Stock trading at the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) continued to suffer over the week as the bearish trend continued to reign supreme over the market.
The NEPSE index fell 63.91 points over the week, a trend market analysts termed as a correction of the overheated market. The NEPSE opened at 867.60 points and ended at 803.69 points.
According to NEPSE data, the total turnover this week remained at Rs 301.5 million, with 370,643 unit shares having changed hands in the bourse.
Group-wise share trading data shows that commercial banks sector suffered the heaviest fall, with its index sliding by 84.26 points. Its index fell to close at 785.60 points. The banks shares had been driving the NEPSE index up.
Trade analysts said that they had long been warning about this as the earlier rise was not supported by either corporate or economic fundamentals. nepalnews.com ag Feb 03 08
Ekta Kendra (Masal), the parent party of Janamorcha Nepal, has decided to forge a party unity with the CPN-Maoists. The semi-ground party reached the decision to forge party unity with Maoists and one other leftist party, the CPN (United), after concluding that only this way can ‘leftist influence’ in the country’s politics be increased, news reports said.
Kantipur Daily reported that after the proposal of forging an immediate party unity with the Maoists came forth in the party’s meeting held in an undisclosed location in the capital city, there was decision to join the Maoists along with CPN (United) concluding that “if the party is to unite with the Maoists alone then it won’t be effective”.
One central member of the party told the daily that as CPN (United)’s coordinator Ram Singh Rish is outside the valley, only after he comes would there be discussion to start preparation for the unity between the three parties.
It has been learnt that the proposal to forge party unity with Maoists together with CPN-United was put forth by politburo member Bhim Prakash Gautam. Former deputy prime minister and Janamorcha Nepal chairman Amik Sherchan, central member Bharat Dahal including others had seconded the proposal.
There has also been decision to determine the basis of unity between the three parties in a session participated by CPN (United) convener Ram Singh Rish, Ekta Kendra (Masal) general secy Narayan Kaji Shrestha (Prakash) and Bhim Prakash Gautam. nepalnews.com ag Feb 03 08
After losing Rs 30,000 in gambling, a father has tried to pay it off by agreeing to marry off his under-aged daughter with the son of the man he lost to. His 9-year-old daughter is being married off to the 30-year-old son of the man he lost to on Sunday as per the settlement, news reports said.
The Doti chapter of Women’s Rights Forum Deepa Shrestha told Kantipur Daily that Dil Bahadur Mahara of Kafallekhi-8 in the remote Doti district promised to give his daughter’s hand for marriage after losing in gambling. However, the name of the person who won and his son that is going to marry the girl has not been disclosed.
Inspector Dilip Deupa of the District Police said that a police team has been sent to the village to investigate the case. Kafallekhi lies at a distance of 4 hours walk from district headquarter Dipayal. nepalnews.com ag Feb 03 08
General secretary of Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal.
The general secretary of Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal has urged the Terai-based political parties to dissociate themselves from criminal elements.
“If the political parties do not dissociate from groups indulging in terrorist and criminal activities, their image and political standing will drop,” Nepal said.
He also called for strong government action to control crimes in Terai region ahead of crucial April polls.
Nepal made the remark after visiting the persons injured during last week’s Birgunj blast in a hospital in Kathmandu.
Of two dozen injured in the blast that occurred in the venue where seven parties were holding their joint mass meeting in Birgunj, four had been airlifted by the army for further treatment in Kathmandu.
All the four injured persons are said to be out of danger. nepalnews.com sd Feb 03 08
Protesting the detention of over two dozen Young Communist League (YCL) cadres by India’s Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) in Maheshpur border area in Jhapa district, the Maoist-affiliated YCL resorted to vandalism and rampage targeted at vehicles with Indian number plates in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari district on Saturday.
According to reports, around 27 YCL cadres were detained for four hours and released by SSB, on Friday. But the SSB had not returned equipment and documents carried by the YCL cadres who had gone to the region to inspect border, the report added.
Subsequently, they set fire to two Indian vehicles – one truck and a jeep – in Jhapa district.
The YCL also imposed ban on the plying of Indian vehicles in the three districts. They torched an Indian truck in Biratnagar for flouting the ban.
A central member of YCL, Agni has said that they will intensify their agitation if their documents and equipment are not returned.
Meanwhile, Indian truck drivers closed down the Jogbani border point on Saturday to protest the torching of an Indian truck. nepalnews.com sd Feb 03 08
The transporters called off their strike Saturday evening after the government agreed to normalise the supply of petroleum products.
The Federation of Transport Entrepreneurs of Nepal and the government reached an agreement, according to which the government will normalise the fuel supply by February 6 and the transporters will halt their strike until then.
The agreement was reached in the second round of talks between an 11-member team of the Federation and the representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).
According to NOC managing director Digambar Jha, supply of diesel and other petroleum products will be normal by Wednesday.
Public transportation has been greatly affected in the capital Kathmandu due to unavailability of diesel and petrol.
