Seminar on water resources management to be organised

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KATHMANDU, March 18 : To mark the World Water Day, the Society of Public Health Engineers, Nepal is set to hold a national seminar on " Managing Water Resources for Poverty Alleviation" in Pokhara under the theme ‘water for future’ in the near future.

According to Birendra Man Shakya, general secretary of SOPHEN, Minister for Physical Planning and Housing, Narayan Singh Pun is expected to inaugurate the seminar while Dr. Shankar Sharma, vice chairman of National Planning Commission and Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel, secretary of the PM’s Secretariat will make a keynote address on the occasion of the World Water Day.

About 300 Nepali experts associated with the field of irrigation, agriculture, water and sanitation and environment are expected to take part in the seminar to discuss water issues.

"As poverty alleviation programme is high on the agenda of the tenth five year Development Plan, discussions on the water issues will be in that direction," said Shakya, who is also general secretary of the World Water Day organising committee.

Experts are also expected to make the presentations at the seminar which is a part of the two-day programme of SOPHEN.

On the preceding day, a public awareness programme will be launched which includes different activities like a talk programme for engineering students, mass rallies with participation of Ama Samuha, NGOs, INGos and also Dohare song competition and art competition with messages.

Similarly, various programmes will be organised in 23 districts in order to raise public awareness about water issues.The goal of World Water Day 2003 is to inspire worldwide political and community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need for more responsible water use and conservation.

Concerns over rights of marginalised people raised

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KATHMANDU, March 18 : The Fifth National Convention of Nepal Tamang Ghedung Sangh will discuss on the role of the Sangh to overcome the current crisis of the country. This was revealed at a press conference organised prior to the convention today.

The convention will be organised at Pokhara, Kaski district from April 4 to 6. The convention will be attended by more than 450 representatives from 65 districts.

Speaking on the occasion, Parshu Ram Tamang, chairman of the Sangh said, "This convention is a move to establish the rights and privileges for the marginalised people".

"This should be taken as the obligation of the Tamang community toward the other indigenous people", he said.

So far the recent news of the Nepal Tamang Ghedung Sangh being dismissed from the Nepal Janajaati Mahasangh is concerned, Tamang apprised that they have not yet received any documents as such in this connection

"This could be a conspiracy to break down the Janajaati Movement to fulfil the vested interest of few people", he said.

High cost of treatment may snuff out student's life

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KATHMANDU, March 18 : Sharada Bhattarai, 24, a student of Population Studies (master’s level) at the Tribhuvan University, is struggling for life after her family could not collect a heavy amount required for the treatment of a BG syndrome paralysis, a disease that causes paralysis of the whole body.

Hailing from a remote village of Jaljale, Terhathum district, Bhattarai has now been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and is breathing in through artificial systems, according to the patient’s family.

"Doctors have said the minimum cost for the treatment is about Rs 300,000, besides the hospital service charges that would fall around Rs 200,000," said the Bhattarai family. "But, if nobody is there to help us out financially, there is no hope of Sharada’s survival."

Prior to be taken to the Teaching Hospital, Sharada was referred to Om Nursing Home from the Bir Hospital due to the lack of technical equipment. Later, she was transferred to the Teaching Hospital after a seat was vacant.

‘Human development in poor state’

RSS

KATHMANDU, March 18 : A workshop was organised here today with an objective of organising a network of journalists in order to disseminate human development messages regularly through media.

The workshop organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also aims at briefing the participant journalists on the human development concepts and approaches.

Human development experts on the occasion pointed out that the human development in the country is in a poor state due to weak governments, political instability, inequality in the distribution of means and resources, misuse of public resources, lack of transparency, responsibility, discipline and good-governance and various sorts of discriminations.

Sspeaking on the occasion, vice-chairman of National Planning Commission Dr Shankar Sharma said special programmes focusing on the targeted groups of rural communities are to be brought in the tenth five-year plan for poverty alleviation.

