CHAIRMAN PRACHANDA RETURNS THURSDAY. Kathmandu, 17Oct. Maoist Chairman Prachanda returns from Europe Thursday. He addressed the EC parliament. Nnnn KP OLI SICK IN NEW YORK Kathmandu, 17 Oct,: UML leader KP Sharma Oli has been admitted to a New York. Details of his sickness were not immediately announced. Nnnn TWO-DAY HOLIDAY DECISION CRITICIZED Kathmandu, 17 Oct.: The government’s recent decision to grant two off days a week to reduce load shedding, has taken a strong battering, The Himalayan Times reports from Biratnagar, Nepalgng. .. Besides service seekers, government employees say the decision will prove a nuisance for service seekers and encourage corruption. “The government doesn’t show interest in generating electricity but resorts to this measure in the name of minimising load shedding. It has only infringed the basic rights of people,” argued Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities, Sunsari Chairperson Sujendra Tamang. “Though staffers are ready to abide by the government diktat, it is sure to have long-term impact on services provided to the public,” said Sunsari Chief District Officer Laxman Thapa. Itahari municipality executive officer Ganesh Karki, Biratnagar Land Revenue Office acting chief Khadga Bahadur Karki, and many others share similar views. “Instead of controlling corruption at NEA and addressing the problem of power leakage, the government has only worked to promote corruption,” said Alert Citizens Campaign of Biratnagar Secretary Uttam Dhungel. “The decision will only throw service seekers at the receiving end. It will also promote corruption as staffers could ask for bribe to provide service, citing insufficient time,” said Suresh Nepal, a local of Biratnagar. The decision has got residents of the far-west worried as they have to walk for days to reach government offices at the headquarters to get their work done. These service seekers who have to bear extra expenses waiting for government staffers at the headquarters will be hit hard by the two-day holiday. “As offices remain shut for many days owing to many public holidays, the decision will only hit service seekers,” said Nanda Padhye, who has come from Bajhang to the Appellate Court in Dipayal for a land-related case. Consumer Forum Kaski Chairperson Kapilnath Koirala wants the decision scrapped. In Banke too, the decision has been taken negatively by both government employees and service seekers. The load shedding problem won’t be solved with the two-day holiday, said Nepalgunj municipality executive officer Lok Bahadur Sunar. Nnnn GACHHEDA URGESS REFERENDUM Kathmandu, 17 Oct.: Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar today requested all parties to forge consensus and go for polls as election is the best alternative in the present contextdddddddddddd, The Himalayan Times reports from Biratnagar . Speaking to reporters in the Biratnagar Airport, Gachhadar said people wished for fresh referendum so that parties should reach an agreement for the election. “Big parties should not keep the country in an indecisive state,” he said, adding, “The big three parties sometimes talk of holding fresh polls but then again they change that decision to revive the Constituent Assembly. Such dithering has pushed the country towards further crisis.” Telling that election was the best alternative for a political way out, he said that the incumbent government would quit if an agreement in package was reached. “Parties should give up stubbornness and selfishness to reach an agreement for the larger interest of the country,” he added. On another context, he said the President could not take any decisions without consulting parties. “President does not have the right to sack or appoint prime minister,” he added. He went on to say, the role which President is now playing is better. Nnnn WATER NOT LACED WITH VIRUS THAT CAUSES BIRD FLU Kathmandu, 17 Oct.: preliminary report of the Central Animal Disease Investigation Laboratory on Tuesday confirmed that the water reservoir near the bird-flu site in Bode-3, Bhaktapur, has not been contaminated with the avian influenza virus, The Kathmandu reports. The laboratory tested water samples for possible infection as the reservoir is close to a poultry farm where bird flu was confirmed. Dr Narayan Prasad Ghimire, coordinator of the experts' team deployed at the site, said the report shows that the water is fit for consumption. Seven hundred and eighty chickens were slaughtered and 155 crates of eggs and over 50kg poultry feed destroyed at the farm in Madhyapur Thimi on Monday following a bird flu (H5N1) outbreak. The Central Veterinary Laboratory in Tripureshwor on October 12 confirmed the presence of the virus in the farm owned by Om Bahadur Khadka. Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited has collected water samples for test. KUKL spokesman Suresh Raj Acharya said the report will be available on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the expert's team continued with the disinfection of the farm. "Although fowls at a nearby poultry farm showed no sign of bird-flu, we found two dead chickens. Samples have been sent for examination," said Dr Ghimire. A team from the Department of Health Services has administered the Tamiflu drug to 12 people. An information session was also organised for the local people. No symptoms of influenza have been seen in local residents, said Kumar Dahal, a DoHS official, adding that there is no need for panic. Nnnn EIGHTAIRCAFT FOR NAC IN SIX MONTHS The government has stepped up efforts to procure aircraft for ailing national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), directing the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) and the Ministry of Finance to conclude process within six months. The government has also warned that failure to conclude the process would result in removal of concerned officials from their responsibilities, Sangam Pasasaiwritee I The KathmanduPost.. The Immediate Governance and Economy Development Action Plan 2012, unveiled by the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday, directed the two ministries to procure two aircraft for international and six for domestic fleet of NAC. The government’s directive has come at a time when every previous effort of NAC to purchase new aircraft had mired into controversy. As a result, the public enterprise has been unable to add a single aircraft to its fleet since the last two decades. NAC, which boasted a total of 19 aircraft a couple of decades ago, has just five aircraft now. The first of NAC’s two Boeing 757s for international flights had arrived in 1987. “The concerned officials are directed to initiate the procurement process within a month and procure the aircraft within six months. Failure to which will result in them being relieved from their responsibilities,” the action plan draft reads. According to government officials, NAC has begun another fresh process in its seemingly endless quest to buy aircraft. The move by the national flag carrier to expand its international fleet follows the Cabinet’s nod on Aug 1 to procure narrow-body jets. The NAC board had on Friday directed the management to conduct an analysis of its route, market and business before placing an order for the planes. The government has agreed to act as a guarantor for the planned purchase. The NAC officials said that the board was studying legal matters that possibly could arise if the new process was started without terminating the old one. The board has decided to sought advice from legal experts as well as other stakeholders on ways to terminate the old process. On Oct 26, 2009, the NAC board had decided to purchase two aircraft from Airbus—an A320-200 (narrow body) and an A330-200 (wide body). However, the purchase plan ran into dispute and it was cancelled following the directive of the now defunct parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on Dec 28, 2009. Subsequently on May 25, 2010, the Ministry of Finance asked the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) to scrap the entire purchase process. The plan was revived again on Dec 29, 2011. NAC invites Airbus for talks The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has invited France-based Airbus SAS for talks on the status of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the two companies had signed on November 6, 2009. A highly-placed NAC source said that the corporation’s board meeting had on Friday approved the decision to call Airbus to sort out the prevailing legal matters in the event the deal is scrapped. NAC and its line ministry have not scrapped the deal formally, fearing legal implications. nnnn