Maoists kill civilians in Kapilvastu

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KATHMANDU, Jan 4:Despite the army mobilisation across the country, Maoist rebels have continued attacking civilians and cadres of other political parties in some districts, reports received here said today. But a large number of Maoist supporters have given in to the government after the army mobilisation.

Our reporter from Kapilvastu said that the Maoist rebels on Thursday killed a local, Mehk Bahdaur K C, 42, from Bankahi village of Chanai VDC-8 with sharp weapons. Local administration said that K C died while undergoing treatment at Lumbini Zonal hospital. The bereaved family members said that the armed rebels fled the scene after attacking him near his house. Security forces have cordoned off the area to round up the culprits.

In yet another incident, the Maoist rebels on Thursday evening attacked two cadres of Nepal Tarun Dal affiliated with the ruling Nepali Congress at Badalpur VDC in Bardiya district. Police said the injured - Ashok Bahadur Tharu and Sit Bahadur Tharu - are undergoing treatment in a local health centre in Rajapur. The rebels also attacked four civilians in other parts of the district.

Meanwhile, a joint search operation of the Royal Nepal Army and the Nepal Police carried out in eastern Rampur area of Palpa district confiscated around 15 quintals of rice reportedly collected by the Maoist rebels, our Palpa-based reporter quoted the army as saying.

The Palpa District Administration Office said that more than 100 Maoists have surrendered to authorities since the declaration of the state of emergency. Chief District Officer, Bhanu Bhakta Pokharel, said nine suspected Maoists, including two teachers, were put behind the bars while one district-level rebel leader was shot dead in an army action a few weeks ago.

In another report from the far-flung district of Taplejung, the number of Maoists deserting their party has reached 120 since the emergency was declared. CDO Krishna Prasad Poudel said that the army and the police also recovered a large pile of arms and ammunition while carrying out search operations in various parts of the district. Our reporter from Dolakha district said that the local administration has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in the district headquarters of Charikot for security reasons for the last four days.

PM Deuba opens Mandala park

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KATHMANDU, Jan 4 :Prime Minsiter Sher Bahadur Deuba today inaugurated the island park with Mandala, stupa and water spouts, developed by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City at the Maitighar crossroads.

The Mandala is believed to be the biggest Mandala ever made in the country.

The colourful Mandala spread on a dome of 4,100 square feet area is designed by artist Batsa Gopal Baidhya according to the tradition of Paubha painting, which was later put to use to the architectural design of the Astra Development Network by engineer Bipin Chitrakar.

"The Mandala represents association or working in group. This Mandala symbolizes the participatory development of the metropolis where the local authorities welcome people’s opinion, their participation and comments on the development works," said PS Joshi, the co-director of the Kathmanmdu Valley Mapping Project.

Making a Mandala, that is also a symbol of unity of different elements, during any auspicious and religious ritual has been a tradition of the Kathmanmdu Valley.

The Mandala has eight auspicious signs around the main circle that is made in the form of a lotus. The signs - Kalash , fish, umbrella, Chamar, flag, conch shell, Pundarika and Sribatsa — are decorated with coloured stones and grains of 10 colours fill the huge iron structure.

Chief of Public Works Department Jyoti Bhushan Pradhan said the island improvement cost around Rs six million, excluding what KMC paid to acquire the land and to demolish them.

It is surrounded by water body that lies in the south of the oval-shaped garden, filled with green grass. A stone stupa on the north and a set of three water spouts are also made in the island.

According to a KMC release issued Suresh Pradhan designed the Mandala in the computer, Bishnu Raj Bhandari of Adrishiya Construction took charge of construction and Ghanashyam Poudel of Radha Structures made the iron structures for the Mandala.

Around 200 labourers and technicians, including students of Fine Arts Campus worked day and night to make the project complete in time, the release states.

People’s representatives from various wards, executive officer, department chiefs and other KMC staff were present at the inaugural programme.

Bindu needs all the help, she is dying

By Seema A Adhikari

KATHMANDU, Jan 4:Bindu Silwal, seven-year-old girl from Jhapa, suffers from thallasemia, a disease that stops the formation of blood in the body. Every month, the small girl is in need of blood transfusion. What she also badly needs is to travel abroad for a bone marrow transplant.

But lack of money is the biggest block.

After the capital’s Kanti Children Hospital diagnosed her ailment three months ago, her peasant parents are having a hard time to foot the medical bills. Bindu’s parents say they don’t have any money to put the dying child in a hospital.

The parents found the dream shattered when laboratory tests in September was confirmed that their child was suffering from last-stage of thallesmia. Since then, she has been undergoing continuous blood transfusion, a costly monthly procedure that has long drained the family resources and forced her parents to look for Samaritans if she is to survive.

"It’s our bad luck that we cannot help our dying child," says her father, Krishna Prasad Silwal, breaking down into tears. "This is the fate that has been forced upon us, we might be atoning for the sins of the past…"

Silwal is now running around to raise money to save the life of his only daughter. "If anybody helps me financially, I can take my child to a big hospital," he adds.

Dr Tirtha Raj Burlakoti, child specialist at Kanti Children Hospital (KCH) said that thallasemia is a hereditary disease that is passed on from generation to generation. "Bone marrow transplant is the only cure for this disease but in Nepal it is not available," said the physician.

And even in the countries where such transplants can be done, it’s an expensive affair. "The only temporary cure for this kind of disease is blood transfusion every month," said Dr. Burlakoti.

KCH records show only a few cases of the disease, which arises from a defect in the body’s haemoglobin chain. In this state, the red blood cells have only a short life span, and the body’s iron content is far too low.

Bindu and her parents were in Kathmandu last month, and when this reporter met them, it was on the seventh birthday of the girl. Put up in a poorly-lit room in Kalimati, birthday wishes did not mark the day. It was prayers for Bindu’s life that mattered.

S Asian child-rights NGOs meet

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KATHMANDU, Jan 4 :South Asian non-government organisations working in the field of child rights held their two-day consultant meeting amidst a function here today.

According to a press release issued here today from Save the Children, the meeting was organised in collaboration with Save the Children Alliance South and Central Asia and UNICEF Regional Office for South and Central Asia.

The main objective of holding the meeting was to offer comments on the SAARC Convections on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and on the Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare. These are the two among the three Convections that are to be signed by all the SAARC member nations during the 11th Summit, states the release.

Around 45 persons including lawyers, activists, resource persons, journalists and represantatives of NGOs and INGOs are taking part in the meeting.

The meeting would produce a platform document with recommendations and commitments of support by the child rights organisations from the region to the governments of the SAARC nations. The document would also propose specific amendments to the two Convections and strategies for implementation of commitments made to the CRC, the people of the SAARC nations and commitments made at Dhaka, Yokohoma and Kathmandu.

Tinkune garden in Bhaktapur complete

BHAKTAPUR, Jan 4 :The works of construction of a garden at Tinkune near Sallaghari of Bhaktapur district in view of the Eleventh SAARC Summit has been completed.

The garden was built by the Bhaktapur municipality at the land used by the District Road Office.

The District Road Office has also completed widening and blacktopping of roads in the district and facelift of the shrines and temples at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square was completed by the Monuments Preservation and Durbar Protection Office under the Department of Archaeology.