CHINKAZI SHRESTHA APPOINTED NC CHIEF OFFICEE SECRETARY Kathmandu, 26 April: Chinkazi Shrestha Saturday was appointed chief office secretary by NC President Sushil Koirala. Sjrestha succeeds Basanta Kumar Gautam who resigned. Shrestha is a former lawmaker who hails from Gorkha and is a mahasamiti member and also former district president. He is also a former state minister for finance. nnnn. GOVT. BRINGING POLICY TO STOP HIGHWAY DISRUPTION Kathmandu, 27 April: The government is to bring a strong policy to end the trend of disrupting the highway services and attacking vehicles and drivers following the accident due to various causes, RSS reports.. The government is going to bring new policy after the transport entrepreneurs frequently said that such activities have been the problem to operate the transport services without any hassles. Inaugurating the Eighth Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs here today, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Chhabilal Panta, said, "The government would provide security to the transport entrepreneurs and their vehicles. Be sure of this." It is learnt that the current investment in the transport sector stands at around Rs. 65 billion. The country has 9,200 kilometers rough roads and 6,304 kilometers blacktopped ones, and 924,000 vehicles operate on them, according to the Department of Transport Management. Minister Panta said that the government has given high priority to highway security, adding that the parking problem would be resolved soon. Similarly, Secretary at the Ministry, Tulasi Sitaula, and Director of the Department, Sharad Adhikari, said that the government has paid attention for further management of the transport sector. During the programme, Chairman of the Federation, Arjun Ranabhat, and General Secretary, Rajendra Kumar Shrestha, demanded that the government should take initiatives to control attack on the vehicles on the highway. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Parbati Thapa, urged the entrepreneurs to pay attention on making vehicles free from violence against the women. Nnnn UML CHAIR KHANAL CALLS FOR ALLIANCE OF DEMOCRATIC FORCES Kaaathmandu, 26 April: CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal has expressed possibility of an alliance among the democratic forces in the forthcoming constituent assembly election, RSS reports.. Addressing a tea reception and greetings exchange programme organized by the CPN-UML Ramkot village committee on the occasion of the Democracy Day and the New Year 2070 here today, Khanal said homework for forging an alliance among the democratic forces was underway as unity among the democrats was a must for fulfilling the historic responsibility of drafting a new constitution. The UML chairman who is also the former prime minister said that the constitution could not be held due to the obstruction caused by the UCPN (Maoist)'s dogmatic ideology and their various inimical activities. He said the entire country could be taken on the path of economic progress only by maintaining the unity and goodwill existing among the different ethnicities in the country. Khanal said that the constitution writing should be completed to institutionalize the achievements of the various political movements in the past. He called upon the UML party leaders and cadres to participate in the forthcoming election as a solid united bloc. Party secretary Yubaraj Gyawali and leaders Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Rameshwar Phuyal and leftist leader Radha Krishna Mainalai, among others, also attended the programme. nnnn