CHOLESHWOR DAHAL NEW CHAIRMAN OF NEPAL JAYCEES Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: The 39th national convention of Nepal Jaycees elected Choleshwor Dulal as its new chairman, RSS reports from Hetauda. Dulal was elected by securing 1145 votes, defeating his nearest rival Sunil Babu Shrestha. Shrestha got only 820 votes. The general convention also elected Nishara Acharya, Rabindra Gurung, Subhash Chandra Bhattarai and Nirajan Thapa as the executive vice-chairpersons. Similarly, Amrit Aryal, Krishna Bahadur Bohora, Subhash Chandra Gautam, Nawal Bhattarai, Binram Shrestha, Manrath Shrestha, Jitendra Shrestha, Bhojraj Bhandari and Bina BC were elected 10 national vice-chairpersons Nnnn THREE STAR CLUB ROUT BANSBARI 6-0 IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE UPDATE Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Three Star Club Sunday routed Bansbari FC 6-0 in the Martyrs Memorial A Division football league championship. Friends Club beat Himalayan Sherpa Club 1-0 in another match. Nnnn PM SAYS RESIGNATION IN HIS POCKET Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has reiterated that he was not an obstacle but a means to resolving the present political crisis, RSS reports.. Speaking at the monthly ´Prime Minister with the people´ programme of Radio Nepal here this evening, Dr Bhattarai said "I have my resignation letter in my pocket and I am ready to resign as soon as the parties forge a consensus". He however said that his resignation alone would not give an outlet to the country in absence of a consensus among the political parties. Emphasizing on the need of holding elections to the CA in May after forming a government of national consensus by the second week of January, he urged the parties not to push the country into a quagmire of uncertainty for their petty interest. Dr Bhattarai pointed out the need for a consensus among the parties in arms during and after the 12-point agreement in order to institutionalize the gains of the people´s movement. Accepting that his government has not been able to perform as much as expected by the people as a result of the difficult circumstances, the Prime Minister however expressed optimism at the present political situation. Referring to the failure in the promulgation of the new constitution from the erstwhile CA, the Prime Minister said as the Government only played a coordinating role in the constitution making process, it was the political parties who were mostly responsible for it. Saying that he was trying his best to ensure good governance to the people, the Prime Minister acknowledged that traditional acts and laws have barred to achieve the expected results. The Prime Minister said that something new was being done through the programmes like ´Hello Sarkar´ and ´PM with the People´. The PM said his government was not able to do as per the people´s expectations due to lack of its own policy and programs and lack of timely budget in this fiscal year. Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai further added that some new programs have been initiated after instituting the Investment Board and declaring the Nepal Investment Year. "I urge all not to be disappointed as works cannot be done in a hurry in transition," the PM tried to placate the listeners. On the occasion, the PM said that alcohol was also one of the causes of violence against women and added official concerned have been ordered to control it. The government was committed to the development of agriculture and added he was planning to bring some new projects for the development and expansion of the agro-industry. The PM said that loadshedding hour was not reduced in the past due to lack of clear policy adding that the government was preparing to import 200 megawatt of power from India. Hetauda and Duhabi based multi-fuel plants have been brought into operation, he added. Dr Bhattarai also said that he was committed to ending anarchy and confusion in the education sector and the officials of the Tribhuvan University have been ordered to fully implement the academic calendar. Nnnn DEMAND FOR SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR DALITS Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhya has said that Dalits should be entitled to not only reservation but also special rights, RSS reports. Speaking at an interaction on 'role of media in the dalit liberation movement' organised by Revolutionary Dalit Journalists' Association here on Sunday, he said the dalits are entitled to special rights along with compensation because the dalit community faced injustice at the hands of 'Brahmanism and Feudalism' for a long time. He also said the dalits should be given an inclusive place in the media considering participation and the issues concerned. However, only resolution of problem of class and not caste would resolve ethnic, regional and economic problems, he said. Vice-chair of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Yashoda Timsina said inclusion in education would resolve the problem to a large extent. Ex-member of parliament and journalist Binod Pahadi shared that around 700 dalit journalists are working for various forms of media in Nepal. Revolutionary Journalists' Federation Chair Kumar Shah, Nepal Press Union Secretary Bhuvan Bhatta and other speakers stressed on the need of a special role in putting an end to ethnicity-based discrimination in the media. Earlier, Chairperson of Revolutionary Dalit Journalists' Association Padam Biswakarma had presented a working paper on the theme of the programme. nnnn HAPPY NEW YEAR A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF THE BLOG.FROM BHOLA RANA. YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT, SUGGESTIONS AND HELP WILL CERTAINLY HELP US GOING. TNKS AND RGDS. Nnnn POLICE BLAMED FOR GIRL’S DEATH Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Bara locals on Sunday protested against "police incompetence" in investigating into the death of Bindu Thakur, an 18-year-old girl whose charred body was found on Wednesday, Upendra Yadv writes in Republica from Bara.. Claiming that the post mortem report was false and fabricated, the protestors led by Nepal Sadvawana Party chairperson Sarita Giri alleged that the police were trying to save the main culprit of the incident. Giri, who led a sit-in protest in front of the Distinct Police Office, told the media that she suspects police might be under some kind of pressure as they are still clueless even five days after the incident. She also demanded action against the concerned