NRA to build model houses in every ward

Kathmandu, Aug 30: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Tuesday informed that it was planning to build a model house in every ward of the quake-damaged villages and municipalities.

"Models houses will be constructed in the course of training to produce the skilled manpower required for the reconstruction works," said NRA chief executive officer Sushil Gyawali while speaking at the meeting of the Development Committee of the Legislature Parliament.

The trainees of masonry, carpentry and other skilled based training will build the model houses, he said.

"People are confused about the design of houses with the acute shortage of skilled manpower. They will have an idea about constructing the quake-resistant houses and construction method following the construction of model houses,” Gyawali said.

Secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development Deependra Nath Sharma stated that the government had upskilled about 8,000 construction workers so far.

“But we have been organizing training for one week which is for the skilled or semi skilled manpower where we trained them about the quake-resistant construction method. Such training needs to be organized for 3 months if it is for the fresh candidates,” said Sharma.

According to a rough estimate, the reconstruction process might need more than 1.5 million construction workers based on an assumption that three workers are required to build one house.  

As per the NRA data, house reconstruction grant agreement was signed with 3,94,915 households by Tuesday and the first installment of the grant, Rs. 50,000, had been deposited the bank account of approximately 200,472 families.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to provide the first installment of the grant to all households of 11 severely-hit districts and the Kathmandu Valley within a month.

Therefore, about 500,000 families will receive Rs. 50,000 each by 18^th September.

As the monsoon is going to be over, hundreds of families are ready to get going to construct new houses and retrofit or repair damaged houses, a large number of manpower and construction materials will be required.

Lawmakers expressed their serious concerns over the possible shortage and black marketing of the construction materials.

Some of them, including the chairman of the Committee, Rabindra Adhikari, suggested creating ‘construction materials banks’, as in Gujrat in the aftermath of devastating earthquake in 2001, to keep the price of construction material under control.

Meanwhile, the Development Committee directed the government, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Urban Development, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Ministry of Supplies, Ministry of Home Affairs and NRA to make the estimates of required construction materials, expedite the works to develop the model villages and to prepare strategy to establish the construction material banks.

It also asked the government to address the demands of the engineers and other manpower mobilized in the quake hit areas as the NRA and ministries were facing difficulties to retain the workforce.

“Due to poor facilities, skilled manpower is not motivated to go to the remote areas, therefore the government should respond to the demands of the NRA,” said Adhikari.

Fiscal bills will be endorsed soon: FM Mahara

Kathmandu, Aug 30: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara Tuesday said that the bills related to the Budget of the Fiscal Year 2016/17 would be passed at the earliest.

In an interaction with the Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON) at the Ministry of Finance, DPM Mahara clarified the three bills related to the annual budget were failed because of the political void created by the 'no confidence' motion tabled against the erstwhile KP Sharma Oli led government.

The coalition partner of the Oli government, the CPN (Maoist Centre) itself had filed the 'no confidence' motion against the government.

"We are not against the bills, actually we do have ownership of them. They were failed because of political reasons," he stated.

Three bills related to the annual budget of the current FY – Financial  Bill, National Debt Recovery Bill and Debt and Guarantee Bill – were rejected by the parliament with majority votes while the House had endorsed the Appropriation Bill.

"Not only the bills related to the budget but other bills crucial for the economic progress and private sector development also will be passed soon. The Bank and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) bill has been stuck at the Parliament Committee. I will work to get it passed soon," Mahara said.

He made it clear that the government had given higher priority to the economic progress of the country.

"The government has set priorities from constitution implementation to reconstruction of the structures damaged by the devastating earthquake in April and May last year," he remarked.

According to DPM Mahara, the priorities of the government were constitution implementation, holding elections of the local bodies, provinces and federal assembly, expediting the reconstruction works, concluding the remaining tasks of the peace process and leading the country on the path of economic progress.

He expressed serious concern over the sluggish progress of the reconstruction works and promised that there wouldn't be a shortage of budget for them.

Mahara maintained that he would initiate a few effective programmes that would have significant impact on development and the economy, and put all his efforts to conclude them.

After assuming the post of the DPM and Finance Minister, Mahara has made three decisions to facilitate youth entrepreneurs, implement the budget and increase revenue collection. 

Families of disappeared demand respect and justice

Kathmandu, Aug 29: Bhajali Chaudhary of Dang, whose daughter had disappeared, finally made an effigy of her dead daughter to perform her last rites.

She decided to cremate her as per Hindu tradition after the death of her daughter Dhana Kumari was confirmed almost one and half a decade after she was taken away by security personnel.

For the distraught mother, the symbolic last rites of disappeared daughter came as an emotional catharsis. 

Ek Raj Wagle, who lost his son Gopi Krishna, termed Chaudhary family lucky one for she eventually knew about the status of her daughter at least and lamented that hundreds of families like his had been going through a big trauma in search of their kith or kin perished in the decade long violent conflict.

Jamuna Sedhain of Chitwan has been reeling from similar grief. Her husband was forcefully disappeared 15 years ago.

"Give me my husband dead or live," she demands.

Ranga Nath Pandey, whose son was forcefully disappeared from Dhading, said, "My whole family has been waiting to know the whereabouts of him for years. We have no idea how to overcome our pain."

As the world is marking the 'Day of the Disappeared' tomorrow, the families of the disappeared persons in Nepal shared their painful moments and memories at a function in the capital Monday.

Speaking amidst the families of disappeared, civil society members, chair and other representatives of the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP), government officials, Red Cross and media in Lalitpur, the family of the victims demanded to bring the culprits to book.

They refused to be the subject of mercy and sought for more sensitivity from the government and other stakeholders on the fate of disappeared and their families.

