NEA CHIEF RESIGNS

NEA CHIEF APPOINTED THROUGH OPEN COMPETITION RESIGNS

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Dipendranath Sharma, Managing Director of
Nepal Electricity Authority(NEA), has resigned.
Sharma was appointed through open competition.
The Baburam Bhattarai government had started a practice of
appointing chiefs of public enterprises through open
competition to discourage selection of lackeys.
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NRB GO-AHEAD FOR 6 FINANCIAL INSTITUTION MERGERS

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Nepal Rastra
Bank (NRB) Thursday permitted
six financial institutions, including three development banks, to merge in principle
.

Annapurna Development Bank was permitted by the central bank board to merge with
Suryadarshan Finance and Pashupati
Development Bank with Lord Buddha Finance.
Business Development Bank was permitted to amalgamate with Universal Finance.
NRB has policy of encouraging mergers with proliferation of commercial banks and other financial institutions.
Mergers of other financial institutions, including commercial banks, are on the cards.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“This is based on interests of India and Maoists. NC, UML and Madeshbadis have supported the 7-point agreement merely for power gain. The seven-point agreement is an avatar of the 12-point agreement and will only encourage outside forces.”

(RPP-Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa, Ngarik, 11 Nov.) .
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18 PILGRIMS KILLED IN TRACTOR ACCIDENTS

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.:: Eighteen people died after the tractor (Ja 1 Ta 4553) they were traveling in from Dhanusha to Barahakshetra met with an accident at Bharaul-2 of Sunsari district Thursday morning. The tractor plunged 20 meters into a canal of Sunsari-Morang Irrigation Project and turned turtle killing 16 women, a kid and a man, Amar Khadka writes from Itahari.

Twenty-three people were injured in the
accident.


The accident allegedly occurred as the driver of the vehicle that was carrying 43 people dozed off while driving. The passengers were asleep when the accident occurred.

All the deceased are from Tarapatti Sirsiya 4 and 5 of Dhanusha, according to Sunsari District Police Office (DPO).

The deceased have been identified as Sumindra Devi Mukhiya, Sunti Devi Yadav, Sumitra Devi Yadav, Rita Devi Yadav, Kumar Devi Yadav, Mantoriya Devi Yadav, Ambika Devi Yadav, Paro Devi Yadav, Kevali Devi Yadav, Bhuli Devi Yadav, Dharma Raj Yadav, Phul Kumari Yadav, Suklal Yadav, Tritari Devi Yadav, Ijjati Devi Yadav, Kumari Yadav, Ramraj Devi Yadav and Lakhan Devi Yadav.

Seventeen of them died on the spot and one Lakhan Devi succumbed while being treated at B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), according to Eastern Regional Traffic Police Office.


According to Palat Yadav, one of the survivors, the tractor´s driver had stopped at Koshi Barrage for rest. “The tractor stopped for about an hour at the barrage and then drove non-stop,” said Yadav.

“We were all asleep. The driver must have felt asleep as well which led to the accident. I survived because I managed to jump out as the tractor plunged into the canal.” The fact that the tractor veered off and plunged into the canal along the wrong side of the road lends credence to Yadav´s assumption that the driver must have fallen asleep.


After the accident, it was Palat who called villagers for help. The villagers initially rescued those who were not trapped by the tractor´s trolley. But one woman died as soon as she was rescued.

When a team of Armed Police Force (APF) men from Siddhakali Battalion in Pakali pulled out the trolley using ropes, only one person under it was alive.


“The trolley had detached from the tractor and overturned,” said APF Sub-Inspector Purna Bahadur Limbu, who was involved in rescue operation. “It took time for us to lift the trolley using ropes. Had the trolley not overturned and crushed the passengers, there would have been lesser casualties,” he added.

All the dead bodies have been sent to Dhanusha after conducting post-mortem at District Hospital in Inaruwa, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Yamuna Rajak of Sunsari.

Of those who swam and survived, 18 are being treated at District Hospital Inaruwa, while five are being treated at BPKIHS.


