Ruling coalition partners UCPN (Maoist) and CPN (UML) Monday agreed to extend Constituent Assembly (CA)’s term that expires on May 28 after forging consensus with other political parties.
The meeting between the two parties held at the Maoist parliamentary party office, Singha Durbar took a decision to this effect.
The meeting also decided to hold discussions with opposition parties including Nepali Congress to bring out early budget and take them into confidence on the matter.
It must be noted here that the opposition parties have already submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal cautioning the government against bringing out an early budget by undermining the ongoing processes of constitution drafting and peace.
Emerging from the meeting, Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said, “The meeting concluded that there is no alternative left but to extend Constituent Assembly’s term. But the duration will be fixed after consultations with other political parties.”
However, UML senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and K.P Oli didn’t show their participation in today’s meeting as they have publicly voiced their concern against CA term extension and government’s decision to come up with early budget. nepalnews.com
Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that murdered thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, the Associated Press reports.
Osama bin Laden
A small team of Americans killed bin Laden in a firefight Sunday at a compound in Pakistan, US President Barack Obama said, and took custody of his remains. American officials said they were being handled in accordance with Islamic tradition.
“Justice has been done,” US President said in a dramatic late-night announcement at the White House.
According to AP, a jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden’s death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade.
Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on the day of the attacks, issued a written statement hailing bin Laden’s death as a momentous achievement. “The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done,” he said.
Obama said he ordered the operation after receiving undisclosed intelligence information. Senior administration officials said the terrorist mastermind was found inside a custom-built compound with two security gates. They said it appeared to have been constructed to harbor one high-value target and that for undisclosed reasons, officials became clear the hideout was bin Laden’s.
Officials told AP they believe the death puts al-Qaida on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse, but there was no word on the whereabouts of bin Laden’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri.
The stunning end to the world’s most widely-watched manhunt came just months before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon, orchestrated by bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization, that killed more than 3,000 people.
A senior administration official told AP that Obama gave the final order for U.S. officials to go after bin Laden on Friday. The official added that a small team found their quarry hiding in a large home in an affluent suburb of Islamabad. The raid occurred in the early morning hours Sunday.
Obama struck a less than boastful tone in his brief announcement, although he said the death of bin Laden was “the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al-Qaida.
“His death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant,” he added.
Moments after he spoke, American officials cautioned that the events could lead to heightened threats against the United States. nepalnews.com
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Information and Communication, Krishna Bahadur Mahara Sunday said the draft of new constitution would be ready before May 28.
Krishna Bahadur Mahara
He, however, said, it will be impossible to promulgate the new constitution without forging consensus among political parties.
“The government would make public the draft the new constitution before May28, but the possibility of promulgating the constitution is impossible without forging consensus among political parties,” Mahara said speaking at a programme in Dhulikhel, Kavre.
The remark from DPM Mahara has come a day after Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal made it clear that there is no possibility of new constitution being promulgated by May 28, but its draft would be ready by then. nepalnews.com
Krishna Hari Baskota is revenue secretary at Finance of Ministry. In his talks with Nirjal Dhungana of Nepalnews.com, Bastoka divulged his views on a myriad of aspects pertaining to the country’s economic realm. According to him, the country’s economy is in good stead and the government is highly serious towards propelling the country towards the path of prosperity. He also tried to dispel the apprehensions among the business tycoons that the government is exhibiting flippancy towards cooperating with the private sector. Excerpts:
1) How do you assess the prevailing economic scenario of the country?
Krishna Hari Baskota
In a nutshell, the country’s economy is in good stead. Micro economic indicators are looking up. Even though the country is in transition phase, the prevailing economic statistics give ample space to be optimistic about the future days. I can emphatically say that the government’s assessment regarding the country’s economy does not lack substance.
For the current fiscal year we have set the target of achieving 7 percent GDP growth. And, it goes without saying that agricultural and non-agricultural outputs are the prime propellers of the rate of GDP growth. Enthusiastically, good weather has resulted in a considerable growth of agricultural outputs.
The government is also planning to introduce irrigation facility to support many farmers across the country. In some 26 districts, we have given subsidy in transportation of fertilizers in order to enable the farmers to produce more. Moreover, extension workers related to agriculture have been mobilized in the 4,000 VDCs of 75 districts.
