Dalits seek equality based society

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7 : Jana Utthan Pratisthan (JUP), a leading body in internationalising the status of Dalits in Nepal today brought out a book entitled ‘Nepal ma Jaatiya Bhedbhav ko Awastha ra Yasko Bishwobyapi Sandarva’.

The book has been successful in exposing the condition of Dalits in the context of Nepal where more than 20 percent of the total population is occupied by the community.

Padam Singh Bishwokarma, chairman of National Dalit Commission released the book and stressed that the book should be read not only by the Dalits but also by non-Dalits.

He further said that literature plays an important role in transforming the society and this book would have some positive effects on the society to form the society based on equality.

He also apprised that 450 incidents of discrimination have been detected after former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declared that the act of discrimination in any form is liable to punishment and jail term or both.

Speaking at the programme, Krishna Pahadi, chairman of Shanti Samaj emphasised that all the traditions followed by the community should be ignored and the new society should be developed based on equality and democracy.

D. B. Sagar Bishwokarma, executive director of JUP and Hamid Ansaari, representative of INSEC also spoke on the occasion.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part includes the state of racial discrimination in the country, its history, social and religious discrimination, partiality in education and human rights of Dalits.

In the same way, the second part has a wider coverage and it includes racial discrimination with reference to international context including suggestions.

Book on yoga launched

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7 : Yog Darshan, a book dealing on different types of yoga and the methods of practicising them, was launched today by Swami Prapannacharya at a programme organised in the capital today.

Swami Dhruba, the writer of the book, said the book would be useful to people aspiring to achieve good health practising yoga. Also speaking on the occassion, Swami Gulabji Maharaj highlighted the importance of spiritualism in an increasingly materialistic world. The Swami is versed in 14 languages, has written books in six languages and conducted more than six hundred lectures around the world over the years.

Also speaking on the occassion, Swami Prapannacharya said that yoga has been adequately appreciated in the East, though it was born here. "It is an irony that we are learning yoga from the West," he said.

Villagers gladdened by return of VDC secretaries

By Binod Tripathy

BAGLUNG, Feb 7 : After the declaration of cease-fire by both the government and the Maoists, the secretaries of the Village Development Committees of Baglung district have started to return to their respective VDCs. These secretaries had abandoned their VDC offices and had been working from the district headquarters, Baglung Bazaar in the wake of the Maoist’s People’s War when they and their offices had been made the targets of their wrath.

In the absence of these VDC secretaries, people had been facing great inconveniences and difficulties. The secretaries have decided to return and provide services that the locals had been deprived of all this time. These secretaries are also endowed with the power to carry out the responsibilities of the chairman and others elected representatives to the local bodies after the termination of their tenures, all of which makes the position of the secretaries very important to the local people.

The Maoists had destroyed 58 VDC buildings out of the 59 VDCs, and two buildings of the ward office in that municipality. The only protected VDC was Bhimgide VDC as an army platoon had been stationed there.

These VDC secretaries who had been working at the District Development Committee (DDC) all these months are thrilled that after this cease-fire they can once again return to their villages and carry out their duties. Some of these secretaries say, "Why should we become unpopular among people when we have to do so many things for them? So, we are ready to return to our villages," they added.

There has been a lot of disruption in many of the works, such as, in relationship verification, registration, acquiring citizenship, recommendation, and many more, said the secretary of Pandawakhani VDC, Yubraj Adhikary.

However, it is learnt that those secretaries of those VDCs, which the Maoists have declared as under their surveillance, are still in a dilemma about whether to return to their VDCs. These secretaries lament that they will return to their villages but are uncertain about how they are going to perform their duties under this stressful condition. They question, " Are these VDCs under the jurisdiction of the government or the Maoists ?" Among the villages, which are under the Maoists’ power are Tarakhola, Sigana, Argal, Amalachaur, Benamor, Chisti, and Jaidima.

It is also learnt that in the absence of these secretaries, the old-age allowances for the elderly people of the villages have not been distributed in majority of the VDCs. Since the statistical data of the valid old-age people of many of the VDCs have not been maintained, many elderly persons have been and can be deprived of their share of allowances. However, those elderly people who have been entitled to this allowance will be getting all the pending amounts at once. In some VDCs it has been already nine months and the allowances are yet to be disbursed.

The locals of the VDCs in this district have been gladdened to hear that their secretaries will be back in their villages in a few days time. Earlier the villagers had to go down to the district headquarters to meet the secretaries and seek their permission for any work pertaining to the village. " Now we do not have to spend any money and waste our time travelling to the district headquarters to meet these secretaries," reiterated a local of Bihu VDC, Mahendra Kandel.

These secretaries who had been living and working at the DDC in the district headquarters for so many months are slowly returning to their villages. The secretary of Bihu VDC says, " Now I’m going back to my village, and will reach there in two to three days."

Sub-health posts to be handed over to local communities

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KAPILVASTU, Feb 7 : Preparations are underway to hand over 67 sub-health posts under the District Health Office (DHO) to the local communities in Kapilvastu district. The initiation is a part of government plans to provide easy access for people to health facilities, in accordance to the Local Self-Governance Act and Local Governance Regulation, according to sources.

"Sub-health posts operated by communities will be efficient, more public oriented and well managed," said Kepar Singha Goddar, a senior official of DHO.

335 Gaun Ghar clinic, 335 vaccination centres, 1,052 women volunteers and 262 maid nurses will now be mobilised from local committees.

"Works are going on in a hectic pace to hand over the sub-health posts to the local communities," said Dr. Altaf Hussein, the Chief at DHO.

Parties boycott mobile team meet

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BAGLUNG, Feb 7 : Local political parties today boycotted a meeting called by a mobile team formed by the government to monitor works in government offices saying that it was irrelevant.

Leaders of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (Democratic) and People’s Forum Nepal refused to attend the interaction programme organised by the mobile team. The Lokendra Bahadur Chand government recently formed seven mobile teams to inspect works in government entities.

Nepali Congress chairman of Baglung district said that it is irrelevant to take part in a meeting of the government which is unconstitutional. Krishna Thapa of the People’s Forum Nepal said that the government should take action against those found guilty by the Mallik Commission and another commission formed to investigate on leakage in public revenue sector