KATHMANDU: Heads of Province of six provinces paid a courtesy call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday.
The Head of Province No. 1, 2, 3, Gandaki, No. 5 and Karnali met the President at Sheetal Niwas and discussed contemporary issues, according to the Office of the President.
The provincial heads apprised the President of the works that they have executed in their respective provinces so far.
KATHMANDU: Lawmakers have urged the government to ensure infrastructure of information technology before bringing the bill relating to the national identity card and registration. It would be a waste if the government did not focus on the groundwork and other necessary work. Speaking at the meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee today, lawmakers said that without preparing required technology, the allocated budget of Rs 7.52 billion would be wasted.
KATHMANDU: The National Assembly on Wednesday unanimously endorsed the Employees’ Adjustment Bill-2075 BS’.
The NA session endorsed the document sent by the House of Representatives (HoR) along with its feedback. Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Lalbabu Pandit presented the proposal.
Similarly, the bill to amend some Nepal’s acts to make them in line with the Nepal’s constitution to the Legislation Management Committee has been sent to the Legislation Management Committee for clause-wise deliberations.
Minister Pandit presented both proposals on behalf of the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs today.
Likewise, NA Secretary Rajendra Phuyanl tabled the ‘Public Auditing Bill, 2075’, and ‘Pesticide Management Bill-2075 BS’ in today’s session.
NEW DELHI: Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, India is working on a list of over 300 agents active in trafficking gullible Nepali youths to third countries via India.
Earlier, Khabarhub had published a news about incidents of trafficking of Nepali youths to third countries via the southern neighbor.
The name-list, obtained by Khabarhub, has been collected following complaints by the victims that they were swindled by their agents, according to a source at New Delhi-based Nepali Embassy.
“We are currently collecting and analyzing a list of agents and trying to track them out on the basis of victims’ complaints who have been swindled by their agents,” said an official at the Embassy, adding, “We will soon send the list to the Nepal government for necessary action.”
The official went on to say that a big number of foreign job aspirants who came to India with the hope of third-country employment have been stranded in New Delhi.
“They have submitted a huge amount of money to their agents through mediators. Unfortunately, they do not even recognize who their agents are and where they reside,” he said.
Over 800 foreign jobs-related complaints have been filed at the Department of Foreign Employment in the last five months.
Khabarhub, in a recently conducted field-based reporting, had stated that a quite big number of human traffickers are active in sending Nepali youths to third countries.
Agents fleece a Nepali youth over Rs 2 million promising him/her of lucrative jobs in Poland, Malta, Hong Kong, Israel, the UAE, Brunei, Norway, and Canada.
What do legal provisions say?
An agent, who is found defrauding foreign job aspirants, is sentenced to five years in jail along with a fine as per the provision laid down in the Foreign Employment Act. 2007.
Over 800 foreign jobs-related complaints have been filed at the Department of Foreign Employment in the last five months.
“The DoFE has been stepping up efforts to curb incidences of frauds and anomalies surrounding foreign employment, Dilip Kumar Chapagain, General Director at the DoFE, told Khabarhub.
He said, “A big mafia is active in human trafficking targeting gullible Nepali youths by luring them into lucrative jobs in the third countries,” Chapagain said.
The following is the list prepared by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi:
KATHMANDU: The first regional conference of the Women in Power Sector Professional Network (WePOWER) has kicked off in Lalitpur today. The two-day conference is being organized to send a message that South Asian women are competent to take up responsibilities in challenging fields as their male counterparts on an equal footing by breaking the four walls.
The event organized with the objective of encouraging women’s participation in power sector on the initiation of the World Bank was inaugurated by WB country director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Idah Z Pswarayi-Riddihough.
On the occasion, she said every woman in South Asia is competitive and is ready to take up any chhallenging responsibility if given the opportunity.
A total of 250 women engineers associated with the government and non-government organizations from the SAARC countries are attending the seminar, which will go through discussions about women entrepreneurship in energy, participation of women/female engineers in it and guarantee of retention of them, opportunities for career development of junior engineers, energy and gender balance and women’s contribution to the renewable energy sector.
KATHMANDU: A ‘digital education center’ has been set up at the Central Zoo at Jawalakhel, Lalitpur.
Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Forests and Environment, who is also the chairman of Central Zoo and National Trust for Nature Conservation, said that the center was expected to contribute significantly in the biological conservation efforts.
Zoo Program Manager Chiranjibi Pokhrel informed that research and studies on wildlife conservation and management are also conducted at the center.
The then Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumser Rana had established the zoo as a private entity in 1932 . Its ownership had come to the Nepal Government following the 1951 political change in the country. It was opened to the public from 2011 BS. The Trust has been assigned the responsibility for the management of the zoo since 2052 BS.
The center has been established an an honor to British biological conservationist Field Marshal Sir John Chapple, who has been contributing to Nepal’s biological diversity and conservation field for the past four decades. The center has been established with the support of Nepal Investment Bank .
KATHMANDU: Drug trafficking, its consumption, and production, which have been the most serious issue across the world, have not spared Nepal, too.
It has been the most challenging task to crack down on the internationally organized network of drug traffickers across the world despite efforts made by law enforcing agencies.
Police have been keeping a close tab on drug-trafficking and have been arresting drug traffickers. However, the number of incidents has gone up in an unprecedented manner.
On December 16, Nepal Police arrested a Canadian national Denis Lapage with 2.985 kilograms of hashish at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
Drug trafficking has been a major income source for purchasing weapons which are used in the war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, African countries Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, and Congo.
