Maitighar residents get compensation

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - Kathmandu Metropolitan City almost ended giving away compensation to the owners of the houses at Maitighar today, which were acquired by the government to make a park in the area which was until now occupied by the eyesore structures here.

The executive officer at the KMC Surya Silwal said, "Today we distributed 8.6 million rupees. And on Tuesday the total amount of 14.7 million rupees was distributed. We have almost distributed compensation to the residents whose houses have been acquired by the government."

Meanwhile, the residents of Maitighar area today demolished their houses themselves with the help of some Kathmanndu Metropolitan City staff so that the materials could be reused.

"KMC is helping them for the time being. We have given the dateline of coming Friday. After that we will have to use bulldozers and cranes to do it faster and clear the debris," said KMC executive officer Surya Silwal.

He said all of the residents showed willingness to support the government’s programme to eradicate the eyesore structures in the middle of the street.

The government decided on December 3 to demolish the Maitighar area and transform it into a green park in preparation for the upcoming SAARC Summit.

A committee was formed to determine the compensation for the land at Maitighar which later declared that the owners of around 2 ropani land there would be given a compensation of Rs 6.4 million per ropani.

KMC has a plan to make a green park at the intersection with a Mandala-shaped pattern in the middle of the park.

‘Judicial Council for transparency’

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - Supreme Court Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya yesterday said the Judicial Council was committed to maintain transparency and accountability in judicial service in the country.

"The judicial sector in the country is worth taking pride," he said adding, "We have achieved success in making the judiciary capable, honest and accountable".

He also asked judges to think over frequent questions raised over the capacity and honesty of judiciary in the past and work for making the judiciary more trust-worthy.

The Chief Justice, who is also the Chairman of the Judicial Council, was speaking at a function on the Role of Judicial Council organised by the Judicial Council Secretariat to mark its 12 anniversary Tuesday.

He said the judiciary maintained transparency in all cases in the court.

Supreme Court Justice Laxman Prasad Aryal, speaking at the same programme, underlined the need to establish a system of appointing judges on the basis of merit and performance. "The Judicial Council is the pillar of the judiciary and it cannot exist in the absence of the former," Justice Aryal said.

Narendra Bikram Nemwang, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, said that democracy could only be consolidated in a fair judicial service.

Member of the Council Kedar Prasad Upadhyay informed that the Council was trying to find out a yardstick which would outline basic guidelines of the promotion and appointment of judges.

Kasi Raj Dahal, Secretary of the Judicial Council Secretariat, informed about the bulletin published by the Judicial Council, which was released by the Chief Justice at the programme. According to Dahal, the bulletin was published with the attempts to make judiciary transparent. It contains activities of the Council and profile of judges.

Chairman of the Supreme Court Bar, Prem Bahadur Khadka said that the Commission for the Abuse of Authority should not be allowed to investigate into judiciary to give continuity to judiciary freedom.

Ranjit’s art show concludes

KATHMANDU, Dec 19 (PR) - An exhibition of paintings by senior artist K.G.Ranjit concluded here today. A total of 30 paintings under the theme - Passing Culture - were put on display at J Art Gallery, Durbar Marga.

However, at the end of the show there were only 19 paintings left; 11 of his paintings were sold. He was satisfied over the success of the exhibition, but expressed concern over the bad publicity and misinterpretation of his works.

He dismissed as "false and malicious" the reports in a section of the press that allegedly blamed him of imitating some Western artists. "All of my works are a result of my hard work and patience of the last five decades or so," Ranjit said in a statement released at the end of his show Wednesday. "It has hurt me. These are baseless allegations."

Regional workshop ends

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 – A four-day- regional seminar on increasing efficiency and effectiveness of workshops and meetings for experienced trainers and facilitators concluded recently with a slogan , "to be trained is always a chance and those who learn more during such events are not only the participants, " states a press release issued here today.

Representatives from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Nepal, and Switzerland participated in the programme, organised by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co – operation (SDC), Kathmandu.

