Crown Prince gives away environment awards

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KATHMANDU, June 5 : World Environmental Day was observed in the capital today with different programmes organised at the governmental and non-governmental level, which featured award distributions to conservationists, awareness programmes and environment-related exhibitions.

Ministry of Environment and Population organised a programme-cum-exhibition at the Birendra International Convention Centre, which was inaugurated by Crown Prince Paras.

On the occasion, the Crown Prince gave away environment awards and letters of appreciation to different individuals and organisations working in the field of environment in the country.

Huta Ram Baidya, Dr J. Gabriel Campbell, Director General of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal Environmental and Scientific Services Pvt. Ltd., Save the Environment Foundation, The Explore Group Nepal, Environment Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation Nepal Programme (WWF) were the awardees. The Crown Prince also inaugurated a three-day environment-related exhibition at the premises of the Birendra International Convention Centre.

Similarly, WWF Nepal Programme Office, while marking Environment Day, today honoured 6 individuals and 4 institutions for their contribution in the field of environment conservation, with the Abraham Conservation Award. Those honoured at the programme were Lama Karma Sonam Rimpoche of Manang, Huta Ram Baidya, Inspector Arun Kumar Shah, Ram Prasad Lamsal, Diwakar Prasad Chapagain and Yugal Kishor Thakur.

Likewise, four institutions recognised at the function attended by diplomats, high-ranking government and security officers, conservationists and journalists were Kailali-based Radhakrishna Community Forest Users Group; Women Environment Preservation Committee, Lalitpur; Dudhkunda Community Forest Users Group of Solukhumbu and Taplejung-based Omi Khangri Mother Group.

The award, established by WWF US board-member Nancy Abraham in 1995, carries a purse of Rs 25,000 for an individual, and Rs 50,000 for institutions.

Similarly, The World Conservation Union today observed Environment Day by organising awareness programmes at Lalitpur, according to a press statement. Meanwhile, NGO Forum for Urban Sanitation and Environment today organised a public hearing on pollution in the Bagmati River to mark the day.

Taking part in the public hearing, participants vented their plight caused by the pollution of the Bagmati river. They were critical of the rich people of Kathmandu, whom they held responsible for the deplorable situation of the river.

"Just 22 kilometer south of downtown Kathmandu, we farmers are being threatened by pollution in the Bagmati river. We are getting less produce from our farming and some land has turned barren," said Shree Ram Acharya, a farmer from Chobhar at the public hearing on Water of Bagmati. The programme was organised by NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, a non-government organisation.

He went on, "Local Danuwars are being replaced as their age-old profession of fishing came to an end with the pollution of the river. We should now raise our voice to force policy-makers to formulate policies guaranteeing justice to us," he fumed.

Acharya was representing thousands of farmers, affected by the pollution of the Bagmati river, who depend on the waters of the Bagmati for farming. Besides farmers, squatters residing close to the banks of the river also suffer due to the pollution in the river. They said that the water they used for household purposes, was from the Bagmati river. Their only source of water, the Bagmati has turned into sewage.

"It is the rich who are polluting the river, and we have to bear the brunt of pollution," said Bambai Lama, a squatter woman.

Prakash Mani Sharma of Pro-Public was of the opinion that the situation of the river has not changed at all despite millions of rupees being funnelled into in the name of combating pollution in the river. Other participants of the programme underlined the need to create pressure from civil society against the pathetic situation of the river. They were critical of the government for not being serious in implementing existing environmental laws and regulations.

Naturopathy for healthy life

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KATHMANDU, June 5 : Gyan Batti Shrestha, 45, had been suffering from pressure, stomach-ache and joint problems for the last ten years for which she had been taking allopathic medicine without being cured.

Tired of taking various medicines, she turned to naturopathy treatment and joined a 15-day Complete Natural Healing Camp at the Kabir Satsang Ashram, which began from May 25 to continue till June 8. "Since I have changed my lifestyle and diet, I am now feeling some relief," said Shrestha with a big grin on her face. "I feel that proper diet and clean living can cure any kind of disease."

The two-week camp, which has four naturopathy doctors in attendance encourages two specific themes, "Change your diet to live a healthy life," and "Proper diet is the treatment of every disease".

Eighty-nine year old Agyadas Saheb had been suffering from heart problems and joint swelling for the twenty years. Bed-ridden for the last ten years Saheb was unable to get up and do things by himself.

Saheb, the oldest participant of the camp says, "I can feel the difference. Now I can do my things myself."

Doctors have used ‘whole-body-wet-sheet-pack’ therapy to treat Saheb. During this process, he is wrapped in a cold towel and then by a blanket and he is made to lie in the sun. "This will help to take out toxins from his body, which is the main cause for any kind of disease," said Dr. Sureshraj Barhgurjar, visiting Naturopathy expert from India.

