Deuba’s land-freeze sows confusion

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 –   The Maalpot Karyalayas, which roughly translates into Land Revenue Offices (LRO), used to be the focal point of most economic activities.

Thousands of small-time buyers, sellers and the paralegal who assist them in writing out the land deeds would mill about every day at the LROs, creating businesses and greasing the wheels of the economy.

No more. Since Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s revolutionary announcement yesterday freezing land transactions until new land reform laws are introduced, the LROs wear a ghostly look. Take for instance the LRO at Dillibazaar in Kathmandu which once used to earn Rs 1 million daily through such transactions.

"All land transactions have been stopped with yesterday’s announcement," said Satrughan Prasad Pudasaini, Land Revenue Officer at Dillibazar. "Such blockade should not remain for long as it is a very sensitive issue."

Indeed it is, more so in the Terai regions where land sales fund almost all important household business, from marrying off daughters to building houses to buying costly healthcare for sick relatives. It is for these reasons that political parties and groups with deep roots in the Terai are protesting vehemently Deuba’s impromptu land transaction freeze.

A situation of uncertainty and confusion has been created as a result in most parts of the country. Not only the real estate business has been hit by Prime Minister Deuba’s announcement, it has also affected the banking and financial sector that in the recent years has bloomed to be one of the best businesses to flourish in the country’s economy.

Most people use land as collateral to take out loans for businesses and social occasions, and for this purpose the LRO has to put a lean on the land ownership certificates, forbidding its transaction until the loans are repaid.

The decision announced on Thursday has left thousands of people throughout the nation jobless, mostly small-time legal assistants popularly called lekhandas, says one officer at the Dillibazar LRO in Kathmandu. These legal assistants help prospective buyers and sellers of land prepare the land deeds.

Banking and financial institutions would face new problems over new investments and loan recovery. Bankers point out major transaction would come to a halt until another announcement is made by the government.

Not just these people directly involved in helping with the transaction, but even tea shops, restaurants, photocopy centres around the Land Revenue Offices all over the country that heavily depend on these hundreds of people lining up the dirty alleys of these buildings bore deserted look.

"I don’t know how I can pay off my debt of Rs. 1 million with such blockage," said Nawaraj Khatri, who had come to the LRO, Kalanki to sell his one ropani of land to pay off the debt.

Chet Bahadur Singh of LRO, Kalankisthan said that he had to send away three people who had come for land registration. "Compared to earlier days work, there was not much official work to do," said Singh.

The worst affected are people from the Terai region where majority of the people depend on farming for livelihood and the land is their main asset.

Farmers in the Terai region who at first were optimistic with the land reforms announcement have started to fear that they would be deprived of loan on collateral basis to buy fertilisers and seed. Farmers in these regions mortgage their land to buy materials, marry off daughters and also treat near and dear ones.

A report from Bhadrapur says the new provision is worrying even small tea farmers. They are worried that their land could be snatched away. Tea farmers have to have large amount of land to farm profitably and these farms stretch over hills.

Meanwhile, Madhesh Jagaran Aviyan, a Terai-based group, in a press release today condemned the government’s move of levying ceiling on the land holding. "The government instead should have opted for ceiling on property holding," said the release.

Jaswant Singh arrives, to discuss contentious issues

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 – India’s External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh kicked off his three-day visit to Nepal Friday at a time when bilateral relations are under strain due to trade and embankment issues.

Singh arrived here on a special flight straight from New Delhi, bringing with him a number of high ranking Indian officials. He was received at the Tribhuvan International Airport by Minister for Agriculture Mahesh Acharya.

Speaking to the reporters upon his arrival, Singh said that his visit was aimed at strengthening and deepening the bilateral ties between the two neighbours. He added that all gamut of Indo-Nepal bilateral relations would figure during his talks with the Nepalese officials over the next two days.

Singh’s is the first high-ranking visit from India after the royal massacre of June 1, the enthronement of King Gyanendra and the coming to power of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. As such, it holds tremendous significance.

The visiting dignitary is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, all former prime ministers and heads of all the political parties. His audience with King Gyanendra is slated for Sunday, just before returning home after completing the visit.

