Economic issues raised in Upper House

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): At the National Aseembly today, MP Dr. Rup Jyoti, presenting a resolution of public importance, said that the present economic policy should be revised and improved for increasing employment opportunities and effecting poverty alleviation.

Stating that redistribution of property might be a good political slogan but it is not the right method of poverty alleviation, he said that the best long-term measure of poverty alleviation is to provide opportunities to all able persons.

He said that one of the main reasons for our inability to attract foreign investment was the foreign exchange policy and called for basic change in the policy.

Stating that innovative thinking was necessary for reducing poverty in a specific and speedy way, Dr. Jyoti said that policy that encourages all kinds of vocations and economic activities should be formulated to generate employment.

Then, furnishing replies to questions concerning a resolution of public importance raised by the MPs, Minister for Finance Dr. Ramsharan Mahat said that the human development report 10 years ago had placed Nepal in the 152nd position but it occupies 129th position at present, adding that the tendency of seeing good and positive achievements as bad should be given up.

The export to India which was around Rs. 2 billion during the erstwhile Panchayat regime had reached Rs. 30 billion, six to seven hydropower projects had been launched simultaneously, investment in education had reached Rs. 15 billion from 3 billion and there had been dramatic progress in the health sector and in building infrastructure, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat said adding that as a result of the liberal policy pursued in the private and community sector, improvement in the economy had been noticed.

He said that without mobilising the capital outside the scope of the government, economic development of the country could not take place.

Prior to this, taking part in discussions on the resolution, Kashi Nath Adhikari of the CPN-UML said that further increase of poverty even after two five year plans since the restoraion of democracy, the lowest per capita income in the entire South Asian Region, and increase in unemployment were the results of the wrong economic policy pursued by the government.

Jagannath Paudel of the Nepali Congress attributed the adverse impact on the economy to the problem of law and order in the country rather than to the policy of liberalisation and privatisation and said that poverty alleviation and employment generation would be achieved if the government focussed on increasing agricultural output.

Urba Dutta Panta of the CPN-UML said that as the policy of liberalisation and privatisation would never benefit the target group the government should improve the economic policy.

Devendra Ghimire of the same party said that the government should focus economic policy on the interests of the poor.

Shukra Raj Samyok of the Nepali Congress said that large scale industries should be established in all the five development regions of the country to resolve the Maoist problem.

Mahesh Mani Acharya Dikshit of the CPN-UML said that the government should seriously evaluate the economic policy and priority should be accorded to transparency, good governance and prevention of corruption.

Radheshyam Adhikari of the Nepali Congress said that as the economic growth rate had declined after the Maoists issue surfaced, it was clear that the law and order problem had an adverse impact on the economy.

MP Mohan Raj Sharma Chapagai alleged that the Bishweshwar with the poor was confined to seminars only and the government lack vision in good governance.

Tilak Prasad Neupanay of the Nepali Congress said that the government alone was not responsible for the economic ills of the country and industrialists without morals taking loans and plunging the country into crisis were to be blamed.

AI expresses concern over rights situation

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): Amnesty International has in its report released today said that with the six year old "People’s war" bringing Nepal’s human rights situation to a point of crisis danger is looming large over the country’s future.

In disregard of the rules of war, police have killed hundreds of Maoists who could have just been arrested and the Maoists also have left many injured, held a large number of people hostage and killed even police officers who surrendered, the report said adding, the situation has been further aggravated following the proclamation of a state of emergency in the wake of the collapse of peace talks last November.

Since imposition of the emergency police have arrested more than 5,000 people and special anti-terrorism measures adopted thereafter have further worsened the human rights situation, according to the report.

Noting that Maoists have held hostage about 500 people, inflicted torture on many more, killed people through the setting up of kangaroo courts and forced many children to join their militant groups, the report said it is not only security agencies and personnel but also the social and development infrastructure like factories and industries, and telecommunications towers that have been the targets of the Maoists.

At least 29 teachers including two Amnesty International members were deliberately killed by the Maoists and the body of school teachers and father of three children Lekhnath Gautam was recovered in Panchthar district on March 23, the report said.

Drop out ratio still high at primary level: Report

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 3: Over 80 per cent of all school-age children in Nepal get enrolled in primary schools, but 14.5 per cent of them drop-out before they reach Grade 1.

A Mid Term Review (MTR) Report released today about the Basic and Primary Education Programme (BPEP) said the net enrollment in primary schools increased from 70 per cent in 1998 to 80.4 per cent in 2000. The figures show that nearly four million children attend school at pre-primary and primary levels.

Drop-out rates fell by 4.7 percentage points during the same period. In 1998 the drop-out rates for children below Grade 1 stood at 19.8 per cent.

"The MTR was conducted to assess the achievements of the BPEP and to rectify weaknesses," Chuman Singh Basnet, Director General of the Department of Education told a press conference this afternoon. The programme supported by Denmark, European Union, Finland, Norway as well as the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and UNICEF, was launched in 1999 to provide primary education to all school-age children in the country. It is a follow-up on the Basic and Primary Education Project that began in 1993 and lasted until 1998.

