Women's role important in social change

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 8: Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyay has said that women have an important role to play to ensure successful social change and development through the rule of law.
Speaking at the 23th anniversary of Dillibazar Girls Multiple Campus here today, Upadhyay pointed out the need of legal education for women for removing gender inequality as well as all other kinds of discriminations against women.

He said the Constitution has provided for the rights of women and also honoured the right of women to privacy.

Judge Bhairav Nath Lamsal stressed the need for good and moral conduct in a legal state.

Member of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee Dr. Swami Prapannacharya said women have been moving ahead in the field of education with great enthusiasm and added that the nation has realised the need for education that is in character with religion, culture and nationalism.

National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Dr. Narayan Khadka said we see low participation of women in education but expressed hope that the situation will improve with the women's movement in the country.

At the function presided over by ex-Speaker Daman Nath Dhungana, ex-MP and member of the campus management committee Hom Nath Dahal, Kathmandu University vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma and campus chief Ram Prasad Dahal shed light on the contribution made by the campus in women's education.

Honours and prizes were distributed to various persons contributing to the campus in various fields and to students for excellence in performance.

About 128 housesinundated in Kanchanpur

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MAHENDRANAGAR, Sept. 8: About 128 houses have been inundated by rainwater in Salghari area of Mahendranagar Municipality ward No. 18, Kanchanpur district.

One house has collapsed and others have been inundated in the settlement inhabited by Kamaiya and Landless Squatters who were alloted 10 katha of land per family from Mahendranagar Town Development Committee.

The victims have been given rice, pulses and plastic sheets from the town development committee and other local bodies, the office said.

Similarly, some land has been eroded by river flow in the Ghadighanch area and the horticulture area of the Municipality and crops damaged.

Continual rain for the past three days has obstructed roads and affected normal life in the district.

Terrorists kill policeman, attack Sindhupalchok offices

By Our Correspondent

SINDHUPALCHOWK, Sept. 8: The terrorists shot dead police constable Sundar Tamang on duty at the Khaireni police post Saturday afternoon. Another policeman, Uttam Thapa, who was injured in the shooting that took place in broad daylight at two in the afternoon, has been taken to Kathmandu for treatment. The post lies about 15 kilometres from Butwal along the Mahendra Highway.

According to sub-inspector at the Butwal Police Office Laxman Pokharel, Tamang was shot through the temple and died instantly, while Thapa was injured in the neck.

An eyewitness, who runs a public telephone booth, said that the Maoists numbered about half a dozen in number. After firing at the policemen on duty, they fled toward the hills to the north. This is the first time a security personnel has been killed by Maoists in Rupandehi district.

The terrorists damaged eight VDC offices in Sindhupalchok district by exploding bombs Saturday night.

The VDC secretaries of Melamchi, Baramchi, Maneswanra, Taramarang, Mahakal Jalbire, Fulpingkot and Ramche said all the documents of the VDCs were burned and destroyed by the explosion. The offices of the three vdcs have been completely damaged.

Eyewitnesses say the Maoists set fire to the furniture and documents after exploding the bombs. Villagers of Melamchi say a group of about two-dozen Maoists came to the VDC at about 7 in the evening. Last week, the Maoists had attacked and caused severe destruction to two other VDC offices.

Inspector at the District Police Office, Chautara said the police have yet to reach the villages attacked by the Maoists.

In Baglung, a group of armed terrorists kidnapped Tuknath Sharma, a member of the district working committee and convention member of the Nepali Congress, from his house at Amalachour VDC Saturday morning. He was in mourning, when the Maoists took him away. Sharma had arrived home the same day following his mother's death.

In another incident last evening, a group of armed Maoists severely wounded Sahadev Poudel, district member of Nepal Tarun Dal, the youth organisation of the Nepali Congress. Poudel was attacked with khukuris at about 8 in the evening and has been wounded in the legs.

CDO Prem Narayan Sharma said that 43 Maoist terrorists have been killed in the district since the state of emergency was imposed on November 26. During the same period, the Maoists have killed 10 civilians and 14 policemen.

In Udayapur, a policeman has been injured by a shot fired by the terrorists. CDO Sitaram Pokharel said that the policeman, Chandra Narayan Chaudhary, was shot from behind at about five o'clock in the afternoon when he was on duty in the market south of Gaighat, the district headquarters. The wounded policeman has been admitted to the B.P. Koirala Institute for Health Sciences, Dharan for treatment.

Pokharel said the number of terrorists who carried out the attack could not be ascertained, but the security forces have arrested four suspects.

University teachers for restoring academic schemes

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 8: A joint meeting of Nepal University Teachers' Association (NUTA) central working committee, the Tribhuvan University Teachers' Association (TUTA) central committee and the Mahendra Sanskrit University Teachers' Association (MSUTA) central committee concluded here today.

The meeting reiterated the demand that Tribhuvan University and Mahendra Sanskrit University restore the academic facilities for the intellectual development of the university teachers within the month of Bhadra, 2059 B.S.

Likewise, the meeting called upon the Maoists to give up the path of violence, killings and terrorism, join the national mainstream and move ahead for the protection of the achievements of the Popular Movement of 1990.

The meeting also called on the government to create a conducive environment for talks in deference to the aspirations of the entire nation and make efforts to bring the Maoists into the national mainstream.
The meeting decided to collect relief assistance at the rate of Rs. 101 each from the University Teachers in aid of the flood and landslide victims throughout the country and hand over the same to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

Central president of Nepal University Teachers' Association (NUTA) Khagendra Prasad Bhattarai chaired the meeting.

Plan on welfare schemes of army pensioners mulled

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 8: The week-long 15th conference of Indian Ex-Servicemen Welfare Organisation in Nepal (IEWON) concluded here today.

A press release issued by the Indian Embassy here today states that the conference finalised the framework for execution of welfare schemes and projects for the financial year 2003-04 for the benefit of about 115,000 pensioners of the Indian army living in Nepal.

The delegation led by Lt. Col. V. K. Dua called on Chief of Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army General Pyar Jung Thapa and the Defence secretary Madan Prasad Aryal and interacted with a large number of senior HMG officials on matters related to the welfare of the pensioners.

Mahakali causes damage to embankment at Dodhara Chandani

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MAHENDRANAGAR, Sept. 8: The flooded Mahakali river has once again caused substantial damage to an embankment constructed at Dodhara-Chandani.

About 40 meters of the embankment, which had been built at Chandani VDC-7 by Japanese International Aid Agency (JAICA) in fiscal year 1995/96, has been swept away.

About 50 metres of the same embankment had been battered by the flood last month, where reconstruction and flood control work was under way.

Incessant rainfall for four days had caused a rise of 135,000 cusec water in the river and the water level is still expected to rise considering the ongoing rainfall in Darchula district of Nepal and Dharchula and Pithaurgadh area of India, said water induced disasters mitigation department overseer Krishna Bahadur Singh.

An observation team including Kanchanpur CDO Harihar Sharma, SP Shyam Bahadur Khadka, district vice-president of Nepali Congress Yagya Raj Joshi and others had inspected the area yesterday.