DASHIN BEGINS TUESDAY Kathmandu, 16 Oct. Dashain begins Tuesday. The beginning marks the beginning of the extended festive season with the beginning of autumn The festive was delayed by nearly one month because of Manamash, nnnn PRACHANDA LAUNCHES PARTY MEET IN BELGIUM Kathmandu, 16 Oct. Maoist Chairman Prachanda Monday lunched a conference of the People's Progressive Forum in Brussels. He will return home after meeting some European leaders in the Belgian capital after attempting to reinforce the party base in Europe. The Maoist chief is accompanied by Organization Chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who was former chief of the foreign department in the party. Ram Karki, who looks after party foreign affairs, is also accompanying Prachanda. Nnnn NEPALI WORKERS ON VISITIOR VISAS IN FIX IN AFGHANISTAN Kathmandu, 16Oct.: Hundreds of Nepali migrant workers currently employed in Afghanistan have complained that they are facing problem to return home due to the government´s latest move to restrict workers travelling to various Gulf countries including Afghanistan on ´visit visa, Kosh Raj Koirala writes in Republica. Stating that they are facing dilemma over whether to visit Nepal for Dashain festival as the govenrment move could prevent them from returning to their employment after Dashain, a group of 555 Nepali workers serving in various US and NATO bases in Afghanistan have jointly filed an application at the Nepali embassy in Pakistan to help resolve the problem. The Islamabad-based embassy of Nepal is concurrently accreditated to Afghanistan. The complaint comes in the wake of a government task force comprising officials from various ministries stepping up their checking at Tribhuvan International Airport and restricting Nepali workers flying to various labor destinations on ´visit visa´, purportedly to discourage unscrupulous manpower agents misusing the ´visit visa´. A copy of an application received by Republica states that since they reach the US and NATO bases directly from Dubai on chartered flights it is not possible for them to acquire ´work visa´ from Afghan authorities. All Nepali nationals working at US and NATO bases in Afghanistan travel to Dubai on ´visit visa´ and then get picked up by charter flights of the concerned employers. In the application, the workers have said, "Many Nepalis especially those planning to come home for Dashain are in anxiety whether to cancel their leave and work on indefinitely or risk losing their jobs as they may be unable to come back on travel visas." Talking to Republica on the phone from Islamabad, Nepali ambassador to Pakistan Bharat Raj Poudyal said they have received the application. "We had written to the foreign ministry regarding the application. Today, we have been informed that the government has not taken any policy-level decision to restrict visit to Gulf countries on travel visa," he said. It is estimated that some 20,000 to 30,000 Nepalese are currently working in various US and NATO bases in Afghanistan. The minimum monthly income of these workers is US $ 600 and average income is US$ 1,000 a month. The petitioners have said employer companies provide Nepali workers with lodging, food, medical treatment and tickets to travel home one to three times a year at the employer´s expense. While adding that the Nepali workers except those working in security companies are safe, they have also demanded the government not to restrict Nepalis from working in Afghanistan. Director General of Department of Immigration Suresh Adhikari said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had written to the department asking if a ban has been imposed on Nepalis from visiting Gulf countries on travel visa. "We stepped up checking to discourage unscrupulous manpower agents from sending Nepali workers to various labor destinations on visit visas. We are ready to consider if the workers in Afghanistan furnish us genuine documents as a short-term solution of the problem," he said. "But we will need to make a long-term arrangement if Afghanistan is safe for Nepali workers." Nnnn CHINESE TEAM STARTS STUDYING WEST SETI PROJECT Kathmandu, 16 Oct.: A technical team of experts from Beijing´s CWE Investment Corporation (CWEI), a subsidiary of the China Three Gorges Corporation that has agreed to develop the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project, has initiated preliminary study of the project site, Republica reports. “A joint team consisting of three representatives from the Nepali government and eight from CWEI are currently on a preliminary visit of the proposed West Seti hydropower project area,” said Radhesh Pant, CEO of Investment Board of Nepal (IBN). According to him, the objective of this visit is to develop first-hand understanding of the technical and financial feasibility of the 750 MW-capacity project. Through the visit, the CWEI technical team is scheduled to assess the project´s hydrology, geology, migrant planning, project