KMC starts renovating temples

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KATHMANDU, Nov 27 - Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has begun renovating three temples and a temple pedestal two months after it started levying "service charge" from the visiting tourists at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hanumandhoka Durbar Square.

"Presently we are renovating three temples, those of Trailokya-Mohan, Maju Degaa and Narayan at the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square and also the pedestal of the Shiva-Parvati Temple," said Indra MS Suwal, the deputy chief of KMC Tourism and Heritage Department today.

He said that the temples had been restored randomly and was used different materials that has deteriorated its originality so that the present renovation needed extra effort to revive the originality of the traditional Newari architecture in the temple.

He said, "We are just using the money we collected from the tourists. For completion, the local help is essential to renovate the temples and revive the lost glory of the ancient royal palace."

KMC has collected Rs 7640,600 in the past two nine weeks from 39,047 tourists visiting there.

Techinician Nem Gopal said KMC is spending 1,500,000 on Maju Degaa Temple, 600,000 on Trailokya-Mohan Temple and Rs 400,000 on Narayan Temples and Rs 146,000 on Shiva-Parvati temple pedestal. Besides, it has completed the empty temple in front of Maju Degaa at the cost of Rs 30,000.

However, the Department of Archaeology (DOA) has objected on the recent construction works going around the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square. DOA is the government body to conserve and protect the ancient monuments throughout the country.

The officers there said that the old stones should be replaced in the temples and the bricks also should not be replaced with the new ones.

But the KMC officials said that the old stones and bricks were decayed and could not be reused.

"DOA had protested our renovation but they have not yet sent any letters in protest or ordered us to stop it," said Suwal of KMC.

Though the responsibility of conserving the temples at the protected monument zone falls to DOA, the locals claim it has not restored the cluster of temples at the Durbar Square.

"A Non-Government Organisation, Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, is constructing three temples from its own sources and one temple of Mahavisthnu, being constructed by DOA almost two years ago is still incomplete," said a local Krishna Mani Tamrakar.

‘Control traffic in cultural heritage’

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KATHMANDU,Nov 27 - Yoshiaki Kitamura, the country representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organisation (UNESCO) today stressed on local participation on controlling illicit traffic in cultural property.

"The local people are the ones who needs to love the cultural heritage and safeguard them. Making them aware of the possibility of art theft and the value of such ancient monuments is important," he said Kitamura in a programme on the launching of the proceedings of the symposium on the illicit traffic in cultural property, organised by UNESCO Kathmandu Office.

He added that the local people should be given some sort of incentives to encourage them to take interest in the priceless monuments scattered in their locality.

"They actually have lost interest in what is indeed their property and their pride," said Kitamura.

Former Ambassador to France and UNESCO, Keshav Raj Jha appreciated the policemen who worked hard to arrest the thieves of the ancient peacock statue from Thimi.

A 450 years old statue of peacock was stolen from Thimi 10 months ago that was found in the hands of the thieves when the policemen invaded and arrested them posing as the clients.

"The role of the policemen and media is important to control the art theft that has become a serious problem in Nepal," said he.

A symposium on illicit traffic in cultural property was held by Department of Archaeology, Nepal Tourism Board and UNESCO Kathmandu Office in last August that issued a Kathmandu Declaration, which was endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on 6 November 2001.

Call to heed youth population

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KATHMANDU, Nov 27 - Experts Monday called to heed the substantially increasing youth population while addressing the reproductive health issues and the problems related thereto. They also informed that the priority has been shifted from birth control to reproductive health and prevention of STDs and reproductive health.

They were speaking at a five-day seminar on family planning in Nepal organised by the Central Department of Population Studies (CDPS), TU in collaboration with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Speaking on the occasion Director General of Family Planning Association, Dr. Nirmal Kumar Bista said priority of the association had shifted from birth control activities in early 1980s to reproductive health and prevention of the STDs and HIV/AIDS. He added that without properly focusing on the substantially larger number of young population, new challenges in the discipline of reproductive health cannot be tackled.

