MOTHERS’ DAY OBSERVED Kathmandu, 21 April: Mothers Day’s was observed Saturday. Children offered their mothers best wishes and showered them with presents. Children remembered dead mothers by conducting their sharadhaya at Matatrtha amid prayers and worship at the temple. Nnnn POLICE RECOVER HUGE CACHE OF HIDDEN BULLETS, MAGAZINES AND OF WEAPONS USED BY APF AND NA Kathmandu, 21 April: Armed Police Force(APF) Thursday night seized a huge cache of magazines and bullets of weapons used only by Nepal Army 9NA) and APB at a cave in Sugarkhaaal VDC-9 in Kailali at a time when former Maoist fighters. are either being sent home or being integrated into NA. Cantonments and satellite camps where former fighters are being housed are also being handed over to the two government security units. APF patrol seized 24 magazines of LMGs, two barrels, one SLR magazine, 860 bullets SLR bullets, five Insas magazines and 106 bullets. Police said the cache was recently hidden in new sacks. A Maoist rebel group has already challenged integration of two handover and integration of what was once described as two armies. Nnnn TOP SECURITY TEAM LEAVING FOR CHINA FOR SECURITY SEMINAR Kathmandu, 21 April: Lt. Gen. Gaurav SJB Rana , the second ranking officer of Nepal Army (NA) leaves for a week-long China visit Sunday as head of team to participate in a security seminar. Representatives from three other security agencies and home and foreign ministries are in the team. nnnn JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVING NEXT WEEK Kathmandu, 21 April: Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba is arriving in Nepal on a two-day official visit next week, a top foreign ministry official told THT. Gemba is due to arrive in Kathmandu on August 28 and will leave for India the next day. Gemba will be the highest Japanese official to visit Nepal since the visit of the then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in August 2000. He is the only Japanese head of government to have ever visited Nepal. Gemba, during his stay, will hold bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who invited him. He will also call on all top government figures, including the President, Vice President, prime minister and Constituent Assembly chairman. He is also likely to meet top leaders of major political parties. “The Japanese side has confirmed the visit. Programme details and the agenda are being workout,” said the official seeking anonymity. He, however, stated that as customary, Foreign Minister Gemba is yet to receive approval from the Japanese Parliament for the visit since the House session is ongoing. Nnnn LAWMAKERS HESITANT TO ACT AGAINST THEMSELVES FOR CRIMES Kathmandu, 21 April:: Major political parties today Friday] failed to agree on whether a Constituent Assembly member should be suspended after s/he is implicated in a criminal case, The Himalayan Times reports. Although the chief whips of major political parties and members of CA regulation amendment committee discussed the issue with CA Chairman Subas Nembang at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar, they failed to agree on the issue after Unified CPN-Maoist representatives demanded to exempt the criminal cases related to the decade-long conflict. Non Maoist parties’ whips and members of the amendment committee, however, rejected the Maoists’ demand. “If there is not a provision to exempt the conflict-time cases, many Maoist lawmakers will be suspended. In such a situation, the CA and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement will be meaningless,” said UCPN-M chief whip Dev Prasad Gurung after the meeting. Despite the CPA mentioning that the conflict-time cases would be withdrawn, there are still more than 350 cases, which have not been withdrawn, Gurung said adding that the issue of suspending a lawmaker will be linked with such cases. “If the amendment was made as per other parties’ demand, a number of Maoist lawmakers including Balkrishna Dhungel, Agni Sapkota, and Surya Man Dong could be dragged for the action. So, these issues should be dealt with the peace process issues,” Gurung said. Nepali Congress lawmaker Ramesh Lekhak, however, said that the legal provision should be equal to all. “The law cannot be discriminative to Maoist and non-Maoist lawmakers. There are other legal provisions to exempt a person involved in a conflict-time case. The UCPN-M should not obstruct amending the regulation in any pretext,” he said. After today’s meeting failed to find consensus, the issue will be dealt at the high-level meeting of major parties according to UML member Agni Kharel. As the CA regulation is silent about suspending a lawmaker, who is detained or jailed in a criminal case, the CA chairman has not been able to suspend lawmaker Shyam Sundar Gupta, who is doing time for his involvement in kidnapping a businessman. Meanwhile, the meeting agreed