NEPAL TIBETANS CALL OFF THREE-DAY ANTI-CHINA PROTESTS IN NEPAL

NEAL TIBETANS CALL OFF ANTI-CHINA PROTESTS
Kathmandu, 17 March: Tibetans in Nepal numbering around 30,000 Friday called lloff their three-day anti-China protestors, riot police stationed in front of the old embassy in Hattishar said.
The old embassyis used as a consular section.
Iot police duty were posted by the old and new embassies to present protests for three days but some who managed to get near the facilities were arrested.
Tibetans were protesting the run-over of Tibet by Beijing.
China has been asking Nepal curb anti-China activities by Tibetans in Nepal
Western countries, especially USA, frowns any attempt by Nepal government to curb activities of Tibetan exiles in the Himalayan state
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COULD PUSHPA BASNET GET CNN HERO AWARD AFTER ANURADHA KOIRALA?
Kathmandu, 17 March::Nepali social worker Pushpa Basnet has been nominated for the CNN Heroes Award 2012, The Kathmandu Post reports.
Another Nepali social worker, Anuradha Koirala, had who the award in 2010.
The 28-year-old Basnet has been nominated for her service to children whose parents are serving time in various prisons in the country.
"The children must not be forced to live behind bars with their parents," said Basnet, who started her non-profit organisation Early Childhood Development Centre in 2005.
Basnet was pursuing an undergraduate course in social welfare when she first visited the women's cell in the Kalimati Police Station in Kathmandu six years ago to enquire about a one-year-old child living with his mother in the cell. That incident made her work for the children of imprisoned parents, Baasnet said.
Currently, 40 such children are living in her shelter, where she provides them with food, clothing, education, medicines and all other basic things.
She sais she is giving shelter to children from prisons in Dhading, Pokhara, Jajarkot, Phidim, Birgunj and Nepalgunj.
Basnet also runs a day care programme for children under six years of age and a residential home where mostly older children are given education, food, medical care and "a chance to live a normal life."
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ONLY11 OF 54 AIRPORTS IN PROFIT
Kathmandu, 17March: Only 11 out of the 54 airports in the country have been operating at a profit during the last five years, said a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). And among them, 34 airports have been running regularly, The Kathmandu Post.
Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and Pokhara, Biratnagar, Lukla and Nepalgunj airports are the highest earning airports in Nepal. Meanwhile, Surkhet, Chandragadhi, Simara, Jomsom, Rumjatar and Thamkharka airports have been making average earnings.
According to CAAN, its per passenger cost at Pokhara airport is Rs 122.62 while its per passenger income is Rs 233.16, giving it a profit of Rs 110.54 per passenger. Likewise, Biratnagar airport yields a per passenger profit of Rs 37.22.
The figures of TIA’s earnings from domestic air travellers have not been included in the report. CAAN has been preparing a report of the income of airports every five years.
According to the report, 23 airports are incurring minimum losses. Among them are Dhangadhi, Janakpur, Ramechhap, Taplejung, Bajhang, Sanfebagar, Gautam Buddha, Bajura, Dang, Lamidanda, Rukum (Salle), Rukum (Chaurjahari), Bhojpur, Dolpa, Meghauli, Simikot, Jumla, Mahendranagar, Bharatpur and Rajbiraj.
According to CAAN, it suffers the highest per passenger loss of Rs 2,788.30 at Manang airport.
Although, CAAN has been making efforts to transfer management of few loss making airports to private sector and the local community under a separate modality of public-private-partnership or privatization that was studied by a committee, however, it was not implemented.
CAAN had conducted a study on transferring the airport management to the private sector at Phaplu, Ramechhap, Jomsom and Manang in fiscal 2010-11. “However, the study report has been gathering dust due to frequent changes in government and all the ministers putting their own interest at the top,” said a CAAN source. “Each and every minister’s priority was different from CAAN’s,” the source added.
CAAN said that it wanted to go for privatization of the management as it would allow the promotion and management of the airport to become more effective. According to CAAN, the loss making airports have been suffering from a slump in flight and passenger movement while the cost of upkeep of the infrastructure has been escalating.
“If these unprofitable airports were privatized, the private sector would mange them more effectively to recover their investment which will also improve the quality of
service.”
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GOVT. ATTEMPT TO REVIVE BHRIKUTI PAPER PLANT
Kathmandu, 17 March: The Parliamentary Committee on Labor and Economy has instructed the Ministry of Industry to immediately submit a detailed plan on resurrection of Bhrikuti Paper and Pulp Factory, citing prolonged closure of the factory has caused inconvenience to workers, Republica reports.

