Officials hope Melamchi tunnel will be ready by January

Kathmandu, Oct. 27: Tunnel construction work of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) has not gained the desired momentum even after failing to meet the two deadlines set by the government.

The government earlier this year had promised to deliver water from the Melamchi River of Sindhupalchowk to the people of the Kathmandu Valley by the end of September.

About 1,400 metres of the tunnel are yet to be constructed.

Of the 27,584 metres of tunnel, 1,470 metres are still to be constructed. According to the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board (MWSDP), 199 metres of tunnel have been constructed in October so far.

MWSDP executive director Ram Chandra Devkota claimed that the tunnel construction would be completed by mid-January next year.

According to him, as the machinery and equipment were old and there were frequent breakdowns during work, the construction work was delayed.

"We are adding new equipment and heavy machinery, and hope that the work will be expedited," Devkota said.

The national pride project has been delayed by a decade, and its deadline has been extended multiple times in the past couple of years.

According to the second revised date, the project should have been completed by September 2016.

The Development Committee of the erstwhile Parliament had directed the government to complete the MWSP and begin water distribution in the Kathmandu Valley by October 2017.

However, that deadline has been missed.

As the tunnel construction couldn't be completed within the stipulated time, the Project Implementation Directorate (PID) of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Improvement Project is using the water from the Bagmati River to test the water distribution system.

The PID had laid 660 km of pipelines of a total of 730 km.

PID chief Tiresh Prasad Khatri said that the water from the Bagmati River was not sufficient to flush the long pipeline, so only some parts of the distribution network were being tested.

Delay in the testing the distribution system has halted the repair of the roads dug to lay the pipelines.

The US$ 355.4 million project is being developed by the government with financial support of $145 million from the Asian Development Bank.

The MWSP will deliver 170 million litres of water to the valley in the first phase, and the amount of water will reach 510 million by 2021, according to the government.

Progress at tunnel construction

Total length – 27,584 metres

Construction till September – 25,915 metres

Construction in October – 199.6 metres

To be constructed – 1,469.9 metres

Source: MWSP

Pak says Kashmir dispute may hamper regional peace

Kathmandu, Oct. 27: Pakistani Ambassador to Nepal Dr. Mazahar Javed has said that the Kashmir dispute might hamper regional peace in South Asia and urged the international community to support in finding sustained peace there.

Speaking at an interaction on 'Resolution of Jammu and Kashmir Dispute: An imperative for regional peace and development' in Kathmandu on Friday, he emphasised that a resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of people of people there was imperative for regional peace and development.

Former Nepali Ambassador to Japan Dr. Bishnu Hari Nepal said that the international community must pay attention to the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Journalists Rajan Karki and Sita Ram Bhattarai also expressed their views on the Kashmir dispute on the occasion.

The programme was organised by the Embassy of Pakistan, Kathmandu.

Pakistani envoy handed over Rs.104m to PM Deuba

Kathmandu, Oct. 26: Pakistani Ambassador to Nepal Mazhar Javed on Thursday handed over a cheque of US$ 1 million (Rs. 104 million) to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as Pakistan’s contribution to the rehabilitation of the people affected by the floods in the Terai, and reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure.

Javed called on the PM at the latter's office this afternoon. PM Deuba thanked Pakistan and its people for the contribution.

Pakistani PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had conveyed his sympathies for the flood-affected people and pledged assistance during his meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in New York on the sidelines of the United National General Assembly last month.

Budget crunch prevents NDC from expanding productions

Kathmandu, Oct. 25: Frequent change in the leadership at the ministry, lack of budget disbursement and confusion created by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation in India have hampered the production of medicines at the Nepal Drug Company (NDC).

It has failed to produce about 15 types of medicines within five months following its reoperation.

The state-owned pharmaceuticals company had resumed its production in May this year after shutting down for about eight years.

The company had restarted with the production of 'Jeevan Jal' – an oral rehydration solution (ORS), and the then Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi had announced that the NDC would produce about 40 types of medicines, including anti-venom and anti-rabies drugs, of which 15 types of medicines would be produced by this October.

A source at the company said that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) was reluctant to disburse the budget which barred the NDC from expanding the production of medicine.

The company was able to re-operate its plants with a loan support of Rs. 64.8 million from the government.

Although the MoF had pledged a total loan of Rs. 146.5 million to the company, the latter is yet to receive the additional budget.

The source claimed that the industry ministers appointed after Joshi were less enthusiastic to support the NDC. Minister for Industry Sunil Bahadur Thapa even said that the government should not run any industry or businesses rather invite the private sector to operate them.

According to Director General of the company Dr. Robhash Kusum Subedi, the delayed in the budget disbursement was one of the reasons behind the company's failure to meet the deadlines.  

"Furthermore, the GST implementation in India caused disturbances while importing the machineries needed for the production plant. But all the necessary equipment have been arrived and the plant construction is moving ahead in full swing," he said.

Dr. Subedi said that the company needed about Rs. 80 million for the renovation of the plant.

"The company couldn't produce the medicines as per the plan proposed six months ago. As per the revised plan, Cetamol will be produced within a month and about nine different types of medicines, such as Iron Pills, Albendazole and other tablets will be produced within this fiscal year 2017/18," he said.

The company plans to produce medicines of international standard as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines.

The NDC was forced to halt its operation about more than eight years ago as it couldn't follow the WHO-GMP guidelines and Codes on Drug Manufacturing, 1984.

The government in 2009 had made it mandatory for the pharmaceuticals companies to follow both the guidelines and codes.  

(Published in The Rising Nepal, 26 October 2017)

FNCCI forms Productivity and Innovation Committee

Kathmandu, Oct. 25: Productivity and Innovation Committee has been formed at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) with an aim to enhance the productivity of the industrial and business sectors.

This is the youngest committee created at the largest private sector business association.

The committee has been formed about six months after the current working committee was elected.

According to a press statement issued by the FNCCI, central member of the business body and former coordinator of Bagmati Zone Manish Lal Pradhan has been appointed as the chairperson of the committee.

"The new committee will work effectively to increase the productivity of the business sector," reads the statement.