Kamaiyas: Bonded no more

By a staff reporter

Every morning for the last thirty years, Chandradev Chaudhary cursed the few hundred rupees loan his grandfather had taken from a landlord. Bound by the loan, his grandfather died tilling the land of the that land owner.

Walking free : Freedom should not mean more dependency.

Ironically, the debt did not die with the man and his father lived and died the same way and he has been tilling the land since he was strong enough to lift the plough or drive the ox in return for a pittance of two meagre meals a day and a few of pairs of clothes a year. It is not only him, but also his wife and children, who were being weighed down by the loan which the family should have repaid long long ago, if their labour were measured in terms of cash.

This is also the story of almost two hundred thousand Nepalis, who have been living a life of bonded labour for generations.

However, Chandradev is a free man after the government made a declaration to emancipate thousands of such labourers from the vestige of slavery.

The decision of the cabinet was announced by the Minister of Land Reform and Management Siddha Raj Ojha in the parliament on Monday, saying the decision would be effective from the very day.

The decision has also made it illegal and against the law to keep, both directly and indirectly, a person as a labourer against their will. The breach of the decision is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. What is important is that the decision has also waived the loans of these people, called as sauki, or loan in any other form. Minister Ojha also said the government would introduce a bill to legalise the declaration

The decision can be taken as a delayed follow up to the Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher’s action to emancipate all the slaves about 80 years back.

In spite of the legal prohibition of all forms of slavery, the system was still prevalent mainly in several districts of Western Nepal such as Kanchanpur, Kailali, Banke, Bardiya, Dang.

According to a government statistics of 1993, there were about 70,000 bonded labourers of 14,000 families. However, the unofficial estimate say the number of bonded labouers could be as high as 40,000 families with 200,000 individuals.

The decision of the government is hailed as the boldest decision of the government in the last 10 years. The government was under increasing pressure to abolish the slavery system.

Meanwhile, the declaration of ‘independence’ will not be an end of all the woes of the thousands of bonded labourers and starting a life of freedom will not be an easy job for persons like Chandradev and his kith and kin.

The most important and probably a very difficult task is to provide alternative means of livelihood for the thousands of the recently freed people. Even the decision has come so suddenly that the kamaiyas themselves may be ill-prepared for a life of freedom.

Now, the onus is on the government, the political parties and also the NGOs and the INGOs, who had raised such strong voices for the abolition of the practice, to help the kamaiyas lead a life of freedom with dignity.

The government has, indeed, taken a very bold and a positive step, but this should not leave the bonded labourers in a state of ‘from the frying pan into the fire’ like situation.

Find a permanent solution for garbage

By a staff reporter

The huge stinking piles of garbage will slowly disappear now onwards. The government has finally been able to convince the local residents around the Bagmati river area in East Kathmandu, that it will use the garbage as filling material while building the road on the banks of the river.

For over a week now, the area near Jorpati had been tense after residents violently protested against the dumping of Kathmandu’s garbage near that area. More than a dozen Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation garbage trucks were damaged by stone throwing crowds.

With the local residents in all areas around the capital city protesting against the government making a dumping site near their locality, the authorities were hard pressed to find a place to place tonnes of wastage produced by the residents of the capital everyday.

In the past days, the whole city had become a stinking bowl, with the authorities not being able to clear the garbage. It was a common site to see passerby in different areas running past heaps of rotting garbage.

People had feared that any outbreak of viral diseases would greatly endanger the whole city. But fortunately, except for reports of some viral fever, which is common at this time of the year, no reports of any serious health hazards were made.

However, looking only towards the government and the metropolitan Corporation to clear the wastes, would be absurd. The people here in Kathmandu must learn to be meager in throwing waste as well.

The authoprities must create awareness regarding the importance of separating waste materials. Vegetables should be put in one place, glass in another, clothes in yet another place and so on. This will make it much easier for the authorities to deal with the tonnes of garbage. Furthermore, establishments like poultry dealers, restaurants and hotels must be made to reach their waste material to the proper place and not dump them in the neighbourhood.

On the part of the government, it must realise now that it can’t rely on finding suitable dumping sides near this highly populated city. It must look for an alternate area and also modern machinery to deal with this everlasting problem.

It has received a breather for now, with a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister ram Chandra Poudel being able to convince the residents near Jorpati area that they will not suffer because of the government’s present move. But this embankment road project will also end one day, then what?

Therefore, right from now, the authorities must sit down and seriously find a lasting solution, for which it may take some time. The next time this problem arises, the city may not be so lucky as far as health hazards are concerned and the people may also not be so tolerant.

Why not "peacekeeping" within the country?

