Pashupati all set for Mahashivaratri

By Bikash Sangraula

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: From Friday midnight, devotees of Lord Shiva, one of the three supreme gods of the Hindus, will be forming serpentine queues beginning from Gaushala area south-east of Pashupatinath temple. There is reason for that. Mahashivaratri, the greatest festival of Lord Shiva, is expected to attract an estimated 250,000 pilgrims from Nepal and India and thus the wait can be endless.

According to Raj Kumar Regmi, co-ordinator of advertisement and promontions sub-committee of the festival, the entrance will be strictly regulated. From Gaushala to Bankali, to Char Shivalaya, then to Panchadeval is the only route to the famous abode of the lord. Buses and other heavy vehicles will have to be parked at the Tilganga Eye Hospital premises. For those with passes, ward police office of Gaushala and the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) premises will offer parking facility.

The crowd gathered at Gaushala will offer a formidable challenge to the 1,500 volunteers and around 1,200 armed security personnel stationed in the area to ensure smooth proceedings of the celebrations. For ordering the proceedings, PADT finished up barricading entrances today evening with strong bamboos that will guide the pilgrims from Panchadeval to the eastern, western and southern entrances of the famous temple.

The Mahashivaratri festivities formally kicked off yesterday afternoon after a rhododendron was planted at the Dev Uddyan at the PADT premises. Innumerable half-naked sadhus from India lighted camp-fire inside the temple premises from yesterday, and will be continuing their ‘worship’ and ‘abandon’ till Sunday noon. Similarly, the cremation area on the banks of Bagmati river has attracted many aghori sadhus.

According the PADT sources, more than 1,500 sadhus of various types have already gathered around the temple. More are expected to arrive by tomorrow, the main day of the festival. Similarly, around four thousand pilgrims benefited yesterday night from the makeshift shelters that have, in total, a capacity to shelter over 40,000 pilgrims. By tomorrow night, the shelters are expected to burst at their seams.

Today afternoon, the Marwadi community presented a cultural programme ‘Ek Sham Bhole Ke Naam’ in the area, which will continue till Sunday afternoon. The programme will feature bhajans and religious discourses from various pandits and sadhus.

Similarly, the ninth Mahashivaratri World Music Festival 2003, kicked off at the Bhrikuti Mandap today. The festival will feature 25 popular music bands who will enthrall the audience in Kathmandu today and tomorrow and will continue its auditory exploits in Pokhara for the next two days.

Considering the huge expected turnout of pilgrims, PADT has made sure that food supply does not fall short. In addition to acquiring piles of ration, PADT has also arranged for free cafeterias providing breakfast and lunch to the pilgrims. For attending to health emergencies, PADT and around 60 partner organizations have set up over 30 free health camps around the area, that will be operational around the clock during the festival.

With all meticulous arrangements and around fifty makeshift shelters erected for the festival, the whole area has acquired a medieval aura. Apart from the risks of being pickpocketed and brushed roughly time and again by the crowd, the Pashupatinath temple is surely the hottest site to visit this weekend. And if you can strike up a conversation with a scantily clad sadhu, all the better for a unique experience.

Govt to compensate Kahule shootout victims’ families

By Dinesh Regmi

NUWAKOT, Feb 28: The Home Ministry has decided to compensate Rs 100,000 in cash to each of the bereaved families of five minors killed by security forces in Kahule Village Development Committee about three months ago.

The bereaved family members have been demanding Rs 750,000 each. While addressing a face-to-face programme in the capital on February 25, Defence Secretary Madan Prasad Acharya had also hinted at providing the amount as demanded by the bereaved family members.

The minors, identified as Pariman Tamang, Chokta Tamang, Jeet Bahadur Tamang, Chandra Bahadur Tamang and Kanchha Tamang, were killed on the night of November 27 last year.

The bereaved family members had filed a complaint at the district administration office seeking compensation after two weeks of their deaths. These schoolboys were killed when they were returning home after performing the last rites of their relative.

Acting Chief District Officer Mohan Bahadur G.C. told The Kathmandu Post that he would hand over the amount to the concerned families of the deceased boys once the amount was received from the ministry.

A three-member investigation team of the Human Rights Cell at the army headquarters found that the security forces on a patrol had killed the five minors by mistake. Immediately after the incident, the Defence Ministry had issued a press release that claimed the deceased were "terrorists" killed during an encounter in Kahule VDC.

