Children vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis

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NEPALGUNJ, July 10 - Children are being vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis in Nepalgunj town area since Monday.

The disease spreads here during the rainy season. To protect children from the disease District Public Health Office has started the vaccination.

According to chief of the office, children aged between six months to 10 years will be inoculated against the disease. Different organisations including Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN), Medical College, local municipality, Medical Association have extended their cooperation for the vaccination.

The target is to vaccinate around 150,000 children in Banke district.

Last year, 56,000 people were inoculated against the disease. A total 156 children were found suffering from this disease last year and 26 of them died. However, no one has been found here suffering from Japanese encephalitis this year.

Harkpur turns into commercial centre

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HARKPUR (Udayapur), July 10 - The hilly bazaar of Harkpur has been bustling with activities after Royal Nepal Army completed construction of the 47 kilometre sector of Katari-Okhaldhunga road inking it with the road network.

Business transactions have soared to unprecedented level in Harkpur following the thronging of bus passengers running daily between Harkpur and Katari and between Okhaldhunga and Harkpur.

The prices of land have soared to such an extent that the plots which fetched negligible price before the construction of the road are selling at exorbitant prices now.

In the past, people had to walk for the whole day to reach Harkpur from Katari, but now they can arrive in three hours by bus.

As Harkpur turned into a commercial hub, Katari has been badly affected. Businessmen who used to come to Katari in the past for business purpose from Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga are now thronging to Harkpur. They stay here, buy goods and return from here. Therefore, Katari looks deserted.

There is also a good prospect for developing Harkpur as a tourist destination because it lies near the pilgrimage of Halesi Mahadev. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and the Sunkoshi river which flows from the vicinity of Harkpur is suitable for rafting, wich tourists like very much, Katari VDC chairman Ram Kumar Rai said.

Girl dies of diarrhoea

NEPALGUNJ, July 10 (PR) - An 11-year-old girl died of diarrhoea in Belbhar VDC-5, located about 6 kilometres from Nepalgunj Bazaar on Monday.

She was suffering from diarrhoea since Saturday night. She died as she was being taken to Nepalgunj for treatment, according to family sources.

Chief of the District Public Health Office Shiva Dutta Bhatta said the office had not received any report about the outbreak of diarrhoea in the district.

KMTNC condemns Maoist attack

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KATHMANDU, July 10 - The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) has strongly condemned the attack on the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Pokhara.

The ACAP recently has been subjected to unprovoked attacks by armed Maoist youths. In a press statement issued here by KMTNC, the Maoists have planned the attack by exploding a pressure-cooker bomb within the ACAP premises.

The group not only inflicted severe damage to the ACAP office in Pokhara but also destroyed the office record of property in the field office in Ghalekharkha on July 4.

KMTNC condemning such senseless act of violence, hoped that environmental institutions working for the people would not be subjected to unnecessary harassment in the days to come.

Boy gets support for treatment

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KATHMANDU, July 10 - Kanchha Khadka, a three-year-old child undergoing treatment of his left eye at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital is receiving financial assistance from some institutions and individuals after the national dailies The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur published a story about his condition.

Hospital source says he is also receiving assistance for Radio Therapy.

Private sector’s role vital in upgrading education

KATHMANDU, July 10(RSS)- Minister for Information and Communications Shiv Raj Joshi says that private sector’s role is indispensable in upgrading the quality of education in the country.

Speaking at the first anniversary of the Brookfield higher secondary school here today, Minister Joshi said in view of failure to gain desirable achievements by the public schools despite the huge investment made in this sector, the private schools should assume their duty with an utmost sense of service.

The private schools have come under the attack of the persons perpetrating murderous activities, he said and gave assurance that the government is cautious in maintaining peace and security at such schools.

On the occasion, Minister Joshi also gave away medals and certificates to the students winning in various extra-curricular activities.

Member secretary at the Higher Secondary School Development Council Sriram Lamichhane noted that with a rise in the number of private schools within the country, employment opportunities have increased and the tendency to go abroad for education has declined, thereby saving the national resources from draining out of the country.

Principal of the school Gopal Krishna Shrestha presided over the function.

Computer trainers’ training held

KATHMANDU, July 10(RSS)- Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Kamala Panta has stressed that the government as well as social organisations should share responsibility in conducting relevant training programmes, acquiring knowledge and in producing skilled man power so as to put Nepal into the global information technology mainstream.

