At least half a dozen victims of last year’s devastating Koshi River floods were injured in a clash with police in Sunsari district headquarters Inaruwa Sunday.

Police baton-charged and used teargas shells to disperse the protesting flood victims as they tried to padlock the district administration office (DAO). Reports said the police also fired a few rounds in the air to take the situation under control.

Condition of one of the injured protesters, who is undergoing treatment at a local hospital, is said to be critical.

The flood victims were staging protest at the DAO premises demanding quick relief and rehabilitation programmes.

They have been complaining that the government failed to fulfill its commitment to rehabilitate the displaced and provide immediate relief to them.

The flood victims have been carrying out a series of protest programmes for the past few weeks, blocking roads and organising shutdown strikes in different parts of Sunsari district. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) Chairman Surendra Bir Malakar has on Sunday claimed that the government is displaying flippancy towards addressing problems dogging the private sector of the country.

While speaking at the 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NCC, Malakar also demanded the government to implement property tax policy only after the draft of the new constitution.

While inaugurating the AGM, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, however, said that the government is serious towards collaborating with the private sector to combat the challenges faced by the latter.

He also made it a point to claim that political stability and economic growth in the country are possible only under the Maoist leadership. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has on Sunday said that the government had come up with the concept of Youth and Small Entrepreneurs Self-Employment Programme in order to propel the country towards the path of industrialization.

“The prime tenet of the programme is to bring economic revolution by equipping unemployed youths and small entrepreneurs with necessary capital as well as professional skills”, said Dr Bhattarai while speaking at a discussion programme on “Youth and Small Entrepreneurs Self-Employment” held by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

Stating that the government has earmarked Rs 500 million for the conduct of the programme, he also admitted that weak and excessively mechanical bureaucracy has somewhat inhibited the smooth running of the programme across the country.

“Of course, the programme is facing certain snags due to administrative weakness and lack of adequate technical knowledge about the programme. So, the government will again issue circulars to the concerned bodies in order to ensure efficiency in the conduct of it,” he said while responding to queries from representatives of FNCCI from various districts of the country.

Kush Kumar Joshi, president, FNCCI, opined that the effective conduct of the self-employment programme could well help in developing industries in rural areas of the country. He also bemoaned that the dearth of strong inter-ministerial coordination was hampering the smooth running of the programme.

Krishna Prasad Tamrakar, vice-president, FNCCI, said that hundreds of youths selected for training under the programme have been facing unnecessary hassles.

“A large number of youths selected under the programme lack proper education and traditional skills. But, the amount allocated for the purpose of imparting training to them is low. So, the ministry of finance must take this problem seriously,” he said. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Minister for Defence Ram Bahadur Thapa on Sunday accused the Nepal Army (NA) of trying to intimidate him in a manner reminiscent of Panchayati days, but said he is not scared and hence will not back down.

“I am not the one who gets intimidated by any army chief,” he said speaking at a programme organized in Tamghas of his home district Gulmi, adding, “I am not scared of these intimidations and so will not back down.”

Stating that the army used to intimidate people’s representatives in similar manner during the Panchayat days, the Maoist minister said the current army chief is just giving continuity to that modus operandi.

He also expressed regret over the inability of the army to democratize itself, warning that the army chief will be held accountable and entitled to action from the government elected by the people.

Minister Thapa has been in a verbal duel with the Chief of Army Staff Rukumangad Katuwal since the controversy over army recruitment surfaced few months back and which was immediately followed by the government refusing to extend the term of eight army generals. The two episodes have only worked to further widen the deep rift between the Ministry of Defense and Nepal Army and put the two institutions increasingly at loggerheads.

NA Division Chiefs meet in Kathmandu

The Division Chiefs of Nepal Army (NA) met in Kathmandu Sunday to discuss, as what they have stated, “rapidly changing geo-political situation” of the country including other pressing military matters.

Chief of Army Staff General Rukmangad Katuwal inaugurated the two-day conference at the NA Headquarters in Bhadrakali today.

