27 PARTIES BEGIN FINAL WORK ON DRAFTING A CONSTITUTION

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Chief whips of 27 political parties begin a challenging task Wednesday of narrowing differences on contentious issues on 11 subjects for inclusion in a delayed constitution that has to be proclaimed in less than five months 28 May 2011 to institutionalize a declared republic. The task was handed over the parties by an empowered task force coordinated by Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
The body said it agreed on nearly 100 of 230 contentious issues but deep differences persist on major issues like state structure.
The 601-member constituent assembly (CA) couldn’t promulgate a constitution in the two-year deadline.
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ONE KILLED, 11 INJURED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: One person died and 11 were injured in a bus accident on the Butwal Tansen sector of Siddhartha highway overnight.
A 40-year-old terai woman died.
The bus was heading for Palpa from Pokhara.
Five of the 11 injured are serious.
Injured are being treated at two hospitals in the area.
Fatal vehicular accidents are routine.
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MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE MEET CONTINUES WEDNESDAY

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Maoist standing committee meeting is continuing for the second consecutive day Wednesday to discuss schedule for anti-government opposition, organizational matters and preparations for a political training camp.
The camp is scheduled to start Friday.
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BROTHER OF TOP MJFL LEADER SHOT DEAD

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Hari Narayan Dev, brother of a top ruling party
MJFL leader and retired government engineer, was shot dead
overnight at his house in Boriya VDC3, Saptari.
Saptari is emerging as one of the most lawless terai districts.
His body has been kept at a Rajbiraj hospital for postmortem.
The party of Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar began
meeting in emergency session Wednesday morning.
Gachedhar was in the district Tuesday; he was greeted with black flags by supporters of sacked Minister of State for Physical Planning Sanjay Kumar Sah who launched a splinter group after splitting from the party.
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RPP-NEPAL DEMANDS RESTORATION OF PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN MEMORY OF PRITHVINARAYAAN SHAH

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: RPP-Chairman Kamal Thapa Tuesday handed over written memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal asking government to declare the birthday of Prithvi Narayan Shah on 11 January a public holiday and a day of national unity.
The founder of the deposed Shah dynasty founded and unified modern Nepal.
Demands have been increasing to restore the public holiday abolished by the current rulers after toppling monarchy.
The memorandum was handed over by Thapa at Singha Durbar.
There was no immediate government response to the demand.
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NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY APPROVED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: A national climate change policy was approved by the climate change council Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
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BOY GAINS FREEDOM IN PARASI

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Gopal Kunwar, 13, who was taken by an unidentified persons from Sunuwal of Nawalparasi some six days ago was released Tuesday, RSS reports from Parasi
According to the area police, an unidentified group on Wednesday abducted him while heading to school in Sunuwal.
The group detained him at a hotel in Nepalgunj but he managed to flee from the hotel ad came into contact with the local police.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Nepse lost 3.54 points Tuesday on the third day of five-day weekly trading and closed at 404.18 points.
Sensitive index that gauges performance of A companies dropped 1 point to close at 99.47 points.
Sub-indices of banking, finance and other groups lost 4.87, 1.27 and 5.88 points respectively closing at 368.45, 341.16 points and 522.85 points respectively.
But sub-indices of development banks, hydropower and insurance groups gained 1.2, 5.5 and 0.71 points to close at 378.34, 688.84 and 477.54 points respectively.
The market slipped after two days of gains Sunday, Monday.
Altogether 92,148 shares were traded for Rs. 22.77 million in 1,517 transactions.
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SPORTS

SQUAD FOR U-19 ANNOUNCED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: A 23-member preliminary team for the ACC U-19 Elite Cup to be hosted by Bangkok from 1 February has been announced by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).
Subash Khakurel, Amit Shrestha, Sharad Khadka, Shiba Kumar Tandukar, Faizuruf Rahman Khan, Chandan Jha, Naresh Budhayer, Sagar Pun, Mohammad Hasim, Rupesh Sharma, Imauddin Halwai, Rahul Kumar BK, Nischal Pandey, Bivek Chaudhary, Bivek Dali, Rajesh Pulami, Prabhu Baskota, Bhuwan Karki, Avinash Karn, Rahuk Pratap Singh, Krishna Karki, Sameer Nepal and Pradeep Airee have been selected for a closed camp.
Nepal is in Group B along with UAE, Oman, Afghanistan and Thailand.
Hong Kong, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore and Bahrain are in Group A.
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PRACHANDA DEMANDS ACTION AGAINST BABURAM

