By Chitranga Thapa

MAHENDRANAGAR, June 18 - Much awaited 13 km long road connecting Tanakpur barrage, India, and the East-West Highway near the Mahendranagar municipality has not been kicked off because of the delay in the high level bilateral negotiation between Nepal and India.

According to the agreement reached between Nepal and India on the Mahakali Treaty in 1996, the road is supposed to be constructed with the Indian assistance.

As an integral part of the treaty, Nepal has already received 70 million units of energy from the Indian-built 120 megawatts Tanakpur hydel project.

Sources closed to the Road Division Office said that India’s state controlled Rights Consultancy completed the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the road and submitted it to both the sides last year in March.

The source claimed that the Indianside also sent an official letter to the Nepali authorities to hold negotiation in connection with the project about four months ago.

When will the construction of the road start is uncertain as both sides have not come to the negotiating table to finalise an agreement to this effect since the Indian proposal.

A high level official from the Indian embassy, who visited this area some time ago, had said that India was ready to build the road, but it was delayed because of the Nepali side. He said the Nepaliside had not fulfilled its responsibilities of acquiring land for the road and its compensation in time.

"Once we receive Nepal’s green signal, we will start our work," he said, adding that the Indian government had already allocated budget and appointed its consultant for the road.

The Nepaliside, on the other hand, is in no way ready to accept the Indian claim that the land acquisition and compensation issues were the only reasons behind the delay in constructing the road.

Chief of the Road Division Office, Bhupendra Chandra Bhatta, claimed that 79 bighas (132 acres) of land had been acquired for the road and all necessary legal procedures fulfilled.

The proposed road will link the national highway at Bhasi near the Mahendranagar municipality from the frontier Indian Market of Tanakpur via Brahmadev Mandi and some wards of the municipality.

Bhatta said an estimated amount of Rs 83 million will be required for the compensation to the locals to be affected by the proposed road.

Bhatta, however, said that the compensation was being distributed on installment basis. According to the official statement, only Rs 27.2 million was compensated to the affected families during the fiscal year 1999/2000.

Once the much awaited link road is completed, this will be one of the alternative roads linking the two countries from this far- western plain district of Kanchanpur.

Currently, public vehicles are allowed to move across the Nepal-India border via Gadda Chauki-Banbasa road, which is opened only for three times a day. People, specially from Nepali frontier town of Brahmadev Mandi, are concerned over the delay of the road construction.

"Future of this frontier town is related with this road," said a local, Keshav Chand. He said the Indian government had started its activities for the construction of the road last year in October. But work has now been postponed without any reason, Chand said.

Bank transfer irks locals

Post Report

CHITWAN, June 18 - People of Parsadhap bazaar in Meghouli VDC are enraged after the Rastriya Banijya Bank branch was shifted from there about two months ago without any notice due to the fear of Maoist insurgents.

The bank had been providing banking services to the people of Meghouli, Dibyanagar, Shukranagar, Gunjnagar, Jagatpur and Parvatipur VDCs in this district over the last 18 years.

A resident, Ramesh Thapa, said thousands of people served by the bank have been put to a great difficulty after the shifting of the bank.

Chairman of Parsadhap Chamber of Commerce and Industry Netra Prasad Neupane said it was very inconvenient for the locals after it was decided to amalgamate the branch with the one at Shahid Chowk in Narayangadh.

He added that a delegation would go to Kathmandu soon

to request the authorities concerned not to remove the bank.

The bank was earning more profit than other banks in the district over the last 10 years. The employees fear that the bank may not be able to recover the amount invested at the local level.

5 Maoists killed in clash with police

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JAJARKOT, June 18 - Two Maoists workers including a female are suspected to have been killed on Saturday morning when the police patrol and the Maoist workers clashed with each other, police said.

Police have found valuable documents from the bags of the Maoist workers left by them after the clash.

The police patrols led by Inspector Basant Rana and Assistant Sub-Inspector Krishna Gurung was attacked by a group of Maoists numbering about 50 to 60. The police fired back in response and the Maoist workers fled the scene leaving behind their bags and carrying only the weapons.

About two dozens of rain coats, boots, sleeping bags, 51 bundles of newspapers supporting their movement : Janadesh and Janaahwan and ballot papers used by them in their election in different VDCs of Surkhet and Jajarkot districts are among the various objects found in the bags.

Meanwhile, our correspondent from Kalikot district said that police shot three Maoists dead and wounded four others in the Fukot VDC, about 35 km north of Manma, the district headquarters, in a gun fight between the police and rebels on Monday morning.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Dipak Kumar Thapa, the police and rebels clashed with each other at Syuna.

DSP Thapa said that the rebels fled the scene along with the dead bodies and injured cadre after the police fired at them from different sides for about one and a half hours. Police have recovered some explosives, pipe bombs and Maoist literature from the clash site.

This is the first time that the police got victory over the rebels after the Maoists declared their parallel government in this remote hill district a few months ago.

The rebels have so far clashed with the police for more than 100 times in which 30 policemen, 35 Maoists and 55 civilian have been killed since the Maoist waged their People’s War six years ago.

Int'l Mountain Museum to open soon in part

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POKHARA, June 18 - The International Mountain Museum, a Nepal Mountaineering Association undertaking which started six years ago, is to be open partially soon.

The general secretary of NMA, Bhumilal Lama said that homeworks are on to partially open the museum soon. "The government is celebrating 2002 as a Destination Year. This museum will be complete by then," he said.

He said though it was lack of budget that created hurdles at the initial stage, technical problems caused delay later on. "Construction of administration buildings will start in the next phase," said Lama.

Project Manager Nabin Ghimire said that around 90 percent of the exhibition area has been complete.

He said around 40 million has been spent in the museum project. Around Rs 300 million will be spent till the museum construction, spread in 600 ropani land, completes.

The exhibition area is divided into three sectors: the first sector will have materials concerning Nepali mountains. The second will feature foreign mountains and objects related to famous mountaineers of the world. The third is left to mountain activities.

The museum is being constructed with the financial support from the government, NMA, Japan Mountaineering Association, Japanese Alpine Club and others.

The concerned officials expected that around a hundred thousand tourists would visit the museum annually and would help the tourists stay longer in Pokhara.