Humla DDC against mutton consumption

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SIMIKOT, Humla, April 25 - The Humla District Development Committee has issued public notices warning not to consume mutton until the disease that claimed thousands of sheep and goat from this remote district is fully brought under control.

DDC Chairman Jeevan Bahadur Shahi said that the public notices were issued following the rumours that people had fallen sick due to the consumption of infected mutton.

Dr Gauriman Shrestha at the District Livestock Service Office,however, said although animal disease may not transmit to human body, it is better to follow preventive measures before anyone becomes victim of the disease.

None of the cases related with the disease has so far been recorded in the District Health Office.

More than 2,000 sheep and goat died of the disease called Pestes des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in the southern part of the district over the last fortnight.

Ex-Kamaiyas in grip of diarrhoea, 2 dead

By Kamal Panthi

GULARIYA, April 25 - There has been an outbreak of diarrhoea in the temporary camps of former Kamaiyas with two people already losing their lives.

More than three thousand homeless and former Kamaiyas are staying in the temporary camps erected in the covered hall, Jainpur of Gulariya municipality and Bangai of Dhadhabar VDC.

The former Kamaiyas are earning their daily bread by working as daily wage-earners in Gulariya bazaar and its vicinity. Mangal Tharu who has been bed-ridden for the last three or four days due to diarrhoea, says it has been difficult for him to feed his helpless wife and children.

Another freed Kamaiya, Krishna Tharu says they are apprehensive that many more ex-Kamaiyas might die due to lack of medicines.

Makini Tharuani, who is living in the camp at the covered hall, says that people in all the camps are suffering from different diseases including diarrhoea and that none of them could afford to buy medicines.

She further added, in a pathetic voice, " We buy foodgrain with the money instead of buying medicines. Thus, even if we die, we can keep our children alive with the money which we could be used to buy medicines."

The hospital is about four kilometres from Jainpur camp although it is located in the municipality. Janjire Tharu said once he took his friend to the hospital late evening (10 p.m.), the doctor asked him if he had money. When he said he did not have money, the doctor told him that he would not be treated.

If this sitution continues in all the camps for some time in this summer season, there is every likelihood that the disease will take the form of epidemic.

The attached huts, shortage of water, compulsion to drink polluted water, lack of proper sanitation and excessive refuses dumped around the camps are all likely to contribute to the spread of contagious disease.

On the other hand, many of them are already suffering from malaria as they are bitten by mosquitoes. As the ex-Kamaiyas are compelled to sleep on the ground, they are afraid of venomous snakes crawling around at night. They are therefore forced to spend the sleepless night for fear of being bitten by snakes. Janjire Tharu said they were unable to sleep properly even for a single night after the hard work of the day.

Gopal Tharu says the government and non-governmental organisations had been hesitating to help them in this dire state. "Even political parties are treating us like a football," he added.

Only 625 of the total 3,155 ex-Kamaiyas received land ownership certificates from Land Reforms Office recently.

Rebels takeover abandoned police posts

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JAJARKOT, April 25 - Underground Maoists have captured three area police stations abandoned by the police after the Rukumkot and Naumoole carnage in Rukum and Dailekh on the first week of April and replaced them with their self-declared Village People’s Committee’s offices.

The Ramidanda, Garkhakot and Daha Panchal-based police striking outposts have been converted by the rebels into their own grassroots offices, according to local teachers. The rebels have started their daily administrative works in the abandoned outposts.

Meanwhile, our correspondent from Hetauda said armed Maoists held two policemen for seven hours at remote Sarikhet VDC-2 yesterday afternoon.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Mukunda Bahadur KC and constable Shambhu Khadka were held by the rebels, who interrogated them for hours before they finally let the policemen go. The policemen had been to the VDC to investigate a case.

Postmortem carried out

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DIKTEL, April 25- A doctor from Birtatnagar today carried out a post-mortem on the body of Acting Judge Buddikhar Ghimire, who was stabbed to death by enraged local youths, yesterday.

Dr Mukti Narayan Shah, who flew to Diktel in a helicopter this afternoon, concluded that the death was followed by lethal wounds on the head and the chin.

Since the post-mortem was carried out only late Wednesday, the body will now be handed over to the family only tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the family of the deceased have today filed a complaint against the suspected culprits, Santosh Kumar Karki and Taranath Parajuli who are already under police custody since yesterday. Another suspected member of the Karki family, Shiva Kumar Karki, was also arrested this morning, DSP Kumar Basnet said.

