Kathmandu, Feb. 13:Representing His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev left for Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, today to attend the wedding of His Majesty King Letsie-III of Lesotho.

The Chief Justice, the National Assembly Chairman, the Chairman of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee, the Deputy Prime Minister, the leader of the main opposition, the ministers and other distinguished persons bid farewell to the Crown Prince at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is scheduled to return home on February 24.

Itahari, Feb. 13: A democratic fighter and a veteran litterateur of eastern Nepal  Chhabilal Pokhrel passed away at the age of 95 at his own residence in Dharan this afternoon.

The late Pokhrel was talking to his relatives about literature and democracy till 10:00 this morning at the intensive care unit of b.p. koirala Institute of Health Sciences.

Born in Kachinde village in Dhankuta district in 1961 b.s., he is survived by his wife and six sons.

Mr. Pokhrel was awarded the Samajik Sewa Puraskar, the Mahendra Pragya Puraskar, the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu fourth class, the Ganeshman Pragya Pratisthan Samman, the Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar honour from the Indian Dalit Literary Conference, the Keshar Singh and Khadga Kumari Karki award and various other literary, religious and social awards.

The late Pokhrel has to his credit various works in Nepali including Mahatmagandhi Astangayog Ra Adarsha Byabahar, Vedko Somras Ra Jand Rakshiko Itihans,   Adhunik Drishti Ma Balmiki Ramayan, Sankhya Darshan, Boudik Siddanta Ra Manav Samaj, Bhav Tarang, Hamro Dharma, Ved Dekhika Dharma Ra matharu, etc.

Likewise, he has also to his credit other books such as  Ishai Samudaya Ek Samikchha, Samalochanako Kasima Devasur Sangram, Muktachayan Sanskriti Ra nepal, Kirant and Hamiharu Ra shastraharu Ko Charcha. Koumudisar and Muktachayan, also by him, are in Sanskrit.

A propagator of modern education, Pokhrel was jailed in 2007 b.s. for one month in Dhankuta and he had started most of the schools in Dharan and Dhankuta in his lifetime. He had also launched a movement for equal education to one and all for the first time.

Founder of the Gokundeswor high school of Dhankuta, public high school of Dharan, Mahendra Multiple Campus, Sarvajanik Vidya Bhawan of Dharan, Sriram Sanskrit Pathshala, Pindeswor Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Chandra Sanskrit Secondary School, the late Pokhrel was a social reformer and a fighter for caste equality.

His body will be cremated according to the Vedic rituals tomorrow, his family sources said.

The body lies in state at his own residence in Dharan 12, Chatara line for the people to pay their last respects.

Bharatpur, Feb. 13 : A bomb exploded at the building of the Nepal Electricity Authority Office here last night breaking the window panes, according to the district police office.

According to eye witnesses, four persons were seen running away.

The incident is under police investigation and a search is under way for the alleged terrorists.

Meanwhile, in Nepalgunj some unidentified persons hurled two hand bombs at the land revenue office in Nepalgunj at 6.10 am today, according to police sources.

The bombs, however, did not cause any damage and an inquiry into the incident is going on.

One of the two hand bombs exploded on the roof of the land revenue office, while the other was found inactive at the office premises.

The inactive bomb has been taken by police for investigation.

Itahari, Feb. 13:His Majesty’s Government export promotion committee, the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Dharan Chamber of Commerce and Industry are to jointly hold an industrial fair in the ground of public secondary school in Dharan from Feb 15-19.

Industrial products from Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Hetauda, Birgunj, Janakpur and other areas will be displayed in the fair which aims at export promotion of Nepalese items.

A total of 74 stalls will be put up in the fair.

Ready-made items based on agri-raw materials, handicraft items, wood works, etc will also be on display in the fair.

Kathmandu, Feb. 13:The meeting of health secretaries of South East Asian Nations Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand concluded in New Delhi.

India was elected chairman and Nepal vice chairman for the operation of the meeting.

Health secretary Srikanta Regmi had led the Nepalese delegation which included director general of the Health Services Department and chief of the Health Ministry planning division Dr Ben Bahadur Karki.

The meeting discussed the progress made in the health sector with the assistance of the World Health Organisation (who) basically focussed on the state of public health in the 21st century, initiatives being taken to eradicate polio and control of tuberculosis, and took various decisions.

Health secretary Regmi had informed the meeting that Nepal particularly in areas of tb control and polio eradication has been carrying out work satisfactorily.

Mr Regmi spoke of the need of technical and financial assistance in setting up a well-organised training institution for providing training in public health.

Janakpurdham, Feb. 13:Nepali Congress president and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala today laid the foundation stones of the outpatient building and the maternity and child care centre at the premises of the Janakpur Zonal Hospital.

Rs 6.5 million has been earmarked this year for the construction of the building estimated to cost Rs 39 million. The building will cover 76,000 square feet.

Likewise, the maternity and child care centre is to be built by P.I.U. At a cost of Rs 4 million, it is learnt.

On the occasion, nc president Koirala said, “the country is making progress in every field after the restoration of democracy but the so-called Maoist violence and terrorism is impeding development endeavours.”

