NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Agitating Workers Close Godowns At THe TIA

The agitating workers at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) have closed down all godowns at the country's only international airport beginning Saturday. "We have closed down all the godowns for indefinite period since the government has failed to heed to our just demands," said Kedar Nath Dahal, General Secretary of Nepal Custom and Airport Laborers Union. For the last 70 days, the Union has been protesting against the government move to sack nearly 300 employees working at TIA after the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane, IC-814. The Labor Union has been demanding reinstatement of the sacked staff hired on daily wage basis. Meanwhile, exporters have said the strike would hamper the country's exports seriously. Compiled from reports July 23.

Dead Bodies of Three Nepali Workers Return Home

Bodies of two Nepali workers have been brought back to Kathmandu from Saudi Arabia on Thursday night. According to the Tribhuvan International Airport customs, the dead have been identified as Ganesh Bahadur Karki and Birmani Khulal, both from eastern district of Morang. The body of one Junge Sarki also arrived on Friday night. The full identity and address of Sarki could not be known. The causes of their deaths were not immediately known. Officials say most of the overseas workers are treated inhumanly in the Gulf countries and sent home without compensation if they meet with an accident. Compiled from reports July 23.

Bagmati Irrigation Project Imcomplete Even After Two Decades

The Bagmati Irrigation Project (BIP), that aimed to irrigate some 122,000 hectares of land in five terai districts in central Nepal and generate 140 MW of power, remains incomplete even after 22 years. The project has been able to irrigate only 10,000 hectares of land in Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Mahottari and Dhanusha districts so far. Senior Divisional Engineer Rakesh Kumar Jha said the project is working so as to expand irrigation in additional 20,876 hectares of land in Sarlahi and Rautahat districts within the next couple of years. According to Jha, the project could not take off as expected, as the government could not mobilize foreign aid for the project due to protests from the Indian government. It was only in 1987 that the Saudi Development Fund agreed to provide loan to the project. Later Japanese Debt Relief Fund provided a grant assistance of Rs 114.3 million and UNDP provided a grant worth Rs 13.9 million. The total project cost of the first component under the first phase of the project has been around Rs 3.82 billion, officials said. Kantipur July 20.

Budgetary Deficit Up, BoP Favorable

The budgetary deficit went higher as a consequence of sluggishness in resource mobilization in comparison to government expenditure in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year 1999/2000, Nepal Rastra Bank said. According to the Bank, the government expenditure increased by 13.1 percent amounting to Rs 47,032.0 million during the review period compared to 10.3 percent in the preceding year. Of the total expenditure, development expenditure increased by 14.9 percent, regular expenditure by 11.5 percent, and freeze expenditure by 44.1 percent. On the external front, exports and imports both registered respective growths of 44.1 percent to Rs 16,892.3 million and 23.1 percent to Rs 97,155.6 million. Based on the available statistics for the first nine months of the fiscal year 1999/00, balance of payment remained favorable by Rs 10,412.4 million. During this period, foreign exchange holdings of the banking system increased by 24.3 percent to Rs 92,061.8 million as of mid-June 2000, the Bank said. Gorkhapatra July 23.

6,000 Temporary Govt. Employees Sacked

At least 6,000 government employees, working under temporary and daily-wage basis, have been sacked by Tuesday as per the government's policy not to hire temporary and daily wage staff. According to the Ministry of General Administration, all these employees have been automatically relieved of their jobs with effect from July 16 as per the directive issued by the Ministry of Finance. According to the information compiled by the Ministry, 2500 staff from Nepal Water Supply and Sanitation Corporation, 300 from Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, 70 from Radio Nepal and nearly 2000 from different government offices outside Kathmandu have been removed from their posts. Interestingly, nearly 1000 temporary staff serving at different banks under the Finance Ministry are still working at their offices. The Ministry has estimated that the total number of such staff may be up to 20,000. Kantipur July 19.

Govt. To Set Up A Kamaiya Welfare Trust

After emancipating kamaiyas (bonded laborers) from their debt and masters last week, the government is going to set up a Kamaiya Welfare Trust (KWT), a senior official said. Minister for Land Reforms and Management Siddha Raj Ojha has said the Fund, to be headed by President of the respective District Development Committees, would be responsible for channeling the funds provided for the rehabilitation of the kamaiyas. Earlier, the Minister had said the government was going to introduce a bill in the on-going session of the Parliament banning the practice of kamaiya. The government's decision is expected to benefit at least 16,000 kamaiya families in five western districts of Nepal, officials said. NGOs put the figures to be at least double the official figures. Compiled from reports July 20.

Dairy Corporation Defends Hike In Milk Price

General Manager of the state-owned Nepal Dairy Development Corporation (NDDC) Krishna Prasad Sharma has said the recent decision of the Corporation to raise the price of milk will benefit the farmers." Out of Rs two raised in each liter, the Corporation will get 65 paisa, 15 paisa will go to the milk collecting cooperatives, 20 paisa will go to dairy booths and Rs one will go to the farmers," said Sharma. Earlier, the Corporation had to bear a loss of 75 paisa in the sales of each liter of milk, he said. The revised price of standard milk and whole milk, that has come into effect since Thursday, stands at Rs 22 and Rs 26 per liter respectively. Nepal Dairy Association has, however, protested the Corporation's decision saying that it would hit the consumers. Compiled from reports July 22.

150 Nepal Bound Containers Drowned In Bay Of Bengal

At least 150 Nepal bound containers drowned in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday afternoon as a ship submerged into the sea, nearly 90 km away from Calcutta port in India, after breaking into several pieces, RADIO SAGARMATHA , a public radio station, reported on Wednesday evening. The Radio quoted Akhil Chapagain, co-chair of the Trade and Import committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) as saying that Indian authorities managed to recover nearly 50 containers submerged in the sea. He said that Nepal would have earned at least NRs 100 million as revenue if the cargo had entered Nepal. The cargo, which was insured by the importers, included raw materials for different industries in Nepal. HIMALAYA TIMES daily reported today that the Nepal-bound cargo was worth around Rs 300 million. Nepali officials haven't commented on the incident as yet. Compiled from reports July 20.

Donors Say Melamchi Will Be A Reality

Donors participating in a public hearing on the much-talked about Melamchi Water Supply Project here on Wednesday have assured that there will be no dearth of funding for the ambitious project. "Melamchi will definitely come," said Arthur Mcintosh, head of an Asian Development Bank mission. ADB is coordinating the consortium of donors who have agreed to finance the US$ 340 million project. Mcintosh made it clear that those using more water will have to pay more. Director of the Melamchi Water Development Board, Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel, said the water tariff might go up, upon the completion of the project in 2006, to an average of Rs 32 per 1000 liters. Consumers in the Nepali capital are now paying less than Rs 16 per 1000 liters of water supplied by the state-owned Nepal Water Supply Corporation. The World Bank remained absent in the Wednesday's all-important meeting, for the second time over the last six months. Compiled from reports July 20.