Opposition boycott NA meeting

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): The regular business of the National Assembly could not move ahead as the opposition parties boycotted the meeting today.

As soon as the meeting began today, Surendra Prasad Pandey of the CPN-UML took time from chairman Dr. Mohammed Moshin and said that the regular business of the house cannot be moved ahead by the opposition parties until the Prime Minister’s resignation was received.

After Pandey announced the opposition’s boycott of the meeting, the MPs of the CPN-UML and other opposition parties walked out of the House.

MPs of Nepal Sadbhavana Party had not taken part in the meeting today.

After the opposition benches were empty, chairman Dr. Moshin announced the adjournment of the meeting till 4 p.m tomorrow.

Petition filed at CIAA against NB officials

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): Journalist Gopal Budhathoki filed a petition at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today demanding action against Nepal Bank officials who have intentionally caused great loss to the Bank and against those who have taken out loans as no action has been taken as per the report presented by the team constituted to report on irregularities and corruption in loan investment at the Bank. The team was constituted in Mangsir 2055 under the chairmanship of chartered accountant Rajan Singh Bhandari.

Budhathoki has in his petition said that Nepal Bank Ltd Kathmandu has improperly invested Rs l,086,300,000. This was uncovered upon inspection of 206 loan files for the period from Baisakh to Magh 2055 B.S. The possibility of recovery of the loans is minimal.

The petition states that the then chief of Nepal Bank Limited Kathmandu abused his powers in disbursing loans on personal guarantee in excess of the ceiling on personal and institutional loans.

Evaluators at the Bank panel had also been evaluating collateral as per the wishes of the loan receivers, it is stated.

In the petition he has refered to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and requested a freeze on joint bank accounts, sale of immovable property, registration of firms, loan investment and banking transactions by those who have caused losses in the large scale group loans. Confiscation of their passports has also been sought.

Jaycees chief arriving tomorrow

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): Jaycees International President Sen. Geroges A. Bouverat is arriving here on a four-day visit to Nepal from April 6 to 9 at the invitation of Nepal Jaycees.

While in Nepal, he is scheduled to call on the Prime Minister and visit various Jaycees branches including the Butwal Jaycees, which is to host the 28th National Conference-2001 of the Nepal Jaycees.

All eyes on Mayadevi Temple

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, April 4: Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) is organising a five-day international technical meeting for discussing the conservation and development of the Mayadevi Temple of Lumbini world heritage site, beginning April 5.

To be organised in co-operation with United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the meeting will take place in Kathmandu and Lumbini with the participation of national and international experts in the field of archaeology, conservation, site management, presentation and development.

UNESCO said that the participants of the meeting would examine and discuss proposals for the conservation and presentation of the Mayadevi Temple, in particular those elaborated by the LDT with potential donors. The meeting may recommend appropriate measures to be taken for ensuring the conservation and presentation of the world heritage site following international conservation standards.

Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, was inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list under cultural criteria in 1997 by the World Heritage Committee following the nomination of the site by the Nepalese government. The birthplace of the Lord was recognised as a unique world cultural heritage as it is one of the holiest places of one of the world’s great religions.

UNESCO in a press release said that Mayadevi Temple is an essential part of the archaeological conservation area comprising the core zone of the world heritage site of Lumbini. The original temple is believed to have been built before the visit of Ashoka in 249 BC and probably consisted of no more than a platform constructed on the cross-wall system, later converted into a shikara temple. Now, the Mayadevi Temple is composed of brick structures of different periods dating from the third century BC to the modern contribution of 1939 AD.

The conservation and presentation of the fragile archaeological remains of the Mayadevi Temple have been the subject of many years of discussion both at a national and international level. Following a UNESCO Reactive Monitoring Mission undertaken in April 2000 by international experts, the national authorities began implementing the UNESCO Mission recommendations by installing non-intrusive monitoring equipment. Nepalese government also requested UNESCO to organise an international technical meeting for discussing proposals for the rehabilitation of the Mayadevi Temple, following the recommendations by the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee.

The government of Nepal became a State Party of the UNESCO 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1978. Each State Party to this Convention, according to UNESCO, recognises the duty of ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage. As signatory to this international legal instrument, Nepal is one of 162 State Parties which are committed to conserving unique and outstanding values of world heritage sites following international conservation standards.

To date, Sagarmatha National Park and the Royal Chitwan National Park have been inscribed on the world heritage list for their natural properties. Kathmandu Valley with its seven monument zones and Lumbini are two cultural heritage sites registered on the list.

EC starts updating voters’ list

Pokhara, Apr. 4 (RSS): The Election Commission (EC) has started collecting the names of all the members of the family and updating the voters’ list as part of the family inventory system which the EC plans to implement in five districts of the Kingdom in 2058 B.S.