Singh’s visit also comes at a time when the government is preparing to hold crucial talks with Maoist rebels. Rebel activity in Nepal, and its potential to spillover in neighbouring Indian states, has been a concern for India for some time now, according to Foreign Ministry officials.

Though termed as a "goodwill visit" without any specific agenda, Sigh’s trip is certain to dwell on a number of contentious issues, the most prominent being the imbroglio over the Trade Treaty renewal and the flooding caused by the India-built Russiyal-Khurdawar-Lautan barrage at Marchabar which experts have said threatens to inundate Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

Singh himself admitted to the issues, replying to reporters that he would be discussing on these subjects. He said the trade talks would come up during the discussion. During the recent Commerce Secretary-level talks in the Capital, India expressed its concern over increasing exports of five of Nepali products – zinc oxide, acrylic yarn, copper wire, steel pipes and vanaspati ghee. India claimed that they have fallen under the "surge" net. However, Nepal denied this.

Referring to the controversial embankment near the Indo-Nepal border, six kilometres south-east of Lumbini, Singh said that he "had just heard about it. We will discuss it (the embankment issue) as well."

The construction of this embankment, now suspended upon Nepal’s request, has created a lot of furore in Nepal, forcing Minister for Water Resources Bijay Kumar Gachhadar to give a statement in the parliament on the issue.

Bilateral ties between the two neighbours have waxed and waned since the hijacking of an Indian Airlines Airbus out of Kathmandu Airport in December 1999. The chill in ties that set in was finally lifted only after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala visited New Delhi last year.

NSP storms House over land-freeze

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) disrupted the House of Representatives today demanding immediate withdrawal on the freeze in land transactions announced by the government on Thursday.

No sooner had the scheduled business of Zero Hour begun, four of the five NSP lawmakers who were present at the House demanded time with Speaker Taranath Ranabhat while Yadav Bahadur Rayamajhi of the main opposition CPN-UML was speaking.

NSP’s leader in the House Badri Mandal got up demanding that the government immediately withdraw the ban on land transactions. "The government should take back the proposed ceiling on land ownership and instead impose such measures on other properties," said Yadav adding that the government should have focussed on bringing back the capital that is being ferried across the border. Seconds later, the four lawmakers jumped out of their seats located on the last part of the opposition bench and stormed towards the Speaker. Security personnel, posted in the area, managed to block the agitated four before they could reach the Speaker.

However, for the next 15 minutes these four lawmakers shouted slogans from the passage between the treasury and the opposition bench until Speaker Ranabhat was compelled to call a recess and adjourn the House.

"Corrupt Sher Bahadur take back the decision. We will continue our agitation until the government withdraws the decision," shouted the members who appeared tense and would not answer to remarks made by fellow colleagues from the other parties.

NSP, which claims to represent the people from the Terai districts, opposed the new land reforms announced by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who announced ban on all land sales in the country until the government introduces new land reform laws.

"We are not opponents of land reforms but are only demanding that there should be ceiling in the property too," NSP’s Hridesh Tripathi told The Kathmandu Post after meeting with the Speaker.

Many of the people in the Terai who own acres and acres of land fear that if a land ceiling is announced then they would end up losing their property that has been in their possession for generations. Majority of the population in these regions depends on agriculture for a living and their property is measured with the land they own.

Not only were the NSP lawmakers concerned, lawmakers from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) like Renu Yadav who represent from the Terai were also seeking time to speak but were not able due to the protest by NSP. "First there should be ceiling in the property owned by Sher Bahadur Deuba and Madhav Kumar Nepal and then only the people of the Terai will be willing to give up our land ... this was a childish step taken by the Prime Minister," Yadav later told The Kathmandu Post.

The second meeting of the day was also disrupted by NSP members that lasted for only a few minutes.

Writs against land-freeze pile up

KATHMANDU, Aug 17 (PR)–Four separate writs were filed today at the Supreme Court challenging Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s radical land sale freeze announced yesterday.

The writs argue that it is unconstitutional to freeze sale of property, including land, since the Constitution guarantees each citizen the fundamental right to buy, sell and hold property. The separate writs were filed by Namasa Karki, Madhav Kumar Basnet, Surendra Kumar Mahato and Uttam Shrestha – all of them advocates. Their petitions argue that the pronouncement of the Prime Minister is not based on right provided by an existing law.