The committee´s meeting held on Friday also asked the ministry to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) while preparing the plan.

Bhrikuti Paper and Pulp, an erstwhile state-owned enterprise which was sold to Golchha Organization for Rs 170 million in 1992, suspended its operation in February last year and has not paid its around 350-strong workforce since then.

The factory management has cited accumulation of big chunk of losses, triggered by frequent power cuts, shortage of raw material and discriminating tax policy, as the reason behind the closure.

“The factory that needs electricity supply round the clock had to face power cuts of up to 14 hours per day,” Rajendra Kabra, a board member of Bhrikuti Paper, told the committee meeting. Though the factory was generating 3MW of electricity on its own, this, Kabra said, was not enough and had to rely on expensive diesel-powered generator to generate power.

“Then there was hike in price of rice husk, which fuels boilers and now costs around Rs 5-6 per kg from less than a rupee a year years ago. And we also faced short supply of straw, an important raw material used in manufacturing of paper which is now increasingly being used by farmers themselves,” he said.

These problems were compounded by the government´s discriminatory tax policy of exempting imported text books from import duty and value added tax (VAT), while subjecting books made of paper manufactured by the factory to VAT and factory´s imports to customs duty, Kabra said.

“A combination of these problems raised our operating cost, leaving us without adequate working capital to run the factory,” Kabra said. Following this, the factory management last May asked the labor department to grant it permission to cut down its workforce to limit losses, which, however, did not get the government approval.

“It is unfortunate that Nepal still does not have pro-industrialization policies,” Industry Minister Anil Kumar Jha told the meeting. “If the situation continues, all the industries in Nepal will have to shut down one day and the country will have to turn into a net importer.”

It is unfortunate that the company, which raised its annual production to 78 tons from 13 tons post privatization, has not been able to run its machines. It is also unfortunate that the factory´s pulp, which had carved a niche for itself in Japan, has been unable to reach the market.

But leaders like Bishnu Prasad Rimal of CPN (UML) expressed doubts that problems cited by the management were the only reasons that pushed the factory toward collapse.

“The problem of power cuts is faced by all the factories in Nepal and is not subject to Bhrikuti Paper alone,” he told the parliamentary committee meeting. Regarding short supply of raw material, studies have shown other plants found in Nepal are also best for making paper, he said, pressing the management to give the “real reason” for shutting down the factory.

“Is it because the company was more interested in the land of Bhrikuti Paper than the factory while purchasing it in 1992?” he questioned.

He was referring to the attempts made by the factory management to sell 60 bighas of land plots “to raise working capital”. However, the finance ministry had rejected its proposal citing the motive behind privatization of the factory was to keep it operational and generate employment opportunities.

Friday´s meeting also asked the finance ministry to submit the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the government and Golchha Organization during the time of privatization.
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HIGH TARIFF SLOWING GROWTH
Kathmandu, 17 March: Although it has been nearly five years that 3G mobile communication technology was introduced in Nepal, the number of 3G subscribers is limited to 1.1 million or less than 10 percent of total GSM users which stands at around 13.7 million, Republica reports.

The 3G communication system is a popular technology globally for faster data, enabling video conferencing and other broadband applications. Two operators - Nepal Telecom (NT) and Ncell -- are presently offering 3G services in Nepal.

Telecom operators have pointed out high tariff and expensive handset as the major reasons behind slow growth of 3G users. “3G handsets are still expensive in Nepal. Also, tariff is also higher as investment for 3G technology is really huge in Nepal because of difficulty topography and limited infrastructure,” said Ncell CEO Pasi Koistinen

Not just that, limited availability of the service is the factor behind slow growth of 3G users. Ncell´s 3G service is available in 14 cities across the country, including Khumbu region. NT´s network is limited to just Kathmandu and Pokhara.

“Limited coverage has hindered the growth of 3G users in Nepal. Also, 3G handsets are expensive and beyond the reach for many Nepalis,” said Surendra Prasad Thike, spokesperson of NT.

NT is offering 3G data at Rs 0.10 per 100 kbps, whereas Ncell´s tariff is Rs 0.60 per 100 kbps. Although NT has slashed 3G activation charge for pre-paid users to Rs 300 per month from Rs 1,175, it has not helped expand the subscriber base. Ncell and NT have 600,000 and 500,000 3G subscribers respectively.

