Kathmandu, May 8: Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya released here today a book entitled “Annual survey of Nepalese law 2000” published for the first time by the Nepal Bar Council, on the occasion of Law Day.

On the occasion, the Chief Justice called upon various institutions and organisations to publicise the achievement made by Nepal in the field of law.

Chief Justice Upadhyaya said the book covering the legal situation of the country, the interpretations of the law made by the Supreme Court and opinions and presentations of various views would be useful to research scholars in the field of law.

Council president and Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki said that institutions and organisations abroad cover the legal process and precedents established in those countries and provide information on the overall legal process every year.

The book has started to inform the international arena of the legal situation of the country, he added.

President of Nepal Bar Association Harihar Dahal said that with the ushering in of the new millennium, legal practitioners should go for competition in the international field.

Chairman of the examination conducting committee Prakash Basti, secretary of the publications committee Sher Bahadur K.C. and member of the council Chandeswar Shrestha also expressed their views at the programme chaired by convenor of the publishing committee Kanak Bikram Thapa.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya has spoken of the need to rectify the shortcomings in the existing laws and codify them.

Chief Justice Upadhyaya made this remark while inaugurating a one-day colloquium on “Codification of laws and challenges” here today.

At the colloquium, Appellate Court chief judge Min Bahadur Rayamajhi said the existing civil and criminal laws are not enough to meet the needs of the day and added that codification of laws is necessary to have better legal knowledge.

Nepal Bar Association president Harihar Dahal said at a time when adequate laws have not been formulated as per the spirit of the constitution, codification of law might be a big challenge.

Reader at Nepal Law Campus Madhav Prasad Acharya said since the precedents of laws and courts have not been documented in a planned manner a lot of confusion arises in decision making process.

He also stressed the need to hold extensive discussion on how to rectify the shortcomings in the old laws including the civil code and codify the laws.

Nepal Bar Association secretary Agni Kharel and treasurer Badri Prasad Bhandari also expressed their views.

Association president Rabindra Jung Thapa presided.

Also today, Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya has said that celebration of the law day would bear any meaning only when we are able to successfully fulfil our responsibility of protecting human rights and the dignity of citizens as guaranteed by the constitution.

Mr. Upadhyaya was speaking at a talk programme organised by the Supreme Court on the occasion of the Law Day here today.

Supreme Court Justice Kedar Nath Upadhyaya said that law should be meant for ensuring justice and that those implementing laws should be morally upright and responsible.

Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki said supremacy of law is the essence of democracy.

From the chair, Supreme Court justice Laxman Prasad Aryal said strict adherence to law helps democracy flourish. Nepal Bar Association president Harihar Dahal also expressed his views. Reception: Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya hosted a reception on the occasion of the Law Day at the Supreme Court today.

The Speaker, the heads of constitutional bodies, the ministers, ex-chief justices and justices, the heads of diplomatic missions, legal practitioners and senior government officers attended the reception.

Kathmandu, May 8: A two-day correspondents’ training organised on the occasion of Gorkhapatra Daily’s centenary anniversary concluded here this afternoon.

Local correspondents from 37 districts, including three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, received training on the techniques of producing quality news. The trainers also briefly introduced the use of modern technology, such as computer, e-mail and the Internet, in corresponding news reports.

The training was conducted by senior journalists Ram Krishna Regmi, Dhruba Hari Adhikari, Krishna Shrestha and Pushkar Mathema.

Gorkhapatra Corporation Chairman Prem Nidhi Gyawali gave away certificates to the participants at the function.

Acting General Manager Benu Prasad Prasain expressed his commitment to provide the correspondents with as many facilities as possible.

The Daily’s Acting Editor-in-Chief Ramesh Tiwari advised the participants to move forward in a planned way to produce quality news reporting.

Kathmandu, May 8: A three-day workshop seminar on saffron farming began under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Development remote area development committee here today.

Inaugurating the workshop, Deputy Prime Minister and Local Development Minister Ramchandra Paudel spoke of the need for the government and the private sector to work together for the development of saffron as a means of poverty alleviation.

Since the demand for saffron is very high in international market, production of quality saffron would help earn foreign exchange, he said, urging the botanists to provide training and other necessary help to the farmers in the mountainous region for encouraging saffron farming.

From the chair, Minister of State for Local Development Suresh Malla urged the experts concerned to pay special attention to promoting saffron farming so as to promote income generation in remote rural areas.

