Kathmandu, Mar. 30:Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said that the government was fully committed to promote the country’s industry and commerce.

“I, on behalf of the government, assure you of total co-operation and total support,” Premier Koirala said inaugurating the six-day industrial and commercial fair ‘Tradex–2000’ at Bhrikuti Mandap this morning.

“The government will extend full co-operation to the private sector to construct the exhibition centre,” Koirala said. “The government, traders and industrialists should work hand in hand to develop necessary exhibition infrastructure.”

Koirala also told the traders and exhibitors that the government would work towards simplifying laws relating the movement of goods in or out of the country for the purpose of exhibition.

Emphasising the importance of economic diplomacy in the present day globalised context, Koirala said that the private sector had to play a crucial role to expand export trade.

Minister for Industry and Commerce Ram Krishna Tamrakar said that the government was ready to assist the private sector in developing exhibition infrastructure by bringing in the donors.

“Nepal as a least developed country has appealed to the donor agencies that they should assist her in developing exhibition infrastructure and they are positive about it,” said Tamrakar. Minister Tamrakar said that the government was expecting a proposal on behalf of the private sector for the development of exhibition infrastructure.

Tamrakar said that the government was working to promote country’s trade and commerce. He said that Commerce Ministry was organising a seminar next week in collaboration with the private sector with a view to discuss the prospects of export trade.

President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Mahesh Kumar Agrawal called for initiatives that would ensure the development of trade and tourism in which he said Nepal had comparative strength.

On behalf of the organisers, Everest Exhibitions (EE)’s managing director Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar said that they always tried to make the fair a consumer-oriented event in the past in line with the nature of Nepalese market. Rajkarnikar however said that the traders and exhibitors faced problems due to the lack of exhibition infrastructure.

From the chair, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pradeep Kumar Shrestha stressed on implementation of the existing policy for the growth of industry and commerce.

The fifth annual fair has traditional as well as modern consumer goods on display. Besides, it features a competitive show of two wheelers and four wheelers. Modern garden in Nepalese tradition is another aspect of the fair, which the organisers expect, would attract women.

The fair also features the selective exhibition of decorative items, construction materials and industrial products.

The fair that aims at promoting and popularising new products from home and abroad comprises 100 stalls.

The organisers said that they had made necessary arrangements for communication service, advertising and marketing agencies, official travel agency and carrier service as well as insurance and entertainment programmes. The event sponsored by Tuborg Beer, Nepal-Bangladesh Bank, Quality Icecream and Professional Advertising can be accessed through Internet.

Kakarbhitta:A day-long seminar on the condition of the tea of the eastern region” was held at Birtamod Tuesday by the eastern regional and Tea and Coffee Development Board on the occasion of the third National Tea Day.

At the seminar, renowned tea producers of Jhapa stressed the need of a long-term policy on tea.

Chief of the Mittal Tea Estate Mohan Lal Agrawal suggested that there should be a clear-cut policy and programme on tea and teachers farmers should be provided with loans at concessional interest rates.

Tea industrialist Krishna Mishra said the government should pay attention to the contentious issue cropping up at time between tea industries and farmers.

National Tea and Coffee Development regional office chief Manoj Khetan presided over the seminar.

Khotang :The youth self-employment programme implementation and follow-up committee, khotang held a district level informal orientation programme at Diktel Tuesday.

At the programme, local development officer Khagendra Chudal described self-employment programme brought by the government as praiseworthy and said the countries like India and Sri Lanka, too, had improved their economies by introducing such programmes.

District development committee ex-chairman and Nepali Congress district unit acting president Vishnu Kumar Rai and district development committee acting chairman Devi Prasad Regmi and co-ordinator of the ‘B.P. with Poor Programme’ Subas Pokharel also shed light on the importance of the youth self-employment programme.

CDO Madhav Raj Sharma expressed the confidence that the programme would play immense role in poverty alleviation.

Mahendranagar, Mar. 29:A strong gale last week damaged a 16-kilowatt power transmission tower located 34 miles north of here, killing one person at Sunsera VDC in Darchula district, according to the district administration.

