Experts suggest to seek export potential of vegetables

Kathmandu, Dec. 30

Stakeholders have suggested increasing the production and quality of vegetables by enhancing farmer's capacity in order to boost export of fresh vegetables.

Speaking at an interaction on 'Export potential of fresh vegetables to India and other countries', organized by the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (sawtee) on Friday, they suggested formulating strategy for the promotion of Nepalese agro-products in the international markets.

"Fresh vegetables have high potential in production and export. But, we must be ready to offer quality product in competitive price, and comply with the standards set by the importing countries," said secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya.

He said that the agricultural products could reduce the trade deficit as it had about 20 per cent share in the deficit.

He suggested that the country should enhance the productive capacity by adopting modern and innovative technology in order to meet the demands in the domestic market and reduce trade deficit by exporting it to other countries.

Joint secretary at the MoC Rabi Shankar Sainju pointed towards the need to formulate long-term marketing strategy and immediately implement pest control mechanism in order to create positive image of Nepalese agro products in the international market.

Likewise, former secretary and agriculture expert, Dr. Hari Dahal said, "Even if we can't export vegetables immediately to India and third countries, we need to increase the product with the aim of replacing export of agro-products."

Presenting the findings of the study, programme coordinator of the sawtee, Neelu Thapa, said most of the vegetable export from six southern borders was informal.

"We observe the movement of vegetables from Nepal to India for two days at Kakarvitta border and found that approximately 3,800 kg of vegetables were taken informally across the border," she said.

She stated that although the cultivation of vegetables was increased by 40 per cent in the last decade in Nepal, the yield was increased by just 17 per cent.

"Vegetables production in Nepal is characterized by inconsistency and fluctuating production. Sometimes it is not sufficient for the farmer's family and sometimes the production is such quantity that you can't sell and have to feed it to the animals," said Thapa.

Former commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha said that vegetable farmers did not have cooperative and were poor in collective bargaining.

"As a result, they have been exploited by the middlemen. Therefore the government should focus on capacity building of farmers," he said.

Chairman of  sawtee Dr. Posh Raj Pandey remarked that agriculture could be an entry point toward poverty alleviation.

"Vegetable export has high potential in Nepal due to its diverse climatic conditions and this sector has high elasticity, too," he said. 

Monastery supports school with sports materials

Kathmandu, Dec. 30

Ananda Sangh Pulahari monastery has supported Jana Jagriti Secondary School of Budhanilakantha Municipality – 19, Jagdol with various sport materials worth Rs. 615,000.

Secretary of the monastery, Chhuki Lama, handed over the materials to chairman of the School Management Committee, Trilochan Poudyal, amidst a ceremony, on Thursday.

Lama said that the sports materials would contribute to student's educational, physical and psychological development.

According to Poudyal, the monastery had been continuously supporting the school in construction buildings, toilets, educational materials and extra-curricular activities for students.

He said that money would be used in constructing sports and playground site and procuring sport equipments.

Gionee to provide home delivery service

Kathmandu, Dec. 30

Gionee, a telecommunications solutions provider, has introduced home delivery services for Gionee repaired phones in the Kathmandu Valley.

Issuing a press statement on Thursday, the company said that the newly launched service would help the customers to avoid the increasing traffic congestion and get their repaired phones delivered to their door step.

"If you damage your Gionee smartphone or run into any issues, you can get it repaired at the Gionee authorized service centres with home delivery service for Rs. 130 within 3 hours and in case of urgencies the phone will be delivered in one hour at the cost of Rs. 175 within the Ring Road," read the statement.

The company said that if the problem in the phone persisted, it would collect the phone from the customer and carry it to the service centre at zero additional cost. 

Felt exports up by 33 per cent

Kathmandu, Dec. 29:

Felt products have emerged as a sector of high export potential with steady growth in exports over the years.

According to the Nepal Wool Felt Producers and Exporters Association (NWFPEA), the export of felt-related goods and handicrafts was about Rs. 1.5 billion last fiscal year 2015/16, which is about 33 per cent higher than in the previous FY 2014/15.

Statistics of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) show that felt goods equivalent to about Rs. 1.7 billion were exported last fiscal year, but president of the NWFPEA Naresh Lal Shrestha said that the exports were much higher as the tourists visiting Nepal often carry felt products back home.

Felt goods worth Rs. 916 million were exported in FY 2014/15, Rs. 738 million in FY 2013/14, Rs. 535 million in FY 2012/13 and Rs. 474 in FY 2011/12.

"The export of wool felt products occupies first position among textile products being exported from Nepal while felt products ranks second position in the overall export of handicraft products after metal products," Shrestha said while addressing the 8^th Annual General Meeting of the NWFPEA, Thursday.

About 25,000 jobs have been created in the wool felt industries, where 80 per cent of the workers are illiterate and 20 per cent are youths.

The felt industry has picked up momentum in Nepal as it does not require much electricity, the products are handmade and unskilled labour is aplenty.

"But lack of skilled labour and design institutions, and the need to import raw materials greatly impact this sector. Therefore, the government should support us in establishing training institutions and formulate the necessary plans and policies for sheep farming, which will not only help the felt industries but also help farmers in the rural areas," said Shrestha.

Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi praised the felt industries for creating employment and contributing to the government's revenue.

