Special packages to revive tourism; RNAC to provide subsidised fares

By Satyendra Timilsina

KATHMANDU, Dec 24 – With the number of tourists coming to this Himalayan Kingdom reaching the lowest in last three years, tourism entrepreneurs here are now all set to announce special packages in a fresh bid to revive Nepal’s tourism.

The package, to be introduced in a few days time, would be a three-day to 14-day package. And the Royal Nepal Airline, the national flag carrier, is supporting the package to be introduced by the private sector.

With the private sector showing new enthusiasm, the government too is planning to provide subsidised fare of RNAC’s for the programme, a highly placed source at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation told The Kathmandu Post.

The Ministry official also informed that the government is preparing to waive the visa fee to the travellers coming here on a three-day package. "The government would also reduce other visa fees by around 50 percent," he added.

Birendra Bahadur Deuja, secretary at the Ministry, indicated towards the relief package of the RNAC. "We will support the new scheme proposed by the tourism entrepreneurs."

Under the new scheme, visitors would be provided a two-way airline ticket, accommodation, all meals and limited sight seeing tour in a heavily subsidised package to the passengers coming in RNAC flights. However, the package would not include the fare for the mountain flights.

"We will first introduce this package to the passengers flying RNAC flights from Bombay and Bangalore," said Mohan Prasad Khanal, the chairman of Board of Airlines Representatives of Nepal (BARN). "We are providing a three-day package at the cost of Rs 28,160, which alone is the present airfare," said Khanal, who is a marketing director at the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation.

Narendra Bajracharya, president of Hotel Association of Nepal, says that the new package is designed with a hope that Nepali tourism industry can be revived with the joint effort of all the entrepreneurs. "Nepal can compete with other countries in terms of tourism promotion after the announcement of this package," he added.

According to latest tourism statistics, there has been a decline of more than 17 per cent tourists this year compared to the last year. November alone showed a decline of over 42 per cent. The statistics has shown that there has been a significant decline in the inflow of Indian tourists, falling to around 18 per cent of total tourists from more than 33 per cent two years ago.

With the global tourism business taking a dip, several countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have already introduced special campaigns to resurrect the tourism sector with their main target being China and India.

Even the tourism entrepreneurs say that their main effort would be to attract tourists from China and India. The promotion would also be focused on countries like the United States, Japan and United Kingdom, the major countries sharing the maximum number of tourist arrivals in Nepal. This new scheme has become possible after a month long effort from both the private entrepreneurs and government officials.

The private entrepreneurs are also trying to convince the government on reducing the parking, landing and hangar charges to various international airlines flying to and from Kathmandu.

SAFTA unlikely to make headway

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 24 – The regional grouping of the seven South Asian countries, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), is unlikely to sign a draft agreement on creating a SAARC Free Trade Area (SAFTA) in the upcoming eleventh summit.

And that has even been acknowledged by some officials at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu who view that SAFTA is unlikely to make much headway during the January 4-6 summit that will be held in the Himalayan capital.

"A working draft for SAFTA does exist. However, a proper draft agreement is unlikely to be signed at the upcoming SAARC summit. That means that SAFTA will not be a hot topic in the three-day summit," a SAARC diplomat preferring to remain unnamed said.

Independent analysts believe that it is the heightened tension between the two South Asian nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, that lie in the way of the formation of a free trade area.

It may be recalled that the eleventh SAARC summit, initially scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in November 1999, was postponed indefinitely at the behest of India following the takeover of the Nawaj Sharif government in Pakistan by General Pervez Musharraf.

"Until and unless the rivalry between India and Pakistan is not brought down, the vision of the regional group to form a free trading regime may never materialise," an expert on regional trading regime preferring to remain unnamed said.

However, Dr Posh Raj Pandey, another expert on regional and international trading arrangements, said that economic cooperation is the only way out to diffuse the current Indo-Pakistan conflict.

"SAFTA is very much required to reduce the present tension between the two South Asian powers. Political relations will certainly change for the better after economic cooperation is strengthened," he said.

