Banepa, Feb. 28 :A polytechnic college will be built here at a cost of Rs 3.5 million with the financial assistance of the government of China.

This is the only polytechnic to be established by HMG outside the valley in line with the policy of decentralisation and with the financial co-operation of the government of China.

The Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) has already signed an understanding with Banepa Municipality for the acquisition of about one hundred ropanis of land for the college.

Banepa Municipality has allocated Rs 200 million  in the development budget this year and also next year for purchasing the land, according to Banepa MayorDr. Surendra Bahadur Bade Shrestha.

Course concerning electronics, textiles and tourism will be offered at the polytechnic college and about one thousand technicians will be produced from the three-year course.

The establishment of the college at Banepa Municipality, through which passes the only highway    linking Nepal to China, is expected to contribute to the development   of all the 19 districts of the central development region.

The college will also produce skilled technicians required for the construction of the technology park at Banepa, in the context of the shortage of technical manpower in the country.

Meanswhile in Itahari,  four primary school buildings have been constructed in Itahari Municipality with the mobilisation of a grant assistance of Rs 5,687,746 on the initiatives of  Mr. John Poul of the government of Luxembourg mini project.With the project assistance, a four-room building of the Budhiganga Primary School has been constructed at ward No. 4 of the Municipality. Similarly,  the project provided Rs 951,455 for the repair of a three-room old building of the same school and for purchasing the classroom furniture.Similarly, with the grant assistance of Rs 1,105,000 a four-room school building of the Shanti Srijana Primary School at ward No. 9 has been repaired and renovated, a toilet constructed and other physical infrastructure of the school improved. Likewise, a ten-room school building of the  Kabir Primary School at ward No. 4 of the municipality and the four-room classroom building of the Laxmi Primary School at ward No. 6 have been completed with the same grant assistance.

In Butwal,   a western regional seminar of the office chiefs of the western region got underway at Malangawapur of Rupandehi district under the auspices of the Ministry of General Administration.

The main objective of the seminar is to point out the shortcomings of the civil services act and collect suggestions to make timely changes on it.

Inaugurating the seminar, Judge of the Appellate Court, Butwal,Kalyan Shrestha pointed out the need for reviewing the civil services apart from development and good governance.

Joint secretary at the Ministry Dr. Tika Ram Sharma said that at present there are 132,000 civil servants in the country while joint secretary Bharat Mani Risal shed light on the objectives of the seminar.   Fifty-five office chiefs are attending the two-day seminar.

Chitwan, Feb. 28:Minister of State for Land Reforms and Management Dr Gangadhar Lamsal inaugurated a regional seminar on land management organised by the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management here  the other day.

In his inaugural speech, Minister of State Lamsal said the Landless Settlers Problems Resolution Commission has been formed with the objective of resolving the landless settlers problems under a three-year time-bound programme.

Since land is an issue which is directly related to the people, those working in land related offices should be serious about providing prompt services to the people, while maintaining transparency in their work, he said.

Minister of State Lamsal also said that the recommendations of the seminar will be of great help in resolving land related problems.

Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management Yoddha Shaha, chairman of Padampur Relocation Commission Baburam Puri and others also expressed their views.

The two-day seminar is being attended by about 85 persons including the heads of  land and land tax offices.

In Itahari, a condolence meeting was held in Dharan on Saturday to pay tributes to the late Pandit Chhabi Lal Pokharel, a freedom fighter and social worker who was also called the “Vyas” of east Nepal for his scholarship.

Addressing the memorial service, son of the late Pokharel and chairman of Nepal Press Institute Gokul Pokharel said that his late father was firm in his belief that the human society should move ahead on the basis of materialistic thinking and was against the practice of untouchability.

He said his father had a long association with Nepal’s freedom movement and strived to educate the society.

Nepali Congress youth leader from Sunsari, Giri Raj Acharya, said that the late Pokharel was not only a great social reformer but an educationalist too.

Because of his tireless efforts, so many schools were opened up in east Nepal, he said.

Literary critic Krishna Prasad Shrestha spoke about the contributions of the late Pokharel in the realm of educational development and social service.

At the condolence meeting presided over by chairman of Moti Memorial Committee, Sunsari, Mr Badri Palikhe, associate Professor Tanka Neupane, Dr. Namrata Upadhyaya and others shed light on the life and contributions of the late Pokharel.

Birgunj, Feb. 28: leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that the government should keep a positive attitude to the proposal for negotiation put forward by the Maoists.

