Congress steers clear of its mess, Koirala to shuffle Cabinet , CWC

BY A STAFFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, August 11: The ruling party has steered itself out of the political mess that followed the dismissal of Water Resource Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka early this week to pre-empt a clandestine move to oust the Prime Minister.

After 6 hours of hectic meeting today the central working committee of the Nepali Congress seems to have ironed out the prevailing political situation within the party, at least for now. And, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is expected to reshuffle the Cabinet and the Central Working Committee of Nepali Congress, conceding to part of the demand of former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, who has criticised Koirala's decision to dismiss Khadka. But no time frame was given.

But Nepali Congress Spokesman Narahari Acharya said Koirala had already been in mood to make changes in the party's central committee and the government after his India visit last week.

According to Acharya, the CWC was very close to finding a solution to the problem faced by the party and all the CWC members were for narrowing down the differences within the party. The CWC members stressed on maintaining unity in the party to ensure political stability in the country.

The meeting, Acharya said, mainly focused on the points raised by Bhattarai, who abstained from the meeting today also. Bhattarai refused to attend today's meeting saying he had already spoken his mind to Koirala and that it was not necessary for him to be present at today's Central Working Committee meeting.

Thirty CWC members, except for Bhattarai, were present in the meeting, in which Koirala invited 14 Congress workers, including the ministers and MPs. The five CWC members, including Khadka, who had abstained from yesterday's meeting, however, were present.

But Khadka, who met Koirala for about 45 minutes in the morning, left the meeting after about two hours saying he had put forth his views and was going to attend his other works with the permission of Koirala.

Talking to the press he said there should be political stability and the Nepali Congress should remain one, but he said he was firm on his stance that Koirala should relinquish one of the two posts – either the Prime-Ministership or Party Presidency.

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also left about 20 minutes later. He refused to talk to the media as he drove away with the windscreen of his vehicle rolled up.

However, the party spokesman said it was basically a consultative meeting called by Koirala, the Party President and Prime Minister. And 24 out of 31 CWC members expressed their views that restructuring the Cabinet and the Central Working Committee of the party were the prerogative of the Party President and as Koirala has already expressed his commitment there was no need to take any decision regarding them.

Among the other queries raised by Bhattarai were the postponement of the party's national convention for several months, induction of Deuba as acting president of the party, the CWC members said they rested on the personal discretion of the Prime Minister and the party president.

Acharya said the Prime Minister would evaluate the situation and that he was committed to restructuring the Cabinet and the CWC to make it more efficient.

'Fulfill just demands of agitating employees'

Kathmandu, Aug. 11 (RSS): Majority of the MPs, speaking after taking special time at the meeting of the House of Representatives today, urged the government to fulfill the just demands of the agitating employees of the public corporations.

They said that the problems be solved though discussions and not suppression of the employees.

Speaking on the issue were CPN-UML MPs K. P Sharma Oli and Pradip Kumar Gyawali, Badri Prasad Mandal of Nepal Sadbhawana Party and Nawaraj Subedi of Rastriya Janamorcha.

On the occasion, Mr Oli alleged that the Prime Minister's India visit had not made any achievement and was not in the interest of Nepal.

An agreement had been reached on import polluting vehicles and lengthening the process of preparing the Pancheswor detailed project report, he said, adding that matters should have been put before India on the inundation caused by the dam in Banke and solving the problem.

Mr Oli said that we should have told India that talks on border should be held only after the removal of Indian troops from Kalapani.

The CPN-UML deputy leader expressed the view that it was not in the interest of Nepal to lower the process of talks to the secretary level at a time when the Nepalese Minister for Foreign Affairs had already sent a letter to replace the existing1950 treaty and make it timely.

Mr Oli also protested against the act of linking CPN-UML workers with the violent incidents taking place in various districts including Dhanusha, Morang, Siraha.

He also stressed the need to move ahead the process of passing the bill on women's property rights in this session.

Prakash Bahadur Gurung of Nepali Congress regretted that the construction work of the upper Modi Khola hydel project in Kaski district had not begun yet even when an agreement for it had been concluded last year.