However, he expressed his views that the modality of the free trade regime will perhaps be discussed during the meet. SAARC leaders initially had targeted to operationalise SAFTA by 2001. However, the target was later adjusted to just signing of the draft agreement that would pave way for the proposed free trade in the South Asian region.

While experts view that operationalising SAFTA by 2001 was an unrealistic target, they say that the proposed signing of a draft agreement was very much possible. However, due to various reasons, officials view that the draft will not be signed by the member states.

One of the complications in the signing of the draft agreement is the complexities involved in the formation of a free trade zone, they say. Most of the SAARC members are yet to understand the full dimension of the free trading regime.

Even an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Unless the full dimension of free trade is understood by all member nations, the draft agreement on SAFTA cannot be signed."

Although no draft agreement has been reached so far, member countries have been regularly meeting to discuss the reduction of various tariff lines. So far, around 5,500 tariff lines have been covered under consessional tariff by the member countries, most of them by India.

103 more peaks opened for mountaineering

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 24 - After months of delay, the government today formally announced that it is opening up another 103 Himalayan peaks for mountaineering.

The Cabinet had taken the decision last week though the proposal had been forwarded much before that. Mountaineering officials have been for months saying these peaks would be opened for climbers.

Mountaineers will be able to climb these new peaks from the 2002 spring mountaineering season. Most of these peaks are in Solukhumbu district, which is home to Mt Everest and the Kanchenjunga area.

This brings the total number of peaks open for mountaineering in Nepal to 263, said Ganesh Karki, chief of the Mountaineering Department at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

"This would not only help promote Nepal as the prime destination for mountaineering but also help in the development of areas around these mountains," Karki said.

The move is in preparation to mark next year as the year of International Mountain Tourism Year and also the year after that the 50th year since man set foot on the summit of Everest.

The government has also eased on the regulations that required teams to hire a liaison officer during their expedition. Climbing peaks under 6,500 meters in height will not require liaison officer. About 89 peaks would not fall under this category.

Oppn back Koirala's broader democratic unity

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KATHMANDU, Dec 24 - Major political parties have agreed in principle to back a proposal by the Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala for a broader democratic unity, Koirala said.

"We have all agreed on the broader democratic unity," Koirala told reporters after a meeting with leaders of prominent political parties.

The meeting at the Nepal Congress (NC)’s central office at Teku follows a meeting by Koirala with members of the Central Working Committee and department heads a day earlier.

Koirala has been pushing for the unity in what his aides say is a joint move to face the present situation in the country following the Maoist insurgency and the deteriorating economic state.

However, his opponents in the ruling party, including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, has interpreted the move as a ploy to oust Deuba and grab power for himself. Koirala was ousted from the Prime Minister’s office in July over his government’s alleged involvement in a Lauda Air bribery scandal.

"It is necessary to identify the areas that needs to be taken care of following a national consensus among the parties. The broader democratic unity just a mechanism to implement these agreements," said Govind Raj Joshi, a central party figure.

Joshi said Koirala would first summon a meeting of the CWC in the next few days and discuss the proposal and the reactions by the other parties and then again meet with the leaders of opposition parties to move ahead the broader democratic unity.

"All the parties need to analyze and assess the situation after the state of emergency was imposed and find a political consensus among the parties to face this crucial situation," Joshi said.

Among the agenda, Koirala is continuing to move forward his 14-point agenda he announced in Parliament days before he was forced out of power. The agenda was discussed and the main opposition CPN-UML had added three more point to it.

To add to that, the 35-point memorandum by the CPN-ML and similar documents by other smaller parties would also be discussed and according to Joshi, an agreement would be reached on the basis of a consensus.

"At this moment, we need to reach a national consensus on economical, social and political issues," said Bharat Mohan Adhikari of the main opposition CPN-UML. "Our party is not in a rush to join the government."

Surya Bahadur Thapa of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party too said there had been agreement among the parties for the unity.