Speaking at a press meet organised here on Sunday, Mr. Nepal said the path followed by Maoists is wrong, and that murder, crime and terror will never fulfil the goal of Maoism. Accusing the present government of not being able to resolve any problem of the country, Mr. Nepal said the party will, in the coming winter session of Parliament, raise voice on grave issues of national interest.

Kathmandu, Feb. 28:Tourism as Development: Case Studies from the Himalaya,” the seventh publication of Himal Books, was released amidst a function at Hotel Vajra in Kathmandu today. The book, edited by the well-known regional planner Pitamber Sharma, analyses the complex interface between tourism and development in five areas in the Hind Kush-Himalaya region.

The case studies presented deal with the Fairy Meadows of Pakistan, the Phewa Lake of Pokhara, the ‘forbidden kingdom’ of Lo Manthang, the Indian hill station of Shimla, and the pilgrimage destination of Badrinath. “The central message of the book is (that) tourism, in order to be sustainable in the mountains, has to contribute to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural development of tourist areas or else it has no meaning and relevance,” writes Egbert Pelinck of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in his preface. The five case studies presented in this book were done by ICIMOD to elucidate the problems and processes of tourism and development in different contexts.

“Tourism as Development: Case Studies from the Himalaya” is jointly published in Nepal by Himal Books and in Austria by Studienverlag.

Himal Books, the publication arm of the not-for-profit Himal Association, is dedicated to the publication of quality books on Nepal and the Himalaya. Its publications include titles like Toni Hagen’s “Nepal” and Harka Gurung and Jan Salter’s “Faces of Nepal.”

Kathmandu, Feb. 28: His Majesty’s Government has, as per the decision of Feb. 24, appointed Naresh Bahadur Swanr (Kanchanpur) Chairman of Himal Cement Company Board, Subodh Giri (Siraha) Chairman of Royal Drugs Limited Board, Narendra Kumar Gurung (Bhojpur) Chairman of Cottage and Small Industries Board, Dr Santosh Poudel (Lalitpur) Chairman of Industrial Estate Management Limited Board, Prem Bahadur Ghale (Surkhet) Chairman of Nepal Orind Magnesite Private Limited Board, Radheshyam Baral (Parsa) Chairman of Nepal Metal Company Board and Birendra Lal Nepali (Parsa) Chairman of Hetauda Textiles Industry Limited Board.

According to the ministry of industry, the tenure of all these newly appointed chairmen will be two years.

Likewise, Ramesh Singh Pradhan (Kathmandu) has been appointed General Manager of National Productivity and Economic Development Centre and Pralhad Karki (Parsa) General Manager of Birgunj Sugar Factory Limited.

The government has also appointed Tej Kant Jha (Saptari) General Manager of Udayapur Cement Factory and Radheshyam Chaurasiya General Manager of Hetauda Cement Factory for two years to the maximum.

Likewise,  His Majesty’s Government has appointed keshab babu khatri Chairman of rural housing company limited for two years, according to the ministry of housing and physical planning.

Kathmandu, Feb. 28: Nepali Congress parliamentary party working committee and NC. Parliamentary party are to hold its meeting at 8 p.M. and 8:30 P.M. respectively on Tuesday February 29 at the Prime Minister’s residence, Baluwatar, the NC. Parliamentary Party office has announced.

The office has also requested all the members of NC Parliamentary Party working committee and the parliamentary party to attend their respective meetings.

GARMENT exporters will now be required to go through one more hassle. Exporters will have to acquire licences before they can send their goods abroad. At a time when licences are an anathema to the world of trade, this must be shocking news to liberalization enthusiasts of the day. The news is shocking even to protectionists who understand trade only in terms of exports. Is the new millennium coming up with new twists to liberalization or is this case just an aberration?

The answer is neither. Looking at the Nepalese trade scenario through a free trader’s eyes has its own set of complications, and this is one of them. Most Nepalese exports are made up of goods being traded under the preferential regime. Garment exports fall under the so-called GSP- general system of preferences- or the quota system. The importing country imports only a certain amount   of   goods    from   Nepal, unconcerned about their competitiveness    in   the   free   market. Set guidelines and standards need to be fulfilled if you are to export your   ware   and    that   too   only until your quota amount is fulfilled. This is a special privilege enjoyed only by the developing world provided by the developed markets.

