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Kalapani is integral part of Nepal
Prime Minister Koirala had raised the issue of Kalapani with the Indian President when he came here on a visit. He told Indian President Narayanan that Kalapani is integral part on Nepal.It is a border issue. The government feels this has to be resolved for once and for all without compromising national unity and sovereignty. The Prime Minister’s claim came during a meet the press programme held at his official residence at Baluwatar.
The PM’s remarks is the first clear indication of the government’s worries over Kalapani. An arid but highly strategic piece of land near the Nepal-India-China tri- junction in the northwestern corner of the country, Kalapani has been claimed by both Nepal and India. The territory has been occupied by Indian paramilitary forces since 1962, despite clear records which show the area belongs to Nepal.
During the meet the press programme, PM Koirala also signalled his displeasure with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on India’s claim to Kalapani. Another statement issued by the Embassy, however, toned down the earlier statement by stating that Ambassador Rajan’s remarks were "misinterpreted in the local media".
Girija for new alliance
PM Girija Koirala for the first time since assuming power, clearly indicated that another political party will have to be included in the government to save minority NC government and form a majority government. Speaking at a meeting of the Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party, the PM hinted his feelings Koirala’s remarks came just hours after the main opposition CPN (UML) began official discussions with both parties of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party.
Manmohan slams Gautam
Mr Man Mohan Adhikari the Chairman of UML accused his former comrade Bam Dev Gautam of splitting the party with the help of mafia. He further alleged Gautam and his gang of illegally accumulating wealth while in power for six months last year and splitting the party with the thoughts that with money they could do anything at their will.
ADB unhappy over Melamchi
Resident representative of ADB, M Shah, alleged His Majesty’s Government of failing to seek advice from the donors of Melamchi Drinking Water Project and also failing to show commitment for the successful implementation of the project. He further said the Government failed to take donors into confidence on the 30 million dollar project.
Mr Shah strongly accused the government of showing apathy towards sustainable projects such as MDWP. "We donors have already pledged our commitment to this project but the government is not coming forward with its help," he said. "The government should have taken the lead in calling regular meetings with donors. But the irony is that the meeting has been called after repeated requests from the donors," he added.
UK lottery grants for NGOs
For the first time, the British National Lottery has recently approved grants to UK-based charities working overseas. Four organisations in Nepal have been awarded a total of Rs 124 million for projects over the next four years. Recipients are the Britain- Nepal Medical Trust, International Family Health, Consumers International and Wales Gurkha Villages Aid Trust. The UK National Lottery plans to continue its programme to help the work of UK-based agencies overseas and a third programme of awards is expected in June 1999.
Swiss gesture to Nepal
The Government of Switzerland has handed over 5 suspension bridges to HMG/ Nepal . These bridges are constructed under special grant of SFr 410,000 for construction of five bridges over the Karnali and an agreement to this effect was signed on 9 June 1997 between SDC/N and HMG/N.
Since 1974, the Government of Switzerland has been extending its cooperation to HMG/N in construction and maintenance of Trail Suspension Bridges in the hill districts of Nepal, states Helvetas Nepal, Suspension Bridge Project. Construction of bridges over the Karnali demands high technical and financial inputs and are very crucial for the development of the hill districts of mid and far west regions, the release states.
Parliament in 14th session
His Majesty the King is scheduled to address the joint session of both the Houses of parliament on 1 July. Sub sequently, the parliamentarians will discuss the programmes and policies of the government contained in the Royal address The 14th session of parliament, which begins 28th June, has all the elements to prove to be a difficult session for the ruling minority government of Nepali Congress. Besides debating on the programmes and policies of His Majesty’s government and the yearly budged, the session is also expected to have vigorous debate on a number of issues of national importance.
Ex-RNAC chief to sue
RNAC’s former managing director Madhav Raj Sharma, a political appointee, was transferred to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation by the government after serving only five months as the airline’s boss. Mr Sharma at a press conference alleged a conspiracy behind his unceremonious ouster from the airline and asked the government to take back its decision or else face a lawsuit.
Mr Sharma said, "there is an ongoing conspiracy by a mafia inside RNAC which does not allow us to work. I have fallen victim to this conspiracy". He, however, did not identify the mafia.He alleged that mafia elements were out to wreck the national airline.
Mirza shot dead
Member of parliament Mirza Dilshad Beg was shot to death in a hit and run assasination at Siphal in a crime which comes just two days after parliament convened for its crucial bugetary session. Beg and his driver Bhuwan Karki were going to a rented apartmant at Siphal Panitanki area at about 9:30 PM when the attackers struck. Police say the unidentified assailants first shot driver Karki as he was parking the car a few minutes away from the apartment. The assailants then turned their gun towads Beg and then fired repeatedly on his back while he tried to flee. Beg, wearing brown trousers and white shirt with sandals on his feet, died on the spot.
