No electricity despite hydro-project nearby

By Lal Prasad Sharma

DEUPAR, Parbat, March 30 : Hundreds of households in the four VDCs of Parbat district do not have electricity despite the 14.8-Megawatt Modikhola Hydro-electricity Project (MHP) being situated in the region. Before starting the project, the project authorities had promised that the VDCs would be electrified on a priority basis. However, two years since the completion of the project locals feel cheated as major portions of the area is still without electricity.

After completion two years ago, the hydro-electric project was handed over to Baglung Micro Hydro-electricity Project (BMHEP). However, 50 per cent of Deupur, Tilahar, Deurali and Bajung VDCs, numbering 3,000 households, are yet to be electrified. The locals blame laxity on the part of BMHEP for their houses not being electrified.

There has been no attempt to erect electric poles in many places with the poles lying scattered, unattended. In some areas electrical cables had been attached to erected poles but power has not been released, according to Rajendra Chapagain, the ex-chairman of Deupur VDC.

"We approached the concerned bodies several times but nothing has developed," said Chapagain.

The MHP is not responsible for the electrification programme once the project was handed over to BMHEP, says Kanhaiya Kumar Manandhar, the MHP Chief.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) district office said that the remaining houses in the VDCs were not electrified as the government does not have programmes for rural electrification.

"Presently there are no electrification projects. I am unaware of the projects prior to my posting here," said Krishna Prasad Adhikari the MHP Chief who assumed the post last year.

Students face ordeal in SLC exams

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GULARIYA, March 30 : Forty students of a school in Bardiya district were forced to undertake this year’s School Leaving Certificate examination (SLC) sitting on the floor.

According to official sources, all the exam centres were confined to the district headquarters Guleriya, leading to a shortage of space and furniture. Furthermore the small classrooms of the Babai Multiple Campus could not accommodate many of the examinees.

The students were forced to take their tests under a tent on the grounds of the campus, writing their answers on the floor, instead of desks and benches inside comfortable classrooms.

As they proceeded with their exam, the students seemed perplexed in the unfamiliar environment while their guardians waited anxiously outside. The uncertain weather during the exam period also affected their performance, said the students. "I had never expected that I would be taking the SLC examination actually sitting on the floor. The new situation worried me," said a student.

"My answer paper got wet by the rain during the exam hour," said Dabal Bahadur Bista, another student.

Parents and guardians have expressed anguish over the poor management for the SLC exams by the DEO.

Rabies affect dairy farmers

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ILAM, March 30 : The spread of rabies has severely affected dairy farmers and consumers in and around the district headquarters. Once cattle caught rabies through stray dogs, the consumers in the headquarters have stopped buying milk coming from the outskirts. The cattle in Godak, Barbote, Shantidanda including other villages are infected with the disease, and the disease has claimed seven cattle according to the District Public Health Office (DPHO).

"My neighbours and I have stopped buying milk which comes from villages for the past one week for fear of the disease," said Kamala Sharma, a local at Ilam municipality-1. Health workers have been deputed to the villages to check the disease and over 55 rabies infected dogs were killed of late, said Dr. Nabin Ghimire, the DPHO Chief.

Two girls burnt alive

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BARA, March 30 : In a gruesome incident today, an eight-year-old girl lost her life while the future of her elder sister is uncertain. Three local youths of Dharmanagar VDC-2 of Bara district burnt two neighbouring girls by pouring kerosene on their bodies and the reason was that the girls refused to play holi, the festival of colours, with them a few days ago.

Rajeshwor Prasad Keshari, 25, Bhuwaneshwor Keshari, 18, and Hare Ram Keshari, 17, today afternoon dragged the two sisters Madhu Kumari, 14, and Hema Kumari, 8, out of their house to the courtyard and set them on fire by pouring kerosene on their bodies, according to Birendra Shrestha, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the District Police Office (DPO).

The younger sister died of the burns in the evening while the severely injured elder sister was rushed to Birgunj for treatment. "Though the youths have no criminal records, their act is highly deplorable," said Shrestha adding that the youth are at large and the police is searching for them. Police have also alerted the Indian police along the border to look out for these criminals.

‘Corridors’ become a boon for wildlife and locals

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BARDIYA, March 30 : Enthusiastic locals have contributed to changing the corridor areas that links the Royal Bardiya National Park (RBNP) and a national park in Bihar state of India due to the growth of community forest groups becoming active in Bardiya district.

This has not only helped the locals with easy access to forest products but has also helped the wildlife, according to wildlife officials. Local residents are busy transforming the areas declared as ‘corridor’ by the government into community forest, thereby helping and increase in the flow of wildlife between Nepal and India, according to Parashuram Chaudhari, a ranger working on corridor management. The corridors join RBNP with Katarniya Ghat Wild Life Park (KGWLP) in Bihar state of India.

"Corridors now have become the habitats of endangered wildlife and birds which is quite note worthy," said Chaudhari.

The locals of various Community Forest Consumers Committees started transplantation in open spaces and converted places with thin vegetation into lush green areas, according to Chaudhari.