to amend the CA regulation clearing the way to send back the issues to the Constitutional Committee for consensus again if the full house failed to approve the issues through a majority vote. The CA is scheduled to begin the voting process on April 23, if the parties failed to forge consensus on the unsettled issues of the new statute. nnnn PLA BRASS REFUSES FUND TRANSFER TO PARTY HQ Kathmandu, 21 April : Maoist People´s Liberation Army (PLA) commanders have defied repeated appeals by party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to hand over some Rs 340 million that party headquarters believes is in the possession of some of the PLA commanders, Republica reports. Knowledgeable sources told Republica that the commanders of the First, Second, Third and Fifth Divisions are said to have deposited all the money they collected from the combatants. However, while headquarters officials believe commanders of the Forth, Sixth and Seventh Divisions are yet to hand over a huge amount that is in their possession, the divisions recently told the chairman that they had no money left to turn over to headquarters. During the ongoing meeting between Chairman Dahal and PLA divisional commanders who are currently in the capital to discuss the issue, some commanders also expressed dissatisfaction over continued pressure from Dahal to hand over remaining money to party headquarters. “It is disturbing to note that even earnest commanders like us, who regularly deposited money into party funds, are being grilled like wrongdoers,” a meeting participant requesting anonymity quoted a commander as saying. Since they had handed over all the money they collected through a levy on the monthly salary and perks that registered PLA personnel used to get, party headquarters had no moral authority to seek additional money from the commanders, a brigade commander said. Last February, the commanders, under tremendous pressure from combatants, disclosed that they had Rs 410 million in total. As per the accounts disclosed then, the First Division had Rs 60 million, the Second Division Rs 40 million, Third Division Rs 140 million, Fourth Division Rs 80 million, Fifth Division Rs 30 million, Sixth Rs 20 million and Seventh Rs 40 million. "The interesting part was that neither the chairman nor other high ranking officials including vice-commanders have shown the courage to point out the divisions that they think are engaged in misappropriation of money," said a commander. The Third Division, which declared it had the largest deposit of Rs 140 million, has handed over just Rs 15 million, he added. Sources further said the commanders also told Chairman Dahal that they are not in a position to hand over money to party headquarters even if they have it, because of warnings from combatants of serious consequences. The combatants believe that commanders who were in charge of the funds have channeled the remaining money into private accounts. "The latest incidents of arson and attack against commanders at some cantonments along with the rapid and unexpected dissolution of the PLA in fact gave the commanders a good excuse for siphoning off the money,” said a commander. Among the seven PLA divisions, only the First, Second and Sixth have records of money handed over to disqualified combatants and to the kin of the deceased. According to a Second Division brigade commander, a total of Rs 10.7 million was distributed to disqualified combatants at the rate of Rs 100,000 to each and another Rs 10 million was given to combatants and commanders as travel allowance for settling disputes in the division. Nnnn ________________________________________ ________________________________________ SWAMP DEER POPULATION INCEASESES IN SHUKLA PHANTA Kathmandu, 20 April:: The population of swamp deer has increased from 1,743 last year to 1,825 at the Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in the far-Westm the reserve said. The reserve boasts of the world’s biggest herd of Swam deer on bahara shinghes. The increase came to light after a three-day census. OPINION Duplicity begins brewing poison Kathmandu, 20 April: Six years ago this fortnight, euphoria marked the present set of leaders who had never dreamt of winning what they wanted with such ease -- but at a price, a heavy price. A properly functioning government needs tight focus. There is nothing of the kind among political parties or the government in Nepal, Trokal Vastavik writes in People’s Review. Five governments in as many years all served like lame duck premiers with no control over their cabinet colleagues. The major party leaders have waylaid the people they promised to serve not just well but in a manner that would be “worth emulation” to the rest of the world. A particular pen, which goes about pretending as an intellectual fount borrowing and paraphrasing some random phrases from the Internet and spilling