According to DIG Dinesh Amatya, spokesperson of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), the 61-year-old Denis was arrested during a security check possessing the drug while he was about to board a flight to Thailand.
This was only the tip of the iceberg.
According to the records maintained by the Nepal Police Headquarters, a total of 741 people, mostly Indian nationals, were arrested in the period of five years –2013 to 2018. Other include nationals from 33 countries such as Pakistan, China, Malaysia, Bolivia, Poland, Turkey, Russia, Canada, and Brazil.
Drug trafficking has been a major income source for purchasing weapons which are used in the war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, African countries Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, and Congo.
Details of foreigners held
According to the information provided by the Nepal Police Headquarters, and NCB, as many as 152 foreigners have been held in 2014 for trafficking drugs via the route of Nepal. Similarly, 124 were arrested in 2015, 139 in 2016, and 159 in 2017. Similarly, in 2018, as many as 167 foreigners were arrested, police informed. Some of those arrested are women.
Nepal turning into a drug trafficking transit point
Analysts have said that drug traffickers chose Nepal as a transit point for trafficking drugs taking advantage of its weak security system. A large amount of drug is trafficked to India and vice versa through the Nepal-India open border checkpoints. Brown sugar, heroin, and cocaine are brought to Nepal from India while marijuana, hashish, and opium are supplied to India from Nepal.
Similarly, cocaine is produced in South American countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Cocaine is supplied targeting affluent countries since it is very expensive.
Most of the drugs manufactured in South Asia come to Nepal via India before they are trafficked to Europe and America from Kathmandu.
Where and who manufactures drugs?
Narcotic drugs especially, opium and heroin are manufactured in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Similarly, they are also produced on the border areas of Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam, including some parts of Nepal.
Heroin is the major income source for carrying out terrorist activities in the war-torn countries across the world, said former AIG Debendra Subedi.
Similarly, cocaine is produced in South American countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Cocaine is supplied targeting affluent countries since it is very expensive.
Drugs, which are used in Nepal include white heroin, raw brown sugar, marijuana, hashish among others.
Drug-trafficking has multi-faceted ramifications
Drug consumption, production, and trafficking have been the most serious problem in the world, of late.
According to former AIG Subedi, the drug is not only an addiction but has multi-faceted problems.
The income made through drug trafficking is used to promote the culture of corruption, terrorism, and crimes. It is also used to exert pressure on the government, power politics among others.
MANGALBARE: The construction of a fast track connecting Ilam Bazar to Jhapa’s Birtamod has been completed. With the construction of the 10-kilometer project from Golakharka Bhanjyang to Belase via Bhangtar and Rakse, people have now an option to the existing 86-kilometer route to reach Birtamod via Mechi Highway.
With this, people can opt for the shorter route of 47 kilometers to reach Birtamod in an hour. It takes nearly three hours to reach Birtamod from Ilam via Mechi Highway.
The project was implemented under the Infrastructure Development Program last year at a cost of around Rs 1.5 million. The District Coordination Committee had provided Rs 250 thousands for the project. Under the Strategic Road Plan, Rs 10 million has been allocated to further upgrade the route, according to Mahesh Basnet, Mayor of Ilam Municipality .
Nepal and India are set to sign an agreement on biodiversity conservation, including the transboundary conservation of the rhino, Bengal tiger and Asian elephant.
The agreement is expected to be signed before India’s parliamentary elections in April, according to the Indian media.
According to media reports, the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India runs into Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, and Parsa National Park. Likewise, India’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal.
Nepal-India border stretches more than 1,850 kilometers includes several transboundary wildlife habitats. The agreement is expected to manage the transboundary landscape.
According to media reports, the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India runs into Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, and Parsa National Park. Likewise, India’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal.
The Indian media quotes S.P. Yadav, member secretary of Uttar Pradesh’s State Biodiversity Board as saying that Nepal and India do have any formal agreement at present.
The agreement is expected to lead to the better conservation of rhinos, tigers and elephants. It is also expected to help immensely in “tackling illegal trafficking”.
According to Yadav, the agreement will be a formal instrument that will lead to better transborder cooperation.
“Nepal and India have been working in close coordination,” Man Bahadur Khadka, director-general of the department of national parks and wildlife conservation at Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment said.
Likewise, Nakul Chettri, a senior biodiversity specialist with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in Kathmandu said the agreement would be a welcome step.
The agreement will help in cementing the bilateral cooperation and strengthen the management of important transboundary wildlife habitat, he viewed. Chettri said it will be a win-win for both the countries.
“Nepal and India have been working in close coordination,” Man Bahadur Khadka, director-general of the department of national parks and wildlife conservation at Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment said.
According to him, all work regarding the agreement have been complete adding that the agreement would focus on biodiversity conservation, wildlife habitat management, tiger conservation and protection.
Meanwhile, the agreement is expected to put an “emphasis on cooperation” for the conservation and protection of tiger. According to the 2014 tiger population census, India is home to 2,226 tigers. Similarly, according to latest estimates, Nepal’s tiger numbers has been put at around 235, up from 120 in 2009.
KATHMANDU: Dr Karin Kneissl, Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of Republic of Austria is visiting Nepal on an official visit from February 21-23 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.
The two ministers will lead their respective countries at a delegation-level talks on February 22.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Gyawali is hosting a luncheon in honor of his Austrian counterpart after the talks.
Austrian Foreign Minister Dr Kneissl will also pay courtesy call to Prime Minister KP on February 22. She is also scheduled to participate in a talk organized by Institute of Foreign Affairs on ‘Sixty years of Nepal Austria Partnership: energy, regional and global trends ‘ and articulate Austria’s perspective.