Lower House passes anti-terrorism Bill
Orders to relax emergency restrictions issued

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, April 4:Hours after King Gyanendra approved orders to relax the state of emergency, the Lower House of parliament on Thursday passed with a simple majority a controversial Bill aimed at curbing terrorism and controlling disruptive activities in the country.

The Thursday’s sitting of the House of Representatives passed the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (control and punishment) Bill, which was first introduced as a Royal Ordinance at the time of declaring the state of emergency in the country on November 26, 2001.

Later in the day, the Bill was tabled in the Upper House, the National Assembly, which is expected to pass it on Friday and send it to the palace for Royal assent. The Ordinance-turned-Bill is required to obtain the Royal assent by April 9.

"Because the majority of lawmakers voted "Yea", I declare that the Bill has been passed," Deputy Speaker of the House, Chitra Lekha Yadav, said after the voting was over.

Among other things, the Bill authorises security forces to arrest people without warrant, and provisions a maximum penalty of life imprisonment with seizure of all property for those involved in terrorist and destructive activities.

The Bill proposes a special anti-terrorism court to deal with cases related to terrorism charges. As per the provisions in the Bill, a monitoring committee headed by a retired justice will look into the grievances of the general public. It will remain valid for two years.

All lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) party voted for the Bill. But lawmakers of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal – United Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML), the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the National People’s Front (NPF), the United People’s Front (UPF) and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) voted against the Bill.

While lawmakers of the NPF, the UPF and the NWPP pronounced their verbal "Nay" votes branding the Bill "black law", most of the UML lawmakers walked out of the House, although they were present during the discussions on the Bill earlier. Only about a dozen UML lawmakers were present during the voting.

Earlier, partaking in the discussions, UML lawmakers maintained that they were present in the House only to welcome the orders to relax the state of emergency. Early in the morning today, the state-owned Radio Nepal announced the government orders to relax emergency, which was sent by the Royal Palace with some amendments.

The orders allow political parties to hold public meetings, but that should not directly or indirectly help the terrorists’ campaign and requires permission from the respective District Administration Officer. It also allows the publication or transmission of news-reports, articles or commentaries, but that, again, should not aid terrorism.

The five-point orders also provides for the permanent or temporary transfer or appointment of civil servants in the Kingdom; and it allows public criticism of the security forces, but that should not de-moralise the security forces in any way.

The issuance of the orders to better-manage the state of emergency, as per Article 115 (7) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, was one of the two preconditions put forth by the UML while ratifying emergency on February 21. The other pre-condition, which so far has not been met and is still under debate, is the amendment to the 12-year-old constitution.

CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal was quick to comment on the orders. He said in the House of Representatives Thursday, "The orders discourages comments that could demoralise the security forces. What does it mean? It has to be clearly elaborated."

Echoing the sentiment of Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Chiranjiwi Wagle, who is holding the portfolio of Home Ministry in the absence of Khum Bahadur Khadka, UML lawmaker Pradip Kumar Gyawali, said earlier that the entire House was shocked to have "such a Bill to vote for".

"Law is just a tool to fight terror," he said, emphasising the need to have provisions to pardon those forced into such terror networks.

Lawmaker of the RPP, Netra Lal Shrestha called for an end to tendencies that aims to fight terror with harsh laws. Rather, he said, "terror should be fought by cleansing attitudes and behaviours."

"This is a black law," the NPF leader Chitra Bahadur KC said, urging political parties not to vote for it, "for it will ultimately affect each one of us here. Passing it is just like hitting our own legs with the (proverbial) axe."

Leader of the NWPP, Narayan Man Bijukchhe said the Bill has infringed upon the fundamental rights of the people, and that "the situation has turned worse than that of the pre-1990 autocratic Panchayat era".

Most importantly, he said, "the country’s women folks will bear the brunt of the Bill as the possibility of the security forces misbehaving and even harassing them remains extremely high."

A vocal critic of the Bill and the former comrade-in-arms of the Maoist leaders, lawmaker Lila Mani Pokharel of the UPF, however, could not make it to his bench in the opposition row when the Speaker called his name to partake in the discussion. He turned up a bit late only to say "Nay" in loud voice every time the Speaker told parliamentarians to say "Yea or Nay".

