Monday, July 6, 2015
A data made public at the Metropolitan Police Office on Sunday have revealed that in fiscal year 2070/71 a total of 6,819 crimes were committed in which 17 per cent reduction was witnessed in current fiscal year 2071/72 with 5, 644 crime incidents.
In the current fiscal year, 27 human trafficking cases were recorded, 12 in abduction, 35 murder cases , 97 cases relating to attempted murder, 158 fraud related cases, 114 in robbery and theft, 172 cases involving contraband drugs, 19 in possession of arms and ammunition and 43 incidents of attempted rape.
Likewise during the same period 124 rape cases were recorded, 73 cases of faking of government seals and 327 cases of theft. These three crimes have increased comparatively in the valley in comparison to the last fiscal year, Metropolitan Police Office Chief Commissioner AIGP Bigyan Raj Sharma said.
Of the declining rate of crime in the valley, Kathmandu alone witnessed 81 per cent reduction in crime whereas the figure is 12 per cent for Lalitpur and seven per cent for Bhaktapur.
Increase in suicide rate after earthquake
Meanwhile, suicide rate has soared drastically in the valley in the post-earthquake period, police data shows.
Up until mid-March 26 suicide cases were recorded while the number jumped to 36 in between mid April and mid May. From mid May to mid June, at least 31 persons committed suicide. Of the 67 cases of suicide in the last three months, 53 were men and 14 women in which 48 killed self by hanging, 17 by consuming poison while two jumped off cliff.
According to police, seven persons committed suicide after suffering mental disorder following the earthquake. Majority of the persons committing suicide are found to be generally literate. RSS
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Monday, July 6, 2015 0
The three-member team coordinated by Justice Baidyanath Upadhyay has insisted on removing the provision of constitutional court (CC). Instead of the constitutional court, a separate constitutional division could be set up under the SC to look after the cases relating to the disputes on implementing the federal system.
Moreover, the SC has argued that once there is the constitutional court (CC), different interpretation of constitution and laws from the SC and CC would create confusion and anomaly.
The draft constitution has provided the CC in Article 141.
The report recommends appointing 30 justices, including the Chief Justice, in the Supreme Court for speedy justice adjudication. The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 has the provision for having 15 justices in the Supreme Court, besides the Chief Justice.
The report also suggests amending the Article 132 95) of the preliminary draft constitution which provides for sending on deputation the Chief Judge of the High Court to the Supreme Court for some time in case the pressure of cases in the latter is high.
Likewise, the report states that it would be appropriate to keep a bench of at least three justices in the Apex Court. It also suggests revising the age bar of retirement of the judges at all levels and making it 70 years.
The report proposes that anyone to be appointed the Chief Judge or Judge of the High Court should have at least 15 years of practice. However, the draft of the constitution states the practicing period at 10 years.
It proposes keeping the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, three senior-most justices of the Supreme Court and one legal practitioner each to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Nepal Bar Association. RSS
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Kawasoti, July 6: Two persons have died in two separate road accidents occurred in Nawalparashi district.
Motorcyclist, Jokhan Thanet, 46, from Kawasoti-14
was knocked down by a jeep at Danda in Nawalaparashi under the East-West
highway at noon.
The jeep, marked 'on test' in it and was moving to
Eastward from the West, was coming from opposite direction. It rammed
the motorcycle (Na 23 Pa 2128 )Thanet was riding, according to the Area
Police Office, Nawalpur.
Similarly, another youth has died on the spot when a
Kathmandu-bound bus (Na 4 Kha 5155) from Nepalgunj knocked him down at
Dumkibash Jungle today morning.
The identity of the deceased, supposedly in his 30s, was yet to be ascertained, the police said. RSS
Commenting that the government's decision to promulgate a new constitution was very positive, Nepali Congress lawmaker and one of the members of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Gagan Kumar Thapa said that the decision was not being derailed at all from the constitution promulgation process.
Leader Thapa argued that the tasks as federalism and demarcation should be carried out by the current CA. He further said that these tasks should not be kept pending while furthering the constitution drafting process in the 'fast track'.
"These issues should be resolved as the initial draft is taken to the public for their feedbacks," Thapa opined, adding that the CDC should also take into account the recommendations furnished by the CA members so as to make the Draft more refined.
The differing points in the Draft were raised to make the constitution acceptable by all and enriching, it ought not to curtail the women's rights to inherit ancestral property, he said.