"We have a challenge to motivate the youth to be entrepreneurs and stay in the country instead of flying abroad in search of job opportunities," he said.

He urged the business community to come up with a concrete plan to develop the business sector and think of the common good instead of their personal benefits.

On the occasion, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Pashupati Murarka was critical of the government for turning a deaf ear to the demands of entrepreneurs in facilitating business and export.

He said that the generators of employment were not getting enough support, incentives and tax waiver "even though we have been demanding them for many years."

"We work in extreme conditions, but the government hesitates to provide us even the basic facilities which should be provided to the common citizens. Our policy makers do not consider the economic agenda an integral part of the country's progress and development," he said.

Chairman of Export Promotion Committee of the FNCCI Anup Bahadur Malla urged the government to provide double digit incentives to export-oriented industries, support in the value addition of raw materials like gemstone and herbs, establish accredited labs and facilitate the exporters to participate in international trade fairs.

ent to appoint the vacant seats of election commissioners and provide necessary resources and equipments to the ECN.

The Committee also held discussion with the Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Hit Raj Pandey, chief whips of various political parties, and high government officials from the OPMCM and MoFALD. 

House Panel directs the govt to hold election by mid-May 2017

Kathmandu, Dec. 29:

The Development Committee of Legislature-Parliament Thursday directed the government to hold the election of the local bodies by mid-May 2017.

It asked the government to accept the report of the Local Body Reconstruction Commission (LBRC) and announce the date for the election of local bodies at the earliest.

Saying that the election was the first step in the implementation of the constitution and federalism, the house panel said, "The LBRC has prepared the report on the restructuring of the local bodies. Therefore, this committee directs the government, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) and Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) to create conducive political environment for the election."

The direction has come at the time when the three major parties have agreed in principle to hold the local election and announce the poll date soon. A meeting of the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Center and the main opposition CPN-UML held on Wednesday reached an understanding to hold local elections.

The government, however, has been dillydallying to receive the LBRC report. And members of LBRC had just the other day held a meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and urged him to receive the report.

The Commission had completed the report a couple of weeks ago and planned to submit it to the PM last week but it was unable to get an appointment with him to submit the report.

In the latest meeting with the LBRC members PM Prachanda assured them that the government would receive the report at a convenient time.

The report is crucial to demarcate the local bodies as per the provision in the new constitution and holding elections at local, provincial and federal levels.

According to the constitution, all the three elections should be held by January 20 next year while the Election Commission has been saying that it needs at least four months to make preparations for any elections.

Chairman of the Committee Rabindra Adhikari urged all the political parties to give topmost priority to holding election and forge necessary political consensus and collaboration for the same.

He directed the government, OPMCM and MoFALD to register remaining necessary Bills required for holding the election at the Parliament and put sincere efforts to implement federalism.

"Expedite the preparations for the election, estimate the challenges, such as printing ballot paper and designing voters education, that may come during the election programme and use Electronic Voting Machine in order to reduce the error to zero," Adhikari directed all concerned government agencies and Election Commission of Nepal (ECN).

The Committee asked the government to appoint the vacant seats of election commissioners and provide necessary resources and equipments to the ECN.

The Committee also held discussion with the Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Hit Raj Pandey, chief whips of various political parties, and high government officials from the OPMCM and MoFALD. 

Melamchi tunnel construction gathers desired momentum

Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Dec. 28:

A major breakthrough has been achieved at the key section of the Melamchi Water Supply Project’s Sundarijal-Sindhu tunnel, the longest tunnel of the much-awaited project.

Engineers and technicians at the project site conducted the last blast Wednesday afternoon to connect the 5.8-km tunnel being constructed from the Sundarijal side with that on the Sindhu side, which is 3.2 km.

The tunnel is 3.9 metres high and 3.5 metres wide.

Now only a 5.5-km-long tunnel needs to be built to bring water from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk district to Sundarijal of Kathmandu through a 27.5-km-long waterway.

Tunnel of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project.

The actual length of the tunnel is 26.5 km. The 300-m and 700-metre-long audit tunnels at Gyalthum and Sindhu respectively are also included in the project.

According to the project management, the debris generated by the blast will be taken out of the tunnel within a day, and preparations will be made for further development of the tunnel.

According to Rajan Pudasainee, a geologist deployed at the site, a 3-centimetre-thick circuit would be set in the tunnel walls and ceiling and a 10-cm-thick RCC would be constructed on the floor before allowing the water to flow into it.

The tunnel will carry 170 million litres of water per day from the Melamchi River to the Kathmandu Valley by next year, and another 340 million litres of water from the Yangri and Larke Rivers will be available by 2021.

“We are literally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. We have been committed to this crucial project through thick and thin and are glad that water will soon start flowing,” said Kenichi Yokoyama, country director of the Asian Development Bank for Nepal.

The ADB has provided a total of US$ 145 million in loans for the $355.4 million Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), a national pride project.

It has been working with the government since 2000 to build the tunnel and 29 km of the access road, and with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to construct a water treatment plant at Sundarijal. 

Executive director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board Ghana Shyam Bhattarai said that Wednesday's work was a milestone towards completing the construction of one of the longest water diversion tunnels.

Engineers, government officers and journalists ready to enter in to the tunnel.

According to the government, the project would be completed in the next 6 to 8 months.

