Excuse me! Excuse me, sister! Somebody's pleading voice struck my ears when I was rushing towards bus stop on a breezy morning a couple of days back in London. I stopped and turned to find a thin figure running towards me. Within seconds the man with sunken cheeks, cracked lips and dark circles under his eyes stood before me. I was so surprised to be called out by this unknown man. As soon as he realized that I was a Nepali, he started talking to me and helplessly said "Didi can you please give me one or two pounds? Please Didi! I have been called by an office for trial employment today, but I don't have enough money for the bus-fare. See, I have just 70 pence with me.

 

I was so moved when he said, "Didi, I couldn't pay even my room rent and now I'm staying with a friend." He told me that he had come to London to do an MBA but is still struggling to find a job for months. Anyone could easily read his poor condition by his troubled face. My heart too was filled with pain to see a Nepali student in the UK in such a poor condition.

 

Back in Nepal. The one who gets the visa is showered with sugary words like: "Wow!! London. Oh! Congratulation! You got a visa, lucky you!" I have seen crowds outside the VFS office in Nepal shouting with excitement when somebody comes out of the office holding a heavy envelope on hand. If one gets a visa, he or she through a couple of parties for friends and relatives before taking a flight. They fly in a velvety dream land for many days. But many of them face a bitter reality awaiting them in London. In the beginning itself, their dreams face a big jolt by costly room-rent and bus -fare. Some students fare lucky enough to secure a job nearby, but most have to go far, in the suburb. It's a tough job for foreign students to get job in London which always puts them under pressure. To add to this, the British government recurrently makes changes in policies regarding foreign students.

 

I was so touched by the painful condition of this Nepali Bhai who threw out all his pride to beg for some pounds. While leaving Nepal, he probably had never imagined such a frightening life awaiting him in London. While talking to him for a short period. I could see his fading dream in his sunken eyes. I also sadly observed his regret of coming to this strange land without much preparations as he said to me, "Didi, I will return to Nepal as soon as possible."

 

At the end, I could do nothing more than offer him a few words of consolation. As I was running late, I handed him two pounds and ran away with a heavy heart.

 

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From Kathmandu Post

Almost everyday, on my way to the office, I witness waifs lying helplessly on the street pavement. In the hustle and bustle streets of Kathmandu, they are found weeping, whining, wailing and wooing for money to survive. I sometimes witness the precious situation of these street children using dendrites to quench their drug mania.

 

Hands which should be using pencils and books are now begging, and the body which should be searching for food and water is now addicted to dendrites. Instead of a home to shelter them, they have the streets; instead of soft beds, they sleep on hard pavement. Yes, they have a family, a large family on the street where they can always find a relative, yet to one knows them. It is a selfish family that takes no responsibility for the children's future, all they do it turn a blind eye to these children's suffering and tag them as the street children.

 

Most likely, others who glance of them may feel as had as I do. We feel like helping them by giving them some money, food or clothes. But that's not a they need.

 

Are the street children not a part of our world? Of course they are, and they areas much the future pillars of our society as other children nurtured and nursed in loving homes. Surely we do not want our future to spin in such a vicious circle. We are indeed living in the house of hope where we anticipate that today will be better than yesterday and tomorrow even better than what it is today. But not enough is being done to fulfill these hopes.

 

Children are less trouble some and more helpless being than adults,but these street children are lone and forlorn, struggling to survive in this self-centered world. The way they are surviving on the streets leads them to participate in hazardous activities. They are unable to distinguish what is good and what is not, in the absence of proper guidance and education. What they really need is guidance, guidance to live the drug-free life, guidance to refrain from anti-social activities and guidance to lead a meaningful life. Love and care would obviously make a huge impact on their deserted lives.

 

Are INGOs and government bodies working for the welfare, of children really aware of plight of those living on the streets? Or are these child rights organizations missing the mark while children continue to live helish lives on the streets awaiting someone in rescue and relieve them from the dreadful living conditions?

 

Of course, these organizations are doing a great deal of work, but they are most often confined to research papers, seminars and paper presentations in cozy hotels. The information and support available in these organizations are hardly accessible to these helpless street dwellers. It's time to take into account the woes of street children with both feet on the ground instead of merely speaking hollow words in the name of child rights and protection in luxurious hotels,

Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) heave a reason to smile. The government lived up to its pledge by formally starting providing special identity cards to them.

President of Non-Resident Nepalis Association Dev Man Hirachan received the first ID card from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

NRNs have been demanding ID cards sine long and lobbying repeatedly for the cause.

During the ID card handover ceremoney, Koirala rallied behind NRNs. The government started providing ID cards to ease difficulties of Nepali diaspora, she said, urging NRNs to make best use of the cards and help develop the country. "The identity cards will be changed as per the time," she said.

Koirala also assured NRNs of facilitating activities unertaken by them. In response, Hirachan thanked the government for ID cards. "The government move can bring big changes in about 2.6 million nepalies living in 55 different countries, " he said.

According to the NRN Act, those who have spent two years outside countries of the SAARC region ae eligible for NRN status. The ID cards will be valid up to tenyears for NRNs of Nepali origin who possess foreign passport and two years for Nepali passport bearers.

NRNs of Nepali origin who hold foreign passport have to pay US$ 500 to secure the ID after providing the necessasry documents whereas NRNs with Nepali passport have to pay US$ 250.

Possessing ID card will allow NRNs to buy properties in Nepal. According to NRN Regulation-2009, NRNs can purchase two Ropani land inside Kathmandu Valley and eight Kattha within the municipality of Tarai district.

Besides Kathmandu valley and municipality of Tarai district, NRNs can purchase one Bigaha in any of the Village Development Commiuttee inTarai districts and ten Ropani land in any of the districts besides these categories.

"NRNs of Nepali originbut possessing foreign passport should submit all details for buying land, the area andprice to the Foreign Secretary for final apporval," says the regulation.

The Land Reform Office will issue blue-colour landowner certificate to NRNs under this category. Other Nepalis get red colour landowner certificate.

 

NRNs also enjoy the provileges of constituting an organisation and NRN Union inside Nepal but they have to garner the support of NRNs of 25 countries. "If the Union fails perform, the government has the authority to dissolve it and secure all the properties of the Union, "the regulation further says.

The regulation also treats NRN investment as foreign direct investment. Any NRN wanting to invest in Nepal has to provide details of their proposed investment to the Foreign Ministry, which will later forward to the Department of Industry.

It would be wrong to penalise genuine students who want to study in the UK!!s

In a major blow to the Nepali students wanting to pursue their studies in Britain, the country has temporily suspended new student visa applications from Nepal -- and North India, where new applications have been suspended too-shot up dramatically in recent years. Of the 6,000 students who got the 'No Objection Letter' to study abroad from the Ministry of Education (MoE) in the last two months, MoE officials believe most were headed for the UK.

British concerns are genuine. That a small country like the UK with its limited number of universities and colleges has overtaken the US -- which has the most expensive education system with nearly 4,000 centres for higher education-- in the intake of Nepali in recent times. But the limited absorptive capacity of British universities and cities is not the reason the UK has had to suspend new tier 4 visa applications. Of late, the trend of seeking tire 4 visas had caught on among even the non-students who were looking to enter Britain through illegal means. Notably, the applicants under this category donot have to show their income sosurce, nor do they have to produce property evaluation certificates. Many non-students have managed to enter Britain by exploiting the loopholes in the tire 4 visa system.

Notwithstanding their security and population concerns, the suspension of student visas poses some tricky questions before the British government. Many genuine students who wished to pursue their education in the UK will now be forbidden from doing so. The easy visa procedure had allowed students from South Asia, which, according to global standards, lags far behind in providing its youth with quality education, obtain world-class British education. Thus, the British authorities, through their latest decision, have closed a big window of opportunity for students from this part of the world.

We believe the issue has to be looked at from a broader perspective. The wish of the British government to keep out unscrupulous elements from its shores is understandable. But again, it would bewrongto penablise the genuine students who cation at British institutions for no fault of their own. If the temporry suspension of new students visas is aimed at closer scrutiny of the applications which are already with the UK Border Agency (the body responsible for vetting visa applications to Britain), and if the qualified students in the lot will eventually be considered for visas, itis hard to find fault with the stopgap measure. We would like to believe that once the current crop of applications have been cleared, the tire 4 system, or something along similar lines, will be resumed, hopefully sooner than later.

 

(This editorial was published on Kathmandu Post on 2FEB10)

Incoherent Economy Policies have hampered investments!

Politically instable countries around the world are characterised by poor investment climates.This is as true of the war-ravaged African countries as it is of Nepal's South Asian neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan. Thus it was hardly surprise when the Nepal 2009 Enterprise Survey conducted by World Bank (WB) pointed out political instability for the dismal level of investiment in Nepal. Worryingly though, the deteriortion in investment climate is also fast eroding the competitiveness of Nepali private enterprises.

Lack of easy access to finance, labour regulation and long hours of power outage have sapped the confidence of investors. The big firms have been specially hard hit. Big businesses are finding it difficult to do business here as they face threats and intimidation from various political and criminal groups every step of the way. Besides, it is fiendishly hard for Nepali employers to fire workers during leantimes owing to the militant labour unions. the unions linked to various political parties are also known to disrupt work if their demands are not met. While labour problems constitute the major hindrance for the manufacturing sector, it is lack of easy and reliable transportation facilities and irregular electricity supply hamper the tourism industry. But all said and done, it all boils down to the absence of a stable political climate inthe counrty.

The countryis in the course of rebuilding its economy after a decade-long war. The earlier the country can get on the path of economic recovery, the sooner will peace of established- although the equation works as well the other way round. Frequent changes in the government have meant that the country has not been able to have a coherent economy policy since the restoration of democracy in 1990.

Corruption has also stunted growth in investment. Those who want to start new companies have to pass through layers of bureaucracy and bribe countless officials just to get the ball rolling. In spite of these challenges, Nepali enterprises, paradoxically, have profited from their isolation from the international markets. The economic downturn that affected most of the developed wrold had next to no impact on Nepal. But that cannot be a justifiable reason to keep foreign intestment out. As the coutry gets back to normalcy, it will need all the help it can to rebuild the infractructure shattered during the insurgency and to add new ones. Domestic investors will also have to be convinced of the safety of their investments if their resources are to be channelled into productive sectors.

Again, so much rides on political stability, which is important not just because it will be able to deliver a stable and safe environment for investors. A stable government will also be able to plan and implement long-term economic policies. Throughout the insurgency years, it was remittances from the workers abroad that kept Nepali economy afloat. As economists point out, a country, which relies so heavily on remittances is asking for trouble in the long run.

 

(This editorial was published on The Kathmandu Post on 31 Jan 2010)

The constitution of Nepal bans the sale or trafficking of women under Article 20 (1): "Traffic in human beings, slavery, serfdom or foced labour in any form is prohibited. Any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by law". But in reality substantial numbers of Nepali women are trafficked to India for enforeced prostitution every year.

It is estimated that over 200,000 Nepali women are working as enforced prostitutes or in sex-related business in India. Exact numbers are hard to affirm. Sources indicate thtbetween 5,000 and 7,000 Nepali girls in Indian brothels are heart-wrenching as the brothel owners make their lives miserable by severe mental and physical persecution. Those lucky enough to be rescued narrate that they were forced to lodge up to 15 -20 clients a day and if they refused they were baten, starved and chocked.

According to the Christian Science, Monitor, "Girls in brothels routinely face violence, intimidation, sexual assaul, and torture at the hands of brothel owners, clients and even police." Trafficking is a grave humanitarian crime committed by the traffickers for monetary remunertions but even after decades of intrference by the state, it is still a thriving business. Those groups and organisations working in the border to stop trafficking say that it is very difficult to sneak in a girl to Indiafrom Nepal now but even they admit that all is not going their way as traditional trafficking opetions have become more modern, complex, sophisticated and organized.