With an aim to help the low-income consumers, the government has also devised the concept to setting up consumer cooperatives every VDC across the country this year.
All in all, the government is fully focused towards enhancing both social and economic lives of Nepali people.
2) The private sector is lamenting that the industrial growth of the country has been hit hard by various problems like prolonged power outage, labour unrest and so on. As such, what exactly is the government doing to boost the non-agriculture sector of the country?
I also agree that the industrial outputs have witnessed a decline to some extent. Of course, the load-shedding and labour dispute have inhibited the industrial growth. The abrupt fluctuations in prices of raw materials in international market have also affected the manufacturing sector of the country. Our industries are not been able to produce as per their capacity.
In order to inject new vigour to the country’s trade, the government is planning to establish commerce desks in Nepali missions abroad, invest more on trade related infrastructure and grant special duty concessions and incentives to export-oriented industries, among other things.
The new Commerce Policy has laid high priority on trade facilitation, infrastructure development, linking small industries to the markets and economic diplomacy. The prime tenets of the policy are raising investments and manufacturing capacity and mainstreaming trade in the country’s development.
It has also made provisions about institutional mechanisms to rev up economic diplomacy, and provide software and hardware support to the manufacturers and service providers to link up their products and services with the markets.
Establishment of garment processing zone, carpet villages and handicraft villages with special incentives are other priorities of the policy.
It has also envisaged about joining various bilateral and regional free trade agreements to open up new markets for Nepali exports apart from seeking aggressive use of economic diplomacy to create trade-enabling environment on the external front.
On the other side, as per the duty draw back system, the government has already returned the required amounts to industrialists. The government is also serious towards ensuring industrial security apart from resolving labour dispute through inter-ministerial coordination. I strongly hope that this will help in realizing the target of achieving GDP at around 7 percent in this year.
3) What do you say about excessively high inflation rate and subsequent price increment of essential commodities?
We are also attentive towards bringing down the level of inflation to some 7.5 percent from the current 14 percent. Major factors that have contributed to swell inflation include syndicate, cartels, hording and black marketing. The government is of the view that the apex organizations of Nepali business community should also make efforts towards discouraging unhealthy business practices.
The Department of Industry and Commerce is mulling to form three tier monitoring committees-central, regional and district-level-to check the unbridled price inflation. The three-tier committee will be formed in conjunction with the private sector.
Notably, we have also been monitoring the market to ensure that the mismatch between demand and supply will not take place. Inflation will also go down if there is more public construction works.
As this year’s budget has earmarked a large amount for the purpose of public procurement, it can also help to reduce the level of inflation.
4) There are apprehensions that the inflow of remittance into the country will be badly affected as prime destinations of Nepali migrant workers are resorting to retrenchment because of the global economic recession. So, how well prepared is the government to shield the foreign employment from contingencies arising from the crisis?
I do not feel that the inflow of remittance will go down steeply due to the recession. Instead, what I believe is that with the gradual appreciation of the US dollar, the arithmetic value of remittance the country is receiving will seen an upward spiral.
The worldwide economic crisis has so far proved inimical to top rung jobs not low ones. As a major chunk of Nepali migrant workers are engaged in low-level jobs, it can be predicted that the economy will not suffer badly in terms of remittance. Moreover, the volume of money being remitted by Nepali migrant workers through banking channel has not shrunk.
5) Entrepreneurs are accusing the government of being flippant towards creating investment-friendly environment as well as supporting the private sector. What do you say about this?
I do not subscribe to this allegation. Arithmetically speaking, the flow of FDI has witnessed a 25 percent increment in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year.
To spur investment in hydropower sector, we have decided to exempt aspiring investors from the provision of Value Added Tax (VAT). Previously, the state used to charge VAT for any hydro projects with the electricity generation capacity of more than 3 megawatt (MW). But now no VAT will be charged for any hydropower project of any capacity.
Additionally, the cabinet has also decided to offer tax holiday for investors of hydro projects for seven years. As the country is marching towards the path of political stability, it is the best time to make foray into any viable venture.
