Journos urged to help strengthen civil society

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 3: Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey called upon journalists to practise their profession with sensitivity to strengthen the civil society.

The minister said this while inaugurating the five-day training programme on ‘The Role of Media in the Promotion of the Civil Society’ being organised here by the Embassy of Israel and National Union of Journalists with the help of the Department of Information.

" Today, media professionals should act sensitively for their professional integrity and credibility," he said.

Shedding light on the co-operation between Nepal and Israel since the start of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Pandey lauded Israeli support in the country especially in agriculture and technical fields. He informed that technical help from Israel in Nepalese floriculture is helping the country to earn about Rs. 2 billions from foreign markets in the near future.

Highlighting the power of media, Israeli Ambassador, Abrahim Nir, said journalists have a big responsibility to direct the minds of people on the right path.

As there is goodwill among Israeli people for Nepal, Israel is always willing to help Nepal in many projects, Ambassador Nir said.

Speaking on the occasion, he welcomed the recent ceasefire in the country as a step to bring in peace and hoped negotiations would end in positive note.

Harihar Birahi, the chairman of Press Council, said journalists today have a big responsibility to lead the civil society and urged them to cautiously assess the impact of the information before they disseminate it .

Daranidhar Khatiwada, the director of Department of Information thanked the Israeli government for its support in carrying out the training programme and hoped such programmes would produce tangible results.

On the occasion, Govind Adhikari, chairman of the National Union of Journalists highlighted the objective of the programme and hoped that it would help Nepalese journalists to strengthen democratic practice. Taranath Dahal, another speaker also expressed his view on the occasion.

Birth registration fair to be held

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 : KATHMANDU, Feb 3 - In order to facilitate and publicise the importance of the registration of vital events in life, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolis is going to organise a birth and marriage registration fair in near future.

This was announced here yesterday at the Capacity Development Programme on Urban Management held at the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolis office. The programme, organised by Lalitpur Sub-Metropolis and facilitated by Environment and Child Concern Organisation-Nepal (ECO-Nepal) was held from January 31 till February 2.

The programme stressed the importance of registration of all five vital events namely birth, death, marriage, divorce and migration, and trained the participants about the legal aspects and procedures during the registration process. The participants were also instructed on ways to handle the complications during the registration process.

Appreciating the plan to hold the registration fair, chief guest at the programme Ganga Dutta Awasthi, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Local Development, assured necessary help from the government for the fair.

Slain teacher’s daughter receives educational support

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 : Dr Sangita Rayamajhi of the Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University has come forward to help orphaned 16-year-old Mandira Adhikari with the aid of Rs 10,000 to fulfil her educational aspirations.

Adhikari’s father Ganeshman, a teacher at Raja-Rani Primary School, Pathivara, Sankhuwasava was brutally murdered by the Maoists nearly a month ago, leaving his children to fend for themselves. Subsequent to a story carried in the The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur, which highlighted the plight of the hapless family many individuals and organisations expressed their sympathy and wish to support Mandira and her remaining family members.

Dr Rayamajhi has pledged to support Adhikari until she completes her secondary education. Adhikari, a ninth-grader at Himalaya Secondary School in Khandbari has two brothers, Mohan and Manoj.

While Rishi Bhakta Shrestha, a Thapathali resident showed readiness to support the sons, Dr Rayamajhi pledged to provide support to the schoolgirl for her education.

Dr Rayamajhi told The Kathmandu Post that since no one had come forward to support the daughter, she decided to help her complete at least secondary education so that the orphans would not feel the existence of a gender-gap between them.

Both Shrestha and Rayamajhi were deeply moved by the front-page stories carried by The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur on Sunday. Dr Rayamajhi added that she would try to extend the support to the girl for her higher education also.

Call for co-operation

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 (RSS) - A meeting of the National Assembly Social Justice Committee today has called for positive co-operation and initiative from all sides, including the political forces, social institutions and organisations and the public at large to create an environment in the coming days in which all the people would be guaranteed human rights through stabilisation of the cease-fire announced recently by His Majesty’s Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and through the initiation of peace talks between the two sides to find a political way out of the crisis now facing the nation.

The meeting was chaired by chairperson of the committee Ambika Panta Chapagain.

Meanwhile, the Women Parliamentarians’ Group, in a statement today, welcomed the announcement of a cease-fire between His Majesty’s Government and the Maoists and the agreement reached to resolve the problem through talks.

The group has also urged one and all to forget the bitter experiences of the past and work earnestly to make the talks successful given the present context in which the country has been passing through a difficult situation.

Officials’ wives defy Special Court’s order

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 : The wives of a minister and 14 revenue officials have defied the Special Court’s order to appear for interrogation in connection with charges of corruption against their husbands.