What has been noticed over the years is that there is a sort of competition even among the quota countries. Some countries appear to be more competitive in exploiting the quota system than others. And, Nepalese are losers in this game. They have been witness to finished goods coming from abroad to be re-exported as Nepalese goods. This takes up the Nepalese quota space without benefitting the Nepalese in any way. The Commerce Ministry has therefore come up with this belated idea of licensing the quota products originating from Nepal so that other countries cannot cheat the Nepalese of their trade facilities.

Although the remedy appears logical, the question of timing of the    licensing   could   unearth unpleasant questions. Since the quota-cheating has remained a phenomenon for so long, why have   the    Nepalese   finally   tried to find a remedy to it through licensing now? The global trading regime is phasing out the quota system in a couple of years any way.

Leaving this motive-question aside, under the new arrangement, the Chamber of Commerce will be playing a crucial role in certifying the origin of the exportable. The thinking of the government appears to be thus: The government, or more precisely, the customs people, are not to be trusted because they have been involved in this quota violation by allowing importation of finished goods illegally. If the businessmen themselves are given a hand in determining the origin of the finished products, then there would be no problem.

If indeed there were wrong-doers, they have not been brought to book. Is this how we handle lapses in trade? Apart from eroding the credibility of the government in matters as vital as exports, the new arrangement has added one more burden on the exporter, not to mention the additional work being given to the chamber- a non governmental entity. The lost time in arranging for the final shipping of products in an area where time is of utmost importance is another matter to be considered. Still, all the trouble will be worth it, if only Nepalese garments reach their destination with the ‘Made in Nepal’ stamp. Only time will tell if the new initiative has paid off so that other preferential exports, like carpets, too can emulate the idea.

The Big Picture: The emerging Nepalese export scenario appears to be one brought right out of the books of the 1960s and 70s, not one from the new millennium that came after the 1990s- an era of aggressive push by free trade lobbyists and policies- as being made to believe. The big picture could indeed be confusing.

What is more, the recently concluded UNCTAD meet saw many developing countries calling for the scrapping of the quota system. This was in fact the main sore point in the discussions between developing and developed countries. If the developing ones wanted free access to the developed markets, the developed ones were willing to provide only ‘almost free access’. Clearly, the Nepalese position in this debate is different, if we are to look at the new arrangement to license the quota products.

The Nepalese want to stick to the quota system until their production capabilities are efficient and compititive, in spite of the developing country call for ‘free access’. So dire is the Nepalese state of competitiveness that they cannot even compete to keep their own quota for themselves- allowing others to benefit from it.

One   may   conclude   that whatever    others   may   think, the Nepalese, like other LDCs, need the quota system badly. But, again, the quota system is not going to remain here forever. The World Trade Organisation will phase them out as time progresses.  In    other   words, Nepal will have to work out its place in the emerging world trade scenario in a very calculated manner. And, this means much more than last-ditch attempts to salvage, and benefit from, a dying system.

Nepalese officials are confident that they can deal with the negotiating process due to be initiated in a few months time. They might be wanting everyone to believe that preparations are complete for them to start negotiating. But the fact that even a preferential system like the quota system could not be exploited by the Nepalese for decades surely makes their confidence sound hollow.

The world of free trade is a whole new ball game altogether. Additionally, the issue of acquiring concessions from the world trade body, normally given to LDCs, is a separate subject requiring the knowledge of the uniqueness of the Nepalese economy in so many aspects. Just look at the Nepalese need to licence its exports when even import licences are being scrapped throughout the world.

On the one hand, the needs of the world trading system is getting more and more complicated by the day. On the other hand, the Nepalese experience with the trade regimes the country has devised for itself over the years, or has been subjected to, leave a lot of room for doubt about the Nepalese ability to do any better than to pin all their hopes on the concessions provided by the WTO. If experience were the actual pointer to future outcome, even those concessions will be swindled by someone else from right under their nose. After all, the quota system was a concession provided by the developed countries to Nepal. Was it not?

Kathmandu, Feb.28: In wake of its growing population entailing ecological disturbance and increasing human-confrontations at the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP), one horned rhinos are being translocated to the Royal Bardia National Park (RBNP), a WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) press release stated here today.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), with technical assistance from the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and financial assistance from the World Wide Fund for Nature, Nepal Programme, started the translocation of ten rhinos from the RCNP to the RBNP yesterday.

