NATIONAL PADDY DAY BEING OBSERVED SATURDAY Kathmandu, 29 June: Saturday us being observed as National Paddy Day transplanting paddy and feasting on curd and lbeaten rice. Special paddy transplantation programmes are being held at Khumaltar and Bhaktapur. Paddy in the country’s staple crop. Transplantation has been completed in the Himalayan region. Nnnn . 19 NOV. ELECTIONS CERTAIN SAYS UML’S MADHAV KUMAR NEPAL Kathmandu, 29 June:: CPN (UML) senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has urged people not to harbor any doubts regarding the Constituent Assembly election slated for November 19, RSS reports from Birgunj. Addressing a training programme organized by the CPN (UML) Parsa unit for the local party cadres here today, he said there was no any problem holding the election to the second Constituent Assembly on the date declared by the government as the date had been set in consultation with and the consent of the major political parties. Leader Nepal said that now there was no alternative to holding the CA election and expressed the hope that the parties opposing the election would ultimately have to come on board and participate in the election. Nepal, also the former Prime Minister, ruled out any possibility of revival of monarchy in the country as it was limited in the pages of history. He claimed that the UCPN (Maoist) had yet to shake itself off the mentality of 'state capture', adding, "the country would get a constitution of their liking only if the UML secured majority votes in the forthcoming CA election." Nnnn DETAILS OF TOP OFFICIALS UNDER CIAA SCRUTINY Kathmandu, 29 June : The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has started investigation against 200 public office bearers including Armed Police Force (APF) Chief Kosh Raj Onta after complaints that they had amassed properties disproportionate to their legitimate sources of income, Republica. According to CIAA, the senior government officials being investigated belong to APF, Nepal Police, Nepal Telecom, Agriculture Development Bank, Ministry of Energy, Department of Foreign Employment, Nepal Oil Corporation, CTEVT, Home Ministry, Department of Survey, Revenue Administration, Medical Council, Engineering Council, Department of Land Revenue and different government ministries. The anti-graft body has started investigation into the properties of SSP Chiranjivi Adhikari, SP Shyam Kaji Kunwar and Gopi Shrestha from the APF and DIG Pratap Singh Thapa, Ramesh Bikram Shah, SP Sanjaya Singh Basnet, and DSP Hira Bahadur Giri from Nepal Police. Likewise, General Manager Digambar Jha, Rajendra Nakarmi, Ambar Sthapit, Purushottam Khanal, Dipesh Acharya, Kumar Prasad Sharma, Sudhir Prasad Aryal, Anil Acharya, Madan Sharma, Bhagawan Man Singh Pradhan, Pradip Thakur, Niraj Adhikari, Chandra Mohan Jha and Dev Narayan Yadav from Nepal Telecom, Moti Kunwar from Ministry of Energy, Bhawani Thani, Bishnu Hari Upadhyaya and Bishwa Bandhu Regmi from Department of Foreign Employment are also being investigated by the CIAA. While Bati Raj Poudel, Rabin Chandra Adhikari, Rabin Sharma, Birendra Goit and Mukunda Prasad Ghimire from Nepal Oil Corporation are currently under investigation, the anti-graft body is probing the properties of Ramesh Kumar Bakhati, Dev Chandra Devkota, Narendra Shah, Bishnu Koirala, Raju Khadka, and Yam Prasad Bhurtel from the CTEVT. According to CIAA, investigation into the property holdings of Uddhav Timalsina (Bajhang), Gopal Parajuli (Ramechhap) and Dipak Pokharel (Jhapa) who are serving under Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA); Bipin Kumar Lal Karna (Lalitpur), Bhim Prasad Gautam (Itahari), Kirti Ballav Poudel (Lalitpur), Rajesh Panthi (Lalitpur), Jivan Acharya (Parsa) and Khusi Lal Karna (Janakpur) serving under Transport Management Offices and Sumanta Jha (Parsa) serving under Department of Survey is under way. General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport Dinesh Shrestha, Kul Prasad Chudal (Lalitpur), Tulasi Sedhain ( Dharan) Dharmendra Mishra (Butawal) and Indra Dhungana from Revenue Administration; Bigyan Prasad Shrestha, Bimal Gurung, Roshan Agrawal, Bajra Bhusan Chaudhary, Ganesh Prasad Raj, Hom Bahadur KC, Haribir Silwal, Bodh Raj Dhakal, Dipak Upadhyay, Maheshwor Lal Shrestha, Chiranjibi Poudel, Ram Chandra Poudel and Sher Singh Bhat from Nepal Electricity Authority are among those being investigated over their property holdings on suspicion of illegal provenance. Likewise, the CIAA said it has initiated investigation into the property holdings of officials working in various metropolitan cities including Ram Bahadur Thapa, Sadhu Ram Bhattarai, Babu Ram Gautam, Badri Khadka, Basanta Acharya, Devendra Pokharel, Pramod Dhungana, Uttar Kumar Regmi, Devendra Dangol, Narendra Shrestha, Dipak Koirala (Kathmandu Metropolitan City) and Gopal Regmi (Biratnagar Sub-metropolitan City). The anti-graft body has also initiated investigation into the property holdings of Kameshwar Prasad Singh of Urban Development Office in Biratngar, Sita Ram Yadav, Himalaya Poudel, Thal Bahadur Tamang ( Ministry of Irrigation), Lekhnath Acharya (Ministry of Agriculture), Rabindra Nepal and Leela Dhakal (KUKL), Acting Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Punya Raj Shakya, Sagar Chandra Joshi of Agriculture Development Bank and Badri Bahadur Karki (Land Revenue Office Dillibazar) and Thakur Prasad Niraula (Land Revenue Office Jhapa). nnnn HISTORIC ASHOK PILLAR SUBMERGED IN RAIN WATER Kathmandu, 29 June: The historical Ashok Pillar has submerged in the water with the arrival of the rainy season. The pillar lies at Gotihawa village about 5 kilometers southwest of Taulihawa, The Rising Nepal reports.. The pillar area is totally covered by water. The pillar is the main evidence of the birth place of Krakuchanda Buddha. The pillar is standing lower than then the normal level of surrounded land areas so the pillar is submerged by water each year during monsoon season. The