ycl

ELECTION UPDATE; SIX YCL ACTIVISTS HELD
Kathmandu, 31 July:: Police have arrested six cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL) on the charge of collecting donation against the election code of conduct. They were arrested from Narayangadh on Tuesday evening, RSS reports from
Ratnanagar in Chitwan..

The YCL is affiliated to the Unified CPN-Maoist. They were held while taking money from a businessman at Putali Bazaar area in Narayangadh.

They were arrested based on the information that they were collecting money in the name of donation flouting the election code of conduct, said Chief of the Chitwan District Police Office, Pradyumna Karki. He said they have been kept in detention at the police office.

Those arrested in that connection are Modraj Neupane, Uttam Gurung, Bishal Marahaththa, Manoj Sherpa, Rabi Parajuli and Bharat Magar.

The YCL Chitwan District Committee held a news conference immediately after their arrest and warned that it would launch a strong agitation if those arrested YCL cadres were not released until 10 a.m. today. It has threatened to call a Chitwan district shutdown.
Nnnn
BIRD FLU SITUATION GETTING OUT OF CONTROL
Kathmandu, 31 July: As the Capital on Tuesday witnessed the 15th bird flu outbreak in the last two weeks, health experts warned that the spread of the H5N1 virus has gone out of control and called for an immediate and more coordinated intervention from the government. While they say a government decision is being delayed due to strong lobbying from people in the poultry sector, the Nepal Chicken Sellers Business Association refuted
such a claim.Manish gautam writes in The Kathmandu Post..
Since the first outbreak in a poultry farm in Matatirtha and Chabahil on July 16, the virus has claimed over 25,000 chickens in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts.  Animal health authorities on Tuesday confirmed the flu in two more poultry farms in Bhaktapur. Tests on chicken samples were conducted by the Central Veterinary Laboratory at Tripureshwor in Kathmandu.
According to the experts, farmers selling the potentially infected chickens in the market in the absence of effective monitoring has worsened the situation. “There is total impunity; the authorities know who is at fault, but still they have failed to take immediate action,” said Dr Shital Kaji Shrestha, General Secretary of the Nepal Veterinary Association.
While some farmers have dumped dead birds openly in public places, others have buried them secretly without following the standard procedures. Such practices have increased the chances of the epidemic spreading, experts said. The police on Monday seized 426 chickens that were being transported to Birgunj for sale from a flu-affected farm in Bhaktapur.
Government officials concede that the existing measures fall way too short of what is required to combat the ‘epidemic’ and that this fact has led to the situation going out of hand.
“The trend in the past two weeks shows that the epidemic is showing no signs of receding,” Dr Bol Raj Acharya, Chief of the District Veterinary Office, Kathman-du, said. “We have realised that it needs bigger intervention, which means expanding the current volume of human resource, which is too small to control this epidemic, and a complete ban and quarantine of poultry products nationwide.”
The Kathmandu District Administration Office was supposed to take a decision on Tuesday on banning export and import of chickens in the Valley. However, according to sources, the DAO failed to even discuss the issue following ‘pressure’ from poultry traders. The sources added that a Cabinet decision will be taken soon.
“There is a strong lobby from the poultry sector and it is very unlikely that the government could take a decision without taking them into confidence,” the sources said.
President of the Nepal Chicken Sellers Business Association, Junga Bahadur BC, however said, “We are in favour of public health and have already asked our members to comply with any decision taken by the government.” In the past, the government has taken measures like declaring emergency in certain outbreak areas, closing down of schools and launching culling operations.
According to the Animal Health Directorate, the country has witnessed 105 bird flu outbreaks in the past five years. Last year, 35 outbreaks were reported, while this year, already 80 bird flu cases have been reported with a majority of them inside Kathmandu Valley.
nnnn

SLMM RELUCTANT FOR ALLIANCE WITH FDRA
Kathmandu, 31 July: The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), an alliance of five Madhes-based parties, has expressed reluctance to forge an election alliance with allies of the Federal Democratic Republican Alliance (FDRA), a loose alliance of 20 parties led by the UCPN (Maoist). The FDRA, of which the SLMM is also a key member, was formed last year, The Kathmandu Post reports..
On Tuesday, SLMM leaders skipped a meeting called by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is also the coordinator of the FDRA. SLMM leaders said they first need to have a common position in their bloc on any alliance for the Constituent Assembly polls scheduled for November 19.
There are fringe parties in the FDRA that are ‘desperate’ for an alliance with the UCPN (Maoist) to secure their position in the elections.
According to SLMM leaders, alliance s with the FDRA allies, as desired by UCPN (Maoist), is not possible due to “some ideological differences.” They, however, said they could continue being part of the FDRA if its chief purpose is to exert pressure to hold the elections in November.
FDRA Spokesperson Prem Bahadur Singh, however, expressed optimism that the Madhes-based parties will join hands with them for the elections. “They have vowed to join a meeting on Thursday after they have a common position
(on the alliance ) on Wednesday,” Singh said.
Cross-party Madhesi leaders say an election tie-up with the FDRA parties is not possible also due to differences in the types of federalism advocated by the Maoist party and Madhes-based parties.
The SLMM members include the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic led by Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, Sadbhawana Party led by Rajendra Mahato, Tarai Madhesi Loktantrik Party and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic.
nnnn