UML’S BOHARA HITS OUT AT 21-PARTY FRONT Kathmandu, 18 Aug.: Chief of the CPN-UML central disciplinary commission, Amrit Kumar Bohara, has said that the alliance of the ruling parties under the leadership of the UCPN (Maoist) has taken the country towards confrontation, RSS reports from Arghakanchi. . "The irrelevant alliance formed at a time when what the country needed was a government of national unity for finding a way out of the current political and constitutional crises has further increased the distance between the parties," he said. Speaking in a press conference organized by the Press Chautari Nepal, Arghakhanchi in Sandhikharka on Saturday, Bohara stressed that there was no other alternative to agreement and consensus for bailing the country out of the political impasse. He accused the UCPN (Maoist) of trying to impose its domination by sticking to power, adding that the country has not got an outlet from the present constitutional and political imbroglio because of this attitude of the Maoist party. CPN-UML politburo member and chief of the party´s publicity department, Pradip Gyawali, urged the UCPN (Maoist) to forge compromise with the established democratic parties like the UML and the Nepali Congress for the larger interests of the nation. He warned that the democracy won through long sacrifice and struggle would be in peril if the political parties fail to forge consensus and work together. Gyawali also said that the alliance of the ruling parties will further polarize the parties and take the country towards confrontation. nnnn ________________________________________ DEUBA URGES CONSENSUS Kathmandu, 18 Aug.: Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has stressed that all the political parties should forge ahead by giving up their stances to pull the country out of the present political and constitutional crisis, RSS reports. Prolonged political deadlock in the country may push it towards a grave crisis, he said and urged the political parties to be serious towards narrowing the mutual distrust and settling the intra-party disputes as well. Opening the first convention of Nepal Democratic Engineers´ Association on Saturday, leader Deuba said how those leaders who are not able to settle the intra-party conflict could run the state. "Fresh election is not possible without necessary amendments to the constitution," he said and opined that the dissolved Constituent Assembly should be revived for sometimes to remove constitutional difficulties for holding the election and new date for election be announced on the basis of political consensus. The former prime minister further urged both the ruling and the opposition parties to give up their stances to give the nation a way out to the present crisis as quickly as possible. Stating that the development of the country would not be possible until and unless political stability was achieved, he stressed the need of ensuring security at first and thereby attracting foreign investment into the country. Nepali Congress central member Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat alleged that the UCPN (Maoist) was trying to consolidate its dictatorship in the country at present due to the weakness of the democrats. He called on all the democrats to be united for preventing the UCPN (Maoist) from adopting the power politics. Former president of Nepal Engineers Association Yubaraj Sharma stressed the need of unity among all the democratic forces in the country for defeating the UCPN (Maoist) that has formed an alliance by blaming the Nepali Congress as anti-federalist party. Former vice-president of Nepal Students Union (NSU), Nayan Singh Mahar, general convention convenor Mukesh Raj Kafle, former vice-president of Nepal Engineers´ Association Harion Sribastav, president of Nepal Democratic Engineers´ Association, Chetnath Pandey and vice-president Homnath Pokharel and other speakers stressed the need of building youth unity for taking the country forward. Nnnn ________________________________________ RAUTES DEMAND COATS FOR FOR DASHAINl Kathmandu, 18 Aug.: Rautes, the nomadic tribe roaming in the mid-western jungles of Nepal have lately shown the interest in a new fashion of wearing a coat, RSS reports from Salyan.. Talking to media persons and social workers who reached their habitat Friday, they said they had the desire to wear a coat this winter season. Rautes who would not accept any gifts of clothes tailored by machine or any new clothes, showed quite a concern for coat this time round. The Raute males usually wear Gado, a piece of plain cloth, and women wear old clothes received from begging. "Dashain is round the corner, if one of you gave one coat to each of us in this Dashain, this jungle king will wear it and dance with merriment before you," said Raute Chief Main Bahadur Shahi. Raute community's Hari Bahadur Shahi also urged all to bring coats rather than other helps. He said, "We do not need anything else, a coat can be a better gift". The community which thinks it is a sin to touch money, has been changing from their ancient traditions in recent days. Asked whether they would wear if they are given pants and shirts, Chief Main Bahadur said, "What will be the difference between you and us if we wear that?" When asked why then a coat? He said in a jolly mood, "As your prime minister wears a coat, we, the prime minister of the jungle should also wear a coat, that's why we asked for it." Rautes have urged to send 26 pieces of coats before the Dashain festival, the greatest festival of the Nepalis and the Hindus all over the world. In latest days, Rautes have been developing a fad for alcohol. They have started consuming maximum amount of alcohol. The alcohol produced locally is too little for Rautes, says one local of Dhanabang Gandapani. They have started to spend their allowances given by the government in drinking. Nnnn TEJBIR RURA IS NEPAL’S ONLY OLYMPIC GOLD RECEPIENT BUT FOR WINTER GAMES IN 1924 Kathmandu, 18 Aug.:- In 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the man known as the ‘Father of