NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Regional Admn. Officesx Set Up

The government has set up regional administration offices in each of the five development regions of the country. The offices, set up in Dhankuta, Hetauda, Pokhara, Surkhet and Dipayal, are headed by special-class officers of the government. Talking to reporters in the capital Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said the regional administrators will be primarily responsible for coordinating development- and security-related agencies in the region. Asked about the fate of the ordinances to set up the Armed Police Force and amend the Local Administration Act, which provides for the appointment of regional administrators, Poudel said the government would explore other alternatives if the current session of the parliament failed to pass those ordinances. He did not elaborate. The government had decided to set up the Armed Police Force and appoint regional administrators as a way of containing the five-year-old Maoist insurgency. Compiled from reports March 24.

Sanitation Campaign Launched

To mark World Water Day (March 22), the government announced a five-year national sanitation campaign. The initiative, to be implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), aims at generating a positive impact on healthy living, especially for children. Lack of adequate sanitation is considered one of the major causes of death of nearly 28,000 children in Nepal every year. The officials launched the national sanitation action week covering nearly 1,000 village development committees in the country. The week is part of the five-year advocacy and social mobilization campaign that aims at raising public awareness at the village level to construct and use latrines. Only 27 percent of the 23 million people in Nepal have access to latrines at their houses. Authorities expect that at the end of the campaign, at least 800,000 families in Nepal will construct and use permanent and sanitary latrines and adopt a sanitary and hygienic lifestyle. Director-General at the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Sohan Sunder Shrestha, said the government would encourage villagers to construct and use low-cost, affordable latrines. He said such atrines could be constructed at a per-unit cost of nearly US$30. Compiled from reports March 23.

Five Left Parties Announce Programs

Five left parties, including the main opposition UML, agreed Thursday to launch a joint nationwide protest program to force Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to resign. The rightist Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which had joined hands with the communists in the parliament in demanding the prime minister’s resignation, however, said it would not take part in the street protests. UML leader K.P. Oli said the protest programs would not be affected even if the RPP did not join. "We had successfully launched the people’s movement (in 1990) even in their absence," Oli said. The RPP was formed after the movement. Compiled from reports March 24.

NSP Wants Amendments To Ordinances

Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) has said it could support the ordinances on Armed Police Force (APF) and Local Administration amendment Act if some amendments were made. During a press meet organized here Thursday, President of NSP Gajendra Narayan Singh said the power delegated to the regional administrators by the proposed bills could be misused to suppress the opposition. He also demanded that the five development regions of the country be re-demarcated on the basis of their geographical and cultural proximity. The NSP said it could help the government to run parliament if its demands were met. NSP lawmakers were boycotting the House for the last few days after the speaker included the bills on the agenda. The House has failed to function as the entire opposition remained absent. Analysts say if the government could persuade the NSP to be present in the House, it could pass the bills, as the ruling party enjoys a majority in the lower house of parliament. Compiled from reports March 24.

Fire Controlled In Sagarmatha Park

The forest fire that engulfed a huge area of forest in the Sagarmatha national park, at the foothills of Mount Everest, has been brought under control. Officials said their efforts to put out the fire succeeded after a week’s effort. No major damage to wildlife was recorded. A police official at the Area Police Office in Solukhumbu said the fire was brought under control Wednesday afternoon through the joint efforts of police, army, forest officials and local people. The fire, which broke out last Thursday, had engulfed over 3,000 square feet of forest. Officials said burning cigarettes left behind by local people who sneak into restricted forest area to collect fodder might have caused the fire. The park houses several wild fauna, including deer and lophophorus. Officials said their efforts to put out fire were hampered by lack of specialized equipment. Hundreds of people dug pits in the ground and threw mud on the burning trees and bushes. Light snowfall on Tuesday also helped the firefighters. Thousands of hectares of forests are destroyed by fire in Nepal each year. Compiled from reports March 22.

Utility Offices To Open On Sunday

The government has decided to open public utility offices, including drinking water supply, electricity, telecommunications, and financial offices and banks from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to Friday effective April 14, 2001, RSS news agency reported. A decision to this effect has been taken with a view to reduce growing vehicular movement in Kathmandu valley at one particular time and render services to the people in a smooth manner, the Ministry of Information and Communications said. The government had enforced a two-day weekend in all government offices in the capital valley since mid-August last year. Compiled from reports March 22.

Maoists Call 'Bandh'

The underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has called a nationwide shutdown strike on April 6 as part of its agitation against the G.P. Koirala-led government. In a statement, the chairman of the party, Comrade Prachanada, accused the government of ignoring his party’s recent proposal to form an interim government by including all the major political forces in the country. The Maoist proposal has been seen here as their desire to take part in parliamentary politics, albeit with some reservations. Compiled from reports March 22.