Assistant Resident Representative of UNDP Sri Ram Pande presenting the report on human development concepts and approaches said the development of the society and the country is impossible until and unless the human skills are developed.

Likewise, executive secretary of ADDCN Murari Upadhyay and human development report officer of UNDP Heather Bryant presented work reports on good governance and human development and poverty monitoring for human development respectively.

Japanese philanthropist helps Nepali students

By Madhav Aryal

PALPA, March 18 : A Japanese tourist, moved by the pitiful situation of school going children, constructed a 10-roomed building in a remote village of Palpa district. The noble Japanese national has helped in the construction of other school buildings in other parts of the district too.

Bhagawati Lower Secondary School of Humin VDC-6, a remote village in Palpa district now boasts of a new school building thanks to Takashi Honda, the Japanese national. A total of 250 students now benefit from the school building.

The school building earlier was a dilapidated one with patchy roofs. Whenever it rained, water dripped into the classrooms and the students had to shift their classes to another room, according to the schoolteachers.

Dharma Bahadur BK and Bhoj Bahadur BK, two locals contributed land for the construction of the new school building.

"The bright sharp eyes of the poor school children of Humin VDC-6 in Palpa district left a deep impression in my heart during my first visit," said Honda.

Honda had visited Nepal with his fellow countryman Kaju Masa Kakimi who is better known as OK Baje two years ago.

"During his visit to Nepal I had taken Honda to remote parts of Palpa.. Those memories brought him to Nepal the second time," said OK Baje. Baje has been serving various villages in Palpa district for the past decade.

Honda also contributed in the construction of a three-roomed building for Siddhartha Primary School and a five-roomed building for Chandrodaya Lower Secondary School in the district.

Ever since his return to Japan after his first Nepal visit, Honda kept himself busy collecting funds for the construction of school buildings. He reached to many agencies in Japan and also toiled hard to raise money for the poor students in Palpa, stated Honda.

Meanwhile, at the initiation of Honda and O.K. Baje, International Lions Club and a Japanese organisation are to provide scholarship to 357 students studying in 24 schools in the district. The students are from the dalit community and from disadvantaged families.

Rural people face food, salt shortage in Kalikot

By Motilal Paudel

TUNIBAGAR, Dailekh, March 18 : The people around the rural parts of Kalikot district deprived of transportation are now facing food scarcity. Tunibagar, which is considered the main business centre of Kalikot is now being crowded by people coming from various rural parts of this district to find relief from food shortages in their villages.

People have been thronging to the Tunibagar situated on the 107 km section of the Surkhet-Jumla road in Dailekh and which has better access to transportation for procuring food items and salt. Though there is plenty of food stock in the district headquarters, Manma, the people around that region are forced to cover a distance of two to three days walk to reach Tunibagar.

According to the chief at the Nepal Food Corporation branch in Surkhet, Amar Khadka, depot at Manma holds around 1,000 quintals of food, but the people in the rural region are facing food shortage. So, the people living in the western VDCs of this district such as Lalu, Kotwada, Rupsa, Raskot, Badalkot, Dhaulagoha and others have been frequenting Tunibagar with the hope of getting some food.

It is learnt that the food grains that is provided to the district headquarters, Manma, at a subsidised rate by the government is sold at Rs. 19.51 per kg while the rice-grain sold in Tunibagar is Rs. 17 per kg.

This food shortage has arisen due to lack of proper irrigation facilities around this region, said a local of Dhaulagoha who had come to get food in Tunibagar. Prior to the cease-fire they could not freely move and had difficulty procuring food from these depots.

Though there is iodised salt stock of around 2,700 quintals in the depot at the district headquarters, yet the people from the remote parts of Kalikot have been receiving non-iodised salt sold at Tunibagar. The iodised salt is being sold at Rs. 6 per kg in Manma, while the Kalikot locals have been paying Rs. 8 per kg at Tunibagar.

Out of the allocated quota of 2,300 quintals of salt, 1,930 quintals of salt have been already supplied to Manma. According to the Salt Trading Corporation, Surkhet there is a stock of about 2,700 quintals of salt in Manma presently.

