RS.50 MILLION GOVT, LOAN TO NTCL TO IMPORT SUGAR Kathmandu, 21 Sept.: Government Thursday decided to extend to National Trading Corporation Limited (NTCL) a Rs.50 million loan The money will be used to import sugar for the festive season. nnnn MADESHI MORCHA AGAINST REDUCTION OF NO. OF CONSTITUENCIES Kathmandu, 21 Sept.: The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha on Thursday said it will accept anyone proposed by the three other parties as the prime ministerial candidate, The Kathmandu Post reports.. In a meeting Morcha leaders said the alliance of Madhes-based parties stands for early Constituent Assembly (CA) elections to ensure a constitution that guarantees federalism. The leaders also concluded that there should be a 'package' deal on both the government and the elections. “The meeting concluded that polls should be held by mid-May,” said General Secretary of the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Sarvendra Nath Shukla. He added that the Morcha wants a constitution at the earliest and, therefore, will accept anyone proposed by the three parties--Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist)--as the PM candidate. The leaders were, however, against the idea of reducing the constituencies from the existing 240, saying that would "raise questions on the intention of the parties." They further said the constitution must be promulgated by the new CA within a year of its sitting. “The statute must be promulgated within that time, either by forging consensus or through voting," said Sadhbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato. The Morcha intends to table their proposal in a meeting of ruling coalition partners and in four-party talks scheduled for Friday. nnnn- SETTLEMENTS ALONG NARAYANI RIVER THREATENED BY FLOOD WATERS Kathmandu, 21 Sept.: The Narayani river has started eroding one of its dykes near Narsahi VDC in Nawalparasi district, exposing nearby settlements to flood threats, Beshu Gaud writes in The Kathmandu Post from Narsahi, Nawalparasi Local people said the dyke, constructed to prevent flood, has worn off due to rapid current which is threatening to take down the back-up dam. As of Thursday afternoon, the raging Narayani had eroded about 25 metres of dyke No 12, prompting the local people to install gabion boxes and tree branches to prevent the erosion. Bishnu Maya Chhetri, a local resident of Narsahi VDC, said technicians from Nepal and India visited the dam after they were notified about the erosion. She said the villagers are in a state of panic as the river is threatening to damage the ‘B Gap’ dam. Since 2009, the Uttar Pradesh state in India has been overseeing the repair and maintenance work of dykes along the Narayani river. The people of Narsahi claim that the repair work conducted by the Indian side were of inferior standard. Ranjan Singh of the Irrigation Division Office at Semari in the district said the foundation of the dyke was not built deep enough which caused the river to erode the structure. He said Indian technicians were informed of the substandard work, but to no avail. Acting Chief District Officer Parsuram Aryal said both Indian and Nepali technicians have been directed to control the erosion at the earliest. He added that a team led by RS Burma, engineer of the Nichlaul Irrigation Project in India, has reached the scene to deal with the problem. nnnn