Like Saheb, around forty patients, tired of trying various treatments, are attending the camp. The patients are mainly those with problems of obesity, diabetes, jaundice, depression, asthma, constipation, tension, hyperacidity and other chronic illnesses. Participants range from a 16 year-old-girl to the 89-year- old Saheb.

"The main theme of naturopathy treatment is to change unhealthy diet and lifestyle," said Dr. Barhgurjar. "Diseases are the result of improper lifestyle that develop toxins within the body, so we suggest patients to change their lifestyle."

According to Dr. Barhgurjar, naturopathy doesn’t take disease as a particular problem but treats the whole body to fight that particular problem. "Body treats body is what naturopathy believes in."

Naturopathy treatment mainly focuses on hot and cold bath procedure, proper diet, yoga and meditation. In naturopathy, the sun, soil and pure water are used as medication. Sunbath, steam bath, hot footbath and mud baths are used for treating patients. "Drugs suppress the symptom, while in naturotherapy we treat that particular problem rather than suppressing it," added Dr. Barhgurjar.

"Above all else, fasting also helps to heal the patient," said Dr. Barhgurjar. "So depending upon the disease and the patient, doctors suggest patients to undertake fasting from one day to a month".

Naturopathy expert believes that treating a patient depends upon the patient’s vital force, which is the patient’s inner desire to live a better life. "It will be easy and fast to cure patients with enough vital force," he said. "But those with less vital force get frustrated very soon".

Doctors complain that patients come for naturopathy treatment only when other forms of treatment have failed to cure them. "We appeal to patients to visit naturopathy treatment not as an alternative but as a normal cure," he added.

Need to control medicine quality stressed

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KATHMANDU, June 5 : The government needs to control the quality and price of products, said experts related to the drugs sector.

"Until there is a strong mechanism in place it will be no use discussing issues related to medicine," said Pradeep Man Baidya, president of Medicine Manufacturers Association.

Baidya was speaking at a public programme, "Medicine Price, Quality and Consumers’ Query" held here today. The function, organised by Pro Public, brought together government bodies, manufacturers, distributors and other related personnel in the field of drugs.

He added that the concerned sectors needed to bring effective measures to standardise the quality of medicines and also implement a strong monitoring system. Studies conducted by many organisations show that there are variations in prices of similar drugs of different brands. Experts recommend that the government needs to control prices of products as per the provisions of Section 26 of the Drugs Act 1978.

However, the Department of Drugs Administration (DDA), the government agency for the control of quality of drugs says that the agency was doing its best.

"Lack of manpower has hindered the work of the DDA," said Dr. Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa, Director of Department of Drugs Administration (DDA). Thapa added that a further 115 staff needed to be recruited. "Then we can bring some change to the quality and price of medicine products," said Dr. Thapa. He added that the Department was trying its best to bring medicine to the public that was both affordable and of good quality.

Thapa’s appointment draws flak

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KATHMANDU, June 5 : Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Surya Bahadur Thapa’s appointment as the new prime minister not only drew flak in the country but it also attracted criticism from abroad too. Statements from Nepali youth and students’ organisations in the USA denounced King Gyanendra’s appointment of Thapa as the PM on Wednesday.

A joint statement by the Alliance for Democracy in Nepal and Nepalese Democratic Youth Council in USA received here today "strongly denounced" the appointment, saying that it failed the constitutional litmus test. The new prime minister has neither the support nor the sentiment of the majority of the Nepali people, it added.

"We consider this move by the king to be another ploy to circumvent democracy and undermine Nepal’s democratic political parties," the statement added further. It urged the parties to press on with their non-violent agitation against "regression".

Similarly, Nevisang USA Unit termed the appointment as faulty and claimed "that the move would lead the country towards confusion and chaos". It condemned the move, adding that it violated norms of constitutional monarchy. "It shows that the king’s move is totally undemocratic and unfruitful for the nation."

KMC conducts training on gardening

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KATHMANDU, June 5 : On the occasion of World Environment Day, Shiva Bhakta Sharma, chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), inaugurated ‘Paluwa’ garden created by the Environment Department of the KMC.

Speaking at the programme, Sharma said that gardening was also the best way to protect the environment

Kathmandu Municipality (KMC) has been encouraging its sweepers to opt for alternative jobs because KMC wants to prove that apart from sweeping, sweepers can excel at other jobs as well.

"We had decided a long time before to train KMC sweepers in other fields and among the many programmes gardening has been successful," said Rabin Man Shrestha engineer of the Environment Department, KMC. The KMC had recently conducted a one-month gardening training for 25 sweepers, to ensure a maximum of five gardeners in the garden named ‘Paluwa’.

