NAC HEADQUARTERS MOVING TO NEW PREMISES Kathmandu, 21 Nov.: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has moved ahead the process for the construction of a ten-storied modern building near the Tribhuvan International Airport at Sinamangal, RSS reports.. NAC plans to operate the corporate office from the new building while converting the present corporate office building at New Road into a commercial complex. Acting General Manager of NAC, Raj Bahadur KC said that construction of a new modern building on a plot near the airport would make the administrative and professional works convenient. NAC has 34 ropanis of land at Sinamangal. KC said a proposal to this effect has been forwarded to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The building will be constructed within three years to five years from the date the proposal is approved by the Ministry, he said. The estimated cost of the building is Rs. 1.5 billion, according to Acting General Manager KC. nnnn CARGO HANDLING RESUMES AT HALDIA PORT Kathmandu, 21 Nov : Bulk and open cargo handling has resumed in Haldia port after Kolkata Port Authority (KPA) - the Indian government undertaking that oversees operation of the Haldia port - made special arrangements to deal with the problem following abrupt exit of APG, one of the cargo handling firms, from the designated responsibility three weeks ago, Republica reports.. Mainly berth No. 2 and 8 of Haldia port had remained non-functional in the absence of the contractor company, leaving Nepal bound overseas imports - mainly bulk and open cargoes - stranded. The KPA agreed to put crisis management measures in place to ensure smooth handling of Nepal-bound bulk and open cargos following negotiation with Nepalese Consulate General´s Office in Kolkata. “The problem in cargo handling that emanated from the exit of APG has been resolved, paving the way for unhindered loading and unloading of Nepal-bound imports via Haldia port,” said Chandra Kumar Ghimire, Nepalese Consul General, told Republica over phone from Kolkata. According to Ghimire, around 24,000 tons of coal imported by Triveni Group from South Africa had remained stuck in Haldia port for a couple of weeks in the absence of cargo operator. “KPA has assured us that it would give high priority to handle Nepal-bound goods. Henceforth, all kinds of cargos will be cleared without any hindrance despite the absence of handling firm in berth No. 2 and 8 in Haldia,” he added. Nepali business people have long been complaining about the mismanagement of state-owned Kolkata and Haldia ports which are vital for Nepal´s overseas trade. In a bid to end the monopoly of these ports, the government is negotiating with India to operationalize privately run Vishakhapatnam port, which is comparatively well-quipped that Kolkata and Haldia ports, for its overseas trade. Nnnn DALITS THREATENED OUT OF VILLAGE BY THAKURIS Kathmandu, 21 Nov.: Dalit families in Taranga VDC-7, Keladi have been forced to leave their village after a misunderstanding with the dominant local Thakuri community turned nasty,.Khalendra Sejuwal writes in Republica from Surkhet. After reportedly receiving life threats from the Thakuri community, the Dalit families in the VDC have reached the district headquarters seeking justice. According to Padam Bahadur BK of the Dalit community, things turned nasty after one Ganesh Shahi from the Thakuri community warned them against advocating for Dalit causes. “We used to receive regular threats from the Thakuri community for no reason at all. We had to visit the headquarters seeking justice as this time around they threatened to attack us with weapons,” said Padam Bahadur. According to Man Kumari BK, she along with seven of her family members were forced to leave the village after the Thakuri community began attacking them. “We are not in a position to return to the village. We fear that they will come to attack us here also,” said Man Kumari. Forty-two villagers from the Dalit community of the VDC have reached Birendranagar on Tuesday. They, however, complained that the Ranighat police have refused to take action despite their frequent complaints against the Thakuri community. The police, however, denied having received any complaint regarding the incident. According to Inspector Birendra Yadav, the incident is the result of the caste system that is still prevalent in most of the villages of the far west. “We are trying to sort out their problem”, said Yadav. Nnnn GOVT. ADOPTS NEW FREQUENCY POLICY KATHMANDU: The Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee has endorsed the Telecom Sector’s Radio Frequency (Distribution and Pricing) Policy-2012, in which the committee has decided to end the existing ad-hocism regarding frequency and adopt an auction policy. The policy has been endorsed, said spokesperson at the ministry of information and communications Sushil Kumar Ojha, adding that the ministry will make the policy public within a few days. The committee has agreed to provide frequency in technology neutral condition so that telecom service providers can introduce the technology based on competitive market practices, said a member involved in formulating the policy. The country can generate an additional revenue of Rs 1 billion through auction of frequency after the policy comes into effect, said a source at the Ministry of Information and Communications. The committee has decided to charge extra tariff from service providers who hoard unused frequency. It has decided to charge 0.4 per cent of the total income as frequency from all telecom service providers. “This amount is 0.3 per cent less than the committee’s earlier decision,” the source said. The 14th meeting of the Radio Frequency Determinism Committee last year had made operators liable to pay 0.7 percent of total annual income as frequency fee annually. It is suspicious why the committee decided to lower the fee since frequency is a valuable natural resource, the source said. Regarding 3G frequency, the committee has decided to auction 3G frequency which is not in use and charge the same amount from telecom service providers who have been using 3G frequency. nnnn