Any action which is not authorised by law is null and void, according to clause 35 of the Civil Code chapter on Court Management. The petitioners also argue that the land freeze violates Article 17 (1) of the constitution which guarantees the right to property. Article 17(1) of the Constitution states " All citizens shall, subject to the existing laws, have the right to acquire, own, sell and otherwise dispose of, property.

Commenting on the land freeze, advocate Prakash Osti said " I feel pity at the prime Minister. The Prime Minister has taken oath to protect the Constitution but he has forgotten that Article 17(1) is also there in the constitution."

Besides, the petitioners also argue that the land freeze has been imposed without passing legislation in parliament, and as such it circumvents the Rule of Law as envisaged by the constitution. Advocate Rabi Raj Bhandari, who successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to resurrect a dissolved parliament in 1995, said, "It has also boycotted the House by imposing restrictions without enacting legislation at the time when the House is going on."

Liquor ban averted, for now

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - The nation-wide liquor ban threatened to be enforced from tomorrow by the Maoist-aligned women’s group has been averted for now, providing relief to the beverage and tourism industry as well as to regular drinkers.

The All Nepal Women’s Association (Revolutionary), the group aligned with the Maoist rebels, issued a statement today saying it had postponed its threatened action for a few days since most of its demands could be met through negotiations with the government.

The postponement of the ban, however, is temporary, warned the ANWA’s president Rekha Sharma. "We will continue to press for our demands till the government accepts them all," a statement issued by her today said.

The last minute postponement came after the second round of talks between ANWA representatives and the government at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singha Durbar. The latter was led by Physical Planning and Works Minister, Chiranjeevi Wagle and also included Minister for Communication and Information J P Gupta. The talks, however, were inconclusive and the two sides have agreed to meet again, though the time and venue has not been specified.

Minister Wagle said that the negotiations were conducted in a cordial atmosphere but both the sides could not reach an agreement on the issue regarding the nation-wide liquor ban. "The talks will continue till both sides arrive at an agreement. On the issue, regarding the total ban, we forwarded our view to regulate rather than a complete ban."

"We will keep on pressing with our demand of nation-wide liquor ban till the government agrees to implement it," said Kalpana Dhamala, Central Secretary of ANWA during a press conference held after the talks.

The two sides had sat down on Wednesday for the first round of talks. Those talks were led on the government side by Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka who agreed to 22 minor demands forwarded by the radical women’s group.

Today’s development has been welcomed by businessmen and drinkers alike. "We welcome the postponement. This is a good news. It is not right to kill off industries and the ANWA has realized that," said Rajendra Khetan, member of the Nepal Beverages and Tobacco Association who also owns one of Nepal’s largest breweries, Gorkha Brewery. "The private sector will also conduct separate talks with ANWA to sort out the matter amicably."

Drinkers who were bracing for shortages from tomorrow are also happy. "The ban was not right," said Subas Sharma, a Tribhuvan Univestiry student who enjoys an occasional drink or two. "So many occasions which we celebrate would have been dry had the ban gone ahead."

According to the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the alcohol industry directly or indirectly employs 50,000-100,000 people, and contributes Rs 7.5 billion in taxes annually.

Case against Kantipur withdrawn

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - The government today withdrew the case against Kantipur Publication’s executives and Kantipur Daily editor whose case was in the Special Court under the charges of sedition against the state.

The information was given by Minister for Information Jay Prakash Prasad Gupta at a press conference organised in his ministry, today.

The government, on June 6 had arrested Editor of Kantipur Daily Yubaraj Ghimire and Kantipur Publication’s Managing Director Kailash Sirohiya and Director Binod Raj Gyawali under the charges of sedition against state for publishing an article of Dr Baburam Bhattarai, top leader of underground CPN-Maoist.

Ghimire, Sirohiya and Director Gyawali had to stay in custody for 10 days until the Special Court released them. Government, then had filed cases against Kantipur Publication’s Chairman Hem Raj Gyawali besides the other three.

Minister Gupta said that the government decided to withdraw the case as questions were being raised in national and international media regarding press freedom.

