PRESIDENT ATTEMPTING TO FIND OUTLET TO DEADLOCK Kathmandu, 5 Aug.: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has invited leaders of parties in the dissolved constituent assembly (CA) to find out n outlet to a constitutional and political crisis through collective decisions Sunday morning at eight. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and former government chiefs have also been invited along with leaders of 27 parties in the dissolved CA. It’s learnt Mohan Baidhya chairman of CPN Maoist who split from UCPN Maoist of Chairman Prachanda after CA dissolution hasn’t been invited by Shital Niwas. nnnn YARCHAGUMBA COLLECTION, SALE LIFTS VILLAGERS OUT OF POVERTY Kathmandu, 5 Aug.:- Sonam Tenzing Tamang of Pulu VDC earned Rs 300,000 by selling Yarchagumba (Cordyceps sinesis) that he collected in highlands this Year. Raj Bahadur Shahi writes in The Kathmandu Post from Mugu. . Sonam, who earned Rs 400,000 last year through the sale of yarcha, has seen a steady rise in his economic status since his involvement in the trade. "Life used to be difficult without a source of income," he recalls. Tenzing Tamang of the VDC also earned Rs 150,000 this year by selling the precious worm-cum-herb. CP Tamang, a local teacher, said that three members of a family at Mangri Maha village earned Rs 1.1 million by selling the potent herb this year. "Each child below 15 earned Rs 100,000 on an average," he said. People in the eastern Karan belt of the district, where farm products last hardly three months, are getting attracted to the business. In 2004, yarcha collection emerged as a source of livelihood. It is estimated that people from 14 villages in Mugu, Pulu, Dolphu, Rowa and Magri VDCs earned around Rs 400 million this year alone. According to available data, yarcha sale fetched Rs 140 million in 2004, Rs 180 million in 2006, Rs 300 million in 2007 and 2008 and Rs 340 million in 2010. Yarcha became dearer this year comparatively. One kg yarcha sells for Rs 1.8 to Rs 2 million. The annual yarcha yield in the district is 300 to 700 kg. The precious herb is collected from April end to June, when children and adults alike leave their study and works for the harvest. The local teacher said the newfound means was lifting people out of poverty. "Many people have built houses in Kathmandu and bought plots of land elsewhere," Mugu VDC Secretary Bishnu Neupane said. However, experts say, yarchagumba could soon become extinct owing to its haphazard collection. nnnn