She said this while distributing certificates to the participants of a basic computer trainers’ training here today.

Conceding that information technology sector has been lagging behind as a result of the government’s lack of attention to its promotion, she expressed the commitment that the government will accord high priority to this sector with the advent of 21 century.

Assistant Minister for Land Reforms and Management Janak Raj Giri pointed out the need for expanding information technology in the nooks and corners of the country so that that nation can confront with the challenges posed by the advancement in information technology seen in the world scenario.

The 3-month training was participated in by 73 teachers from public schools.

According to a participant, Ganesh Chandra Basnet, a teacher of Nirmal High School in Tanahu, knowledge about operation of computer, hardware and software devises, internet and E-mail services were imparted to the participants during the training.

Two cow smugglers arrested

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NAWALPARASI, July 10 - Two Indian nationals were arrested by police along with cows at Tribeni Barrage bridge on Sunday.

Three others who had purchased some Nepali cows and were taking them to Bihar, India have escaped along with the cows.

Those arrested by police on the charge of cow smuggling are Niku Kumar Shreevastav and Anil Singh of Bihar, India.

According to local teacher Mohan Sharma, cows and oxen are available at cheaper price in Nepal and are imported daily from the bordering areas of Nepal by Indian nationals for the purpose of eating.

Power cut affects life

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NAWALPARASI, July 10 - Normal life in 16 VDCs was badly affected after the power supply from Nepal Electricity Authority was not received there continuously for 20 hours.

The VDCs did not receive power supply from Monday to Tuesday morning adversely affecting business, various occupations, factories and industrial enterprises.

There has been irregularities in the supply of power repeatedly since the 5 M.V.A. capacity transformer at Baradghat Sub-station was damaged about seven months ago, the Kawasoti-based NEA engineer said.

The transformer which was damaged about seven months ago is yet to be repaired.

Report on child labour out

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KATHMANDU, July 10 - Twenty percent of households of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward No 7 (KMC-7) keep child labour for domestic works, a report says.

A report prepared by KMC-7 and Children-Women in Social Services and Human Rights (CWISH) states that out of 2957 houses in the ward, that is in Chabahil and Boudha area, 820 domestic child labourers work in 529 houses. There are a total of 3,427 houses in the ward.

The report, published wih the assistace from Save the Children Norway, was made public Tuesday.

According to the report, the behaviour of the house-owner or the head is not humane. And only 43 percent of the domestic labourers attend school.

Shanti Adhikari, the chairperson of CWISH said that most of the house-owners denied they have child workers.

KMC-7 is now making an updated record of the names of the children and their masters, the organisers said.

Fake examinee held

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GAIGHAT, July 10 - A fake examinee appearing at the Proficiency Certificate Level English subject examination in Trijuga Janata Campus Gaighat was arrested by the campus management on Monday.

Resident of Mane Bhanjyang in Okhaldhunga Dipendra Dhungana was found appearing at the examination in place of Tara Prasad Gautam who is a student of the local campus.

According to campus sources, the District Police Office has kept Dhungana in police custody for legal action.

Institution set up

BIRATNAGAR, July 10 (RSS) - A gathering of women litterateurs have constituted an institution called ‘Batika Sahitya Sangam’ with an objective of honouring, uplifting and encouraging women writers.

The Sangam chaired by Dr. Sushila Bhandari has Basushri Pandey as vice chairperson, Ganga Subedi secretary, Madhu Rai joint secretary, Laxmi Upreti treasurer and the members are Kalpana Pradhan, Dr. Bimala Shrestha, Samjhana Nepal and Sneha Pokhrel. The function was presided over by Dr Sushila Bhandari.

Private school torched in Pokhara

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POKHARA, July 10 - Students at private-run Mount Annapurna School located at Pokhara Municipality-2 were terrorised when a group of Maoist-aligned ANNFSU-Revolutionary torched the school rooms and set its bus on fire this morning, according to the school officials.

All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (ANNFSU) source said that they set the bus and school rooms on fire after the school defied to fulfil their demand of cutting off the monthly fee by 50 per cent.

The account room, some of the class rooms and the bus were put out by the fire fighters within 15 minutes of the incident.

Following the incident of fire at the school, all the parents rushed to the school and escorted their wards back home for security reasons. A teacher said that the students were panicky and started crying when the radical students resorted to vandalism.