Nilkantha Lal Shrestha, Registrar at TU, said that the CDPS had been the national centre of population studies and was ultimately going to be a regional centre in the South-Asia region in the days to come.

Shrestha pointed out that key aspects of reproductive health like family planning and safe motherhood should be included reproductive biology.

Seminar co-ordinator Dr. Ram Sharan Pathak of the CDPS said 10 papers, focusing mainly on theoretical aspects of family planning, government’s policies and programmes on family planning and case studies would be discussed during the workshop.

Chairperson of the seminar Professor Triratna Manandhar said the CDPS had been playing as a think-tank on population studies of the country and providing intellectual input to the government and its implementing agencies and other non-governmental organisations.

National eye care policy developed

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KATHMANDU, Nov 27 – A National Eye Care Policy has been developed and presented to the Ministry of Health at a programme on National Workshop Vision 2020: Right to Sight today.

The National Plan of Action (PoA) for Eye Care Services in Nepal, a strategic planning has been carried out for the year 2002-2019, which will be implemented from January 2002.

Prior to WHO supported national opthalmic survey in 1981, there were only 7 opthalmologists in Nepal with 16 eye beds in Kathmandu and 8 beds outside Nepal. The current total number of blind in Nepal is estimated to be 185,000 with more than 130,000 cataract blind. Trachoma, refractive error and childhood blindness are now known to be the other main causes of blindness in Nepal.

The PoA shows a fresh and pragmatic approach for seeing Vision 2020 as an opportunity to increase quality services for blind patients in Nepal.

Speaking at the programme, Health Secretary and Chairman of the apex body, Mahendra Nath Aryal said, "With the implementation of the PoA in the coming year, we will appoint a secretariat, provide the necessary budget and other requirements".

The PoA was drafted by a sub-committee under the apex body which constitutes a high level policy making body to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the progress and expansion of eye care services in the country.

Self-employment stressed

KATHMANDU, Nov 27 (PR) – A two-day participatory workshop on Youth Self-Employment Programme (YSEP) in Nepal was inaugurated in the capital today, states a press release issued here.

The purpose of the workshop is to present to the stakeholders the draft outline, strategies, structures and arrangements for implementation of YSEP document, the release states.

The objectives of the YSEP document discussed at the participatory workshop are to increase the opportunity for youth self-employment in Nepal through the introduction of a nationally coordinated approach to self employment, skill training, vocational guidance, appropriate technology transfer and micro-finance facilities.

Leyla Tegmo Reddy, Director of ILO said that the workshop is taking place at a crucial moment when the world is facing a global economic downturn, which has already had an effect on Nepal. She said that youth employment problems continue to pervade in both developed and developing countries in the world, with a large number of young women and men exposed to long term unemployment or else limited to precarious or short-term work.

The YSEP document is formulated by a multidisciplinary team of ILO and international consultants and experts at the request of the government of Nepal and in close consultation with the Employment Promotion Commission with financial assistance of the UNDP, Nepal.

The footpath rulers

Razen Manandhar

The only metropolis of the Himalayan Kingdom - Kathmandu - is rich in many things. On the top of it, this city is rich in people. The small city has turned into a metropolis but the attitude of the city planners and the municipality officials still reflects the centuries old Malla period, at least this can not be an exaggeration in the context of the countless street vendors one can easily find in every other crossroad and the pedestrian area, either in the core of the city or in the surrounding suburbs.

Experts say life in a city is very tough because the life standard is very expensive. But in Kathmandu, this is simple — just spread a blanket on the middle of a footpath, pile out a sack of date-expired goods you picked out from a litter of a godown and start a "genuine" business. Those new or old dresses, undergarments, cosmetics, utensils, magazines or anything will become your commodity. By this, you don’t have to pay rent, pay tax over the shop and income; neither are you obliged to take responsibility of what you sell.

The busy streets of New Road, Indrachowk, Khichapokhari, Sundhara, Ratnapark, Putali Sadak, Baneshwar, Gaushala, Jamal, Thamel, Balaju, Gongabu, Kalanki are all proud to be decorated with such easy to borrow. They either spread blankets on the footpath, or erect big boxes with open end, no matter how much it disturbs the pedestrians, the vehicles and the local authorities.

