Maoists to propose talks date, venue in two days

POST REPORT

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : The Maoists informed the government today that they would propose the date and venue for the third round of talks within two days. They also made it clear that they would not stick to technical issues about the army’s movement but would enter directly into the proposed political agenda.

The chief Maoist negotiator, Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, during a telephonic talks with Padma Ratna Tuladhar, one of the facilitators of the talks today promised that the Maoists would propose the place and date for the next talks within the next two days.

Tuladhar quoted Bhattarai as saying : "We don’t stick to the contentious issues revolving around the army movement but want to discuss the political agenda."

Tuladhar immediately conveyed Dr. Bhattarai’s message to the government.

According to a source close to the Maoists, the rebels are going to propose a venue outside the Kathmandu Valley. However,Tuladhar said the government wants the venue to be within the valley.

He also said that he drew Dr Bhattarai’s attention to the repeated violations of the code of conduct by the Maoists in recent days, especially the planned attacks on security personnel.

Dr. Bhattarai is reported to have said that there were some breaches of the code of conducts from both sides. "But it was an accident where the vehicle of the security forces was caught in an ambush planted by the Maoist side for self defence," Dr Bhattarai is reported to have said.

Minister Kamal Thapa also informed today that he has complained about the violations of code of conduct to the Maoist leader K B Mahara during his telephonic talks Wednesday.

Four security personnel, including a civilian driver, were killed Tuesday when the vehicle in which the security personnel were travelling hit a landmine laid on the road by Maoists in Panchthar.

Reports from Panchthar said that Maoist rebels have warned the government forces, not to patrol beyond the five-kilometre boundary from the barrack. Mausam, the district secretary of the Maoist outfit, told The Kathmandu Post over telephone that the security vehicle was ambushed for "violating the agreement of limiting the army’s movement within five kilometres from their barracks.

"If they continue with patrolling the areas under our control in the pretext of holding health camps and transportation, we will repeat such actions," he warned.

Our reporter from Sindhuli said a project vehicle was damaged in a landmine blast reportedly planted by Maoists at Karkare of Kamalamai Municipality, causing injuries to Ram Dayal Yadav, chief of the Soil Conservation Office, and his driver Shiva Sapkota.

Notorious rhino poacher nabbed

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NARAYANGARH, Aug 7 : Security personnel stationed at Adhabhar check-post in Bara have arrested the most wanted man who is accused of poaching 17 one-horned Asiatic rhinos in the past five years.

The man has been identified as Bam Bahadur Praja, 27, of Siddhi Village Development Committee in Chitwan. District Forest Officer Braja Kishor Yadav told The Kathmandu Post that the accused was arrested on a tip-off.

Police officials informed that Praja has admitted his crime in custody. He has confessed to having poached at least 17 rhinos over the last five years. Purportedly, he used to receive Rs 85,000 for shooting a rhino.

"I always used a home-made gun to shoot the rhinos," police officials quoted him as saying. Police suspect that there is a big racket of poachers behind him.

Nepal is home to the endangered one-horned rhino, the population of which is around 630. Nepal launched a strict conservation programme in 1972, after the animal’s population fell drastically in late 1960s.

Rs 1.63 b German aid

RSS

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has agreed to provide a grant assistance of Euro 19,146,794 (equivalent to about Rs. 1.6347 billion) to His Majesty’s Government of Nepal for the implementation of six different projects and programmes.

The grant assistance will be used to support Renewable Energy, Bio-gas Programme Bhaktapur, Bio-gas Support Programme Phase 111, Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Project, rural infrastructure, integrated food security and study and expert fund, according to the Finance Ministry.

Out of Euro 19,146,794, Euro 6,135,502 will be used for the support to renewable energy, Euro 511,292 for the bio-gas programme Bhaktapur, Euro 7,500,000 for the bio-gas support programme phase 111, Euro 2,500,000 for the Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Project, among others.

More preventive steps vital to avert disasters

By Suman Malla

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : After painstaking reinforcement works at Krishnabhir, road officials were convinced that they had overcome the problem-prone section on the Prithvi Highway.

But the unsuspecting road officials had no hint of what deadly hazards that lied lurking: the monsoon deluge that continued for over 48 hours triggered several massive floods and landslides on July 30, badly damaging country’s major highways.

The highways may have opened, but people are still forced to wage a persistent battle with floods and landslides. And because of repetition each year, this battle has come to look more permanent than provisional.

The latest casualties have already pushed this year’s flood- and landslide-related death toll to more than 140 based on recent official statistics from the Ministry of Home. While 51 people are missing, 1,551 houses have been destroyed affecting as many as 3,735 families in 50 districts, causing about Rs 100 million in economic loss.