Amid exchange of gunfire, salvo of peace is on air

By Tilak Pokharel

KATHMANDU, April 4:Even as the government security forces and the outlawed Maoist rebels are entangled in exchanging gunfire, the salvo of peace negotiations is on air with various human rights activists trying to bring both the sides on the table for talks.

Officials at the National Human Rights Commission and human rights experts have claimed that their efforts to create an environment for talks would materialise before the completion of the state of emergency. The government imposed emergency on November 26 last year to fight the six-year-old insurgency and is set to expire at the end of May.

The officials have also taken the recent Maoist move of rescheduling the five-day general strike as a positive step towards the peace process and they hope that the rescheduled strike from April 23 to 27 would also be withdrawn.

Those involved in the peace process have become more confident of fulfilling their task after Maoist chairman Prachanda indicated his willingness to negotiate. "If positive political outlet is developed, we are ready to withdraw all sorts of protest programmes and operations," Prachanda had said in the statement issued this week to reschedule the strike.

"If everything goes according to the plan, some concrete developments in the peace process can be expected before the termination of the state of emergency," member of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Sushil Pyakurel told The Kathmandu Post. "It would not be a surprise if the peace process takes place soon."

"The dialogue is very likely," Pyakurel said. "The NHRC is also involved in this. But we should still wait for some time to get something concrete." As per Pyakurel’s claims, some of the members of the government and political parties are also playing an active role to convince the two sides.

The earlier talks between the government and the Maoists reached a deadlock after three rounds on the table, when the latter unilaterally pulled out of the talks about four months ago. Since then, the government has declared Maoists "terrorists" and imposed emergency to quell the insurgency through the mobilisation of army.

Members of the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON) had also claimed two weeks ago that both the government and the Maoists had given them a go-ahead to initiate peace process. The three-member committee includes HURON president Sudip Pathak, president of Nepal Bar Association Sindhu Nath Pyakurel and journalist Malla K Sundar.

Besides the human rights experts, some diplomats are also involved in the peace process, sources said. "Few ambassadors approached us and promised their support in the peace mission," claims one of the members of the committee. "I am sure the peace process will materialise soon."

But he declined to specify the time frame and divulge into the details. "The time is not ripe enough to say everything, otherwise, it will derail the peace process," he said. "As it is the two sides to decide, it is difficult for us to say the exact time-frame."

The unofficial committee members, who are claimed to be in regular contact with the central leaders of the Maoists, also said that the Maoists are looking for a safe landing, which undoubtedly is through the peace process.

Nepal blasts Maoists for targeting development

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KATHMANDU, April 4:As Maoists continued with their assaults on development infrastructures around the country, leader of the main opposition CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal today blasted the rebels and urged them to stop such violent acts and resume peace talks.

"The recent spate of Maoist attacks on development infrastructures has shocked us," a disturbed Nepal said in the House of Representatives Thursday soon after the day’s proceedings started. "Drinking water supply lines, power houses and bridges are necessary for everyone on earth, for people having faith in any political ideologue."

He added, "Their violent acts like attacking and torching village development committee (VDC) offices, community halls, night buses and other development infrastructure make it very clear that they do not want to hold fresh peace talks. What are they up to? What do they really want?"

He noted that the rebel leaders had recently voiced their willingness to hold fresh peace talks with the government.

Nepal continued, "If they really want to show that they are serious about holding next round of talks, they should stop such activities and show that they indeed are serious for a positive political way out to the present crisis…"

He also criticised the government for failing to protect Dolpa airport despite having prior knowledge about it. "The parliamentarian from Dolpa had warned about the Maoist threat to the government, but it did nothing," he added.

The rebel outfit, waging a violent guerrilla war to overthrow monarchy since early 1996, broke a four-month-long cease-fire after attacking an army garrison in Dang in November last year.

In recent days, the rebels, who have been routed by the Royal Nepal Army in most battles, have intensified their attacks on development infrastructure such as drinking water pipelines, power plants and bridges and VDC offices across the country.

The UML General Secretary emphasised that there is an urgent need to bring an end to the spate of violence and attacks on infrastructure, and called on the government and responsible political parties to become serious.

"Indeed, the crisis-ridden country is longing for a long-term solution. Shouldn’t everyone of us think twice before Nepal becomes another Afghanistan or Rwanda?"