Their bizarre business does not need the buyers’ credibility as none of the customers believe that genuine commodities can be found in the streets. The business is lying on a simple principle - the more you shout the more business you will do. These are either damaged pieces, or date-expired or out-of-date or even stolen. And perhaps that makes the street-shopping thrilling.

One may wonder who on earth may wish to stop in the street and make a farce there by choosing from the dusty piles. But the matter of the fact is that even bald-head intellectuals, wealthy walkers have time to stop, turn upside down of the pile and enjoy extreme bargaining in the busy street. The interesting part of the drama is that they got involved in the drama so much emotionally that they don’t even find their pockets picked.

The shopkeepers not only "serve" the pedestrians but also the vehicles. The chain of events is that the pedestrians disturb the passers-by, especially on pick hours by occupying the footpaths and standing there for hours. They have no time to look back and see if they are disturbing anybody. The passers-by, who really don’t have time to bargain for the second grade goods, need to avoid the unwanted mall and walking through the motor road remains the only alternative. Obviously, it will give another spectacular scene in the street when the drivers, tired of street cows and oxen, have to try their luck even for the persons walking from the middle of the road.

It is not that there is nobody to care the street vendors. There is Kathmandu Metropolitan City to check these illegal squatters from the streets. But though the City Police of the KMC Security Department have been "working hard" to drive them away from the scenes in last four or five years, no changes are visible. Rather, the city dwellers are left to enjoy the street drama that repeats every day like the famous "Waiting for the Goddot". The vendors do their business, the white jeep comes with whistling City cops, they beacon each other and vendors collect the goods in haste. After two minutes they start calling the customers as the City Policemen leave the stage.

One can easily imagine what might have been the arrangements between the vendors group and the city policemen. The match fixing is going on — at the cost of the irritation caused to the passengers, local shop-keepers who pay rent, and tax to municipality that provides civic services to the city dwellers from the money it collects through different local taxes.

Hundreds of hill people fleeing villages

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NEPALGUNJ, Nov 27 - Hundreds of people started moving towards different towns of India in the last few days after the breaking of four-month- ceasefire with the outburst of bloody violence in the mid-hills of the country.

The people have fled to the Indian towns due to the security lapse in their villages and to avoid their involvement in the clashes between the Maoists and the security personnel.

The people who are seen in caravan in the neighbouring border towns hesitate to reveal their address and express anxiety over the situation of security in their respective villages.

" What is the use of telling my address when I have been forced to abandon my home", laments Amar Khadka from Surkhet, stating his decision to leave his home after not being able to withstand the wrath of Maoists. "I don’t think, we will be able to return ", said Khadka.

The villagers who had lived with a sense of security for the last couple of months have again been forced to leave their hometown after the Maoists broke the four-month- ceasefire by attacking different government institutions in Dang. The villagers fear that war now could be more vigorous and there would be no alternative left but to flee to Indian towns in search of job and security.

Though the Maoists claim that they are fighting for the marginalised group, a large number of people are seen fleeing their homes for Indian towns.

"Despite my weak financial status, I had to bear forceful extortion from the Maoists", said Man Bahadur Nepali of Surkhet. ‘’I escaped my village to save my life’’, Nepali added.

After the Maoists broke the ceasefire, there has been considerable increase in the number of people from the hills in Nepalgunj, gateway to Indian towns, migrating towards India. According to Krishna Bhadur Khadka, police officer at Jamuna Police Post at Banke, around hundred people are entering Indian towns everyday from Nepalgunj.

However, there is no official record of the people going to India from the Maoist-affected districts - Dang, Jajarkot, Surkhet and Aachham.

‘’A large number of people have applied for citizenship and passport but we don’t have any data on the number of people moving into India’’, said Dhruba Prasad Sharma, CDO of Surkhet district. ‘’Villagers obtain citizenship certificate to ease official dealings in India’’, Sharma added.