Ceasefire willbe trans formed into lasting peace: Chand

RSS

PHIDIM, Apr. 12: Prime Minister and leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Lokendra Bahadur Chand has expressed the confidence that peace will be restored in the country as per thewishes of the people.Addressing a mass meeting organised at Phidim by the RPP Panchthar today, he said hopes have been raised from the cease-fire between His Majesty's Government and the Maoists.
"The government doesn't want unrest and conflict," he said, adding however that the government will not silent be a spectator to vandalism.Chand said the political parties are spreading rumours that regression is taking place by hiding their past mistakes.RPP central member Padma Sundar Lawati called on the government to give continuity to the incomplete development works.RPP member Jogmehar Shrestha said the Maoist problem would not have arisen if fruits of democracy were reached to each villages. RPP central member and advisor to Prime Minister Prem Bahadur Bhandari said the big political parities which call themselves Parliamentarian have made a mockery of the people's mandate.At the programme presided over by RPP Panchthar president Prem Thamsuhang, vice president Chhabi Raman Subedi also expressed his views.Prime Minister Chand also today laid the foundation stone of the maternity hospital to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 6,649, 000 at the premises of Panchthar Hospital jointly by the district health office, District Development Committee and UNICEF. Prime Minister Chand while giving directives of the office chiefs at the DDC office urged them to work by treating people with a friendly manner.

CDO Jiwan Prasad Oli apprised the Prime Minister of the problems of the district.

Peace must for development, says Shah

RSS

BIRGUNJ, Apr. 12: Assistant Minister for Local Development Asarfi Shah, inaugurating the second district conference of Teli Welfare Committee, Parsa, here today, said that as sustainable peace and rule of law without corruption was the need of the day for the development of the country, everyone should extend cooperation to the government in this regard.

Stating that everyone should focus on education which is indispensable for the development of a person, society and a country, Assistant Minister Dr. Shah said, "As development of the country would not take place just by making noises and creating unrest, everyone should unite in nation building."

He said that the role of the non-governmental organisations will be important in the present situation when there were no representatives of the people.

At the function, Assistant Minister Dr. Shah was honoured by draping him with a shawl for his activity in the upliftment and prosperity of the Teli Community.

Also, Assistant Minister Dr. Shah honoured Pashupati Shah and Mahavir Sah by draping them with a shawl each in recognition of their contributions in the social works from the community.

Committee chairman Shiva Nath Sah Teli presided over the programme.

Petty issues should not be allowed to lead to anarchy: PM

RSS

BIRATNAGAR, Apr. 12 : Prime Minister Loakendra Bahadur Chand has said that an environment of anarchy should not be created in the pretext of small issues at a time when the country is passing through sensitive phase.Inaugurating the newly constructed building of the Industry Organisation Morang here today he said in the context of the government's sincere efforts to maintain an environment for peace in the country an all party meeting has been called for tomorrow to form talks team.

The attitude of the political parties is not positive as they do not attend the all-party meeting he said adding that the government has time and again requested the political parties to find out the resolution of the country through the joint efforts of all the political parties."I have been calling all party meeting for the interests of the nation and people but the major political parties have not extended their hands of cooperation,'' he said.If we did not increase the price of the petroleum products then there will be no budget to import petroleum products in such a situation whether we should buy petroleum products from the budget of education, road and construction, he said.

The political parties have been staging strike through students in the pretext of the price hike of the petroleum products, Chand said.His Majesty's Government has made the licensing process of industry easier and made arrangement for the import of information technology in the country and the government is ready even to make the process easier, he said.Nepal is in the process of getting the membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and there will be both challenge and opportunity after the entry into the WTO, he added.But for that we must focus on quality products and reduce the cost of production, he said. Chairman of Industry Organisation Morang Sushilkumar Dhanawat said economic issue should also be included during the talks between the government and the Maoists.
General secretary of the building construction committee Kishor Pradhan said the building was constructed at a cost of Rs. 16.2 million include the cost of the four katthas of land.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Chand gave presents to former chairman of the organisation Mahendra Golchha, general secretary of the building construction committee Kishor Pradhan, treasurer Ashok Kumar Murarka, member Sushil Kumar Dhanawat and engineer Govind Bahadur Shrestha and letter of appreciation to Mukesh Upadhyaya for their contribution in the construction of the building.

