Awareness on waste management stressed

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KATHMANDU, May 19- "Dumping site concept in itself is wrong, I am repeating it time and again but politicians are using still the same word, not only politicians but even journalists are also repeating the same word. Our aim is never to dump waste products but to use garbage in accordance with their bio-degradable and non-biodegradable nature and make concept of land fill site for appropriate action", said Keshav Sthapit, Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Mayor Sthapit was inaugurating a programme organised to generate public awareness on unmanaged waste and plastic to ensure healthy urban life. The programme was organised by Kritika Mahila Utthan Samaj (KMUS), a non-government organisation promoted by women in Balkhu, today.

"It is a matter of pride that civic society is coming ahead with their programme for waste management and I am ready to help them", said Sthapit adding, "There is also a great politics in waste disposal and Okharpauwa, a place for waste disposal, is an example. "

Criticizing Okharpauwa as a dumping site, Mayor added, " There is no justification for choosing this place as a waste disposal site, since it is in a distant place and will be difficult to manage".

"Reduce, reuse, recycle and replace are the key terms always to be kept in mind while dealing with the waste material", said Dr. Bhanu Niraula, a population expert.

KMUS is working for managing waste disposal according to their organic and inorganic nature and is also dealing with plastic problem, said Sharmishtha Shrestha, Chair Person of the organisation."

Our organization also organizes training programmes on income generation and empowerment", Shrestha further said.

Rural tourism development works begin in Lamjung

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LAMJUNG, May 19 - Rural Tourism Infrastructure Development work has started in Khasur village of Bajhakhet VDC, located in the eastern part of Lamjung.

"We were busy in identifying the villages in Lamjung district with potential for rural tourism over the past two or three years. There are plenty of such villages in Lamjung district. We have selected Khasur. After its development, we will select more villages," DDC president Jamindra Man Ghale told The Kathmandu Post.

Chairman of Bajhkhet VDC Ramesh Ghale told The Kathmandu Post that Khasur, which could be reached after a 45 minute trek, was entirely a Gurung village with 138 households.

The original folk culture, community forest, greenery, attractiveness of lalupate, the natural landscape and historical objects may easily attract the tourists, local social worker Prithvi Man Ghale said. Next to Khasur, Sirubari in Syangja would be selected for the purpose, he added.

"We are busy in constructing toilets, bathrooms and kitchens in every house. A tourist couple will stay in each family. They will eat the food cooked for the family members. Fifteen households interested to host the guests are receiving guidance and skill on their behaviour towards tourists, hospitality and the ways of adjusting themselves to the tourists’ ways of life, VDC chairman Ramesh Ghale said.

Khasur seems appropriate for tourists who like adventure tourism and for those who wish to spend a retired life.

Children to exchange ideas with leaders

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KATHMANDU, May 19 - A five-day event to prepare children discuss their issues with key decision-makers and leaders of the seven South Asian countries kicked off today here.

Seventeen children and young people from the region are being prepared to engage and exchange ideas with corporate leaders, ministers and other government officials of the region to make a case of more investment on children.

The programme jointly organised by the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia and Save the Children Alliance South Asia encourage the children to see the micro-macro economic linkages, taxation, budgets and their impact on public expenditure and enable them to advocate their issues with the leaders.

Speaking on the occassion, Nigel Fisher, UNICEF South Asia Regional Director said, "the focus of the programme is to encourage investment on children by convincing business leaders and national leaders."

After two and a half days of preparation, the 17 children as "change-makers" will meet corporate leaders of the region on May 21 and 22. The children on May 23 will sit in discussion with the ministers and high level government officials from the region.

"This to our knowledge is the first time that children from the region have been engaged at a regional level consultation with ministers and corporate leaders," said Ranjan Poudyal, Regional Co-ordinator of the Save the Children Fund, Office for South and Central Asia Region.

The entire exercise is an integral part of the Global Movement for Children (GMC) and in preparation for the forthcoming special session (UNGASS) on children scheduled to be held in September 2001 in New York.

Allowances for elderly citizens misused

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RAJBIRAJ, Saptari, May 19- Thousands of elderly people, disabled and widows have been deprived of their monthly allowances for the last six months after the Saptari District Development Committee (DDC) misused an amount of Rs 1.7 million allocated to them.

The Comptroller Office had earlier withheld Rs 6.5 million that was supposed to be disbursed among the eligible people under the state-sponsored Social Security Fund (SSF), citing misuse of the amount by the DDC officials.

The Comptroller Office withheld releasing of Rs 6.5 million for the second and third quarters after the office discovered that the DDC’s then accountant Yogananda Sah and other employees misused the previously allocated Rs 1.7 million without any proper records.

There is a thin hope that Sah, who is accused of money laundering, would deposit Rs 1.7 million to the SSF accounts as he has been transferred to another place.

A total of Rs 9.7 million had been kept aside for the district during this fiscal year to distribute it to 8,766 eligible people.

The Saptari-based Comptroller Office has denied releasing the remaining amount until the misused sum is deposited to the SSF accounts.

The office also unearthed the fact that the amount for the monthly allowance was disbursed to the people by DDC members and its technicians instead by the concerned VDCs. VDC officials accused the DDC leadership of interfering with their rights and have demanded immediate release of the remaining amount.

The government decided this fiscal year to provide Rs 100 to each 75 years old person, disabled and 60 years old widow per month all over the country.

Students, Revolutionaries and the Government

By Nitya Nanda Timsina

KATHMANDU - This past week saw a number of seminars and heated debates between a number of PABSONs, students, guardians and government officials who sat down to give some decide on the future of over one million children in the country. And every event made news.

