Their Majesties perform worship

KATHMANDU, Mar. 25: Their Majesties the King and the Queen visited the Ramesworamdham of Tamilnadu, India and performed worship, today. Their Majesties entered the temple where lies the Ramesworam Idol for the Worship.Tradition has it that worships are performed only by Nepal’s King and Queen and the temple priest at the premises with the idol. There is a belief that the Ramesworamdham was built after installation of a Shivalinga made of sand by Ram and Sita after the slaying of Ravan by Lord Ram. Ramesworam is one of the famous four Shrines of India. Their Majesties are scheduled to leave Madurai tomorrow for a visit to Tirupati for a Darshan.

HM felicitates Bangladesh president

KATHMANDU, Mar. 26: His Majesty the King has extended cordial felicitations to Professor Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed, President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, on the occasion of the Independence Day of Bangladesh. In a message, His Majesty has expressed best wishes for the President’s personal health and happiness as well as for the continued progress and prosperity of the people of Bangladesh.

His Majesty also expressed confidence that the cordial and friendly relations between the two countries will grow further in the years to come.

PM extends condolences to Vajpayee

RSS

KATHMANDU, Mar. 25: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has expressed deep shock at the loss of so many innocent lives in the cowardly attack at Nandimarg, Jammu & Kashmir.
In a message sent to Prime Minister of India A.B. Vajpayee, Chand said His Majesty’s Government strongly condemns such heinous acts of terrorism. Chand extended hearfelt condolences to the Indian Prime Minister and to members of the bereaved families at this tragedy.

PM congratulates

Kathmandu, Mar. 26: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has extended sincere congratulations to Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, on the occasion of the Independence Day of Bangladesh.In a message, Chand has wished for Begum Khaleda’s good health and happiness as well as for the progress and prosperity of the people of Bangladesh.

Govt for more liberalpolicy to boost FDIs: PM
‘Investment trend encouraging’

KATHMANDU, Mar. 25: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said that the government is considering to make Nepal’s foreign investment policies still more liberal, transparent and investment friendly to attract significant investment in the country.

Prime Minister Chand launching a book entitled ‘ An Investment Guide to Nepal’ prepared and published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) here today said “The trend of investment inflow is encouraging.”

“It is my belief that multilateral agencies like unctad and ICC can play a significant role to encourage countries like Nepal in attracting more foreign investments,” he said.

He said Nepal looks direct foreign investment as means to promote quality products, international marketing, modern management skills and better technologies.

“His Majesty’s Government has made significant efforts to attract foreign investment. I hope this guide will help foreign investors understand the structure and potentials of the Nepalese economy and provide information on opportunities for investment,” he said.

Stating that Nepal has adopted liberal and open economic policies since 1992 he said adding that important measures like de-licensing industrial investment, autonomy in pricing of industrial products, trade liberalisation, tax reform, tariff rationalisation, financial sector reform and de-bureaucratisation are some of the major thrusts of present economic policy.‘’Industrial policy and investment and one window policy announced in 1992 can be taken as a paradigm shift from closed and restricted to free and open market industrial regime,” he said.Both these policies are considered as liberal and investment friendly aiming at emphasising the enhancement of industrial production and productivity and promoting employment generating industries under open and liberal economic environment, he added.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Maheshlal Pradhan said we could not attract much foreign investment into Nepal due to national and international events that had occurred during the last couple of years.“We must attract foreign investment for speedy development of industrial sector,” he said.

Resident Representative of the UNDP Dr. Henning Karcher said foreign investment projects have provided employment to almost 87,000 persons in the country and there has been an 11-fold increase in capital investment in the country due to FDI since 1990.

The flow of investment supported by trade also helps developing countries to integrate themselves into the world economy, he said. “Foreign investment is important in the context of Nepal’s accession to the WTO. It has been observed that countries that attract FDI enjoy a strengthened position at the negotiating table since many of their supporters and lobbyists are from the developed world,’’ he said.
“Institutions should be strengthened so as to ensure transparency, accountability and predictability. Bureaucratic hurdles should be reduced. The rule of law should be enforced. Incentives like tax holidays, and other financial incentives, may not mean much in institutional set-ups are considered weak,” Karcher added.

Stock of POL products abundant : Pradhan

RSS

KATHMANDU, Mar. 25: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Mahesh Lal Pradhan has made it clear that there is at present an abundant stock of petroleum products and arrangement has been made for their easy and efficient supply to consumers.

