Lok Deep Thapa appointed new Editor-in-Chief

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Lok Deep Thapa has been appointed acting Editor-in-Chief of The Rising Nepal. Prior to his appointment to the top post, he was the Executive Editor of the English daily. He also served as editor of the Sunday Despatch weekly from 1993 to 1998.

Thapa, 40, is a graduate of the first batch of journalism from the Tribhuvan University. He has also completed a course for professional journalists from the Centre for Foreign Journalists, Reston, Virginia. Thapa joined The Rising Nepal in August 1983 as sub-editor. He said he wants to take The Rising Nepal forward by fostering professional environment. Thapa has visited the USA, Europe and several countries of Asia.

Thapa replaces Gyan Bahadur Rai as the English daily’s acting Editor-in-Chief. Rai will now revert to his former post of Executive Editor. Rai was appointed the acting Editor-in-Chief on Ashwin 8, 2055.

Leasing Lauda plane a compulsion: Chataut

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Tarini Dutt Chataut told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives Thursday that it was a compulsive situation that led Royal Nepal Airlines to lease a Boeing 767 aircraft from Lauda Air despite instructions from the parliamentary body not to do so.

The PAC had called Minister Chataut to justify the lease of the aircraft from Lauda Air. The plane had arrived Kathmandu Friday last and was pressed into service immediately. Justifying his stance, the Minister said had it not been for the leased aircraft, RNAC would have incurred huge losses after one of its planes was stranded in Bangalore following a bird hit a few days back. But members of the parliamentary committee were unconvinced. The PAC members took it as a clear sign of the Ministry’s intention to undermine the dignity of the committee.

The Letter of Credit (LC) for the advance payment of the lease was opened four days before the PAC’s instruction came and, hence, it was virtually impossible for the Ministry to stop the deal. A Ministry statement issued after the PAC meeting also said that both RNAC and Lauda Air had already completed all the preliminaries regarding the handover of the aircraft by December 1 when the Ministry got PAC’s instruction. Had RNAC not fulfilled its commitment, there was every possibility of Lauda Air sueing RNAC for millions of dollars in compensation, the statement read.

But the PAC members refused to buy that logic saying the implementation of the agreement could have been delayed under the restrictive act of the government.

PAC member Buddhiman Tamang said the minister did not apprise the PAC about the compulsive situation before the plane arrived. If only the Minister had said this before, the PAC could have considered its situation, said Tamang.

Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, another member of the committee, made accusations of bringing in a fourth plane without making adequate research about market feasibility and route analysis. He said that with the induction of the fourth plane, RNAC is now capable of adding 300 more flight hours, or a third of its present capability, but the revised flight schedule has an increment of only 38 flight hours. "This means two of its own Boeing 757s will have to stay idle to make room for the leased planes."

Reading out from the Auditor General’s Report of 2057, Dr. Lohani said it was the most damning portrayal of RNAC’s internal mismanagement and that the Ministry has been doing nothing to correct the situation.

The members also chastised the minister for trying to shift the entire blame on RNAC. The Minister had said that RNAC was an autonomous body, and its Act entitled it to make decisions independently.

But the members said the letters sent to RNAC by the Ministry said otherwise. They also accused the RNAC of going against the commitment made by the Minister to the PAC. Their conclusion was that the Minister has failed to justify the implementation of the agreement to the parliamentary committee.

PAC member Ishwor Pokharel said the PAC will meet tomorrow to decide about its next step.

However, at a press conference after the PAC meeting, Minister Chataut said he has done nothing immoral and whatever has been done has been done in the interest of RNAC. He said RNAC had called for tenders under the directives given by the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority, but when it failed to bring in plane even after four attempts it went for sealed offers with the approval of the cabinet.

He also said the brining in of the plane was necessary because RNAC was planning to add flights to Paris and add new destinations such as Riyadh and Lhasa. He also said the country was expecting to bring in a million tourists by the year 2002.

Meanwhile, the conflict about the Lauda Air plane could snowball into a major political issue. The opposition parties, according to a press report, intend to call a special session of parliament to discuss the issue. This, the Minister said is the prerogative of the opposition parties, but the lease of the Lauda Air plane has not set the country into a crisis.