The deceased is identified as 60 years old Jasisingh Kuwar of Ward no. 9 of the same VDC. The damage is estimated at over Rs 200,000, says chief district officer Ved Prakash Lekhak. The gale also caused some damages at Rapla and Dhulakot of the district.

Likewise, hailstorm is reported to have extensively damaged standing wheat at Chandani VDC in Kanchanpur. The most affected areas are ward no. 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the VDC.

Meanwhile in Dhading, Ram Deo Kumal, 65, of Maidi VDC-9 Pipaltar has died after being beaten up by two women.

Jani Kumal, 35, and her sister Manaki Kumal, 32, of the same locality beat him up on March l2 during a quarrel over cattle that ate standing wheat. He was taken to Dhading Hospital, a day’s journey away, by kin and fellow villagers, and doctors there advised that he be taken to Kathmandu. But as he could not afford to go there he was taken back home where he died on March 24.

According to inspector Krishna Bahadur Karki at the district police office, the post-mortem report showed that Ram Deu had sustained deep injuries to the chest and head. The two sisters have been arrested and necessary action initiated against them.

Likewise in Nuwakot, fire that broke out suddenly at a house in Madanapur VDC Ward No. 3 destroyed clothing and foodgrain worth Rs. 60,000, according to house resident Mrigendra Nepali.

Gandha Prasad Adhikari, 55, who sustained serious burn injuries in the fire, has been taken to Kathmandu for treatment, it is learnt.

In Syangja, seventeen houses and cow-sheds were gutted in a fire that broke out Tuesday afternoon at Tankakot Village of Dhunmokhara VDC, Syangja district. Seventeen livestock perished in the fire while eight livestock fell down from a cliff after breaking loose from the pen.

The damage from the fire is estimated at about Rs 4 million. The incident occurred as children were playing with fire at the house of Chandra Bahadur Biswakarma.

Kathmandu, Mar. 29:Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Wednesday for the development of tourism and nature conservation in the Lo-Manthang region of upper Mustang, according to NTB press release issued Wednesday. The NTB press release issued Wednesday.

The NTB will assist the KMTNC with the upgrading of the information center at Kagbeni and Lo-Manthang; formation of camping/hotel management committee: posting of sign posts; putting up of location map board; construction of porter/pilgrim shelter; brochure publication; waste management program; incinerator building/repair/maintenance work and running of tourism awareness camps.

The two organizations pledge to share information, have regular interactions on conservation and tourism development of the region.

The NTB and the KMTNC shall make an effort to put in synergy the programes launched by the respective institutions and if possible work together on other programmes on environment and tourism development in the future, the press release said.

Kathmandu, Mar. 29:  Nine left parties have called off their nation-wide protest scheduled for April 4.

A decision to this effect was taken at their Tuesday’s meeting chaired by Rajendra Shrestha of CPN-ML.

The April 4 nation-wide protest has been called off in view of the adverse impact the Nepal bandh call by the Maoist that day will have on their programme, says a joint press communiqué of the nine left parties, voicing strong objection to that kind of act on the part of the Maoists.

The joint communiqué  was signed by Rajendra Shrestha of CPN-ML, Krishna Das Shrestha of CPN-MLM, Hemanta B.C. of CPN-United, Buddi Kumar Gosai of NWPP, Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha of   RJSS, Amik Sherchan of Samyukta Jana Morcha, Nara Bahadur Karmacharya of CPN-Unity centre, Mohan Bikram Singh of CPN-Masal and Prabhu Naryan Chaudhary of CPN-Marxist.

Meanwhile in Rajbiraj, Saptari District Development Committee members has called an indefinite relay hunger strike on the premises of the district administration since Tuesday, protesting against what they call rampant corruption at the district development committee.

Earlier, the protesters, seven DDC members, had demanded that a probe be made into corruption at the district development committee and the guilty be brought to book by March 24. They called relay hunger strike as their demand went unheeded, says a memorandum handed to the district administration.

