Five cities in the Valley to have solid waste action plan

BY KIRAN CHAPAGAIN

KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Five cities inside the Kathmandu Valley will have a master action plan on managing solid waste within 18 months starting from early next year. The action plan, first of its kind, was being long sought for by the cities to make the cities clean from all sorts of solid waste.

An eighteen-month intensive study will be carried out before drafting the action plan for Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality and Kirtipur Municipality for a decade. The government of Japan has supported the efforts.

The government of Nepal and the Japanese government signed an agreement today to formulate the action plan on the management of solid waste of the Kathmandu Valley. Surya Prasad Silwal, under-secretary at the Ministry of Local Development in-charge of Environment Section and Prof. Dr. Isamu Yokota, leader of the action plan formulation team on behalf of the Japan International Co-operation Agency signed the agreement today.

The study will define the jurisdiction of the five cities on managing solid waste, which is a major responsibility and focus of the municipal offices of the cities to be incorporated in the proposed action plan.

Besides, the study proposes to suggest places for landfill sites for future and intermediate treatment facility. In addition, the proposed Okharpauwa landfill site will also be studied during the period.

The Kathmandu Valley does not have its landfill site since the Gokarna landfill site was closed in 1997. All sorts of waste is being dumped on the banks of the holy Bagmati river, even without carrying an environment impact assessment. The proposed Okharpauwa landfill site is not ready yet.

Till now there is no clear-cut national policy on solid waste management, which has remained a problem of the cities. The problem of solid waste management is severer in the capital than in other cities in the country. KMC has to manage up to ten cubic meter of solid waste everyday whereas it has been able to handle only eight to nine cubic meter of waste a day, according to Rajesh Manandhar, chief of the Waste Management Unit at the KMC.

"The action plan on solid waste management was necessary as the absence of such plan has bottlenecked our efforts to keep the city clean. "Moreover, we are confused of our jurisdiction relating to solid waste management till now," Manandhar told The Kathmandu Post.

At present, the cities are authorised by the Local Self-Governance Act to be responsible only for managing household waste. There is confusion on authorities responsible for management of hazardous waste, waste produced by institutions, hospitals and industries and street waste, real obstacles of municipal offices in their efforts to keep their cities clean. However, the cities have been forced to manage the solid waste other than produced by households.

Om Hospital urged to compensate victim’s family

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Nepal Consumers’ Forum appealed to Om Hospital and Research Centre to compensate the family of Narayani Devi Malla, who according to the family, died due to the negligence of the hospital.

At a press meet today, the Malla family and the Nepal Consumers’ Forum said the negligence of the hospital was a lesson to all. Narayani was admitted to Om Nursing Home on July 4 after suffering from a cold and breathlessness.

According to Basanta Malla, his wife was prescribed an antibiotic on July 3 by Dr U.N. Pathak, physician of Om Hospital, and was changed by the doctor the next day after Narayani’s health grew worse. "My wife could have suffered from a side effects due to the medicine," said Malla.

The next day, when she suffered from the difficulty in breathing, Dr Pathak admitted her into Om Hospital even though the hospital did not have a ventilator. It was only at 11:55 pm when the hospital transferred her to Nepal Medical College. Narayani later died at Nepal Medical College.

"If we had been refereed to another hospital in time, my wife could have survived," said Malla. Although the family went to Om Hospital for compensation amounting to Rs two million, the authorities refused.

Tamu Council demands apology from Maoists

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 12 : The Council House of Tamu (CHT), (Tamu Chonj Dhin), has demanded public apology and compensation from the Maoists for the killing of Deepak Gurung, a schoolboy.

"The party responsible for the heinous act should publicly accept their mistake and provide compensation to the bereaved Gurung family," said Bhakta Bahadur Gurung, president of the CHT.

Gurung, a 12-year-old student of Mahendra Rastriya Secondary School, was killed on September 8 in a bomb blast in Baluwatar. The bomb was planted in the toilet of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City ward No. 4, Baluwatar.

