Lalitpur, Apr. 23: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Ramchandra Paudel said His Majesty’s Government is ready to provide any kind of help for the ddc Federation Nepal.

Addressing the concluding function of ddc Federation Nepal here today, Deputy Prime Minister Paudel said following the norms of democracy, we are moving ahead towards self-governance, and that the federation has to play an important role to that end.

Noting that democracy means freedom from fear, Mr. Paudel said local representatives should be aware of the terror being spread by the Maoists in the villages.

He also said that the government would always welcome and honour positive recommendations from the federation.

Out-going president of the Federation Madhav Prasad Poudel presided.

Nepalgunj, Apr. 23:Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya has said legal practitioners, social workers and intellectuals should cooperate in building of a healthy, just and democratic society.

Inaugurating here today a new building of Nepalgunj Appellate Court, Chief Justice Upadhaya said since a weak judiciary will weaken freedom and democracy, it is necessary to enhance the trust of the people in the judiciary through cooperation of every sector.

The constitution authorizes the court to maintain norms and values of democracy and safeguard human rights, he added.

Democracy will become strong only if the judiciary is able to safeguard freedom and rights and well-being of the people, he said adding, execution of impartial justice is possible through cordial relationship between bar and bench.

Central president of Nepal Bar Association Harihar Dahal said legal practitioners have been committed to safeguarding independence and integrity of the judiciary, and also pointed out the need of an understanding between bar and bench for probity of the judicial sector.

Acting registrar of Supreme Court Nirmal Kumar Dhungana informed that efforts are being made to use computer technology at appellate court from next year.

Cdo Shyam Prasad Mainali, acting registrar of Nepalgunj Appellate Court Dhruva Kumar Shaha, president of Appellate Court Bar Association Salikram Sapkota and other speakers also expressed their views at the function chaired by chief judge of Nepalgunj Appellate Court Arjun Prasad Singh.

Kathmandu, Apr. 23: Chairman of the Raj Parishad Standing Commitee Dr Keshar Jung Rayamajhi has said since education can play an important role in advancing the country on the path of development, the present Constitution has placed emphasis on educational developmetn.

Dr Rayamajhi, while speaking at the golden jubilee function of Janaprabhat Secondary School today, spoek of the need of timely and dynamic education to resolve problems facing the country.

On the occasion, Dr Rayamajhi honoured teachers and employees of the school by presenting letters of appreciation and wrapping shawls around them.

He also inaugurated a Saraswati temple built on the school premises and launched a golden jubilee souvenir on the occasion.

Former education minister Keshar Bahadur Bista called on every one to help promote the standard of education in the country.

School principal Basanta Kumar Manandhar, presenting a progress report of the school, said a revolving fund of Rs 50,000 will be set up to award the Basanta Ratna Medal to one student securing highest marks in English in slc examinations from the next year.

Founder principal of Siddhartha Vanasthali School and Kathmandu ddc chairman and ex-student of the school Sanu Shrestha also expressed their views on the occasion.

Presently, there are a total of 12000 students studying in the school with a total of 63 teachers and employees. The school was establihsed in 2008 bs as a primary school.

Kathmandu, Apr. 23: The Civic Concern Society organised a colloquium on the ìpropriety of the need to activate security council and the question of peace and securityî here today.

On the occasion, member of the National Assembly Rajeshwor Devkota said no one need to worry for stability of democracy since its roots have gone into the villages, adding that the highly-respected institution of Monarchy should not be dragged into controversy while exercising articles or clauses of the Constittuion.

Rpp central member Jogmehar Shrestha said army is not the right choice to resolve the problem of the Maoist insurgency.

Joint general secretary of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party Bhogendra Thakur noted that people’s patience has now broken since they never felt a change in their life.

General secretary of the Rastriya Janamorcha and Nawaraj Subedi urged the government to think twice before mobilising the army since its record in other countries is full of risks.

National Assembly member Rabindra Nath Sharma observed that a sensitive issue like national security should not have been brought to the open in haste by a responsibile person and spoke of the need to resovle the Maoist problem through talks.

Various other speakers including huron president Prof. Dr. Kapil Shrestha, chairman of Shanti Samaj Krishna Pahadi and fophur president Krishna Shivakoti also expressed their views at the function chaired by society chairman Narayan Prasad Tiwari.

Kathmandu, Apr.23:Raid Gauloises, the organiser of Trans Himalaya 2000, revealed the route of the around 800 kilometres cross country race – beginning on April 30 this month – in a formal inauguration ceremony of the adventure tourism event here today.

The race-route was not made public for the last five months after the idea of the Trans Himalayan sporting event was declared last November.

Starting from Shegar Dzong in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, the race, initially comprising of trekking and mountain biking, will cross several small Tibetan villages reaching the highest point of the entire race (5,150 metres) in the Tibetan Plateau. Proceeding ahead to the south through the Lhasa-Kathmandu road (known as the highest road of the world), the event-participants, on horse-back and bicycles, will enter Nepal through Kodari – the Nepal-China border and custom point.

