Sanskrit question papers set on fire

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TULSIPUR, June 14- The student wing of the CPN(UML) set the Sanskrit question papers on fire at Siddha Prithvi Secondary School in Srigaun on Wednesday.

The secretary of the ANNFSU confirmed that students belonging to the All Nepal National Free Students Union seized the question papers of compulsory Sanskrit from the office and put all of them on fire outside the school building.

The ANNFSU leaders then addressed a students’ meet, and justified their act as a response to the government’s indifference toward their 46-point demands, which included scrapping the compulsory Sanskrit paper in schools.

Maoists’ dual policy on Census

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RUKUM, June 14 - Underground Maoist rebels have adopted dual policy regarding the 10th National Census being carried out in the country since June 10.

In some Maoist stronghold, enumerators and supervisors have been allowed to collect census data while the same outfits have barred people from carrying out the same jobs in other districts, according to our correspondents from some districts in the mid-western region.

Our correspondent from Jumla said Maoist rebels prevented all enumerators from collecting data for the 10th National census in 28 of the total 30 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the district.

After returning to the district headquarters, enumerators said the rebels seized their census papers and forced them to leave the rebel-occupied VDCs.

Maoist sources said that the enumerators were chased away from the VDCs as per the decision of the Maoists’ self-declared People’s Government in Kalikot and Jumla.

Asked to comment on the Maoist move, Chief of the District Census Office, Rajesh Dhital, said that he lacked detailed information about the happening in all the VDCs except for a few ones.

A report from worst insurgency hit hill district of Rukum, the district committee of the underground party recently decided to let the enumerators and supervisors collect data in the district. Earlier, the rebels had barred the enumerators from doing so.

A district level rebel leader told The Kathmandu Post that his party would cooperate with the enumerators in the case of national census. He claimed that his cadre had already returned the confiscated census documents to the concerned enumerators.

The enumerators and supervisors, who were staying at the district headquarters following the Maoist threats, have returned to their respective fields following the Maoist decision to let them go ahead.

Meanwhile, our correspondent from Dang said that the rebels forced some of the enumerators to leave from four VDCs, barring them from collecting the data on Monday.

Chief of the District Census Office in Dang, Dhruba Raj Ghimire, said that the rebels barred the enumerators from carrying out their jobs in four VDCs of the district.

An enumerator, Damodar Pandey, who was assigned to collect data in the Syuja VDC, said his papers and bag were seized by the local rebels on Thursday.

Ghimire, however, claimed that 293 enumerators had been collecting data in the Maoist-free areas. He said the rebels applied double policy to the national census.

Despite the Maoist threats, Ghimire expected that a total of 296 enumerators and 71 supervisors mobilised in the district would be able to collect data by end of June 21.

The first national census was carried out in 1911.

Nation continues to mourn Royals’ death

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KATHMANDU, June 14- Reports of condolences on the untimely demise of several memebers of the Royal Family are being received from across the country on the 13th day of the tragedy, Thursday.

In Bhadrapur , the District Sports Development Committee held a condolence meet at its office in the Mechi Stadium, yesterday, to mourn the untimely demise of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya as well as other members of the Royal Family, and two days later, of the newly crowned monarch, King Dipendra.

Speakers at the meet expressed deep shock and resentment over the untimely demise of King Dipendra, who they believed to be a true patron of the sports community.

Likewise, the District Development Committee, Jhapa Chamber of Commerce and Industries as well as district chapters of Nepal Cancer Association, Nepal Tuberculosis Eradication Association, among others, have condoled the demise of King Birendra and his family members.

Similarly, in Dharan, the District Sports Development Committee organised a rally in Dharan today to pay tributes to the departed souls of His Late Majesty King Birendra, Her Late Majesty Queen Aishwarya, His Late Majesty King Dipendra and other members of the Royal Family.

The silent condolence rally started at the local covered hall made rounds of the city before converging back again at the sports covered hall for the mourning assembly.

The rally as well as the assembly were participated in by office-bearers, coaches and palyers belonging to various sports associations under the National Sports Council.

The assembly prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls.

The Dharan town committee of the Nepali Congress also held a condolence meet on the occasion of the 13th day of the demise of the King and Queen as well as other members of the Royal Family here today to wish for the eternal peace of the departed souls.

Detention of media personnel slammed

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KATHMANDU, June 14 - The Federation of Nepalese Journalist (FNJ) has strongly condemned the prolonged detention of Kantipur editor Yubraj Ghimire and the two publication executives.

The Special Court, yesterday ordered that the government file charges by Friday morning, rejecting government’s demand for a 25-day judicial remand.

FNJ voicing serious concern over the lengthy detention of the journalists, has decided to present a memorandum tomorrow to the Prime Minister, demanding their immediate release and criticising the prosecution of the three. FNJ has requested the district units to present similar memorandum through the CDOs to the Prime Minister.

Likewise, the FNJ will stage a demonstration on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the premises of the Special Court in Anamnagar. The FNJ has also requested all the journalists, human rights activists and supporters to take part in the demonstration.

Meanwhile in Nepalgunj, the journalists here held a silent lantern rally with lanterns in their hands today to demand the unconditional release of editor Yuvaraj Ghimire and publishers Binod Gyanwali and Kailash Sirohiya of Kantipur national daily.

The journalists held banners and placards protesting against the restriction of the constitutionally provided freedom of the press by arresting senior journalists on the pretext of an opinion article written by a Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai.

The rally was organised by the Banke unit of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists.

Meanwhile, the United Peoples’ Front also held a corner meet at Gaighat yesterday to protest the arrest of the media personnel.

Addressing the meet, Front leader KP Baral accused the government of making fun of the fundamental rights of the press by arresting the journalists without a formal charge.

The leaders warned the government of serious consequences if it did not immediately release the journalists.

Govt schools crowded as private closed

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BESISHAHAR, June 14 - The government schools in this district are compelled to admit students beyond their capacity after the revolutionary students’ organisation affiliated to the CPN (Maoists) declared that they would close the private schools in the district at any cost.

Jan Bikas school in Besishahar has the capacity to accommodate around 700 students. However, the school has already admitted 1,145 students by Wednesday. According to headmaster Buddhi Sagar Baral, about 150 students who have failed in the examinations have yet to be admitted. He said more students were likely to seek admission in the days ahead.

The school management committee had, at its meeting held five days ago, decided to limit the number of students to 1,000 but the number has already exceeded barely after a week had passed.

The reason for the admission of a large number of students in the school is that the Maoists student union had burnt some materials of two private schools and locked four private schools with the pledge that they would not allow the private schools to operate and warned of dire consequences if the locks were broken. PABSON then closed the schools indefinitely.

Meanwhile, DDC president Jagindra Man Ghale organised a meeting of the locals, which was attended by private and public school headmasters. The meeting decided to operate the private schools, but none of the guardians was ready to send their children and it caused overcrowding in the public school.

Meanwhile in yet another report from Salyan, the oldest government school in Salyan district has stopped charging fees from students under pressure from Maoist insurgents.

Since this is one of the Maoist-affected district, Tribhuvan Jan secondary school at Luhaping Khalanga has stopped collecting fees from the students, headmaster of the school Lila Bahadur Bhadel said.

Most of the other schools have also stopped charging fees to students. Headmaster Bhadel said Maoists told him that the school could ask for donations from the guardians for any educational activities but it should not charge fees to students.

The school has been facing difficulty in paying salary to its account and two peons who were being paid from the internal sources (fees). He said the government should now pay the salary of these employees in this situation.

The school is also finding it difficult to accommodate the increasing number of students coming for admission from private schools.