Rajparishad member condemned for controversial statement

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TANSEN, (Palpa), Sept 14 - A meeting of the Palpa District Working Committee of the ruling Nepali Congress has passed a condemnation against Kamal Raj Regmi, a member of the Rajparishad Standing Committee, for making a controversial statement in a Maoist-held meet.

One time Communist leader Regmi made an "unconstitutional statement," addressing a Maoist-held function that announced its self-style ‘people’s government’ in this hilly district on August 18. NC District Working Committee chairman Rajan Prasad Pant said that Regmi, who holds such a responsible position, spoke in favour of republic state at the function.

The Rajparishad Standing Committee is a permanent body formed by the Constitution for counselling the King on important issues and its members, except for the ex-officio ones, are appointed by the King by himself. The Committee is also entitled to announce a new monarch.

Addressing the function, Regmi had allegedly said that "republic was indispensable to Nepal." However, Regmi could not be reached for his comments on the allegations of the NC district level leaders.

Report submitted on temple controversy

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TANSEN (Palpa), Sept 14 - An investigation committee formed to probe into the controversial reconstruction of a local Amar Ganesh temple, which was completed about 14 months ago, made public its findings here on Friday.

Coordinator of the investigation committee, Mitralal Shakya, handed over the 127-page report to the Mayor of this hill town, Ashok Kumar Shahi, amidst a press conference. The probe committee was formed after the golden pinnacle of the temple went missing while carrying out the renovations. Following the completion of the reconstruction works, it was discovered that the golden paint of the pinnacle had been erased.

Presenting an executive summary of the report, coordinator Shakya said that no defined rules were followed while renovating the nearly 200-year-old temple.

The report also stated that the allegations levelled against the Deputy-Mayor were baseless.

The report has also suggested that a compensation of the pinnacle be realised from the people involved in the reconstruction works.

Mayor plans to revive the lost glory of Hanumandhoka Palace

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Sept 14 - If the dream of Kathmandu mayor comes to reality, the erstwhile palatial beauty of the century-old Hanumandhoka Durbar Square will get back to its earlier form.

Hanumandhoka Durbar Square, situated in Basantapur at the heart of the capital, includes a beautiful Royal Palace occupied by the Royal family about a century ago. And Mayor Keshav Sthapit is trying to revive the forgotten glory of this World Heritage Site.

But the mayor of the Capital will have to face an uphill task before his dream come true. There are more tough days ahead as he will have to pass through many hurdles before he completes his plans.

"I want to bring back the glory of the ancient Royal Palace back," says Sthapit. "No matter how much money I have to spend, I will fulfil my dream."

The present building of District Police Office (DPO) at the Hanumandhoka premises, that has been an eyesore of the archaeological site, is coming under the authority of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) office soon. For this, KMC is giving its land property at New Road to the police department with added compensation of Rs. 30 million.

The government decision has come in the light of the UNESCO demand to remove the police building or change its front, to keep this complex of over two dozen temples in the World Heritage List.

"I don’t think whether it is a profitable deal or not but I want to revive the Hanumandhoka area at any cost," Sthapit said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Hari Bhakta Prajapati at the DPO said that the deal is yet to be finalised. "But it is in the process," he said.

The complex of Hanumandhoka, built by a 12th century King Guna Kamdev, is surrounded by three government schools - Sree Kanya High School, Kanti Ishwori Girls High School and Nawa Aadrsha Middle School - and a section of Mahendra Sanskrit University.

Mayor has a plan to dislocate all of them and change the area into museums of traditional dolls and religious dance masks, and many other galleries where the tourists will have the opportunity to learn more about art and culture of the Capital city.

"There will be around 8 to 9 ropanis land of KMC in the Durbar Square area after evacuating the unnecessary buildings," says Sthapit. "I want to make a big courtyard where the traditional craftsmen will work openly and sell their handicrafts."

Mayor also intends to turn the army-occupied Kot into a live museum where the visitors will find how Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana massacred high-ranking palace attendants to acquire the power more than 150 years ago.

Then the Mayor will launch a harsh campaign to have all the surrounding modern houses reconstructed. "The houses, which have been built against the by-laws of Department of Archaeology and KMC will be demolished or obliged to give a traditional look at least on the front parts."

For this, KMC is planning to provide the necessary building materials at a subsidised rate.

In addition, a long "Pati" (Public shed) will also be constructed which will house an exhibition gallery and around 60 souvenir shops, according to the plan.

Most of the components of the Mayor’s ambitious project are still waiting for a firm decision from its counterparts.

Joint-administrator of Mahendra Sanskrit University Hari Prasad Kafle said that the KMC had sent a proposal last month to exchange the present three-storey building with a new one. The University then sent a letter on July 13, demanding two ropanis of land and a building with 19 rooms as the compensation. "But we are yet to receive the reply," Kafle said.

Headmaster of Kanti Ishwori Girls High School Dilli Man Bajracharya said the school is ready to evacuate the present building if KMC provides them an adequate space not far away from the centre, with furnished buildings to accommodate its 500 students.