Stress on cultural preservation

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KATHMANDU, April 25 - Science, technology and exposure to Western lifestyle and education system are responsible for the changing attitude of the people on culture, experts said today.

Poet Madhav Kumar Ghimire said that in this chaotic period, the people should put extra-effort to sort our what is our culture and what is not. "Culture and civilization are two different things. Civilization comes and goes but culture remains intact. Still, some additional dimensions can be added to it," he said.

He said the root of Eastern culture is intellectual thinking or Pragya. "This is something beyond reasoning. However, scientific learning has taught us to suspect on everything which crumbles the backbone of our culture."

Former member-secretary of Royal Nepal Academy Madan Mani Dixit said the strength of our culture is the secret that Nepal has never experienced colonism throughout the history.

"We have over a hundred languages and 60 ethnic groups. When we talk about Nepali culture, it means we are addressing the culture not of one or two and similar number of languages but of the whole country."

Similarly, former academician Satya Mohan Joshi said that the youths of today are running after "imported" religions like that of Osho, which has mere glamour than its independent way of thinking.

Rukum yet to receive additional foodgrains

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RUKUM, April 25 - Although the government has decided to provide additional quota of foodgrains to the districts which are facing food shortage, foodgrains has not been transported to the district even one month after the decision was made.

The government had initially allocated 2,300 quintals of foodgrains for the current fiscal year for three depots of Chaurjahari, Salle and Rukumkot in Rukum district.

However, as the allocated amount fell too short of meeting the needs of the district people, and as the demands for additional foodgrains were made from different places, the government decided to increase the initial quota by 50 percent and send it to the district.

Despite this, the increased quota of foodgrains has not been received so far, according to Food Corporation branch, Salle. The district has received only 1,465 quintals for its Chaurjahari and Salle depots and the remaining foodgrains which the district should have already received is also yet to reach in the district. The depot in Rukumkot has been closed due to the lack of banking facility.

The whole foodgrains should be transported to the district within the next one month before the rainy season because foodgrains can be transported to this district only by surface route through mules and asses. Foodgrains cannot be transported to this district during the rainy season.

Much ado about nothing

By Ameet Dhakal

"Disengagement" is precisely the word that the Nepali society needs to learn at present. It often engages too much of trifle and trivial issue. It is perhaps the basic trait of the backward and unprogressive society that often frustratingly engages on inconsequential things and in the process neglects the pressing issues facing the society. A classic case of ‘missing the wood for the tree.’

If we closely analyze the issues dominating the political landscape in the post 1990-period, then we find that the fundamental problems gripping the Nepali society have been relegated to the corner. Often the swallow and politically motivated petty issues have overshadowed much more important issues.

Utilization of water resources, land reform, reform in the bureaucracy, judiciary and the political parties and building laws and institutions were the major issues that needed immediate tackling in 1990 when the country embraced multiparty system for the second time. Ten years down the line these issues remain perseverant, if not grown worse.

Failure to address these issues promptly and diligently is one of the major reasons behind the present unrest and confusion that blights the nation. If we had been able to address these issues, we would have transformed the multiparty system into a genuine democracy. In absence of the warranted reforms, it is now quickly turning into a phony democracy.

If we closely analyze the past one decade then we find that all the important issues were overshadowed by some frustratingly shallow issues like: Whether the Tanakpur Treaty was agreement or understanding? Whether the death of CPN-UML’s then Secretary General Madan Bhandari and his colleauge Jib Raj Aashrit was an accident or a planned murder? Whether there was Rastraghat in Mahakali Treaty…Dhamija scam? …and so on and so forth.

The responsible leadership - and specially those in the oppositions - have spent most of the past one decade running circles over these issues and in doing so expended a lot of energy. People can argue that each of these problems was important in their own right. Yes they were. And, there is no denying that these issues needed public attention. But, was it necessary to exhaust all the energy only in these issues and totally neglect other importat ones? And has such exhaustive engagements brought any results? What is the conclusion about Bhandari’s death?

This brings to us into another character of the backward polity where the major issues are quickly supplanted by the lighter and popular crowd-puller ones. In fact the leaders are often "carried away" by smaller events, which in fact deserved little or no attention. Things in mature democracy are totally different. During the recent American spy plane episode, the White House team of US President George Bush filled Presidents schedule with a lot of non-China issues. It is basically an issue of prioritizing things and an art of "disengaging" oneself from what is unnecessary.

These protracted engagements have cost Nepali society a lot as they often have enormous "opportunity cost."