However, at present the project is drilling about 19 metres a day, which is less than its earlier progress of about 24-26 metres a day.

Engineers at the site said that work had been slowed because the machinery and equipment were old, and there were breakdowns during work.

Therefore, rough estimates show that it might be difficult to complete the project within the stipulated time.

A couple of months ago, the Development Committee of the Legislature-Parliament had directed the government to complete the MWSP and distribute water from the Melamchi River in Kathmandu by October 2017.

The project has been delayed by a decade, and its deadline was extended twice.

According to the second revised date, it was to be completed by September this year.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, during an on-site inspection of the project in Sindhupalchowk in September, had directed the authorities to complete the project before the new deadline.

Acording to Bhattarai, construction of a 20-km access road, 21-km audit access road and 6 site offices had been completed, and progress in the construction of the water treatment plant was 96 per cent.

(Published in The Rising Nepal of December 29, 2016)

Govt avoids report on local bodies restructuring

Kathmandu, Dec. 27: The government is unwilling to receive the report on the restructuring of local bodies, said a member of the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission (LBRC) Tuesday.

"The Commission has been trying to get an appointment with the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda but the date has not yet been fixed for the meeting," said LBRC’s member Dor Mani Poudel. 

The Commission had completed the report a couple of weeks ago and planned to submit it to the PM last week but it was unable to get an appointment with him.

It is uncertain when the government will accept the much-awaited report, which is crucial to demarcating the local bodies as per the provision in the new constitution and holding elections at local, provincial and federal levels.

According to the constitution, all these elections must be held by January 20 next year while the Election Commission has been saying that it couldn’t hold local bodies’ elections by May next year if the report on local bodies restructure is not submitted to it about five months earlier.

Although the itinerary of PM Prachanda mentioned that there would be a meeting between the PM and members of the LBRC at 10:30 am at Singha Durbar, it could not take place, citing the PM's busy schedule.

The meeting was planned to hold discussion between the members of the Commission and the PM regarding the issues of local bodies restructuring.

LBRC’s member Poudel said that the meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday.

But, he has no idea about the submitting of the report to the government in case the PM doesn’t meet them Wednesday.

“We have put a lot effort in preparing the report. Now it is up to the government whether to accept it or not,” he said.

The LBRC informed that it has set the number of local level units at 725.

Earlier, the Commission had prepared the report with 565 local units which received flak from the political parties and the government consequently directed the LBRC to create local units from 507 to 744.  

However, it is a provisional report.

It will take additional time to prepare the final report.

The Commission, which was created in March this year, has it mandate to do its job till mid-March next year. 

Rs. 1 lakh for house repair

Kathmandu, Dec. 25: The earthquake victims, who are on the list of getting house reconstruction grants but haven’t pulled down their partially damaged houses, can reapply for retrofitting their structures.

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sunday said that those households opting for retrofitting would receive Rs. 100,000 – instead of Rs. 300,000 – to repair their houses.

“The households that received Rs. 50,000 in the first installment but want to repair the house instead of pulling it down and reconstruction will be facilitated from this provision,” NRA chief executive officer Sushil Gyawali said at a press conference organised on the occasion of first anniversary of the establishment of the reconstruction body.

The NRA has already prepared working procedure required for obtaining money for the house repair.

Gyawali said that more than 40,100 houses had been constructed in the quake-hit districts and 17,144 houses are in the construction process.

“The NRA has given priority to the house reconstruction. About 626,036 houses of the 14 districts severely-hit by the earthquake have been listed on the grant list. 543,107 households have signed the reconstruction grant agreement with the government and 458,592 households have received the first installment of the grant,” he said.

The NRA said that more than 204,000 complaints were registered at the local level, with most of them claiming that they were not on the beneficiaries’ list even though their houses were damaged by the earthquake.

It has reviewed 79,322 complaints which will be published soon.

Meanwhile, reconstruction of 15 heritages has been completed while 69 religious, cultural and historical heritages are in the reconstruction process.

“Similarly, 200 health centres were reconstructed with prefabricated materials and 169 health centres are being constructed. We aim at completing the reconstruction of about 2,300 school buildings,” said Gyawali.

He said that the government had initiated works to prepare master plan for the development of seven world heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley along with Gorkha and Nuwakot palaces.

The government is also planning to develop 25 integrated settlements with the ‘build back better’ concept.

Gyawali said that the absence of elected representatives at the local bodies, lack of effective coordination among the concerned stakeholders and process-oriented government working system were the major challenges in the reconstruction process.

“However, the NRA takes ownership of its every activity and vows to move ahead by correcting its weaknesses,” he said.

Secretary of the NRA Dr. Sanjaya Sharma said that the reconstruction body had been performing well.

“We did not have the experience of tackling the disaster of this scale so there might be some weaknesses but the NRA is making significant progress,” he said. 

Sindhuli Mahotsav attracting tourists

Sindhulimadi, Dec. 25: Organized with the aim of promoting agriculture, energy and tourism industry in the district, Sindhuli Mahotsav - 2071 attracted a large number of visitors and domestic tourists from surrounding districts.

The largest trade and cultural fair of the district has 270 stalls. Of them, 25 stalls are especially dedicated to the locally produced goods.  

