Phone service out of order

Post Report

AMARGADHI (Dadeldhura), Feb 17 - Although telephone service has been extended in all the 50 VDCs and one municipality of Dadeldhura district, local people are facing hardship because PCOs in most of the VDCs are not functioning regularly.

The PCO operators constituted their separate organisation recently. However, it has not made any difference in the improvement of the PCO service.

President of the PCO Operators’ District Committee, Gunakar Chataut, said telephone sets in five VDCs of the district, including in Alital have been out of order over the last eight months, but they have not been repaired as yet.

There are several technical faults in PCOs but the telecommunications office has not taken any initiative to repair them, he added.

Valley on Valli’s Caravan feast

By Satish Jung Shahi

KATHMANDU, Feb 17 - When French director Eric Valli made Caravan in 1999, who would have thought that the nation would feast on its fame even two years after its release?

Now, the year is 2001. Almost a year since Nepal almost etched its name in gold at the Academy Awards for the first time in history with the picturesque movie featuring the far-western district of Dolpo. The movie ran house full for months and the local cast that featured in the movie now enjoy almost national hero status.

And yet, the spotlight is still on. Last Friday, at a gathering of the Caravan team called by Valli at the capital’s Boudha, the Dolpo people seemed completely different. Apart from the hardened lifestyle trading salt high up in the mountains as featured in the movie, all of them were now on for a celebration.

For once, it seemed as though the media publicity didn’t ruffle them at all. They looked like any other Dolpali, chatting in the same rustic manner. The scene at a Boudha Monastery was like a mini-Dolpo, except for the absence of yaks.

Around 100 extra artistes and film crew of Caravan who had gathered for the reunion were all in a festive mood. Tibetan butter tea was served at first and then the lunch. Both men and women - most of them with a red scarf tied around their head like Thinley — were gathered chatting in small groups. Few were even dancing in circles to their own local tunes.

When Thinley, Valli and Debra Kellner Vallie (the lady behind The Making of Caravan) came together, the tempo of the party seemed to reach fever pitch. The locals gathered around them. Generally serious looking Thinley appeared happier.

"Maile Arko Chhoree Banaye (I’ve got another daughter)," Thinley remarked, after holding Grace, Valli’s eight-month-old daughter, in his arms. It was like a movie within a movie, and a scene worth watching after you’ve seen Caravan.

But the instant question that constantly struck this scribe was: How do the other stars who were behind the scene exactly feel about the movie? I slipped a question to a Dolpali - What is this festivity really about?

Immediately, he slipped in, saying: "Tyo angreez le film garethyo Jay Nepal Cinema ko pooja (It is a puja ceremony of that Jay Nepal Cinema (Hall) by that Amercian)"

It was amazing how he couldn’t remember Valli’s name but could remember Jay Nepal Cinema Hall, where Caravan ran for months. And, this was probably the first time at that time that a movie hall in the capital, apart from Biswojyoti Hall, had actually run a Nepali film continuously for months which had attracted a full house comprising both Nepalis and foreigners.

The way Nepali movies are ignored compared to Hindi movies in the capital is certainly sour. Most moviegoers say that they would rather prefer to watch Nepali movies but the standard has to be lifted. If Caravan is any indication of the direction Nepali moviedom is heading, there is nothing to worry about for the avid fans.

However, if only the things went the way people love to. Valli recently spoke in an interview hitting out a Caravan stroke against the country’s bureaucratic hassles that were delaying his future projects.

At the Caravan reunion, I did not get to meet Eric Valli. But I certainly did get to see how attached one gets to a country just by making movies and writing about a place. And that gesture can certainly prove so fruitful in the international arena.

It is certainly high time we ensure that Eric Valli doesn’t slip away from us. Movies will come and go — but will Nepal ever encounter another Eric Valli?

Sissesu planting declining in Terai

By Rabindra Upreti

MAHOTTARI, Feb 17 - People’s declining interest to plant Sisseau trees over the last five years is going to cause an acute shortage of timber and firewood in the next 10 years, according to employees of forest office.

They also claim that it would pose a serious challenge to the national forest conservation efforts because of people’s declining interest in planting trees.

According to Mahottati District Forest Office, Bardibas, the inner Terai belt was popular for plantation of Sisseau trees over the last 25 years. However, after the trees were affected by a disease called die-back, people have been discouraged from planting Sisseau trees. This disease starts killing these trees starting from the top.

Rajesh Bhandari of Bharatpur VDC-8 had planted Sisseau trees on more than a Bigha of land 10 years ago. Pointing to the 90 percent of dried trees on his land, he said, " Who will now venture to plant trees, if the trees planted with the dream of a bright future fade in this way?"

After the Sisseau trees started drying up, there has been a sharp decline in the price of Sisseau trees. It has also discouraged the farmers from planting these trees.

Manu Adhikari of Bharatpur VDC-4 says the price of Sisseau ranged between Rs 400 to Rs 500 per cubic feet in the past, but now it is difficult to sell this timber at Rs 200 per cubic feet.

There is a race among the farmers to sell Sisseau trees which have died of the disease. This is the reason why the price has come down. Since all the trees are young and killed by the disease, the furniture made henceforth with these trees will not be as durable and reliable as in the past, said Sambandh Dhakal, proprietor of Santosh Furniture in Jaleswor.

Other species of trees are also planted in the Terai, but Sisseau being a fast-growing species, it was very popular until recently.

Sisseau trees were seen dotting the edges of the paddy field, ponds and road sides in the past. However, after the disease has appeared, the enthusiasm of locals to plant sisseau trees on different festive occasions has dampened.

There have been some attempts to study the causes of the disease, but no solutions have been found as yet.

Once the top of the tree starts dying, the entire Sisseau tree dies from top to bottom within a period of one month to one year.

Sisseau trees had also proved to be a good source of firewood and indirectly played a great role in protecting the forest, according to forest officer Bechan Sah in Khayarmara Ilaka Forest Office.

Forest officials say the government forests may face rampant attack from the farmers in future after the farmers give up planting Sisseau trees in the wake of invasion on Sisseau trees by die-back disease. Currently, there are plenty of firewood and timber as a result of large-scale destruction of Sisseau trees by the killer disease. However, the Terai belt will soon be without Sisseau trees due to this disease and its adverse effects will be felt.

Nurseries were fast spreading at one time but the owners are closing them now as it is no more a profitable venture. Whatever nurseries are still doing business, they are selling only fruit plants, not Sisseau plants.

District Forest Officer Kiran Nath Shrestha said the officials concerned are conscious of the social, economic and environmental impact of lack of Sisseau and a new variety of plant which could grow fast just like Sisseau has been recommended. To control the adverse effect of vanishing Sisseau, the new plant would be propagated in the form of a campaign, Shrestha added.