ANOTHER ROUND OF THREE PARTY MEET BEGINS TO BREAK A DEADLOCK

THREE PARTY SUMMIT BEGINS
Kathmandu, 3 March: A meeting of the Big Three began Saturday at the residence of UN President Sushil Koirala.
Maoist Chairman Prachanda and UML senior leader and former Prime Minister
Madhav Kumar Nepal are engaged in a prolonged dialogue to break a deadlock
that is an obstacle to a delayed peace process and promulgation of a constitution to institutionalize a declared republic.
The three leaders have been given new responsibilities to prepare specific separate proposals for integration of Maoist former fighters, formation of a truth and
reconciliation commission and constitution drafting to help complete a constitution by 28 May.
All indications are the deadline won’t be met again.
nnnn
CIAA SOUGHT BACKGROUND OF REGISTRAR FROM
SUPREME COURT
Kathmandu, 3 March: The Supreme Court (SC) hushed up a seven-month old letter from the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) that sought an investigation into alleged abuse of authority by former apex court Registrar Ram Krishna Timilsena, it has been revealed, Kamal Raj Sigdel/Bhadra Sharma write in The Kathmandu Post.
Responding to a complaint filed by SC employees on May 29, 2011, the anti-graft body had on July 12, 2011 issued the letter (Ref No 1219) to the SC asking it to investigate the allegations. The SC, however, has no record of the CIAA letter.
The case came to light only a couple of days ago when the staffers who had lodged the complaint approached the Post and revealed the documents.
The SC employees said the CIAA letter may have been dumped, immediately after it reached the registrar's office. Generally, important letters addressed to the apex court first reach the registrar's table before they are registered and processed.
The employees had complained that the registrar was involved in a number of irregularities, including while procuring computers and vehicles and transferring staffers in breach of the law. Another equally serious charge includes the appointment of his cousin by the same surname as the chief of the IT department based on his “fake” education certificates.
CIAA officials say that since it is a case concerning the judiciary, which is outside their jurisdiction, they had redirected it back to the court and asked it to carry out an internal probe.
“We can only ask the court to investigate the case,” said CIAA Spokesman Ishwori Paudyal.
Former Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha admitted there had been complaints. “When I received a complaint that one of the [temporary] staffers had been appointed on the basis of fake certificates, I called and asked him to submit his original certificates. He, however, immediately resigned,” Shrestha told the Post.
Timilsena, however, refuted the allegations. “He worked in the SC for around 10 to 11 months as a staff on a contract basis and for about one-and-a-half years as consultant. His certificates were not fake,” Timilsena said, when asked to comment on the complaints.
The staffers who complained at the CIAA argued that the case cannot be hushed up even if the staff and officials in questions have retired or resigned. “At a time when the apex court has been hearing corruption cases with priority, it is all the more important to clear the internal mess, small or big,” said a court official.
Asked about the case, Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi said he was unaware of it and that he will look into it. “I cannot say anything right away as I am not aware of it. It seems to be an issue of the past,” Regmi told the Post.
nnnn
PILOT ERROR CAUSED BUDDHA AIR CRASH
Kathmandu, 3 March: An official investigation report has blamed the pilot suffering from 'sleep inertia', improper communication and other distractions for the crash of the Buddha Air's Beechcraft B-1900D in Lalitpur, which killed 22 people on September 25, Sangam Parsain writes in The Kathmandu Post.
The report submitted to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) on Friday said that the pilots, tired and irritated by comments made on the cockpit by the ground pilot, were unable to give their 100 percent to the flight that ultimately led to a judgment of error of the crew.
Ten Indians, two US nationals, one Japanese and six Nepalis had died in the crash. The report also indicates "interpersonal relationship" between Pilot-in-Command (PIC) JB Tamrakar and first officer Padma Adhikari before the take-off. However, Adhikari was found to have been made the pilot-in-command.
"Tamrakar's tiredness could be the reason for him to entrust the responsibility to the junior pilot," an investigation committee member said.
The report said Tamrakar was on duty at 6:00 am to prepare for a mountain view flight on September 25, 2011. "On September 24, the day before the crash, Tamrakar was on 12 hours' duty flying other aircrafts," the report said.
The report also said that the ground pilots had irritated the flying crew with unnecessary comments several times and sometimes even 'teasing' them. The flight had to return midway due to weather problems.
"Although, no evidence has been recorded on the personal affair between the two flying crew, and Tamrakar's frequent advice to Adhikari instead of commanding her for necessary procedures has raised doubts on their interpersonal relationship," a member of the investigation panel said.
"Personal comments between the ground pilots and the flying crew kept them distracted," said Dr Ranjit Singh Baral, an investigation committee member who looked after the human factor of the crash. However, Baral refused to comment on the interpersonal relationship between the two crew.
While Adhikari had a mere 18-hour flight experience with seniors, she was not in a position to take up the PIC job.
Amid all the distraction, things took an ugly turn as the aircraft prepared to land at the TIA, and it was away by two minutes. The airport had a six-km visibility while there were clouds in the southern skies of the airport. The aircraft was flying at 5,000 ft although it was required to maintain a 6,000-ft elevation.
The crash occurred when the aircraft was turning south for landing at Runway 02 and suddenly entered a cloud. After entering the cloud formation, Adhikari requested Tamrakar to look for the runway on her right.
"Although, the aircraft descending to 5,000 ft was the major cause of the crash, it could have been avoided had Adhikari followed the panel and instructions inside the cockpit," said the panel member.
What actually led to the crash was both the flying crew's decision to look for the runway, the report said, adding that Adhikari instead should have followed the panel and the instructions.
"It was too late when Adhikari, making her first landing, tried to react when the ground proximity warning system warned 'Terrain Terrain-Pull up, Pull up' three second before the crash. "Had the PIC been Tamrakar, the situation would have been different."
The investigation panel has made nine "interim safety" recommendations including pilot training as per Nepal's terrain, implementation of a single fleet policy, internal safety audit and installation of visual aids.
nnnn