KMC BEGINS REMOVING HOARDING BOARDS Kathmandu, 12 Feb.:: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) from today started removing the hoarding boards placed in different areas in an unsystematic Manner, RSS reports.. The metropolis has started removing the billboards installed in an unsystematic manner on rooftops of houses and at the edge of roads saying they have affected the environment and made the cityscape ugly. Executive Officer of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, inaugurated the campaign from the Sinamangal Area. Although the Metropolis had directed the bodies concerned to remove these billboards before this also, the entrepreneurs had delayed in implementing the directive and the Metropolis itself had to swing into action. The hoardings placed by companies and businesses which have not contacted the Metropolis office for long or that have not renewed their license for this would be removed in the first phase. It is learnt that there are around 800 hoardings in the Metropolitan area and of these tax has not been paid for 450. The Kthmandu Metropolitan City has been earning approximately Rs. 20 million. Nnnn DETAILS OF KOIRALA, EUPORPEAN ENVOYS TALKS Kathmandu, 12 Feb.:: Ambassadors of countries of the European Union based in Nepal met with the Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala here this Morning, RSS reports.. In the meeting that took place at Koirala´s residence discussions were held on the latest political developments in Nepal especially on the way out of the current political crisis and general elections. During the talks, the NC president informed the EU ambassadors that since election was the backbone of democracy and was required for attaining political stability, efforts were being made to that end on behalf the party, according to party central committee member Dr. Ram Shran Mahat. "We have been floating different alternatives for political way out by becoming flexible and the party is striving for consensus," Mahat said. The issue of ways of ending the political transition and holding election to the local bodies was also discussed, it is learnt. On the occasion, the EU ambassadors had said that they were for Nepal moving ahead on the path of political stability, peace and development with the political crisis coming to an end at the earliest. Nnnn UML OPPOSES RENANMING Kathmandu, 12 Feb.:: The CPN-UML, Chitwan, has objected to the government´s decision of naming the Narayangadh-Mugling road section of Chitwan district as Ramraja Prasad Singh Highway, RSS reports from Chitwan. Issuing a press release today, the CPN-UML, Chitwan, said that the incumbent government´s decision of naming the road section as Ramraja Prasad Singh Highway is condemnable the decision comes at a time when initiatives were underway to name it as Madan-Aashreet Highway since long. A meeting of the CPN-UML District Committee, Chitwan, held today at Bharatpur demanded that the decision be withdrawn and the highway be named as Madan-Aashreet Highway. The then General Secretary Madan Bhandari and Chief of the Organizational Department, Jeevraj Aashreet, of the CPN-UML died in a jeep accident at Dasdhunga of Chitwan district along Narayangadh-Mugling road section on May 16,1993. The CPN-UML said that the government´s decision was not acceptable to them, adding the government named the road section all of a sudden at a time when initiatives were underway to name the road section as Madan-Aashreet Highway after constructing the Madan-Aashreet Park at Dasdhunga Nnnn ________________________________________ NOC MARKETS COLOUURED GAS CYLINDERS Kathmandu, 12 Feb.:: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has brought the red - and blue-coloured LPG cylinders in the market from today [Tuesday]. RSS reports. The NOC has brought the two types of cylinders in the market with a view to providing subsidy in the Liquefied Petroleum (LP) Gas for domestic purpose and making the LP Gas business more systematic. The NOC would distribute the red cylinders for domestic use and the blue ones for commercial purpose. The NOC will provide subsidy in the cylinder for domestic use while no subsidy will be provided for the blue cylinders as they will be distributed for business purposes. NOC, the state-owned oil supplier, would fix the same price for both cylinders based on the actual cost and that a family of up to four persons would get a certain discount per month on a cylinder bought. The NOC would specify the banks to provide the subsidy amount but discussions were on to select the banks for this purpose, said Executive Director of the NOC, Suresh Kumar Agrawal. The customers would get the subsidy amount after they submit the LP Gas Users´ Card and the purchase bill. At present NOC is incurring loss of Rs. 588 per cylinder and this loss has accumulated to around Rs. 800 million by the end of January. Nnnn