The CHT has also accused the government for the tragic incident. "We had to suffer this tragic loss due to sheer negligence of the government in the issue of security in such a sensitive area," Gurung added. " The government should also provide the family with compensation."

CHT has also appealed to the Maoists to carry on their activities in a peaceful manner.

Toran Bahadur Gurung, former member of the House of Representatives, said such act of the Maoists could never be termed as politically-motivated.

Release of detained teachers sought

KATHMANDU, Sept 12 (PR) - An estimated 300 teachers were arrested today by the security personnel on charges of violating the ban imposed on mass gathering.

They were arrested by police when they tried to march at the capital’s Ratna Park protesting against the murder and abduction of teachers. They were also demanding for the permanent placement of temporary teachers in schools and a descent treatment to them.

Those arrested include: members of Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA), Nepal Teachers’ Association(NTA) and the Revolutionary Teachers’ Association. The detainees have been lodged at the Mahendra Police Club. They were not released until late evening.

Issuing a statement, CPN-UML strongly condemned the arrest of peaceful demonstrators. It calls for the unconditional release of all the detained teachers as early as possible.

Similarly, spokesperson of the Nepali Congress(NC) Arjun Narsingh KC called for the immediate release of all the teachers. According to a statement from NTA central committee, among those detained include: Mohan Gyawali, the NTA general secretary, president of NNTA Madhav Prasad Adhikari, and secretary Baburam Adhikari.

Bachelor’s exam deferral leaves students in dilemma

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : The rescheduling of the Bachelor’s examination of the Tribhuvan University (TU) has left thousands of students in dilemma since it may result in the loss of a year. The exams, which were scheduled to start from August 31, was put off for two months following the disturbance created by the agitating students’ organisations, affiliated to five main agitating parties.

TU said about 7,000 students have not been able to sit for their exams in about 9 centres in Kathmandu and one in Biratnagar. About 84,000 students had appeared in the examination but they had to discontinue due to the disturbance.

Pabitra Rijal, one of the affected, expressed her discontentment at the two months delay of the examination. " I’m apprehensive that this will result in a year’s loss," Rijal said. "The students may come up with other protest programmes in the future, too."

Deputy Controller of Examination Prakash Singh Pradhan admitted students were deeply affected. " If the rescheduled examination is disrupted again, the students may have to suffer a loss."

According to him, the Controller’s Office will try its best in conducting the exams as per the schedule, " but there is a need of commitment from all the sides," he said.

It is not only the question of loss of an academic session. The woes of the students who came to the capital just for the shake of taking examination is worth sharing. Bibek Regmi from Gorkha had arrived in the Valley for the examination but because of the delay he had to return without any fruitful result. "It is just the waste of time, money and energy," he said in a woeful voice. "Whoever created this situation didn’t think of people like us."

The Bachelor’s first year examinations were postponed owing to the disturbance created by the students’ union as the exams coincided with the agitation of the five political parties against ‘regression’.

"The students created such a situation that we were compelled to postpone the examination," Pradhan said. "Since examinations in such an environment will not bring out the true picture of the students’ capabilities, we were compelled to take the step."

According to the officials at the Controller’s Office, the examinations will be held only in those centres where the exams were disrupted. The number of centres is yet to be finalised.

Nepal seeks King’s initiative to resolve political impasse

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) urged the king to take initiative in resolving the current political impasse.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Reporters’ Club in the capital, Nepal said, "The king must initiate dialogue with the political parties to give a way out to the present crisis."

But he said that he has not yet received signal for any such development from the king.

He also asserted that the Surya Bahadur Thapa government could not address any of the problems facing the nation and reiterated his demand that the Thapa government should immediately resign.

Claiming that the Thapa government would in no way resume peace negotiation with the Maoists, Nepal expressed confidence that the all-party government would bring the Maoists to the political framework. However, he could not give the agenda, which would bring the Maoists to mainstream politics. "Maoists can find many of their issues in the 18-point forward-looking agenda. But we can further discuss with the Maoists in this regard," Nepal said.

