Lobbying continues for premier’s job

Kathmandu, 19 July: Ram Chandra Paudel, Nepali Congress candidate for prime minister, Monday sought the support of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Monday.
Nepal’s UML central committee meets Monday to decide whether to contest the leadership of the government Wednesday.
The standing committee Sunday referred the matter to the central committee.
Influential member KP Sharma Oli has publicly opposed the candidacy of Chairman Jhalanath Khanal.
Oli is a staunch anti-Maoist and supports the Nepali Congress.
Candidates for prime minister have to file their nominations Tuesday.
The prime minister will be chosen by the 601-member parliament where on party has a majority; Maoists are the biggest party in the legislature.
The incumbent government is supported by a coalition of 22 parties.
Maoists said it received the support of 10 small parties Sunday.
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More VDC secretaries resign

Kathmandu, 19 July: Nineteen Kanchanpur VDC secretaries resigned en masse Sunday.
They submitted resignations through the local development officer citing lack of security at work.
More that 1,5000 secretaries from nearly 4,000 VCs have resignations.
Samyukta Jatiya Morcha is spearheading the campaign for the resignations.
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PAC diktat

Kathmandu, 19 July: Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) Sunday ordered directed National Trading Limited (NTL) not to lease its prime land in front of Singha Durbar to a private developer to construct a complex in front of the central secretariat on long term lease.
The committee has been investigating what it calls irregularities in leasing land to developers.
The committee Sunday asked ministries and public enterprises to furnish details of leased property within 15 days.
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Former minister dead

Kathmandu, 19 July: Former Minister Dr Nageshwor Prasad Singh died Sunday at his home in Rajbiraj.
He was elected on a Nepali Congress ticket in Nepal’s first parliamentary elections in 1958.
He was minister for health and physical planning.
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Economist Raghav Dhoj Pant dead

Kathmandu, 19 July: Economist Raghav Dhoj Pant, 66, died overnight while undergoing treatment for liver disease at a hospital in the capital.
He was a former member of the National Planning Commission.
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Lightning kills four in Dhanusha

Kathmandu, 18 July: Lightning Sunday killed four persons in two VDCs in Dhanusha.
Two persons were killed in Kasara Ramaul and two in Suda Maddhukaradi.
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40 percent plantation completed

Kathmandu, 18 July: Rice plantation has been completed in 40 percent land until 16 July mainly in the hills, Spokesman of Agriculture Ministry Hari Dahal said.
“Plantation has not been completed in the terai as yet. The plantation continues there until the end of Bhadra [mid-August],” Dahal said.
Paddy production is expected to be better this year as compared to the previous year.
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New CA calendar of events approved

KATHMANDU, July: 18:-The Constituent Assembly (CA) has endorsed its new calendar of events with the provision of promulgating the new constitution by April 13, 2011, The Kathmandu Post reports.

The new time plan for statute drafting was fixed after Sunday’s CA session unanimously passed the 11th amendment to the calendar of events. The first draft of the new constitution will be prepared by the Constitutional Committee (CC) by Nov. 16, states the new schedule.

The constitution-drafting process has been stagnated due to disputes among the parties over the concept papers prepared by eight of the 11 thematic committees of the CA. The CA has so far forwarded the reports of three thematic committees to the CC to prepare the first draft of the constitution. The schedule approved on Sunday states that the reports of the remaining eight committees would be submitted to the CC by Oct. 17.

The remaining steps in statute drafting include publication of the first draft of the constitution in Nepal Gazette, collection of public opinion, revision of the draft based on public response, preparation of the constitution bill, amendment to and passage of the bill by the CA and proclamation of the new constitution amid by President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav. The revised schedule has not outlined timeline of each of the steps but has said the decision on the matter would be made by the Business Advisory Committee of the CA.

Meanwhile, CA Chairman Subas Nembang unveiled a white paper at Sunday’s CA session outlining the causes behind the failure to promulgate the new constitution within the May 28 deadline. Nembang maintained that the causes behind the deadlock in constitution drafting include political connection” made between constitution drafting and the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants, stagnation in the peace process and unstable relationship among major political parties.

Nembang has also noted that continued agitation carried out by major parties, regular disruption of the Parliament session, delay in electing the president, vice-president and prime minister after the CA elections of April 2008 were other reasons behind the failure to promulgate the constitution within the stipulated time.

The CA chair also said constitution drafting could not become the top priority of the country after the CA elections. Lack of national experience in writing the constitution from CA and the failure to forge consensus on the basic principles of the new constitution are major reasons behind failure in statute drafting.