Meanwhile, RSS adds, Minister Chataut has made it clear that the Royal Nepal airlines Corporation (RNAC) was compelled to lease an aircraft boeing 767 of the Lauda Airlines as an atmosphere was created so that the Corporation’s international image was at stake and the advance payment would be forfeited despite the corporation’s immense respect towards the Parliament and the Parliamentary Committee.

Minister Chataut made this remark at a press conference organised here today.

Mr Chataut said a bank guarantee was despatched on October 31 on condition that the aircraft would be brought to Nepal on December 1, and the letter of credit for the purpose was opened on November 16 but the Public Accounts Committee had sent a letter on November 20 directing RNAC not to make payments by which time the process of bringing the aircraft had moved ahead.

In response to a query, Minister Chataut said that he had not committed any irregularities in the Lauda deal. He expressed his firm determination not to resign and demanded investigation and action if any financial irregularities had been taken place.

Executive chairman of the corporation Hari Bhakta Shrestha said rumours of irregularities are always there when financial transactions are made for an aircraft by the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation. As all the works carried out are transparent in the Lauda Air deal, there is no room for suspicion against the corporation, he added.

Rights activists charge both Maoists and cops

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Human Rights activists on Thursday charged that both the underground Maoists and the police were using abduction of civilians as a bargaining chip.

On the occasion of World Human Rights Day, the Human Rights and Peace Society held a demonstration in front of Singha Durbar to demand the cessation of the on-going abduction of civilians. They also demanded that the names of those abducted be made public to ensure the basic rights and dignity of the citizens.

"This protest is a quiet diplomatic approach at the public level to get the attention of both the Maoists and the police so as to stop them from violating human rights," said Krishna Pahadi, president of the association.

He claimed that the five-year-old People’s War had directly or indirectly violated the basic human rights of the people. And so has the police in the process of combatting it, he said.

"The Maoists have been abducting people and mobilizing them in their so-called People’s War against their will. On the other hand, the police have been arresting people on mere suspicion, some of whom have disappeared in the process of investigation," he said.

The Peace Society said they had records of more than 231 civilians who have disappeared in police custody. The Society believes about 100 people have been abducted by the Maoists in different parts of the country.

"The most recent abductions by the Maoists include Basu Gautam, Shyam Nath Kashyap and one Bina, president of a Women’s Association, in Myagdi. Ishwori Dahal and Matrika Yadav have disappeared in police custody, " said Pahadi.

"Now the situation is such that both the parties are utilizing this process of kidnapping as a bargaining tool to fulfill their respective demands," said Suresh Chandra Pokharel, General secretary of the Peace Society.

He cited a recent incident where the Maoists kidnapped one Shyam Nath Kashyap of Arghakhanchi district for the release of two of their comrades imprisoned in a jail in Gulmi.

"And sometime back, Sushil Koirala of the Nepali Congress in a speech had said that the government would release the Maoists in prison if they release those that have been abducted (by the Maoists)."

"This is a disgrace...," Pokharel added.

The Peace Society has conducted peace conventions in more than 37 districts of the country and it aims to hold it in another 12 districts. It is a public to public programme where the people representing various sectors interact and work for peace and ensure human rights.

ML conference today

Kathmandu, Dec. 7 (RSS): The four-day national conference of the CPN- ML is to be held here from tomorrow.

At a press meet organised by the CPN-ML here today, CPN-ML general secretary Bamdev Gautam informed that 894 representatives from the associations and organisations from all the districts as well as from abroad will participate in the conference.

General secretary Gautam said he will present his political report and other documents as general secretary of the party’s central organisation committee at the closed session of the national conference to be convened at the Royal Nepal Academy hall from December 9-12.

At the closed session party politburo members C. P Mainali, Shambhuram Shrestha and Siddhilal Singh will also present their own documents.

CPN-ML chairperson Mrs Sahana Pradhan said although efforts were made to present an integrated document with the consensus of all at the national conference, various documents will be presented because of time constraint.

The conference will draw conclusions by holding extensive discussions on all the documents presented at the national conference.

