MISSING GIRL FOUND DEAD IN MORANG

Kathmandu, 17 July: Body of Prigenka Mandal, 8, missing since six days, was found abandoned at a paddy filed in Rangeli, Morang, Sunday morning,
Police suspect she was murdered Saturday, Radio Nepal said.
Nnnn

STRIKES BANNED IN ESSENTAIAL SERVICES

Kathmandu, 17 July: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara today [Saturday] endorsed the provision that restricts strikes in essential services.
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies had forwarded the provision to the ministry last week after various trade unions blocked the supply of petroleum products to Kathmandu.
Nnnn




PRESIDENT CAN’T CONFER TITLES DECORATIONS SAYS SC





Kathmandu, July 16 - The Supreme Court has ruled that the President cannot confer titles, decorations and honours.
The Supreme Court gave this ruling in response to a writ petition regarding the government recommendation to the President to confer titles, decorations and honours on the occasion of Republic Day last year.
A bench comprising judges Balaram KC and Mohan Prakash Sitaula passed the verdict.
"As Nepal is a federal democratic republic, conferring of titles, decorations and honours by a president of a republican state is an exclusive arrangement. Therefore, this provision should not be included in the new constitution," the verdict said.
Titles, decorations and honours are the results of monarchic culture. These confers cannot be made in a republican system because the culture was associated with a monarch who was above constitution, the ruling said.
Nepal is a republic state now. In a republic, no one is above law, the Supreme Court verdict said.
Nnnn
NEW LOOK FOR GOVT. STAFF
Katmmandu, 17 July: Visiting a government office today? If yes, don’t be surprised if you find employees there confining themselves to certain sets of uniform, Santosh P. Pokhrel .writes in The Himalayan Times.

Last month, the administrative committee of the cabinet prepared a dress code for civil servants of all ranks after sorting out much-contested dress-related issues, including colour. Subsequently, the cabinet decided that all government employees, except those in mourning, should stick to the dress code with the commencement of the new fiscal year from July 17.

The Ministry of General Administration (MoGA) has already sent a circular to the concerned offices to implement the decision. But MoGA spokesman Binod KC feels it will be unjustifiable to expect that all of the 80,000-odd employees will turn up at their work stations donning the designated sets on the first day itself, given the ‘limited time’ they had in getting the dress readied.

KC, though, has reasons to be upbeat about the adherence to the dress code in the long run. “Enforcing the code will not be difficult as all trade unions have accepted the decision,” he told this daily.

“Coercive measures for the implementation of the dress code will do no good. The employees should feel obliged to stick to the dress code,” KC added.

Jagadish Regmi, joint secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, believes the move will bring uniformity in the uniform of government staff and help service seekers recognise the service providers easily. According to KC, adherence to the dress code can even be taken to measure how disciplined an employee is.

As per the dress details, male civil servants can go either for the national dress — daura suruwal, coat, Nepali cap, and black shoes — or dark blue suit with white shirt and a tie. In the Tarai, the employees will have the luxury to do away with the coat and don a jacket instead.

In the mountain region, the employees can opt for sports shoes in place of black leather shoes.

Women civil servants also have an array of options. They can don shirt and trousers, saree-blouse or kurta salwar of dark blue colour.

On Fridays, employees can wear the dress of their choice.

In April, the government had paid Rs 7,500 to each civil servant for the uniform. The scheme will cost the government over a half billion a year.
nnnn