The economic factor, while not the most important, is considered to be substantial in influencingtrafficking. Oxfam unequivocally blames the problem of rural poverty for the trade in girls and women from Nepal in India. However, it has been pointed out by researchers such as Mary Rita Rozario that poverty alone is not the cause of prostitution. Nonetheless, empowering women socially and economically can prevent the traffickers from mainpulating them.

The need to support trafficking survivors and stop the tafficking of women and girls from Nepal should be a crucial government goal. Current strategies focus on psychologyrather thn socioeconomic developmental models that address suffering and gender relations at the macrolevel. Still, oen cannot devalue the efforts of the various NGOs, mainly Maiti Nepal, regarding thecontrol of trafficking and in rehabilitation of the victims in Nepal.

The exploitation of Nepali women and girls may not end in the near furture.The challenge is daunting but if we make a dedicated effort, the magnitude can be lessened. Given the political will, there ae steps Nepal can take to create a supportive environment for women survival and development. Empowerring women, especially in the community level, is essential to diminish the trafficking rates gradually.

Unless women get visas easily, they will continue to seek easier ways

Fifteen women, who had left the country with high hopes of earing a decent livelihood for themselves and their families, instead had to return home, empty-handed, replete with stories of cruelty and exploitation. The women had been inSaud Arabia for anywhere between acouple of months to a couple of years and had been putting up at the Nepali Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, for the last three months. Their transportation couldn't be arranged earlier as most of them were in the Gulf country illegally and without poper documents. Of the 20 Nepali woen still with the Embassy, 10 ae scheduled to arrive in the Nepali women still with the Embassy, 10 are scheduled to arrive in the Nepali capital sometime nextweek. These women, who had been working as domestic helps, were either booted out or, unableto cope with the psychological burden of toiling away, day in and day out, for meager or no salary, had left their workplace voluntarily.

The Foreign Employment Act, 2007 for the first time granted Nepali women legal right to work abroad. But the movement of Nepali women to Gulf countries has been taking place fro decades, most of them taking the illegal route thourgh India, arranged with the help of exorbitant 'transfer fees' to unscrupulous middlemen. But the jobs the agents arraange for are,more often than not, exploitative-if there are jobs at all.

There are an estimated 70,000 Nepali women working as domestics in Saudi Arabia and thousands more work in countries like U.A.E and Lebanon. And the numbers continue to swell.

The 2007 Act was introdued with the intentionof dignifying women's labour and checking their exploitation abroad. But tragically, the Act hs not been implemented in earnest, for it still is extremely hard for Nepali women to arnange for visas from Nepal. They rather find it easier to contact Indian agents. Unless women can get visas easily in Nepal, they will continue to sue the India route and continue to be exploited.

Another reason Nepali domestics suffer: they are not trained. Failure to carry out their responsibility--when they don't know how to use modern kitchen appliance, for instance--erns them cnsure and oher punishement. Sexual exploitation of Nepali women is also rampant. The Gulf countries hve tried to do heir bit to control exploitation of migrant labour. There are now labour courts where the exploited and poorly paid workers can lodge their complaints. But most Nepali domestics cannot venture out of their households.

 

Despite these glitches, we do not believe foreign employment for women should be banned outright. It just won't be fair to limit the choice for half the population. Rather, the government should work at making the stay and payment of Nepali woen working in Gulf countries more secure. There should be providion whereby the concerned woman can be helped to verify the authenticity of her future employers and confirm her pay and perks. There is also plenty of room for improving the visa application process for women in Nepal so that they don't have to arrange for their travel through Indian agents. Nepali women bold enough to break old gender stereotypes deserve a little help from their government.

If the budget is not presented by July 15, the Government of Nepal could facea major crisis

The budget for the coming fiscal yedr has been already been delayed according to the regulations. If it is not presented before the legislature by the end of the current fiscal year on July 15, (Ashad 31), the government could face a major cirsis.For, according to the regulations, by that date the government will lose its legitimcy to engage in any kind of spending if its policies and programmes and budget are not presented an passed by the legislature by that time. Beginning July 16, (Srwan 1), the government will not even have the right to pay its employees. The entire economic activity of the country will come to a halt, includingthe collection of taxes.

The reason for this imminent crisis if, of course, the Maoists who have been obstructing the legislature ever since they left goverment. They have made various demands since then, first, insisting that the president's decision to revoke the Maoist government's decisiion to fire the army chief be wthdrawn. Then, demanding that they be allowed to present a sankalpa prastav on the issue and, most recently, demanding that Prime Minister Madhav Kimar Nepal specifically refer to the issue of "civilian supremacy" in a speech in the legislature. Negotations between the parties have been continuing, and both the Maoists and the parties in government apper keen to end the impasse; but no progress has bee been made.

 

It has been said many times that the entire economy and politics of the country have been held hostage by relativelty minor conflicts between the top political leaders. And there cannot be a clearer indication of this than the current impasse. The Maoists have forced the entire government apparatus to focus on asingle issue, and have obstructed all others until it is resolved. The obstruction has gone onfor so long that a complete halt in the affairs of the state looks imminent.

Maoist leaders say that as they are not in government, it is not their responsibility to ensure that the budget and the policies and programmes are passed by the legislature in time. It is the job of those in power, they claim, who should reach out to them in an attempt to rech a solution. Meanwhile, some negotitions re continuing; but the top leaders of both the Nepali Congress and the UCPN (Maoists) - G.P. Koirala and Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" -- are in Biratnagar and Chitwan respectively. A settlement appers unlikely unitl both of them return to Kathmandu.

The Maoists too will bear significant responsibility if they continue obstructing the legislature and further delaying the passing of the budget. At the very least, the parties should declare in good faith that they are committed to reaching a compromise. While it my take some more time for this to materialize,the Maoists should show the grce to at least temporarily allow the proceedings of the House to proceed so that the budget and programmes and policies can be passed.

It was intolerably hot inside the Rastriya Sabha Griha. The audiene, their hands tired fnning themselves, was getting restless.

 

Suddenly, everybody's attention wsa dragged by a spellbinding voice of a young, smart man. "Together we can make a difference, " he said soon as he appered on stage. There was a big round of applause. The handsome man was 24-year-old Siddhartha Lama. When he told his story, everyone was flabbergsted. He was a drung addict. Due to his over-curiosity and bad friend circle, he was hooked on to drugs at a very young age. But today, he is a model for everybody.

He has recovered from his addiction and nowworks for D-Care Foundation, an organisation working in the fields of drugs and HIV/AIDS, as aconsellor. More than tht, he has turned into a writer, having written a book titled named "Drug and Drug Addiction" based on his experience.

Lama is undoubtedly an example to every youth lured by drugs. According to different organisations working in the field of dugs and HIV/AIDS, there are around 70,000 hardcore drug users in Nepal; among them, 15 to20 percent are famales. This is an indication of the dngerous environment Nepali youth is a prt of.

The programme I attended was a day-long conselling wrokship organisedby D-Care Foundation. Many surprising facts were revealed tht day. Siddhartha Lama, it turns out, is none other than the son of populr Nepali Dirctor Yuvraj Lama. Lama, the President of D-Care Foundation, openly talked about the bitter days when his son ws still anaddict.

Our societys' perspective si yet to change in the matter of drug and HIV/AIDS. People don't accept the drug users easily. The threat of persecutionalways forces durg users and their family to hide their problems. But drug addictionis just another dreadful disease which can attack anybody. So, it is essential to bring out such sensitive issues in the open. Every parent should beaware like Siddhartha's father and work towards providing nurturing environement for their young children. At the same time, it is the responsibility of schools and teachers to consel young boys and girls to stay away from drugs.

Prevention is always better than cure. By providing our children an open environment to grow in, we can better deal the rpidly spreading problem of drug abuse. And help whosoever is alredy addicted, like Siddhrtha, to recover quickely . For that, instead of lookingt drug abusers with hatred and suspicion, we need to see them as people who need our help.

For the slogan of "say no to durg" is no good if it remains limited on the paper. It is only with the joint effort of parents, teachers and common people that we can change ourselves into a drug-free society.

Students deservecredit for persisting through punishing load-shedding schedules

A record 68-47 percent of the students appearing for the School Leaving Certificate(SLC) examinations cleared the supposed "Iron Gate " of Nepali educationn 2009. This year's result is in keeping with the precipitous increase in the pass percentage in the last two years when 58.64 percent (2007) AND 63.73 percent (2008) cleared the exams successfully. It is not hard to see why. Unlike in previous years when the SLC question papers included matter from two years of stuty (grades 9 and 10), questions were askedony from the grade 10 syllabus begnning in 2007. Students clearly are more comfortable revising what they study in the same year than having to keep themselves updated on everything lerned in the previous two.

Another reason for the increase in the pass percentage is grace marks. According to the Controller of Examinations, students falling short by five marks or less in up to two subjects were given grace marks. This mesure, which makes it easy for weak students to get over the line, has not been free of controversy. Advocates say even more students should begiven grace marks in more subjects to bring Nepal's pass percentage on a par with the interntional school pass percentge. But critics have their own qualms regrding the genuine believe a fine balance has to be struck. There is no point in incapable of meeting the many challenges of the modern workplace. But if grace marks can help a student who is strong in some subjecsts but weak in to others to inch over the finish line, we are all for it; for individual interests and abilities can always be honed in the course of higher education or through vocational trining.

There is another related problem: the pressure on the education establishment to come up with good SLC results to show for the massive investment in education, especially primary education. In 2006, there were just 4,000 students who secured distinction(over 80 percent); this climed to 7.498 in 2008 andto 11,304 this year--in keeping with the changes negatively as discussed above or in more favourable light (students feeling more comfortable with the syllabus, more objectivity in the questions).

We hope the latest result represents the fruits of genuine reforms inthe education sector. That at least some reforms are working is evident in this year's SLC question papers. Compared to previous years, the questions were more objective aimed at calling genuine understanding of the subject matter. The students too deserve some credit for persisting through what must have been punishing load-shedding schedules . Our only concerns is that while patting ourselves on the back, we not lose sight of the enormous challenges (as well as past pitfalls) towards improving the quality of school education in Nepal.

 

A Nepali scholor is on at all mission in the United States: Eradicating tuberculosis from the face of earth.

The determination to destory Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) - the TB causing bacteria --came to Gyanu Lamichhane, when he was only 17 and studying inClass 11 in Chitwan, where the Laamichhane family had settled down after returning from Burma.

"My inspirtion comes from the death of my 64-year old grand-fther, who died of multiple-drug resistant TB in1993,"recalls Gyanu, now a biologist and Assistant Professor at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.

Thgefirst death in the family was too much to bear for the teenager, whose close-knit family lived in a rented two-room house without any material possession except an Atlas bicycle, the family's pri ncipal means of transport for another 20 years. "Members of my family werethe only possessions I had" Gyanu, who himself hs latent tuberculosis, told the post over email from the US.

In 1993, his grandfather was ill with TB. Gyanu, supposed to go on a school excursion to Darjeeling, decided to stay back home to takecare of his ailing grandfather while his fther worked day in day out to earn the family two meals a day. But his grandfather eventually died.

"And, that poignant moment was very decisive in shaping what I would do in life, "says the 34-year old biologist,who has been awarded $ 100.000 research grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation rcently. "It is the significnce of TB and the havoc it has wreaked around the world that has broughtmy work to life."

The fact that his grandfather would no more be there with the family was too much of an emotional pain for Gyanu, who attributes that particular moment of void to his decision to do something about the killer bacteria. "At that moment did I decide to do something about it so that the beloved ones of others may be protected, "he recalls.

