Police, Maoists exchange fire in Chautara

CHAUTARA, Sindhupalchok, Feb 15 (PR) - Maoist guerrillas attempted to capture the Bahrabise-based Area Police Station, situated on the Araniko Highway, in a pipe bomb attack Wednesday night. Rebels and police exchanged fire for about one and a half hours, police here said.

However, the rebels fled the scene soon after the Jaletar-based Royal Nepal Army (RNA), about half a kilometre north of the police post, threw a searchlight in a bid to protect the post from falling into rebel hands.

According to police, the rebels hurled the four feet long pipe-bombs, made of an electric pole, from the east of the police post at about 1.30 a.m.

Police opened 40 rounds of fire at the rebels after one of the pipe-bombs went off. The bomb, which caused minor damage to the communication room, was detonated about 200m away from the site. Another two unexploded bombs were defused by the RNA. Eyewitness said that the rebels retreated early Thursday.

In the third week of January, rebels looted a cargo truck on the highway, killing a customs inspector at Jambu, about 3km north of the area police station. Ramche and Maneswora VDCs, located close to Bahrabise bazaar, are believed to be the Maoist stronghold.

Kantipur staff donate blood

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 15 - A blood donation programme was organised here today to mark the eighth anniversary of the Kantipur Publications Pvt Ltd.

Those donating blood are: Surendra Phuyal, Utpal Raj Mishra and Rudra Prasad Sharma from The Kathmandu Post, Gopal Khanal, Balram Baniya, Dilbhushan Pathak, Krishna Bhattarai, Devendra Raj Bhattarai, Ang Chhiring Sherpa, Dinesh Yadav, Gopal Krishna Sivakoti from the Kantipur daily, Hari Aryal, Anil Banskota, Basant Limbu, Rabindra Shahi, Achyut Subedi, Sanjay Gautam, Khem Raj Shrestha, Ashok Kumar Shah from the Marketing Department, Ramu Chowdhary, Bishnu Prasad Gyawali, Raju Joshi, Binita Gautam, Tikaram Chowdhary, Raju Neupane, Gopal Khadka from the Administration Department, Jayesh Jung Shah, Shreedhar Pokharel, Pradeep Kumar Yadav from the Accounts Department, Raj Kishor Das and Dinesh Acharya from the Press, Pradumna Kumar Pokharel, Jayandhwoj Joshi and Narayan Budhathoki from Circulation and Dwarika Ranjit and Santosh Poudel from the Saptahik weekly paper. Others donating blood during the programme include Hem Raj Bhatta, Prakash Bhattarai, Suresh Pd Gupta, Nava Raj Nepal, Suraj Poudel, Bikau Thakur, Gopal Tiwari, Ghanshyam Oli, Bidur Aryal, Chandrakala Bhusal, Raj Kr. Thapa, Binod Shrestha, Niroj Pandey, Rajan Lamichhane, Tek Pd Poudyal, Chandra Jimi, Maheshwor Ghimire, Sushil Kr. Rawal, Kamal Raj Aryal, Rishi Ram Poudyal, Ishwori Neupane, Mani Raj Shahi, Dhurba Acharya, Padma Khawas, Tulsi Ram Karki, Subhash Khadka, Parash Raj Joshi, Mohan Dahal, Shyam Lal Acharya, Hom Bdr. Khadka, Deepak Kr. Shrestha, Sujit, Ale, Ranga Raj Acharya, Ujir Budhathoki Magar, Saroj Nepal, Binod Chaudhary, Kausal Niraula, Binay Raj Ghimire, Saroj Lal Karmacharya, Prakash Khatiwada, Ganesh Kr. Raut, Amar Sunuwar, Nawaraj Shahi, Ashok Agrawal, Amrit Bhadgaonle, Ravindra Rajbansi, Santosh Moktan, Omnidhi Pandey and Sahindra Man Shrestha.

Schools open only for four months in Limi

SIMIKOT (Humla), Feb 15 (PR) - Three primary schools located in Limi VDC, which borders northern Tibet, remain open for only four months every year, according to local people’s representatives.

According to Chairman of Limi VDC, Sunam Palden Lama, there are three villages in this VDC and each village has a primary school. The government teachers come to these schools in the month of Jestha (May-June) and close the school and go home in the month of Kartik (October-November). Even before this period, there are Dashain and Tihar festivals during which schools remain shut. Once teachers go home, they never return to school before one month is over, Lama added.