By Dhana Thapa

The Maoist struck with deadly results once more. This time it was at a district which is very near Kathmandu. Four policemen died and many arms and ammunition were looted by the attackers of the police post at Bagh Bhairab of Thokarpa village development committee.

However, such attacks on police posts by Maoists hardly makes any big news now. It has happened too often. But the fact is the lives of the police personnel, like the life of any person, is not so expendable.

Yet, all we hear from the responsible authorities, is just a few words of condolence and nothing else. Is that enough? Are the policemen just sacrificial goats to be slaughtered in the name of showing a presence of the government at some outpost?

What else can you call the stationing of a group of scared men in uniform, who cannot protect even their own posts? What is the use of their presence in the out flung villages? Whom are they protecting there and what type of law and order do they maintain, when they are in no position to defend themselves?

And shamefully in the attack on the police post at Thokarpa, it was trumpeted that the police were able to save a pistol and one rifle by hiding them underground! What sort of a message are those in control trying to send to the people at large, that the police either give up altogether or hide their weapons?

Apart from the fact that the police personnel are poorly equipped and they have not been trained properly, the biggest setback for them is the fear psychosis which is there because they have no backing. This was proved also in the horrifying attack at the police post in Panchkatiya, where an Inspector and more than a dozen people died. Till now, it has been proved time and again that the Maoists can hit the police at will and the police can hardly do anything bout it.

It is natural that no one likes to be cooped up in a badly structured village house, not knowing when the first bullet or hand grenade will come flying in. The police are so scared, that they come out shooting even when an innocent thing like a bulb explodes (See box).

The police must have a semblance of some back-up force or protection, for them to be more effective in their duty and also mentally more relaxed. And this can be done only if they have a superior force behind them.

So, why not the Royal Nepal Army be sent as a purely "peacekeeping force" to the affected areas? They can either camp in close proximity of the police camps or hold exercises near the vulnerable police posts.

RNA is famous worldwide as an effective peacekeeping force. When their own country is going through such a troubling time, there is no reason why RNA personnel cannot be effective peacekeepers here as well.

For example, if there had been an army camp near the police post at Sindhupachowk, then the police could have come to find a secure hiding place with the army, which would act like international peacekeepers. They will not be the aggressors, they will only provide security to any person under threat, be it the police or any Maoist or even innocent villagers.

A large chunk of the nation’s budget is being spent on security, when there is a dire need for funds for other developmental activities. Furthermore, with the government also being fully engaged and the sense of security among the people eroding, a time has come to treat the insurgency threat as a real national problem and deal with it effectively. If the army is not used when there is a national level crisis, then when will it be used?

Yes, talks must be held and a multi-pronged approach must also be implemented for this problem to be resolved peacefully and the people in the affected districts to find relief, but for the present, a democratically elected government must not allow the law and order situation to be completely broken down. It must use all resources it has to demonstrate that it is alive and kicking and concerned of the security of the people..

If the government still continues to dither at this important hour, then a time may come when even by mobilising the army as an aggressor, the insurgency problem may not be solved.

When a bulb explodes

By a staff reporter

There was a report in a vernacular daily, of how one whole group of policemen ran out of their post at Hetauda, when a bulb exploded with a bang nearby. They not only abandoned their post, but they kept firing into the night and came out of hiding only in the morning after it seemed no one was firing back at them, the report said.

The same newspaper also tells how before this incident, policemen had ran out from another post, when a farmer was burning some bamboos and one bamboo went off with a bang. Once more the police ran into a corn field near by and hid themselves throughout the night, firing into thin air at the same time. It was said that they came out all muddy and dishevelled when two vans of policemen arrived in the morning.

What protection can the people expect when the police themselves are in such a panicky state? Also, shouldn’t an investigation be made why the police acted this way in a comparatively safe place like Hetauda?

Let us not watch the young die

By a staff reporter

"The day will come when nations will be judged not by their military strength, nor by the splendour of their capital cities and public buildings, but by the well-being of their peoples: by the level of health, nutrition and education; by their opportunities to earn a fair reward for their labours; by their ability to participate in the decisions that affect their lives; by the respect that is shown for their civil and political liberties; by the provision that is made for those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged; and by the protection that is afforded to the growing minds and bodies of their children". (Progress of Nations, an annual publication of the United Nations Children’s Fund).

"This publication also recounts the great distances the world must still travel? The progress of nations records the devastating speed with which HIV/AIDS has, in less than a generation, become the greatest catastrophe facing the continent of Africa and is now spreading in Asia and parts of Central Europe and Latin America. So malevolent is the threat that the economic prospects and social stability of entire regions are at risk?. Efforts to educate and inform people, especially youth, about HIV/AIDS must be pursued with far greater energy." ? Kofi A. Annan

"HIV/AIDS constitutes the greatest threat many societies have ever faced," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. ?. "Virtually every society understands what it means to wage a struggle for liberation?. It means mobilising every available resource; it means involving men and women on an equal basis; it means accepting the vital role to be played by young people; and it means sparing no effort and brooking no diversions until all of society is liberated. That’s what is needed now ? Nothing less."

