World neurosurgeons to share experiences in London

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 29: Prof. Upendra Devkota, FRCS, will be participating at a special meeting of the eminent neurosurgeons from around the world to be held from September 5 –7 in London, England.

Dr. Devkota, Chief of the Neurosurgical Unit, Bir Hospital, and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Norvic Health Care and Research Centre, was invited to the meeting of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS).

At the gathering of internationally acclaimed neurosurgeons, Dr. Devkota will present paper on a technique on Lumbar Disc Surgery.

According to the Norvic Health Care and Research Centre, the technique, termed as MIOLD (Minimally Invasive Open Lumbar Disectomy), was pioneered by Dr. Devkota in Nepal. The technique is related to Sciatica, a disease of the sciatic nerve, which leads to pain, sometimes unbearable, in the buttock and lower limb, which is mainly due to the herniation of a lumbar disk.

Dr. Devkota says this is a very common disease in general Nepalese. A significant portion of Nepalese has been suffering from the disease in varying degree – from backache to paralyasis. The main cause of Sciatica is attributed to abnormal posture, excess body weight, short stature, excessive forward bending, lifting heavy weight and malnutrition.

According to Dr. Devkota this disease can be completely cured. "One can have the surgery done and can go to work the next day."

A press statement of Norvic says, Dr. Devkota has already done the operation on 412 patients in the last few years, and the results have been very encouraging with 73 per cent of the patients going home after 15 hours of surgery. Of them 98.5 per cent of the total had a good outcome at three months follow-ups.

The acceptance of Dr. Devkota’s paper by the Western Scientific Community after rigorous scrutiny means the technique developed in Nepal will now get wider international acceptance and dissemination.

Sustainable energy systems hailed

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 29: The Taman micro hydel demonstration scheme at Taman, Baglung was inaugurated today jointly by Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, member of the National Planning Commission and Dr. Hafiz Pasha, the UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Pacific.

According to the UNDP, the Taman micro hydel project is implemented under the joint collaboration of His Majesty's Government and UNDP in the foreword of the Rural Energy Development Programme (REDP). Under REDP, 54 such hydel schemes have already been established and 32 are under construction with over 100 million rupees mobilized from various sources for rural energy systems.

The programme has been able to bring together 50,000 men and women in community organisations and functional groups and over 16,000 persons have been trained on different projects, UNDP says.

Inaugurating the project, Dr. Pokharel complimented the focus of REDP on capacity building at the grassroots, local elected bodies at the district and concerned people at the national level to promote community managed sustainable energy systems.

What is to be noted, he said, is that the DDCs have embraced the programme wholeheartedly and taken full ownership of the district level activites.

The REDP approach comprises of six guiding principles i.e. organisation development, capital formation, skill enhancement, technology promotion, environment management and women empowerment.

Addressing the inaugural function, Dr. Pasha said it was encouraging to note that REDP's per unit cost of electricity generation through micro hydel projects in remote areas is only about US$ 1,700 per kilowatt as compared to large power plants which in Nepal cost up to US$ 4,000 per kilowatt.

"These figures have significant policy implications for the overall electrification strategy of the country," he said.

Among the team visiting Taman were Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Dr. Bimal Prasad Koirala, Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development Udaya Raj Soti and UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Henning Karcher.

Industrialists blast Income Tax Bill

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 29: Industrialists today said that the proposed Income Tax Bill had totally ignored their suggestions and warned of strikes and closures if the Parliament passed it unchanged. They said the Bill was complex, impractical and dismissed the concerns of the taxpayers.

"The words and the sentences used in the proposed Bill are so complex that even lawyers and chartered accountants concede that they find it difficult to understand," Second Vice President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Rajendra Khetan told a press conference.

"The Bill seems to be a poor imitation of the tax laws in the western countries and has failed to take into account country’s financial situation, the status of the industrial sector and tax administration," Khetan told the press meet organised by the FNCCI.

He said the Bill, now under discussion in the parliamentary Finance Committee, contained Articles and clauses that were contrary to the accounting principles and showed reservations over provisions to impose tax on any kind of capital gain and property transfer as well as on the property disposed after the death of a person. He said the Bill, among others, still granted discretion to the tax officials, introduced more penalties and eliminated legal remedies on part of the taxpayers.

FNCCI Press Meet

President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) Rajesh Kaji Shrestha said the Bill was ill timed and would hit the already weak industries. "Nepalese industries are now facing a problem of sustenance and require concessions and not more taxing laws. The new Bill, however, will put more pressure on the already weak industrial sector."

"Neither will the Bill make tax administration more transparent as claimed by the government," he added. "The Bill still grants discretion to the tax officials."

He said the Bill required more discussions before it would be approved by the Parliament, adding the lawmakers should think seriously about it which - if passed unchanged – could disorient the national economy.

"We have no choice but to shut down business and resort to protest if our concerns go unheeded."

Former President of FNCCI Anand Raj Mulmi said the government had taken an ‘unwise move’ in bringing a new Tax Bill at a time when not only the financial sector but the whole nation was facing uncertainties. "The nation is actually in need of a package to revive industry and resolve other problems in this sector," he said.

He called the proposed Bill a ‘sharp sword’ upon the heads of the taxpayers, adding this would impede the growth of the private sector.

NCC Vice President Surendra Bir Malakar demanded that the Bill had to be rewritten incorporating the suggestions of the private sector. The FNCCI had submitted a draft of Income Tax Bill to the government a couple of years ago. It also submitted a 21-page revision proposal on the draft of the Bill that is now under discussion.