The five agitating political parties had unveiled their 18-point forward-looking agenda, which curtail the king’s power.

He expressed commitment to the 18-point agenda but also indicated that the parties were not rigid on it. "We are in favour of reconciliation and compromise," Nepal said.

Nepal further said that the parties would resume their ‘decisive’ agitation against the king’s October 4 move only after Dashain and Tihar, the festivals celebrated by the Hindus.

Nepali lexicon launched

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : George E. Bloomfield, Ambassador of Britain to Nepal, launched Nepali sign language dictionary at a concluding session of ‘Advanced Training Course for Nepali Sign Language (NSL) Interpreters’ organised by the Nepal National Federation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDH) here today.

Speaking at the programme, he said that the sources of the British Embassy in Nepal was very less and they had to think seriously to conduct any project. "The five-day training for NSL is one of the best projects," he said.

The dictionary consists of 2,202 words for those who are challenged with hearing power. There were 15 NSL participants from 12 districts of the country. The training was held by the NFDH in co-operation with the Deaf Way, UK, for the second time in the country.

2 killed, 6 injured in Hetauda bomb blasts

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : A series of bomb blasts by rebel Maoists rocked the industrial city of Hetauda this morning, leaving two civilians dead and six others wounded, two of them seriously. The Maoists exploded three powerful bombs in government facilities and another one at a shop at School Road.

Two people, identified as Sunil Shakya, 22, of Hetauda Municipality-4 and Chiranjivi Humagain, 20, of Ambhanjyang VDC-2, were killed when the rebels exploded a powerful bomb inside Hiralal Sah’s shop at School Road at about 10 a.m. this morning.

Police said that Shakya and Humagain had arrived there for shopping. Shakya died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital and Humagain died while taken to Kathmandu by helicopter. Six others, including the shop owner Sah and his family members, were injured. The injured people are undergoing treatment at Hetauda Hospital.

Likewise, the rebels also exploded bombs at District Election Office, Hetauda Municipality and Ilaka Post Office located inside the Hetauda Industrial Estate. The explosion has shattered the windowpanes of the District Election Office and Ilaka Post Office and wall of the municipality has been damaged slightly. Employees at the District Election Office said that the perpetrators had informed them of the bomb.

Terrified by the series of bomb blasts, the bazaar remained closed throughout the day. Meanwhile, in Nawalparasi, the rebels also shot dead a district leader of the Nepali Congress (Democratic), Gyanendra G.C., in Dumkibas this morning. The rebels had fired five bullets.

Police in Nepalgunj said that a group of rebels shot at a farmer, Chandra Prakash Giri at Pipara of the Shaumsher Ganja VDC yesterday night. Giri said the rebels shot at him after he refused to provide them donation. The rebels also abducted Bhojraj Dhakal and Prem Bahadur Oli, both from the Kohalpur VDC.

A report from Kapilvastu said that the rebels destroyed yesterday three empty area police stations based at Bahadurgunj, Maharajgunj and Pipara. The policemen deployed at the posts had already been called back to the district police office about a week ago for security reasons.

294 children in 18 VDCs orphaned

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BARDIA, Sept 12 : The number of children orphaned by the armed violence in 18 districts of Bardia district has reached 294.

In the door-to-door survey conducted by two separate organisations, in eight VDCs of Rajapur region, and in 10 VDCs to the east of the district headquarters, the figure and the extend was recorded.

It is learnt that the Dalit Sewa Sang (DSS) had conducted the survey in 10 VDCs to the east while the Tharu Women Upliftment Centre (TWUC) had carried out their study in the eight VDCs around Rajapur. The survey report states, that majority of the children under survey had lost their fathers during the insurgency.

The loss of this bread-winner and the protector of the family has not only devastated the vicious cycle of the entire family but also led to majority of the children quitting their school, informed Naresh Saub the coordinator of the programme for DSS.

13-year-old youth gruesomely murdered

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PARBAT, Sept 12 : A 13-year old youth of Deupur VDC-2 in this district has been murdered by another youth from the neighbourhood last Wednesday by slitting his throat with a sickle.

