ASTHAMI BEING CELEBRATED ON 8th DY OF DASAIN

Kathmandu, 15 Oct.: Mahashtami is being celebrated Friday on the 8th day of Dasain with the worship of Druga Bhawani at homes and Bhagawati temples Friday.
Animal and fowls are being sacrificed.
Devotees are offering puja at Bhagawati temples since early morning.
Machines are being worshiped as well.
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US HOPES FOR PROGRESS IN NEPAL

Kathmandu, 15 Oct.: US Assistant Secretary of for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said in Washington Wednesday differences have been narrowed down between parties and some progress has been made to form a new government, according to AFP.
“I’m optimistic that they will be reach an agreement.
‘I can’t say how quickly, but I do relieve that differences have been narrowed and that some progress has been made.
“We’d like to see a new government formed so that they can begin to focus on the most important issues,” AFP quoted Blake as saying.
Blake, according to the French news agency, hoped Nepal’s politicians would be able to move on to issues such as drafting a constitution and integrating Maoist soldiers.
Nepal is run by a caretaker government for more than 100 days after Maoists forced the resignation of Prime Mmnister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
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RAM CHANDRA PAUDEL’s SATYAGRAHA

Kathmandu, 15 Oct. Vice-chairman and parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel said Thursday Nepali Congress he’ll lunch a satyagraha or a civil disobedience movement after Dasain.
He said the movement was for the peace process, which has stalled, and constitution drafting.
“Let’s all unite for national understanding. This is an essential requirement now. Dasain marks the victory of truth over evil. I’m on that campaign,” Paudel said.
He added the movement was ‘for a logical end of the peace process and writing a democratic constitution and institutional development of democracy’.
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IMF PROPOSES ECF PROGRAMME FOR NEPAL


Kathmandu, 15 Oct.:: Nepal could enter a program of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), if the new government did not opine otherwise, from 2011 for three years to avoid possible adversities of balance of payment (BoP) deficit and maintain financial instability, Milan Mani Sharma writes in Republica from Washington.

Officials following the negotiations between the government and IMF to join Extended Credit Facility (ECF) said talks have moved on in positive direction and decision on it will be taken as soon as the two sides agree on the terms of reforms and financial discipline to be followed.


“We are in close talks with the government of Nepal. If everything went well, the country will have the program from 2011 for the next three years,” the IMF´s new mission chief for Nepal John Nelmes too told Republica.

If approved, the IMF, under the program, will maintain a close surveillance of country´s financial discipline and support it to uphold financial stability.

This will mainly enable Nepal enjoy financial and technical assistance to expedite reforms, fight economic problems and boost donors´ and international investors´ confidence to extend budgetary support and investment.

The government and the IMF had begun dialogues on entering ECF - the newly designed soft loans facility - after the government in the last fiscal year placed formal expression of interest to join the program.

Top officials of Ministry of Finance and the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank had met with the senior officials of the IMF to discuss issues to this connection last week, on the sideline of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.


During the meeting, they had re-apprised Nepal´s economic condition and the government´s willingness to enter the program to Chief of IMF´s Asia and Pacific Division Anoop Singh, among others.

Nelmes, who was also present on the occasion, said that the IMF board will take decision on Nepal´s case after the mission that he led to Kathmandu some two weeks ago submits its report.

Concerned officials preferred not to disclose the volume of assistance. But sources said Nepal could get an assistance of around 120 million US dollars for the next three years to steer the reforms, maintain international reserve and manage the balance of payment.

The IMF had recently pledged US$ 24 million to Nepal under its rapid credit facility. The support - one-time assistance - was pledged with an aim to fight the huge balance of payment deficit the country suffered in the last fiscal year.

“ECF, however, will be program and scheduled based assistance,” said the source. Under it, Nepal will need to reform its public financial management, do away with structural constraints like stringent labor law and anomaly in petroleum sector, and step up reforms of financial sector, among others.

If the country failed to adhere to such scheduled norms, IMF could terminate the program in the middle.

