CHINESE AMBASSADOR, SUSHIL KOIRALA DISCUSSIONS Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: Outgoing Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan held discussions with NC President Sushil Koirala Saturday. They discussed an election government and other issues,. The meeting took place amid uncertain politics and CPN-Maoist charge India was behind moves to appoint an election government headed by Chief Justice KHil Raj Regmi to conduct constituent polls in May. India and China compete or influence in Nepal on the southern lap of the Himalaya. nnnn. HEAVY SNOWFALL IN HUMLA Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: A massive snowfall has taken place in Humla district since last Friday. The snowfall has been almost a recurrent incident in the district since last January, RSS reports from Humla.. The recurrent snowfall has thrown the normal life out of gear while the cattle have been confined to the sheds in and around the district headquarters Simikot, said locals. Locals of southern and northern belt of the district are facing hard time for mobility due to continuous snowfall . Nnnn BROTHERS KILLED IN FIRE Kaathmandu, 16 Feb.:.Ashish BK,12, and his brother Arun,8, were killed in a fire at their father’s shop at Gadhi-4 in Makawanpur Thursday night. Arun died instantly while Ashish died on burns while under treatment at hospital. Nnnn MJFN SEEKS CITIZENSHIP ALLOTMENT Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: A central committee meeting of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal ( MJF-N ) concluded on Friday, taking some important decisions focused on the April-May Constituent Assembly elections, The Kathmandu Post reports from Janakpur.. Organising a news conference in Janakpur, MJF-N Chairman Upendra Yadav shared the decisions of the party’s central committee that include electorate delineation based on the latest census report and fast-tracking the enfranchisement process of Madhesis without citizenship. “The 2011 census shows a significant growth in the Madhesi population. We, therefore, ask that the constituencies be realigned in advance of the election based on the population distribution,” said Yadav. Yadav said voter registration cards alone should not be recognised as the basis for casting ballot as and deprive thousands of Madhesis of their vote. He claimed that 700,000-800,000 people of the Madhesi origin would be barred from the polls if the voter registration cards are made mandatory. “Citizenship should be granted to the Madhesi people who lack it. Our central committee meeting has decided to resolve the issue before the election.” The MJF-N central committee has also opposed the proposal of forming a government headed by the sitting chief justice to conduct another CA election, arguing that such a government will contradict the theory of the separation of powers. “We won’t have any problem only if the chief justice resigned from his post before heading the government,” said Yadav. Nnnn CABINET NOD FOR POKHARA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Kathmandu, 16 Feb.: The government has given a green signal to the development of the much-controversial regional international airport in Chinnedanda, Pokhara. The airport is planned 3km east of the existing airport, Sangam Prasai writes in The Kathmandu Post.. A Cabinet meeting on Friday decided to go ahead with the bidding process that was put on hold since July last year, after the China CAMC Engineering Co—the lowest bidder—quoted 85 percent higher than the government estimated price for the project. Senior officials at the Tourism Ministry said they had forwarded a proposal to the government, seeking permission to continue with the process after the bidder showed willingness to develop the project at the government-estimated cost. Among the three shortlisted Chinese firms, the CAMC had quoted $305.13 million, while the government had estimated the project to cost between $166 and $170 million. “The Tourism Ministry had asked the government to allow continuing the process after the bidder showed willingness to take up the plan as per the government estimation,” said Ranjan Krishna Aryal, joint-secretary at the ministry. In the first week of January, China CAMC had dispatched a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) showing willingness to develop the project as per the CAAN’s bill of quantities (BOQ). The BOQ is a document used in the bidding process that details project costs and the terms and conditions of the construction to enable the contractor to develop the project as per the executing agency’s estimated price. CAAN is the executing agency of the project. However, a Cabinet minister said the agenda was flatly approved by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. As per the rules, a project bid stays valid up to 120 days after the final evaluation of the qualified bidders. As CAAN or government officials have to bypass the law to get the project going, the agenda was taken to the Cabinet. On February 9, 2012, CAAN had invited bids to build the airport under the Engineering Procurement and Construction model. However, it was forced to extend the deadline twice due to intervention by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority. On July 18, 2012, CAAN’s tender evaluation committee had opened financial proposals for the project. Subsequently, the project was dragged into controversy with CAAN’s unions opposing the deal, arguing that it was not economically viable under the authority’s existing financial status. On the other hand, people of Pokhara have been demanding that the project that has remained idle since 1975 be executed this time around. They have organised a series of protests against the government’s failure to construct the airport. The government plans to borrow around $145 million in soft loans from the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) to fund the project. A detailed study of the airport project in 1989, conducted by the government in association with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, had proposed a 2,500m long and 50m wide runway, a terminal and a cargo building. The construction of the airport, expected to be completed in four years, was estimated to cost $ 39.6 million then. nnnn