Given no option, Bishnumati squatters have nowhere to go

By Shikha Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Feb 15: The residents on Bishnumati river-banks, numbering in the hundreds, are willing to give up their settlement for a link road coming up alongside the river. They welcome the idea of the road, but they don’t want to pay heed to the eviction notice unless the government provides them an alternative settlement.

Most of these residents are squatters.

The eviction notice issued on 19 January wanted these settlers—largely the Newar community—to leave their shelter this past Thursday, but around 163 families living on the river-banks (Ward No. 13), for the past three decades or so, are not willing to budge unless the government compensates them adequately.

"This is not logical at all. We are as much citizens of this country as any others. We are willing to move for the road, but if the government does not provide us alternative land, where shall we go?" asks Sarala Lama, helplessly. The Bishnumati bank at Dhaukhel has been home to Sarala’s family for some three decades.

The proposed Bishnumati Link Road is to span a distance of 2.8 kilometres, linking Teku to Lekhnath Sadan of Sorhakhutte. The plan was mooted as part of a larger scheme to deal with the growing traffic congestion in the Valley, say officials at the Urban Development and Building Construction Department. A decade ago, the road was to be built with the help of funds from the Asian Development Bank, but as that did not materialise, now it is solely a Nepali government venture.

The project engineer for the road, Navaraj Pyakurel, is firm that the settlers have to go. "As the decision on eviction has been finalized, we want no more obstacles to the project." He does not want to view the settlers’ case sympathetically since he says they have always known that they were living on public property.

"How their problem gets solved is none of our concern," says the engineer.

But for the hundreds of settlers, that will sound like an apathetic statement. These settlers at Dhaukhel, Tankeshwar, Khusibel and Dhumakhel of the Bishnumati banks, want the government to either provide them alternative land, or compensate them the money that they had to spent in building their houses.

A couple of NGOs have now come to the help of these families facing eviction. "The government should have provided the squatters a better alternative before they were asked to leave their settlements," says Lajana Manandhar, Director of Lumanti Support Group for Shelter (LSGS), an NGO working to reduce urban poverty. She says since these people have been living there for decades, the government ought to give them a better deal.

Many Newari families began squatting on the Valley river banks in the 1960s, and after the restoration of democracy in 1990, people from all communities and from different parts of the country, began settling on these banks.

Apart from LSGS, the Nepal Settlement Protection Society (NSPS), is also lobbying for the cause of the Bishnumati squatters.Says Deepak Rai, NSPS General Secretary," As the condition of the country is wretched, the rural people have no other option other than to migrate to the city to make ends meet. Then they end up as squatters." Rai also stresses adequate compensation before the settlers are moved out.

At the moment, the sqatter families are going through intense psychological and emotional trauma. The worst affected are the 38 families of Dhaukhel who stand to lose their houses built years ago. And since an emergency is on, they cannot take legal action to question the government decision. All that they can do is to hold meetings amongst themselves and with the authorities concerned to find a way out.

None of them wants to go through what a squatter experienced when she was moved out of her shelter below the Bagmati bridge at Thapathali ahead of the recent SAARC Summit. She died homeless.

Lhosar 2129, the New Year festival observed

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KATHMANDU, Feb 15: Boudhnath was thundering with one word ‘Tashi delek’! today. Sherpa men and women, dressed in their traditional, and colourful costumes ‘bakhhu’ have gathered at Sherpa monastery, Boudha, today, to celebrate their 2129 New Year festival, ‘Lhosar.’

Though New Year is only an event for many people, but for different communities from our Mongol descended clans, this is one of the greatest festivals celebrated by welcoming good days ahead and washing away the ill omens of yesterday.

On the first day of Lhosar, Sherpas stay at home and celebrate with their family members. It is believed that it is not good to go out of the house on the first day.

It’s only from the second day when they start visiting friends and relatives’ houses and greet each other ‘Tashi delek.’

Therefore, to exchange their best wishes with all Sherpa families residing within the Kathmandu valley, thousands of Sherpas today gathered at the Sherpa monastery and exchanged their hearty new year wishes, dancing, drinking and merrymaking the pure Sherpa way

Everyone entering the monastery was welcomed by traditional ghee tea and a few steps ahead, Sherpas were seen happily sprinkling chimar (mixture of wheat flour, sugar and ghee) on their shoulders, which mean to welcome the good days ahead. Chimar is the original Lhosar prasad, so it is taken as the essential part of the festival.

"It is not known when the festival started but it is believed that Sherpas never stopped celebrating their festival," says Nima Tendup Sherpa, Secretary of the Sherpa Association of Nepal. "There is a need for some research so that the exact date and time of the festival can be found out" Sherpa further said.