According to the information provided by the police, the 21-year old assailant Fadindra Khatri who was lurking around the temple near the victim Jit Bahadur Adhikary’s house had attacked Adhikary with the sickle on the neck and killed him.

The perpetrator while fleeing away was nabbed by the police from Nayapul in Kaski. The assailant is suspected to have attacked Adhikary out of vengeance under the influence of intoxication, informs the police.

Ultrasound machine collects dust in Khotang hospital

By Shahiman Rai

KHOTANG, Sept 12 : An expensive hi-tech machine is collecting dust at the store room of the district hospital, Khotang, for the past six years due to its improper utilisation and maintenance.

The ultrasound machine was donated by the district residents working in North Korea for the poor people of the area, according to sources.

Khotang Welfare Fund (KWF), an organisation of the workers employed in North Korea had donated the machine costing over one million rupees. However, KWF members are deeply hurt to find the machine lying in such a state having failed to serve the purpose for which it was installed, according to Nishan Rai, the Chairman of KWF.

The machine was handed over to Dr. Ganesh Rai and Dr. Rajkumar Budhathoki, the then doctors at the hospital in the condition that it be utilised for the optimum service of poor patients, according to KWF sources.

Sources at the hospital said that the machine could not be utilised due to lack of skilled manpower. "Even when it was in proper condition, the hospital could not use the machine as the Ministry of Health does not provide a specialist to handle the machine," said a hospital source.

"We had provided the machine with the view that it would help the treatment of poor patients by proper diagnosis of internal disease. We are deeply unhappy that our aspirations and purpose could not be met," said the Chairman Rai.

"Though the machine was highly effective for the treatment of ulcer, stone, delivery cases, heart cases and infection within the body , it could not be used and maintained due to the lack of manpower to operate it," lamented Dr. Gunaraj Lohani, the chief at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the hospital source said that the machine could not be repaired despite spending Rs. 50,000 for its repair works, according to concerned sources.

Maoists launch mobile FM radio

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DANG, Sept 12 : Maoist rebels started their own mobile FM radio station from an "undisclosed location" in the mid-western region from Thursday. The Maoist radio was clearly heard today at Sworgadwari area of the Khal Village Development Committee in Pyuthan.

According to Govinda Bhandari, a local of the VDC, the radio was heard at 95.1 megahertz as a "test-transmission" for about two hours early on Thursday morning.

Without disclosing his name, the anchor had requested the audience to send their comments and  suggestions about quality of the prgrammes to the "special district". Bhandari, however, said he could not listen to the Maoist  radio when he tried to tune in to the same frequency today morning. Earlier before the break of the cease-fire, the rebel leaders had informed that they were in the final stage of launching a mobile FM radio station.

Baby elephant in RBNP 

By Dipendra Baduwal

BARDIYA, Sept 12 : A female elephant has given birth to a calf in the Royal Bardiya National Park (RBNP) recently while two calves are expected soon from another female elephant. Both the elephants are domesticated, according to concerned sources.

Birth of a calf by Gulabkalli has showered happiness among the park staff, specially among those who had been taking care of the elephants. They are also expecting two calves from Laxmikalli.

Presently, eight staffs including the Mahut are devoted to the care of the mother and new born calf. Staffs are also equally vigilant on the health condition of the pregnant elephant, said Chitra Bahadur Khadka, the Veterinary Chief.

Protection of Galkot palace demanded

By Binod Tripathee

BAGLUNG, Sept 12 : Galkot Durbar, an ancient palace in Harichuar VDC of Baglung district, built during the Malla period deserves much protection. Still in the ownership of an individual, the palace of profound historical value is deprived of conservation and protection measures, said concerned sources.

Stating that antique features in possession of the Glokot Durbar are prone to extinction, locals have demanded its  security and conservation measures. Malla rulers were still ruling the Galkot area as feudal even after the unification of the country.

