The Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal led by Kamal Thapa on Friday made public the key components of its election manifesto, proposing king as the ceremonial head and an elected prime minister as the executive head.
Kamal Thapa
Releasing the preliminary draft of manifesto amid a candidacy announcement program in the capital, RPP-N further said its election slogan is “No Nepal Bandh” as the party’s chief Thapa said the party stands against all types of Nepal Bandh (general shutdown).
“All religions will exist in Nepal in harmony. All religions will have religious freedom in a traditionally Hindu Nepal,” Thapa said. “Load shedding will be totally eliminated within the next five years and the party will work towards massive economic development,” he added.
Thapa further said his party will act tough against corrupt ones and corruption, saying that illegal property will be confiscated under his party’s tenure.
On the issue of state restructuring, RPP-N will ensure autonomous governance system at the local level, Thapa said, adding, “The destination from here on is economic revolution, strong and prosperous Nepal.”
RPP-N further said it will announce 100 percent candidacy in all 240 constituencies. In today’s program, the party declared 196 direct candidacies. The party has proposed its chief Kamal Thapa as the prime ministerial candidate. But Thapa’s constituency has not been fixed yet.
The list of 196 declared candidates includes most of the party’s top leaders, central committee members and district leaders.
Among the top leaders, Padma Sundar Lawati has been announced RPP-N candidate from Panchthar -2. The constituency of another senior leader Keshar Bahadur Bista is yet to be finalized.
Similarly, Chandra Bahadur Gurung has been declared candidate from Syangja-1, Udhav Poudel from Kathmandu-4 and singers Mira Rana and Sanjaya Shrestha from Kathmandu-3 and 6, respectively. Bharat Jangam, who joined the party today, is also contesting from Kathmandu-1.
“We will soon finalize rest of the constituencies under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) as well as Proportional Electoral System within a few days,” said party chairman Thapa. Nepalnews.com / Kishor Poudel
Rights groups urged South Asian governments Friday to demand proper protection for their migrant workers amid outrage over the deaths of dozens of Nepalis on projects linked to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
While Nepal’s government said it would not try to halt the flow of migrant workers after a newspaper investigation into their conditions, activists said the blame should not only rest with employers in the Gulf.
Millions of people from impoverished parts of the sub-continent work in Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, sending home remittances that are crucial to their families’ welfare and to their nation’s finances.
Qatar alone is home to about 300,000 Nepali workers, according to government figures, most of whom are drawn from impoverished rural areas.
The vast majority are working on construction projects and are hired by Nepal-based employment agencies that operate under licence from the government and are meant to adhere to regulations on working conditions.
Buddhi Bahadur Khadka, a spokesman for the labour ministry in Kathmandu, said Nepalese officials based in the embassy in Doha did vet employers to ensure they follow “standard guidelines” but admitted there were problems.
“Despite our efforts, there have been irregularities. That needs to be changed and we are trying our best,” he told AFP.
An investigation published by Britain’s Guardian newspaper this week found that 44 Nepali migrants had died during the summer in Qatar when temperatures can reach around 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
It detailed how some had not been paid for months, were denied drinking water and had their passports confiscated as they toiled on a range of infrastructure projects being readied for when Qatar hosts football fans from around the world in less than a decade.
Suhas Chakma, director of the Asian Centre for Human Rights, said governments on the sub-continent had too often turned a blind eye to the “horrendous” conditions that he said frequently breached international agreements.
“It is unfortunate that the governments of the sending countries are taking no action vis-a-vis compliance with the UN convention on migrant labourers,” Chakma told AFP.
“This issue does not concern only Nepal. There are thousands of labourers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who are travelling abroad for work.
“It is time the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries frame a policy for protection of their labourers from abuse and exploitation,” he added in reference to the eight-nation regional bloc headquartered in Kathmandu.
“Nepalese workers have been dying due to abusive labour conditions for years but it is only being talked about now because of the World Cup,” he added.
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, agreed it should not be just left up to the host country to treat workers properly.
“South Asian countries, which are a large group of senders, should work together to set minimum standards,” Ganguly told AFP.
“Since remittances are a big part of the South Asian economy, the SAARC countries should join together to demand better worker protections.”
Khadka said that Qatari government officials had pledged that migrants would be protected when they held talks with officials from Nepal’s labour ministry and foreign ministry in June.
“They assured us that their government will take action against the companies that violate the labourers’ rights but the workers had to lodge complaints detailing the exploitation and the violation of labour rights.
“So, it’s up to the Qatar government to safeguard our workers and we have our embassy to monitor it,” he added.
Nepal received 430 billion rupees ($434 million) sent back by its roughly one million migrant workers in 2012, according to Nepal’s central bank, accounting for 22 percent of GDP in a country where around one in three young people are out of work.
“We won’t stop sending the workers just because their exploitation has been highlighted now. We can’t stop it because that’s the only major employment opportunity for the majority of Nepali youths,” Khadka said.
Deepak Adhikari, AFP
Nepal’s representative to this year’s Miss World, Ishani Shrestha, has been announced the winner in the pageant’s Beauty with a Purpose challenge.
Miss Nepal Ishani Shrestha walks in the Top Model show of the pageant. The picture was posted on her official Facebook account.
A dentist by profession, Ishani had started an initiative for oral hygiene “Project Smile”. Under this project, she raised funds and conducted a 3-day health camp in Jumla, examining over 300 patients. She also educated the community on oral hygiene, focusing on children and women’s groups.
“I hope my attempt of changing the world one smile at a time becomes a success,” Ishani says in the video documenting the project.
Beauty with a Purpose is a challenge within Miss World where present their community driven charity projects. The best project receives the Beauty with a Purpose Award, which rewards the contestant points for their final score. According to the pageants’ website, $10,000 is presented to the charity that the winner has been working alongside.