"We are not seeking the government's pity or compensation and we don't want pity from anyone either. We want respect and justice," said Rubi Shrestha from Lalitpur whose brother, husband and brother-in-law were forcefully disappeared.

According to the updated data published by the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Cross (ICRC) and Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) approximately 1,335 persons are still missing in Nepal.

Families of 3,237 disappeared persons had informed the ICRC and NRCS about the missing.

President of Nepal Society of Families of the Disappeared and Missing (NEFAD) Ram Kumar Bhandari informed that about 80 per cent of the disappeared males were married and their spouses and children are in a sea of trouble.

"Economic condition of most of those families is pathetic and yet the government is least concerned about their condition," said Bhandari.

He along with other participants expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the CIEDP. The Commission has only five and a half months remaining out of its two years mandate.

CIEDP chair Lokendra Mallik maintained that the Commission was moving in a sluggish way as it almost 13 months of time was wasted in the absence of by-laws.

He also maintained that the CIEDP was facing the shortage of skilled manpower needed to prepare ante-mortem certificate and the laws needed to declare the enforced disappearance and torture as crime are yet to be passed by the parliament.

Confusion prevails as the existing laws do not recognize 'enforced disappearance' and 'torture' as crime.

"There was a delay. But, we are doing fairly well in the recent months. Many things will be clarified after Dashain, the largest Hindu festival that falls on October," Mallik said.

He urged the families of the missing persons for greater cooperation saying that it would help the Commission to speed up the process.

He remarked that the culprits- no matter who are they or which position they hold- would be punished.

ICRC head of mission for Nepal Andre Paquet expressed his solidarity with the families of the disappeared persons.

"The 10-year conflict brought tragedies to so many Nepalese – thousands of people who killed and scores went missing. In that respect, the International Humanitarian law requires the authorities to take all feasible measures to account for the missing persons," he said.

On the occasion, the ICRC and NRCS released the 9^th edition of the 'List of Missing Persons in Nepal', a photo book called 'Commemorating the Missing' and a documentary of 'The Doll's Funeral' – the story of Bhajali Chaudhary.

According to Paquet, the List of Missing Persons aimed at bringing recognition to the families of missing persons while it was an appeal to the government and former parties to the conflict, to clarify the fate, and whenever possible the whereabouts, of those who went missing during the conflict.

The event was organized by the ICRC, NRCS and NEFAD.

Envoys submit Letters of Credence

Kathmandu, Aug 29: President Bidya Devi Bhandari Monday received the letters of credence from Wellage Swarnalatha Perera, Mentor Patricia Vilagomez Merinom, Jozef Drofenik and Jagadishwar Goburdhun, ambassadors Sri lanka, Ecuador, Slovenia and Mauritius to Nepal respectively.

The ambassadors submitted the letters to the President amidst a special ceremony held at the Ceremonial Hall at Shital Niwas.

Perera is residential ambassador while Merino, Drofenik and Goburdhun are based in New Dehli, India with concurrent accreditation to Nepal.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Chief of the Army Staff General Rajendra Chhetri, foreign affairs expert at the Office of the President Dr. Madan Kumar Bhattarai, foreign secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, secretary at the Office of the President Bhupendra Prasad Poudel and other senior government officials were present during the occasion. 

IIT offers additional seats to foreign students

Kathmandu, Aug 28: India has offered 20 per cent additional seats in the graduate and post graduate studies in engineering and technology in various colleges under the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to the students from neighbouring countries.

 Binaya Kumar, deputy chief of mission at the Indian Embassy Kathmandu, said that the additional seats would be offered to the students of six neighbouring countries.

"The foreign students now have to sit in only one examination instead of two different exams of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE - Advanced) and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). They have to attempt JEE Advanced exam," he informed.

For the upcoming education session, entrance exam will be held in Kathmandu. GATE is scheduled to be held on the first two weekends of February 2017 and JEE will be held on the third Sunday of May next year.

"Those exams will be conducted through online," informed Kumar.

A four-member delegation from various IITs is on a visit of Nepal to hold interactions with the universities along with institutes of engineering and technology regarding the new educational opportunities in India.

"Nepalese students who have completed higher secondary education in science can apply to enroll in 22 IIT institutions in India. All of the institutes are being funded by the Indian government," the delegation told in a press conference organized at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu Sunday.

The delegation was scheduled to hold interactions with prospective students at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Kathmandu University, Rai School, Modern Indian School, DAV School and KV School.

According to the Embassy, B. P. Koirala India-Nepal Foundation also held a special talk programme for the visiting IIT professors on Friday.

Embassy informed that the IITs were autonomous public institutes of higher education and both the domestic and foreign students would get admission on the basis of merit.

To complete a graduate at IIT, a Nepalese student should spend about Rs. 2 million, which covers fee, accommodation and food while fee for post graduate degree is set about Rs. 80,000 per semester in full payment and Rs. 24,000 per semester for scholarship holders. 

Kia opens showroom at Tinkune

Kathmandu, Aug 28: Kia motors Sunday opened its new showroom in Tinkune, Kathmandu.

The showroom is managed by Universal Moto Corp, an authorized dealer of Continental Associates.

Chairman of Continental Group, Surhid Ghimire inaugurated the showroom amidst a function.

"Kia has become synonymous to quality. And, we are committed to deliver good vehicles and after sales services," said Ghimire.

He informed that the company would launch a new Kia electric car in the NADA Auto Show 2016, which is scheduled to kick off on Tuesday.

The company has sales, service and spare parts network in major cities across the country, read a press statement issued by Continental Group.

The showroom is built up in 3,000 square feet area with parking for customers and delivery ceremony area.