According to Dinesh Kumar Shrestha, president of the Sindhuli Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and coordinator of Mahotsav Organizing Committee, the chamber had been promoting local agricultural, cultural and food products.

“Sindhuli is a district with high potential in agro-products but we have everything in small scale apart from tangerine. Therefore, we have locally produced tangerine, coffee, food items, furniture and other materials made from bamboo, but all in small amount. We want to promote them as commercially viable goods,” he said.

The trade fair features handicraft goods of local artists, food items of various ethnic communities as well as agricultural technologies, garment, kitchen wares, readymade clothes, automobiles.

An ostrich and a camel have added attraction to the fair. Likewise, to attract more tourists and visitors, it has added helicopter fly from Sunday.

“An individual can fly in the helicopter and observe the district from the sky in just Rs. 7,500,” said Shrestha.

 The fair was visited by more than 35 thousand people in the last four days.

The Mahotsav had begun on 22^nd December and will run till 31^st December.

According to the SCCI estimates, there will be turnover of 150000 people and transaction of Rs. 50 million to 70 million in the Mahotsav.

Sindhuli Mahotsav, which is happening for the fourth time, has been instrumental in promoting major tourist attractions of the district like Sindhuligadhi, Fikkal Danda, Panchakanya pond, Hariharpurgadhi.

Every day, local and national artistes are performing in the Mahotsav. Singer Pashupati Sharma, Jyoti Magar, Ramji Khand, Devi Gharti Magar, Shiva Pariyar, Badri Pangeni, Ramkrishna Dhakal and many others are presenting their songs while Jogindar Paanwala, Jitu Nepal and other artistes are set to make the audience laugh with their performance.

There are dohori song competition, cultural exhibitions, circus and many other attractions.

The Mahotsav is being jointly organized by the SCCI, District Development Committee, Kamalamai Municipality.

ONly 8.6 % women entrepreneurs have access to finance

Kathmandu, Dec. 18

Joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry (MoI) Yam Kumari Khatiwada Sunday said that the women's access to the finance was poor in Nepal as only 8.6 per cent women entrepreneurs received loans from the banks and financial institutions.

Speaking at an interaction programme on 'Trade and industrial policy for women entrepreneurs' in Kathmandu, she said more than two thirds, 67 per cent, of women entrepreneurs had been running enterprises from their own financial resources.

"Rest of the entrepreneurs have been managing the financing from local lenders, relatives and neighbours," she said.

She said that more women should run their business as it would enhance their capacity to be involved in decision making process.

"Entrepreneurship helps in self employment, income generation, self-reliance, access to resources, human development, improving lifestyle," she remarked.

According to Khatiwada, about 90 per cent of the enterprises in the country, 250,000, were micro, small, and medium scale enterprise which created 2.2 million employments.

Chairman of Women Entrepreneurship Development Committee at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Kamala Shrestha said that the interaction was aimed at finding out the potentials that women entrepreneurs have in every district and suggest the government to address the demands of entrepreneurs.

"Representatives from 51 districts are participating in the programme. They will be updated about the Industrial Policy and other related laws," she said.

Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya said that the Trade Policy 2015 had an exclusive provision for the women entrepreneurs.

"Programmes shall be launched to link micro, cottage and small and medium industries and industries run by women and marginalized classes/communities to export sector," he quoted the policy.

He said that women empowerment could come through entrepreneurship, and empowerment of women lead to better family, better health of children and better living standard. 

Theatre Mall stages 'Bhoko Ghar'

Kathmandu, Dec. 18

Theatre Mall has started to stage celebrated one-act play of Govinda Bahadur Mall Gothale, 'Bhoko Ghar'.

The play, directed by Kedar Shrestha, portrays a life of a family in the 1970s and is relevant even to date.

'Bhoko Ghar' is a story of a middle-class family which entirely depends upon the earning of the father to feed them up.

When the father loses his job, the family experiences a severe economic crisis, and they have nothing to eat. The family is forced to fast almost every day.  As a result, the mother every now and then talks about delicious food and links everything to food and fests.

Likewise, their daughter has hallucinations that she was a princess of a fairy tale who was dead and later brought to life by a handsome prince. She dreams her eyes wide open and talks such issues that make no sense to the present crisis that the family is undergoing. Similarly, the son talks about the sociological aspects of various things.

Father is busy on making plans for the survival of the family, but he receives a severe blow when his creditor denies paying him more money as the family had borrowed more than 1.5 million rupees.

The family has nothing to survive on. The play ends there.

The beauty of the play is that it touches upon the psychological aspects of having no economic resources. Each character is enlivened by brilliant performance of Aakash Magar, Shanti Giri, Sudam CK, Sanjita Sanjee and Abhaya Baral. The take the audience away with their near to life acting.

The play is a 'must-watch'. It will be staged till 7^th January 2017. 

Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway to be completed by 2018

Kathmandu, Dec. 22: The Department of Railways (DoRW) Thursday said that the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway would be completed by the end of 2018.

The government is upgrading the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway line and extending it up to Bardibas of Mahottari district.

Director general of the DoRW Ananta Acharya told the Legislature-Parliament's Development Committee meeting that about 80 per cent works of the project had been completed, and the railway line would connect Bardibas with Janakpur by 2020.

