Govt advises EC to hold polls in multiple phases

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 4: The government has advised the Election Commission (EC) to hold the polls in five or seven phases so that more people can take part in the forthcoming general elections, Minister of State for Home Devendra Raj Kandel said today.

The number of polling booths will increase by more than 59 per cent for the democratic exercise slated for November 13, considering the security situation, he added after a meeting of five major parties at the EC office today.

The parties today, however, demanded that the EC hold the election in not more than two phases, at only a week's interval.

At the meeting, the EC had solicited suggestions from all the parties regarding the number of polling centres, number of election phases and implementation of the code of conduct.

A similar all-party meet held at the district level had suggested the EC to set up 10,858 polling centres.

According to Kandel, the gap between each of the election phases will be 15 days in view of the country's difficult topography. "The government can mobilise the army to ensure there is peace and security," he said.

The EC has not yet decided on the number of polling centres, election phases and the interval between the phasewise elections.

The CPN-UML even suggested that the gap between the phases should not exceed more than five days, said Basu Shakya.

The meeting flatly refused to discuss the EC's proposal about the possibility of holding the local elections together with the general elections. The government did not extend the term of the representatives of the local bodies in mid-July. Since then, government representatives have been manning the local bodies.

Arjun Nursingh K.C. of the Nepali Congress led by Girija Prasad Koirala said that the country lacked the atmosphere to hold free and fair polls, but hailed the ongoing preparations being made by the EC.

"We also drew the EC's attention to immediately decide on which of the NC factions is legitimate," KC added. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba leads the other faction of the NC.

On the state of emergency, Kandel hinted that the government would reimpose the state of emergency as the terrorist activities are mounting after the expiry of the emergency. "But the government will lift it during the elections."

"The emergency will be reimposed in only terrorist-affected areas. But the government has yet to decide on it," he said.

Meanwhile, RSS adds that Chief Election Commissioner Achyut Narayan Rajbhandari, shedding light on the preparations being made for the elections, said works are being carried out to review the voters list by including eligible voters who reached 18 by April 13, initiate works for the left out voters in the 13 electoral constituencies where the voter identity card system has been enforced, bring essential supplies for the election and reform the election directory on basis of experiences of the past.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajbhandari and commissioners Ramesh Jung Thapa and Bishwa Man Shrestha were present during the discussions.

Seven terrorists including regional commander held

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 4: The security forces arrested seven terrorists, including the regional commander of the terrorist organisation, at Lagankhel, Lalitpur at about two in the afternoon Wednesday, the Home Ministry said today. The terrorist's regional commander has been identified as Chhatra Dhoj Lama. A Mahendra Nissan jeep, with registration No. Ba 1 Kha 4477, was seized along with them.

The Defence Ministry added today that the security forces, during search operations, killed four Maoist terrorists in different parts of the country.

The ministry has confirmed the deaths of two terrorists at Rajje Maname of Dang during a clash on Tuesday with the security forces. The security forces had earlier launched an action against the Maoists after locating the terrorists' shelter in the area. "The real damage to the terrorist side is yet to be assessed," the Defence Ministry said Wednesday.

The security forces killed one terrorist each in Nawamidanda of Panchathar district and in Shantipur of Ilam district Tuesday.

They recovered weapons, socket bombs, explosives, equipment used for setting ambushes and documents from the sites of these incidents.

Five terrorists, including a Maoist battalion member, and two others - the Maoists' village government secretary and a militia commander - have surrendered to the local administration in Rolpa and Mugu respectively.

A temporary medical camp of the security forces provided medical treatment and distributed medicines to 450 locals of Jogbuda in Dadeldhura district.

The Ministry of Defence has refuted a news item "Why did army kill a 70-year-old Maoist" published in The Kathmandu Post on August 13 regarding the clash between the security forces and the Maoist terrorists on May 1 in Sirubari of Sindhupalchowk. The Ministry has appealed to all not to believe the news item that 'portrays the honest and dutiful image of the Royal Nepalese Army in a bad light'.

Bomb explodes at KMC office, one injured

By Our Correspondent

DHANGADHI, Sept.4: A group of Maoist terrorists killed three people, including two Nepali Congress workers, at Pahalmanpur VDC in Kailali district in far west Nepal on Tuesday.