Gyanu has had this single obsession ever since: Destroying the Mtb. "That sounds like too tall an order; though, "says Gyanu, who, under the project, will be leading a team of five, including two graduate students working on understnding genetic requirements of Mtb. "We need to understand how the bacteria grows in the lungs of human beings to cause TB so that we can stop it from growing. We will be re-engineering the bacteria to make it harmless and useful to us. Then we will test it in an animal model of TB. The first phase of this work could take one to one-and-a-half-year."

But Gyanu knows that it has not been possible"SO FAR".

If the research goes as intended, there is one other thing the world can look forward to from Gyanu's project: Finding a TB treatment that can work within weeks. For him a six-month-time frame that it now takes to treat the bacterial infecion called TB is simply unacceptable.

 

Limits the boundary of kidney donors

 

Are you a renal failure patient? Despite there are kidney donors, are you reeling under a precarious stage in life due to narrow policy of the government? Then there is good news for you. The cabinet has recently passed a law that widens the boudary of kidney donors.

With the aim to control racketing in kidney, the Human Organ Transplant act- 1998 limits the boundary of kidney donors only to relatives, namely father and mother, uncle and aunt, sister and brother, adopted son and daughter who could donate their kidney to the patient. The result was many renal patient were unabe to rceive a kidney when they were in need.

To offset the limitations posed, the government had formed the Human Oragan Transplant Coordination Committee (HOTCC) to recommend more practical approaches. The commission subsequently submitted a report to the Ministry of Health (MoH) proposing to change the act some months ago. These changes have now been incorported in the bill that the cabinet has just passed, said the spokes person at MoH Dr Yasobardhan Pradhan.

Minister for Law Dev Gurung stated that the cabinet has already passed the draft bill and it will soon be sent to the parliment during the winter session of the house.

According to the proposed bill, hence for the step-mother, maternal uncle and aunt, nice and nephew, cousin brothers and sisters can also donate their kidneys to their relatives.

Although, the act was passed in 1998, kidney transplant was initiated in Nepal only on August 8,2008 at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgunj, and later on Bir Hospital had followed suit.

Pradhan said tht in India, there is no limitations set for kidney donors. This, however, spawned illegal trade in kidney in that neighboring country,he added. It was felt here that some limitations are necessary, but the 1998 bill placed severe lilmittions and that has compelled a large number of renal failure patients to remain deprived of getting well despite there are kidney donors.

"Therefore, we porposed to the ministry to change the current act as per the demands of the time, extending the boundry of limitations," he added.

According to an estimate of National Kedney Center, there are over 2.7 million Nepalis with renal failure. Previously, kidnely patients had to go to India for transplants, spending at least one millions rupees at a time. After the two government run hospitals, namely Bir Hospital and TUTH began to run the service, the cost came down to about Rs.3000,000, according to officials.

It is quite common for us in Nepal to see advertisements about the opening of new housing complexes in newspapers and TV these days. Every week we come to know about new apartment complexes being introduced in the capital. With building coming up at this rate, I wonder how many more such complex our capital can accommodate. Every new entrant in the industry has a catchy phrase to lure potential customers with various attractions such as club houses and swimming pools.

 

A housing company has recently started its construction near my house. Actually the construction is just limited to building a fence around the location along with erecting huge hoarding boards. However, booking for the apartment is already open for interested buyers. I was quite curious to find out about the price of the apartments on sale so I called the company up. The price for a single flat of the premium luxury apartment was sky high. It is quite amazing to see such mushrooming of housing and apartments in the capital. I'm not sure how much demand is out there because the price seems to be out reach for most Nepali people. Unlike in Western countries, where the culture is to live independently in separate apartments, we Nepalese have a culture of living close to family members. However, this trend is changing these days which is probably the reason why such apartments have come up to fulfill the demands of such consumers.

The housing boom can be taken as a good sign because of its significant growth in a short period of time. Even during times of financial crisis this industry shows no sign of decline. The concept of owning a condominium has slowly started to emerge. In the past, people used to either own their own homes or rent a flat at someone else's house. These days the trend has changed and people are being lured toward buying such apartments. This fundamental change has occurred due to change in lifestyle as a result of increased earnings, following of Western trends, and attitude of living independently. All banks have been generously lending money for such huge projects and it seems this trend is not going to stop any time soon.

 

Such housing projects definitely have a handful of stake holders from employees of such projects that are directly and indirectly associated with it along with the families that live in those houses and the community in which it is located. The direct employees of such projects such as labourers and construction companies have benefited. Advertising agencies, research companies, and media too have their hands full since they are also associated with the project in preparing advertisements, providing data and promoting the project. Such projects have also benefited the society because it has added value to the community by building new roads.

The hearing on a human flicking case filed against prominent U.S military contactor Kellogg. Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) operating in Iraq on behalf of families of 12 Nepalese killed in Iraq in 2004 will begin on January 12 next year at the District Court of California, Los Angeles.

The US based law firm Cohen Milstein, which has been fighting against the wrongdoings of big corporations, has filed a lawsuit on August 27 this year with the help of Buddhi Prasad Gurung as witness.

Gurung was in another car and was thus not kidnapped by an Iraqi insurgent group; while 12 others were kidnapped and subsequently killed.

Cohen Milstein Attorney Mathew K. Handley, who also worked as a peace corps volunteer in Nepal from 1997 to 1999, said on Monday that the court would decide after the hearing whether the case could be termed "human trafficking". "If the court decides the case can qualify as human trafficking, it will move ahead", he said at a press meet adding, "Otherwise, the case will be scrapped."

It is the first time citizens have sought protection of their human rights in a US court, according to him.

His law firm has claimed in its lawsuit that KBR was involved in human trafficking as the 13 men were in the process of being transported to a US military base in Iraq against their will. It has been argued in the lawsuit that they were transported to Iraq after their passports were confiscated in Jordan by its Jordan based sub-contractor Daoud and Partner before they were taken to Iraq.

However, on November 22, KBR asked the court to dismiss the complaint arguing that the Nepali men were not deceived and trafficked. Force labor and involuntary servitude are not violations of international law, according to KBR argument.

The company has also asked the court to transfer the case to Houston, Taxes, where KBR headquarters is located. Apparently, such cases are taken relatively lightly there, according to Handley.

 

The hearing regarding the request for dismissal of he case and its transfer will begin on December 12, KBR is a controversial company because of its political connections. Incumbent U.S Vice President Dick Cheney was chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton, the parent company of KBR from 1995 to 2000 before he joined the Bush administration. On April 5, 2007, Halliburton broke ties with KBR.

 

Cohen Milstein had also been successful in making Daoud and Partner compensate through the order of the U.S Administrative Law Court for the Department of Labor on May 22 this year.

 

The court had ordered monthly payment of US$ 233 s compensation to each spouse and set of parents of the murdered Nepalese with an additional 75 dollars for men who had children.

With water level in the rivers and Kulekhani reservoir receding against the increasing demand for power, the country is all set to witness extended load-shedding hours.

Come Monday, (29 December 2008) Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is likely to announce a 13-hour-day load-shedding regime throughout the nation. This means that smooth supply of electricity will remain a pipedream for us, the citizens of the nation considered quite rich in water resources.

Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Poudel told a press conference on Friday, "Monday onwards, load-shedding will last 12 to 14 hours a day".

 

Sher Singh Bhat, director at the System Operations Department of the NEA, told the Post, "From Monday, load-shedding will last at least 13-hour-day."

The recent announcement comes just a week after the government announced63 -hour-week load-shedding regime.

Bhat said the current 10- hour-day load-shedding regime had failed to mitigate power crisis, thanks to the increasing disparity between the demand for power and supply.

"There is no alternative but to increase load-shedding hours as the water level in the Kulekhani reservoir has decreased drastically after it was used up excessively this time to maintain a steady supply of power, "said Bhat.

 

"At present, the Kulekhani plant is generating about 9 lakh units of power each day. Despite this, there is a deficit of 3.1 million units a day. In ordinary situations, only about 2.5 lakh units should be generated through Kulekhani, "the NEA officials explained.

The deficit was 2.9 million units a day when the government declared 63-hours-a-week regime a week ago.

 

"If only 2.5 lakh units are generated through Kulekhani, then the power deficit would climb to 3.8 million units a day, "Bhat said." The situation arose as excessive water was used to generate power to meet the increasing demand, "he reasoned.

 

The 140-MW Kulekhani plant is the only storage-type hydropower plant in the country.

The current peak demand for power in the country is 770 MW, but the NEA has been able to supply only 366 MW. Meanwhile, discharge in the rivers is also receding, affecting run-of-the -river type plants. Hydropower plants generate 255 MW; the shortfall is addressed through import or thermal plants.

"The duration of load-shedding will probably jump to 16 hours a day from February or even before that," said Bhat.

Adventure Tourism in Nepal

 

 

Nepal has enormous potential for adventure tourism. Thrill seekers from all around the world are prospective visitors as our country boasts a wide variety of natural resources compatible for trekking, hiking, rafting, and bungee jumping. Added to that list is mountain biking and the recent even to promote this sport has exposed Nepal to the rest of the world as the optimum place of biking.

The Asian mountain bike championship was the first of its kind in South Asia. With this event Nepal has opened doors for its opportunity to host the World cup series to be held in 2010. The participants and officials from other countries were stunned by the efficiency by which the events were conducted and by the racetrack too. On the other hand, we are already known for trekking and as the only country with eight of the ten tallest mountains in the world. Now it's time to diversify our tourism portfolio by capitalizing the resources Mother Nature has endowed us with.

 

Adding various routes in the Himalayan mountain range for hardcore adventure seekers and also more routes for fun-seeking hikers would be the next step. Also the scope of rafting also cannot be underestimated as Nepal is rich in water resources too. Though we couldn't fully utilize this resource to produce electricity it can be fully exploited to attract tourists who love the sport.

 

Nepal has an absolute advantage over other countries in the tourism sector, Rather than producing any other goods or services, we are most efficient in selling our adventure service packages to the rest of the world. Basically, we are promoting an idea or branding Nepal as the place to be for all the adventures that nature can offer from trekking in the tallest mountain to bungee jumping from the highest cliff and everything in between.

Though there has been impressive development in the Information Technology sector in the past decade, tourism is the only significant sector that can boost GDP and thus, can actually change the face of our country. The reason behind it is that only a small pool of educated people can contribute to the development of IT sector. This only represents a small portion of the overall population of Nepal. However, tourism is such a sector that can utilize the manpower available all over Nepal including the rural areas where development is imperative.

It is in these rural areas where there is real scope for adventure tourism. By empowering the people in such areas to cater to the needs of adventure tourists, it will create an opportunity for a better livelihood. Furthermore, this will add to the list of activities that fun lovers can choose from during their stay in Nepal.

Our law men have made some significant busts, but crime continues to rise.

Ladt February, the police detained a gang of six criminals who had been involved in abduction, extortion and looting in the Kathmandu Valley for a long time. In March, police caught a thug christened Dr. Horror by the press while he was holidaying in Chitwan. Dr. Horror was running a kidney racket in India and fled to Nepal when he found out the cops were on his trail. In August, the police nabbed the notorious felons involved in the abduction of neurosurgeon Dr. Upendra Devkota's daughter Megha. She was released after the doctor paid a ransom of Rs.13 million. Six masked men had slipped into Dr. Devkota's house after poisoning his two dogs and immobilizing the security guards. They took his daughter away. In the latest triumph of the Nepal Police, the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) the other day caught in its web an organized criminal gang calling itself Black Spider.

