SIX MEMBERS OF A FAMILY WAITING TO CATCH A BUS TO CAPITAL KILLED IN CRASH IN SUNSARI

SIX MEMBERS OF A FAMILY KILLED IN SUNSARI
Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: Six members of a family waiting to catch a bus to the
capital were killed when a speeding overturned at Pakali of Sunsari district Monday morning
Women and children were among the killed instantly and while
undergoing treatment at hospital.
Among the dead are Krishna Raut,,67, his wife Tara, 62, elder son
Baburam, 42 and daughter-in-law Sarada, 32.
Daughter Kamala, 28, and grand daughter Silu KC, 7, were also killed.
The truck has been seized but the driver is absconding,.
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5TH PERSON ARRESTED IN ABDUCTION OF SHANGHAI
Kathmandu, 23 Jan : Aarju Subba, an aide of NSP (D) chairman and lawmaker Shyan Sundar Gupta, was arrested Monday with Rs 3.5 million from the capital
Gupta has been arrested and charged for abduction for ransom of businessman and industrialist Pawan Sanghai.
Gupta’s ,remanded by extended Moday to prepare charges against him,
Subba is the fifth person to be arrested in the case.
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ANTI-GOVT.PROTESTS AGAINST POL PRODUCT PRICE HIKE
Kathmandu, 23 Jan : Thirteen student organizations, including Maoists, continued anti-government protests Monday against this week’s massive hike gheraoing
the head office of state monopoly Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) in prices of and demanded reduction and subsidies.
A meeting was scheduled later Tuesday between government and student union
representatives.
The protests were peaceful.
Students are on phased protests and have threatened a Valley strike if
the decision isn’t corrected as government takes a stiff stance.
.Students presented a memorandum to the NOC management.
Protestors show down Rupendhaehi and ant-government street protests were reported from other parts of the country.
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.RIM BEHIND BAIDHYA SAYS A CLAIM
Kathmandu, 23 Jan: General Secretary of the CPN-Masal, Mohan Bikram Singh has accused that UCPN-Maoist Senior Vice Chairman Mohan Baidhya was acting on the direction of the international communist organisation, Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM), RSS reports from Chitwan.
Speaking to the media in Bharatpur of Chitwan on Monday, Singh said that the Baidhya faction has created problems in institutionalising republic by obstructing peace and constitution writing processes.
Singh said although the prime minister tried to work in favor of peace and constitution, it was insincerity on the part of Baidhya not to allow him to work for the country and people on the RIM’s directions.
He said peace and constitution writing were shadowed owing to the UCPN-Maoist’s internal wrangling, and pointed that there was a possibility that Nepal will be declared as a failed state if the constitution was not issued on time.
Although capturing photos of Singh, who is semi-underground, was prohibited in earlier press conferences, this time cameras of TV and newspapers were allowed.
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SUPPLY OF POL PRODCTS STILL ERRATIC
Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: The public sector entity—Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)—is finding it hard to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products even after a hefty hike in the prices on Wednesday, Sangan Parsais reports in The Kathmandu Post.
Petroleum dealers’ demand for more commission, interruption in the supply due to delay in timely payments to the Indian Oil corporation (IOC), heavy NOC losses incurred in the past and increased demand of diesel due to extended load-shedding hours continue to worsen the fuel crisis. The NOC fears the shortage of diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is likely to worsen in the next few days, while it says petrol supply is expected to be normal by Tuesday.
On Sunday, the debt-ridden NOC said that despite the price hike, the supply could not be resumed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as dealers demanded a bigger commission and refused to distribute fuel. The issue was however, settled late on Sunday.
Petroleum dealers were demanding an additional 70 paisa and 80 paisa on every litre of petrol and diesel respectively. The dealers agreed to resume supply from Sunday evening after the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies agreed to address their demand by forming a separate committee.
NOC officials said the reason behind the short supply of diesel was its spiralling demand in the face of increased load shedding hours, while inadequate import of LPG in December led to a short supply of LPG. According to NOC’s supply reports, 478,000 litres of diesel were supplied to Kathmandu Valley on Sunday—a normal supply if the Capital does not witness panic buying. “The NOC had reduced supply of LPG in December in a bid to reduce its losses. As a result, there was a shortage of the cooking gas in the market in January,” said NOC Spokesperson Mukunda Prasad Dhungel. The supply is feared to get worse in February as the IOC, the sole supplier of petroleum products, has reduced LPG deliveries due to a crude oil shortage at its Barauni refinery in Bihar.
What’s fuelling the crisis
• Dealers' demand for more commission
• Supply interruption due to delay in timely payments to the IOC
• NOC losses incurred in the past
• Increased diesel demand due to extended load-shedding hours
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MINISTERS ASKED TO FOCUS ON DEVLOPMENT
Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Sunday directed ministers to focus seriously on implementing development projects. He also termed progress in the projects “disappointing so far.”
Addressing a meeting of the National Development Problems Solution Committee held at the National Planning Commission (NPC), the Prime Minister said it was disappointing that only 14 percent of the budget allocated was released for capital expenses in six months, Thee Kathmandu Post writes.
The meeting chaired by the PM had been called to review progress in the development budget in the first four months of the current fiscal year. During the four months, the country had witnessed only six percent of capital expenditure.
As most of the projects recorded progress below 50 percent than the target, Bhattarai also directed ministers to study the projects recording below 50 percent progress by devising a policy of reward and punishment.
During the interaction, some ministries reported that they are yet to get NPC approval for some of their top priority projects.
The government has categorised 283 projects as P1 projects in the current fiscal year, while only 228 had reported their progress in reports.
The PM also stressed on the need to expand investment in the agriculture sector that has witnessed slow investment of late.
The ministers attending the meeting pointed out to the delay in budget release, lack of qualified and technical human resource, frequent transfer of employees, lack of inter-ministry coordination, absence of VDC secretaries, problems of awarding compensation to land acquired while constructing and widening roads and lack of doctors and health workers as obstacles to the development projects.
The ministers also put forth specific problems facing the ministries they are heading. According to an NPC official who attended the meeting, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun apprised the gathering of the latest status of capital expenditure. “Capital expense in the development projects is only one-third, while foreign currency reserve was Rs 370 million.”
Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Lokendra Bistamagar stressed on the need for a new radar at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
NPC Vice-Chairman Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry said similar meetings will be held within one month of the expiry of four months of a fiscal year. Earlier, the meeting used to be held in a gap of one-and-a-half years.
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LDCs PRIORITIZE AGRO PRODUCTS
Kathhmandu, 23 Jan.: A two-day meeting in Geneva will focus on how poor countries can gain more lasting value from their exports of agricultural products and natural resources, The Himalayan Times reports.