The fact that the government has forwarded the propositions like public-private partnership (PPP) and BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) attests to its commitment towards encouraging the private sector.
Nepal must sharpen the competitive edge of its exportable items in order to reap optimum benefits from its affiliation to the WTO
It must be pointed out that a segment of the business community is opposing the recent decision of the government to operate some ailing public enterprises by forming a holding company. In fact, it is the duty of the government to take care of those public enterprises which produce goods for general consumption.
So, it is fallacious to term this decision as something that violates the basic tenets of liberal economy policy.
We have decided to insert a new lease of life into Gorakhali Rubber Industry, Biratnagar Jute Mill, Birgung Sugar Factory and Hetauda Textiles as both the state and the private sector had failed to efficaciously run them in the past.
The government will take the mantle of these public enterprises for sometime and after that we will allow the market components to determine the function of them.
Relevantly, I would also like to assert that rumours that the Nepal Rastra Bank has started to fix savings and lending rate are completely baseless. The government will, in no way, divert from its liberal market policy.
6) Do you think Nepal is prepared to face the juggernaut of the WTO?
Undeniably, the country should exploit its accession to the WTO to the hilt. The process of deeper integration unleashed by WTO seeks to enforce standardization of domestic policies in a wide range of issues including trade, investment, competition, technology, government procurement, labour standards, taxation etc.
What I believe is that Nepal must sharpen the competitive edge of our exportable items in order to reap optimum benefits from its affiliation to the WTO.
The fact that the government has forwarded the propositions like public-private partnership (PPP) and BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) attests to its commitment towards encouraging the private sector.
Enhancing our indigenous know-how and skills could prove pivotal to give a whole new dimension to the export trade of the country. The country should be serious towards exporting products like handicraft and herbs in order to boost both the indigenous resources and economy.
The government has already started the process of registering herbs like Yarsagumba under the provision of Trade Related Intellectual Property Right (TRIP) stipulated in the protocol of the WTO. The move is aimed at preventing foreign companies from registering their patent rights in our invaluable herbal plants.
The ministry of agriculture has invested a lot of resources in order to ensure that we will not lose from the provision of the TRIP. The government is well aware of the fact that we should come up with a number of related laws to protect TRIP rights.
In next 20 years Nepal will be able to reap royalty from its patent registration. Remarkably, a special Nepali team is also deputed in Geneva to facilitate the government in registering patent of Nepali products.
The other day I saw a man almost hit by a bus. If he had been even an inch closer, he would’ve surely been mowed down by the bus. He was walking, keeping to the side edges of one of many streets in the city where pavements and pedestrian crossings are almost non-existent. Maybe it was not as close as I imagined, but the packed public bus coming from behind seemed to have narrowly missed him while speeding past. The irony was that it all happened too quickly for the guy to even notice it.
But it’s no big deal. One always hear stories about some biker or a pedestrian being run over by a bus or large vehicle in road mishaps (And in some cases, if they are still alive and struggling, the vehicle coming back in reverse gear to make sure they are not).
Then again one night, a big supply truck, just fined by the traffic police at a check-point for some minor offence, swerved past a temple built in the middle of the road from the wrong side in great speed. The truck driver was clearly expressing his frustration in a chilly winter’s night, but it could have been a matter of life and death for a car or a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction.
And indeed, deaths from motorcycle accidents have increased sharply in the country over the last ten years. Hardly a day goes without news of someone or other (or sometimes your own) killed or injured in motorcycle accidents. But despite the higher fatality rate, motorcycles are and has always been the most preferred ride for many people in Kathmandu and other towns in the country. And despite taking exorbitant registration taxes for motorbikes, the government does very little to check the rise in motorcycle accidents in the cities and highways.
Likewise, every year, especially during the Dashain and Tihar festivals, we are used to reading or hearing about number of injuries and deaths in highway accidents, the cause often being drunk driving or poorly-maintained, over-loaded buses. Then again there are the recurring domestic airline accidents in which countless individuals, Nepali as well as foreigners, have lost their lives. And they happen without fail every year.