These are a few random examples of busts made by the Nepal Police that point to the many successes of our lawmen this year. But the crime level has not declined despite such arrests. In the Tarai, rising incidences of abduction for ransom have terrorized both the business community and ordinary citizens. Government officials assigned to VDC offices have not been able to perform their duties due to rank insecurity. Development agencies feel equally unsafe as armed gangs regularly storm in demanding donations and kidnap staffers or threaten to kill them. Lawlessness has grown with gun-toting goons taking advantage of the fragile security situation and turning abduction and extortion into a lucrative business. They operate with apparent impunity because they are being protected by local politicians. With such gangs of criminals proliferating of late, they have become a serious cause for concern.

According to report, Black Spider along had extorted a total of Rs. 1,500,000 from 33 businessmen and financial institutions. None of the gang members, surprisingly, had a criminal record. Their modus operandi was to pose as Maoists and extract money from their petrified victims. There are allegations that the nexus between some Maoists, Tarai-based politicians, and criminal gangs has virtually eradicated the rule of law in the southern plans. If such charges are true, the business community and ordinary residents have nowhere to go for help. Hoods have become the law. Let us hope crooks do not overtake the government like in some anarchic places where criminals control politics, the police force and all government contracts.

The rapid surge in Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) in recent years has raised an alarm bell, especially in the capital city. The number of motor vehicles plying the streets of Kathmandu is apparently increasing. With the rise in the number of vehicles, there has been a sharp increase in the number of deaths and disabled due to road accidents. The inability of the part of the government to widen the roads or to extend them in proportion to the rise of vehicles is a major cause for road fatalities. Equally responsible for such fatalities are drivers' negligence, pedestrians' carelessness, and indifference of the concerned authorities toward valley's road conditions. This aside, an increasing trend of political protests on the streets being staged by various agitating groups and organizations have also attributed to road fatalities.

RTIs are a major cause of deaths and disability globally. RTCs rank as the eleventh leading cause of deaths and account for over 2 percent of casualties worldwide. Credible reports say over ten people did of RTI every other month in the valley. The government has virtually failed to stem the increasing number of vehicles plying in the valley. The number of automobiles plying the streets has increased four-fold in a decade while there has been a minimal increase in the length of roads. Also, drunk driving, over-speeding and road-rage have resulted in road accidents. According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, the highest number of accidents in the capital takes place on Friday and Saturday nights owing to drunken driving, over-speeding or over-taking from the wrong side. The valleys Traffic Police has identified various traffic-prone spots and are working overtime to bring down the rate of accidents. However, the people's irresponsible attitude and lack of effective laws to punish traffic violators has made the situation worse.

The first thing to do for preventing and reducing road fatalities is to inculcate a sense of discipline amongst road-users and educate the public including school children on road safety. That there is no serious punishment for violators of traffic rules is complicating the mater. Only a minimum fine of 50 rupees is charged for breaking traffic rules. The need of the hour is to give the traffic personnel more authority and greater control of roads. Also, there should be strict enforcement of laws concerning parking, speeding, and rash driving. Steps such as proper extension of roads to match with the increase of vehicular traffic, proper management of parking areas and an effective regulation of vehicles at the time of import could also lessen the death toll. The bottom line is" The three million urban inhabitants of the valley desperately need a proper education in traffic rules.

They also denounced the Maoists announcement to this effect terming it a rather "self suicidal decision" as over 200,000 Nepali families would be directly affected if such centers here were closed.

"I take exception to the Maoist's decision of closing down such centers which have long since been acting as a backbone of the country's economy," said Gopal Man Gurung, former Gorkha soldier and erstwhile mayor of Lekhnath Municipality. He was speaking at a function organized by Nepal-India Friendship Association here at Pokhara on Saturday.

"We won't remain quiet (if the centers will be closed). Over 50,000 former Gorkha soldiers will hit the streets which will cost dearly to Maoist, he warned.

Such reaction comes at a time when CPN -Maoist is poised to lead a soon to be formed government. The party has mentioned, in its CA election manifesto, that it would shut down all Gorkha "recruitment centers".

"We are familiar with the fact that the unemployment situation in the country will not change for the next 50 years," said Tika Prasad Gurung, district chairman of the Association. "We are preparing the coming generations so that they will also follow their ancestors' footsteps. If they (Maoists) implement their manifesto in practice, it will be suicidal for them."

Nepali youths had begun opting for jobs in the Gorkha regiments since 1815. As of now, around 55,000 Nepali youths are serving in 39 battalions in Indian forces while 3,475 others are serving in the British Army forces abroad. Every year, the British government appoints 300 Nepali youths into its force.

The money earned by the Gorkha soldiers has not only been contributing to the country's economy, but education, health and other sectors have also been equally benefited, "said Lalkaji Gurung, who is chairman of struggle committee formed against the Maoist announcement. According to him, the committee has plans to organize protest programs in Butwal, Kathmandu and other cities

The US Visa racket that was busted the other day is only the tip of the iceberg that lies hidden among so-called oversea educational consultancies where perhaps the power business. The reason is simple and obvious: The educational consultancy sector that acts as the second institution to send people abroad for studies (and jobs) enjoys slack supervision from the government despite its incredibly large transactions. It is an open secret that these money-suckers in the power agencies. But what promotes fraud in the business is that there is no effective mechanism to regulate them. The fact of racketeers only after the American Embassy expressed particular concern over the illegal business which had been running for years further proves that such crimes are rampant and have been flourishing because of state indifference.

What cannot be ignored is that such crimes cannot thrive without the tacit support of government agencies which are responsible for regulating the consultancies. The exposure of the racket reveals some starting facts about crimes related to educational consultancies. One is that the criminals are undeterred by the punishment they are given. For instance, one of the accomplices, Bhola Dahal, had been arrested earlier but was out on bail. Another is that educational consultancies are almost virtually looting the students at their fancy. They have not even been complying with their own code of conduct which, among other things, states that any educational consultancy" shall not be allowed at present to collect a service charge amounting to be allowed at present to collect a service charge amounting to more than Rs 15,000". That the Channel Educational Consultancy was collecting Rs. 700,000 per student reveals what has been the trend. Besides the said Rs. 15,000 processing charge, they collect extra fees at different stages during their "consultancy service" such as after the arrival of the 1-20 from, confirmation of scholarship, visa insurance and so on.

What, therefore, has to be noted and stopped right away is the wrong practice of enticing students through misleading ads in which they even guarantee a visa, 1-2-, jobs and what not. Some embassies like the Finnish Embassy have issued public notices against such deceptive ads. But the government and co-called consultancy associations have not thought it necessary to take action or are benefiting from this anarchy. One important thing that educational consultancies power companies than what their names suggest, and such deviation is not permitted by law or the license they hold. It must concern the authority that the consultancy business has been like a horse without reins. The three major stakeholders, namely, government regulating bodies, educational consultancies and their umbrella organizations, and also foreign embassies in Kathmandu should work in tandem to bring to book such fraudulent institutions.

Over 63 percent of the students who sat for the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination have cleared the so-called Iron Gate. This is the highest pass percentage ever in the 74 years history of the SLC. Among other reasons, the arrangement to set the test questions based only on the syllabus of Class X and practical examinations that schools have started conducting have largely contributed to the high pass percentage. This has not only helped save the parents' hard-earned money but also the students' valuable time. However, there is not much ground to be satisfied with the pass percentage as compared to the results of the Indian state boards. The pass percentage is still low. The Office of the Controller of Examination (OCE) has to devise policies and programs so that more students get through the examination and less students drop out.

More than 360,000 students appeared in the SLC examination. This is a huge number, and the sole board cannot conduct the examinations and declare the results on time. The creation of another secondary board of examination will certainly bring about a difference. Students lose years because of delays and poor scrutiny of the answer papers. Teachers are allowed to bring the answer papers to their homes. Marks are often found to have been entered incorrectly. The OCE has to reform its evaluation system. It has not been able to hold the SLC examination on time, collect the answer papers, and declare the results in two month's time. What are the students who did not get through the SLC examination going to do? Were they really so poor that they could not get through the exam? How many of them will reappear in next year's SLC? And how many of them will abandon their studies? The OCE must show its concern and provide some kind of vocational courses to those who have failed the examination so that they do not remain idle and drift into crime.

There is a long, way to go to make the SLC examination very systematic. The OCE must also realize that the students who have failed the test may not qualify for any job. So every pupil must be given an opportunity to study until he or she crosses 18 years of age which is the right age to join any profession. The 37 percent of the students who flunked are likely to remain unproductive. Even if they look for overseas employment, they may not succeed in getting a job or not be eligible because they are underage providing vocational training to such students will benefit them immensely. Otherwise, the OCE must adopt a more liberal approach to ensure that a maximum number of students get through the SLC examination.

A Crisis Complicated

 

We are used to haring about food shortages particularly in the Karnali region, a remote place of Nepal. But now we're facing something very different. The people in far and mid-western Nepal can not longer be sure that food will be available at prices they can afford - or that it will be available at all. Both availability and affordability are matters of concern. This is not a silent tsunami as some international organizations have been claiming. The World Food Programme - Nepal has said that about a quarter of a million people are facing a precarious food security situation due to significant crop failures adding up to a whopping 20-70 percent during the last harvesting season.

What the government should be concerned about now is a recurrence of the crisis in the changed global economic context. Though the seasonal food shortage in the districts of far and mid-western Nepal is not a new thing, this time it is likely to take an ugly turn in the sense that its severity has been complicated as the problem has become a global challenge. Countries across the world have gone on alert - banning food exports, stockpiling grain and initiating other safety measures. But such moves have further worsened the crisis by making food grain even more scarce, and at times, crating artificial shortages. India or any other country which possesses surplus grain would be unwilling to sell it even if an international humanitarian organization like WFP-Nepal wanted to buy some to send to Nepal's crisis-hit areas. Besides, the hike in oil prices which has impacted food prices added to the complexity. The problem for Nepal now is that not only is food hard to come by, it would be unaffordable even if there was a seller. Then there's the third and most crucial factor - inflation. Add to that the level of poverty in the country.

Given these hard facts, wishy-washy efforts aren't going to be able to handle the impending crisis. The government's response - "rapid food security assessment mission" in the food-deficit districts - is welcome, but not sufficient given the severity of the crisis. Let us not just "respond" when others warn us that we are running out of food. Along with short-term measures like allocating additional budget to supply food grains in the affected areas, we need a long-term strategy. Think of the consequences of ever rising food prices. More than 40 percent of Nepal's people are too poor to afford one decent meal a day. The only way we are going to get out of this perennial crisis is by promoting climate-friendly crops, alternate food habits, and income-generating activities like herb and fruit farming and tourism in the food deficit areas. Think of increasing the people's purchasing power, economic growth, and large-scale commercial food production.

 

The so far elusive kidney transplant service in Nepal could start if an amendment to Kidney Transplant Regulations-2058 (2001) proposed by Organ Transplant Coordination Committee (OTCC) is passed.

"We have submitted the amendment proposal to the Ministry of Health and Population" said Dr Rishi Kumar Kafle, spokesperson of OTCC and executive director of National Kidney Center.

Dr Kafle said the proposed amendment to the regulations prepared for Human Organ Transplant (Regulation and Control) Act- 2055 (1998) is likely to be passed in two weeks. Once the amendment is passed, the committee will invite applications form eligible health institutions that want to begin transplant services, he said.

The OTCC, which has nine members, was set up by the government in March and it has the mandate to arrange everything to make kidney transplant possible in the country.

The proposed amendment focuses on qualifications of health workers like surgeon, nephrologists, radiologist, among others who will be involved in the transplant. Under the existing regulations, OTCC will issue licenses to transplant surgeons. The license has to be renewed every two years. But the regulations are silent regarding licensing other health workers involved in the transplant.

