DEAR ONES REMEMBERD ON GAI JATRA

GAI JATRA OBSERVED TO REMEMBER LOVED ONES WHO DIED DURING THE YEARd

Kathmandu, 14 Persons decorated as cows walked the streets of the capital Sunday morning to remember near ones who died during the year to give them keys to the heavenly door opened only once a year.
Cows in procession walked the streets in a festive atmosphere as people offered donations to participants who dispersed at Hanuman Dhoka in Basantapur.
The jatra was observed by residents of neighbouring Lalitpur and Bhaktapur as well.
A public holiday was announced in the Valley.
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SON, FATHER KILLED IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT IN BANKE

Kathmandu, 14 Aug,: A father and heading for Nepalgunj were killed Saturday were killed when their motorcycle plunged into an irrigation in Banke.
Gyan Bahadur Khadka, 45, and Damodar, 16, died when the motorcycle plunged into Ameliya canal.in Banke.
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POLICE, DRUGS TRAFFICKERS EXCHANGE GUNFIRE

Kathmandu, 14 Aug,: Nobody was injured Saturday in a gun battle between a patrol of Armed Police Force 9APF) and hash traffickers along a river NEAR Lahan Saturday,
Thirty-three kilos hash being trafficked to India was recovered.
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NEPAL TO PLAY IRAQ IN OPENER

Kathmandu, 14 Aug.: Nepal will play Iraq in the opening match of the AFC U-19 Qualifiers 25 October in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the fixture Saturday.
Nepal is in Group A along with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Maldives
Nepal will meet Saudi Arabia two days later 27 October and will play Oman 30 October.
Nepal will play host Bangladesh again 1 November and the last qualifying match 4 November against Maldives
Thirty-nine teams are placed in seven groups Sixteen teams will qualify for the finals.
North Korea is the defending champion.
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ADBL EARNS 1,608.081 MILLION NET PROFIT

Kathmandu, 14 Aug.: Agriculture Development Bank Ltd. (ADBL) earned a net profit of Rs.1,608.081 million in Q4 of fiscal year 2067/68.
The partially owned government bank earned a Rs. 1,448.516 million net profit in the corresponding the previous fiscal year.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“We have khukri knives. We have batons, we have weapons. He will annihilate everybody if we come out on the ground. If you play around with us, we will sweep away all like the Saptakoshi.”

(UML Youth Association Nepal Chairman Mahesh Basnet, Republica, 14 Aug.)
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SUDAN SCAM

Rs,500.5 MILLION COLLECTED IN BAIL MONEY
Kathmandu, 14 Aug : A total of Rs 500.5 million has been accumulated at the Special Court in bail amounts posted by 22 police officials and a contractor allegedly involved in the multi-million rupee Sudan scam, Bimal Gautam reports in Republica.
According to figures obtained from the Special Court, the full bench of the court led by Chairman Gauri Bahadur Karki and including members Om Prakash Mishra and Kedar Prasad Chalised has already issued preliminary orders against 32 charge-sheeted at the court in connection with the scam. Of the 32, the court had sought bail from only 22. Other accused officials were released against general dates for reappearance in court.
All 22 indicted in the scam and ordered to furnish bail have already been released by the court after depositing their bail.

The national anti-graft body, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), had filed a corruption case against 36 individuals including 34 police officials, accusing them of embezzling about Rs 290 million while procuring and supplying Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and other logistics for Nepali peacekeepers deployed in Darfur, Sudan.

The CIAA, in its chargesheet, claimed that a total Rs 290 million should be recovered and the accused should be punished additionally on the basis of the gravity of the crimes involved.

A total of Rs 440 million was spent from the Police Welfare Fund in the process of purchasing and supplying the APCs and other logistics. Of the total spent, according to CIAA, about Rs 290 million was embezzled in the APC deal reached between Nepal Police Welfare Fund and Assured Risk Pvt. Ltd, a London-based international supplier.

Of the 22 accused on whom the Special Court slapped bail, former chief of Nepal Police Om Bikram Rana and contractor Shambhu Bharati surpassed all the other accused in posting the largest amounts of bail.

The court sought the largest ever bail amounts from Rana and Bharati---Rs 150 million each. The duo was sent to jail after failing to post bail. After spending a few days in jail, they were released by the court upon submission of the bail amounts sought. Eleven members of Rana´s family posted bail for him while Bharati deposited bail through a bank guarantee.

After Rana and Bharati, former police chiefs Ramesh Chand Thakuri and Hem Bahadur Gurung posted the largest amounts of bail. Thakuri posted Rs 70 million and Gurung 50 million and were subsequently released.