I got the grasp of how many of our countrymen play hide and seek with death while travelling in the hilly terrain when my housemaid narrated her narrow escape from death while coming to Kathmandu from her remote village in Kavre. She said the rickety old bus she was travelling in was so overloaded with passengers, inside as well as on the roof – and, coupled with that, the driver being young and seemingly inexperienced – that while negotiating a difficult turn, it almost veered off the road to plunge hundreds of meters down into the fast-flowing river. She said she had the fright of her life. But despite the perils of the hilly road, she travels to her village every year to celebrate Dashain with her family.
Returning to Kathmandu, I will draw two examples to better illustrate the riding experience in the city.
The Japanese teach us some road sense during a Japan Fair held in the capital recently.
The Japanese teach us some road sense during a Japan Fair held in the capital recently.
The first was when I was heading towards the city from the north side of the valley after a day’s hike in the Shivapuri hills. As it was already late evening and there were no other vehicles on sight, we had no option but to board a packed microbus. The driver was a thin young man, looked still to be in his teens while his assistant (or the “conductor”, as we call them) was a boy of 12 or 13. The vehicle soon took up speed in the tiny strip of road, zooming past vehicles, negotiating pot holes recklessly, even almost hitting an oncoming vehicle. Only when the passengers complained, he slowed down a little. I was sure that he had recently received his driving license, or maybe was not even properly licensed or trained as a driver.
Then as we approached ring road, the microbus stopped in front of a hospital where an elderly couple was waiting. The old man seemed to have just been discharged from the hospital as he looked frail and dazed, while his devoted wife helped him get on the vehicle. The elderly couple was lucky enough to find a seat. Only good thing about travelling in a public transport in Kathmandu (or in fact any city in the world) is that you see life in its full spectrum.
However, the microbus was not going all the way to the final stop because “it was very late”. The driver said he was heading to his garage and we were dropped halfway. Nobody protested because that’s what everybody was told when they boarded the vehicle. It was sad to see the elderly couple already starting to walk in a slow, tender pace. They didn’t hope to find another public vehicle at this time of the night.
We found a cab after walking a while. The driver seemed to be straight out of Martin Scorsese movie Taxi Driver as he started complaining about bad traffic, the filth and dirt in the city, and how the corrupt politicians and officials are ruining the country.
I enjoyed listening to the cabby. But when we reached our destination and I looked at the taxi meter while reaching for my purse, my heart sank: The meter was tampered with to charge higher fares. He was no better than those very corrupt politicians he hated so passionately.
The next time I was coming to the city from the outskirts on a car driven by a friend. It was Saturday and the road was pretty much empty. We discussed how when we were kids there were very few houses on either the side of the road and how the sight of paddy and mustard fields made the drive to the town enjoyable.
But the nostalgia was short-lived when the friend had to slam the brakes hard to prevent a crash with a motorcycle that suddenly cut in front of us.
“Is he a Hindi film hero or something,” my friend stared at the motorcyclist fuming with rage as the latter dropped his girlfriend, and drove on, simply caring less for what had just happened.
And then just as we were about to reach the city, we were stuck in a traffic jam. We could understand this happening on weekdays, but not on a Saturday afternoon. Frustrated waiting for the jam to clear, one friend asked the traffic police what was causing the jam. He said they are stopping the vehicles for a while to let the President’s convoy pass through. There was a kilometer long jam on either side of the road. We just looked at each other out of sheer helplessness.
But we could take heart from the fact that a minister’s car was also stuck in the jam behind us. So, having nothing to do but wait, we came up with some interesting remedies for the growing traffic problem in the city. One friend suggested that the government needs to invest more in upgrading the city’s infrastructures to make it a vibrant metropolis. He said the government must start to build wider roads, flyovers, subways, and better, more efficient means of transportation including fleet of public buses and underground railway system that run till late in the night.
“With the volume of vehicles in the city increasing every year, in ten years time even walking in these narrow, congested roads will be difficult, let alone driving anything,” he said.
While he was saying that I thought about the poorly regulated public transport run by syndicates and “transport mafias” that doesn’t follow scheduled timetable (One reason why Kathmandu comes to a grinding halt after 8 pm). And those of yore that did – government run Sajha bus and China gifted trolley – are already in the scrap yard.