 

 

Until now, only Bir Hospital run by the Government had the permission to carry out such transplant. But the hospital does not provide the service anymore since the first transplant carried out by the hospital failed. The recipient's body rejected the donor's kidney. However, the recipient is alive and is on dialysis. Since then the hospital has stopped the transplant. In March, the hospital said it was waiting for a team of foreign experts to resume the service. Dr Sudha Khakurel of Bir Hospital said the foreign team has not yet informed when it would arrive in Nepal.

The amendment retains existing the provision of punishment if a kidney donor dies with in three months of donation. In that case, it provides for life imprisonment with property attachment. However, the regulation does not specify who liable for such punishment and doctors have often raised their voice against the provision. This had prevented the spread of the service, surgeons, and other health worker said.

Due to the absence of kidney transplant service in the country, people are compelled to go to India and elsewhere. In India a transplant costs somewhere between Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 1.5 million. Dr Kafle said kidney transplant would cost less than half the amount in Nepal Rs. 200,000 to 300,000.

 

 

Three Nepalese have been honored in this year's annual US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report (DSTPR) released by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as heroes in combating trafficking.

The report, released on Wednesday, was made available here by US Embassy in Kathmandu, Thursday. Bhim Lama, Ganesh Shrestha, and Kumar Giri of the Esther Benjamin's Memorial Foundation Rescue Team are being recognize for their work in rescuing over 280 Nepali Children from Indian circuses, said the report.

Amidst threats of beatings and intimidation, the trio made over 40 rescue missions to Indian circuses to liberate Nepali girls and boys from lives of misery. Most of the children were trafficked at the age of eight or nine, although some were as young as five years when they were sold off, it said.

Professional agents tricked the children's impoverished and illiterate parents into handling them over to the circus for just a few dollars. In reality, they were handing over their children to a life a malnourishment, harsh training schedules and vicious beatings by the circus staff. Frequently the girls were also sexually assaulted, the report added.

This year's report includes a particular focus on issues related to forced labor - an issue germane To Nepal. There is no change in the designation of Nepal as a Tier 2 country reflecting the country's efforts and challenges in eliminating trafficking in 2007. The Nepal Chapter of the new DSTPR notes a growing internal child sex tourism problem in Nepal, but credits the government with enactment of the comprehensive Trafficking in Persons and Transportation (Control) Act in 2007, said the report.

Royal Palace Access

 

The other day, government panel that visited Narayanhiti Palace to do a stocktaking of the royal property was denied access into the grounds. The team headed by General Administrative Secretary of Nepal Government returned after some palace officials refused to let them in. It has already been agreed that the royal residence would be converted into a museum as soon as the former king takes his leave. So no individual can delay the task of preparing an inventory of the royal possessions, archaeologically important objects, and historically important documents stored inside the palace. The former king must provide the team access to carry out the investigation and prepare a fair report.

The reason is simple: Narayanhiti Palace is a treasure house of documents, treaties, and agreements that date back to the Kirat, Lichchhavi, Gopal and Mahipal dynasties. Experts say that the stored documents and papers many of which the palace forcibly took away from the national archive, foreign ministry and even the courts bear tremendous political, historical, and cultural significance. Credible reports underline that the "red box" in Narayanhiti Palace contains important documents pertaining to the historical relation between the Rana oligarchs and successive monarchs. Likewise, it also houses the tripartite agreement signed between the king, the Nepali Congress, and the Indian government, secret agreements and treaties signed during the Panchayat Raj and the constitution drafted under the direction of the palace following the 1990 people's movement. And, too the facts related to the royal massacre. It is in this light that unhindered admission into the palace is being sought. If the team is granted entrance, its findings will solve some unanswered questions, uncertainties, and misunderstandings implanted in the psyche of common Nepalese.

It is the moral duty of the former king, place secretariat or whoever is in charge to hand over the keys of the vaults and secret chambers and ease the investigation process. If the concerned individual refrains from doing so, a full account of the priceless possessions inside the palace will never be brought to light. Although palace officials say that they are unfamiliar with the entire palace complex, they can provide valuable information about the section or building in which they worked. As for the government, it must undertake measures that will make the palace officials understand that they are now under the Nepal government and not in any way former royals. Let us all remember this: The task of preparing the inventory will remain incomplete, and valuable historical and political facts may be distorted if the parties and individuals are denied easy access to such papers and objects.

 

 

The outrageous slur against the media and other political parties by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal during a public gathering at Tundikhel has exposed his personal mentality and that of his party. In an attempt to outshine his own colleagues by drawing more applause from his own henchmen, Dhal forgot to conceal his true self. He didn't hesitate a bit to show his hatred for the free media and democratic politics.

He descended to the level of warning the press not to write anything against his party an open and ugly display to totalitarian mentality. Interestingly, the very next day they tried to mend fences because they did not wish to unmask their undemocratic face in front of the international community as yet. Baburam Bhattarai did clarify his leader's gibe by saying that he did not mean to be rude to the media. But it was not said with conviction, so it failed to convince the media. May be Bhattarai would not mind letting his nemesis get some bad repute. Dahal himself has not yet mustered enough courage to admit the mistake.

Obviously, the Maoists will try to downplay their slur at the center, but the message from the former rebel chief will have a far-reaching impact all over the country. Local level cadres take their cue from what their leader speaks at the center. It is likely that they will now unleash a reign of terror against media people all over the country. However, it seems the Maoists already have a central policy to attack the opposition press. Even before Dahal spoke against the media, his cadres had been attacking journalists in Kailali district. Journalists Lucky Chaudhary, Hemanta Paudal have been displaced after facing murder attempts, they had written about a local temple and pond, which a local Maoist leader did not like. The situation has worsened to such an extent that over a dozen editors' form the districts have announced closure of their newspapers owing to threats and insecurity.

After Dahal issued an open treat from Tundikhel, fear has swept the minds of journalists around the country. If anything bad should happen to a single member of the press, comrade Dahal will be held responsible. During dire times such as now, we can do nothing but urge international rights organizations, press freedom organization sand all forces supportive of the freedom of expression and democracy to immediately pay heed to the worsening situation of media persons in Nepal. The diplomatic community in Nepal that has been strongly advocating support of the Maoists must tell them to stop intimidating the press. If the Nepali press fails to get national and international support, we believe our media will be gagged. We feel sorry to realize that in threatening the media, Dahal has followed the line of the infamous Tulsi Giri- chairman of the erst- while king's cabinet.

Mathew K. Hardley the lead a torney for the families of the 12 Nepali workers killed by terroirsts in Iraq in August 2004 has won a landmark verdict for Nepal. Pershpa no lawyer would have fought for other nationals as ardently as Hardley did. He met with the relatives of the victims and the people who ere with them hours before they were kidnapped by Islamic terrorists. Hardeley sought justice for the sufferers of the US war in Iraq. The relatives of the workers killed in Iraq four years ago did not have to make the rounds of the courts to obtain justice, he made sure that they got it. This court case is certainly a testament to the endurance of the human spirit. The US Administrative Law Court for the Department of Labor has ordered the Jordanian company, which had hired the 12 Nepali laborers for a US firm operting in Iraq, to pay compensation of US$ 230 to 250 per month to their spouses and parents.

On August 31, 2004, a website associated with a group calling itself Jaish Ansar al-Sunna posted grueing one of the Nepalis and shooting to death the other 11 as they lay helpless on the ground. The terrories out-fit, which on August 23 had claimed to hae kidnapped the 12 Nepalis, stated that it had killed the innocent laborers"for their cooperation with the United States in fighting Islam and its people." In the days following the kidnapping, the Nepal government did not even bother to seek the support of the Jordanian government to rescue the wretched Nepali laborers. The mass murder was the largest number of captives killed at one time in Iraq. Nepal erupted in a rage at the news of the grisly massacre. Mobs rampaged throughthe streets and did not spare any manpower agency in Kathmandu. It took months for these employment agencies to recover form the destruction of their offices and resume work.

Hardley, who had lived in Nepal between 1997 and 1999 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, visited the relatives of the victims to gain an insight into how the 12 Nepalis had been lured by the Jordanian company. He built and executed his legal strategies will. Until recently, Nepal was unaware of the legal wrangling going on. But Hardley's love for this country prompted him to seek justice for the innocentvictims. And justice prevailed at the end no matter how long it took. The monthly payments the court has awarded the families of 10 of the 12 victims will help them overcome their tragedy and loss. The court bttle is also a struggle to find the truth and obtain a just verdict. It happens only in a democrtic country where the law is above every individual.

Kin of Nepalese killed in Iraq on August 2004 to be paid

 

 

 

 

 

The court said the families of Budhan Bahadur Shah of Dhanusha and Mangal Bahadur Limbu of Dhankuta were disqualified for the compensation as they did not have any dependents. However, the family of Bhes Bahadur Thapa of Rolpa refused to be compensated.

"We tried to communicate with the family members of Bhes Bahadur Thapa but we found them so upset that they did not want to remember the event" Handley said.

 

 

 

 

Nepal Slashes Royalty fees for mountaineering

 

Nepal has drastically cut the cost of climbing Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks to try and attract more mountaineers to the country, an official said Thursday.

"The government has approved the decision to cut the royalty fee for climbing Everest by 75 percent during winter and summer seasons and 50 per cent during the autumn season", tourism official Krishna Prasad Gyawali told AFP.

Prices for the spring season, by far Everest's busiest due to a brief summiting window before monsoon rains, will remain the same.

But the number of people allowed on a 70,000 dollar-permit will be raised to 15 from 12, the official said.

 

"Prices for permits on the other 326 peaks over 5,500 meters (18,250 feet) that are open for climbing have been slashed on a similar basis, "said Gyawali.

As well as the 8,848 meter (29,198 foot) Everest, Nepal has another seven of the world's 14 highest peaks. Mountaineering brings much needed hard currency into the impoverished nation sandwiched between India and China.

"To encourage mountaineering in unexplored and backward areas, the government also decided to allow mountaineering free of charge in the mid-west and far-west regions for the next five years" said Gyawali.

Tibetans continue protest, 259 arrested released

Police arrested at least 259 Tibetan protestors from Hattisar

area in the capital as the latter were trying to stage

demonstions in front of the visa section of Chinese Embassy in

Kathmandu.

According to Superintendent of Police Sarbendra Khanal, Chief

of Metropolian Police Range Office, Kathmandu ,the arrasted

include 118 female protestors.

Some of the demonstratiors wrere runded up as they were

staging a sit-in protest in front  of the high-walled embassy

compound while many others wre carted off as they appeared

protesting around the Embassy compound at 11 am.

Agitating protestors chanted slogans demanding that the Dalai

Lama be allowed to live in Tibet and that they wanted to free

and peaceful Tibet.

All those arrested were freed later in the evening.

Meanwhile a group of about 100 foreigners gathered in Boudha

Stupa in the capital to express solidarity with the ongoing

protests of Tibetans Monday evening, according to police.

"However, ti is not confirmed whether they are human right

activists or foreign tourists,"said police officer over phone.

Exiled Tibetans have been staging protests almost on a daily

basis in Kathmandu since March 10.

