GOVT. OFFICES REOPEN MARKING END OF DASAIAN, TIHAR FESTIVITIES

GOVT. OFFICES REOPEN SUNDAY

Kathmandu, 30 Oct. Government offices reopened Sunday with the end of Dasain and Tihar festivities 2011.
Its now work as usual.
Political parties are now concentrating attention of completing the delayed peace processes and constitution drafting.
The twin processes won’t be completed by the 31 November deadline again.
With the end of Dasain and Tihar, winter and the accompanying chill have started to set in and farmers are harvesting a good paddy crop.
A second bumper is expected this year as well with good and early monsoon rain.
In terai, Chhath celebrations started Sunday.
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UDMF CHANGES STANCE TERAI STATE STRUCTURE

Kathmandu, 30 Oct:: Minister for Agriculture and Cooperative Nandan Kumar Dutta said on Saturday that United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), an alliance of five Madhes-based political parties, has given up its demand of forming ´one-Madhes-one-state´ across the Tarai region, Republica reports from Biratnagar..

Dutta, who is the deputy parliamentary party leader of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Republican (MPRF-R), a constituent party of UDMF, said the alliance has submitted a draft of the State Restructuring Committee suggesting two provinces in the Tarai region.

“We have made a compromise on our earlier demand of turning the entire Tarai region into a single Madhes state. We have now proposed two states,” Dutta added while addressing a program in Biratnagar on Saturday morning.

He said that the names of proposed states would be finalized later. “The names will be finalized through consensus among the parties. It can be Madhes, Tharuhat, Mithila state or something else,” Dutta stated.

He criticized Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML for objecting to the proposed states in Tarai. “We agreed to compromise but NC and UML have objected to our proposal,” Dutta said.

He accused NC and CPN-UML of being ´enemy of Madhes´ stating that the two parties are jealous of the Maoist party which is sympathetic to Madhes issues.
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MMOEY LAUNDERING WATCHDOG SUMMONS PASHURAM BASNET

Kathmandu, 30 Oct.: The Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI) of the Ministry of Finance has issued a public notice summoning fugitive Parshuram (Krishna) Basnet, the mastermind of the attack on our correspondent Khilanath Dhakal, for questioning him about his massive holdings amassed allegedly illegally in a matter of few years, Ajit Tiwari writs in Repblica from Biratnagar.

The DMLI issued the public notice asking Basnet to present himself before the department within 15 days after he did not respond to its summons issued earlier.

“The 15-day public notice has been issued after our summons notice got returned saying Parshuram Basnet could not be found. If he does not appear within the stipulated time, he will be dealt with according to the law,” the notice issued on October 26 read.

A DLMI staffer said Basnet´s family refused to receive the summons at his family home in Paanchali, Biratnagar, saying he was not at home.

The bank accounts and all other properties of the former in-charge of Morang Youth Force have been frozen after a money laundering complaint was filed against him at the DMLI earlier this month.

Following the department´s directive, Nepal Rastra Bank in late September ordered all commercial banks to freeze Basnet´s account and that of his father Gopal, and also ordered that the sale of properties owned by the duo be barred.

The District Land Revenues Office (DLRO), Morang had then frozen Basnet´s land in Kanchanbari, Biratnagar following written directives from the Department of Land Reforms and Management (DLRM).

Basnet is accused of making money through intimidation and thuggery, from tender awards, smuggling, realty dealers, timber traders, and extortion. He is estimated to have made over Rs 800 million in five years. Basnet was a driver´s help when he came to Morang from Dolakha, but now his relatives reportedly own properties in Morang, Kathmandu and Dolakha districts.

Basnet has been absconding since the attack on our correspondent Dhakal on June 1. Dhakal had reported about the attack on jailbird Abhishek Giri inside Morang District Court compound which was carried out by Basnet and his group.

He has so far refused to present himself at court even after the 70-day arrest warrant issued by the court expired.
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