First day of bandh passes-off peacefully

Post Report

KATHMANDU, May 27 At least one person was killed and many more injured in several incidents of violence in various places throughout the kingdom during the first day of the three day bandh called by the alliance of six left parties including the main opposition CPN-UML today.

However, in other places the day passed peacefully without any reports of major violence or destruction but the bandh paralysed almost all government offices, private industries, educational institutions, market places and transportation.

According our correspondent from Tehrathum, Sukman Gurung, member of UML’s district committee and the Chairman of Kudhi Village Development Committee died as he was being brought to Kathmandu for treatment after he received a bullet injury below his right knee.

Contradictory statements have been made by the CPN-UML and the Home Ministry regarding the incident. While the UML states that Gurung was killed as he was shot while he was addressing a mass meet at Beshisahar, the Home Ministry says that he was hit by a teargas shell when police used teargas to disperse the agitators pelting stones at them. At least 13 people have been reportedly arrested and seven policemen injured in the violence in the district today.

Reports from Jhapa state that the protestors broke windows of Agriculture Development Bank’s Chandragadi branch and vandalised the same bank’s monitoring office at Birtamod. The protestors even manhandled the chief of the monitoring office Rudra Nath Dahal.

Number of UML cadres including two district level leaders and seven policemen were injured in clashes on the eve of bandh last night in Jhapa. Chandragadi remained tense throughout the day today.

Likewise, in Taplejung the agitators vandalised several government offices breaking windowpanes and furniture. A mob led by Member of Parliament Tilkumar Moyambo, attacked and forcibly closed all the government offices. Chief District Officer Durga Prasad Pokhrel said that he could not provide a single security personal in order to protect 31 government offices in the district.

Other incidents of minor violence have been reported from Kalikot, Pokhara, Dhankuta, Baglung, Tanahun, Palpa and Jajarkot.

According to reports from Sindhuli, regular exams at the local schools and colleges could not be held due to the bandh therefore all the exams have been postponed.

Similarly, in Jhapa all regular examinations have been postponed after the protesters tore the examination papers after forcing themselves in the local Damak Multiple Campus this morning at 7:30.

Since life came to a standstill in the whole district no aircraft landed today at Bhadrapur, said Rajesh Regmi, Chief of Buddha Air at the Chandragadi airport.

As stated by the District Police Office in Khalanga, a group of left cadres including Member of Parliament Ratna Sharma was arrested as it was trying to forcibly close down the District Post Office in Tautibazar.

Likewise, reports from various other districts including Jumla, Mugu, Myagdi, Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Rolpa, Mahottari, and Tehrathum state that the first day of the bandh passed peacefully.

Reports from the far western districts of Rukum states that the bandh has affected the entire district as all the shops and educational institutions remained closed throughout the day. In the district headquarters Musikot supply of essential items such as electricity has also been stopped.

Similarly, reports from Khalanga district headquarters of Jajarkot another far western district, states that District Education Office at Pipaldanda was burnt by a group unknown people this morning at 9:45 immediately as the office guard opened the office gates.

From Siraha, our correspondent reports that five people were injured when the guard at the National Agriculture Bank at Mirchaia opened fire at the mob that tried to vandalise the office.

In Tikapur, former MP Ganga Bahadur Kunwar was assaulted and gravely injured as the agitators attacked him for riding a motorcycle during bandh.

According to the Home Ministry the police has arrested 12 people in Lamjung and 12 in Jajarkot.

Capital calm

Kathmandu, May 27 (PR) - The first day of the three day bandh called by the alliance of six left parties including the main opposition CPN-UML demanding resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala passed off out any major incidents in the capital today

However, minor incidents of violence and vandalism were reported from different places in the Valley.

According to the statement made by the Spokesperson at the Ministry of Home Affairs, at least two motorcycles including one belonging to a diplomatic mission were burnt and windows of five taxis and one minibus smashed by the agitators. The agitators also reportedly smashed the windowpanes of the Lalitpur sub-metropolitan office building, Patan. In all 10 people have reportedly been arrested in the valley for vandalism today.

