Decentralization monitoring body meets

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KATHMANDU, Jan 8 :The third meeting of the High Level Decentralization Monitoring Committee (HLDMC) today decided that its working committee will prepare bi-monthly progress report on decentralization regularly and will submit it to the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to a press release issued here today from the Ministry of Local Development, the meeting was held by Decentralization Implementation and Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deauba at Singh Durbar.

The meeting also decided that a work schedule concerning the works to be handed over by the ministries to the local bodies in accordance with the Local Self-Governance Act-2055 B.S. be prepared within the current fiscal year and implemented from the forthcoming fiscal year.

Also the meeting decided to deposit the working charts of responsibility to the related ministries of the local bodies this year and start working from the coming fiscal year, states the release.

While giving the working chart from central level to other local bodies (VDC, Municipality, DDC) the budget, officials’ working responsibility and the capacity development of local bodies should be clearly mentioned. The meeting has also decided to implement primary education, health, postal and agriculture and the field related to animal health within this fiscal year.

Addressing the function, Prime Minister Deauba directed the units concerned to carry out the responsibilities being given to them within the fixed time, and to hand over education, health, agricultural extension (including livestock services), postal and infrastructure development works to the local bodies within the current fiscal year, states the release.

Vice-chairman of the Decentralisation Implementation and Monitoring Committee and Minister for Home and Local Development Khum Bahadur Khadka said that His Majesty’s Government is working actively to implement all the commitments being made for decentralisation.

Khadka said that the concerned ministry should take steps to amend the laws, which are contradictory with the Local Self-Governance Act in order to make the local bodies more efficient and effective, the release states.

Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that the local bodies have been given the responsibilities of primary education, primary health and agriculture from this year.

In the meeting ministers, parliamentarians, members of National Planning Commission, secretaries of HMG and the local body officials were present, the release adds.

Postal services remain untouched by new info-tech

By Krishna Adhikari & Surya Chandra Basnet

RSS

KATHMANDU, Jan 8: Nepal has witnessed tremendous advancement in the field of information technology with the introduction of E-mail and Internet services in the recent days. Meena Rana, a teacher of the International Language Training Centre in Lazimpat still dislikes using such communication facilities.

She, indeed, possesses E-mail and Internet services at her house but prefers postal services to such an on-line communication system.

She likes writing letters not only to her friends within the country but also her trainees living abroad and dropping them at the postal service offices.

She is of the opinion that modern facilities, of course, are the medium of communication one can disseminate messages within a few seconds to any place in the world but there lies a risk of the disclosure of secrecy. Moreover, this is also costlier.

She also negates it as a drive for developing ill-will among adolescents. An array of websites from which one can easily trace indecent articles and pictures has become a medium for chat with his or her beloved one.

Jayaram Adhikari, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Population and Environment, corroborating the same views, adds that he is still stacked to postal services as the electronic media, in his viewpoint, are not suitable and reliable for forwarding original certificates or gifts and materials to some body outside the country.

Postal service is quite popular among the general people because of its accessibility to all segments of the society and that is why its popularity has not nose-dived yet.

Anyway, its attraction to the greater chunk of the people of any society or country across the globe has not so far diminished. But such facilities are found widely used by affluent families in urban areas in particular and government offices and private companies.

One can be relieved by writing two lines in a sheet of paper but the satisfaction can hardly be gained through the conversation on such on-line services for hours. Such letters are also a symbol of cordiality and friendship. One can even feel the presence of the writer who sent the letter in his or her name.

Whatever technology has emerged in the field of communication all over the world with the passage of time and the sea change taking place in this field, it has not jeopardized postal services anywhere in the world. The trust and attraction it has been gaining for a long time back has not declined yet.

According to the Kathmandu Postal Service Office, Sundhara, about 80,000 ordinary mails and 10,000 registered letters and documents are being dispatched within and outside the country every day.

About 40,000 mails are sent abroad whereas about 30,000 mails are received every day.