one-third part of the pillar is submerged due to the continuous rainfall. The existence of the Ashok Pillar which is famous world wide is in risk now. The Lumbini Development Trust is the responsible body but it is yet to construct basic infrastructure to protect this important pillar from the rain water and other risks. The pillar has become shaky now. Apart from being submerged, the written inscription of pillar is damaged due to the continuous submersion, said Krishna K.C, an archeologist of of LDT. The village is using the pillar for holding their cattle by tying the cattle harness due to the lack of conservation and care. The Indian emperor Ashok had constructed the pillar in the third century BC saying that the place is the birthplace of Krakuchanda Buddha. The domestic and foreign tourists and Buddhism followers became worried to see the worsening condition of the pillar. The pillar is submerged even during the normal rain, said Dilip Chaurdari, a local. It can be lost completely if heavy rains lash the area triggering some floods. The pillar has been facing such problem every year but no concerned body has given interest to preserve it and solve the problem. The team of Nepal and Italy had jointly carried out excavation of the site in 1993. The human civilization of the 9th century to 3rd and 4th century BC and the evidence of civilization was discovered during the excavation time from the site. The upper portion of the pillar is broken and lost and only the lower portion of the pillar- some 3.5m. in height is still intact. Adjoining the pillar towards its northeast, there is a huge stupa with successive ring of wedge shaped Mauryan bricks. Construction of any structure at the archeological site has been prohibited, said office of Limbini Development Trust. Ajitman Tamang, member secretary of trust, said that water from the pillar area will be cleared and the pillar will be protected from all kinds of risks and hazards.. Nnnn BUSINESSS CONDIFENCE LEVEL BELOW 50 PERCENT Kathmandu, 29 June: Although the Business Confidence Index (BCI) level increased after the formation of the present government, it is still below 50 per cent, said a survey, The Rising Nepal reports.. According to the Business Confidence Index (BCI) published by the Ministry of Finance On Friday, Nepal's BCI level was at 48 per cent in the last three months. It was 39.7 per cent six months ago when the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) measured the BCI for the first time in Nepal. Presenting the BCI report, Dr. Basudev Sharma of the Ministry of Finance Privatization Cell, said that business confidence has increased in the last three months after the Ministry of Finance introduced the full-fledged budget giving utmost priority to the private sector. The survey covered the period from March 15 to June 15 showing an increase by 8 per cent compared to the previous similar survey. Business confidence is one of the major factors to show the situation of the private investment in different sectors. The confidence of general business itself provides opportunity for different avenues. Employment opportunity, infrastructure development, economic growth and stability are determined by the private sector's investment, empowerment and confidence. The survey covered the expectations of employees, investment, company-specific financial performance, business cost, sales (including export) orders and inflation, Sharma said. The survey found that businesses involved in the service sector were more confident and optimistic on the economic situation of the country than those involved in agriculture and industry sectors. The survey was conducted to find out a general idea about the economic conditions of business firms. Five indicators were chosen to construct the BCI. They were: financial condition or profitability, investment situation, employment situation, business cost and sales order or export order. The survey identified that the political instability and transition and weakness in the governance were the biggest challenges to the growth of the private sector. Nepalese economy was facing energy crisis, lack of good governance, labour problem, unfair competition, and financial problems, among others. “Majority of the entrepreneurs (57 per cent) believe that production cost will increase in the coming days due to growing inflation and increasing dollar price,” he said. The survey showed that BCI is high in the energy and infrastructure sectors, with both standing at 61 per cent, lowest in real estate sector, only at 40 per cent. The survey recommended that more effort was essential from both the government and the private sector to assure a full confidence in the coming days for accelerating the economic growth. The survey further showed that the Nepalese economy would not worsen from the present situation in the days to come. Finance Minister Shankar Prasad Koirala said that the government was effortful to create a business friendly environment to boost the confidence of the private sector. He assured that the government would incorporate the suggestion recommended by the survey to enhance the private sector’s confidence. Koirala's Economic Advisor Dr. Chiranjeevi Nepal said there was no alternative but to win the confidence of the private sector for the economic development of the country. "Increase in the BCI level in the last there months shows that the private sector is willing to invest more," Nepal said. According to him, the investment of the private sector is at 70 per cent and the government would coordinate with the private sector for increasing their investment. Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE "I am happy that everything has been clear and express gratitude to all Nepali people at home and abroad for their goodwill, love and best wishes received in course of my treatment." (President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav in The Rising Nepal 29 June) nnnn