The third annual UNCTAD Global Commodities Forum will attract government ministers, academics, development economists and business leaders in the field of commodities.

Since 2002, the number of countries whose commodity exports represents more than 60 per cent of merchandise exports has risen from 85 to 91. Commodity prices increased considerably over that period. Yet climbing commodity prices appear to have had limited positive impacts on living standards in exporting countries.

Many commodity dependent developing countries (CDDCs) are also classified as LDCs, and even during the global economic boom, rates of extreme poverty in LDCs declined only from 58 per cent in 2002 to 53 per cent in 2007 — and this was before the world food and financial crises.

The World Bank estimates that the recent resurgence in food prices, which in 2011 reached levels approaching their 2008 peaks, has pushed an additional 44 million people worldwide into extreme poverty. While a part of the increase in the number of CDDCs to 91 is due to the rising prices of commodity exports, it also indicates that the commodities boom generally has not resulted in a diversification of economic production and exports, recommended by economists.

Diversification is recommended in part because commodity prices are historically volatile, leaving these nations vulnerable to sudden drops in the prices of their major exports – or to sudden price increases for commodities they must import, on which they are also often heavily dependent.
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LISTED FIRMS FAIL SHAREHOLDERS
Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: The financial institutions that are considered to be compliant on following rules are not unable to conduct annual general meeting on time, Dikshya Singh reports in The Himalayan Times .

Only 23 financial institutions have conducted the annual general meeting within the mid-December this fiscal year, of which 13 are commercial banks.

“The regulations require the financial institutions to conduct AGM within five months of the completion of fiscal year, but they can request three months extension period,” said spokesperson for Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Bhaskar Mani Gyanwali.

The regulation requires financial institutions to publish the audited financial report and detailed balance sheet including long-form audit reflecting the institutions’ actual health.

“Since getting the balance sheet audited by internal and external auditors take time financial institutions find it difficult to hold AGM on time,” he pointed out.

The annual event also elects new board of directors and is a forum to inform the shareholders of future and previous activities. For the public companies like financial institutions, AGM is the perfect platform for the minority stakeholders allowing them to voice their opinions regarding the company’s decisions and workings.

“The central bank takes action and reduce the facilities being meted out in case they fail to conduct AGM on time,” Gyanwali said, adding that financial institutions owe their shareholders and depositors to conduct the AGM on time but they prefer to postpone and make situation difficult.

The companies try to avoid being lashed out in the public for not performing well as per their incredulously high expectations. The shareholders are never satisfied with the amount of dividend being distributed by the companies. This year Nabil Bank had to postpone its AGM due to differences with shareholders.

