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KING GYANENDRA AND QUEEN KOMAL WILL receive civil felicitation from the people of western development region in Pokhara on March 28. A 1057-member civil felicitation organization committee headed by former state minister Lakshya Bahadur Gurung has been formed for the purpose. The committee is also preparing to organize the visit of the King and Queen to all 15 districts of the region. KING GYANENDRA HAS APPOINTED ambassador-at-large Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa as the new Foreign Minister, as per the recommendation of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa. He also is entrusted with the additional portfolio of Home Ministry. Likewise, King Gyanendra has also similarly appointed government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communication and Local Development, Kamal Thapa, as the new Home Minister. Leading dailies report THE GOVERNMENT HAS INVOKED THE ESSENTIAL Services Act 2014 to prohibit strikes on various essential service sectors. According to Home Ministry, those included in the essential services are postal, telegraph and telecommunication; air, land or water transport for moving passengers and goods; guarding of airports and aircraft, the running and repair of such facilities; and services concerning moving, depositing, taking out or storing of goods at government warehouses, airports and railway stations. Strikes are also prohibited in any government service concerning the production, storing or distribution of arms and ammunition or other military equipment, electricity, drinking water, tourist accommodation and hotels. THE MAOISTS PLAN TO ENFORCE 15-DAY BLOCKADE in the headquarters of the 15 districts of the western region beginning March 8. The flow of people and goods will be regulated, claim the Maoists. The Maoist- Tamuwan, Magarat and Madhesi front have announced the blockade. The local people have expressed frustration over the likely blockade saying it would make their life miserable. THREE JOURNALISTS WHO WERE ON THEIR WAY to the villages of Rukum district were refused entry by the Maoists. The journalists had gone there to inquire about the situation of 65 students and teachers of Bafikot secondary school who had been abducted one and a half week ago by the Maoists as they were returning home after participating in Birendra Shield sports tournament in district headquarters of Musikot. The journalists were told to get prior permission from the rebels and were asked to return back to Musikot. It has been reported that 63 of those abducted had been released recently. Likewise, Shekh Serajul, a member of Raj Parishad, who had been recently abducted has also been released by the Maoists in Rautahat district. DUE TO IMPRESSIVE GROWTH IN THE REMITTANCES sent by Nepalese working overseas, the deposits in the commercial banks have soared by 13 percent despite adverse economic situation in the country. The 13 percent growth has been recorded in the first six months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year. According to a report by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the Rastriya Banijya Bank led the deposit collection by collecting Rs 41 billion. Nepal Bank Limited and Himalayan Bank followed it, respectively, with the deposit collection of Rs 35.3 billion and Rs 21.8 billion. THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC) and other human rights bodies have condemned the Maoists for their bloody attack on the Bhojpur district headquarters. They have accused the Maoists of committing gross human rights violations in the name of people’s movement and also called on the government to break its silence and make public details of casualties and the situation of affected families. According to NHRC chairman Nayan Bahadur Khatri, the NHRC may also send a probe team to Bhojpur. Subodh Pyakurel, chairman of the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), said the Maoists have violated the legal and human rights framework by attacking public places such as government offices, educational institutions and banks. ACCORDING TO RISHI OJHA, CHAIRMAN OF National Harm Reduction Council, the number of drug users in Nepal had increased by 100 percent in the last 10 years. Currently, the number of drug users in Nepal is estimated at 70,000 as compared to 30,000 in 1994. Ojha said the expenses incurred on a yearly basis for illicit consumption of drugs have crossed over Rs 8 billion in the country. He was speaking at a program organized by International Narcotics Control Bureau (INCB), which is the policing arm of the UN’s war on drugs. The INCB report 2003 was also released at the program. The report states that 68 percent of intravenous drug users are HIV positive in Kathmandu valley, whereas the infection rate outside the valley is 40 percent. THE DATA OF THE LAST SIX MONTHS SHOW that the inflation rate has risen to a record high point of the last two years. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report, the inflation rate has been 5.3 percent in the period. The prices of vegetables and fruits recorded maximum increase. They increased by over 15 percent. In the first six months of the previous fiscal year, the inflation was 3.1 percent. THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST six months of the current fiscal year showed the savings of Rs 5 billion – pretty much due to the lack of development expenditures as targeted by the budget plus the budgetary support of the same amount by the World Bank in the period. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserve at the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), presently has reached Rs 122.24 billion – enough to pay for commodity import for 11.3 months and commodity plus service import for 9.5 months. In the same period, total export has increased by 8.3 percent to reach Rs 25.54 billion. Exports to India increased by 13.5 percent to reach Rs 14.71 billion. Likewise, the total imports, too, increased by 12 percent in the same period to reach Rs 64.82 billion. |
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