Bandh affects normal life, remain largely peaceful

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11: People walked to work today, the first day of the three-day bandh (strike) called by the Maoists, as vehicles stayed off the roads in Kathmandu. Shutters were down on all shops in the core city areas, although many shops in the interior remained open. All educational institutions were, however, closed.

Despite fears that the Maoists and their sister organisations would strike terror, the first day passed off relatively peacefully without any untoward incident, although Maoists continued to bomb and destroy public property and infrastructure in different parts of the kingdom overnight.

The CPN-Maoists had earlier called the bandh to protest the November 13 snap polls called by the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government after dissolving parliament. The rebels did not call off the bandh even after Deuba and his council of ministers were dismissed, and a new government was formed in October.

According to the Home Ministry, the bandh in Kathmandu passed off peacefully because of the effective mobilisation of the security forces. The government is firm to maintain security tomorrow, too, the Ministry said.

On the eve of the bandh, Maoist terrorists blew up the transmission centre of Nepal Television at Jaleswor in Janakpur, in central south Nepal, at nine Sunday evening, damaging two generators and other equipment. The damage has been estimated at Rs. 2 million. According to Nepal Television, transmission has resumed since five in the evening Monday.

And in Mahottari district, the Maoists set fire to the office of the Telecommunications Office, causing a damage of Rs. 1.5 million.

In Rauthat in central south Nepal, the Maoists have destroyed police posts and office buildings of three Village Development Committees in the district, our correspondent reports.

A group of terrorists with weapons exploded bombs at 11 Sunday night. As a result, police posts at Basantapur, Dharmapur and Sarmujawa have been completely destroyed.

Government property worth more than Rs. 3.6 million has been destroyed, said Chief District Officer Baburam Lamichhane, who also informed that official documents in the respective police posts and VDC building have been completely destroyed.

Previously, the Maoist terrorists had destroyed nine VDC buildings and seven police posts by exploding bombs in the same districts.

PM urged to convene NA

RSS

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11: As per the understanding reached at an all party meeting last Friday, a delegation of MPs in the National Assembly (NA) led by leader of the opposition Yuvaraj Gyawali today called on Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand and drew his attention towards convening the upper house.

The Prime Minister informed the delegation that he was positive in this regard, and would hold consultations with the National Assembly chairman and take a decision soon, the parliamentary secretary of the CPN-UML has stated.

As a supplementary budget is to be presented soon, the delegation sought allocations under the constituency development programme. The Prime Minister told the delegation that he was positive in this regard as well.

Likewise, the delegation today called on National Assembly chairman Dr. Mohammad Mohsin and requested him to take measures to convene the upper house.

Chairman Mohsin said that he was positive about convening the house and was taking steps in this regard.

Two killed in road accident

RSS

RATNANAGAR (CHITWAN), Nov. 11: At least two persons were killed and eighty injured in separate road accidents that occurred in different places of Prithvi Highway yesterday.
According to the police, two passengers died on spot and nearly 60 wounded when a bus ( Na 2 Kha 2754 ) plying from Kathmandu to Janakpur fell into the Trishuli River near Salangghat of Dhading.
Similarly, twenty persons were wounded when a bus (Na. 2. Kha 4217) en route to Kathmandu from Beshishahar and another bus (Lu. 1. Kha. 2960 ) en route to Kathmandu from Bhairahawa collied each another.

Likewise, a child has been badly hurt when a Na. 1. Kha. 9162 numbered bus coming from Kathmandu to Narayanghad hit him at Khairahani.

Among wounded, four persons are undergoing treatment at Bharatpur Hospital while two are in medical collage of Bharatpur and others are undergoing treatment in various hospitals of capital, police said.

Revenue Dept employee surrenders to CIAA

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11: Kedar Chalise, a non-gazetted first class officer of the Birgunj Customs, surrendered himself to the Commission for Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today.
Chalise was one of the 22 civil servants of the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance whose house was raided by the CIAA on August 16 on the suspicion that he had amassed wealth through unscrupulous means.

While 17 others were detained, Chalise had absconded. Three others wanted by the CIAA - Bharat Raj Subedi, under secretary at the Department, Keshar Jung and Sriram Pant - are still at large.
Chalise was interrogated briefly by the CIAA, and he has been detained at the Hanumandhoka Police Office for further interrogation. He is likely to be presented at the Special Court tomorrow.

