Bhanubhakta’s role in Nepali literature lauded

Kathmandu, July 13 (RSS): Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said that the pioneer poet Bhanubhakta Acharya has made a great contribution to the development of Nepali literature by binding together various linguistic and cultural communities into a single entity through the medium of literature.

The Prime Minister made this remark while addressing the morning procession and a tribute-paying function organized by the Bhanu Sewa Samiti on the occasion of the 187th birth anniversary of pioneer poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya this morning.

The Adikabi Bhanubhakta Acharya has equal contribution in nation-building since it was the pioneer poet who gave the heartbeat to the nation unified by the late king Prithivi Narayan Shah, the Prime Minister observed.

The Prime Minister expressed the view that democracy can also unify all the Nepalese people if we can imbibe the awareness and the justice transmitted in society by the pioneer poet.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Koirala disclosed that from now on the Nepalese missions abroad will be directed to observe the birth anniversary of the late pioneer poet in the respective countries also.

At the programme, Prime Minister Koirala also gave away prizes to the Annapurna Higher Secondary School, Kathmandu, the Little Angel’s School, Lalitpur and the Naula Jyoti English School, Bhaktapur which came out first, second and third respectively in the morning procession organized on the occasion of the 186th Bhanu Jayanti Day last year.

The Prime Minister also presented letters of citations to Nepal police, Nepal Scouts, the National Sports Council, the National Cadet Corps and the Public Parks and the City Hall Development Committee.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Tarini Datta Chataut said that the poetry by the late pioneer poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya would always remain a source of inspiration to the nation.

Senior Poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire said that the pioneer poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya unified Nepal at the sentimental level and to honour him means to honour the nation. Janakabi Keshari Dharma Raj Thapa read out a poem highlighting the life and contributions of the pioneer poet Bhanubhakta.

At the programme presided over by the chairman of the Bhanu Sewa Samity Daibagya Raj Neupane, the committee secretary D.P. Aryal also expressed his view.

The morning procession started from local Rani Pokhari where the statue of the late poet is located and passed through different parts of the town.

On the occasion, renowned novelist Diamond Shumsher Rana and senior music composer Nati Kaji were decorated and taken on a special chariot as a mark of honour. The Deputy Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the MPs, senior litterateurs and school children from various schools were present in large numbers on the occasion.

Advance scientific research for good: PM

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Lalitpur, July 13: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said Nepalese scientists should carry out need based research aimed at improving the local technology to benefit the populace at large.

"Scientists need to prioritise the area of research and direct efforts to achieve the goals within a specified time span," Koirala told the 12th Academic Assembly of the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST).

He said the lack of co-ordination among the Ministries and RONAST had appeared to be the major setback for the development of scientific research.

Koirala said it was imperative for RONAST to co-ordinate with the Ministries and other line agencies to focus on specified sectors and disseminate the results of the research for the benefit of the public.

"RONAST can assist to achieve the goals of poverty alleviation provided that it focuses on increasing agriculture productivity and expedites agriculture research."

He said research on finding the replacement for chemical fertilizer and the cheapest technology for irrigation should be prioritised.

The government is prepared to give additional incentives to the scientists provided that they come up with results on the area of the preferred area of research.

Minister for Science and Technology and Pro Chancellor of RONAST Surendra Prasad Chaudhari said research should focus on the national priority areas.

The lack of co-ordination among the research institutions and the Ministry is one of the drawbacks, which has been hindering the development of scientific research, he said.

He said that RONAST must hold consultations with the Ministry before deciding its budget and programmes.

Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Prithivi Raj Ligal said the research carried out by RONAST must be coherent with the national priorities.

He said that RONAST should allocate additional budget for research in order to be more result oriented.

RONAST Vice Chancellor Dayananda Bajracharya said the Academy had moved to its own building and was looking forward to perform its duties in an organised manner.

He said that work was in progress to compile the scientific papers presented in the third national science and technology fair.

Bajracharya said that the second issue of Nepal Journal of Science and Technology had been sent to the press for publication.

He said that talks were underway with UNESCO to establish a Science Learning Centre to inspire school students towards scientific studies.

The Assembly also endorsed the budget amounting to approximately 50 million rupees of the Academy.

