DETAILS OF RPP-NEPAL STRIKE Kathmandu, 18 May: The nation-wide RPP-Nepal nation-wide strike has adversely impacted normal life. The party is calling for a Hindu state. Several supporters, including a lawmaker, were arrested in the capital. nnnn BROADER MADESH ALLIANCE ALSO CALLS TERAI STRIKE Kathmandu, 18 May: A broader Madesh Alliance led by MJFN Chairman Upendra Yadav Friday called for indefinite closure of the terai protesting declaration of 11 provinces calling the declarating a blackmail by the Big Three. Rebel Maoists led by First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidhaya and Sharat Sngh Bhandary , a Pahadi of MJFL of Deouty Prime Minister and Chairman BIjaya Kumar Gachedhar, support the Yadav strike. nnnn JP GUPTA DISSATISFIED WITH AGREEMENT WITH 3 PARTIES IN LETTER FROM JAIL Kathmandu, 18 May: In a letter Thursday to top leaders of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), an alliance of five Madhes-based parties, Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Republican (MPRF-R) JP Gupta, who is currently serving a jail term on a corruption charge, has expressed dissatisfaction over the agreement between the three major political parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML -- on an 11-province model and other contentious issues in constitution writing, Republica reports. Gupta has termed the three-party agreement a mishap as far as the achievements of the Madhes movement and safeguarding those achievements are concerned. In his letter, Gupta has stated that questions would be raised for a long time about the ´innocence´ of the Madhesi leaders who were present when the agreement was reached and about their statements that they would not obstruct the implement of the agreement reached between the three parties. Gupta has said the three-party agreement is just to make believe that the UCPN (Maoist) has not given up the agenda of ethnicity-based provinces and to keep well-wishers of the Madhesi alliance under illusion for the time being about the possibility of an autonomous Madhes province within the 11-province model. “I urge you all to show courage in order to fulfill a historic responsibility at this moment in time,” reads the four-page hand-written letter. Gupta has stated that it was necessary to review the progress made on the Madhesi alliance´s objectives -- establishing the identity of the Madhesi people and forming an autonomous Madhes province, among other things. In his letter, he has also expressed dissatisfaction over the agreement between the three parties on system of governance, saying that electing the head of the executive would be unachievable under that system. “If we are to talk about the proposed sharing of powers between the centre and the provinces, we should not be in any hesitation to say that the federalism of Nepal would be among the ridiculous, center-oriented and weak in the world,” the letter further reads. Gupta has maintained that if the Madhesi alliance did not respond against the division of Madhes, the consequences would be inexcusable. “And lastly, we should not ignore the reality that neither are we the genesis of the Madhes movement nor will that movement witness an end because of our deviations. Let us therefore work with honesty and commitment, and even if we cannot succeed as per our expectations, let us not discredit the movement,” Gupta said in his letter. nnnn FAR-WEST REMAINS SHUT EVEN WITH CALL OF GREATER REGION AGREEMENT Kathmandu, 18 May:: Even after the agitating locals called off their strike following an agreement with the government on Wednesday, the far-western region remained shut for the 21st day on Thursday, Dil Bahadur Chhatyal and Pushpa Raj Joshi write in Republica from Dhangadi.. Tharuhat Struggle Committee (TSC) shut down Kailali and Kanchanpur districts and Chhetri Society enforced a strike in all hill districts. On Wednesday, a delegation of agitating locals -- who had been demanding an undivided far-west since since April 27 -- struck a three-point deal with the government following the latter´s assurance to include all nine districts of the region in a single Seti-Mahakali state. TSC has demanded that Kailali and Kanchanpur be made part of autonomous Tharuhat state while Chhetri society is for another autonomous state comprising all hill districts in the region. TSC cadres who took to the streets from early Thursday morning vandalized an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman in Ramshikharjhala VDC-7. They also thrashed the pregnant Anita Kunwar and her husband Dabal Bishta after vandalizing the ambulance (Se 1 Cha 584). "They attacked us with spears, iron rods and batons," Dabal said. A team of police which shortly reached the spot had rescued the Bishta couple. They are undergoing treatment at Seti Zonal Hospital. The TSC cadres also burnt a motorcycle (Se 1 Pa 665) along Tikapur-Lamki road section. They also vandalized a tractor (Bhe 1 Cha 849) heading for Dugauli from Lamki. Nnnn ________________________________________ . ________________________________________ GOVT. AND IOC CONCEALING FIGURES ON LPG CYLINDER IMPORTS Kathmandu, 18 May: Consumer rights activists have said that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies are deliberately concealing the import and supply data of cooking gas, The Himalayan Times reports.. Nepal Oil Corporation issues Product Delivery Order (PDO) for the import of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Indian Oil Corporation, said consumer rights activist Prem Lal Maharjan. “But, NOC does not provide the data of imports made by concerned bottling plants and hides the record of the issuance of PDO to bottling plants,” he said, adding that the unwillingness of NOC to show data clarifies that it has been deliberately turning a deaf ear to the mounting problem of black marketing. It can tally the import quantity and supply amount of concerned bottling plants if it suspects any irregularities, he claimed. “NOC will not do that because its commission will decrease if it reveals the actual bottling plant-wise data of import and supply.” Now, the corporation and the ministry have started another episode of pretending of doing something good in the name of consumer card distribution, he said. “It is ridiculous that NOC could not implement the double-colour cylinders even though it had expressed its commitment to complete it three months back.” How can the corporation implement the consumer card effectively at a time when it has been failing to introduce separate colour cylinders for domestic and industrial purposes, he questioned. The consumer card distribution is nothing more than accepting dealers’ cartel and syndicate system, he said. Meanwhile, only 512 dealers started distributing LPG consumer cards from yesterday, according to general secretary of Gas Dealers’ Association of Nepal Maheshwor Prasad Shrestha. 512 dealers have taken 25,000 cards for the purpose of distributing the cards to consumers, he said, adding that the verification of the remaining dealers is still going on. The verified dealers have taken 300 to 1,000 cards for distribution, he informed. Dealers will mention the name of the consumer along with the brand of gas being used by him/her in the card. A total of 2,000 dealers have approached the association for verification, he said. “Gas bottling plants have yet to verify more than 1,500 dealers.” Some 2,500 dealers had taken forms to verify their dealers, he said. “Of the total number of forms distributed, 2,000 dealers have already filled and submitted forms.” Similarly, Nepal LP Gas Industries Association and concerned bottling plants have also taken the forms. “The card distribution will be further accelerated once the dealer verification process is completed by NOC and the bottling plants,” he said. Nnnn ITUC WARNS QATAR WHERE NEPALIS WORK OF CAMPAIGN AGAINST GULF STATE Kathmandu, 18 May: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on Wednesday has warned of an international campaign ‘No Labour Rights – No World Cup’ against Qatar unless it upholds labour rights, The Himalayan Times reports. ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow has also announced to launch an investigation into the conditions of workers in Qatar following her visit to Nepal to hear firsthand accounts from workers who have just returned from the Gulf Kingdom. Her first-hand accounts reveal that the migrant workers from Nepal and other countries are working under extreme and harsh conditions in Qatar. “Many workers die from heat exhaustion, in 2010 this was covered up as heart attacks, now we’re told the workers are dying in their sleep,” said General Secretary Burrow in a statement issued yesterday. The statistics reveal that 162 Nepalese workers had died in Qatar in the first ten months of 2011 while Nepalese embassy’s records show that 13 migrant workers committed suicide, 22 work-related deaths were documented and 92 deaths were unexplained. Around 1.2 million Nepalis are believed to be working in Gulf States including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. nnnn