Then another friend said that even if the government finally builds these infrastructures and improve the condition of the roads in the city and highway – of course with the help of some donor or friendly country (we Nepalis hardly seem to be able to do anything on our own) – the problem of long traffic jams and reckless driving will still not be solved.
“This is because in Nepal, people still lack a general civic sense,” she said.
She was right. People blow their cars or motorcycles horns ceaselessly, park their vehicles anywhere they want, drive recklessly (and with the headlights switched to full beam instead of dip while driving in the night, dazzling other road users), and don’t yield the right of way to pedestrians. And despite the risks, the locals are somewhat used to jay walking and thus account for majority of traffic fatalities in Kathmandu.
Then the first one argued that people should not be blamed, it is the government’s responsibility to lay the foundation for a modern, vibrant city and implement the rules and regulations, even forcibly if need be, to ensure that everything functions well.
“The concept of urban planning and development was never really understood by the city planners here,” he said. “Just imagine, what would happen if a big earthquake strikes Kathmandu. Experts say it is imminent. This ancient city would turn into a huge mass of concrete rubble. It would be a calamity.”
Then as we turned left to a side road to avoid the traffic jam, I saw a young couple walking down the street. A public bus was racing at great speed from behind. There was no sidewalk. The man, as if knowing by instinct that a bus was behind, grabbed his partner’s hand and pulled her close to him.
And I thought such love and care could be found only in fairy tales. Nepalnews.com Jan 07 2011
The writer can be reached at [email protected].
The 14th edition of the annual Close-up HitsFM Music Awards was announced amid a ceremony held at the Army Officer’s Club in the capital Friday evening.
Singer Phatteman Singh Rajbhandari receiving Lifetime Achievement Award from Maiti Nepal chief and CNN Hero Anuradha Koirala at the Hits FM Music Awards ceremony in the capital on Friday, 07 Jan 2011. nepalnews.com/ANA
Singer Phatteman Singh Rajbhandari receiving Lifetime Achievement Award…
The awards were distributed under 19 categories. Singer Deep Shrestha bagged the Best Vocal Performance Award (male) for the song ‘Achano Bho’ while Best Female Vocal Performance Award went to Anju Pant for the song ‘Jindagi Yo’. Likewise, Best Composition award was given to Shati Ballav for the song ‘Hunchha Garho’.
‘Darshan Namaste’ by Rajesh Payal Rai won awards in two categories – Album of The Year and Record of the Year while ‘Timrai Kami Chha’ by Anand Adhikari was declared Song of the Year.
Singer Phatteman Singh Rajbhandari bagged the Life Time Achievement Award.
Other award winners are:
Best New Artist: Satya Bhattacharya (Bhetyo Ki Timilai)
Best Pop Collection: Halla Nagara by Nabin K.Bhattarai
Best Rock Composition: Namaste Namaste by Dibya Subba
Best Music Arrangement: Darshan Namaste by Maharaj Thapa
Folk Record of The Year: Jhamke Guleli by Kamalikanta Bhetuwal
Folk Album of The Year: Chhori by Muna Thapa Magar and Maina Reshmi Magar
Best Song Originally Recorded For A Motion Picture Soundtrack: Na Kunai Bandhan by Raju Singh
Best Vocal Collaboration: Rajina Rimal and Jagadish Samal (Saiyaun Juni)
Best Performance By A Group or Duo With Vocal: Dibya Subba and The Blue
Acids (Namaste Namaste)
Best Rock Vocal Performance: Ciney Gurung (Hidchhu)
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Ciney Gurung (Hira Moti)
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Nabin K. Bhattarai (Halla Nagara)
Pop/Rock Album of The Year: Laija Re by Hemanta Rana
nepalnews.com
Unified CPN (Maoist) Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who is currently on a whirlwind India visit, met Indian External Affairs Minister S.M Krishna on Friday.
The continuous political stalemate in Nepal including the inability of the political parties to forge a consensus for formation of a new government, among others, were chiefly discussed during the meeting, it is learnt.
Dr Bhattarai reportedly assured the Indian foreign minister that the deadlock facing Nepal will soon be over as the political parties are holding continued talks and that the important task of army integration and drafting of the constitution will soon be completed for the successful conclusion of the peace process.
