Agents want to know in advance if hotels close

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov.24: Travel agents today demanded that they should be informed at least 15 days ahead if the hotels are going to be closed from December 11 next month due to the deadlock between hoteliers and their employees on the 10 per cent service charge issue.

"We need to know at least 15 days in advance about the closing down of the hotels so that we can inform our clients," said Bhola Thapa, President of Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA) during its special general meeting here today.

December 11 is the day the protesting unions of hotel employees have threatened to close down the hotels indefinitely if their demand to levy 10 per cent service charge on hotel clients is not met.

Employees of tourist rated hotels have been demanding the 10 per cent service charge as tips so that all the hotel staff could share the money.

Since the hoteliers and their employees have not yet reached any agreement on the issue, travel agents fear that the hotels may be closed down and they will have nowhere to take their clients to.

"Ultimately it is we who will be sandwiched between the row of the hoteliers and their employees," said Thapa. "We will have to receive the guests on their arrival and we will be in a fix if we will have no hotels to take them to."

Thapa said that the strong consumers' forums in the USA and Europe would first sue the travel agents if they have nowhere to stay here. "Since we will have to bear the brunt, we want to be in the safe side."

Going by what Narendra Bajracharya, President of Hotel Association Nepal, had to say at the meeting today, the tug of war between the hoteliers and their employees is there to remain. "There has to be a detailed study on the matter. It is not something that can be decided overnight."

He reiterated HAN's stand that tips should be voluntary and the guests should not be forced to pay the 10 per cent service charge compulsorily. "We are already over-burdened with the 10 per cent Value Added Tax and the two per cent Tourist Service Fee. Yet another 10 per cent addition in the tax is imply going to be unbearable."

Bajracharya's indication that the study on the issue may take time is something notwithstanding what the employees unions have been maintaining. After postponing their shut down strike for nearly a month some two weeks ago, the hotel workers have been adamant to close down the hotels on December 11 if their demand is not met.

"Enough studies have been done on the matter in the past. All that the government needs to do is take a decision in this regard," said Bishnu Lamsal, General Secretary of the Joint Action Committee of the Hotel employees' unions.

With both the sides sticking to their guns, travel agents are in the dilemma. "Since none of the sides are budging from their stands, we are left undecided," said Thapa. "That is why we need to know 15 days ahead of the scheduled date of the strike if the hotels would actually be closed down."

Care centre opened for poor children

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu Nov 24: Child care and education centre for children of the poor factory workers could provide those children an essential environment for education and overall development of their childhood. Inaugurating a Child Care and Education Centre at Dhapasi today, Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammad Mohsin also said such programme will even help to fight against child labour.

The Centre is built on 2 ropanies of land and has 7 rooms and a playground for children. The Centre aims to provide basic and standard facilities for early childhood development such as materials for teaching alphabets and games. Presently, there are 67 children of 2-5 years of age. All of them are the children of carpet factory workers. The parents have to pay Rs. 5 per children per day.

The Centre has been built at a cost of Rs. 836,000 with the financial and technical assistance of GTZ and other assistance from the Central Carpet Industries Association and a local management committee. The land for the Centre was provided by the Dhapasi Village Development Committee.

Such programme helps enhance the productivity of the factory workers on one hand and contribute for the overall development of the children of the factory workers on the other, said Chairman Mohsin.

Charlotte Addy, team leader of GTZ, said if child labour, especially in the carpet industry, is to be reduced we should give focus not only on those who already are working in the factories but also take measures to prevent other children from coming into the working process.

"We assumed that a child who has gone to a good day care centre for a few years will definitely go to school later and definitely will have better chances to succeed in school," she said.

A.G. Sherpa, Chairman of the Central Carpet Industries Association, said the Centre was step ahead to maintain the environment of the factory workable and clean and to provide better health condition for the children of the factory workers.

He also stated that if the children of the workers are well taken care of, the workers' productivity could go up by some 60 rupees per day.

Under Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Dev Ratna Tamrakar, said the government is commitment to abolish all kind of child labour by the year 2005.

2002 'Year of Mountains'

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov 24: The government has decided to observe the year 2002 as the 'Year of Mountains' to generate widespread awareness among climbers, trekkers and indigenous inhabitants towards the need to conserve the mountain ecosystem.

The mountains of Nepal with their rich biodiversities have proven to be the most congenial locations for research related with mountain ecology but the mounting pressure both in terms of population growth and unplanned deforestation has threatened their fragile ecosystems, experts said.