With an almost vertical climb-down till Dolalghat, the race, comprising of activities like white water swimming, canoeing, rafting and canyoneering, will take a left turn toward the east reaching places like Manthali, Harkapur, among others, along the Sunkoshi River. Then again descending to the south reaching Rajbiraj, the adventurers will carry on trekking and biking toward the west to reach their final destination — Janakpur.

The 69 teams, participating in the event, will have to pass through 43 check-points at different points in the route to reach the 44th one at the finishing point. There will be four headquarters and assistance camps in the entire race route. The race includes seven sporting activities: trekking, horse-riding, mountain biking, white water rafting, canoeing, rafting and cayoneering (climbing against water falls). The organiser expects the race to be over by 10 to 12 days.

Inaugurating the event today inside a jam-packed Birendra International Convention Centre’s auditorium among participants and organisers donning T-shirts and shirts inscribed on them “Raid Gauloises”, Tarini Dutta Chataut, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, expressed government’s full support to the mega-event.

“It is a matter of pleasure that during this event, participants are going to use non-mechanical means. Such a sportive adventure activity based on non-mechanical gears and equipment is leading human interest closer towards nature urging to maintain the natural environment.”

He further added that the government’s policy is to promote adventure tourism as well as to preserve and protect the country’s nature, cultural heritage and environment.

Patrick Brignoli, President of Raid Gauloises, a Paris based organisation, said that Nepal will benefit tremendously from the promotion the adventure tourism event will generate in the international market. “There are 69 teams from 18 countries participating in the event and 120 journalists from around the globe covering the event. So, naturally the promotion for Nepal is going to be big.”

According to Brignoli, around 10 million people from around the world have been surfing the internet to know about Trans Himalaya 2000 everyday. The participating teams, he said, have paid US $ 40,000 each to contest in the event. “The winner of the event will be awarded US $ 20,000.”

As part of the safety and rescue measures for the event, Brignoli said that there would be 15 medical doctors at different places in the race route. “We will also have four helicopters stand-by for rescue operations.”

This is the tenth time Raid Gauloises is organising the cross-country adventure event. Nine previous ones have been organised in different countries every year since 1989.

Speaking during the inaugural ceremony, Michel Lummaux, French Ambassador to Nepal, said that the event is a great opportunity for Nepal for its publicity as a tourist destination. “Apart from the other attractions, the sights of kind and friendly Nepalese people will be a memorable experience for the participants.”

Offering his vote of thanks, Rajendra Bantawa, Managing Director of Great Himalayan Adventure, the local liaison of Trans Himalaya 2000, said that different inistries’cooperation has been crucial factor to make the necessary preparation for the event.

The participants in the event are scheduled to leave for Tibet this Tuesday.

Kathmandu, April 22:Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Tarini Datta Chataut has said that as tourism is the largest and fast emerging industry in the world, South Asia neded to create a separate identity in the sector in order to attract international tourists into the region.

Minister for Tourism Chataut was speaking at a programme held on the eve of the “goan jatras Festival” organised by the Indian Embassy, the government of the Indian state of Goa and the B.P. Koirala Nepal-India Foundation in the capital here on Friday.

He said organisation of such traditional culture festivals from time to would help attract tourists to the region.

He expressed the view that the Goan Festival would help in promoting tourism between Nepal and India by drawing the attention of tourism entrepreneurs from the two countries.

On the occasion, Minister of Tourism of the state Government of Goa, India, Mr.Fernandes said it has become imperative to expand and promote tourism market at the international level for the development of tourism industry.

He also expressed the belief that this festival, organised for the first time in Nepal, would significantly countribute to further strengthening the ties between the two south asian neighbours and promoting tourism between them.

IndianAmbassador to Nepal K.V. Rajan said that the festival has helped in furthering the mutual ties between Nepal and India. He added that Nepal and India which have diverse culture and rich traditions have great potentials for tourism.

He stressed tourism entrepreneurs from both the countries should work together to look out for a common market and futher expanision and diversfication of tourism market in the region.

Manager of the Soaltee Crown Plaza Ribu Chaterjee also expressed his views on tourism prospects in the region.

Kathmandu, April 22:Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramkrishna Tamrakar inaugurated a five-day Industrial Exhibition and the 15th National Cottage Industrialist Prize Distribution Programme here today.

The programme has been organised by the Cottage and Small Industries Development Committee with participation of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Cottage and Small Industries Federation, Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Nepal Handicraft Industries Association.

The cottage and small industries from 48 different districts have displayed their products for sale at the exhibition.

Humla, April 22:Only l00 quintals of rice is left at the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) Branch Office at Simikot, headquarters of Humla district.

The foodgrain quota for the district seems short during the current fiscal year. The people here are facing the problem of starvation arising out of this year’s drought.