“We are in retrospect for failing to complete the important tasks within the stipulated time,” said Speaker Nembang urging the parties to move ahead with political consensus in order to draft the new constitution within the new deadline. The CA session convened for the first time on Sunday after it was postponed until further notice on April 17. Due to lack of business,
the next session has been postponed indefinitely.
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Foreign ministry backs French firm

Kathmandu, 19 July: Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai on Sunday upheld his ministry’s previous decision o award the tender for printing machine readable passports (MRPs) to France-based Oberthru Technologies, Republica reports.
Taking up two separate pleas filed by Indonesian Perum Peruri and British De La Rue to review the earlier decision, Bhattarai took the decision after the ministry could not verify the charge against the French security printer through diplomatic channels.
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Three children die in group suicide bid

Kathmandu, 19 July: Three children have died in a suspected group suicide attempted by a mother when ironically has been rescued our of the swollen Bagmati river by locals, Republica reports from Birgunj.
Manjeet Chaudhary,11, Binita, 9, and Sadeep, 7, died on Saturday evening while their mother Sibati is undergoing treatment at the Narayani Sub-regional hospital at Birgunj.
Shibati’s husband Santa Lal has been working in Saudi Arabia for the past one and a half years.
Sibati, who has not regained consciousness till Sunday afternoon, has been referred to Kathmandu for further treatment.
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China expands Nepal engagement
KATHMANDU, 19 July: China is expanding its engagement with Nepal by building what is being billed as the biggest land port connecting it with the South Asian region as a whole. This is seen by observers as part of a larger move to connect Xigaze with Nepal by rail, The Himalayan Times reports.
“The port will remain as an alternate port that will facilitate the trade between Nepal and China, presently we only have Tato Pani Route,” said Kailash Bajimaya, under secretary at Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS). China has granted zero tariff for 4061 exportable products and for this Nepal should make its supply side strong and produce those products also, he added. According to Bajimaya, study over the route and its infrastructure development is going on.
The local government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has said that the Gyirong Port located in TAR’’s Xigaze Prefecture will begin operations in 2011 although some portion of the construction work will continue even after it is opened to public. The construction of the land port began in 2009 and the local government has now given instructions to speed up the process.
Bilateral activities few years back have witnessed progress towards realisation of this most felt-need in Nepal. In December 2007, the Government of Nepal (GON) and Tibet Hongji Construction Industrial Group signed an agreement in Kathmandu to implement a delayed Chinese assisted Syafrubesi - Rasuwagadi road project. Chinese government had agreed in 2001 to help Nepal construct this 16-km (10 mile) road in Rasuwa district of central Nepal.
The road now under construction starts from 100 meter away from existing bridge across China-Nepal border. The road in a modern sense will restore the link central Nepal had with China through the famous ancient trade gateway of Kerung (Gyirong or Chilun) in Shigatse. The purpose is to make Gyirong, the “biggest land trade channel of TAR to South Asia” over the next three to five years, the local government said. The idea is to apparently build it as a border post larger than Nathula on the India-China border and the existing border post connecting the Chinese town of Zhanmu and the Nepali town of Dram. There are five other minor points for overland trade on the China-Nepal border, which are Kodari-Nyalam; Rasuwa-Kerung; Yari (Humla)-Purang; Olangchunggola-Riyo; Kimathanka-Riwo, and Nechung (Mustang)-Legze.
Nepal has offered to import petroleum products from China are it is connected with rail. “Our Government sincerely urges China to consider further extend and upgrade the existing linkages up to the border of Nepal. An expanded and enhanced connectivity between the two countries also open the avenues for Nepal being a transit country between the two giant economies, China and India,” a Nepali government statement said.
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$43 million sought for tiger

Kathmandu, 19 July: Nepal has sought 43 million dollars in support from donor communities to make its commitment to double the number of tigers by 2022 a success story, The Himalayan Times reports.
Presenting its National Tiger recovery Programme in Bali, Indonesia, the government said this amount is in addition to the budget for conservation of the endangered big cat.
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Army to replace aging guns

Kathmandu, 19 July: Nepal Army (NA) is to replace aging SLRs and SMGs with modern weapons, Kantipur reports.
A dossier prepared by NA for distribution to concerned agencies, senior officials and lawmakers says preparations are already afoot.
“The 7.72mm SLRs and 9mm SMGs used for the last 35 years are no longer used in many countries and their production has also stopped. A policy has been adopted to replace them,” the report says.
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