Maoists should hand over weapons

Pokhara, Oct. 7 (RSS): Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Gopal Man Shrestha has said that not only the Nepali Congress but all political parties believing in democracy have provided a mandate for the dialogue between the government and the Maoists.

Speaking at a meeting with NC party activists organised by the Kaski district committee of the Nepali Congress, Minister Shrestha said that the government had not done anything to disrupt the dialogue but as the Maoists were not complying with the provisions of the understanding reached, everyone in the country was raising questions about this.

Stating that the Maoists too have understood it is difficult to move ahead with the politics of weapons, he said if the dialogue is to be fruitful, the Maoists should hand over their weapons.

Pointing out that the government was alert towards making the talks simple, accessible and without complications, he said party cadres should join hands with the opposition also at the local evel and move forward on that basis.

National secretary of the Nepal Trade Union Congress Ramjee Kuwar and a host of other speakers likewise expressed their views at the programme chaired by acting president of the NC Kaski district committee Yagya Bahadur Thapa.

Thimi Jaycees’ Week opens

Bhaktapur, Oct. 7 (RSS): Mayor of Madhypur Thimi Municipality Madan Krishna Shrestha and deputy mayor Murari Prasad Acharya jointly inaugurated the Thimi Jaycees’ Week-2058 here today.

On the occasion, Mayor Shrestha said such activity will help to do away with absurdness and delirium prevalent in the youths of the urban areas.

Deputy mayor Murari Prasad Acharya lauded the works being carried out selflessly by the Jaycees.

At the function chaired by Thimi Jaycees President Sriram Shrestha, main convenor of the Jaycees’ Week Surya Lal Shrestha, convenors Basant Nakarmi and Thimi Jaycees convenor Rajyashwari Shrestha also expressed their views.

An orientation training on disability, a blood donation programme, an athletic and a high school-level oratory competition will be held as part of the Jaycees Week.

Meet calls for more women in mainstream

Biratnagar, Oct. 7 (RSS): The first national convention of the Nepal Women’s Association which has concluded here adopted policy and programmes relating to social, educational, health, economic and administrative matters as well as legal provisions and political participation.

The resolutions tabled by the convenor of the central policy and programmes formulation committee of the association has stated that as women are subjected to discrimination, exploitation and oppression because of the prevailing patriarchical society, programmes would be designed to introduce changes through the generation of legal and social awareness among the masses.

Likewise, pressure will be exerted on the government for strict enforcement of the law concerning social evils and anomalies such as Deuki, Bandini, child marriage, domestic violence, girl trafficking and gender inequality and for the increased participation of women, and the awareness of the public about these issues would be raised.

Pressure will also be exerted to increase the participation of women in the social mainstream.

It is stated in the educational programme that provision should be made for additional scholarships for the increased particiation of women in the educational sector, compulsory education for women, non-formal education and adult education should be encouraged, fifty per cent of the teachers should be women and 25 per cent of the seats in income generating and training programmes should also be for women.

In the health sector, it has been stated that the general health condition of Nepalese women is, by and large, poor, and that programmes such as those concerning nutritious food, reproductive health, family planning, safe delivery, immunisation and safe motherhood should be conducted.

The economic and administrative policy and programmes of the association states that the awareness level of the Nepalese women should be raised through an education and information campaign, women’s right to land and property should be ensured, the dignity of labour should be recognised, the participation of women in policy formulation, administration, employment opportunities and in the management level should be increased and credit and concessions also be provided to women for employment and income generating.

Similarly, effective necessary legal measures should be adopted to eliminate all kinds of discrimiation against women, the rights to property, inheritance and citizenship ensured, inequal provisions in the civil code of 2020 amended, and special laws enacted to protect and promote the rights and interests of women.

As the participation of women at the policy formulation level is the least, compulsory provisions should be made for 35 per cent reservations for women at all political levels in order to ensure social change, 50 per cent of political appointments should be from among women, there should be proper representation of the oppressed, indigenous people and down-trodden women and a national women’s commission constituted as early as possible to protect and promote the rights and interest of women, according to the resolutions passed.

Loss of property in Dhanusha VDCs

Janakpurdham, Oct. 7 (RSS): There has been widespread loss of property in seven Village Development committees (VDCs) of Dhanusha district including the collapse of l82 houses due to torrential rain for the past one week, it is learnt from the district police office, Dhanusha, according to a RSS report from Janakpurdham.

As a result of the rain, property worth Rs. 150,000 along with rice, pulses and wheat worth Rs. 13,000 was damaged when the house of Dev Narayan Mandal of Jhatayahi VDC collapsed.

Likewise, the damage was estimated to be around Rs. 40,000 when the house of Badri Mandal of the same locality also collapsed.

Fifty houses at Fulgama VDC, 48 at Bahejabela, 35 at Ghodasama, 38 at Devpura Rupetha, 10 at Sigyahi Madan, three at Jhatahahima, and one at Pachahraba have collapsed because of the torrential rain.

It will take a few more days to collect factual data pertaining to the rain damage, but standing paddy on thousands of hectares in the district has been submerged.

Meanwhile, repair work on the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway track damaged by the rain is in full swing, it is learnt from railway sources.

Cut-off hand re-installed in Pokhara

Pokhara, Oct. 7 (RSS): The left hand of a person chopped off by a khukuri or knife has been re-installed at Western Regional Hospital Pokhara.

General and vascular surgeon at the hospital Dr Digvijaya Sharma Timilsina had re-installed the hand after nine hours of operation. The chopped off hand one nerve left and a very thin skin was dangling.

According to hospital sources, this is the first time that a cut off hand has been re-installed through re-Simplantation surgery.

Both the hands of Suman Shrestha, 24, were cut off in a scuffle of Beni, Myagdi district. His right hand was kept at an ice box, but his left hand was not completely cut off, but joined by a thin skin.

There is a 60 per cent possibility of saving a cut-off hand even if only one of its arteries is cut. But though both the arteries of Mr Shrestha were cut off, his hand could be restored.

Both his hands could perhaps be saved if there was yet another doctor, Dr Timilsina said.

The patient can now move fingers of his left hand and he has started physiotherapy, he added.

Dr Man Bahadur Gurung, Dr Tumaya Ghale, Dr Bhupendra Tulachan and health personnel Tara Gurung and Chhetra Rokka had helped Dr Timilsina.

‘Social change has not yet taken place’

Mahottari, Oct. 7 (RSS): CPN (ML) president and chairman of the women’s security pressure group Mrs Sahana Pradhan has said despite the political change in the country, social change has not yet taken place.

Mrs Pradhan, speaking at a day-long seminar on women’s right in Jaleshwor today, noted that though ten prime ministers came and went in the past decade of democracy, no remarkable development has been made in the political, social and economic fields in the country.

Mahottari DDC chairman Tej Narayan Yadav, group’s member Durga Ghimire and others also spoke at the function.

Several participants had presented their working papers on women’s rights on the occasion.