Bhairab dances were performed depicting the removing of bad spirits in the year gone by. The Chayama dance has a religious symbol, which means to destroy and wash away the ill character of yesterdays and welcoming the good fortune of all. "The pujas and all the dances were not performed for one single person but for all humanity," says Sherpa.

According to the Traditional Sherpa Marriage of Solu (Shorong) a book written by Pemba Tshering Sherpa (Lama) there are altogether 250,000 Sherpas scattered in different countries like Bhutan, India, Tibet, Nepal and other countries.

Also at the programme, a cassette Collection of Sherpa Songs by Dendi Sherpa and a book titled Sherpa Culture, a Research - by Dhawa Sherpa, was released by religious guru Tengpoche Rinpochhe.

Every year the mass New Year celebration is organised by Sherpa Sewa Kendra, and for the festival, different pairs are selected to handle the programme. This year 2129 New Year was co-ordinated by 6 pairs, who collected donations from 1,700 families.

Drivers to help check women trafficking

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KATHMANDU, Feb 15: The drivers and the helpers of buses plying on long routes promised to support the campaign against women trafficking at an awareness seminar jointly organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Nepal Transport Drivers’ Helpers’ Support Committee and the Helpline here today.

"We will not let any one traffic our sisters through buses," remarked the participants of the seminar. They said, " We are now aware of our duty towards our society."

The committee members also informed the organisers of the seminar that they had already decided to form a committee to check the women trafficking.

Minister without portfolio Hrisikesh Gautam, after the inaugural of the two-day- seminar said that he was impressed by the thought of the drivers and helpers. "I hope women trafficking will stop soon if commitment towards the problem are translated into action," said Gautam at the programme.

Naina T Reddy, Country Director of ILO, assured support from her organisation in the campaign against women trafficking. "Every individual of the society should be aware of AIDS, women trafficking and child labour," she said.

"The law against women traffickers is soft and the programmes intended to stop it are centralised to the cities," said TP Gautam, the Secretary of Federation of Nepal Democratic Trade Union. Speaking at the programme, he also expressed his hope that the campaign by the drivers and helpers will prove effective.

Inspector Geeta Uprety of Women Cell of Police Headquarters and President of the Helpline, Archana Sharma informed the participants about their role in the campaign.

Workshop on information literacy

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KATHMANDU Feb 15: "The information and communication technology has opened up new vista and opportunities for a landlocked and mountainous country like Nepal" , said Minister of State for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur Balayar.

He was speaking at a workshop on informatin literacy held in the capital on Thursday, which was organised by the Central Library of the Tribhuvan University and the American Study Center of Kathmandu.

‘’The government has given high priority to the development of Information and Communication Technolgy (ICT ) and has come up with necessary policy instrument for fostering ICT in various sectors like educatin, health,rural development, agriculture and industry and so on," State Minister Balayar said.

Speaking at the programme, Prof. Mana Prasad Wagle emphasised the need of information literacy in the Nepalese context.

"Identification of informatin and its right choice to solve our problem is information literacy’’ said educationist Wagle.

Similarly ,Robert C.Kerr, the Director of American Study Center stressed the usefulness of ICT to the students of public schools in Nepal..

"The Central Library of TU has come on playing a vital role by providing necessory information to the students", Director Kerr said.

Chairman of the programme and member secretary of University Grants Commission, Hom Nath Dhakal, said that the wise selectin of necessary information out of a mass of information is information literacy.

He said ICT brought the explosion of knowledge in the world.

On the second session of th seminar, educationist Prof. Mana Prasad Wagle presented a paper on, ‘’ Role of Information Literacy in Educational Development. On the occasion, journalist Keshab Prasad Paudel presented a paper on ‘’Media Literacy in Nepal"

Locals gherao minister for state in Birgunj

By Gopal Devkota

BIRGUNJ, Feb 15: Locals here today came up to gherao a state minister over a cabinet decision firing a doctor currently serving at Narayani Sub-Regional hospital. They were enraged over the news
that the cabinet decision yesterday fired Ram Awatar Khetan, the Medical Superintendent at the hospital.

The Minister for Health, Sharad Singh Bhandari urged the decision to be taken alleging Khetan of leaking official information , as stated by a highly placed source. The allegation on Khetan is made over a news carried by Kantipur daily on the last week of December. The news item was about the decision of the minister calling back seven doctors on deputation immediately after their transfer outside the valley.

While contacted Khetan said he heard the rumor but declined to make further comments on it.

Soon after the news was published, locals here gheraod Narayan Prasad Saud, the State Minister for Health and Sports. The furious locals flayed the decision of the government, who believe Khetan to be an efficient personality in his field. They also pressurised the State Minister to immediately cancel the decision.

