Maoists intensify activities in Parsa

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BIRGUNJ, May 14 - Maoist insurgents have increased their activities in Parsa district where they were not active until six months ago.

They are running a parallel government in nearly a dozen villages located in the far west and north of Parsa district, according to local people.

A large number of police personnel present there were merely silent spectators to different activities of the Maoists, they claim.

The striking force is located in Nirmalbasti VDC but Maoist insurgents who have warned the police not to annoy them are carrying out various activities only about 200 to 300 metres away from the striking force. Maoists play cassettes and hold mass meeting, but the police are afraid to go and see what is happening there, a resident of Nirmalbasti VDC said.

A big banner has been put up there by Maoist insurgents and it is still intact over the last 15 days.

Similar activities of the Maoists are also going on in the neighbouring VDC of Thori where there is an Ilaka Police Office consisting of 30 to 40 police staff, people claim.

According to local people, police are pretending not to see the Maoist activities as they fear retaliation.

SP Arjun Jung Shahi said a large number of police personnel were stationed there as requested by the local people to protect the Nepalese from the Indian dacoits who harass, kidnap and loot the Nepalese people in the border VDCs. He added that he had ordered the police to remove the Maoist banner after he came to hear about this.

According to local people Maoists are running their government in a dozen different villages including Bagbanna, Biruwagudhi, Madhubani, Marthol, Harpur, Thori, Nirmalbasti and Subarnapur. They settle local people’s disputes. They have warned people not to contest in the coming election. It is their government in the village where things are going on as they wish, a villager said requesting anonymity.

‘Resource inadequate for local dev works’

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KABHRE, May 14 - Representatives of different municipalities today criticised the government for not providing them with adequate resources for local development works.

Dormani Paudel, the chairman of Municipality Association of Nepal (MUAN) and Hetauda Municipality Mayor said that all the municipalities are in short of financial resources. He was addressing a three-day workshop on municipal resource mobilisation.

"The municipalities are suffering from many problems. Our economic independency has been snatched by the government policies," he said.

He added that the municipalities are given right to levy tax but the practical problem is that the government has handed over the rights which they themselves could not exercise.

But Under-secretary Surya Sharan Regmi of Ministry of Local Development said that the municipalities should forward only those plans which are suitable for the local environment and really needed. "Proper plan identification also a resource mobilisation," he said.

"First the municipalities need to provide service to the citizen. Only then they can demand tax," he added.

Binod Bahadur Shrestha, the second vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that a portion of money the municipalities collect from a particular business should go to develop it. "The local authorities have done almost nothing in development field but it is continuously seeking tax on newer topics. It is not fair," he said.

Renewable energy technologies stressed

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KATHMANDU, May 14- A seven-day awareness programme on Renewable Energy Technologies (RET’s) for School Headmasters is being conducted at the Institute of Engineering (IoE), Pulchowk according to a press release today.

The programme is organised by the Centre for Energy Studies (CES), IoE/TU and sponsored by Winrock International and USAID.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prof.Jagannath Shrestha, Director of Centre for Energy Studies (CES) informed that according to a recent survey conducted by CES, awareness on renewable energy in the whole country, especially among women, is minimal. He also urged that its high time to incorporate renewable energy education in the curriculum from primary to secondary levels.

Special guest, Ratna Sansar Shrestha, Senior Advisor, RESPO/Nepal, Winrok International emphasised that due importance should be given to decentralised form of energy generation for the rural development in Nepal. He further said that proper deployment of RETs would be essential in order to flourish small-scale industries in rural areas.

Som.S.Adiga, Assistant Dean of IoE highlighted that application of RETs should be reliable, relevant and affordable for rural people.

Prof.Dr Mukunda P.S.Pradhan, Campus Chief of Pulchowk Campus mentioned that school headmasters could play a major role to disseminate knowledge on renewable energy.

Fifteen secondary shool headmasters from various VDCs of Nepal are taking part in this awareness programme.

With their lives devastated, rural people wait for relief

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BIRGUNJ, May 14 - People of Thori, a remote village adjoining Chitwan district, are wondering as to why the Chief District Officer (CDO) in Parsa has been unable to visit their village even 10 days after the worst incident of devastation that occurred in their village.

The Chief District Officer has also been unable to read three separate memorandums sent by local VDC office, Ilaka police office and some local people about the incident.

Brihaspati Shrestha, 40 of Thori says he has not seen such a devastating incident in his life. People of Thori say it is an irony that the Chief District Officer who has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the life and property of local people has not visited the site so far after such a massive destruction and regards the incident as a minor one.

When Chief District Officer Dolakh Bahadur Gurung was asked why he did not visit the damaged site, he said he was too busy with different programmes. He informed that he wanted to visit on Sunday, but he had to attend an interaction programme organised by PABSON about the problems encountering different schools.

When he was told about the extent of damage, he was surprised. He said, "Is this true? I will then visit that village tomorrow."

He also admitted that he had received three reports, but he had not been able to read them due to lack of time. People have written to him demanding relief assistance. They have also sent a memorandum to the prime minister requesting him for relief assistance.

According to the police, hailstones hit the village and caused damage worth more than 10 million rupees, killed one man and wounded 25 people 10 days ago. The list of destruction included houses and godowns belonging to different organisations and government offices, crops spreading over vast areas of land (300 bighas), loss of animals (500 cows, oxen, buffaloes and goats) and fruit (particularly mango and lichi).

Hailstones that hit the village at night on the 20th of Baishakh weighed as heavy as one kilogram and destroyed 800 thatched houses, rent holes even in tin roofs, killed 500 animals and destroyed crops including maize and paddy over 300 bighas of land. People are facing difficulty due to scarcity of food and have also requested relies assistance. However, the administration has received the memorandums and done nothing more than filing them.

The Red Cross Society has been thinking to distribute tents to the affected people, according to Red Cross Chairman, Shyam Pokhrel.