HELICOPTERS ON STAND-BY IN CAPITAL TO AIRLIFT MORE THAN 3,500 STRANDED TOURISTS OUT OF EVEREST REGION

HELICOPTERS WAITING FOR BREAK IN WEATHER
TO AIRLIFT STRANDED TOURISTS OUT OF MOUNT EVEREST REGION

Kathmandu, 6 Nov.: Half a dozen helicopters are waiting for a
break in weather Sunday in the capital to airlift at least 3,5000
tourists stranded at the foot of the 8848 meters Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, for more than five days.
Reports said the stranded visitors on a holiday have become restive as they camp in tents ear Lukla airport awaiting a flight out to the capital.
Prices of food and vegetables that have to be flown into the food deficit district have shot up.
Nepal Army helicopters are on stand-by to assist in the airlift.
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2 DEAD, 7 INJURED IN DANG BUS ACCIDENT
Kathmandu, 6 Nov.: Two persons died and seven were injured when a bus veered off a bridge and tumbled 50 meters in Dang in the far-West Sunday morning.
The injured have been transferred to a hospital I Nepalgunj from Lamahi fr treatment.
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MORE DETAILS OF HARIBODAN EKADASHI

Kathmandu, 6 Nov.: Devotees took holy dips in rivers and
Worshipped Lord Bishnu on haribodan ekadashi on a cold and
sultry Sunday morning.
Devotees thronged temples, underwent fasts at temples nation-wide.
A fair started at Bara Chetra.
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BETRAYED DALIT SEEKS JUSTICE
Kathmandu, 6 Nov.: Physical torture and caste-based discrimination against dalits continue unabated, despite the state’s pledge to punish the offenders in line with laws, including the recently-enacted Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Bill, The Himalayan Times writes.

Kala Bishwakarma (21) of Damak-1, Jhapa, is one such victim. With upper-caste Tirtha Bahadur Kumal (24) of Damak-1 ditching the ‘untouchable’ woman after marriage, Kala moved the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, last week seeking justice.

In her complaint, the victim has said that they felt for each other five years ago. But when Tirtha proposed to marry her, the woman hesitated, fearing that the nuptial of ‘unequals’ may turn tragic.

“I agreed to get married with Tirtha when he repeatedly assured me that there will be no tragedy,” the woman has stated in her complaint. After the ‘marriage’, Kala came to Kathmandu in April for the treatment of her ailing father and Kumal made her overstay here. Tirtha co-habited with Kala in the Capital for two weeks, only to leave her in the lurch.

Kala said she lived with Tirtha at a hotel in Bag Bazaar for a week. That was before Tirtha’s sister Nirmala of Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, turned up and assaulted her for ‘trying to make Tirtha her husband out of greed for his parental property.’

According to Kala, Nirmala threatened to kill her if she does not leave Tirtha.

After the threat, Kala and Tirtha shifted to a hotel in Dallu and then to her relative’s rented apartment in Dhapasi. “On the fourth day of our stay in Dhapasi, Tritha disappeared all of a sudden and did not return,” the victim said.

When Kala moved the Jhapa District Court seeking marriage certificate, Tirtha repeatedly telephoned her and requested her to withdraw the case with a pledge to marry her. After a long search, Kala met Tirtha on October 29 and begged him to marry her, only to get assaulted and verbally abused.

Tirtha, an employee at a cargo office, is cooling his heels in police custody now. Kala has demanded compensation and justice. Nirmala is at large.

If convicted, Tirtha will have to serve a three-year jail term or pay a fine of up to Rs 25,000 or both.
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HUNDREDS OF TOURISTS STRANDED IN MOUNT EVEREST REGION

Kathmandu, 6 Nov.: With improvement in weather conditions nowhere in sight, tourists have remained stuck at Lukla Airport for the sixth consecutive day today [Saturday]. Light rainfall today added insult to tourists’ injury as they were anticipating to return to their destinations, The Himalayan Times reports from Salleri, Solukhumbu.

Hundreds of tourists have been stranded in the district after regular flights were halted to Lukla Airport due to bad weather.

A committee has been formed under the coordination of Civil Aviation Authority Lukla chief Utsavraj Kharel for the management of the stranded tourists in and around the Lukla area.

The committee will rescue the stranded tourists and manage accommodation for the tourists.

A 12-member committee comprising representatives from different airlines, hotels and local organizations has been formed.

Kharel said they had formed the committee following complaints that choppers were fleecing tourists for their rescue, among others. The committee has directed the chopper operators not to take more than $600 for rescue work. Adverse weather conditions have disrupted flights at Tenjing Hillary Airport today as well.
Solukhumbu Chief District Officer Ram Bahadur Kurumba said 74 tourists were flown to Kathmandu from Chaurikharka’s Surke in 13 flights today. “Around 2,000 tourists are waiting at Lukla Airport”, Kurumba added.

Bikash Koirala of Jorsalle Gem Scout said 10,092 tourists had visited Mt Everest area in October alone. Around 500 tourists have been kept at Namche wanting to return to Kathmandu.

Kurumba said 60 tourists set out on foot through Jiri to Kathmandu.

Kharel said they could not rescue the tourists as big choppers could not land at Surke owing to technical reasons. He said improvement in weather conditions would make it easy for them to rescue the stranded tourists by Nepali Army and Shree Air choppers.

Lukla is experiencing food and accommodation problems.

Meanwhile, no flights have been made from Phaplu Airport for the past six days due to adverse weather conditions.

Some stranded tourists at Phaplu have begun a foot journey to their destinations. “Saturday too saw no improvement in weather conditions. Some have set out on feet. Others have been left in the lurch,” Nepal airlines’ Phaplu Sales and Reservation officer Ganesh Kumar Shrestha said. Patients waiting to fly to Kathmandu for treatment have been affected by flight disruptions.

The newspaper reports from Kathmandu: Overcast conditions
prevailing in the hilly and mountainous areas of the country, including the Valley, will soon give way to sunny days, meteorologists have said.

The mornings will become colder and the days warmer than what Valley denizens have been experiencing now, as the minimum temperature falls further due to absence of cloud cover, weathermen say.“Cloudy conditions prevailed for almost a week due to the formation of low pressure area above the hills. It will only remain for less than two days,” said Rajendra Prasad Shrestha, senior meteorologist at Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD).

Valley denizens have experienced more cold than what they are accustomed to this time of the year as the daily maximum temperature has been lower than normal, said Shrestha. According to the weathermen, the normal maximum temperature for a day this time of the year is expected to be 26 degrees centigrade but it was recorded at 22 degrees on Saturday.

The cloud cover has restricted the temperature from falling and as a result the minimum temperature is higher than it would have been at normal. The daily minimum temperature has been on the higher side –– at around 12 degrees, which is above normal.

“The temperature during the early hours is relatively high due to the fog. But after a couple of days, when the days become sunny, temperature during the day will climb and the minimum temperature in the morning will fall to around 7 degrees,” Shrestha said.

According to MFD, the weather has remained clear in the southern and far western regions.
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