The tractor´s driver Ram Mukhiya is absconding and police are searching for him. The passengers were traveling to a five-day religious fair that started on Kartik Ekadashi and fell on Sunday this week. The villagers of Tarapatti Sirsiya had rented the tractor for Rs 7,000 from one Mahendra Mukhiya for attending the fair. “

Since we wanted to return the same day owing to work, we had decided to travel throughout the night without rest,” said Palat.

Pilgrims from various parts of Nepal and from India come to visit the Ekadashi fair.


Deputy Inspector General of Police Surendra Shah of Eastern Regional Police Office, Biratnagar, said an investigation would be launched into the accident. “There has been a weakness on the part of police in allowing a tractor meant for agricultural purpose to carry so many people,” he said. Survivors said they did not encounter traffic police all along the way during their travel.

Dharanidhar Khatiwada, eastern regional administrator, admitted negligence by concerned authorities. “The concerned authorities will be instructed to increase vigilance to prevent possible future accidents,” he said, adding that effort has been initiated to provide compensation to the bereaved families through home ministry.



There have been major accidents along the Jhumka-Chatara road section in the past as well. On May 9, 2006, a tempo overloaded with school children fell into the canal killing 13 students of Moonlight Boarding School, Jhumka. In the monsoon of 1996, a mini-bus fell into the canal killing 22 people.

Despite the accidents, there has not been any concrete effort to prevent such accidents along this road section.



As in the past years, we all villagers decided to attend Barahakshetra fair this year, too. We hired a tractor owned by Mahendra Mukhiya, one of our neighbors, for Rs 7,000. We left for Barahakshetra Wednesday evening.

We did not stop anywhere until we reached Koshi barrage. There, the driver stopped the tractor and said, “I am very tired. Let us take rest for some time.” After stopping for almost one hour there, we again moved on toward Barahakshetra. The tractor kept moving on all night. Almost all of us were asleep.

By Thursday morning, we were moving along the bank of an irrigation channel that connects Jhumka bazaar of Sunsari with Barahakshetra. The tractor suddenly overturned. All of us fell into the channel. I saved my life by swimming. But, my wife Rita Devi, niece Ambika, aunt Kumar Devi and sister-in-law Kumari could not survive. Many of my relatives also died.

As our plan was to return by Thursday evening itself, we were
in a little rush. Had we not rushed, perhaps the tragedy would not have occurred. Oh God, what a tragic day we chose to go on a
pilgrimage.
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GOVT. RESTRICTS APARTMENT TRANSFERS OF 19
DEVELOPERS

Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Following the disclosure about widespread anomalies in the housing industry, the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) is preparing to instruct all land revenue offices (LROs) of the Kathmandu Valley not to transfer ownership of housing and apartment of 19 developers to their respective
Customers, Prabhakar Ghimere writes in Republica..

“We are soon issuing a strong worded instruction to all LROs, as our inspection showed these 19 developers have flouted both the environment as well as housing laws,” said a senior official at the DUDBC.

The move of the department, which is aimed at compelling the developers to comply with the existing laws, will, however, hit the customers, as they have already made full or partial payments to the developers.

People, who relied on big name developers like Kohinoor Hill Housing, Ansal Chaudhary Developers, Trimohan Housing, Platinum Developers and Oriental Builders, among others, will be the hardest hit.

“We have already asked these developers to stop construction and are further writing to the LROs to restrict the transfer of their apartments´ ownership to the customers so as to avoid the risks and prevent the customers from being cheated,” said the source.

The department is preparing to land axe on over one-and-a-half dozen apartments after its inspection of 85 housing and apartment projects showed that they had violated crucial rules and norms.

The inspection report unearthed by Republica shows, of the 19 guilty developers, 13 had not acquired approval from the Ministry of Environment, something which is mandatory as per the Environment Protection Act, as they never carried out the much-needed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Initial Environment Examination (IEE).

