Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

KING GYANENDRA HAS, upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, issued a directive to manage the four-month-old state of emergency, state-controlled Radio Nepal said Thursday morning quoting a communiqu issued by the Principal Press Secretariat of the Royal Palace. As per the directive, issued in accordance with Article 115(7) of the constitution, seminars, meetings, political activities and news dissemination could be conducted and comments could be made in a way that would not help the terrorist activities, directly or indirectly. But the directive has prohibited public comments that could affect the morale of the security agencies, directly or indirectly. The directive has also authorized the government to depute, transfer or temporarily hire employees during the period of emergency.

THE GROWTH IN REVENUE collection in the first eight months of the current fiscal year has registered a nominal growth of 3 percent, as against the target of 25 percent growth, Kantipur daily reported quoting a report prepared by the Finance Ministry. Till mid-March this year, the total revenue collected stood at Rs2,910 million. The sum is only 48 percent of the target of collecting 60 billion by the end of this fiscal year (mid-July). Chief of the Revenue Department at the Ministry, Bhoj Raj Ghimire, said they hoped to collect up to 54 billion rupees by the end of this fiscal year.

AMID THE FALLOUT OF the September 11 attacks on the US last year and upsurge in Maoist insurgency back home, the number of tourists visiting Nepal continues to fall, authorities said. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of tourists visiting Nepal by air in March declined by over 42 percent this year compared to the same period last year. Only 22,300 tourists visited Nepal last month. According to the board, the decline in tourist arrivals in the months of January and February, too, was above 45 percent.

A FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT has been signed between Social Welfare Council (SWC), the Interplast Foundation of Germany and Sushma Koirala Memorial Trust (SKMT) on running the Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital at Sankhu in Kathmandu. Under the agreement, the German foundation is to provide a financial assistance of Rs 135.54 million for running the hospital. The hospital will provide plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery services to patients from all over the country, RSS news agency reported. The hospital, named after late wife of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, will also provide training to Nepalese surgeons and nurses, general medical and emergency services, 24-hour ambulance service and organize primary health education and health camps.

FIVE DAYS AFTER Maoist guerrillas bombed and destroyed the US$ 20 million, 12-MW power plant at Jhimruk in the mid-western district of Pyuthan, power has been supplied temporarily from Andhikhola hydel project to Khalanga, district headquarter of Pyuthan, reports said. According to Pyuthan district branch of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), power from 5 MW Andhikhola Project located in Syangja is connected to the district headquarters until the Jhimruk powerhouse is repaired. They said it would take sometime to re-generate power from the Jhimruk Project. Pyuthan and neighboring districts remain without power because of the destruction of at least Rs 50 million worth of property of the project owned by the Butwal Power Company.

THE USE OF KEROSENE instead of diesel in heavy vehicles has resulted in a drastic drop in the sale of diesel and an increase in the sale of kerosene in the eastern part of the country. According to the Eastern Regional Office of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the office sold 28.225 million liters of diesel in the first six months of the last fiscal year. But in the first six months of this year, the sale has dropped to 26.172 million liters. During the same period the sale of kerosene, however increased by 9.8 million liters. Due to the price difference between diesel and kerosene, many vehicle owners prefer to use kerosene. Vehicle owners say that this practice does damage the vehicle, but the savings made by using kerosene instead of diesel is more than the cost of vehicle damage. Kerosene is sold in the market at a price of Rs. 17 per liter, whereas the price of diesel is Rs. 26.50. The government is providing a subsidy of Rs. 4 per liter of kerosene because it is assumed that the poor use kerosene as cooking fuel. However, the use of kerosene for transportation is a misuse of this subsidy and is causing environmental problems.