Govt for policy of industry, economy

Gorkha, Dec. 14 (RSS): Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mahantha Thakur has said that industry and commerce stands as the economic foundation of democracy.

Minister Thakur made this remark while inaugurating the 18th general meeting and 27th annual meeting of the Gorkha Chamber of Industry and Commerce and its new office building at the headquarters of Gorkha district today.

The Gorkha Chamber of Industry and Commerce office building was constructed at a cost of Rs 1,739,000.

Minister Thakur said His Majesty’s Government is effortful in making the industry and commerce policy favourable for the national economy and welfare of the people.

Mr Thakur said that the government has kept the doors open for dialogue and talks inorder to provide peace and security to the people, society and the country. The government has also carried out special programmes to maintain law and order and develop the country, he added.

Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Mrs Kamala Pant urged the industrialists and businessmen involved in production and distribution of goods to provide services to the people and nation.

At the function chaired by president of the Gorkha Chamber of Industry and Commerce Shital Kaji Maskey, MP Jeevan Prem Shrestha, DDC chairman Chetman Shrestha, first vice president of the FNCCI Rabibhakta Shrestha, chief district officer Atmaram Pandey and others also expressed their views.

10% disabled are blind

Kathmandu, Dec. 14 (RSS): Rajparishad Standing Committee Chairman Dr. Keshur Jung Rayamajhi today inaugurated a seminar concerning rationale of the welfare house for the blind and helpless children in Nepal organised by Nepal Blind Employment and Social Services Association here today.

According to the World Health Organisation, 10 per cent of the total population of Nepal is disabled among which two per cent is blind.

Most of the participants at the seminar urged HMG to immediately construct the welfare house taking into consideration the plight of the blind children.

On the occasion, Dr. Rayamajhi said that what was needed was the commitment of the government for the protection and promotion of the rights and interest of the disabled and blind in the country.

Patron of the Nepal Blind and Social Services Association Ravi Charan Shrestha presided over the seminar.

Elders tour country with satisfaction

Kathmandu, Dec. 14 (RSS): Some 80 elderly persons belonging to 16 districts of the eastern region have wound up a country tour programme recently with great satisfaction.

The elderly persons who are usually confined to their own homes to relax in the sun have traversed different places of the region braving chilly weather.

Harka Bahadur Katuwal, 85, of Sankhuwasabha Khandabari-11, the eldest among the participants in the tour, completed the journey with the help of a walking stick.

Though his physical condition seems to be weak and infirm that did not bar him from accomplishing his journey. With vigour and curiosity, he walked all the way with the help of volunteers, whether along trails in Ilam tea estates or up and down heights and slopes.

Katuwal, born in one of the remotest places in Sankhuwasabha district, seemed to enjoy being given a chance for a pleasure trip to the nooks and corners of the country. Because of his seniority he was honoured by the locals where ever the group visited.

Similarly, Jaya Narayan Oli of Jhapa Budhabare-2 also had a nice trip without any difficulty.

Rupa Devi Timilsina, 78, of Thumbedin VDC ward No 4 in Taplejung district, the eldest woman participant in the tour, also seemed extremely happy. She described this unique opportunity as a blessing from the Almighty.

The senior citizens started their journey by taking a holy dip in the Kankai river in Jhapa on November 29. When they reached a bridge over the border between Nepal and India and looked back, they were overhelmed with emotion on all of a sudden veiwing the Nepalese side from that point. They even broke into nationalistic slogans.

They were also overcome with emotion while looking at the statue of martyr Ratna Kumar Bantwa in Ilam. They paid him rich tributes and also chanted slogans.

Under the country tour programme, the elder citizens were taken to Puwakhola Hydro Power Project, Buddha Subba, Pindeswar, Dantakali, the Barah area, the Chhinnamasta deity, Udaypur Cement Factory, Dhanusadham, the Ram Janaki Temple, Pasupati Biscuit Factory, M. M. Plastic Industry and Biratnagar Jute Mills as well as a number of other religious and touristic spots.

Almost all the travellers expressed their appreciation for the foundation established in the name of the late Man Mohan Adhikary. An allowance for senior citizens from the national exchequer was made availble during his tenure as prime minister.

During the journey, the participants chanted hymns or recited verses about the places they reached and some even amused themselves by mingling in a dance.

The senior citizens belonging to the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim faiths covered the same destinations and shared room and board is a reflection of the religious tolerance that exists in the country.

Participants of the tour included individuals from the Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Pariyar, Ranbanshi and Brahmin and other communities.

The tour gave the senior citizens who hailed from settlements from the border areas in the south near India to the northern border with China gave them a chance to acquaint themselves with the culture and demography of various places of the country as well as serving as a platform for sharing the pain and pleasure experienced in life and showing their intimacy.

Angdami Sherpa of Solukhumbu Saleri said the tour was fantastic and maintained that the government should give continuity to such a programme.

Most of the persons included in the tour said in unison that they had a good chance to have a glimpse of the socio-ecomomic condition of the country.

Rom Prasad Sanjel of Ilam Choyang, Chandra Bahadur Thapa of Jhapa Surnaga and a host of other travellers were of the opinion that if an arrangement is made to take such elderly persons out on obervation tours outside the eastern region, they would definitely benefit in terms of gaining knowledge about the rest of the country.