News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

KMC Mayor And Ward Chairmen Resign

Under pressure from the Maoist threat and in view of the new political situation following the resignation of Thapa government, the mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Keshav Sthapit and 34 ward chairmen resigned from their post on Sunday (May 23). The nominated officials of the KMC resigned en masse. Meanwhile, chairman of ward no. 28 Subhan Kumar Shrestha is the only one who has not resigned. He has said that he will resign separately. Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa’s government had nominated them around nine months ago. Leading dailies report.

Nawang Sherpa Ascends Everest In One Leg

Nawang Sherpa, a native of Tapting of Solukhumbu district has ascended the Mount Everest successfully even though he misses one leg. After a road accident three years ago, Nawang lost his left leg below the knee. However, he got over his disability by ascending the world’s roof with the help of an artificial leg. “I am very happy to be able to fulfill my dream,” said Sherpa after returning to capital. In fact, he had attempted to scale the Everest last year, too, but had to return from second camp. He is the first climber to climb Everest in artificial leg. Kantipur daily reports.

King Could Seek Advice From The Apex Court: Experts

Legal and constitutional experts have said that if the King does not want to seek the advice of the political parties, he could seek the same from the Supreme Court. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 has given the authority of describing and explaining the constitutional provisions to the Supreme Court. “For the resolution of political and constitutional issues, the King could also seek the advice of the Supreme Court,” said Bishwonath Upadhyaya, former chief justice and chief of the commission formed to draft the current constitution. Laxman Prasad Aryal, former justice of the Supreme Court, too, said, “The time has come for the King to seek such advice.” Likewise, former justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi opines that though it is upon the King to make his decision, he should do it soon. Since the promulgation of the current constitution, the King has sought for Supreme Court’s advice on two occasions. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

UK Envoy Stresses On Multiparty Govt.

British Ambassador to Nepal Keith George Bloomfield has stressed on the need to form a multiparty government quickly saying that the two-week-long government-less-ness has increased uncertainties. Terming the latest rounds of talks between the King and the five agitating parties as positive, the envoy said that the time has come to address the concerns of the agitating parties and the people. The uncertainty is already too long, it should not prolong, he said. Likewise, he added that the multiparty government would lay the foundation for resolving other issues including the Maoists. He also hoped that after forming such government, the Maoists would announce ceasefire and come for talks. Kantipur daily reports.

Maoists Abduct 200 From Karnali Technical School

Maoists have abducted 200 people including teachers and students of the Karnali Technical School (KTS) from near Khalanga of Jumla district on Friday (May 21) night. Reports say that when the Maoists abducted them, a number of them fainted due to fear. Most of the students of the school come from extremely poor families. The KTS churns out 120 skilled manpower every year. This year there were 240 students at the school. The school teaches technical subjects and produces manpower like overseers, health assistants and agriculture assistants. Students from Jumla as well as other neighboring districts study at KTS. Over 85 percent of the students who pass out from the KTS get proper employment. Leading dailies report.

Melamchi Contractor Sacked

The government has sacked Hanil-Koneco - the civil contractor commissioned to build an access road to the Melamchi drinking water project site. The Melamchi Drinking Water Development Board has terminated the Rs 450 million contract given to the Nepali-Korean joint venture company to build a 24-km Adit Access Road. The Board had warned the company on April 30 followed by a certification letter on May 10 under which the contractor would have to clear all the debts and evacuate the site at Bahunepati till June 3. According to Dhruba Bahadur Shrestha, executive director of the Board, said that the process of hiring a new contractor has already begun. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), one of the leading donors, has now given a green signal to the Board to finalize a new contractor from among the 15 other international bidders pre-qualified, according to Shrestha. It will take about a month to finalize the same. “We cannot afford to open a new tender as it will take time,” said Shrestha. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Pemba Speeds Up To Everest In 8 Hours

In a record-shattering ascent, Pemba Dorjee Sherpa has climbed the 8848 m Mount Everest in 8 hours 10 minutes. He is now officially the fastest man to reach the summit breaking the previous record of 10 hours 56 minutes set by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa. In fact, Lakpa had broken Pemba’s earlier record of 12 hours just three days after the latter set it last year. Ever since Pemba was apparently nursing his wounds and this year he again set the record straight by beating Lakpa’s record. Compiled from reports.