"About 80 per cent of the formation level construction on the Janakpur-Jayanagar section has been completed while 40 per cent embankment filling at the Janakpur-Bijalpura section has been finished. Railway stations and staff quarters as well as bridges and culverts are under construction at various locations," said Acharya.

The total length of the railway is 69 kilometres.

 The government also plans to develop a 262-kilometre-long Bardibas-Kakarbhitta railway and initiated Detailed Project Report (DPR) works for it.

"Similarly, the feasibility of Nijgad-Hetauda-Bharatpur railway (135 km) is in the  final phase, and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of Simara-Bardibas has been approved, and construction works on the Bardibas-Lanbandi section of the project are underway," said. Acharya.

According to the DoRW, feasibility study of the Mechi-Mahakali Railway, including its extension to Aabu Khaireni, and north south link, Kathmandu-Pokhara has been completed.

The government is working on six major railway projects: Mechi-Mahakali Railway, Cross Border Connectivity Railway at five different points, Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini Electric Railway, Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu Railway, Kathmandu-Birgunj Electrified Railway and Kathmandu Valley Metro Rail.

Cross border railway line will connect Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Janakpur, Biratnagar and Kakarbhitta to the Indian Railway lines across the Nepal-India border.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Nepal and India in 2011 during the visit of then President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav.

Meanwhile, the Development Committee has criticised the government for not being able to grasp the importance of railways in national development and connectivity.

"Lack of will power in the government leadership, poor coordination among the concerned agencies and a weak bureaucracy are to blame for falling behind in railway development," said chairman of the Committee Rabindra Adhikari.

The committee directed the government to prepare the DPR of the Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railways and expedite the construction of the Mechi-Mahakali and Kathmandu-Pokhara Electric railway.

Likewise, it asked the government and the Railway Department to prepare a master plan for metro rail in the Kathmandu Valley and prepare the DPR of the Kathmandu-Birgunj Railway.

The Committee has also asked the government to conduct feasibility study of mining-based construction materials as the river-based materials like stones, pebbles and sand are being used up completely.

Lawmaker Baijanath Chaudhary raised concern about the shortage of construction materials due to over-dependency on them. 

All engineers set to resign

Kathmandu, Dec. 21: Engineers have stopped working at the reconstruction sites with half of them already resigning en masse Tuesday.

They cited the height of indifference on part of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) towards the reconstruction works and meeting their demands for their resignation.

"The engineers and overseers who are present in the capital tendered their resignation to the Central Programme Implementation Unit at the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) Tuesday and engineers in the remote areas will submit their resignation within a couple of days," Ramesh Subedi, an engineer deployed at Muchchok VDC of Gorkha, told The Rising Nepal over phone

Last week, more than 2,300 engineers and overseers deployed in the quake-hit districts to assist the victims in house reconstruction had threatened to resign if the government failed to fulfill their demands by December 15.

Since their demands were not met, they had halted their work to protest the government. Many of them came to the capital to put pressure on the government to meet their demands.

A meeting of CPIU-MoUD chief Shiva Hari Sharma, representatives of NRA, Nepal Engineers Association (NEA) and other concerned bodies had promised to address the demands of the agitating engineers a couple of months ago.

"The government turned a deaf ear to our demands. Therefore, we were compelled to resign," said Subedi.

Earlier, the government had decided to provide 25 per cent equivalent to their salary as the remote allowance to the engineers deployed in the far flung areas and 75 per cent of the same as performance allowance.

It had expressed commitment to implementing the agreement before mid-November, but has not yet addressed it.

However, the engineers claimed that their protest was primarily for expediting the reconstruction process, not the incentives for them.

"The engineers don't have any office to provide their services. They have to work under the VDC secretaries who are junior to them. Furthermore, the people want more models of the house other than the government prescribed 17 models. They want to build truss houses but it has not been included in the prescribed models. But the government never heard to our demands and suggestions," they said at a press conference organized in the capital, last week.

Subedi said that the engineers particularly faced problems in distributing the second installation of the house reconstruction grant.

"The NRA has yet not sent us the check list required to provide the second installment of the money to the quake-hit households. Engineers have been receiving dozen of phone calls every day but they can't do anything regarding the money," he said.

Immediate past president of the NEA Dhruba Thapa said that the government failed to address the demands of the agitating engineers who were forced to work under poor working conditions.

He criticized the NRA for being indifference towards the sensitive issues of reconstruction.

But, the NRA has directed the agitating engineers to work in their respective fields in collaboration with the District Programme Implementation Units under the MoUD, and threatened of stern actions against them if they continued to create obstructions to the reconstruction works and play with the sentiments of the quake-affected families.

NRA deputy-spokesperson Dr. Bhishma Kumar Bhusal said, in a press statement, that the reconstruction body was concerned about fulfilling the demands of the technical human resources deployed in the 11 quake-hit districts.

He claimed that the reconstruction body had decided to set the provisions for the remote and performance allowance in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and it had held a discussion with the NEA regarding the issue.

IMS Motors opens showroom in Naxal

Kathmandu, Dec. 18

IMS Motors, a subsidiary company of IMS Group, Sunday opened exclusive showroom of Ssang Yong motors in Naxal, Kathmandu.

South Korean ambassador to Nepal Choe Young-Jin, chairman of IMS Group Dipak Malhotra and president and CEO of the Group Dikesh Malhotra jointly inaugurated the showroom amidst a programme.

