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Deuba against creation of Tarun Dasta
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Deuba against creation of Tarun Dasta
Senior Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has flatly rejected the notion of forming a semi-militant youth wing of the party, and said that Maoist-aligned Young Communist League and UML\'s Youth Force should also be dismantled.
The remark by the former prime minister and influential leader of the second biggest party in the Constituent Assembly comes at a time when another NC leader Khum Bahadur Khadka has been warning that the very existence of NC will be in danger if Tarun Dasta - the proposed youth wing of the party - is not formed soon.
Deuba, who was speaking at a press meet organized in Argakachi Tuesday, was of the view that youth wings were only a nuisance that can jeopardize the peace process, adding that YCL and YF should also be dismantled to ensure security to the people and establish peace in the country.
Closer cooperation between Nepal and UK
British MPs have called for closer cooperation between Nepal and UK in areas of mutual interest.
Addressing a function organised by the Nepal People Contact Coordination Committee (NPCC) UK in London on Sunday in honor of the newly appointed Nepali ambassador to UK, Labour MP for Ealing North, Stephen Pound, recalled he did not regret for voting against the govt’s motion on Gurkha issue.
In a vote on right to settlement to all ex-Gurkhas in the House of Commons last year, Mr Pound had crossed the floor and voted in favour of right to settlement for Gurkhas against his own party’s decision. Mr Pound, who was a junior minister at the time lost his post after his vote. “You destroyed my political career, but how could I vote against the Gurkhas?” he said.
Saying that Nepalese community in the UK is hard-working, law-abiding and family-oriented, Mr Pound said they should integrate into the British society, but not assimilate. “Don’t ever lose your unique quality that makes you Nepali. There are no other people on earth like you,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Labour MP from Ealing Southall, Virendra Sharma, recalled his recent visit to Nepal as part of the British parliament’s International Development Select Committee delegation. Mr Sharma said there were many areas where UK and Nepal could work together.
Addressing the function, Nepali ambassador to the UK, Dr Suresh Chandra Chalise, said nearly two centuries old bilateral relations between Nepal and UK had been excellent on fronts. Saying that thousands of Gurkhas had sacrificed their lives in the Second World War, Dr Chalise appreciated the support and assistance extended by the UK government in development endeavours of Nepal. “We must work very closely to deal with trans-national issues like fighting terrorist, climate change and controlling diseases,” said Dr Chalise adding, “Nepal looked for support from the international community to protect Himalayan environment and ecology.”
As a gesture of goodwill, ambassador Chalise offered all the distinguished guests Nepali cap and khada and also invited them to visit Nepal on the occasion of Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
A minute-long silence was observed in memory of Nepal’s democratic fighters and photo of late B P Koirala was garlanded at the start of the program.
RPP-Nepal demands referendum
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal (RPP-Nepal) picketed Singha Durbar, the central government secretariat, today calling for promulgation of new Constitution in the stipulated time and holding referendum on important political issues.
President of RPP-Nepal, Kamal Thapa said his party has organized the Singha Durbar picketing programme to exert pressure on the State to hold referendum on important political issues, stressing that the present Constituent Assembly has no right to decide on key topics with long-term implication on the nation like Hindu nation, federalism and the institution of monarchy.
President Thapa is leading the party workers holding a sit-in at Bhadrakali Chowk. Cadres of RPP Nepal are holding sit-ins at Maitighar, Hanumansthan and Kalikasthan, on the way leading to Singha Durbar.
The party is also holding a joint mass meeting at Khula Manch same day.
Govt annuls relief teacher quotas
The government has annulled some 12000 relief teacher quotas distributed through direct orders from the education ministry or the education minister in the current fiscal year.
A meeting of finance minister Surendra Pandey, education minister Ram Chandra Kushwaha and National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chairman Yub Raj Khatiwada held at the finance ministry Tuesday decided to scrap the teacher relief quotas after international donors funding the education sector suspended their aid alleging corruption on distribution of relief teacher quotas.
The education ministry has dispatched letters to concerned District Education Offices informing them about the annulment of the relief teacher quotas.
