Students yet to get transport discount in Dhankuta

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DHANKUTA, April 18 - Students of this district have not received 33 per cent discount from any of the public transport as announced by the government recently.

A student of Dhankuta Multiple Campus, Shekhar Dahal, who had heard from the communication media that students would receive discount of 33 per cent in the bus fare from the bus companies, said he was nearly slapped by the conductor of the bus when he demanded 33 per cent discount in the fare.

In almost every bus, one can see the dispute between students and the conductors regarding the discount for students after the government announced 33 per cent discount in public transport.

There are more than 4,000 students in Dhankuta Multiple Campus and more than 50 passenger buses ply to and from Dhankuta every day. But none of the students has received discount from any bus so far.

Bus operators say that they are compelled to charge full fare to the students because they have not received any letter from the owner of the bus company allowing them to give 33 per cent discount to students.

Voters’ name list being updated for 2001

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KATHMANDU, April 18- The voters’ name list of Kathmandu is being updated for 2001, according to the District Election Commission (DEC).

Basant Lal Maharjan, Section Officer at DEC, Kathmandu, says that this year’s voters’ list amendment is due for completion by mid-August. The initial stage of registering names will be completed by the middle of next month whereas application for corrections of names, surnames, date of birth will be accepted till the end of June.

The previous voters’ list of year 2001 will be revised said Maharjan. The total number of voters recorded in Kathmandu for 2000 was 504662.

"Those proved to be ineligible will be removed and those turned eligible will be added," he added.

Those who turn 18 years this year and left these behind in the previous year are eligible to be added in the new list.

However, those who are not Nepali citizens, jailed for one or more years, those violating the election rules and found proxy voting will be ineligible and hence removed from the previous list. Further those found voting in others’ name are punished either by six months to two years jail or penalty of 500-5000 NRs.

Land Revenue Office sans chief in Jumla

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JUMLA, April 18 - People are confronting serious difficulties in the absence of the chief of the Land Revenue Office in this district.

The chief of the office was on deputation in the Ministry for eight months. Then he came to this office and left the office suddenly without knowledge of anyone along with transfer order.

The chief of the Land Revenue Office in Nepalgunj, who was supposed to come here also got his transfer to this district cancelled, according to local Land Revenue Office.

According to officiating chief of the Land Revenue Office Ram Bahadur Khatri, all the activities of the office, except land registration, have come to a standstill in the office due to the absence of the office chief.

According to local people, this is the irresponsibility on the part of the concerned Ministry for being unable to send the Land Revenue Office chief in this district over the last one year.

Sajha bus service obstructed in Bhairahawa

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BHAIRAHAWA, April 18- An all-party meeting held Tuesday under the leadership of the Chief District Officer failed to resolve the dispute between the government-owned Sajha Yatayat and the Western Nepal Bus Entrepreneurs Association.

The bus entrepreneurs have hindered the plying of the regular Sajha bus service from Butwal since February this year, alleging the government-owned transport system of driving out the competitive private sector by over-crowding the western route with hired buses.

The all-party meet was held one day ahead of the threat by the entrepreneurs to obstruct the Sajha Yatayat buses plying to the west of the Narayani river.

Meanwhile, local consumers and activists, among others, have described the stance of the private bus entrepreneurs to obstruct the Sajha Yatayat service as immoral, one sided and contrary to the norms of healthy competition. "It’s entirely unwarranted on the part of the private entrepreneurs to act as a bully for their vested interests," said Norbu Lama, President of Consumers Benefits Protection Forum, Rupandehi.

Similarly, Bachchelal Raya, Chief of the Transport Management Office, Lumbini, says, "The Sajha Yatayat must be allowed to provide services according to the legal provisions, particularly in a free and competitive economic environment."

PPR disease flares up in Humla

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SIMIKOT, Humla, April 18- Thousands of sheep and goats have died of Pestes des Petits Ruminants (PPR) infection in the southern part of Humla district during the past few days.

Dozens of horrified farmers from Srinagar, Kalika, Maila VDCs, among others, are flocking to the district headquarters, expecting assistance from the District Livestock Services Office (DLSO).

A veterinary technician Krishna Bahadur Rokaya, who recently returned from the affected VDCs says that the lack of proper medicine has impeded in restraining the epidemic. And, unless immediate measures to stop its spread are not done, it may soon go out of control.

He said that veterinarians from Bajura district are using PPR vaccine and only those vaccinated have survived. In Humla alone, it is estimated that 2300 animals have already died, with further possibilities of a rise in the death toll.

One thousand doses of vaccine arrived by air, today, and by Thursday morning, a technical team will be sent to the affected areas, officiating Incharge of DLSO, Jay Prakash Yadav, said.

There are about twenty-nine thousand sheep and thirty-eight thousand goats in Humla, where livestock rearing is the mainstay of the economy.

Photographers abandon duty because of Maoists

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KHANDBARI, April 18- A team sent to photograph voters’ ID Cards in three VDCs of the district abandoned their task on Maoist pressures and returned to the headquarters , Tuesday night, according to Chief District Officer, Yadav Prasad Dhungana.