Former minister Chiranjibi Wagle also appeared before the CIAA today, but he was returned without being interrogated. Wagle showed his disenchantment with the CIAA for being called and sent home without being questioned.

Wagle has been asked to present himself on Monday.

His son, Devendra Wagle, was, however, cross-examined again by the CIAA about his income. He was later released on condition that he would present himself when the CIAA summons him.

Chhath fest celebrated

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JANAKPURDHAM, Nov. 11: The Chhath festival has been concluded after paying homage to the lord sun while rising this morning.

The devotees having fasted the whole day yesterday worshipped and paid homages to the Lord Sun after having sacred bath in the nearby ponds and rivers this morning.

On the occasion different confectioneries, fruits and Argha (yoghurt) were offered to the rising sun as Prasad.

The festival was celebrated amidst ecstasy in the surroundings of different ponds like Gangasagar, Dhanushsagar, Aragsagar and Darath Pond in the religious city of Janakpur.

The observation of this festival brings family wellbeing, relieves people of skin diseases and helps in acquiring sons, it is believed.

Nepal leaves for Sri Lanka

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KATHMANDU, Nov. 11: CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal left here today to participate in the fourth national convention of the Janata Bimukti Peramuna (People's Liberation Front) at the invitation of that party.

The convention is to be held in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo from November l3 to l5.

During Nepal's absence, the responsibilities of the general secretary will be looked after by party standing committee member Bharat Mohan Adhikari.

Olga defies age to serve Nepalese children

By Krishna Sharma

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11: Age is no bar if one has the will to help the poor and deprived. Even at the age of 77, Olga D. Murray is as energetic as anybody else when it comes to serving children and youths deprived of an education.

For her tireless effort at providing assistance to Nepalese children and youths since 1985 through Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation (NYOF), the organisation she founded, she is often referred to as the 'Mother Teresa of Nepal'.

When she first visited Nepal in 1984, she was impressed by the endless hospitality of the Nepalese, but was sorry to see the poverty and especially the sorry state of the children. Olga was determined that she would work to provide them with an education.

"When I saw rampant poverty in Nepal's huts and hovels in both the rural and urban areas and heard the sorry tales of their children, I made up my mind to devote the rest of my life in the service of these impoverished and destitute children of Nepal," said Olga.

In a brief, but rare, meeting with some media persons on Saturday, she said that after consulting with her friends in the United States, she decided to raise funds for the well being of children here.

With the little money she collected within months, she was able to award scholarships to five orphans studying at the Paropakar Orphanage in Kathmandu in 1985. All of them have now grown up to become respectable members of the society. "Babu Nepali was one of the five and is now a computer engineer in the USA. He now makes donations to the NYOF," Olga said.

One of the other recipients, a blind girl from Gulmi in western Nepal, has already proved her mettle in Nepal's media sector. She is currently working as a journalist in Radio Sagarmatha.

So far, the NYOF has offered scholarships to nearly 2,500 Nepalese children, many of them girls, in various fields.

How does the NYOF select the recipient of the scholarship? According to her, the poor, disabled, children of low castes, preferably girls, and holding a first division in the SLC examinations are the first choice for those who want to go to college. The same criteria apply to children going to school.
The NYOF provides US$ 50 to each student studying in a rural school, while support to a college-going student could jump to as high as US$ 2,800 a year.

Apart from giving scholarships, the NYOF also runs a Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRH) near Kanti Children's Hospital at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. The 20-bed semi-medical institution treats under-aged children who are severely malnourished and are referred to by the hospital.

"We are planning to extend such centres to different parts of the country. They will be working in close coordination with the zonal hospitals," said Olga. Encouraged by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health, the NYOF hopes to launch satellite NRHs in remote areas too.

The NYOF also provides best possible treatment to poor and destitute children with abnormal physical problems. The NYOF took more than six such children to the USA and returned them to Nepal after treatment.

Since 1985, Olga has been spending almost six months in Nepal, and the other half in the US raising funds for the children. Olga collects funds through newsletters which she prepares on issues she plans to work. Of late, she is raising funds for liberating indentured girls in Nepal.

Olga is here this year with the aim of liberating indentured girls, thousands of whom are employed as contract labourers.

Of late, the NYOF has "rescued" 329 such girls in Dang district, in west Nepal, where the practice of employing children as domestics in the city households has become a culture.

On May 9 this year, she was chosen to present her case in "The Oprah Show" as part of a programme to help the world's children. "After I was interviewed, so many people came forward to help, " she said.