copious ink, rants incoherently against all but its exalted sense of communalism, did not dare write against the Young Communist League. That he survives in intellectually a mediocre newsroom owes to the blessings and sponsorship of dubious foreign missions. The incoherent pen, while condoning violent groups claiming to protect their ethnic interests, had in 2007 called for banning monarchists from merely expressing their views. Human rights activist Subodh Pyakurel, who contested for the leadership of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), says that 95 per cent of those killed during the 10 years of Maoists’ war were innocent. “Maoists are trying to legitimize it now,” he adds. Yet the UML embraced the Maoists, accepted it as a partner in sharing power and endorsed almost all the latter’s demands and decisions. Girija Prasad Koirala’s insatiable hunger for power and the Lilliputians in his Nepali Congress were not able to even whisper anything against the man who, despite being premier for half a dozen times, never delivered any of his promised democratic good governance. He became party to “regime change” with the hope of being the country’s first president. Ram Baran Yadav made it instead, much to his chagrin in his dying months. Koirala, this author is in the know, fumed and fretted over his failure to become the country’s first president. He rubbished the Maoists for betraying him. He was the one who, according to Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s public statement, asked the Maoists to “finish off some candidates” in the local elections in the hope of making the NC-led boycott of the local elections in 2006 a grand success. Violence against the Press continues. Hundreds of journalists and media owners are threatened and beaten for reporting what they saw or for not reporting what they considered not newsworthy. On the corruption front, the situation is the worst in the whole of South Asia, next only to Afghanistan. Incidents of human rights continue to in large numbers that compete with the times the Maoists had used violence as their tool for their interpretation of “people’s democracy”. The number of Maoist troops had been nothing more than a ploy to hoodwink the taxpayers and create funds for the Maoist leaders and their cadres. The 7,000 or so armed Maoists swelled in numbers at the time of setting up cantonments under the aegis of the United Nations Mission in Nepal. Now that it has been established that the number of the total Maoist troops in the cantonments was actually 3,000 less than what had been claimed all along and the government of Nepal paid the allowances in lump sums to Maoist leaders. For the misappropriation of the billions of rupees thus swindled, no one has been booked for investigation and appropriate action. Ministers have carried several court cases against them. Some of them have publicly slapped senior bureaucrats or mishandled the latter without holding them accountable. Sandalwood smuggling has been institutionalized with politicians involved in the same. Police personnel have been found to resorting to crime and violence. Postings of civil servants are widely and frequently reported to involve hefty sums of money passed under the table. Extortions and influence peddling are common. Nepotism and state pardon to hundreds of individuals serving prison sentences after conviction in serious crimes have shed pretences of rule of law. Blame game is an exercise in futility. Criticism are tried to be dismissed as attempts to derail the constitution-making process and the achievements of “loktantra”. People are no longer willing to reduce themselves to putting blind faith in the assurances of the politicians. Baburam Bhattarai might go to Pushpa Lal Shrestha’s statute to pay homage on being elected premier but he hardly ever takes his name in public or in print. By now we know how committed Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Sushil Koirala and Jhala Nath Khanal really are about serving the people, checking corruption, ending impunity and shunning nepotism. Bhattarai was a bubble bound to burst rather than become a beacon of hope that promised and delivered promptly. Koirala warns the Maoists of a “misfortune similar to Gyanendra’s,” but he cannot even organize befitting programs in memory of BP Koirala or GP Koirala. The three are busy advising all except their own party members. Today they find their dreams and hopes in ruins, thanks to the stark reality taking over—six years later. Their mood drowned in gloom, they see only doom ahead—unless the existing directionless course is reversed quickly and for the better. Fifteen years of multiparty democracy --which is more than half of the panchayat tenure-- and six years of “loktantra” are a poor comparison with the performance of the partyless panchyayat. And the panchayat has proved to be no model for