hydraulics, and engineering, among others. Its finding will lay down a ground for the execution of the project development. IBN said the field visit is being done as part of an agreed work plan that it and CWEI jointly developed following the signing of the memorandum of minutes (MoM) in Beijing in August. Going by the MoM, CWEI and government will jointly develop the project with equity investment of 75 percent from CWEI and 25 percent from the government. The government says it will invest in the project by securing concessionary financing from the Chinese government. IBN officials, nonetheless, clarified that the fresh MoM has taken into account all the recommendations made by the last Parliamentary Natural Resources and Means Committee and set a framework for due diligence on feasibility. “I am hopeful that the Chinese team´s findings will be positive,” a statement of IBN quoted Pant as saying. Pant further stated that efforts are currently underway from Nepal´s side on laying the groundwork for the national master transmission plan to evacuate power from the project to the domestic market. West Seti is one of the government´s top priority projects. It aims to supply up to 150 MW of electricity to the western industrial corridor, while the remaining power would go for fulfilling domestic power demand. Nnnn ________________________________________ COUNTRY HEADING FOR ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 16 Oct.: UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s last ditch effort to revive the Constituent Assembly and draft a working constitution before a fresh round of elections is likely to fail, Ajya Bhadra Khanal writes in The Himalayan Times.. On May 27, the UCPN-M, along with the United Democratic Madhesi Front, chose to announce fresh polls rather than proclaim a new constitution with issues related to federalism put on hold for future negotiations. Now Dahal, scheduled to return tomorrow from an European tour, is requesting parties to reconsider the May 15 agreement, which among others, outlined 11 provinces and a mixed-model of government with a directly elected president and a prime minister sharing power. However, Nepali Congress has spurned Dahal’s advances and is preparing to take an official decision on fresh elections. Although NC President Sushil Koirala insists the party is all for elections, the NC is yet to take an official decision. “We will call a meeting in the next few days and decide,” NC General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula said. “There is no alternative to fresh election.” The NC is wary of the complications of Dahal’s proposal, and the possibility of having to go for a presidential election if he has his way. “Even if the CA is revived, there is no guarantee CA members will vote along the lines of the agreement,” Sitaula says. In a meeting with senior political leaders two weeks ago, Dahal had said he could not guarantee implementation of the May 15 deal, a participant at the meeting said. With the CPN-UML and Upendra Yadav-led MJF-N firmly behind fresh elections, it will be up to UCPN-M and some Madhesi parties to endorse fresh polls. “The Madhesi alliances do not have a firm stance, but they are not likely to disrupt elections,” says Madhes activist Tula Narayan Shah. With Madhes-based parties divided, their base in the Tarai is dwindling. At the same time the NC position of having five provinces in Madhes is gaining purchase. “At the local level, the NC’s position could make strategic gains during elections, given local preferences,” Shah says. If the NC decides to go for fresh polls, the UCPN-M will be the last party to jump on the bandwagon. In recent days, NC has raised the tempo for Bhattarai’s removal from office, and fresh polls figure at the centre of this strategy. Senior NC leaders say if Bhattarai is not ousted by next month, he is likely to stick to power for the next two to three years of political uncertainty. However, his resignation alone is not likely to provide any political outlet unless major parties agree on the modalities for a new constitution and elections. Nevertheless, the parties and leaders are inciting the President to act to remove Bhattarai. Since the President has termed Bhattarai a caretaker PM, he is obliged to call for a national government, although the timing may not yet be appropriate, political analyst Rajan Bhattarai says. Another argument is that the President should not act now. “Since the President is the last resort of democracy, he should not act unless there is a visible threat to democracy,” says political analyst Jugal Bhurtel. Nnnn AJAYA BHADRA KHANAL KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s last ditch effort to revive the Constituent Assembly and draft a working constitution before a fresh round of elections is likely to fail. On May 27, the UCPN-M, along with the United Democratic Madhesi Front, chose to announce fresh polls rather than proclaim a new