Ernest Boliger, Represe-ntative of Swiss Centre for Agriculture Extension and Rural Development , Murari Shrma, Kokna, Kartoonist, and Denis Bugnard, the organiser,also gave speeches and expressed their views on the occasion.

‘Prithvi Narayan Shah’s sayings still hold true’

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KATHMANDU, Dec 19 - To discuss the importance of Divyaupadesh of late King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great in the modern context, the Explore Nepal Group organised an interaction programme amidst a function here today.

Considering the importance of King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s wise sayings in different periods, the Explorer Group has re-published the Divyaupadesh, which was released at the interaction programme.

Addressing the programme, Trilochan Dhakal, politbureau member of the CPN (ML) said that everyone protests against corruption, but is never implemented in practice. "King Prithvi Narayan Shah had called Nepal the yam between two huge stones, so we have to act according to the condition."

Speaking at the programme Ishwor Pokhrel, member of the Standing Committee said that corruption could be controlled if the government started its action from high level officials. "The most important step to control corruption is to disclose property list of all the officials and if any one does not disclose his property, the property has to be seized."

"The list of property should be clear so that it becomes easy to find out what is happening in any place," said Nara Hari Acharya, central member of the Nepali Congress.

Describing the courageous deeds of late King Prithvi Narayan Shah, Hari Bahadur Basnyat, central member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said that he was the one who built united Nepal.

Maoists fight a losing battle

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DOLPA (Dunai), Dec 19 - Maoist "terrorists", who have already been embattling a hors-de-combat situation with the Royal Nepal Army after the declaration of emergency grappled yet another resistance from the commoners on Wednesday.

The reports received from Dolpa stated today that locals of Kaigaun VDC fought back the Maoists, who had set a trend here to collect food grains from the farmers immediately after the harvest of the crops.

"Hardly had the Maoists collected the food grains from first three houses, than the farmers surrounded them and snatched away whatever they had collected," said a local here on the condition of anonymity.

"We’ll make every effort to take vengeance on you after we return with our red-army," a VDC official who witnessed the confrontation quoted Maoists army as saying Wednesday.

Meanwhile, reports from Dolpa further stated that several villagers from around 12 DVCs who had been forced to join
the Maoist offices in various positions have already filed their resignations.

According to an official communiqué received from the District Administration Office of Dolpa, Maoists had formed their own government in at least 12 VDCs from a total of 23 VDCs in Dolpa employing forcefully hundreds officials.

The communiqué stated that at least 162 officials, including the commander of the so-called Maoists’ "people government" have resigned from 12 VDCs and have formally informed their detachment from Maoists.

Meanwhile, a report from Taplejung stated that 75 Maoists have surrendered themselves and renounced their positions from the so-called "people’s government" in the district following the declaration of emergency.

A report from Birgunj stated that two Maoists have surrendered and 20 applied for the same pleading innocence and mercy from the government. Until Wednesday, 98 Maoists have surrendered in Parsa district while 6 of them have been detained for investigation, government sources said.

While report from Dhading, however, stated that Maoists "terrorists" set fire to a telephone station located at Sunaula
Bazar VDC. The attack has brought communication facilities to a standstill here, said the report.

Chief of the Nepal Telecommunication Office in Dhading, Omkar Shrestha informed The Kathmandu Post that 4 bundles of radio equipment, 2 V.H.F. set and 24 solar panels have been destroyed in the fire.

Meanwhile in Chitwan, Ram Chandra Poudel, former Deputy Prime Minister and a central committee member of Nepali Congress (NC), said that Maoists "terrorists" have been steadily isolated from the masses due to hatred from the common people.

Poudel, who is a powerful NC leader urged everyone to move with a common vision during
the emergency. He was speaking at a function organised here by the Ratnanagar Jycees to mark
its second anniversary. Powdel also laid the foundation of a memorial hall of the great Nepali Poet - Laxmi Prasad Devkota amidst a function.

