Plans to control Japanese encephalitis launched

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DHANGADHI, Jan 21 - Pigs are being vaccinated here as a long-term measure to control the Japanese encephalitis, which has been proved to be the sorrow of people in the Terai belt for nearly two decades.

The disease has been afflicting the people as an epidemic particularly during the summer season.

Among the Terai districts, Kailali is the hardest hit district where thousands are affected every year and hundreds die as a result of Japanese encephalitis.

Seventy people lost their lives and nearly 800 were afflicted with this disease during the last summer season.

The government had said it would launch publicity and preventive campaigns against encephalitis since this winter as part of long-term programme to eradicate Japanese encephalitis.

Health Minister Dr Ram Baran Yadav had, during his visit to Dhangadhi when the disease was at its peak in August, said programmes would be launched in the form of a major campaign against encephalitis since this winter. However, people of Kailali have not seen any such major campaign being launched against encephalitis.

Experts are stressing on the preventive measures because the disease leaves behind its bad effects on the patients’ mental and physical conditions even after they are cured.

Therefore, the government has drawn up a plan to gradually vaccinate different animals and fowls, because encephalitis germs are transmitted to human body by mosquitoes from pigs, pigeons, geese and bat . The programme for this year is to vaccinate pigs against encephalitis this year.

The government has already developed necessary strategy and work policy to make the vaccination programme effective at a meeting attended by representatives of Department of Livestock Development, Nepal Veterinary Association and Nepal Paraveterinary and Livestock Association and presided over by the Director General of the Department of Livestock Development Dr Nil Prakash Singh Karki on Saturday.

At the meeting, they formed a three-member Regional Coordination and Monitoring Committee consisting of Director General Dr Karki, Dr Hem Chandra Karki of Nepal Veterinary Association and representative of Nepal Paraveterinary and Livestock Association Janak Bahadur Dhami.

The government has imported about 450,000 doses of vaccination. Since one dose costs Rs 450, many farmers will not be able to buy the vaccination. Therefore, farmers will be charged only Rs 15 per dose of the vaccination as management charge.

Dr Hem Chandra Karki said all the pigs in the district will be vaccinated against encephalitis by mobilizing the technicians and other employees of the Department of Livestock Development.

Works are already underway to supply vaccine to different village and carry out necessary publicity works. Vaccination will begin since March this year.

The effect of the vaccination will last for six months. Therefore, it will be started in March so that its effect will last until July and August when the disease is at its peak, he added.

‘Judicial council to punish erring judges’

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KALBALGUDI, Jhapa, Jan 21—The district court justices from the eastern zone have assembled here at Kalbalgudi since Friday to discuss on simplifying court procedures in order to deliver speedy justice.

A total of 28 justices are participating in the 4-day training program which was inaugurated, Friday last week, by the Chief Justice, Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya.

Upadhyaya expressed his commitment that the Judicial Council will take action against an erring judge if adequate evidence is available. He said that every attempt was being made to ensure speedy and impartial justice, adding, "It’s not unnatural for fingers to be pointed against the judicial system if it fails to deliver speedy justice."

The district court justice of Jhapa, Janardan Bahadur Khadka, speaking to The Kathmandu Post, said, "This program is designed to train judges to cope with changing times, as well as to focus on trying to focus on simplifing procedural formalities."

Similarly, Spokesman for the Judicial Council, Kashiram Dahal, said that factors like lack of physical infrastructure, problems with capacity enhancement opportunities for justices and procedural complexities are the chief impediments to speedy justice. "Such training programs will go a long way in reforming the judicial process," he added.

The chief trainers in the program were Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya and Supreme Court Justices Gopal Khatri, Krishna Jung Rayamajhi and Kedar Upadhyaya.

Forest consumers’ group blames govt policy

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MALANGAWA, Jan 21 - Forest consumers’ groups blame Government for exercising double standards regarding the ever-increasing slackness in the protection of the lush rain-forests of the Terai region.

Although the Forest Act does not prohibit handing over the forest to consumers’ communities, the Ministry of Forests has issued a circular withholding the hand over of the protected forests.

The Sarlahi District Forest Office (DFO) has delayed in handing over the Dhurkauli Forest of the Dhurkauli Village Development Committee to the community for the past three years, despite their detailed work-plan submitted to the DFO, locals said.

President of the VDC-level consumers’ committee, Keshav Prasad Mainali, said that the locals have been protecting about 200 hectares of forest for the last three years. But the DFO was not ready to hand over the forest area to the community, as forest officials would lose their income if this were to happen, added Mainali.

Officer of the DFO, Tikaram Dhakal, said the Ministry has a policy of handing over only forest that lies close to the human settlement and patches of forest.

"The area demanded by the consumers’ community comes under the protected forest, which cannot be handed over as decided by the cabinet," Dhakal said.