Speaking at a face-to-face programme organised by the Reporters’ Club Nepal here today, Minister Pradhan said some problems arose when consumers suddenly increased their demand following the war in Iraq, adding that Corporation, the changed price for petrol is Rs. 56/ per litre, that of diesel Rs. 35.50 per litre, kerosene Rs. 28/ per litre (open market price), aviation fuel Rs. 34 per litre and lp gas Rs. 700 per cylinder.As per a decision of His Majesty’s Government, for the convenience of the general public every family will be provided 10 litres of kerosene every month at the price of Rs. 23/ per litre.

A decision was also reached to make arrangements for immediate enforcement of this provision through coordination between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Home Ministry and the Ministry of Local Development.In view of the state of the world market for petroleum products, His Majesty’s Government has also decided to constitute a petroleum products price fixation and monitoring committee to fix and monitor the price of such products, adds the statement.

NTC repairing damaged telephone towers

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Mar. 25: Nepal Telecommunications Corporation has been repairing telephone towers that were destroyed in the past seven years. The first phase of the programme is expected to be complete in six months and the second phase next year.

According to Rupak Halder, Deputy General Manager of the corporation, under the first phase of the programme, the tower of the Dhading exchange under the Kumpur repeater station; Tamghas and Sandhikharka exchanges under the Gulmi repeater station and telephone towers of the Diktel, Rumjatar, Okhaldunga, Namche Bazaar and Sauraha exchanges, will be built.

Likewise, the Solti exchange under the Patale repeater station; towers of Waling and Galyang under the Garausa repeater station and Besishasar and Bijuwatar exchanges under the Udip repeater station will be reconstructed under the second phase of the programme.The towers at Rolpa, Mushikot, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Rajapur, Tikapur and Lamki will be completed within a year, he said. The work for repairing the towers of Kalikot and Maipapla exchanges under the Bhartalagna repeater station; towers of Jumla exchange under the Chimaralekh; Matodi and Mangalsen exchanges under the Seudi repeater station; Royal repeater station; Chainpur exchange under the Bantakhel; Darchula exchange under Balshikha, and Dhunche exchange under the Nepanechaur repeater station will be repaired in the near future.

The corporation has released Rs. 577 million for the repair of these towers. About Rs.80 million will be spent on repairing the transmission links, Rs. 30 million on reconstructing the exchange towers, Rs. 420 million for installing 5,000 new telephone lines in the rural areas and Rs. 40 million for reconstructing the damaged buildings.

Halder said that it would take at least three years to resume basic telephone services. He added that the corporation had resumed telephone services through the VSAT system in 19 districts where exchange towers had been destroyed.

Far-West bracing for civic reception

By Our Correspondent

Dhangadhi, Mar. 25: Preparations are in full swing in this far western city bordering India for the civic reception of Their Majesties the King and Queen on April 4. The civic reception is being organised by the people of the Far-Western Region.

To make the event a grand success, 24 sub-committees have been formed under the Their Majesties Felicitation and Welcome Committee headed by Raj Parishad member Nain Bahadur Swanr.
As the day of the civic reception draws nearer, the people are showing their eagerness to welcome Their Majesties. More than 1,800 people have already registered their names to be included in the main committee, said Swanr.

Nine district committees have been formed in the nine districts of the far west region.

Construction activities are also taking place on a war-footing to give a facelift to the city. Roads are being repaired and widened. Huts and stalls built by encroaching upon the roads have been demolished. More than 200 welcome gates will be built, according to Maya Prasad Bhatta, coordinator of the Transport Management Committee.He said that Kanchanpur District Committee would alone build 65 gates.The Dhangadhi Municipality has organised a sanitation campaign in every nook and corner of the markets. It has cleaned up the drains where garbage has been piling for years. Work is underway to systematise drinking water, communications and electricity.

A special stage is being constructed at the centre of the open ground here where Their Majesties will grace the reception.“Preparations will be complete by April 3,” said Dhan Bahadur Shah, secretary of the Main Civic Reception Celebration Committee.

An estimated Rs. 3 million is to be spent on the event. “The amount will be collected from the common people, industrialists and businessmen,” said Gopal Hamal, coordinator of the Financial Committee.

Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey, Minister for Labour and Transport Kamal Chaulagai and Assistant Minister for Education and Sports Rabindra Khanal have already inspected the on-going preparations.

