Report Rebuffed As Baseless, Fabricated

By Our Correspondent

THE report published in the India Today alleging the involvement of several politicians and others in anti-India activities in Nepal has received widespread criticism and reproachment from the Nepalese government and the political circle.

The report published in the Indian news magazine's latest edition has caused shock and even outrage both in the political circle here.

The report has been rebuffed and rejected by no less than the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala himself as baseless, fabricated and full of malicious intentions.

Prime Minister Koirala said the names included in the report has proved that it is totally false and unauthoritative.

The Nepali Congress party, raising serious concern over the report, also said it is disbelieving and an attempt to malign the relationship between the two countries and to damage Nepal's political and social fabric.

Similarly, other political parties  - CPN-UML, CPN-ML, RPP, NWPP - have also criticised the report. Banwari Lal Mittal, a businessman who has also been indicted by the news report, has also rejected any such accusation.

The magazine in its June 12 issue has, citing a secret report prepared by the Indian intelligence agencies, accused several politicians, businessmen, several NGOs and even some section of the Nepalese media of having links to or of being corroborators of the Pakistan's Intelligence Agency, ISI, in anti-India activities in Nepal.

According to the Indian newsmagazine, some of the persons indicted, in the 78-page report called as 'Pakistan's Anti-India Activities in Nepal', include Sushil Koirala, Nona Koirala, Khum Bahadur Khadka and Bijaya Kumar Gachhadhar of the Nepali Congress, Bamdev Gautam of the CPN-ML.

This report, if it exists as claimed by the newsmagazine, is a highly damaging one in the relationship between Nepal and India.

Meanwhile, the publication of the report was coincided with the visit of Brajesh Mishra, chief secretary to the Prime Minister of India and his security advisor. But Mishra himself denying the existence of such a report with the Indian government has led to the suspicion of the intention of the Indian media.

The publication of the news report has raised the point that there exists some suspicion about the relations between the two countries. Even if that is only in the media, it could undermine the relationship between the people and the government of the two countries.

Moreover, making accusations at persons who are at important and responsible positions in the politics and the government indicate it is only an attempt to defame Nepal's image in the eyes of the Indian people.

It has always been Nepal's declared policy of not allowing any activities inside its territory to be used against any other country. It is more so regarding its two immediate neighbours.

However, it may be time for the governments of both the countries to show serious concern over any attempt to undermine the relationships between the two countries.

Controversy Continues To Dog RNAC

By Our Correspondent

Like the previous lease deals, RNACís newly signed deal with Ansett Worldwide Services of Australia has also fallen into controversy. RA management said it had sent the file to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, but the 190-page file was nowhere to be found in the ministry. It is said the file contained all the details about RAís lease deals - both past and present.

Even the present deal was finalised ignoring the PACís instruction of not to go ahead with any process of leasing plane.

ìThe missing of the document is mysterious. We have now demanded clarification from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation regarding the missing of the document,î Subhas Nemwang, chairman of PAC, said.

Nemwang also said that the incident has created additional doubts about the intention of RA management and the Ministry.

With the deal under scrutiny at the PAC, the powerful parliamentary committee, the coming of the Ansett plane has also fallen into uncertainty.

A high level source at the national flag carrier said that Ansett wants its own crew to fly the plane. ìOnce the RA pilots are not allowed to fly the plane, there could be another obstruction. The Nepalese pilots may even go for a strike,î the source said.

It is learnt that Ansett has asked whether the RA pilots have licenses to fly the Boeing 767. However, the source said Nepalese pilots to have already received flight simulation training for the 767 in the US. ìWe have enough number of crew who can handle the plane, and we donít need foreign pilots,î the source said.

Utilising Nepalese pilots on leased plane have always been a controversial issue. The pilots say hiring foreign pilots will be very expensive. The issue had started first when RA leased an Airbus with foreign crew. This trend continued with other leased planes also. Last year, the RA pilots had even called a strike when the then management brought the Russian pilots to fly a leased plane.

As if the ongoing controversies are not enough, RA may be inviting another dispute over the type of plane it wants.

Recently, RA management formed a committee under one of its board members to submit a report on the type of plane it needs. That may mean the tug-of-war between Boeing and Airbus may erupt again.

Recently RA Executive Chairman Hari Bhakta Shrestha also said  that it was not necessary for RNAC to stick to Boeing alone. Another source within the RNAC even tipped Sunday Despatch that a ënegotiationí with a Chinese company had taken place last week regarding the leasing of an Airbus.

Meanwhile, the RNAC is announcing its schedule to fly to its new destination of Bangalore, India. The announcement is expected to be made this week. RA sources say the flights will start most likely from the last week of July.

Maoist Attack, A Setback To Talks

By Our Correspondent

When the situation for talks between the government and the Maoists was looking as positive, the Maoists' attack at a police post at Theme  village of Jajarkot district, killing 12 policemen and seven civilians may be a setback to the possbility of talks.

Recently, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had said that the government was willing to sit for talks, and even some human rights activists such as Padma Ratna Tuladhar had said that the Maoists too were willing to sit down at the table.

It was more so with reports of infightings within the Maoists party.

However, the attack at the police post has indicated that the rebels are still resorting to violence.

The attack was made at the police post with 52 policemen on Wednesday night. A fierce battle which lasted for about 16 hours, left 12 policemen, including police inspector Navaraj Poudel, dead.