According to the company, Kia Motors is offering six global award winning passenger vehicle sales in Nepal. The vehicles include Picanto, Rio, Soul, Sportage, Sorento and Grand Carnival. 

'Mera Samjhana' of Indra Bhakta relaunched

Kathmandu, Aug 27: I. J. Charitable Trust has published the second edition of ‘Mera Samjhana’, a memoir of late Indra Bhakta Shrestha.

The book was launched amidst a programme in Lalitpur on Saturday.

The trust has brought out the second edition of the book with some additional write-ups and photographs after fifteen years on the occasion of the 93^rd Memorial Day of late Shrestha who played a crucial role in the Nepal’s chamber movement.

Born on August 16,  1924, Shrestha involved himself in business from early age. He was a member of ‘Banik Mandal’, a delegation formed to enhance trade, in 1951.

He became vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) in 1963 and president in 1970.

Shrestha was elected as the president of the Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and served as the president of NCC for two terms from 1983 to 1989.

Also known for his contributions to social service, he established I. J. Pioneer Higher Secondary School and served as the chair and member of various social and charitable organizations.

The book, compiled by Basant Basnet, tells the story of Nepal’s chamber movement and Shrestha’s contribution to it. It describes the development effort of the country, too.

Speaking on the occasion, past president of FNCCI and son of Indra Bhakta, Ravi Bhakta Shrestha, and other businessmen highlighted the contribution of late Shrestha to the business development in the country.

According to them, he was the man of integrity and played a lead role in creating environment of coordination instead of competition among the business communities.

FNCCI president Pashupati Murarka said that without Indra Bhakta, history of Nepalese chamber would be incomplete.

Former president Ananda Raj Mulmi said, “Fighting for common interest leaving personal benefits will be a true tribute to late Shrestha. If we don’t show unity for creating business environment in the country, we won’t progress.”

He criticized the large business groups for their reluctance in being transparent and paying taxes.

Another former president Pradip Kumar Shrestha also urged for unity among businessmen. “In the absence of unity among the businessmen, economic agenda won’t get priority and government may not listen to their demands.”

Past presidents of FNCCI Mahesh Lal Pradhan and Kush Kumar Joshi, president of NCC Rajesh Kazi Shrestha and its past president Suresh Kumar Basnet and other representatives of business community spoke about Indra Bhakta’s contributions. 

Envoys to India will be appointed soon: Dr. Mahat

Kathmandu, Aug 27: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat Saturday said that the government would soon appoint ambassadors to India and other countries.

Speaking in an interaction organized here, Dr Mahat informed that the preparations were underway to appoint envoys to India before the visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

“The government will first appoint ambassadors to India and China and then in other countries,” he said.

Dr Mahat stated that the government was for developing relations with both the neighbours on the basis of mutual trust and understanding.

“Nepal should take benefits from the fast growing economies, China and India, and we are for pragmatic bilateral relations with the two neighbours,” remarked the Minister.

He said that government had given priority to boosting bilateral relations with the neighbours whereby Nepal’s national interest would be served and concerns of China and India would also be addressed.

According to Dr Mahat, Nepal should create environment conducive to boosting the bilateral relations with its neighbours so as to minimize trade deficit.

He informed that the government had given priority to the security and interest of Nepalese working in the Gulf and other regions.

“I have a plan to get the Nepalese embassies in the Gulf countries engaged in the welfare of the Nepalese workers. They are the major contributors to the national economy and therefore we must not ignore their safety and security,” he added.

He said that he preferred diplomatic ways to resolve the issues with neighbouring countries and maintained that public debate wouldn’t contribute much in this regard.

Speaking on a different note, the Foreign Minister said that agreement with the Madhesh-based parties would be implemented after the government took a full shape.

He claimed that the government was working to implement the constitution, distribute relief grants to the quake victims and expedite reconstruction works.

“Constitution will be implemented with consensus from all political parties,” he said.

Damage assessment caught slow pace

Kathmandu, Aug 26: Even 16 months after the devastating earthquakes in April and May last year, the government is yet to complete the damage assessment in several districts.

The government has so far completed its survey in 11 severely affected districts. Assessment is underway in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) earlier this month had announced it would assess the damage caused by the quake across the country.

It published the plan to conclude the assessment of the damaged private houses and other infrastructure in the quake-hit districts by mid-September this year.

However, the progress is slow.

A month-long special campaign was announced by the reconstruction authority to conclude the survey and distribute the first installment of the housing grant.

NRA joint secretary Khom Raj Koirala informed that the data collection in the Kathmandu Valley would be completed within the given timeframe.

He reiterated the NRA commitment to provide the first installment of the house reconstruction grant in time.

"Details of approximately 58,000 households have been collected in the districts of the Kathmandu Valley on the server of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). About 70 per cent of the field work has been completed," informed Koirala.

He claimed that the reconstruction body and its sub-regional and district offices had been working on a war footing to get the work done in time.

But the NRA has a Herculean task before it to complete the damage assessment in the remaining 17 quake-hit districts and other districts that saw minor damage.

"The NRA has decided to conduct the damage assessment survey across the country on special requests," informed NRA spokesperson Ram Prasad Thapaliya.

Similarly, slightly more than 171,000 households, of the 533,058 families, in the 11 districts, have received the first installment of the house reconstruction grant while more than 100,000 households have filed complaints at the NRA or other government agencies, claiming that they were also eligible for the grant money.

Preliminary survey in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake showed that more than 715,000 houses were damaged by the jolts, while the CBS survey concluded that only 533,058 households in the 11 worst affected districts were eligible for the grant of Rs. 200,000, leaving tens of thousands families discontented.

