COMMUNIST SPLINTER GROUP OPPOSED TO FEDERAL STATE CLOSES DOWN DISTRICTS IN MECHI, KOSHI ZONES

MECHI, KOSHI DISTRICTS CLOSED DOWN BY ANTI-FEDERATION
PROTESTS

Kathmandu, 15 March: Rashtriya Jamamorcha,. a communist splinter group
opposed to a federal state united and founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah with army help, Thursday closed down districts of Mechi and Koshi zones.
The party believes the country will disintegrate with the replacement of a traditional unitary state,
The party has been conducting phased protests against la new state structure now being increasing opposed by other parties especially on ethnic lines.
Parties are deeply divided on the issue including a government –appointed state reorganization commission that submitted a report with two suggestions.
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NEPAL PLAYS PAPUA NEW GUINEA IN ICC WORLD 20 QUALIFIERS

Kathmandu, 15 March: Nepal plays New Guinea in Thursday’s ICC World 20 Qualifiers in UAE
The Himalayan state’s cricket team defeated Hong Kong and Denmark Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday’s match is the third in three days.
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APF DISASTER MANAGEMENT TRAINING CENTER BEING INAUGRATED

Kathmandu, 15 March: A disaster management training center launched by Armed Police Force (APF) is being inaugurated by IGP Kumar Shrestha.
The Center is located at Kurintar, easily accessible and along a highway were there are frequent vehicular accidents.
Landslides in the hilly are frequent occurrences during monsoon.
APF aims to train 28percent of its force to mainly manage disasters in the next five years.
Instructors at the Center were trained in India and Philippines.
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CAPITAL’S MINIMUM TEMPERATURE THURSDAY 7 DEGREES CELSIUS

Kathmandu, 15 March: The capital’s minimum temperature Thursday morning was 7 degrees Celsius.
Mercury is expected to rise of 27 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.
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IST FACTION PROTEST PUTS SEZ LAW IN LIMBO
Kathmandu, 15 March 15: Although Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has long been acknowledged as one of the major vehicle for luring foreign investment and giving boost to exports, efforts of the industry ministry to enact SEZ Bill have failed even though the same was endorsed by the cabinet three years ago, Bhoj Raj Piudel writes in Republica..

Initially, the lack of clarity over social protection and objection of trade union on provisions like ´no extreme forms of strikes´ in the zone had prevented its ratification. Now that trade unions have softened their stance on the bill, MoI was hopeful of getting the bill endorsed by the parliament.

However, its bid to retable the bill in the parliament has hit yet another roadblock. A faction of ruling UCPN (Maoist) has strongly protested it, terming it as an ´anti-national´ document. Maoist Chief Whip Dev Gurung has even warned of stalling the parliament if the MoI tabled it.

“After gathering dust in the parliament for three long years, we had taken steps to reintroduce the bill in the parliament, hoping positive outcome due to changed political context,” said industry minister Anil Kumar Jha.

However, Jha has rolled back his initiative following such strong-worded reaction from Gurung.

The Maoist party´s resistance has come despite Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai´s clear statement that the bill was crucial to lure some $1 billion worth of foreign investment that he has targeted to achieve in the Investment Year 2012/13. Bhattarai is also the vice-chairman of UCPN (Maoist).

Bhattarai has also cited its enactment as one of his priority works in the Immediate Action Plan (IAP) for Economic Growth and Prosperity. “The bill of SEZ will be immediately approved by the Parliament,” reads the IAP.

Jha said Gurung´s reaction was surprising, mainly as it contravenes with what his own party leader has said.

Gurung, however, said his party has different opinion about the bill. “First, it was prepared by the World Bank. Secondly, it damns labors´ rights and protection of natural resources. It is not acceptable to us,” Gurung stated.

He even ruled out the necessity of SEZ law, arguing that there were already multiple laws in the country to encourage inward flow of foreign investment and exports.
However, officials having knowledge on the contents of the bill, said Gurung´s reaction was based on his naivety. “Obviously he has not studied the bill. Otherwise, he would have known, the bill protects the labor rights and is sensitive to other issues as well. If that was not the case, trade unions won´t have agreed to it,” a senior official at industry ministry said.

Rameshwar Khanal, economic advisor to the PM, agreed with him. “The only difference is that the SEZ bill does not allow workers to halt productions while striking. Otherwise, the labor rights, including collective bargain, are all protected in the bill,” he added.

The latest objection by the UCPN (Maosit), meanwhile, has deferred yet again the chances of early operationalization of already built SEZ and infrastructures, including SEZ in Bhairahawa, for which the government has already spent millions of rupees. It has also put the fate of other proposed SEZs, including those in Birgunj, Panchkhal, Jhapa and Dhangadhi, among others in limbo.

If the government dragged feet on enacting the law, officials stated it would adversely impact the Investment Year as well. “Deferring the long-committed law that pledges minimum basic assurances to investors will only taint our image. In such a situation, how can we push our case strongly to lure foreign investment?” wondered the MoI official.
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EC TO VERIFY ELECTORAL ROLL THROUGH FIELD VISITS
Kathmandu, 15 March Officials of the Election Commission (EC) are all set to visit village development committees (VDCs) and municipal wards to verify the new electoral roll and register the names of those left out in the previous voter registration campaign from April 13, Gani Ansari writes in Republic.

“We will visit 3,726 VDCs and 734 municipal wards to verify the electoral roll we prepared and register those left out in our previous voter registration campaign,” said EC Spokesperson Sharada Prasad Trital.

According to Trital, EC officials will not visit 189 VDCs and 72 municipal wards where registration of voters has been completed this fiscal year.

As of now, EC has completed registration of about 10.3 million voters with photographs and biometrics.

“Registered voters would be called at VDC and municipal ward offices to rectify errors, if any, during the voter registration process,” stated Trital, adding, “The voters can ask for necessary correction in the name list in case of any errors regarding their personal details.”

He informed that the EC will provide 14 days to the registered voters for claim and objection while 2-5 days would be provided for registration of the voters who were left out.

Trital said the constitutional body has expected that registered voters who have not submitted photos and biometrics would also come for registration this time around.

Altogether 1.16 million voters registered their names but have not submitted their photos and biometrics.

“The EC will prepare different action plans for each district regarding date for voters´ registration and for publication of the name lists for claim and objection,” Trital added.

The EC teams will also take new photos of the voters whose photos do not meet the set criteria.

According to EC officials, there have been errors in citizenship certificate number and spelling of voters´ personal details.

Trital said EC would prepare the final list of voters by mid June.

Altogether, 17.6 million voters were registered during the Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008.
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