Gupta indicted on graft released on bail

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Mar. 25: The Special Court today released former Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta on bail of Rs. 20.25 million. After ex-minister Gupta on Monday failed to deposit the bail amount in cash or kind before the Court, it had ordered for his imprisonment. He was arrested by the Commission for Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on March 20 for amassing unaccounted for wealth.

Ex-minister Gupta has been asked to present himself before the Court on April 27.

Accusing ex-minister Gupta of amassing unaccounted for wealth while holding different public posts during the past 11 years, the CIAA has been demanding that all illegally amassed property be confiscated and that he be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

This is the second case that Gupta is fighting with the country’s constitutional anti-corruption body. In the first case, he was accused of abusing authority while returning the bid money (bond money) to Kantipur Television long before the duration legally expired. The Court had then released ex-minister Gupta on bail of Rs. 100,000.

In the on-going second case, the CIAA claims that out of his total wealth of Rs. 24.3 million, Rs. 20.8 million was amassed illegally.

In the case filed against the former minister, the CIAA has stated that after the then government, in accordance with the Financial Act-2058, called on all to voluntarily declare their property, former minister Gupta had withdrawn more than Rs. 5.5 million from the different banks in an effort to conceal his wealth. He failed to declare that money. “The CIAA wants that money confiscated,” says the Commission.

However, in his meeting with journalists this afternoon, Gupta said that the CIAA was being used to defame him. But he declined to pinpoint who was behind it.

Defending himself against the charges made by the CIAA, ex-minister Gupta said that he made all his earnings legally.

“We have only Rs. 400,000 in the banks, but the CIAA has blown this amount out of proportion,” he explained.

He also said that they had sold 24 bighas of land and had taken a loan from the Agricultural Development Bank to set up a cold storage at a cost of Rs. 17.3 million. The bank had approved a loan of Rs. 21.4 million, and he had taken a loan of Rs. 19.5 million.

He said he still had 11 bighas of land but that the CIAA had not calculated the income from these farms.

“The CIAA’s statement about my earnings is biased. It has not included my salary and allowances while travelling abroad,” he said. “I travelled abroad at least two dozens times as a government delegate to different countries.

“I had requested the CIAA to collect in detail the sources of my income before accusing me of amassing wealth illegally, but none of the officials listened to me,” he said.

Air pollution monitoring station at Rampur soon

By Bishnu Budhathoki

Kathmandu, Mar. 25: The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is all set to install an air pollution transboundary monitoring station at Rampur, Chitwan.

The station will be established at the premises of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS), Rampur with the support of the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP), said Bidya Banmali Pradhan, environment officer, ICIMOD.

The installation of the monitoring station is one of the priorities in implementing the 1998 “Male Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its likely transboundary effects for South Asia”.

Installation of air pollution monitoring stations, data collection, analysis of data and development of an acidification risk map for south Asia are major objectives of the second phase of the project.

“The seven SAARC countries and Iran are installing the same type of station that will identify the air flow pattern. The system will help in collecting data and analysis for control and prevention of air pollution and its transboundary effects in South Asia,” Pradhan told The Rising Nepal.

Transboundary air pollution is a common threat to the SAARC region. It is common to the whole world as national actions often have regional and global implications regarding environmental pollution.
In this context, an urgent need for regional cooperation concerning trans-boundary air pollution was voiced during the Male Declaration.

A-five-day country training programme to discuss the Male Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution began on Monday at the Agriculture Institute, Rampur.

The training programme, jointly organised by the Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE), ICIMOD, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) and the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP), is envisaged to fulfil the needs as indicated by the first phase of the project and provide basic air pollution data for analysis for the second phase.

Pradhan said that the training for the technical staff of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) and IAAS would focus on day-to-day air pollution data collection and analysis.

However, data on the quality of dust particles exceeding the guideline of WHO, have yet to be ascertained, Pradhan said.

Asok Saraf, Senior Divisional Engineer at the Ministry of Population and Environment said that the ministry has prepared a measurement draft with the help from DANIDA that is based on WHO standards.

Water pollution can be controlled through different measures, but air pollution is more vulnerable. So every nation should adopt safety measures to prevent and control air pollution, Pradhan added.
In recent years, air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley has been rising due to rapid increase in the number of vehicles. While they contribute directly to air pollution, persistent re-suspension of dust particles from non-paved roads do so indirectly. For that reason, human health has been directly affected, and people are suffering from different types of respiratory and skin diseases, she said.
Air pollution also affects the climate and brings environmental disasters. So the government should introduce effective policies to shift industries outside the capital valley, she said.