22,000 kids working as domestics in capital alone

Butwal, Apr. 11 (RSS): Of the total 7.9 million children between the age group of 5 to14 in the Kingdom of Nepal, about 2.5 million are child labourer.

According to a survey conducted by Child Labour Eradication Programme of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), some of the child labourer are involved in the agriculture, industry and households while some are being exploited as porters and street children.

Likewise, some children have been compelled to serve as bonded labourer to clear the loans taken by their parents while others have been trafficked to foreign countries for flesh trade.

Majority of these children are involved in despicable form of jobs within the country.

According to a Survey Conducted in the urban areas recently, about 55,000 children under the age of 18 have been involved as domestic servants. There are about 22,000 children under the age of 18 working as domestic servants in Kathmandu metropolis alone.

These child labourer are made to carry out domestic work for long hours in the house with little pay or without any allowance. Some of the child labourer are even exploited sexually while others are kept like prisoners within the house.

Likewise, about 42,000 children are being used for transporting construction materials for construction of roads in the country while about 3,900 children have been found working as porters in the urban market centers and bus parks.

Even though the Nepalese laws prohibits the children under the age of 16 to carry a load of more than 25 kilograms, the children have been found carrying loads upto 56 kilograms in the urban areas and an average of 35 kilograms along the muletracks of the hilly areas.

As a result of this serious and dangerous nature of work, the life span of the child labourer is expected to reduce by 20 to 30 years.

About 4,000 children of the urban areas earn a living by collecting plastic, metal and bottles from the garbage dumping sites, river banks and the corners of the streets.

These children have fallen victims of diseases like HIV/AIDS, and animals bites as well as criminals.

Likewise, about 17,000 children born in serfdom are found working in farms, teastalls, hotels, kilns, carpet factories, stone mines and households.

Even though His Majesty’s Government has banned bonded labourer from June, 2000, more than half of the bonded labourer are still working like slaves.

This information was given at a regional workshop on child labourer

Organised jointly by ILO and Ministry of Labour and Transport Management at Butwal recently.

Speaking on the occasion secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management Premnidhi Gyawali said that the civil society should serious about the rights of the child labourer as child labourer are an outcome of the social system, the tendency of giving low priority to children, illiterate parents, migration of people from the villages to the urban areas, poor family condition and education being out of reach of the children.

The Director of ILO expressed the view that commitment of the parents and the government is necessary to achieve the objectives of eradication of child Labour.

Mayor of Butwal Municipality Bhoj Raj Shrestha said that the local bodies should be made capable and a people’s awareness campaign launched for erdication of child Labour.

S. N. Baidya, director of the Labour and Employment Promotion Department and Devratna Tamrakar, under secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management said that effective steps should be taken for eradication of the despicable aspects of child Labour.

Oath of office administered

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): Chairman of the Rajparishad Standing Committee Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi administered the oath of office and secrecy of Rajparishad member to the newly appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission Yogendra Nath Ojha, Chief Election Commissioner Achyit Narayan Rajbhandari and Chief Secretary Keshav Raj Rajbhandari at a function here today.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammad Mohsin and office-bearers of the Rajparishad Standing Committee were present at the oath taking ceremony.

On the occasion Chairman Dr. Rayamajhi also presented the newly appointed members with the insignia of the Rajparishad.

Unity must to fight Maoists

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): General Secretary of the CPN-UML and leader of the main opposition party in the Parliament Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that Maoism will not thrive in the country by damaging the infrastructure of development and killing and dismembering the innocent people on the pretext of Maoist movement.

Inaugurating the sixth annual general meeting of the Nepal National Marwadi Council here today, he said that as the responsibility of developing the land of peace and the land or tourism had fallen on the shoulders of all the Nepalese, it would be easy to defeat the Maoists if everyone could joint hands and contribute their mite for the development of the country.

General Secretary of the Nepali Congress and MP Sushil Koirala, addressing general meeting, said that as there was an onslaught on democracy from all sides, everyone should join hand to combat the menace.

RPP general secretary Pashupati Shumsher Rana, Hriyadesh Tripathi of the NSP and Chitra Bahadur KC, outgoing president Hulash Chandra Golchha and advisor Mohan Gopal Khetan also expressed their views at the meeting chaired by council president Shankar Lal Kediya.

Mapping project completed with Finnish aid

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): The historic task of modern mapping considered necessary for the development and construction activities of the country has been completed.

The mapping project completed with the cooperation of the government of Finland in two phases with 625 maps has re-improved the map of Nepal and prepared it in the modern form.

The total cost of the project launched in 1992 is Rs. 756,050,000 of which ten per cent has been borne by HMG, it is learnt.

Finnish Charge D’affaires Asko Luukkainen, on behalf of the Government of Finland, handed over the topographic map of western Nepal to Minister of State for Land Reforms and Management Ramjanam Chaudhari at a programme organised here today.

On the occasion, Minister of State Chaudhari said that modern mapping programme, the backbone of every plan, has been completed and the plan formulated will speed up the pace of development in the country.

Assistant Minister for Land Reforms and Management Dilli Raj Sharma said that the Department of Survey had big role in the development of the country and the mapping programme would help in the successful implementation of the plans related to irrigation, roads, water supply, agriculture and health services.

Finnish Charge D’affaires Mr Luukkanen said that the friendship between Nepal and Finland will continue.

Speaking from the chair, member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Hari Shankar Tripathi said that modern mapping programme is important in land management.

Mahat stresses implementation of SAARC decisions

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): Leader of the Nepalese delegation and Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat returned home today after taking part in the two-day poverty alleviation conference of SAARC Finance and Planning Ministers in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

The conference on April 8-9 discussed the poverty alleviation strategies and programmes adopted by the SAARC member countries and it also approved the working plan on the ways of reducing poverty in the region.

The action plan on poverty alleviation includes such internal and external policies as good governance, health, economic management, human resources development, rural and urban poverty, multi-culturalism, social security, investment in social sector, internal resource mobilisation, empowerment of the local communities, trade promotion in South Asia, promotion of market facilities for SAARC nations in the developed countries and reduction of multilateral loans.

Finance Minister Dr. Mahat in his capacity as the current chairman of the SAARC proposed a vote of thanks at the concluding function of the conference.

He stressed the need for giving attention in implementing the decisions of the SAARC which he believed would help in strengthening regional cooperation. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had inaugurated the conference.

The Nepali delegation included National Planning Commission member Dr. Sankar Sharma, Royal Nepalese Charge D’affaires in Pakistan Muktinath Bhatta and officer at the Foreign Ministry Ram Babu Dhakal.

House passes Domestic Violence Bill

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): The House of Representatives at its meeting today passed the Domestic Violence(Crime and Punishment) Bill-2058.

Answering questions raised by the MPs during discussions on the bills, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Rajendra Kharel said that provisions have been made in the bill for taking legal action and providing free medical treatment to the sufferer if a reconciliation does not take place in cases of domestic violence.

Earlier taking part in the discussions on the bill, Hari Acharya of RJM suggested that a family court should be set up to deal with cases of domestic violence, rehibilitation centers opened in the districts and the sufferer should be provided free medical treatment.

On the occasion Deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav, from the chair, read out communications received from the Royal Palace.

The House of Representatives meets again at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.