He suggested that the use of 'socialism' in the preamble of the preliminary draft should be omitted.
Similarly, CPN (UML) lawmaker Bhim Prasad Acharya spoke of the need for the government to make arrangement for holding the civic body election at the earliest. He suggested since the issues of citizenship, inclusiveness, proportional representation lacked clarity in the recently released Draft, the CDC should come forth with these issues with clarity.
On a different note, UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker JB Tuhure voiced his concern over issues as inclusiveness through the medium of a song.
The next meeting of the CA is scheduled on July 7 at 8:00 am. RSS
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Kathmandu, July 6: The Kathmandu Durbar Area Conservation and Management
Committee on Monday drew the attention of the Minister for Culture,
Tourism and Civil Aviation Kripasur Sherpa demanding the reconstruction
of the monuments of the Hanumandhoka Durbar area.
Committee Chairman Digambar Shrestha-led delegation
submitted a memorandum to the Minister in which the demand for
reconstruction was made. The Committee has called for instantly starting
the reconstruction work of the monuments citing the Durbar Square
heritages bore ancient Nepal's cultural and traditional identity.
Responding to the memo, Minister Sherpa said the
reconstruction work would start on basis of priority once the report
based on extensive study and assessment over the destroyed structures
and the majority of monuments under risk arrived, said Rameshman
Munikar, a member of the delegation. RSS
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Kathmandu, July 6: An extensive discussion was held on the study report
recommending judiciary related provisions in the new constitution in a
full meeting of the Supreme Court Justices including the Chief Justice.
Three Justices of the Supreme Court had prepared and
submitted the report on judiciary provisions in the primary draft of
'Nepal's Constitution-2072' tabled by the Constitution Drafting
Committee before the full house of the Constituent Assembly.
A team headed by SC Justice Baidhyanath Upadhyaya
with Om Prakash Mishra and Gopal Parajuli had prepared the report.
Under Secretary at SC Basudev Neupane said that the
the report was widely discussed in today's meeting and it would be sent
to CA after giving this a final shape soon.
The report has recommended removing the provision of
setting up a separate Constitutional Court as a parallel institution of
the SC rather making an arrangement of specialized constitutional bench
in the Supreme Court in a specialized manner.
The report also demanded amendment to concerned
provision extending retirement age limit of Justices of all levels to 70
years. RSS
Kathmandu, July 6: An aftershock measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale with
its epicenter near Golche of Sindhupalchok was felt at 9:14 pm today.
Similarly, a tremor of 4.3 Richter scale with the
epicenter near Jugu in Dolakha district occurred at 10:48 am. The
National Seismological Centre of the Department of Mines and Geology has
stated that so far more than 340 aftershocks measuring four or more on
the Richter scale have occurred after the ‘Gorkha Earthquake’ that hit
the country on April 25. RSS
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Kathmandu, July 6: US ambassador to Nepal, Peter W Bodde called on Prime
Minister Sushil Koirala at his residence at Baluwatar here this
evening.
In the meeting, the US ambassador, who returned
after undergoing treatment recently in his country, informed about the
current legal and diplomatic affairs in the US and also inquired about
the constitution writing and the post-earthquake reconstruction in
Nepal.
While welcoming the latest positive developments
regarding the constitution writing in Nepal, Ambassador Bodde said the
US Government was acquainted of the situation of Nepal after the
earthquake. He said the assistance of the US private sector and the
government level would increase for the reconstruction of Nepal.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Koirala, while
expressing the confidence that Nepal would soon get a democratic
constitution with federalism, republicanism and inclusiveness, said the
constitution writing was moving ahead through the fast track process,
according to Prakash Adhikari, the PM’s press coordinator.
The Prime Minister is also learnt to have stated
that peace, stability and development would take pace ahead in Nepal
after the promulgation of the new constitution. RSS
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Kathmandu, July 6: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment
is to impose restriction once again on the use of polythene bags in the
Kathmandu Valley from coming fiscal year onwards.
The ban was imposed on the use of plastic bag in
Kathmandu effective from 14 April but the Ministry could not monitor the
practice because of 25 April 25 earthquake and subsequent recurring
aftershocks.
Ministry Spokesperson noted that the polythene bag
usw would be strictly restricted after monitoring the plastic bags
producers and users from new fiscal year.
So far, the Ministry has seized 14 quintals of
plastic after raiding different companies producing polythene in major
cities of the Valley.