He said teachers have to cross the high Himalayas to reach Limi. Therefore, they cannot come to Limi before the snow melts in the month of Jestha. Similarly, they also leave Limi hurriedly in the month of Kartik fearing snowfall in the month of Mangsir. If there is snowfall before they leave Limi, they will get stuck there for the next six months.

None of the students studying in these schools has passed even class five.

Ignorant Kathmanduites and Valentine’s Day blues

By Utpal Raj Misra

Kathmandu, it seems, woke up today with a hangover of the two events that gripped the city this week - the transport strike and Valentine’s Day. Both are over now, the latter till next year and the former, let’s hope, forever.

First let us talk about the transport strike. All feel that it is high time that Kathmanduites raise their voices for their rights. But do all of us know what our rights are? Hardly. Had we known, we would not be tolerating any inconvenience or direct/indirect damage caused by anybody’s high-headedness, stupidity or vested interests, which we are helplessly doing now.

The transporters seem to have a good knowledge of their rights (or is it a question of their survival?) as they accuse the government of making them scapegoats in the process of trying to hide their inability, mismanagement and irregularities. The point is that at least the transporters have asked for compensations or subsidy from the government, for they realize that their right of earning their living has been violated by the students’ action and by the government decision to phase out over 20-year-old vehicles.

The run of the mill city dwellers on the other hand did nothing apart from sighing the usual sigh and getting on with their daily activities when the transporters barred all the public vehicles from plying on the streets. Apart from lamenting among one’s families and peers no one voiced a thing. No matter even if one had to get to work walking five miles or one’s children couldn’t go to school. It is clear that the people don’t realize that their basic rights are being violated by the strike.

So the event shows that first the general public has to be aware (or made aware) of their basic rights so that people can protest whenever their rights are being violated. Then only, disruptive events like transport strikes, chakka jams and bands can be stopped.

At least some hope has emerged along with the news that a legal petition that would seek compensation from the organizers of the band, chakka jam and strike in case of loss of property. Let’s hope that one day people will be able to sue the organizers of such strikes because they arrive late at the office or miss a day of education.

Now talking about the other event, only a few years back, Feb 14th would just be another ordinary day here in the capital. Not that it is considered extraordinary now but it has been striking chords in many a young heart over the past few years, thanks largely to satellite TV channels and yes, our mushrooming FM radio culture.

It was an interesting walk around down town Kathmandu this Valentine’s day. A number of young couples could be seen walking hand in hand with cheerful smile on their faces heading towards popular eating joints. Even more numbers of groups of teenagers (of same sex) could be seen hanging around not knowing what to do. The reason was obvious (and verified when asked)- they felt they had to celebrate for it wouldn’t be cool not to. Poor kids did not have anyone to celebrate the special occasion with, especially in the ways the popular media were telling them they should.

These two very different events - the strike and the Valentine’s Day kids - may have no other connection but that they both happened this week. But on a subliminal level, they have a connection. If a strike-filled day can be a regular day for ignorant Kathmanduites, then a western festival - any festival - is a time to celebrate for Kathmandu kids, even if they don’t realize the essence of it.

Inmates live in dilapidated building

Post Report

RAUTAHAT, Feb 15 - Inmates of local Gaur Jail have been living in constant fear for their safety due to the dilapidated condition of the jail building.

The 13-room prison was constructed 64 years ago during the time of Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher JBR in 1993 BS for "c" class prisoners. Later, during the Panchayat era, another three-room building was constructed to provide housing for political detainees. Currently, women prisoners are kept in this building.

Although this jail can reasonably accommodate only 75 prisoners, it is presently providing refuge to 90 to more than 100. Currently, 96 inmates, including two women and about nine people accused of involvement in the Maoist insurgency, are being housed here.

Many inmates are sick due to the unhygienic condition inside the jail. Some of them are also suffering from tuberculosis. Although there is a provision for medical facilities for the inmates, they complain that they receive medication late and in some cases they have to buy the medicines themselves.

Since they are not allowed to sit in the sun (on the roof of the prison building) during winter, some prisoners often stage protest programmes.

Jailor Dharma Raj Adhikari said they were not allowed to sit on the roof because the two-storey building was in a dilapidated condition and it might collapse if people sat on it.