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Maoist Chairman Pachanda has recommended disciplinary action against Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai for statements against party decision and system, Kiran Pun reports in Nagarik.
The proposal was presented at a standing committee meeting Sunday in Paris Danda.
‘A proposal has come,” a standing committee member said.
Leaders of Baidya and Bhattarai groups have raised objections.
“It’s his mistake to air views publicly. That’s one side. But is she the only one making statements in the media,” standing committee member Netra Bikram Chand said.
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PM NEPAL, PRACHANDA UNITE ON TELECOM ILLEGAL FACILITY FOR PRIVATE OPERATOR

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Although Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal don’t agree on an agenda for resolution of a political problem, they’re united on the interest of private telecom operator, Ram Chandra Bhatta writes in Nagarik.
They’re pressurizing officials of ministry of communications and Nepal Telecom (NT) to give import license to Nepal Satellite Telecom (Hallo Mobile) to bring in international gateway (ILD) equipment.
The company hasn’t met terms of conditions with NT.
It’s illegal to import equipment without meeting conditions.
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ENERGY MINISTRY BILLS NEA FOR CHOPPER RIDE

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Energy Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has billed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for his chopper rides across eight districts in the name of inspecting the Chimele hydropower plant under construction, Naya Patrika reports.
His flight for Darchula landed in Pokhara. He went to Darchula only after visiting Surkhet and Doti as well.
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SAC DIRECTS CIAA TO INVESTIGATE






Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of Legislature-Parliament Tuesday directed the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to investigate the alleged irregularities in the purchase of logistics for UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan and bring the guilty to book, The Rising Nepal reports.
The SAC asked the anti-graft watchdog to punish the alleged before May 28, 2011, the extended deadline to issue the new statute.
The committee handed over a report on the irregularities in the mission to the CIAA nine months ago to initiate action on the culprits.
The committee arrived at a conclusion that Rs. 350 million had been embezzled while purchasing Aromoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) for Nepal Police peacekeepers in the UN Mission in Sudan.
A SAC team visited Sudan to find out facts.
The report claimed that other logistics sent to Darfur for the peacekeepers were sub-standard.
In today’s meeting, CIAA secretary Bhagwati Prasad Kafle was summoned to share the findings of the report.
Kafle informed the committee members that the Commission had proceeded with actions against those involved in the scam.
The parliamentary team asked concerned stakeholders to dispatch the necessary logistics as early as possible nine months ago. It said that the Nepal Police personnel deployed in Sudan were facing serious security threat owing to the shortage of the logistics.
It also instructed

to send them soon at any cost and warned them to face action
if they failed to implement the instructions.
Home Minister Bhim Rawal said the logistics could not be delivered as the Finance Ministry did not provide the budget.
But, Pradeep Gyawali, the committee member and coordinator of the sub-committee formed to look into the APC fraud, pointed out the need of sending the needed logistics at the earliest because those dispatched earlier were out of use.

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HOUSE SUMMONED WITH CONSENSUS: PM





Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: - Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Tuesday said that the government had called the regular parliamentary session with consensus among the political parties, The Rising Nepal reports.
Talking to the media persons at a reception organised by Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) on the occasion of the party’s third anniversary, he said that the parties had not reached any consensus except for calling the regular house session.
He said that the parties would find consensus to end the political deadlock and added that the government had completed its duties towards forging consensus.
He said, "Without giving the priority to the peace process, the new consensus would not be reached."
Prime Minister Nepal further said that all crises would be resolved by the upcoming regular house session.
Similarly, top leaders of CPN-UML and Nepali Congress Tuesday said that they were ready to reach a political consensus.
NC president Sushil Koirala said that the existing political deadlock would be resolved by political unity and consensus and said that his party was ready to come to the table with flexibility to resolve the existing crisis.
He said that his party was not ready to withdraw its prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel and added that it was the turn of NC to lead the government.
He said, "The peace and constitution drafting processes would not be finalised without consensus."
He said that all parties would give the chance to NC to lead the government and added that without NC-led government the ongoing peace and constitution drafting processes would not be completed.
CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said that if parties reached a consensus for UML to lead the government, his party was ready to lead the government.
He said that without political consensus, national problems would not be resolved. The UML was ready to forge consensus among the parties, he added.
He said that the nation would not move ahead in existing situation and all parties should come forward with seriousness to address the national problems.
He said that if consensus developed, the existing prime minister would be continued.
He claimed that the government would be formed at the regular House session.
Parliamentary Party Leader of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said that his prime ministerial candidacy was in process and hoped that he would get the majority votes in the upcoming regular House session.
He said that he was not ready to withdraw his candidacy without high level political consensus.
Chairman of TMLP Mahanta Thakur stressed that the unity among the political parties was necessary to end the current political crisis and said that the new prime minister would be selected at the upcoming regular House session.
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VERIFICATION BY HOME DISTRICT FOR MRP
Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), which is under pressure to check possible fraud by people acquiring passports, is introducing a new regulation that will require passport seekers to get their passport application forms verified from the district administration offices that issue their citizenship certificates, Kiran Chapagain writes in Republica..