Salleri struggles to regain normalcy

By Ang Chhiring Sherpa

SALLERI (Solukhumbhu), Dec 19 – At first sight from the Phaplu airport, the Salleri bazaar looks like one of those picturesque, peaceful hill stations. And it indeed is beautiful, but hardly the same can be said about peace.

The Maoists came calling three weeks back, and in the encounter that followed with the army, scores were killed, both from the army and the militant side. Salleri bazaar now wears a deserted look.

Life seems to have come to a halt in this tourist place. Government offices are yet to resume business, while financial institutions like banks have closed down. Shops and other establishments close by dusk as a night curfew is still on.

The locals are in a state of panic, yet to recover from the events of the Sunday two weeks back. Some of the Salleri residents even seek shelter in a nearby village when night falls. The fear for their lives is all too real, and no one wants to get caught in a crossfire.

A hotel owner says he is in a constant state of worry, and that he is no longer sure whether his family would wake up alive.

A government employee says that he has hardly a thing to do except visiting the debris of his office every day.

But despite the jittery state of the public, the Assistant Chief District Officer, Rudra Khadka, puts on a brave front. He says the situation is within control and the government offices were functioning as usual. The latter fact is hardly supported by evidence. But the Royal Nepal Army indeed is in full vigil.

Superintendent of Police, Yadav Raj Khanal, however, admitted that they were facing a hard time to carry on normal activities as the District Police Office was destroyed by the rebels. The offices of the Police, Agriculture Development Bank and Land Revenue have temporarily been accommodated at the quarters of the District Development Committee.

NGO supplies relief materials to landslide victims

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DANG, Dec 19 - Human Welfare and Environment Protection Centre, a non-government organisation, on Wednesday provided relief materials to 16 victims of a landslide that occurred in Dangbang village of the Kavre VDC last week.

Chairman of the NGO, Shriman Neupane, said that he had already handed over the relief materials to the VDC Chairman, Bheshraj Khatri, who would distribute the materials to the 16 landslide victims. The relief materials include 17 quintals of food stuff, 50 sets of blanket and cooking utensils.

VDC Chairman Khatri said that the goods would be distributed to the most affected 16 families at Dangbang village. The entire village had caved in followed by the huge dry landslide on a nearby community forest. Around 300 people or 60 families have rendered homeless after the plain land caved in and destroyed the crops planted on some 100 bighas of land.

It was only last year, a technical team from the Department of Geology, after inspecting the area, had recommended that the people of the village should be relocated as the geological structure of the area was very much fragile.

Bibah Panchami begins

JANAKPUR, Dec 19 (PR) - More than 450 armed police have been deployed in and around the Janakpur temple for the security of the Hindu devotees celebrating the traditional marriage anniversary of Lord Ram and Sita.

The marriage anniversary of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita is participated in by thousands of devotees from Nepal and India.

A colourful procession participated in by government officials, devotees and locals move around various parts of the holy city before converging it into the temple. An additional service of the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway has been operated keeping in mind the inflow of the devotees during the ceremony.

Newly built bridges in poor state

NAWALPARASI, Dec 19 (PR) - Reconstruction of the two recently-built bridges over the monsoon-fed rivers - Jharahi and Kawasoti - on the Narayangadh-Butwal section of the East-West Highway has re-started within a few months of their opening for traffic movement, a report here said today. The bridges were formally opened for transport on June 1, 2001.

Upper stitches of the bridges, built by two separate contractors at the cost of Rs. 60 million, have been damaged. They were built under a joint financial support of the Bridge Upgrading and Maintenance Project of His Majesty’s Government and the DFID of the British Government.

Officials said that the maintenance of the bridges would be carried out by the contractors, who built them, as per the agreements reached earlier. Sources close to both the contractors said that the reconstruction of the bridges would be completed within three weeks. Vehicles have been diverted until the repairs of the bridges come to an end.