NCC DELEGATION, PM MEET Kathmandu, 6 July: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) is holding discussions with Prime Minister Dr.. Babutam Bhattarai Friday. The body has been lobbying for a complete budget n meeting with leaders of political parties. NCC is reviewing progress for political understanding on a budget with parties. Nnnn 10 OPPOSITION STUDENT UNIONS MEET Kathmandu, 6 July: A meetings of 10 opposition student unions began a meet Friday to discuss anti-government programmes. The protests are both political and educational. nnnn SIRAHA CLOSED DOWN Kathmandu, 6 July: Traders closed down Siraha Friday protesting a night raid on a hotel in Lahan three days ago. Police and protestors fought pitched battles in Lahan Thursday. Several persons were injured on both sides as police lobbed teargas shells to control the crowd. Nnnn INTEGRATION PROCEDURE OF FORMER MAOIST FIGHTERRS OBSTRUCTED Kathmandu, 6 July: Integration of 3,200 former Maoist fighters was obstructed Friday at some of the seven cantonments protesting the process ‘was not honourable’. Some demands included honourable integration and lump sum payment for those seeking voluntary retirement Friday is the third day the process started and is expected to be completed in three weeks with involvement of a 22-member Nepal Army team. .Many who have gone on leave haven’t returned to the camps as yet to participate in the process. Nnnn UML CAMP Kathmandu, 6 July: A camp and meeting for UML workers of Janakpur anchal Begins Friday in Janakpur. Leaders will brief workers on the outcome of a recent national meet, current political situation and future strategy. Chairman Jhalanath Khanal andother top leaders will address the meet.. Opposition UML has been holding such regional meetings after the national meet in the capital. MEDIA GOOGLE “The IL&FS [of India] had expressed interest in the project and the board, as the government designated body for TIA expansion and improvement, had asked for the concept proposal from the Indian company. The IL&FS did not establish correspondence of any kind with the board thereafter. In this respect, one cannot say that the board is preparing to hand over the project to a particular company.” (Statement of Investment Board, The Kathmandu Post, 6 July) nnnn SWOLLEN SETI THREATENS 150 FAMILIES- Kathmandu, 6 July: Around 150 households on the banks of the Seti river at Masinabagar and Hemja in Kaski district are precariously perched on land that is being fast eroded by the rising waters, Lal Prasad Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post from Pokhara. With the onset of the monsoon, the rising water level is eating away the river banks, exposing the settlements to the threat of landslides. Fearing landslidps that may take down their houses any time, some people of the 68 households at Masinabagar are taking shelter in tents, while others are living in their relatives’ houses. “We work as labourers all day long and return to a safe place in the evening. We are finding it increasingly hard to save ourselves,” said a local resident, Lal Bahadur Gurung. “The government has made no efforts so far to tame the river,” said another local, Santa Bahadur Gurung. An official at the Kaski branch of Nepal Red Cross Society, Khemraj Sapkota, demanded the government shift the local people to safer places. “Around 100 households at Masinabagar and Hemja are at risk. We have failed to do anything concrete except ask them to move to safer places,” said Hemja VDC secretary Bharatraj Poudel. Chief District Officer Chetnath Bhattarai said constructing a dyke in the river now is not possible as the water level has already gone up. The Seti river also continued eroding its banks at Yamdi in Hemja VDC, posing a threat to the Pokhara-Baglung Highway. One killed in landslide GORKHA: A woman was buried to death in a landslide in Kerauja VDC-7 in the district on Wednesday. Dhani Gurung, 60, had been sleeping in a cow shed when the incident occurred. Police said Kanchha Gurung and Khadpati Ghale were injured in the landslide. Road remains blocked RASUWA: The Trishuli-Dhunche stretch of the Pasang Lhamu Highway is yet to repoen. A landslide had blocked the stretch last week, hampering supply of essentials to the district headquarters, Dhunche. Dozens of vehicles are also stranded. Nnnn REINSTATE CA FOR 27 MINUTES Kathmandu, 6 July: While the major political parties remain sharply divided on the next road map towards a constitution, a constitutional expert has proposed that reinstating the Constituent Assembly (CA) for just 27 minutes through political consensus could be an overlooked option to end the current impasse, The Kathmandu Post reports. Constitutional lawyer Chandra Kanta Gyawali said Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had performed an “extrajudicial act” by announcing fresh CA elections without letting the assembly meet its demise naturally. “The declaration of fresh elections dissolved the CA 27 minutes ahead of the natural end of its tenure,” said Gyawali. “The prime minister, in accordance with the Interim Constitution, does not command the proper authority to dissolve the CA.” Gyawali clarified that there were only three grounds envisioned by the Interim Constitution and the Supreme Court under which the CA could dissolve: under Article 82 of the Interim Constitution, the assembly would relinquish its responsibility after promulgation of the new constitution; the assembly could itself announce its dissolution by passing a resolution ahead of its deadline; and based on the Supreme Court’s verdict prohibiting yet another term extension, the CA would naturally dissolve after 12.00 pm on May 27, whether it promulgated the constitution or not. “The prime minister dissolved the assembly before its term expired, presuming that the CA would not be able to come up with the constitution in the little time that was left,” said Gyawali. “Had the CA dissolved naturally, the status of the prime minister would have been reduced to caretaker and he would not have had the authority to announce new elections. “Then all political forces would have been bound to come together to formulate a common road map,” argued Gyawali. However, another constitutional lawyer Purna Man Shakya said CA reinstatement is “not so easy.” The legitimacy of any such step could be challenged in the Supreme Court and the people will not accept the proposal until there is a guarantee of promulgating the new constitution, said Shakya. “The political parties alone do not have the authority to revive the assembly. Unless the people support the revival, the reinstatement will be illegitimate,” he said. Both the lawyers said the country would plunge into a serious constitutional crisis if the parties failed to reach a compromise sometime in the near future. nnnn