"Because of their gradual improvement towards an ideal habitat, wildlife from Nepal and India freely visit the corridors," said Naresh Subedi, a ranger in RBNP. However, the danger that the wildlife might get into their farms and destroy their crops has also worries the locals. "The wildlife might destroy our crops in the future, once their number in the corridors areas grows," expressed Birodhi Rai of Suryapatta-7.

Five Maoists re-arrested

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SINDHULI, March 30 : The Sindhuli District Administration Office today again sent five people, including two teachers, to prison under the Public Security Act before they completed one-year of imprisonment.

These people who were arrested on suspicion of being associated with Maoists were serving the term under the Terrorist and Destructive (Control and Punishment) Act.

The District Administration Office said that two teachers Sabitri Shrestha and Krishna Kumar Gautam, both from Kamalmai municipality, and three others – Arjun Thapa of Kamalamai municipality, Pradeep Nepali of Bhimeshwor VDC and Shambhu Yongan of Bastipur VDC were remanded to custody as per instruction from "higher level".

Prisoner Shrestha, talking to The Kathmandu Post, said their re-arrests were the sheer violation of the cease-fire and the code of conduct reached between the government and the Maoists. A police officer said that they were sent to jail by changing the charge sheets. Earlier, the administration had re-arrested two others and sent them to jail under the Public Security Act.

Overall development of Dalits stressed upon

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KATHMANDU, March 30 : "Skill is utilised, blood is utilised but human beings are untouchables". This is the fact before 25 percent of people living in Nepal. One out of four have to go through racial discrimination and the pain of untouchabilty everyday in the country.

Minister for Physical Planning and Construction Narayan Singh Pun opined that unless all the problems of the nation are solved and all the citizens of the country are satisfied, peace will not be long lasting.

He was speaking at an interaction programme organised by Samata Nation Development Academy (SANADA) on ‘The Traditional Occupation of Dalits and it’s Modernisation’.

"Everything is possible" and "I definitely want to bring changes in development theory", said Pun, who is also a Central Chairman of SANADA. He added that an academy should be established for the protection of the interests of the Dalits and the problems of Dalits should be the main agenda of the peace talks.

Pun also opined that Dalits are service providers of the society and they should be looked upon as the pillars of the society. "The whole country should change their perception towards Dalits," he added.

"Untouchability is the endmost crime of human beings," said Laxmi Kant Pandey, general secretary of SANADA. The establishment of this organisation is one of the few steps toward the solutions of the problems of the Dalits.

"All occupations are equally respectable and the Dalits are categorised by their occupations ," he added.

Chakraman Biswokarma, general secretary of the Dalit Sewa Sangh said that merely changing the word ‘Dalit’ is not the solution to the problems faced by the Dalits. "Perception should be changed and not the term "Dalit", he added.

He said that the upgradation of the Dalit community is not possible until they are confident enough to come forward and participate in the mainstream politics.

Subash Darnal of Jagaran Media Centre said that among the various traditional occupations of Dalits, deserving ones should be continued while the other one should be left behind. He opined that the process will itself take the shape of development.

Gajadhar Sunar, Chairman of Dalit NGO Federation, Jeet Bahadur Gurung, advisor of Danida Hugo, Binod Pahadi, Secretary of Dalit Mukti Samaj, Ambika Gajmer, and general secretary of Feminist Dalit Organisation also emphasised on the modernisation of the traditional occupations taken up by the Dalits.

30 pc of Kathmanduites have mental disorders: OPRC, KMC

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KATHMANDU, March 30 : A research on mental health of the residents of Kathmandu metropolis conducted by the Organisation for Psychological Research and Counseling (OPRC) in association with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has concluded that the status of mental disorders in the city is appalling.

According to the report, based on a research conducted in six wards of the capital, thirty in every hundred people in the metropolis have one or more of the psychological disorders such as adjustment problems, smoking, alcohol, illicit drug use, mild psychological disorders, and severe mental or organic disorders. This is the first research in Nepal in the field of psychological illnesses.

Dr. Baburam Gautam, chief of the public health department, KMC, says that rapid urbanization has had its toll on the urbanites. "The common manifestations of these disorders include insomnia, depression, distress, tension, desolation, abuse and fear," he said today in the capital in a programme organised to disseminate community psychological problems and need assessment.

"There is still a negative attitude among us when it comes to looking at people with psychological problems," said Gautam, adding that more than 20 percent of people who come for primary health care have psychological problems, but shy away from discussing them owing to the social stigma attached to it. "We have a tendency to hide our psychological illnesses," he said.

Adjustment problems have been found as the most prevalent form of psychological disorder. While thirty percent of the respondents were found to be suffering from one or more of the psychological illnesses, 45.33 percent of them said that one or more of their family members might be suffering from mental illnesses.

Terming the findings as needing immediate professional intervention, Dr. Nirakar Man Shrestha said that among the 10 most dangerous diseases in the world today, five are psychological disorders. "In the last century, physical health saw a massive upliftment. However, in the sphere of mental disorder, the world has not progressed. In fact, it has become worse in some areas," he said.