The family inventory system will be implemented in Morang district of the Eastern Development Region, Makawanpur of the Central Development Region, Kaski of Western Development Region, Banke of Mid-western Development Region and Kailali district of the Far-Wesern Development Region.

The household inventory is the list of the names of all the members of the voter’s family which is prepared separately for each family and household. The list is updated and amended with the increase or decrease in the number of family members of a household in the course of time.

Under the household inventory system, the names and other information of the family members, both eligible for voting and not eligible, who stay at the same house, or are governed by a single household head, of a joint or a single family, are entered in different columns of the inventory form which is updated every year with necessary changes.

As the voters’ household inventory is the main basis for the identification of the genuine voters, it helps in the preparation of correct voters’ list and updating the same by way of making corrections of factual errors in the list (such as repetitions of names) and additions and deletions of names in case of in-and out-migration, marriage, death, etc.

A correct voters’ household inventory also aids in making the voters’ list reliable, factual and free of errors.

In this connection, the Election Commission district office, Kaski organised a training programme on the enumeration process for voters’ list and the updating and amending of the voters’ list for the assistant enumerators and their assistants in four phases with the assistance of Danida.

The work of preparing the voters’ household inventory will be carried out from 76 different places in Pokhara Sub-metropolitan city.

Chairman of Kaski District Development Committee (DDC) Punya Prasad Poudel inaugurated the training.

Chief district officer Narendra Raj Poudel, Naresh Shankar Palikhe of the Nepali Congress, Ganesh Bahadur Dhakal of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Lekhnath Sharma of the CPN-ML, local development officer Rudra Prasad Poudel, resource person Yamlal Adhikari and district election officer Ek Narayan Sharma addressed the programme.

There were 2,46,010 registered voters in Kaski district till April last year.

Taking part in the training are 176 persons including VDC secretaries, their assistants and employees of the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, in Hetauda, a six-day technical training on collecting voters’ household inventory and updating system held under the joint aegis of the Election Commission and Danida began here yesterday.

Altogether 108 enumerators are taking part in the training for collecting voters’ household inventory in 43 VDCs and one municipality of Makawanpur district.

Speaking on the occasion DDC chairman Rameswore Rana urged to enumerators to impartially collect the names of maximum voters of the VDCs and the municipality without giving into pressures of any political parties or anyone.

NC district president Ramchandra Aryal and secretary of RPP district committee Navaraj Bista said it is the responsibility of the district administration, Election Commission and the political parties to safeguard the fundamental rights of the people.

At the function chaired by district election officer Prithuraj Tiwari, chief district officer Durga Prasad Pokherel, election commission under secretary Rishiram Dhakal, president of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party district committee Kajiman Lama and CPN-UML representative and DDC member Srichandra Sharma also expressed their views.

Reforms paying dividend for Nepal, says Bastola
Focus on Nepal-Denmark ties

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola held official talks with Foreign Minister of Denmark Mogens Lykketoft in Copenhagen today.

At the meeting, Foreign Minister Bastola conveyed to his Danish counterpart the decision of His Majesty’s Government, in Principle, to open a resident diplomatic mission in copenhagen in view of the growing ties between the two countries and to make use of the potential to further expand ties in the scandinavian countries in the years ahead.

They reviewed the status of bilateral cooperation between Nepal and Denmark and expressed satisfaction at the ongoing cooperation.

According to the Royal Nepalese Embassy in London, Minister Bastola called for further diversification of Nepal-Denmark cooperation in other mutually beneficial areas in the days to come.

He also expressed sincere gratitude to the government and people of Denmark for providing cooperation in a spirit of partnership in Nepal’s development efforts.

The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the situation in the South Asia Region and international issues of mutual concern.

Earlier, Minister Bastola had a luncheon meeting with Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark Anita Bay Burdeggard.

On the occasion, he expressed satisfaction at the focus of Danish assistance in priority sectors like natural resources management, energy, education, human rights and good governance.

He also briefed the Danish Minister about the programmes and policies of His Majesty’s Government concerning consolidation of democracy and socio-economic development in the country.

Minister Bastola, likewise, informed Ms. Burdegaard about the process of economic reforms adopted by Nepal in the last several years and requested Danish cooperation to enhance commercial and cultural interactions, and expand the existing bilateral cooperation.

He appreciated the Danish Cooperation Strategy 2000, which focuses on poverty alleviation through pro-poor growth and partnership development.

The Danish Development Cooperation Minister agreed to further diversify relations between the two countries in the years to come.

Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Denmark Singha Bahadur Basnyat and Foreign Ministry officials were also present on the occasion.

House adjourned

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): The meeting of the House of Representatives was adjourned today also without taking up its regular business.

