Kantipur FM enters fourth year

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KATHMANDU, Oct 14 - Kantipur FM 96.1 entered its fourth year of transmission today. This occasion was celebrated amidst a glittering function here today.

Hem Raj Gyawali, Chairman of Kantipur Publications, gave away the annual awards to the ten best musical bands, singers, composers and lyricists for the songs that were aired since last year’s similar programme. According to last year’s decision, the Chairman presented ten rupees per song played each time on the FM to the winners today.

Speaking at the function, the Chairman noted that the popular FM channel was making rapid strides in gaining more popularity, especially after the start of the test transmission in Bhedetar in the eastern development region. He also said that the FM was doing its best to improve the transmission standard and that efforts are on to make the FM service available in many parts of the country.

The Chairman also expressed his commitment that the FM station would give continuity to honouring the lyricists, composers, singers and the musical bands.

Addressing the function, Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Shriram Poudel, said that Kantipur FM has been the pioneer in honouring the musicians in Nepal in this manner. He also said that the programmes like live talk show, songs and music are quite praiseworthy.

According to the renowned producer-director-actor and musician Neer Shah, Kantipur has been continuously inspiring and encouraging Nepali singers, composers and lyricists by providing them with awards and royalties for their works.

Buddhiraj Bajracharya, Mayor of Lalitpur Sub-metropolis, congratulated the FM on successfully completing three years. "In Nepal, people have tendency to honour the people only when they are dead but Kantipur FM has started a trend where the talents of people are being appreciated and honoured while they live. I take pride in considering Kantipur FM as a part of the metropolis," he said.

The programme also felicitated artistes Dinesh Adhikari, Shakti Ballav and Prem Dhoj Pradhan for their co-operation towards FM.

Sharad Raj Gautam, station manager of FM, gave a warm welcome speech and the programme was hosted by Dinesh D.C.

Some of the notable winners in the different categories are: 1974 A.D. for the top band of the year, Dinesh Adhikari for the best lyricist, Late Narayan Gopal for the best male singer followed by Ram Krishna Dhakal and Udit Narayan Jha, Tara Devi for the top female singer and Sambhujit Banskota led the top musician category which also included renowned musician, Natikaji and late Gopal Yonzen.

Victim of domestic violence seeks justice

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LALITPUR, Oct 14 - A policeman batters his first wife almost everyday, after illegally marrying a second girl, said the victim.

Mathura Paudel, a 27 years old housewife from Sisneri village Ward No 1 of Lamatar,is seeking justice from her disloyal husband.

She had visited the Village Development Committee Office, city hospitals before trying her luck in Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City Friday.

"My husband beats me almost everyday without any reason. I can’t find a single person who would guide me what I should do now," she said.

She said that the man batters her and even threatens to hang her to death.

Twenty-eight years old Harishanran Paudel, a policeman himself at Armed Police Battalion, Tripureswor married Mathura nine years ago. She also has a son of 7 years.

"But after he fell in love with 29 years old Ganga KC, he started misbehaving me. It has been three years that he kept me in a cowshed where I live alone," she said.

He then married the girl three months ago and since then, he has been demanding the first wife to divorce him and even his parents join him to torture her.

"I can’t divorce him at any cost. I have a son whom I must bring up properly," she said.

Legal officer of Central Women Legal Help Committee Indu Tuladhar said that most women suffer from domestic violence in Nepal because the society does not consider such violence as criminal activities.

"Generally, women consider homes as the most safe place but at times those whom she believes the most turn brutal against them," she said.

Tuladhar said in such cases a husband has no right to send a wife away just because he does not want to live with her. "But in practice, the family puts pressure on her and even blames her to be of low character. This makes a woman finally give up her claims for rights," she said.

Lalitpur citizens to protest against property tax

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LALITPUR, Oct 14 - Citizens of Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan City (LSC), led by Nepali Congress District Committee, are going to protest the LSC’s present system of property tax.

Lalitpur city chairman of NC, Prem Lal Maharjan said that the LSC has been levying property tax from the citizens illegally therefore the district committee has decided to launch a series of protest programmes.

A one-member probe committee was formed, by ward No 1 chairman Nayan Dhwaj Bista to investigate on the present property tax system, its flaws and collection of review .

"We don’t oppose the property tax system itself but it must be properly managed," he said.

Maharjan said the committee has appealed to stop paying property tax and thinking of holding meeting with mayor and deputy mayor, staging gherao of the Sub-metropolis office, and stop the tax-payers at the spot in future.

He said that at present, LSC collects property tax from the date of 1960 if the house owner cannot present the proof of the exact date of house building.

"The locals governing bodies got the right of collecting property tax only after the Local Self-Governance Act of 1999. How can it force people to pay tax of 40 years?" he asked.

Similarly, the committee also showed concern over the encroachment in the green-belt along the ring road and impractical levying of entrance fee from the tourists entering the Lalitpur Durbar Square area.

‘Taka Jatra’ postponed after Dalits enter temple

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BAITADI, Oct 14 - "Taka Jatra", the four-day Dashami Mela (fair) of Baitadi Malladehi has been postponed for five years after Dalits entered the local temple.

There is an age-old tradition to hold this fair on the occasion of Dashain festival every year.

After Dalits entered Dilashaini temple at Malladevi on the first of Bhadra this year, preparations were being made to carry the idol to Haridwar of India for its ritual cleansing. During this time, ‘Dhami’ (traditional healer) Jaya Singh Bohara issued an order that the fair be postponed for five years. Accordingly, the fair has been postponed for five years, VDC Chairman Dipak Bahadur Bam said.

Similarly, as a result of the controversy between Dalits and non-Dalits, "Ramleela", another programme which used to take place every year with the cooperation of Dalits, will not be held this year.

