17 killed in road mishaps

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KATHMANDU, July 24 - At least seventeen people  have been killed in three separate road accidents in Damauli, Butwal and Siraha on Tuesday morning, according to the police from the respective areas.

The area police office of Damauli said that 11 people died and 14 others severely injured as the bus (Ga.1.Kha 1032) ferrying 35 passengers skidded off the highway and plunged into Marsyangdi River near the Marsyangdi Power House, Abu Khairani.

Nine of the dead were killed instantly and two died while under-going treatment at the Bharatpur Hospital. According to the source, only one of the bodies has been identified and that is of Deputy Superintendent of police, Shree kaji Thapa.

Bus driver, Jeet Bahadur Khadka who was among the survivors said that the bus went berserk after he applied the sudden brakes while overtaking a truck and a bus.

He said that he tried his best to control after applying brakes but didn’t succeed. "I lost consciousness for a moment after the bus overturned. After I regained consciousness, I went to the police check post to inform about the fateful mishap." said Khadka.

Likewise, the area police office in Butwal said that three people including a jeep driver died instantly while seven others, two of them seriously, were injured when a goods laden truck and a jeep collided head-on with each other in the Butwal Municipality this morning.

Police said that the driver of the jeep (Lu 1 Ja 860), Devi Prasad Kandel, and two other passengers - Lal Bachhan Singh and an unidentified person - were among those to be killed in the fatal collision.

Five of the seven injured in the collision went home after receiving minor treatment at the Butwal Zonal Hospital while two seriously injured are still undergoing treatment at the hospital, police said.

Meanwhile, in another road accident in Siraha district, three people were killed on the spot when a passenger bus en route to Mirchaiya from Katari ran over them at Phulbariya VDC today morning.

Deputy Superintendent of Police in Siraha, Chiranjibi Devkota, said that the bus with the number plate of Na 2 Kha 3754 hit them while crossing the road.

Those killed in the accident have been identified as Goma Devi Tiwari, 65, Asarpi Sah, 60, and eight years old boy Anjan Kumar Ghimire, all of them from Phulbariya VDC-8. Two people travelling in the same bus were injured, who were admitted at a local the local hospital, police said.

Although the bus driver remained absconded shortly after the accident, police have taken the bus under their control for necessary investigation.

US Deputy Foreign Secy arrives today

KATHMANDU, July 24 (RSS) - Christina Rocca, Deputy Foreign Secretary of USA for South Asia will arrive here tomorrow on a three-day visit to Nepal.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is her first visit to South Asia after she was appointed deputy foreign secretary for the region.

Earlier in an interview in Washington, Deputy Foreign Secretary Rocca said the US government will continue its cooperation to Nepal for institutionalising democracy in the country.

USA is desirous of strengthening the bilateral relations with every country in South Asia and moreover, it is drawn towards the economic potentials of the region, she added.

The dispute between India and Pakistan should be settled through a concerted effort from both the countries, she said, adding that if they want USA to mediate in this issue, USA may perform the role of mediator.

‘Supreme Court verdict discourages non-Nepalis’

By Pramod Poudel

KATHMANDU, July 24 - The Supreme Court has declared void over 30,000 citizenship certificates issued four years ago under the directive of then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam.

Gautam had formed 87 "teams" to distribute citizenship certificates to about 3.4 million people of which altogether 34,090 people were given the certificates. The court, however, ruled that the 4,000 of them would be allowed to retain the certificates as they were issued by the Chief District Officer (CDO). Under the present law it is the CDO in each district who is responsible for issuing these documents.

The court in its verdict said, "there is no legal provision to form such a team and to distribute citizenship".

The three bench justices Laxman Prasad Aryal, Govinda Bahadur Shrestha and Kedar Prasad also issued mandamus in the name of Home Ministry to distribute citizenship only as per the Constitution and to abide by the existing laws. The court has passed a series of verdict in the past regarding such citizenship issues.

After knowing from a national newspaper that the government then was issuing citizenship through a directive issued based on a cabinet decision, Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane had quickly opted for a writ petition challenging the legality of decision of the government to distribute citizenship as against the existing laws. The following day, the Supreme Court had issued an "interim order" preventing further distribution of citizenship by which time about 34,000 such citizenship certificates had already been issued.

Neupane’s argument was that the executive decision to delegate authority to a "committee" to distribute citizenship certificates was illegal.