Ssang Yong is a Korean automobile company which is known for its premium luxury SUVs.

"On the occasion of the opening of the new showroom and upcoming Christmas and New Year, IMS Motors is offering discount up to Rs. 500,000 on purchasing Ssang Yong Vehicles. The offer is valid till 6^th January 2017," read a press statement issued by the company.

The company informed that it was opening a Ssang Yong Service Centre soon and expanding dealers in the major cities across the country.

The company is selling SUVs and pick ups which includes XLV, Korando, Rexton and Actyon Sports. 

Engineers stop working, 1200 resign

Kathmandu, Dec. 21: Engineers have stopped working at the reconstruction sites with half of them already resigning en masse Tuesday.

They cited the height of indifference on part of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) towards the reconstruction works and meeting their demands for their resignation.

"The engineers and overseers who are present in the capital tendered their resignation to the Central Programme Implementation Unit at the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) Tuesday and engineers in the remote areas will submit their resignation within a couple of days," Ramesh Subedi, an engineer deployed at Muchchok VDC of Gorkha, told The Rising Nepal over phone

Last week, more than 2,300 engineers and overseers deployed in the quake-hit districts to assist the victims in house reconstruction had threatened to resign if the government failed to fulfill their demands by December 15.

Since their demands were not met, they had halted their work to protest the government. Many of them came to the capital to put pressure on the government to meet their demands.

A meeting of CPIU-MoUD chief Shiva Hari Sharma, representatives of NRA, Nepal Engineers Association (NEA) and other concerned bodies had promised to address the demands of the agitating engineers a couple of months ago.

"The government turned a deaf ear to our demands. Therefore, we were compelled to resign," said Subedi.

Earlier, the government had decided to provide 25 per cent equivalent to their salary as the remote allowance to the engineers deployed in the far flung areas and 75 per cent of the same as performance allowance.

It had expressed commitment to implementing the agreement before mid-November, but has not yet addressed it.

However, the engineers claimed that their protest was primarily for expediting the reconstruction process, not the incentives for them.

"The engineers don't have any office to provide their services. They have to work under the VDC secretaries who are junior to them. Furthermore, the people want more models of the house other than the government prescribed 17 models. They want to build truss houses but it has not been included in the prescribed models. But the government never heard to our demands and suggestions," they said at a press conference organized in the capital, last week.

Subedi said that the engineers particularly faced problems in distributing the second installation of the house reconstruction grant.

"The NRA has yet not sent us the check list required to provide the second installment of the money to the quake-hit households. Engineers have been receiving dozen of phone calls every day but they can't do anything regarding the money," he said.

Immediate past president of the NEA Dhruba Thapa said that the government failed to address the demands of the agitating engineers who were forced to work under poor working conditions.

He criticized the NRA for being indifference towards the sensitive issues of reconstruction.

But, the NRA has directed the agitating engineers to work in their respective fields in collaboration with the District Programme Implementation Units under the MoUD, and threatened of stern actions against them if they continued to create obstructions to the reconstruction works and play with the sentiments of the quake-affected families.

NRA deputy-spokesperson Dr. Bhishma Kumar Bhusal said, in a press statement, that the reconstruction body was concerned about fulfilling the demands of the technical human resources deployed in the 11 quake-hit districts.

He claimed that the reconstruction body had decided to set the provisions for the remote and performance allowance in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and it had held a discussion with the NEA regarding the issue. 

'Procedures biggest challenge to reconstruction'

Nineteen months have elapsed since the devastating earthquake of 7.9 magnitude hit the country, but the government is still in the process of conducting the damage survey and distributing grants. Hundreds of thousands of people are forced to stay in temporary shelters and tents. National Reconstruction Authority CEO Sushil Gyawali, however, says significant progress towards facilitating the people in building their houses has been made by channeling the necessary budget for reconstruction and creating a policy base towards this end. A permanent resident of Palpa district and an engineer by profession, Gyawali has about two decades of experience in local planning.

Modnath Dhakal of The Rising Nepal talked to Gyawali about the reconstruction process, damage survey, distribution of reconstruction grant, supply of quality construction materials and coordination with the various agencies concerned in the reconstruction process, among others. Excerpts:

What is the recent scenario of post-quake reconstruction?

At the moment, household survey and grant agreement have been completed in 14 districts, including the Kathmandu Valley. People in the 11 worst-hit districts have started building their houses after receiving grant money as we ran a campaign to distribute the first installment of the house reconstruction grant. More than 550,000 households have already signed the agreement, and 450,000 of the households have received the first installment of the grant money so far. In the Kathmandu Valley, concluding the grant agreement is in its final stage. We have recently finalised the House Inspection Manual, while training for the masons and carpenters is going on. Likewise, reconstruction of health and education institutions has been started in various districts. Therefore, I would say, reconstruction has gained momentum.

The NRA has been criticised for the delay in conducting the damage survey and distributing the house reconstruction grant. It has not been able to even commence the survey in 17 other districts moderately hit by the quake.

