DEUBA ASKS MJFN TO JOIN ELECTION FRAY Kathmandu, 21 June: After returning from New Delhi where he had top-level discussions with Indian leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh, Shar Bahadur Deuba continued his efforts to woo opposition and get them to participate in the 19 November constituent assembly elections. India is pushing elections to draft and promulgate a federal democratic constitution. Former Prime Minister and top NC leader held discussions Thursday with MJFN Chairman Upendra Yadav following a consultations with CPN Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhaya who rejected a request to join the election fray. CPN-Maoist hasn’t applied with the election commission for recognition to contest the 19 November vote. ‘Basis for election should be created by the resignation of Chairman of the Cpoucil of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi as chief justice,”, Yadav told Deuba. MJFN has applied with the election commission to participate in the vote although it is now in the opposition camp opposing elections. Yadav also demanded dissolution of the four-party high-level political mechanism (HLPM) which is trying to reign in the government of retired civil servants. Deuba rejected a Yadav demand for the dissolution of the body which the NC leader assured could be expanded by including a Yadav nominee. “The HLPM can be expanded not dissolved,” Deuba told Yadav. nnnn CAPITAL MORNING TEMPERATURE 20DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 21 June; Friday morning’s capital temperature at seven was20 degrees Celsius. Mercury is expected to rise to 31 degrees Celsius in the afternoon on a rainy day. nnnn Mercurt GOVT. PRIORITIZES FOOD OR FLOOD DISPLACED Kathmandu, 21June: A government inspection team led by Chairman of Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi Thursday inspected Far and Mid-western region and announced an assistance of Rs. 500 million alone to be spent for Darchula flood-hit victims, Bishnu Dutta reports in The Rising Nepal from Bhimdutta.. Speaking at a news conference here at Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, after the inspection of the flood-ravaged zones especially in Darchula, and Kanchanpur, Kailali and Bardiya, IEC Chairman Regmi announced that each of the families of flood-hit victims and who have become homeless would be provided Rs. 35,000. As the government has yet to confirm and prepare details loss of properties and lives by floods in Mahakali River on June 16, the swollen had so far swept away as many as 109 houses including huts of landless squatters by the torrential rainfall and 350 families were displaced. Of them, 13 were government offices. Regmi said the government would provide the announced relief amount as an immediate relief package. The chairman announced that the government would allocate Rs 500 million for the district in the upcoming budget. “The government has prioritised the ongoing supply of food stuffs, resuming of blocked roads and construction of embankment in the district at the earliest possible,” Regmi said. He informed that all the concerned ministries have been directed to ensure immediate supply of medicine and drinking water. Saying that the floods have caused a huge damage to lives and properties, Regmi said the government was serious about the matter. He said the government offices swept by the floods will provide their services through coordination with the ministries. Regmi, who arrived here in Darchula district via helicopter at 11:30 this morning, took stock of the situation in places including Khalanga Ghat Bazaar and Birendra Ban of Galfai Region. Chairman Regmi was accompanied by Minister for Home and Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire, Minister for Physical Planning and Infrastructure, and Co-operative Chabilal Panta, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology and Irrigation Umakant Jha, Chief Secretary Lila Mani Poudyal, Home Secretary Nabin Kumar Ghimire and Energy Secretary Bishwa Prakash Pandit. Meanwhile, floods and landslides victims of Darchula locals started getting government announced relief by Thursday. The relief distribution work began from today after relief materials were brought in the district through helicopters on Wednesday. Chief District Officer of Darchula, Chiranjivi Adhikari, said that arrangement for distributing relief to the flood and landslide victims were made through the district Red Cross. The relief packages would be distributed to more than 1,000 members of 128 families, who were completely displaced and become homeless by the flood havocs in Mahakali River. Twenty-two quintals of rice, six quintals of pulses, 100 litres of edible oil, 400 blankets, Piyush, a water purifying chemical and other medicines were distributed to the flood hit families, said CDO Adhikari. ”We have made an arrangement of spot distribution relief packages to flood victims where they were taking shelter,” said the CDO. Several organisations including Care Nepal, Save the Children, Community Rural Development Society Nepal and Darchula Chamber of Commerce were also distributing relief to them. Adhikari said they would also distribute relief amount to the victims from today as they have received a relief amount of Rs. 5 million provided by the government. A technical team has been assigned for the construction of embankments by identifying possible areas of erosion, added Adhikari. Initiatives were taken to resume traffic along the roads obstructed due to floods and landslides. Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Pradeep Prasad Koirala, government officers including Regional Administrator of the Far-Western Region visited the flood affected areas on Wednesday and enquired about the situation of the displaced families. Similarly, patients in the Darchula district facing problems after the floods in Mahakali River swept away the District Public Health Office and deprived from getting timely treatment. Doctor Bir Bahadur Thapa at the Office said that they have made arrangements to provide primary treatment services by keeping patients on the streets. Jagat Singh Khatri of Bhagawati-4, who was admitted to the hospital for the past six days, commented that he has been suffering due to pains as there was no treatment in the district after the flood swept away the hospital. Nnnn GOBT. TALKS WITH GOLD TRADERS STALLED Kathmandu, 21 June: The talks between the government and agitating gold and jewelry entrepreneurs scheduled for Thursday could not take place as the gold traders refused to withdraw their strike as demanded by the government, The Rising Nepal reports.. In the bilateral talks held on Tuesday, the government asked the gold traders to pull out their strike programmes before sitting in the next round of talks scheduled for today. Talking to The Rising Nepal, Narayan Prasad Bidari, Director General at the Department of Commerce, said that the talks scheduled for today was deferred due to the dual character of gold entrepreneurs, who have resorted to strike and talks at the same time. "We had asked the agitating two federations of gold and jewelry traders to withdraw all protesting programme to sit in the next round of talks scheduled for today and nominate two representatives each from their federations for the purpose," he said. The gold and jewelry traders continued their protests by closing down their businesses for last nine consecutive days after the government intensified its market monitoring drive and forwarded the processes to punish those involved in irregularities. However, the agitating gold traders said that Thursday's talks could not be held as the government did not formally invite them to sit for talk. Gyan Kaji Shakya, Treasure of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, said that the government side did not invite them in talks formally for Thursday. Shakya said that their strike would continue until the government would not address their reasonable demands. The national assembly of the gold and jewelry traders held on Wednesday demanded that the government free the entrepreneurs found guilty during the market monitoring of the government, he informed. The traders are demanding to prepare standard procedure in monitoring the market and exempt the entrepreneurs from legal action before formulating the procedure. However, DG Bidari said that the traders found guilty during the market inspection would not be freed from the action. Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “Mohan Baidhaya and Upendra Yadav Ji seemed positive after discussion. They told me that they will come after consulting with their friends. However, they did not come yet. “The international community is focusing on CA election. In this situation it would be day-dream to those who thought to boycott or obstruct the election.” (NC President Sushil Koirala )s The Rising Nepal, 21 June) nnnn