doctor at Kalaiya Hospital stating that post mortem report was incomplete. Giri further claimed that the autopsy report has tried to cover the "murder" further as it failed to answer if Bindu was raped. The report is also silent about the bruises on Bindu´s body, according to Giri. Bindu´s charred body was found in a field 100 meters away from her house in Prastoka of Bara district. When asked about the allegations of "police incompetence", Deputy Superintendent of Police Dipak Adhikari said that police are working independently and they will resolve the case as soon as possible. He however said Bindu´s family and some locals are trying to cover up the incident Nnnn ATTEMPTS TO FEND OFF DHRUBE FUTILE Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: When it cames to repelling wild elephants from barging into human settlements, Chitwan National Park (CNP) and the authorities concerned have left hardly any stone unturned. Nevertheless, precautionary measures have failed to prevent elephants from killing humans in the Madi area of Chitwan in the past few months, Ramesh Lumar Paudel writes in Republicca from Chitwan.. Electric fences placed around the Madi area could not fend off the tuskers. Training the locals in how to chase away the tuskers with power torchlights has had no positive impact either. Moreover, attempts to understand the tuskers´ abnormal behavior through detention and tracking with electronic devices have also all gone in vain. All the precautionary efforts were initiated by the Tarai Arc Landscape (TAN) project of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) at huge expense and with manpower provided by the village development committees(VDCs) and the buffer zone forest users groups. “We had placed 36 km of electric fencing around the four VDCs of Madi. One km of fencing costs around Rs 200,000,” said Abdul Ansari, assistant coordinator of TAL. Despite the electric fencing, which was installed some four years ago, two locals were trampled to death by a tusker back in December of 2010. The killings were followed by the death of another local, Amar Bahadur Thapa, in Ameliya forest of Gardi VDC on November 2, 2012. All the victims´ houses were within the electric fencing. “To strengthened the electric current we doubled the solar power for charging the fence but even that didn´t stop the tuskers from entruding and killing,” said Yama Kanta Bhusal, chief of the Pancha Pandav buffer zone users´ group. “Three more people were trampled by tuskers after the power boost,” added Bhusal. In the course of familiarizing locals about wild tuskers, CNP had even let three domesticated tuskers, as one of them named ´Kunki,´ mingle with them. Among the trainees, Dhan Bahadur Gurung of Dhropatinagar-9 was elated, hoping such familiarisation would dispel the daily trauma among locals, but that is not how it turned out. To his dismay, an elderly couple was killed by a tusker on April 17, 2012 in the same village. On June 1, TAL distributed 56 powerful torchlights as it was believed they could be used to dispel the tuskers easily when encountered. At the same time, locals were trained in spotting the tuskers through GPS technology. “Sadly, all that training has brought no safety,” said Bhusal. “We are still trying our best to improve on the security measures. Keeping the locals and tuskers apart has become our major challenge,” said Ansari. According to Dr Narendra Pradhan, an expert on elephants, Nepal has a wild elephant population of about 170. Nnnn PM APOLIGIZES IN TIA RAPE CASE Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: The government on Sunday has formally apologised for the robbery and rape of a woman, who hails from Bhojpur district, by the police and immigration officials at the Tribhuvan International Airport, The Himalayan Times reports.. In a joint meeting of the central coordination committee on gender-based violence and gender empowerment, advisors’ group and chiefs of the security agencies, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Chief Secretary Lilamani Paudel expressed sadness over the TIA rape case and apologised. The meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar today. According to a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, the country’s executive head directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and Inspector General of Nepal Police to book the officials who allegedly robbed and raped the woman who returned home from Saudi Arabia. Also, the meeting directed MoHA to immediately make public the status and process of ongoing investigation into the case. The report would be sent to the CIAA tomorrow for further action, and it would be publicised after the completion of investigation, according to the statement. Occupy Baluwatar protest continues Earlier today, activists and people from various walks of life continued the Occupy Baluwatar protest near the Prime Minister’s official residence for the third day. They demanded action against the ones involved in the TIA rape case and other cases of gender-based violence, and chanted slogans against the Prime Minister and Home Minister for their apathy towards curbing the gender-based violence. The kith and kin of Saraswoti Subedi, who was found dead in suspicious circumstances in Ananmangar-based house of a senior police official’s relative, and Chhori Maiya Maharjan, who mysteriously disappeared from the Capital on February 28 also assembled there. nnnn. DEMOCRATIC PANEL WONS ELECTIONS. Kathmandu, 31 Dec.:The Democratic Professors Union, affiliated to Nepali Congress, elected its new executive committee on Sunday, Surendra Kafle writes in The Himalayan Times from Nepalgunj. . Prof. Basudev Ghimire has been elected the DPU’s new president. He defeated Hari Darshan Shrestha in the elections held here in Nepalgunj today. With both of them garnering 361 votes, Dharma Raj Koirala of Ghimire’s panel and Krishna Prasad Gautam of Shrestha’s panel tied for the post of senior vice president. Six regional vice presidents and seven members elected in the new executive committee are from Prof. Ghimire’s panel. Jagat Timilsina was elected the general secretary, Bishnu K.C. the secretary and Bishnu Pokhrel the treasurer of DPU. They are from Shrestha’s panel. After his election as the DPU president, Prof. Ghimire expressed his commitment to work for the right of university teachers and education quality and its effectiveness. As many as 905 votes were cast in the polls today. Six more members will be nominated in the DPU executive committee later. nnnn