Violence challenge to democracy: Gupta

Rajbiraj, Sept. 11 (RSS): Nepali Congress Central Member and Minister for Information and Communications Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta laid the foundation stone for the office building of Nepali Congress Saptari district working committee to be constructed at ward No-1 of Rajbiraj Municipality today.

Rajbiraj Municipality had recently provided half Katha of land worth Rs. 800,000 free of cost to the committee.

Speaking on the occasion Minister Gupta said the adverse condition arising as a result of the politics of murder and violence in the country is a challenge to democracy and that every sector should give a serious thought to this matter.

Mr. Gupta also expressed the view that the people carrying out the politics of murder and violence will not have any affect on the society if the support of the general public towards politics of democratic principles is regenerated and mobilised.

Stating that the Maoists have been running a campaign to kill innocent people who have not taken up arms against them but have expressed their protest, Mr. Gupta pointed out the need for all the political parties to organise political programmes in the villages on the basis of a political understanding.

He also pointed out the need to formulate and run district level programmes in the districts and national level programmes throughout the country in order to activate political activities of the party.

The two-storey building of the party is to be constructed with assistance from NC workers and well-wishers, according to NC Saptari.

Saptari DDC Chairman Dinesh Kumar Yadav and deputy Mayor of Rajbiraj Municipality Lalit Kumar Kantha also expressed their views at the function chaired by NC Saptari district president Nagendra Jha.

Also today, Minister for Information and Communications Gupta inaugurated the head office of Altakawa Multiple Cooperatives Ltd. and the office building of Sagarmatha Tempo Entrepreneurs Association.

Acharya not for using tax money to support Pes

Butwal, Sept. 11 (RSS): Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya handed over the management of Agricultural Development Bank Small Farmers Development Project at Shankarnagar, Rupandehi to the Small Farmers’ Group, Shankarnagar at a function here today.

The Small Farmers Development Project which was developed into a cooperatives with only women as employees before handing it over to the Farmers’ Group is expected to be instrumental in motivating other women and providing support to poverty alleviation.

So far, 92 Small Farmers Development Projects have been handed over to the farmers and they are successfully handling the management of such projects.

At the function, Finance Minister Acharya stressed the need to keep politics at bay while implementing poverty alleviation programmes.

He also lauded the initiative being taken by the women to expedite poverty alleviation programme and stressed the need to strengthen the grassroots level organisations.

Stating that many of the state owned industrial institutions and corporations are in such a poor shape that they have not been able to pay the salaries of their employees, Mr. Acharya wondered whether it would be reasonable to use the tax money of the people in paying the salaries of such employees.

MP Surya Prasad Pradhan spoke of the need for more effective and practical programmes for poverty alleviation.

General Manager of Agricultural Development Bank Devendra Pratap Shaha said Small Farmers Development Projects are being handed to the farmers to see to it that the farmers themselves identify their problems and launch development programmes accordingly.

NC Rupandehi district president Baburam Rana, DDC vice chairman Ramchandra Dhakal, ex-DDC Chairman Bijaya Dhital and chairperson of women’s cooperatives, Shankarnagar Parbati Chhetri also expressed their views.

ILO pledges to aid for Kamaiyas’ rehabilitation

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Sept. 11: International Labour Organisation (ILO) has pledged to provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the bonded labourers.

ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has entered into an agreement with the District Development Committee of Kailali and Kanchanpur which will be receiving 350,000 rupees each.

IPEC’s National Programme Manager Yadav Amatya handed over the cheques to the DDCs, which will be responsible for implementing a mini programme, ILO said in a press release.

"The respective DDCs of Kailali and Kanchanpur will be responsible for implementing the programme as they preside the district Kamaiya Identification and Monitoring Committee, which will help to link the mini programme to be mainstreamed into the longer-term rehabilitation programme," the release said. "The programme have provisions for education facilities for the school going children, coaching classes and a temporary child literacy classes will be conducted for the non-school going children."

The funds will also be used for providing mid-day meals for 300 displaced children in each district, according to the release.

The ILO support comes less than two months after the government’s decision to abolish the bonded labour system, freeing over 16,000 people from virtual slavery in western Nepal.

The government’s decision in mid-July has declared the bonded labourers free and waived their loans, which is locally known as Saunki.

The government’s decision has brought serious consequences on the lives of the bonded labourers, their families and particularly, the children, says ILO. The consequences are mainly the expulsion of some of the labourers and their families from the house of the landlords. Those labourers who do not have a house of their own have been forced to move to the district headquarters and village development committees, where they have been provided temporary shelters.

The homeless bonded labourers have recently been transferred to public schools and other government establishments. According to ILO, an estimated 800 such labourers have been expelled from the landlords’ houses and at least 300 of them are young children.

Another prominent activity of the programme is to sensitise the media on the real situation, current problems and initiatives for rehabilitation programmes, the release said. "The focus of the sensitisation programme will be on factual reporting and minimising existing tensions between the bonded labourers and the landlords."

The mini programme will also envisage to educate the media and local communities properly on the government decision so as to clarify some existing myths and rumours in the two districts, according to ILO. "Efforts will be made to initiate genuine and effective social dialogue between the landlords, the bonded labourers, trade unions, local authorities and local communities to reconcile the tense relationship between landlords and the labourers.

It may be recalled that the Senior ILO Advisor Leyla Tegmo Reddy has emphasised that the rehabilitation of former bonded labourers is one of the priority areas of the ILO in Nepal. Several complementary programmes for the rehabilitation or bonded labour in Nepal — micro credit schemes under the Debt Bondage project of the ILO and rehabilitation of child bonded labourers through another IPEC project are currently underway. A larger multifaceted rehabilitation programme is also being finalised. Besides, a global report on forced labour is being prepared for the next International Labour Conference slated for June 2001 and a mission is currently in Nepal discussing the issue with ILO partners.

‘SADP introduced for remote areas’

Kathmandu, Sept. 11 (RSS): National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Prithvi Raj Ligal says the government has launched a Special Area Development Project (SADP) so as to introduce additional programme in the remote-lying districts which are still unable to join the national development mainstream and thereby help in effectively carrying out poverty alleviation and development programme effectively.

Inaugurating here today an orientation training for national development volunteers going to the districts where the programme was launched, vice chairman Ligal asked the volunteers to render disinterested services in right earnest, with devotion and with a sense of duty.

"The government is going to launch shortly a poverty alleviation fund programme in twenty-five districts where the Special Area Development Programme has been launched," he said, adding that likewise, additional programme would also be launched, with the active involvement of the local educated youths, in the five districts most affected the Maoists.

From the chair, National Planning Commission member Dr Hari Shanker Tripathi observed that the volunteers should work for rural development by seeking co-operation of the local govt offices, local units and people.

National Planning Commission member-secretary Shriman Shrestha asked the volunteers to work as a catalyst for development in rural areas.

Advisor to the National Development Service Programme Dr Binod Kumar Shrestha said the volunteers were being mobilised for effective implementation of the Special Area Development rogramme in 25 districts lying in development backwaters.

Prof. Tulsiram Vaidya and Purna Adhikari of the national development volunteer service steering committee also shed light on the objectives of the programme.

About one hundred volunteers are to be mobilised for the present in 18 districts out of 25 districts as demanded by District Development Committees.

The five-day training will focus on the role the volunteer have to play in district level development activities.