According to officials at the Special Court, the wives of the 14 revenue officials as well as the wife of former minster Chiranjivi Wagle were asked by the Special Court to appear for questioning. However, they failed to appear. Along with the wife of former minister Chiranjivi Wagle, his son, daughter and daughter-in-law were also ordered to appear before the court but they too failed to do so.

Similarly, wives of 13 of the 22 revenue officers, raided by the Commission for Investigation for Abuse of Authority (CIAA) did not turn up for interrogation. The 13 revenue officers are Ganesh Prasad Shrestha, Suresh Kumar Regmi, Kesav Raj Gautam, Janardan Sharma, Niranjan Babu Shrestha, Kedar Nath Dhungana, Ishwor Pokharel, Ram Krishna Tiwari, Sharad Kant Adhikari, Arjun Thapa, Umesh Regmi, Devi Bhandari and Kedar Prasad Chalise.

The wife of Revenue Officer Mandav Pokharel also failed to appear before court.

Child rights situation in Nepal

RSS

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 : About 41 percent of the total population of the country ( over 9,475,000) are children out of which 50 percent are boys and 50 percent girls.

According to a report on ‘Situation of Child Rights in Nepal’ made public here yesterday by Nepal Child Workers In Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), 26 percent children have been involved in some kind of labour.

Likewise, 40 thousand children have been working as bonded labourers, 5 thousand are in the streets and 100 are in prison.

According to the report, 14 percent children live in cities whereas 86 children live in villages, out of which 40 percent are from the families below poverty line and 48 percent have been victimised of mal-nutrition.

Similarly, 80 children out of hundred are enrolled into primary school whereas only 51 children complete their primary education.

Among the children to join school, 86 percent are boys and 74 are girls.

Some 27,000 children die of diarrhoea annually and 150,000 mothers per million die of diseases related to child delivery in Nepal.

About 5-7 thousand girls are trafficked to India annually.

According to the report, 422 children were victimised of the 7-year- long violence caused by the Maoists and the government.

'Speak English' series published

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 : Orient Longman has published ‘Speak English’ a series of books for school students. The spoken English series has been published taking in view the need of English-speaking guide in South Asia region and its ever increasing demand as a language of communication throughout the world.

The series has been conceptualised and authored by Don Dollas. Dollas is an international expert in the teaching of English as a foreign language.

The course presents a systematic practice of listening and speaking, along with reading and writing. The series aims to give students an achievable model of spoken English, through variety of puzzles, stories, jokes, songs and play.

Emma Levy, manager of the Study Centre British Council, Nepal opined that Orient Longman has been able to bring out the series of books along with audiocassettes at cheaper rates.

However, she tried to draw the attention of the publisher towards the alternative for the audiotape, as all parts of Nepal do not have access to electricity.

Usha Rao, representative of Orient Longman opined that the launch of this series of books would definitely help students improve their English and the book would also help teachers to extend their knowledge in the subject.

Sarita Dewan, English teacher at Little Angels School informed that the book would definitely help students improve their English. She, however, raised her concern over the planned syllabus with no extra time for students.

Dhungana sceptical about peace talks

Post Report

NARAYANGADH, Feb 3 : Former Speaker Damannath Dhungana today said that the peace talks to be held between the government and the Maoists would be complicated, as the king has gone beyond the constitutional processes.

Speaking at a talk programme here, organised by the Parliamentary Studies and Development, Dhungana stressed that parliamentary forces should also be included in the peace talks process.

"Nobody can reverse the demands of time and internal conflicts should be resolved democratically," he said, adding that the Maoists had also agreed to accept democratic polity. Civil society should become strong to prevent rulers from becoming more dictatorial, he said.

Dhungana, who was one of the facilitators during last year’s peace talks overture, said that all should be ready for a roundtable conference and constituent assembly if they help restore peace in the country. "Why to dither if election for constituent assembly helps stop bloodshed," he questioned.

Another speaker and former lawmaker Hiranya Lal Shrestha, said that the new constitution was required to maintain power balance between the political forces and the palace. "The cease-fire announcement should be honoured by the parties involved until the political goal was achieved," he said. He also pointed out the need for representation of civil society in the upcoming peace talks between the government and the Maoist outfit. Shrestha further added that both the sides agreed upon the cease-fire after they could not wipe out each other militarily.

Applicants fail to acquire passports since three months

Post Report

MYAGDI, Feb 3 : The people of Myagdi who had applied for passports three months ago are still having difficulties in acquiring the passport books after the District Administration Office (DAO) there told them that they did not have any passport books to distribute.

According to the junior clerk at this office, Kamal Acharya, more than 40 applications, which had been handed to the office three months ago, are lying inside his cupboard. The government has decided to start the distribution of passports valid for 10 years from March 15. However, it is learnt that each pending applicant has been charged Rs. 2,000 according to the previous rule. But there is dilemma about whether to distribute the passport to the pending applicants as per the old rule or to bring them under the new procedure.