Modern Olympics’, proposed that a gold medal be awarded to the highest achiever in Alpinism in the Olympiad. When the Modern Olympic Games began in 1896, the Alpinism Prize was instituted, but the medals themselves were never actually handed out until the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix in1924, Somesh Verma writes om The Kathmandu Post. . At the 1924 Olympics, the Comite Olympique Francais (French Olympic Committee) awarded the 1922 Everest Expedition the first ever Olympic Medal for Alpinism for what was described as their “outstanding feats on Mount Everest during the 1922 expedition.” Bura had been a member of that expedition, which broke previous records in terms of highest altitude scaled on the world’s highest summit, going up to 27,000 feet (8,230 metres). On February 5, 1924, de Coubertin personally presented the medals to Lt Col Edward Lisle Strutt, the deputy leader of the expedition, who had been chosen to attend the Games. He was presented with 13 gold medals, one for each member of the team. And in the official records of the 8th Olympiad, de Coubertin is said to have complimented the team on behalf of every nation in the world, “not just for their country but for all humanity.” The Man Lans-Naik Tejbir Bura was a Non Commissioned Officer in the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Gurkha Rifles. Details of him are difficult to find, probably because of his nationality (not being an Indian), and flimsy recordkeeping methods. George Ingle Finch, considered one of the greatest mountaineers of all time, and a part of that expedition team, has described Bura as “the most promising of all our Gurkhas.” The Expedition The 1922 expedition was led by Brigadier-General Charles Bruce, a Gurkha Officer, and Lt Col Edward Strutt—both British nationals—who attempted to reach the summit with their party (including Bura) three times, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The expedition was the first such venture with the specific goal of summiting the top of the world, after a reconnaissance expedition had identified routes to summit Mt Everest for the first time in 1921. Bura’s team couldn’t succeed in scaling the peak but set a new world record for highest altitude scaled nonetheless. Walt Unsworth, in his book Everest—The Mountaineering History, writes: “Accompanying his officer was Lans-Naik Tejbir Bura of the 6th Gurkhas, accepting his position as an equal to ‘sahibs’, as the Gurkhas had always done on that occasion.” Finch was one of the three, along with Bruce and Bura, who reached the height of 25,500 feet on May 24. He was the one egging on his team to climb further despite their exhaustion. In his diary, he writes, “I wanted to hang on and try our climb the following day. Very cautiously and tentatively I broached my wish with Bruce, he jumped at the idea. And when our new plans were communicated to Tejbir, the only effect upon him was to broaden his already expansive grin. It was a merry little party that gathered round to a scanty evening meal that night.” Unsworth’s book reveals the next day’s events as being particularly dramatic. “They were away by 6:30 am, the two British climbers carrying 40-lb loads and Tejbir 50-lb. The plan was that Tejbir would go no further than the junction at North East Ridge (27,000 feet), at which point he would hand over the spare oxygen cylinders which made up his load and then return to the camp. But it was not to be; only a few hundred feet above the camp Tejbir collapsed, utterly exhausted.” Finch remembers the incident in his writings, describing the effects of the cold on Bura’s otherwise “sturdy constitution”, and how he had sunk face-first on to the rocks, crushing beneath him the delicate oxygen cylinders. Bruce had tried his best to convince Bura to struggle on, but it was in vain. “Tejbir had done his best; and he has every right to be proud of the fact that he has climbed to a far greater height than any other Nepali,” Finch writes. Why was it overlooked? There are reasons why Bura’s achievement is not mentioned in the record books. When the original Olympic medals were awarded in February 1924, only 12 British and one Australian member of the expedition received them. Sir Charles Bruce, the expedition leader, was not present during the award ceremony. Upon his return, he contacted the International Olympic Committee and suggested medals be given to further eight members of the team—Tejbir plus seven Sherpa porters (believed to be Indians or Tibetans). The IOC acknowledged his request and forwarded additional medals to the remaining eight members. The other reason is that, in such a case where a multi-national group wins an Olympic medal, the medal is recorded in the name of the country that the team captain belongs to. This is why, in the final tally, the 1924 Olympic Medal for Alpinism is recorded as being won by Great Britain. The Pledge When de Coubertin gave away the medals at the foothills of Mont Blanc, he had asked if one could be taken to the summit of Mt Everest. The person receiving the award, Strutt, pledged to do this at the next opportunity. But it was never taken up, and remained a forgotten promise for many years, until this year, when the pledge was revived through the efforts of Kenton Cool, arguably the most successful British national atop Everest. Cool took the medals to the summit. Richard Robinson, director of Cool’s expedition, said in an e-mail interview, “Tejbir who (in my humble opinion) is the most overlooked son of Nepal. Tejbir Bura was very much part of the 1922 Expedition team, and very much one of the men that we fulfilled the Pledge for.” So on May 26, 2012, 90 years and one day after Tejbir’s climb in 1922, Cool placed the medals on the top of the world. The British pledge was fulfilled, just two months before the London Olympics. And fittingly, the medals went further than Tejbir himself could, highlighting his heroic achievements. The medal awarded to Bura is kept on display at the Gurkha Museum, Winchester nnnn ________________________________________