Similarly he had also argued that the delegation of authority to CDOs also to issue "naturalised citizenship" countered to the Citizenship Act-2020. The Act allows only the government to issue naturalised citizenship, Neupane had argued in his writ. Another argument was that the executive body has no right to issue a directive regarding the distribution of citizenship.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Advocate Neupane said that the court’s verdict prevented non-Nepali from obtaining the Nepali citizenship. Neupane who had filed a series of writ petitions regarding the citizenship issue still has one such case pending in the court.

Advocate Neupane says that whenever new government comes to power then the citizenship controversy arises "and all the governments tend to make such provisions to easily provide citizenship to non-Nepali".

Neupane said that he had to challenge the similar decision of former Prime Ministers Krishna Prasad Bhattarai (during the interim government period), Girija Prasad Koirala, during his first tenure as that of Prime Minister and Sher Bahadaur Deuba’s.

Only that decision made during the Deuba’s term is under the court’s consideration while the rest have been invalidated by the court, according to Neupane.

Deuba’s ‘balanced’ cabinet likely soon

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KATHMANDU, July 24 - Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will take the oath of office on Wednesday but the names of the people to be inducted in the Council of Ministers could come only a day later.

Deuba said this addressing a gathering of the Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party (PP) at Singhadurbar today. Deuba said he would have a "balanced" Cabinet.

According to sources close to Deuba, the number of ministers in the new Cabinet could be between 15-to-18 for now but they have not ruled out the possibility of a mammoth cabinet to accommodate and balance people from all the factions in the party.

Since getting elected on Sunday defeating Nepali Congress (NC) general Secretary Sushil Koirala in a 72-40 vote, Deuba has been busy getting the Cabinet list ready.

Deuba has so far refused to elaborate or comment on how big the size of his Cabinet would be unlike his predecessor Girija Prasad Koirala whose first announcement was his commitment to form a small Council of Ministers.

When he headed a shaky coalition government between September 1995 and March 1997, Deuba had a mammoth Cabinet which at one point reached 48. He was severely criticized for the move as his opponents accused him of misusing the state coffers to save his position.

Almost all the lawmakers from the second coalition partner, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, were appointed ministers and state ministers. There were even a few ministers without portfolios.

Deuba’s main problem now according to his close aides is finding a suitable second man who is agreeable to almost everyone in the party.

So far, Khum Bahadur Khadka’s has been named as the favourite but he is facing competition from others in the party who are saying that appointing a person with a "dirty image" would be catastrophic for Deuba from the very first days of his tenure.

Meanwhile, the NC PP today held a ceremony for its new leader Deuba who was elected on Sunday. By regulations, the leader of the PP of the party with majority is automatically appointed the prime minister.

According to the Secretary Benup Raj Prasai, Deuba addressed the gathering along with Former DPM Ram Chandra Poudel and General Secretary Sushil Koirala.

Koirala reiterated full support to the new Prime Minister on behalf of the party and urged to work for the unity of the party.

Poudel asked the members to work towards strengthening the new Prime Minister’s position.

Deuba on his part pledged to consult and take co-operation from all levels of party activists and also expressed confidence that he would get full support from all quarters.

NHRC, political parties hail cease-fire

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KATHMANDU, July 24 – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), political parties and other human rights organizations today welcomed the cease-fire move of the government and the Maoists to end violence and their stated objective to look for a peaceful resolution of the problem.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and comrade Prachanda, the President of the CPN (Maoist) directed their forces to cease all their activities. Both said the move was aimed at creating conducive atmosphere for the talks.

Issuing a press release, the NHRC termed the move a good opportunity to establish peace and preserve human rights. It said the solution should be based on established norms of human rights. The Commission also offered that it was ready to play a constructive role if necessary.

The CPN (ML) also welcomed the cease-fire declaration. At the party’s Politburo meeting held today, the ML called for immediate dialogue between the government and the Maoists.

Similarly, Federation of Nepal Nationalities, the Group for International Solidarity, Human Rights Organization of Nepal and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), among others, have welcomed the move.

Likewise, individual human rights activists and other intellectuals have also praised the move. Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha, Dr Bhogendra Sharma, Mukti Pradhan, Gauri Pradahan, Kalyan Dev Bhattarai and Sarvraj Khadka said that the dialogue was the only way to solve the Maoist problem.

Intellectuals Mahesh Kumar Upadhyay, Gokul Pokharel and Madhave Raj Giri, while welcoming the move, have urged the government to immediately announce the dates for the talks with the Maoist leadership.

Mahat raises doubts

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KATHMANDU, July 24 – Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat today raised doubts over the cease-fire commitment of the underground Maoists, saying the rebels have only halted their "militia action" but not "public action," a court procedure adopted by the insurgents to punish civilians against whom complaints are filed.