President of Sahara Group, Narayan Khpangi, said that the Ministry issued its circulation, violating the Forest Act. Khapnagi said the forest policy had envisaged handing over all the forests to the communities except those allocated for national parks.

Khpangi said that the Sahara Group had formed seven consumers’ groups in Sarlahi, Dhanusha and Mahottari districts and had submitted their forest work plan to the DFO. But the concerned authorities did not hand over any forest to the groups, he said.

"Experiences have shown that local communities can effectively protect the forests," Khapangi said, "Log-smugglers have firmly opposed the handing-over policy".

Dhakal denied such allegations, saying that the authorities, who formulated the community forest policy, could not indulge in such irregularities. He also revealed that his office handed over various forests to eleven communities last year. However, Khapangi claimed that the DFO only handed over the trees planted along the Bagmati irrigation canal.

Kainla Ba felicitated

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Communist leader Devendra Lal Shrestha 'Kaila Ba' (L) during a civic reception held at Patan on Sunday.

KATHMANDU, JAN 21- A felicitation program was organized by the main organizing committee comprising members from all the communist parties in order to felicitate Devendra Lal Shrestha alias Kainla Ba for his contribution to the communist movement in Nepal, on his 77th birthday, here today.

The organizing committee consisted of 77 members belonging to different communist parties. Leaders from various communist and other parties were present in the program.

Devendra Lal Shrestha, more popularly known as Kaila Ba among his peers has been active in the communist movement in Nepal for the last six decades. Born on July 1923 , Shrestha was actively involved in the struggle which ousted the Rana oligarchy in the 1950s. He was forced to leave a life in exile after the Royal coup in 1960.

In the fourth general convention of the Nepal Communist Party at Darbhanga in 1987, Shrestha was nominated central member of the party. He was the commander of the left front in Lalitpur district during the 1990 revolution.

The saga of ten percent service charge

The row between hoteliers and workers on 10 per cent Service Charge (TSC) is yet to find an amicable solution. While workers are bent on forcing hoteliers to bow down to their demands of implementing TSC, hoteliers are fighting tooth and nail to prevent the same, who even went to the extent of closing down hotels for a day. Meanwhile, the government, as a mediator, formed a committee for the resolution of the dispute, but is yet to make its final recommendations. Bhaskar Sharma of The Kathmandu Post talks to Bishnu Lamsal (BL), Secretary of Nepal Independent Hotel Workers Union, and Narendra Bajracharya (NB), president of Hotel Association of Nepal.

Excerpts:

TKP: What is service charge? And how does it differ from tips?

BL: Tips is monetary benefit given by customers voluntarily to workers as a reward for providing good service. However, only frontline workers enjoy it and the contribution of people working in the background including chef, cleaners and even managers go unrewarded. Service charge is a fixed payment that customers have to make for equitable distribution to all workers as per agreement.

NB: Tips is given as a reward for good service, which is acceptable. But service charge is a certain additional percentage levied on the total charge due. A customer needs to pay service regardless of whether he is satisfied with the service or not, but tips is purely voluntary and depends upon his level of satisfaction.

TKP: Why are workers pushing the issue so vehemently?

BL: Getting TSC is workers’ right. It is in practice in most parts of the globe. In fact, customers here are surprised that no service charge is levied. We have been pushing for its implementation for the past twenty years, but in vain.

NB: It is ridiculous for workers to push for the implementation of TSC. One reason they give is the infighting that tips invoke within workers. Such petty issues should be settled within themselves.

TKP:Why are hoteliers so stiff on this issue? After all hoteliers do not pay it.

BL: TSC would bring transparency in hoteliers’ books of accounts. Once hoteliers concede to providing TSC, employees would ensure that their share of payment is made honestly, for which hotels would need to maintain proper records. Only a few hotels maintain white balance sheet. In effect, hoteliers would not be able to dupe the tax authorities.

NB: The only reason hoteliers are against service charge is because it would make Nepali tourism sector more expensive. As Nepalese tourism package is already high-priced, service charge will bring boomerang effect to Nepalese tourism. Customers are already paying 10 per cent VAT and 2 per cent Nepal Tourism Board tax. Adding TSC would mean pushing up tax to 22 per cent. And as regards transparency in accounts, with the implementation of VAT, there arises no question of accounts being opaque.

TKP: How can you justify your stance?

BL: TSC is a workers’ right. The benefits associated with TSC itself justify the need for its implementation. Not only would it lead a raise in the income of hotel workers, it will also act as a significant morale booster, which would induce them to work harder for continued customer satisfaction. However, if a worker does not work well, hoteliers may reprimand them.

NB: Tourism is one of the most important sectors of our economy. As I have already said, implementation of TSC would only make Nepal an expensive destination. Nepal is facing stiff competition presently from other South Asian destinations. The time is not appropriate for implementing TSC.