The organisation was established in 2024 by late Juddha Bahadur Shrestha.

Meanwhile in Terhathum, Prime Minister Loakendra Bahadur Chand today distributed documents of temporary ownership of land to the families affected by fire at Myaglung Bazaar, the headquarters of Terhathum district, in December last year. Addressing the programme organised to hand over the temporary ownership documents and laying the foundation stone for a pillar to be built there, he said that the government had been formulating schemes to provide domestic and foreign employment to the members of the fire victims and expressed the commitment to make the bazaar a model town in the entire country. He expressed the view that if everyone sincerely worked hard, the agony of the people of Myanglung would be lessened. Former assistant minister Parashu Ram Khapung, former DDC chairman Kishor Chandra Dulal and a host of other speakers expressed the view that HMG should make provision of housing and trading loan to the fire victims. Chief of Myaglung Bazaar Reconstruction Project Narayan Sundar Shrestha presented the progress made so far in the reconstruction works.

The town being built by making the infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supply in line with a new system will be a model one in the country, the project has stated.

Also in Terhathum, Prime Minister and leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Mr. Chand has said that he has joined the government and is functioning in line with the directives of his party.
Prime Minister Chand made this remark while addressing the RPP activists at Terhathum today.
Stating that nowhere had corruption taken place in the country during the last six months after the government leaded by him was formed, he said that the main aim of the present government was to ensure law and order and hold elections. Giving directives to the party cadres to work unitedly, Prime Minister Chand said, "the government is not opposed to talks and it is the big parties that are seeking to disrupt the peace process in every possible way."RPP central member Parashu Ram Khapung also expressed his views at the programme chaired by its district committee President Gyan Nath Suvedi.

Service-oriented role of administration stressed

RSS

KATHMANDU, Apr. 12: Convenor of the Public Services monitoring and inspection team for Bagmati and Narayani Zones Bharat Mani Jangam has pointed out the need to mobilise the administrative apparatus in a transparent and service-oriented manner based on the actual situation of the country and the countrymen. Convenor Jangam was speaking at an interaction programme concerning need of administrative changes for social transformation organised by Forum for International Debate (F.F.I.D.) Here today. Stating that it was because of the handling of the administrative apparatus without thinking by the preceding governments that the country had reached such a pitiable state, he said that he was working within the parameters of the law to bring the administrative apparatus back on track.

Central member of the Nepali Congress Dr. Ramsharan Mahat said that there had been numerous reforms in the administrative sector in line with the Administrative Reforms Commission - 2048 and pointed out the need to make it more effective, responsive and transparent.

Dr. Dilli Raj Khanal of the CPN-UML laid stress on the need to develop the administrative field in an institutional manner in line with the concept of decentralisation.

Central member of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Dipak Bohara said that the first thing that the political parties should make commitment is to end the system of utilising the employees in their party interest, and provision for their posting should be made on the basis of their knowledge and efficiency.

Spokesman of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party Mukti Nath Mandal said that federal system of governance should be introduced for massive changes in the administration.

Former administrator Padma Prasad Pokharel, industrialist Banwari Lal Mittal, advocate Mithilesh Kumar Singh and a host of other speakers expressed their views at the programme chaired by Hemanta Raj Dahal.

Peace top agenda, says Chaulagain

RSS

RAMECHHAP, Apr. 12: Minister for Labour and Transport Management and Population and Environment Kamal Prasad Chaulagain has said the present Council of Ministers was constituted to materialise the people's desire for peace talks.Speaking at a programme organised by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Ramechhap Chapter in Manthali today, he said the Maoists' demands of a Constituent Assembly, round-table conference and interim government would be considered only after the representatives of the governmentand the Maoists both sides sit for talks with their respective agenda.

In reply to a query he said the government was preparing for involving the political parties also in the peace talks. The talks process would not be affected in any way even if the political parties do not assist the government until the last minute, he added.