Bharat Bam Malla enjoyed the monarchical title in the palace ruling as the last king till 1960. He had been paying Rs. 3,722 to the central government as per the existing rule. Afterwards, his three sons inherited the palace, according to locals.

However, following the death of Madhav Bam Malla, the first son of Bharat Bam Malla, at the hand of the Maoists two years ago, the entire Malla family has been staying in the capital, thus leaving the palace in a vulnerable state.

Presently, the palace is locked and Bishnu Subedi, a local tills the 14 roppanis of its land, according to villagers.

"‘King’ Mukunda Bam visits here once or twice a year and returns to Kathmandu with half share of grains and fruits," said Subedi.

The palace still possesses antique objects including various types of statues, swords, a throne, a crown. The government either should take care of the palace at its own accord or hand it over to the local community, said Dirgha Lohani, a local.

"The government should nationalise the palace by compensating its owners," said Ram Bahadur Khatri, the chairman of the Galkot Community Forest.

Schools closed in Parbat

PARBAT, Sept 12 (PR) - Over 3,00 schools in Parbat district were closed today as per the consequence of teachers strike. Around 14,00 teachers marched a rally in Kushma, the district headquarters chanting slogans including conversion the teachers serving in temporary posts to permanent posts, free secondary level education system and restoration of monthly pay system.

Cop shot dead, constable injured

BIRATNAGAR, Sept 12 (PR)- A group of five armed Maoists shot dead Lal Bahadur Tamang an Assistant Sub -Inspector of Police of the Area Police Office at Sijuwa in Morang today evening. Tamang had got out of his office building, sitting on the back of a motorbike, to make an inspection of the Jhutkiya fare-market at Jhutkiya-8 when a group of Maoists took control of him at Ambadi-chowk. They first attacked him with a sharp weapon and finally shot him down, informed the local eyewitnesses present at the time of this incident. District Police Office of Morang has confirmed the incident.Similarly, in another shooting incident reported from Dhangadhi, a police constable was injured when two Maoists opened fire at him at Atariya. The police constable Prem Singh Bekay who sustained wounds in head and chest has been undergoing treatment at the Nepalgunj Zonal Hospital.

Informal education benefits locals

NEPALGUNJ, Sept 12 (RSS) - Informal education has played an important role in the development of education in Banke district. Illiterate children who are at risk as well as girls and adults have benefited from various informal education programmes namely, the Girl Education Programme, Women Health Education and Literacy Programme, Child Workers Education Programme and the Radio Education and Learning Programme implemented in Banke district. The Non-Formal Education Programme conducted by UNESCO in the municipality and various VDCs of Banke district in coordination with the District Education Office and various non-governmental organisations has benefited some 3,839 persons in three years since the start of the programme. Some 60 percent of the children who have become literate after receiving non-formal education for nine months have enrolled themselves in schools for formal education, according to UNESCO Banke president Parvez Ali Siddiqi.

Timber confiscated

BHARATPUR, Sept 12 (RSS) - The users of Thanikhola Community Forest yesterday evening confiscated Sal timber while it was being transported in a cart towards Jaladevi VDC by the smugglers. According to the chairman of the community forest users’ committee Lakshmi Chaulagain, the villagers confiscated the timber after chasing away about 5/6 smugglers.

Four killed in truck mishap

ITAHARI, Sept 12(RSS) -Four persons died on the spot and 17 others sustained injuries when a passenger bus (Sa 1 Kha 297), plying from Biratnagar to Saptari, collided with a truck (Na 1 Kha 3473), headed towards Itahari from west, at Sripur vdc-7 of Sunsari district this morning. Among the deceased are bus driver Santosh Bhattarai of Saptari district, truck driver Hari Bindar Singh of Jammu, India, and two other passengers, who have not been identified, the police source informed. Among the wounded, 7 were rushed to BP Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan and other 10 have been hospitalized in district hospital, Inarwa.

