REGMI

HLPM TO BRIEF CHAIRMAN REGMI

Kathmandu, 14 July: Chairman Khil Raj Regmi is being briefed by Bijaya

Kumar Gachedhar Sunday of the outcome of Saturday’s meeting of

HLPM meeting which told government not to take sweeping decisions with long-term effect and concentrate only on election preparation.

The meeting comes after the body of four parties decided to ask government to push preparations for the 19 November constituent assembly elections.

The rotating chairmanship of the mechanism goes back to Maoist Chairman Tuesday.

Leadership of the body formed to keep a tab on government changes every month.

The body attempts to impose its priorities through te Regmi government and sma; parties have charged the November vote cant be free and fair as it continues to dominate Nepali politics and running of government.

The body Saturday also decided to conduct a roundtable conference

with opposition CPN Maoist which has threatened an election boycott.

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NEPAL PLAYS MALDIVES IN SOUTH ASIAN VOLLEYBALL

Kathmandu, 14 July: Nepal plays Maldives Sunday in the South Asian Volleyball Championship for which ri Lanka has qualified.

Host Nepal lost to Sri Lanka 3-0 Saturday after beating Afghanistan in an

inaugural match.

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SUNDAY MORNING CAPITAL TEMPERATURE 20 DEGREES CELSIUS

Kathmandu, 14 July;  Temperature on a clear Sunday

Sunday morning in the capital was 20 degrees Celsius.

Mercury is expected to rise to 27 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.

Nnnn SALARY HIKE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS IN SUNDAY’S BUDGET Kathmandu, 14 July: The government is announcing the budget for the fiscal year 2013/14 on Sunday, incorporating limited new programs that are necessary to spur exports, generate energy and boost the morale of the private sector, Republica reports..  “Barring some highly essential programs, most of the programs in the coming budget will be in line with the current fiscal year´s budget. The coming budget will mainly attempt to address pertinent problems in the economy such as ballooning trade deficit and eroding confidence of the private sector,” said a source at the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The source also said minor changes will be made in customs tariffs to comply with the tariff reduction provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The source also said incentives for the farm sector, energy generation and export promotion are included in the budget. In view of near double-digit inflation over three years, the coming budget will be increasing the allowances or salary of civil servants, which cost the government around Rs 15 billion annually. Allocations worth Rs 15 billion to 18 billion for the much-hyped election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) scheduled for November 19 and provision of Rs 3 billion for the cost of fresh recruitment of around 9, 000 Nepal Police and Armed Police personnel are adding to the volume of the coming budget. Around Rs 325 billion in recurrent expenditure is expected in the coming budget though most of the programs are going to be within the same limits as in the current fiscal year. To arrange funding for recurrent expenditures, the government is planning to mobilize revenue worth Rs 360 billion and it can also resort to domestic borrowings of around Rs 60 billion and foreign assistance of around Rs 90 billion. The source also said the coming budget will be in the neighbourhood of Rs 510 billion, up from the Rs 506 billion ceiling set by the National Planning Commission (NPC), the apex policy-making body of the government. “Though most of the programs are within the limits of the current budget, the new budget amount will cross the NPC´s ceiling due to the proposed remuneration hike, CA elections and new recruitment into the security forces,” the source said. After seven hours of high-level meeting at MoF on Saturday attended by Finance Minister Shankar Koirala, Chairman of NPC Rabindra Kumar Shakya, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, MoF chief economic advisor Dr Chiranjibil Nepal and Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi, the draft of the budget was presented to Khilaraj Regmi, chairman of the Interim Election Council. The cabinet meeting is scheduled to endorse the budget before it is presented before President Ram Baran Yadav for his seal. nnnn SAMPLES OF BIRD FLU VIRUS SENT TO LONDON FOR TEST Kathmandu, 14 July: The Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) under the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) said that it has sent samples of H5N1 virus to a London-based laboratory to find out whether the virus seen in the Valley is of same strain that was identified in the past.M Arjun POudel writes in Republica. The move of the DoAH comes following seven bird flu outbreaks in the capital in the last 10 days. Officials at DoAH said that the bird flu virus has been constantly changing its nature. The DoAH said that the virus has changed its form thrice since the first outbreak in 2009. The office is particularly suspicious about the nature of virus that has been spreading rampantly in the valley´s poultry farms. "We have sent samples of bird flu virus to a London-based laboratory," Dr Bijaya Kanta Jha, executive director at DoAH, said. He said that the rapid response teams comprising vet technicians have culled more than 22,000 chickens in seven poultry farms of capital in the last 10 days. The office said that the disease was detected in poultry farms of Matatirtha, Naubise, Seuchatar, Chhauni, and Gothatar, Kathmandu. Over 12,000 chickens were culled in Chhauni´s poultry farm. The vet doctors say avian flu (H5N1) virus mostly spread in winter season, but in Nepal the virus has been spreading even in summer. "We suspect that the virus might have changed its pattern," Dr Jha said. The DoAH said that poultry farmers across the country have suffered heavy losses due to the spread of disease. "Instead of focusing on other agriculture development work, we are busy culling chickens," said Bola Raj Acharya, chief of the District Veterinary Office, Kathmandu. He said that due to the loss inflicted by the bird flu virus, more poultry farmers have been giving up the profession. Despite the spread of disease, price of chicken has not lessened in the market. The office said that the supply of chickens in the market has gone down, therefore, the price has not decreased. Acharya said that more poultry farmers would give up the profession if the government does not initiate steps to retain them in the business. Acharya asked the farmers to apply bio-security in their farms, which means not to transport dead chickens to other farms and prevent contact with wild birds and others.
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