Facts on drug abuse and HIV/AIDS in Nepal, are startling. Based on the prevalence rate of HIV in 0.2-0.4 percent of the general population, USAID projects a two fold increase of HIV infection by 2005 to 60,000, if prevention effort does not intensify. As of May 31, 2000, Nepal’s National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) recorded a total of 1,541 cumulative cases of HIV infection. Of these, 342 had progressed to full blown AIDS. But a WHO-UNAIDS sentinel surveillance projects the number of cases of infection at 33,500, of which about 30 percent are injecting drug users.

About half the HIV/AIDS cases in Nepal are in the 20-29 age group. A recent assessment of drug users and HIV indicates that drug injection is the predominant mode of HIV transmission. Prevalence of HIV infection among injecting drug users is as high as 50 percent, according to NCASC. It estimates that there are about 50,000 drug users in Nepal, out of which 20,000 are injecting drug users. It’s figures show that around 22 percent among drug users in Nepal are in the age group of 16-20 and 34 percent are between 21-35.

More than 70 percent of drug users practice casual and unsafe sex with multiple partners. A PANOS South Asia in-depth review of 19 young Nepalese who contracted HIV shows that most of them are from middle class background. All women interviewed said they contracted the virus from their husbands or male partners.

Half of the males were practicing casual sex, and the rest took to injecting drugs. A rapid assessment conducted by NCASC in 1997 showed that out of 82 young, unmarried Nepali girls brought back from India, 52 tested positive.

The UNICEF report, The Progress of Nations 2000, finds that: Almost a third of all people with HIV/AIDS are between the ages of 15 and 24 ? A total of some 10 million young people; Every minute, six young people under the age of 25 become infected with HIV; Girls and young women are more than 50 percent more likely to contract HIV than young boys and young men.

In several countries, almost half of all girls age 15 ? 19 do not know that a person who looks healthy can be infected with HIV and transmit it to others; In a number of countries where AIDS is epidemic, nearly half of sexually active girls age 15 ? 19 believe they face no risk of contracting the disease; And in surveys in 17 countries, over half of adolescents could not name a single method of protecting themselves against HIV/AIDS.

It is clear that the efforts to stop the spread of HIV have not been sufficient.

The young have to be educated about the risks and taught how to protect themselves. Concerted prevention education campaigns must take place at all levels of society before the HIV/AIDS epidemic casts its shadow over the entire country. We must wake up now and do what it takes to prevent more youngsters from falling prey to HIV/AIDS; for once they get it, it is too late. Then, we can only watch them die.

Cyber policy to boost IT sector

By a staff reporter

At a time when neighboring India has become an important player in the global Information Technology (IT) market, Nepalese IT entrepreneurs are facing a number of difficulties in its development because of many reasons. One of the main reasons, which has a tremendous impact on the slow growth of IT industry here in Nepal, is the lack of necessary rules and regulations that govern export of software and e-commerce.

Though it is already late, the upcoming Cyber Policy, which will be announced within a couple of weeks, is believed to provide the necessary momentum to the IT sector. The Ministry of Science and Technology is also planning to table the Cyber Law Bill at the ongoing session of the Parliament.

"We missed the industrial revolution and green revolution. But we can not afford to miss the IT revolution," said Surendra Prasad Chaudhary, Minister for Science and Technology while speaking at a seminar on Internet Marketing in Kathmandu last week.

The ministry is also working on a paper on electronic commerce and other IT related issues.

Last year, the World Bank, in its report, had showed a good prospectus for the Nepalese IT industry, this industry has not been able to get the necessary momentum. In its report published last year, the World Bank had stated that in the coming fifteen years Nepal would be able to export software worth more than US $ one billion. But since then there had virtually been no remarkable indication to support this projection made by the WB report.

However, it was during the last year that the private sector companies were allowed to operate services through V-SAT technology. This was one of the most positive development during the year. But, the cost of Internet is still high in the country and as a result the number of Internet users are increasing slowly. Another positive development during the year is increase in the number of companies that provide data entry services to foreign countries.

The government’s plan of establishing an IT Park at Dhulikhel still remained a distant dream. During the whole year, no policy maker, IT entrepreneur and government official took initiative towards its establishment. "The major need at the present moment is cyber law and we must first focus on it," said Bijaya Krishna Shrestha former Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) while talking with this scribe during this years’ CAN Info-Tech.