“When a man is devoid of any principle and ideal he becomes confused, and the Maoists, too, are pursuing the path of violence because they are aimless and without any principle,” he said.

NC president Koirala stressed that all forces should join hands to free the people from the terror of the Maoists.

Stating that the Nepali Congress was moving ahead shouldering the responsibility of liberating the people from hunger, diseases and illiteracy, former prime minister Koirala called for cooperation from all  concerned in this regard.

HC emphasised the need for the development of villages, stating that the country would be developed only if the villages were developed.

Stressing that the economic, education, health and agricultural policy of the country during the ten years after the restoration of democracy had to be evaluated, he pointed out the need to correct the past  mistakes and move ahead accordingly.

He said that as the customs and situation of Himali, hilly and Terai regions of the country are different, economic policy should also be formulated accordingly.

Health Minister Dr. Ram Baran Yadav noted that people of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Siraha, Udayapur, Sindhuli and Sarlahi districts would be directly benefited from the expansion of the hospital.

The government had provided various immunisation services so that the people might not suffer from diseases, he said, point out the government’ commitment to provide health services to the people.

Minister Dr. Yadav disclosed that Manipal Hospital would be run by private sector at Mujeliya of Janakpur.

NC central member Mrs Lila Koirala said that the development of the country would not be possible if the government failed to overcome the problems of poverty, unemployment and population growth and meet the target of women empowerment at the beginning of the 21st century.

Dr. Bijaya Kumar Singh spoke at the function chaired by Janakpur Hospital development board chairman Damodar Prasad Upadhyaya.

Meanwhile Nepali Congress central president Koirala has said development of villages will ultimately lead to the development of the country.

Addressing a meeting organised following an on-site inspection of an under-construction bridge over Jamuni river in Deuriparwaha of Dhanusa constituency No-2 today, the former prime minister said Maoists are indulged in the politics of violence and terror by killing poor people, teachers, women and children.

Nepali Congress central member Mrs. Lila Koirala said the Nepali Congress government is committed to fulfill basic needs of the people like roads, drinking water, education, health, etc.

NC booth committee chairman Badri Yadav Presided.

Likewise, inaugurating a primary health centre at Sabaila vdc of Dhanusa district constituency No-2, NC president Mr. Koirala said Maoists are aimless and have no principle. He also urged everyone to become united to wipe out terrorism from the country.

NC local worker Jagdev Shaha presided.

Also today, Mr. Koirala laid the foundation stone for the ilaka health post building to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 4.9 million at Dubarkot vdc in Dhanusa constituency No-1.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Koirala said he would draw the attention of the government toward fulfilling the basic requirements of the people living in backward areas.

Health Minister Dr. Rambaran Yadav said the government is committed to provide health services to every citizen of the country.

Nc dhanusa constituency No-1 regional president Rajeswor Goit presided.

Nepali Congress president and former Prime Minister Koirala has said national problems should be resolved through national consensus, and talks are under way with different political parties for finding a solution to the Maoist insurgency.

Mr Koirala, while inaugurating a primary health centre built at a cost of Rs 12.5 million provided by the Health Ministry and World Bank at Mahendranagar of constituency No. 5 of Dhanusha district today, spoke of the need of village development for the development of the country.

Social Worker Arjun Giri had provided 12 katthas of land for the construction of the health centre.

Health Minister Dr Ram Baran Yadav said despite development in various sectors including health after the advent of democracy, issues of unemployment and peace and security have surfaced.

nc central member Mrs Lila Koirala also spoke at the function chaired by Harinarayan Yadav of the centre.

Similarly, nc president Koirala, inaugurating a primary health centre in Dhanushadham today, laid stress on the need to remove hunger, disease, illiteracy and poverty from the country.

mp ananda Prasad Dhungana and Sovit Dahal also spoke at the function.

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Feb. 13:Nepal should review its water management system and different hydro-related projects before it sends its suggestions and recommendations to the World Commission on Dams (WCD), an independent and international body formed to review large dams across the globe, experts said here today.

“It has been around 40 years since the construction of bigger barrages like Koshi-Gandak was completed, but we have not made review of any of these projects,” said Ajaya Dixit, a Water Expert, told an interaction “Positive and negative experiences of hydro-related projects in Nepal” organised by National Concerns Society. “Leave alone the negative issues, we have not even been able to discuss whether we have attained the benefits that were expected of these projects.”

Before preparing its report by August this year, the WCD has been studying both positive and negative aspects of various dams in different countries. The commission, with 13 commissioners from different countries, will make a global review of the development effectiveness of large dams and assess alternatives, prepare a framework for options assessment and decision making processes for water resource and energy services and development, and draw internationally acceptable criterion and guidelines for planing, designing, construction, operation, monitoring and decommissioning of dams.

According to experts, the commission studied 50 dams in different countries in 1997. Of them, 24 were found to be satisfactory while half of the rest had rooms for improvement. The remaining dams were found to be inappropriate. “This time around, 10 groups are engaged in dealing with different case studies of different large dams,” said Bikash Pandey, another Water Resources expert.

