DETENYIOON

DETENTION OF MAOISTS CHARGED FOR MURDER OF

JOURNALIST CONTINUES

Kathmmandu, 5 July: A bomb disposal unit of Nepal Army Friday

defused morning destroyed  a cache of bullets and explosives found at

Sunawal-4, Ramawapur in Nawalparasi.

Five socket bombs were defused.

Arms and ammunition were probably hidden by Maoists there during the 10-year Maoist insurgency.

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APPELLATE COURT ORDER C0NTINUED DETENTION OF MURDER SUSPECTS

Kathmandu, 5 July: An appellate court in Surkhet has upheld the decision

of the Dailekh District Court to keep the murder suspects of journalist

Dekendra Thapa in custody.

The Appellate Court on Thursday issued the order to continue detention of

 Lachhiram Gharti, Birendra Bahadur KC, Nirag Gharti Magar, Harilal Pun and Jai Bahadur Shahi.

They have been charge for involvement of killing Thapa by burying him even when he was alive..

The previous Baburam Bhattarai in a controversial move attempted to

Stop investigation of the murder.

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ENSURE SUPPLY BEFORE HIKE IN WATER PRICE

Kathmandu, 5 July: Consumers have urged the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited ( KUKL ) to ensure adequate supply of drinking water inside the Kathmandu Valley before hiking the existing water tariff, Pragati Shahi writes in The Kathmandu Post..
The sole public utility responsible for the distribution and supply of drinking water inside the Valley has proposed a significant increment in the minimum water tariff, up to 142 percent, despite failing to make a smooth water supply inside the Valley for years.
The KUKL has forwarded a proposal to that effect to the Water Tariff Fixation Commission (WTFC), the authority responsible for approving new water tariff. As per the existing minimum tariff rate, each household with sewerage system installed should pay Rs 77.50. The minimum tariff hike proposed by the KUKL is
Rs 187.50, an increase of around 142 percent. A household without the sewerage system pays Rs 55, the minimum water tariff rate at present.
According to Balkrishna Pokhrel, programme manager at the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal, the proposed hike in minimum water tariff rates is unacceptable at the present context, as the KUKL is incapable of providing drinking water to even more than half of the total population living inside the Valley.
Even seven years after it started distributing and supplying drinking water, the KUKL has only been able to meet the demand of less than a quarter of the Valley’s population, thanks to the poor management, frequent political interference and lack of transparency and accountability, among others, Pokhrel said. KUKL ’s failure to install a monitoring mechanism and check water leakage, estimated to be around 40 percent, is also one of the reasons for poor supply.
“Without improving its inefficiency and poor performance, the plan to hike the tariff is a definite no-no for the consumers who face acute water shortage year-round,” Pokhrel said. At present, the KUKL supplies hardly 60 million litres per day (MLD), while the demand is 350 MLD. Private water suppliers supply 10 MLD.
Hari Sharma, director general at the WTFC, said the Commission has not taken a final call on that the KUKL proposal to hike water tariffs.
“The existing tariff rates need to be adjusted for the existence of the KUKL , which is at a low ebb. However, at the same time, the proposed hike should not affect the consumers who are already facing drinking water shortage,” he said. According to Sharma, the consumers’ associations are being consulted about appropriate measures acceptable to them and consumers.
Sharma, however, said that the KUKL needs to work for its institutional restructuring to a large extent to improve the drinking water supply situation inside the Valley.
Meanwhile, KUKL officials said the water tariff rates that have not been adjusted since 2008 should be hiked to help the water body stay afloat.

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