Nepalis in general. Therefore, the aura of invincibility, inevitability and infallibility is over and the leaders stand in their birthday suit in the wide public arena. Let reason rebound. Most Nepalis are nostalgic about the 1990 constitution. The NC is not for change but status quo ante 2006. Maoists are not radical but repressive and fascist in approach and style. UML is neither unified nor Marxist but Leninist. And Nepal is under the grip of impunity. Federalism talk has widened division; federal structure on caste line is guaranteed to destroy social cohesion; and secularism is sure to prod fundamentalism, communalism and chaos. A positive thing is that numerous charlatans have been exposed. Austerity, modesty and honesty will build the credibility that has been eluding so deeply the major political parties whose heads have been tested and declared as incompetent. Do they have the vision and stamina to change themselves for the cause of the public? If they can’t, can they be expected to change others for the better? nnnn BANKS PROMOTED BY SAME GROUP WARMED OF FORCEFUL MERGER Kathmandu, 20 April: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has started approaching commercial banks, particularly the ones promoted by same groups, in order to persuade them to undergo merger, mIlan Mani Sharma writes in Republica.. In this connection, NRB has asked Nepal Industrial and Commercial (NIC) Bank and Bank of Asia Nepal (BoAN) -- largely promoted by same groups -- to either undergo merger voluntarily or face the fate of forceful merger. The central bank passed on such a message during a meeting with the board of directors and top management officials of those banks recently. NIC and BoAN officials confirmed the central bank´s move. “Merger is a long pushed agenda of NRB and we are open to it as well. Hence, it is pretty normal for the central bank to discuss the issue with us,” BoAN CEO Parshuram Khettri told Republica. Although he refused to divulge further details, an NRB source said it was not just a regular consultation. “We have given them a clear message that if they continue to drag their feet, the central bank will get them merged forcefully,” said the source. The central bank´s move has nothing to do with their financial health though, officials clarified, stressing that the financial outlook of both NIC and BoAN are good and are performing soundly. “It is just that we believed it would be easier and also appropriate for banks promoted by the same business houses to merge,” the source said. Bishal Group and Shanghai Group are common promoters of NIC and BoAN and according to NRB, these groups hold majority stakes in them. Furthermore, NRB officials said the instruction given to NIC and BoAN was just a beginning. Meaning: the central bank would be approaching other banks (promoted by same groups) as well to persuade them to undergo merger voluntarily. “If they do not pay heed, we will execute forceful mergers,” said the source. Promoters cold shoulder NRB´s call Though the central bank officials said their message to the banks was serious, promoters of the two banks that NRB approached have simply cold shouldered the central bank´s call. “We heard what the central bank officials said, but have not yet discussed it in our board meeting,” said Rajendra Aryal, a board director of NIC Bank. He even said that the warning of NRB to force two smoothly functioning banks to merge just for having common promoters was unfair. “It is not that easy because there are other promoters as well,” he stated. BoAN officials expressed similar opinion. “There are other relatively weak banks promoted by same groups. Why does NRB not start rightsizing the banks from them? Why us?” said an official there, venting ire against the central bank for issuing such a warning. While BoAN officials did not disclose any merger plan, Aryal of NIC said his bank was presently holding talks with a couple of Chinese banks, exploring possibility of forging a joint venture. “We are eying foreign banks for partnership,” he stated. NRB has been pushing banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to undergo merger after liquidity crisis and financial crisis hit the country in early 2011. The central bank in May 2011 even endorsed Merger Bylaw, with provisions for incentives and forceful merger of BFIs in case the central bank deemed it appropriate. Since the enforcement of the bylaw, about half-a-dozen financial institutions have already undergone merger, but no such outcome has been seen in the banking sector. nnnn ________________________________________ sr. ________________________________________ TOP LEADERS PREPARE FOR BLANKET AMNESTY Kathmandu, 20 April: Lawmakers from the CPN-UML and the dissident faction of the ruling UCPN (Maoist) have strongly objected to a proposal to form a Commission on Truth and Reconciliation and Disappearances in the