PM ELECTION SUNDAY

PRIME MINISTER ELECTION SUNDAY; OTHER DETAILS

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 28 Aug.: Parliament will elect successor of Caretaker Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal Sunday at one in the afternoon… [07.15 GMT] by majority vote
Maoist Second Vice-chairman Dr, Baburam Bhattarai and NC Vice-President and Parliamentary Party (PP) leader Ram Chandra Paudel are the only two contestants.
Parliament couldn’t elect a consensus candidate in an extended presidential 10-day headline forcing the split vote Sunday. Argument is only a consensus government can complete the delayed peace and constitution drafting and proclamation processes that haven’t been capped even in three years and three months.
Government has registered a 10th constitution amendment proposal in parliament to extend the parliament/constituent assembly by another three months after 31 August to complete the processes.
Supreme court is scheduled to give its verdict Sunday on the legality to repeatedly extend the original two-year elected mandate of the assembly to complete processes
Main parties didn’t decide who to support in Sunday’s vote.
UML—the third largest party—warned it will support Paudel if UCPN (Maoist) doesn’t amend what was called a ‘backward’ position on completing a peace process and constitution drafting
UML of Premier Khanal could vote for NC finally.
A front of five Madesh parties with 65 votes was indecisive until Sunday night and chairmen of the terai-based parties have been empowered to make the choice before Sunday’s vote.
Five constituents of Madeshbadi parties are divided even as the front and NC decided first to develop a democratic front for democracy and a democratic constitution.
Maoists have 236 and NC 114 lawmakers in the house with 594 members; both parties have issued whips to vote for their party candidates.
A candidate must get297 votes to win.
Maoists can win only with support of the Madeshbadi parties.
Paudel couldn’t get elected even in 16 rounds of elections more than eight months ago; Khanal was finally elected with Maoist support to form a majority government which collapsed in more than seven months with withdrawal of Maoist support.
To hasten the election process, lawmakers have been asked to case a decisive vote for either candidate; a runoff will be held immediately if first round voting is inconclusive.
“Accept the government of Nepali Congress until the integration process is completed and PLA is detached from arms.
Nepali Congress will let the Maoist.party lead the government after it becomes a civil party,” NC President Sushil Koirala told Maoists.
“Bhatarai’s election is definite. They [NC and UML] have stayed in government for a long time UML has shown its traditional old stance. UML and NC are parliamentary parties. We are committed not to prolong the transitional phase,” Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma said.
Nnnn


APATHY FOR REVIEW OF RAILWAY AGREEMENT AFFECTS ICD's OPERATIONS

Kathmandu, 28 Aug : Even though Nepal operationalized Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Birgunj, which is linked with Indian railway network in 2004, it has not yet been able to provide all forms of railway transportation services, thanks to indifference shown by India to comprehensively revise the existing Railway Service Agreement (RSA), Prabhakar Ghimere writes om Republica.
India while signing RSA seven years ago had committed to revise the agreement by 2009, allowing its railway system to ferry all forms of cargo from Kolkata and other ports and also Indian industrial hubs, up to the ICD.
However, India´s apathy has prevented Nepal from transporting goods in bulk and hoodless containers. This has hindered ICD manager - Himalayan Terminal - from operating loose goods, liquid goods and refrigerated goods.

As a result, Himlayan Terminal is forced to limit its transportation services to wagon containers and closed-box racks only. This has severely constrained the effectiveness of ICD and in turn failed to cut cost of transit transportation by over 25 percent as targetted.

“India´s indifference to revise RSA has compelled Nepali traders to pay tens of millions of rupee in demurrage to the port authorities in Kolkata every year due to delay in clearing goods from the port -- just because RSA does not allow shipment of bulk quantity of goods from the port to Nepal,” said a source.

Going by RSA, the two sides were supposed to have undertaken ´comprehensive revision´ of provisions of the pact after five years of agreement.

Accordingly, Nepal pushed for its revision in November 2009 as well, categorically requesting India to allow Nepal to transport goods in bulk containers and hoodless containers so that unpacked goods like clinkers and coals, liquid goods like edible and other oils, and refrigerated goods could be ferried by the railway.

“The Indian side then agreed to sit for talks within six months in Kathmandu. But we have not yet received any response from India in this regard despite our repeated requests,” said Sarad Bikram Rana, Executive Director of Nepal Inter-model Transport Development Board (NITDB).

Existing clauses of RSA gives permission to shipment of goods in wagon containers and closed-box container of the railway to Nepal.

Capacity utilization of Birgunj Dry Port - where more than 80 percent of imports comes through railway - is in the lowest ebb as there is no provision of allowing bulk cargo without fresh revision in RSA.

“Capacity utilization of Birgunj Dry Port is very low. Also, our traders have been losing tens of thousands of rupees every year in demurrage to Kolkata port authority,” said Rana.

Apart from the full-fledged cargo services, Nepal has also been pushing India to allow railway cargo movements to all ICDs, instead of limiting it to Birgunj-based ICD only. In the transit arrangement under RSA, India has agreed to allow Nepal import goods from Kolkata and Haldiya ports to Biratnagar and ICD in Birgunj.

“Our demand is: Allow containerized railway cargoes to move to any ICDs or Integrated Customs Point (ICP) of Nepal from agreed ports of India,” said Rana.

Nnnn

16 CHEATING FIRMS FACE ACTION

Kathmandu, 28 Aug.: Regional Office of Standard and Metrology (ROSM) has initiated punitive action against 16 industries, which have been charged by ROSM with chearing custormers by supplying less quantity and substandard products, Khilanath Dhakal writes in Republica from Biratnagar.

The action has been taken after a sudden market inspection carried out by ROSM which revealed widespread anomalies in plywood, tea and dairy industries in Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Illam and Siraha districts.
"We have asked all these industries involved in wrongdoing to shut down their operations and be present at the office within three days," said Shashibhusan Yadav, chief of ROSM. The turnover of industries against whom actions are being taken ranges from Rs 50 million to Rs 200 million annually.

Yadav said the office is taking action against these firms as per the Standard, Weights and Measurement Act. “While monitoring, we came to know that they were flouting the laws for last 20 years,” he said, adding that the office is also preparing to file cases against them and investigate the extent of their wrongdoing.

Industries who are set to face action are Ambe Plywood of Jhapa, Mittal Plywood of Garamani, Annapurna Plywood of Lahan, Evergreen Plywood of Mirchaiya and Banktrace Woodplan of Sunsari, among others. Similarly, the office has also informed tea producers, including Gorkha Teat Estate, Ilami tea, Gurans Tea Estate, and Jun Chiyabari that it was taking action against them.

Nobel Dairy of Biratnagar and Ganesh Dairy of Morang, Katehari, are also set to face action for cheating customers.

"All these industries were producing low-quality goods and were also cheating customers in measurement," said Yadav. Officials at ROSM even suspect that these industries might be involved in black-marketeering and tax evasion. “We can also file cases under Revenue and Black Marketeering Act,” he added.

ROSM Officials said some of the tea producers were found operating business without obtaining any license. “Illami Tea and Dhankuta Tea Industry, on the other hand, were using uncertified measuring equipment,” he added.
nnnn