Best wishes offered to Queen Mother

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KATHMANDU, Aug. 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has wished good health, progress, prosperity and long life to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and bright future to the children of the Kingdom of Nepal on the occasion of the 75th auspicious birthday of Her Majesty the Queen Mother and the 38th National Children's Day.

Prime Minister Deuba, in his message here today, said that the love and affection provided by Her Majesty the Queen Mother to the children who will be at the helms tomorrow as well as the patronship provided Her Majesty to the Nepal Children's Organisation has become inspirational and guidelines for all of us.

Unless the prerequisites for the children's bright future are ensured, the golden future of the country cannot be envisioned, he said, adding that there should be physical, mental and intellectual development of the children in order to make them able citizens.

Stating that numerous children have been deprived of the light of education because of poverty, illiteracy and superstition, Prime Minister Deuba said "All citizens should bring up their children in an loving atmosphere. Then only will they make positive contributions to the all round development of the country."

Stating that the government expects cooperation from everyone including intellectuals and the social workers in the steps to be taken for the protection of the rights and interests of the children, Deuba expressed confidence that every segment of the society would extend cooperation in translating the motto of "Peace and non-violence for the bright future of the children" into reality.

In her message, Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Sushila Swnar said that a majority of our children have been deprived of their rights and interests even in the 21st century and many among them have been suffering because of the violence.

Minister of State Swnar said that no one should involve the children in violent activities to fulfil their selfish interests. Everyone should make efforts to translate the slogan of peace and non-violence for the bright future of the children into reality, she added.

Expressing the full commitment of HMG to remain active in the protection of the rights of the children, she called for providing conducive atmosphere for the children to grow up in peaceful environment.
President of Nepal Children Organisation Rita Baidya, in her message, called upon one and all to provide opportunity to the children to grow up in peaceful and safe atmosphere and to build their future.

She said that bright future of the country cannot be visualised from the frightened and terrorised children.

HRH Princess opens child song conference

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KATHMANDU, Aug. 19: Her Royal Highness Princess Prerana Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah inaugurated a "Competitive national child song conference" on child rights on the occasion of the 75th auspicious birthday of Her Majesty Queen Mother Ratna Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and 38th National Children's Day here today.

On the occasion, HRH the Princess also listened to songs presented by children.

HRH the Princess observed an exhibition of photos, posters and handicraft items prepared by the children of Child Development Society (CDS).

Minister of State for Information and Communications Hari Narayan Choudhary, speaking on the occasion, said His Majesty's Government is determined to protect and promote the fundamental child rights and provide children education.

Such competitive events to be held from time to time will definitely help bring out the latent talent of children, he added.

Executive Director of Radio Nepal Shailendra Sharma noted that Radio Nepal has been airing various children-related programmes in concordance with the government's policy of getting children to demonstrate their talent and foster awareness among them.

Chairman of CDS Sharad Sharma said the message of this competition will help foster awareness among children across the Kingdom.

Eighty five schools, clubs and organisations working in the cause of children are taking part in the competition organised under the joint auspices of Radio Nepal and CDS.

On the occasion seven-year-old Anisha Khadka narrated through the medium of songs the woes of children who lost their guardians in recent floods and landslides.

Message-oriented child songs about children's feelings regarding discriminations between girls and boys and the prevailing violent and tense atmosphere, children's rights and their development were presented on the occasion.

Chargesheeted officials presented to court

By Krishna Sharma

KATHMANDU, Aug. 19: Many of the government officials accused on corruption charges cried and tried to hide themselves from the prying lenses of the cameras and probing questions of the reporters when they were led to the Kathmandu District Court today.

The Kathmandu District Court gave the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) 20 days to probe into the 16 government employees detained for corruption charges. This decision was given by the bench headed by the district judge, Devendra Gopal Shrestha. The CIAA had sought a month's time to complete the job.

The CIAA will start hearing into the pleas of the 16 officials of the Ministry of Finance, who were arrested over the weekend, from tomorrow. On Friday, the CIAA raided the homes of 22 officials and detained 16 of them.

The CIAA will begin evaluating all the assets and wealth of these 22 officials from tomorrow. The body continued documenting the wealth of these people today as well. Secretary of the CIAA Khem Raj Nepal said, "We have notified the banks and related institutions not to indulge in any transaction that involves these people."

One of the officials who was on the run, chief of Bhairahawa Customs Ganesh Shrestha, surrendered before the anti-corruption body this afternoon. He will be presented in the district court tomorrow. The CIAA has yet to arrest five others for amassing unaccounted for wealth.