His Majesty’s Government receives Rs. 10 million in a month through postal services. A total of Rs. 72,198,390 was realised as revenue in FY 2054/55, Rs. 78,177,767 in FY 2055/56, Rs. 97,953,786 in FY 2056/57 and Rs. 110,659,790 in FY 2057/58.

In the first four months of the current fiscal year, over Rs. 40 million has been realised.

At present, Nepal directly operates postal services with 36 countries across the world and receives letters and documents from these countries regularly. Letters have been dispatched to a larger extent to the countries where people have gone for overseas employment or study.

Nepal’s correspondence with India, Malaysia, USA, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the UK, France, Australia, Thailand as well as Arabian countries are larger compared to the rest of the countries in the world.

The ups and downs in the tourist arrivals is another contributing factor in the fluctuation of mails to and from outside the country.

Due to a sharp drop in the tourist arrivals in the last few months, the mails and parcel services from here to abroad have also declined significantly.

Speed postal services have been started in 43 municipalities and the district headquarters across the country in 2046 BS with a view to delivering prompt postal services and making such services much reliable.

As speed postal services, rendered in 26 countries in 1995, are gaining popularity day after day, its expansion in the remaining parts of the country as well as some additional countries are under consideration, chief of the Genral Post Office Sridhar Gautam says.

The government received revenue of Rs. 80,000 in 1996, Rs 2.5 million in 1997, Rs. 6.1 million in 1998, Rs. 9.7 million in 1999 and 13.3 million in 2000 through speed postal service.

Rajan Khanal, senior postal service officer at the General Post Office, Sundhara is of the opinion that the importance of postal services cannot be undervalued with the new technology taking place in the information technology sector coupled by the growth of literate people across the world.

Women empowerment for development stressed

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KATHMANDU, Jan 8:Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Rajendra Kharel has appealed to the Finance Ministry to manage special budget for women empowerment.

Kharel was speaking at the Asia Pacific Regional Meet on Gender Dimensions of Finance for Development organised by Sancharika Samuha and South Asia Watch here yesterday.

Addressing the function State Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Sushila Swar said the government would separate the budget for gender equality and macro-economic policy by analysing the international market.

Bandana Rana, Chairperson of Sancharika Samuha said policies and programmes have to be made for women empowerment. Dr. Bimal Koirala, Finance Secretary and Chandani Joshi, Regional Director of UNIFEM South Asia focused on women participation for development.

More than thirty participants from Asia Pacific Region have participated in the two-day meeting.

Indian ‘Pravasi’ day today

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KATHMANDU, Jan 8:The Government of India has declared January 9 to be observed as "Pravasi Bhartiya Divas" to recognize the Indian connection of Indians living abroad and their achievements and goodwill towards India, states an Indian embassy press release issued here today.

The release states, "It was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi,who was also Pravasi Bhartiya for over two decades, finally returned to India to become one of the greatest bridge-builders in history."

The celebration of ‘Pravasi Bhartiya Divas’ is aimed at inculcating a sense of pride among the Indian nationals living abroad, and particularly, in their children about their common civilization and cultural heritage.

For the equal right to give and take bribes

Arjun Bhandari

I now regret not joining the police service. My wallet would have always been thick had I been a traffic cop manning the now-smooth Kathmandu roads. I think a traffic policeman certainly earns much more by way of bribes than what he gets as his monthly salary. The money that the drivers give them go into their own blue pockets, and not to the national exchequer.

Just a day after the SAARC summit, I was one of those hapless commuters in a city bus. Having already walked half the distance to my office, I jumped into a crowded bus to Bhaktapur. When the bus arrived at Babarmahal, a traffic policeman blew his whistle and told the driver to stop, which he promptly did.

Having got the bus to the roadside, the cop—I could not read the name on his identity card—started yelling at the driver. "How long have you been driving?" he barked. But the driver kept his patience and politeness and said, "Over the last seven years."

"Give your driving licence and blue book to me, and move to the baggi khana (Valley Traffic Office in front of Singha Durbar)," ordered the policeman. The driver’s crime was that he did not stop the bus at the stop because other buses were there at the place. The driver tried giving his reason but the cop was in no mood to listen, and pocketed the licence and blue book. The cop also asked the passengers to get off the bus.