He said the tunnel, dam, road and bridges should be constructed to facilitate the people of Ghandruk, Dangsing, Lumle And Salyan VDCs affected by the project. Attention should also be given to environmental safety and use of local manpower, he added.

Govinda Bikram Shaha of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation Board of Directors has decided to buy two aircrafts at Rs. 2 billion on August 7 without calling a tender.

Stating that the RNAC board of directors had a commission of Rs. 300 million from the deal, Mr Shaha demanded that the purchase of aircrafts be stopped immediately.

Leader of the Parliamentary Party of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party Badri Prasad Mandal accused the Election Commission Officer of refraining from taking photographs of thousands of voters of Ward Nos. 13, 16 and 17 of Biratnagar sub-metropolis under the directive of a big political party and demanded the transfer of the official.

Nawaraj Subedi of the Rastriya Janamorcha said the government has arrested progressive writer Krishna Sen Ichhuk from the office of a newspaper and detained him at Siraha Jail in trumped up case of possessing weapons and demanded his immediate release.

Dr. Gopal Prasad Koirala of Nepali Congress said several houses have been swept away in Damak, Lakhanpur, Kodobari of Jhapa district and there is a need to shift the people to safer places. He accused the government of not doing anything despite his repeated requests.

Pradip Kumar Gyawali of CPN-UML demanded opening the blocked road of Gulmi district and to control soil erosion caused by rivers.

Krishna Lal Maharjan of the same party said polluting material have been mixed in the tap water in ward no. 2 Kumbheswor of Lalitpur Sub-metropolis from a fertiliser factory and local people consuming the water have been admitted to hospital.

He also demanded shifting of the factory to an uninhabited place.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Education and Sports Dilendra Prasad Badu said that all district education offices have already been directed to fix the ratio of teachers and students at schools and adjust the posts of teachers subjectwise at secondary schools.

Responding to the questions raised at the House of Representatives today, Mr Badu said there is no programme for making permanent secondary schools in this year, but there is a programme for recognizing proposed secondary schools run with local means and resources.

There is no programme for setting up a primary school in Lama Language in Tihar in the northern region of Mugu district in this fiscal year, the Minister of State said, adding that the rumour that a multiple campus has been set up for running diploma classes in Jumla district is not true.

CPN-UML's Pradip Kumar Gyawali, Chandra Bahadur Shahi, Lalbabu Pandit and Devilal Thapa had asked questions to the Minister of State.

Similarly, replying to questions concerning his Ministry, Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperatives Baldev Sharma Majgainya said as the Marpha distillery of Pokhara was already handed over to the Central Food Research Lab in 2052 BS, there is no programme for running it.

In response to another question, he made it clear that there is no programme for keeping cows of different species in Ramechhap and Jiri livestock farm.

It is not true that a milk chilling centre has been set up at Bihun Suldanda of Baglung district this year, he added.

Stating that cheese factories have been removed from various places in Panchthar district since quality milk was not available there, Mr Majgainya noted that there is no programme for opening cold storage and milk chilling centre at government level in Rajpur market of Bardiya district.

Those asking questions were NC's Mahadev Gurung, Tanka Prasad Sharma Kandel and Khemraj Bhatta Mayalu and CPN-UML's Pashupati Chaulagain, Gorakha Bahadur Bogati and Dambersingh Sambahangfe.

Likewise, answering questions concerning his Ministry, Minister of State for Population and Environment Shivraj Joshi remarked that for the last five years, different programmes have been launched for making the city lush and green and it will be continued this year also.

From this year a policy has been pursued requiring every office to plant at least 10 trees within the office compound and for greening the ring road, he added.

Noting that the Bagmati drainage improvement project has completed 66 per cent of its work, Mr Joshi made it clear that the population census made on the basis of religion is not correct.

Denying the claim that smoke-free tempos are being discouraged by the weak policies of His Majesty's Government, he said a total of 48 such tempos have been made available with Danish assistance.

CPN-UML's Vidyadevi Bhandari, Bir Bahadur Lama, Bijaya Subba And Krishna Lal Maharjan, NC's Hridayaram Thani and Lilamani Pokherel of the Samyukta Janamorcha had asked questions.