On the first day of the conference, the NA Division Chiefs participating from five development regions are scheduled to present papers highlighting military activities and other important events that took place in their respective region and hold discussion on it.

On the second day, the conference will focus entirely on the changing geo-political situation of the country and decide on the strategy the army should adopt in the coming days to meet the fresh challenges it will bring.

Although observers say that the conference holds special significance especially at a time when the government and the army are increasingly at odds with each other over several issues, the NA has said it is a routine meeting.

In the past, the Defense Minister and the Defense Secretary used to get invitation from the army to attend the conference. However, this time none were invited. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala on Sunday said his party will not tolerate any sort of compromises in the main task of ensuring democracy, human rights and press freedom including other fundamental rights in the new constitution.

“The civil society also needs to play an active role in clearing away differences between the political parties while at the same time constantly putting pressure on the government for drafting a democratic constitution,” he told a team of civil society leaders who had come to meet him at his residence in Maharajgunj in the capital city.

The civil society leaders had met the NC president in the course of their meeting with top leaders of major political parties in order to draw their attention towards drafting the constitution on time.

At the meeting, the civil society leaders said that the constant political bickering has taken the attention away from the main problems facing the country and that because of the House deadlock, the constitution drafting process has been severely hampered.

Emerging from the meeting, Dr Devendra Raj Pandey, one of the top civil society leaders, said that they urged Koirala’s party, which spearheaded most of the democratic movements the country has witnessed till now, to play a leadership role in drafting the constitution in time by playing a pro-active role in ending the differences that exists among the political parties.

In response, he said Koirala assured that he and his party is committed to drafting the democratic constitution on time.

“He (Koirala) also said that NC is very sensitive on the issue of federalism and governing system of the country,” Pandey told reporters after the meeting.

Krishna Pahadi, Puroshattam Dahal, Bharat Pradhan including other civil society luminaries accompanied Pandey in the meeting.

The civil society representatives are scheduled to meet UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal at the party’s headquarter in Balkhu later today to ask him to do something from his side to end the animosity between the political parties and help draft the constitution on time.

Earlier, the civil society reps had met Prime Minister and Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and said that the political parties needs to be sensitive towards building a constitution that upholds the people’s supremacy. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Reporters Club chairman Rishi Dhamala, who was detained under Arms and Ammunition Act for over two months, was released from Dillibazaar prison on Sunday.

The Kathmandu District Administration Office (KDAO) released him as per the Patan Appellate Court’s ruling on Friday. However, he will have to appear before the KDAO on a regular basis pending final verdict on the case.

Talking to fellow journalists on his release, Dhamala said the court had finally given him justice. He also said he “will fight for the release of two other illegally detained journalists (co-accused Ram Subhak Mahato and Birendra Kumar Mahato)”.

Representatives of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) including its president Dharmendra Jha and others welcomed him as he came out of Dillibazaar prison.

Dhamala was taken into custody on February 4 for his alleged link with underground extremist outfit Ranabir Sena that had claimed responsibility for a number of bomb explosions in Kathmandu and Terai districts. He has been accused of being involved in the group’s operation including extortion and bomb blasts.

Dhamala was detained on the basis of statement given in police custody by the two co-accused, Ram Subhak and Birendra Kumar. Few days after his arrest, police had released an audio tape in which Dhamala was heard in telephone conversation with a Ranabir Sena operative, complying with the group’s extortion plan in Kathmandu. However, Dhamala has dismissed the allegation, insisting that the audio was nothing but a concoction of the police to justify his “illegal detention”. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has urged the government to take immediate measures to put an end to the culture of impunity in order to spur business activities in the country.

The apex organisation of Nepali business sector has also demanded constitutional guarantee of liberal market oriented economy.

Kush Kumar Joshi, president, FNCCI, said that as the private sector is playing a pivotal role in capital formation, it should be shielded from insecurity.

The investment made by Nepali industrialists and entrepreneurs is eight-fold bigger than foreign direct investment while there is a 5:8 ratio of private and public sector investment.

