Kathmandu, Jan.6:The government today grounded three private airlines aircraft operating with their flight safety equipment out of order.
In a surprise check monitored by Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadhar, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, this afternoon a high level team of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) denied three Lukla bound flights of Shangrila Air, Lumbini Airways and Flight Care Service.
The 9N-AFR Twin Otter of Shangrila Air, that was about to take off as a chartered flight, was grounded since its navigation equipment and other apparatus that checks the condition of other equipment in the aircraft were found to have become non-functional, read a press release of the CAAN.
Same was the case with the 9N-AFA Twin Otter of Lumbini Airways that did not have its Directional Gyro working properly as well.
The 9N-AFO Y12 (Chinese Aircraft) of Flight Care Service was found carrying a uncertified first aid kit and its crew oxygen bottle did not have enough oxygen.
The surprise check today also found other flights not operating in line with safety regulations but allowed them to take off after necessary correction. Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation’s 9N ABU Twin Otter was found carrying 426 pound additional weight than the prescribed limit.
“The responsible staff of the marketing management of the airlines has been removed from the job and necessary actions will be initiated against him,” read the press release of CAAN.
The 9N-AEW Beechcraft of Buddha Air, that was inspected prior to its take off for Pokhara, was found not carrying its technical papers including weight and balance and maintenance release certificate. Inspectors also found that the instrumental rating validity in the co-pilot’s license had expired. “The aircraft was allowed to take off only after the co-pilot was removed from the flight and the necessary technical papers were made available,” CAAN said in its press statement.
Gorkha Airline’s 9N-AEO Dornier, Necon Air’s 9N-AFD Avro and Yeti Airline’s 9N-AFD Twin Otter were allowed to take off after operators corrected minor hitches pointed out by the inspection team.
The surprise check of CAAN’s high level official comes following the authority’s recently held executive board meeting that decided to make on-the-spot inspection to check whether or not air operators follow safety regulations prepared under Flight Safety Enhancement package.
“Today’s findings of the safety-compromises show that the inspection has to be more effective,” said Minister Gachchhadar. “There will be strict regular monitoring of such inspections as well. After the warning, if the operators do not make necessary corrections, their operating licenses will be cancelled.”
If aircraft are found to be under operation with safety compromises, said Gachchhadar, actions will be taken against both the operators and responsible CAAN officials.
Surprise checks like that of today’s have been taking place regularly, according to Nagendra Prasad Ghimire, Director General of CAAN. “These checks are apart from the routine checks we perform.”
Kathmandu, Jan. 5 : An agreement on cultural cooperation was reached in Beijing on December 27 between His Majesty’s Government and the People’s Republic of China.
Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture Sharat Singh Bhandari and China’s Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.
The agreement will last for five years.
Under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate in communications, science and technology, sports, tourism, literature, art and art education and culture industry.
non-governmental orga-nisations working in the two countries for the welfare of women, youths, the elderly and the disable will also extend their cooperation to each other, it is stated.
Rasuwa, Jan. 5: A 34-meter high surge tank is to be completed in the middle portion of the Chilime Underground Hydro Electrict Project at a cost of Rs 3,200,000, it is stated by the project.
The outlay for the project under which a dam will be thrown across the Chilime stream and the flow released at Syafubesi is Rs 2,320 million.
Digging work has been completed on 470 meters of a 2,826 meter road to be built from Chilime to Syafu.
The project which is scheduled to be completed in July will produce l37 million units of electricity and generate an annual income of Rs 500 million.
Manager Dr. Dambar Bahadur Nepali said so far about Rs 500 million has been spend on the project.
Kathmandu, Jan. 5: The ngo tewa is to organise a 10-km march on Saturday on the occasion of its fifth annual function and the new century.
Likewise, Tewa is to host a seminar next month for representatives of organisations to which it has given grants. The seminar will identify their needs and problems.
An observation tour for representatives of women’s organisations launched with the cooperation of Tewa, a Tewa March-2000 and a two-day international seminar will also be organised, it is learnt.
Tewa has the main objectives of reducing dependence on foreign donor agencies, inculcating a habit of cooperation among Nepalese men and women and developing the country in sustainable and balanced manner.
It has lined up 700 Nepalese donors, the money received from them has been given as grants to 65 rural women’s organisations and more than 100 volunteers have been mobilised, according to a press release issued here.
Kathmandu, Jan. 5 : The Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs Federation (NTEF) has issued a press communique welcoming the arrangement under which the taxes that local municipalities have been imposing repeatedly on vehicles plying highways and auxiliary highways built by His Majesty’s Government can no longer be exacted.
The Federation has pointed out that such taxes are illegal and urged all member organisations, transport entrepreneurs, transport workers and employees not to pay any such tax.
Kathmandu, Jan. 5 : Denmark is to provide the Nepal Press Council with Danish kroner 858,333 for launching of the second phase programme of the Media Development Fund.