spirit of a total reconciliation model, but top leaders from the three major political parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML -- have already reached an understanding to that effect, Thira L. Bhusal writes in Republica. The lawmakers have strongly objected to the proposal, saying that it renders the proposed commission all-powerful whereas earlier the leaders had agreed to form the TRC under a concept of giving top priority to victim consent for purposes of reconciliation, pardon or punitive action. A three-party meeting led by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, NC President Sushil Koirala and CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal decided in a new spirit to form a single commission instead of two separate commissions on truth and reconciliation and forced disappearances. The lawmakers said that formation of the commission as per the latest proposal agreed at the top leadership level is tantamount to a general amnesty for all perpetrators involved in serious human rights violation during the decade-long Maoist insurgency. "As per the earlier proposal, the consent of victims was a must both for reconciliation and for granting pardon but the latest proposal has given the commission sweeping authority in this regard," UML lawmaker Sapana Pradhan Malla, who was present at the three-party meeting, told Republica. "As per the new proposal, the commission can decide whether or not to pardon any perpetrator and whether or not to take any action against those involved in human rights violations." According to her, the proposal states that the commission may or may not seek the consent of the victims while granting pardon to perpetrators. CPN-UML lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali, who was also present at the three-party meeting, said they objected to the latest concept brought in by the top leaders as it envisions making the commission all-powerful, thereby giving short shrift to the consent of the victims. He said that the new concept not only makes the commission all-powerful but also does away with the list of grave human rights violations for which no pardon was possible. "The bills committee had said there could be no pardon for those involved in crimes against humanity and had prepared a list of such crimes including rape, murder under captivity, enforced disappearances and arson. But the latest proposal has removed this," said Gyawali. At the bills committee, members of all three major political parties had agreed to prepare the list of crimes for which pardon is not possible. There was dispute only over the definition of crimes against humanity. Lawmaker Ekraj Bhandari of the Maoist dissident faction said the proposed concept is unacceptable, pointing out that formation of the commission as per the latest proposal will clearly lead to total amnesty and impunity. "Those involved in forced disappearances and rape must be punished," Bhandari, who also heads the Society of Kin of the Disappeared, told Republica. "How can the new proposal be acceptable when it hasn´t even envisioned punishment for those involved in serious human rights violations?" NC´s Pushpa Bhusal, who likewise attended the meeting, said the new concept will definitely raise various questions and the party leaders should be ready to face those questions. "We at the bills committee had envisioned punishment and end of impunity, and granting pardon and reconciliation were only a part, but the new proposal is based entirely on reconciliation alone," she said. Though members from the bills committee were invited at the three-party meeting on Thursday, the leaders proposed a new concept entirely different from the bills that are under discussion at the committee. CPN-UML Chairman Khanal, while emerging from the meeting, said they decided to form a single commission instead of two separate ones as the nature of work to be done by both bodies was similar. "We decided to prepare a single bill by merging the two bills and table the integrated bill in parliament. The government will withdraw the bills that are now under discussion at parliament´s bills committee and table the new one," said Ram Sharan Mahat of NC. Nnnn ________________________________________ GOVT. FORMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION TO PROBE JOURNALIST MURDER, SUSPECT IN CUSTODY Kathmandu, 19 April: A three-member probe commission headed by former judge Krishna Prasad Basyal was formed Thursday by the cabinet to investigate and report in one month the murder of journalist Yavav Paudel. Police Thursday picked up Ganesh Rai, one of the accused in the murder of journalist Poudel, from Kakarbhitta. nnnn ONLY 3,161 FORMER MAOIST FIGHTERS CHOOSE INTEGRATION Kathmandu, 19 April: Only 3,161 former Maoist fighters have opted for integration in Nepal Army after end of the second round of re-grouping that concluded