The Maoist vice-chairman, who recently wrote a note-of-dissent against his party’s line of “people’s revolt” and “identifying India as a principal enemy” and became a sort of a pariah inside his own party, is scheduled to meet Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram today.
It has come to light that Dr Bhattarai, who is also accused of being increasingly lenient towards India by the hard-line section of his party, recently proposed a four-point remedy to break Nepal’s political deadlock.
Bhattarai’s aide Bishwodeep Pandey told a national daily Thursday that Bhattarai advocated midway among the parties on the course of the political system yet to be charted out. Secondly, he urged for “honourable integration of the cantoned Maoist PLA and democratization of Nepal Army simultaneously. Thirdly, on Nepal’s foreign policy and national sovereignty, he offered to build consensus and common perspective among the political parties. Lastly, he offered a broad perspective on economic issues for incorporating all deprived sections of Nepali society. nepalnews.com
By Anand Gurung
The other day I saw a man almost hit by a bus. If he had been even an inch closer, he would’ve surely been mowed down by the bus. He was walking, keeping to the side edges of one of many streets in the city where pavements and pedestrian crossings are almost non-existent. Maybe it was not as close as I imagined, but the packed public bus coming from behind seemed to have narrowly missed him while speeding past. The irony was that it all happened too quickly for the guy to even notice it.
But it’s no big deal. One always hear stories about some biker or a pedestrian being run over by a bus or large vehicle in road mishaps (And in some cases, if they are still alive and struggling, the vehicle coming back in reverse gear to make sure they are not).
Then again one night, a big supply truck, just fined by the traffic police at a check-point for some minor offence, swerved past a temple built in the middle of the road from the wrong side in great speed. The truck driver was clearly expressing his frustration in a chilly winter’s night, but it could have been a matter of life and death for a car or a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction.
And indeed, deaths from motorcycle accidents have increased sharply in the country over the last ten years. Hardly a day goes without news of someone or other (or sometimes your own) killed or injured in motorcycle accidents. But despite the higher fatality rate, motorcycles are and has always been the most preferred ride for many people in Kathmandu and other towns in the country. And despite taking exorbitant registration taxes for motorbikes, the government does very little to check the rise in motorcycle accidents in the cities and highways.
Likewise, every year, especially during the Dashain and Tihar festivals, we are used to reading or hearing about number of injuries and deaths in highway accidents, the cause often being drunk driving or poorly-maintained, over-loaded buses. Then again there are the recurring domestic airline accidents in which countless individuals, Nepali as well as foreigners, have lost their lives. And they happen without fail every year.
I got the grasp of how many of our countrymen play hide and seek with death while travelling in the hilly terrain when my housemaid narrated her narrow escape from death while coming to Kathmandu from her remote village in Kavre. She said the rickety old bus she was travelling in was so overloaded with passengers, inside as well as on the roof – and, coupled with that, the driver being young and seemingly inexperienced – that while negotiating a difficult turn, it almost veered off the road to plunge hundreds of meters down into the fast-flowing river. She said she had the fright of her life. But despite the perils of the hilly road, she travels to her village every year to celebrate Dashain with her family.
Returning to Kathmandu, I will draw two examples to better illustrate the riding experience in the city.
The Japanese teach us some road sense during a Japan Fair held in the capital recently.
The Japanese teach us some road sense during a Japan Fair held in the capital recently.
The first was when I was heading towards the city from the north side of the valley after a day’s hike in the Shivapuri hills. As it was already late evening and there were no other vehicles on sight, we had no option but to board a packed microbus. The driver was a thin young man, looked still to be in his teens while his assistant (or the “conductor”, as we call them) was a boy of 12 or 13. The vehicle soon took up speed in the tiny strip of road, zooming past vehicles, negotiating pot holes recklessly, even almost hitting an oncoming vehicle. Only when the passengers complained, he slowed down a little. I was sure that he had recently received his driving license, or maybe was not even properly licensed or trained as a driver.