Even if Nepal does not figure in any of the case studies, its Kulekhani hydropower project is one of the 150 projects being cross-checked by the WCD.

“What is required is the evaluation of the level of risks involved in the hydro-related projects,” noted Dipak Gyawali, a water expert. “Equally important is the demarcation of the rights on the source of water at different levels such as local people’s rights, national level rights, among others,” he said giving an example of the now shut down 25 KW Gajuri Small Scale Hydropower built in Gajuri way back in 1979.

The hydropower was built using the irrigation water thus creating tussle between the market people and local farmers. The small concrete dam built for the hydropower was swept away by flood in 1994 after which the local farmers once again made another dam with local technology (called syauli baandh).

Above 70 per cent of the irrigation systems throughout the Kingdom, according to experts, is based on local technology.

Gyawali warned that there could be a big resistance from the local level if foreign contractors only are involved in making hydro projects.

Experts said that Nepal needs to take lessons from the traditional way of water management system. “So many of our successful hydropower projects built with traditional styles have become lessons in the international arena.”

Stressing on the need of stakeholders’ suggestions on water management issues, Surya Nath Upadhyay, former Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources, said that there should be the right mechanism and infrastructure. “Development projects should not be kept hostage because of small issues.”

Kathmandu, Feb. 13:Hundreds of employees of the Timber Corporation of Nepal had a long struggle demanding their transfer to the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, but are jobless after the change of protocol.

The Ministry has failed to give any work to about 900 employees, who were formerly under the Ministry of Supplies, say the TCN workers, some of whom await the announcement: TCN has been dissolved.

“The Corporation is in a miserable state,” says TCN’s General Manager Ambika Prasad Rijal. And the staff have no work to do. “The Ministry has not given us any work even after the passage of five months of the Corporation’s transfer of protocol,” says Rijal. “The employees are in total confusion due to the absence of a clear-cut policy.”

The ninth five-year plan has assigned TCN to sell timber and firewood, says Rijal. The concerned authorities have failed to give TCN its work despite the government taking various decisions and issuing directions, he adds.

The Corporation was moved into the Forest Ministry as its resources came from forest. However, TCN’s employees are facing problems as they have not been assigned any work, said the union president Yogendra Bijaya Dahal.

The problem persists because the government’s decision that TCN should deal in timber and firewood has not come into force. This work is still being done by the District Forest Offices. The Supply Committee has interfered in TCN’s work, he said. TCN’s situation would improve provided the government took right decision, he added.

Forest Ministry’s Secretary Rabi Bahadur Bista however said that TCN was in a miserable situation as the employees were involved more in politics than work.

He expressed doubts over the improvement of the Corporation where the employees ‘involved themselves in party politics’. Bista said that TCN had 1.1 million metric tonne of firewood, which would suffice for four years adding the government would not forward work at the cost of national parks.

The Corporation has reached in such a situation that there is a slim possibility of reviving the Corporation. The government has constituted a commission headed by Ministry’s Joint Secretary Sushil Bhattarai to study on the Corporation’s viability, which has already started its work.

The donor agencies have put conditions that TCN should sustain itself in competition with the private sector but the Corporation, according to Bhattarai, is not in a situation to compete.

Rijal said that the Corporation would not be able to compete with the private sector as it should operate according to the rules and regulations of the government.

Bhattarai said that political interference was the main cause, which has left the Corporation in a precarious situation. Besides, he accused the high-ranking officials of serving their own interests rather than that of the institution that was established four decades ago and recommended for the proper use of the Corporation’s assets to improve its situation.

President of the employees union Dahal is also positive about any decision of the government to put the Corporation’s assets to a better use. Besides, golden handshake package for the employees would help reduce the financial burden of the Corporation.

Kathmandu, Feb. 11: Minister for Foreign   Affairs Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat replied to various queries concerning his ministry at the meeting of the House of Representatives foreign relations and human rights committee today.

On the occasion Dr. Mahat informed the meeting about matters relating to Indo-Nepal border security, terrorist activities, bilateral treaty and agreements, the recent entry of Indian policemen in official dress into Nepal, etc.

He also disclosed that a task force of Nepal and India has been constituted to regularise border security between the two countries and control criminal activities.

The meeting chaired by committe chairman Som Prasad Pandey also discussed matters relating to the construction of embankment by India along the Rapti River in the southern part of Banke district and its affect in the region, compensation for 800 bighas of land in Pashupatinagar of Ilam and Koshi.

It also decided to demand from the Ministry of Foreign  Affairs nesessary documents and a detailed report relating to the border between Nepal and India.

Diktel, Feb. 11 :Chief of the CPN-ML central organisation department Chandra Prakash Mainali, inaugurating the first Khotang district session of the party yesterday, said it is the regressive elements within the country and foreign imperialists that are abetting the Maoist insurgency.

Mr Mainali also made it clear that the path adopted by the Maoists is wrong.

At the session chaired by Kul Prasad Phuyal, Khotang DDC vice chairman Baburam Rai had delivered the welcome speech.