   

45 percent of total population in Nepal is infected with Tuberculosis (TB) Tuberculosis (TB) claims 5 to 7 thousands Nepali lives every year while 45% of the total population is infected with the disease, secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population said here Monday. Speaking at a program organized by National TB Center, Dr Bishnu Prasad Pandit, secretary at the Ministry, said 35,000 TB patients were receiving tretment under Directly Observed Treatment Short - Course (DOTS) . "The government is trying for coordination between TB, and HIV and AIDS programs through a special technical committee" Dr Pandit said on today when the country also market World. TB Day along with the rest of the world with the slogan "I am stopping TB." TB is a leading killer among HIV infected people with weakened immune system suscepible to infection."It is impotant that people with TB be visible in their communities and not remain hidden. Family members and neighbors must learn that TB is not a death sentence when patients have access to DOTS," a statement of the National TB Center read. It said that in spite of the availability of effective medicines and tools, TB was still the main cause of death among young people and adults from a single infectious agent. One-third of the world populationis infected with Tuberculosis bacilli, the microbe that cause TB, the statement said. Globally 1.6 million people died from Tuberculosis (TB) In 2007, equal to an estimated 4,4000 deaths a day. According to World Health Organization, only 61 percent of the estimated new smear positive cases are detected and 85 percent of these cases are successfully treated under DOTS program. Accelerating case detection is therefore critical for reaching the global target for TB control set at 70 percent case detection and 85 percent success rate in treatment.

Rs 1.8 million collected to save Dolma A total of Rs.1.8 million has been collected in a bid ti saave tge kufe if Dolma Sherpa on whom Kuwaiti preliminary court has slapped death penality for her alleged hand in the murder of a Filipino woman in Kuwait. According to Hira Bahadur Thapa, spokesperson of Minisstry of Foreign Affiars, Qatar-based Nepali mission has collected Rs.1.1 million from Nepali workers in Qatar where around 300,000 Nepalis ae working. The government had initiated the process of fundraising by providing Rs.4000,000 as seed money for the purpose of bringing about a reprive to Dolma's sentence. Likewise, Rs.300,000 was collected by the Association of Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN) from Nepali communities in different countries. Talking tothe Post Wednesday, Thapa said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has deputed the first secretary at Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia, Lok Bahadur Thapa to Kuwait to appointto defense lawyer on behalf of Dolma and to hold talks with officialsof Kuwait based Fillipino embassy to negotiate with the victim's family members for blood money. The Government has estmated the total amount will come to around Rs. 5 milloin to pay for blood money and remuneration for a lawyer.

A staffer service with United Nations Mission in Nepal committed suicide in his

rented apartment at Kathmandu Metropolitan City -3, Kapanmarg, Saturday

March 8,2008 evening. 

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikash Raj Khanal, Chief of

Metropolitan Police Circle Ofice, Maharjgunj, the person committing suicide has

been indentified as Russian national Evegeny Alexanddrov, 50, a helicopter

engineer.
 

The suicide comes five days after three of his colleagues -- Dzmitry

Malyshau(Belarus), Nikolay Yamshshikov (Russia), Sargey Oreshenko (Russia)--

died in the tragic  helicopter accident in Bethan VDC in Ramechhap district.

DSP Khanal said Alexandrov and five of his colleagues including those killed in

the chopper crsh had been living for the past one year in the house belonging to

one Dipak Khatri on rent. Alexandrov was mentally disturbed since the day of

the accident.

 

The government has formally expressed its readiness to send Nepal workers to Japan, a high ranking officials said.

According to Shyam Prasad Mainali, secretary of the Ministry of Labor, the government recently send a letter to the Japanese government and the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization stating Nepal's interest in exporting labour to the largest economy in Asia.

"We accepted the Japanese proposal to recruit Nepal workers and forwarded the letter to the Japanese government and JITCO  through our mission in Japan", Mainali told the post.

In the first week of Janurary 2008 the government started  diplomatic efforts to send Nepali job seekers with varying qualifications  ranging from highly skilled to semi-skilled to Japan.

In 2003, the government had named the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Committee and Indurstry as the sole agency in charge of slecting and sending Nepali workers to Japan. The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commrce and Industry howerver failed to send any Nepali job seekers to Japan saying that   there  was no demand for them.

In addition tot he FNCCI, other organizations will also be allowed to send workers to the lucrative labour destination once Nepal and Japan finalize the new understanding," said a high level source.

Nepal's ambassador to Japan  Ganesh Yonjan had requested Labor Ministry officials to send a formal letter of approval to the Japanese authorities about the recruitment of Nepali workers to different Japanese indursstrial enterprises following the green signal from JITCO.

Last September, Japan International Trading Corporation Organization official had visited Nepal and inspected different government and private vocational training centers.

Japan plans to hire 1.3 million foreign workers from 16 different countries incluing Nepal, China, Bangladesh, Indonesian, Vietman, the Philippines, Myanmar and Peru.

Only a small number of Nepali workers have managed to find employment in Japan on their own for lack of a labor agreement between the two countries.

According to the data of the Deparement of Labour, only 147 Nepali left to work in the most development Asian economy in the first seven months of the current fiscal year  2007/08. Japanese agricultural farms and indurstry absorb most of the skilled and semi-skilled the foreign workers.   

 

                                                                                                                                                   
   

 

 

 

The government has formed a nine-member Organ Transplant Coordination Commettee as per the Organ Transplant Regulations, 2058.

Minister for Health Giriraj Mani Pokharel announced the formation of the committee at three-day conference of South Asian nephrologists and urologists that kicked off here Thursday March 6,2998.

Other member of the committee led by Dr Bisho Raj Joshi are Dr Sudha Khakurel, Dr Rishi Kumar Kafle and Dr Prem Gyawali. Similaarly, Dr Govinda Prasad Ojha, Director of the Department of the Health Services has been appointed the committee's member-secretary.

Doctors willing to conduct  human  organ transplants in Nepal have to procure a license from the coordination committee formed by the government.

The committee also decides it a medical facility in Nepal mis capable of carrying our organ transplants. The committee had been non-existent for the past two years.

Despite being capable, Nepali dodctors have not been able to transplant kidneys due to lack of transplant licenses.

As there is no kidney transplant facility in Nepal, patient seeking transplants go to hospitals and nursing homes in India.

According to nephrologist Dr Rishi Kumar Kafle, a patient spends somewhere between Rs 500,000 and Rs 1,500,000 for kidney transplant in India.

He says that kidney transplants can be done a cheaper rates in Nepal if private medical facilities are given the permission.

 

 

As part of the arrangement the government of Nepal will use the rest of the

concessional loan to pay for purchase of one Chinese MA-60 turboprop aircraft,

the source said.

 

 

Nepal had placed an order for two of the turboprops during the royal regime and

the government had paid an advance of US $ 5 million.

 

 

After the regime change in April 2006, the government decided to cancel the

order and asked the China National Aero Technology Import and Export advance.

 

                                                                                                              
However, in a strongly worded letter sent to Nepal in September 2006, the

Chinese government said that cancellation of the order  would "seriously affect

bilateral ties", and there was strong Chinese pressure to use part of the

concessional credit to pay for the aircraft.

"We have settled on buying one of the aircraft with part of the concessional

credit. "said the source. The aircraft will cost Nepal US $ 13 million to 14 million,

the source said.  

China is positive about providing US $ 187.million for building the 61 MW Upper Trishuli and 44 MW Upper Trishuli 3 "B" projects  that will sell electricity in the Nepalese market.

The money is part of a US $ 200 million  concessional credit committed to Nepal by China's state-owned Export-Import Bank in September 2006.

 

A Finance Ministry source said that the nine-member Chinese delegation that visited Nepal this week under the leadership  of China's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs. He assured Nepalese  authorities that China's Commerce Ministry would be told "categorically" to provide US $ 125 million for building the Upper Trishuli and US $ 62 million for the Upper Trishuli 3 "B".

"It is a deal almost,"said the Finance Ministry source. The delegation has said it has no problem with such an arrangement and will categorically tell the Commerce Ministry  in China to agree to it.  

On March 5,2008 Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited has launched online banking in a bid to provide easier and faster services to its customerr. A press realease issued by Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd on Tuesday says the newly introduced transfers and other non-financial transaction. Under the service, the bank's customers can get a majority of their banking needs catered from the comfort of their homes or offices any time. the Bank shaares the Standard Chartered Group's secured online platform, accessed by millions of customers world wide.  

 

Electric vehicles displayed at the made in Nepal expo in Bhrikuti Mandal

An  exhibation of Nepali industrial products kicked off on Wednesday,March 

5,2008 in the capital to attack local consumers toward domestic goods.

The second edition of the made in Nepal Exhibition is organized by the Nepalese

young Enterpreneours Forum with the assistance of the Federation of Nepal

Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

More than so large of small and medium enterprises are showcasing their

products at the five-day expo at the exhibition hall in Bhrikuti Mandap,

Kathmandu.

Saurab Joti president of the Nepal Young Enterpreneurs Forum said  the event

was aimed at popularizing and promoting domestic products and services among

Nepali people to encourage local entrepheneurs and create more jobs in the

country.

"At least 100,000 new unemployed youth enter the market every year in Nepal.

Jyoti said,"Nepali products should be promoted and encourage Nepali industrial

enterprises.

He streeted the need to promote SMEs rather than big industries as the

contibution of SMEs was crucial for the country's economic growth.

Chandi Raj Dhakal, present of the FNCCI, said that economic issues should

dominate the political agenda in the country as it was recling under a economic

slow-down due to the displacement of industries and the deteriorating condition

of peace and order.f

Two Nepalis found dead in Dubai on 3rd March Nepalese workers  Mr Bichari

Sadaula and  Mr Purna Bahadur Sadaula of Birdur Municipality 6 were found

dead in Dubai on Friday 29th Feb 2008. They were uncle and nephew. Although

the actual cause of the death has not been ascertained yet, the companies that

Bichari and Purna Bahadur were working for have reportedly claimed that the 2

had killed each other in a fight. The victim's family has, however, maintained that

the companies are concealing the truth in a bid to save their own reputations.   . 

 

The tourism in dusting recorded an impresive growth of 17 percent in tourist

arrivals during February 2008.

 

The dta of Nepal"Tourism Board" shows that 30,041 air travellers entered Nepal

during the month up from 25,656 persons during the same period last year.

 

Most of the major Asian markets posted remarkable growth. The number of

holiday makers from Thailand surged 105 percent to reach 867 persons,

Bangladesh was up 99 percent (825 tourists) and South Korea was up 12 percent

(1,426 tourists). The numbr of European travellers' increased by 38 percent.

Arrivals frorm Britain grew by 37 percent (2,203 tourists) and f rom France by 41

percent (1,446 tourists).

 

"The increase in inbound figures reveals and encouraging picture of growing

consumer confidence in those markets,"said an Nepal Tourism Board" statement.

The Nepal Tourism Board added that rising consumer confidence, modrate travel

advisories  and good air connections were the reasons behind the higher tourist

arrivals form Europe. American tourists are visiting Nepal in greater numbers

too. The number of vacationers from the US grew by 28 percent to reach 2,21 

7 persons. However, the Indian market was a disappointment with the number of

 visitors from south of the border continuting to decline as they shifted their focus

to Southeast Asian distinations like Malasia,Thailand and Singpore.

 

The flow of tourists into Nepal has been going up continuously following the

peace process. The country welcomed a record half a milliion sight-sees in 2007.

Travel traders said  tourism would have expanded  much faster hadn't it been

constant labour disputers .

 

 

A helicopter of the United  Nations Mission in Nepal crashed in Bhwasa Bethan

VDC-9 of Ramechhap district Monday Feb 3,2008 afternoon killing at least   ten

people on board.

According to a statement issued by Home Ministry Monday evening, seven foreign

nationals and five Nepalis were on boaard the chopper that left for Kathmandu

from Dudhaili in Sindhuli district. The status of two of then in still unclear.

However, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said the ill-fated chopper was

carrying only 10 persons including 3 crew members..

Home Ministry under-secretary Eak Mani Nepal said poor weather conditions

have prevented aerial rescure efforts. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said two

choppers are ready to leave for the accident site for rescue and salvage, but 

have been held back due to bad weather.