This year, only 44 quintals of foodgrain has been allocated to the district so far as against the 10,000 quintals received last year.

The scarcity of foodgrain has been felt in every nook and corner of the district, branch chief of Nepal Food Corporation Mitramani Khanal said.

Nepalgunj, April 22:The Mid-Western Rural Development Bank has floated loans of Rs. 292.126 million as of the month of Poush, 2056 Bikram year.

Last fiscal year, the bank was able to recover loans amounting to Rs. 91.361 million out of a total loan issue of Rs 111.227 million.

Chairman of the Board of Director of the Bank and deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Rambabu Pant disclosed this while presenting a financial report at the 5th general meeting held here recently.

The     Bank    had    issued     Rs. 47,885,000   to   Banke   district, Rs 30,128,000 to Bardiya, Rs.   16,736,000   to   Dang,     and Rs. 6,478,000 to Surkhet during last fiscal year.

The Bank has recruited 26,160 women as members through the formation of 3,232 groups as of Poush last and issued loans to 15,165 of the women so far.

The Bank has been able to upgrade its capacity and also generate profit, it is learnt.

The    Bank   has   increased thenumberofindividual    savings   from   3,362   as   of     the end   of   Asar,   2955    to   4,001 as of the end of Asar last. The total amount of the savings accounts reached Rs. 2,158,000, an increase of 30 per cent over last year’s total deposit of Rs. 1,485,000.

Similarly, the Bank has seen a total expenditure of Rs. 14,452,632 so far under different heads during the current fiscal year.

At the general meeting, chairman Pant said that the Bank had taken into serious consideration how it can extended its services in the hilly region.

He further said that landless settlers and the trendancy of migration posed a serious challenge to the Bank.

Meanwhile in Dolpa, the first full plenary meeting of  the “B.P. With     the    Poor”   Programme District Coordination and follow-up committee was held here recently.

The local Tripura Village Development Committee (VDC) has been selected for the programme in Dolpa district as per the policy of the Central Programme Implementation Committee to implement the programme in any one VDC of the district.

The programme will be extended to cover other VDCs in the future, according to the District Programme Coordination Committee chairman Laxmi Narayan Neupane.

He said an introductory seminar on the programme would be organised in the district on April 28.

Kathmandu, Apr. 22:The First King’s Cup Open Tennis Championship kicked off at new tennis complex of All-Nepal Lawn Tennis Association (ANLTA) at Satdobato Saturday.

Rupert Calbourne Praveen Dayananda had easy first round wins over their respective opposition in the men’s single while Vindya Dayananda.  Malika Rana and Nabina Gurung too disposed off their rivals in the junior girls’ singles event in straight sets.

Coalbourne, playing powerful tennis hardly faced any challenge from Soviet Man Shrestha.  Playing power tennis with big serves and sharp double-handed backhand returns he made a short work of Shrestha by talking the match at 6-1, 6-2.

In the other match Praveen Dayananda looked impressive at 6-2, 6-4 win over Bishwo Man Shrestha to move to next round Dayananda returned  later to win yet another match, heating Stephen while dropping only one game at 6-0, 6-1.

Raju Shrestha, meanwhile had a walkover from Andrew Lundren as the latter failed to report at the court for their match to progress through to the second round in men’s single.

In the junior girls’ singles, Vindya Dayananda beat Chandni Singh by 6-1, 6-0 while Mallika Rana and Nabina Gurung defeated Elena Poole and Anjana Khadka with the score of 6-1, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-3 respectively.

Altogether 140 tennis players are taking part in the tournament, marking the 55th Birthday of His Majesty the King, which has been organized by ANLTA in conjunction with the International Leasing and Finance Company Ltd.

Earlier, the managing director of International Leasing and Finance Company Ltd (ILFCL) Dong Hyuk Kim inaugurated the tournament.

Other results: Junio boys’ single – Sandeep Tamrakar bt Biraj Singh (6-1, 6-3) Junior girls’ single-Laura Hunt bt Akriti Singh (6-4,10-8).

Sub-junior blackn boys’ – Jeetendra Pariyar bt Bikash Thapa Magar (6-1, 6-0), Abhisek  More bt Jonathan Edon (6-4, 6-3), Sang Ryal Kim bt Paul Andon (64-64).   Shreyan Karki bt Sanjya Choegyal (6-3, 7-5).  Andrew Hurt bt Om Shrestha (6-4, 6-4),  Utsav Rijal bt Sindeep Tamrakar (6-4, 6-4).  Sub-junior boys’ (under-14) Sunny  Shrestha bt Safal Sharma (w/o), Paul Hoffman bt Bishal Pandey (9-2), Sanjay Choegyal bt Punya Khadgi (9-3), Eelum Dixit bt Rojan Shrestha (9-5) Om Shrestha  bt Mikhael Lari (9-5).