Referring to Wednesday’s claims made by the National People’s Front (NPF) lawmaker Nawaraj Subedi that security forces harassed NPF lawmaker Pari Thapa in Baglung earlier this week, Nepal said, "On the one hand the Prime Minister talks about forging national consensus and on the other he keeps mum—even when security forces harass lawmakers like this. He has no right to continue clinging to the power."

Government yet to provide compensation to police forces

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KATHMANDU, April 4:The chiefs of two police forces today complained to the parliamentary States Affairs Committee that the government has not provided the compensation amount to the police forces yet.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Pradip Sumser JB Rana and IGP of Armed Police Force (APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha, who were summoned on the SAC meeting today to inform law and order situation of the country, complained that the government is yet to provide Rs. 142.4 million to Nepal Police.

"Since we have failed to provide compensation to the families of deceased personnel in time, it is discouraging the police personnel deployed to quell the Maoists," IGP Rana is reported to have told the meeting.

As informed by IGP duo, Rs.7.8 million is yet to be given to the injured personnel while about 3 million is to be distributed as scholarships to the children of the deceased personnel. Almost Rs.5.8 million as compensation of losses of personal property and lives and Rs. 4.38 million as rewards is yet to be paid by the government.

The government two years back had made a compensation policy providing Rs. 750 thousand for the family of a police personnel who looses his life while fighting the rebels.

The IGPs of two police forces informed that 691 police personnel were killed by the Maoists so far after the Maoist insurgency started in February 1996.

They also informed that 185 police personnel three civilian employees and 190 were killed after declaration of the state of emergency in the country while 858 " terrorists" were killed by the security personnel in the same period.

An Armed Police Force personnel was killed while another one was abducted by the " terrorists" in this period.

IGP Rana also pointed out the need to equip the police with automatic and semi- automatic weapons to cope up with the present challenges.

Though the long -standing demand of the police for some choppers has been met after the government initiated process for purchasing two modern choppers last month, the police forces are pointing out at the scarcity of adequate budget for them.

According to Pradip Gyawali, a SAC member, the committee called the IGP duo to take information about dwindling law and order situation of the country despite use of all possible means of control.

SAC also decided to direct the Ministry of Home to dispatch the Chief District Officers in the districts. The security personals have been pointing out that absence of CDOs in the district was the major cause for lack of coordination among the security agencies.

The acting Secretary at the Ministry of Home, Vijay Bhattarai, who was also present at the meeting, informed the committee about parameters adopted by the ministry while compensating the victims of Maoist attack.

He informed that 92 families of general public killed by the Maoists were compensated so far while more than 13. Million is yet to be provide. Government is providing 150 thousand for each family of the deseased.

SAC has also directed the government to immediately institute a commission, as per the Armed Police Force (APF) Act, to carry out the jobs of appointment and other departmental actions connected with the APF, a new security wing set up last year.

The APF Act, which was promulgated last year, has provided for forming the commission comprised of a member of Public Service Commission, secretary of Home, a senior army officer and the IGP. But the delay in forming the commission has directly affected the completion of APF structure.

There are some eight thousand APF personnel at total all of whom are pulled in either from Nepal Police or Royal Nepal Army.

SAC made the decision after Inspector General of the APF, Krishna Mohan Shrestha complained the that the Force lacks necessary strength to quell the Maoist "terrorists." He also complained that the delay in institution of the APF was hampering performance of the duty given by the government.

The heads of the police forces also stated that after declaration of the emergency 12,779 "terrorists" have surrendered before the security forces and 7799 have been arrested. Out of the arrested persons, 5,008 have been released after interrogation 1,690 have been forwarded for legal action and 1,101 are still undergoing investigation after November 26.

The heads of the police also informed the meeting that some leading personalities like Ajab Lal Yadav and Khop Bahadur Kandel were killed in encounters with security forces in recent weeks and that the security forces have received important information of the rebels recently.

UML leader to visit Bhutan

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KATHMANDU, April 4:General Secretary of the main opposition, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal is leading a six-member delegation to Bhutan on April 22 on the invitation of the Druk government, said a lawmaker from the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee on Thursday.

The delegation is expected to chiefly discuss the Bhutanese refugee repatriation issue.