The school has been closed until Saturday as the mark of protest of the incident. Other private schools also remained closed today due to the arson at Mount Annapurna School.

"As the school did not comply with our demand of reducing fee by 50 per cent, we have come here to take action against the school principal. You need not have to be afraid of us," the school students quoted the Revolutionary student leaders as saying. The incident took place when the students assembled for morning prayer.

The Revolutionary students also attempted to set principal’s bike on fire but the students protested them immediately and forced them to flee.

This is the first time that the Revolutionary students wing has attacked any private school in this mid-western hub. The Maoist-aligned students wing has been launching its agitations for over a couple of months demanding a cut in monthly fee to be charged by the private schools.

Some of the parents said that the problem should be resolved through dialogues and no one should attempt to achieve their goal by terrorising the school going kids.

Valley’s law, order situation discussed

BHAKTAPUR, July 10 (RSS) - The District Police Office, Bhaktapur, organized a discussion programme on " Peace And Security In The Present Context" here on Monday.

At the programme, president of Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party (NWPP) Narayan Man Bijukchhe, M.P., stressed on the cultural and political development of the Kathmandu Valley and suggested relocation of polluting industries and factories out of the Valley.

MP Lekhnath Neupane expressed the view that the Maoist problem was growing into a formidable problem for the country and that the police and the public should cooperate for maintenance of law and order in the society.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Om Bikram Rana disclosed that the entire Kathmandu Valley has been divided into 91 zones for the purpose of maintaining peace and security in the Valley.

Bhaktapur DDC Chairman Govinda Duwal, Vice-Chairman Ramesh Shrestha, Mayor Prem Suwal, Mayor of Madhyapur-Thimi Municipality Madan Krishna Shrestha, Deputy Mayor Murari Acharya and Senior Superintendent of Police Basanta Raj Kunwar spoke on the law and order situation in Bhaktapur.

Interaction on university policies

KATHMANDU, July 10 (RSS) - An interaction programme on the plan of action prepared by a study team constituted by the University Grants Commission to study the policies, concepts and procedures adopted by the universities in granting affiliation to campuses and submit its report to the commission with necessary suggestions for its reforms was held here today.

Inaugurating the interaction, minister for education and Sports Amod Prasad Upadhyaya said that there is a need for far-reaching reforms in the education sector at present.

While there was need for increasing the literacy rate in the past, the need at present is to enhance the quality of education, he added.

As education is the concern of the enti0re nation, it should not be viewed as the tool in the hands of any one political party, he said and expressed the government’s commitment to bring about timely reforms in the education sector as per the country’s needs.

Stating that the rampant number of unnecessary affiliations granted by universities without taking into account various parameters has led to the deterioration in the overall quality of education, Minister Upadhyaya expressed the view that higher education would be promoted and quality of education improved upon if the affiliated colleges were given continuity for enhancement of educational standards through regular follow-up and supervision. The universities can grant affiliation in view of their financial constraints, member of the National Planning Commission Dr. Nirmal Prasad Pandey said and underlined the need for massive reforms in the policy governing the granting of affiliation.

Chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof. Dr. Devendra Raj Mishra spoke of the need for appropriate policies and procedures at the affiliated campuses since one out of every three students would be enrolled at the affiliated campuses once the concept of multi-university is introduced in higher education. Convenor of the study team Prof. Dr. Surya Lal Amatya presented a working paper on the occasion.

In his working paper, Dr. Amatya has stated that affiliated campuses came into operation since 2037 B.S. since the campuses under Tribhuvan University could not cope with the increasing number of students. prior to 2037, all the campuses were kept under the umbrella of the Tribhuvan University as per the new education system.

At present there are 78 constituent campuses and 240 affiliated campuses under the five universities operating in the country, the working paper states.

While making a positive note about the improvement of educational environment and production of skilled manpower due to the incorporation of technical and vocational subjects in the curriculum of some affiliated campuses over the last few years, the working paper also equally paints a negative picture in the education sector such as the problem of lack of coordination and the setback caused by the random affiliations granted by the universities to campuses lacking expertise.

The working paper has pointed out the need for coordination and cooperation and formulating concrete policies for resolving the problems concerning the sector.

Some 60 educationists from various universities took part in the interaction.

