‘The Killing Terraces’ steals the show in Film-South Asia

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KATHMANDU, Oct 4 - The hall in the Russian Culture Centre ran to full house both the times for the screening of The Killing Terraces today. The documentary produced and directed by Dhruba Basnet was the first movie to be screened today as part of the South Asian Documentaries 2001.

The film was made using footage shot in 26 days in Rukum, Rolpa and Jajarkot in the Far Western Nepal that makes up the stronghold of the Maoists. The film attempts to showcase and understand the causes underlying the rise of Maoists and its effect on the local population.

The film portrays the local people as to how their lives are affected and disturbed with the rise of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and their six years of violent struggle. It also depicts that the aftermath and the ongoing turmoil of the ‘people’s war’ was the creation of the government’s own action.

The Killing Terraces focuses largely on the victims of Maoist insurgency, which has spread all over the country and has now become the foremost challenge facing the state.

The best part of such a documentary stands when it is not judgmental. This 55-minute film has stuck to the rules not only by depicting reality and transparent lives of the people but also by bringing out the other side of the story, the other cruel truth.

That is, the film shows pro-Maoists and their families’ openly criticising and blaming the police, the government and eventually the law of the nation, to be responsible for the state of their lives, full of social, economical and psychological deprivation.

While we have heard tragic stories of many of the victims of Maoist insurgents, this film is different in the way it has brought into picture the victims of police torture and mismanagement of the government and of the law.

The most striking part of the film that caught everyone’s breath was a young boy who looks after his younger brother and sister. Today he is silently venting anger and waiting to join the Maoists to take revenge on the police who killed both their parents.

The film has brought on one platform, to the people that it is the have-nots, women and children who are suffering and paying the price, no matter what the cause.

Benegal opens S Asia film festival

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KATHMANDU, Oct 4 - The Third Film South Asia, festival of South Asian documentaries, kicked off today amid a packed audience at the Russian Culture Centre.

The festival began with an opening remark from reputed Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal while the actual festival started with the screening of The Killing Terraces, produced and directed by Dhurba Basnet. The documentary is the first-ever documentary based on the six-year-old Maoist insurgency.

Benegal, who recently directed a feature film Zubeida, said that the documentaries actually speak the mind of the general public while another speaker Nihal Rodrigo, general secretary of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation, praised the organisers for holding this festival. The festival is being organised by the Himal Association and Himal South Asian magazine.

Later during a press conference, one of the jury members Benegal said that the thing that distinguishes commercial movies from documentaries is that documentaries are the pictures of the reality of life.

Another jury member Professor Firdous Azim of Bangladesh said that documentaries bring out alternative ways of perceiving things and drawing conclusions. She commented that such documentaries that depict real life and cruel truths will bring forth a lot of similarities on humanitarian issue, which eventually makes such documentaries viewable in all parts of South Asia.

Another member of the jury is Neer Shah, one of the topmost filmmakers in Nepal.

Apart from 50 films, which are scheduled for screening in the next four days, a special feature Kathmandu’s Silent Night is scheduled for Friday. These consist of 25 silent short films, not longer than five minutes and are screened for free.

According to the organisers, it is the very first time that filmmakers from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan have joined hands in such a project and that too on a voluntary basis.

Mother of triplets shares experiences with mother of quadruplets

By Amrit Bhadgaule

POKHARA, Oct 4 - A mother of triplets visited the mother of the quadruplets in the Western Regional Hospital in Pokhara and shared her experience in raising the triplets on Wednesday.

Chij Kumari Gurung, 47, of Pardi in Pokhara-17 was very eager to see the quadruplets and their mother Rupa Thapa (Shrestha), who hails from the neighbouring district of Tanahun.

She arrived at the hospital with her son Bimal, third of the triplets. Showing her smart 21-year-old son, she advised her to have patience.