TKP:Why is the government gragged in issue between hoteliers and workers?

BL: We did not drag the government into the matter. It was the hoteliers who did so. If the hoteliers had conceded to international practice, there would have arisen no problems.

NB: Since the government is the monitoring agency and is responsible for formulating rules and regulations for tourism industry, it is obvious that it has to take the role of a mediator to settle down the issue. It is the duty of the government to ensure that impediments do not come in the normal operation of business.

TKP:The government has formed a committee to resolve the differences on the matter between the disputing parties. What if the outcome is negative?

BL: We are stuck to our demands that we have been asking for the last twenty years. This time we are not going to bow under pressure and there will be no compromises.

NB: We are optimistic that the government’s high level committee will find a solution acceptable to everyone. For your information, the total revenue generated by hotels is less than 3 per cent of the investment. Under such grim circumstances, TSC cannot be implemented.

TKP:Is service charge taxable? By how much will the income change if the ten per cent proposed service charge is put into practice?

BL: No. In fact, this issue so far has not been discussed. The extent of change in income would depend upon the kind of hotel in which a worker is working. Ten per cent charge would increase the income by almost a cent per cent. And since income is increased, I agree that it should be taxedable.

NB: Yes, TSC is taxable. It is difficult to assess how it changes the income of employee, as there is a lot of homework to do in this regard.

TKP:What is the scope of TSC? What kinds of hotels or restaurants will it cover if it is implemented?

BL: It will be levied only in those restaurants or cafes or hotels where tourists visit frequently. Ordinary hotels or tea stalls, where Nepalis visit frequently, will be exempted from it.

NB: If those hotels and restaurants where Nepalese eat or stay are to be exempted, then all hotels that attract even a single Nepali have to be exempted.

Little girl lives in jail with her mother

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NUWAKOT, Jan 21 - A one and a half year old girl has been compelled to live in the prison with her mother who is facing girl-trafficking charge.

A woman who has identified herself as Anu Nepali of Kharanitar VDC-7, was arrested on girl-trafficking charge and has been remanded into Nuwakot jail for the last six months. She had nobody whom she could depend on and entrust her daughter, Kanchan Nepali, under their care. Therefore, she has been keeping her daughter with her after receiving permission, she said.

Anu Nepali said she could not leave her daughter in the care of her husband and his second wife because she thought it was better to keep her daughter with herself rather than entrusting her to her husband and his second wife and repent later. She has also requested the prison authorities to allow her to keep her 5-year-old daughter with her for the same reason.

The little girl has proved to be an object of love and a sweet source of entertainment for other prisoners. They show love on her lavishly in memory of their own children at home, according to a prisoner, Bir Bahadur Tamang.

An inmate receives Rs 15 and 700 grams of rice every day whereas the girl receives Rs 5.50 and 500 grams of rice.

Jailor Madhav Prasad Khanal said Anu Nepali was allowed by the district administration to keep her little daughter along with her in jail when she was remanded into custody and the innocent baby is also leading the life of a prisoner with her mother.

Chief District Officer Buddhi Sagar Tripathi said when Anu Nepali was unwilling to part with her little daughter she was permitted to keep her baby in the jail until the baby is two years old.

There are in all 30 people in Nuwakot jail, including 29 prisoners and the girl, according to the jailor.

Locals to preserve Kamal Pokhari

By Shraddha Shrestha

KATHMANDU, Jan 21 - Kamal Pokhari, a 48-ropani big water pond located in Kahmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Ward No 1 has been continuously encroached by the locals living around and also by different government bodies, locals say.

The pond, which was famous for the lotus found there was formerly known as Bhim Jujuka Pokhari. Later it fell into the ownership of Shree Kadel Chowk Bhagawati Guthi as the lotus from this pond was offered to Kandel Chowk Bhagawati of Hanumandhoka Durbar Square not more than thirty years ago, officials of Guthi Samsthan said.

The pond is now surrounded by ward police office and statue of playwright Bal Krishna Sama from south and a small building, once occupied by a local club from the east. In north, there are buildings of Kathmandu Institute of Science and Technology and that of Kathmandu Engineering College as well as residences of Gurung families.

Chandra Bahadur Gurung, a local, who is accused of encroachment said that the survey of 1944 cannot be endorsed as many complaints were filed against it.

"Cases had been filed three times in the Supreme court and on the basis of land ownership certificate we have been declared as the owner of the land." said Gurung

Hem Raj Subedi, legal adviser of Guthi Sansthan (GS) said that the pond must be in possession of GS but it was surveyd in 1976, and the ownership was indicated as "His Majesty’s Government."

According to the Department of Survey of 1944, the total land was 48 ropani but when the pond was surveyed in 1976, the total land turned out to be only 30 ropani. "In the Northern, Southern and in the Western side, the pond is being encroached," Subedi said.

Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Narayan Prasad Regmi said that the ministry had agreed to pay compensation to the locals aquiring the land arond the pond even though their right over the land is illegal. But still, they have not come forward to accept the compensation except the Sri Primary School which took Rs 1.2 million several years ago."

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) obtained the pond from the Royal Palace to execute fish farming in 1949. Along with this, the MoA was suppossed to take the responsibility to take possession of the land around it for its purposes.

The chairman of KMC ward No.1 Yogendra Kumar Shrestha said that though the encroachment is obvious around the pond, the aurhorities are helpless to control it because the squatters have even acquired the land-ownership documents. He said, "Encroachment around Kamal Pokhari took place because of some loopholes in the administration. The government should formulate some new laws to control it."

He added that KMC has allocated Rs two million to translocate the Ward Police Office, situated at the bank of the pond.

On the other hand, Devendra Gautamm, the chairman of Kamal Pokhari Conservation and Upliftment Commitee, said that all the people, including "some high profile personalities" are doing their best to acquire the land with historical value. "Protecting the encroached land is a vital issue. More important is that the pond should be cleaned and be useful for us," said Gautam.

Subedi of GS said that the pond is not under GS so it cannot take any decisive setp to control encroachment. "We have written a letter to Ministry of Land Reform and Management requesting the trasfer of ownership of the pond. But the reply is still on the way," he said.

GS has a several parties which are eager to conserve the pond and to save it from further incidents of encroachment in the future.

Maoists demand rifle or money as ransom

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JAJARKOT, Jan 21 - The Maoists insurgents have demanded that a rifle be made available to them as a ransom as far as possible or Rs 200,000 for the release of Ram Prasad Khanal, a priest who has been kidnapped by them, Parvati Khanal, wife of the priest, told The Kathmandu Post.

The Maoists have alleged that the priest’s son, Nav Raj Khanal, who had gone underground to become a Maoist worker six months ago, had surrendered to the police office located near the Kalika temple, where his father is a priest due to encouragement of his father. They have also alleged that Nav Raj had taken along with him a rifle and a bag containing valuable documents and maps from the pillow of his sleeping commander and had handed them over to the police during his surrender.

Parvati said her husband has written a letter asking her to somehow procure Rs 200,000 and send the money. He has also told her that he would pay the money after his return. "How can I get so much money ?" she asked.

The priest was kidnapped while he was sleeping in third week of December. He, with his hands tied, was seen being taken by the Maoists by the natives of Pokhara village in Khalanga-5.

Parvati said her husband is being moved about naked by the Maoists while her son is also being taken round by police in police uniform for their own interest. She has requested central general secretary of Human Rights and Peace Society, Nepal, Suresh Chandra Pokhrel, for their release.

Veteran leaders lambast politicians

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KATHMANDU, Jan 21 - Standing under a historic tree used to execute a social reformer 60 years ago, the veteran leaders, who spent their youth for introducing democracy today lambasted the present political status of the country and the leaders responsible behind the present "chaos".

Veteran leader Bishwo Ram Bhakta Mathema, the uncle of the martyr Dharma Bhakta said that the fate of the country lies in the hands of the corrupt leaders who never think about the future of the country. "The status of our country is similar to that of a car which is running down the hill and does not have a brake."

He was addressing a programme commemorating the martyr Shukraraj Shastri, a social activist and rebel, executed in 1940. The programme was held under the very tree where Sukraraj was executed.

Mathema said that all the national parties are engaged in their own power struggle and they are turning a deaf ear to the sufferings of the people. "No leader of this country seem serious to lead the people. How can a leader lead others when he himself is following a unbridled track?" he asked.

Hari Krishna Shrestha, the president of Nepal Praja Parishad, who was in jail, when the execution took place, said that the present leaders are more focused on the personal benefit than the upliftment of the whole county.

Janak Man Shrestha, the first mayor of Kathmandu and former judge, said that the democracy which was granted to the Nepali people after a daring struggle has been beneficial to the corrupt only, who unscrupulously leech the nation’s property and then blame each another for the wrongdoing. "The public can expect nothing when both the leaders from the ruling party as well as the opposition party have admitted that the corruption is deep-rooted in the country’s soil."

He recalled the days when Shastri was hung. "I was in the jail when the incident took place. My jailer showed me the corpse of Shastri which was hanging like a pendulum but it did not deviate me from my determination - to uproot the Rana regime and to introduce democracy," he said.

Former Minister and Historian Bhuwan Lal Shrestha said that Shastri was a politically aware intellectual who was interested not only in changing social behaviour but also was keenly interested in development of mother tongue.

A book written by Prayag Raj Joshi, the martyr’s nephew who held the crematory "Prayag Drishti" was launched by the first woman leader of Nepal, Sadhana Adhikari. The book shed light on Sukraraj Shastri, the political scenario of the 1940s as well as the present political status.