"This is a welcome step," said Editor Ghimire after hearing the government’s announcement. "Government withdrew the case under national and international pressure," he added.

Minister Wagle to lead Govt side in talks with rebels

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 – The government has appointed Minister for Physical Planning and Works Chiranjeebi Wagle as the coordinator to lead the government side in negotiations with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the group that has been waging a five and half year insurgency in the rural hinterlands.

A press statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said today that Minister Wagle "has already been appointed the talks coordinator...Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has also decided to invite the Maoist leadership to begin talks within the next 10 days."

The government, the statement further said, also publicly guarantees the safety of the negotiating team from the rebel side. Minister Wagle is the number two in the Sher Bahadur Deuba Cabinet.

Today’s announcement follows three days after the rebel Maoists named their three-member talks team under the leadership of Krishna Bahadur Mahara. Both sides are now hunkering down in preparation of the crucial talks which could decide Nepal’s future course.

The negotiations, when and if they begin, will however be off limits to the press and the public. The PMO statement made it very clear that the government intends to clamp down an information blackout during the entire tenure of the talks, and has also urged the Maoists to do the same.

The PMO statement also said that the government had already released most jailed Maoist activists, pardoned remaining jail terms of some others, had also initiated process to withdraw cases filed against most others in courts in a bid to build a conducive environment for talks.

It also urged the rebels to help maintain the conducive atmosphere by refraining from spouting anti-monarchy sentiments, violent protests and anti-social activities. Injecting a warning in the otherwise restrained text of the statement, the PMO also said that government’s flexibility at this moment should not be construed by anyone as a sign of weakness.

Battered wives begin to fight back

By Seema A Adhikari

KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - Sita Dahal, 23, of Kavre, who married eight years ago, speaks from her half-covered face fighting back her tears as she narrates her horrifying and traumatic marital life. She pulls down the veil further hiding away her swollen eyes.

Hardly a year after Diwakar Dahal, her husband working as a wood-carpenter, flogged at his wife for no reason. Women Cell Section at the Kathmandu District Police Station settled their scores mutually but he struck back again last Saturday with mightier blows almost irreparably damaging her left eye.

Sita, a shy and sober mother of a four-year-old son, recalls his husband’s murderous mood one Saturday evening. "All of a sudden he hit me in my eyes with blows and even used bricks. Then he took out a knife and tried to kill me," she said from her hospital bed.

The police at Hanuman Dhoka, bestowed with power to give justice to the battered women, said Dahal’s case would now be dealt under the State Offence Act. She probably will get justice this time. She is likely to seek a divorce from her drunken husband this time. But her husband is still threatening her with dire consequences.

Out of 360 cases of domestic violence reported at the Hanuman Dhoka police station in 1999 to 2000, 42 of them were complaints of either flogging or battering by their husbands. Number of incidents rose to 427 till July. There are still 75 cases under investigation.

However, data provided by Legal Aid Consultancy Service (LACC) show further rise in these incidents. According to this data, 182 cases were related to the battering out of the 1,117 cases reported from June 2000 to May 2001. A majority of these women are thinking of divorcing their husbands, according to a survey conducted by LACC.

A data provided by the Central Women Legal Aid Committee (CWLAC) shows steep rise in these incidents. "About 5-6 women come here everyday with complaints against their husbands," Suraj Raj Thapa, the legal aid officer.

Sita, along with Srijana and Rekha (names changed on request), went through a traumatic experience of marital life. Srijana sought divorce from her husband while Sita is also thinking of a divorce. She is presently living in her own home from where she was married 8 years ago.

There is no legal provision to deal with the cases of battered women other than settling them between the wife and husband. But if the wife complaints about her husband, there is a provision of 10,000 rupees fine and imprisonment of maximum 35 days, as per the State Offence Act, 2027 B.S.

Advocate Shanta Thapaliya, chairperson of LAAC, said that only 10 per cent of the women who suffer from their husbands on a regular basis come to report their cases. Most of these people come from Chhetri and Newar community but many people tolerate the injustice at home.