‘Buddha’s teaching more relevant in present world’

Kathmandu, Dec. 7 (RSS): His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev has said that understanding and following Lord Buddha’s teachings can contribute to help reach out and build bridges to those individuals, communities and nations left behind in the wake of globalisation and maintain an atmosphere of peace, harmony and brotherhood in the world.

His Majesty the King said this in a message to the 2lst general conference of the World Felloswhip of Buddhists being held in Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

In the message, His Majesty said that Prince Siddhartha, born in Lumbini, Nepal, whose teachings as Lord Buddha, with its emphasis on peace, compassion and tolerance two and a half-millennium ago, assume even greater relevance in the present competitive world.

His Majesty also extended best wishes for the success of the conference as well as of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in its endeavours.

His Majesty’s message was read out by Lok Darshan Bajracharya, chairman of the Dharmodaya Sabha which is the regional center in Nepal for the World Fellowship of Buddhists.

His Majesty has been a patron of the World Fellowship of Buddhist ever since its founding.

The King of Thailand, the Presidents of India and Sri Lanka and the head of government of Myanmar are also patrons of the fellowship.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, also in a message on the occasion, said the Buddha’s compassion for suffering humanity, his concern for man’s affliction resulting from ignorance and malice, and his efforts to free man from bondage, his urge for universal brotherhood, peace and non-violence have always been sources of inspiration for the entire human society.

Prime Minister Koirala called upon the World Buddhist Society gathered at the conference to take a lead role to preach Lord Buddha’s teachings and inspire human society to embrace the goals of righteousness as the moral aspect of our lives.

Mr Koirala wished the conference every success and also wished that it would be conducive in the cause of peace and understanding among nations.

The Nepalese delegation to the conference led by Dharmodaya Sabha chairman Bajracharya also includes general secretray Subarna Shakya, treasurer Padma Jyoti, joint treasurer Sagar Man Bajracharya, advisor Marshal Julum Shakya and Lumbini branch secretary Ratna Man Shakya.

Shrunken parking space gives rise to breaches

BY SURENDRA UPRETY

Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Lack of parking space is behind the rise in the number of traffic violations in the capital. Out of the 64, 924 cases of traffic violation that took place in fiscal year 1999/2000, 16, 183 were booked for parking in the ‘no-parking’ zone. With the number of vehicles in the capital now touching 151,000, the limited parking space is unable to cope with the growing pressure.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City maintains 40 parking spaces in different parts of the city, all for motorcycles. The Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO) has allocated spaces at additional nine different places for taxis.

"If only we could provide more parking lots, the number of traffic violations would go down substantially," says Kumar Koirala, Senior Superintendent of Police at the VTPO. Traffic violations relating to parking account for 23 per cent of all violations.

The VTPO is looking into potential areas to build parking lots. It is also looking to see if the private sector would be interested in operating them. Some of the places for building parking lots have been identified as the open space in front of the Election Commission, premises of the Nepal Scouts’ headquarters at Lainchaur, TU’s grounds at Jamal, and the banks of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers at Thapathali.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has plans to expand the number of parking lots from 40 to 65 in different parts of the city," Hari Prasad Rimal, the Executive Officer of the Metropolitan City, told The Rising Nepal.

No space has been demarcated for the parking of heavy-duty vehicles in the capital. So they are parked along the Ring Road. This has resulted in the encroachment of the 30-km road and the green belt surrounding it.

About two years back, the government had called upon private investors to build parking lots. Kathmandu Parking Pvt. Ltd. has responded by building a park for heavy-duty vehicles near Kalanki which will be operational soon.

"To manage the growing pressure of vehicles, there should be a parking lot for heavy-duty vehicles at the four entrances to the Kathmandu Valley," says Krishna P. Osti, Executive Director of Kathmandu Parking Ltd..

But before more private investors can come in, there must be better co-ordination among government agencies that oversees the licensing of the business.

There are more than 151,000 vehicles rolling on the 1,162 kilometres of roads in the Kathmandu valley.

There is only one parking lot in each of the cities of Patan and Bhaktapur, and that is for the vehicles of tourists.