Army chief gives directives to personnel

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Pyar Jung Thapa today addressed officials of the Royal Nepalese Army at the Royal Nepalese Army Headquarters. This is his first address to the army officials after his appointment as Chief of the Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army.

The address is part of the tradition of the newly appointed COAS to apprise the RNA officials of his strategy.

In his address, the army chief evaluated the sacrifices made by the RNA personnel since the unification of Nepal more than 200 years ago, and said that the RNA was committed and was making all efforts to carry out its responsibilities to the families of the RNA personnel who have lost their lives in the fight against terrorism.

He said that he was making all efforts for the organisational development of the RNA and for replenishing the physical losses incurred by the army.

He also gave directives to all the personnel of the RNA to be ready to fulfil their duties and responsibilities towards the country, Crown and the people.

Complaints on police harassment being investigated

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: The Regional Police Office based in Kathmandu has started investigations into reports of alleged troubles and inconveniences given by policemen to goat and sheep traders in Kavrepalanchowk and Sindhupalchowk districts.

A police team led by Superintendent of Police Naresh Kumar Lama has started the investigation after a news item published in the Gorkhapatra, sister publication of The Rising Nepal, on Thursday reported that policemen along the Kathmandu-Kodari Highway were demanding bribes and kickbacks for bringing goats and sheep to Kathmandu for the Dashain festival.

Chief of the Regional Police Office Basanta Raj Kunwar said that if the policemen are found indulging in such activities, strong action would be taken immediately against them.

He said that police inspector at the Barhabise police post Dhruba Narayan Vaidya had been replaced by Rajendra Thapa. Vaidya has been called to the District Police Office at Sindhupalchowk. He also said that officials had been sent to investigate and monitor each of the police posts along the highway and to make on-the-site inspections.

Kunwar said the regional police office has taken reports about such irresponsible behaviour of the police personnel very seriously.

Mountain safety training workshop

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: A two-day Mountain Safety Training Workshop for trekking porters started today in the capital.

The workshop is being organised by the Himalayan Rescue Association, with assistance of the Australian Embassy. Forty participants are taking part in the training.

The workshop was inaugurated by Australian Ambassador Crispin Conroy.

Funded by the Embassy's Direct Aid Programme, the workshop aims at educating porters about health and safety issues while trekking, so that the porters are aware of the possible dangers in the mountains and how to recognise, prevent and treat them.

"The workshop will also help to enhance sustainable development of mountain tourism through the promotion of safety," a press statement of the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) said.
The HRA has been working to disseminate mountain safety information and make the Himalaya safer to the tourists and the Nepalese people.

The workshop will provide knowledge to porters on altitude sickness, protection of the mountain environment, hypothermia, frostbite, snow blindness, dehydration, avalanche risk, and general hygiene and sanitation.

Quaint cauldron falls into disrepair

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

KATHMANDU, Oct. 10: The 143-year-old cauldron in which Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana ordered the concoction of a miracle potion is lying unattended in the open instead of in a museum.
The enormous copper container standing about nine feet tall is a twisted wreck with some of its parts missing. Apart from the extraordinary size, the cauldron is more known for the miracle medicine that was prepared in it - the legendary "Jeebnarayani" oil.

"The miracle oil was extracted by boiling all types of land and aquatic animals and medicinal herbs in this massive vessel for three years," said Kedar Bahadur Puri, a man who has supervised herbal preparations at the Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana for over four decades. Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana is an Ayurvedic medicine making agency whose founding dates centuries back to the Malla era.
According to Puri, the Jeebnarayani concoction is capable of curing more than 80 types of rheumatic pains, including paralysis. The Vaidyakhana still has in stock about seven kilos of the dark concoction.

"It is the rarest of rare medicines that we have," said Tikaram Neupane, storekeeper of the Vaidyakhana.

The gigantic cauldron is studded with the image of Bhairab, the fearful deity treading on the Betal, or phantom. The image of Bhairab, who stands with a garland of human skulls around his neck, is about to come off. Pointing to the twisted image, a worker said, "May be someone tried to steal it and was not successful."

Dr. Ram Narayan Shah, managing director of Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana, said he had plans to create a museum of his own within the office premises to display the historical copper boiler. He thinks the attic just above his office might be a better place than the National Museum.

Images of the Nag (holy serpent) adorned the great boiler in the past. Now they are missing. "Also missing are the handles and the oar-like device used to stir the mixture. More than that, all the stacks of paper records describing the ingredients of the preparation are no more," said Puri. The records were destroyed in the Singha Durbar fire in 1974. The store and office of the Vaidyakhana used to be housed inside the Singha Durbar, the massive palace building now housing the government secretariat. What survived the fire was just a tiny portion of the whole property - valuable metals, herbs, powder and natural extraction.

Due to exposure to the weather, holes have begun appearing all over the cauldron. There are 13 other smaller vessels in similar state.