Since development of the IT sector is taking place at a rapid manner, Nepal must act in a similar manner. While many countries in Asia, including India, have moved ahead, Nepal is still unable to draw basic policies on it. Any further delay in passing of Cyber Law Bill by the Parliament will push the nation backwards in the IT sector.

Since the services in the IT industry is delivered digitally, they cannot have customs declaration form, bill of lading, insurance policy and bill of exchange. The government should amend the existing Financial Regulation to cover all these nature of the emerging export oriented industry. "The government should give a separate status to IT industry and exempt software export from tax," said Lochan Lal Amatya, President of CAN.

Super Cardiac Care in Kathmandu

By a staff reporter

Cases of heart diseases are on the rise in Nepal; over ten per cent of its population is known to be under the threat of cardiac problems. This is largely due to lack of knowledge and drastic changes in life style. In a poor country like ours, a family member having a heart problem means immense psychological and financial problem for the patient and the family.

Until now, the lack of timely intervention, diagnosis, treatment and care in the country; meant that patients had to travel to the closest country, India for treatment.

Norvic Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, Kathmandu, has an advanced route charted out for super speciality cardiac care for the people of this country. The first ever Digital Cathlab in the private sector will soon become operational. Dr. Ravi R Kasliwal, Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, will personally initiate the procedures of the Cathlab; by performing on cases of Coronary Angiography for two days on the 21st and 22nd of July 2000.

The direct imaging system of the new generation Cathlab allows the cardiologist to perform procedures like Angiography, Angioplasty, Balloon Mistral Valvotomy and attachment of pacemakers.

The Cathlab at Norvic will be linked on-line with Escorts, New Delhi. This will enable consultations among specialists at both ends.

By the year 2002, Norvic plans to take the country to the realm of nuclear medicine. This means that its place in the coveted league of Super Speciality Cardiac Care Nations would be confirmed.

Foreign aid debate

By a staff reporter

The preliminary draft of much awaited Foreign Aid Policy released on Friday for discussion saw sever criticism from experts.

According to experts, the draft policy, which is the first one since Nepal started receiving foreign aid almost fifty years back, lacks proper strategies in utilizing foreign loans and assistances. Besides that, many of them have also pointed out at the effectiveness in the implementation of the Policy.

Experts said that number of policies outlined in the recently released draft was already included in the Ninth Plan and effective implementation of the Plan would itself fulfill most of its objectives.

As such, one of the major questions they raised during the foreign aid debate was concentrated on the proper implementation of the policies regardless of the increasing tendency from the donors’ side to implement the projects at their own and to negotiate directly with the local bodies.

Speaking at a function organized to collect comments from experts, Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Vice President of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Member of Parliament, said that the policy is not clear regarding its objectives, strategies and policy instruments.

"There are serious methodological errors in the Policy," Dr. Lohani further added. He also suggested the government to make a proper focus while formulating the policy so that there would be a consistency among objectives, strategies and policies.

According to Ministry of Finance, the draft policy has adopted four broader objectives. First, it aims at enhancing transparency, uniformity, accountability and predictability in all procedures relating to foreign aid. Second, it targets to redefine interrelationship between the government and the donor community, in which the government plays more as an implementing agency and the donor community as the facilitator.

The third objective of the Policy is to channel foreign aid towards the prioritized sectors of the nation. Lastly, it also aims at making foreign aid management function in consistent with nation’s economic reform. On top of all these, the Policy also asserts to accomplish the goal of self-sustained, high economic growth scenario and to create the situation of self-reliance for mobilizing the resources required for financing the development.

Campion KTM college inaugurated

By Bibek Bhatta

Minister of State for Education, Culture and Sports, Dilendra Prasad Badu inaugurated the Campion Kathmandu college on July 18. Speaking as the chief guest Minister Badu said that the government alone cannot invest for education, so private sector’s help is always needed.

According to him, schools and colleges must not be opened for profit only, but the students who pass out should be qualified and they can get jobs easily.

Registrar of the Purbanchal University Prof. Dr. K. P. Sharma speaking from the chair said the government should make rules and regulations on the fee structure of the schools and colleges. He also said the schools and colleges should think for the benefit and about the hardships of the parents.

Joseph B. Niraula, Director of the Campion and Principal of the Campion college, briefed about the history of Campion.

Similarly, Jagdish Shumsher Rana, representing Samundra Maha Vidya Pratisthan and Radha Krishna Devasthan gave his views on the occasion.

Kailash K. Dewan, CEO of the Campion, had delivered the welcome speech and Prof. Dr. Hari Prasad Parajuli, Academic Advisor of Campion, gave the vote of thanks.