The District Police Office said that those killed are Jagat Bahadur Shah, 40, president of the NC's village committee, Shovakar Sharma, 59, a regional member of the party, and Ram Prasad Subedi, 32, a local.

Family sources said all three were pulled out of their beds at about 10:30 Tuesday evening and taken a distance away. There, the heads of Shah and Sharma were chopped off while Subedi was tied before being hit on the head with a sharp object.

The security forces had reached the site at six in the morning Wednesday after the relatives of the victims informed.

The security forces said that they have identified the murderers, but bad weather was hampering their search. If the weather is on our side, the results of the operation should be forthcoming by tomorrow morning, a high-level police official said. He said the security forces have been mobilised on a massive scale in and around the site of the incident.

President of the Nepali Congress, Kailali Dirgharaj Bhat and president of the Nepal Tarun Dal Narayan Shah in separate press statements today condemned the barbaric killing. They said the act was one of a defeatist mentality.

In Kathmandu, a bomb went off inside the toilet of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Wednesday morning. The explosion injured a person and shattered the glasses of the KMC office. The injured are receiving treatment at the Bir Hospital.

In another incident, a bomb planted by the terrorists inside the office of Ward No. 8 of Bhaktapur Municipality went off. No one was hurt, although the explosion damaged furniture.

In yet another explosion by the terrorists, a house at Hitiya VDC in Makwanpur, south of Kathmandu, was badly damaged. In Rupendehi in south-west Nepal, the terrorists set fire to a truck loaded with vegetables.

Achievements of Deuba cannot be dubbed small

By Kishore Nepal

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returned home Tuesday after completing his visits to Belgium, the UK and Thailand. Although he was scheduled to participate in the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Deuba decided not to. It cannot be a matter of any comment if the Prime Minister did not see it necessary to attend the world meet, which had the participation of Speaker Taranath Ranabhat and Minister for Environment P. L. Singh.

If the Prime Minister were to take part in the Johannesburg meet only to enthuse the Nepalese delegates, then this would have been a matter for criticism.

No matter how much the Nepalese politicians, intellectuals and journalists might chastise Prime Minister Deuba, he had not gone to Belgium to enjoy himself. Deuba does not fall into the category of people who fly abroad for minor ailments or for pleasure. It is not uncommon in a country, where there is an utter lack of political confidence, to doubt even on a person's good intentions.

Nepal had not been able to put forward its concerns before members of the European Economic Union in a clear manner. In fact they were even unhappy with Nepal. It was imperative that Deuba go there to end the influence of those people who were instigating them against Nepal rather than mustering global support in favour of this terrorist stricken country.

For this, the PM went to Brussels and was able to convince members of the Commission in favour of Nepal's Constitution, democracy and poverty alleviation programmes. As a result, Nepal will receive Rs. 1 billion rupees in grants annually for the next five years.

Another major objective of the PM's visit to Brussels was to receive weapons for the security forces. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had tried his best to bring the Maoists into the political mainstream when Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was the Prime Minister, had opened the doors for negotiation with the Maoists after he headed the government. When the Maoists misused the good offer and started the politics of betrayal, there was no other option for the government other than to retaliate with force.

Given the world situation today, perhaps even Mahatma Gandhi would not have spoken against the need for arms if he were the head of a government. The situation was that Prime Minister Deuba himself had to go to seek modern arms for the security forces that have been fighting the terrorists with rustic guns.

The weapons deal had dragged the Belgian government into controversy, and it was important for the Prime Minister to assuage the opponents there about the needs of Nepal. The PM succeeded in persuading the European leaders that the fight against terrorism was a battle for democracy. The PM's arguments, which were presented in favour of human rights and democracy, won the favour of the European leaders. Eventually, the no-confidence motion put against the Belgian government for its controversial arms deal failed in the parliament. This is also a defeat of the strategies of the different European political parties that have been encouraging and abetting the terrorists by depicting anti-terrorist operations as human right violations.

The achievements of PM Deuba cannot be dubbed small. This was the first opportunity for the Prime Minister to muster support for Nepal's interest and break the vested interest of certain persons and institutions with centres in Europe.

PM Deuba knows better about the sensitive aspect of governance. He might look as if he is always in a hurry and nervous. But incidents have shown that he has the habit of taking political decisions seriously. Critics would be winning more credit had they mentioned about his achievements rather than fishing in troubled waters. No Prime Minister has ever done as much as what Deuba has done for the nation. No matter how many criticisms are made for political gains, his achievements have ended the very foundations of such criticism.

