GOVT. COMMITTED TO ENSURING RIGHTS SAYS DPM GACHACHCHHADAR Kathmandu, 27 Jan.: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar said that the government was committed to ensuring security to people by maintaining rule of law and ending Impunity, RSS reports. Speaking at a discussion programme organised by the Initiative of Media Women, the Home Minister said he has already directed the police administration to immediately respond to the complaints about the violence against women. During the programme, women rights activists drew the attention of Home Minister Gachchhadar towards increasing incidents of violence against women in the country. In response, he admitted the government was not able to fully control the cases of women violence due to lack of resources. Now, Nepali women have been aware of their rights, he added. Stating that image of the Home Ministry was tarnished by the rape case involving a police man of the Department of Immigration, he said that government was committed to take action against every employee from junior to senior level found guilty in the case. On the occasion, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Badri Neupane said his ministry was playing a coordinative role to rescue victims of women violence and ensure justice to them. Rehabilitation centers for the victims of violence have been established in 15 districts, he added. Chairperson of the National Women´s Commission Sheikh Chandtara said domestic violence in Nepal was on rise as the Nepalese society was dominated by patriarchal mindset and men still think that it was their right to control the women. Similarly, women rights activist Sapana Pradhan Malla said the unchecked impunity in the country was behind for rising incidents of violence against women and changing nature of crime. Still, 75 per cent of Nepali women have suffered violence against them, she argued. Organizing committee´s chairperson Manisha Ghimire said government deserved the responsibility of making society women-friendly. Moreover, CPN-UML leader Gaura Prasai stressed that domestic violence should also be brought into the network of crime and responded accordingly. Rights activist Charan Prasai expressed concern over the non-implementation of commitments from the prime minister and ministers to abiding by the human rights norms and values. Nnnn AT LEAST 150 KILLED IN BRAZIL NIGHTCLUB FIRE AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 27: More than 150 people died early Sunday when a fire tore through a nightclub in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria during a boisterous student party, police said, AFP reports from Rio de Janeiro. “Wee have confirmed more than 150 victims," Santa Maria police commissioner Sandro Meinerz told Globo television. The death toll from the inferno stood initially at 70 but rapidly increased as firefighters searched the charred remains of the establishment named "Kiss." Details of the tragedy were still sketchy. But according to media reports, the fire broke out after 2:00 am (0400 GMT) when the nightclub was hosting a university party featuring a rock band. The band used pyrotechnics as part of its show, O Globo newspaper reported on its website. The paper said the popular club in the university town was packed with between 300 and 400 party goers when the fire erupted. Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said there was panic in the aftermath of the fire and many revelers were trampled or died from smoke inhalation. "The main cause of death was asphyxiation," de Melo was quoted as saying by Estadao newspaper. Pictures published by local media showed firefighters dousing the burned-out red brick building with water to put out the flames. "We have just taken the fire under control," Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local fire department was quoted by the G1 website as saying. "Now we are removing the bodies." According to O Globo, the dead were being taken to a nearby sports club, which has been converted to a makeshift morgue. Family member were gathering outside in the hope of getting news of their loved ones. Rio Grande do Sul governor Tarso Genro was expected in Santa Maria later Sunday, O Globo said. "This is a sad Sunday," he is quoted by the paper as saying in a Twitter message. "We are taking all possible passive and active measures." He did not elaborate. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is attending a regional summit in Chile, has been notified of the tragedy, O Globo said. The town is home to the Federal University of Santa Maria. Nnnn