Meanwhile, UNMIN confirmed in a statement issued take Monday 3,Feb 2008 that

at about 4 PM Monday UNMIN lost contact with a Mission helicopter which was

returning to Kathmandu from the Maoist cantonment site of Sindhauli in the east

of the country. 

      

Nepali wormen in Lebanon like harrid lives

 

Kamala Devi Bhandari, who hails from Jhapa, served her masters for six years and three months. In that entire period she received a mere amount of  USD 3,000 (or USD 40 per month). Fed up with from her employer's house and approched the Nepali Community in

Beirut for help.

 

Manmaya Tamang is another Nepali exploited by her employer she also fled from the employer's house after being denied her wages for years.

 

Another lady, Ganga Rana Magar was not so fortunate. She was thrown out by her master only when she was alrady half dead. They dunped her on the flight to Kathmandu, alleging that she had consumed poison. Her case remains a mystery as she died within two hours of arriving in Kathmandu.

 

These are only a few examples of the pitiful life that Nepali Women are lilving in this shrife-torn country on the Mediterranean. Mostly Nepali women aged between 20 -30 years arrived in Lebanon as domestic helper, expecting a good salary and an easy livelihood.

They complains that their dreams have been brutally shattered but no one has noticed them in Beirut or in Nepal.

 

Acording to an estimate, there are over 9,000 Nepalis in Beirut, of which over 90 percent are women  be "Most of them get on averge salary of 125 - 150 US Dollars per month, if they are lucky enough to find a good employer, said Dipenddra Upreti, International co-oodinator of the recently founded Non-resident Nepal organization in Beirut. "Most Nepali domestic helper are confined within the exployers' house. We believe most of them are uppaid or undrpaid, but hardly anyone can approach the police said Upreti.

 

India, the United States, EU and the United Nations Mission in Nepal(UNMIN) have

welcomed the agreement between the government and United Democratic Madhesi

Front (UDMF) saying it has paved way for election of the Constituent Assembly as

scheduled.

 In seperate statements issued shortly after the agreement on (Thursday)

Feb 28,2008, they have also stressed implementtion of the agreement by both

parties to the agreement, reiterating their support for the election.

 

"It is our hope that all parties would honor and implement this agreement and thieir

previous understanding  said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi in a 

statement made available by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. "It is far the people

of Nepali to choose therir representatives, their future and the manner in which

they wish to be governed".
 

Similarly, the US in a statement said, "We expect this agreement will lead the

United Democratic Madhsi Front parties to end their Tarai banda with immediate

effect and will pave the way for the three parties to participate fully in the upcoming

Constituent Assembly ellection on April 10."

 

"A free and fair election is the desire, we believe, of all Nepalis-in the mountains,

the hills and the plains and the United States   in committeed to doing its part to

assist the people of Nepal in making this historic opprotunity a reality", the

statement issued by the US Embassy added. "Its implementation will be an

important contribution to the election of an inclusive Constituent Assimbly," Ian

Martin special representative of the Scretary  Genral in Nepal, said in a welcome

statement.

 

"Meanwhile, the European Union in a statement of Thrusday welcomed in signing of

the agreement between Government and the United Democratic Madhesi Front. The

French Embassy in Kathmandu on behalf of  the EU said:"The agreement provides

opportunity for holding constitument assembly ellections across the country

including the tarai in an inclusive, credible, free and fair manner."         

Fuel Crunch stalls hydro project construction in Nepal

 

Consturnctin of Middle Marsyangdi  Hydro-electricity Project has not resumed due to lack of fuel.

 

Work was halted 12 days ago due to shortage of petroleum products resulting from the  indefinite tarai banda. A project source said the stoppage has caused loss of Rs.25 million to the Nepal Government till date.

 

The Government has to pay 2 to 2.2 million rupees to the contractor daily. Only about five percent of project constructin work remains.

 

Sunil Kumar Dhungel, deputy head of the project said construction work would most likely resume of Wednesday as Nepal Oil Corporation has assured it will supply necessary fuel. Approximately 20,000 liters of diesel is consumed by the project daily.

 

 

Feb 22,2008 Police brought   Kathmandu Pankaj Jha, a close aide of the alleged 

kidney racket kingpin Dr Amit Kumar Ravat, to Kathmandu, Friday. He was arristed

by a special team of Armed Police Force from his home at Birhibirpur VDC-6 in

Saptari distirct, Thursday. Metropolitan Police crime Division   Hanumaandhoka, has

began inter-rogation for in further investigation on the racket,police said.

Dr Amit Kumar was arrasted from a resort in Chitwan on Friday7,2008 and

subsequently   deported to India the next day. He along with his Nepali accempolice

Jha, had allegedly duped some 300 people into donating their kidneys at sums

ranging from Rs.75,000 to Rs.100,000.   

The indefinite general strike called by United Democratic Madhesi Front and Fedural

Republic National Front across tarai and some eastern hilly districts entered day

nine on Thursday, continuous banda and curfew has paralyzed life especially in

tarai.

In South Asia, Nepal certainly total the list number of returning commercial female sex workers infected with AIDS in 2008, of nearly 100,000 back from Mumbai, Delhi, Kalkata, Bangalore and Madras in the past decade with various HIV-related infections and full blawn AIDS, various I/NGOS and donors have estimated nearly 40 percent have already died.

Alka Hospital Private Ltd, Jawalakhel, has announce to provide surgical operation services to aroud 125 poor and needy patients for free on the occasion of its first anniversary. According to a statement issued here Wednesday 20 Feb 2008, the services are being offered from Feb 23 to April 12 as part of its cooperate social responsibilities . Earlier, the ALKA Hospital Private Limited, together with FDP-Nepal, had announced  to provide free health check-up to all patients visiting the hospital for a week starting Feb 15, 2008.

Non- Resident Nepalis Association has begun the process of collecting cash in a bid to save Dolma Sherpa following the Government's request for financial assistance from all Nepali Communities.

The government took the inititive to create a fund by contributing Rs.400,000 this week as seed money for saving Dolma on whom a Kuwaiti Court has slapped death sentence for her alleged roll in the murder of Filipino woman.

A meeting held under the chairmanship of Non Resident Nepal president Upendra Mahato in Moscow formed two committees in Russia and South Korea on Wednesday to speed up the fund raising campaign.

Talking to the Post over phone, Jeeba Lamichhane, executive member of NRN, said NRN Internatinal coordination council member Tendi Sherpa has been appointed coordinator of the committee formed in Korea to collect money from 40 different counties.

Likewise, another committe will be led by Ranga Poudel and Prawin Gauchan in Russia. As per the government estimate, around Rs.5 million will be needed for providing "blood money" to the family of the victim and fee for a defence lawyer to plead for Dolma in Kuwait.

For seven straight days the terai and some eastern hill districts have seen no respite from the indefinite general strike called by United Democratic Madhesi Front and Federal Republic National Front.

Local Administration in Biratnagar and Siraha clamped curfews on Tuesday while the curfews in Mahottarai and Nepalgung of Banke entered their second and third day respectively.

22 Years, Rajesh Thakur died on Tuesday in a clash at Lahan of Siraha district.  Thakur, who had sustained bullet wounds to his chest and hand, died on the way to a hospital in Dharan. Over hundred protestors were injured in the clash.

As  the situation got out of control,the local administration clamped curfew around Lahan area from 6.30 PM on Tuesday till 4 PM of Wednesday.

Following a clash between protestors and Police in Biratnagar of Morang district on Tuesday morning,the local administration imposed curfew in Biratnagar form 11 AM on Tuesday untill further notice, curffew was clamped in Biratnagar.

Likewise, local administration at Nepalgunj extended the curfew for an indefinite period after lifting in for three hours on Tuesday. The authorities decided to continue the curfew saying that the security situation has not normalized.

Life in Sarlahi, Rautahut and the hilly districts of Dhunkuta and Taplegung was also affected on Tuesday due the indefinite strike.

Local adimistrations clamped curfew in four districts as Bara,Prasa,Dhunsha and Mahuttarai aand intefinitelly extended curfew in Banke district on Monday, on the sixth day  of the general strike called by united Domocratic Madhesi Frong in tarai.

Local administration in Nepalgunj clamped curfew for the second consecutive day on Monday, following vialent clashes between protesters and police on Sunday. Curfew -orders were also issued in Bara,Parsa and Dhunusha districts on Monday.

Curfew Director Oficer(CDO) of Banke, Narendra Raj Sharma, said the curfew was clamped after the situation slid out of control. He also said the curfew would be relaxed only after assessing the security situation.

Thousands of student inthe vally could not attend school from  18th Feb 2008 (Monday) as school buses have run out of fuel.

If the problem, contineous, all big schools that depand on busses to bring their students for classes will have to shut down.

Meanwhile, hospitals are on the verge of cutting all services except emergency, again due to the fuel crises.

Doctors insist the government should instantly come up with a contingencey plan and ensure that work at essential service providers like hospitals is not hampered.

Director of TU Teaching Hospital . Sr Mahesh Khakurel said the hospital may soon not be in a position to provide anything other then emmergency services. He said hospital  staff  have been commuting on food as staff   based are no longers in operation for lack of fuel.

The hospital will soon be unable to run its ambulances. Unless now we have been managing some how to operate ambulances. Howerver, they won's be in a position to continue duty so after a few days if the fuel cirsis persists..

Also, because of a lack of cooking gas and kerosene, the hospital canteen is not operating at full capacity.

Similarly, Director of Gangalal  National  Hurt Center, Dr Bhuwan Koirala said the hospital want be able to do much it patients sturd dying inventilators due to lack of fuel to ensure uninterrupted power supply. "Before the situation worsens, the government should bring in a contingency plan to provide hospitals with 24 hours of power and other fuel supply, Dr Koirala said.

So, the government should come upto with a special provision for supplying fuel to schools, hospitals and other essential sectors.

 

Mid Marsyangdi Hydor-electricity Project here in the district has been shut down from 17th Feb 2008 due to shortage of fuel. All work came to a halt for an indefinite period although only 5 percent project work remained said the construction company. According to the Project, it needs a total of 20,000 liters of  petrol daily to carry out constructin work.

The government called on all Nepali's to extend financial support to save Dolma Sherpa on whom a Kuwaity Court has slapped death sentence for her alleged involvement in the murder of a woman, The Foreign Minister of a woman. The Foreign Ministery in a statement asked financial assistence from Nepali's residing inside the country and abroad. An estimated RS.5 million will be necessary to pay defience lawyer's fees and "blood money" to the family of the victim, ministry spokesperson Hira Bahadur Thapa told the Post that the government has set aside Rs.400,000 as seed money for the purpose., Dolma hails from Gumba-8 of Sindhupalanchowak district.

A youth, who allegedly violatetd the curfew on 15,2008 Friday evening was killed in

police firing Golmani of Bhaktapur. According to police, the Youth with the surname

Lageju died while being taken to TU hospital  for treatment. 

The British embassy will no longer issue visas in Kathmandu to Nepaleses. Instead, Nepali visa aspirants will have to wait longer as the United Kingdon has decided to issue the visas from New Delhi.

According to Mitra Pariyar, political offier at the embassy, The British High Commission in New Delhi will decide whether or not issue visas to Nepalis seeking entry into the UK, effictive from Monday 18 Feb. 2008, "British Ambassador to Nepal Dr Andrew Hall conveyed to United Kingdon government's new decision to Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya on Friday, " he said.

When asked about the reasons, Pariyar said that the decision was taken as per the UK government's new policy under a Global Project."As per the policy, the UK Government has set a plan  to issue visas from selected regional posts accross the world by 2011 AD", he said.

Though it may not be as quick a service as to new delivered from Kathmandu the starategy of the UK government is to deliver quality services at low cost, he added.