In the wake of these annual disasters, early warnings and proper forecasting on floods and landslides have become the prime necessity to mitigate the loss of life and property.

That it possible, experts say, if Nepal adopts both professional geological hazard monitoring and flood forecasting technologies together with public reporting networks.

"The destruction can be reduced if preventive measures are taken in time," said Mandira Shrestha, a water resources specialist at ICIMOD.

"But this requires public awareness and effective government policies. Expert studies are of limited value unless public officials and the public are educated about risks and able to understand and respond to warning," she added.

The Department of Water-induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP) has shouldered that responsibility. After building a model site of ‘hazard mapping’ at Bhagara Village, Nawalparasi earlier this year, the department has recently announced expansion of hazard mapping of disaster-prone areas in the country.

"It will assist local people identify potential hazards and select appropriate strategies to mitigate hazard-related losses," said Badri Govinda Rajkarnikar, a senior divisional engineer at the department.

The project is being carried out with the technical support of the JICA experts of the Disaster Mitigation Support Programme Project (DMSP).

There are apprehensions, though. While there are complains that only one district has been selected for this year, the department is walking on tightrope owing to budget restriction. The government has allocated only Rs 582.8m to the department, Rajkarnikar said. "Out of DMSP’s share of Rs 121.5m, only Rs 2.5m has been set aside for hazard mapping."

Inter-caste union fuels family wranglings over property

BY DAMARU LAL BHANDARI

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : Here’s how inter-caste union of hearts does not exactly mean living happily ever after. Blues are compounded by feuds over family property, with siblings talking hard once they grow up. Result is litigation.

This is what Surendra Man Shakya, a trained hotel manager, is learning the hard way. Raised with six brothers in an affluent family with land holdings in Kathmandu and Jawalakhel, Surendra’s life turned for the worse when he married outside his caste 25 years ago. At least, that is what he thinks.

As in numerous cases in Nepal, the heart of the dispute lies in divvying up the family property. According to laws, sons are entitled to equal share of parental property. Since father owned seven ropanis of land, Surendra was entitled to 11 annas as his share. Back in 1997, just before he married a Brahmin girl, the father duly divided the property and transferred ownership of 11 annas to Surendra. He even got the deeds to his share of property.

But as fate would have it, family relationship deteriorated after the son married over the objections of the father. Surendra and his wife Asmita believe that it is largely because of their inter-caste union. "I feel victimised under the circumstances," says Asmita.

Rising dispute over the years finally led to a private agreement between Surendra and his extended family. In 1998, he struck an agreement with his father and brothers which reads, in part, "having given up the claim over his plot of land in Tej Bhawan, Surendra will be entitled to one/eighth of the proceeds from rented properties in Tej Bhawan and Jawalakhel after the death of the father."

Witnesses include brother-in-law the late Inspector General of Armed Police (IGP-APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha and his late wife Nudup, both of whom were shot dead by rebels early this year. All seven brothers and father, who is now 86, signed the paper.

The issue now is whether Surendra has given up the rights to the 11 annas of land he has owned since 1977. He says ‘no’. But his brothers and father say ‘yes’. They have not let Surendra collect share of the rent that comes in from renting the property out. Result: litigation. "There is nothing explicit in that agreement," an exasperated Surendra told The Kathmandu Post. "What this means is I can’t lay claim on additional land over and above my own share."

But his younger brother Mahendra, who filed a lawsuit against Surendra to enforce the private agreement, thinks otherwise. "He has the possession paper but there is also an agreement in which he has given up the claim over the land in 1998," Mahendra said, showing the privately reached agreement. Mahendra also denied the bad blood had anything to do with his brother’s inter-caste marriage. "Our father himself married outside the community twice, as has another brother."

But Mahendra conceded that the father was not at all happy when Surendra "married his Brahmin girl."

Interestingly, another brother Rajendra, too, had married outside the community. But luckily for him he managed to strike a deal when the family without any trouble.

Meanwhile, it appears that Surendra will have to be content with one/eighth of the proceeds from the 40-room rented property only after the death of the father. He may, however, still gain the possession of his share of land if the court of law declares the private agreement reached as null and void.

Swoyambhu fire probe deferred by a day

POST REPORT

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : The probe committee on Pratappur Temple fire today could not begin its work because a mandatory chhayama puja was not performed to appease the tantric god. Without performing the puja no one can enter the temple.

"It is traditionally mandatory to perform chhayama puja before entering any tantric temple so we could not begin our work today" Chandra Prasad Tripathi, a member of the probe committee, told The Kathmandu Post. A thakali priest will perform the puja tomorrow.

