10 KILLED IN BUS ACCIDENT IN DOTI Kathmandu, 26 June: At least 10 persons were killed Tuesday morning at 8.15 when a bus hurled 200 meters off a road at t Chatiban VDC in Doti . Nine others were serious and three are safe. The bus was heading for Mahendranagar from Dadeldhura. Nnnn PM BHATTARAI BEGINS CONSULTATIONS ON BUDGET Kathmandu, 26 June: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is consulting his party Chairman Prachanda Tuesday morning to collect support for the annual budget that has to be launched mid-July. He’ll consult opposition leaders later Tuesday. Bhattarai is starting consultations after returning from Brazil Monday. Opposition a caretaker government of PM Bhattarai can’t announce a full budget. Nnnn NEPALI MISSIONS UNDERSTAFFED As Gulf countries and Malaysia are teeming with around 2.5 million Nepali migrant workers, only 28 government staffers are currently posted in Nepali missions in these countries. And the result is there for all to see. Problems galore for Nepalis working in these countries, Roshan Sedai writes in The Kathmandu Post. . The grossly understaffed Nepali missions, overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), have failed to provide proper services to the Nepali citizens in the countries. The mission in Saudi Arabia has seven staffers, led by Ambassador Udaya Raj Pandey. The mission in the UAE is led by Ambassador Dhananjaya Jha and has six staffers, while the one in Qatar is led by Ambassador Maya Kumari Sharma and has five staffers, to which one more is being added soon. The mission in Kuwait, led by Ambassador Madhuban Poudel and the mission in Malaysia, led by Ambassador Lekh Nath Bhattarai, also have only five staffers. Apart from officials assigned by the MoFA, the embassies receive a few representatives from the Ministry of Labour and some local staffers are also hired. The missions further oversee other neighbouring countries that have a significant presence of Nepali workers. MoFA officials said inadequate manpower has affected services in these countries. According to them, “one building and a handful of staff” in one country cannot look after the needs of such a large number of workers. Assistant MoFA Spokesperson Durga Bahadur Subedi said the ministry is planning to conduct a survey to assess the problem. The study will find out which embassies are understaffed and which ones have manpower in excess. “Personnel in embassies that have a surplus will be transferred to mission with less number of staffers,” Subedi said. Chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Bal Bahadur Tamang said the understaffed Nepali missions are facing acute problems when it comes to providing day-to-day services. “Without adequate manpower, workers are forced to wait for longer hours for services like translation of documents, passport renewal, recommendation letters and company verification. Services that should actually take a few hours are taking almost three days,” Tamang said. Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Udaya Raj Pandey admitted that his office requires additional manpower, but denied claims that it was creating problems in the delivery of services. “If the government adds two locals and two non-gazetted officers, things will be easier, but more than the staff, physical resources like vehicles are our immediate need,” Pandey said. The mission in Saudi Arabia also oversees other Gulf countries like Oman, Yemen, Sudan and Jordan. Director of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) Lal Babu Kawari said most of the understaffed embassies have failed to perform well. “In big countries like Saudi Arabia, the embassy recommends companies without further inquiry. The government should post at least one personnel for every 20,000 workers to ensure their safety and wellbeing,” Kawari said. Government estimates show that there are approximately 2.5 million Nepalis working in the countries in question. Around 90 percent of these Nepalis are working in Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. However, conflicting records say the number of workers could be as high as three million. Nnnn JANAJATI PARTY BEING LAUNCHED Kathmandu, 26 June: The Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (Nefin) has been receiving pressure from different quarters to form a new political party representing the Janajatis, a Nefin leader said addressing a function in Hong Kong on Sunday, Nirmal Shresthawrites in The Kathmandu Post from Hong Kong. Nefin General Secretary Ang Kaji Sherpa said they were weighing their options on the feasibility of starting a separate party and that they would soon come to a conclusion. The remarks from Sherpa come at a time when the Janajati leaders are venting their dissent against their parties for not prioritising the issues pertaining to the indigenous nationalities. “We should not get carried away by our emotions and take decision on the issue right away. Our upcoming national assembly will decide on the matter,” Sherpa said. If all Janajatis forge a unity, the Nefin general secretary said, they will emerge as a major political force in the country. Noting that the major political parties should prevent the country from undergoing ethnic polarisation, Sherpa said it is high time that the parties start getting serious about the demands of Janajatis. “All we are asking for is equal recognition, representation and access for all citizens.” The Nefin leader also said they are in favour of reviving the dissolved Constituent Assembly and even going for a fresh poll. Prithvi Subba Gurung, UML politburo member and coordinator of the Indigenous Lawmakers’ Caucus, said they were struggling for an identity-based democratic state and not a separate state based on ethnicity. “We are not trying to deprive any one of their rights, we are simply demanding for ours,” he said. Gurung also said some of the non-Janajati leaders like Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Ramchandra Poudel and Madhav Kumar Nepal have expressed their support towards the Janajati demands. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong chapter of Nefin formed a joint struggle committee to press for the Janajatis’ demands. nnnn