It is stated that the plastic use not only inflicted
damages to human health but also caused environmental degradation and
eroded beauty of the city.
The plastic use would be discouraged with strict
monitoring measures in place in commercial hub where its supply is high
from new fiscal year, said environment expert Dr Jayaram Adhikari. RSS
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amak, July 6: Chairman of the CPN (UML), KP Sharma Oli, has said that
tearing of the preliminary draft of the new constitution by some
individuals would not hamper the constitution drafting process.
At a news conference organised by Press Chautari,
Jhapa, at Oli’s residence at Damak-10, Chairman Oli said there was no
meaning of burning the draft who have vented their dissatisfaction on
the proposed draft of the new constitution. He also expressed belief
that the new constitution would be promulgated at any cost, as there
would be no more obstacle to the constitution writing process.
Stating that amendments could still be made on the
proposed draft, the CPN (UML) Chairman claimed that the new statute
would be promulgated by the end of July. Also a lawmaker from Jhapa
Constituency No 7, Mr Oli said now no one can obstruct the promulgation
of new constitution. Leader Oli is here to monitor undergoing
development activities in his constituency.
He said the country would head towards the path of
prosperity and institutional development of the republicanism once the
country gets the new statute.
CPM (UML) politburo member Sherdhan Rai, central
committee member and Mechi Zonal In charge Hikmat Karki, among others
were also present in the news conference.
Chairman Oli on Sunday visited the construction site
of the tallest idol of Lord Buddha of the world at Dumse of Damak-5. He
also interacted with locals of the area. RSS
Kathmandu, July 6: Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat has underlined
the need of creating a base for taking the country towards economic
progress through the new constitution.
Taking part in deliberations on the proposal tabled
at the Constituent Assembly (CA), seeking permission to publish the
draft constitution in Nepal gazette for people's feedback in today's CA
meeting, he stressed the new constitution should have a clear provision
banning the announcement of shutdowns and strikes for at least ten years
so to protect business sector from losses.
Any activity causing obstructions in the country's
economic development be totally prohibited, he stressed. Matters
relating to improvement of people's livelihood, strengthening of state
coffers, implementation of progressive tax system, maximum utilisation
of domestic skills, labour and resources with bringing in foreign
capital, technology and skills be incorporated in the new constitution
so as to boost up national economy, he said.
The presentation of the first draft of the
constitution to the Constituent Assembly was a positive move, but still
amendments to some points are needed, the Finance Minister said, adding
that draft is silent regarding the exercise of 30 fundamental rights
included in it. He was of the view that nation cannot be prosperous in
absence of foreign investment and added that the subject should be
included in the state's directive principles.
CPN (UML)'s Amrit Kumar Bohara argued that the
constitution draft is inclusive as it has talked about the basic affairs
of all the indigenous nationalities, ethnic community and women. "But
still some issues are left to be included in the draft and they should
be covered through due process, he said," underlining the need of
holding the local body poll within the next six months and making the
Parliamentary Hearing system more effective.RSS
Taking part in the deliberation today, UML lawmaker Madhav Kumar Nepal said that the constitution should be promulgated from the CA at any cost and make the CA a success.
He said that minimum consensus should be forged though complete consensus was next to impossible, adding that promulgating the constitution by incorporating all sides would be the best idea.
Nepal said that provision of reappointment of the office-bearers in the constitutional bodies should be kept in the new constitution. The parliamentary special hearing committee should be made further effective and the rights of the physically-challenged should be ensured in the constitution.
Likewise, Agni Prasad Sapkota of UCPN (Maoist) said that the draft of the new constitution has expressed country’s sovereignty and national pride has been established.
He also said that presidential system was appropriate for the country.
Similarly, Nepali Congress lawmaker Chandra Kant Bhandari said that citizenship certificate should not be given haphazardly to omit the existence of the nation and reservation should be ensured to the Dalit.
He said that the issue of federalism should be sorted out from the CA itself.
Other lawmakers expressing their opinions in the CA meeting were Dilnath Giri of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal), Dipak Bohara of Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Chitra Bahadur KC of Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal.
Likewise, Dhyangovinda Ranjit, Mahalaxmi Upadhyay (Dina), Bhishmaraj Angdembe, Dilli Prasad Kafle, Kiran Yadav, Amritlal Rajbansi, Ramkrishna Yadav and Krishna Kumar Rai also took part in the deliberation. RSS
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Kathmandu, July 6: Lawmakers of four agitating political parties have
boycotted the Constituent Assembly (CA) meeting today by expressing
discontent to the ‘Draft of Nepal’s Constitution 2072 BS’ tabled in the
CA.