Following the decision, Nepalis seeking UK visas will not have to face visa intervious nor will they have to visit New Delhi. "There will be normal requirements for the application process." he said, further adding, "VFS Global, as officially authorized agency in Kathamndu, collects the documents and sends them directly to New Delhi for their decision.

Finace Secretary Rameswor Khanal said that for an immediate solu`tion on the power crises facing the country, there was no alternative to power purchase from India.

"We know this is not a good way tackle power cirsis in the long run. But, we have no option at present",  Khanal said at a program organized by Nepal Chamber of Commerce in Kathmandu.

"Efforts are underway in this regard", he added, Industralists, business persons and experts demanded that the Government adopt immediate, mid-term and long-term measures to tackel the power crisis.

"According to a preliminary study, Load sheeding has caused 40 per cent decrease in industrial productions. Eventually, production cost increased by the same percentage", said Surendra Bir Malakar, Chairman of Nepal Chamber of Commerce.

Due to the same reason, private sector industry that pays nearly 74 billion rupees in revenue to the government, will suffer losses worth around  four billion rupees, according to Malakar.

Foreign industors who were lately encouraged to invest in the Nepali market will hesitate if the power crisis is not addrssed in time.

Majority of speakers at the program empharized the need to promote compact Fluorescent Lamps and other gadgets that consume less power. They urged the government to lunch a media compaign to make people aware of such equipment  and lunch special initiatives for making people switch to such gear.

"Use of investors, irons, pumps and rice cookers among others, that consume excenssive power should be discoruaged", said Rastrabhushan, Executive Member of NCC. Experts urged that maximum tax be slapped on import of items like inverters.

 

Many factory will close production due to lack of diesel to operate its machines. The

factory had already been significantly curtailing production owing to the replaced

increase of load shedding hours. The factory was force to halt all production work 3

days after it resumed the production due to shortage of the diesel.

 A woman turning empty-handed from Nepal Food Corporation depot at Khalanga, headquarters of remote Jajarkot district on 12th Feb 2008. People came on foot from far-flung villages to receive their rice quota of 10 kilos per family per week but were forced to return empty-handed after stocks ran out. Food depots in the district, which were displaced during the insurgency, were restored last year. Even a year since the restoration of the depots, the government has failed to provide the promissed food quotas.

Sirpanchami  is also called  Basanta Panchami. On 11 Feb 2008  all people, mostly students worship the Goddess Saraswoti temple. A child learns to  scrbble his first alphabets with his mother's help at a  Saraswati temple on the occassion of Basanta Panchami. Student visite temples and offer worship to Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and learning to mark on Basanta Panchami.

 

India's ministry of  Power in positive on providing Nepal 40 Megawatt (MW) of electricity,

which Nepal Electricity Authority is looking to import from the Dubhai-Katiya transmission link,

Nepal Electricity  Authority's  Managing Director Arjun Kumar Karki said on 11th Feb 2008.

After India's leading power trader PTC India Ltd told Nepal last month that it would be able to

provide the nothern neighbour only 15 Megawatta of the 40 Megwawatta India had promissed

last year, effort was initiated at the govennment level to procure power.

"Indian Government is ready to provide us the full forty megawatts "Karki told parlements'

Finance committee."We can import power from Dubai-Kataiya transmission link",he said, Nepal

is already importing 50 Megawatta from the link based on the power exchange agreement

between the two countries, still, consumers are facing up to eight hours of daily power cuts.

On 11 Feb,2008 Nepal Electricity Authority  also wrote to PTC India Ltd requesting it to supply

20 Megawatta of additional power from Tanakpur.

 

Undaunted by two unsuccessful attempts to enter the police forces, Ramila Bohara of Kalti of Bajura district has come to Dipayal after

a three day long arduous walk to try her luck for the third  time. Bohara is hopeful that this time she will be selected for a job in the

force.

I  failed in the written exam in both my previous attempt, she said." But  I am quite optimistic this time and want to show that woman

too are capable like men and can support their family through this proffessiion".

If her dream materializes, she will be the first "police woman" from her village as well as a few after neighbouring VDC' s. After the

Government recently allocated certain quotas for woman candidates, sources of other woman have arrived here from Darchula,

Bajura, Achham, Bajhang and Dadeldhura districts of the far western region to apply for jobs in the police force.

It seems the days when one married off one's daughter at an early age are over new, said Bhora's father Gegane, while accompanied

her all the way from home,"I brought  her here as the expressed her desire to join the police".

However, he is haunted by his daughter's previous failures."As I am from a village and have no relatives in the police force. I am not

too hopeful" he said.

According to Regional Police Training Center of Nepal Police  here, as total out 128 woman have applied for the advertised 26

vacancies thiis time.

"Until a few years back, no woman wanted to join the police force,"said a police officer." But now, even over qualified woman have

applied for the post of constable.

National flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation last week pulled out of its flights to New Delhi, one of its most lucrative sectors until a few years back.

Stoppage of the flights was due to low volume of passengers.

The Corporation was performing satisfactorily in the internatinal sector due to the absence of competition on many lucrative  routes and a comparative advantage as a domestic based airlines despite mis-management and poor services. But no longer.

Today's firence competition in the national and international sectors seems to have broken Nepal Airlines Corporation's back- bone-perhaps once and for all.

International carriers are jackeying for a bigger slience of the pie. At the same time domestic airlines-Yeti and Buddha with their sound management are taking a toll on Nepal Airlines Corporation. Yeti has now gone international.

The carreir is fast losing business not just on its Delhi route but almost every sector.

Nepal Air Corporation, which once used to fly to 49 destinations accross the country, is currently restricted the remote domestic areas where other airlines hesitate to go. Out of 6 Twen-Oter aircraft for the domestic sector, 3 lie idle and 2 are damaged. Yeti Airlines,lured by growing air traffic, has been requesting to be given both damaged aircraft on lease. Aside from paying the lease amount, it has offered to repaid, operate and return the aircraft after a certain period.

The only thing that keeps Nepal Airlines Corporatin going is its unnatural benfits ground handling.

This earns it nearly a billion rupees in revenue a year. But the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal can take away their business any time.

Nepal Airlines Corporation earned a profit of around 500 million rupees in the last fiscal year of 2006/07 and  suffered a loss Rs. 300 million in the year 2005/06,according to Financial Director of Nepal Airlines Corporation.
 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has reached a loan agreement of US$ 137 million(around 9 billion rupees) for the Melamchi

project for until 2013.

The ADB took the decision during a meeting held at its headquarters in Manila, Phillipins on Feb7,2008, said a statement issued by the

Ministry of Physical Planning and construction.

The ADB has also withdrawn a past condition that barred award of contract for construction of the 26.5 kilometer diverson tunnel

without prior handover of management of the warter supply system in Kathmandu Valley to the private sector the Ministry said.

The Government has already commenced working accrodingly to a public-private partnership concept to manage water supply in

valley.

The   ADB said in its web-site that it has agreed to new terms for the project. The ADB agreed in new terms for the project for which

it is the lead financier.

The ADB said it agreed to remove a loan convenant requiring the award of a private sector management contract to support the new

utility as a precondition for awarding the tunnel Civil work contract.

This will enable to two sub-projects to be immplements in paralled without delay

 

A major Indian kidney racket Dr Amit Kumar was finally caught in a police dragnet. Nepal Police arrested  him from a resort in Chitwan

from a wild evening life camp hotel at Souraha  around 5 PM thursday Feb 7,2008. Along with Dr Amit, police also nabbed one of his

close adides, Manish Singh.

Police also seized a bank draft for Indian rupees 936000 and Euros 145,000 and USD 18,900 in cash from the arrested.

The arrest comes after Interpol issued red corrner notice against Dr Anil recently.`

The network spread accross at least five Indian states, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttara Pradesh and Haryana,

besides Nepal.

A sleuth probing the kidney racket had brought out the fact that a least three Turkish nationals had died during kidney transplants at

Amit's hospital between 2003 to 2005. The matter was allegedly covered up claiming the three died to due to cardiac failuer.

Dr Anil is said to be the mastermind behind an international racket in illegal kidney transplants which has been operating for many

years. He is accused of having fraud or duped around 500 people into donating their kidneys.

India to probe kidney racket link to Nepal. Indian Police have decided to send a special team to Nepal for further in investigation after reports that a multi million Kidney rcket based in India was spread well over to Nepal. Police investigation into Gurgon Kidney racket also brought the fact into the light that the main alleged in the illegel trade Dr Amit Kumar could be bindiny in Nepal. The Amit's close friend and partner Dr Upendra Kumar reavealed this during police interrogatin while claiming that the former also owns a big hospital in Nepal. Police had arrested five persons from Dr Amit Kumar's Hospital in Gurgon's sector 23 about 10 days ago, for investigation. Earlier, sleuths brobing the kidney racket had revealed that at least three Terkish nationals had died during transplant procedures at the hospital between 2003 and 2005. The mattger was allegedly covered up claining the 3 died due to cardiac failure.

 

39 years Dorjee Shepra started climbing Mountain Everest in 1992 and his first ascent was with an Amerrican expedition. Barring a brief period in the middle, he has been scaling the highest peak in the world every year.

 

Mountaineering is not a big deal for the experienced. What is required is honesty and knowledge of new mountain equipments. The time's no more the same as when Hillary climbed mountains five decades ago. Dorjee Sherpa, the 13 times everest submitter thus shared his mountain laineering experiences on Chilly December morning.
 

 

Don't worry with proverty. Don't go on depression or frustration, be patience and work hard honestly. You will get  success in your life.

A specious hospital equiped with all latest state of the art techonology is shortly coming into operation in Kathmandu meant exclusively for Civil Servants in the country.

Both incumbent and retired Civil servants and their dependants will have an opportunity to get free of cost treatment once the 130 bed Civil Services Hospital comes into prepration within the next two months. The hospital is located at Minbhuwan.

The Hyatt Regency Kathmandu enlisted Best Value Hotel in South Asia

 

The Hyatt Regency Hotel of Kathmandu has enlisted in the best-valuable hotel lists of the Budget Travel Magazine.

 

The list publish in the Feb 2008 issue of the magazine ranks the hotelat number seven in Asia and the 22 in the World. The list was the Top 100 Best Value Hotels of the world, with an average nightly rate of 250 USD or less.

 

General Manager of Hyatt Regency said "We are so proud and pleased to receive this award, to put both Kathmandu and Nepal on the map of quality travel and excellent services in the world.

 

This  award honors our team, their hard work and dedication, and reflects Traditional Nepali warmth and Hospitality".

 

Nepal is also known worldwide as its Rich Natural Resources and Nepelese are also widely known for their Warm Hospitality to Tourism who comes to Nepal.

 

Dailekh Jan 25,2008- A woman have has given birth to a child just one month after her first delivary. Twenty three year old Yagi Thapa delivared a healthy baby born month after giving birth to her first child. According to Dr Sapkota, whom Thapa gave birth to her first child on the day of Dec 24,2007, she was found carying another baby inside her womb. As thapa did not deliver even after sttaying three day of the health centre under observation,she was recommended to go to hospital. After a month long wait, Thapa finally gave birth to her second child on the way while being rushed to the health certre after getting into labor.  

Edmund Hillary is great man especially for Nepal. Sir Edmund Hillary On May 29 1953, he along with Mr. Tenzing Norgay became the first successfully climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

 

He had huge contribution on development of tourism sector in our Nepal as well as he contributes a lot for the development of the Hilly Reasons of Nepal. He also starts lots of Educational Institutions and health post in the remote areas of Nepal.

 

At that time when he climbs the Everest there were no foreign airlines in Nepal except National Flag Carrier Royal Nepal Airlines. Unfortunately Hillary expired on 11th January 2008 at the age of 88. We all Nepalese also lost a good human and great contributor for the development of Nepal.