NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Home Ministry Announces Relief Measures

A senior government official has said that Rs 750,000 is being provided to the family of each security personnel and Rs 150,000 to any member of the general public killed by the Maoists. Minister of State for Home Devendra Raj Kandel told reporters Friday that if the fixed and mobile assets of a person have been damaged in Maoist attacks, compensation would be provided on the basis of a set criteria after the concerned Chief District Officer (CDO) assesses the loss. Provision has been made to provide displacement allowances at the rate of Rs 100 a day on the recommendation of the CDO to persons displaced from the district headquarters. Similarly, in coordination with the Health Ministry, the Home Ministry is making payments in accordance with receipts for the treatment of injured persons in government hospitals and Rs 75 a day to an attendant. Rs 5,000 is provided in one installment for treatment in the first stage. Nearly 2,300 people including 524 policemen, 443 civilians and more than 1,318 insurgents have died since the Maoist violence began six years ago, the Home Ministry said. RSS news agency reports Feb. 3.

Govt. Issues Directives For Madrassas

The Nepalese government has asked all Madrassas, or Islamic religious schools, estimated to be around 500 across the country, to get registered with the local authorities. The government has asked Madrassas and other private-sector schools to make compulsory submission of their income and expenditure at the concerned District Administration Office no later than mid-March this year. In a statement issued here Friday, the Home Ministry said institutions yet to be registered as per the prevailing law should do so within the stipulated time or face legal action. This is the first time that the government has made it mandatory for Madrassas to get registered and disclose their sources of income to the authorities. Compiled from reports Feb. 3.

Police Inspector Killed, Two DIGs Escape Unhurt

Two policemen, including a police inspector, were killed and seven others injured when a vehicle carrying them was caught in a landmine explosion caused by suspected Maoists. Police Inspector Govinda Poudel and a policeman died in the ambush, as they were travelling from Damauli to Khairenitar in the western district of Tanahun Thursday afternoon. The explosion took place minutes after a vehicle carrying two senior police officers, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Kumar Koirala and DIG of Armed Police Force Basudev Oli had crossed the site. The explosion seems to have been targeted against them, Kantipur daily reported Friday. Security forces immediately sealed the Damauli-Pokhara section of the highway and launched an operation to nab the insurgents. Compiled from reports Feb. 1.

Over 2,000 HIV/AIDS Cases In Nepal

The National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control has said an estimated 2,100 HIV/AIDS cases have been recorded in the country since it was first detected some 15 years ago. Nearly 150 people have died of the disease. According to the center, in 2001 alone, 324 new HIV cases were detected, 60 of them being women. Nearly 400 new cases were detected in the year 2000. The center said that over 1,500 men and nearly 600 women were infected by HIV virus of which nearly 450 persons had full-blown AIDS. The center said the most common cause of the spread of the disease is unprotected sex, followed by the use of intravenous drugs. The center said people in the 20-39 age group constituted the majority of the HIV-infected population. Independent studies, however, suggest that over 30,000 people may have been infected from the HIV virus in Nepal. Compiled from reports Feb. 1.

Officials Raid Manpower Agencies And Shops

Coinciding with the voluntary disclosure of income scheme launched by the government, officials from the Internal Revenue Department (IRD) on Wednesday raided half a dozen manpower agencies to probe into their alleged evasion of taxes. The officials raided offices of Lumbini Overseas, Apollo Manpower, The Gurkha Re-employment, SOS Manpower, Middle East Manpower and Gulf Manpower companies and seized documents of the past three years for investigation. Similarly, revenue officials raided some up-market shops at famous shopping complexes including R. B. Complex, Pashupati Plaza, Suraj Arcade and Bishal Bazar. Most of the shops in New Road and surrounding area pulled down their shutters Wednesday evening in protest against the raids. Kantipur daily reports.

