Private sector’s role to tap energy mooted

-BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Mar. 8: The United States government sponsored conference on energy in South Asia concluded in the capital today, that the organisers said was aimed at complementing President Bill Clinton’s visit to the region scheduled for later this month. The participating private companies demanded private sector friendly policies without delay for the increment of private sector participation in the “huge and untapped” South Asian energy sector.

Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in his inaugural speech Tuesday said that Nepal gives high priority to power development and encourages the participation of private sector, both national and international, in the power sector. He also assured of more liberal attitude towards international companies to attract foreign investment in the sector.

(RSS adds: There is a big potential for the development of hydropower in South Asia, and if it could be harnessed, the economic condition of the region would improve a lot resulting in the improvement of national economy, he added.

In the present age of economic liberalisation and globalisation, private sector has been encouraged to make investment in the energy sector, Prime Minister Bhattarai said, adding that the government is active in launching new power projects.

Stating that after the implementation of big projects such as Pancheswar and Karnali Chisapani, the hydropower capacity of Nepal would rise tremendously, Prime Minister Bhattarai expressed the conviction that the conference being held in Nepal would help in harnessing the abundant water resources of the country.)

“Nepal is in the process of reforming the power sector so as to increase participatiuon of the private sector,” assured Bishwo Nath Sapkota, the Secretary with Water Resources Ministry.

According to the US officials here regional co-operation in the energy sector will be a major point of discussion during the President Clinton’s visit to India and Bangladesh slated for March 20-25, therefore, the conference hold “special meanings” for the region. The President’s visit is expected to boost US economic ties with the region.

Representatives of nearly 40 US companies and agencies involved in various projects in the region and 60 regional companies participated the two-day coference.

“If serious US energy companies are not involved in South Asia, then they are making a serious mistake,” J. Joseph Grandmaison, Director of the US Trade and Development Agency told during the inauguration of the conference on Tuesday. “The energy is here and market is here. It is just the policy that is delayed.”

South Asia accommodates nearly one-fourth of the global population, but its people consume only 3.8 per cent of the world’s total energy. Only 40 per cent of South Asians have access to reliable electricity. The percentage is mere 15 per cent for Nepal.

Nepal’s total hydroelectricity potentiality is calculated to stand at 83,000 mw, while production of about 40,000 mw is studied to be economically viable. Presently Nepal produces 253 mw of electricity that is only 0.3 per cent of the total potentiality. According to the official data demand for electricity in Nepal increasing by 8 to 10 per cent annually, meaning yearly 40 to 50 mw of additional electricity is needed to meet the demand.

Environmental problems getting acute: Poudel

Kathmandu, Mar. 8 (RSS): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Information and Communications Ram Chandra Poudel inaugurated the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc) third working group  here today.

Participating in the eight day meeting being held with the objective of discussing and seeking solutions to the problem of atmospheric pollution arising from technology transfer, factories and vehicular traffic  are experts involved in the study of climate and climate change from l00 of the more than l79 member countries of the World Metereological Organisation (wmo).

The meeting is being conducted in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, a first in Nepal.

Addressing the inaugural  function, Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said the discovery of hole in the ozOn layer, the erratic weather patterns we now experience, the misery of industrial and vehicular emission and the enormous amounts of toxic water generated in the process of mass manufacturing to appease our hunger for ever increasing consumerism makes one wonder if the present development model followed by modern civilization is the right one.

Despite tremendous technological advances, the gap between individuals, developed and developing nations and the affluent and deprived members of society appears to be ever widening, he said.

It is high time for scientists, technicians, economists and also political leaders to critically review our achievements and failures before a great calamity threatens to eliminate our very existence and the balance of our delicate ecosystem, he said.

It is the grinding poverty of the people that has contributed to degradation and unsustainable energy use, he said adding that poverty   forms a vicious cycle which in turn increases green house gas emissions.

The expanding cities and towns of the developing countries are compelled to use cheap and old vehicles, and people in the towns tend to blindly follow western civilization’s luxury and comfort, which again helps pollute the environment, he observed.

Refering to the recent government decision to restrict the import of vechiles to Nepal which do not meet the Euro 1 standerd and the displacement of three wheeler diesel operated vikram  tempos from Kathmandu, he said our community forest programme is beginning to reveal symptoms of success in the middle hills and mountains of Nepal.

These measures are not sufficent, and climate change has already indicated its presence in the Himalayas of Nepal with significant addition in the snow and glacier melt runoff, he said.

