Polls to end political crisis

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 6: Political scientists and intellectuals see the upcoming elections as an opportunity to end the current political crisis through national consensus on common agenda among the political forces.

At an interaction programme entitled 'The political road from now on' organised by the Godavari Alumni Association Forum here today, Prof. Krishna Khanal said that all the political parties should show strong commitment and present an effective agenda to hold the election on the fixed date for the sake of democracy.

Prof. Khanal criticised the political parties and their leaders for bringing the country to the present state of affairs. The country is in a state of breakdown due to lack of vision on their part, indecisiveness, selfish interests and over indulgence in power politics, he added.

"If the Election Commission decides to give the election symbol to the Nepali Congress led by Koirala, it will invite another crisis," said Khanal. "If that happens, what will be the position and role of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his government as well as the future of the election?"
Khanal also said that the PM should have thought about the consequences before recommending for the dissolution of the parliament.

He added that if there could be an understanding among the political parties to resolve the Maoists problem before the election, then the election could also be postponed with general consensus. "The existing crisis should be resolved as soon as possible in an integrated way within the democratic system framework."

The political parties should come out as major political players, and the army's role should be limited only to the hour of need, he said.

Commenting on Prof. Khanal's views, water resource engineer Deepak Gyawali said that the current political crisis was the by-product of our politicians and their irresponsible activities in the last 12 years. He said there is an utter lack of conflict management within the political parties.

"The country needs an able and visionary leader to safeguard the democratic system," he said. Hari Rokka, another commentator, said that there should be a balance of power among the political forces based on national consensus. "There should be decentralisation of power if the problems faced by the country are to be solved."

He said that the political parties and government should work to address the existing socio-economic and other problems from its very root.

All of them asked the Maoists to come within the existing political framework and pursue a political track instead of the non-political and the destructive activities they are following at the moment.

Ayurvedic medicine should be prioritised

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 6: There is ample prospect of Ayurved, the oldest system of medicine, in the entire world but it has not advanced along with the passage of time and has been eclipsed, say the experts and students in this field.

Having played a significant role in the health sector of the country for centuries, it has not been given much priority in the health policy of the country, while no step has been taken for the improvement of the only Ayurvedic Medical College at Nardevi and therefore, this system of medicine is on the decline, they complain.

At a programme hosted here today on the occasion of the third convention of the Nepal Ayurvedic Students Society, the concerned persons have made request to HMG for the advancement of the Ayurvedic system.

Inaugurating the convention, member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Shankar Sharma said that as the country could benefit much from the identification and conservation of the medicinal herbs that are the invaluable asset of the country, attention should be paid towards this aspect.

President of Nepal Ayurvedic Doctors Association Dr. Chandra Raj Sapkota said that it is because of our ignorance that medicinal herbs worth billions have found their way abroad at a throw-away price while there is the compulsion to import drugs at high prices.

Acting Director General of the Department of Ayurveda Dr. Thakur Raj Adhikari and a host of other speakers shed light on the prospects and challenges of the Ayurvedic system of medicine.

'Assist CIAA to combat corruption'

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 6: Minister of State for Health and Nepali Congress Sindhupalchowk district working committee president Mohan Bahadur Basnet has claimed that majority of the party leaders and cadres in Sindhupalchowk district supported the Nepali Congress party led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba following the vertical split in the parent party.

Speaking at a press conference organised in the capital Thursday, Minister of State Basnet said that 11 members of the 21-member district working committee reconstituted by the Nepali Congress headed by former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala have issued a joint statement announcing their dissociation from the committee and pledging their allegiance to Prime Minister Deuba at the centre and the side led by him at the district.He added that all the nine sister organisations of the party in the district also supported the Prime Minister.

In reference to the latest anti-corruption moves of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), he said it was his firm belief that action should be taken against any individual whether he/she be from the political, business or any other community or sector if it is proved that they have amassed property that is more than their sources of income.Basnet said all should extend cooperation to the CIAA in its anti-corruption campaign.

All party meet held to remove tea estate encroachers

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BHADRAPUR, Sept. 6: Jhapa district administration office convened an all-party meeting so as to discuss the removal of squatter settlers encroaching the area of Barhadashi Tea Estate at Charpane and Dangabari VDCs of Jhapa district.

It had previously been decided that only the genuine landless settlers would be provided a Kathha of land for their temporary settlement and a job for each family in the tea estate provided they agree to remove their cottages from the estate area.

Ratifying the earlier-made decision, the meeting decided to accelerate the move of removing the settlers.

Present at the meeting presided over by CDO Pashupati Karmacharya were central president of Nepal Free Tea Labourers' Union Shanta Rai, Mechi zonal secretary of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) Hira Thapa, deputy superintendent of police Kedar Prakas Saud, chief of land revenue office Surya Prasad Adhikari, different party representatives and representatives from other district offices.

Among the 240 bigaha land of the estate, 130 bigahas has been encroached, 50 bigahas cultivated with tea and remaining 30 bigahas covered by woods.

The tea estate under the possession of Nepal Tea Development Corporation had been leased by the government to Sanghai Group for Rs 28,000,000 anually in 2000.