It is said Inspector Poudel was killed about two kilometres away from the post. He is reported to have been brutally tortured before he was killed. It is also said that the Maoists had lobbed grenades at a house which killed 7 civilians including five children.

This is one of the biggest casualty the police has suffered in its  fight against the Maoist insurgents.

PAC's Probe Into Corruption

By Our Correspondent

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has told the government to take action against Narayan Prasad Lamsal, director general at the Department of Printing, for violating its direction regarding the procurement of a security printing press.

ìWe have asked the government to take action against the director general and inform PAC about it as he was found involved in the misappropriation of the government funds in the name of buying the press,î Subhas Nemwang, Chairman of PAC, told Sunday Despatch.

About three months ago, the department called for a global tender to buy a security printing press about three months ago. According to information received from the PAC, Heidelberg Company of the Netherlands had bid at about Rs. 25.9 million, Japanís Sinohara company at Rs. 21.7 million, and K. B. A. Rapida at Rs. 17.2 million.

Later the department cancelled the tender citing shortage of budget. But, in the mean time, it negotiated through a local agent to take the press from the Dutch company at about Rs. 24.8 million.

Meanwhile, Nemwang said the committee has also started looking into the procurement of a plane by the Royal Nepal Army. Recently, the government had decided to buy a RJ series plane of the British Aerospace for the army. ìThe committee has called Secretary at the Ministry of Defense to furnish replies of PAC and show the justification of the plane.î

In all these dealings there have been gross violations of fiscal regulations, Nembang said. There are also rampant irregularities and misappropriation of funds in many other dealings, he added.

In the process of looking into the irregularities of fiscal disciplines, PAC has found some banks and commercial enterprises making efforts to fulfill the personal interest.

"Some individuals and firms were found taking loans from different banks by showing the same surety."

 He said that PAC will remain even more vigilante and will initiate stronger measures to control any kind of financial irregularity that comes into its notice.

Private Couriers: No Express Mail

By K.P. Sharma   

Everyday Binita Sharma (name changed), an employee at the Central Post Office, cancels stamps on the letters. It is not unusual because it is her job. But she is often baffled that some of the letters were actually meant to be sent by the couriers.

Many people send letters through couriers for quicker and safer delivery, but some of them are actually sent through the general post.

ìI often wonder when the courierwallahs bring the letters to the post office. They charge so much money from their clients on the pretext of delivering letters quickly and safely, but they are cheating the clients by sending them through the post offices,î says Sharma.

According to her, nearly 50 letters are brought to the Central Post Office daily by different couriers.

However, she refuses to name them. ìThey accept the letters of almost all the destinations when they canít deliver by themselves and they come to us,î she says.

There are 26 courier services operating in Kathmandu. But some of them are making easy money deceiving the people. ìWe know and we have informed about this to the body concerned but it seems the body has not been addressing to them so far,î says Mukunda Poudel, Director General of the Department of the Postal Services.

He blames the lack of proper monitoring of the courier services for this fraud.

Poudel says the courier services should come under the Department of Postal Services for monitoring them better.

Presently, the courier services are taken as small industries and are registered at the Department of Industry.

ìIt is surprising that the courier services are handling the general letters also. By regulation they can only deal with documents and parcels. But they are doing it for years and it is illegal,î Kishor Jung Karki, an official at the Central Post Office says.

ìAlthough we know of these malpractice, we canít do anything but to despatch their letters,î seconds Shreedhar Gautam, chief of the Central Post Office at Sundhara.

However, the fourth amendment of the Postal Services Act has provisions for allowing couriers and private parties to run postal services, but forbids them carrying general letters.

ìBut the provision is not yet implemented and that no such private parties have been registered under the Department of Postal Services for delivering letters or the documents.

Meanwhile, couriers wallahs   do not know whether the postal act forbids them from carrying letters.

ìWe do accept our clientsí letters and carry them to their destination. So far, I have no idea that delivering letters is not under our criteria,î says Manoj Basnet, manager of Kourtier Couriers on what he can do and what he canít.Basnetís courier has been carrying not only documents and parcels but also letters for years to hundreds of destinations both inside and outside the country.

Basnet agrees that some couriers do accept letters from clients even for places where they have no reach and despatch them through the post offices.

Some even come to me to despatch letters and documents to places where they canít, he says.

Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Small Industries Keshab Prasad Poudel agrees that the couriers are benefiting from peoplesí belief on them. But Deputy Director of the Department of Industries Komal Palikhe says that the department has not received any complaints so far regarding the services of the couriers.

He says that the department canít inspect all the industries registered under it. There are about 127,000 small industries of all kinds registered at the Department. However, he says that his department will inspect if they receive complaints.

Of about 30 couriers services, many are thought to  have business exceeding the VAT threshold.

But, Basnet says  his, Kourtier Couriers, is the only one which is registered at the  VAT office.

Besides, there is no limitation on the service charge for delivering the documents and letters. The courier services fix the rate according to their own will.

For example, Express Delivery Services (EDS) charges Rs. 200 to deliver a letter weighing less than 200 grams to Delhi while Express Mail Service (EMS), the courier running under the government owned Postal Services, charges only Rs. 150.

The medium is same and it takes the same time to reach the letter to its destination.

Karki says the postal services EMS is more reliable and faster too, but we charge less.

Responding to why the Central Post Office started its own courier service, Karki said that it was according to the instruction of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

According to him, the UPU has asked all its member countries to run at least one mail services in the domestic and international sector.

The EMS has been offering the domestic service to its clients since 1990 and international services since 1995.