Speaking at the beginning of the CA meeting,
lawmaker of the Federal Socialist Forum, Upendra Yadav, criticised the
draft of the new constitution saying that it has failed to incorporate
the spirit of the people’s movements waged in the past for the
democratic constitution with federalism.
He said that the draft of the constitution has done
injustice to the Madhesi in the issue of citizenship certificate,
discrimination was carried out on the basis of sex, and the issues of
positive discrimination were not put to uplift the Dalit, marginalised
groups, ethnic communities and women though it was supposed to do.
The issue of inclusion of the Interim Constitution
of Nepal, 2063 BS was omitted in this draft and proportional
participation, federalism, secularism, identity and other agendas agreed
before were also not mentioned in the draft of the new constitution,
Yadav said.
Saying that absence of provincial autonomy and
federalism without naming and delineation of the state was unfortunate
for the country, Yadav warned that moving ahead by going against the
directive of the Supreme Court (SC) was tantamount to push the country
towards crisis.
Yadav argued that this draft should not be forwarded
in status quo as the current draft prepared by declining the past
agreements could challenge national unity and push the country towards
conflict.
He announced the CA meeting boycott on behalf of
four parties claiming that the draft of the new constitution was silence
for the upliftment of marginalised community of Tarai. RSS
Ilam, July 6: Three School Leaving Certificate (SLC) graduates from
Dalit community were prized for their outstanding performance in Ilam
district.
Three SLC graduates from community and private
schools were honoured Sunday amid a programme organised by the Dalit
District Coordination Committee, Ilam.
Dixanti Tiruwa of Green Valley Academy was given
away Rs 10,000 for securing the highest number among the SLC examinees
in the district. Tiruwa obtained 87.75 per cent in the recently
published SLC result.
Likewise, Yunis Nepali of Singhadevi Higher
Secondary School and Bidhya Mahara of Purna Memorial Secondary School
were provided with Rs 5,000 each for securing highest number among the
Dalit students from the community schools. Nepali passed the exams in
the first division with 76 per cent while Mahara secured 64 per cent.
Chairman of the Committee and Local Development
Officer Madan Koirala said that a Dalit student securing the highest
number in the SLC exams in district was a matter of pride and hoped that
this incident would provide further encouragement to other students.
RSS
Banepa, July 6: Sustainable forest management programme has been started in three different VDCs in Kavre district.
The District Forest Office, Kavre, said that the
forest management programme was started in Chaubas, Methinkot and
Dhungkharka VDCs for studies and researches as well as for the better
livelihood of the locals.
The District Forest Office and Forestry Action
launched the programme by taking a nod from the users’ groups in
coordination with the Kavre chapter of Federation of Community Forestry
Users, Nepal. Four community forests of the three VDCs have been
selected for the programme implementation.
The programme of sustainable forest management has
been implemented in Dharapani Community Forest Users’ Group of Chaubas,
Kalapani Community Forest Users’ Group of Dhungkharka and Saparupa
Community Forests Users’ Group of Methinkot.
Sushil Kunwar, a member of Dharapani Community
Forest Users’ Group, expressed happiness to the programme implementation
saying that it was beneficial for users’ better livelihood.
Saying that she got a three-month-long training on
forest management, Kunwar hoped to generate income from the forest
management.
Ganesh Ray, Chief of the District Forest Office,
Kavre, said that reproduction of plants along with forest management
would be carried out and even the saplings would be planted if the
plants were not grown.
The sallo trees (taxsus baccatta) planted by the
Australian Forest Project in 2035 BS in the naked hills would be
replaced and emphasis would be given for the conservation of the new
species of plants.
The Forestry Action officials said that studies
would be conducted on impacts of fresh move on bio-diversity and soil.
RSS
Khotang, July 6: The weeklong rainfall in the region has disrupted the Diktel-Battal road section in Khotang district, leaving hundreds of locals in trouble. The torrential rainfall has caused landslips in different areas and ditches on the road of the mid hill highway, according to transport entrepreneur Raj Kumar Rai. The locals are forced to walk on foot for two hours to reach their destinations after the traffic movement along the road came to a halt. The Diktel-Battal road is the only road to link the district to the southern plain. It is said that a large number of vehicles have stranded in Battal after the road disruption. Rai said that traffic disruption along the road section would continue until the job of blacktop of Diktel-Halesi road section was completed. RSS
Saptari, July 6: The Koshi River Deluge Struggle Committee on Sunday
staged a sit-in by halting the traffic movement in Saptakoshi Barrage
for an hour demanding compensation for the losses from Koshi River as
per the Agreement on the Koshi Project between Nepal and India, 1954.
