SIX INJURED IN SOLU JEEP ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 3 Jan.: At least six people were injured when a Nele-bound jeep from Solukhumbu district headquarters Salleri met with accident on Jogara road section, RSS reports from Sololhumbu. The Mustang max jeep (Ba 9 Cha 7962) encountered the accident at 8.00 pm on Wednesday when driver was about to go outside keeping the vehicle on neutral gear. Among the injured in the accident are Kalpana Basnet of Nele-7, Solukhumbu, Jamuna Rai of Nele-2, Bharat Katuwal, Sita Thapa and Sarita Gurung of Nele-7, confirmed Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Sudan Singh Basnet. He said that one of the injured has yet to be identified and two among the wounded are in critical condition. The injured are being treated in Solu Hospital Phaplu, said the District Police Office. Nnnn FOLLOWING MISTAKE, STUDENT RETURNS FROM AUSTALIA WITHOUT DEGREE Kathmandu, 3 Jan.: A village boy from Saptari district who had left for Australia for study has returned home without educational certificate due to college's mistake, RSS reports. Ritesh Devkota had gone to Australia four years ago to study Diploma in Hospitality Management and Commercial Cookery in Homes College. But, Devkota, a brilliant student, returned home empty handed though he paid Rs 1.8 million for the college, the victim said at a discussion programme organized by Education Journalists Group in the capital today. Devkota said his grievances were not heard even though he knocked at the doors of Education Board, Australia, and other government agencies against the college's misdeed. Responding to a complaint letter lodged by Ritesh during the India visit of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Delhi-based high commission of Australia has reportedly asked Ritesh to be in touch over the issue. Brother in-law of Ritesh, Roshan Upreti said, "He was awarded with fake certificate though he had gone through legal channels and with all original documents." Vice-chairman of Educational Counseling Association of Nepal (ECAN) Prakash Pandey suggested that Ritesh should go for legal remedy against the college if college officials had not informed Ritesh about change in the course. Joint spokesperson of Ministry of Education Rojnath Pandey said that the educational consultancy that helped Ritesh to fly Australia should help the victim. Ritesh had gone via Interface Educational Consultancy. Pandey assured to address the problem of Ritesh and urged the victim to lodge a complaint at the Ministry. nnnn NT PUTS ON HOLD RECHARGE CARD TENDER Kathmandu, 3 Jan.: Following tremendous pressure from all quarters, including the Prime Minister’s Office, Nepal Telecom Managing Director Amar Nath Singh today issued directives to postpone the tender process for the supply of mobile, Ranjan Pokhrel writes in The Himalayan Times. . Government sources told The Himalayan Times that Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai personally intervened in the matter and instructed the NT chief to defer the tender process. The prime minister’s intervention came after THT highlighted the brazen attempt of the state-owned telecom company’s top brass to prevent Nepali printing companies from participating in the tender process, favouring a select few Indian companies. The THT report had pointed out how stringent restrictive clauses were included in the tender document in order to sideline the local companies. The report also stated as to how NT Managing Director Singh and his colleagues overruled the suggestions made by Chairman of the Telecom Board and Information and Communications Secretary Surya Prasad Silwal and Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Baikuntha Aryal to remove the stringent qualification criteria for Nepali companies from the tender document, at two successive board meetings. Prime Minister Bhattarai’s personal aide Bishwadeep Pandey quoted Bhattarai as saying that he was wholeheartedly in favour of promoting Nepali companies. “Prime Minister Bhattarai is for encouraging Nepali companies. Earlier, he had even directed the secretaries to identify Nepali services and products which can be made mandatory for public procurement. The government has already initiated work to this effect and Nepal's telecom sector naturally falls in the same domain,” he said. The sources said that apart from Prime Minister Bhattarai, Chief Secretary Lila Mani Poudel and Minister for Information and Communications Raj Kishor Yadav too expressed serious concern about NT managing director's attempts to hold Nepali printing companies at bay. When contacted, NT Spokesperson Guna Keshari Pradhan confirmed that the tender process, which was set to close tomorrow, has been postponed. "The process has been put on hold for the time being. A notice to this effect will be published tomorrow," said Pradhan. She, however, claimed that she was not aware as to why the tender process was deferred. "The tender process may have been postponed for about seven days, but I can't say for sure, as it will be known only after tomorrow's notice," she added. Speaking on the issue, Minister for Information and Communications Raj Kishor Yadav, who is also the spokesperson for the government, reiterated the government's policy to give priority to domestic companies. "If the domestic companies are efficient and able, NT should award the printing of its recharge cards to the home-grown companies; it is not good to discourage domestic companies and promote the foreign ones," he added. Nnnn POLICE DON’T REGISTER FIRs Kathmandu, 3 Jan.: One major agenda of the ongoing protest against violence against women (VAW) is registration of First Information Report (FIR), The Himalayan Times reports.. Police, more often than not, do not register FIR in cases of rape, especially when the victim comes from a socially or economically weak background and perpetrators enjoy political protection, said women rights activists. Bandana Rana, president of Saathi, an NGO working for the rights of women said only a few women are willing to register complaints with police due to lack of favourable mechanism to register complaint. Fear of mistrust and rough handling by family, friends and society stops several rape survivors from seeking legal remedy, said Rana. “Rape is a sensitive issue and the identity of the victim must be protected so that society doesn’t mock her. The issue of confidentiality is very essential, but most of the time cases are registered by policemen who ask the victim harassing questions,” said Rana. Worse, the victims are questioned inside an overcrowded room in the districts. Besides, police often support settlements to conducting investigations. In 2011, Saathi carried out a research on reporting of domestic violence in ten districts. The study shows only 41 per cent of cases are registered with police and 71 per cent of them end in settlement. Sometimes, the perpetrators are imprisoned for a day or two. Saathi data shows less than five per cent rape incidents are reported said Rana. Women are often pressured into settling cases in the name of family pride or the honour of the community,” said Rana. Time has come for the Home Ministry to issue circular to police stations across the country stating that police have an obligation to register an FIR and start investigations on any allegation related to VAW, added Rana. She further suggested that government bodies work in coordination to resolve issue of VAW and conduct regular monitoring. Advocate Meera Dhungana of Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) said they faced various obstacles in registering FIR when the wrongdoers held powerful positions. “Access to justice for victims of sexual violence is a serious problem,” said Dhungana. Survivors of sexual assault are subjected to intense inspection by those who are supposed to help them. In some instances, doctors have refused to conduct medical examination in the absence of a police report, while police officers say they can’t issue a report without a medical statement. This often makes them believe that they are fighting a losing battle and this belief holds many victims back from seeking legal remedy, added Dhungana. Families of victims have also been harassed and threatened to withdraw cases. Many cases are settled outside the formal justice system where victims receive small monetary compensation while perpetrators remain at large, added the advocate. Although international practice has it that all cells should have at least one woman police officer and ensure that the cases of rape and sexual harassment are probed properly in their respective districts, this has rarely happened in the country, added Dhungana. nnnn