Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

THE HOME MINISTRY HAS FORMED A TEAM led by joint secretary Narayan Gopal Malegu to investigate the incidents of disappearances and submit report within a month. The team was formed in response to the indefinite hunger strike staged by four mothers in Ratnapark who charged the government of disappearing their sons. After the human rights activists met with the fasting mothers on Thursday and apprised them of the government decision, they suspended their strike.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS APPOINTED NEPAL BANGLADESH BANK (NBB) to manage the Power Development Fund (PDF). The representatives of the Bank and Department of Electricity Development signed an agreement to this effect on Tuesday. The fund has been set up by the government in cooperation with the World Bank in lieu of the cancelled Arun III project. The PDF will provide funds to develop small and medium scale hydroelectricity projects up to 50 MW in strength. The World Bank has already provided US$ 35 million to the fund. Hydroelectricity analysts have said that the setting up of the PDF could prove to be a milestone in the hydro development of Nepal.

THE NEPAL GOVERNMENT AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA have signed an agreement to ‘modify and amend’ the Letter of Agreement (LoA) on anti-corruption and law enforcement between the two countries. The USA will provide US$ 280,000 to the government to establish and support a project to foster a better legal environment for the prevention of trafficking in persons. Dr. Madhav Prasad Ghimire, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, and Janet Bogue, Charge d’Affaires at the American Embassy signed the pact on Monday (June 28). The LoA has been first signed by the two countries on February 1, 2002.

AT A TIME WHEN MANY NEPALESE WORKERS overseas are finding it difficult to send their hard-earned money back home through official channels, the Postal Service Department has taken initiatives to facilitate it. The department is communicating with 15 major overseas working destinations of Nepalese workers to establish the system. In case of some countries, the department has already reached into agreement and has started serving. According to Shreedhar Gautam, director general of the department, sending remittances through the department, which has reached into agreement with postal services of other countries, would be safe and smooth. According to him, an interested person needs to approach postal department of a particular country and fill up a form wishing to send money to Nepal. The postal department of that country would, then, send the money to its Nepalese counterpart, which would again distribute the money to concerned families at villages through its 520 branches spread across the country. Out of the 15 countries, the department has already reached into agreement with four including Thailand, Qatar, Jordan and India. With India the agreement was in place for the last two decades. The postal departments of both the countries will impose 1 percent service charge. Other countries with which the department is trying to negotiate include South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, America, Japan, Hong Kong and UAE.

THE FIRST DAY OF THE OPENING of the sales – on Saturday (July 3) - of pre-paid SIM cards of mobiles phones by the Nepal Telecom saw unprecedented crowd with 15,000 being sold on the single day. The Nepal Telecom had opened the sales of new SIM cards for pre-paid by launching 50,000 new lines. Authorities expect that given the response from the customers, all of these lines would be sold within days. According to Madan Kaji Shakya, director of New Services Directorate of the Nepal Telecom, said that they have already started homework to introduce more lines in future.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS INTRODUCED NEW guidelines/working regulations to regulate the conduction of the domestic and international airlines. According to the guidelines, a company can get the license to operate domestic/international sector within 30 days after completing necessary procedures. The guideline has segregated airline companies in three areas; domestic, international and recreational purpose. To the domestic airlines, the guideline fixes the minimum paid-up capital to be at Rs 100 million. The international airlines needs to have the paid-up capital of Rs 500 million. The recreational airlines need to have Rs 2.5 million as paid-up capital, according to the guideline.

THE FIFTH AGRICULTURAL CENSUS RELEASED BY THE Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) states that there are 3.364 million households in Nepal that are engaged in farming profession. Over 2.654 million hectares of land are used for farming – 200,000 hectares in mountainous region; 1 million hectare in hilly region; and 1.4 million hectares in Terai region. According to deputy director of CBS Dr. Narayan Hari Gajurel, only 1.998 million agricultural households enjoy irrigation facilities. In total, only 1.168 million hectares of farmland receive irrigation. The agriculture sector contributes to around 40 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over 80 percent of the country’s total population are engaged – directly or indirectly – in agriculture.

THE FRENCH EMBASSY IN KATHMANDU HAS written a letter to Nepalese authorities through the consular section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and expressed concern over the delay in the verdict on the case of Charles Gurumukh Sobhraj. A French national and suspected international serial killer Sobhraj is awaiting court verdict on the criminal case pending against him. He has spent nine months in the Nepal Central Jail. The French concern comes at a time when the Kathmandu district court is preparing to issue final verdict in the case. The final hearing of the case has been scheduled on July 5. He faces charges of killing Connie Jo Bronich of Santa Cruz, California and Laurent Ormond Carrierre of Manitola, Canada, in Nepal in 1975.