Strikes In The Education In The Offing

The pro-Maoist student outfit has announced the nationwide closure of schools and colleges for indefinite period beginning June 6. The union has been demanding immediate implementation of an agreement between the organization, the government and the concerned educational institutions. Likewise, it also announced a series of other protest programs including a week-long promotional campaign from May 23 and action against corrupt officials breaching the agreement from May 30. The pro-Maoist students and private school owners had agreed upon curtailing up to 29 percent fees from the existing structure. Leading dailies report.

Five Soldiers Die In Dadeldhura Clash

Around five soldiers died in a prolonged clash between the security forces and the Maoists in Hagulte area of Dadeldhura district. The two-day long clash ended on Thursday (May 20) evening after the Maoists finally fled the scene. Four security personnel are still missing and six others are injured. The security sources have said that they have recovered around 15 dead bodies of the Maoists from the scene of the clash. They estimate that at least five dozen Maoists have been killed in the clash. Officials said that the clash occurred after security forces came to know about Maoists’ plan to attack some district headquarter and followed a large group of armed Maoists. Leading dailies report.

Maoists Abduct 1000 Persons In Kailali

Maoists have abducted 1000 civilians from four VDCs in the eastern region of Kailali district on Thursday (May 20). Locals who managed to escape their clutches said after their arrival in Dhangadhi that hundreds of armed Maoists abducted people from Pahalmanpur, Udasipur, Masuriya and Gadariya VDCs. The Maoists took along with them people irrespective of their age, sex and the state of health for the party’s people’s marching program. In another incident, a four-year-old kid died after a bomb hurled by the Maoists at a public place in Kohalpur chowk of Banke district exploded. Dipendra Thapa, 4, died on the spot whereas his elder brother Bijaya Thapa was seriously injured. Likewise, in Siraha district, Maoists hurled socket bomb at an ambulance of the district health office. The ambulance was returning to the district office after transporting a patient to a hospital in Janakpur. On the third day of Nepal Bandh on May 20, the Maoists also exploded bomb damaging a minibus in Kathmandu. They also exploded bomb at two places in Kathmandu to terrorize the population. Meanwhile, the chief district officer of Kathmandu has handed over Rs 40,000 each as compensation to owners of two taxis that were destroyed by the Maoists on Tuesday (May 19) in Kathmandu. Compiled from reports.

Bandh Cripples Life

The three-day Nepal Bandh (May 18-20) called by the Maoists witnessed few vehicles and fewer people moving in the streets. All businesses, schools and enterprises were closed down. The Bandh has increasingly turning out to be a menace to daily wage earners, agricultural producers as well as dairy producers. Chandra Bahadur KC, a daily wage earner from Dolakha who works in Kathmandu, said that in the absence of work, he is compelled to sleep with hungry stomach during Bandh and strikes. Speaking at an interaction program in the capital, KC urged all to refrain from organizing such anti-people bandh. Tourism entrepreneurs, too, came down hard against bandh organizers saying it was crippling their business. “A day of bandh results in numerous cancellations. Besides, it also hurts the image of the country,” said Tek Bahadur Dangi, chief executive of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Likewise, Chandi Raj Dhakal, second vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that a single day of bandh results in losses worth Rs 1.5 billion in the country in terms of lost business. Compiled from reports.

CJ Seeks Text Of Judgment

Chief Justice Govinda Bahadur Shrestha has asked the Supreme Court justices Krishna Kumar Barma and Baliram Kumar to prepare the full text of the controversial judgment by which British druglord Gorden William Robinson was released three weeks ago. According to Supreme Court spokesperson Dr. Ram Krishna Timalsena, the Chief Justice did not assign any case to Justices Barma and Kumar in order to provide them sufficient time to prepare the full text of the judgment. “Chief Justice is very serious on this matter which is why he did not assign any case to them,” Dr. Timalsena said. He said that the full text could be prepared within a week. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Appa Climbs Everest For 14th Time

Veteran climber Appa Sherpa has broken his own world record by successfully climbing the Mount Everest for the 14th time. Appa Sherpa, 43, reached the summit on May 17 as a part of the 10-member “Dream Everest Expedition 2004” led by Robert Huygh of Belgium. A native of Thame, Solukhumbu, Appa Sherpa climbed the Everest from the south east ridge. He had fist scaled the mountain in May 1990. The expedition was organized by Asian Trekking Pvt. Ltd. Compiled from reports.