National strategy for garments industry stressed

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 29: A two-day national workshop on Competitiveness, Productivity and Job Quality in Garments Industry in Nepal started today with the call to the industry to develop strategies for enhancing competitiveness and to the government for starting diplomatic initiatives for seeking the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) for the export of garments.

Opening the Workshop Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Bhup P. Acharya stated that the Government is quite cognizant of the challenges faced by the garments industry, in the wake of impending removal of quota system for the garment exports by the end of 2004. He further assured that the government intends to work with the industry in implementing policy measures to deal with the challenges of competitive pressures.

Garment industries thrived and generated employment and foreign exchange earnings during the past few years largely as a result of the quota available to Nepal from the developed countries.

The workshop, organised by the International Labour Organisation, is focusing on the future of the garment export from Nepal after the expiry of MFA (quota system under the Multi-Fibre Agreement) at the end of 2004.

Focus on challenges of garments industry

As noted during the workshop, exports and employment have been lately declining, which are expected to be in further jeopardy as competitive pressures build up. For withstanding such pressures, it was agreed that the ways to enhance competitiveness have to be explored besides seeking to maintain GSP (general system of preferences) privilege from the developed countries, as being made available to sub-Saharan countries in Africa and Caribbean countries.

On the first day of the workshop today, participants from various government agencies, FNCCI, GAN (Garment Association of Nepal), workers’ organisations examined the various scenarios as the quota is gradually being abolished leading up to the end of 2004. It is expected that the workshop will provide recommendations for formulating a national strategy for the garments industry to deal with the situation, wherein the country would be required to compete against other countries which are better endowed with raw materials, skilled labour and lower production and transportation costs.

Earlier welcoming the participants, Mr. S.Z. Sadeque, In-charge of ILO Kathmandu pointed out the importance of the garments industry in generating large number of employment in the organised sector, including provision of employment for female workers in the organised sector. He stated that in the face of increasing competition as a result of abolition of quota, the industry is required to enhance competitiveness through improvement in productivity. Mr. Gopal Joshi of the ILO pointed out that improvement in productivity and job quality would have to take place simultaneously since one leads to another. He further informed that ILO is organizing similar country workshops in South Asian countries and will be holding a sub-regional meeting on garments industry in September 2001 in Kathmandu.

Mr. Kiran P. Saakha, Vice President, Garment Association of Nepal (GAP), Mr. Umesh Upadhyaya – GEFONT and Mr. Chandi Raj Dhakal, Vice President FNCCI also spoke during the occasion. Mr. Saakha pointed out that urgent measures are required by the Government for ensuring that the industry survives the onslaught of globalisation as a result of the removal of the quota system at the end of 2004. The industry has already started witnessing decline in its ability to export due to various reasons, including high costs resulting from inadequate infrastructure facilities and the unique geographical position of Nepal.

IISP's positive impact
Army involve in social services

Gorkha, Aug. 29 (RSS):  Gorkha district has witnessed laudable social service and development sectors following the mobilisation of Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) under the Integrated Internal Security Programme (IISP) being implemented by His Majesty’s Government with an objective of developing Gorkha into a model district.

A 600-metres long drainage has been built in Palungtar VDC and a canal for irrigation constructed at the market area in Palungtar VDC. The local people have also been apprised of the methods checking of soil erosion.

Similarly, the Royal Nepalese Army had brought under control an epidemic of gastro-enteritis that had spread in Mirkot and Khoplang VDCs, and Ward No. 9 Chhepetar of Prithvinarayan municipality last month.

They have also been providing regular and emergency medical services to the people as per needs and distributing medicines to the patients free of cost, Major of Barda Bahadur Company Tek Bahadur Chand told RSS.

A group of armymen deployed for maintaining vigilance and patrolling has also providing medical check-ups and distributing medicines to the local people free of cost.

About 8,201 people were provided medical check-ups while medicines worth Rs 500,000 distributed free of cost to the people, it is learnt.

Likewise, the Royal Nepalese Army have provided drinking water to 120 households at Ward Nos 8 and 9 of Prithvinarayan municipality. For this purpose, five drinking water public taps and a tank with a capacity of 10,000 litres have been installed.

They also helped the local people in repairing the drinking water pipes at Chhapthok village as well as in Ghampesal Ilaka in a bid to make drinking water available to local people.

The building of Janashakti Primary School, Chhapthok which had collapsed due to an earthquake on July 16 has also been re-constructed with the help of the Royal Nepalese Army.

A RNA medical team has been providing medical services to the students of Manakamana Deaf School from time to time and distributing medicines. The blind students have also been provided with foodgrains worth Rs. 5,920 to date.

Royal Nepalese Army have been deployed in all the three constituencies of Gorkha district under the Integreted Internal Security Programme of His Majesty’s Government.

People have immense faith in Monarchy

Kathmandu, Aug. 29 (RSS): Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said the institution of monarchy stands as a backbone of the country and Hindus the world over have immense faith and trust in this institution.

Mr Deuba, who was speaking at a colloquium on "Indispensability of the Institution of Monarchy in the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal" organised by the World Hindu Federation here today, noted that if attempts are made from any quarters to undermine the monarchical institution, it will not be tolerated.

The other speakers at the function observed that since the Vedic days the King and the people have worked hand in hand in the interests of the nation.

Various speakers including NC's Arjun Narsingh KC, CPN (UML)'s Modnath Prashrit, RPP's Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, CPN (ML)'s Radha Krishna Mainali, MPs Kamala Pant and Badri Prasad Mandal, Rajeshwor Devkota, Achyut Raj Regmi and Bishwo Bandhu Thapa also spoke at the function chaired by acting president of the federation Bharat Keshar Singh.