30 FEARED KILLED IN BUS PLUNGE

30 KILLED IN BUS PLUNGE (BREAKING NEWS)

Kathmandu, 3 May: Thirty persons are feared dead when a bus plunged into Sun Kosi river Tuesday morning, first reports said.
The bus was heading for Banepa from Khurkot in Sindhuli.
The highway is being constricted with Japanese assistance.
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MOTHERS’ DAY OBSERVED

Kathmandu, 3 May: Children visited mothers Tuesday morning to receive blessings and offered goodies on Mothers’ Day.
Those without mothers visited Matatirtha near Thankot in the Valley amd made offerings.
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JOURNALISTS’ MEET KICKS OFF

Kathmandu, 3 May: Journalists are electing a new leadership of their umbrella organization Wednesday for the next three years.
Prime Minnister Jhalanath Khanal Tuesday launched the two-day 23rd general convention of Nepal Journalists’ Federation in the capital Tuesday.
A closed session on the meeting began immediately.
Five candidates have filed candidacies for chairman.
They are: Shiba Gaule, Kedar Koirala, Poshan KC, Dambar Giri and Chandra Deb Kamti.
Altogether 301 candidates have filed candidacies for 31 positions in the Federation.
Leading candidates are contesting elections with their panels supported by major parties.
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17,000 SOUTH KOREAN JOBSEEKERS COLLECT FORMS

Kathmandu, 3 May: Nearly 17,000 youth seeking jobs in South Korea collected forms to appear for Korean language skills from centers in the capital and Butwal Monday.
Jobseekers in long queues waited the whole night Monday for more forms to be filled for 7,100 openings.
Third group of workers in being sent this year.
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TWO CREW MEMBERS AND GOMA AIR EMPLOYEE SURVIVE

Kathmandu, 3 May: Two crew members and an employee were unhurt when a Pilatus Porter of Goma Air Monday skidded 50 meters off Jhupal airport at Dolpa while landing from Nepalgunj.
The aircraft was badly damaged.
The place was ferrying 1,085 kg. cargo.
The aircraft as just joined the fleet.
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PAKISTANI CURATOR ARRIVES

Kathmandu, 3 May: Ashan Muhammad Arain, chief curator of National Stadium of Karachi, is preparing a pitch under construction in Mulpni in the Valley and other grounds in the country.
He arrived Monday.
Arian will also train Nepali curators.
Pakistan Cricket Board is assisting Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).
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CANCER PATIENTS LOSE IN CANCER FIGHT

Kathmandu, 3 May: The prolonged closure of the Chitwan-based BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital has proved fatal for several cancer patients in need of critical care, Laxman Maharjan writes in The Himalayan Times.

At the heart of the two-month closure is the ego clash between Dr Laxmi Narayan Singh and Dr Bhaktaman Shrestha, and the political parties they represent.

Dr Singh, the ‘new executive director (ED)’, enjoys the Nepali Congress’ backing, while Dr Shrestha, the ‘outgoing’ ED, has the UCPN-Maoist by his side.

Health experts with years of experience say the political parties are behind the standoff.

It is illegal to disrupt essential services like critical medical care, but the government is acting like a mute spectator, they hold.

The experts say the crisis has surfaced because the government does not have a transparent system for the appointment of employees and politicians have a vested interest in misusing the public resources.

Dr Kiran Shrestha, president of the Nepal Medical Association, says both the directors are using political patronage to their advantage at the expense of the patients.

Dr Kedar Narsingh KC, immediate past president of the NMA, argues that power-sharing arrangements and political intervention of the new government are at the root of the crisis.

“Political parties are promoting a culture of impunity and are working against the rule of law,” Dr KC observes.

“An institution should not be closed to serve the interest of an individual,”

he says, requesting the ‘outgoing’ ED Dr Shrestha

to create a conducive environment for the functioning of the hospital.

“Political parties should not meddle with the internal matters of the hospital,” Ram Chandra Simkhada, secretary of the Forum for Consumer Protection, argues, suggesting the appointment of a new new executive director as a way out.

“Political leaders lack the will to implement the Essential Services Act,” he says.

Meanwhile, the NMA council is meeting on Wednesday to press for an early resumption of the hospital’s services and is likely to ask both the ‘warring’ doctors to step aside.

Charan Prasai, human right activist, holds that the hospital closure is the extreme form of rights violation as it has denied people the right to health, something which the Interim Constitution 2007 has guaranteed.

According to Prasai, political parties’ meddlesome behaviour is the major reason behind the hospital crisis. The government should provide security to the health sector, he argues.

What the rivals say

Dr Bhaktaman Shrestha says he is not going to accept the new executive director as he was appointed by the board of director, which is an ‘illegitimate move’. “I will not take a legal recourse either as I don’t believe in the country’s legal system,” he says, adding the Supreme Court had discarded the writ he had filed against the board decision on February 9.