Meanwhile, NRA chief executive officer Sushil Gyawali Friday directed the executive officers in the districts to expedite the damage assessment and grant distribution work.

He had earlier announced a plan to mobilise additional human resources in the field offices and mobilise monitoring teams comprising members of the NRA Executive Committee, chiefs of respective Sub-Regional Offices and other government officers in the districts.

Nepal's tourism promotion in Belgium

Kathmandu, Aug 25: The Mission of Nepal to the European Union at Brussels has started Nepal's promotion in the capital of Belgium and the EU.

According to a press statement issued by the Mission, it had been promoting Nepal through posters highlighting Nepal's natural and cultural aspects in twenty different public trams plying in Brussels Capital Region.

The campaign started on 16^th August and will last till 29^th August.

To run the promotion campaign, the Mission has signed a contract with JCDeaux, an international advertising agency that has won a 12-year contract to operate advertising spaces in buses, trams and metros of Society of Inter-communal Transport in Brussels, Belgium.

"As per the contract, the Embassy provided promotional images of Nepal, received from Nepal Tourism Board, for four different posters each of which has been displayed in five public trams in Brussels," read the statement.

The posters have been captioned as 'Welcome to Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha', 'Naturally Nepal, Once is not Enough', 'Mount Everest, Top of the World: Nepal's Unique Treasure' and 'Nepal: Always Attractive and Safe Destination for Tourists'.

The Embassy expressed its hope that the campaign would also spread the message that Nepal is naturally and culturally beautiful and safe as always.

"Such promotion campaign is also expected to be an impactful medium in grabbing the attention of passengers travelling by trams as well as the mobile public audience outside the trams," said the statement. 

Jagadamba launches Rhino Rebar

Kathmandu, Aug 25: Jagadamba Steels has launched new product Rhino Steel Rebar in Fe 500D grade in the Nepalese market.

Managing director of the Shankar Group, parent company of Jagadamba Steels, Shahil Agrawal, claimed that the newly launched Rhino 500D was the new generation high strength and ductile ribbed reinforcement bar.

“The new Rebar comes with a combined restriction of impurities like sulphur and phosphorous to a maximum of 0.075 which ensures higher strength and ductility in the rebar,” he said.

The company has planned to provide the consumers with the ‘Rhino 500D Guarantee Card’ first time in Nepal for any steel rebar.

With this the company tends to provide the assurance of excellence of material, making and deliverance and seeks to give constructions the best assurance in quality and safety, the company said in a press statement.

“With the ever growing economy, Nepal is witnessing an opportunity of continued growth in the infrastructure sector including housing. To cope with the big challenge of safe and earthquake resistant construction, Jagadamba Steel has introduced the Rhino 500D,” said Agrawal.

He stated that to ensure high quality of the product, raw materials were imported from world class steel companies like Tata steel, Jindal steel IISCO and SAIL.

The company said, “The physical and chemical parameters are stringently controlled and comply with the minimum and maximum standards outlined by NS 191, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology Certification standards for steel rebar, and Indian BIS, IS:1986:2008 certification standards.”

The new rebars are available in sizes 8 mm and up to 32 mm through retail points across the country. It will be available in 36 mm and 40 mm sizes as per customary or project requirements.

Each rebar is supplied in a fixed length of 12 meters to ensure standard processing and thereby causing less wastage during fabrication. 

Dell unveils two Inspiron laptops

Kathmandu, Aug 25:

Dell Wednesday unveiled two new laptop computers, Inspiron 13 5000 2-in-1 and Inspiron 15 5000, in Nepal.

According to Ahad Haq, country manager, Rest of Asia Pacific section of Dell, the company had launched new machines for the first time in the entire Asia Pacific region.

Inspiron 13 comes with many innovative options including SSD (Solid State Disk), backlit keyboard and infrared camera while Inspiron 15 comes with different colours and latest processor options for fast and responsive performance and infrared camera.

“The infrared camera works with Windows Hello facial recognition so users can easily log in with just a look, and backlit keyboard makes working in dim environment more pleasant,” read a press statement issued by the company.

The company claimed that the SSDs in the machine provide longer battery life, quicker responsiveness and improved shock resistance as compared to conventional rotational Hard Disks.

It has LED-backlit touch display and up to 16 GB of dual channel DDR4 memory.

“In Inspiron 15, a DVD drive and optional blu-ray writer may be added which makes it ideal for backing up photos, videos and data,” read the statement.

The company informed that the new devices would be available in the market after one and a half months and they were yet to set the price of computers for Nepal.

Govt sealed gas dealers

Kathmandu, Aug 23: The government Tuesday shut three gas dealers and a grocery store in the Kathmandu Valley.

The monitoring teams led by the Department of Supply Management and Consumer Protection sealed Triveni Gas Collection Centre Koteshwor, Energetic Trading House Lalitpur, Siddartha Gas Collection Centre Balkumari and Siddhi Binayak Food Store Tinthana.

The three gas dealers were sealed as the empty cylinders they stored were found to be heavier than the standard weight set by the government.

Eight cylinders were found to be heavier than the standard weight at Triveni and Energetic while three such cylinders were stored at Siddartha.

“The stores were sealed and process was initiated for further action,” informed the Ministry spokesperson Ananda Ram Regmi in a press statement.

Likewise, Siddhi Binayak Store has been shut for selling goods that were date expired and had no labels.

Likewise, the monitoring teams found inedible meat stored in Man Bhagwati Meat Store and New Gorkhali Fresh House at Naya Bazar.

It destroyed 83 kilograms of meat from Man Bhagwati and 19 kg from New Gorkhali.

It confiscated 13 pads of fake invoices from Chicken Hot Meat Shop Naya Bazar.