General Secretary Nepal, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee, informed the other members of the committee that he had received the invitation from the Bhutanese Foreign Minister Jigme Y Thinley to visit Bhutan. The UML leader, who is likely to meet the Druk King and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, would discuss the long-festering Bhutanese refugee issue, among other bilateral matters. He asked the members’ suggestion on the refugee issue.

At today’s meeting of the committee in the parliamentary premises, Nepal was briefed by former Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola who had recently concluded an informal meeting to the Druk Kingdom.

According to an official of the committee, Bastola said that the Bhutanese were seeking a "meaningful" dialogue with Nepal on the repatriation of the refugees. They also wanted, Bastola revealed to the committee members, that the remaining work of the Khudunabari camp in Jhapa district be completed first before moving on with other six camps. The verification at the Khudunabari camp of over 12,000 refugees was completed last year. Since the two countries developed difference in the categorisation of the refugees, a ministerial meeting was to be held to sort out the differences.

However, due to various reasons, the meeting has been delayed by more than four months.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh disclosed that Nepal has already written to Bhutan proposing to immediately sit for the talks.

Meanwhile, the committee expressed its "concern" at the spiralling violence in the Middle East and urged both the Palestinians and the Israelis to sit for negotiation for a peaceful solution. It also asked the two sides to honour the UN Security Council Resolution 1397 that also has the US support. The resolution recognises Palestine state and called upon both the sides to end violent conflict and move towards a peaceful solution.

The parliamentary committee also demanded explanation from the Home and Foreign ministries on the "fake airline ticket scam" by five members, including its deputy director, of the Refugee Co-ordination Unit (RCU), Jhapa.

The RCU Deputy Director Jay Narayan Mandal and four other staff members had claimed the fare for the Gorkha Airlines without undertaking the said travel and had also claimed daily allowance for their visit to Kathmandu, reported a Nepali daily on February 22.

Defence directives on uniform

RSS

KATHMANDU, April 4:The Defense Ministry has, with the intention of preventing any untoward incident, requested one and all to not move around in attire similar to the official uniform and insignia used by security agencies.

In its request the Ministry has said that security forces have been mobilized throughout the country to protect the lives and property of the citizens by controlling terrorist activity and maintaining law and order in the country.

The ministry has from time to time been alerting all against any activity that might necessitate security action and cause a loss to ordinary people, the Ministry said, adding however, individuals working as security guards at some semi-government and non government organizations have been found wearing uniforms similar to those of the Royal Nepalese Army and police.

Likewise, retired armymen and police and their family members have also been found moving around in uniforms similar to those of the army and police, said the Ministry, adding as the terrorists also wear uniforms similar to those of army and police all ordinary people are requested to not wear such uniform.

Arranged or love marriages: The missing factor could be ‘love’?

By Tashi Dolma Thinley

KATHMANDU, April 4:In what is seen as something that was planned in the heavens itself, is also now a burning  issue of conflict in many households throughout Nepal. Marriages, supposedly made in heaven are, in Nepal, something that come-of-age-adults do not have much say in these days.

Arranged, or what we may dare say, pre-negotiated marriages, are still highly prevalent and preferred in the kingdom today. Having little or no say for the surely grownup genders, male or female destined to tie the most sacred of all knots, may work out to be, as proved in some cases, a marriage made in limbo.

Though the trends of arranged marriages are still very high, legal experts in the capital say that the trends of love marriages with the consent of parents are also on the rise.

In a study report prepared by Family Health International, Nepal Adolescents and Young Adults (NAYA) worked with 72 focus groups aged between 14-22 in 11 districts throughout Nepal, found that adolescents and young adults regarded arranged marriages as the norm, and love marriages, rare and unusual.

Arranged marriages were the most common type determined in the focus group communities, constituting as much as 95 percent of all marriages, whereas love marriages represented no more than 5-10 percent.

In their strident beliefs about the respective merits of arranged and love marriage, they found love marriages appealing. In addition to the fun and excitement of falling in love, they observed that couples falling in love and then getting married, had greater communication, understanding and intimacy than their peers in arranged marriages.

Dr Rajendra Bhadra, one of the team members who conducted the NAYA study said that the adolescents were aware of the consequences of love marriages but were especially suggestive and keen on love marriage further arranged by parents.

But focus groups also mentioned that this again is not bereft of conditions such as parental approval of the spouse and the choice of a spouse from the same caste and class.

