TAJA GUDPAK BHANDAR OWNER ARRESTED CHAGED

TAJA GUDPAK BHANDAR OWNER ARRESTED CHARGED

Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: Taja Gudpak Bhandar owner Narendra Maskey was arrested Thursday by district llauthorities and charged under public offence act for selling the popular unique Nepali sweetmeat using adulterated materials.
The outlet in New Road was raided and closed down this week.
Maskey was in business for decades.
The sweetmeat was in popular demand in the city, nation-wide and abroad.
Crowds lined the New Road outlet to puy the sweet.
Clients were surprised and angry as well.
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OPINION

LESS RISKY BUT STILL DANGEROUS

Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: That’s how Nepal has been described in a survey of 198 states. Well, actually we share the category with the likes of Turkey, Mauritania, Morocco and Myanmar. While the Terrorism Risk Index – compiled by the British firm Maplecroft – ranks the world’s most dangerous countries, it also reflects the investment image there, Maile Baje writes in Nepali Netbook..
The first group on the list includes the 20 most dangerous countries, with Somalia at the top. Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan are among the other countries in the group. The two categories behind us are “moderately risky” and “safest” countries. In the region, we’re better off than Pakistan and India, but worse than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (which, by the way, fares better than Britain). Globally, we outdo Russia and Israel.
Professor Bishwambher Pyakuryel, however, does not seem terribly impressed. “Nepal, though named less risky, has not been able to retain minimum growth and failed to attract any big multinational investment,” he said in a conversation with a leading daily. The prominent economist added that there is a systemic error in the country’s governance. “Without identifying the systemic error, it will be difficult for policy intervention.”
Experts insist that lack of internal capacity building, infrastructure bottlenecks, the energy crisis and militant labor unions, among other things, have hindered foreign direct investment. Yet according to published figures quoting the central bank, Nepal attracted FDI worth Rs 6.06 billion in the first 11 months of fiscal 2010/2011, compared to Rs 2.41 billion in the corresponding period the previous year.
With the country officially in peace – albeit a tenuous one – and foreign investment having more than doubled in a year, you might have expected to find Nepal in a different league. We may be the subject of intensifying Sino-Indian rivalry, but we are not as internationally isolated as Myanmar is. Nor do we have a religion-versus-secularism conflict at the state-level that is as searing as Turkey’s.
As our once-armed Maoists were poised to lead the government after their electoral success in August 2008, the military in Mauritania stage a coup against an elected government. Unlike Morocco, we tend to be in undisputed possession of the territory under our sovereign control. (Or at least an overwhelming part of it).
Now, Maila Baje recognizes that the risks are becoming ever more obvious. Even in our state of secular ecstasy, Christians are worried by the criminalization of proselytization. Deep down, homosexuals see the recent manifestations of our liberalism as the tolerance of a populace in transition. Civil society and their external enablers are so obsessed with addressing the impunities of the past that they are blinded to those of the present. (Maybe that’s their investment in the future.)
Yet look at it this way. Maybe we shouldn’t be worried by the systemic error in governance that Prof. Pyakuryel alerts us to. Perhaps we shouldn’t be worried by our place on the Global Terrorism Index or its implications for our economy. With all our ills, FDI did – and can – grow because the Indians who do most of the investing themselves fare worse on the index than we do. And let’s not even talk about the indirect inflows that make unholy alliances and break existing unfaithful ones. The Chinese, on the other hand, don’t even need to make public what kind of money they deal in – direct or indirect – because they know no one’s going to believe them anyway. As for the rest of the crowd, they know the kind of security risk and danger affords.
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FACTION FIGHTING WILL PROVE KILLING

Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who till a few months ago used to cry hoarse that there were people whose sole objective was to hang their portrait in the gallery of former premiers in the prime minister’s office at Singha Durbar, has himself landed in the all-important chair, Trikal Vastavik writes in People’s Review.
Knowing very well how politicians say one thing while nursing some other hope, I will not question him whether he, too, will fell prey to the ambition of becoming “at least” listed as a former premier someday.
Described as a “great intellectual” by section of the media and his admirers, Bhattarai, had an outstanding school and college level records but he could not design or construct his career or course in life properly. He became an engineer (architecture) before deciding on what course to adopt. It took years before he decided to become “a student of political economy” culminating in his doctorate acquired from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
A late comer in the field of regional planning and all those terms, I do not wish to evaluate him regarding the depth of his studies. Moreover, focusing on his Ph.D. would not amount to much. In terms of written documents of solid foundation, he is yet to find time to contribute worthwhile material for new generations to peruse and evaluate.
To his credit, Dr. Bhattarai has created an image of a man who tries to do what he promises. As the finance minister in his party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda-led cabinet, he created a stir of the positive type in the bulk of the Nepali society. He showed that he did not believe in squeezing the state exchequer for his foreign trips; he spent only what was required, unlike his predecessors whose foreign travel vouchers/forms gave a different indication of their greed. A retired government official has shared interesting information about such malpractices.
Bhattarai’s small gesture gave him a positive image. His determination to collect revenue as per the existing law gave a message to the people that he meant what he said. However, there were oversights from all government teams and ministers. Bhattarai was able to collect substantial amount of house rent tax that none of his predecessors had come anywhere close doing so.
As prime minister, he preferred a car assembled and made in Nepal. This is something new in a country where not just the premier but ministers go for highly expensive motor vehicles in multiple numbers. Curiously, Bhattarai used to cruise around in more expensive cars until he was elected premier. The lately acquired wisdom, however, has sent a positive message. It would be far better if Bhattarai has his cabinet decided that all its members are to henceforth have only “Nepal made” cars. He could also advise his own party boss and colleagues in the Maoist party about the practice. Action must be prompt and tough against stolen cars and their possessors.
I would not advise him to be carried away by the crown of “intellectualism” imposed on him for having topped the School Leaving Certificate exams and two years later in the Intermediate (Science) exams, for there have been more than 40 others who have earned that distinction in subsequent years, and with greater percentage. If he, too, thinks that being an SLC topper is a major asset, then he could very well begin directing his staff to trace all past SLC toppers for advice. Such combined advice could steer the country miles ahead in a shorter time, that is, if the distinction of a “topper” is so vital.
In other words, tokenism alone will not take a premier far. For people who have been deluded by political leaders for decades, action is what is called for. Moderate jobs and a distinctly positive upward economic swing are what are needed. Another important question is related to dealing with crime and criminal groups followed by a culture of rampant corruption.
The new home minister of the deputy premier’s rank, Bijaya Gachchhedar, has an opportunity to deal with the over 100 underground militant groups that have created fear and harassment, mostly in the Tarai. This would create his and his party as well as his own prime minister’s reputations beyond recognition. It may be a matter of conjecture whether these are ideals just around the corner to be implemented or wishes that never were fulfilled, nor will they be fulfilled any time soon.
If past history were to be consulted, the Bhattarai government will fail. If he heads a team bent on creating a new history for a refreshing change and delivering a pleasant surprise to the Nepalis for the first time in more than 60 years, the one-time SLC topper is headed for also topping the list of his predecessors in terms of performance, including that of Prachanda.
Faction-fighting in all major and many smaller parties is rampant. Constituents in the ruling coalition are affected by intra-organizational fighting over the question of who should have been made ministers and which portfolios. The running feud in the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) has come out in the open for months. Bhattarai was never Prachanda’s the first or even second and third choice for prime minister. But the unexpected happened out of compulsion rather than conviction.
If Bhattarai were to succeed in creating an image for his team as government that works and delivers, Prachanda’s stars will fade away drastically, as his party members and the rest of Nepali society start comparing the performances of the two leaders. Some will also wonder whether Bhattarai would have delivered a better performance if he, instead of Prachanda, had headed the first government after the 2008 elections for the 601-member Constituent assembly. Would Prachanda be able to digest such a scenario?
That the alliance of the divided groups of the terai-based parties were able to work in unison for supporting has signaled a new equation. The deeper meaning behind the overnight “miracle” will get unfolded in the coming days. How deep the pound of flesh will be extract from the actual story scripted behind the scenes by known and not-so-known quarters should be known in the course of time.
If the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) for once devote all their energies to peace and constitution-making without in any way threatening the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, the map of Nepal will change. This means defying past practices and creating a new and praiseworthy history. The next two months should give plenty of indications.
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