The government had made EIA and IEE mandatory for housing projects from fiscal year 2005/06.

Likewise, these 13 developers had also opened booking of their apartments and even initiated constructions without obtaining structural permits from DUDBC, something which is considered crucial and made mandatory by the Building Act.

As for the remaining six developers, the department is preparing to stop their transactions mainly because they cold shouldered its call and refused to disclose documents.

Under the procedures laid down by the existing laws, a housing developer first need to obtain planning permit from concerned Town Development Committee, then obtain EIA and IEE clearance from Environment Ministry, get Structural Permit from DUDBC and approval of map of the project from concerned local bodies before starting construction.

However, the housing companies largely skipped these processes, ignoring the environment clearance and structural permit from DUDBC, as banks in the past few years rushed to invest in the sector without bothering to check whether the developers complied with the law.

"The widespread violation of law by the developers has surprised us all. We will take stringent action against them and will also monitor the housing being developed in cities outside the Valley as well," said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works.

Housing projects violating rules

1. Vegas City, Imadol
2. Pashupati Apartment, Maharajgunj
3. Khushi Apartment, Samakhushi,
4. Down Town Apartment, Dhapakhel
5. Sunshine Mount View Apartment, Bhaisepati
6. Classic Tower Apartment, Satdobati
7. Mero City Apartment, Harishiddi
8. Sunshine Apartment, Sukedhara
9. Soaltee City Apartment, Ravi Bhawan
10. Mount View Apartment, Harishiddi
11. Central Park Apartment, Bishal Nagar
12. Mahabir Apartment, Thapathali
13. Surya Apartment, Battisputali
14. Regency Apartment, Babar Mahal
15. Arcedia Apartment, Dhumbarahi
16. Chakrapath Height Apartment, Dhapasi
17. Chhauni Apartment, Chhauni
18. G N Apartment, Gwarko
19. Silver City Luxurious Apartment, Kalikasthan
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HALLO SARKAR SHORT OF HANDS
Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Following increased work pressure, officials at the Hello Sarkar control room have demanded that the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) provide it more human resources, Bimal Gautam writes in Republica.

Submitting a letter to high ranking OPMCM officials, they sought additional staff for handling public complaints and addressing them promptly.

Following the demand, the OPMCM has been preparing to provide more human resources for hard-pressed Hello Sarkar to continue its work.

"I have called a secretary-level meeting for Friday morning to address concerns raised by officials at Hello Sarkar and also to discuss how the control room can be continued more effectively and constructively," admitted Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire.

The hotline number 1111 open to the public has been busy round the clock. Officials deputed at the Hello Sarkar control room are exhausted picking up the phone. They officials there are working in three shifts.

Officials in their letter to the OPMCM sought more staff, effective arrangements and a solid mechanism for handling complaints.

"We are preparing to provide six groups for the control room instead of the existing three," said OPMCM Secretary Leela Mani Paudel, adding, "Additional human resources will lessen the burden facing staff."

Chief Secretary Ghimire added that Friday´s meeting will urge secretaries to deal seriously with the calls, and the issues concerning Hello Sarkar. Secretaries have not been responding and acting on Hello Sarkar´s requests in a timely and effective manner.

As of Thursday, Hello Sarkar received nearly 2,500 complaints from across Nepal. Most complaints were lodged by phone. The room received over 250 complaints Thursday alone.

Most complaints lodged Thursday were against the government decision to recommend presidential pardon for Bal Krishna Dhungel, who was convicted by the Supreme Court for murder.

"The government should first dismantle all the courts, release all detainees from all prisons and only then pardon the lawmaker," states the comlaints.

"Hello, I am from Kohalpur, Banke. Provide me all details why Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai formed such a jumbo cabinet, flouting his own commitments," caller Jaya Kumar Shah said. "I am a farmer with many cows and buffaloes and I´ve been unable to sell the milk. Please provide me information on where to go to sell milk," Shah added.

Officials at the control room say they are tired of such phone calls about minor problems.
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