So far the IMF has expressed satisfaction over reforms Nepal did on public financial management. However, it has shown concerns over derailed reforms
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NA TO OPEN FOUR COLLEGES

Kathmandu, 15 Oct.: Nepal Army (NA), within one year, is to open medical, nursing, dental and polytechnic colleges, Republica reports.
NA has intensified efforts to open the institutions by establishing Health Education Organization after receiving a nod from the government this week.
Altogether Rs 400 million is being set aside by the Army Welfare Fund for the establishment. Education ministry has given preliminary approval to open the organization in collaboration with Tribhuvan University (TU).
Army Spokesman Brig. Rimendra Chetri said process will be completed after Dasain holidays detailing coordination with TU with the approval of Nepal Medical Council.
“An attempt was made to open a medical college to train manpower and doctors for Nepal Police. This has been stopped for now,” said Spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma.
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FOOD SHORTAGE HITS BAITADI

Kathmandu, 15 Oct.: Twelve remote VDCs in Far-West Baitadi district are reeling with acute food shortage while the country is in the thick of Dashain festival, The Kathmandu Post reports from Baitadi.

The northern region of the district is facing a food crisis for months now, as the three depots of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), the state-run food agency, at Darchula have run out of supply.

Food materials sold in the local market are beyond the affordable limit for the people of this poverty-stricken region. The unauthorised random price hike of daily essentials during the festival has only added to the misery of the poor families. “We don’t have food in Dashain,” Hikmat Singh of Tapoban VDC said. “Due to the festival the food price in the market has also shot up putting many families in a tight spot.”

Many people in the food-hit region pour their anger on the NFC for creating the crisis. The regional office of the NFC said the holdup in food supply occurred due to a dispute concerning the transport fare.

Every year, the NFC invites tender for the food transport in the Nepali month of Asar, but this time the tender announcement was made four months late.
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GOVT. BID TO MEET SANITATION, WATER NEEDS

Kathmandu, 15 Oct.: The government is making efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on sanitation and improved water, The Himalayan Times reports..

Towards this end, the Ministry of Health and Population and line ministries are working together with the aim of ensuring 53 per cent sanitation coverage and 73 per cent improved water source by 2015.

For the first time, the health ministry is taking initiatives to make the Global Handwashing Day, which falls tomorrow, a grand success. The event aims to create a platform for systematic handwashing programme focusing on advocacy, promotion and behaviour change.

Laxmi Narayan Deo, director of the National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre under the ministry, said the day’s main aim is to make sure that policy makers, planners and bureaucrats regard handwashing as a national priority and express commitment to promote it.

Handwashing with soap and water is one of the most affordable and effective interventions to prevent deaths of children under the age of five, added Deo. It helps reduces diarrhoea-related deaths by more than 40 per cent and cases of acute respiratory disease by about 25 per cent. Lack of pure drinking water and poor sanitation are to blame for 88 per cent of diseases. National Demographic and Health Survey, Ministry of Health and Population 2006 showed inadequate access to water and sanitation are responsible for 10,500 child deaths in Nepal.

Deo said around 45 per cent of these deaths can be prevented if hand is washed properly using cleaning agent and water at different critical times. “Handwashing promotion is cost effective compared to other frequent funded health interventions,” added the director. The government aims to provide sanitation access for all by 2017 which needs an annual investment of Rs 7.5 billion to achieve its target of water and sanitation. The government has to build 10 toilets in each VDC every month to meet the target. Om Prasad Gautam, social development adviser at Water Aid Nepal, said they are working with the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage to prepare master plan for sanitation to meet the MDGs. He added that the country doesn’t have any national target for hygiene.

According to Water Aid Nepal, 14 million Nepalis do not have access to sanitation and 7.1 million lack access to safe drinking water. More than 50 per cent of those without sanitation and almost two thirds of those without safe drinking water live in the Tarai.

International Year of Sanitation 2008 in Nepal showed that only 46 per cent of the population has access to latrines against water supply coverage of 76 per cent. The gap between sanitation and water supply facilities is over 30 per cent. The coverage of sanitation is 80 per cent among the rich, whereas it is just 12 per cent among the poor.
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