Editor Shrestha Released

Police have released editor of pro-left Jana Astha weekly, Kishore Shrestha, after keeping him in custody for more than 24 hours last Wednesday. He was arrested from his office at Baghbazar on Tuesday evening. Talking to BBC after his release, Shrestha said he was kept at an underground room of the ward police office at Singha Durbar. "I was neither asked to make any statement nor was I told why I was arrested," Shrestha said. Shrestha was released after a number of human rights and media organizations, and opposition CPN (ML) party protested against his arrest and demanded his immediate release. Security personnel had tried to arrest Shrestha immediately after the declaration of the state of emergency, in connection with a news item, quoting Sahara, an Indian daily, saying that Indian armed forces had entered Nepal. Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has said the government has taken into custody over 50 journalists and media personnel since the declaration of emergency. Some one dozen journalists, said to be affiliated to the underground Maoist party, have been sent to jail. Compiled from reports Jan. 31.

23 Maoists, Four Policemen Killed

Twenty-one armed Maoist guerrillas were killed at Sankranti bazaar in the eastern hilly district of Tehrathum during an hours-long gunbattle with security forces on Sunday. Two more insurgents were killed the following day, authorities said. According to the Defense Ministry, three more insurgents were taken into custody along with a huge cache of weapons and explosives. Security forces also took into custody 38 people from the area for interrogation, the report said. In a separate incident, four policemen including Superintendent of Police Ram Binay Singh were killed when Maoist insurgents ambushed the jeep and caused a landmine explosion at Fulbari VDC in Kailali district Monday morning, Home Ministry said. Seven policemen were injured in the incident. An army lieutenant, Kiran Shah, died after falling off a cliff in the remote northern district of Kalikot, the Defense Ministry said. Compiled from reports Jan. 29.

`Country Heading Toward Economic Crisis'

A top government official has warned that the country is heading toward economic crisis if the present trend continues. Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dr. Tilak Rawal, told a parliamentary committee Monday that Nepal could fall into an unprecedented economic crisis in the next six months if the current trend of economic slowdown is not reversed soon. Dr. Rawal said the country would not be able to bear import expenses if the current situation of balance of payments continued. Replying to queries by the members of Finance Committee of the parliament, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat also accepted that the national economy was passing through a very critical stage. He, however, expressed hope that economy would revive soon. Leading dailies report Jan. 29.

Pashmina Export Witnesses Slump

Export of pashmina (fine woolen shawls) has declined by over 80 percent in the first five months of this fiscal year compared to the same period last year, a recent report said. Consequently, over 80 percent of an estimated 1,500 pashmina factory owners have been forced to close down their shops, entrepreneurs said. According to Handicraft Association of Nepal (HAN), Nepal exported pashmina worth nearly Rs 820 million in the first five months of the current fiscal year 2001/02 compared to Rs 4,460 million over the same period last year. In the last two years, Nepal's annual export of pashmina had crossed over Rs 5,500 million mark. Export of low-quality pashmina from Nepal and the slump in the international markets are mainly responsible for the decline, entrepreneurs said. Himalaya Times Jan. 28.

NC Urged To Start Bid To Amend Constitution

The opposition Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has asked the government to take the initiative toward amending the constitution. "The nature and complexity of the country's problems require a minimum consensus from all political parties and toward that end we have decided to propose the government to take a few more steps," RPP spokesperson Kamal Thapa said during an interaction program organized by the party in the capital Monday. Thapa further said the RPP has decided to propose the government to make some changes in the constitution, mobilize the Royal Nepal Army and other security forces in a coordinated manner to fight terrorism, work toward bringing the Maoists in the mainstream of national politics, provide reservations to Dalits (so-called untouchables) and other backward communities, among others. RPP President Surya Bahadur Thapa said that his party had decided to extend support to the grand democratic alliance proposed by ruling Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala as "the country was on the verge of collapse." He did not elaborate. Compiled from reports.

`Do Not Issue Licenses Randomly'

A senior government official has criticized the state-owned monopoly Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for its ad hoc decisions. Addressing an interaction here Saturday, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said the NEA should not strike power deals with everyone and issue licenses randomly. He also attributed the expensive power tariff in the country to the practice of entering into Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) in foreign currency and to weak administration. He said India was the most viable market to export power from Nepal. Dr. Mahat was addressing a program on the need to implement the Upper Tamakoshi (Rolwaling) Hydropower Project. The 250 MW project based in Dolakha is estimated to cost US$ 277 million. The power would cost 2.4 cent per unit, studies said. Gorkhapatra Feb. 3.