RETIRED BRIG. GEN CHARGED FOR ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF WEAPON . Kathmandu, 14 July: Retired Brig Gen. Sagar Shumshere JB Rana was sent to judicial custody Friday by Nawalparasi district administration. He’s been charged for hunting wildlife illegally at a forest in the district 13 June. Park officials released him after investigation when he was caught with dead animals. Nawalparasi Police last week arrested Rana on charge of using illegal weapon. Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “The Head of State is confident that the government will bring one-third budget as per Article 96 (A)(1) and (2) of the Interim Constitution..” (Press Aide Rajendra Daha of the president, The Himalayan Times, 14 July) “Gyanendra is as free as any other citizen of Nepal to attend religious functions, air his views on the current political debacle, and yes, even to make arguments in support of restoring the monarchy. Nepal’s beleagured apologists do themselves no credit by reverting to bad-tempered hysteria every time the ex-king opens his mouth. This has no effect, expect in convincing many that he is still somehow relevant.” (John Kelleher, Republica, 14 July) nnnn 21 OFFICIALS FOR 5 ATHLETES IN LONDON OLYMICS Kathmandu, 14 July Amid long-running dispute between two parallel Nepal Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the National Sports Council´s (NSC) recent recommendation to the government to dissolve both, the Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan-led NOC, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is preparing for Nepal´s participation in the London Olympics, Nabin Khatiwada writes in Republica.. The other NOC led by Rukma Shumsher Rana has been recognized by the Supreme Court but rejected by the IOC. Pradhan-led NOC on June 25 had announced a 17-member Nepali squad, which includes five athletes and three coaches, for the Olympics. However, Republica understood that nine other NOC officials are also flying to London as part of the Nepali delegation to the Olympics. The Olympic games are being held in London from July 27 to August 12. Sprinters Pramila Rijal and Tilak Ram Tharu, and swimmers Shreya Dhital and Prasiddha Jung Shah secured London´s ticket through ´universal places´ while shooter Sneha Rajya Laxmi Rana received wild-card entry. The 17-member team includes athletics coach Tika Sedhai, swimming coach Wangden Lama and shooting coach Dhruba Bikram Shah. Likewise, Ranjit Baral has been included in the squad as team doctor. NOC office bearers Ganga Bahadur Thapa (volleyball), Rabi Rajkarnikar (athletics), Jyoti Rana (tennis) and Dhirendra Pradhan (football) have also been included in the team. Among the officials, only Rajkarnikar is related to a participating sport. Meanwhile, businessman Chandi Shrestha is traveling to London as Olympic guest while two sports journalists have also been included in the 17-member team. NOC had announced NSC Member Secretary Yubaraj Lama as chef de mission though he has been refusing to take the charge. NOC has not appointed new chef de mission after Lama refused to take the charge and recommended to the government to dissolve the NOC. "Till today (Thursday) Member Secretary Lama is the chef de mission of the Nepali squad. After the new development [NSC´s recommendation to dissolve the NOCs], we can appoint any other official as chef-de-mission," said Jeewan Ram Shretha, the general secretary of the NOC. Though NOC could manage participation of only five players, it succeeded to manage accreditation for a numbers of officials for the London 2012. Though NOC had not announced their name in the squad, NOC treasurer Chhimi Urken Gurung (cycling) as well as NOC members Rajiv Shrestha (boxing) and Ramji Bahadur Shrestha (badminton) are also flying to London. Likewise, Trishakti Sundar Joshi, a relative of NOC General Secretary Shrestha, is also to tour London as Olympic guest. "As we have only five athletes participating in the London 2012, our team could have not more than 17 members," said General Secretary Shrestha. "However, one delegate could be replaced by the other. The three NOC officials and an Olympic guest could attend London 2012 only if other officials leave London early," Shrestha tried to clarify. NOC has appointed Shankar Gaire, who has been residing in London now and has no relation with Nepali sports, as the attaché of the Nepali team. "The attaché is for assisting Nepali team until the chef-de-mission takes charge in the Olympic village," said Shrestha. NOC President Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan and his spouse Nirmala Shrestha Pradhan as well as General Secretary Shrestha and his wife Pratima Joshi are also visiting London. "IOC has a tradition of inviting president and general secretary of all the national Olympic committees along with their partners in the Olympic events and they are not considered as team members," said NOC member Laxman Shrestha. Though NSC and other authorities concerned have been demanding transparency within NOC and criticizing the jumbo-sized delegation, NOC is not ready to accept such criticism. "We are transparent enough and we have already announced the Nepali squad. There hasn´t been any irregularity in forming the squad since IOC itself provides us a limited quota for the Olympics," said general secretary Shrestha. Meanwhile, Purushottam Prasad Shrestha, treasurer of the Rana-led NOC that is recognized by Supreme Court verdict in 2010, claimed that there are more people in the Nepali squad than what has been made public but he could not provide the names. "We have asked the authorities concerned to stop the officials other than athletes and coaches from participating in the London Olympics," said Shretha. nnnn ________________________________________ . ________________________________________ RESORTS INSIDE CNP TO OPERATE UNTIL MID-DECEMBER Kathmandu, 14 July: Although the lease agreement with hotels inside the Chitwan National Park (CNP) expires on Sunday, the government is still indecisive over the fate of the resorts, Republica reports.. As per an agreement with the government, the hoteliers will still get five more months to relocate the hotels if the lease agreement is not renewed. Nabin Kumar Ghimire, Secretary at Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation said, “We have not decided on anything over the issue.” Ghimire said even if the government decides not to renew the agreement, the hotels inside CNP can continue operation till mid-December, 2012. Following the instruction of the government to relocate the hotels by mid-July, 2012, hoteliers had sought period of 5-6 months to move their belongings. “Since the deadline coincided with monsoon, we sought additional time for the relocation in case the agreement was not renewed,” General Manager of Tiger Tops Yadav Bantawa said. Bantawa, however expressed the hope on renewal of agreement stating that the government officials were positive and the private sector was also supporting them. According to an official of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), secretary of both ministries would hold talk soon to decide on the issue. The tourism ministry which was initially positive on the demand of entrepreneurs has however, remained neutral. Dr. Ganesh Raj Joshi, secretary at MoCTCA opined that the ministry does not have any opinion on the issue so far. “The matter falls more into the jurisdiction of Forest Ministry than ours,” Joshi told Republica. The official at the ministry said the proposal requesting Forest Ministry for renewal has not been forwarded from the desk of secretary. While the indecisiveness of the government continues, entrepreneurs are divided. The umbrella organization of entrepreneurs Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) along with Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has been lobbying for the renewal of the agreement. They argue that shutting down the hotels would discourage foreign investment and spread bad message amongst tourist as well. HAN President Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshpati said, “ The hoteliers have invested well above Rs 2 billion and shutting down of such huge investment will yield negative result in tourism industry.” Sauraha based hoteliers on the other hand are requesting the government to instruct its decision of the relocation. Owner of the Sauraha based hotel Keshab Pandey said, “The operation of the hotel is degrading the ecology of the park.” He said that since the hotels were catering to more than 75 percent of the total tourist arrivals of Chitwan, the tourism of Chitwan should not be associated with six resorts inside the park. The local hoteliers have also formed a nine-member struggle committee to pressure the government to remain firm in its decision. “The extension was given stating that it was for the final time, so there is no point to renew the license further,” Pandey said. nnnn ________________________________________