BIIRD FLU DETECTED IN THREE PLACES IN THREE DAYS Kathamandu, 11 Feb.: Bird flu was detected at a poultry farm in Balaju Monday, a third find in theee days in and around the capital. More than 6000 chickens were immediately clulled.’ nnnn DRIVE TO MOBILIZE PEOPLE AT MAOIS AT MEET Kathhmandu, 11 Feb.: Newly elected office bearers of the Unified CPN-Maoist today discussed with the new central committee members of Newa and Tamsaling State Committees regarding the preparations of the people’s war day scheduled for February 12, The Himalayan Times reports.. During the seventh national convention at Hetauda‚ the UCPN-M had decided to organise its declaration meet at Khulamanch on February 12‚ coinciding with the celebration of people’s war day. “Party has decided to centralise people from different parts besides Newa and Tamsaling State Committees‚” said Chudamani Khadka‚ Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s personal assistance. In-charge of the Tamsaling State Committee of the party and newly elected central committee member Biswobhakta Dulal‚ however‚ said the party will gather people from the nearby districts of Tamsaling. He said the meeting will remain very brief and will not last more than two hours. Party has not decided about other speakers though Chairman Dahal will address‚ and the names of the 98 central members will also be read out. Over 100‚000 people are expected to participate in the meeting‚ he said. Nnnn URBAN HEALTH POLICY APPROVED Kathmandu, 11 Feb..: The Ministry of Health and Population has finalised the draft of urban health programmes in coordination with other line ministries. The Himalayan Times reports.. The ministry will be introducing various health programmes on the basis of the National Urban Health Policy finalised by the ministry last fiscal year. Though the Ministry of Local Development, National Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance and Urban Development Ministry has finalised the draft, the health ministry is yet to forward it to the Cabinet, Dr Anand Kumar Shrestha, chief of Primary Health Care Revitalisation Division (PHCRD) under the ministry said. The policy was formulated in accordance with the Interim Constitution-2007, which declared health as a fundamental right and that every citizen should have access to free basic health care as provisioned by the state. Under this policy, the ministry will provide free primary health care to urban dwellers with low economic status, said Shrestha. As per the free health care policy, 40 drugs in district hospitals, 35 in primary health care centres and 25 at sub-health posts are provided free of cost. Although the government provides free primary health care services to remote areas comprising around 80 per cent of the total population, there is less coverage of government health programme in urban areas compared to rural areas, said Shrestha “This policy will help resolve basic health problems in municipalities and ensure appropriate urban health care delivery system,” he said, adding that the programmes will mainly target the poor living in slum areas. The division will mobilise urban Female Community Health Volunteers for effective implementation of the programme. At present, the Health Ministry provides free services in relation to leprosy, tuberculosis, polio vaccination and malaria. The policy follows the underlying principles of universal coverage, community participation and primary health care and is closely related to national and Millennium Development Goals. Shrestha said the policy is essential at present because of the rapid urbanisation of towns and cities due to influx of large number of labourers, internally displaced people and those seeking better opportunities, leading to overcrowded and unregulated settlements. Nnnn 36 KILLED IN KHUMBA MELA STAMPEDE Kathamandu, 11 Feb.: A stampede at a railway station in Allahabad killed at least 36 Hindu pilgrims on Sunday‚ the busiest day of the Kumbh Mela at which some 30 million had gathered to wash away their sins in the sacred Ganges river. Reuters reports from Allahabad.. Twenty-seven of the dead were women‚ mostly elderly and poor. An eight-year-old girl was also crushed to death. A Reuters witness saw a woman weeping at the train station‚ surrounded by six bodies dressed in brightly coloured saris. Up to 100 million pilgrims and Hindu ascetics are expected to attend the two-month long Kumbh Mela‚ world's largest religious festival‚ which comes to an end next month. It is held every 12 years in a temporary city covering an area larger than Athens‚ spread over a wide sandy river bank in Allahabad at the point where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet the Saraswati‚ a mythical river. The festival grows in size every time it is held and is considered the world's largest temporary gathering of people. Officials said some 30 million visited the site on Sunday‚ considered the most auspicious day to bathe in the river. Officials gave contradictory versions of what caused the crush. A railway official told Reuters police had been using batons to control the crowd‚ triggering panic. A state government official said a footbridge handrail collapsed‚ sending people slipping down the stairs and starting a stampede. A spokesman for Indian railways said authorities had found 36 bodies and 30 people were injured. The injured were being treated at hospitals in Allahabad. "Since there were huge crowds and a lot of panic‚ it took time before the bodies could be extricated‚" said another official‚ R. M. Srivastava‚ the top security official in Uttar Pradesh. Deadly stampedes are common at India's vast pilgrimages and religious festivals. In 2008‚ 145 people died when a panicking crowd pushed people over a ravine near the Himalayan temple of Naina Devi. Thousands of police and volunteers are used for crowd control during the Kumbh Mela‚ manning the river bank when the pilgrims and naked‚ dreadlocked ascetics dash into the water to bathe. The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested a golden pot from demons containing the nectar of immortality. In a 12-day fight for possession‚ four drops fell to earth‚ in the cities of Allahabad‚ Haridwar‚ Ujjain and Nasik. Every three years a Kumbh Mela is held at one of these spots‚ with the festival at Allahabad the holiest of them all. More than 2‚000 years old‚ the festival is a meeting point for Hindu "sadhu" ascetics‚ some of whom live in forests or Himalayan caves and who belong to dozens of inter-related congregations. The sects have their own administration and elect leaders‚ but are also known for violent clashes among themselves. nnnn