Suraj Raj Thapa of CWLAC said that battering is one of the most underestimated and unreported crimes in the world today. It represents the single greatest cause of suffering for women. Its origin, however, lies not in the violence of our contemporary society but in the historical subjugation of women in patriarchal societies.

Advocate Anita Chapagain Sapkota of LACC Helpline said that the majority of women blame husband’s alcohol addiction, low economic status and male ego as the causes for battering.

Even as various arguments are put forward by legal experts, battering exists as a frequent problem in Nepalese society, cutting across all caste and class barriers. Apart from the little supports of the parents, no other mechanism exists for helping victims of battering, even the legal system of Nepal fails to deliver equal justice to women, Chapagain added.

But after some time, these battered wives become a burden to their parents. Such parents are usually tempted to side with their son-in-laws or their family, she further added.

"Women in the 21st century are still considered second class citizens in Nepal and as a solution to this grave social problem several organizations, related to women’s rights who are fighting to give women their individual rights however, hope that the proposed Bill to control domestic violence, 2001 in the Parliament would end this sorry saga," Thapaliya, added.

Stress on preventive measures

KATHMANDU, Aug 17(PR)- Chief Justice (CJ) Keshav Prasad Upadaya today pointed out the need of legislation to prevent physical and mental torture by one member of the family to another member.

CJ Upadhayay was speaking at a consultancy symposium to discuss the proposed Bill to Control Domestic Violence, 2001, jointly organised by Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) and Centre for Legal Research and Services (CLRS), in the capital.

The Chief Justice said the Bill still needs its verification with compliance to the Constitution of Nepal. However, he insisted that only happy family tie could give a right direction to whole nation.

Punishment is not effective solution hence we should be looking for preventive measures and things should be settle at home before bringing it out, he suggested.

With urgent need of present society, the proposed Bill is believed to reduce the domestic violence. So it should be ratified at the earliest, says Suman Kumar Acharya Under secretary at MWCSW.

Govt opens lone Butwal Power Co. bid

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 – The much-delayed and controversial privatization process of the state-owned Butwal Power Company (BPC), one of the few profitable state-ventures, moved a step ahead after the Finance Ministry opened the financial bid of a joint Norwegian-Nepali group today.

The group led by Interkraft Nepal AS is the sole competitor in the race and has quoted Rs 730.5 million to purchase 75 per cent shares of the 30-megawatt BPC. The group has offered Rs 116.08 per unit share to purchase 6,292,932 units of shares of the company.

The financial bid was the sole competitor in the race after Ministry of Finance scrapped the technical bid of the other competitor - Chaudhary Group and Associates - on technicalities. The Chaudhary Group bid document failed to provide a covering letter and Part I and II of the bid document contained no signatures.

During the opening of the sole financial bid today, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Minister for Water Resources Bijay Kumar Gachhadar and their respective secretaries were also present. Dr Mahat said that the bid would be examined by a technical team of the government and finalization of the bid would be completed by coming Monday.

Meanwhile, at today’s function, the rejected financial bid of the Chaudhary Group and Associates was returned to the bidder who promptly opened the bid for the benefit of the press and the high government officials. The quoted amount of Rs 820 million bid was Rs 90 million higher than the financial bid of Nepalese-Norwegian group.

Pointing to that fact, Binod Chaudhary, President and Managing Director of the Chaudhary Group, argued that it was the responsibility of every authority to get as maximum amount as possible while selling its goods but, in this bidding, "they have ousted the company which has offered better price."

The sole bid which was opened today belongs to Interkraft Nepal AS and a Nepalese consortium in which seven Nepalese individuals have about 12 per cent share each. The rest 15 per cent is owned by the Norwegians. The Nepalese promoters are Gyanendra Pradhan, Padam Joyti, Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, Bijaya Bahadur Shrestha, Binod Bahadur Shrestha, Rajeeb Raj Bhandari and Binod Krishna Shrestha.

Gyanenedra Pradhan, one of the investors associated with Shangri-La Company, said that the Norwegian Energy Company would initially handle the operation of the BPC fully and would gradually hand over the operation to Nepalese partners within three years.

When asked about the possibility of raising the bid amount during the negotiation with the government before signing the final agreement, Pradhan ruled out such possibility. "Had Nepal Electricity Authority signed the Power Purchase Agreement for ten years instead of two years, we would have increased the bid amount," he said.