I gathered my courage and politely suggested to the policeman that he could slap a fine and leave the bus. The cop paid no attention whatsoever, and told the driver to hand in the key. By the time the driver had given the key to the policeman, another cop appeared on the scene and insisted that the bus be taken to the baggi khana.

The passengers in the meantime were all patiently waiting hoping that the problem would soon be sorted out. When the driver got off the bus with his key, another driver friend of his came and sat behind the wheel. He got hold of the steering and said, "These guys are looking for bribes, just give them some money then you don’t have to go to the baggi khana." That was some healthy advice!.

Now we waited for some more time till our driver came back after dealing with the cops. He suddenly seemed relaxed, and got behind the wheel again. "What happened?" someone queried. "I promised to give him Rs. 200 after I return from Bhaktapur," he said. This, for me, was sheer bribery and not a fine at all.

I have no driving licence, and I am not too familiar with driving rules. But I knew that our driver had committed only a minor mistake, and he should have been fined and a receipt given under the due rules.

On the way to my office, I thought the policeman might have been empty of wallet because the days just before and during SAARC, many vehicles were off the road. So here was a golden opportunity to get back to old and bad habits again.

The most daring robberies are those committed in the daylight. By the same yardstick, the cop was no worse than a thief, only that the thieves who steal in the daylight are much more skillful than that rude and dishonest cop.

In these post-Summit days, there has been a lot of talk about poverty alleviation what with it being part of the Kathmandu Declaration. In this part of the world, many alleviate their poverty by taking bribes. Bribery is a part and parcel (!) of our economy, and sustains many a life.

And bribery, if you thought so, is not merely restricted to the class that the traffic cop represents. It is a rampant practice even among the elite, although it might not always fit the dictionary definition of bribery. Our elite climb further steps in the ladder of prosperity by misusing the tax-payers’ money and the loan assistance from international monetary agencies.

One of our distinguished prime ministers once while holding the post had publicly said that small-scale bribery was not a crime at all. If that’s so, I humbly propose that all the citizens of this country be granted an equal opportunity to give and take bribes, irrespective of their creed, caste, sex, religion or region. I hope the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad next year will pass this right.

Dang Kamaiyas not yet rehabilitated

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Dang, Jan 8: About 175 Kamaiya families declared free by the government 18 months ago, have been stranded in this district as their rehabilitation programme has still not taken off well. Some of these former bonded labourers have even returned to their former owners.

Despite having the land ownership certificate, some of the Kamaiyas have no use for it because the government has not yet delivered the promised loans and timber.

While contacted, the officer at the District Land Reform Office, Bharat 0Kumar Budhathoki, said the loans have not been released by the government authority concerned in Kathmandu. He said there is some confusion regarding distributing timber since the stock is low and can’t meet the demand of the Kamaiyas.

Among the 40 families living in their government-given land of about 3-4 katthas each in Lalmantya VDC-4, some 12 have returned to their former landowners. These families have returned because basic facilities were not made available to them.

The much touted Work for Food Programme for the Kamaiyas, although active in the district, has also not lessened their burden. The district is also supposed to benefit from a future poverty alleviation project, but not many are hopeful that it will be carried out honestly.

Meanwhile our reporter from Banke district said that above 1000 squatters although holding landownership certificates have been deprived of their lands for a long time. For the past 7 years, these people have been approaching the offices of Land Revenue and Land Reform, but to no avail. A further blow was dealt last year when the government dissolved the Commission to look into the matter of land distribution for these squatter families.

Woman sold by husband dying of AIDS

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CHAUTARA, Jan 8:Taradevi, who was sold three years ago by her own husband for prostitution, is now dying of AIDS in a social institution in Kathmandu. She has also filed cases against six people for dragging her into the prostitution racket.

While the district court had ordered the imprisonment of four of the culprits—Chopanath Nepal, Yuwa Kumari Nepal, Kapilmani Ghorasaini and Kanchhi Ghorasaini—for one-and-half years, the Patan Appellate Court had left the four on bail. Two other accused have been absconding.