Rupa had given birth to her first son at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday at home. The remaining three sons were delivered at the Western Regional Hospital by caesarean section at 11 a.m. on Monday. The mother is still there but the quadruplets have been moved to neo-natal ICU section of Manipal Teaching Hospital since Monday evening.

Chij Kumari visited Manipal Teaching Hospital on Wednesday and appeared content after looking at the quadruplets from the window. Nobody is allowed to visit them.

Bijay, the first son among the triplets of Chij Kumari has been studying Electronic Engineering in the United States since last year while her second son Binay has been studying in B.P.Koirala Institute of Health and Science Dharan since July. Bimal, the youngest of the triplets, is preparing to fly soon to the United States to study Computer Engineering.

On hearing the story of Chij Kumari, Rupa continued to smile from her hospital bed. Chij Kumari donated Rs 5,001 to Kantipur Regional Office at Pokhara in aid of the quadruplets on Thursday.

Chij Kumari relates her story. Like Rupa, she had also given birth to the triplets at the time of the birth of her third child on the 13th of Shravan 2037 BS ( 21 years ago) at the Military Hospital of Hong Kong as she had gone there along with her two daughters and her husband who was in the British army. Her husband Ganesh Bahadur is in the United States now.

All three sons have identical face. As they were born in a well-equipped hospital, they did not have to face any problem. She was unhappy to find that there was no ventilator in any of the hospitals in Pokhara. She recollected that her triplets were also of low weight like the quadruplets and were kept alive by using incubator and ventilator.

She was admitted to the hospital 41 days before the delivery. She was given special care as the doctors had prior knowledge about the triplets. After the birth, the first and third sons were kept in the incubator for two weeks while the second son was kept in the incubator for a month.

"I am fortunate that I gave birth to them in Hong Kong. Otherwise I don’t know whether I could have seen them as grown up people," she said. She also suggested that the quadruplets should also be kept in a hospital where there is ventilator.

Chij Kumari said her family did not have to face any economic problem as the hospital provided treatment free of cost . However, they had to pay special attention until the children were two years old. "Until four months after the birth I could not sleep at night also. I had to suckle them every three hour. Each of them weighed two kilograms at birth. They used to fall sick very often until they were two years old."

Chij Kumari said the most strange thing about her triplets was that each suffered from diarrhoea, if one was attacked by it. Similarly, all used to fall ill if one of them caught a disease. They had to pay special care about the hygiene and sanitation.

She said doctors used to monitor the health, weight, height and size of the children every week or fortnight. The same facility should be provided to the quadruplets also, she suggested.

Although she was originally allowed to stay in Hong Kong for three years, she was later allowed to stay for six years to look after the children properly, thanks to the cooperation of the army, she informed.

The triplets are amiable to each other.They have identical interest in food, clothings and various other matters. Bimal said that many people inquire about them and consider their being born as triplets a strange event.

All three passed the SLC examination four years ago by securing over 70 percent marks from Pokhara. Chij Kumari feels elated to see the progress made by her sons. She has forgotten the pangs she experienced during the birth of the triplets. But she once again recollected the pain that she had to undergo when she heard the birth of the quadruplets.

She consoled Rupa who is lying in the hospital bed, "God gave you four sons simultaneously when you asked for one. Have patience. You will also be able to make your quadruplets just like my triplets."

Chief Survey Officer Mishra suspended

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BIRGUNJ, Oct 4 - The then Chief Survey Officer (Under Secretary) Hridaya Narayan Mishra has been suspended by the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management on the charge of registering the bus park site in the names of private individuals.

Necessary investigation is under way against him for registering in the names of individuals the bus park land which is worth Rs 100,000,000.

The Ministry has suspended Mishra with effect from September 27, a senior administrator told The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday. This has been corroborated by chief of the No 1 Napi Goswara (Survey Office) Mohammed Sabir Hussein.