Also speaking on the occasion, Minister for Agriculture Chakra Prasad Bastola said global warming and climate change are no  longer a myth but a scientifically observed fact, and it influences different sectors like water resources and agriculture, and has a great inpact over the life on earth.

All over the world, lives of residents of lowlands, marginal lands and densely populated areas will be dramatically threatened by this global warming, he said.

Nepal possesses diverse biological resources and various climatic patterns and may be an excllent laboratory for study and research in this vital subject, he observed adding however that many of the natural resources are now being depleted due climate change, and biodiversity, a vital factor for human survival, is also at risk.

 Minister of State for Population and Environment Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said Nepal is fully aware of the disastrous impact of climate change and has taken several precautionary measures towards abatement of green-house gases.

In this regard he referred to the enforcement of the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard 2056, which have been based on the paramenters prescribed by the Euro 1 standards, adding that actions have been initiated to improve the air quality of the Kathmandu Valley.

Acting secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology Mohan Bahadur Karki said the problem is not in transferring technology only but “environmentally sound technologies” to developing countries including expertise and other necessary tools.

Director general of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Adarsha P. Pokhrel said even though the effects of global warming have been observed globally, regional peculiarities have been very conspicuous like the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers.

 The Tsho Rolpa glacier lake in Dolakha district which was a tiny dot during the l950’s extended to such an extent that His Majesty’s Government had to take immediate mitigation measures to save the lives of thousands of people living in the downstream areas from a potential glacier lake outburst flood, he observed.

Ipcc chairman Dr Robert Waston and ipcc co-chariman Dr Ogunlade Davidson also spoke on the occasion.

MPs call for end to women’s exploitation

Kathmandu, Mar. 8 (RSS): Deputy leader of the cpn-uml Parliamentary Party K. P. Sharma Oli, speaking at the House of Representatives meeting today, said on the one hand Nepalese women are still depirved of equal rights in their homes and society and are treated as second class citizens even when we are already into the 21st century, while on the other women’s trafficking, rapes and cases of exploitation and oppression in different forms continue unabated in the country.

Stating that several laws running counter to the constitution in terms of equality for women still exists, Mr Oli spoke of the need to pass the bill on women’s right to parental property in the current session, emphasize women’s education, set up a family court, take steps for forming the women’s parliamentary committee, provide holiday to women on International Women’s Day and give priority to them in political and policy-making areas.

Vidya Devi Bhandari of the same party demanded that women’s rights to equality should be put into practice, violence against women stopped and an arrangement made for taking passports in the names of mothers also.

Buddhiman Tamang of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said it is a matter of sorrow in remote areas that three or four women are forced to stay as wives of one husband, adding the law and order situation is dismal and removal of police posts simply proves how worthless the government is.

Mr Tamang also accused the government of making discriminations in providing relief to the victims of Maoist insurgency and recruiting Nepali Congress workers in such programmes as Ganesh Man Singh Peace Campaign and B. P. With the Poor and violating human rights.

He also decried the government’s decision to remove foodgrain depots from remote areas of the country.

NC’s Binaya Dhoj Chand complained that the B. P. With the Poor programme has failed to uphold the spirit of the late leader, identification of landless squatters is made on ad-hoc basis and law and order situation is not satisfactory, adding the news of the Maoists openly holding their conference in India surprised him.

Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party noted that the provision of passports between Nepal and India is not practical in view of the long-standing relations between the two countries.

MP Nawaraj Subedi demanded that all types of discrimiantions against women including violence, oppression, etc should be ended and equal rights in property granted.

NC’s Mahendra Raya Madhukar remarked that though there has been a remarkable progress in telecommunications, drinking water, road and other development works, there has been a rise in corruption and Maoist activity over the past few years.

Rpp’s Netra Lal Shrestha said Nepali goods have been stranded in Calcutta airport and trucks from Nepal have been vandalized, demanding clear views of the government on this matter.

NC’s Narayan Prakash Saud pointed out the need of advancing programmes aimed at women’s empowerment, presenting the bill on women’s rights to parental property in the current session and solving the Maoist problem bringing into confidence all the political parties.

Ganga Prasad Nepal of the cpn-uml demanded that International Women’s Day be declared a public holiday and short-term as well as long-term programmes worked out to minimize natural disasters which cause loss of life and property worth millions of rupees.

Tarasam Yangya, also of the cpn-uml, complained that though the Landless Squatters Commission has been formed in Jhapa, the landowners who have been living for decades have not received land ownership certificates.