Food items without label were also seized from 12 grocery shops at Makhan, Kathmandu.

The Department monitored 21 business outlets that included groceries, meat stores, gas dealers and pharmacies.

NCCCI forms Silk Road Council

Kathmandu, Aug 21: With the aim of promoting the ‘One belt one road’ concept and reinitiating the ancient Silk Road as proposed by the China government, Nepal China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCCI) Sunday formulated a special committee - Nepal Council for Silk Road Chamber of Commerce.

The 17 members committee will be headed by the NCCCI president Rajesh Kaji Shrestha.

A press statement issued by the NCCCI informed that the council was formulated after Nepal agreed to support the Silk Road concept.

It said that the council would work to find out the ways how Nepal could benefit from business activities and development works in the countries connected by the Silk Road.

As the Silk Road includes Asia, Arabian Gulf and Europe, it will promote regional trade, investment, tourism and energy development.

The members of the council are Tribhuwan Dhar Tuladhar, Binod Bahadur Shrestha, Surendra Bir Malakar, Ran Bahadur Shrestha, Rajendra Malla, Upendra Poudyal, Prasidda Bahadur Pandey, Kiran Prakash Shakha, Arjun Prasad Sharma, Umesh Lal Shrestha, R.B. Rouniyar, Prakash Singh Karki, Bishnu Khatri, Dr. Hashis Chandra Shah, Sanjaya Agrawal and Jiyang Sin Pin. 

Govt seals seven businesses

Kathmandu, Aug 21: The government Sunday sealed seven businesses including sweets, health clinic, pharmacy, grocery store and college canteen in the Kathmandu Valley.

A monitoring team from the Ministry of Supply closed off  Trinity College’s canteen, Lalitpur General Practice Clinic, Lagankhel Polyclinic, Ayush Phramacy Lagankhel,, Health Link Reliable Lab and Clinic, Bagmati Sweets and Non Stop 365.

Spokesperson of the Ministry Ananda Ram Regmi informed that the canteen of Trinity College was very dirty and the food items were rotten and developed fungus.

Lalitpur general Practice Clinic, Lagankhel Polyclinic and Health Link Reliable Lab were running without renewal while Ayush Pharmacy was found selling narcotic drugs without physician’s prescription and maintaining the log of such drugs sold.

Similarly, the kitchen of Bagmati Sweets at Tripureshwor was found very unhygienic.

Non Stop 365 Balaju was charging more than 60 per cent of the actual price on Baby Milk items and selling date expired items.

“The monitoring team has sealed those businesses and started process to punish the wrongdoers,” said Regmi.

 Likewise, the Ministry has barred Triveni Beverage from producing and distributing 20 litre of water jars as the plastic jars the company was using to bottle water were found contorted.

The company is asked to be present at the Department of Commerce and Supply Management.

The monitoring team found that date of goods at CG Mart Kalanki, Organic Kitchen Mart Balaju, and Sulav Superstore Naya Bazaar expired.

Govt to set up 10 more seismic stations

Kathmandu, Aug 20: The government has launched programmes to install new seismic stations and update the existing ones.

The country currently has 21 seismic stations.   

Following the devastating earthquakes in April and May last year, scientists and experts urged the government to install additional stations in the remaining locations.

Deputy Director General of the Department of Mines and Geology (DMG) Dr. Somnath Sapkota informed that the French government had been working to upgrade the existing 21 seismic stations into digital technology while China had signed agreement with Nepal to set up new 10 stations in various locations in the country.

A seismic station at Odhare, Dhankuta

According to the Ministry of Industry, the new project to establish seismic stations will be implemented by the end of this year and the work would be completed in three years.

“High mountains and Himalayan region in the country lack seismic stations while some regions in the hills and plains also need such stations,” said Dr. Sapkota.

China has shown interest in establishing seismic stations in the Himalayan region which was later reflected in the assistance it pledged to Nepal for the post-quake reconstruction.

Likewise, the quakes last year forced the government to upgrade the existing stations based on analog technology into digital.

“The digital devices can be controlled remotely. Unless there is a physical damage in the machines, it can be managed and troubleshoot from the central control station. Similarly, it is difficult to get human resources for the old technology,” stated Dr. Sapkota.

The stations were established with the assistance from the French government.

The first seismic station in the country was installed on the top of Phulchoki hill in 1978 with the financial assistance from France.

In the second phase, stations were established in Kakani of Nuwakot and Daman of Makwanpur, and in Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha in the third phase.

In 1995, Nepal had 17 seismic stations.

Later on four stations were established in the Karnali river basin after the government proposed the Karnali High Dam project and the country had 21 stations by 1998.

With the installation of 31 digital seismic stations, including the Himalayan region, and the southern part of Tibet, it will be easier to create basic database of the earthquakes.

Only 10 % hydro potential of Gandaki basin tapped

Kathmandu, Aug 19: 

 Only 10 per cent of total hydropower production potential of the Gandaki Basin has been harnessed so far.

The basin has the potential of 5,270 megawatt of hydroelectricity of which only 523 MW has been produced.

According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), 13 districts in the Gandaki Basin have hydroelectricity projects where Syangja is the largest contributor to the national grid with 149 MW hydroelectricity while Palpa has a hydropower project with 0.8 MW capacity.

The144-MW Kaligandaki A is in Syangja district.

Similarly, 92 MW hydroelectricity has been generated in Makwanpur, 83 MW in Lamjung, 69 MW in Tanahun, 43.1 MW in Nuwakot and 27 MW in Rasuwa districts.

Nawalparasi and Makwanpur districts have wind-solar mini grid pilot project and mini grid replication, respectively.