“This initiative has been taken in a bid to provide a second home for the one horned rhinos to protect it from the natural and other disasters and also to minimize the incidence of human-rhino interactions in the RCNP,” read the press release. “Of the targeted 10 rhinos, two have already been translocated yesterday. The relocation of all ten rhinos is expected to take about seven to 10 days.”

The DNPWC has already translocated 42 rhinos between 1986 and 1999. “More than 50 rhinos roaming in the Bardia Park today are part of the two viable populations — one in RCNP and the other in RBNP — of the species in the country,” added the press statement.

Once on the verge of extinction in the early 50’s, the conservation of the then endangered species that began in the late 60’s, has today resulted into more than 400 rhinos in the RCNP alone.

But, together with the number growth of the protected species came other problems like its inadequate habitat, death of the rhinos as a result of fighting against each other, hostile meeting with neighbouring human in the park’s buffer zone, among others.

The RCNP, according to WWF, has only some pockets of habitat for rhinos. “Due to natural succession of the Khair, Sisso, Simal and other trees, the grassland habitat is shrinking.”

As a result, high population densities of the rhino have been found in the border areas of the park that has high diversities of habitat types, said the international fund for nature. And it is the same bordering areas where the buffer zone is located.

Which means the risk of confrontation between human and  rhinos has doubled. “Crop raiding by the rhinos in the adjoining crop fields as well as occasional rhino related human casualties have already occurred in the park,” the press release confirmed.

Rhinos invading the human settlements in the neighbouring areas of the park has been one of the burning problems in national park management in the Terai. That is yet another reason, the protected species faces threat from dissatisfied locals in the buffer zone. Cashing in on the situation of the local hatred are poachers engaged in killing of rhinos for their horns.

The one horned rhino is the prime attraction of the RCNP — the most visited natural site in the country. Included in the World Natural Sites of UNESCO, RCNP attracts more than 100,000 tourists every year.

Kathmandu, Feb. 28: Orphanages and homes are made into a profit making business by many in Kathmandu. And, the gullible children seeking shelter in those institutions are used, by foreigners and Nepalese, only as means for attracting funds, a recent investigation unfolded.

A group of twenty children in last one and half months were juggled into the hands of three different guardians and were “rescued” twice by police from pitiable conditions. Children Act 1992 strongly forbids the transfer of guardianship of children between homes, between persons or from a home to person and vice versa. The Act clearly states transfer of guardianship could be obtained only with a legal permission from government appointed Child Welfare Officer under the circumstances of death or lose of mental balance or bankruptcy or for legally proved involvement of previously appointed legal guardian in criminal activities. A legal guardian can also retire from guardianship if the person is unable to meet his legal obligations of bringing up the child. In case of the twenty children, guardianship was transferred between two homes without completing legal proceedings.

“I suspect monitory transactions between the homes, because the children made good profit for the orphanage administrators. At the cost of the children, the administrators bought luxuries for themselves,” says Hari Shivakoti, the house-owner, at whose place at Gongabu the twenty children were kept for about four and half months on rent under the banner of Nepal Orphan, Handicapped and Disabled Service Improvement Association (NOHDSIA). The organisation is registered with Social Welfare Council.

The NOHDSIA Chairman Nar Bahadur Raut, representing unanimous consent of the organisation’s executive body members, entered an agreement with Nanda Kumari Kulu of Yatkha to transfer the guardianship of all the twenty children under the home’s shelter. The agreement paper, drafted on a plain A4 size paper was signed between the two parties on December 31, 1999. The agreement paper ends the claim of NOHDSIA over the children but allows to maintain contact with them and shifts the full responsibility of their guardianship to Kulu.

“A paper signed like that has no legal meaning, it is illegal to transfer guardianship that way,” says advocate Sharda Subba.

“Now I realise it was a mistake. My intention was only to help the children find a better home,” Kulu says with a claim that before entering such agreement she did not consult a professional lawyer. However, the children did not stay with Kulu instead they were transferred to Helping Hand home situated at Sanepa (the place was previously run as Hotel Lalitpur, but later it was rented to the two foreigners on monthly rent of Rs. 100,000 for running a hotel with a new name) that is run by Evelyn Dunn, an Indian and Edwin Gill, an Australian. Helping Hand is an unregistered institution therefore not allowed to carry out any activities within Nepal. Nevertheless, the organisation has despatched appeals for monetary help through newspapers and Internet and has collected funds from individual donors as well as through sale of paintings and sculptures at its art gallery at Thamel. (A registered social organisation by the same name is also operative in Nepal.)