'Arun III debate taught us many lessons'

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug.11: The economic, social and environmental issues, triggered by the aborted Arun III in 1995, should now be addressed if the hydropower project presently designed with doubled installed capacity is to be developed, Inhured International said in an interaction programme here today.

"There were many lessons the Arun III debate taught us in the past. We must consider those lessons while developing the Arun III Hydropower Project this time," Gopal Sivakoti Chintan, Director of Inhured International, said in the interaction programme.

Inhured International was one of the organisations that spearheaded the opposition against Arun III then designed with the installed capacity of 201 MW.

Amidst much controversy, the officialdom aborted the project after the World Bank decided to pull out of it. The multilateral agency played key role to conduct studies and prepare the detailed-designing of the project.

Five years down the line, a private company based in the United States of America, has applied for the survey license of the US Dollars one billion project.

Eur Orient Investment Banking Group will take 11 months to complete the necessary formalities before it applies for the construction license of Arun III.

The revised Arun III is estimated to cost US Dollars 2,500 for its every kilowatt of electricity while its earlier version -- popularly known as Baby Arun -- was tagged with US Dollars 5,000 for its each kilowatt of power.

"The cost went so high because the policy, physical equipment, design, among others, planned for the project were all wrong," Chintan said. "The good news we have now is that Arun III does not have any conditions set by the World Bank like it did last time."

He said that the multilateral agency had posed conditions like Nepal should not allow any other companies to develop other hydro power plant above 10 MW until and unless the Bank recovers its money it would invest in the project. "So much so, the Bank had also put the condition that the government should get the national budget approved by the Bank."

Chintan also recalled that the government had spent US Dollars 17 million to prepare the Regional Action Plan (RAP) to develop the Arun Valley together with the construction of the then Arun III project. "Since that plan clearly says that the plan will lay the necessary infrastructure for the Arun III, the government should implement the plan before the project actually begins this time."

Participants in the interaction program also raised question about the efficiency of EurOrient and its past experiences elsewhere.

They also discussed how much benefit would Nepal get once the American Company starts producing electricity through the Arun III hydropower plant.

Lokendra award given to Shrestha

Kathmandu, Aug. 11 (RSS): CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal presented the Lokendra Literary Award to Abinash Shrestha at a programme organised in memory of the Ninth Death Anniversary of Litterateur and Journalist Lokendra Bikram Shaha.

Mr Nepal presented the letter of appreciation while Kedar Jung Shaha, father of late Lokendra Bikram Shaha presented the cash prize of Rs. 10,000.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Nepal said literary functions should not be given political colour and we should guide the society towards the path of change with inspiration from the talented persons of the nation.

Litterateur Krishna Chandra Singh Pradhan presided.

Media's role vital in raising awareness of women's HR

BY A STAFF REPORTER,

Kathmandu, Aug 11: The need to bring up gender issues to help the CEDAW to be brought into practice was stressed at a one day consultative workshop organised by the mainstreaming Gender Equity Programme of UNDP and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare for media persons held here today.

During the interaction at the workshop facilitated by Sancharika Samuha, the Women communicators group, on ‘the imporatnce of CEDAW: Role of media’, emphasis was laid on the importance of knowledge of the CEDAW to build a public opinion against the discrimination and aberrations prevalent in the society.

The secretary at the Ministry of women, children and Social Welfare Urmila Shrestha said such interactions were necessary to enable the gender issues and the provisions of CEDAW, ratified by Nepal ten years ago, to be raised in the media effectively.

"Media can play a very effective role in bulding pressure and raising awareness in the society as women’s human rights are violated even within a family structure," said Bharati Silwal Giri, Assistant Resident Representative at UNDP.

Advocate Sapna Malla stressed that the media must monitor the implementation of the provisions of CEDAW and whether the government is fulfilling its commitment to CEDAW or not.

CEDAW provides not only against the discriminatory laws but also practice and the effect of such laws and guarantees against sexual discrimination, said Malla.

Communication specialist at the Ministry of Women, children and Social Welfare Dr Hiramani Ghimire stressed that the media has to be genrous about a proportionate coverage of gender issues.