Thousands of locals staged a demonstration under the
leadership of Nepali Congress leader Ram Kumar Chaudhari and others,
said the Struggle Committee.
Lawmaker of Saptari Constituency No.1 Manpur
Chaudhari, Ashok Kumar Mandal of Saptari-2, Chairman of Struggle
Committee Mahidev Chaudhari and others were also present in the
agitation staged in the Koshi Barrage along the East-West Highway.
The victims said that they were not given
compensation for the loss as promised by the government of India.
According to the Agreement on the Koshi Project
between Nepal and India, the compensation should have been tendered by
the government of India to the proprietors or the occupiers of the land
for all damages.
Likewise, a ministerial-level agreement was held
some three years ago in New Delhi of India to provide compensation to
the affected ones after carrying out the assessments from the technical
teams of both the countries.
Earlier, the Chairman of Struggle Committee Mahidev
Chaudhary had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala
through the Chief District Officer of Saptari by urging to meet their
demands. RSS
Gaighat (Udayapur), July 6: A girl was beaten to death by her brother in Balamta VDC in Udayapur district Sunday night.
The deceased has been identified as Nigita Rai, 11,
daughter of Sunil Rai. According to the District Police Office,
Udayapur, Nigita died on the spot after her brother Rudal Rai, 17,
thrashed her following a dispute.
Police Inspector Dilli Chauhan said that a police
team has left for the incident site after coming to know about the
incident at 3:00 am today.
The cause behind the dispute has not been
ascertained yet. The incident site lies 128 kilometres away from the
district headquarters, Gaighat. RSS
Kathmandu, July 6: The National Tourism Promotion Committee has
constituted an executive committee to execute its works in a smooth and
effective way.
In the first meeting of the Committee held on
Sunday, it was decided to form the committee. As per the decision of
the Council of Ministers on June 16, the Committee was formed under the
chair of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kripasur
Sherpa to carry out efforts for the rebuilding and promotion of the
tourism sector in the aftermath of the recent powerful earthquake.
Noted tourism entrepreneur Yogendra Shakya is the
coordinator of the executive committee while Lakpa Sonam Sherma is
joint-coordinator.
Besides, the meeting agreed to take ownership of the
Pokhara declaration-2072 BS issued by the Parliament Development
Committee and a report published by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (
PATA) for rebuilding country's tourism and make initiatives for their
enforcement soon.
The Committee is to install weather forecast
equipments in base camps of major peaks of the country for the
conveniences of tourists.
The meeting agreed to request international
community to give priority to Nepal while choosing venues for
international-level events like meetings, assemblies, conferences,
exhibitions and fairs as this helps rebuild the country's tourism
sector affected by the devastating earthquake.
As per the meeting decision, the government will be
requested to exempt the provision of value added tax (VAT) on air fuel
to relatively decrease aviation fee, which is expected to encourage
tourists to visit Nepal. Besides, it has recommended the government to
free tourism industries from the imposition of income tax for at least a
year, to provide concessions on the interest of bank loans taken by the
earthquake-hit tourism industries with extended deadline for loan
recovery by a year. RSS
Api Power Company starts producing power in short period
Kathmandu, July 6: Api Power Company Limited has
been successful to produce electricity within a short period from its
hydropower project in Darchula district.
The company’s Naugad Gad hydropower project of
company began producing 8,500 KW power within 18 months after the start
of the construction works.
Company Director Mahendra Neupane said that the
power produced by the company would be linked to the central
transmission grid soon after completing all the construction works. The
company has already signed Power Purchase Agreement with Nepal
Electricity Authority and the power would be linked to substation at
Balanche of the power house of Chameliya Hydropower Project.
The company has provided shares of Rs 100 million to
people of project-affected VDCs--- Shikhar, Dhuligada, Rethala and
Ranishikhar in the district. It has also got permission to construct a
8,000 KW-Upper Naugad Project at Dhuligada and Sipti VDCs.
Neupane said that construction works of the project would be forwarded once a PPA is signed with NEA. RSS