The Assembly passed the Employees’ Administration Regulations 2057 B.S. and the Fiscal Administration Regulations 2057 B.S. of the Academy.

Economic reporting feeble in Nepal

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, July 13: Though economic reporting has been developed as a main part of the Nepalese media within a span of ten years, it has yet to be matured, said economists, media persons and bankers.

Lack of transparency in the government offices has badly discouraged the media people while on the one hand journalists interested in the economic activities also lack knowledge on economic issues, they said.

While discussing at a workshop on ‘Sources, Problems and Suggestions for Improvement of Flow of Economic Data’ organised by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) - Bankers Training Center to share ideas with the economic reporters of the local newspapers, senior officials of NRB as well as senior government officials stressed the need for effective reporting of country’s economic activities. They also assured that they would provide information to reporters. However, they cautioned not to distort the facts.

Media people at the same forum also strongly demanded the right to information. They charged the government officials of hiding information.

While inaugurating the function, Dr. Tilak Rawal, Governor of NRB - the Central Bank of Nepal - highlighted the role of media people in disseminating information about economic development.

They should be more informative and capable, he said adding ‘Such workshop helps to share ideas about growing economic activities.’

Dr. Govind Bahadur Thapa, Principal of NRB-Bankers’ Training Center, said that the media can play a vital role to reflect the real scenario of the country’s economy.

Krisha Kumar Pradhan, Principal at NRB-Bankers’ Training Center, expressed the hope that the seminar would help share ideas among media people and NRB.

Coordinator of the programme, Chintamani Shiwakoti, spoke about the importance of the seminar.

Bijay Ghimire, a reporter, while presenting a working paper spoke about the problems being faced by reporters.

Commenting on Ghimire’s paper Bhagirath Yogi from Spotlight Magazine said that the reporters should be aware of their professional ethics.

Gokul Pokhrel, president of the Nepal Press Institute (NPI) said that the media people should be well informed about the economic activities.

Acting Comptroller from the Office of Comptroller spoke about the difficulties while disseminating information to journalists.

Haribol Shrestha, Director at National Statistical Bureau, spoke about the importance of national accounts.

Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, Chief Economic Advisor at NRB, dwelled on monetary economics and its overall impacts in the economy. Bir Bikram Rayamajhi, Chief of Banking Operation Department at NRB, commented on Dr. Khatiwada’s views.

Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, another senior officer at NRB, threw light on foreign exchange.

Later, journalists presented their suggestions to the NRB officials.

Around 21 reporters from different dailies and weeklies had participated in the programme.

Poaching rises despite anti-poaching bid at Bardiya

BY NAVIN SINGH KHADKA

Thakurdwara, Bardiya, July 13: Miffed up anti-poaching activities in Royal Bardiya National Park (RBNP) of late have resulted into record number of poachers’ arrest along with the seizure of their prize they tried to smuggle out of this protected area.

In the last three months, Royal Nepal Army’s anti-poaching unit in the park encountered seven different notorious gangs of poachers and sent six of them behind the bars. It recovered six skeletons of tigers, three of leopards, both the jungle cats’ hides, two pairs of elephant tusks and two rhino horns — either from the poachers themselves or in the jungle where they were hidden.

One of the skeletons of a full-grown freshly-killed tiger in the army camp in the park still gives off nasty odor. Altogether, the seized tiger bones in the camp weighs 33kgs.

Three poachers were even shot dead in one of the encounters when both the sides — the anti-poaching unit and the poachers — exchanged fires some two months ago. The beefed up security for the flora and fauna in the park also resulted into the arrest of some 100 people in the last month, the majority of whom have been jailed.

"The arrest of poachers and seizure of the animals’ remains in the last few months has been the record since the establishment of this park," says Shiva Raj Bhatta, Warden of RBNP spread in an area of 968 square kilometers in the western Tarai.

Last year, according to a record maintained by World Wildlife Fund, Nepal Program, only one case of animal poaching was recorded so far. A male tiger was found poisoned in the park in May, 1999.

A year before that one rhino was killed after the interval of five years. This was the only serious poaching incident of the six incidents related to the park’s animals that year.

"Given the increasing number of arrests and the recovery of the animals’ remains, poaching has definitely gone up but what also has is the mechanism of controlling the crime," says Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, an ecologist in the park initially established to conserve tiger and its prey species.