Local, policeman injured in Maoist attack

BIRATNAGAR, July 10 (RSS) - One person has sustained serious injury after some Maoist rebels opened fire at a joint patrol of police and local people at ward no. 6 of Govindapur VDC in Morang district Monday night.

Kiran Rajbanshi, who sustained serious bullet injuries in the back of his head, when some Maoist rebels opened fire Monday night, has been rushed to Siligudi, India for treatment, it is learnt from the Area Police Office, Rangeli. However, Rajbanshi was not a member of the joint patrolling team.

The rebels numbering about 30 fled from there following and exchange of fire between them and the police for sometime.

In another incident, policeman Krishna Bahadur Bhandari of the Temporary Police Post, Biratchowk, sustained injuries and a deep cut in his index finger in a blast that occurred while he was trying to remove a banner tied to two bamboo poles at a traffic island along the Mahendra Highway between Ward no 3 and 8 of Indrapur VDC in Morang district, according to the Eastern Regional Police newsroom.

Bhandari is undergoing treatment at the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. Police also found some explosive substances wrapped in black cello tape at the site.

Biratnagar lagging behind in journalism

By Amrit Lal Shrestha

BIRATNAGAR, July 10 (RSS) - Despite its status as the second biggest city in the country, Biratnagar is lagging behind in journalism although it has large population and proper physical facilities in the Eastern Region.

As the monitoring by the Regional Media Resource Centre - Biratnagar has revealed until July 1997 that Biratnagar is a place where advance journalism training is held less frequently than Terathum and Dhankuta.

Out of the 200 journalists in Morang district, there are only 125 trained journalists in Biratnagar.

Of those, 25 per cent have not been engaged in journalism and only 40 per cent have increased their skills and efficiency, Media Resource Centre Coordinator Toya Gautam said.

He says though remarkable contribution has not been made by the training in development of local journalism, it has created an environment congenial for taking printing of newspapers to advanced technology, encouraging journalists towards investigative reporting and further study for skill development in journalism.

Training has given a new turn and inspiration in my life, reporter of Nepal Samacharpatra Shambhu Bhandari says and trainee journalist Mrs Madhu Rai is of the same view.

Of the 129 newpapers registered in Morang district as of June 24, only the weeklies Morang, Puspanjali, Parbat, Janaawaj, Digdarshan, Drishtanta, Shanti Nepal, Dharani, Sri Chanakya (now closed), Namaskar, Anushandhan, National Post, Mithila Times, Jyotish Bhabisyabani, Purbanchal Mahanagar, the fortnightly Muchulka and dailies Naya Pratibimba, Kosheli, Sandesh, Chirfar (now closed) have been published.

Recently, the ‘Tinjure’ weekly and ‘Rastriya Panchakanya’ fortnightly have been registered in the name of Tulasi Prasad Subedi as publisher and the ownership of Dibya Drishti Weekly has been transferred to Ganesh Bahadur Khadka from Indra Prasad Subedi, the District Administration Office, Morang said.

President of the Nepal Sampadak Sangh, Tejendra Bahadur Bhandari, said the local newspapers should be imposed vat and compelled to renew for regularising them and added that some journalists have dampened their image because of cheating.

Of those 113 applying for membership at the Federation of Nepalese Journalist (FNJ) Morang, 50 per cent have not been involved in journalism. The Editors and Publishers’ Association, Morang has 11 members under the chairmanship of Shiva Bahadur Karki.

Naya Sadak reporter Tanka Khanal said the reasons for the low involvement of trained journalists is because it is difficult to bring out newspapers by self-investment, and as no remuneration is given in the local newspapers they receive a little remuneration in the newspapers published from Kathmandu.

Editor of Janaawaj Keshav Bahadur Karki said the slow progress of local newspapers is non-institutionalisation, weak management and distribution and unability to give remuneration.

Similarly, no cooperation from businessmen, industrialists, police and administration, neglecting professionalism by the novice journalists and sustaining loss are other reasons, Karki said.

The local newspapers of Biratnagar have been in dire strait after the publication of Biratnagar Edition of ‘Nepal Samacharpatra’ since mid-April and Kantipur since June 2.

Similarly, great difficulties have been faced by these newspapers as the RSS bulletin of eastern edition has been closed down and there is a dearth of source of news. However, the local newspapers in eastern Terai except for Biratnagar have been flourishing very well.