Experts from different parts of the world are participating in a three-day symposium on Himalayan Environments: Mountain Sciences and Ecotourism/ Biodiversity here in the capital.

The symposium is being organised jointly by the Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University and the Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan.

The Tribhuvan University and the Hokkaido University (HU) have been carrying out a joint study of the Himalayan environment in Nepal, ecotourism and biodiversity conservation for the last three years.

Delivering the inaugural address, Vice Chancellor of TU, Naveen Prakash Jung Shah said the Himalayas in Nepal had bountiful of mineral and forest resources but the pressure on their fragile ecosystems had been posing a threat to the flora and fauna.

He hoped that the seminar would be instrumental in striking a broader consensus to protect the fragile mountain ecosystem through the exchange of the tools and techniques used for research in many mountainous areas of the world.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, Mitsuaki Kojima said given the reality that the Himalayas are the perennial source of water and their green forests provided oxygen to the entire world, the conservation of their fragile ecosystems was indispensable.

"The Himalayas are the asset of not only Nepal and the adjoining countries but also the asset of the entire world," Kojima said.

Kojima underscored the need to develop ecotourism that was compatible with the Himalayan environment.

He said that the Official Development Assistance of the Japanese government laid emphasis on striking a balance between environment protection and development.

Dr. Teiji Watanabe from Hokkaido University said his University had been conducting a collaborative research with TU on the mountain environment of the Kanchenjunga Conservation area.

He said that the effects of global warming were observed in the Kanchenjunga Conservation area leading to the melting of glaciers, which was subsequently affecting the natural vegetation, herbivores and carnivores.

Dr. Watanabe said the thrust of the collaborative efforts between TU and HU was to develop the package for safe ecotourism in the Himalayan areas.

Dr. Krishna Manandhar, Dean, Institute of Science and Technology, TU, said the government in Nepal was committed to protect the mountainous environment in many parts of the country by declaring them as protected areas and sanctuaries.

He said the government had decided to observe the year 2002 as the 'Year of the Mountains' to generate widespread awareness to conserve the mountain environment and make tourism more eco-friendly.

Vice Chancellor of the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Dr. Dayananda Bajracharya said RONAST was looking forward to hold an international conference on Mountain Environment in the year 2002.

The seminar would discuss elaborately the research papers prepared in the past years to address the growing problems related with the depletion of mountain environment in Nepal.

Year-long plan to mark conquest of Mt. Everest

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov. 24: As an important event in the history of the Nepalese tourism industry, the country will be celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Conquest of Mt. Everest with various adventurous programmes from 1st June 2002 to 31st May 2003.

The mountaineering history was made by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary on 29th May 1953 by conquering the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest or Mt. Sagarmatha as it is called in Nepal.

Unveiling the logo of the Mount Everest Golden Jubilee Celebration at a function today, Officiating Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kumar Prasad Poudel said that the credit of starting tourism industry in Nepal goes to mountaineering as it had made the country known to the world.

Poudel, who was also the chief guest of the logo unveiling ceremony and press conference, commended the role of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) that was established 28 years ago for the promotion of mountaineering tourism in the country.

He further said that the government would do its best for making the event a success as it is a national programme.

"The country will benefit a lot from the programme as it will be getting exposure worldwide. It will help not only to increase the number of tourists visiting Nepal but also to bring in quality tourists," he said.

One of the one-year-long programmes to be organised includes the Tri-Nation Cricket Competition among England ( Lord Hunt, a national of England, had led the expedition team), New Zealand (Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealander) and India ( Tenzing Norgay Sherpa had spent most of his lifetime in India, though he was born in Nepal). Others are whitewater rafting competition, golf tournament, rock climbing competition, invitational football tournament, cross country relay-race, mountain bike race, bowling tournament, hang gliding competition, elephant polo tournament, classic car rally, film documentary exhibition, mountaineering philatelic exhibition and gathering of Mt. Everest summitteers.

According to Damodar Shumshere Rana, Chairman of International Consultancy & Advisory Services (ICAS) and an executive partner of NMA, the ICAS will be involved in creating, conducting and coordinating various programmes and events for the whole year. He further said that the main goal of the project will be to expose and promote ubiquitous and unique geographical destinations which Nepal can offer to the world.

Rana was of the opinion that since the country is celebrating "Destination Nepal Year" in 2002, and the United Nations declared the same year as "International Year of the Mountains," the declaration of the Golden Jubilee of Mt. Everest may complement one another.