A group opposing the entry of Dalits in Jagannath temple beat up Puran Singh Dayal, member of the Dalit Mukti Samaj Central Committee, about three weeks after he entered the temple. Feeling insecure he has left the district headquarters and is currently living in a village.

Non-Dalits also organised a rally opposing the entry of Dalits in the premises of the temple. Carrying domestic weapons like spade and sickle the rally arrived at the district administration office while the administration and the police were silent spectators.

No action has been taken against Sandip Shah, a police who beat up Puran Singh Dayal and tore the banner of the rally. Temple Management Secretary Rajendra Lohar said effort was being made to cleanse the temple by bringing water from Prayagraj Haridwar after the temple has been touched by Dalits. He informed that he was, however, not invited at the meeting of the committee. There is mental and physical pressure on Dalits in the district headquarters as well as Puchyouti, Dehimandu, Melouni and Tripurasundari. People threatened to kill Rajendra Padam and Ishwor who had entered the temple and consequently they had to seek protection from police and local administration.

Non-Dalits have also started a campaign not to pay wages to Dalits for their labour for six months. In response, Dalits have also stopped producing different utensils. As Maoists also supported Dalits, they are also entering temples outside Baitadi. The priest in Kailpal of Darchula has stopped regular offerings in the temple after Dalits entered the temple.

There was a clash between Dalits and the conservative non-Dalits when the former tried to enter Jagannath temple of Baitadi and the situation is far from normal. In this regard, the Dalit Network of Western Region has submitted a memorandum to the prime minister.

Welcoming the public statement of the prime minister that no one should be barred from entering a temple it was informed at a press conference that Dalits who were enthusiastically entering the temples were being made targets of attack.

Tourist flow declines in Bardiya

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GULARIYA (Bardiya), Oct 14 - Number of foreigners visiting the Royal Bardiya National Park (RBNP) has declined during this tourist season according to the park officials. Whereas rooms of all the hotels and lodges inside the park were full of visiting guests during this season of the last year.

Most of the tourists, especially the foreigners, are nature lovers and visit the park with a view to observing the wildlife and birds on the banks of the Babai and Karnali Rivers. Park officials said that more than 5,000 tourists visit to the park on the average per year.

"I am facing hard time to run my hotel due to fewer number of tourists compared to the previous year," said Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, owner of Hotel Paradise, adding that about 80 per cent of the foreigners had cancelled their booking all of
a sudden.

The proprietor of Thakurdwara-based Jungle Cottage, Khadga Bahadur Khadka, cited ongoing internal violence, June 1 Royal massacre and US attacks of Afghanistan for the slackens on tourism business even during the peak season.

Locals open VDC offices locked by rebels

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DOLAKHA, Oct 14 - Local people have opened offices of several Village Development Committees closed down by Maoist rebels for a long time, a report here said. Reports reaching the district headquarters of this mountain district confirmed that more than a dozen VDC offices were functioning well after the locals unlocked them defying Maoist threats.

People of those VDCs were facing difficulties in getting their official jobs done after the VDC offices were shut down by the rebels since a few months ago. A VDC office is entitled to recommend people for citizenship certificates, collect land revenues and maintain demographic records in the community.

The people even in the so-called Maoist controlled areas have opened the VDC offices braving Maoist threats. Gopal Neupane, chairman of the southern Melung VDC, which is believed to be one of the Maoist strongholds in the district, said that hundreds of locals opened the VDC office last week. Locals also chanted anti-Maoist slogans while breaking the locks put up by the rebels. The rebels had put up their locks in 22 VDC offices of the total 51 VDCs in the district.

Dolakha is one of the Maoist insurgency hit districts where the rebels had already declared their so-called district level government.

Rehabilitation for visually impaired

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DANG, Oct 14 - The rehabilitation programme organised for blind people under the joint auspices of Rapti Eye Hospital, Nepal Blind Association and Norwegian Association for the Blind has proved to be very useful for the blind people in this area.

Ram Bahadur Khadka of Majhwa in Tulsipur Municipality says he had never imagined that he could ever get rid of his miserable state in which he was forced as he was confined within the four walls of his house due to his congenital blindness.

Khadka says tremendous changes have been brought about in his life after he came into contact with the rehabilitation programme run by Nepal Association for the Blind and the Norwegian Association for the Blind.

"I had never thought in my life that even blind people can walk long distances and engage in their own occupation. But I have been able to experience it myself," he said.

"I had received a general training for walking and advisory training for following an occupation. With such a little training, I had not thought that I could be established in society like the others who are visually sound, but it has been translated into reality in my own life," he said.

According to the coordinator of the Rehabilitation Programme Kiran Poudel, the programme was being carried out by maintaining a contact with 2,429 blind and visually impaired people since
2056 BS.

Dr Padam Raj Bista, eye specialist in Rapti Eye Hospital, Dang said such programmes were being run in two districts of Dang and Chitwan in collaboration with the Norwegian Association for the Blind because rehabilitation was the best treatment for those who could not be treated as they were congenital blind.

A total of 2,429 people, that is, 1.1 percent of the district population, has been found to be blind and visually impaired (with vision less than 6/18) in this district. Study of braille script and vocational training according to their condition and wishes are being provided to them according to the capacity of the project.

Gauri Chaudhari, a blind woman, has been earning her living by producing paper bags after she received training under the project. "As long as there is a ban on plastic bags, I can maintain my family with its income,’’ she said.

In the same way, Nalina Chaudhari , another blind woman, has been maintaining her life by earning income from sweater weaving under the project. "I have been weaving sweaters and all the sweaters woven by me are being sold. I am very happy that I can earn the money that I need to spend in my life" she said.