The locals’ fury was fueled up on the comment of the Minister Bhandari who dismissed the issue on the hot telephone talk, asking the state minister to remain silent on the matter.

Hiralal Kedia, the chairman of Hospital Development Committee said that the hospital deserved the service of the person like Khetan and he should not be ousted from his post.

Khetan who was employed here seven months ago still has four months tenure.

Ditched by tourists, Dhulikhel is no more the same

By Khagendra Bhandari

KAVRE, Feb 15: Valentine’s Days used to be special for Dhulikhel. The Day used to see hundreds of couples gathering at this scenic picnic spot to have a merry time, accompanied by songs and dances of local artists. But not this time.

With not many tourists around, neither the foreign nor the domestic kind, the smile on Dhulikhel people’s faces seems to be fading even as they see that the white tops of Langtang, Gaurishankar, Furbaling and Chyachu mountains are continuing to glisten. For the locals, livelihood depends so much on tourism, at least till late.

The half-a-dozen resorts in the place, which even till last year, were doing brisk business, are now faced with closure. Says Arun Shrestha, Proprietor of Dhulikhel Mountain Resort: "Tourists from many parts of the world used to stay here for more than a week taking in the beautiful scenery and the picturesque rural life. But this year, they are not around. Once our resort used to be packed to capacity all through the year." In a good season, over 1000 visitors used to stay in the resorts.

Now, paying their employees is the most difficult job for the resort and hotel employers. "Some of the resorts may decide to reduce the number of employees, or just close down business," says Bhim Shrestha, Supervisor of Himalaya Shangrila resort.

The hoteliers are also bothered about paying off their debts. "We are unable to make the kind of money which will help us pay the interest on the bank loans," says Prem Kantha Shrestha of Dhulikhel Lodge Resort. "If the government fails to attract more tourists into the country as well as in guaranteeing security outside the valley, the developing tourist market of Dhulikhel will die soon."

And as often happens in such cases, the hoteliers are making a special drive to woo the domestic tourists. "If we can get more Nepali tourists, at least we would not sink in losses," says Shrestha.

But to get more domestic tourists, the resorts will have to slash prices, says Pawan
Karna, Manager of Meerabell Resort.

The resort owners are also asking the government to declare some of the nearby villages as "tourist sites". "That will serve as an advertisement to attract a few more people here," says Shrestha.

In the good years of tourism, the locals used to be well-off working in capacities such as tourist guides and curio sellers, as also being part of musical troupes. Now many young men can be seen wandering aimlessly around Dhulikhel, while a few of them have left for jobs abroad. "Some of the tourist guides are now working as daily-wage labourers," says a guide.

The cultural troupes used to earn more than 100,000 rupees each year, performing in different resorts. "More than a dozen cultural groups are here, all heavily dependent on the tourists," says Manager Karna.

But now, without the audience, these are hard days for the troupes, and Dhulikhel itself.

Ministry probes compensation conflict

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CHAUTARA, Feb 15: The Ministry of Home has started probing into the compensation conflicts of the land acquired by the government for the Melamchi Drinking Water Project, according to the officials.

The landlords refused to accept the compensation determined by the government and appealed the ministry to review two weeks ago.

The ministry has asked for the copies of decisions on compensation determination and the written copy of the process and standards used in it, according to an official at the Legal Department of the ministry.

The project is fully prepared to start the compensation distribution from Monday, according to an officer of the project. The compensation will be distributed through the District Administrative Office of Sindhupalchok.

The project decided to pay at least 250,000 rupees for each ropani of land in the market area. The locals are denying it saying it’s too low.

The construction of the project will not begin until the process of acquiring land is not completed, according to the terms put forward by the donor agencies.

Unlawful timber sale

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SINDHULI, Feb 15: More than 50,000 cubic feet of surplus timber is being sold to wood traders against the law of the land.

Officers of the Community Forest Consumer Committee (CFCC), District Forest Officers (DFO) and timber businessmen are involved in such illegal activities, sources said.

The DFO has legally handed the forest to 5 CFCCs and they are given the right to sell 10 thousand cubic feet timber. And the DFO usually gets commission Rs 1 hundred thousand per thousand cubic feet timber.

DFO talking to The Kathmandu Post alleged that DFO has himself directed and exerted pressure to the CFCCs to sell the timber to wood traders. The representatives of the Forest Consumer Federation (FCF) after knowing the right given to 5 Committee went to inquire in DFO but they denied to provide the list of such committees.

According to the information provided by the reliable source, Mainawati Community Forest, Besare Community Forest and Forest Community are some of those which were given the right to sell timber.

The consumers further added, CFCC had deposited total 1.4 millions in its bank account but now it has only a cash of 2 hundred thousand.