President of NMA Tashi Jangbu Sherpa said that the association has actively been working for the development of mountaineering tourism in the country since its inception.

Recalling the past activities of NAM, Sherpa said it has held programmes such as "International Climbers Meet in 1997", UIAA Expedition Commission Meeting in 1999 and the Himalayan Host Countries Meeting in 1999.

Prachand Man Shrestha, Senior Officer at the Ministry of Tourism, said that the country has to do something for the development of tourism which has been the mainstay of the national economy.

"As the United Nations is celebrating the 2002 as the Year of Mountains, Nepal has to capitalize on it. The country can promote Nepal as a distinct adventure destination worldwide if it successfully celebrates the Golden Jubilee Year of the Conquest of Mt. Everest," Shrestha, who is also a tourism expert, said.

He also said that Nepal could address the seasonality constraint of tourism by building up necessary infrastructure and utilising the available natural researchers.

NMA General Secretary Bhumi Lal Lama extended the vote of thanks to the participants.

PAC finds lauda Air deal gone wrong

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 24: A 3-member sub-committee formed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives three days ago to look into the lease agreement between the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) and Austria-based Lauda Air, presented its report to the committee today.

The sub-committee, under MP Shiva Bahadur Deuja, which included MPs Lila Mani Pokharel and Krishna Lal Maharjan as members, has found that the deal has overridden the actual processes and has ignored the directives given to the Corporation by the Cabinet and the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

In its 12-point report, the sub-committee has described where and how the deal went wrong.

Apart from going against the directives, the report says, there were a series of mistakes made while the agreement was done and also after the deal was agreed. Such as, there was no counter bank guarantee, the procedure of making the deal was wrong and the abrupt forwarding of the proposal for the fourth plane when RNAC already had three planes, which are enough for its international flights, the PAC sub-committee pointed out.

In the aftermath, too, there were a number of discrepancies such as Lauda Air changed its bank account on the very day the deal was signed, uncertainty about the actual owner and the operator of the aircraft, dissemination of false information by the Executive Chairman of the RNAC and the financial terms and conditions of the deal were against the interest of RNAC, the report says.

Presenting the report, Deuja said that by agreeing to lease a12-year-old aircraft, RNAC has violated its policy regarding leasing of planes. According to the policy, RNAC should not lease any plane which has already been operated for more than five years. Contrary to this policy, the plane RNAC is trying to lease has been flying for about 12 years.

"There are also evidences to suspect Lauda Air’s intentions," Deuja said. For example, he said, the lessor changed its bank account the very day it signed the agreement and also it is now clear that it is offering a plane which it itself has leased from somebody else. "Therefore, RNAC has to go through the leased document as well while sub-leasing the plane."

The report has also pointed out that the bank guarantee and early deposit of money by RNAC contravene the agreement. It has also found that Nepal Rastra Bank’s acceptance to allow foreign exchange facility was against the foreign exchange regulation. In addition, the report has accused RNAC Executive Chairman Hari Bhakta Shrestha of giving out false information.

The report has concluded by questioning the motive of the RNAC management and its Board of Directors for deciding to go for negotiated deal when the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and the CIAA had clearly instructed them to go for tender deal only.

The Public Accounts Committee is expected to discuss on the report on its next meeting on November 29.

Meanwhile, while the parliamentary committee and the anti-corruption body, the CIAA, are all set to block the deal and have even instructed RNAC not to enter into the deal, the Lauda Air officials are in the capital for the signing ceremony. The agreement is supposed to come into effect from December 1.

Thus, the tug-of-war is getting hotter and what happens next may determine the course that the country’s flag-carrier would be taking.

Rayamajhi opens painting exhibition

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, November 24:Chairman of the Rajsabha Standing Committee, Dr. Kesharjung Rayamajhi opened today an exhibition of paintings by Ashmina Ranjit at the NAFA art gallery. The exhibition, titled 'Hair Wrap – travels through strands of universe' contains 62sketches and drawings on hair on lokta (hand-made paper) and paper.

Inaugurating the exhibition, Dr. Rayamajhi said artists should always be innovative. He praised Ms. Ranjit for seeking new themes and said the people and the society should encourage artists.

At the programme Prof. Dr. Abhi Subedi talked about Ashmina's personality and paintings. He said the present series of painting is a symbol of her trying to free herself from inhibitions of women.

At the programme poet Manjul recited a poetry he wrote on Ashmina's theme. The exhibition will remain open till December 6.