In this context, chief district officer Balkrishna Prasai said that investigation process was already underway regarding four of the demands even before the memo was handed over, while efforts were also under for probe   regarding two other demands.

Mahendranagar, Mar. 29:Land ownership certificates were distributed to 40 homeless and landless Kamaiya bonded labourers here today as per the policy of His Majesty’s Government of providing residential facilities to landless Kamaiya.

Kamaiya living in various parts of the district were provided two Katha of land each at ward No-6 of Dekhatmuli VDC, Kanchanpur district. The land reform office, Kanchanpur provided the land under the district Kamaiya settlement programme.

The office had bought five bigahas of land worth Rs. 1125,000/ in fiscal year 2052/53 in the name of the Kamaiya settlement committee.

Four Bihaga of land will be distributed to the Kamaiya while one Bigaha will be used for building roads, a school, drinking water facilities, a temple,  a park, etc.

Kamaiya receiving the land cannot sell it for 25 years and will use it under the Kamaiya settlement programme directorate-2053 B.S.

Distributing the land ownership certificates, DDC chairman Rishiraj Lumsali said the pride of Nepal and the Nepalese cannot grow unless the lot of   the Kamaiya is improved.

Land reform officer Ganeshman Bijukche and DDC member Bal Bahadur Dangora also expressed their views on the occasion. According to official records, there are 2,945 women and 3,224 men Kamaiya in the district.

Kathmandu, Mar. 29 : MPs of the main opposition party had disrupted the regular proceedings at the meeting of the National Assembly today demanding that the Home Minister should apologize to the House over the indecent treatment meted out to the women and mps who were staging a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare.

They had demanded that the House proceedings should not be moved ahead unless the Home Minister committed that such incidents would not repeat in the future.

Those demanding clarifications about the incident were Kedar Prasad Neupane, Ram Chandra Bhattarai, Bisheshwora Dahal, Bir Bahadur Singh, Dev Raj Ghimire, Goma Devkota and Shanta Manavi.

MP Sharada Pokherel also demanded that the Home Minister should inform the House about the incident.

Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammad Mohsin had repeatedly urged the mps to move ahead the regular proceedings of the House.

The main opposition party mps did not let the House proceeding go on even after ruling party leader at the National Assembly Basudev Risal gave assurances that the Home Minister would apologize.

The regular proceedings picked up only after the Home Minister apologized to the House about the incident.

Kathmandu, Mar. 29: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala  has  said that we can create a disciplined environment by making the Scout education nationwide.

Addressing the concluding function of the 48th annual function of the Nepal Scout here today, Prime Minister Koirala said as the children are the pillars of the nation,  the country can get disciplined citizens only when we create an environment for producing children with good discipline and morale.

Chief Scout and Minister for Education Amod Prasad Upadhyaya said the role of the Scout is important for making people move along the right path in the present society which is distracted from morality and idealism.

He said despite inability to make much improvement in the education sector of the nation, the present government is committed to make timely improvements by making   maximum use of the limited resources and means.

At the programme, the Prime Minister and the Education Minister gave away commendation letters and prizes to the persons and organisations making commendable contribution in various fields of Scout.

On  the occasion,  acting member-secretary of the Nepal Scout Ananda Prasad Khatiwada  presented the annual report.

Gaur, Mar. 29: A group of  300-400 unidentified persons blasted a bomb at the house of  Minister of State  for  Forest  and Soil Conservation Mohammad Aftaf Alam at 11:45 P.M. Tuesday, set fire on the house and made away with properties from the house.

Chief district officer Chandra Bahadur Karki told that the militants surrounded the house of the Minister of State at Rajpur Faradawa climbed up the roof and warned   the villagers not to come out of their houses  saying that mines had been laid on the way.

CDO Karki   said the looters had  thrown out  women and children  from the houses, smashed  the cabinets with axe and Khukuri and looted all the goods and cash.

They also planted a bomb  in one room,  sprinkled petrol on the other goods and set the house on fire before  making their way.