“Since the agreement paper was prepared in Nepali, the foreigners refused to sign it,” says one of the executive members of NOHDSIA asking for anonymity. Kulu also claims that the three parties “orally” agreed to the arrangement that Kulu would sign the agreement but the children will be transferred to Helping Hand, which will bear responsibility of guardianship.

The children’s stay there did not last long. On January 20, 2000 police intervened to return the children back to their previous home as a complaint registered against Nanda Kulu by Evelyn Dunn that the former made claim over the children without any legal standings. Nevertheless, the police intervention failed to return the children back to their previous home, they remained with Helping Hand.

Kulu, who also chairs a registered social organisation to work with children, agrees that she demanded the children back when the foreigners threatened to return to their respective countries leaving the children “homeless once again”. Later, a former NOHDSIA executive member who was involved in both the first and second agreement signed by NOHDSIA, also demanded the twenty children to shelter at her newly registered home. In spite of those demands and police order to return the children to their previous home, they were kept with Helping Hand till the Women Cell at Kathmandu Valley Police Office “re-rescued” the children last Friday.

“Unless the government develops proper mechanism to check on conducts of these homes, children are always at risk,” says Inspector Gita Uprety with the Women Cell. The police sources charge that both the homes were mistreating the children and abusing them as “objects to advertise” to attract funds from within and outside the country. It is reported that the girl children were sexually molested by NOHDSIA Chairman Nar Bahadur Raut, beaten by Sushil Dutt, an Indian who also carries a business card that identifies himself as chairman of the organisation, and were maltreated by General Secretary Bed Prasad Adhikari.

“Sir used to make us beg for vegetables and collect donation from shops,” says nine-year-old Lyangma Tamang. But, she complained, the vegetables thus collected were never served to them. “Sir and his friends used to consume all.”

The children also relate their bad experiences living at Helping Hand home. Pradip Shrestha, 11, and Man Bahadur Lama, 10, complain that home failed to  provide medical help when they felt acute pain  and Krishna Thapa was not taken to doctor when he sustained deep wound that resulted in loss of blood and serious infection. Pilot Lama, 13, complains of being locked away for blowing a balloon. While, Raj Kumar Raut complains of being underfed.

American Reverend Joseph Richard, former co-worker of Dunn and Gill and a psychological counsellor, claims of having observed “violent behaviour, mental instability and sexual problems” and expresses concern about “improper threats to children” from both.

Eddie Gill was not available to defend allegations made against him, Evelyn Dunn refused to be quoted, while Nar Bahadur Raut is under police investigation.

Pokhara, Feb. 28:The need of an international airport is increasingly felt in the bustling sub-metropolis and tourism haven, Pokhara, these day.

There has been unexpected spurt in tourist flow and number of standard hotels in the valley while the urbanisation process is also gaining momentum here. In the face of growing demand for more modern facilities, the existing airport is now unable to cope with the increasing number of tourists.

With the advent of open air policy and private sector participation in aviation sector, cargo handling activity has increased sharply but the airport is still without night service facilities. These are one of the main reason why the need of an international airport, in the form of an alternative to the existing one though, is gaining support here.

Development taking place in education, health, industrial sectors, establishment of regional office govt. and ngos’ offices here also calls for development of Pokhra from the standpoint of transport.

In this context, it may be noted that over the last twenty-five years, about 158 hectares of land has been acquired in several phases for the construction of a new airport at Chhinedanda in the valley. The place is four kilometres from the down town Pokhara.

As the place was thought appropriate from technical point of view, an engineering survey to that effect was conducted there and an airport master plan  was prepared in 1969.

A German engineering consultancy firm completed a detailed design for the purpose in 1971. Thereafter, jica made a fresh study about it and submitted a master plan suggesting more extensive runway.

It is possible to build there a runway of 2500 metre length which will enable a medium range aircraft like B-757 to land there, according to the knowledgeable sources.

The proposed airport will enable Pokhra to have direct link at least with Asian countries. However, it does not have enough space for developing physical infrastructures  commensurate with any prospective international airport.

The existing airport with its north-south orientation has some technical snags that limit its runway extention to only 1447 and the proximity of mountains also poses some problems of direct plane landing and take-off, thereby making it difficult to provide night flight services.

The old airport earns about Rs. 20 million annually from air flight services but  precludes the possibility of adding various facilities needed to tackle the growing passenger flow.