Expertise needed for development, says Mandal

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LALITPUR, Feb. 23: Deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal, who is also holding the portfolio of the Prime Minister, has said that technical know-how and expertise is highly essential for a developing country such as ours.

Addressing an interaction programme concerning governmental and private engineering services for institutional structure organised by the Nepal Engineers Association (NEA) here today, he said that the country needed technical personnel to take the physical development ahead in the present situation when cease-fire was in force.

Stating that the present government had given emphasis on decentralisation because of the importance of the concept of local self-governance in a democratic system, he said that projects for local development should be selected in line with the wishes of the local people.

The government had no desire to discourage the engineers in the implementation of the district infrastructure development projects, he made it clear.NEA president Narayan Govind Halwai and its general secretary Bharat Pahari also expressed their views while engineer of the Department of Roads Bhim Upadhyay presented a working paper on infrastructure development in local development and the limited role of engineering profession.Participants at the programme laid emphasis on the need to accord priority to the engineers in the selection and implementation of development projects.

JVT now set to categorise verified Bhutanese refugees

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb.23: The Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification Team (JVT) will begin categorising the already verified Bhutanese refugees from Tuesday.

The JVT had verified more than 12,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin in Khudunabari camp, one of the seven UNHCR-administered camps in eastern Nepal 14 months ago.

A six-member Nepalese JVT team is leaving for Thimpu tomorrow (Monday) to resume its pending work. The team is led by Sushil Sumsher Rana, joint secretary at the Home Ministry.

The team also includes Kedar Poudel, under secretary at the Ministry of Law and Parliarmentary Affairs; Ganesh Rai and Bashanta Bhattari, under secretaries at the Home Ministry and Yadav Khanal and Thir Bahadur G.C., section officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Home respectively.
"A six-member Bhutanese JVT team will join us to undertake the categorisation," said Sushil Sumsher Rana, leader of the Nepalese team. The JVT will categorise the verified refugees into four categories. The two countries had agreed to categorise the Bhutanese refugees into four categories - bona fide Bhutanese, non-Bhutanese, those with criminal records and those who had left Bhutan voluntarily - in the Third Ministerial talks in 1993.

The work of categorisation was delayed due to the frequent postponement of the 12th rounds of the Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting.

The recently held 12th round of the JMC meet had decided to resume the work of JVT to undertake the categorisation of the refugees in Thimpu, Bhutan. The team is expected to complete the categorisation before the 13th rounds of the MJC meet, which is scheduled for 24 March in Thimpu.
There are more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees liviing in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal.

Donors urge Bhutan to solve refugee problem

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KATHMANDU, Feb. 23: The major donor communities of Bhutan during the 8th round table meeting of Bhutan Aid Group held in the United Nations Building in Geneva recently have called the government of Bhutan to resolve the refugee problem as soon as possible.

"Donor countries including Japan, Norway, Denmark urged the Bhutanese government to immediately resolve the refugee problem," said Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, co-ordinator of Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Group.

Though there is pressure on Bhutanese Government from the donor communities to resolve the refugee problem, we can not trust as Bhutanese Government has not fulfilled its commitment in the past, he said.

Bhutanese side expressed commitment to resolve the problem after the representatives of the donor communities urged them to resolve the problem, Hiranya Lal Shrestha, another member of the group said.

Bhutanese refugees staged protest against the Bhutanese Government in front of the meeting hall during the round table meeting on Bhutan Aid Group.

Ojha: Rise above prejudices for healthy education

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KATHMANDU, Feb. 24: Minister for Education and Sports Devi Prasad Ojha said that as the increasing politicisation of a pure subject like education has been bringing in black clouds over the future of the country's future generation it has become essential and imperative for all political forces to rise above their prejudices and work for development of healthy education.

In a message on the occasion of Education Day, Minister Ojha has said that a proposal has been presented before all to develop the education institutions in to a peace centre and a pure academic place and creative cooperation is expected towards this end.

Efficient management, developed technology and skills, efficient teachers and laborious students are not only the characters of education development but the foundation of nation building, Ojha said, adding that taking these facts into consideration, the government today is determined and active towards bringing reforms to the education sector.