The ministry on Wednesday decided to introduce the regulation from January 15, hoping that citizenship certificates that applicants are required to produce to get their passports will be verified more reliably by the district administrations than by the ministry, said a senior official at MoFA.
At present citizenship certificates are verified by officials at MoFA while accepting the passport applications. But the practice is under question as officials from the prime minister´s office have alleged that thousands of passports might have been issued in the last six months without proper verification of citizenships.

Once the regulation comes into effect, passport seekers will be required to be present in person before the district administration offices where they obtained their citizenship certificates, to get their passport applications authenticated.

The decision to this effect was taken as recommended by a taskforce formed to suggest short-term, mid-term and long-term plans to decentralize MRP distribution and to check any fraud related to passport issuance. The panel headed by MoFA Joint Secretary Bharat Poudel, who is also head of the Central Passport Office, submitted its short-term plan to Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire on Wednesday.

MoFA was under pressure from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) to take some immediate steps to check possible fraud while applying for passports from the ministry.

The new measure followed a move by the ministry

Last week MoFA set up a separate unit of forensic experts from the Nepal Police to verify suspicious citizenship certificates produced by passport applicants.

Meanwhile, as recommended by the taskforce, the ministry is starting to issue MRPs from district administration offices inside Kathmandu Valley.

´The district administration offices in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are starting collection of MRP application forms from Sunday,” MoFA officials told Republica, adding that this is meant only for those who took their citizenship certificates from those district administration offices.
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PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH STATUE RAISES CONTROVERSY

Kathmandu, 29Dec.: Did Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal, really look like as he is portrayed in the statues and paintings these days? Locals of Hanuman Dhoka area claim that his face was different from what his statues and paintings depict. This question apart, the cauldron of a clash between the government and the locals of Hanuman Dhoka is slowly reaching a boil over the issue of shifting the statue. The government wants to take it to Nuwakot, but livid locals say they won’t let it adding they are prepared to do or die, Ankit Adhikari writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

Locals say that the newly found statue of the courageous and level-headed king of Nepal (1723-1775) has his actual face. The statue was recently unveiled at the mul-chowk of Hanuman Dhoka palace. Shah’s face sports a pencil thin moustache but looks different from the one in his other statues. The crown on

his head also seems different than the one in popular paintings and statues of him. The face does look similar in several aspects to those in paintings, but the bone structure is smaller.

Also, unlike the typical stance of standing boldly with raised right hand index finger as if to signify the “importance of unity”—in this statue Shah seems to be folding his hands as if to worship deities or greet someone with a namaste, on his knees. While cleaning a section of palace roof during Dashain festival in Oct-Nov, workers chanced upon the statue made of some “unidentified” metal. Buried beneath layers of wooden materials and staircases, it was littered with dust and scratched all over.

After the discovery, the issue of its placing and maintenance has led to a situation where a fight is brewing between the government and locals of Hanuman Dhoka. The latter are apoplectic with rage at the idea of moving the statue to Nuwakot Durbar built by Shah in Nuwakot district.

The enraged Newars of Hanuman Dhoka have openly challenged the government’s decision of Dec.21, stating that they will not let anyone move the statue from the place where it was found. “We don’t trust the government,” said Rajan Maharjan, Chairman of the Tarini Makkhan Yuva Club and also a successor of Newar authorities involved in the protection and management of Hanuman Dhoka from ancient times. “It can’t do whatever it likes. Hanuman Dhoka does not belong to the government. We will go to any extent if it uses force to take away the statue.”

However, according to Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi, head of the Hanuman Dhoka Herchaha Adda, the government’s intention to move the statue is justified in relation to the plan to establish a Shah museum in the Nuwakot palace. “The statue would get more value if it is kept in a palace which Shah built with love after defeating Nuwakot in his third attempt,” said Rajbanshi. “It doesn’t matter where the statue is kept as long as it is safe.”

“It is no big deal either if the statue is kept right here,” countered Maharjan. “This also is a palace built by Shah. As the statue belongs to our Newa State, we won’t let anyone take our property anywhere.”