During the second session, the particiapants that included media persons, both men and women discussed the policies on the media and gender issues.

Bandan Rana, president of Sancharika stressed the need for training and information to media persons at all levels as well as the management of the media organisations.

Indu Pant, the Programme manager of MGEP-UNDP, said a collection of information is soon to be published on women empowerment that should prove useful for the media.

Suresh Acharya, President of Nepal Journalists Federation, said that the implementation of commitments expressed on paper have become a challenge in all areas.

During the vote of thanks, Saru Joshi of MGEP-UNDP said the commitment shown by media persons on gender issues is enthusiastic and expressed hope that it will last.

'Youth Day young phenomenon'

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 11: On the occasion of International Youth Day, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan observed "International Youth Day is in itself a very young phenomenon. The very idea to create an Internatinal Youth Day came from young people, and it was proclaimed as a UN observance by the General Assembly only last year."

The UN chief further observed that on this day we promote awareness of the landmark World Programme of Action for Youth, which seeks to make governments more responsive to the aspiratins of youth for a better world, as well as to the demands of youth to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The World Programme stemmed from young people's realisation that to deal effectively with the impact of globalisation on their lives, they must start preparing for the future now and not wait for Governments to tell them what to do. The Programme covers 10 priority areas for action, ranging from education, employment and poverty to health, the enviroment and drug abuse. In each of these areas the Programme analyzes the nature of the challenges and presents proposals for action I would urge Governments to take its recommendations seriously, and to work together with young people for its implementation, Kofi Annan said.

"To this end, I encourage Governments which have not already done so to formulate and adopt integrated national policies to address youth concerns, and to support the creation of national youth partnership bodies, so youth policy can be implemented through youth action" the UN chief said.

Such new partnerships are needed at all levels--among young people in different countries, between youth and Governments, between youth and the United Nations. "On this Internatioal Youth Day, let us resolve to build true partnerships with youth. Let us pledge that young people's voices will be head all over the world in the 21st century," he urged.

102 killed, 11 still missing due to flood, says Joshi

Kathmandu, Aug. 11 (RSS): Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi informed the House of Representatives today that 102 persons were killed and 11 are still missing due to floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall in all the districts excluding Tehrathum, Manang and Mustang.

In a statement of public importance, Home Minister Joshi disclosed that so far 69 people were injured, 8,208 families affected, 384 heads of cattle perished, 2,508 houses and 169 cow sheds destroyed and bridges, school buildings and public property damaged causing a total damage worth Rs. 440 million.

He informed the House that so far Rs. 9150,000 has already been dispatched from the Central Natural Calamity Relief Assistance Fund to the district natural calamity relief assistance fund for the victims.

The Home Minister also said that the meeting held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister a few days ago constituted a flood-landslide management committee under the convenorship of the vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission with the secretary of the Ministry concerned for the management of flood and landslide and to rescue and provide immediate relief assistance to the victims.

His Majesty's Government has also directed the chief district officers to provide immediate relief assistance to the victims in coordination with the local bodies, non-government and other social organisations, the Home Minister added.

'Jaisi dies in clash with rebels in East Timor'

Kathmandu, Aug. 11 (RSS): Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Paudel informed the meeting of the House of Representatives today that Royal Nepalese Army Jawan Deviram Jaisi of Raniban VDC-5 of Dailekh district, a member of the Kebal Jung Battalion on a peace keeping mission at the call of the United Nations in East Timor died in a clash with rebels.

Giving a statement of public importance, Deputy Prime Minister Paudel said three Jawans of the Battalion were injured in the clash which took place at 5:20 p.m. local time on Aug. 10 at Holbulo, an area under their responsibility but Mr Jaisi died on the way to the hospital in Dili.

Other Jawans Dilliraman Kafle and Man Kumar Karki injured in the clash are undergoing treatment and their condition is said to be "not critical," Mr. Poudel said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Royal Nepalese Army company comprising of 12 officers and 143 of others ranks had left for East Timore on April 26, 2000 on a six-month assignment at the call of the United Nations.