A 12-KW capacity solar-wind hybrid system was installed by the Practical Action Nepal in Dhaubadi of Nawalparasi.

Practical Action's Director Achyut Luitel informed that after the pilot project was completed, such projects would be replicated in other potential areas.

Likewise, Mustang district of the Gandaki Basin have solar micro hydro mini-grid while micro hydro mini-grid synchronization project is under way in Baglung which has the largest number of micro-hydro projects in the country.

Data compiled by Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience Research (HI-AWARE), an initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), shows that 73 per cent of the households in the basin have access to the national grid for electricity, with 7 per cent electrified by micro hydropower projects.

Approximately 20 per cent people in the basin still live in the darkness without access to electricity, which is more common in the mountainous districts of the basin, said a report of HI-AWARE.

Kaski has the largest percentage of households with access to the national grid. About 93 per cent households of the district have access to the national grid while Manang does not have access to it.

HI-AWARE informed that although the electricity was massively used for lighting, dependency on it for cooking is poor.

More than two thirds, approximately 71 per cent, households depend on firewood for cooking while 21 per cent use LP gas and 6 per cent use biogas. Only 1 per cent households depend on electricity and kerosene for cooking purposes.

The Gandaki Basin includes 19 districts or Central and Western Nepal – four districts in the mountains, 12 in the hills and three in the plains. 

Cyber threats on BFIs

Nepalese banking and financial sector is less prepared in terms of cyber security. It is one of the most vulnerable areas at the risk of cyber threats. Recently, a group of hackers heisted 81 million USD from Bangladeshi banks. This is happening around the globe. Nepal is also facing ATM fraud, crypto currency and other cyber related crimes. But, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) do not want to report such cases to the police and the regulator, Nepal Rastra Bank, fearing that the exposure of such events might increase negative public relations of the company and it might lose customers and thus the profit. 

A senior officer of Nepal Police revealed that there was less cooperation from the BFIs regarding the financial and cyber crimes. We are in a interconnected world where each organization or individual has been connected with other via wireless connection. So, hackers can launch attack on any institutions anywhere from nowhere and can be off with huge amount money as they did from the Bangladeshi banks. A director of NRB said that neither the regulator nor the companies were prepared to be safe from or fight with the cyber crimes. The banking industry must talk about cyber problems and forge collaboration with the regulator, security agencies to fight with the sophisticated crime happening online. 

Govt shuts polyclinic, pharmacy and water industries

Kathmandu, Aug 17: The government has sealed two polyclinics and one pharmacy as they were running without renewing their licenses.

The Department of Supply Management and Consumer Protection (DoSMCP) sealed Gyan Ganga Pharmacy, M. V. Polyclinic and Diagnostic Centre and Sinamangal Healthcare and Diagnostic Centre on Tuesday as it found during the monitoring that the Sinamangal based companies were running without renewal.

The DoSMCP had monitored two pharmacies and nine polyclinics.

Similarly, the department sealed the kitchen of Shiva Shankar Sweets, New Road as its Mo:Mo kitchen was filthy.

The Ministry of Supply (MoC) informed in a press statement that altogether seven businesses including Big Mart’s Kalo Pul outlet, Budhanilakantha Mineral Water Industries, Greenberry Mineral Water Inndustries, Prachi Spring Water Solution were sealed.

The monitoring team had sealed the Big Mart outlet on Monday but resealed it as the seal was found broken.

Its outlets at Lazimpat and Shantinagar were found selling date expired goods.

The monitoring team confiscated 12 cartons of date expired goods that the Mart was keeping for sale.

Likewise, Greenberry had bottled the water without following hygienic norms while Budhanilakantha and Prachi’s water jars were distributed without neck seals.

The DoCSM found that the Bhatbhateni Super Market, KK Mart and Big Mart were selling goods that were out of date. It confiscated 799 packets of outdated goods from Megha Mart, Lazimpat.

It destroyed 183 kilograms of chicken stored at Chicken House Sorhakhutte due to dirty storage facilities.

According to the MoC, 11 monitoring teams were mobilized at different locations in the Valley and they monitored supermarket, sweets, groceries, pharmacy and polyclinic, dairies, fruits and vegetables, restaurants, petroleum, transportation and drinking water sectors.

The monitoring teams monitored altogether 55 businesses. 

Donors involved in micro-management: Finance Ministry

Kathmandu, Aug 16: Chief of International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division  (IECCD) at the Ministry of Finance Baikuntha Aryal said that the international donor agencies in Nepal are involved in micro-management following their distributive programmes and projects in the country.

“Some of the donors are implementing more than 20 types of small projects rather than focusing on a few large projects. They are working with more than two dozen local agencies,” he said at the meeting of Development Committee of the Legislature-Parliament on Tuesday.

Aryal said that the delay in project completion was due to laxity of government authorities.

He maintained that the donor agencies lacked sufficient rights to make and execute project related decision. This has made the process lengthy as the country offices need to communicate with their headquarters for every new step.

He said that the monitoring and supervision of the development project implemented in collaboration with development partners was very weak.

“There is a very weak coordination between the field activities and the ministries which has promoted negligence on the part of contractors,” he remarked.

Aryal stated that the people at the project sites had been demanding unrealistic payment for the land acquisition. “Sometimes, people make demands that are not concerned with the project at all,” he said.

Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Mahendra Gurung said that the donors wanted to develop personal relations with the project chiefs and some of them even demanded to keep their favourite ones in their projects.

Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development Arjun Karki stated that the politics and administration were hugely responsible behind the delay of donor funded projects.

“Once we accepted the terms and conditions laid out by the donor agencies, we should adhere to them,” he said. 

Keshav Sharma, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, said that his office was facing problems in clearing the forest area, supply of stones, pebbles and sand, land revenue and survey.