HM credentials

KATHMANDU, Feb 28 (RSS) - His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev received letters of credence from ambassadors-designate of Thailand and Ukraine to the Kingdom of Nepal Phenchome Incharoensak and Dr Oleh Semenets respectively amidst special functions held separately at the Narayanhity Royal Palace today. Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Chief Justice Kedar Nath Upadhyaya, Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat, Chairman of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee Parshu Narayan Chaudhari were also present on the occasion.

LRC chief appointed

KATHMANDU, Feb 28 (PR): The cabinet meeting today appointed Niranjan Thapa as the chairman of Law Reforms Commission (LRC), a high level cabinet source said. Thapa was the former minister of state during the last days of the Panchayat regime. The meeting also held an extensive discussion on formulating a code of conduct to proceed for the peaceful negotiation with the Maoists.

Nepal accuses Chand Govt of foul play

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Madhav Kumar Nepal, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist & Leninist (CPN-UML), today accused the government of trying to extend its tenure by spreading the rumour of a possible break-down of the government-Maoists peace talks.

Speaking at a press conference organised in his home-town, Chandranigahapur, Nepal said, "The government is playing a foul game of concealing its regressive move by spreading such false news."

Nepal also blamed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) of siding with the king and undermining the achievements of the 1990 People’s Movement.

He said that the Maoists also aligned with government’s strategy at a time when all the political parties were about to declare a decisive agitation against the king urging him to rectify his mistake - October 4 royal take over.

Terming the Chand government as partyless panchayat system, Nepal urged the Maoists not to cooperate with such a government. He also demanded immediate dissolution of the Chand government and reiterated UML’s stand for the formation of all-party government.

Accusing Nepali Congress (NC) of raising unfruitful agenda of reinstatement of House of Representatives, Nepal urged the party to speak out in favour of an all-party interim government.

One dead, 11 hurt in road accident

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: One person died and 11 other sustained injuries in a micro-bus-truck collision at Ring Road in the capital on Friday morning.

Nirup Maharjan, 33, the driver and owner of the micro-bus died on the spot. The injured passengers were immediately taken to the Bir Hospital for treatment. Most of the injured have returned home after minor treatment.

The truck belonged to Armed Police Force (APF) and its driver, head constable Ram Bahadur Tamang is still at large.

The incident occurred when the micro-bus with number Ba. 1. Ja 5780, heading from Balkhu towards Kalanki, collided with the truck numbered Ba. Ga. 1553 near Kalanki.

CBS to conduct living standard survey

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Central Bureau of Statistic (CBS) is launching the living standard measurement survey under the assistance of the World Bank and Department for International Development (DFID) in about a month’s time.

CBS commences training for enumerators who will be mobilised in a year-long survey on Friday.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs. 50 million. Once completed, the survey results are expected to help development agencies for their programme aiming the weaker section of society.

While similar survey in 1995/96 had compiled data concerning annual consumption of households and rise in the incidence of poverty and its nature, the upcoming effort is billed to lay stress on deducing the impact of the development programmes.

"The main objective of the survey is to compile data which can be compared with the data of the first survey," Tung Bastola, Deputy Director General of CBS, said.

The upcoming survey has two dimensions; the first part comprises the measuring of the poverty on the scale of rural-urban population shift and employment and second finding out changes in the status of the families, which had migrated during the last seven years.

CBS teams would select the sites and tabulate the primary data ensuring the coverage of the economic activities of the sample households spreading over a year.

"Two separate questionnaires would be used for rural and urban population to compile data concerning consumption, income, source, status, composition, health and status of the children, " Bastola said, adding that enumerators would adopt latest techniques.

The survey will be conducted in selected 434 areas. The survey will involve handing out 70-page-long questionnaires to 5,240 households and interviewing them on different aspects of their socio-economic life.

While this will be undertaken as part of cross-sectional survey, the CBS has decided to conduct a panel survey. This will be achieved by picking up 1,232 families from 3,373 households interviewed during the last survey.

CBS expects to arrive at the dependable data cutting across eastern Terai, eastern hills, mid-Terai, mid-hills, western-Terai, western hills, mid and far western-Terai, mid and remote western hills, mid and remote western hills and alpine region and cities inside the Kathmandu Valley and elsewhere.

Once the survey gets underway, 16 field teams comprising of 80 trained personnel will be moving into respective field stations.