The report says short and long term training schemes to enhance teachers professional skill was a major achievement of the programme.

The MTR report urges the empowerment of communities through direct resource allocation, consolidation of District Education Committee for efficient management, and expansion of human resource development schemes.

The report says Grade 1 deserves priority to attain better results in the basic education sector. It suggests that children should not be admitted in Grade 1 until they are six years old. The best teachers should be assigned, and the number of students should be limited to 35. It also requests better teaching and learning aids, a pleasant learning environment and bilingual tuition in Grade 1.

No plan to use cadres to aid security men: UML

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): The CPN (UML) has said the party has no programme for mobilising people in aid of security forces.

According to party spokesperson Pradip Nepal, the committee has not been formed either for operation of the programme.

Kidnapping condemned

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 3: Nepal Communist Party-United Marxist-Leninist said Maoists had kidnapped the wives, sons and daughters of Prithvi Bahadur Singh, brother of the party’s central committee member Prem Bahadur Singh, at Dillikot of Odanbu VDC-4 in Kalikot district on Tuesday.

Now an armed group of Maoist terrorists occupy the house. Kidnap victims include Mankoila Singh and Kalasa Singh, Nanikali Singh, 10, Madhav Kumar Singh, 5, Yub Raj Singh, 3, and 11-month-old Poshan Kumar Singh.

The CPN-UML strongly condemns the kidnapping by the Maoists and demand immediate release of the members of the family.

Today, the UML has refuted news reports in daily and government media that the party will organise public mobilisation programmes to assist the security personnel in its nationwide anti-terrorist campaign.

Citing the news as false and fabricated, a press release reads: "The Standing Committee of the party has not decided to organise such a programme to help the security operations."

Envoy Nir meets Singh

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): Avraham Nir, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Kingdom of Nepal called on the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh at the latter’s office at Shital Niwas today.

Matters concerning bilateral relations were discussed on the occasion.

Postal employee caught tearing letters

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): Prakash Dahal, a non-gazetted second class employee at General Post Office, Sundhara has been handed over to the Special Police Department for action after he was found tearing some of the letters dispatched from India and concealing some of them in his pocket on a monitoring TV screen while sorting out letters in the office.

Two letters and Indian currency Rs. 600 are said to have been recovered from his body.

Dahal told the police that he has been committing such theft since the last three months, according to the Department.

Girl under custody appears SLC exams

Nuwakot, Apr. 3 (RSS): A girl examinee in police custody has appeared in school leaving certificate examination that started from Tuesday after arrangements have been made to conduct examination at the place where she has been kept.

According to police inspector Krishna Pageni, arrangements have been made to conduct examination for Durga Poudel, a resident of Narja Ganeshsthan VDC who has been taken into police custody for her alleged involvement in Maoist activity.

Finance bill accepted

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): The National Assembly meeting today agreed to discuss the Finance (first amendment) Bill 2058 as proposed by Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat.

Earlier, replying to questions raised during general discussions on the proposal, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat said the bill has been designed to explore new areas of revenue mobilisation so as to meet the increased security budget.

Stating that the bill will help increase the mobilisation of foreign assistance, he said it for new taxation without placing an additional economic burden on ordinary people.

Laxmi Das Manandhar and Kashi Nath Adhikari of CPN-UML took part in the general discussions.

Also at today’s meeting, chairman of the National Assembly special committee Jagannath Poudel presented the committee report on the Health Institutions Operation Bill 2058.

Likewise, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat tabled the Securities Exchange Bill 2058 and Health Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari presented the Nepal Health Services (third amendment) Bill 2058.

TU results

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): Tribhuvan University has published the results of the M.B.A. first year examination held in the month of Bhadra last and the two-year B.A. (first part) examination held in the month of Poush last

Women’s commission thanks govt

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 (RSS): The first meeting of the National Women’s Commission (NWC), which was held today, thanked His Majesty’s Government for constituting the historic commission on the occasion of the 92nd International Women’s Day with the objective of bringing Nepalese women into the mainstream of nation building through their development.

In a press statement, the Commission has extended gratitude to Nepalese women, men and organisations involved in the process of constituting the commission and those who have faith in it, and also it anticipated continued cooperation and inspiration from all in the future as well.

One wounded as terrorists fire on passenger bus

Nepalgunj, Apr. 3 (RSS): Maoist terrorists opened fire at a passenger bus (Na. 2. Kha. 1433) headed for Kathmandu from Nepalgunj near Kusum of Banke district at around 8.30 a.m today.

According to president of Nepalgunj Bus Operators Association Lalmani Bhandari, conductor of the bus Krishna Neupanay has sustained serious bullet injuries and there are several bullet marks on the bus.

A team of the Royal Nepal Army and another from the police rushed to the scene immediately after the incident took place, but the condition of other passengers and crew is yet unknown.

Superintendent of police (SP) of Banke Gokarna Bahadur Pal said that though army and police teams had gone to the area, further information has not yet been received.

However, Bhandari said that after the attack other buses returned to Nepalgunj, while those bound westward towards Mahendranagar turned back from Chisapani.

Buses on long routes are plying from today at the request of the local administration and police. Local buses are also plying today.