NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

NC Gives Free Hand To Deuba

The central working committee of the ruling Nepali Congress has given a "free hand" to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold talks with the underground Maoist rebels. The meeting held in Kathmandu Friday morning "granted permission to Premier Deuba to move ahead with the process for peace talks by supporting his initiative and attempt for a peaceful resolution to the Maoist problem." Upon assuming office last month, Deuba called upon the rebels to stop all their violent activities to which the latter responded positively. Since then, both the government and rebels have been freeing people under their custody. Reports said the Congress high command even dropped the condition of talks to be held within the sphere of the constitution "in order to create a conducive environment for talks." The Maoist party had launched its violent ‘people’s war’ in early 1996 with a view to overthrowing the country’s constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy and turning Nepal into a ‘people’s republic’. Compiled from reports.

Left Students Burn Effigy

Student activists affiliated to the main opposition CPN-UML carried out a protest rally in the capital Friday and burnt an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in protest against the construction of Rasiyawal-Khurda-Lautan bund on Indian territory close to the border with Nepal in the western terai. The activists said the construction of the barrage, if completed, could result in inundation of a number of villages in the Nepalese side, including Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. The protest rally concluded peacefully. Nepal Samacharpatra Aug. 3.

Joint Team To Inspect Rasiyawal Bund

Experts from Nepal and India will jointly carry out inspection of the construction of the controversial Rasiyawal-Khurdlautan bund being constructed by India in its territory only 500 meters away from the Indo-Nepal border, reports said. Minister for Water Resources Bijaya Gachhadar confirmed that officials from both the sides will make an on the site visit and discuss the issue within the next few days. He said that Nepal has already requested the Indian government to make arrangements so that there would be no blockage in the natural flow of the river. A Nepalese technical team has already been dispatched to visit the site and report to the Ministry. Reports say up to 18 Village Development Committees on the Nepalese side face inundation, affecting more than 100,000 people, once the construction of the barrage is completed. Compiled from reports Aug. 2.

Campaign To Attract Indian Tourists Extended

Indian tourists

Amid a downturn in Indian tourists visiting Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has announced an extension of the Nepal Festival of Life, a promotional campaign targeted at Indian tourists, for another two months. Pradip Raj Pandey, Chief Executive Officer of the board hoped that the program would send the message to Indian visitors that Nepal always welcomes them. The hijacking of Indian Airlines plane on Christmas eve in 1999, the Hirithik Roshan episode last year and the royal palace tragedy on June 1 are said to have contributed to the decline in arrivals of Indian tourists, who make up nearly one third of total tourist arrivals in Nepal by air. Compiled from reports Aug. 3.

Nepal-Bhutan Talks Later This Month

The 11th ministerial level meeting between Nepal and Bhutan is to take place in Thimpu between August 20 and 22, a newspaper report said Saturday, quoting official sources. According to Nepal Samacharpatra daily, the meeting will discuss the issue of expedition of verification process of the Bhutanese refugees residing in eastern Nepal for more than a decade. A joint team is conducting verification of the refugees — to determine their nationality — for the last few months. Refugee leaders say it will take several years to determine the nationality of nearly 100,000 refugees in the camps if the verification is carried out at the current pace. As Premier Deuba holds the foreign portfolio at present, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat — who has already headed Shital Niwas briefly — will lead the Nepalese delegation to Thimpu later this month, the report said. Meanwhile, human rights activists, government officials, and refugee representatives have called for speedy verification of the Bhutanese refugees. They have called for a speedy, transparent and time-bound verification to solve the decade-long refugee stalemate. The participants were speaking at a seminar on the theme " Bhutanese refugee problems and verification process" organized by GRINSO-Nepal, a Nepalese human rights group. Compiled from reports.

Bridge Starts Crumbling

A bridge over Kawasoti River along the East-West highway in Nawalparasi district has started to crumble less than two months after it was opened to traffic. Constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 30 million under grant assistance from DFID, the overseas assistance arm of the British government, the 103 m x 10 m long bridge was completed within the stipulated period of 20 months. But the slabs on the upper part of the bridge have crumbled. Chairman of Kawasoti VDC, Narayan Timilsina, has demanded that the quality of the bridge be checked and the contractor, Sharma and Company, be taken to task. Chief of Western-4 No. Division Road Office at Butwal, Guru Prasad Dhakal, however, said his office could not comment on the issue as the bridge was constructed under foreign grant and design. Kantipur July 29.

Nepal Self-Reliant In Poultry

Nepal has become self-reliant in the production of chicken and eggs, experts said. The annual production of chicken in Nepal is nearly 35,000 metric tons. According to Nepal Poultry Farmers Association, more than Rs 25 billion has been invested in poultry business in 42 out of 75 districts in the country. About 55,000 families depend on poultry farming as their main source of income, studies said. RSS news agency reports July 29.

Mr. Subedi

Prof. Subedi Nepali Candidate For UNLC

The Nepalese government has nominated Dr. Surya Subedi, professor of international law at the Middlesex University of the United Kingdom for the post of member of the United Nations Law Commission. The 56th United Nations General Assembly will elect the members to the prestigious commission later this year. Expressing his gratitude toward Nepal and Nepalese people for his nomination, Prof. Subedi said his victory would be a victory for Nepal. The 43-year-old lawyer said if elected, he would work toward ensuring international support in protecting the interests of landlocked countries like Nepal in international law. Kantipur, August 2.