Inmates complain that they were tortured by ‘Naike’ ( monitor), ‘Bhai Naike’ and jail administration inside the jail. Chet Nandan Singh and Ramu Yadav, who have been serving murder sentences, said they had been kept in chains at night for the last eight months.

Inmates are also enraged to find that a prisoner had sexual intercourse with a female prisoner with the complicity of the Naike although the females live in a separate building.

A local human rights organisation, Manab Adhikar Chetana Kendra, Rautahat, has requested the officials concerned to repair the building and improve conditions for inmates in jail, Bipin Gautam, Programme Coordinator of the organisation, informed journalists at a press conference.

Bani awards announced

MORANG, Feb 15 (PR) - Bani Prakashan Sahakari Sanstha, Biratnagar, a literary organisation, has decided this year’s four literary awards to be handed out by the organisation.

President of the organisation, Parashu Pradhan, told The Kathmandu Post that poet Jasraj Kiranti and story-writer Hiranya Kumari Pathak will be jointly awarded the "Navakshitij Sahitya Puraskar", the Rs 20,000 award to be given to the best work of the year.

Kiranti will receive the award for "Jasraj Kiranti’s Collection of Poems" and Pathak for her story collection "Shunyavat".

Similarly, Khagendra Pradhananga will receive the Rs10,000 award "Sahakari Vani Puraskar" and the Rs 10,000 award named "Mohan Regmi Smriti Samman" will go to poet Bibas Pokhrel from among the best litterateurs based in eastern Nepal.

Pradhan also announced that the organisation has decided to award the Rs 5,000 "Geru Ambika Koriala Smrirti Samman" to poet Dr Ombir Singh Basnyat.

Traders take away logs intended for disaster victims

Bikas Thapa

BIRATNAGAR, Feb 15 - The country has borne losses of Rs 5 million from the national coffer after the Chief District Officer (CDO) in Morang distributed thousands of cubic feet of timber under a relief program for people who never applied for the same, a report here said.

The national coffer had to bear more than Rs 25 million last year when about 13,000 cubic feet of timber were also illegally distributed to local traders as per the order from higher-level authorities.

The logs were originally intended for distribution to 279 families from the Dainiya VDC whose homes were destroyed by the 1996 hurricane. Soon after the natural calamity, CDO Binod Gyawali decided to provide 30 cubic feet of timber to each victim. All the timber was provided to the victims at a fair price.

A forest office source said that the timber was secretly sold to the log traders in the name of the victims of the natural calamity. A square feet of sal timber is sold for Rs 850 in a local market.

CDO Gyawali, however, claimed that he decided to distribute the timber as per the criteria fixed by the Central Natural Calamity Relief Committee, functioning under the Home Ministry.

According to the criteria fixed by the relief committee, natural calamity victims are provided timber at a fair price for the reconstruction or repair of their homes by the concerned body of the Forest Ministry. This is applicable only for 30 days after the natural calamity occurs. But the CDO decided to provide the timber for the incident that occurred five years ago.

The forest source said that the directives of the relief committee were misinterpreted. CDO Gyawali, who is also the chairman of the District Natural Calamity Relief Committee (DNCRF), had ordered the District Forest Products Supply Committee (DFPSC) to provide the timber without holding discussion on the damages caused by the hurricane five years back.

"People, who are supposed to receive the timber under the relief operation, do not have the information that they will obtain the timber," the source claimed.

The DNCRF is represented by officials from district-level government offices, DDC Chairman and representatives of major political parties. However, CDO Gyawali unilaterally took the decision as per the Home Ministry’s directive without submitting it to the DNCRF meeting.

District Secretary of the CPN-UML, Naresh Pokharel, also said that the CDO never informed him about the directive. He added that nor did the DFPSC inform him about the meeting and the timber issue.

On the other hand, District Forest Officer, Ambika Prasad Regmi, claimed that the DFPSC took no decision on timber for relief to the hurricane victims.

On 20 August 2000, the DFPSC wrote a letter to the DNCRF, stating that it was inappropriate to provide timber to the victims of a disaster which occured five years ago. However, the CDO, defying the suggestion from the DFPSC, ordered the release of the timber in the victims’ name.

Likewise, neither the people, whose houses were damaged in the same storm in Jhapa district, were provided timber to repair their houses.