The meeting has also formed a three-member panel led by NPC member Dr Tirtha Raj Khaniya to investigate irregularities in the distribution of relief quotas and other activities that obstructed implementation of the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP).
The committee has been delegated to conduct a probe and submit its report within 15 days.
Meanwhile, education minister Kushwaha\'s party Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party is contemplating calling back Kushwaha from the government over the corruption charges.
The government was under pressure to take action on the issue after the international donors which had been funding or had pledged to fund the SSRP suspended aid demanding action against education minister Kushwaha.
The donors suspended aid following a probe by the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament on the minister.
Handicraft fair concludes
The 8th handicraft trade fair and 6th art competition organized by the Handicraft Federation concluded here today.
Some 50,000 people observed the fair and is said to have result in transaction worth Rs. five billion, the organizers said. The fair had begun last Thursday.
Addressing the concluding session, Minister of State for Industry, Dan Bahadur Chaudhary said the exhibition has contributed to the promotion of art and handicrafts.
President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Surendra Bir Malakar, President of the Federation, Bikash Ratna Dhakwa and other speakers expressed their views.
Nepal has been exporting handicraft to 80 countries in a trade of worth Rs. 3 billion annually.
Tyamke Hill to become tourism spot
People here are determined that there is a great potential of Tyamke hill, located at the border between Khotang and Bhojpur districts with an altitude of 3,200 meters above sea level, to become a tourism spot.
Civil society of Khotang and Bhojpur districts have been working to make it a tourism spot as movement to it was difficult for lack of physical infrastructure.
A joint Tyamke Conservation Committee of Ratanchha, Khidima, Chyandanda VDCs of Khotang has been constituted to develop Tyamke as a tourism spot, said Committee Chairman Sitaram Rai.
Likewise, a Tyamke festival is to be organised in 2011 to attract hundreds of thousands of internal and external tourists to develop it to increase tourist arrival, said Rai.
A Tyamke Festival Main Organizing Committee has been constituted jointly of Khotang and Bhojpur to hold the Tyamke hill festival, which now lacks enough infrastructure of development.
A seven-member main organizing committee has been constituted under the convenorship of Nandamani Rai of Bhojpur and works are moved ahead, said Festival Main Organizing Committee Vice Chairman Sitaram Rai.
The Ministry of Tourism has given financial grant of Rs. 500,000 for developing the hill as tourism spot.
The hill has been touched by Ratanchha, Khidima and Banjhe Chyandanda VDCs of Khotang and Nagi (Dilpa), Khawa and Lekharka VDCs of Bhojpur.
Tourists are lured to the sceneries that could be viewed from here of the Mt. Everest and surrounding peaks as well as the towns of the Terai.
Locals throng the place from mid-February to mid-April to see the beautiful views of sunrise from here.
Political parties have also seen the possibility that it will contribute to the development of the whole country if Tyamke beautified by the rhododendrons, chimal and michelia champaka is made a tourism spot.
Pakistan donates vehicles
Pakistan on Tuesday provided two ambulances and a van to Nepal aimed for health institutions of the country. The vehicles will go for District Hospital Sunsari, health post at Hadiya village development committee in Udayapur and Health Service and Relief Association, according to a press release of Pakistan embassy.
Pakistani ambassador to Nepal Syed Abrar Hussain gifted the three vehicles to foreign secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai amid a function.
Call for trilateral dialogue
Vice president of Afro-Asian People\'s Solidarity Organization (AFPSO) Hiranya Lal Shrestha has pointed out the need of s trilateral dialogue mechanism between Nepal-China-India to discuss security concerns in the region and discourage the extra regional powers from intervening in to the regional issues.
"Such mechanism is necessary to tackle security concerns of our neighbours in Nepal," said Shrestha during the meeting of AFPSO last week.
He also stressed on becoming alert over the imperialist design to instigate separatist and extremist elements against Nepal\'s neighbours. "Occasionally, terrorist outfits are also misusing Nepal-Indian open border."
He also called for nuclear free-South Asian region given the likely nuclear fallout across the region in case there was nuclear war.
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