“Even the construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa has been affected by the short supply of stones and pebbles,” he remarked.

He informed that the government was planning to contract the road expansion project of Butwal-Narayangarh, Butwal-Bhairahawa and Bhairahawa-Taulihawa in 2017.

The Butwal-Narayangarh section of the Mahendra Highway and Butwal-Bhairahawa road will be expanded into four lane road while Bhairahawa-Taulihawa road will be expanded into double lane.

Director general of the Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agriculture Roads (DOLIDAR) Ram Krishna Sapkota said that there was a shortage of technical staff at the local level.

Nepal-China relations pragmatic: China

Kathmandu, Aug 17:

China has expressed its willingness to extend all possible cooperation to Nepal, stating that the two neighbours have always developed pragmatic relations.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made this assurance during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara in Beijing on Wednesday.

DPM Mahara is currently on a visit of China as a special envoy of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Chinese Premier Li received DPM Mahara at his office in Zhongnanhai of Beijing Wednesday morning, according to the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing.

During the meeting, Chinese Premier Li expressed his gratitude to DPM Mahara for the invitations extended to Chinese President Xi Jinping and himself for Nepal visit.

 “The ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries would stay in touch for necessary coordination,” said a press statement issued by the Nepalese Embassy in Beijing quoting Premier Li.

During the meeting, DPM Mahara appreciated the government and people of China for their generous support and cooperation in Nepal’s socio-economic development.

On Tuesday, DPM Mahara had handed over the invitation letters from President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to their Chinese counterparts Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang respectively, to Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.

Mahara held a meeting with Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang on Tuesday and discussed matters of bilateral cooperation and mutual interests.

During the meeting with the Chinese premier, DPM Mahara was accompanied by joint secretary and head of the North East Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jhabindra Aryal, charge d’affaires of the Nepalese Embassy in China Harish Chandra Ghimire, and other officials of the Nepalese Embassy.

Nepalese American to support Hillary

Kathmandu, Aug 15: As Hillary Clinton is counting on support from the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), Nepalese and Bhutanese Americans organised a nationwide conference on the theme 'Committed to Elect Clinton as the Next President' and formed  a national grassroots volunteer organisation to network among the community leaders and advocates who share Hillary Clinton’s visions under the banner Nepali for Hillary. 

Speakers of the conference, Harry (H.B) Bhandari, founder of the organisation, Jason Tengco, National Out Reach Director Hillary for America (AAPI), Sanjita Pradhan, Hillary Leadership Council Member (AAPI) and Constantina Meis, Young Democrats of Americas’(YDA) National Executive Vice President, highlighted why a strong levels of support among AAPI community is imperative for Clinton, informed AAPI in a press statement. 

Bhandari, former national secretary of YDA (MC), and Maryland General Assembly candidate, spoke on the purpose of forming the organisation.

He acknowledged Hillary Clinton as a strong, tested, resilient leader, and a true friend of Nepal who took her time to visit the country in 1995 as the first lady during her 12-day tour of South Asia that centered on promoting better education and health in South Asian regions.

He said, “The Nepali for Hillary (NFH) is our commitment to mobilising the resources and ideas to ensure Hillary’s victory as our next president. Eventually, it aims to be a vehicle to a political integration and empowering Nepalese diaspora communities in each state across the nation."

Jason Tengco, AAPI Out Reach Director Hillary and former Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), explained the Clinton’s plan to break down barriers and improve the lives of AAPIs citizens by raising incomes and creating good-paying jobs, providing quality and affordable education, fighting for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and increment of the  AAPI representation in government to name few.

He highlighted Hillary’s plan to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform within her first 100 days in the White House.  He appreciated the volunteer effort from Nepalese/Bhutanese and other AAPI community’s effort to elect Hillary.

Similarly, ConstantinaMeis, YDA’s executive vice-president, said that the equal opportunities and empowerment of youth, women, minorities, and poor are few of the top pick-up opportunities to reduce socio-economic difference that brings positive difference in lives of all.

Sanjita Pradhan, Hillary Leadership Council Member (AAPI), emphasized on the integrated effort of all communities to elect Democratic Party’s Candidate Hillary Clinton as the next U.S. president. 

Nepal officially invited Chinese President and Pemier

Kathmandu, Aug 16: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara Tuesday handed over the invitation letters from President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.

President Bhandari and PM Dahal sent the letters to invite their Chinese counterparts Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang respectively.

FM Mahara is on China visit as a special envoy of the Prime Minister.

According to a press statement issued by the Embassy of Nepal, Beijing, Mahara held meeting with Wang at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in the morning where the two leaders extensively discussed matters of bilateral cooperation and mutual interests.

Wang hosted a luncheon in honour of the visiting DPM of Nepal.

Joint secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jhabindra Prasad Aryal and officials of Embassy of Nepal in Beijing accompanied Mahara in the meeting. 

First installment of house grant to all in a month: NRA

Kathmandu, Aug 16: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Monday launched a special campaign to complete the distribution of the first installment of the house reconstruction grant to all households that signed the grant agreement with the government.

"The Authority plans to deposit the first installment of the grant to the bank account of the families that signed the agreement for the grant, complete the agreement signing with the remaining quake-affected households and address the complaints registered so far during the campaign period," NRA chief executive officer Sushil Gyawali said in a press conference.

The government last week announced to provide the first installment of the grant money to all the quake affected families within one and a half months.

Gyawali informed that the reconstruction body launched the campaign to complete the government announcement and NRA action plan.

The Authority has unveiled plans to extend its working hours in the morning, evening and at weekends. It will also mobilize additional human resources in the severely-hit districts in order to meet the target in time.