"Education is the fundamental right of everybody and education should not be weighed in the scale of economic division in terms of rich and poor", Minister Ojha said, adding that it is unfortunate that today we have not been able to develop atmosphere for equity in education on one side whereas on the other the number of education unemployed is on the rise. In this manner, we are unknowingly pushing ourselves towards a complex situation, he added.

Plan to check population finalised

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 23: His Majesty's Government is introducing a population management programme in a bid to bring down population growth in the country.

The government has already given final shape to the programme's concept paper and is planning to implement it from Falgun (Feb-March).

"The programme is being introduced so that local stakeholders can also participate in controlling the fast growing population," said Bal Govind Bista, joint secretary at the Ministry for Population and Environment.

Bista said that the local bodies would be involved in implementing of the programme.

"The country will see a drastic decline in population after this programme is carried out at the local levels," said Bista.

In the first phase, the programme will be implemented in Bhaktapur, Morang, Makawanpur, Kaski and Bardiya. It will be gradually introduced in the remaining districts.

The new population scheme aims at changing the behaviourial pattern of the common people, encouraging them to plan a small and happy families, and generating and mobilising manpower needed for population control initiatives.

It also plans to help reduce poverty by introducing informal population education to generate income and systematise the registration of personal events.

Under the programme, training will be provided to officials of the local bodies and secretaries of the village development committees. The Ministry is organising a two-week long training for the officials of local bodies on March 3.

They will be given training on the current population situation, reproductive health and rights, women empowerment and gender equality.

Authorities expect that the programme would be instrumental in reducing the uncontrolled population.
He said that widespread poverty could be reduced gradually if local bodies themselves involve in chalking out, implementing and monitoring population management programmes.

The district development committees will coordinate the programmes. There will also be a separate implementing, coordination and monitoring committees.

The Ministry, which developed the idea, will not seek financial support from others for its implementation. Each DDC will be provided computers for the purpose.

Nepal's current population stands at more than 23 million and growing by 2.24 per cent annually.
Alarmed by the fast growing population, the Ministry is also introducing a long-term population plan to bring it down.

Nepal does not have a separate population plan yet. Until now programmes to bring down population growth have been included in the five-year development plans.

"We are busy with the concept paper, which is expected to be complete by mid-March. The plan will take at least a year to formulate," said Bista.

A need for a long-term population plan had been long felt in a bid to bring down the population burden and improve the lifestyle of the people. According to Bista, there were plans to formulate the plan last year. But because the results of the national census and health survey were delayed, the whole process got postponed. The statistics of the report are important while formulating the plan.

TRN executive editor Kakkar bereaved

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb. 23: Officiating Executive Editor of The Rising Nepal Prem Nath Kakkar has been bereaved of his father. His father Amar Nath passed away today at the age of 82. Late Kakkar was suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney problems.

Late Kakkar was taken to the Kathmandu Medical College this morning after his blood pressure suddenly shot up, but passed away at 11 A.M. Late Kakkar is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. The Rising Nepal expresses its heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family and prays to the Almighty for the eternal peace of the departed soul.

Ex-Gurkhas welcome British Court verdict

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb. 23: Gurkha Ex-Army Servicemen's Organisation (GEASO) has welcomed the British High Court's recent verdict relating to the discriminations in pay and pension to the Gurkhas.
GEASO said that the verdict was an important victory for the Gurkhas, who have been discriminated while serving in the British Army. "The court gave verdict to do away with the discriminations to the Gurkhas and provide facilities and opportunities equal to their British counterpart," GEASO said in a press statement.

GEASO had filed six writs relating to discrimination in pay, pensions and discrimination against the Gurkha servicemen in the British court more than a year ago. The court in its verdict has suggested resolving the cases outside the court between the British Defense Ministry and the Gurkhas, said GEASO.

"The verdict is a historical decision on part of the British Gurkha," the press statement reads.
But, the British High Court on Friday had ruled against the case of discrimination filed by seven Gurkha ex-servicemen against the British Army.

A statement issued by the British Embassy on Saturday had said that the ruling had confirmed that existing arrangements are not discriminatory rather they are entirely reasonable, lawful and appropriate.