‘Foreign investment’ on media raises concern

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KATHMANDU, Aug 2 - Media persons today raised their concern over the "rumour" of international investment in the country’s growing media business.

They stressed that any foreigner should not be allowed to invest on media-related business, taking the sensitiveness of the matter into account.

Harihar Birahi, the chairman of Press Council said that media is not the kind of business that could be compared with hotels or hydro-electricity.

"We should work together to stop such foreign encroachment as it will bring negative impact on the social, economic as well as political scenario of our country," he said adding, "without being specific from which country and when the investment could come.

P Kharel, a senior journalist, said in most of the countries, the governments do not allow foreigners to take hold of this profession.

"No major newspaper may choose Nepal to flourish their business. Only investment may come from India if there comes any," he said.

He said even the people in India strongly protested when a minister gave signs of bringing foreigners to run newspapers there.

Govinda Biyogi, the chairman of Editors’s Society said all the mediapersons of the country should be alert if any foreign media house is coming in Nepal with a purpose to hold right over Nepal’s information.

Chiarman of Nepal Press Institute Gokul Pokhrel said tying to buy people’s credibility through selling newspaper with international brand name would only be the result of poor mentality.

Nepal,India start checking vehicles at border areas

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BIRGUNJ, Aug 2 - India has also started the system of special checking of vehicles in its border two weeks after Nepal started checking vehicles entering the country to control the activities of the criminals.

Prior to the introduction of this system in both countries, vehicles used to cross the borders of the two countries without being checked by police from both the countries. This was the reason why vehicle theft and criminal activities were increasing.

Both sides have now enforced strict vehicular checking in their borders and it is not possible for criminals to cross the border with stolen vehicles or to smuggle weapons.

Related documents (blue books, renewals and licences) of all vehicles including bus, truck and motorcycles are checked and the vehicles are also thoroughly searched to prevent smuggling of weapons and narcotic drugs. No one can ever think of driving into Nepal or India without Blue Book now.

The police also register the number of the vehicle, destination and period of intended stay. If the vehicle overstays, the vehicle will be fined, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Arjun Jung Shahi.

Indian vehicles were used in most of the criminal activities, such as murder and kidnapping, that occurred here in the past. This present practice has been welcomed by the people of Birgunj.

"We have started the system of checking vehicles in the border in view of our security needs. India has done well by starting this system. The tighter the security, the more discouraged the criminals will be. People should not consider vehicle check as an unnecessary hassle because it is intended for their welfare, SP Shahi said.

"We and our children are now more secure than we were in the past," said chairman of Parsa Guardians’ Association, Prabin Manandhar.

"It is a good attempt of the police, but the success will be measured by how it is implemented, he added.

Insurgency-hit people start returning home

NEPALGUNJ, Aug 2 (PR) - For the first time in five and a half years, former assistant minister Deep Bahadur Singh visited his home village in the remote hill district of Jajarkot after the government and the rebels announced a cease-fire to pave the way for peace talks.

The rebels had looted all the property from his house just three days later of the insurgency.

Many of the people, like Singh, who were forced to abandon their houses for fear of the Maoist insurgency, are hopeful that peace would restore and they would be allowed to live there forever.

Many youths choose to migrate to India and other places after the rebel outfits insisted them on joining the insurrection and others who could not afford to live in the Terai region languished in the district headquarters.

Despite the suspension of all offensive activities from both sides, local administrators conceded that the rebels have started expanding their organisational base taking advantage of the cease-fire.

Chief District Officer, Rishikesh Niraula, said that he came to know that they were extorting money from local businessmen and contractors.

"We are very happy that there is a cease-fire," said Keshar Malla, Ghetma VDC Chairman from Rukum district, who was here before returning to his home village. A large number of people who had left their district since the beginning of the insurgency, have thronged here to return their respective villages.

"We are going to see our families and friends," said Malla with relief.

More than 1,800 people have lost their lives from across the country during the insurrection.

KMC to charge tourists for visiting Hanumandhoka

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KATHMANDU, Aug 2 - Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC)is levying "service charge" from the tourists visiting Hanumandhoka Durbar Square from August 17, the officials said.

Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square is the only place among the seven zones that make the Kathmandu Valley a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, where the tourists can enter free till now.

Other zones, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Lalitpur Durbar Square, Boudha, Swoyambhu, Pashupati and Changu Narayan temples have slapped entrance fees by the concerned municipalities, trusts or development committees. And among them, KMC will have its right only on one zone.

Mayor of Kathmandu Keshav Sthapit said the project is a step to revive the monument zone and the core city as a whole.

He said, "We are not only levying fee from the tourists but, at the same time, we are launching a huge project to change the look of the Durbar Square which is, in fact, the emblem of the Kathmandu civilisation."

Mayor said he was determined to conserve the monument zone even though the locals are against it guided by their vested interests.

"I could spend even a quarter of the money in a new residence area like Baneshowr. That could also bring me more votes in the next election but I prefer doing something that would leave long impact among the people and also internationally," he said.

Deputy Chief of KMC Heritage Section Indra M S Suwal said that KMC would use the money in conservation of the same area and for the benefit of the local people. He said each tourist would have to pay Rs 200 to enter the square from any side. And the tourists from the SAARC countries will be required to pay Rs 25 per head.

The Hanumandhoka Durbar Square Conservation Programme (HDSCP) will immediately establish collection booths at five entry points that will also serve as information centres. It will also repair temples, rest houses and pavements, with co-ordination with the Department of Archaeology when needed. Similarly, the action plan for Hanumandhoka says it will remodel the lighting system.

The KMC office will provide toilets and telephone booths for tourists and also discourage illegal tourist guides and street hawkers.

Suwal of Heritage Section said, "Presently, we are searching for alternative arrangement for vegetable shops." KMC has extensive plans to preserve cultural heritage of the Malla period palace complex with scores of temples inside.

"We are thinking about extending heritage walk to Indrachowk to Bhotahiti and Maru tole to Bhimsensthan.

He added that supplement of heritage galleries, cultural museums and art emporiums in the area are in the HDSCP action plan for future development of the area.

The Kathmandu Valley was inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Seminar on preservation of historic ponds kicks off 

JANAKPURDHAM, Aug 2 (RSS)- A four-day seminar on The Challenges of Preserving and Using the Historic Ponds kicked off here Tuesday under the aegis of the Pro-Public and the Greater Janakapur Area Development Council.

The seminar aims at developing Janakpur as a tourist destination by persevering its historic, religious and cultural ponds around Janakpurdham.

Inaugurating the seminar, priest at Janaki temple Ram Tapeshwar Das said the local people should be active in preserving the historic ponds of the ancient town of Janakpurdham.

Member secretary of Judicial Council Kashi Raj Dahal said cultural heritage built by our ancestors should not be neglected.

Dhanusa DDC chairman Ramcharitra Saha underlined the need for formulating a comprehensive action plan to preserve the religious sites of the district.

Director of Nepal Tourism Development Board Subas Niraula suggested beautifying the religious spots of Dhanusa district to attract more and more tourists while ex-minister Bholanath Jha blamed the concerned bodies for their indifferent attitude which leads disappearance of such religious spots.

Ex-MP Ramchandra Jha expressed concern over the disappearance of the religious ponds in Janakpurdhan, a centre for Vedic culture.

At the inaugural function presided over by chairman of the Greater Janakpur Area Development Council Narendra Mishra, Janakpur Mayor Bajarang Prasad Saha objected to the construction of buildings along the banks of the ponds of Janapurdham through encroachment of public land.

Book on Nepal-Japan relations made public

KATHMANDU, Aug 2 (RSS) - A book written by geographer and noted writer Prof. Ram Kumar Pandey based on research on the Nepal- Japan relations has been made public.

The 190-page book entitled ‘Nepal -Japan relations’ published by The Nepal Nippon Research Centre(NNRC) is the first of its kind written about Japan.

The book with illustrations costs Rs. 250.

The book incorporates history, geography, tourism, literature, politics and economy of Nepal and Japan was released here, yesterday.