The respondents have strongly observed the generation gap existent between parents and children in the general attitude towards arranged versus love marriages and the ensuing conflict over whom should select the child’s marriage partner.

A Lawyer at the Supreme Court, Agni Kharel, who practices family law, has dealt with many marriage cases. He is of the view that it is still parents who make decisions regarding the child’s marriage and thus, traditional marriage still seems to rule the roost.

But in his experiences of dealing with problematic marriages, case histories show that many seek solutions that culminate in divorces. He further says that earlier, people who had inter-caste marriages, or when class differences were evident, there use to be problems. But today, in sync with the times, trends seem to be changing.

"These days, especially in urban areas, even when the caste of both parties are the same, newly wed couples, vast in number, come for divorce." This, he says, is mostly prevalent in the urban vicinities of the country, where most of these freshly married young women are as highly educated as their husbands or when the married girls, educated and hell-bent on seeking a career, tend to become self-dependent.

Kharel cites a growing and psychological need for couples to get to "know each other" before one decides to settle down in life, because haste could result in a lifetime of regrets and resultant waste. "The young women of today are highly ambitious and tend to be independent, and this might exactly be what her man or her in-laws will not want, so this is where the problems arise," he said.

In an annual report of the Legal Aid and Consultancy Services (LACC), it states clearly that out of 1,995 clients that have approached this center for help in the year June 2000 to February 2002, there have been 269 cases of divorce. Advocates at the LACC say that women, from the level of manual laborers, middle class and even from the higher sections of society, have been filing for divorce.

According to the report, divorce cases were found to be the highest from the Newar community with 33 per cent of cases reported, 28 per cent among Chettris, 19 per cent in Tibeto-burmese, 11 per cent from among Brahmins and 10 percent found in other communities.

Meanwhile, the NAYA respondents have also come to learn that parents also felt caught up in this cultural transition, actually wanting their children to be happy, but pressured by the prevailing norms dictated by society and are compelled to maintain control over the marriage process.

Dr Shanta Thapaliya, chairperson at LACC says, "The parents make the decision for their child’s welfare but they are often unaware of the truth that they could be overlooking a lot of other consequences that could result from their decisions".

Although the focus groups discussed the allure of love marriages as a wishful choice of marriage, the strength of arranged marriages were recognized.

Educated rural females from a Baitadi focus group 1-2 said that if arranged marriages did not work, girls could always go back to their parents. Some felt that love developed over time was stronger and longer lasting and carried weight in society.

Govt finalises CIP awards list

By Satyendra Timilsina

KATHMANDU, April 4:Inland Revenue Department on Wednesday finalised the list of recipients of the coveted title of Commercially Important Persons (CIP) on the basis of the total tax paid during the last fiscal year.

According to an IRD source, the department selected the list of CIP recipients from several categories that included individual paying highest tax and other top taxpayers from other categories in and outside the Kathmandu Valley.

"The decision to categorise the CIP recipient is taken to encourage clearance of taxes by taxpayers from all sectors," said the source. Had the announcement been made on the basis of top tax revenue payers, none of the private sectors and individuals would have benefited, the source added.

According to the source, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Himalayan Bank are the top three taxpayers from the banking sector, while Surya Tobacco, Nepal Liquor and Hulas Steel Industries are the toppers from the category of industry.

Similarly, Nepal Electricity Authority and Nepal Telecommunications Corporation have paid highest tax from the categories of public enterprises and Nepal Industrial and Commercial Bank has topped the list from institutions outside the Kathmandu valley.

In the personal taxpayer category, Jyoti Lal Khanna, Executive Chairman of Yeti Travels, topped the list paying the highest tax during the last fiscal year.

The IRD has considered the total income tax and Value Added Tax paid during the last fiscal year for calculating the total tax paid. "The taxpayer paying the accumulated tax up to the last year also has been considered," said the source.

The CIP award will be provided on Friday in the premises of the Ministry of Finance. All awardees would be entitled to use the CIP lounge at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), using an identity card issued by the IRD.

The government for the first time had announced the annual award for top ten taxpayers during the budget announcement for the fiscal year 2001/02 on July 9th by Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat.

