Nawalparasi second largest honey-producing district after Dang

By Our Correspondent

Parasi, June 13: More than 2,000 farmers in Nawalparasi district are involved in bee keeping and every year the farmers in the district produce about 260 quintals of honey - making it the second largest honey-producing district after Dang.

Assistant crop protection officer Debesh Kumar Mishra of the District Agriculture Office said the farmers earn more than Rs. 28 million from honey and every year each farmer earn a minimum of Rs. 100,000 on the average by selling honey.

Karunsagar Subedi, owner of Sagar Beehive Indutry said one hive can produce 50 kg of honey and each kilogram of honey sells for Rs. 350.

Bee keeping is taking the form of an industry, and another bee keeper Hari Bahadur Thapa Magar said many farmers were encouraged to take up bee keeping as an industry after the Gandaki Concern in Balaju assured them to buy all their honey.

Every year the Balaju-based firm buys honey worth Rs.10 million from the farmers of Nawalparasi alone, said a staff of the Concern Sadhuram Shrestha.

Mishra said the district agriculture development office provide them with training and know-now, and take them to observation tours.

Books handed over

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, June 13: The First Secretary at the US embassy and Counselor for Public Affairs Robert C. Kerr handed over 47 books to the Executive Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs professor Shreedhar Khatri amid a function here today.

The books are about foreign policy, diplomacy, governance, democratization and memoirs of well-known foreign policy practitioners.

The US First Secretary Kerr said that the American Centre would continue to mutually collaborative programmes with the Institute in the days ahead.

Thanking the American Centre, professor Khatri said that the books would be very useful to the officers at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, retired diplomats and interested scholars. Khatri added that the Institute looked forward to cooperating with successor of Kerr.

Kalaazar cases rising in Jhapa

Bhadrapur, June 13 (RSS): The number of people infected with kalaazar is learnt to have been increasing every year in Jhapa district.

According to the district public health office, Jhapa, in 1999 altogether 33 persons were detected carrying the disease and the number reduced to 29 in 2000 and then climbed sharply to 50 in 2001. One of the 50 succumbed to the disease.

The kalaazar virus is said to be transmitted by the sand fly that normally inhabits in dark and damp places.

Twenty-four of the kalaazar infected found in 1999 were from the Rajbansi community--a indigenous community in Kerabari VDC. Likewise, eight of the infected in 2000 were from the Mangolian community in Prithivinagar VDC and 13 in 2001 were from the Dhimal community in Damak Municipality.

Kalaazar has been found highly effective among the poor people who live under poor conditions.

The office has been providing free treatment for people infected with kalaazar, says Rajendra Prasad Chaudhary of the office.

"We have also been spraying pesticide called keothrine in order to wipe out the insects responsible to spread out the disease and the programme is presently going on in Bahundangi and Khudunabari VDCs and Dhulabari of Mechinagar Municipality", adds Chaudhary.

Facility for kalaazar detection is presently available in primary health centre in Dhulabari, Amda Hospital in Damak Municipality and at the Mechi Zonal Hospital. It is done through blood testing as well as bone marrow testing.

Anyone detected with the kalaazar virus has to take injection for a atleast 21 to 30 injections regularly.

The District Health Office is also running health education programme is the district in order to generate public awareness against the disease.

Jhapa to punish food adulterators

Bhadrapur, June 13 (RSS): The district monitoring committee constituted under the Consumers Protection act-2054 B.S. here has decided to take stern action against the traders founding selling sub-standard or adulterated food, cereals, petroleum products or cement.

This was decided at a meeting of the committee held here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the committee convenor CDO Pashupati Karmacharya.

The meeting was represented by chiefs of the District Police Office, Investigation Department, National Trading Ltd., Salt Trading Corporation, Nepal Oil Corporation and Nepal Food Corporation.

Matters relating to the complaint received of increasing adulteration in petroleum production, smuggling of kerosene to India, substandard and low weight cement and iodine-less salt were extensively discussion and a decision reached to take immediate steps to resolve the problems.

Any trader found guilty of acting against the Consumers' Protection Act-2054 B.S. and the Consumers Protection Regulations-2056 B.S. will be liable to a minimum of two years imprisonment or Rs. 30,000 in fine or both and a maximum of 14 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 500,000.

The participants of the meeting also agreed to ensure appropriate distribution of kerosene oil in wake of the recent hike in the price of petroleum products in neighboring and the possibility of smuggling from Nepal.

The monthly consumption of petroleum products of Jhapa district is 1300 kilolitre of kerosene, 160 kilolitre of petrol and 900 kilolitre of diesel, says the Nepal Oil Corporation, Jhapa office. One kilolitre equals one thousand litre.

Jhapa contemplating more municipalities

Bhadrapur, June 13 (RSS): The town area fixation recommendation sub-committee, Jhapa has made various recommendation for expansion of the district's oldest municipality--Bhadrapur and constituting other municipalities in the district.

The committee has made a recommendation for inclusion of the entire Chandragadi VDC region into the municipality.

Bhadrapur Municipality will then have 19 wards. It presently has 15 wards.

Prior to this, the ninth and tenth Jhapa district council meeting had also requested His Majesty's Government to incorporate Chandragadi VDC into Bhadrapur Municipality.

Likewise, a recommendation has also been made to constitute Anarmani Municipality with Anarmani VDC and Charpane VDC. This proposed municipality will have 11 VDCs.

Recommendation have also been made for constitution of the Kankai Municipality with Kankai VDC and the Gauradaha Municipality with Gauradaha and Maharanijhoda VDCs.

The sub-committee has also recommended for Baigudhara (Topgachi) Municipality with Baigundhara VDC and Topgachi VDCs.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of CDO Pashupati Karmacharya and is represented by chief land tax officer, chief of the survey department, senior division engineer at the building technology research and training centre Chaturraj Prasai while LDO Kaga Prasad Nepal is member-secretary of the committee.

Dhanusha kilns making bricks without straw

Janakpurdham, June 13 (RSS): Local consumers here are complaining about sub-standard bricks being used by builders in the construction of buildings and other physical infrastructures.

The bricks produced by private brick kilns in Dhanusa district have been found out-size and not being baked properly thereby causing cracks and fractures within few years of construction.

According to local consumers, most bricks do no meet its standard size of 10 inches in length, 5 inches in width and 3 inches in thickness.

Dhanusa Construction Entrepreneurs' Association Secretary Badri Narayan Yadav expressed sadness over the requirement of cement and sand in construction works in excess of normal limit whereas Rudra Narayan Pathak, an aggrieved consumer, demanded action against the private brick kilns that produce sub-standard bricks.

Responding to the complaint over the low quality of bricks, Akhileshwar Prasad Verma, chief of Janakpur standard and metrology office, says checking quality of bricks does not come under the jurisdiction of his office.

He, however, admitted that the details about the size and form of bricks have not been provided by the brick kilns while registering their firms.

At present, around 42 private brick kilns are under operation in Dhanusa district.