During the PM's visit to Europe, he had taken with him a 25-minute-long documentary that gave the true picture of the atrocities being committed by the terrorists against this nation. Will this documentary help open the eyes of the Nepalese leaders and intellectuals? That is a different question altogether. It can be believed that this documentary will help open the eyes of the human rights activists and opinion builders in Europe.

Cause of dying Sissoo trees traced

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

KATHMANDU, Sept. 4: Scientists have solved the mystery behind the widespread deaths of the Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo) trees across the country.

The environment in which it is cultivated, and not the fungus as earlier suspected, has been identified as the primary cause.

Physiological conditions of the trees, triggered by soil conditions lead to dying of the hardwood trees, according to a study conducted by a team of Nepali scientists. Massive dying out of the Sissoo has posed a challenge to the afforestation programmes.

The acid content of the soil, formation of soil and its water level are said to affect the trees' physiology.

Fungal infection, earlier suspected to be the major factor behind the dying out of the Sissoo plays only a secondary role. "Fungal infection and insect invasion are only secondary factors affecting the physiological process that leads to the death of these trees," says a study conducted by three scientists B. P. Basyal, S. Joshi and S. Shrestha.

Fungus and insects do contribute to killing the Sissoo, but they are not the first attackers. These secondary agents play their lethal role once the physical health of the trees is weakened due to environmental conditions.

"The ultimate cause of the die-out disease is probably due to root decay as this is the symptom that had been observed in every dying Sissoo tree," says the study.

One of the major factors affecting the Sissoo physiology seems to be the pattern of irrigation that determines the soil's water content in a given place. As the plants under experimentation were found to remain healthy during monsoon and showed no symptom of the disease, the role of irrigation is obviously pivotal. The nature of soil is no less important as irrigation cannot deliver results if the soil is too sandy, for instance.

Sissoo is a tree that demands proper heat and light. This deep rooting plant grows best in fertile alluvial soil usually found along the riverside. Unfavourable site selection may be one of the factors causing the dying out of the Sissoo. Fields that have compact soil during the dry season and experience waterlogging during the rainy season are unfavourable and, therefore, report more cases of Sissoo die-outs.

In Bhabar region (inner Terai) with a good precipitation and drainage system, Sissoo trees were found to grow healthy. In the Terai, with water level coming above the surface during the rains, the Sissoo wilts, say the scientists in their report. High moisture content and waterlogging have adverse effect, resulting in root decay.

The scientific research conducted to determine the lethal role of the fungus has ruled out the contribution of these microbes as primary killers.

During the experiment, fungi collected from affected trees were vaccinated into the branches of fresh and healthy Sissoo trees. Their effect on the trees was monitored regularly.

It was observed after six months that none of the vaccinated branches died. They were even healthier during the monsoon, says the study in the latest issue of Nepal Journal of Science and Technology published by the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST).

This hard timber tree has been widely planted across the country in the last three decades. However, in the last few years, the phenomenon of large scale Sissoo dying has been a major problem in the country's afforestation drive.

The affected trees first show the symptom of yellowing, followed by wilting. Within a month or two, the tree dies.

Meet discusses Nepal-India border issues

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 4: The three-day Nepal-India preparatory meeting at the director's level concluded here today after discussing the progress made in regulating the border.

The findings of the preparatory meeting will be presented at the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meeting in New Delhi in October. The last meeting of the JTC was held in Kathmandu in 2001.

Undersecretary at the Department of Topography Tirtha Bahadur Pradhananga, who headed the Nepalese delegation, said that it was a regular meeting to finalise the progress report prepared by the joint survey team of both the countries. "Ninety per cent of the task in preparing the progress report has been completed."

The meeting discussed normal issues related to border regulation and management.

During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to New Delhi, the prime ministers of both the countries had agreed to update all aspects of regulating the border technical issues, except the controversial ones, by 2003.

Pradhananga said the preparatory meetings like the present one mainly deal with the maintaining the international border.

"Controversial issues, such as the Manebhanjyang and Pashupatinagar in Ilam and others should be finalised at the government level," he said.

At the meeting eight delegates from each side, led by the directors of the respective departments, were present.