CPN (MAOIST) MATRIKA YADAV GROUP AGAIN SPLITS

CPN (Maoist) MARIKA YADAV HAS AGAIN SPLIT

Kathmandu, 17 Nov.: CPM (Maoist) led by Matrika Yadav has again split, Kantipur reports from Janakpur.
This was announced by central member Dilip Sah who has formed another party under his leadership.
He held a news conference.
Sah claimed Yadav has been expelled from the party.
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DR.SHARAD PRASAD DEAD

Kathmandu, 17 Nov.: Dr. Sharad Prasad Adhikari died 5 November, his family announced Thursday on the 13 day of his passing away.
He was former Director General of Meteorological Department
and Founder of Himalayan Climate Center.
Adhikari was 72.
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COMPLAINTS GALORE OF IMPORTERS AGAINST
INDIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALS
Kathmandu, 17 Nov.: Nepali importers are being forced to pay money to officials at Indian customs offices to bring goods into Nepal, businessmen have said. The customs offices have been levying charges on the basis of the goods being imported, Bhusan Yadav writes in The Kathmandu Post from Birgunj .
According to a businessman, Indian customs offices have been collecting money from Nepali importers for a long time, and the charges have been doubled since mid-June. “The increased cost of the goods will be automatically transferred to the consumers,” he said.
Deputy director general of the Department of Customs Ananda Raj Dhakal said he had no knowledge about collection of money from Nepali importers on the Indian side of the border. “I will contact the Nepali customs official in Birgunj to find out whether the charge being imposed on Nepali imports by the Indian side is true and legal,” he said.
The Indian customs officials have listed 71 items including food items, tractor, jeep, car, fruit, vegetable, oil, cashew nut, machinery, cement, acid and sugar on which charges have to be paid. They collect IRs 2,000 for a truckload of potatoes, IRs 500 for a cartload and IRs 800 for a bullock cartload. Similarly, they charge IRs 3,000 for a truckload of onions, IRs 3500 for a truckload of maize, IRs 3,000 for a truckload of coal and 1 percent of the cost price in case of machinery.
Before the imported goods arrive at the Indian customs office, Indian customs agents make the payment to the Indian customs officer as per the price list. “The Indian officer then provides a dated and numbered chit,” said an Indian customs agent. “The driver of the goods carrier has to show the chit to the customs staff when the cargo is cleared through customs.”
Nepal brings in 60 percent of its imports through this route. About 1,000 cargo-laden trucks enter Nepal at Birgunj daily. Each truck is required to pay the charge as per the goods they are carrying.
“Despite our repeated requests to the Indian customs office to address the problem, it has been turning a deaf ear to our pleas,” said a senior official of the Birgunj Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Nepali industrialists and traders have also registered a complaint at the Indian Consul General’s Office in Birgunj. They had drawn the attention of the Indian Consul General Ashok Agrawal to the problem during the meeting held at his office on Sept 20 between officials of the two countries for trade facilitation.
“The Indian Consul General’s Office has not been serious enough to solve the problem,” said a businessman who did not want to be named.
According to a Nepal businessmen, exports too are being charged besides imports. Exporters have to pay Rs 40,000 for a file to be processed at the Indian customs office for which they do not get a receipt. “Without paying the money, the file doesn’t move forward,” said an exporter. According to him, if a single type of goods is exported to five different companies, a total sum of Rs 200,000 has to be paid.
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