After Thakuri and Gurung, former AIG Shyam Singh Thapa, suspended SSP Rabi Pratap Rana and former AIG Deependra Bahadur Bista posted the largest bail amounts.

AIG Thapa, SSP Rana and AIG Bista posted 13 million, 12.5 million 10 million respectively in bail amounts.

Bail amounts were also posted by DIG Ramesh Bikram Shah (7m), suspended SSP Shyam Bahadur Khadka (7m), suspended SSP Shiva Lamichhane (6m), suspended AIG Madan Khadka (5m), suspended SP Sanjaya Singh Basnet (4m), and suspended SP Niraj Bahadur Shahi (2.5m) as sought by the court.

Similarly bail was also posted by SP Manoj Neupane (1.5m), SP Pitambar Adhikary (1.5m), suspended SP Krishna Prasad Guragain (1.5m), suspended SP Bidhya Raj Shrestha (1.5m), suspended DSP Prakash Adhikary (1.5m), suspended AIG Arjun Jung Shahi (500,000), ex-SSP Narendra Kumar Khaling (500,000) and suspended SSP Bijaya Lal Kayastha (500,000).

Suspended SP Dr Ram Krishna Bhandari, suspended SSP Dr Ajit Kumar Gurung, ex-DSP Harihar Shrestha, suspended inspectors Arjun Prasad Timilsena, Giridhari Sharma and Lal Govinda Shrestha, Ex-DIGs Niraj Pun and Surendra Bahadur Pal and suspended DIG Topendradhoj Hamal were released against general dates for court reappearance.
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INTERVIEW


Kathmandu, 14 Aug.: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Dr. D.Subbarao says India is ready to help Nepal track flow of unauthorized money and investments by Nepalis in India in an interview with Republica.

Dr D. Subbarao, governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), visited Nepal on a personal invitation of Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada. During the visit, the two governors held talks on a number of issues, including remittances, trade and payment, supply of Indian currency and counterfeit notes, among others. Prem Khanal and Milan Mani Sharma of Republica caught up with Dr Subbarao prior to his departure and talked on the outcome of his visit. Excerpts:
How were your talks with NRB ?
We had very constructive talks on a number of agendas of mutual concerns and cooperation. Most of these agendas were continued from the past. We had meaningful talks on currency remittances and circulation of clean IC notes. This visit was beneficial to me as it also gave me an opportunity to better understand NRB, its structure and working style.

Did you reach any specific understanding on any issue?
Yes, we have converged at improving currency remittance services. A large number of Nepalis work in India and they remit their income to their family back home. We talked on how we could facilitate those people and have reached an understanding. Apart from that, we focused on how we could ensure enough clean IC in the market. As in the past, NRB is positive towards ensuring availability of genuine IC notes.

You said an understanding has been reached on currency remittances. What is it? Have you agreed on new arrangements to facilitate money transfer?
No, there is no new arrangement. But we have agreed to put in collective efforts to improve formal money transfer so that people could transfer their income efficiently and at low cost. For this, we have committed to expand and deepen the already existing money transfer services. While talking on remittances, we also remained mindful of illegal activities that can surface in the process and have agreed to control them as well. The idea is to make sure that people´s hard-earned money is not lost or misused by others.

Did you identify new areas for future cooperation?
NRB and RBI are engaged in number of areas of mutual cooperation. Some of these are of bilateral nature while most are covered under SAARC. So, during this visit we did not talk on new areas. Rather, we focused on how we can improve our understanding of each other and how we can deepen cooperation in the existing areas of cooperation.


There is a growing concern in Nepal that politicians, bureaucrats and private individuals who amassed huge money through illegal means have parked their earnings in India, mainly investing in fixed assets. Is RBI ready to help NRB if it formally requests for support to trace and control such investments?
We will definitely extend all possible support to NRB to check the flow of illegal money. It is our duty to control illegal activity. Government of India remains committed to control flow of illegal money to India from any country. If we can be a part of such control drive of NRB, we will be more than happy. RBI will readily support to control such money, if the two governments entered in an understanding or we received a formal request from NRB.

SAARC has long talked about currency union (use of single currency in the region). Has RBI done any exercise to ascertain whether that is possible?
We have not done any unilateral exercises on it. But what is for sure is that a single currency cannot be put in place just like that. Countries in South Asia would need to meet basic criteria. The economies must be totally integrated. Experience of the European Union has shown countries must also attain full fiscal integration if they are to succeed on single currency. South Asia, so far, remains distant in meeting these criteria. We still need to traverse a lot for single currency.

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