The transporters had warned of indefinite strike in the Kathmandy Valley beginning Sunday if the fuel shortage continued. nepalnews.com mk Feb 02 08
Representatives of various Nepali organisations active in UK have urged the Nepal government not to rush its decision to sell the building that the Nepali embassy has been using for over the past 70 years.
Listening Attentively: (From right) Pramod Karki, Dip Basnyat, Ambassador Sharma and Suresh Pradhan
During an interaction with the members of a high-level committee formed by the government — to study the status of the building hired by the embassy and recommend procedures to sell or buy a new property, among others– organised at the Nepali embassy in London on Thursday, most of the representatives said the embassy building—a Crown Property located at the prestigious Kensington Palace Gardens– carried a historic value and Nepalese living in the UK had their sentiments attached to it.
President of Yeti Nepali Association UK, Chiranjibi Dhakal, said the embassy building was situated at a prime location and carried a historic value. He said attempts should be made to maintain the building as far as possible and that the Nepali community in the UK stood ready to offer their support.
Dr Krishna Adhikari of the Reading Nepali Society said the government’s decision to sell the embassy citing high maintenance costs was a wrong one. He said such an important decision should be taken by an elected government, not an interim government. He also warned that Nepalese residing in the UK could resort to ‘direct action’ if the government did not heed their views.
Bal Mukunda Joshi, a former tourism entrepreneur, and Uttam Amatya of the Friends of Britain and Nepal Nepal Tourism Organisation, however, said there should be no room for sentiments on an issue like selling the embassy building (that is on leasehold) and buying a new property on freehold. “Of course, there should be transparency and accountability in such sensitive matters,” they said.
Dr Govinda Dahal of Center for Nepal Studies making his point.
Speakers including Dr. Govinda Dahal of Center for Nepal Studies, Dr Ramesh Dhungel of SOAS, UK, Dr Raghav Dhital OBE, Vice President of NRN UK Khagendra Nepali, Ang Kaljeng Lama of Nepalese Democratic Forum UK, Kailash Biswokarma of Nepal-Scotland Society, Sher Bahadur Sunar of Farnborough Nepali Community and Chandra Bahadur Gurung of Ex- Gurkha Association, among others, asked the government not to rush their decision to sell the embassy building and take decision on the basis of cost and benefit and keeping in view of the sentimental of the Nepalese residing in the UK.
President of NRN UK Ashok Shrestha said it was a good idea to sell the leasehold and buy a new property on freehold but it did not look feasible given the costly real estate market of London. He said only elected government should take such a decision and that the money that is saved after buying a new property should be invested in tourism and trade promotion activities for Nepal and buying a community center, if possible.
Responding to the queries, Financial Comptroller General of the Nepal government and a member of the high level study team, Dip Basnyat, said the building was hired by the then Rana regime in 1934 and the lease was renewed for 99 years in 1980. He said the government had decided, in principle, to sell the embassy building as it could fetch a higher price if sold now and that money could be utilized to buy a property for embassy on freehold. He, however, said the government decided to review its decision based on concerns raised by media, parliamentarians and the Nepalese community in the UK.
Nepali ambassador to the UK and chairman of the high level committee, Murari Raj Sharma, assured that the study team will incorporate the views expressed by the Nepalese in the UK in its report and recommend the government on the basis of its findings. nepalnews.com Feb 2 08
A bomb went off at Sakhuwagachi of Inaruwa, Sunsari district, where senior Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba was attending a mass meeting organised by the NC Saturday afternoon.
The blast occurred few hundred metres away from the programme venue, injuring an 8-yr-old girl, reports said. She has been admitted at a local hospital in Inaruwa for treatment.
The Madhesi Mukti Tigers (MMT) has claimed responsibility for the blast that was apparently meant to terrorise the people participating in the mass meeting.
The Jwala Singh faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) had called a shutdown strike in the area to disrupt the programme.
Last Saturday, the MMT had carried out a series of small blasts in Inaruwa targeting senior NC leaders including acting president Shushil Koirala. However, no human casualty had taken place in that the bomb attack. nepalnews.com mk Feb 02 08
Three alleged criminals were shot dead in an encounter with the police in the southern town of Birgunj Friday night.
The armed group clashed with the police at Adarshnagar Pragatinagar Tole. Three gang members died on the spot while two others were injured in the exchange of fire, reports said.
The police also recovered two homemade guns and ammunition from the gangsters.
Apart from armed insurgent groups like Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, the criminal gangs have been giving sleepless nights to the local businessmen in Birgunj.
The Home Ministry has increased the police force in the town in view of growing abduction and abduction. nepalnews.com mk Feb 02 08
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to pay a working visit to Nepal for 1 day next week.
Stoltenberg will arrive late night on February 7 and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Nepal and CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda the next day during his brief stopover.
In a press release issued by the foreign ministry Friday, the main focus of Stoltenberg’s visit will be Nepal’s ongoing peace and democratization process and how best Norway can help in it.
During the visit, Stoltenberg would also apprise himself on how climate change is affecting the Himalayan region and its people. He will also visit glacier lakes in cooperation with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development. nepalnews.com ag/ia Feb 02 08