Krishna Gopal Shrestha, coordinator of the UML’s Valley Protest Program Coordination Committee confirmed that a motorcycle belonging to the Bangladesh Embassy had been burnt by the protesters at Chabahil. He also informed that the party cadres in Purnachandi, Lalitpur ward no 21 had thrown out all the belongings of a shopkeeper "with the consent and help of the house owner where the shop was located" as the shopkeeper attacked the party cadres with a khukuri. "The shopkeeper fled the scene after the party cadres snatched the khukuri from him", Shrestha said.

Shrestha also said that a third party seem to be keen on making the police and UML cadres clash as some unidentified persons pelted stones both at the police and UML cadres in Bhotahiti today.

"I am very grateful to the police that they remained restrained and not aggressive toward the protesters and I hope this trend will continues during the course of current strike," Shrestha added.

High taxes sounds the ISPs knell

By Ram Sharan Sedhai

KATHMANDU, May 27 - Internet service providers (ISPs) have warned the government that the entire business would come to a halt anytime soon, if the government does not retract the decision of hiking the tax on the bandwidth purchase.

The government raised the income tax on the earning of bandwidth providers from 3 to 15 per cent from the current fiscal year. The hike in the tax directly affects the price of internet and e-mail, which is still remains unaffordable to the majority of the people because of high tariffs.

Sanjeev Raj Bhandari, CEO of Mercantile Communications, says the decision to raise the tax defeats the government’s policy of providing internet and e-mail services in all the 75 districts of the country.

"We realize that these taxes could drive the entire industry out of business, if the government does not provide some relief," he says. The hike has already shown its impact on the industry. "As an immediate measure, we have suspended expansion of internet services to additional 25 townships and villages," he said.

He also added that they are considering scaling down services like nepalnews.com, e-commerce sites and non-profitable internet points of presence (PoP).

The ISPs are already paying over 16 per cent tax including the two per cent rural telecom service tax, four per cent royalty and ten per cent value added tax (VAT) plus the income tax. Moreover, the licence fees and the renewal fees are also very high, which further weakens the competitiveness of the companies, he says.

Shyam Kumar Agrawal, Managing Director of World Link Communications Pvt. Ltd, says there is no specific provision of tax on the purchase of bandwidth in the Financial Act and as such we cannot put the taxable amount on our expenses as it has to be paid by the bandwidth providers in principle. In addition, since the tax is deducted at source, it has also pushed up the total tax, he says.

"The ISPs have to pay more than 31 per cent tax in total, which is second to alcohol and tobacco. Instead of providing incentives to the emerging business, the government has imposed punitive tax on the ISPs," says Raj Bhandari.

In principle, the tax is levied on the foreign satellite companies which provide bandwidth to the domestic ISPs. But the reality is that the local ISPs who are paying the tax to the satellite companies are reluctant to pay it due to the lack of agreement on double taxation between Nepal and the countries of the bandwidth providers. If they pay the tax then they will increase the rate of bandwidth by more than 20 per cent.

Rajesh Lal Shrestha, Managing Director of Infocum Online, says even the existing three per cent tax is damaging the industry as the charge for bandwidth alone makes more than 70 per cent of the total expense.

If the decision is not withdrawn, it will not only push up the price of internet and e-mail but also drastically reduce the already low number of users and the private ISPs will lose their subscribers to Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC), the state-owned ISP, which is immune to the provision, Shrestha says.

Owing to the small size of the market and stiff competition, only seven ISPs out of 13 are visibly active, say the people in the business.

IT entrepreneurs say such taxation would be dead against the long-term goals as envisaged by the information technology (IT) Policy 2000. The Policy, among others, aims to place Nepal on the global IT map within the next five years.

New records set on a crowded week atop Everest

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, May 27 - On a crowded week on top of the world, a 16-year-old Nepali boy became the youngest Everester while a 64-year-old doctor was crowned the oldest human to climb Mt. Everest. Another man followed the sounds of bells to top to be the first blind man to conquer the world’s highest mountain.

