CURRENCY NOTE DESIGN BEING CHANGED Kathmandu, 11 Oct.: Nepali currency notes will have a new look in the near future, Nagarik reports. Cabinet has approved the design with a map of Nepal in currency notes. of Rs,.20,50 and 500 denominations. nnnn EC SEEKS ELECTION DETAILS SAYING IT IS PREOARED VOR A VOTE Kathmandu, 11 Oct.: With most of its commissioners retiring in January and political parties still unclear on fresh elections, the Election Commission on Wednesday asked the 93 parties registered with it, including the governing ones, to come up with a clear position on the polls, Bhadra Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post.. Local bodies have been running without elected peoples' representatives for the last 11 years, but parties, who had earlier agreed to go for fresh Constituent Assembly elections, are now indecisive. "The EC is technically prepared to hold any form of elections. We want to know what preparations are being carried out from the government's side and what kind of elections is it planning to hold," Acting Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety told representatives of the parties in a meeting here. The EC fears that the government's plans to hold elections may be deferred for years if the parties don't take a call on time. Saying that periodic elections are key foundations of a democracy he expressed dissatisfaction over the 'negligence' of the parties. "We always talk about democracy, but questions are now being raised on the parties themselves being democratic," he said. EC officials expressed their willingness to hold local elections even if parties were not able to forge consensus. "If the parties desire, the Commission is well prepared to hold even local elections," said EC spokesperson Sharada Prasad Trital. The EC, which has taken tough measures to modernise the electoral system by making it more free, fair and transparent, has proposed seven electoral laws for amendment and is working to introduce electronic voting machines (EVM). Voters are also being registered with photographic and bio-metric information. A total of 10.8 million voters are registered under the digital voter registration system. In the meeting, the EC urged the government to take initiatives to purchase EVMs from India if it wants to hold elections in April. According to officials, EVMs cost Rs 1.64 billion and that purchasing them will take at least six months. "A state-owned Indian company has informed us that it will take six months after the order to manufacture the EVMs," said Trital. The EC further urged Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and ministers concerned to allocate funds for their procurement. The EC also requires 150,000 electronic ballot units and 55,000 control units, excluding batteries and totalizers, EC officials said. The EC has said that the government's plan to hold elections in April will not materialise if the government delays allocating a budget for the EVMs. According to the officials, the EC cannot backtrack from its plans to go digital. NC leader Man Bahadur Bishwakarma told the meeting that electronic voting would help make the polls relatively free and fair. "However, we are not totally convinced that the EVMs are error-free," he said. Leaders suggested that the EC hold local elections to check increasing corruption in local bodies. "Development budget has been largely misused. It is learnt that up to 87 arrears are seen in local bodies as no elections have been held for the past 15 years," said Birendra Thapaliya, central committee member of the CPN-ML. Agni Kharel, central committee member of the CPN-UML, pointed out the need for local elections, citing complexities for parliamentary and CA elections. "Even if the constitution is drafted today, it will take four to five years to settle the issue of federalism and local bodies cannot run without elections for years," he said. nnnn NEPALI GLOBETROTTERS Kathmandu, 11 Oct.: The festive season is here, and Nepalis are starting to pack their bags and make plans for vacation trips as has been their habit. Thanks to affordable travel packages, a greater number of people have been struck by wanderlust this season, Sangam Prasain writes in The Kathmandu Posst.. Nepali holidaymakers usually set their sights on Thailand, Malaysia, Dubai, Mauritius, India and Singapore. Beyond these traditional destinations, the new places at the top of the list for travellers from landlocked Nepal are China, France, Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia, according to travel industry executives. “Holidays only come once a year, and it’s the right time to travel,” said Vikash Dugar, managing director of KL Dugar. Dugar and his family and friends making up a group of eight are heading for a two-week holiday in Kenya this year. “We have chosen Africa to enjoy wildlife safari and also to observe the migration which takes place during September-October,” he said. Last year, Dugar visited Switzerland. Generally, Nepalis are known as money savers rather than spenders; but when it comes to travel, travel traders say that Nepali mindsets have changed and that they want to explore the world. “The outbound segment in Nepal is growing rapidly, and with increasing standards of living and disposable income, travel is also moving up the ladder to add an essence of luxury,” said Satya Karki, outbound tour manager at President Travels and Tours. The preferred time to travel is September-November, a festival season in Nepal. According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepali departures for holiday and pleasure amounted to 32,063 in 2011. There were 20,354 Nepalis travelling abroad for business and 13,384 for conferences and seminars last year. Although there is no exact data on how much money Nepalis spend abroad, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, a Nepali visitor spends 3,779 baht (US$ 119) daily in Thailand. Similarly, the average length of stay of Nepali visitors in Thailand is 7.28 days, and travellers in the 35-44 age group make up the largest portion of 33.44 percent. There were 29,904 Nepali vacationers going abroad in 2010 and 27,679 in 2009. “It’s a high season for outbound, and most of them travel to Thailand,” said Neeli Shah, outbound executive of Malla Travel and Trek Services. Shah added that sales of travel packages are encouraging this season compared to last year. “Packages for China, India, Thailand, Singapore and Mauritius are almost sold out.” In recent years, more Nepali travellers have been making trips to Europe, Egypt, China and Japan. Although Thailand has become a preferable destination for middle class people, those who have visited Thailand more than twice are looking towards Dubai and China. Similarly, high income people are looking for European destinations, according to travel trade entrepreneurs. Malla Travel is launching special group packages (15 people) for Egypt at an approximate price of Rs 109,000 per person for a 7-night, 8-day trip. “Similarly, we are also developing special packages for China and Bali,” Shah said. Similarly, President Travels and Tours has been developing special packages for Malaysia, Mauritius, Thailand, Dubai and Turkey. However, Karki said that unhealthy practices were on the rise in the travel trade. Due to fierce competition, a number of agencies have been selling tour packages at below cost. “Although this has benefited travellers, it is also creating unhealthy business among agencies.” Suraj Shrestha, tour executive of OLAM Travels, the franchisee of online travel portal makemytrip.com in Nepal, said that the reason Nepalis choose Thailand was its attractive and competitive package. According to him, travelling to Thailand costs as much as travelling to India. However, prices of travel packages to Indian destinations have also increased of late. “As wealthy Nepalis are journeying to Europe, India has become a choice for middle-income Nepalis,” Shrestha said. According to Arihant Holidays.com, Indian destinations like Kashmir, Simla, Ladakh, Delhi, Manali and Kerala are becoming the choice among Nepalis. Packages to these destinations range from Rs 39,000 to Rs 73,000. Arihant has also launched Super Saver holiday scheme and a combo deal packages for China, Japan, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Munich and the US for business travellers. Shrestha of OLAM Travels said that inquiries from Nepalis for holiday packages abroad had been good, but sales were modest. Nnnn MAOISTS GIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAN CHARGES FIR MURDER Kathmandu, 11 Oct.: Maoists have given responsibility to a person chaged for murder and abduction, Prakash Timilshina writes in Nagarik. Kali Bahadur Kham on the most wanted list of Nepal Police is now in-charge of Nwewa and Tamsaling state committee of former PLA Association Kham has been accused for the murder of Koteshwor trader Ram Hari Shrestha and and the abduction of a Chinese trader. nnnn