The idea to award the top contributors to the government treasury was clearly an attempt to increase revenue mobilisation by encouraging potential taxpayers to sincerely clear taxes.

The budgetary announcement to award the taxpayers came along with the reinforced pledges of the minister to increase the income tax base, in addition to bringing more effectiveness in the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT), the main base of resource mobilisation.

Traffic remains closed in west Nepal

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DHANGADI, April 4:Hundreds of passengers have been stranded here for the last two days after the transport entrepreneurs refused to operate their buses in protest against Maoists who set afire two passenger buses in Chuha VDC on Wednesday. There is still a confusion as the Maoists would not allow publics plying on highways.

The Maoist cadres attacked two passenger buses even as their central leadership called off their five-day long nation-wide strike considering the on-going SLC examinations.

"We had sent six buses to the eastern parts of the country from here. But all of them returned from Attariya bazaar, about 17-km north of here, the district headquarters of Kailali, for fear of their lives and property," said one of the employees of the Western Regional Bus Entrepreneurs’ Association requesting anonymity.

Bus drivers said there was a rumour that the rebels had distributed leaflets warning against operating any vehicle. There is an uncertainty in spite of the Maoists calling off their strike. Neither any vehicle entered into Dhangadi from other parts of the country, nor any newspapers from the capital even on Thursday, locals said.

Meanwhile, our reporter in Palpa said that Tansen bazaar remained closed for the second consecutive days and no vehicles were seen plying on the Siddhartha Highway. Only one bus that had left for Tansen from Butwal also returned to its origin soon after a rumour of Maoist retaliation.

FNJ asks PM to release journalist Pandey

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KATHMANDU, April 4:The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has protested against the arrest of Sudarsan Raj Pandey, Managing Editor of the Nepali-language weekly, Utthan, and the daily Terai Today, which is published in Birgunj, 200 kilometers south of here, said a press release issued by the Paris-based organisation.

According to the press release, the RSF General Secretary Robert Menard has said in a letter sent to the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba: "The arrest of the journalist again shows that the armed forces break Nepalese laws with the greatest impunity."

The organisation has also called on the PM to immediately release Pandey and ensure that the law that forbids soldiers from arresting, questioning or detaining individuals be respected.

According to information obtained by the RSF, Pandey was arrested by security forces on March 26 while he was covering a story in Bhaktapur region in the Kathmandu Valley.

"He was being held at the Suryabinayak-based military camp," it said, adding: "As on March 31, his family had not been allowed to see him." His family, the RSF added, has also filed a complaint at the National Human Rights Commission.

Army hands over seized cash and gold

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KATHMANDU, April 4:The Royal Nepal Army on Thursday handed over to the officials of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the Department of Mint (DoM) nearly five million rupees and a little over 32 kg of gold seized from the Maoists during the army’s operations against the rebels throughout the country.

Brigadier-General and Director of Military Operations Pradip Pratap Bam Malla along with other army officials handed over the seized cash of Rs 4,785,979 to the Executive Director of NRB, Ram Bhakta Thapa and 32.314 kg gold and also some silver ornaments to the Executive Director of the DoM Damodar Prasad Sharma.

This is the biggest seizure of cash and gold since the imposition of emergency last November. These seized valuables were reportedly looted by the Maoists previously from banks in Syangja and other districts. The seized items were displayed in Pokhara last Monday.

Talking to the reporters after the hand over, NRB Executive Director Thapa said that the cash would be included in the government’s account in the bank as income and the gold would be melted by the DoM and sold off.

Minister assures food and salt supply

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KATHMANDU, April 4:Minister for Trade Commerce and Supplies Purna Bahadur Khadka told the House of Representative Thursday that the government would ensure adequate supply of food grains and salt to the remote districts after coordinating with security forces.

"We will leave no stone unturned to ensure supply of food grains and salt to the remote districts," Khadka said in reply to queries by lawmakers from Dolpa and Humla, which sought the government’s position on news reports that suggested crippling shortage of salt and food grains in at least 22 inaccessible districts.

"We will coordinate with the security forces and make sure that salt and food grains are transported to these districts on mules," Khadka added.

The 22 remote districts, most of which are also food deficit, are not connected with the national road network and rely mainly on air transport for food grains and salt. Most of the districts belong to the Karnali region, the poorest part of the country, which is also the hotbed of the underground Maoists.