According to Dr Shrestha, the problem will be solved within days with the appointment of a Maoist Health Minister. According to Dr Shrestha, the new board members are trying to have their way with Nepali Congress’ support. “I sought YCL’s support after Dr Laxmi Narayan Singh came up with more than 55 of his supporters.” The fact that the hospital bears BP Koirala’s name doesn’t mean that the hospital belongs exclusively to the NC and its sympathisers, holds Dr Shrestha. According to Dr Shrestha, Dr Singh had quit as the head of the hospital’s radiology department on 2010 after he failed to discharge his duties. He said the government should be blamed for the hardships facing the public due to the hospital closure. On his part, Dr Singh, the newly-appointed executive director, said he had to enter the hospital with supporters after YCL barred him from the health facility. According to him, Dr Shrestha has tarnished his image by politicising the issue.
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CIAA NOOSE AROUND IGP THAKURI TIGHTENING

Kathmandu, 3 May: The noose is tightening around Inspector General of Nepal Police Ramesh Chand Thakuri with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority poised to take serious action in the multi-million dollar Armoured Personnel Carriers purchase scam for the Nepal Police peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Ananta Raj Luitel writes in The Himalayan Times.

Thakuri is the top incumbent official who is almost sure to face the consequences of releasing payment, even after knowing that the APCs were sub-standard. “He released payments twice even after knowing that the goods were sub-standard and useless. He had also amended contracts for early payment,” a highly placed CIAA source told THT.

“The documents and evidences show he is not blameless as his motive behind releasing the payment was not clear,” he observed. Without any compulsion, IGP Thakuri had released the last two payments of $450,000 and $273,000 in February 2009 and July 2010, respectively.

Following the written response received from UK-based Assured Risk International, the anti-graft body decided to expedite the case. The Director of the Company Michael Rider submitted the response on Friday through its local agent Bhagawati Traders, shifting the blame on Nepal Police for not properly handling the goods as per the contract.

According to Investigation Officer Rajendra Subedi, CIAA has received the copy today. The Company claimed that the goods were delivered in good condition on September 4, 2008 and after almost five months of the receipt of the goods, the UN Section of Police Headquarters inspected them and provided a letter of thanks on January 1, 2009 to Assured Risks.
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POLICE SEARCH FOR THREE IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS





Kathmandu, 3 May: The Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, issued arrest warrants against three immigration officials of the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) who were allegedly implicated in the red passport scam., Purusottam Khatri writes in The Rising Nepal.
Arrest warrants were issued against Shyam Bahadur Bhandari, Indra Kumar Sharma and Devi Dutta as having played a part in letting the fake passport holders through.
The police already arrested Bhuminanda Ghimire, the immigration officer of TIA whose connection was found in the fleeing of fake passport holders from the airport.
Police reached a decision to issue arrest warrants following Ghimire’s direct mention of the names of other officials involved in managing easy access for them to flee from the airport.
"They were all on duty along with me during the entry and exit of the two fake passport holders," police official quoted Ghimire as stating during the grilling.
The MPR took up the case of passport racketeers after Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested lawmakers Gayatri Sah and B.P Yadav following a two-month-long inquiry.
A TIA official, on condition of anonymity, told The Rising Nepal that Bhandari, Sharma and Dutta, were, however, on the run after their names figured in the scam. They had not even joined the office since the incident flared up.
Ghimire pointed directly on Khada Nanda Dhakal, chief of Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport, as the key person facilitating the safe passage of two persons in possession of tampered passports of lawmakers Gayatri Sah and B.P Yadav.
"I only followed his instructions. He informed me to arrange an escort free entry into the boarding lounge for the two," Ghimire told investigating officials during police interrogations.
Ghimire´s statements recorded with both MPRK and Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) have been found identical. CIAA has already started grilling Dhakal based on Ghimire’s statements.
The red passports scam started flaring up after one Prithivi Chantyal and an unidentified woman were deported on January 18 from Abu Dhabi for possessing tampered red passports of Yadav and Sah respectively. Chantyal and an unidentified woman had flown from Kathmandu on January 16.
Both Sah and Yadav tried to dismiss the case after mounting political pressure and trying to lead the investigations astray before they were finally arrested two weeks ago.
According to investigating officials, documents recovered from the residence of one Santosh Uprety, the purported point man of the racket, and at least five other lawmakers are involved in the scam. Uprety has also been at large till date.
Shiva Pujan Raya, who has refused to submit his

suspected tampered red passport, despite a directive by CIB, could be another lawmaker who might fall in the police net, sources said. "There is a clear evidence against him. Going by the immigration details provided by the Australian Embassy, he has not returned to Nepal yet."
According to Passport Act 1967, misuse of passports could lead up to a one-year jail term. If convicted, the two lawmakers would also lose their post while the immigration staffers would be punished under corruption laws.

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