The government has signed the agreement with 339,462 households by Monday afternoon while the first installment of the grant money has been deposited into the bank accounts of 49,749 households.

After concluding the damage assessment survey in 11 worst-hit districts, data collection is under way in the districts of Kathmandu valley and other 14 quake-hit districts.

Meanwhile, the NRA plans to conduct the survey in the remaining districts across the country. 

Meanwhile, more than 105,000 families have filed complaints at the NRA and other government agencies including Hello Sarkar demanding that they should also be provided with the reconstruction grant.

As the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) conducted survey concluded that there were 533,058 households in the worst-hit 11 districts eligible to receive the house reconstruction grant of Rs. 200,000, tens of thousands families remained discontent.

According to the survey conducted by the government during the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake in April and May last year, more than 715,000 houses were damaged by the jolts.

CEO Gyawali informed that the reconstruction body would mobilize monitoring teams comprising of member of NRA Executive Committee, chiefs of respective Sub-Regional Offices and other government officers in the districts.

"Such teams will monitor the activities in the district and local level. In addition to it, a Central Monitoring Committee has been formed to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the works and activities in the severely-hit districts," said Gyawali.

The NRA CEO-led committee has secretaries and chiefs of Central Project Implementation Units of the concerned ministries as its members.

Nepal's made progress in Property Rights Index

Kathmandu, Aug 14: Nepal has made a significant progress in the global property rights index.

Nepal has ranked 97^th out of 128 countries in terms of the strength of property rights in the International Property Rights Index (IPRI) 2016.

Nepal’s position was 100^th out of 129 countries in 2015 with 4.2 marks in the scale of zero to 10.

According to the report recently released by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) – a Washington DC based think tank, Nepal obtained 4.5 this year.

On the regional level, Nepal’s position has remained unchanged, it is placed in the 17^th position in the Asian and Oceania region.

Nepal has become stronger in three core components of the IPRI – legal and political environment (LP), physical property rights (PPR) and intellectual property rights (IPR).

Nepal’s sub-index of LP increased by 0.5 to 3.9 with scores 4.5 in judicial independence, 3.6 in rule of law, 3.6 in political stability and 3.9 in control of corruption.

The PPR sub-index increased by 0.2 to 5.5 with scores of 4.5 in property rights, 9.8 in registering property and 2.1 in ease of access to loans.

Similarly, IPR sub-index is up by 0.2 to 4.0 with scores of 3.6 in intellectual property protection, 4.4 in patent protection and no score for the copyright privacy level.

The SAARC average for IPRI is 4.3, LP 3.9, PPR 5.5 and IPR 3.9.

Likewise, Asian average is 5.5 for IPRI, 5.2 for LP, 6.3 for PPR and 5.1 for IPR.

European Union stands at 6.6, 6.7, 6.3 and 6.9 respectively in those four categories.

Even though the country has marked some progress in property rights, it remains at the bottom 20 per cent countries.

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president Pashupati Murarka remarked that the political instability had severe repercussion on the business environment.

“The government changes every year or sooner. It has no presence at the local level while the bureaucracy is highly politicized,” he said.

He stressed on the need to make the judicial process faster.

“The slow decision process while granting trademarks and patents has been scaring the investors away. The government should facilitate the international investors and brands in order to invite more foreign direct investment in the country,” said Murarka.

Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank Chiranjivi said that the guarantee of the property rights would lead the country towards the path of economic development.

According to the PRA, the legal and political environment component provides an insight into the strength of the institutions of a country and respect of the ‘rules of the game’ among citizens. This component has a significant impact on the development and protection of physical and intellectual property rights.

The other two components of the index – physical and intellectual property rights – reflect two forms of property rights which are crucial to the economic development of a country.

“Strong property rights system is a key element for fostering economic growth. Weak property rights are most commonly seen in the developing world,” said Samriddhi, local partner of the PRA in Nepal.

Finland bags the top spot in the index with a score of 8.4 while Venezuela ranks at the bottom with 2.7.

New Zealand (8.27), Luxemburg (8.3), Switzerland (8.2) and the Netherlands (8.0) are other top ranking countries.

Other bottom ranking countries are Haiti (2.9), Myanmar (2.8), Bangladesh (2.8), Zimbawe (3.4), Burundi (3.4), Nigeria (3.6) and Moldova, Pakistan and Mauritania (3.7). 

Stationary business's 17th AGM held

Kathmandu, Aug 15: Nepal Miscellanies and Stationery Industry Association Saturday urged the government to introduce the Industrial Enterprise Act at the earliest.

Citing the deteriorating business environment in the country, the traders of the stationery items stated that the government should facilitate the domestic industry in order to generate employment and revenue.

 Speaking at the 17^th Annual General Assembly of the Association, vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Dinesh Shrestha informed that the country was self-reliant on the paper related miscellanies, notebooks, registers and ink.

The Assembly had decided to expand the network of the association across the country and unilaterally address the challenges faced at the local level.

 “However, the industry has been facing a severe crisis due to the shortage of electricity, lack of workers. It has compelled some entrepreneurs to quit the business,” Shrestha said.

He said that in order to address those and other problems that are haunting the business, the government should work to endorse the Industrial Enterprise Act from the Parliament as soon as possible.

Shrestha remarked that the political agenda was at the center while the economic agenda was pushed at the periphery.

President of the Association Sunil Gopal Shrestha informed that the miscellanies and stationery industry has the annual turnover of about Rs. 15 billion.

Businessmen Hari Bhandari, Krishna Chandra Poudyal, Rameshwor Parajuli and immediate past president Prayas Chandra Poudyal highlighted the status of the stationery business in the Assembly.