BRIEFS (Spotlight Weekly)

King gyanendra grants audience to former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

PRIME MINISTER SHER Bahadur Deuba has hoped that the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) would contribute toward alleviating poverty through broad sustainable economic growth, good governance and targeted programs, among others. He was addressing the meeting of National Development Council here last week. The plan, to come into force from the next fiscal year (2002/03), aims to bring down the number of people living below the line of poverty from 38 percent at present to 30 percent and double the economic growth to over 6 percent. Addressing the program, leader of the main opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal said there was a need to review the past periodic plans and bring in programs to utilize available resources to the maximum and control rampant corruption. Of the total government expenditure estimated at Rs 535 billion (over the next five years), social sector will draw the biggest chunk (38.5 percent), followed by agriculture (25 percent), electricity (18.3 percent) and transport and communications (17.6 percent), officials at the National Planning Commission said.

ONE DOZEN PEOPLE died when a bus heading to Bardiya in western Nepal from Kathmandu hit a jeep ferrying local passengers at Bijaynagar along the Mahendra highway in Nawalparasi district Wednesday morning. According to Police, five passengers died on the spot whereas seven more died while undergoing treatment. Eight people injured in the accident are undergoing treatment at nearby Bharatpur hospital.

TEN LEFT PARTIES, including the main opposition Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), have condemned the underground Maoist outfit for their acts of murder and violence. They also condemned the government for ìvictimizing the cadres of the opposition parties,î and have demanded their immediate release. The left parties also flayed the government's recent decision to hike prices of daily commodities and essential goods including petroleum products.

SECURITY FORCES GUNNED down half a dozen Maoist insurgents this weekend during their on-going search operation, authorities said. According to the Defense Ministry, three Maoists were killed at Jogbudha in the far-western district of Dadeldhura and two more at Kumalgaon in the western district of Lamjung on Wednesday. Security forces also took into custody ten more people for interrogation. On Thursday, one more Maoist insurgent was killed at Chunwang area in mid-western district of Rukum—a Maoist stronghold. Security forces also took into custody 14 others along with 40 suspects from different parts of the kingdom.

THE FEDERATION OF NEPALESE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCIS) have signed on an agreement to constitute a Joint Economic Council (JEC) in order to expand bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries. The Council will have six members each from the two Federations and Presidents of the two Federations will carry out presidency of the JEC alternatively. President of FNCCI Ravi Bhakta Shrestha and FCCIS President Macky Hashim signed the agreement last week.

A SECRETARIAT OF THE National Security Council (NSC) has formally started its operations at the Ministry of Defense from Thursday, Kantipur daily reported. The Council has appointed Defense Secretary Padam Kumar Acharya as its convener and ëupa rathi' at the Royal Nepalese Army headquarters Rukmangat Katuwal as its co-convenor. Two more senior army officers, Kumar Budhathoki and Ramesh Bista, have been deputed to work in the Secretariat. The Secretariat will draw more staff from the civil service, army, police and National Intelligence Department, the report said.

THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT has provided an assistance equivalent to Rs 520 million to the state-owned Nepal Television (NTV) to construct necessary infrastructure to run its Metro Channel. NTV will have a separate Metro Channel for the Kathmandu valley after completion of the project within one year. Under the project, two ultra-modern studios covering an area of about 3,900 square meters are to be constructed along with a 72-meter high transmission tower. A 5 KW transmitter will also be installed for broadcasting.

THE STATE-OWNED NEPAL Electricity Authority (NEA) and a consortium of Korean consultants Hyundai Engg. Company and Korea Water Resources Corporation, under the technical assistance of Korea Int'l Cooperation Agency (KOICA), have completed the detailed design and tender document preparation work of the Chameliya hydroelectric project. Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Ryoo See-ya, handed over the documents to Managing Director of NEA, Bishnu Bam Malla, last week. The 30 MW project, envisaged to be implemented through the joint financing of South Korean government, the OPEC Fund, HMG/Nepal and NEA, is estimated to cost US$ 75 million and is scheduled to be completed by 2006. Located in Darchula district in the far-western development region, the annual average energy generation from the project will be 184 GWh and the generated power will be evacuated through 131 km long, 132 KV transmission line from the power station to Attariya sub-station in Kailali district, NEA officials said.