The 350-year old historic temple built by Malla King Pratap Malla was gutted on Tuesday.

Despite frantic efforts, the fire fighters could completely extinguish fire only today. Much about the inside of the temple remains a mystry since it was restricted for public visit. Swoyambhunath Temple area is one of the world heritage sites in Kathmandu.

Reinstate the House to get through current standoff: NC leaders

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : Former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala today claimed that the ongoing peace dialogue between the government and the Maoists would not make headway unless the House of Representative (HOR)was reinstated.

He said whether the Maoists call the political parties for round table talks or the government request them for cooperation with the dialogue process, both were impossible in absence of the HOR.

Addressing a gathering of party’s Lalitpur district cadres at Jawalakhel on Thursday, Koirala said, "The parliament itself is the round-table conference as demanded by the Maoists as well as automatic involvement of the political parties as sought by the government."

Ram Sharan Mahat, Central Working Committee (CWC) member of the Party alleged the Maoists and the government that both the parties were preparing for war in the pretext of peace talks.

Stating that the prolonged dialogue has provided opportunities to rebels to accumulate arms, Mahat said, "There is no meaning of dialogue if the Maoists are given concessions to attack activists of other parties and let the regressive move continue for long," he said.

Former speaker Ram Chandra Poudel opined that the talks between rebels and the "illegitimate" government would bear no fruits. He also urged the party leadership not to join hands with the Maoists in any pretext unless Maoists leadership renounces violence publicly.

Narahari Acharya, another CWC member said that the political parties have already intervened on the talks by providing the government and the Maoists with their 18-points of forward-looking agenda.

Govt cannot resolve Maoist problem,reiterates Deuba

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : President of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) Sher Bahadur Deuba today reiterated his demand to reinstate his government that was dissolved through a royal proclamation on October 4.

Speaking at a programme organised by Nepal Students’ Union, a student wing of the party, Deuba said, "Since the dissolution of my government by the king prompted regression, the reinstatement of the same can only bring back the constitutional process."

Deuba also held Girija Prasad Koirala, president of the Nepali Congress and the Maoists equally responsible for the current political situation. "Koirala never cooperated with me and my government whereas the Maoists never understood the gravity of the situation," Deuba said.

Before the formation of the NC (Democratic), Deuba was a central member of the Nepali Congress led by Koirala. Deuba also asserted that he would not have dissolved the government if Koirala had cooperated with him. He claimed that the government in no way would resolve the Maoists’ problem. "How the king, who is not even ready to comply with our one-point agenda, will agree with the 18 and 40-point agenda of the political parties and the Maoists respectively," Deuba said. He urged the Maoists to lay down their arms and come to the negotiating table.

Airlines let off the hook, will continue to fly

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : A day before its deadline to domestic airlines expired, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and airlines operators reached an agreement under which the latter will be allowed to continue to operate the flights after they gave assurances that they would update their aircraft with mandatory safety equipment.

However, two Twin Otter planes of Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) and Sita Air’s aircraft will be grounded, CAAN officials said today.

Earlier, four of the RNAC’s aircraft were likely to be grounded but CAAN extended ultimatum to the national flag carrier management until Monday to comply with its directive on installing safety measures in the aircraft. This will mean that five Twin Otters will remain out of operation, since three are not flying due to financial causes.

During today’s meeting between CAAN and Airlines Operators’ Association, the government regulatory body agreed to remove two of the equipment previously made mandatory thus allowing most airlines to continue with their operation.

The airlines were given August 8 as deadline to comply with the CAAN directive issued some three weeks ago, failing which the regulatory authority threatened to ground their aircraft.

With this decision, the airlines which operate aircraft in the visual flight recorder (VFR) mode do not necessarily have to install ground proximity warning system (GPWS). They are also not required to mandatorily equip their aircraft with high frequency (HF) on the trunk route.

While GPWS indicates how far an aircraft is above the ground, the HF enables pilots to contact with other aircraft even from a long distance.

As a result, Cosmic Air, Shangri-la Air, Yeti Airlines, Gorkha Airlines and Skyline Airways will be able to operate their flights undisturbed. However, two Twin Otter aircraft of RNAC, which do not have Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and transponders, might be grounded. Similarly, Sita Air’s aircraft, which lacks Flight Data Recorder (FDR), is also likely to be grounded.

Global meet on illicit trade in Nepal’s rare flora and fauna

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : Conservationists from Nepal, India and the United Kingdom, government officers and CITES law experts have gathered here for a two-day workshop on discussing measures to check ‘growing’ illegal trade in and around the protected areas of Nepal.