Taradevi’s husband, Chopanath Nepal of Kubende VDC-7, had sold her for Rs 50,000 to an unidentified person near a supermarket in Kathmandu three years ago. She says she accepted the man as her husband and had dreams of living a comfortable life in the capital city.

For two years, her husband had kept her in the city, after which she found herself at a brothel in India. When she was diagnosed with AIDS, she was sent back to Nepal. Back in her home country, she says no one was willing to help her, not even the capital’s well-known rehabilitation home for sex workers, Maitighar. Finally a social institution took her in.

‘Dead boy had no Maoist links’

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PARBAT, Jan 8 :A mentally-retarded 14-year-old boy who was shot dead in an encounter with the security forces at Sankhoriya Das area of Katuwa Chaupari VDC-2 in Myagdi district on Saturday had no connection with the Maoist rebels, family sources said here today.

The security sources had claimed that the boy, identified as Dalle Nepali from Pipaltari VDC-6 of Myagdi, was a Maoist rebel and was killed when he tried to escape from the cordon and search operation of the security forces in the area. The sources further said the boy was among the rebels who had ambushed and hurled socket bombs at the security forces on the way to Katuwa Chaupari VDC.

Chhabilal Nepali, father of the boy told The Kathmandu Post that he had taken his cleft-lipped son for treatment to Beni Bazaar, the district headquarters of Myagdi, where a health camp had been organised on Saturday. But the treatment did not take place because by the time they reached the place, the camp was already closed.

"I left my son at my relative’s home in Katuwa Chaupari VDC and returned home," said the bereaved father. "I only heard about the tragic incident next morning." The last rites of the deceased was performed on Tuesday.

Indian police take journo into custody

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BHADRAPUR, Jan 8:A journalist currently working for the Naya Sadak Daily has been taken into custody by the Indian police in Siliguri today.

According to our Jhapa correspondent, Kamal Mishra alias Ashok Sharma was arrested immediately after being discharged from the Paramount hospital, Siliguri. It is learnt that he was being treated in the hospital after he met with an accident.

A team headed by the central member of Nepal Journalists’ Federation, Madan Dhakal went to police station and demanded his release immediately after arrest of Mishra. However, the reson for his arrest is not yet known.

It is learnt that Mishra is also affiliated to Human Rights Organisation, Jhapa and is district representative of Informal Sector Service (INSEC).

Elephant festival in Kalaiya

RSS

KALAIYA, Jan 8:The week-long elephant festival organised on the occasion of Nepal Destination Year 2002 concluded here on Monday.

Minister of State for Education and Sports Narayan Prasad Saud was the chief guest at the concluding function of the festival organised at Hattisar of Amlekhgunj VDC of Bara district by Parsa Wildlife Reserve and District Development Committee, Parsa.

Speaking on the occasion, Saud said everyone should become united for development works of the nation. Protection of wildlife could uplift the living standard of the people in the region.

DDC chairman Janardan Singh Chettri disclosed that the DDC has been preparing various projects and planning for tourism infrastructure development of the district.

On the occasion Minister of State Saud gave away letters of appreciation to those contributing to the successful competition of the elephant festival.

It has been learnt that some 500 domestic tourists visited the festival organised with the objective of generating public awareness as well as developing the reserve into a tourist destination.

Locals denied entry to Chitwan Park

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CHITWAN, Jan 8:Residents in the buffer area of the Royal Chitwan National Park this time have been deprived of their quota of forest products since the Park won’t be open to the public. Security reasons are behind this decision, says an official at the Department of National Parks and Wild Life.

The National Park used to remain open to the stakeholders of the buffer zone for a week annually to collect forest products. As many as 70,000 locals would pour into the Park on the open days.

"Locals entering the park en masse with domestic weapons are a threat to security, so there is very little chance of the Park being opened this year at this time. However, it may be opened later," said the official.

The President of the Buffer Zone Development Council, Keshav Devkota, says the Park should be opened on a rotational basis for the benefit of the locals.

The National Park had been collecting revenue to the tune of Rs 50,0000-60,0000 lakh every year from permit fees to the Park.