However, the DAO states that it has not received any official letter from the Ministry for the 10-year valid passports, and passports are being distributed according to the existing rule charging a fee of Rs. 2,000 for each passport.

One of the old applicants showing his receipt lamented that since the office could not provide him the passport in time he was denied the visa for a Middle Eastern country.

Twelve arrested for selling illegal alcohol

RSS

NUWAKOT, Feb 3 : The District Police Office, Nuwakot has arrested 12 hotel owners and confiscated a big haul of alcohol being sold illegally in different hotels and restaurants running in various wards of Bidur municipality.

Bidur municipality in Nuwakot is an alcohol prohibited region.

In a raid carried out last Friday and Saturday, the police team seized home brewed liquor, beers and alcohol worth Rs. 70,000, it is stated.

The alcohol was destroyed here yesterday in presence of representatives from the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various political parties.

The arrested traders were released after penalisation and under the condition that they would never repeat their mistake, said DSP Suresh Basnet.

Mid-western RDB running in loss

RSS

NEPALGANJ, Feb 3 : Mid-western Rural Development Bank, devoted to its efforts to promoting the living standards of rural women, has been in a loss of Rs 23.4 million during the eight years of its establishment.

According to the bank, the loss owes to the closure of its 22 branches due to security reasons, increasing interest rates of the amounts loaned from other commercial banks and failure to collect the floated money as loan to the rural women.

His Majesty’s Government so far has granted Rs 18 million to the bank, which never showed itself in profit.

The bank,which was established in 2051 B.S. with an aim to extend its services in 15 different districts, has 18,740 members under 3,748 groups.

The bank so far has 276 complete and 262 partial centres.

According to executive director of the bank Prabhakar Mishra, more than Rs 20 million is to be collected from the members who had received loan from Panchkule, Gadhawaand Hikuli branches of Dang district and Rajapur, Magargadi and Bhurigaun branches of Bardiya districts.

Although the bank had targeted at extending its branches in all the 15 districts of the region, it has not been possible in establishing any branches in mountainous districts due to the poor security reasons and slack management of the bank, says chairman of the bank Tul Raj Basyal.

Wild elephants destroy fifteen houses

Post Report

BIRATNAGAR, Feb 3 : A herd of four wild elephants that sneaked out from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve have plundered 15 houses situated in VDCs such as, Ghoghanpur, Jagatpur and Rupnagar in the eastern region of Saptari on Saturday and Sunday. However, no loss of life is claimed by this incident, but property loss amounting to thousands of rupees has been claimed.

According to the information provided by the Area Police Office at Kanchanpur, those victimised due to the elephant menace were, Mohan Bahadur Shrestha, Bakhat Bahadur Sarki, Surti Mahatto, Man Bahadur Tamang, Gangai Mahatto, Sukdev Mahatto, Mahendra Gupta, Simritlal Chaudhary, Jagarnath Jha, and Shyamsaran Mahatto of Rupnagar VDC-1.

Similarly, the other victims were, Bhupal Sarki, Lila Sarki, Man Bahadur Jogi of Ghoghanpur VDC-9, and Badri Prasad Shah and Tej Bahadur Shrestha of Jagatpur VDC-9, where these wild elephants had caused damage to their houses.

According to the police Inspector, Tankamani Shrestha, these wild elephants have been trespassing the local communities there, trampling the non-concrete houses and feeding on the food-grain kept for storing.

Additional 1,834 ex-kamaiya families register application

RSS

NEPALGUNJ, Feb 3 : A total of additional 1,834 families of freed kamaiyas from Banke district have registered application at the District Land Reform Office, Nepalgunj demanding the relief from the government saying that they were deprived of the same.

According to the data taken in the year 2057 B.S., 901 families in the district were verified as freed kamaiyas and the government’s relief and rehabilitation programmes were centred on those families.

The government had allotted a time period from last September to December to register the names of kamaiya families who were left to be enlisted during the verification in the first phase.

‘ We left the houses of our landlords just after the government declared our freedom. We started to reside at another place assigned by the government. But the government’s verifying team went to our old places where we were working as bonded labourers. It was natural the landlords didn’t recommend our names and thus we were left to be enlisted in the government’s list. So we have been deprived of getting any relief from government,’ says Basanti Chaudhari temporarily residing at local Muktinagar VDC.

There are many others who narrate the same story in the district.

Ledhi Ram Tharu, 55, of Fattepur VDC-7 narrating his moving story of coming to the district headquarters in hope of some relief and returning with empty hands many times, expresses his fear that the hope for a piece of land to be provided by the government too may prove only as a castle in the air.