Poachers shot dead

MAHENDRANAGAR, Sept 12(RSS) - Two poachers have been shot dead in an action taken by security forces at Beldadi VDC of southern Kanchanpur, adjacent to Royal Shuklaphata Wildlife Reserve. A patrolling group of security forces on ednesday night encountered five armed persons in the area and started firing at them thinking to be Maoists when they started to run away instead of obeying the security forces caution to surrender, the security source said.However, three of them were able to flee away. The deceased have not been identified yet and it is guessed that they can be Indian nationals coming for illegal hunting of wildlife in the reserve.

Lack of market worries ginger farmers

BHOJPUR, Sept 12 (RSS) - Ginger farmers in the district are worried as their produce has started to rot for lack of market. Recently there has been an upsurge in commercial ginger cultivation in Bhojpur district due to the lucrative price it fetched. But the initial enthusiasm has given way to worry for lack of buyers. The farmers complain that lack of transportation facility and market has been the main problem for them. They became interested in commercial ginger cultivation on learning that ginger could be grown as an inter-crop in orange orchards. According to the District Agricultural Development Office, Bhojpur, ginger is cultivated on a total 200 hectares land and the annual production is 2,000 metric tons. Commercial cultivation of ginger is done mainly in Khairang, Sindrang, Ranibas, Patlepani, Devantar, Pancha, Dusmana, Pawala VDCs in the southern part of the district at present. But it is also cultivated as a lesser crop in other parts of the district as well.

Dalit priest installed

HETAUDA, Sept 12 (RSS) - The locals of Hatiya VDC-8, Laxmipur, Makwanpur district, have installed Amar Bahadur Bishwakarma from the local dalit community as priest at the Sri Ganesh Temple to perform worship and religious sacraments at the temple. The temple was constructed at the total cost of Rs 795,000 with the obilisation of local voluntary labour.

VDC secretary in police custody

KAPILVASTU, Sept 12 (RSS) - Secretary of local Patana Village Development Committee (VDC) Ram Milan Prasad Gupta is now in police custody on the charge of taking bribe from Keshav Adhikari of the same VDC for issuing a migration certificate from the VDC office. A dispute arose between VDC secretary Gupta and Adhikari when the former demanded Rs 500 for the certificate. But the dispute was settled after Adhikari agreed to pay Rs 100 instead, it is learnt. The VDC secretary has confessed taking Rs 100 for ‘tea expenses’.

Telecom remains disrupted in Tehrathum

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TEHRATHUM, Sept 12 : Rural parts of Tehrathum district were enjoying the facility of telecommunication service despite being devoid of any vehicular movement until when the system was disrupted two years back. Two years have passed but the communication system over this region has not come into operation yet.

The only means of communication left for the locals from the rural to the district headquarters and vice versa is through letters delivered on foot now. The activities of the Maoists in the rural parts as well as checking by the security forces at the district headquarters has caused great inconvenience to even this system of communication, lament the locals.

It is learnt that two years back, almost all the VDCs in the remote eastern and the western parts of this district had the facility of telephone service until when the Maoists destroyed the infrastructure transmitting information during the insurgency period. Though the talks were underway to restore the dilapidated telecommunication system during the observation of cease-fire between the government and the Maoists, the lackadaisical behaviour from the government to reinstall the dilapidated infrastructure has still kept this region cut off from rest of the country.

Due to this disruption existing since the past two years, the locals of the 11 VDCs in the eastern Atharai region of the district have been forced to walk two-day’s distance to the district headquarters like Myanglung, Fidim, and Fungling of Tehrathum, Panchthar, and Taplejung respectively to make phone calls.

After the security patrol ordered the close down of a few existing cordless systems in Sakrantibazaar and Chhatedhunga, the people have become completely cut off from the telecommunication system.

At this juncture, the postal and radio have been the only means of communication for the people around the rural parts of this district. Moreover, it is learnt that the postal system operates only twice a week here.

Mohan Nepal, a local from Thoklung-7, talking to The Kathmandu Post said, that phone becomes the utmost necessity during the time of emergency, like when someone is in serious condition and needs medical attention immediately, during time of human casualties, and others.