The crux of the problems was the 15-point demand of the ANNFSU (R) that threatened to shut down some 8,000 privately run schools should the government remain inimical to them.

The government under increasing pressure from the students and PABSONs at the last minute called a meeting on Saturday (May 12) to find a way out of the crisis. However, the nearly six hours of meeting drew much smoke as ANNFSU (R) turned into fire eater citing the absence of the Minister for Education and Sports, Amod Prasad Upadhyaya from the meeting.

In one way I was privileged enough to have got an opportunity to listen to one of the most learned men of the country. But the most infuriated speakers took me by surprise. "We want the Prime Minister", he demanded "no one here would be able to solve our problems". I could see the meeting going wild and a scene of insurrection was enacted. The students boycotted, walked out of the meeting at around five p.m.

But things took a precarious turn immediately following the end of that inconclusive talks as the government reacted against the furor of the students by arresting them from the entrance gate.

Speculations ran high that the schools would close down indefinitely. I then ventured out to ask Rama Kanta Sapkota, general secretary of Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA) who told me that it was a mistake of the government to arrest them after inviting them for talks. One of the guardians also said that the Maoist will never turn up again for dialogue with the government.

With utmost difficulties, dialogue between the parties concerned continued unfettered. But the flaring tempers of the ANNFSU (R) was difficult to calm down. The result was: closure of the schools whose orders came from ANNFSU (R)’s leader Devendra Parajuli, who told me over the telephone that they would not withdraw the week-long bandh.

The ANNFSU (R) who believed that changes are and will be effected overnight pressured the government to release its leaders to create a conducive environment for talks. Even Prachanda sent a letter seeking their release and opening the talks. The government responded by releasing them after three days. Yet, the schools continued to remain closed.

The meetings I attended to solve the soaring problems did continue from Monday and here I could see how each person began to act as though they were the spokesperson for the entire country’s educational institutions, and inexperience, lack of analysis of the problem and expertise was clearly visible. They somehow seemed to believe that increased public investment in public schools and upgradation of quality education in these schools could not be brought in at a gun-point.

The bandh organizers complained that the once non-political and service oriented educational institutions have turned into money-making institutions. They demanded that Sanskrit and National Anthem be removed, among others.

Ironically, Minister for Education and Sports who had failed to show up during the meetings at ministry turned up for the first time at an interaction programme at Reporters’ Club.

And none seem to raise questions about the future of the children. It was the worry for the money that went in wastage. Neither did the bandh organizers have any respect for the age of children and their right to go to school? Already there were statistical profiles showing the brutal loss of time and money. An estimate of PABSON said 60,00,000 hours was wasted by a million students with Rs 8.5 crores losses incurred daily.

I have always believed that students’ leaders would be wise enough to know what politicization of educational institutions would mean to a nation tittering on the edge of anarchy.

A student leader who was attending an interaction program between PABSONs, students and the government officials to find a way out of the crisis facing education sector at the Education Journalists Group (EJG) was trying to pursuade that students and schools are a part and parcel of the national politics. I do not know how many people seriously knew what he meant but I could see most listening in rapt attention and giving thundering applause after the end of his speech.

The Revolutionaries on one hand said that radical reforms must be effected in educational sector and at the same time said that such reforms were not achievable overnight. Most of them outlined the urgency to effect radical reforms in the education sectors citing wide gulf between the quality of education imparted in private and public schools but they sidelined the impact on the children missing a great deal of time for education along with the economic aspect of the bandh.They have largely overlooked this fact.

The government could have saved the situation from getting pricklier and messier but since its own political cross fire: it fans growing angry; and its people torn apart into Maoists and non-Maoists with petty groups within each camps, how could it force the opposition to open the schools? And the government simply raised the white flag of surrender.

Elected positions do not hold charm any more

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RUKUM, May 19 - Most of the people’s representatives who were elected in the last local elections have been leading life of a refugee in the district headquarters after the elections.

They are unable to return home and engage themselves in agricultural activities due to the fear of the Maoist insurgents.

Although the Maoists did not allow them to return home, the local people’s representatives were initially receiving some assistance sent from their homes and relatives. This slightly eased the hardship in their life. However, they are not receiving any assistance from home now.

The Maoist-affected people’s representatives, who have been displaced from their home, accuse the government of apathy towards them. They say that no initiative has been taken to help them although they have apprised the government including the Prime Minister about the problems being faced by them.

Only a few of them residing in the district headquarters are receiving limited financial assistance from Ganesh Man Singh Peace Campaign. "Our post has become a burden for us," they complain.

There are 43 VDCs in the district. Of them, chairman and vice-chairman in nearly half of the VDCs have left the village immediately after the election was over. About 100 people including people’s representatives and political workers of different parties are staying in the district headquarters due to the fear of Maoist workers. Most of the displaced people are Nepali Congress workers.

Some of the VDC chairmen/vice-chairmen are living at the district headquarters along with their whole family members due to the fear of Maoists and are facing problem to make both ends meet. Vice-chairman of Pipal VDC, Tek Bahadur Basnet, says he is finding it difficult for two square meals a day with the remuneration that he receives from the VDC and Rs 600 from Ganesh Man Singh Peace Campaign to feed his family.

Most of the people’s representatives living in the district headquarters are unable to go to their respective VDCs to see whether development works are going on or not. On the other hand, Maoist insurgents have made it public that they have constituted their committees in the village and district in an attempt to form their district administration.

Maoist workers have captured the land of those who have fled their homes. Only recently, they took control of the land belonging to Magma VDC chairman Nain Singh Damai. Damai and his family members have been staying in the district headquarters for a long time. Maoists have also captured the land belonging to different people and cultivate the land themselves.