The government has been distributing land up to five katthas, Rs 10,000 and 35 cubic feet timber for constructing houses and different skill development training to the ex-kamaiya families.

Various organisations hail cease-fire declaration

RSS

DHANGADI, Feb 3 : Individuals and organisations from various sectors here have welcomed the declaration of a cease-fire by His Majesty’s Government and the CPN-Maoist in order to begin talks and have emphasized the need to make it successful.

The Human Rights Protection Joint Forum and the International Solidarity Group (Grinso) Nepal, Kailali in a press released here said that the declaration of the cease-fire by the two sides is a welcome step.

President of Kailali Chamber of Commerce and Industry Uttam Bahadur Kathayat pointed out the need for understanding from every sector in order to make the talks successful.

Satyaraj Paneru, a social worker says the talks said to be held between the government and the Maoists is very welcome.

Former vice-chairman of Kanchanpur District Development Committee Puskarnath Ojha said the atmosphere for the government-Maoists dialogue was a result of efforts made at the national and international level and that the talks should be concrete and the Maoists should submit their arms before sitting on the negotiating table.

Jagatram Chaudhary, a local farmer says the farmers were the most affected as a result of the murder and violence and therefore the talks should not fail at any cost. School teacher Ramesh Bhandari said matters relating to the innocent people killed during the period and the affected families should also feature in the dialogue.

Interaction programme organised in Bidur

RSS

NUWAKOT, Feb 3 : The public service follow up and inspection team (Bagmati and Narayani zones) organised an interaction among industrialists, businessmen, civil servants and representatives of political parties and journalists in Bidur today.

On the occasion, convenor of the team Bharat Mani Jangam said the team would work for making the country’s administrative mechanism prompt, responsive and responsible, doing away with inherent weaknesses and to ensure that the services to be provided by government agencies are delivered promptly in a hassle-free, dependable and effective manner.

Jangam said the team would also work actively to inject dynamism in the administrative bodies since, according to him, these bodies have been marred by inefficiency due to the lack of follow-up for a long period.

He stressed the need for co-operation of all the political parties, members of the general public, journalists, industrialists, businessmen and civil society to achieve those goals.

Member of the inspection team Kumar Bahadur Karki said the team would not involve itself in taking baseless action against anyone or meting out punishment or reward to anyone, but would work as an independent unit of the government within the parameters of the existing acts and regulations.

Landslide victims of Thapra still wait for rehabilitation

Post Report

MANTHALI, Feb 3 : People from the Thapra region, rendered homeless by landslides last August, and especially those who have not been rehabilitated, are worried as to how they will survive in the coming monsoon.

Landslides in the region during August last year, had destroyed more than 19 houses and killed 41 people. Rescue teams were able to retrieve just nine bodies from the debris while the bodies of other victims were never recovered.

The landslide had further damaged farmland and dwelling houses of around 30 families with many of the victims living in houses completed surrounded by mounds of debris from landslide. A resident and landslide victim of Bamti-9 at Thapra says that they have been forced to stay in the same place, as the government did not attempt to make any rehabilitation arrangements. He clarified that families with money were able to shift to safer environs, whereas those who were financially weak have been forced to live within the landslide devastated area.

A few of the poorer landslide victims have shifted to unoccupied houses in the nearby Dokharpa village. Khamba Dhoj Basnet, who has taking refuge along with his family in one of these houses, laments that it would have been a great help if the government had provided food. "Winter is almost coming to an end, yet the government has not shown any concern for us, and we cannot go on living like this under the roof of other people’s houses," said Basnet.

It is learnt that the Red Cross, the staff club of Khimti Hydro-electricity Project and other organisations had provided some relief material to victims of the Thapra landslide. The government too, had provided Rs 10,000 and Rs 4,000 each to the families of the deceased and homeless families respectively, amounts which have proved to be insufficient to start life afresh.

Though arrangements to rehabilitate the victims, on public land at ward-3 of Bamti VDC, was on the agenda, nothing has developed so far. The victims were invited to occupy the land just above their settlement, but they were reluctant to go there, as the specific land is considered unproductive and precarious.

Meanwhile in Sungdel, Khotang, over two hundred families displaced by the flash floods and landslides last monsoon in Sungdel and Dipsung VDCs of Khotang district are in dire need of rehabilitation.

Though the Khotang Service Committee Hong Kong (KSCH) recently provided 15 ropanis of land to 206 victimised families, 150 families of Sungdel VDC and 52 from Dipsung VDC are still staying in tents. The natural calamities had ravaged 400 houses. Most of the houses were swept away while some were damaged beyond repair, according to Khamba Singh Rai, a local. The victims are deprived of basic facilities like food, drinking water and road links.