ONE KILLED, THREE INJURED IN CAR ACCIDENT - Kathmandu, 23 April: A person died and other three were injured when a car met with accident along the Dharan-Biratnagar road section on Saturday night, RSS reports from Biratnagar. . The car (Ko 1 Cha 5552) belonging to Inland Revenue Office, Biratnagar met with accident at Tankisinbari, Morang at 8.00 pm last night. The deceased has been identified as Bhusma Raj Prasai, 55, of Tinkune, Kathmandu, confirmed the District Police Office, Morang. Injured in the road mishap were Chief of Inland Revenue Office, Biratnagar, Dirgha Raj Mainali, non-gazetted first class officer Kishor Dhakal and driver Bhakta Bahadur Katuwal, The accident took place when the car en route to Biratnagar from Jhapa collided with a cyclist coming from opposite direction. The injured are undergoing treatment at Neuro Hospital in Biratnagar. nnnn QUEUES AGAIN FOR PETROL Kathmandu, 23 April: Gasoline lines are back in the capital after state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) started cutting deliveries, The Kathmandu Post reports. Petroleum dealers said fuel supplies had been reduced by 30 percent. “Shortages have risen particularly in the supply of diesel,” said Lilendra Prasad Pradhan, president of the Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ National Association (NPDNA). According to him, the problem is more severe in the eastern region as deliveries have been slashed by 50 percent. “As the eastern region has 19 hours of load-shedding, reduced supplies have hurt industrial production,” he said. However, the shortage of petrol has not been that bad. On Sunday, NOC supplied 410 kl of petrol and 586 kl of diesel to private petrol pumps while state-owned gasoline stations got 80 kl and 78 kl respectively. NOC has enforced dual pricing on diesel for bulk and industrial uses and it supplied around 35 kl of diesel on Sunday. “Sunday’s supplies was normal due to Saturday being a public holida when petroleum products are not consumed massively,” Pradhan said. He added that the government has to address the problem before it surfaces. Meanwhile, NOC said that there had been no increase in fuel imports due to inadequate cash. It had asked for Rs 2 billion from the government to make supplies smoother. However, NOC officials said that the government has not responded to its proposal. “We have asked the government for money but it has not responded as of now,” said NOC’s acting managing director Suresh Kumar Agrawal. On Thursday, NOC said that its petroleum stocks had dropped to 14,000 kl from the normal 70,000 kl. The current stock is barely enough to meet three days’ demand. The government has been bailing out NOC time and again with loans and grants. It currently owes over Rs 23 billion. Recently, it asked the government to implement an automatic fuel price adjustment mechanism, and said that if it was not possible, the government should be ready to spend at least Rs 18 billion on fuel subsidies in 2012-13. It has also sought Rs 10 billion for establishing a price stabilisation fund in order to reduce the impact of continuous price hikes in the international market. Nnnn COLLEAGUES FILE CORRUPTION CHARGE AGAINST BOSS Kathmandu, 23 April: - A corruption complaint has been filed against members of the National Human Rights Commission, including Chairman Kedar Nath Upadhyay and Secretary Bishal Khanal, in the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) demanding a probe into their alleged financial irregularities and abuse of authority in office, The Kathmandu Post reports. Sitting members KB Rokaya and Lila Pathak, who filed a similar complaint in the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority a few days ago, lodged corruption charges against their colleagues in the PAC on Sunday. "The Public Accounts Committee is authorised to look into financial irregularities; other issues you have raised are beyond our jurisdiction," PAC Chairman Ram Krishna Yadav said. "We will do our part though." In the complaint, Rokaya and Pathak have claimed huge funds misappropriation while purchasing three cars for commissioners and the secretary. The NHRC chief and the secretary are also accused of authorising a non-gazetted officer to handle millions of rupees of budgetary allocation for years. Some three years ago, when a new team led by Upadhyay joined office, Rokaya and Pathak raised the issue at the meeting, which decided to appoint a gazetted officer lawfully. "But the decision has not been implemented," added Rokaya. The suit has alleged NHRC member Ramnagina Singh of taking house allowance illegally, a charge NHRC members and secretary have denied. "I am indeed ready to face consequences of my misdeeds, if any, in case the allegation is proved," said Khanal in a written clarification. Last year, he filed separate defamation/public nuisance cases against both the members in Lalitpur District Court. Of the five members, Rokaya and Pathak have been boycotting NHRC meetings while the remaining members--Upadhyay, Gauri Pradhan and Singh, head the office. The factions do not even communicate with each other. The disgruntled members, who rarely attend the office, however, are enjoying salaries and allowances. Khanal has stated in his clarification that Rokaya and Pathak may have appealed to the CIAA and the PAC to cover their unlawful deeds. "As reported by a local daily weeks ago, the Office of the Auditor General recently found that Pathak collected her salary and perks for two months of her absence from office," Khanal stated. "Rokaya pocketed the salary meant for the driver of his office vehicle. I guess they complained to the CIAA to divert attention." Nnnn FOREST ENCROACHERS ATTACK CONSERVATIONIST Kathmandu, 23 April: A forest encroacher on Saturday attacked a forest conservation campaigner severely injuring both her hands for erecting a fence around a proposed community forest in Malakheti-6, Dil Bahadur Chhatyal reports in Republica from Dhangadi. Hari Bhat attacked Nanda Devi Kunwar while she was erecting a fence around even as the chairman of the proposed Madhumalati Community Forest was mobilizing around 50-60 persons to erect a fence in Malakheti-2. Bhat attacked Kunwar with a sickle. “He suddenly aimed for my throat with a sickle. I got my hands injured while trying to avoid the attack,” Kunwar said at the Padma Hospital in Attariya. “I had raised Rs 250 from every household to erect a fence around the forest,” she said, adding that she had no personal animosity with Bhat. She claimed that Bhatt and around 10 others, who had encroached on the forest land and sowed lentils. Bhat who had been arrested for encroaching on the forest land had been detained for three days in the Area Forest Office, Malakheti. Chief of the Area Forest Office Bhairab Ghimire said Bhat and two others were released after they made a written commitment to not encroach on the forest land. Inspector at Area Police office, Malakheti Krishna Nanda Bhatta, said search is on for the absconding assaulter. nnnn ________________________________________