Ishani’s project was chosen from over 70 submissions. She has also been announced the third winner in the Multimedia challenge where contestants on judged on their online participation and popularity.
Miss World 2013 is taking place in Bali, Indonesia this year. The finale is scheduled for September 28 with beauty queens from 130 countries. Ishani is among the 11 selected to perform at the finale. She will be performing traditional Nepali dance. Nepalnews.com
Students affiliated to various political parties staged a sit-in demonstrations at the main entrance of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) at Babarmahal in Kathmandu to protest latter’s September 10 decision to hike prices of petroleum products.
Students aligned with All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary), All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU), Nepal Students’ Union (NSU) and other students – who have formed a Joint Students Union – staged the protest demonstrations calling for withdrawal of the fuel price hike.
The Joint Students’ Union has been holding phase-wise protest programmes against the hike in prices of petroleum products since September 11. The second phase of protests started from September 25.
The leaders of the students’ union have warned that they will intensify their protests if the government continues to turn a deaf ear to their demand of revoking the hike in prices of fuel.
Previously, the student groups had barred staff of NOC from entering their office in the capital and also prohibited gas stations in Kathmandu Valley from selling petrol and diesel for three days. Nepalnews.com
At least five people have been injured and 50 others feared trapped under the debris of a five- storey building which collapsed in Mumbai Friday, a police official said.
“The building collapsed near the Dockyard Road in Mumbai at 6. 30 a.m. (local time). Some 12 fire engines have been rushed to the spot and so far five people have been rescued from under the debris. They have been admitted to a local hospital with minor injuries,” he said, on condition of anonymity.
More than 50 people are still feared trapped inside the debris of the building, which is the official staff quarters for the city ‘s civic body employees, the official said, adding that rescue operations are on full swing to bring them out.
Building collapses are common in India often because of poor construction practices.
In June, five people were killed in a building collapse in Mumbai while 74 people died in another building collapse on the outskirts of the city in April.
Mumbai (Xinhua)
After sugarcane plantation suffered extensive damage because of red rot disease, farmers have demanded appropriate compensation.
Farmers of 24 VDCs of Sunsari and Morang districts had cultivated sugarcane in some 900 bigha of land. The plantation worth millions of rupees was damaged due to the red rot disease, they said.
It has caused huge loss to the farmers and as well as the sugar mill entrepreneurs, said Suresh Mehata, assistant manager at the Eastern Sugar Mills, Biratnagar.
Meanwhile, an expert team from the Agriculture Research Centre has been studying the affected area and will soon prepare a report, according the District Agriculture Office.
“We will be forced to take to the streets if the government does not provide us with appropriate compensation”, said Ram Adhin Yadav, a sugarcane farmer affected by the red rot disease.
Red rot is one of the major constraints in the profitable cultivation of sugarcane. This disease drastically retards the yield and considerably deteriorates the juice quantity and quality thus hitting both the cane growers and millers. RSS
Coca-Cola Bhaktapur Industrial Trade Fair 2013 is going to be held at Madhyapur Thimi of Bhaktapur district from October 3 to 7.
The five-day event is being organised by Bhaktapur Chamber of Commerce and Industries in association with the Bhaktapur chapter of Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industries with the aim to promote tourism in the area through social and cultural engagement.
The fair will feature some 150 stalls of various products of domestic arts and culture among others, said the organisers. nepalnews.com
National Sports Council (NSC) has expressed serious concern over misbehaviour of security guards to the reporters during the AFC U-16 Qualifiers.
After receiving a memorandum from Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF) on Thursday, NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama expressed serious concern over the issue of misbehaviour and of barring the reporters to cover the event by the security deployed by All Nepal Football Association.
“The accused will be taken action after the investigation over the incident.” said Lama.
Meanwhile, FNJ central committee and Photo Journalists Club have also condemned the incident.
They urged the authorities concern to take action against the accused.
Security guards at the entrance gate of stadium on Wednesday had misbehaved with the journalists by barring them to enter the AFC U-16 Qualifiers. nepalnews.com
The government has decided to provide Rs 2 billion loan to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to ease the supply of fuel especially during the festive season.
The cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to provide Rs 1 billion each from Employees Provident Fund and the Citizens’ Investment Trust for now under government’s guarantee.
“The NOC will get the amount within a week,” said NOC Spokesperson Shiva Pudasaini.
Meanwhile, the meeting approved the representation of Nepal by a three-member delegation led by Secretary at the Ministry, Tulasi Prasad Sitaula in the meeting of the South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation, Trade Facilitation and Transit Working Group scheduled to be held on October 30-31 in Singapore.
Moreover, a five-member delegation that includes Secretary of Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs, Bheshraj Sharma, and Deputy Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari, among others, are to participate in the meeting regarding the Financial Action Transfer under the leadership of Secretary and Coordinator of the Anti-money Laundering Alleviation National Coordination Committee, Shanta Ram Subedi.
Likewise, the meeting also decided to send Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Sureshman Shrestha, to New York to participate in the United Nations Immigration and Development related to High Level Dialogue Meeting.
The government decided to send Secretary at the Ministry of General Administration, Durganidhi Sharma and a Joint-secretary in General Assembly of East-Regional Organizations for Public Administration to Tokyo of Japan. nepalnews.com
An Indian national has been injured in a broad daylight shooting at Jorpati in the capital on Friday morning.
Mohammad Samsullah, 40, of Motihari, India, who runs a tailoring shop in the Bouddha area, suffered bullet injuries in his stomach and legs after being shot at by two unidentified men in a motorcycle. He has been rushed to TU Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj for treatment, police said.
According to eye-witnesses, two men in a motorcycle had opened fire on Samsullah at around 8:30 am.
Police said they are investigating the shooting. nepalnews.com