PM SUSHIL KOIRALA ALSO MEET

PM, SUSHIL KOIRALA MEET

Kathmandu, 2 June: Main opposition NC President Sushil Koirala Thursday asked Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal at a meeting to activate a special committee the government heads to activate it and complete the peace process.
The party is demanding handover of containerized Maoist weapons to government and integration and resettlement of 19,000 former Maoist combatants in three months.
Koirala welcomed the Maoist decision Wednesday to withdraw security also provided by Maoist PLA for its leaders and called for an effective implementation of the decision.
Maoists were also receiving government security.
The Koirala/Khanal discussion follows earlier discussion Khanal held with Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
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ROYAL MASSACRE 10 YEARS AGO LEADS TO COLLAPSE OF SHAY DYNASTY


Kathmandu, 2 June: Exactly 10 years ago Thursday, King Birendra and his entire family were gunned down by his eldest son Crown Prince Dipendra.
The royal massacre ultimately triggered the fall of the Shah dynasty three years ago through the announcement of a republic by toppling a dynasty founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah who was also the founder of modern Nepal.
An independent inquiry has blamed Dipendra for the massacre.
Some doubt the findings without forwarding convincing basis for their doubts.
Military Secretary Bibek Shah of both King Birendra and King Gyanendra said on a book released last year the last king suggested postmortem of bodies of the royals—a suggestion opposed by then Queen Mother Ratna.
Girija Prasad Koirala, who was prime minister, came out against a postmortem suggested by King Gyanendra arguing the killer had been identified.
Shah,in his book Maile Dhakheko Durbar. writes Dipendra first shot dead his father who attempted to return fire by drawing a pistol he was carrying.
Queen Aishwarya and Prince Nirajan were the last to be shot as the mother chased Dipendra to his room after gunning down King Birendra.
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Rs 200,000 TO CIVIL SERVANTS FOR CLIMBING EVEREST

Kathmandu, 2 June: Nine government officials who climbed the 8848 meters high Mount Everest this month will each receive a Rs.200,000 award.
Government decided Wednesday to reward the officials.
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ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKERS UNDER WATCH

Kathmandu, 2 June:The government is planning to strictly impose the work permit provision for foreigners working in Nepal. With the number of foreigners working in Nepal on tourist visa on the rise, the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) is forming a taskforce in a couple of days to check the trend, Ramesh Shrestha writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

The taskforce under the direct supervision of Labour Minister Mohammad Ishtiyak Rai will have the power to investigate, monitor, penalise and recommend authorities concerned such as the Department of Labour and Immigration Department to take action against illegal workers as well as employers.

“A large number of foreigners are working without work permit in Nepal,” Rai said. “We will manage things to solve this problem.”

Though there is no exact data on how many foreigners are working in Nepal without valid work permit, the labour ministry estimates there are more than 50,000 such foreigners.

An official at the Labour Department said foreigners have been found working illegally in hotels, restaurants, construction companies and the telecommunication and hydropower sectors.

The government move comes amid increasing trend of foreigners visiting Nepal on tourist visa and staying back to work, foreigners’ involvement in criminal activities, unemployment in the country and loss of billions of rupees in income tax and work permit fees. The Department of Labour charges Rs 10,000 a year for work permit from foreigners and Rs 5,000 for Indian nationals coming to Nepal for employment.

“Mainly, foreigners working in NGOs, INGOs and the private sector have not obtained employment permit and appropriate visa,” said Krishna Hari Pushkar Karna, the assistant-spokesperson at the ministry.

He added that the government will make all foreign workers, except diplomatic staff enjoying diplomatic privilege and immunities, acquire work permit from the Department of Labour.

“If they fail to do so, the workers can be fined up to Rs 20,000 or fired from their jobs or repatriated.”

The Labour Act-1992 has made it mandatory for foreigners coming to Nepal to work to get labour permits. Foreign nationals can be employed in Nepali diplomatic missions, NGO, INGOs, inter-governmental organisations, consultancies, educations institutions and in other business and service sectors only after acquiring prior permission from the department.

However, the provision in the law has not been implemented effectively due to negligence of the government and lack of coordination between ministries and offices under them. A high-level official at the ministry said that since the issue is of serious concern, they have been requesting all the ministries to work to discourage the trend. However, no action was taken by any ministry, the official added. “We will act as soon as the task force is finalised,” the official added. The task force will comprise officials from the labour ministry and the Department of Labour.

The official added that so far some 6,000 to 7,000 foreign nationals have taken permission for employment in Nepal to work in diplomatic missions, banks, the telecom and the education sectors, among others. The Department of Labour grants permission to employers to engage a non-Nepali at work for a maximum period of five years and in a specialised kind of skilled technical post, for a period of up to seven years, if Nepalis are hard to find for the specific job.

Karna said neither employers nor employees were serious about immigration and labour laws. “Corruption and irregularities have also encouraged foreigners and employers in Nepal to ignore the provisions in the law,” he added
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WRIT AGANST BIR HOSPITAL CLOSURE
Kathmandu, 2 June: A writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court (SC) today [Wednesday] against the closure of National Academy of Medical Science (NAMS), Bir Hospital.

Advocate Prabhu Krishna Koirala, the petitioner, moved the court against the Home Ministry, Ministry of Health and Population, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister and NAM Residents’ Association, seeking order to resume services.

Koirala cited the provision of the Interim Constitution and Essential Service Act-1957 in support of the writ. He said low income people have been hit by the closure.

“More than three dozen road accidents happen in the country and around three people die due to lack of immediate treatment every day” said Koirala. According to him, the closure has also stalled operation of the hospital’s Trauma Centre.

Bir Hospital resident doctors have been enforcing closure at the hospital with various demands. They had padlocked the office of the vice chancellor, rector, registrar and the dean accusing them of ignoring their demands. The protesters demanded a high level committee to amend NAMS Act-2006 as it was hindering the career prospects of doctors. They also want provisions of free service for the poor and installation of infrastructure at the post-operative ward, and integrated care units.
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