The three-year old BPC privatization process has affected the overall privatization program and its delay has begun to irritate even the donor agencies.

UML-ML reunification process begins

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - The process of reunification between the main opposition CPN-UML and its splinter group CPN-ML began with holding of first meeting between representatives of the two sides today.

Three central figures from each of these two parties met at CPN-UML’s central office at Balkhu today which both sides described as being positive.

"The meeting was mostly the exchange of views between the two sides where we agreed reunification of the two parties was a necessity," said CPN-ML’s delegation leader Sidhilal Singh.

This was beginning of the process for the two parties to merge once again which had split into two parties just months before the general elections in 1999.

Led by Bam Dev Gautam, nearly half the members of the party who called themselves the minority voice filed for its separation and formed their own party.

However, during the general elections they suffered a humiliating defeat failing to win even a single seat in the House of Representatives.

This move follows initiatives by CPN-UML which sought unity in the Leftist parties and had invited all the Communist groups to form a front.

The next meeting is scheduled for next Friday. The CPN-UML has called an emergency meeting on Monday which is expected to take up the latest development in reunification as one of the topics of discussions.

KMC to slap ‘service charge’ amid strong protest

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Aug 17 – Despite the strong protest of the local businessmen and tourism trade organizations, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) today placed its collection booths at three entry points to slap "Service Charge" from tourists entering the ancient Hanumandhoka Durbar Square of the capital.

Three of city policemen were injured and around a dozen protesters arrested in a scuffle followed by the lathi-charge in the morning, the witnesses said.

From Friday, each tourist shall 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. On the first day KMC earned total Rs 24,950 from 124 foreign and 6 from SAARC country tourists, a KMC official said.

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

This decision is sure to lower the number of the tourists visiting the area that will leave a bruising effect on the already declining tourism industry, tourism related businessmen claim.

Ramesh Shakya, the chairperson of the newly formed Durbar Square Tourism Promotion Action Committee said the mayor’s greed could be harmful to 500 to 600 curio keepers, restaurant owners, hoteliers and their families.

"The KMC has done nothing to improve the situation of the monument area, so he has no right to levy service charge from the tourists," he said.

Barun Manandhar, whose Sugat Hotel lies in the monument area, when the KMC staff would require paying Rs 200 at each entry.

Shashi Bhandary, the secretary of Nepal Association of Travel Agents said the KMC’s approach to earn money out of the historic monument before providing any facilities to them is neither practical nor scientific.

"We can’t stop KMC from levying money. But it should understand how we suffer from that beggar-like approach to draw some more coins from our guests, whom we call idiomatically gods."

But mayor of Kathmandu metropolis, Keshav Sthapit said the project is a step to uplift the monument zone and the Core City as a whole.

"The money we collect from this zone will be spent on conservation of the area itself and to provide basic facilities for the tourists visiting the area," he added.

However, the conservation experts said that KMC has no rights to conserve the area even if it wants to for the ownership of the temples and other monuments located around the area since it has been shared by the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, Department of Archaeology and Guthi Sansthan.

Dr Chundar Bajracharya of Tribhuwan Universty said, "The responsibility of renovation is shared among the institutions that lack co-ordination. KMC sells dream of renovating the temples that are beyond the reach of common institutions."

Accord on Norwegian grant signed

KATHMANDU, Aug 17 (PR)- The Kingdom of Norway has agreed to extend a grant assistance of 222.3 million Norwegian Kroner (approximately Rs 1,864,900,000) to the Kingdom of Nepal for the implementation of Melamchi Water Supply Project.

The agreement to this effect was signed at the Ministry of Finance in the Capital today. Finance Secretary Dr Bimal Prasad Koirala and Norwegian Ambassador Ingrid Ofstad signed the document on behalf of their respective governments.

The grant assistance will be used as co-funding of the Melamchi Diversion Scheme, states a press release issued here today. It also states that Norway has been extending its significant contribution for the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

Melamchi is a multi-donor assisted priority project of Nepal with a total estimated cost of US$ 464 million. According to the current financial plan, HMG will have to bear 25.4 per cent of the total cost of the project.

