Bolstered by rise in investors’ confidence along with strong performance of commercial banks, the bullish trend at the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) continued to soar for yet another week. The stock market gained 22.52 points this week which the regulatory authority termed as ‘unjustified rise’.
The Nepse index opened at 657.47 points at the beginning of the week, continued to climb up and closed at 679.99 points on Thursday, the last day of trading. According to trade analysts, soaring share prices of commercial banks, insurance companies and hydropower companies supported the growth.
The weekly turnover also increased this week to Rs 393.5 million with 506,943 unit shares having been traded through 2,999 transactions, against the last week’s figure of Rs 297.8 million through the trading of 914,428 shares. Out of the total 68 listed companies for share trading, 58 companies saw their transactions this week.
The group wise share trading analysis shows that all major groups including commercial banks, hydropower, and insurance groups each registered an impressive growth this week.
The shares of commercial banks maintained its dominance at the stock market this week, accounting for 78.75 percent of the total transactions. Amid rising demand of shares of commercial banks, the group gained 20.41 points in its index touching 768.89 points.
Likewise, the insurance group, too, managed a double-digit growth of 27.08 points. The group’s trading that opened at 605.05 points on Sunday went up to 632.13 points on the closing day.
Among the gainers, the hydropower group turned out to be the aggressive performer this week with a 104.29 point rise.
Nepali Congress president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and NC (Democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba Sunday met to discuss the unification between the two parties, but could not arrive at a consensus.
Emerging out of an hour-long meeting held at Koirala’s residence in Baluwatar, Deuba said, “We discussed the unification process, but nothing has been decided yet. Unification between the two parties will take some time.”
There will be few more top-level parleys before the two parties declare merger, it is learnt. Earlier, leaders had claimed that NC-NC (D) unification would be announced today (July 22), coinciding the birth anniversary of late B.P Koirala, the founder leader of the Nepali Congress.
Koirala and Deuba had met to discuss the unification issue last week also. Deuba has been saying that his party should get ‘respectful share’ from the central level to the grassroots when the two parties unite.
Nepal Army chief Rukmangud Katawal left for the United Kingdom for a weeklong tour Sunday morning.
Katawal has been invited by the British Ministry of Defence. “This is a traditional visit, which is approved by the Ministry of Defence [Nepal]” an official with the Directorate of Public Relations of the army told Nepalnews.
This is the first foreign trip of the Nepal Army chief since the restoration of democracy in Nepal.
Local Bodies Employees’ Association has decided to launch nationwide protest, which includes demonstration programmes, soon to apply pressure on the government for the enactment of Local Service Act to ensure the rights of the employees working in local bodies.
Hari Krishna Shrestha, chairman of the Association, said they were compelled to take this drastic measure as the government paid no heed towards implementation of the 18-point memorandum they had submitted to the Ministry of Local Development on June 20.
At present some 35,000 employees work in Village Development Committees (V.D.C), District Development Committees (DDC) and municipalities categorized as local bodies.
Representatives of freed Kamaiyas (bonded laborers) met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter’s official residence in Baluwatar and inform him about their demands.
During the meeting PM Koirala took the demands of former Kamaiyas in positive light and assured them that the government would do whatever that is necessary to rehabilitate former Kamiyas, the members of the delegation said.
Emerging from the meeting, chairman of Freed Kamaiya Movement Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary flayed the government policy of distributing land ownership certificates to only 500 freed Kaimiyas every year and said that with such a sluggish process would take another 36 years to rehabilitate all the freed Kamiyas. There are around 17,000 freed Kamaiyas in mid and far-western region.
“Our demand is that all Kamaiyas should be properly rehabilitated before the constituent assembly poll,” Chaudhary said.
He also said that there would be consultation between the officials of the Ministry of Land Reforms and the representatives of freed Kamaiyas tomorrow regarding their demands.
Liberated from their age-old bondage seven years ago, some 150 former Kamaiyas have been holding demonstrations in the capital city regularly since Wednesday. They said that they were yet to be rehabilitated as committed by the government few months back during a discussion.
Freed Kamaiyas have also been organising protests in the districts in protest of the use of force to suppress their movement in the capital.
Agitating VDC secretaries today said they would close down all VDC offices across the country and launch decisive agitation in the capital if the government failed to respond to their demands within three days.
A meeting of the VDC Secretaries Rights Protection Centre held at the Lalitpur District Development Committee’s office decided to give the ultimatum to the government.
The VDC secretaries concluded that the government had remained tight-lipped regarding their demands, which includes guarantee of security to secretaries working in Terai districts, life insurance worth 1 million rupees and ‘martyr status’ to secretaries killed by rebel groups.
Ganesh Raj Karki of the Centre said the VDC secretaries present in Kathmandu would start picketing the Local Development Ministry from Monday and all VDC secretaries would gather in the capital after three days to intensify the protest.
“We have been carrying out protests with these demands but the state remains heedless,” Karki said.
Two VDC secretaries were murdered by armed groups in Terai after the restoration of democracy. Cadres of the Jwala Singh-led faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) had killed VDC secretary Ram Hari Pokharel in Siraha district last week.
The incident provoked nationwide indefinite strike by the VDC secretaries.
Seven Maoist combatants have run away from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) camp in Yangsila, Morang district, with automatic rifles.
Reports say seven Maoist combatants of Chhintangsukhani Memorial Brigade under the First Division of the PLA fled with INSAS rifles and ammunitions on Friday. The motive behind their decamping was not immediately known, but the commanders at the cantonment site have denied the incident.