Botanist Dr. Samar Bahadur Malla said the history of saffron farming in Nepal dates back to 1960 and added that saffron is used in preparing dye, treatment of heart ailments and enhancing virility.

Experts concerned are scheduled to present working papers on the importance of saffron, efforts made for saffron farming in Nepal and technical and other necessary infrastructures for saffron farming at the workshop.

Experts concerned, farmers engaged in saffron farming and representatives of ngos and local bodies are taking part in the workshop.

Kathmandu, May 8: Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta said about Rs. 100 million of the Nepal Telecmmunications Corporation (ntc) will be mobilised to link Nepal Television with the satellite in near future.

Minister Gupta made this remark while giving away certificates to the participants of the managerial skill development training organised at Nepal Television today.

Stating that it was not only necessary to make Nepal Television useful and the best in the competitive market by linking it with the satellite, Mr. Gupta said that if the plans of linking Nepal Television with the satellite and opening the metro channel are completed within the stipulated time ntv’s programmes would be more effective.

The Minister for Information and Communications expressed confidence that such training programmes would prove beneficial in meeting challenges of the future.

Expressing the view that training in itself was not adequate, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications Sriram Poudel said that implementation of the knowledge gained from the training would help to move the institution in the right direction.

Acting ntv general manager Durganath Sharma informed that the Kohalpur regional transmission center would be linked the central transmission center soon.

Acting ntv deputy general manager Biswoprakash Maskey and training participant Prakash Jung Karki stressed the need to provide continuity to such training programmes in future.

Kathmandu, May 8: His Majesty’s Government has constituted a 21-member central child welfare committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare.

According to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, the committee has been authorized to work for child rights following the policy and directives of His Majesty’s Government and the children act and regulations.

The committee member are mp kashi Poudel, the secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, the member-secretary of Social Welfare Council, representative and joint secretary of Education and Sports Ministry, the representative and joint secretary of Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, the representative and joint secretary of the Health Ministry, the representative and joint secretary of the National Planning Commission, social worker Dr. Arjoo Rana Deuba, paediatrician Dr. Manindra Ranjan Baral and social worker Dr. Baburam Marasini.

Likewise, social worker Mrs. Bhubaneswori Satyal, cwin president Gauri Pradhan, president of Child Development Society Sharad Sharma, Nepal Children’s Organisation central member Nirbikar Shrestha, Mrs. Manorama Rana of Mahendra Bhawan Kanya Higher Secondary School, social workers Keshav Regmi and Som Paneru, the representative of ngo Federation for Children, the representative of Nepal Children’s Organsisation are also the members of the committee while the executive secretary is the member-secretary.

The term of office of the office-bearers of the committee is four years, according to the ministry.

Kathmandu, May 8: The National Drama Festival-2000 organised by the Royal Nepal Academy (rna) is scheduled to be held at the rna hall tomorrow.

The National Drama Festival is to be inaugurated by chancellor of Royal Nepal Academy and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

The festival will be participated in by artistes of about 400 institutions from 33 districts of the kingdom linked with drama.

The National Drama Festival-2000 is dedicated to eminent dramatist the late Balkrishna Sama.

The National Drama Festival is being organised since 2033 B.S.

Dramas in Nepali, Newari, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Tamang, Sanskrit and Sherpa languages will be staged this year.

The drama “Andhabeg” written by eminent dramatist the late Balkrishna Sama will be staged on behalf of Royal Nepal Academy this year.

Kathmandu, May 8: Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya said that participants at the 33rd Asian Development Bank (adb) meeting held in Chiang Mai, Thailand showed keen interest in increasing many basis for subsidized loan for investment in alleviation of poverty in the Asian region.

Talking to rss at Tribhuvan International Aiport on his arrival here today, Finance Minister Acharya said matters relating to the programmes and policies of banks were discussed during the meeting and a necessity was felt for the banks to mobilize additional attention and new power for poverty alleviation.

Poverty is extensive in the Asia Pacific region and more that 50 million people in the South Asian region alone are poor, therefore we all should think and work towards poverty alleviation, Minister Acharya said.

Mr Acharya also said that the participating countries were of the view that a decrease in the capital of subsidized loan of banks for poverty alleviation would obstruct the success of poverty alleviation programmes.

At the meeting Japan announced that it would donate 10 billion us dollars in order to establish a Poverty Alleviation Fund to carry out works towards poverty alleviation and other donor countries were also positive towards this end, he added.