RBNP authority has spotted more than 30 tigers in the park under its camera trapping programme — that monitors the movement of the endangered species. Conservationist veterans like Krishna Man Shrestha, who retired as the park’ warden after serving for more than three decades, believe there are more than 40 tigers in the park.

Of the 67 rhinos in the park, more than 50 have been translocated from elsewhere. To-date, 22 rhinos have died in the park — 10 of them poached and the rest died natural deaths.

But, those involved in conserving the park would not confirm if the seized cache of poachers were actually the remains of the animals in the RBNP itself. "That cannot be confirmed because poachers also bring the bones, hides or other remains of the animals with them from elsewhere," says an army major in RNA’s anti-poaching unit in the park.

One example in his support is the seizure of a hide of a clouded leopard in the park some time back. Clearly, this breed of leopard is not found in the Teraian plain. Poachers, according to the anti-poaching unit, roam the park carrying with them the ration for more than a month.

"While entering the park they are empty-handed, but later they become equipped with guns," says the major. "Usually they hide their guns strapping on the branches of trees in the national park."

More than that, what gives the anti-poaching patrol tough time is the Babai Valley located in the central part of the national park. Its difficult topography, the swollen river in the bordering part of the Valley during monsoon are the hitches entwined by its one-time residents who arrive here as poachers.

Informed sources in the park say that today’s poachers in the Babai Valley are its one-time settlers there who were displaced to Tarataal in the south after the park area was extended. Many of these displaced ones have easy time to poach in the Babai Valley as they know the place much better than the anti-poaching unit or other park authorities know.

With only one army post in the remote area of the Valley, poachers play cat and mouse game with law enforcers in the area. The arrested six gangs of poachers in the last three months were all led by residents in Tarataal. Meaning, they all once lived in Babai Valley.

These poachers, according to sources in the anti-poaching unit, supply tiger skins, bones, rhino horns, and other animal products to different dealers in regional (Nepalgunj) and central (Kathmandu) levels. Buyers, reportedly reach these stockholders to smuggle out the contraband to markets like China, Japan, Korea, among others. "In most of the cases, the smuggling route is toward the north to Tibet," said the source.

Battle poverty, says DPM

Kathmandu, July 13 (RSS): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Ramchandra Paudel released a booklet containing facts concerning poverty published under the poverty alleviation and urban management programme launched by Lalitpur sub-municipal corporation here today.

On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Paudel stressed the need to expedite economic development process, build development infrastructures, make special investment in social service sector on a war footing.

Describing poverty and deprivation as the biggest enemies of the country, he said a battle against poverty is the need of the day.

With a commitment to alleviate poverty, the government has launched various programmes, the local development minister said, adding if we fail to alleviate poverty we will not be able to hold our heads high.

From the chair, mayor of the sub-municipal corporation Buddhiraj Bajracharya was critical of the tradition of paying more attention to the development of physical infrastructure rather than finding the root cause of poverty and uprooting it.

Deputy mayor Ramesh Chitrakar said thanks to the findings of a study in various aspects of poverty, the sub-municipal corporation has committed itself to fighting poverty.

South Asian regional programme coordinator of urban management programme Sirpa Narang said that the urban development programme has been launched in 78 cities in the world including 18 cities in Asia and eight cities in South Asia.

Surveyor Pushkar Bajracharya and Lazana Manandhar from Lumanti, an NGO also expressed their views on urban management and poverty alleviation.

According to a survey conducted under the programme, the total literacy rate in the municipal sub corporation is 75.7 per cent. The male literacy rate is 84 per cent and the female literacy rate 67 per cent. Illiteracy is rampant among Newar women.

The survey has put the population growth rate in the municipal sub corporation at 3 per cent. it has categorised 12.2 per cent of the city population as poor, 57.6 per cent as lower middle class and 29.8 per cent as higher middle class and higher class.

Social mobilization, increased economic growth rate, skill development training, tourism promotion and promotion of urban service are recommended for poverty alleviation, in the booklet.

At a press conference held after the launching of the booklet, mayor Buddhi Raj Bajracharya, deputy mayor Ramesh Chitrakar, surveyor Pushkar Bajracharya and Lajana Manandhar of urban management programme highlighted the findings of the survey.