Then as we approached ring road, the microbus stopped in front of a hospital where an elderly couple was waiting. The old man seemed to have just been discharged from the hospital as he looked frail and dazed, while his devoted wife helped him get on the vehicle. The elderly couple was lucky enough to find a seat. Only good thing about travelling in a public transport in Kathmandu (or in fact any city in the world) is that you see life in its full spectrum.
However, the microbus was not going all the way to the final stop because “it was very late”. The driver said he was heading to his garage and we were dropped halfway. Nobody protested because that’s what everybody was told when they boarded the vehicle. It was sad to see the elderly couple already starting to walk in a slow, tender pace. They didn’t hope to find another public vehicle at this time of the night.
We found a cab after walking a while. The driver seemed to be straight out of Martin Scorsese movie Taxi Driver as he started complaining about bad traffic, the filth and dirt in the city, and how the corrupt politicians and officials are ruining the country.
I enjoyed listening to the cabby. But when we reached our destination and I looked at the taxi meter while reaching for my purse, my heart sank: The meter was tampered with to charge higher fares. He was no better than those very corrupt politicians he hated so passionately.
The next time I was coming to the city from the outskirts on a car driven by a friend. It was Saturday and the road was pretty much empty. We discussed how when we were kids there were very few houses on either the side of the road and how the sight of paddy and mustard fields made the drive to the town enjoyable.
But the nostalgia was short-lived when the friend had to slam the brakes hard to prevent a crash with a motorcycle that suddenly cut in front of us.
“Is he a Hindi film hero or something,” my friend stared at the motorcyclist fuming with rage as the latter dropped his girlfriend, and drove on, simply caring less for what had just happened.
And then just as we were about to reach the city, we were stuck in a traffic jam. We could understand this happening on weekdays, but not on a Saturday afternoon. Frustrated waiting for the jam to clear, one friend asked the traffic police what was causing the jam. He said they are stopping the vehicles for a while to let the President’s convoy pass through. There was a kilometer long jam on either side of the road. We just looked at each other out of sheer helplessness.
But we could take heart from the fact that a minister’s car was also stuck in the jam behind us. So, having nothing to do but wait, we came up with some interesting remedies for the growing traffic problem in the city. One friend suggested that the government needs to invest more in upgrading the city’s infrastructures to make it a vibrant metropolis. He said the government must start to build wider roads, flyovers, subways, and better, more efficient means of transportation including fleet of public buses and underground railway system that run till late in the night.
“With the volume of vehicles in the city increasing every year, in ten years time even walking in these narrow, congested roads will be difficult, let alone driving anything,” he said.
While he was saying that I thought about the poorly regulated public transport run by syndicates and “transport mafias” that doesn’t follow scheduled timetable (One reason why Kathmandu comes to a grinding halt after 8 pm). And those of yore that did – government run Sajha bus and China gifted trolley – are already in the scrap yard.
Then another friend said that even if the government finally builds these infrastructures and improve the condition of the roads in the city and highway – of course with the help of some donor or friendly country (we Nepalis hardly seem to be able to do anything on our own) – the problem of long traffic jams and reckless driving will still not be solved.
“This is because in Nepal, people still lack a general civic sense,” she said.
She was right. People blow their cars or motorcycles horns ceaselessly, park their vehicles anywhere they want, drive recklessly (and with the headlights switched to full beam instead of dip while driving in the night, dazzling other road users), and don’t yield the right of way to pedestrians. And despite the risks, the locals are somewhat used to jay walking and thus account for majority of traffic fatalities in Kathmandu.
Then the first one argued that people should not be blamed, it is the government’s responsibility to lay the foundation for a modern, vibrant city and implement the rules and regulations, even forcibly if need be, to ensure that everything functions well.
“The concept of urban planning and development was never really understood by the city planners here,” he said. “Just imagine, what would happen if a big earthquake strikes Kathmandu. Experts say it is imminent. This ancient city would turn into a huge mass of concrete rubble. It would be a calamity.”
Then as we turned left to a side road to avoid the traffic jam, I saw a young couple walking down the street. A public bus was racing at great speed from behind. There was no sidewalk. The man, as if knowing by instinct that a bus was behind, grabbed his partner’s hand and pulled her close to him.
And I thought such love and care could be found only in fairy tales.