Similary, the headmaster of Shree Kanya High School Sharan Bajracharya too agrees with the concept but said they would only vacate the place if the KMC meets their demand for proper compensation.

Theoretically, the Mayor’s plan seems to be a genuine one as all those who are supposed to vacate the area for the betterment of the area agree to do so. But the biggest question here is how will he convince them with proper compensation.

KMC has already taken a step forward to collect the money for the preservation of cultural heritage of the area by collecting entry fees with the foreigners visiting the Durbar Square. This will be one of the sources for financing the project as KMC collected around a million rupees from 5,000 tourists in the first month.

Tsering’s charcoal drawings on display

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KATHMANDU, Sept 14 – An exhibition of charcoal drawings by Chungpo Tsering kicked off at Indigo Art Gallery amidst a function here today.

Twenty-three-year-old Tsering is a Tibetan artist who learned the art of charcoal drawing only ten months ago. And he has exhibited 25 of his drawings prepared in two months time.

Carpet and interior designer Tsering who started his career as a photographer has now ended up as an artist in the field of charcoal drawing. "I want to specialise in charcoal painting as there are very few in this field," says Tsering.

His drawing basically represents the sentiments of the people and their relations with different places. "In some paintings, I have mixed people and places, whereas in some paintings I have tried to draw people’s relation with the landscape," says Tsering.

His creations are quite different from others, as his technique is different too. He first takes a picture of different people and places and mixes them to bring the special effect in his drawings.

Most of his drawings concentrate on the pictures of Swoyambhunath and Bauddha area. "Since I live here and see these places daily, I have portrayed the people and places in these areas," says Tsering.

A book called "Artist from the Rightside of Brain" is his inspiration, says Tsering. He basically learned the art of the charcoal drawing through this book.

Representative of Dalai Lama in Kathmandu, Wangchuk Tsering inaugurated the exhibition by lighting the oil lamp.

The exhibition will continue at the Indigo Gallery in Naxal till September 24.

Art works of Vaidya and Shah on display Art works of Vaidya and Shah on display

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KATHMANDU, Sept 14 – Senior artistes Batsa Gopal Vaidya, 55, and Shashi Shah, 61, have jointly organized a month-long painting exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery which was opened on Friday.

Altogether 43 paintings (20 paintings of Vaidya and 23 paintings of Shah) are on display in the exhibition, which will end on October 17.

Almost all paintings are made out of oil or acrylic or both. " My paintings chiefly portray hills, temples, nature and culture from which I want to convey that our degrading natural and cultural heritage should be preserved without any delay," says Vaidya.

In all the paintings of Shah, horses are portrayed as the symbol of power. According to Hindu mythology, the horse is also regarded as the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is called Kalki Avatar. "My horses are very extraordinary and they symbolise power. The Kalki’s mission is that our world, civilization and creation must survive at any cost," Shah says.

In the painting the white horse symbolises Lord Vishnu, whereas other horses represent evil, horror, panic and devastation which are likely to destroy the world and its civilization. Painting for about 13 years, Shah feels that painting is an emotional and personal expression or one kind of meditation.

Shah has also exhibited horse sculpture made out of plaster, paper and mud. Paintings exhibited are also kept for sale that range from 15 to 35 thousand rupees.

Nihal Rodrigo, Secretary General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) inaugurated the function.

Vegetable farming on rooftops

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KATHMANDU, Sept 14 - Those city residents who do not have a proper farm or even kitchen garden may not have to wait long for consuming fresh vegetables for long.

A small house with no open space can also grow organic vegetables on the rooftop using waste materials and grow fresh vegetables, experts said.

Dr Gyan Lal Shrestha, the executive director of Green Energy Mission Nepal, said one can grow pesticide-free vegetables in small vases, wooden boxes, plastic containers and bags. He was addressing a one-day interaction programme on household level waste management and rooftop vegetable farming in Kathmandu.

"Without investing a lot of money, the city dwellers can become self-dependent in vegetable supply and at the same time get rid of chemically-produced vegetables that are harmful to our body," he said.

He said the uncontrolled growth of population in the capital city has made it impossible to get cultivable land in the city area so an alternative form of farming at least for vegetables is important.

Shrestha said that housewives easily reduce the quantity of domestic waste, made mostly of bio-degradable elements like vegetables and food left-overs, by decomposing it and making manure which is "a double action solution" to the solid waste problem of the metropolis.

"Only accusing the Kathmandu Metropolitan City for unmanaged garbage is our mistake. Rather, the city -dwellers should co-opearte with the KMC to reduce the bulk of garbage from our side," he said.

In the programme, Kathmandu Mayor Keshav Sthapit said the problem of garbage in the city would be solved because the new Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka is positive to the KMC’s demand of a certain space where the garbage could be decomposed and run a manure factory.

"Each citizen who comes and lives in the metropolis must pay for the garbage he or she produces. Those who refuse to pay for the service will not enjoy other civic services," he said.

The programme was jointly organised by KMC and Green Energy Mission Nepal.