Responding to a query, Finance Minister Acharya said we should seriously consider our development projects which have become expensive and while planning projects we should take note of the economic, humanitarian and social aspect of Nepal.

Kathmandu, May 8: Ready-made garments have become the largest foreign exchange earner of Nepal as over five billion rupees worth of them were exported during the first four months of 2000.

Earlier, carpets had occupied first place for earning maximum foreign exchange. The main exportable items of Nepal are ready-made garments, carpets and handicrafts.

A delegation of the Nepal Ready-made Garments Association, the Nepal Carpet Industries Association and the Handicrafts Association of Nepal (han) recently met Minister for Finance Mahesh Acharya and Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ram Krishna Tamrakar and presented a 35-point demand on the steps to be taken immediately for the promotion of export oriented industries.

The demands include implementation of the various articles of the Industrial Enterprises Act 2049 concerning the rights and interests of entrepreneurs, efforts towards establishment of the export zone as no progress has been made in this direction even at the threshold of implementation of provisions of the World Trade Organisation, and bonded warehouse facilities for industries on par with the export zone until such arrangements are in place.

Establishment of a foreign trade development and research institute to meet the requirements of skilled manpower, quality production, design development and market studies for export oriented industries, and setting up of an export-import bank to disburse low interest loans to such industries are also among the 35 demands.

Calling for immediate implementation of the provision on loans without collateral of up to 35 percent on the basis of the letter of credit (L.C.) received by exporters as mentioned in the budget speech last year, a demand has also been made for refinancing by Nepal Rastra Bank.

President of the Ready-made Garments Association of Nepal Brij Gopal Inani says in this context, “we have already exported ninety percent of the quota allotted to us in the first four months. How can exports increase with only 10 percent left for the remaining eight months.”

Noting that attention should be given to the stability of industries, the financial system and labour, association president Inani says export duty should not be levied, a special Labour Act should be designed to prohibit strikes and bandhs, provisions for long-term loans and concessional rates of interest should be made, publicity carried out through Nepal’s embassies abroad and seminars and expositions be held to promote exports.

About 50,000 people have received direct employment and about 500,000 indirect employment in the ready-made garments industry, and only ten of the nearly two hundred designs could be exported, he said adding that if a congenial environment could be created and the industry expanded, most of the women in the rural areas could receive direct employment.

On the basis of the quota for ready-made garments, 90 percent of the export goes to the usa. Nepal and Bangladesh both started exporting ready-made garments about two decades back. Now more than fifty percent of the export of that country comprises ready-made garments, something which Nepal should take note of, said entrepreneurs who are also of the view that the government should make necessary arrangement for the installation of good machinery for the production of cloth, the main raw material, within the country.

Nawalparasi, May 8: “I don’t own even a piece of land and I have been living as a landless squatter. My only means of livelihood is fishing. Until three years ago we could not sell enough fish in the market and offen had to return home empty handed. But following the launching of the fish drying project at our own initiative, that problem does not exist any more.”

Thus narrating her recent past, Punam Chaudhari, a member of the Janajyoti fish farming women’s group of Manjhariya in Nawalparasi district Ramgram municipality, participated in the handing over ceremony of the fish drying project. She has become quite optimistic after the launching of the project. She says, ” so what if we do not own any land ? The fish farming women’s group has been formed and it has its own ponds. We undertake pisciculture, sell the dry fish in the market, and earning a livelihood has become easy ”

Suneeta Harijan, another landless squatter, said, “after fishing through hard effort, we had to sell the catch at nominal prices, causing us great distress. Sometimes, when the fish are not sold, we stew and eat them ourselves. At times, the unsolf fish putrefied. Such situations will not recur for us anymore.”

Thanks to the fish drying project launched by Janajyoti fish farming women’s group, the problems of Punam, Suneeta and other fish farmers are being resolved.

A three-room house for the fish drying project has been built here with the cooperation of the Australian Government under fao’s telefood project with technical assistance from the District Agriculture Development Office and the initiative of the women Farmers Development Division at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

The project , completed at a cost of us $ 9,500, has two solar dryers, one smoking chamber, two refrigerators and other apparatus .

Construction work on the project using solar power to dry fish was completed in December 1999 and the production of dry fish started in 2000. This is the first project in Nepal to use a solar drier for fish. So far, 600 kg of fresh fish has been dried and 103 kg (excluding the heads) sold.

The group purchases fresh fish at the rate of Rs 60 per kg and sells the dried fish at Rs 500 per kg. 5 kg of fresh fish yields 1 kg of dried fish.