When the CIAA took the accused government officials to the district court this afternoon, many had tried to hide their faces with towels and T-shirts. The accused were barred from making any phone calls while in the court premises. But Bharat Ghimire managed to make a call from a mobile phone provided to him by his brother-in-law in secret. He was sobbing on the phone and repenting over what he had done.

Those who were taken to court today were Joint secretary Janardan Sharma; Under secretaries Ishwor Pokharel, Sharat Kant Adhikari, Sher Dhowj Jung Karki; section officers Suresh Regmi, Agni Karki, Devi Ram Bhandari and non-gazetted officials Dola Raj Sharma, Arjun Thapa, Keshav Gautam, Daya Ram Parajuli, Umesh Regmi, Niranjan Babu Shrestha, Shyam Basnet, Kedar Chalise, Kedar Dhungana, Bharat Ghimire and Madhu Poudel.

Meanwhile, an official at the CIAA told this reporter that a number of complaints had been received against these employees. "And we have also received hundreds of complaints from the public to arrest other officials ranging from non-gazetted ones to first class secretaries," he said.

The CIAA has five directorates to look into the ministries, constitutional bodies, departments, council of ministers and other institutions. "We are seriously studying these complaints. If these complaints prove they are genuine, and not based on personal enmity, we shall take action against them," he said requesting anonymity.

The CIAA has received a lot of complaints on corruption and misappropriations in the government offices. "Going by the number of complaints the CIAA has received, the Ministry of Local Development figures second to the Ministry of Finance," a CIAA source said.

Many institutions and public forums have welcomed the government's recent move and have demanded that all the corrupt be brought to book as soon as possible.

Nepal Students Union of the ruling Nepali Congress has in a statement congratulated the CIAA for the exemplary work. "The NSU wishes the CIAA every success in its fight against corruption and abuse of authority," it read.

Organisations like Transparency International and PRO PUBLIC have also lauded the role played by the CIAA.

'Utilise water for prosperity'

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KATHMANDU, Aug. 19: Nepal has the potential of generating 83,000 megawatts of electricity but only 584 megawatts of electricity is being generated at present.

Of the total population in the Kingdom of Nepal, only 20 per cent of the people enjoy electricity facility.
Likewise, of the total 2,088 megawatt hour electricity produced by Nepal Electricity Authority through its electricity generation system till the end of the fiscal year 2058/059, only 1,575 megawatt hour electricity was sold and distributed to the people.

This information was provided at a function organised to mark the 17th anniversary of the Nepal Electricity Authority here today.

Nepal consumed 1,432 megawatt hour of electricity and exported 143 megawatt hour of electricity to India.

At present Nepal Electricity Authority has 878,000 clients and it's carrying out works to complete the Mid-Marsyangdi, Chameliya, Kulekhani-III, Upper Karnali, Upper Tamakoshi projects to meet the demand for electricity by 2011.

Addressing the gathering, Minister for Water Resources and chairman of the Nepal Electricity Authority Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar said the only way of building a prosperous Nepal is to make maximum utilisation of her water resources.

His Majesty's Government has adopted a very liberal policy for attracting the private sector as well as foreign investment in this sector, he added.

The minister informed that preparations are being made to sign agreements for implementation of hydroelectricity projects with the capacity of generating about 3,000 megawatts of electricity in the coming year to meet the demands for electricity.

Gachchhadar said that His Majesty's Government would extend all possible cooperation for making Nepal Electricity Authority a more efficient body.

Assistant Water Resources Minister Birendra Kumar Kanaudiya stressed the need to check the leakage of electricity and to provide the people electricity at cheaper rate.

Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources Lokman Singh Karki said that Nepal Electricity Authority should provide electricity to the rural people by generating and transmitting electricity to the rural areas. A regulation will be introduced to check the leakage of electricity in the country, he added.

Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Dr. Janak Lal Karmacharya said that gradual improvement has been taking place in the financial position of NEA, steps taken to export electricity and meet the domestic requirements, transmission lines expanded with the cooperation of donor agencies and various projects initiated for this purpose.

On the occasion Minister Gachchhadar gave away medals and certificates to NEA employees completing 25 years of service while secretary Karki and NEA executive director gave away presents and certificates to the employees retiring from service and those receiving the Birendra-Aishwarya Service Medal respectively.

