BRIEFS (Spotlight Weekly)

THE CONSUMPTION OF FUELWOOD is rising in the Everest region, experts said. According to Dr. Pitamber Sharma of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), 9.2 metric tons of fuelwood was consumed daily by the lodges in the Everest region in 1999. The impact of mountain tourism in Nepal is manifest in the increased demand for fuelwood and timber, increased pollution and generation of bio non-degradable garbage and changes in the land use. In spite of the requirement of using alternate fuel by group trekkers, the consumption of fuelwood is still quite considerable in all trekking areas, he said.

MINISTER OF STATE FOR Labor Surendra Hamal will be leading a Nepali delegation to the 88th session of the ILO to be held in Geneva during May 30-June 15, 2000 . The delegation will include Secretary at the Ministry of Labor and President of Nepal Trade Union Congress Laxman Basnet. Rajendra K. Khetan, President of the Employers' Council of FNCCI, will represent Nepal on behalf of the employers. Besides assessing tripartite relations in the member countries, the ILO meet will discuss issues including Child Labor, Right to form trade unions, safety and health conditions at work, industrial relations, acts and laws related to employers and employees.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS CONSTITUTED different committees with a view to assisting the Council of Ministers in executing its work by adjusting the scope of work of the Ministries, which have been reorganized recently. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers for Defense, Water Resources, Home, Foreign Affairs, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Local Development are in the political committee which will see the whole political scenario of the country. Similarly, the Economic Committee, Development Committee, Social Committee, Administration Committee and Bill Committee have been formed to look after concerned sectors.

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS HAS decided to immediately dismiss all employees other than those appointed to the duly created posts in the government bodies and state-owned organizations, Prime Minister's Office said on Friday. According to the decision, if the SOOs have to appoint employees on daily wage basis for jobs, which are seasonal in nature, they should do it at the recommendation of the board of directors, and after the approval of the ministry concerned. Such appointments should remain valid for a specific period on the basis of propriety. Similarly, the government has also decided that the Ministers should regularly inform or authorize some others to inform the general public about the government policy, decisions and activities regarding the works of the ministers.

A HUGE CAVE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED at Mulkot village in Halwar VDC of mid-western district of Dang. Known as `Chamere Gufa,' the cave is 110 meter high, 75 meter long, 175 meter round and the length of the floor is 30 meter. Situated at a height of 1800 meter from sea level, the inner part of the cave is engraved with images of animals and deities.

SAFA TEMPO
Good Impressions

People view SAFA tempo as good

A survey conducted by Martin Chautari, a Kathmandu-based non-governmental organization promoting clean vehicles, some 30 Safa tempo owners selected at random basis suggest that they view the prospects of Safa tempo as good. Majority of Safa tempo owners are satisfied with performance of Safa tempos. Safa tempo owners are earning on an average 700-1200 ryupees per day. In general, owners seem to be sensitive about the maintenance of Safa tempos and owners or their relatives are taking care of Safa tempos. There are few cases where regular inspections of Safa tempos have not been done and in such cases problems in operation of Safa tempos have appeared. More than 90 per cent of the respondents said that they are satisfied with driver's performance. In most of the cases, owners have kept drivers.

In response to what they view as the sensitive part in Safa tempo operation, most pointed towards batteries. From the very beginning, issues of battery maintenance and disposal have afflicted the Safa tempo business. There are cases of owners becoming bankrupt owing to ignorance and negligence on the part of owners and drivers about batteries maintenance and management. Learning from those mistakes, owners are becoming more cautious towards batteries management. Majority of owners cited deteriorating environmental quality of Kathmandu valley as the reason for entering into Safa business.