Contrary to the predictions of critics after the much publicized tragedy of 1996, Mt. Everest still remains one of the most popular mountains for climbers from all over the world.

The world’s highest mountain, despite being climbed nearly 1,000 times and all the records set, still attracts more and more climbers every year to try their luck on the king of the mountains.

This year alone, there were 94 climbers who scaled the mountain from the Nepali side in the south over the period of four days last week and many more made successful ascents from the northern side in Tibet. There were a dozen teams from this side and more than that from the Tibetan side.

"Everest has become more popular and everybody wants a shot at it. Just because so many people have climbed it does not make it any less difficult to climb or there is less significance in climbing," said Ang Karma Sherpa, a mountaineering expert.

Though the present popular Spring mountaineering season was plagued by bad weather and series of snow storms, there was a much awaited window in weather conditions last week when most of the climbers literally jumped to make their push to the summit which according to the international geologists is 8,850 meters but to the Nepali government still remains at 8,848 meters.

"This was a lucky break the climbers got in the weather conditions last week. If they had not been able to make their push then, they would probably have not been able to do it this season," said Bhumi Lal Lama, an official of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Last week, Temba Tsheri Sherpa, who had just turned 16 two weeks back, scaled Everest to become the youngest climber. Temba, who had lost five fingers due to frostbite last year while attempting to become the youngest summiteer, climbed from the Tibetan side on Tuesday and will be heading back home this week, according to expedition organizers.

Temba, who made the unsuccessful bid last year from the Nepalese side in the south, broke the record set by another Nepalese climber, Shambu Tamang, in 1973 when he climbed Mount Everest at the age of 17.

Last year, Temba returned after climbing just 50 meters down from the summit due to frostbite, exhaustion and deteriorating weather.

Before starting out the final climb, he said he opened his gloves for about 45 minutes to tie his shoes, which resulted in the frostbite. When he returned from the mountain, doctors amputated five fingers.

Just days later, Sherman Bull, 64, reached the summit with his 10 members and eight Sherpas that included his son Brad. This was also not his first try on the roof of the world. Last year, he had made the attempt with Appa Sherpa but was not successful.

Appa Sherpa, who holds the record for setting 11 successful ascents of Everest was not able to strike the 12th title as the team he was with decided to abandon their bid.

Even more remarkable feat this year was by Erik Weihenmeyer, 32, of Colorado, who became the first blind climber to conquer the peak. He had lost his eyesight at age 13 due to an eye disorder. He took up rock climbing three years later. He was able to scale Everest by following the sound of bells tied to the jackets of his climbing mates and Sherpa guides.

Beside the stories of successes, there were also four deaths on Everest this year. Babu Chhiri Sherpa, one of the greatest and fastest mountaineers named in the Guinness Book of Records for having climbed Mount Everest in 17 hours and spending 21 hours on the summit without oxygen, died when he fell into a crevasse.

An Austrian and another Australian were also casualties this season. A Russian climber, despite help from another American team members on Thursday, found struggling near the peak without oxygen, died in the arms of American climber Andy Politz.

The team led by Eric Simonson had set out for the summit in search of evidences from Mallory’s trek, particularly a missing camera carried by the British adventurer’s partner, Andrew Irvine, which could contain film of the men at the peak. Without that evidence, credit for the first summit climb remains with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzhing Norgay Sherpa, who conquered Everest 29 years later.

Kathmandu noise bad for your eardrums

By Ganesh Raj Acharya

KATHMANDU, May 27 One brighter side of the ongoing three-day bandh or shutdown called by the six-left parties is this: Hundreds of thousands of residents living in the Capital and other cities need not complain about pollution – both the air and noise type.

As thousands of taxis, tempos and buses stayed off the roads Sunday, people like Murari Sharma, a student of Patan Multiple Campus, heaved a sigh of relief. And tourists from western countries, who often complain about the cities’ growing number of cars, were walking up the roads undisturbed.