Two years ago when Mishra was chief of this survey office, he had registered the bus park site valued at Rs 100,000,000 in the name of Rukmini Devi Kedia. He had also registered land in the names of about a dozen individuals of Birgunj Sub-metropolitan city and 111 bighas
(about 1,500 ropanis) of Prasauni and Mahadevpatti in the names of individuals by receiving bribe.

When he was involved in massive irregularities, locals gehraoed him and unable to bear his vehement opposition he got himself transferred to Jhapa.

As the sub-metropolitan city filed a case with Parsa District Court against the registration of bus park land in the name of Rukmini, the court decided that the registration be cancelled and the bus park land be registered in the name of the sub-metropolitan city about two months ago.

The Ministry has also sent a letter to cancel registration of the 111 bighas of land which Mishra had registered in accordance with Survey Act 2019 BS clause 11 (kha), Chief Land Revenue Officer Binod Adhikari told The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday. Mishra had registered the land in the names of individuals by accepting bribes of Rs 50,000 per bigha.

A Law Officer and a Survey Officer arrived here on Tuesday to investigate about the whole range of illegal activities committed by Mishra.

NC National Convention member Laxmi Nepal who is a member of the committee formed to oppose Mishra’s misdeeds said, " Such anti-national employees should not only be suspended but all his property should also be confiscated. The government has been defamed by such elements. The big building which he has purchased with the bribe money should also be confiscated to mete out justice to the people".

Koirala gives away journalism award

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BIRATNAGAR, Oct 4 - Former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday gave away this year’s Martyr Jagat Prakash Jung Journalism Award to Shekhar Regmi, a Biratnagar-based representative of Himalaya Times.

The annual prize established by Reporter’s Club Nepal carries a cash amount of Rs. 5,000 and a letter of appreciation.

Speaking on the occasion, Koirala, who is also the chairman of the ruling Nepali Congress party, said that journalists do not have courage of writing against "Maoist terror." He said that the journalists were unable to expose the Maoist atrocities that have crippled the entire nation.

Referring to the ongoing talks between the government and the Maoists, Koirala said that there was no possibility of republic state in the country with constitutional monarchy. He also asked the Maoists to give up their demand of republican state, an interim government and constituent assembly. The Maoists raised three issues with the government during the recently concluded two round of peace talks. The government has already made its stance clear that it cannot go beyond the constitutional provisions.

Narayani flood victims fear returning to old places

By Prabhakar Ghimire

CHITWAN, Oct 4 - More than 400 families displaced by floods in the Narayani river during this year’s monsoon have warned that they would block the busy East-West highway if the government evacuated them from the forest areas where they are currently taking refuge.

These families were forced to abandon their houses located in Pithauli, Agyeuli, Narayani and Koluwa VDCs due to the floods in the entire areas. The flood victims said that they could not resettle in the old places as the areas are prone to floods.

More than 200 families displaced from Agyeuli and Narayani VDCs are currently taking refuge at Agyeuli forest area and 110 families displaced from Pithauli VDC are staying at Kathauli buffer zone area. Around 75 other families displaced from Koluwa VDC are living in makeshift shelters at Setapani forest areas.

The local administration is arguing that those families have to go back to their old villages because there is no more floods in the river.

"Floods in the mighty river can wash away the old places at any moment in case of heavy rainfall in the mountain region. That is why we cannot return to our old villages," said Jeet Bahadur Majhi, who abandoned his land and a shop along with other 400 families for fear of floods.

Chief of the area administration office in Nawalpur, Sagarmani Pathak, however, claimed that the displaced people could return to their old villages as the monsoon has finally gone and there was no possibility of heavy floods, at least for the next monsoon.

"The floods had actually inundated the area rather than washed the area away," Pathak said, adding, "The families who were actually displaced by the monsoon floods will be resettled in other areas only after a thorough investigation."

Pathak added that an all-party meeting under the auspices of the District Development Committee would be called and a final decision would be taken as suggested by the meet.