All the opposition MPs present at the meeting walked out of the house with MP Raghuji Pant of the CPN-UML announcing the boycott of the House at the beginning of the meeting citing that the Prime Minister had not resigned yet.

The House of Representatives has not been able to resume its regular business during the 19th session of parliament except for the first day with the main opposition party as well as other opposition parties demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala over the Lauda aircraft lease deal.

Speaker Taranath Ranabhat adjourned the meeting for tomorrow after all the opposition benches were empty.

The House of Representatives meets again at 4 p.m. tomorow.

Nepal-German consultations meeting concludes

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): Nepal-German consultations on development cooperation, which began on April 3, concluded here today.

The Federal Republic of Germany has pledged its continued support in Nepal’s development endeavor, according to a Finance Ministry press release.

The German assistance to Nepal is focussed on the areas of health and family planning, promotion of local self governace and civil society and renewable energy.

Both sides agreed to assign projects and programmes in the focus areas.

During the consultations the German side also agreed to contribute an additional dm 2.0 million for the integrated food security project Nepal.

An agreed minute was signed at the conclusion of the bilateral consultations.

Dr. Bimal Prasad Koirala, secretary at the Ministry of Finance and head of the Nepalese delegation, and Jochen Kenneweg, head of the South Asia division, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and head of the German Delegation, signed the minutes on behalf of their respective governments.

Rudiger Lemp, Ambassador of Germany to the Kingdom of Nepal, officials of GTZ and KFW as well as senior officials of the Federal Republic of Germany and His Majesty’s Government participated in the bilateral consultations.

The next government negotiations are tentatively planned for February/March 2002.

His Majesty’s Government has expressed its sincere appreciation and gratitude to the goverment of Germany and the leader of the German Delegation for the continued mutual cooperation between these two development partners.

Interaction meet held for Kathmandu’s long term plan

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): Kathmandu Valley Town Development Board held a day-long interaction programme here today with the objective of holding extensive discussions on the draft of the twenty-year long-term development plan of the Kathmandu to give it final shape.

The long-term plan is supposed to be a policy document to safeguard the social, economic and environmental values and translate into reality the concept of sustainable and balanced development.

The proposed plan envisions the policy of utilising the available opportunities to develop Kathmandu into a naturally, historically and culturally clean capital.

Likewise, the urban area in the next 20 years is expected to stretch over 15,000 hectares, while the capital will have an estimated one million more inhabitants.

At the programme, Minister of State for Physical Planning and Works Suresh Malla said HMG is committed to ensuring sustainable and balanced development of the Kathmandu valley.

He called for effective management for the long-term development of the valley.

From the chair, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works Birendra Bahadur Deuja called for efforts to make the document more practical in view of the urbanisation of the Kathmandu valley.

Member secretary of the Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee Surya Bhakta Sangachhe shed light on the proposed plan.

Director general of the Department of Town Development and Housing Shashi Bahadur Thapa stressed the need for effective implementation of the plan.

City planner of Lalitpur Indra Bahadur Shrestha called on all to take the development of the valley seriously.

Situation alarming, says Nepal

Rautahat, Apr. 4 (RSS): General Secretary of the CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that the Prime Minister should take moral responsibility for the series of killings taking place and immediately resign from his post.

Talking to the mediapersons after inspecting the sites of the bridges to be constructed in different places of Rautahat district, Mr Nepal accused the present government of not taking any steps to resolve the problem which is pushing the country towards an alarming situation.

The CPN-UML general secretary urged everyone to unite for national interest.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal says that as religion is the guiding principle for running the affairs of the state, the rulers should adopt religious values in running the country.

Mr Nepal made this remark while addressing the inaugural function of a temple in Dumariya Village Development Committee of Rautahat district today.

He said that although all the religions of the world denounce violence and killing, the country is today plagued with a wave of man-made violence and killing.

Jagadguru 108 Srikrishna Maniji Maharaj said the core of all the religions is to promote mutual love and understanding among human beings.

At the programme presided over by Data Prasad Dahal, president of the Srikrishna Pranami service committee, Rautahat, spokesman of the committee Krishna Prasad Sapkota and DDC chairman Rajendra Raut Kurmi also expressed their views.

The two-storey temple was constructed at a cost of Rs 2,500,000.

Bhupal Man Youth award to Monjushree

Kathmandu, Apr. 4 (RSS): The Bhupal Man Singh Karki Youth Literary Award for 2001 is to be given to Hari Manjushree for his remarkable contribution to the writing of essays, stories and novels, and also to research work. The award carries a purse of Rs 25,000.

Similarly, The Bhupal Man Singh Karki Youth Music Award for 2001 is to be given jointly to Shila Bahadur Moktan and Mrs Kunti Moktan. This award also carries a puse of Rs 25,000.