"There are about 6-7 bullets lodged on his back," another police officer at the crime scene said. "The bullets appear to be from a 9 mm pistol and a revolver." Police believe the assailants to have made their getaway in a motorbike and a car. However, they have no suspects at the moment and do not know the motive behind the killings.
Elected to the House of Representatives from Kapilvastu district on a RPP ticket in the 1994 elections, Beg held ministerial portfolios in Sher Bahadur Deuba and Surya Bahadur Thapa governments. Before the 1994 elections, he was elected from the constituency but as a Nepal Sadbhawana Party candidate.
Beg, a controversial figure, had recently come under further controversy because of his alleged links with crime in neighbouring India. Knowledgable sources say, some weeks ago the Indian government, through Interpol, had requested HMG to extradite Beg to face criminal charges in India.
At a press conference recently, Beg had denied involvement in criminal acts in India and had refuted charges levelled against him in the Indian media.
Hard to survive for workers
Estimates are hard to come by, but the general reckoning is that thousands of boys from Nepal aged 9-18 are lured each year to this Indian metropolis with the promise of lucrative job offers. Older men also come by the hoards. But once they come here, their Hindi film-like dreams shatter. Nepali boys are hired only in small tea stalls, dhabas and a few make it to five-star hotels where they work as chowkidars and durbans. Fewer still are lucky enough to make a decent earning. There are thousands of Nepali workers working around the world working in a very pathetic situations. The Royal Nepalese Embassy and Royal Nepalese Consulate Offices has no record of the number of Nepali nationals migrating in their regions each year in search of jobs. It has also often failed to listen to their grievances. Most of the Nepali workers find no help and solace from Royal Nepalese Embassy and Offices.
TV smuggling booming
Since one need not record TV numbers on LCs while importing TVs, the importers are found easily bringing in bigger quantity of TV and showing fewer quantity on the paper.Out of the twelve thousand television sets imported each year in Nepal, a big amount is smuggled in, without paying customs and revenue, a television dealer said. The source further said that apart from this, quite a remarkable number of TVs are entering Nepal from India and China though illegal channels.
Only three of five companies are functioning which import components and assemble TVs. Around 18 to 22 thousand sets of TV are merchandised in Nepali market each year.
By-road remains incomplete
The first highway to enter the capital is not to be completed this year because of the reduction in the budget. The highway is being reconstructed with the financial assistance of 243 million rupees by the World Bank. Since the World Bank has deducted about 70 million rupees from the contract.Consequently, 27kilometre section of the highway will not be reconstructed.
Technicians are of the view that reconstruction of this section, which is greatly affected by the floods of 2050 BS, in line with the reconstruction works in the remaining part of the highway will not be suitable. Asked when the remaining section of the highway will be reconstructed, technicians said they had no idea.
Avros grounded due to NOC
The inefficiency management of Nepal Oil Corporation caused the groundings of all AVROs in Nepal aviation. The Avros needs a special fuel called water methanol and NOC does not have stock. Due to the lack of fuel thousands of wary domestic air travellers were stranded as RNAC and Necon Air temporarily pulled their HS-748 Avros out of service due to the unavailability of water methanol in Kathmandu Airline officials say, the unforeseen cancellation of flights caused loss of millions rupees worth of airline revenue and the cancellation could last for a few more days until Nepal Oil Corporation begins procuring fresh supplies of water methanol.
NOC official meanwhile, said that the shortage had been created by the delay in providing water methanol by Indian Oil Corporation, from which NOC gets all its refined petroleum products. He however claimed that fresh stocks of water methanol will be arriving Kathmandu soon.
World Cup live on NTV
Nepal Television, the national television network, will be covering 56 World Cup matches live, including the opening and closing ceremonies.Nepalese football enthusiasts are all smiles and cheers NTV decisions. The matches commentary, being looked after by a team of BBC, will be in English. Of the 64 matches, 8 will be recorded and shown immediately because of matches taking place simultaneously. Depending on the timings, NTV would be telecasting matches according to the tie-sheet. The telecast of the mega event sponsored by Surya Tobacco, will covere about 40 percent of the country’s total population.
Nepal Television, a member of the Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU), paid Rs 7 million as exclusive rights fee to ABU. All member countries of the ABU have rights to telecast the event.
Air accord signed
The Transport ministers of Nepal and Netherlands signed a bilateral air agreement which will allow seven weekly flights with any type of aircraft and in any configuration—all-passenger, all-cargo or combi-aircraft. The Netherlands’ Transavia Airlines will make its inaugural flight to Kathmandu on September 23. The designated airlines on each side will be entitled to exercise fifth freedom traffic rights to any number of intermediate and beyond points as specified in the route schedule.
Monsoon enters Nepal
The much awaited monsoon that starts from the Bay of Bengal entered Nepal from the eastern part of the country, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The rain has come as a blessing for the residents of the area who have been hit by severe heat in the past few weeks.