The late AGM means the shareholders do not get the adequate information regarding the companies they have invested in on time. The stale information and statistics are of no use to the investors in investment related decision making.

Last fiscal year also less than 30 financial institutions conducted AGM within the stipulated time of five months. Despite the extension of three months less than half of the financial institutions failed to hold these mandatory meetings on time.

The financial institutions are considered relatively transparent in their dealings due to tight regulatory rein of the central bank on publication of financials and holding AGM.

The case of other public companies listed in Nepal Stock Exchange is worse as only six companies belonging to real sector have conducted AGM within the stipulated time.

To increase compliance from the public limited companies, the capital market regulator — Securities Board of Nepal — is introducing the provision of penalising the defiant public limited companies in the amendment of Securities Act.

“The current provision allows monetary penalty but the conditions attached to it are quite harsh thus Sebon refrains from fining the companies,” according to the director at Sebon Niraj Giri.

If the regulator slaps monetary fine to the companies then according to the rule, all of the promoters are disqualified to hold the position of director or be appointed on managerial posts in any of the public limited company for next ten years, which according to the regulator is an extreme punishment.

“The companies do not understand that by being compliant to the regulators they are promoting the goodwill of their own institutions,” he lamented.
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MAOIST CHAIRMAN SWINGS TO PARTY HARDLINERS AFTER INTERNAL PRESSURE
Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: Leaders from the non-Maoist parties at the Constitutional Committee (CC) of the Constituent Assembly (CA) have expressed disappointment after UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal reportedly disowned the previous agreements reached at the dispute
resolution subcommittee, Tirtha L.Bhual writes isn Republica

CC members from the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML, among other parties, expressed concern as Dahal at the CC meeting on Sunday insisted that some of the issues reportedly agreed at the subcommittee require further deliberations. Dahal himself heads the CC subcommittee.

When lawmakers from other parties at the meeting complained that Maoist members had backtracked from the past agreements, Dahal argued that CC members were free to discuss the proposals tabled by the subcommittee.

“Today (Sunday) the coordinator (Dahal) himself expressed reservations over some of the issues that had already been settled at the subcommittee,” NC parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel told media persons after the meeting at Singha Durbar on Sunday. “His response has further worried us as he demanded more deliberations on issues that have already been settled.”

According to Paudel, Dahal disowned the agreements on keeping the new constitution silent on land ownership and property ceilings. Likewise, the Maoist lawmakers have stood against the decision to keep the new statute silent on conscription.

Lawmakers said Dahal´s response at the meeting took them by surprise. Earlier, though hardline Maoist lawmakers frequently stood against the subcommittee decisions, Dahal would pacify them.

“It was surprising for us because Dahal, who merely three weeks ago, had said in public that the subcommittee settled all the remaining disputes, except for a few, presented himself as a Maoist leader and not as the subcommittee coordinator,” said a NC leader.

Change in Dahal´s stance at the CC meeting on Sunday has been construed as a significant policy shift as it was only last week that Dahal wrapped up the party´s prolonged central committee meeting by accommodating the party´s hardline faction´s views.

Agni Kharel of CPN-UML described Dahal´s response at the meeting “most disappointing”. He said such a response from top leaders would hinder the statute drafting process.

“The constitution writing process will move ahead only if the coordinator and members of the subcommittee stand by their decisions,” Kharel told Republica. “But the task will be seriously hampered if the coordinator himself raises questions over the past decisions.”

Some of the participants at the meeting construed Dahal´s move fashioned in counter NC´s stance on the system of governance. Maoist leaders have been accusing NC of backtracking from a previous understanding to adopt a mixed model of governance.

CC member Khimlal Devkota of the UCPN (Maoist), however, denied the allegations. According to him, the issues at the subcommittee were categorized under three groups-- those settled, those that needed discussions at the CC and others unresolved. He claimed that it was NC that backtracked from previous agreements and not the UCPN (Maoist).
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MAOIST PARTY INCOME INCREASES 58 PERCENT IN 4 YEARS
Kathamndu, 23 Jan : Financial statements of the UCPN (Maoist) reveal that the party´s income has increased by 58.4 percent to Rs 132 million and expenditure by 64.3 percent over the last four years, Kiran Pun writes in Republica..

Leaders said the major sources of income for the party are levies paid by party members, including lawmakers and ministers, and donations from those from outside the party.

The income and expenditure details of the past four years submitted by the UCPN (Maoist) to the Election Commission (EC) shows that the party had surplus income for three years, except for the period between 2009 and 2010 which saw a deficit of over Rs 2.7 million.

Amik Serchan, who is the party´s finance department chief, stated 2009 was a year of deficit as the party constructed and renovated buildings for its offices.