ANNISU-R compels schools to return admission fee

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NUWAKOT, June 5 : Government schools in this district have returned school fees to students, when they were compelled to do so by the All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-Revolutionary) on the basis of an agreement reached with the government.

After this pressure of the Maoist’s student wing to return admission fees, many of the secondary schools opened in the rural areas are already beginning to experience financial crunch. The Ganesh secondary school in the Hahade-Kalika VDC, which was converted from primary to secondary school with the effort of the villagers, is now facing a financial setback.

The Ganesh secondary school was forced to return all the money collected from the students of class one to five as admission fees on receipt of a Maoist letter mentioning the agreement reached with the Government. The school had raised admission fees from this new academic session by Rs 25 against previous amount of Rs 25.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post correspondent, Purendra Prasad Dhakal the principal of this school said that they have already returned Rs. 16,000 collected from the primary level students. This school is not supported by any financial assistance from the Village Development Committee (VDC), and the school agreed to return the fees money after the Maoists promised to provide them the assistance of the VDC.

Though the school has returned the fees of the lower level students to the guardians, the guardians of students enrolled in higher classes are unwilling to take back the fees. The principal Dhakal however informs that besides his school the ANNISU-Revolutionary has not compelled other primary and lower-primary schools in this village to return the fees.

After imposing a prohibition on collection of fee from the school students by the Maoist’s student wing, the Shakti Secondary School in Madanpur VDC has decided not to collect admission as well as tuition fees from their students, informed the chairman of the Management Committee, Kul Prasad Sharma.

13 chemist shops closed down

BIRATNAGAR, June 5 (PR) - The regional office of the Drug Administration Department of Biratnagar has taken action against 13 chemist shops in the eastern region for selling medicines not permitted by the Department, and for indulging in the medical business without registering.

According to the regional manager of the Drug Administration Department (DAD), Kasim Khan, 12 of the chemist shops had been charged with selling medicines without registering their shop at the DAD, while the other shop had been charged with selling various medicines other than those registered at the DAD.

All these shops have been closed down, while the medicines inside the shops have been dispatched to the Regional Medical Office.

Three children die of diarrhoea in Kalikot

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DAILEKH, June 5 : At least three children were killed and dozens others were affected this week in Kalikot’s three Village Development Committees adjoining Dailekh district due to consumption of untreated water.

Locals said that most of the children were suffering from diarrhoea and typhoid, as they were largely relying on the water of Tila River for drinking purpose.

Batu Singh of Odanku VDC who arrived in Dailekh’s district headquarters to treat her three-year-old daughter said that most of the children these days have taken ill due to the consumption of untreated water of the river.

She said that most of the water resources that are relatively pure than the water of the river had already dried up as a result of scorching heat. But the number of people suffering from diarrhoea and typhoid could not be immediately verified.

Maoists ban sign language class in remote VDC

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MYAGDI, June 5 : Maoists have forced non-governmental organisations to close down a 10-month long sign language class targeted for deaf and dumb people, citing that the class was being launched without their permission. The sign language class was to be run at a public school in Darbang Village Development Committee, located about 40-km west of Beni, the district headquarters.

The Federation of Deaf and Dumb Nepal and Community Based Rehabilitation, Baglung had brought the programme to educate about 25 people between six to 20 years of age, from Rum, Niskot and Darbang VDCs through the sign language.

Local Maoists forced Jamuna Sharma, a motivator of the Community Based Rehabilitation, to pack up the programme, insisting that it was being launched without their consent.

The organisers said that the ban on the programme by the Maoists was the violation of code of conduct and an attack to right to education of the disabled people. The organisers said that they were waiting for the last one-month to receive a green signal from the Maoists but they refused to co-operate with them at the last hour.

Local donates land to community forest

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MYAGDI, June 5 : Shivadas Bairagi a resident of Dana VDC situated in the deepest gorge in the world, Andha Gorge, situated about 18 kilometres north of the district headquarters, donated 13 Ropanis of land to the community forest there, on the occasion of World Environment Day. The land was donated together with a building and a nursery with many saplings.

According to information provided by Suryakanta Sigdel, the District Forest Officer (DFO), Bairagi has signed off the land ownership documents to the Dihi Dimbarbol Community Forest, after necessary documentation at the Land Revenue Office.

It is learnt that though the Government had withdrawn the community forest concept from this region, the community forest in this VDC will continue to enjoy the prerogative.

Yubraj Wagle, the Chief District Officer, honoured Bairagi by presenting him with a certificate and Dosalla (shawl) at a programme here today. During the programme 300 saplings were also planted. To mark the occasion of World Environment Day, Milan, a non-government organisation actively working in the field of environment, also established an environment fund.

Ashok Baniya, advisor of the organisation said that they have decided to establish an annual cash award of Rs 15,000 to be presented to any person, community or organisation on World Environment Day.