The Maoists have started frantic search to capture the fleeing combatants.
More and more PLA men are fleeing the camps out of frustration as the verification process lingers. Earlier too, there were reports of PLA men fleeing the clamps.
An agreement and related Memorandum of Understanding to relocate the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific from New York to Kathmandu have been concluded between Nepal and the United Nations Secretariat, the Nepal mission to UN said.
Amid a brief ceremony held on Friday at the United Nations Headquarters, Nepal’s mission chief to the UN Madhu Raman Acharya and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations Sergio de Queiroz Duarte signed the Host Country Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding, on behalf of the government of Nepal and the Office for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations respectively.
With the conclusion of these agreements, the Office for Disarmament Affairs will now be able to expedite the process to physically move the centre to Kathmandu and start its works from there within six months as required by a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly during its 61st session last year.
According to the agreement, Nepal shall provide some initial and operational costs of the centre, including the salaries of locally-recruited personnel. The centre will be headed by a full-time international Director.
The centre, established as per the resolution of the General Assembly of November 30, 1987, has so far been operating from New York.
Close on the heels of similar disruption in Nepal Samacharpatra daily a few weeks ago, the Maoist-affiliated workers have disrupted the distribution of Annapurna Post and The Himalayan Times.
“For the last 3 days there has been a disruption in the distribution of AP and THT. On 21st July it did not reach the market because all distribution in Kathmandu was hijacked by the Maoist affiliated trade union,” states a statement issued by Ram Pradhan, the editor of THT, on behalf of The International Media Network Nepal, on Saturday.
The Maoist affiliated trade union workers (delivery boys) creating obstruction beat up dispatch staff of Annapurna Post and The Himalayan Times. “We conclude that such act is a blatant attack on the independent press and interference in the people’s right to information,” the statement adds.
According to the publisher, the delivery boys are not affiliated to the publishing organisations of the newspapers .. “Nine distribution agencies including RB News are involved in the distribution of these dailies and they manage all the things related to the distribution of these dailies. It is no concern of the publishers of Annapurna Post and The Himalayan Times on what kind of individuals are involved in the distribution of the papers and how much salary is paid to them,” the statement says.
The publisher has said that the act of the Maoist affiliated trade union into unilaterally and illogically demanding that delivery workers be given permanent employment is “a mockery of the labour laws in this country.”
“We believe that the rights of working staffers should be protected. However, the act of piling newspapers in the front door of their offices by taking control of the vehicles carrying the papers in the name of workers is a criminal offence. It is highly regrettable that the government is a silent spectator even at a time when a criminal act is being committed in media houses with impunity. The government has proved to be powerless to protect the right and independence of journalists.”
Recalling similar disruptions in Nepal Samacharpatra and in Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post some weeks ago, the statement says that incidents like these show that there is planned offensive against the private media houses. “This should be taken with utmost seriousness and there is the need to raise strong voices for press freedom.”
The statement adds that the publication of the newspapers will have to be suspended if the government continues to be a hapless onlooker and keeps tolerating the unjustified defiance of the Maoists. “We urge all media houses, journalists, political parties, international community, civil society readers and world agencies concerned with the development of media, protection of journalists and their rights, and press freedom to take the matter very seriously and express their solidarity for the freedom and independence of press in Nepal.”
In the wake of recent news reports that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had assured to help the cause of British Gurkhas during his meeting with Tul Bahadur Pun VC in London, the British Ministry of Defense has announced an average hike of 19% to their service pensions.
Gurkha pensioners will benefit from an average increase of 19% to their service pension under new measures announced on Thursday, by Under Secretary of State for Defense Derek Twigg.
According to reports posted in the website of British MoD, the significant increase to the Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS) is in line with changes to Indian Army pensions set by the Indian Pay Commission, and follows on from an increase of 7% announced earlier this year as part of the annual inflationary uplift. All Gurkha pensioners of the rank Warrant Officer Class 1 and below will benefit from the increase – representing 95% of all Gurkha pensioners.
Twigg also announced that the British Government will be conducting a review into how Gurkha Pensions are increased annually. The review will look at how best to measure the cost of living in Nepal, where an estimated 25,000 Gurkha pensioners live. Twigg said, “”I am delighted to be able to announce this substantial increase in pensions to retired Gurkhas in the Gurkha Pension Scheme. This increase will sustain Gurkha Pension Scheme payments at an appropriate level and demonstrates our continuing commitment to the retired Gurkha population in Nepal. The bravery and heroism of the Brigade of Gurkhas is world renowned and they are fully deserving of this reputation. Their continued significant contribution to operations around the globe has been and will continue to be greatly appreciated.”
The reports state that the 1947 Tripartite Agreement between Nepal, India and the UK established the linkage for pensions between British Army Gurkhas and those recruited to serve in the Indian Army.
A Gurkha Rifleman with 15 years service currently receives approximately £110 per month. This will rise to approximately £131 per month. The increased benefits to the Gurkha Pension Scheme have been included in the Gurkha Offer To Transfer to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme which was announced on 8 March 2007.
Meanwhile, Gurkha Ex-Servicemen Organisation (GAESO) has said that the hike is too little. Though they welcomed the decision terming it as yet another victory of their movement for equal rights to British Gurkhas, the GAESO has said that it will proceed with legal cases at British courts to attain equal rights at par with British soldiers.