NEA Deputy Managing Director Pracharman Singh Pradhan and the representatives of the NEA Employees' Association Bal Kumar Shrestha, Biswonath Sharma and Dhruba Kumar Uprety threw light on the activities and problems of NEA.

EC hearings on NC dispute ends

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug. 19: Six days of pleading on which of the Nepali Congress parties is legitimate ended today, with the representatives and lawyers of both the sides making pleas that they should be granted the lawful status. One of the Nepali Congress parties is led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, the other by former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

The Election Commission has given both the sides three days to submit notes of their pleadings.
There were some ugly moments at the end when the representatives of both the sides shouted at each other and tried to snatch the mike.

Furnishing replies on behalf of the Deuba-led Nepali Congress, central committee member Bimalendra Nidhi said that Girija Prasad Koirala was unable to run both the party and the government.
Nidhi disclaimed that Prime Minister Deuba had enticed the Baneshwor Convention representatives into going against Koirala, the party president. "The Prime Minister had put forth a 23-point programme before the convention and 770 members had approved and signed the documents."
He said his side is ready to verify the signatures of the representatives present at the Baneshwor convention. Representatives of the Koirala side had earlier claimed that most of the Convention representatives were not genuine.

Seconding Nidhi, advoate Srihari Aryal said that when the head of the government has recommended for the dissolution of the House of Representatives under Article 36 (1) of the constitution, he should be allowed to go to the election as head of government carrying the party's symbol.

He argued that one cannot dispute the majority decision made by the party's highest body.
After the pleadings on behalf of Deuba, the Election Commission allowed the representatives of Koirala to furnish replies contrary to the normal practice of the court.

In this connection, advocate Yagyamurthi Banjade said that the resolution of the dispute should be done according to the party's statute. "This dispute is not about who should get the party's election symbol, but who is the lawful president of the party," he said.

Advocate Harihar Dahal said the decisions made by the convention, which was called against the party's provision, cannot be deemed legal.

He urged the Election Commission to resolve the dispute according to Article 23 (a) of the Election Act 2047, which deals with the split in a party. He said that Prime Minister should not get the election symbol just because he is the leader of the party's parliamentary party. "He is just a leader of a care-taker government at present."

Krishna Sitaula, chief of the organisational committee of the party headed by Koirala, said that Prime Minister Deuba had violated the election procedure in the name of constitutional prerogative, and this should be stopped.

After these accusations, Nidhi had asked for time to make his reply, and it was during this period that Sitaula tried to snatch the mike.

After the hearing, the Chief Election Commissioner Achyut Narayan Rajbhandari did not specify when the decision of the commission would be made. "It will be made as soon as possible," he said.

Discussions on Programming Committee reports commenced

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug. 19: The SAARC Standing Committee began discussions on the reports put forward by the Programming Committee.

The final decision on all the reports will be taken after the two-day meeting of the Standing Committee, which started today. All the seven foreign secretaries of the SAARC member nations took part in the meeting. The Standing Committee meeting will be followed by a two-day 23rd meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers beginning Wednesday.

Economic cooperation, social development and fight against terrorism will be the focus of the ministerial meeting, scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
"The Standing Committee meeting started this morning and is deliberating on many agenda," Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry and spokesperson Pushkar Man Singh Rajbhandari told journalists today.

The outcome of the Standing Committee deliberations and adoption of the reports submitted by the Programming Committee will be known by tomorrow, Rajbhandari said.

The Programming Committee, while submitting its agenda, made some suggestions on the reports and requested the Standing Committee to consider its suggestions so that they could be adopted with some amendments." There are 24 agenda to be discussed and adopted during the two-day meeting."

Some of the suggestions given by the Programming Committee to the Standing Committee, according to Rajbhandari, include having the secretariat prepare a report on the state of children of the SAARC region. "After the preparation of the report, it will be circulated among the member nations."
Rajbhandari said that the meeting reviewed the SAARC's integrated action for the suppression of terrorism in the region. "After September 11, the member nations decided they should fight against the menace. They have expressed solidarity to the amendment on the existing laws to combat terrorism in the region," he said.

The Standing Committee also discussed the budget of the SAARC Secretariat and its financial implications. It said the report also include the budget for the SAARC with all the cost apportioned.
On the SAARC-Japan Special Fund, the Programming Committee had suggested that the Standing Committee review the guidelines to make it more action-oriented and see how it can be used more judiciously. "The secretariat should seek ways to use the fund."

The committee today deliberated on issues pertaining to the fifth SAARC network of research and social development.