Meanwhile, since the survey is not expected to throw up any thing which might be useful for district level planners, CBS expects to churn out suitable data by collating the data thrown up by the poverty measurement survey and decennial census 2001. In fact, the data will be presented in the form of district poverty mapping.

Much of the interest lies in the fact as to what would be the incidence of poverty seven years on with the last such survey pegging the incidence of poverty at 42 percent. The upcoming project is much more comprehensive than the last one.

Maoists for strengthening of multi-party system

By Lekhnath Ghimire

SINDHULI, Feb 28: District-level Maoist leaders yesterday said their party was in favour of ‘complete’ multi-party democracy and wanted to see the monarch as a constitutional head.

Addressing a roundtable conference held at Dadi Guranse, Maoist leader Prabhat said that their party came to the peace process with the demands acceptable even to the parliamentary forces. He said that the demands of roundtable conference, interim government and constituent assembly were put forth to give a ‘complete shape’ to the multi-party system. He also conceded that it was impossible to achieve the goal of republic at present.

He said that in the absence of parliament, the roundtable conference to be attended by all political forces and civil society would act as an interim parliament whose mandate would be exercised by a powerful interim government to be formed subsequent to the conclusion of roundtable conference.

Maoist leaders said they demanded an election for the constituent assembly to bring the monarch fully under the constitution. He went to the extent of saying that his party would fully respect people’s verdict notwithstanding their defeat.

The monarch could be made powerless and army brought under the parliament provided the parliamentary forces stood united during the election of constituent assembly.

Other speakers representing Maoists’ army wing stressed that a unified national army should be established by dissolving both the forces - Royal Nepal Army and ‘People’s Army.’

However, apart from Nepali Congress (Democratic) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), other major political parties like Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and People’s Front Nepal boycotted the roundtable conference. NC (Democratic) and RPP representatives said that peace should prevail at any cost and also appealed the Maoist leaders not to go back to the jungle this time breaking peace process in the middle like in the past.

A combined force of army and police came close to the site of the conference. The force sent a message to the rebels through media persons not to display any weapons and wear combat uniforms. The force retreated after the rebels took their message positively.

Mahara, Sharma raise fears of truce collapse

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dinanath Sharma, leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) today held separate meetings with Kamal Thapa, a central member of the Rastriya Prajatantra party (RPP) and Bisnu Bahadur Manandhar, a leader of the CPN-United.

Mahara and Sharma, who have been holding separate meetings with the leaders of different political parties are in a bid to convince all political parties on the last month’s cease-fire declaration and aftermath development.

They are reported to have reiterated their previous statements that the cease-fire agreement was an outcome of long exercise but not a part of secret plot with the king. "I don’t see any suspicions after meeting with the Maoist leaders that they had a secret plot with the king," said Manandhar.

Manandhar urged the Maoists to stand by other political parties to bring back the peoples’ sovereignty. "Both the leaders said they were seeking more addition in the achievements of 1990 movement," said Manandhar. During their meeting with RPP leader Thapa Friday morning, the Maoist leaders expressed suspicions that the one month-long truce could be ended at anytime due to the government’s ‘attitude’.

"The government seems to be neglecting the truce in recent days," the Maoist leaders are reported have complained Thapa. According to a source close to Thapa, the Maoists expressed dissatisfaction over the "unnecessary delay" in announcing the government team for peace negotiation and lingering the code of conduct.

Thapa urged the Maoists to accommodate the views of all the political parties and assured them to play a positive role for a logical end of the dialogue.

UK special envoy arriving soon

KATHMANDU, Feb 28 (PR) - The British special representative, Sir Jeffrey James is arriving here by the second week of March to coordinate the efforts of British government and the international community in the government-Maoists peace talks, a British diplomat said here today.

The Charge d’ Affaires at the British Embassy, David Ward told The Kathmandu Post that appointment of James was not made on the request of Nepal government but in the personal initiation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He said it was normal practice for the British government to send special envoys in the countries where it feels the conflict management process is facing some trouble.

Speaking after launching "Today’s Youth", a school magagine, at Budhanilakantha School in the capital, Ward said the appointment of James as the special representative was made prior to declaration of cease-fire in Nepal.

James will be serving as a special representative to Nepal but would be based in Britain. "He seek cooperation for peace and development of Nepal though consultation with the interested countries in the top level, Ward said. "He will visit Nepal in every three months and coordinate the international cooperation here in Kathmandu."