Unfortunately, the users who have already activated the service are also using it in a limited manner. No wonder, income generated from 3G service just makes less than 5 percent of the total revenue of both the operators.

Both the operators, however, are upbeat about the future of 3G service. “The future is bright, people are gradually getting used to this technology,” Thike added.

Koistinen said 3G users will increase if tariff goes down. When asked whether Ncell is reducing 3G tariff in the near future, Koistinen said: “It depends on how much we will have to pay for 3G frequency.”

In the lack of clear policy, NT and Ncell are paying amount equivalent to their 2G frequency as royalty for 3G frequency.
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AMID POLITICIZATION OF CIVIL SERVICE BY PARTIES, GOVT.NOW EFFORTS SOME DAMAGE CONTROL
Kathmandu, 17 March: Civil servants tired of untimely and unruly transfers are in for better days, it appears, The Himalayan Times reports.

The Cabinet today decided to make the transfer calendar more or less compatible with the government’s fiscal calendar, noting that the transfer calendar of the Ministry of General Administration has hindered development projects.

According to Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hridayesh Tripathi, the Cabinet has given MoGA a month to make arrangements for transfers that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had cancelled last week.

As per the new transfer calendar brought through amendment to the 10th amendment in the Civil Service Rule, MoGA will make inter-ministry transfers in the Nepali month of Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), while other ministries will transfer their staffers in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). Departments and other offices will go for transfers in Asoj (mid-September to mid-October).

While the ministries that deal with development projects and foreign donors have asked the government to review the transfer schedule, civil servants have stood against the review.

As transfers take place at the last quarter of a fiscal year, which begins in the end of Asadh (mid-July), government officials do not get enough time to implement development projects.

In 2008, MoGA amended the Civil Service Rule to bring a new transfer calendar.

As per that calendar, MoGA had to transfer its staffers in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), ministries in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March), while departments had to effect transfers in Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). This transfer regime lasted four years.

“The new amendment will make it easier for civil servants to make use of the development budget,” said MoGA Spokesperson Kewal Bhandari.
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PARTIES TO PROTEST RS.20M GOVT. DOLE TO MAOIST CHIEF SON
FOR HIS PERSONAL PLEASURE WITH MAOIST COLLEAGUES
Kathmandu, 17 March:: Going against his self-proclaimed austerity policy, the Baburam Bhattarai-led government today decided to provide Rs 20 million from the state coffers to a Mt Everest expedition team involving Unified CPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s son Prakash, The Himalayan Times reports.

A Cabinet meeting today decided to provide the money to an 11-member Everest expedition team, which includes Maoist central committee member Krishna KC, Dahal’s son Prakash and Dahal’s former personal security guard. The team under ‘Lumbini-Mount Everest Peace March 2012’ is planning to scale Mt Everest on March 29.

Although, there is a trend of Nepali climbers being exempted from royalty, the government setting a rare example today provided such a ‘huge’ amount for Everest climbing. The expedition team, however, had been pressing the government to release Rs 30 million, according to sources.

Nepali Congress leader and former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat said that doling out such a big amount to fulfil Maoist Chairman Dahal’s son’s desire amounts to looting state coffers.

“Can the government provide such amount of money to all those willing to scale Mt Everest?” questioned Mahat. “The government decision reminds one of autocratic monarchy.”

“It is gross misuse of state coffers, which goes against Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s austerity measures. The prime minister has abused his power by distributing money to party members,” said CPN-UML leader Pradip Gyawali.

“Providing money for climbers without making any criteria can be in no way justified,” he added.

Chairman of Nepal Tarun Dal, a Congress youth wing, Udaya Sumsher Rana warned that Tarun Dal would take to the streets if the government did not withdraw the decision.

“How can it be justifiable to provide money from state coffers to fulfil Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s son’s personal desire of climbing Everest? It is in serious violation of economic rules and regulations as well,” said Rana.

CPN-UML’s youth wing Nepal Yuba Sangh’s Vice Chairman Jhapat Rawal said they would make public their protest plans at a press meet tomorrow. “The Sangh will serve a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to withdraw the decision,” he said. “The rules must be equal to all, and the government cannot privilege a section of people,” said Rawal adding that it was misuse of tax-payers’ money.

The expedition’s leader and Maoist central member Krishna KC said his team was climbing Everest for peace, the constitution and protection of Mt Everest. “Before we embark on Everest mission, we will organise a programmre at the Everest Base Camp in the presence of Maoist Chairman Dahal,” said KC.
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