Thursday. Of 9,705 PLAs in all the seven cantonments, 6,544 opted for voluntary retirement, while 3,161 opted for integration. Army had created 6,500 openings for the former Maoist fighters. Division Commander Shantu Darai and Assistant Commander Jeevan are in Kathmandu and are yet to make a choice. According to the technical team, Acting Division Commander Nep Bahadur Chaudhari has also opted for voluntary retirement. Nnnn AGREEMENT ON ONE, NOT TWO COMMISSIONS Kathmandu, 19 April: Major three political parties have agreed to table a single bill in the Legislature-Parliament by incorporating the issues of bill on truth and reconciliation, and bill on disappearance, RSS reports. Following the agreement, the government is likely to withdraw two separate bills tabled in the Legislature-Parliament. A meeting of the top leaders of the UCPN - Maoist, Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN UML took a decision to this effect today. After emerging from the meeting, NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat said agreement was held as single bill was sufficient to address the problems of both issues in the new context. He was of the opinion that the new commission to be formed after the approval from the House would be powerful. Similarly, Chairman of CPN UML Jhalanath Khanal said that single bill and single commissions was enough to address the problems created during the wartime. It is learnt that the leaders are univocal regarding the bill on disappearance while leaders are divided over the issue of whether or not giving amnesty in the accidents occurred during the insurgency. nnnn CHINA WELCOMES PEACE PROCESS DEVELOPMENT Kathmandu, 19 April: China has welcomed the developments in the peace process and urged political parties to show similar consensus in constitution drafting. “China welcomes the recent important achievement in Nepal’s peace process. “As a close neighbour, China sincerely hopes that major political parties in Nepal will continue to pursue political consensus through dialogues and negotiations to complete its peace and constitution-drafting processes at early date so as to realize political stability and economic development,” aid Liu Weimin, spokesman of China’s foreign ministry. nnnn KMC CHIEF TOLD TO CANCELLPLANS FOR FOREIGN VISIT Kathmandu, l9 April: Government intervened Monday and hut shot plans of Kathmandu Municipal Authority (KMC) Chief Kedar Bahadur Adhikari totravel to the Philippines. Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimere and told Adhikari to cancel his travel plans.’ Nnnn INDIAN AMBASSADOR HOLDS DISCUSSIONS ON UML CHIEF Kathmandu, 19 April: Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad, accompanied by Akhileshwor Mishra,Chief of North Vision in Indian Foreign Ministry, held 45-minute discussions Wednesday with UML Chief Jhalanath Khanal. They discussed fresh political developments, including integration and constitution drafting, a party source said. nnnn MEETS LOANS TO PROMOTERS CAN’T BE WRITTEN OFF NRB TELLS NBB Kathmandu, 19 April: The central bank has told NBB that it will not recognize its cancellation of loans issued to the promoter group. NBB said it had written off loans worth Rs 200 million issued to Lalitpur Engineering Company and NB Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre and Harisiddhi Brick and Tile Factory. These companies are widely believed to have been promoted by the NB Group, but its stake in them cannot be legally established, The Kathmandu Post reports. “As allowing banks to write off loans related to their promoters is against the spirit of good governance, we have refused to give recognition to NBB’s decision to write off promoter-related loans,” Said the NRB official. The bank will now face a shortfall in its capital adequacy ratio which should be 10 percent, according to NRB officials. After adjusting the written off loans, its capital fund was positive by 10.02 percent as of the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The shortfall in the capita adequacy ratio means it will face action under prompt corrective action. As per the NRB directive on prompt corrective action, if a bank fails to meet the minimum capital adequacy, the bank may face a number of actions such as being forbidden to distribute dividends or bonus shares, issue loans and collect deposits as per the extent of the shortfall in its capital adequacy ratio. “The board will decide what action is to be taken under prompt corrective action against NBB for failing to meet the capital adequacy ratio,” said the central bank official. Meanwhile, NRB is mulling introducing a provision barring banks from writing off loans given to their promoters even after five years of the expiry of the term. The central bank’s existing directive requires banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to cancel loans that are not repaid within five