The district unit of the Election Commission said that the event comes as a discouraging development in the context of a very low voter turnout in the ID Cards field office in Sankhuwasabha.

The widespread fear in the public can well be understood as the Maoists had looted the camera and burnt all documents belonging to a similar team about two months ago at Matsyapokhari VDC. The ID Card officials had to return empty handed this time too as not a single voter turned up to photograph himself at the VDC.

Meanwhile, Maoist sources have claimed that their strategy to stop all work relating to the ‘reactionary and betraying’ elections has been successful entirely in the VDCs of Num, Matsyapokhari and Pathibhara.

Maoist way of ‘justice’

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KHANDBARI, Sankhuwasabha, April 18 - Two locals deposited on Tuesday Rs 1,50,000 in cash at the bank accounts of a lower secondary school as ordered by underground Maoist rebels about two months ago, a report here said.

Bholanath Bhattarai and Uday Chandra Adhikari who hail from Siddhakali VDC-2 were ordered to deposit the amount at the bank accounts of Sarva Mangala Lower Secondary School as a punishment for setting fire on the school about 13 years ago.

The district court found both Bhattari and Adhikari guilty of setting fire on the school and had already served four years and nine months in prison respectively.

Book on freed Kamaiyas released

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KATHMANDU, April 18- Despite the government’s landmark decision in the emancipation of Kamaiyas and freeing them of bonded labuor in the five districts of mid-western region, the deteriorating security scenario in the country has left the pressing issue in the shadow. It was informed today at a book release programme organized by the Tharu Welfare Society at the Nepal Bar Association.

Santi Chaudhary, President of Tharu Welfare Society releasing her 39th book entitled, "The Present Situation of Free Kamaiyas" said that even after their liberation, they continue to be called as Kamaiyas or refugees in their own land.

In a speech lamenting the suffering of Kamaiyas, she said, "Kamaiyas have been made a begging bowl by the government." "I saw Kamaiyas touching the feet of Deputy PM, Ram Chandra Poudel even after their liberation," she added.

Speaking on the occasion, chief guest, Minister of State for Land Reforms and Management, Mohammad Aftab Alam said that the solution to their problem is within the reach in three years through measures like debt relief, trainings, and various other programmes.

The book dedicated to Padma Ratna Tuladhar, senior human rights leader, is divided into twelve chapters describing the post-emancipation scenario of the Kamaiyas in Nepal and the role of Tharu community of the Terai in their struggle.

British film fest kicks off

KATHMANDU, April 18 (PR)- Thursday April 19 sees the start of the British Film Festival at the Gopi Krishna Cinema Hall in Chabahil. Movies titled ‘LA Without A Map’, the Oscar nominated ‘Billy Eliot’ and the Academy Award winning film ‘Elizabeth’ will be screened daily at 6p.m. at the Krishna Hall.

Entrance to the films, ranging from romantic comedy, to historical drama, is free although some seats will be reserved.

"The show is being organised to coincide with the "Himalayan Expo", said Fionna Heiton of the British Council, "and will be promoting British culture". The festival, which ends on April 25, has been organised by the British Embassy, the British Council, Nepal Britain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and sponsored by Gopi Krishna Movies, Nabil Bank and Qatar Airways.

Nepali society has come a full circle

By Ameet Dhakal

Tell any Nepali that history moves take a circular and not linear path, s/he will find no reason to dispute it, at least not in the backdrop of the current political confusion.

Take away a decade and few weeks from the calendar and you will set the clock perfectly right to set you back to a similar period of confusion. More than anything else it will remind you how Nepali society has come to a full circle in last one decade. Then all the eyes were fixed at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace – of course, with fear, anger and hope. Apprehension on what the king would do? Would he use the army to quash the popular janandolan (People’s revolution)? Or would he yield to people’s wish? The king gently and wisely decided to go with the people’s desire. And, the Monarch has successfully defended the image of a rare gentleman with perfect political acumen in the last one decade.

Ten years down the line, Royal Palace is again the talk of the town. This time the unspoken query is: Will there be a Royal coup? Should the King takeover the power-rein he so willingly relinquished a decade ago?

Ask the hardcore ruling Nepali Congress leaders and they will tell you for sure that the King will not breach the constitution…ask the left leaders and they will tell you that the king should not even think of making a comeback to the active politics….and ask the sympathizers of the past panchyati system and they will vehemently argue why the King should takeover. However, in between these different sets of preoccupied lots there is a huge confused mass, who feels neglected, perhaps cheated, in the last one decade but do not know where lies the best alternative.

And, this mass is increasingly becoming indifferent to the mainstream political forces. It is because of the frustration that the Royal Coup, which was unthinkable, just five years ago, is being hotly debated in almost all the places now.

This might well indicate the failure of the mainstream political parties but it doesn’t justify the call for hijacking the current political system by the Royal Palace. Nor should the current mis-governance erase the past 30 years of similar misrule (you can always debate over the scale).