The share of manufacturing sector is witnessing downward spiral due to security problems. In 2000, the industrial sector contributed seven percent to the gross domestic contribution (GDP) which now stands at 7.1 percent. Export and manufacturing sectors’ growth in 2008 was 0.18 percent and minus 1.9 percent respectively.

Presenting a paper on ‘Re-invigorating Private Sector Development’, Dr Shankar Sharma, former chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC) also asked the government to end impunity to stimulate private sector to invest in economic activities.

Around 20 entrepreneurs have been killed, 55 kidnapped and 54 industries closed down over the last eight months. Industries were closed for 62 days in the period mainly due to labour problems. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Coffee farmers in Gorkha district have been dogged by lack of sufficient market for their product, reports RSS.

Farmers in Manakamana, Bakrang, Dhuwakot, Chyangli, Ghyalchowk and Deurali VDCs are anxious due to the weak market.

Mathura Shah, chairperson of Gorkha Coffee Cooperatives said they cannot sell the coffee when they want and even if buyers come they do not give reasonable price, according to RSS.

Farmers are anxious as no buyer has approached them even though have been waiting for the last six months after readying the coffee for sale. The coffee was processed last October.

Last year also, farmers had to sell produce through Lamjung Coffee Cooperative, said Shah. She complained, “We were promised Rs 175 per kg, but they gave only Rs 150 per kg in the end.” Commercial coffee cultivation started in the district five years ago at the initiative of Public Awareness and Development Centre (PADC).

Krishna Thapa, a farmer in Dhandbari of Manakamana-4, said, “PADC disappeared after teaching us the techniques for coffee cultivation. Now there is none to help us and coffee plants are frequently affected by diseases.”

When contacted, District Agriculture Development Office chief Dharma Datta Baral said it was out of their sphere of work, and added that the office was unable to provide any help. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

The government has decided to waive loan amounts up to Rs. 400,000 to the victims of conflicts, Kantipur daily reported.

Waivers will be provided to the families of those killed or disappeared during the decade long armed-conflict, the people’s movement 2006 and the Madhesh movement and cooperatives affected by the conflict.

According to the loan waiver manual launched a month ago, the cooperatives which took loan from Small Farmers Development Bank and lost documents or property due to fire, vandalism and loots will get the waiver.

The decision will cost an extra Rs. 2 billion to the government coffer. The number of affected cooperatives is estimated at 1000. Likewise, more than 7000 people have been declared martyrs by the government.

Only those who apply before mid May will get the waiver, according the finance ministry.

Earlier, the government had announced to totally waive loans up to 30,000 and waive the interest on loans of up to 100,000 through its budget speech in September, last year. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09

Tamsaling Joint Struggle Committee and the government have signed a 19-point agreement to address the demands raised by Tamang community, Saturday evening.

The struggle committee has called off the ‘bandh’ it called in Kathmandu valley and surrounding ten districts for Sunday, as part of the agreement. It has also withdrawn all other protest programmes announced by the community.

Talks were held in the peace ministry Saturday after the struggle committee announced various protest programmes. Peace and Reconstruction Minister Janardan Sharma represented the government, while Surya Man Dong, Bir Bahadur Lama Tamang, Dil Man Pakhrin Tamang, Parashuram Tamang, and Kaman Singh Lama, among others represented the Tamang community.

The government has agreed to seek consensus about the demands of Tamang community to amend the constitution for removing cow from the national emblem. This demand will be forwarded to the Constituent Assembly for contemplation.

The government will also contemplate on renaming historical places in indigenous languages.

Among other points agreed during the talks, the government will bring a policy to protect the cultures of all castes and end all caste-based discriminations, will end all discriminatory provisions in Nepal Army, the state restructuring commission will also be represented by underprivileged castes, a model development programme to uplift and develop all communities, including Tamangs, will be launched from next fiscal year and also introduce special employment programme package for backward classes.

A task force will be formed for the follow up on the implementation of the agreements.

Meanwhile, cadres of the Tamsaling Joint Struggle Committee organised torch rallies in various towns of Sindhupalchowk, Saturday evening demanding for ethnic autonomy. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09