years after the deadline expires. However, there is nothing in the rules about credit issued to promoter groups as promoters having a stake of more than 1 percent are not allowed to take loans from their own banks. The issue emerged after Nepal Bangladesh Bank (NBB) wrote off loans given to its promoter group as per the central bank’s directive. Central bank officials have started initial discussions on the proposal to bar BFIs from writing off such loans. “We will probably formulate a clear provision forbidding banks from writing off loans that went to promoters,” said a senior NRB official. Nnnn GOVT.ENCOURAGING PRIVATE SECTOR TO INVEST IN LPG BUSINESS Kathmandu, 19 April: Government will encourage the private sector to invest in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) business after the distribution of consumer cards is completed, Shiromani .Dhungana writes in The Himalayan Times. The government will not provide subsidy while purchasing cooking gas but rebate the amount by creating a separate mechanism, according to secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Lal Mani Joshi. “It means the buying price of cooking gas will be adjusted according to the international price after the distribution of consumer cards is completed.” The selling price of Nepal Oil Corporation and private companies then will be similar which will pave the way for the private sector to enter the business, he added. The government has, legally, already opened the way for the private sector to establish gas companies, according to him. “But the private sector has been pointing to the pragmatic problem of the lack of price adjustment by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).” The government will test whether the private sector is ready for investment after completing the distribution of consumer cards, he added. “Debt-stricken Nepal Oil Corporation often fails to import cooking gas in line with the market demand,” he said, adding that the problem of short supply in the market will end if the private sector enters the cooking gas business in a competitive manner. “At least those who have the money to buy at a higher price will easily be able to get cooking gas after the private sector starts operations.” Meanwhile, though the Gas Dealers Federation of Nepal officially started the distribution of consumer cards by providing a card to the prime minister, general consumers will have to wait for two more days to fill the form for consumer cards, according to NOC. “NOC has already provided consumer cards to the federation but it will take time to provide the forms to all the dealers,” said deputy director at NOC Sushil Bhattarai. “People living in rent in Kathmandu will also be provided consumer cards even if their families are residing outside the valley.” The corporation will develop a separate database of consumers after collecting the forms from the dealers which will help end malpractices such as hoarding and cartel by dealers in the future, he added. NOC will also strictly direct dealers to introduce an easy system of exchanging cylinders of one brand with another after the introduction of consumer cards. Nnnn MEET OF SOUTH ASIAN TEMECOM REGULATORS BEGINS Kathmandu, 19 April: The three-day long meeting of the South Asian telecom regulators began here in the capital from today [Wednesday], The Himalayan Times reports. Speaking at the inauguration programme of the council meeting of South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council, minister for information and communications Raj Kishor Yadav asked service providers to focus on Quality of Service. Minister Yadav also emphasised on the need for establishing communication technology as a basic need of the general public. “Nepal will put its effort to increase the penetration rate in the remote areas.” He added that there was a need for a joint strategy for the monitoring of radio frequency and the development of the telecom sector as a whole. A South Asian regional plan is a must to face the several challenges of the telecom sector, minister Yadav said. Chairman of Nepal Telecommunications Authority Bhesh Raj Kanel said that new challenges have emerged in the telecommunication sector. A collective effort will help overcome all challenges, he added. Countries including Nepal, India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives are participating in the three-day meeting. The meeting has been jointly organised by Nepal Telecommunication Authority and Asia Pacific Tele-community where the participating countries will also discuss on Asia Pacific Tele-community Strategy 2012-2014. Nepal will also raise the issue of regional Equipment Identity Register, during the meeting, to control the misuse of mobile sets throughout the region, according to Nepal Telecommunications Authority. The meeting will raise other important regulatory issues as well. nnnn