"There aren’t any vehicles on the streets...no noise, no smoke and no problem," Sharma, a post-graduate-level student said as he cuddled himself up inside his room to prepare for college examinations. "Even the panwallahs’ shops that play audio cassettes in full volume near my apartment are closed, and there are no wedding parties going on."

With the number of vehicles constantly going up, Kathmandu has just not turned into a city of poor air quality but also one of the noisiest cities in the region, studies say. As the traffic congestion picks up, so does the level of noise in the major thoroughfares.

The intensity of sound rises from 50 decibel to 60 to 80 to even 100 and more as vehicles queue up on the lanes and wait for a green signal to go ahead, honking their horns - some of them substandard too - and stepping on the engine throttles. And yet there is no regulatory authority, neither has the government bothered to fix standard noise limits to control what commuters and passers by say is a "deadly menace" to their eardrums.

But drivers are least concerned. They blow horns not just randomly, but also near sensitive installations like hospitals and schools, disturbing the environment.

"I stuff cottons in my ear to avoid noise pollution," Ram Prajapati, a passenger onboard a Thimi-bound bus said recently. "Bus drivers unnecessarily use their horns. Even so, nobody - not even the traffic police - bothers to stop or discourage them from doing so. This is too much."

Scientists say that sound levels can generally be tolerated from 35 to 50 decibel. Anything above and it is not considered normal. The loudest sound a person can stand without much discomfort is about 80 decibel. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended sound levels up to 45 decibels as safe for cities.

But watch out, studies have found sound levels in most part of the city crossing the danger mark during peak traffic hours. A study conducted in 1997 (Sapkota et.al) recorded the highest noise level of 111.9 decibel in Singha Durbar and Putalisadak area. The intensity of sound ranged from 67.67 decibel to 75.21 decibel in most public places – still too high.

According to experts, excessive exposure to high intensity noise pollution does not only cause various psychological disorders, but also trigger the level of blood pressure and even lead to heart attack in extreme cases.

State of Environment in Nepal, a recently released report blamed old and poorly maintained automobiles for aggravating the problem of noise pollution, and called for the adoption of a stringent road traffic system - at least during peak hours - implementation of noise quality standards, and launching of awareness programs.

But no such measures are known to have been taken by the concerned authorities. "Because no such thing as a standard limit for vehicular noise level exists, we have not done anything," says a traffic police officer at the Valley Traffic Police Office.

In-land carrier depo crumbles in Bhairahawa

Post Report

BHAIRAHAWA, May 27 - The In-land Carrier Depo here that was constructed not more than a year ago with millions of investments has started crumbling.

The depo which is under the Multi Modal Trade and Transit Facilitation Project (under Department of Commerce) was built with loan assistance of Rs 100 million from the World Bank. The depo designed by one Indian company and constructed by the Chinese company is yet to be transferred to Nepal Inter Modal Transport Development Committee (NIMTDC) after two months.

The depo was constructed in an area of four bighas of land where 400 hundred trucks loaded with goods could be parked. Also constructed were sewerage outlet and customs buildings.

The peached road near the main entrance of the depo has been crumbled at three different parts. Also the customs building has been crumbled at different parts.

The possibility of accident has increased as the peached road near the entrance is crumbled. "One Indian and one Chinese engineer have already come for inspection from the Department," said Trishna Sharma, NIMTDC Bhairahawa branch chief. "The maintenance work will start soon," she added.

According to Sharma, the reason for the depo being crumbled was due to the excessive impact on the depo peach. The depo peach has a capacity to weigh 10 tons load. Still highly loaded truck containers are allowed to enter the depo.

However the locals point out that such crumbling could occur from the irregularity either from the design or constructing company side for which investigation should take place.

Officials said that just one month back, maintenance was carried out in the depo.

"NIMTDC has been raising Rs 100 per truck and in the last nearly ten months it has raised Rs 8,390,637 as revenue," said Sharma. "We can’t spend the money that we raise here as revenue," she added.

Sharma said that they have asked for separate cooking room as the truck people cook by the side of the truck (some loaded with highly explosives petroleum products) which could prove fatal.