Mp narayanman Bijukchhe said attempts are being made to release one rapist who raped a woman at Chhaling vdc in Bhaktapur district and drew the attention of the Health Ministry to the need of carrying out an investigation into an incident in which an asthma patient was mistaken for a diabetic during treatment at Bhaktapur Hospital recently.

Most of the speakers at the meeting today had expressed best wishes for the welfare and progress of Nepali women on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Employment weekly released

Kathmandu, Mar. 8 (RSS): Minister of State for Information and Communications Govinda Bahadur Shaha released the vernacular weekly newspaper on foreign employment ‘Baideshik Rojgar Darpan’  here today.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State Shaha said   journalism has an important role to play in order  to move the government in the right direction and to make it more responsible to the people.

As there is a lack of definite advertisement policy in the county, the government  has initiated action in this regard, he said and  called for drastic changes in the education system so as to  generate  skilled manpower.

Mp romi  Gauchan  expressed confidence that the released newspaper will enable the flow of impartial news by incorporating both the positive and negative aspects seen in the field of foreign employment.

President of the Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Association Lal Bahadur Pun and entrepreneur Mahendra Sherchan pointed out the need to make clear policies for the resolution of the problems seen in this sector.

At the programme presided over by publisher of the newspaper Lal Bahadur Gurung, editor of the newspaper Lochan Thapaliya said the  newspaper aims to disseminate  factual news on foreign employment to the readers.

Presently,  300,000 Nepalese are involved in foreign employment.

Badis inch towards change

Nepalgunj, Mar. 8 (RSS): Positive changes have been taking place in the Badi Community with the introduction of a development programme launched by different  governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Following introduction of a number of development programmes over the past 6-7 years, flesh trade among the Badi community has declined.

It is hoped that prostitution among the Badi will end within the next five years.

But Badi women are facing financial difficulties for lack of alternative income sources after they abandoned this traditional calling.

The women of Rajapur in Bardiya district have informed ngos  and different social organisations in writing about their willingness to abandon this profession if they are provided employment.

They regret that they have had to adopt such a despised profession.

According to a survey conducted by sap nepal, some 24 out of 117 Badi women who used to be depended on prostitution are still involved  in this profession.

But they are becoming convinced of the need to abandon prostitution and  also provide proper education for their children.

An 11-member community development group has been formed under the chairmanship of Sukameli Nepali with the objective of mitigating  prostitution and creating alternative livelihoods, according to sap nepal.

They are confident that their social status will rise once the prostitution is brought under control.

The ngo safe has constructed girl’s hostels in the villages of the Badi community and works, another ngo, has been conducting training in income generating schemes for them from time to time.

A development programme meant for helping this community is also found helpful in raising their educational background.

They are attending literacy classes for adults run by different governmental and Non-governmental Organisations and about 90 per cent of the children are in school.

However, their political motivation is at a negligible level and this might be due to negligence by local political leaders. Just one person from this community has been nominated a member of the village development committee.

A need has been felt for the government to motivate such women to take up some respectable calling by resolving the problems of unemployment, settlement, malnutrition and poor health that they face.

The people of other communities holds negative attitudes towards the prostitution prevalent in the Badi community.

A large number people of this community resides in Dang, Salyan, Banke, Bardiya and Kailali in the Mid-western and Far - western regions.

Prostitution among them increased after their main traditional callings like dancing, fishing, drum playing, weaving fishing nets and animal husbandry became threatened. They also started to settle along the Mahendra highway adjacent to town areas.

Contribute to environmental conservation says Balayar

Kathmandu, Mar. 8 (RSS): Minsiter of State for Population and Environment Bhakta Bahadur Balayar, speaking at an interaction programme on “Nepal Traffic Pollution Standards-2056” organised by the Society of Environmental Journalists-Nepal (Sej-Nepal) here today, spoke of the need for every section of society to contribute to environmental conservation.

Secretarty at  the Ministry of Population and Environment Dr Govinda Bhatta said His Majesty’s Government is consulting different industrialists, environmentalists and importers of vehicles in connection with implementing standard Euro-1.

Director general of the Department  of Transport Management Sushil Agrawal noted that preparations are being made to bring under Euro-1, L. P. G. gas-operated vehicles, adding an arrangement has been made for special concessions in customs duty to importers of 10-14 seater micro buses.

Deputy general manager of Nepal Oil Corporation Rudra Kumar Shrestha and fncci President Pradip Kumar Shrestha also expressed their views at the function chaired by Sej president Sanu Babu Silwal.

The progamme was held with the assistance of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association.