Janajyoti women fishing group, active since 2052 Bikram Era, has 23 members at present. Established with the objective of taking up pisciculture along with agriculture to enhance economic and social status, the group aims at taking up poultry and agro-vet in the near future.

As there is not enough fish in the ponds used by the group it takes fish from 20 neighbouring groups also. Over 28 women farmers groups are engaged in fish farming in the district. The fish is dried especially in the winter.

Women from backward communities such as the Tharu, Chaudhari, Pasi, Chamar, Kohar and Harijan are associated with the groups.

The District Agriculture Development Office aims at developing the project, established as a model for the whole kingdom, in to a training centre for the women of other districts also.

The pocket areas for fish farming in the district are Daldale, Amaltari, Kushma, Jahada and Manari while improved fish farming has been undertaken at Prasauni, Narasahi and Badaharadubaliya.

The areas covered by ponds and natural lakes used for pisciculture are 230 hectares and 125 hectares respectively. Public and private ponds number 202 and 533 respectively.

The number of families involved in this occupation is 520. The annual output of fish is 469 mt while the productivity of the ponds and natural lakes is 1.7 mt and 0.6 mt per hectare respectively.

The annual income from fish farming is Rs 28,140,000. There are two fish hatcheries and two fish nurseries in the district. At present two species of common carp, two of Chinese carps, three of local carp and twelve varieties of other fish are being bred.

The dried fish produced by the group is sold especially at Butwal, Parasi, Narayangadh, Pokhara and Kathmandu.

Group chairman Madhuri Chaudhari says that the group is not short of capital for meeting the requirements demand for dried fish and calls for the transfer of the land on which the project house has been built to the group.

Head of the District Agriculture Development Office Shukra Kumar Pradhan said that the women of the district who used to be too shy to go out of their houses have now increased their income through the fish drying project. The increased income has has helped solve some of their domestic problems including quarrels with family members. Planning officer of the District Agriculture Development Office Bheem Singh Acharya underlines the need to launch such projects at other places also.

Lalitpur, May 8: Prime Minister and Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Girija Prasad Koirala has said that as the development of the country is possible only through the development of education, priority should be given to women’s education.

Prime Minister Koirala was inaugurating the national consultative meeting concerning Beijing +5 organised by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare here today.

Laying emphasis on women’s education and economic development, Prime Minister Koirala said that attention should be focused on making them self-reliant.

Noting that education was necessary for making women’s empowerment a reality, he said that there must be serious thinking on how to keep the grants provided by foreign donor agencies within our technologically backward country.

Noting that spreading of educating among women was indispensible in our society which is afflicted with conservative attitudes, Prime Minister Koirala expressed the conviction that given the rights, women also could perform with efficiency.

Calling for the devising of practical programmes that take into consideration the geographical conditions of the country and cover all segments, he expressed his commitment to extending all possible cooperation with regard to the reports presented by the consultative meeting.

He underscored the need for positive thinking on what could be done to make women self-reliant for their own economic development.

Noting that the development of the country is not possible without the participation of women, Prime Minister Koirala emphasised the need for men and women to join hands and move forward in development endeavours.

On the occasion, Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Mrs Kamala Panta said that the Government was working for implementation of the commitment expressed at the fourth world conference held in Beijing and disclosed that various aspects including women’s rights and human rights have been covered in programmes under the Ninth Plan.

Underlining the need to pass laws concerning the rights and interests of women through parliament, Minister of State Panta said that all round development of the country is not possible without the participation of womenfolk.

Stating that consultative meetings had been hosted in all the five development regions, she said her ministry was firm on fulfilling the pledges made by the government for the overall development of the country.

Referring to the commitment of the government to the development of women, Minister of State Panta said cooperation from national and international organisations had been received for women’s development programmes.

Secretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare Urmila Shrestha spoke of the activities carried out by the ministry in the area of women’s rights and interests and said that concrete measures had to be taken to end segregation between men and women.

Undp deputy resident representative Saraswati Menon said that as the Prime Minister himself had assumed charge of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, there would be remarkable progress concerning the rights and interests of women.

Former member of the National Planning Commission Dr. Bal Gopal Baidya, chairman of A.B.C. Nepal Durga Ghimire and a host of other speakers spoke on the activities carried out following the Beijing conference concerning women’s rights.

Lalitpur mayor Buddhi Raj Bajracharya presided over the function.