The lesson of the past forty years (30 years of Panchyati rule and last ten years of experiment with the multiparty system) is that, leadership matter but the performing institutions are of supreme importance. You can always argue that the supreme (absolute) leader of Panchyati system – the King – was not corrupt. Yet corruption continued to blight the Nepali society then. The Panchyati experiment clearly vindicated that Emanuel Kant type of ideal leadership ( i.e. a group of well educated upper middle class people with a clearly defined goal) alone is not enough so long as the society is badly short of vital institutions such as performing judiciary, unambiguous laws, yielding bureaucracy, flexible and dynamic political parties and free press.

A part of the tragedy with the last ten years of the multiparty democracy experiment is that the "free press" has grown relatively faster than the other vital institutions of the state. And not only has it grown faster but it has also become dynamic than the other institutions, which lag far behind. The gloomy picture that the press is painting about the political parties, about the judiciary, about the bureaucracy and about the failures in general has a great role in feeding the present frustration in the Nepali society.

The great challenge for the media - with rapidly growing newspaper readership and similarly burgeoning electronic media audience - is that whether it will be able to help bring about reforms (improvements) in the other vital institutions of the country. By destroying the appetite and energy for reform of these institutions, media will only lead itself towards the path of self-destruction. Media can coexist with freedom and performing institutions but it will perish without them. Do they hear and ruminate on that?

Vitamin A to children

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KATHMANDU, April 18- More than 3 million children below five years are to be administered the Vitamin A capsules in 72 districts across the country, on Thursday and Friday.

A total of 40,200 women health workers have already been assigned to administer the capsules to the children in these districts. National Vitamin ‘A’ program has been implemented in these districts as a part of the government strategy to reduce child mortality, control eye diseases resulting from vitamin A deficiency and encourage the habit of including green vegetables and yellow fruits in the regular diet.

Children above six months and below five years are administerd the Vitamin A capsules during April-May and October-November every year in the districts where the National Vitamin A Program is under implementation.

Maoists impostor loot cash

BIRATNAGAR (PR) - A woman who was returning home from the rural bank at Neta Chowk was looted Wednesday by bogus Maoists while on the way.

The incident comes as a fresh instance of an increasing threat to normal life in the local area by imposter Maoists.

According to reports, a gang of about 10 unidentified scoundrel looted the sum of Rs 15 thousand at a culvert in Ward No 4 of Sishwani VDC from Ramadevi Bishwakarma, a resident of the same VDC. She had received the money as an agricultural loan from the Neta Chowk branch of the Eastern Rural Development Bank.

A witness said that the hooligans also molested the lady before seizing her money. They left the scene after looting the money.

Two women burn themselves to death

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DANG, April 18 - A resident of Amarai in Narayanpur VDC-4, Meena Dangi, committed suicide by sprinkling kerosene over her body and setting herself on fire at about 5 p.m. on Monday when there was nobody to stop her at home.

Her five-years-old son rushed to his father to inform him about the incident immediately after he came to know about it.

She was being taken to Palpa for treatment when she died on the way to the hospital on Tuesday, according to Dang District Police Office.

According to her family sources, Meena was a blood pressure patient.

Meanwhile in yet anothre report from Tansen a 35-years-old woman of Darchha VDC-8 in Palpa district committed suicide by sprinkling kerosene over her body and setting on fire on Saturday.

The woman, Dan Maya was quarrelling with her husband Om Bahadur Dhega , 24, regarding the conflict that he had brought a second wife and she hit him severely on his head. Her husband fainted after he was hit by her. Police have suspected that she might have committed suicide by burning herself thinking that her husband was killed by her.

Om Bahadur Dhega is undergoing treatment in The Mission Hospital, Tansen and necessary investigation is under way, according to police.

Although Om Bahadur is 11 years younger than his wife, he has two daughters from her. Om Bahadur had married a second wife about six months ago.

Medical camp to be organized

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KATHMANDU, April 18- A group of greens including doctors,enginners and social workers from Kolkota are all set to organize a ‘Himalayan Medical Camp (HMC) with Everest Expedition 2001’ from Tibet side this spring.

A seven member team of doctors along with their assistants will conduct a 3 day medical camp in Dhunche of Rasuwa district from April 21-23 and a total 2 thousands patients are expected to be treated on the camp.

The medical camp is being conducted in cooperation with Dhunche Janaswastha District Hospital, Dhunche Local Development Community, Nara International Himalayan Spring Water Co. Pvt. Ltd and Trek World Pvt. Ltd,Kathmandu.

In a press conference organized here today organizer of the program highlighted about the objective of the program and the expedition.

On the occasion Ashok Kumar of Indian Embassy in Nepal handed over the Indian flag and HMC flag to the team leader of the expedition, Milan Nag.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Kumar expressed his hope that this program will further help strengthen the mutual relation between India and Nepal.

He wished all the success for the mountaineers on completing their goal.

A 5-member team of expedition is set to scale Mt. Everest from Tibetan side after the health camp.

Team leader Nag highlighted the previous activities of the camp and expressed his hope that new expedition would help to raise the confidence of the summiter to a new height.