Their Majesties offer special prayers

RSS

GORKHA, Oct. 10: His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and Her Majesty Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah offered special prayers and worship at the Gorakhkali temple located at the historic Gorkha Palace complex today.

Their Majesties visited the Kuti (hermitage) of Gorakhnath Baba and graced the special prayers and worship there.

Their Majesties, on the occasion, made sacrificial offerings of nine black he-goats to the Goddess Durga Bhagawati and one to Bhairab.

Their Majesties then performed the 'Kanya Puja' at the temple.

Likewise, Their Majesties performed the 'Bisarjan Puja' or worship at the temple of Gorakhkali.
His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev offered coconut at the historic throne at Gorkha Palace, the place of origin of the Shah Dynasty, and 'ascended the throne'.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev who had accompanied Their Majesties, visited Gorakha Upallokot and offered special prayers and worship at the Bajra Bhairab temple there.
Earlier, Their Majesties and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince graced the prayers and worship held at the Gorakhkali Temple and Gorakhnath Temple.

Their Majesties stayed at the Chaudhera Royal Palace at Gorkha Palace complex last night and after offering prayers and worships at the Gorakhkali Temple, returned to Kathmandu by special helicopter at 3.40 p.m. today.

Earlier today, Their Majesties granted audience to the chiefs of the offices at Gorkha and also granted money equivalent to one day's pay to them.

British Minister meets Nepal

RSS

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: Under-Secretary of State of the United Kingdom Mike O'Brien called on CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal at the party central office at Balkhu and held talks on the prevailing situation of Nepal and other matters of mutual interest.

On the occasion, Under-Secretary of State O'Brien said that the United Kingdom was for multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy and the present challenges in Nepal could be overcome through mutual goodwill and understanding.

British Ambassador Keith George Bloomfield and senior officer at the British Foreign Ministry was also present on the occasion.

Also present was head of the Foreign Department of the CPN-UML Jhala Nath Khanal.

Likewise, ambassador of the Netherlands Peter F. C. Koch paid a courtesy call on general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal today.

Talks on prevailing situation and development of Nepal-Netherlands ties were held in a cordial atmosphere on the occasion, it is learnt from the CPN-UML party office.

Many will be missing Tika due to fear, extortion threats

By Bhuwaneshor Sharma

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: Shyam Poudel, a college teacher, will not be going home in Gulmi district in west Nepal for Dashain for fear of the Maoists, who have been issuing extortion threats. They are capable of doing anything if not given money to them or they might kidnap. He will miss the 'tika' and the blessings from his aged parents for the first time in 10 years. He already has cancelled his bus ticket, and so have 10 others who had booked seats with him.

Surya Pun, a British Gurkha soldier, who came to Kathmandu from England after three years, will also not be going home to Baglung either after his parents told him not to come home saying that the situation in the village was not good. Pun, instead, has asked his parents to come to Kathmandu so that they can celebrate Dashain here.

Poudel and Pun are among the thousands of others who are not going home for the Dashain mainly because of the fear of the Maoists.

"The Dashain this year will not be enjoyable. It has lost its lustre for many parents, who wait for their kith and kin in the villages and also for the children who cannot go home," said Poudel.

"The movement of passengers from Kathmandu has decreased by 50 per cent to that of last year," said Gyan Bahadur Basnet, a staff of the Central Zone Bus Entrepreneurs' Association.

Last year, there were 400 passenger buses leaving Kathmandu for all parts of the country daily. This year it is down to 150. He cites the fear of the Maoists as the main reason for this decrease.

The decrease especially marked in the west and mid-western part of the country. "Last year we had 85 buses leaving Kathmandu daily during the Dashain festival. This year less than 30 buses are on the move," said a staff of the West Nepal Bus Entrepreneurs' Association.

Basnet, however, said the movement of people had started to slacken with the declaration of the state of emergency on November 26 last year. The transport activity has gone down by 33 per cent since then, he said.

However, the number of people travelling by air has not decreased as much. All our flights to the six destinations outside Kathmandu are packed, said Sachin Rawal of Buddha Air. But he agreed that the number of people coming for tickets has gone down by 15 per cent.

But Home Ministry spokesperson Gopendra Bahadur Panday claims that security arrangements in the districts and along the highways are sound. "People's feeling of insecurity is more psychological than real," he added.

Security personnel have been kept on the alert round the clock to take action against any complaints. "We will take immediate measures if we receive any complaints," he said.

HAN condemns explosion

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Oct 10: Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has condemned the explosion of a bomb at the building of the Federation of the Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) by unidentified miscreants on Tuesday.

HAN in a statement today said that the country has witnessed a series of destructive and immoral acts that have damaged its image in the international arena. It said that negative media propaganda about terrorism has caused a significant drop in tourist arrivals.

The HAN has called on the concerned authorities to nab the culprit and has demanded that security be tightened in public places to stop such acts.

Fourth SAARC trade fair from Oct 25

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: In a bid to accelerate inter-regional trade and investment for higher economic growth in the region, six of the seven countries of South Asia, including India and Pakistan, are participating in the fourth SAARC trade fair being held in the capital from October 25-29.

According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS), the trade fair will aim at promoting economic activities among the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The trade will provide opportunities for investors and traders to enhance business in the region, while helping them share experiences to attain higher and equitable economic growth, said a senior official at the Ministry.

Regional trade fairs of this kind help foster relations between traders and investors, besides widening the possibility of expanding trade, according to the official at the Trade Promotion Centre. "It is high time for investors, customers and traders to understand the product in which they can specialise," said Ram Krishna Manandhar, a trader and industrialist. The fair will help pave the way for expanding trade, he added.

The fair, which will have more than 200 exhibitors, will display various products such as machinery, vehicles, agricultural and handicraft products. Nepal, as host, will have a different stall to display its products.

Some 5,500 plus products have been given preferential treatment under the South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA), which has been in operation for the last seven years. But such treatment is given to barely 200 products.