The Unified CPN (Maoist) has proposed to retain a different unit of the United Nations (UN) to take over the role of UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) after its term expires on January 15 as its efforts to convince the other parties and the UN to extend the UNMIN term failed.
The UCPN (Maoist) proposed to retain UN presence to monitor its cantoned combatants as well as Nepal Army (NA) at a meeting of top leaders of the three largest parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA) – Unified CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and UML – at Singha Durbar Thursday.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had called the meeting after Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal urged him Wednesday to reconsider the government stance on not retaining UN for monitoring of the combatants and the national army post January 15.
Nepali Congress and UML are against the idea of retaining UN presence for monitoring saying the secretariat under the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) would take over the role of UNMIN.
Maoist vice chair Narayan Kaji Shrestha told reporters after the meeting, the parties have agreed to retain a team of UN for monitoring the cantonments after UNMIN term expires, on principle.
We will meet again to discuss the details after internal discussions within the parties, said Shrestha.
However, PM Nepal and NC leaders have ruled out the possibility of retaining UN presence for monitoring Nepal Army.
NC has said, retaining UN presence could be considered if Nepal Army is freed from its monitoring.
UCPN (Maoist) had been lobbying for UNMIN term extension, although it was certain that the UN Security Council (UNSC) would not backtrack on its decision to wrap up its mission in Nepal on January 15. nepalnews.com
Gokarna Ghimire.The fear of bird flu has adversely affected the poultry industry of the country. It is estimated that the industry is losing a whopping Rs 5 million everyday due to declining confidence of consumers towards chicken products.
In his conversation with nepalnews.com, Gokarna Ghimire, president, National Poultry Farmer’s Association (NPFA), speaks about some vital aspects related to the impact of fear of bird flu on the country’s poultry business. Excerpts:
As the president of National Poultry Farmers’ Association, how do you opine the panic among people regarding the outbreak of bird flue in Nepal?
First of all, what I want to clear is that the mass media is trying to create terror amongst the people the bird flu virus has entered into other parts of the country including Kathmandu valley. The media reports are based on fallacious premise. The government announced the outbreak of bird flu in Jhapa district some days back. And if the epidemic had really spread to other areas including the capital city, the government would have already taken preventive measures like it did in Mechinagar Municipality of Jhapa district. Moreover, the concerned bodies have also made it clear that the disease has not spread to other parts of the country except Jhapa.
To what extent the poultry business has been affected?
In fact, the fear of bird flue has caused the poultry industry to witness a steep tumble of some 35 percent. The industry is losing about 5 million Nepali rupees every day. Prices and consumption rate of chicken products have gone down drastically. The downward spiral in the poultry business is affecting some sixty-five thousand households across the country. As many as a half million people who are directly or indirectly linked to the poultry farming are suffering from the brunt of bird flu. About 16 billion Nepali rupees have been invested in poultry industry and nearly 150,000 kg of chicken are produced every day in Nepal. If no action is taken towards dispelling the widespread fear of this disease, the industry is bound to face a debacle.
So, are the concerned entrepreneurs pressurising the government for any relief package to insulate the poultry business?
Yes, talks are going on in this regard. We have formed a separate committee and forwarded a seven-point demand to Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal to prevent the poultry industry from getting ruined. The demands include that the government should inform about every measure it is taking to cope with the menace of bird flue since it was detected in the country. We have requested him to dispel misleading rumours about the disease. Similarly, we have urged the concerned bodies to adopt a safe and scientific way in transportation of poultry products. The seven-point demand also urges the government to make arrangement to provide due compensation to those poultry farmers who have been hit hard by the epidemic. In a linear fashion, we have urged the government to keep strict surveillance on the imports of chicken products by way of taking required measures in quarantine check posts in the country. The seven-point demand also calls the government to rehabilitate the poultry industry for economic development of the country.
Do you have anything to convey to consumers of chicken products?
What I want to assure them they need not to be terrorized by unauthenticated media reports regarding the spread of bird flu. We poultry farmers are also serious about our responsibility towards the society in which we operate. We are also well aware about the fact that the supply of infected products in the market for the sake of only monetary benefit is wrong. nepalnews.com Jan 27 09