The locals’ fury also seems to be deep-seated over the two-year old incident when the government had opened the “confidential” Samaroha Prabandha Phant of Hanuman Dhoka Palace, pledging to keep all valuable findings there itself. “It kept the big and superficial things like old thrones and statues but the small and valuable things like deities’ masks and one-facade rudraksha have vanished,” Maharjan said. “This makes us suspect the government’s motives. What if it sells the original idol and replaces it with a copy?”
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• UNMIN RETURN WILL CREATE PROBLEMS: MAOISTS

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The UCPN (Maoist) said on Tuesday that the government’s plan not to extend the tenure of UNMIN would create constitutional and legal complications. Meanwhile, confusion reigns among all the parties as to what kind of dispute-settlement mechanism will work in the wake of UNMIN’s departure, Kamaldeb Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

The UCPN(M) said the Interim Constitution and other components of the peace process, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) do not imagine a scenario where the UN arms monitor leaves before its job is completed. The Maoists’ Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday decided to consult other parties on the seriousness of the issue and implications of the decision on the overall peace process. “It would be appropriate to extend the tenure of UNMIN till May 28, or else we will end up inviting another constitutional crisis,” said Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said. UNMIN’S tenure is expiring on Jan. 15 but the parties are still divided on its extension and the possible alternative mechanisms to take over the role of UNMIN.

The Maoists argue that as per the Article 147 of the Interim Constitution, the CPA and the Agreement on Monitoring of Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) both are part of the constitution and that if UNMIN is to be replaced by any other mechanism such as the Special Committee, the constitution should

be amended. Any amendment to the constitution requires the support of

a two-thirds majority in the Parliament.

Article 147 of the interim constitution says, “Other arrangements regarding the management and monitoring of arms and army shall be carried out in accordance with the [CPA], concluded between the government and CPN-Maoist on 5 Mangshir 2063 and [AMMAA] reached on 22 Mangsir 2063.”

However, CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gywali argued that UNMIN’s departure would not create any constitutional complications. “If UNMIN is replaced by the Special Committee, there will not be any legal or constitutional problem,” said Gyawali.

All the parties agree that there is serious confusion over the nature of the mechanism that would settle the disputes related to the peace process

in the post-UNMIN period. Currently, the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC) comprised of members from UNMIN, the government and Nepal Army is functioning as the dispute settlement mechanism. “The issue of the dispute settlement mechanism will become a serious matter after UNMIN leaves,” said UML leader Gyawali.
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GOLD DEALERS COMPLAIN

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Gold dealers are not happy with the new central bank provisions regarding import and sale of gold. The ban on gold import was formally lifted on Monday after Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issued guidelines for import and sale of gold. Nevertheless, with NRB guidelines in place, the country can expect fresh supply of bullion, The Himalayan Times reports.

The central bank has authorised commercial banks as the sole importer of gold. The commercial banks can import gold on the recommendation of Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA). However, the cumulative import of gold by the commercial banks should not exceed 15 kg a day.

“The daily quota of 15 kg is not sufficient to meet the daily demand that is around 35 kg. This will definitely lead to illegal trafficking of gold from India,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida).

However, NRB opened up silver import without any restriction as per the traders’ suggestion. Gold dealers said the guidelines will work against smalltime traders.

Buying gold from commercial banks will be difficult for smalltime traders who do not have ability to buy gold in bulk, he added.

The central bank had revised some provisions, following a discussion with traders. Gold dealers’ associations such as Nepal Gems and Jewellers Association (NGJA), Gold and Silver Artists Association (GSAA) and Federation of Handicraft Associations Nepal (FHAN) have to recommend names of individual traders to commercial banks for the purchase of gold.

NRB has determined 500 gram a day as the ceiling for recommendation. Earlier plan had determined 100 gram a day as the upper-limit of the recommendation.

Likewise, NRB has also determined that individual trader have to present evidence that 50 per cent of the past purchase of gold has been sold. The direction of price will depend on the profit-margin determined by banks.

However, from the looks of things, it can be expected that banks will not be generous, Shakya said.

The distribution system as planned by NRB has not been revised. As per the directive, of the total amount of gold 60 per cent has been allocated for Bagmati Zone and Negosida has been allotted 50 per cent of it, followed by NGJA at 30 per cent and remaining will go to GSAA and FHAN at 10 per cent each.

As a measure to tackle escalating Balance of Payments (BoP) deficit caused by gold import, government increased the customs duty in March to match with that of India through an ordinance.

The ordinance expired in September, stopping bullion imports altogether. In the budget this year, the government fixed new customs rate for gold at Rs 1,000 for 10 gram and Rs 2,400 for a kg of silver.
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