The details submitted by the party to EC, however, do not include the donations raised and the amount of money spent during the CA elections.

Officials at the party head office said all the branches of the party submitted the income and expenditure of the party during the CA election immediately after the polls.


Sherchan attributed the increase in the party´s income to merger of various small leftist parties with his party.

“The leaders of the small parties also donated to the party in cash and kind. Also, the membership fees led to an increase in the party´s income,” said Serchan.

The UCPN (Maoist) levies the party cadres for membership renewal and monthly charges.

Of the total money collected, the district committees keep 40 percent and the state committees 40 percent, while the rest of the 20 percent goes to the party headquarters.

The party raises Rs 10,000 from each of its lawmakers, and Rs 12,000 from parliamentary committee chiefs and government ministers per month. Altogether, the party raises Rs 30 million from lawmakers alone.

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GOVT. RETRACTS DECTION TOLEGALIZE SEIZURES
Kathmandu, 23 Jan. : Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai Sunday said he would not now implement the cabinet’s decision of legalizing the transactions of lands and properties conducted by Janasatta Maoist-run administration during the conflict period. The Rising Nepal reports.
PM Dr. Bhattarai gave this assurance to the opposition parties after they continued to disrupt the parliament over the government’s move to legalise the ‘illegal’ deals made under the Maoist-led parallel government.
He met with Nepali Congress parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel and CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal at his office Singha Durbar this morning and committed to respect their concerns...
According to PM’s aide Bishwodeep Pandey, PM told them that the government would not immediately implement the January 12 decision of the cabinet following the protest opposition parties and Supreme Court’s stay order against the implementation of the decision.
He also talked about the peace process and constitution write during the discussion with oppositions leaders.
The NC and UML leaders asked PM to revoke the decision, Pandey informed.
Talking to media persons, Poudel said that they demanded that the government should withdraw the decision.
UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was also present at the meet.
He also called to NC president Sushil Koirala and reached UML leader KP Oli’s residence at Balkot of Bhaktpur to take them in confidence.
Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai and Oli held talks at the latter’s residence at Balkot this evening.
During the around 50 minutes meeting, the two leaders discussed about peace and constitution, the unilateral decision taken by the government, matters relating to the landless settlers, said Mr Oli talking to reporters following the meeting.
Leader Oli also said that they discussed about the shortening the transition and completing the peace and constitution writing process on time.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai pledged to move ahead based on a consensus henceforth and expressed the eagerness to complete the new constitution by May 28.
In response to the concern expressed by Mr Oli over the recent decision of the Government to legalize the decisions taken by the people’s government during the conflict, Dr Bhattarai said as the Supreme Court had already announced its verdict in this regard, it should not be made a matter of dispute.
However, Dr Bhattarai did not clear agree to rectify the wrong decisions taken by the Government so far. "He did not give a clear reply, he just tried to play out time", Oli said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister did not respond to any queries from the media persons present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the ruling coalition United Democratic Madhesi Front decided to stand against the cabinet decision legalise the lands deals made during the insurgency.
Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum- Democratic spokesman Jitendra Dev said that the meeting arrived at the decision that the cabinet decision should be terminated.
"This decision has created uneasy situation and affected the peace and constitution writing processes," he said.
He said that this problem should be resolved on the basis of consensus among the parties.
The meeting also pointed out the implementation of the four-point deal struck between the UCPN-Maoist and the front.
It also concluded that the recent visit of Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar to India successful.
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PRACHANDA SEES CONSPIRACY AGAINST PEACE,
CONSTITUTION
Kathmandu, 23 Jan : UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ Sunday said that hatching of conspiracy against peace and constitution writing process had started again, The Rising Nepal reports.
"A serious conspiracy has again been hatched against peace and constitution. The rightist forces are bent on entrapping the Maoists and they are plotting for the same, but we will not sign a blank cheque," Prachanda said speaking at a programme in the capital city.
The chief of the main ruling party stressed that his party would not make any agreement that would result in the reduction of the people’s rights and that led to completion of peace process but to pro-people constitution.
"The parliamentary parties are for completing the peace process unilaterally and reviving the 1991 constitution," Prachanda blamed. Referring to their stance on parliamentary system, Prachanda also accused ‘old parliamentary parties’ of desirous to play the game of majority and minority and then the horse trading.
The chief of the largest party observed that the parliamentary parties stood against the peace and constitution after he proposed for a directly elected presidential system in the sub-committee formed to resolve the differences over the new constitution. "Conspiracy against peace and constitution started when I stressed on executive presidential system."
Referring to his recent talks with Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala, the Maoist chairman said that NC would not accept am nationality based federation. "There is a serious debate on state restructuring and the NC is for making federal units in such a way that each state stretched from north to south."
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