FORMER IGP OM BIKRAM RANA APPEALS SPECIAL COURT DECISION

MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE MEET POSTPONED UPDATE

Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: A scheduled meeting of Maoist
standing committee has been postponed because of the busy schedule of Chairman Prachanda.
Party spokesman Dinanath Sharma made the announcement.
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FORMER IGP OM BIKRAM RANA APPEALS DECISION OF SPECIAL COURT
Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Former IGP Om Bihram Rana Thursday challenged a 25 July special court decision to slap a Rs 15 million bail for his release after a CIAA charge for involvement in a Rs280 million Sudan scam, his lawyer said.
Rana called the decision unjust and asked for reduction in bail amount.
Two other IGPs have also been released on bail after the CIAA charges registered at the special court.
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RAIN, FLOODS CAUSE DESTUCTION HAVOC
Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: About 2,000 houses in five VDCs of Saptari have been inundated after floodwaters gushed into the human settlements following incessant downpour for the past four days, The Himalayan Times reports.

Rain-swollen Khando stream has breached the embankment and deluged Sakarpura, Koiladi Madhepura, Tilathi, Launiyan and Rampura Malhaniyan VDCs. According to locals, as many as 200 houses and huts have caved in.

According to Saptari District Police Office, more than 35 houses have collapsed in Purba Pripa, Manaraja, Govindapur and other VDCs due to incessant rainfall and floods.

Meanwhile, floodwaters from the Koshi River have left Gobargadha VDC completely awash. Fifty houses have caved in and 600 are on the verge of collapse. “The entire VDC is waterlogged. It’s getting difficult for us to get out of here,” said Sitaram Yadav, a local.

In Bharadaha VDC, banana plantation in about 500 bighas of land has been completely destroyed after a local river burst its banks and gushed into the area.

In Rajbiraj, government officials and service seekers have been hit hard after continuous rainfall waterlogged the building premises of Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital, Municipality Office, Appellate Court, District Land Revenue Office and Office of the Government Attorney. According to Dr Shailesh Jha, Medical Superintendent at Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital, doctors are facing difficulty in discharging their duties. The roof of the hospital has also started to leak.

In Mahendranagar, locals of Doda and Jogbudha VDCs, who were displaced due to the raging Mahakali River, are living miserably, as they are yet to receive relief packages. The flood victims lamented that the administration had not provided them with relief packages. Though water level is gradually receding, the settlement is not yet suitable for the displaced locals to return. Most of the displaced people have been taking shelter at their relatives’ houses.

Displaced locals of Bhujela of Bhimdatta Municipality also said they were yet to receive assistance from the local administration. “Nobody is paying heed to our plight,” said Parmananda Joshi, a flood victim from Bhuela.

Hundreds of families of Bhimdatta Municipality and locals of Dodhara, Chandani, Shankarpur, Dekhatbhuli, Shreepur, Daiji VDCs have been badly affected by floods.

CDO Basudev Dahal, who inspected the flood-hit area today, said, “We are unable to begin distributing relief materials as we are yet to get the full report on displaced people.” According to him, the local administration has already informed the Home Ministry about the problem. Life in the far-west region, however, has gradually begun to return to normalcy.
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SNIFFING DOGS DEPLOYED IN TERAI





Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: The Armed Police Headquarters’, Halchowk deployed trained sniffing dogs at the major border entry and exit points with the aim of curbing criminal activities such as illegal drugs and arms trade, The Rising Nepal reports.
APF Headquarters’, Halchowk said that they have deployed eight sniffing dogs to combat especially drugs trafficking, arms trade, smuggling of explosive and other criminal activities.
The sniffers were given training to detect concealed drugs and narcotic items, arms and explosive materials that are smuggled through these entry-exit points.
No sooner than the dogs were deployed in border area on Wednesday, one of them dog deployed in Rupandehi district seized drugs which were concealed inside the private parts of Megh Raj Joshi. Sniffing dogs seized the drugs of about 60 packets at Belahiya area in Rupandehi district.
Joshi, permanent resident of Amawapur-2 of Nawalparasi, was caught red-hand by the sniffing dog while he was entering Nepal from India.
Joshi has been handed over to local police office along with the seized drugs.
Currently, these dogs were mobilised in Western and Central Development Regions. Soon the sniffers’ number will be increased at Eastern, Mid-Western and Far Western Development Regions within this week.
On Monday too, from the same area in Rupandehi APF team confiscated 187 pieces of illegal drugs and 31 different injections. APF arrested Krishna Man Shrestha and Hari Dura for possessing the illegal contrabands.
Meanwhile, in Parsa, APF patrolling team has confiscated 11 quintals of marijuana from Nirmalbasti area of the district.
Along with contraband, the patrolling team deployed from Border Security Force, Subarnapur, seized five iron rods, three wooden boxes and four other iron-made boxes which were being smuggled inside Nepal. The seized goods were kept them in conceal form near Nirmalbasti area which were on the process of being smuggled.

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