MAIN CONSTITUTION DRAFTING COMMITTEE MEETS
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: Main constitution drafting committee meet
chaired by Nilambar Acharya began Wednesday morning.
The Acharya committee will approve decisions of a Prachanda sub-committee to resolve differences on themes to be incorporated in a constitution that has to be promulgated by 28 May.
The sub-committee has narrowed down differences to 16 themes.
It couldn’t agree Tuesday whether to call a 10-year Maoist guerrilla insurgency that claimed more than 17,0000 lives on both sides of the
conflict a people’s war or an armed conflict.
Maoists call it a people’s war.
Differences on themes have to be resolved by 30 December to enable
the Acharya committee to prepare the first draft of a basic law for
circulation for final discussion and approval.
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PM BHATTARAI DISCUSSING DIRECTIVE WITH ENERGY MINISTRY TO LAUNCH THERMAL PLANT
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is holding consultations with officials of the energy ministry Wednesday to lay the groundwork for establishing a thermal plant to increase power needs.
Load-shedding has been increased from two to 10 hours every day
with the onset of the dry spell and winter
Energy officials have warned power cuts could be increased to 16 hours every day until the dry season ends mid-April.
Without the infrastructure, government’s hyped assurance to people to import 100MW from neighboring India collapsed.
PM Bhattarai asked the energy ministry Monday to begin preliminary
work to establish a thermal plant.
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PM, PRESIDENT COLDOLE KIM JONG-IL DEATH
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav has expressed deep sorrow over the sudden demise of Mr. Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army on December 17, RSS reports.
In a condolence message sent to Kim Jong UN, Supreme leader of Korean People, Vice Chairman of Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Tuesday, President Dr Yadav said that he had been deeply shocked by the death of Mr IL.
The President, on the behalf of the government as well as the people of Nepal and on his own, has extended heartfelt condolences to Jong UN.
"Death of leader Il’s has been an irreparable loss to the people and the government of DPRK and Nepal has lost a friend, too", said the President in the message.
Similarly, Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has condoled the demise of Mr Kim Jong IL.
Sending a condolence message to Kim Jong UN today, the Prime Minister said Nepal has lost it’s great friend by the death of leader IL’s.
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GOVT. TO RECRUIT 3000 MADESHIS IN NA
Kathmandu, 21 Dec. : The government Tuesday agreed in principle to initiate a process of announcing vacancies for 3,000 posts in Nepal Army to recruit Madhesi youths in it to
make it more inclusive, Puushottam Khatri writes in the Rising Nepal.
A cabinet meeting this evening directed the Ministry of Defence to begin the process to call the vacancies for the 3,000 posts.
The Madhesi community includes Madhesi people from different backgrounds like dalit, indigenous, janajati, women, muslim and extremely backward communities of Terai-Madhes.
Emerging from the cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that announcement of 3,000 vacancies would not exceed the existing strength of 95, 753 in the Nepal Army.
After the cabinet meeting endorsed the policy paper-2011 to make the Nepal Army more inclusive, the government instructed the Defence Ministry to initiate the process to recruit Madhesi youths.
The cabinet meeting also decided to hand over 57 out of 94 vehicles being used by the UCPN-Maoist party to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.
While 57 would be registered under the Ministry, 37 would be brought under the registration of Maoist party, DPM Shrestha, who is also the government spokesman, said.
Minister Shrestha clarified that 57 vehicles which would be registered at the Peace and Reconstruction Ministry were used in cantonments and by the commanders of the seven main cantonments.
Similarly, 37 vehicles brought under the registration of the UCPN--Maoist party as they were given to the central committee party leaders then.
The government has also formed National Information Technology Council under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai.
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DPM GACHHADHAR VISITING CHINA
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.:Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar has agreed to visit China, a move that is expected to pave the way of the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Nepal, which was postponed last week, Anil Giriwrites I The Kathandu Post..
Gachhadar accepted the Chinese invitation in a meeting in his office with Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan on Monday.
“With the acceptance of the invitation by the DPM, we hope that the stalled visit of the Chinese PM will now take place,” a highly-placed official said. The official added that Wen’s visit will take place once the Chinese side is fully convinced of the security arrangements in Kathmandu.
“The exact date of the China visit is yet to be fixed, but DPM Gachhadar is most likely to go to China in the next 15-30 days,” sources said.
Earlier, Gachhadar had reportedly turned down the Chinese request to visit China ahead of the Chinese PM’s visit. Gachhadar was supposed to assure Beijing that Kathmandu was committed to providing fool-proof security to Wen during his visit to Nepal.
Some in the Nepali security apparatus had cited ‘hostility’ exhibited by the Home establishment as one of the prime reasons for the postponement of Wen’s visit.
Earlier, there was a plan to arrange visits of Foreign and Home Ministers to China ahead of Wen’s visit to discuss policy and security-related issues. The foreign minister was expected to discuss the policies and agenda of Wen’s visit.
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FEAR IN TAPLEHUNG WITH REEATED AFTERSHOCKS FOLLOWING 18 SEPT. QUAKE
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: The September 18 earthquake ravaged much of the eastern hill districts of the country, and situated close to the quake’s epicentre, Taplejung suffered the most. Not a single building in the district was spared by the 6.8 temblor. Houses that did stand the quake’s wrath were left with dislodged and cracked walls, Ananda Gautam writes in The Kathmandu Post from Taplejung..
Three months after the tremor, Taplejung residents have not been able to shake themselves out of the horror they went through.
“It is difficult to let go of the past traumatic experience, especially when it comes haunting,” said Hasta Bahadur Thapa of Phurumbu VDC. Taplejung has experienced three minor jolts since September. All of these tremors were felt in December with their epicentres at the northern region of the district. The latest one, measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale, shook the area early on Monday morning. The other two were recorded on December 14 and December 9 with magnitudes of 4.9 and 4.2.
Thapa and his family have not dared to sleep inside the house since Monday. His house had to be repaired after the September quake and it is barely standing, he said.
Krishnamaya Mabo of Mamangkhe VDC and her family of seven live in a house that has a leaning wall supported by a wooden post. The house had nearly collapsed in the September quake, while the family had spent a month in a tarpaulin shelter. Her neighbours helped her put up the wooden support against the leaning house.
“I fear every night the house will give away and kill my entire family,” she said.
According to the Nepal Red Cross Society, there are around 750 families in Taplejung living in risk and fear.
The frequent quakes in recent days have troubled many residents like Thapa and Mabo.
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