Tunibagar has been a boon to Kalikot, south-eastern part of Bajura, eastern part of Achham, and the western part of Dailekh. This town is now the real hub with crowds coming to buy daily necessities, say a hotel entrepreneur, Ashok Shahi.

Tourism festival to be held in Baglung

RSS

BIRATNAGAR, March 18 : A press conference was here held yesterday to publicise the tourism festival to be held at Baglung from April 8 to 14 to coincide with the festival of Chaite Dashain with the theme "protection of arts and culture, promotion of tourism, industry and trade."

The objective of the festival is to protect and promote the arts and folk culture, tourism and export of local products to help support the economic, social and cultural and tourism spots of Dhaulagiri zone known as ‘Nepal within Nepal’.

The festival has been jointly organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, District Development Committee, Jaycees and municipality of Baglung.

Convenor of the publicity subcommittee of the festival Bidur Khadka gave these and various other information at the press conference organised at the sub-metropolis.

Dhorpatan, the only hunting reserve of the country falls in Baglung, the district that covers an area of 1,734 square kilometre. Before the unification of Nepal, it was under Parbat state considered one of the most powerful among the smaller states existing within the country at that time.

There are many religious, historic and tourism sites including the renowned Kalika Bhagavati temple considered to be of importance to the Hindus. Other gems embedded in the district are the areas along the holy Kaligandaki banks.

Some of the rare wildlife in the world such as Kasturi (musk deer) and Danfe (Lophophorus) and rare medicinal herbs are also beckoning tourists to visit the district, said Chief District Officer of Morang Dolakh Bahadur Gurung who also had a stint as CDO of Baglung.

RNAC makes test flight to Rukum 

By Rudra Khadka

PALGUNJ, March 18 : Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation resumed its regular flights to Chaurjahari in Rukum from Saturday, one and a half year after the destruction of the airport by the rebel Maoists. Air service is the only means of transport in the district.

The state-owned airlines had made a test-flight on Saturday. Locals were overjoyed at the resumption of the flight after a long gap. Locals extended a warm welcome and offered garlands to Yam Prasad Juharchan, the pilot who made the first flight to the airport.

"We had given up hopes of the flight following the destruction of the airport facilities. Now, we are very optimistic," said Dhanbir Gosain, "Let’s hope the flights will continue."

Chaurjahari market, which was developing as a business hub in the district, wore a deserted look following the Maoist attack on the airport.

After making the first test-flight to Rukum, pilot Juharchan said condition of the airport was normal and added that they resume regular flights followed by minor repairs. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has already brought communication sets to the airport to operate regular flights there.

500 women rescued

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ILAM, March 18 : The branch office of Maiti Nepal, an NGO working against women trafficking, in Pashupatinagar entry point of Ilam district said that it rescued 500 Nepali women in the past two years.

Either the brokers or their relatives had taken the women to various Indian cities to be sold to brothels. The rescued women were handed over to their guardians, according to Hom Dhakal, the co-ordinator of the Maiti Nepal branch office.

The women were from 51 districts, mainly from Dolakha, Jhapa, Ilam, Sunsari and Bhojpur. The branch office is also sheltering the women victims of domestic violence and those who have lost their mental balance, according to Dhakal.

Holi observed with joy in Terai region

KATHMANDU, March 18 (PR) - While the populace in 54 districts in the mountain and hilly belts of the country observed Holi, the festival of colours yesterday, people in the plain belt or the Terai region celebrated the joyous festival today.

Historic Janakpur town rose amidst the chanting of holy names of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita by its locals who went around the town early morning. Youth from their housetops and verandas welcomed the procession sprinkling colourful powders. Various organisations organised colourful events during the programme to mark the festival. . Besides the colourful festival, Gana Gaur festival started in Bara district today. The festival is observed by women from the Marwadi community who worshiped the statues of various deities including Parvati and Shiva for some more days starting today.