Stating the present government has made establishment of peace its main agenda, he said the process for the election would be started once law and order is secured.

Home Ministry calls for making protests peaceful

RSS

KATHMANDU, Apr. 12: The Home Ministry has said that its attention has been seriously drawn towards the running of destructive activities by some students' group in course of their joint protest programmes against the hike in prices of petroleum products despite constitutional provisions for running of any such protest programme in a peaceful manner.

In present context when all-party effort is being made to establish lasting peace in the country, such activities carried out by the students could obstruct law and order as well as the peace process and therebyaffect the atmosphere of talks, the Ministry says and heartily urges all the students' group to not carry out or allow such activities.

The Ministry has also informed one and all that a high level probe committee has been investigating the untoward incident that took place in Butwal on April 8 and that the issue relating to the price of petroleum products and other just demands of the students could be peacefully resolved through discussion with the students' representatives.

Dhime Baja contest held to mark new year

RSS

MADHYAPUR THIMI, Apr. 12: The third valley-wide Dhime Baja contest organised by the Osla Nepal on the occasion of the Bikram's New Year 2060 and the traditional Bisket Jatra festival concluded here today.

The Balkumari Dhime Khala Team (Red) from Thimi came out first, the Datatraya Dhime Khala Bhaktapur second and the Shiwa Sayami Dhime Khala Thimi third in the Dhime Baja Musical Band contest.

The Mu Dhime Khala Kathmandu won the consolation prize.

Famous comedian Madan Krishna Shrestha, who was the chief guest at the function, gave away the shield, medals and certificates to the teams winning the contest.

Altogether 26 Dhime Baja teams including six from Kathmandu, two from Kirtipur, 11 from Lalitpur, three from Bhaktapur and four from Madhyapur Thimi took part in the contest.

The Dhime Baja is a typical traditional Newari musical band and the Dhime Baja contest has been organised since the last two years with the objective of preservation and promotion of this traditional
Newari musical band.

The Dhime Baja band is played during various religious festivals, fairs and auspicious ceremonies.
The panel of judges for the contest comprised of Shree Gopal Prajapati, Pancha Kumar Maharjan, Nhuchhe Bahadur Dangol, Madan Raj Maharjan and Ganesh Bahadur Sijakhwa.

The programme was presided over by Osla Nepal president Madan Sundar Shrestha.

Chepangs struggling for survival

By Our Correspondent

CHITWAN, Apr. 12: Every morning Harka Bahadur Praja of Kaule VDC of Chitwan district wakes up early, gives fodder to the oxens and a cow, which does not gives milk, and heads towards the forest to seek tubers, roots and bulbs.

This is the everyday routine of the Prajas of Kaule and Shaktikhor VDCs in the hilly part of the district. By afternoon, if they manage a basketful of the tubers, they feel luckly. They have to be lucky everyday. If not the 11-member family of Bir Bahadur Praja of Shaktikhor, another village of the area, will have to go hungry.Both Harka and Bir belong to the Chepang (Praja), one of the most primitive tribes, who live mainly on tubers and roots collected from the jungle.

Bir Bahadur says he has almost 1 bigha of land, and the crops grown on the land cannot sustain his family for more than six months and for the rest of the period he has to depend on the forest.
The Prajas living in the hilly areas of the district since centuries, still lead a primitive life, and are way behind in modernity and development.

The Prajas practice shifting cultivation, but they do not own the land, mainly because they do not have citizenship certificates required to make the land ownership papers.

Jeetendra Chepang, 65, of Lothar said they have to forage in the jungle because the produce of the land do not last for more than a few months. Because the land is poor it does not grow anything except corn, millet and similar crops.The government and the NGOs have been running programmes since the last two decades, but the condition of the Prajas has not improved.

Gambhir Bahadur Rana, former chairman of Kaule VDC said the programmes have failed to reach to those peopleJeetendra Chepang, who is the central member of the Chepang Association, said the programmes have not meant much for the Prajas. The Prajas want a long-term solution to the famine like situation they have to face every year.A census of the Chepangs carried out last year puts the number of Chepangs at 52,237.