The society would definitely benefit a lot if the successive governments of the post 1990 had concentrated, say at least on building consensus on utilization of hydropower and had engaged in developing it.

But they squandered the opportunity. Now we live in such an age of rapid technological advancement that the new technology is causing mayhem to the old ones, straddled by having to pay very high charges for the use of electricity.

Breakthrough in the area of micro-turbines and fuel cell is taking place at such a rate that they can potentially write-off large any big power-projects. These micro-turbines, which will be at backyard of each consumer, will be cheaper and environmentally friendlier than the big power projects.

Since many American and Canadian companies are putting a lot of money into the fuel-cells industry to meet the steep growth in demand for power, they are likely to go for commercial productions by the end of these year. Add a bit of electronic engineering wonder, the fuel cells revolution will totally disrupt the big hydropower projects.

Hydropower, which once provided a lofty opportunity for country’s development is today clearly a case of "lost opportunity." Isn’t it a case of exhausting the nation’s energy in trivial issues?

NTB renews efforts to promote tourism

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KATHMANDU, April 25 - After the Hrithik Roshan episode, Nepal Tourism Board has renewed efforts to promote tourism in Nepal by strengthening ties between the two countries. It was disclosed Tuesday at a press conference sponsored by Yogendra Shakya, the Managing Director of Club Himalaya Nagarkot Resort .

Prominent figures in the Bollywood arena spoke at the programme that the programme was organised for better promotion of the declining Nepali tourism market in India. Speaking at the same programme, Shobha De, one of the most prolific writers and columnists of India said about the close affinity that is shared between the two countries and how she would take this ‘good’ personal experience to India in sharing with her readers about this ‘ magical kingdom’ and its charming people.

Also present in the occasion was Prasad Bidapa, a well known fashion personality in India who further added, " it only took a small cooked up story about Hrithik Roshan to hamper the coming of Indian tourists here in Nepal". This calls for a concentrated effort by the Tourism Board in inviting further, people with a strong opinion from India who could promote better relationship between two countries. "Hindus in India and abroad identify Nepal as spiritually motivating to their religion and culture and the feeling of oneness that the two countries share", he further added. Prasad Bidapa is also keen to take the aspiring Nepali models in the near future to the ramps of the Indian fashion world to which he is very optimistic.

Mock awareness program held

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KATHMANDU,April 25 - A mock awareness program on disaster management was organized by UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) for UN staff in Kathmandu Valley on the occasion of Disaster Awareness Day, today. The program was coordinated by Man Bahadur Thapa,National Program manager of UNDP’s disaster management program.

The entire day,UN staff from all over the valley congregated at the UN House in Pulchowk and learnt what to do, and what not to do, in case of disaster.Following the evacuation drill, the staff were briefed on earthquake vulnerability, particularly for Kathmandu Valley, given by Amod Dixit of the National Society for Earthquake Technology/Nepal (NSET) and a presentation on the experiences of the Gujarat Earthquake by Erik Kjaergaard, Technical Officer with WHO’s Emergency and Humanitarian Action.

There was also a presentation on the UN/Nepal’s Emergency Plan by Neil Reech Evans,UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative, and a presentation on the psychological aspects of disaster.

Besides, there were also demonstrations on the use of fire extinguishers, emergency first aid and emergency kits. To be fully aware of the emergency facilities around them, the staff were also made to participate in a quiz.

Locals arrest Maoist imposter

NEPALGUNJ, April 25 (PR)- A man posing himself as a Maoist and engaged in looting people has been arrested by residents of Kaskusma VDC-8 in Banke district and handed over to the police.

Local ward member Pradip Kumar Pandey told The Kathmandu Post that Tilak Ram B.K., aged about 25 years, of ward No 8 masked his face and demanded money from some people on Tuesday night wielding a khukuri.

First of all, he went to the house of Shashi Ram Khatri and demanded Rs 15,000.When Khatri informed him that he had no money, he warned him, before leaving the house, to keep the money ready for him by the 25th. Then he went to the house belonging to Dharma Bahadur Oli and demanded Rs 10,000 and then went to the house of Khum Lal Rawat. When he reached there local people came to know about the incident, surrounded the house and arrested him.

He had taken Rs 500 from the house of Oli and was pocketing Rs 250 from the house of Rawat when he was nabbed, locals said. This is considered to be a Maoist-affected VDC and lies at a distance of 57 kilometres east of Nepalgunj.

Police Inspector Uday Kumar Tamang of Kohalpur Ilaka Police Office said B.K. will be prosecuted on the charge of forceful theft.