Scattered protected areas, insufficient awareness of initiatives, lack of coordination among anti-wildlife trade law enforcement authorities, population pressure on protected areas, poor anti-poaching units and insufficient laws are hindering efforts to curb illegal trade of wild flora and fauna in Nepal, they said.

"Despite Nepal’s commitment to bio-diversity conservation and success stories, fragmentation of protected areas, degradation of pristine wildlife habitat and rapid growth in human population, wildlife poaching continues to a major problem for park managers and conservationists," said Dr. Tirtha Man Maskey, director general of the Department of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

Saying that the government alone cannot combat poaching and illegal trade of wildlife, the director general underlined a need for the participation of non-governmental organisations and communities.

Speaking at the programme, Shyam Bajimaya, chief warden of Royal Bardiya National Park, said that the trade of wild animal and plants was not only the matter of concern of a community and nation but also a matter of global concern.

Budgetary constraint, weak anti-poaching unit marred by poor funding, and lack of co-ordination among the anti-wildlife law enforcement agencies have made efforts of curbing illegal business of wild flora and fauna increasingly challenging, said Jamuna Krishna Tamrakar, director general of the Department of Forests.

Heavy vehicles start plying on Narayangadh-Mugling road

Post Report

CHITWAN, Aug 7 : The Narayangargh-Mugling section of the Prithvi Highway has been opened for heavy vehicles from today afternoon. The road, which had remained closed for more than three days, was cleared for light vehicles from yesterday.

According to the Bharatpur Divisional Road Office (DRO), diversions were built in all four section of the highway, which had collapsed following last week’s landslides.

The chief of Bharatpur DRO, Guru Prasad Dhakal, said that heavy vehicles were allowed to pass one at a time. He also informed that road workers are cutting through rocks to widen the diversion at the 31km section of the highway towards Mugling while half of the damaged 24km-long stretch of the highway was cleared for two-way traffic.

Traffic police, considering heavy congestion of vehicles on the highway, vehicular movement has been regularised on priority basis. The road is opened from five in the morning till seven in the evening, however vehicles used for emergency service are allowed to ply the road even at night, said Dinesh Bhandari, a sub-inspector at the Area Police Office, Mugling.

Unregistered refugees for ‘screening post’

POST REPORT

DAMAK, Aug 7 : Th Bhutanese refugees who have not been registered and are staying outside the refugee camps have demanded from the UNHCR to set up "screening post" immediately.

These refugees said they were compelled to seek UNHCR’s intervention after their request to Nepalese government on setting the post failed. They added that they were being left out of the refugee repatriation process.

A previous "screening post" that was in the border town of Kakarbhitta was closed in 2000 after Bhutan demanded its closure.

Thinley Penjore, the president of the Druk National Congress alleged that seven members of his family are yet to be registered. Penjore accused Nepal and Bhutan of collaborating to prevent any further registration of the Bhutanese refugees. "The UNHCR must pressure Nepal into setting up the post again."

The verification and categorisation of the refugees of the Khudunabari camp have been completed. However, the categorisation and its results conducted by the Joint Verification Team has been highly criticised for its "inconsistencies".

Drug imports stop due to protests

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Aug 7 : As part of the protest programme announced yesterday, drug importers stopped importing foreign products from today, as a manifestation of their serious objection to the government’s laxity in responding to the demands forwarded by them.

"Not a single batch of drug was imported today as per the announced programme to protest the hike on customs tariff for importing foreign pharmaceutical products," said Paras Baral, president of Nepal Chemists and Druggists Association (NCDA), the umbrella organisation of Nepali drug importers.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Baral warned that retail drug shops throughout the country would soon be shuttered down if the government continued to ignore their demands. "The country will face unwarranted shortage of essential drugs if our demands are not addressed appropriately," he added. The association last week forwarded a list of 12 demands to the government, including scaling down the customs tariff at one per cent from five per cent and scrapping VAT, among others. The demands of the association took a new turn today as it declared its decision to stop importing drugs beginning from today.

The Nepali drug market relies heavily on foreign drugs that command almost 73 per cent of the domestic share. At an average, Nepal witnesses a drug import worth of Rs 12 million on daily basis.

Reacting to the agitation staged by drug importers, Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa, Acting Director General of the Department of Drug Administration (DDA) said that his department had no authority to respond to the association’s demands.

"This is unfortunate," said Thapa. "The problem needs to be mutually solved as soon as possible.."

The association today stated that it would not withdraw its protest programme unless the government agrees to their demands.