Chief guest of the function and Raj Parishad Standing Committee chairman Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi said the strength of Nepal is the relations with the friendly countries and that Japan has been able to emerge as a prosperous country in the world in a short span of time as it adopted a path of constitutional monarchy, democracy, peace and development despite its devastation in the second World War.

General secretary of the CPN -UML and main opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal said Japan is ready to help in our need and added that the book should also be translated into Japanese and English languages.

The author Prof. Pandey said the book was written while he was in Japan and added that the mystery of Japan’s success lies in patriotism and proper education.

Chairman of the function and chairman of the NNRC Dr. Harka Gurung said the extraordinary characteristics of the Japanese is to be able to protect their own culture despite modernity.

Also speaking on the occasion were ex-prime minister Kirtinidhi Bista, ex-chairman of National Assembly Beni Bahadur Karki, ex-ambassador to Japan Dr. Yadav Prasad Pant, ex -minister Kamal Thapa, litterateur Chetan Karki, Prof. Shadmukh Thapa of the organising institution shed light on Nepal-Japan relations and the contribution of the founder of NNRC Late Krishna Bahadur Verma.

Lack of toilets badly affects locals in Parsa

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BIRGUNJ, Aug 2 - Since most parts of Parsa district have been submerged, 88 percent households are finding it difficult to answer ‘the call of nature’.

There are private toilets in only 12.4 percent houses in the district. As plenty of open spaces are normally available around their houses and most of the people are poor, they have not constructed private toilets in their homes.

People who were habituated to emptying their bowels in the open space had never experienced such a difficulty over the last 10 years as they are doing now. Massive inundation like this one had occurred only 10 years ago, locals say.

Many people say they have not been able to defecate over the last two or three days due to lack of space.

"I have not been able to empty my bowels over the last three days," said chairman of Jhauwagudhi VDC Shiva Chand Das. "Until the flooding, there was open space everywhere. But now there is water everywhere except in one area. And as the area is crowded with hundreds of villagers, they feel hard to relieve themselves. I feel ashamed to defecate in the presence of other people," he said.

Das gave an interesting account of how people were coping in this emergency to defecate in the only open space available in his village. Five people go to the place at a time and turning their faces in five directions they relieve themselves. When they return, the next batch of five people take their turn and the process continues for the whole day. The small island appears like a fair ground.

Most of the villages lying in the southern belt of the district are under water. Fifty of the total 82 VDCs in the district are covered with flood water. People are seen crowding to the edges of the canals and few elevated places to answer the call of nature. Some people say they have to spend up to five hours in answering the call of nature as they have to stand in queue.

Chairman of Parsa District Red Cross Shyam Pokhrel says this incident must have opened the eyes of the villagers. "We did our level best to convince them to construct cheap toilets telling them the toilets would protect them against diseases. Now that they are unable to empty their bowels, they are telling us that they committed a mistake by not constructing toilets."

The same situation of the village prevails even in Birgunj town. As night falls, women are seen squatting on the roadside with their faces covered with their shawls. No gentlemen and ladies can afford to walk along the roadsides of Birgunj, mainly Gandak bypass and the railway routes at night even in normal times due to this unhygienic habit of the people, let alone the emergency that they are feeling now.

Wife axed to death over petty issue

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BUTWAL, Aug 2 - A resident of Marchawar in Rupandehi district living in a rented room in Butwal municipality-12 murdered his wife on Wednesday following their quarrel over whether to send their children to a boarding school or not.

According to Butwal Area Police Office, the man, Pattu Jaisawal, murdered his wife, Urmila, by using an axe during the day time as they disputed about the schooling of their children. After killing his wife, Jaisawal shut the door of the room and fled the scene.

The incident came to light when their children, who were studying in local Everest Boarding School, returned home from school in the evening and opened the door. Neighbours informed the police and the body was taken to local zonal hospital for post-mortem.

Police said there was a deep wound caused by the axe in her neck. They also recovered the blood-stained axe from the room.

Their eldest son, Tatbat, told the police that his mother wanted to send the children to the boarding school while his father was against sending them to school.

They used to quarrel repeatedly on this issue, he informed.

The site of the murder was rather isolated and neighbours did not pay much attention to their quarrel because the couple used to quarrel frequently.