Dalits cautiously welcome government decision

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KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - Dalit leaders here today lauded the government’s landmark decision to outlaw the practice of untouchability and to form a Dalit Commission to look after the welfare of the Dalits. However, they doubted its implementation.

The Dalit leaders, speaking at a program on "Present Situation of Dalits and Today’s Need," organized by 39th Muluki Ain (Civil Code) Day National Celebration Committee on the occasion of the 39th Anniversary of the Muluki Ain in the capital today expressed pleasure at the government’s decision, saying it was "historic" and "milestone" in the liberation movement of the Dalits.

The government on Thursday outlawed the age old evil-practice of untouchability in which people of the traditionally lower caste are often regarded as untouchables and discriminated against.

"We have for the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1990, realized we have democracy," said Nepali Congress lawmaker Bijul Kumar Bishwokarma, who is also the president of the Dalit Lawmakers Committee. " Now the country is heading towards socialism and society with equality". He also warned the gathering to be conscious of its implementation. "The decision will strengthen the multi party democracy in the long run," Bishwokarma hopefully added.

Lawmaker Dilli Raj Acharya of Masal termed the decision as " courageous declaration," adding that the Dalits are also human beings of the society as we are. "The decision, however, may be a clever step of the present government to gain cheap popularity," lawmaker Acharya added.

Speakers at the program also demanded the government far preservation of certain quotas in favour of Dalits in different fields of the society since they, according to them, are very backward in every sector. " Government should allocate certain quotas for Dalits in every field if the government is really committed to uplift the status of the Dalits and bring them to the main stream of development," said lawmaker Mana Bahadur Bishwokarma. "Government’s decision is praise-worthy. However, we are yet to look its implementation".

Dalit intellectual Padam Lal Bishwokarma attributed the decision to the long struggle that the Dalits wagged in the past for liberation from the social injustice of untouchability. He also demanded that the government consult with the Dalits before the government sits for the forthcoming peace talks with the Maoists.

Hera Lal Bishwokarma of Action Aid asked Dalits youngsters to be more conscious and hard-working to face the possible challenges that the Dalits’ movement would have to face in the days to come. Hari Shankar Pariyar, former Vice president of Udayapur District Development Committee, called for the unity among the Dalits. President of the Magar Sangh, Gore Bahadur Khapange asked the Dalits to be strong, declaring his commitment to launch an awareness program to move forward the Dalit movement. Former assistant minister Din Bandhu Aryal said that the Dalits should fight on their own for their liberation.

Parbati, another victim of domestic violence

By Pragya Ghimire

KATHMANDU, Aug 17 - What could a mother of 16-day’s infant do when her husband weds another girl and mercilessly beats her up like anything else? Nothing. But to go to her paternal house.

Married at the age of twenty, Parbati Simkhada, 23, might have never dared to even imagine such blow in her life. But the inevitable started to shatter her dreams after six months of her married life.

Born in a lower middle-class family, her parents arranged her marriage to Binod Simkhada with a dowry worth hundred thousand rupees.

Showing her swollen hands and various parts of her body with bruises, Parbati did not hesitate even to show her secret parts. She said her husband used to torture her for his physical pleasure.

Helpless Parbati says, "When I was very happy for being a mother, my step mother-in-law pursued my husband to marry another women just for the sake of property. I was not allowed even to touch my property (dowry) for it has been kept inside her room since the day of marriage and has been used only by in-laws."

Laments Parbati - "Apart from giving extreme torture to me, the in-laws including Binod accused me of having mental disorder and was also prevented from having enough food. Now, I want to live independent life with my son."

Chirinjivi Dahal, Parbati’s father, says, "I don’t want my daughter get divorced only because of social stigma. Instead, she should get compensation and get share to the property."

Though Parbati’s father complained to the Bouddha Police Station, the police is yet to take action against the culprit. However, the police has handed her to Maiti Nepal.

According to advocate Sajani Joshi, if a woman divorces within five years her marriage, she gets compensation but is deprived of the share of property. And, if she doesn’t like to divorce, she gets compensation only. "Nepal still lacks effective laws against domestic violence even after the country has witnessed so many severe cases of the cruelty against the women," Joshi said.