Similarly, Dr. Ayn Bahadur Shrestha said that mental problems among the adolescents is one of the emerging health problems in Nepal. The research findings also show that the prevalence of mental disorders is highest among the adolescents (52 percent), followed by old people (44 percent), and adults (24 percent).

The Nepali society perceives drug abuse as the most serious problem, followed by family conflicts, personal anxieties, alcohol related problem, social frustrations, occupational stress, situational stress, interfamilial conflicts, psychotic disorders, smoking and mental retardation.

While the status of mental disorders warrants immediate intervention, as pointed out by experts, the research itself has been seen as a major breakthrough in Nepal in the field of mental health. "OPRC has been providing consultancy to such patients," said Kohinoor Karki Dahal, vice-president of OPRC. The organisation has been conducting a counselling programme to suicidal burn cases at Bir Hospital since the last two years, aided by the generous private sponsorship of Wendy Marsten.

Experts agree that community mental health centers are the only reliable means of intervention. The concept was implemented in the United States after the second world war to tackle the dramatic increase in mental disorder in the country. "It worked well there. It will definitely work in Nepal, if implemented peoperly," said Padma Prasad Ghimire, secretary of OPRC.

Surya Sharan Regmi, chief of KMC has assured that KMC would take mental health as a priority. "I will see what can be done in terms of curbing this spreading threat," he said.

Police working for crime free society: IGP

KATHMANDU, Mar 30 (PR) - "Nepal police organization has been working very actively to make this society free from crimes," opined Shyam Bhakta Thapa, Inspector General of Police while speaking at the First General Meeting of Valley Community Service Coordination committee.

He further added that social work is a sensitive job and requires a lot of patience so we should all respect the initiative people in this field and the work from this committee can help make people a better citizen of the country.

The committee is now constructing a new hospital. Similarly it also organizes free clinic service on a weekly basis, sewing and other similar training for women etc. This committee has also been very active whenever any natural calamities have occurred in the country by providing financial and moral support to the victims.

Similarly, for the first time in Nepal in association with this committee and Nepal police had organized public police service day when various awareness programmes regarding crimes, traffic and other social issues was held.

Engineers convention in the offing

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KATHMANDU, March 30 : Role of engineering for shaping the society and to modernise it through engineer’s innovation, ingenuity and commitment to the betterment of mankind was discussed at the press meet organised by Nepal Engineering Association NEA here today.

"Engineering is treated as physical outputs and hardware only, rather it plays a vital role in the social transformation," said E. Bharatraj Pahari general secretary of NEA. Engineers must be able to interact and communicate in language that non-engineers can understand easily and regard their presence with interest, honour and dignity, he added.

NEA informed about its upcoming 8th National Convention on 3-5 April and also apprised about the main agenda of the convention which will be "Engineers in Social Transformation"

From around six thousand members of NEA, only fifteen hundred engineers will be taking part in the upcoming convention and forty five foreign engineers are likely to participate

According to the NEA it is not possible to gather all the members at once so minimum of them are joining the convention. Different depth and important working papers will be presented at the convention.

Ambar launched to steal hearts

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KATHMANDU, March 30 : A solo album entitled Ambar, a collection of modern songs by Kundan Rayamajhi, an aspiring poet and lyricist in the field of literature was released by the prominant singer, lyricist and musician Ambar Gurung amidst a function here today in the capital.

"The album Ambar is dedicated to the artist Ambar Gurung, who has given voice and music in this album," said Rayamajhi, who is very excited and feels proud of having artist like Gurung who was the chief guest at the function. Speaking at the programme he mentioned the names of lyricists like Ratna Shamsher Thapa and Rajendra Sara, who inspired him to write the songs.

Analysing the album, Dr. Abhi Subedi, dramatist, lyricist, poet and analyser said,"There is passion in all the songs which are very simple reflecting liveliness and traditions composed by the talented Rayamajhi." According to him Rayamajhi has mainly focused on the sentiments of the songs putting varieties of themes such as love, softness and songs that evoke nature .

Speaking at the programme artist Gurung said that he is an ardent admirer of creative music which enhances the music to move forward and creates distinctness in music."All the songs are very soothing and this album as well as Rayamajhi has contributed to the field of music," he added.

Similarly, lyricist Ratna Shamsher Thapa and Bairagi Kainla also highlighted on Nepali songs and music.The album Ambar consists of twelve songs sung by a dozen of renouned artists like Prakash Shrestha, Rama, Sapana Shree, Yam Baral, Shakti Ballabh, Thupten Butia, Lochan Bhattarai, Lashmit Rai, Ananda Karki, Ramana Shrestha and Thupten besides Ambar Gurung himself.

Ambar Gurung , Shakti Ballabh, Mana Raja Nakarmi, Narayan Oli, Sahcin Singh and Bishwo Shahi have given music on this album which has been produced by Music Nepal.