The monsoon is still in its initial stages at present. In previous years, monsoon used to start on June 10 and reach Kathmandu two days later. But this year, monsoon was delayed by a few days due to a cyclone that hit the coasts of India last week.
Apollo disown patient’s death
Sudha Tuladhar, 27, underwent a laparoscopic operation at Apollo Hospital last month and died with complications. The Sidhartha Apollo Hospital in a statement denied that the hospital was responsible for the death of a patient who had succumbed to severe bleeding while being operated at the hospital.
During the operation she drifted into a coma due to severe bleeding following the operation. Doctors at Apollo were unable to stop the bleeding. She was moved to the Teaching Hospital after that. Family members have filed a case against Apollo Hospital and have filed a complaint at Nepal Medical Council. The Nepal Medical Council has appointed Dr Dibeshwori Malla to investigate the case.
Marchers return to capital
At an official programme organized by the CPN(ML), both ANNFSU and ML leaders welcomed the fellow marchers and reiterated their calls for the immediate withdrawal of Indian troops from Kalapani. They also said that the border issue would feature prominently in their future programmes and that they would intensify the Kalapani campaign.
Indian paramilitary forces occupying Kalapani had threatened to open fire at the protestors if they entered the Indian occupied territory, according to ANNFSU. On June 5, over 50 students led by ANNFSU president Yogesh Bhattarai left the capital for the Indian occupied tri-junction, strategically located in the northwestern frontier. "We believe the Kalapani march was a resounding success in that it has achieved what we started out to do," said Bhattarai. "We have launched a nationalist programme. In the days to come we will launch a more vigorous campaign against the removal of Indian troops from Kalapani and the Indian encroachment at large."
It took the marchers a three-day bus travel and six more days of walk to reach the high land, occupied by India since 1962. Kalapani is connected to the Tibetan plateau in the north. While the students prepared for their march early this month, the Indian Embassy issued a controversial statement on June 3, saying India had historical claims over Kalapani.
Later, the Indian Ambassador, K V Rajan toned down his claims, arguing he was misinterpreted by a section of the Nepali media. But the damage was done, observers say. Prime Minister Koirala rebuked Rajan for undermining the ongoing border talks with his claims over Kalapani.
Spanish company files petition in SC
Isolux wat SA, a Spanish company that was recently denied a Kali Gandaki hydel project contract for the construction of two transmission lines and a sub-station in Pokhara, Friday filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the contract awarded to another party.
The Spanish company was edged out by TATA-Marubeni for the contract about a month ago. The company’s Nepali bidders, K & S Enterprises, had since been expressing their displeasure with the decision alleging that the TATA-Marubeni bid should have been rejected during the technical evaluation state itself.
The petition filed with the Supreme Court by K & S Enterprises accuses that one of the respondents-Morison Nudsen, a consultant with the Kali Gandaki "A" project-of having advised TATA-Marubeni, one of the bidders for the contract, to downscale its bid money and to file a statement declaring that the amount quoted in the bid also included provisions for tax and duty. The petition claims that the specifications in the contract document could not be altered or tampered with the change in time and it was a misuse of authority by the consultant to advice the party he pleases to change its figures and make alterations in the bid.
K & S Enterprises also claims that the TATA-Marubeni bid should not have passed the first phase examination let alone granting of the contract because the party (TATA-Marubeni) had failed to submit a joint venture agreement in the specified format.
The petition also mentions that the Public Accounts Committee, the then water resource minister Pashupati SJB Rana and the present minister in charge of the department, Shailaja Acharya, had been urged to intervene in the goings on with the process of awarding of contract but the call remained largely unheeded.
ML seeks UML support
General Secretary of Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist) Bamdev Gautam challenged his arch rivals in the CPN (UML) to withdraw support to the G P Koirala government and join him in an anti-government protest campaign.
Gautam said, "if the UML is truly a responsible party, it should withdraw support to the government and support our party’s protest campaign".
However, despite Gautam’s challenge, UML leaders have already pledged continued support to Koirala. But at the same time, they have also voiced strong dissatisfaction against the government’s performance.
Observers say, Gautam’s challenge could be an attempt to drive a wedge between the governing Nepali Congress and UML.
Nepal set for cellular phone
Nepal is set to get its first cellular phone service after Israel's Telrad Telecommunication and Electronic Industries won an $8.09 million contract to supply equipment for the venture.
Telrad, an arm of Koor Industries Ltd (KOR.TA), won the bidding to provide all equipment including 10,000 cellphone sets to the state-owned Nepal Tele- communications Corporation (NTC).
NTC, plans to provide 10,000 cellular phones in Kathmandu and three other urban centres. A government move two years ago to allow foreign telecom operators to set up radio paging services, wireless-in-local-loop and cellular mobile services was challenged in the Supreme Court, which has yet to make a ruling.