"Just yesterday they killed an NC cadre in Jhapa as part of their public action…I hope they’ll stop their attacks on civilians to create an conducive environment for the talks," said Minister Mahat at an interaction program in the capital today. Minister Mahat, who was instated to the finance portfolio by the Girija Prasad Koirala government, is rumoured to continue even in the Deuba cabinet to be formed on Thursday.

"But at least for now the rebels have stopped paralysing a security body by attacking upon the police force while they’re asleep at night…This has definitely created a favourable environment," he added.

Furthermore, Minister Mahat also accused the Maoists of propagating to split the ruling Nepali Congress by proclaiming that the rebels would not compromise with the Girija faction. "Whatever the conditions, even Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba does not have the mandate to work above his party’s interest (where Koirala holds a clear majority) from where he was elected to be the PM," he said.

He also said that the ruling Nepali Congress held "total commitment" towards the basic features of the present Constitution, and that the ruling party was in no mood to amend it presently. "However, if any party comes with an idea to amend the Constitution, we will think over it on merit basis," he said.

The rebels have been demanding "massive reforms" including formation of a new "People’s Constitution" and establishment of a republic state, waging a violent war to press forth their demand since the last six years. Over 1700 people, including police, Maoists and civilians, have already died due to the insurgency.

However, almost all speakers today lauded Prime Minister Deuba calling it a "major achievement" in finally getting both the government and the Maoists to sit down for talks.

"If this opportunity is not utilized properly, we’ll have to work very hard to bring it back again…the problem is going to be worse then," said rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar. "But things have come to ever serious stage now," he warned.

Tuladhar further doubted the government’s commitment for talks, urging the government to meet, reach a consensus within all sections of the society as well as to fulfil the Maoists’ demands, to call back the army from Rolpa and make public the whereabouts of those arrested during the insurgency. "The government has to show good gestures now," he said. He also urged the Maoists to release the abducted policemen.

Speaking on the occasion, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Spokesperson Kamal Thapa urged the government to form a clear vision and policy in resolving the Maoist insurgency and then make a minimal agreement with all parties both outside and inside the Parliament. Then, he said, the government should hold a national consensus along with the agreement of the rebels.

He also flayed PM Deuba’s delay in taking the oath of office, blaming him for running the country without a government. "Running a state does not require finding the auspicious day for taking oath of office…It is not a marriage or the Bratabanda ceremony," he said.

Kala-azar patients continue to swarm Kathmandu hospitals

By Tashi Dolma Thinley

KATHMANDU, July 24 - Five people have been killed and another 174 cases of Kala-azar have been reported in the past three months, which doctors and specialists say is an alarming situation.

Everyday, more and more people are coming to the Capital for the treatment for this deadly disease.

The disease has increased dramatically during the past ten years. There were 147 cases reported in the year 2056 BS with four deaths and but the number jumped to 293 cases the next year with 14 deaths.

The data, which is from cases recorded in government health centres only, indicates the increasing trend of Kala-azar that should be given serious priority, say doctors. The actual figure could be much higher from remote areas where there are no health or detection facilities.

The disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of female sand fly, which breeds in organic debris. The fly, which is smaller than a mosquito, hops upto 8 feet instead of flying attacking victims who are either sleeping or lying low.

"Kala-azar is a disease primarily found in rural communities and around poor sanitary condition, and is largely called the Poverty Disease," said Dr. Suman Thapa of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH) in Teku.

During the 1960s and 70s, insecticide spraying played a remarkable role in reducing the prevalence of Kala-azar. But with the withdrawal of insecticide spraying, massive resurgence of Kala-azar reoccurred in Indian State of Bihar in 1977 and at the same time hitting West Bengal and adjoining areas of Nepal.

The disease has now spread to Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara districts and other Terai regions bordering Bihar.

The STIDH provides free treatment to patients effected by tropical diseases. However, with the ever increasing number of Kala-azar patients, "this calls for a need of a co-ordinated approach to attack the vector and raise awareness programmes to detect the disease as soon as possible," says Dr Achyut Bhattarai also of STIDH.

The disease being asymptomatic, can be easily detected in people suffering from malnutrition. Otherwise, the diagnosis is a long and difficult process of "bone marrow aspiration" and "Splenic aspiration". The same diagnosis can be easily done with a help of a medical kit called the K39, which detects the disease with just a simple blood test.

The doctors stressing the need of the K39 kit , said that it could be of a great help to diagnose the disease promptly and effectively.

"Kala-azar is a fatal disease if untreated, with chances of 90 percent succumbing to the disease. But if treated early, then there is actually 90 per cent chances of survival," said Dr Bhattarai.