An agreement to this effect was signed by Danish ambassador Lars Hormann and chairman of the Press Council Harihar Birahi here recently.
The media development fund established in 1995 which started working from 1996 was established by the hmg with assistance from the government of Denmark with a view to supporting the newspapers outside Kathmandu Valley for their development and making them self-reliant, and make them participate in the consolidation of democracy by involving them in the democratic process.
Since the implementation of the first phase programme of the Media Development Fund, majority of the newspapers published from outside Kathmandu valley have adopted ultra-modern offset printing technology.
Dhanagadhi, Jan. 5 : Minister for Agriculture Chakra Prasad Bastola has called upon all those involved in the agricultural sector to press ahead with determination to bring about some innovation in agriculture.
Speaking at a seminar on “First four monthly progress review of this fiscal year and project formulation for coming fiscal year” held here by the Regional Agricultural Directorate, Minister Bastola said that commercialisation of the agricultural sector, in addition to boosting production, had been a challenging task that would demand sincere effort from all.
On the occasion, he disclosed that one Milk Collection Centre each would be set up at Kohalpur, Narayanghat and Jhapa.
From the chair, District Development Committee chairman Narayan Datta Mishra pledged the DDC’s possible co-operation in the programmes designed to gain self-reliance.
150 delegates from various offices under the directorate participated in the seminar.
Kathmandu, Jan 5 : His Majesty’s Government has appointed Dr. B. D. Chataut to the post of Director General of the Department of Health Services.
Dr. Chataut has earned the M.B.B.S. from King George Medical College, Lucknow, D.P.H. from the Royal Institute of Public Health, London and post graduate degree in public health from the world famed London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dr. Chataut who joined the government service under the Ministry of Health in 2028 B.S. has served at various health centres, district, zonal and central level hospitals as well as the director of various divisions under the Department of Health Services and chief of the Planning Division and Spokesman of the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Chataut has also served as an advisor to the World Health Organisation in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Nepalgunj, Jan. 5 : Bonded labourers who were exploited for years seem to be benefitting from programmes conducted for them by various governmental and non-governmental organisations. Their conscientious is being raised and their outlook improved.
Radhe Krishna, 35, a resident of Basanta village in Dhidhor VDC ward No. 5, Bardiya district is a good example of this.
With a three-month carpentry training under the bonded labourer skill development training programme in 2052/53 B.S. behind him, he is not only self-reliant but also able to start impart training to other bonded labourers.
He left the home where his father served as a bonded labourer, in search of employment.
He was appointed a trainer with a remuneration of Rs. 4,500 per month under the land reform office, Banke and has already imparted training in carpentry for a group.
He came to know about the relation of bonded labour with the landlord at the early age of seven and he used to work hard in order to free himself from a life of labour bondage with its excessive work load, he told RSS.
He had freed his father and fellow bonded labourer in 2053 bs after paying a loan of Rs. 4,000 to the landlord. The father is currently working as a guard in same village for which he get 16 quintals of paddy annually.
His younger brother Balkrishan Chaudhari, the last bonded labourer in his family, has also been freed and has been working at a farm as a share-cropper, he says.
Kathmandu, Jan. 5: A clumsily outlined stone figure of an elephant stands at a corner near the temple of Changu Narayan. A close look at the sculpture gives the impression that the artist left the work at the middle.
Called Simara Kisi, meaning incomplete elephant in Newari language, it is a mystery stone that forced the ancient sculptor to abandon his work before he was able to carve it into the perfect shape of the auspicious animal he desired, say the locals and historians.
“This stone is said be full of mystery that defied the repeated efforts of the artist to cut into an ornate elephant and position at the southern door of the temple,” said Dr. Sudarsan Tiwari an architect and expert on historical sites.
The artist was assigned to carve a pair of elephants, which are regarded auspicious, to guard the southern door of the temple. After working on this particular rock for a whole day, he took it near the place where it was supposed to be established. When the sculptor went to work the next day, to his surprise, he found that the stone had returned to its original place. He moved the stone and it returned to its former location again.
The rough and untidy lines of chisel are clearly visible on the body of the sculpture. The carving appears to be abandoned at the initial stage of sculpting with outline of elephant just starting to develop.
The artist was tired to move the stone as it defied him and kept moving back to the original position where it is even today. At last, he started to work on it remaining where the stone lay. The artist was awed and thought it improper to try further to carve the elephant on that particular stone when he saw blood flowing down the chisel ‘wound’. He abandoned his work on the stone because he thought it the form of the god. He found another piece of stone and produced a pair of artistic elephants which still guard the southern door of the temple that is regarded the oldest to exist in Nepal.
“Because of this mysterious stone, elephants are prohibited to be taken into the temple compound,” said Govinda Lal Maharjan, a local who is a member in the committee that takes care of the hilltop temple in Bhaktapur. He cited a tale of ancient king who went to the temple on an elephant. The elephant died.