One thing we should remember is that whenever any country is hit by such types of disaster, it creates a very difficult situation, and people as well as political parties become upset. Be it in Pakistan, India, Japan or even the United States, people went through the same difficult situation. The international community has compared our reconstruction pace with the post-disaster management in those countries, and they say that Nepal's reconstruction progress is satisfactory. The NRA is moving in the right direction. If you go to the villages, you see the people enthusiastically involved in the reconstruction of their houses, and the government is facilitating them in every possible way. Everything can't happen immediately, and this also applies to us. Yes, we can say that more progress in reconstruction could have been achieved than what we have now. But you have to consider the external factors, political environment, transition, bureaucratic process and other challenges. Despite all these, we have achieved good progress.

The survey in 17 moderately-hit districts will start in a couple of weeks. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has been making the necessary arrangements and conducting training for the surveyors, and engineers have been hired. By the end of next week, the survey will begin. I would like to inform you that as there were comparatively less damage in the 17 districts, we are planning to conduct the survey and sign grant agreements at the same time. People need not wait for the grant money till the survey is completed in the districts. I hope within a month and a half, every household will receive the grant money.

Has there been any progress towards setting up construction material banks? What is the reconstruction body doing to check the price of construction materials and ensure the smooth supply of materials like cement, iron rods and stones?

We have held discussion with the Ministry of Supplies and plan to establish the first construction material banks in three districts – Nuwakot, Kavre and Makwanpur. We have asked the ministry to utilise the supply facility of the Salt Trading Corporation (STC). It will help us supply the required materials for the reconstruction works, control the market price, ensure smooth supply as well as quality of the materials. For this purpose, warehouses will be established in the district headquarters, and the local bodies will provide coupons to the households to purchase the construction materials, if necessary. As it will not be possible to supply all the materials to all the people, the private sector will be mobilised in this regard. Ultimately, it’s the private sector that produces and supplies the required construction materials, so we just want to create a mechanism to check short supply, black marketing and facilitate the businesses and households.

       Why has the NRA's plan to create a model house in every ward not materialised yet?

Actually, one of the reasons for the delay in creating such houses was shortage of budget. We had requested the Ministry of Finance for the budget, but it has not released it yet. Dialogue is underway with the ministry. However, the NRA is requesting the partner organizations, such as the Red Cross, involved in reconstruction of houses to develop at least a model house in each locality of their project area. So, until we are through the government process, they may create some model houses. We also plan to create such houses when the training for the mason and carpenters is organised, as they will build houses as part of their on-the-job-training. So it will be a two way approach.

If it takes five masons to build a home, we need more than 3 million workers for the reconstruction, but there is little effort to produce the skilled manpower. What is the government doing to ensure the availability of skilled workers?

We estimate that reconstruction will require 150,000 workers, which may even go up to 1 million. This calculation covers the next three to four years. For this, we are planning to involve the people of the affected areas in the first phase to create employment opportunities for them. Such manpower is important as they not only have the skills but also better understanding of the local culture and construction practices. In the second phase, we will provide training to the people from the other districts as well.

The Department of Archaeology (DoA) has been saying that the NRA created obstacles in the reconstruction of heritage sites.

It is a completely misleading claim. The NRA has asked the DoA to come up with their progress report on heritage reconstruction. There has been delay in the reconstruction works at some of the heritage sites, so we are following on it. In the initial period, some difficulties did occur as the Finance Ministry delayed both budget allocation and disbursement. But now all those issues have been resolved. So the DoA can come up with its proposals for the reconstruction of quake-damaged heritage.

Coordination with the line ministries and other departments is also poor. Is this the reason behind the poor performance of the agencies, including the NRA involved in the reconstruction works?

I would like to correct your statement. The NRA's performance has not been poor. The reconstruction work has to be done with the involvement of the people at the local level, and we have not had people's representatives at the local bodies for more than one-and-a-half decades, which forced us to take up the responsibility and accountability of the progress at the local level. It was a major bottleneck in the reconstruction progress. Had there been the local bodies and functioning well, the whole process would have been much easier and effective. We also had other difficulties at the political and administrative level. Despite all these, there has been remarkable progress in reconstruction. However, we have developed a unique mechanism to implement the reconstruction programmes by creating Programme Implementation Units in the concerned ministries, Sub-Regional Offices, District Offices and committees at the local level to execute, coordinate the reconstruction works and hear the grievances of the people. We have come up with an action plan, which has been approved by the Steering Committee of the NRA. There are certain conditions that the implementing agencies have been demanding, and we need to fulfill these demands and address the challenges.

We have challenges with budget and human resources management. We have been closely coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of General Administration to address the issues of budget and manpower. As the action plan was approved by all the concerned agencies, they have a responsibility to support the reconstruction drive with all possible measures.

Take the example of the school reconstruction programme. The NRA was able to provide budget for the programme only last week. How can we evaluate the progress of the implementing agencies in this situation? You don't provide the required resources to the implementing agencies and only expect results. It will not do justice to them.

What do you think is the biggest challenge in the reconstruction process?

The biggest challenge is the mindset of the government administration, the whole system is process-oriented, not result-oriented. Second, we don't have people's representatives at the local level to take the ownership of the reconstruction, motivate the people, mobilise and organise them. Without mobilising the people, we can't achieve the results in time. Third, the remoteness and geographical difficulty or poor connectivity and poor IT infrastructure have hampered the timely execution of the post-quake reconstruction. Fourth is human resource management, there is a scarcity of young generation workers. Apart from these challenges, poor coordination among the government agencies in terms of financial and human resource management is also creating problem. Some of the relevant entities have yet not accepted the autonomy given to the NRA by law.  

