the Integrated Security and Development Packages (ISDP).

Other members of the political sub-committee include Minister for Local Development Govinda Raj Joshi, Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola, Defense Minister Mahesh Acharya and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mahanta Thakur.

According to a source at the Home Ministry, the meeting held at DPM’s office on Tuesday decided to proceed forward with dialogue with all the opposition parties for the implementation of ISDP.

"The sub-committee is making preparation for discussions with the opposition parties as the government, for the first time under ISDP, is going to mobilise the army to check Maoist violence," said the source.

The meeting also dwelt on the prospect of reaching a consensus with the opposition parties who are demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation for his alleged role in the controversial Lauda Air jet lease.

The Home Ministry stated that the preparation for discussions with the opposition is in accordance with the Prime Minister’s address to the Nation on April 16.

Kathmanduites eye Melamchi to quench thirst

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, April 17 – The housewife is frantically moving like a fish taken out of water. A resident of Sankhamul New Baneshwor, one of the water scarce localities of Kathmandu, she is helping two plumbers repair a well in front of her house. The small well has remained dry for months, and now Laxmi Karki is giving it a last try.

"It has been months since the taps in this locality stopped running," a plump, Karki says, her fingers pointing at the red and yellow buildings in the locality. "We are tired of walking all the way to the other side of that bridge (over the Bagmati river) to fetch water for our daily use. There is a dhunge dhara (traditional stone spout). But that too remains crowded most of the time."

Karki is one of hundreds of thousands housewives in the capital city struggling for a bucketful of water these days. With the city’s sources of drinking water fast drying up, Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC), the state-owned monopoly responsible for supplying water, is currently distributing water to the city-dwellers on alternate days.

Households like Karki’s have to wait for 48 hours to see their taps running with fresh water. And even if the pipes start flooding they have to confront a new fear: That of "load-shedding" or power cuts hampering their efforts to pump up the water to the third or the fourth or even the fifth story of an average Kathmandu house.

"Water does come every other morning," laments Kavita Shrestha, another housewife-cum-shopkeeper in Thapathali. "But then the load shedding starts, and you cannot run the water pump. Without electricity, how can you pump the water, fill the water tank and collect water sufficient for two days?" And housewives are not the only ones hit by the load shedding. Equally affected is the very water supply system of the Corporation. Officials say ever since Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) began cutting off power supplies for four and then six-hours a day since early April, production of water from various "tube wells" has dropped considerably.

"We solely count on the ground water or the tube wells during the dry season," says Mukunda Nanda Baidya, Deputy General Manager at the Corporation. "But that too has been affected after the load-shedding started. The surface water sources like rivers are already dry…Things may not turn okay before (the arrival of) monsoon."

According to data made available by him, 30 tube wells dug across the Valley are currently producing 30 million litres of water daily (MLD), while another 30-40 MLD is contributed by surface water sources like rivers. The estimated daily water requirement of the Valley’s nearly 1.3 million population is 150 MLD, but only 60 - 70 MLD is currently supplied and hence the acute scarcity.

So chronic has the problem of water supply become in the city’s core and outlying areas—like Sankhamul, Bhimsensthan, Maru, Wotu and Tahachal—that the Corporation uses its dozen-odd tankers to supply drinking water. The water is provided free of cost. And such acute scarcity prevails mainly in the Kathmandu Metropolis.

Much like officials and experts, housewives like Karki hope that there will be round the clock supply of drinking water only after the multi-million dollar Melamchi water supply project is completed. Officials say the project will divert 510 MLD water to the Valley and will be completed by 2006.

With five more years to go to before the Melamchi water flows through the taps, households worry that the problem of water shortage could get more severe given the Valley’s growing population and growing water demand. The Corporation officials say that between 4,000 and 5,000 new water taps are added in the Valley’s water supply system each year.

Senior Deputy General Manager at the Corporation, Narendra Man Pradhan says that, in addition to constructing more tube wells, the Corporation is tapping some 20 MLD of water from Manahara river, thanks to Japanese assistance. Also, a separate project to check the massive leakage - which stands at 40 per cent - in the water supply is being launched.

"We will only be able to maintain the status quo through these projects," says Pradhan. "The Valley residents will be relieved of water scarcity only after the Melamchi project is over." Till then housewives like Karki and Shrestha are doomed to suffer.

Maoists threaten policeman’s family

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 17 - The family of a police constable, killed in Rukumkot massacre have fled to the district headquarters of Kalikot after the Maoists threatened and demanded Rs 400,000 from them.

The family of police constable, Raya Bahadur Rokaya are to receive Rs 750,000 from the government and the Maoists have demanded with threat Rs 400,000 while the family had just finished the 13th day ritual of the killed Rokaya.

According to a police, Rokaya’s family had informed them that the Maoists had also beaten them mercilessly.