Besides, NC, CPN-UML and RPP, leaders of CPN-ML, Nepal Sadbhawana Party, National People’s Front and United People’s Front also participated in the meeting.

When neighbourhoods come alive with candles, carols...

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Dec 24 - So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, new one’s just begun...So this is Christmas...

These lines by a popular western songster, and many other songs and Carols, may be reverberating across the Christian world Monday evening, when communities and families - both Catholics and Protestants - were bracing for this year’s Christmas eve.

And, as yet another Christmas arrives right on the door of millions of Christians around the world, it is not just the Bethlehem in Israel that is aglow with colourful light, flowers, cards and Christmas gifts. The city of Kathmandu, the capital of the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, is also celebrating the Christian festival.

With Christmas greetings and gifts on hand and wearing colourful new dresses, tens of bunches of children were seen moving towards nearby churches that have sprouted in recent years across the Valley of nearly two million people.

Eight-year-old Ravi Tamang, was one of the young kids merrily crawling towards the Assumption Church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur Monday evening. A jolly chap wearing that rare smile in his face, Christmas joys were visible in his round face.

"We have a lot of candles for tonight," a dazzling Tamang said as he sat in a row at the Catholic church Monday evening. "And later on, we will have delicious food, masubhat (meat and rice) and cakes. Tomorrow morning, I will get beautiful Christmas gifts from my parents."

Soon the crowd of about a thousand started to sing a carol in unison. Tamang joined them: "O come let us adore Him; O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord..." With this, the festival to mark the birthday of Lord Jesus, the saviour of all Christians, formally began.

Sharashwoti Shrestha, who came to the church along with her husband and four children said her family switched to Christianity from Hinduism nine years ago. "We switched to Christianity after my life-long disease affecting my chest got healed," she said. "The prayers worked miracle."

Originally hailing from Charikot in Dolakha district, Shrestha currently lives with her family at Jawalakhel.

According to the census data of 1991, the population of Christians hovers around 4 per cent in the country, and sociologists closely following the developments say the population of Christians is gradually going up.

And according to father Bogati of the Assumption Church, the population of Catholics in Nepal has been estimated around 6,500, and 2,500 of them are living in the Valley.

Whatever the trend, neighbourhoods in the capital were coming alive with Christmas carols.

Long time ago in Bethlehem
So the Holy Bible say
Mary’s boychild Jesus Christ
Was born on Christmas Day

Two ‘terrorists’ killed over 2 dozens held

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 24 - At least two terrorists were killed and about two dozens arrested Sunday in joint operations conducted by the security forces in various parts of the country, states a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence today.

According to the release one terrorist was killed on the spot, during exchange of fire between the joint patroling team of the security forces and Maoists in Katpur area of Kailali district.

Similarly the release adds that one rebel was killed, one injured and 19 others arrested in Chaurjhari area of Rukum district. The dead and the injured were shot at as they attempted to break the security corden and escape. The arrested are undergoing investigation.

Likewise, security forces arrested four terrorists and seized five guns of different make in Pathariya of Kailali district.

The release further mentions that the security forces have arrested 20 suspected "terrorists" from different parts of the country including four from Kailali, four from Khar of Darchula, four from Sunsari, two from Kulekhani of Makwanpur , one each from Baramja and Katmila of Baglung, Simpani of Rolpa and Nagdhunga of Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, our correspondent from Tikapur reports that the security forces seized two guns, terrorist documents, banners, phamplets along with nine terrorists from Katanpur and Narayanpur in Kailali.

According to the report, the security personnel arrested five rebels from Khagarwar of Janakinagar VDC in the same district, including Maoist area-sub commander Rita Chaudhary, Sita Chaudhary, Khusiram Chaudhary and Ram Prasad Chaudhary.

The report also states that the security forces also recovered 40 quintal of rice, two quintal of lentils looted last month from a mill in Narayanpur, from the house of Mohammad Ali of Janakinagar. Similarly the security forces also recovered 45 quintal of rice, looted from the house of Keshab Raj Upadhyay last week, in Pathriya.