The funds required for the reconstruction works are insufficient, and the country is unable to generate all the needed funds. What do you intend to do?

There are two things. One, the international community has pledged about US$ 3.43 billion. We have signed contracts for $2.73 billion with various international agencies. They have shown utmost interest in Nepal's post-quake reconstruction. Second, it is about the internal resources that we are mobilising. If we are clear about the resources that can be managed internally, then we can call on the international community for the required support. Therefore, we have requested the Ministry of Finance and National Planning Commission to prepare a five-year budget plan, identify the possible resources available within the country and the amount that we need to seek from the international agencies. First, we need to understand the financial gap, then only can we communicate with the international community. 

Infra Summit in February

The second Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017 has been scheduled to be organised on 19^th and 20^th February 2017. The

The event is jointly organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), government and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors (YCNC) in association with other government agencies as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners.

The summit aims to facilitate discourse on indispensability of private sector in infrastructure development.

According to CNI president Hari Bhakta Sharma, the primary objective of the summit was to attract large scale private investment in areas of Nepal's core needs and strengths; forge stronger networks and alliances in the region for seamless connectivity and raise awareness on why investment in infrastructure needs an urgent push in the country.

"The summit will showcase the project bank developed by Investment Board Nepal (IBN) which will comprise around 50 viable infrastructure projects," he said.

CNI also aims to collect various infrastructure ideas from different sectors of the communities to come up with a creative and an innovative infrastructure – transportation, irrigation, energy, housing, digital etc. – ideas to solve the existing epic infrastructure deficit and address to the possible future need for our country's development.

CNI plans to collaborate with Idea Studio for the same.

"The summit will focus on the strategic vision of the infrastructure, value proposition, competitiveness, policy particularly on land acquisition and environmental clearance, and regulatory enablers and business environment," said Sharma.

According to CNI, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda will be the chief guest of the programme and Railway Minister of India Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu will be the guest of honour and key note speaker.

Investors, consulting service providers, builders, thought leaders, government agencies, diplomats, development partners, legislators, non-state actors and media from South Asia, South East Asia and other countries will participate in the summit.

The summit will deliberate on the topics like infrastructure: the big picture, barriers and constraints in attracting private and public investment, expediting public private partnership, finance resilient infrastructure, and successful PPP model: global and regional perspective.

"Nepal suffers an infrastructure deficit on an epic scale, stifling vast human potentials on several fronts. A World Bank estimate of the country's 'infrastructure gap' pegs investment needs at between 8 and 12 per cent national income this decade," read a press statement issued by the CNI.

Joshi urges int'l community to participate in Investment Summit

Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi Tuesday urged the international community to participate in Nepal Investment Summit slated to be organised on 2^nd and 3^rd of March 2017 and increase the investment in Nepal.

Speaking at a meeting with the ambassadors of various countries and head of the diplomatic missions in Kathmandu at his Ministry, Minister Joshi asked them to participate in the summit in order to understand business potential as well as investment environment in the country.

"There are no political and policy-related obstacles while investing in Nepal," he said.

The government has decided to hold a two-day Investment Summit in Kathmandu in March with the objective of luring foreign investors by promoting various business and investment opportunities in Nepal.

Saying that all the political parties were sensitive about the economic agenda, Joshi said that his Ministry was ready to guarantee the safety of the investment.

According to him, some Acts that facilitate the businesses and investment climate had been passed by the parliament while some are in the process to be approved. He also said that the registration process of industries had been simplified and made swift.

"The government has given topmost priority to the large-scale industry as they generate large number of employment. Therefore, there will not be any discrimination between the domestic and foreign investment," he said.

Mission heads and representatives of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Japan, the United States, Sweden, South Africa, Myanmar, New Zealand, Thailand, Czech Republic and other friendly countries participated in the meeting.

 They urged the government to bring out the Labour Act as soon as possible.

The Minister had earlier said that the summit would discuss the investment sectors with high yield potential such as energy and infrastructure, information and communication technology, tourism, financial sector, mines and minerals, and agro-processing industry.

The government is planning to invite some big multinational and international companies that have invested in Nepal.

NBI and NIC Asia to launch financial literacy campaign

Kathmandu, Dec. 20: National Banking Institute (NBI) and  NIC Asia Bank Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly launch financial literacy campaign as part of banks Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

Chief executive officers of NBI and NIC Asia Sanjib Subba and Laxman Risal respectively signed the MoU. 

"The joint campaign seeks to dissemination of banking knowledge nationwide particularly in remote and semi-urban areas where bank has its presence," NBI said in a press statement.

The programme is developed by NBI with an aim at disseminating financial knowledge to general public ultimately leading to entrepreneurship.

According to NBI, the programme would focus on youths, students, marginalized community, remittance dependent family and women group.

"It is very strategic for a bank to use its CSR resources partly in financial literacy initiative as this will earn strong brand dividend for the bank and also will help support access to finance and financial inclusion with ultimately benefit the national economy," said Subba.

He said that the NBI had been working in the financial literacy areas since 2011 and had developed advanced kit for the purpose and organized training as well.

Risal said that as the next level of banking should be done on the knowledge base, internally and externally, financial literacy programmes will benefit the bank and the community at large equally.