constitution with issues related to federalism put on hold for future negotiations. Now Dahal, scheduled to return tomorrow from an European tour, is requesting parties to reconsider the May 15 agreement, which among others, outlined 11 provinces and a mixed-model of government with a directly elected president and a prime minister sharing power. However, Nepali Congress has spurned Dahal’s advances and is preparing to take an official decision on fresh elections. Although NC President Sushil Koirala insists the party is all for elections, the NC is yet to take an official decision. “We will call a meeting in the next few days and decide,” NC General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula said. “There is no alternative to fresh election.” The NC is wary of the complications of Dahal’s proposal, and the possibility of having to go for a presidential election if he has his way. “Even if the CA is revived, there is no guarantee CA members will vote along the lines of the agreement,” Sitaula says. In a meeting with senior political leaders two weeks ago, Dahal had said he could not guarantee implementation of the May 15 deal, a participant at the meeting said. With the CPN-UML and Upendra Yadav-led MJF-N firmly behind fresh elections, it will be up to UCPN-M and some Madhesi parties to endorse fresh polls. “The Madhesi alliances do not have a firm stance, but they are not likely to disrupt elections,” says Madhes activist Tula Narayan Shah. With Madhes-based parties divided, their base in the Tarai is dwindling. At the same time the NC position of having five provinces in Madhes is gaining purchase. “At the local level, the NC’s position could make strategic gains during elections, given local preferences,” Shah says. If the NC decides to go for fresh polls, the UCPN-M will be the last party to jump on the bandwagon. In recent days, NC has raised the tempo for Bhattarai’s removal from office, and fresh polls figure at the centre of this strategy. Senior NC leaders say if Bhattarai is not ousted by next month, he is likely to stick to power for the next two to three years of political uncertainty. However, his resignation alone is not likely to provide any political outlet unless major parties agree on the modalities for a new constitution and elections. Nevertheless, the parties and leaders are inciting the President to act to remove Bhattarai. Since the President has termed Bhattarai a caretaker PM, he is obliged to call for a national government, although the timing may not yet be appropriate, political analyst Rajan Bhattarai says. Another argument is that the President should not act now. “Since the President is the last resort of democracy, he should not act unless there is a visible threat to democracy,” says political analyst Jugal Bhurtel. Nnnn DEAN QUITS AFTER QUESTION PAPER LEAKS Kathmandu, 16 Oct.: The Dean of the education department of Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health and Sciences Dr Nirmal Baral resigned today after an examinee alleged confessed that the dean had provided her question papers of all subjects of the MBBS first year Annual Supplementary Examinations that started from October 9, The Himalaya Times writes from Dharan.. The leakage of question papers came to light after teachers caught an examinee cheating from a notebook with a question paper along with its answers on Sunday during a test on the Cardio Vascular System. Invigilators Dr Kopila Ag-rawal and Dr Sharan Koirala had caught Asna Thakur, an examinee, red-handed of the leaked question paper along with its answers. Upon being grilled, she named Dr Baral’s name as the person who had provided her the question papers. According to a staffer at the BPKIHS education department, Asna, who is the daughter of BPKIHS Pathology Department In-charge Dr Amarnath Thakur, had revealed that she had got question papers of all the subjects from Dr Baral prior to the examinations. Dr Baral, who has resign-ed from the post of Dean over the question paper leakage, conceded of ‘some weaknesses’ during the examinations and said he had resigned on moral grounds. “The allegation that I had leaked the question papers by receiving money does not hold any water. It is just a ploy to defame me,” he, however, went on to argue. Asna’s father Dr Thakur refused to comment. BPKIHS Vice Chancellor Dr BP Das, who vowed to investigate the matter thoroughly and take action against the guilty, said all the examinations of the institution have been cancelled now after the question leakage came to light. Meanwhile, following the resignation of Dr Baral from his post, Dr Himal Sangraula has been replaced for the post of Dean. BPKIHS Staffers Welfare Forum General Secretary Sujendra Tamang has sought stern action against Dr Baral for his role in question paper leakage. Regarding the question paper leakage, a team of 25 professors and doctors today called on Vice-chancellor Das and sought stern action against the guilty. nnnn