Bhattarai wants package deal to step down

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• ONCE-OVER
Kamaiya women taking their
belongings to safer place after the
rainwater entered their houses in
Tikapur, on Friday.
Three children dead
CHARIKOT: Three dead bodies of
children were found on Friday at
Kaileswor-based Gaurimudi VDC-5
in Charikot. Sonam Tamang (13),
Laxman Tamang (14) and Ram
Tamang (14) died after they drowned
in a pond, said police. The water
was collected in the pond to irrigate
the field. According to temporary
Police Post Gaurimudi, the children
went to irrigate the field on Thursday
noon, but they didn't return home.
They might have died while they
were swimming in the pond, police
suspected. The pond is about seven
feet deep. Futher investigation into
the causes of their death is underway,
said police. – HNS
Chakkajam enforced
BIRATNAGAR: CPN-UML affiliated
youth wing, Yuba Sangh Nepal, on
Friday enforced an one hour long
chakkajam in different cities and
towns of eastern Nepal including
Dharan, Biratnagar, Damak, Itahari,
Dhankuta, Lahan, Rajbiraj and Birtamod.
The transport strike was
imposed from 4 pm to 5 pm today
demanding the Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai to step down
for consensus government, informed
Yuba Sangh central member Parsuram
Basnet. The protesters have
put forth various demands including
prime minister's resignation, annulment
of ordinance that provides
lifelong facilities to the former VIPs
among others, said the Yuba Sangh’s
memorandum. – HNS
WEATHER
FORECAST: Partly cloudy in the country, temporary rain
or thundershowers likely to occur at few places in the
country, mainly over the hilly regions.
PLACES MAX. TEMP. MIN. TEMP.
Kathmandu 26.3 20.3
Dadeldhura 20.4 18.2
Dipayal 29.4 25.2
Dhangadi 27.1 24.6
Birendranagar 29.5 24.2
Nepalgunj 28.8 24.8
Jumla 24.8 17.0
Dang 24.8 23.5
Pokhara 25.3 22.5
Bhairahawa 27.6 25.0
Simra 32.5 25.0
Okhaldhunga 25.8 14.6
Taplejung 25.9 17.5
Dhankuta 31.4 20.5
Biratnagar 34.8 25.0
Jiri 23.0 17.6
Jomsom 18.3 13.5
Rajbiraj 34.0 24.5
Janakpur 33.8 26.2
THT
Source: Meteorological Forecasting Division,
Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Kathmandu.
Lekhanath Pandey
Kathmandu, August 3
The process of integration of
the Unified CPN-Maoist’s remaining
combatants has been
reduced to a state of suspended
animation as there was no
clear direction either from the
government or the Special
Committee to the Nepali Army
on how to address the dispute
over combatants’ age.
“Without the government’s
direction, we cannot resume
the integration works all
alone,” said a senior NA officer.
The selection process of integrating
3,123 former fighters
was commenced formally in
the first week of July, but was
immediately halted on July 6,
following the age dispute,
which was arisen after more
than a quarter combatants
were seen unfit for integration
as per their newly procured citizenship
cards.
The combatants demanded
to recognise the age verified by
the UNMIN in 2007, which NA
says was against the spirit of
the seven-point agreement.
The integrating fighters
protested, and urged for a ‘respectable’
integration to which
the NA had to ‘temporarily’
halt the process all together.
NA immediately sent a letter
to the government, seeking its
clear direction. “We are waiting
decision the government’s response
to this effect,” said Ramindra
Chhetri, spokesperson
of the NA. “Without this, we
cannot resume the process.”
The Ministry of Defence had
forwarded the NA’s letter to the
office of the Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai, who is also
the Chairman of the Special
Committee (for Supervision,
Integration and Rehabilitation
of Maoist combatants).
“As we cannot directly write
to the Special Committee, we
have put forward the NA’s
complications to continue the
integration works to the PM’s
Office,” said MoD spokesperson
Dwarika Prasad Acharya,
who is also a member of the selection
board formed under
the Acting Chief of Public Service
Commission to determine
the eligibility of the integrating
fighters.
On PM Bhattarai’s part, either
he can direct the Army to
continue the process as per the
seven-point agreement or he
needs to take a new decision
from the Special Committee to
bring any changes if any into
the agreement as per the com-
batants demand.
“We are ready to attend the
Special Committee meeting if
PM so wishes,” a NC leader
and SC member Ram Sharan
Mahat told THT.
The PM has neither called
the committee meeting to adopt
a new decision nor has given
any direction to the NA to
resume the process as per past
agreements. In the meantime,
there are voices about sending
all the remaining combatants
for the voluntary retirement.
Finance Minister and Maoist
member to the Special Committee,
Barshaman Pun said
that the voluntary retirement
could be an option if “respectable
integration” is not ensured.
Similarly, Chandra Dev
Khanal, a Maoist Politburo
member and a member of the
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2012
No integration till govt takes decision, says Army
Chepang youth dreams
of becoming doctor
Ratna Prasad Acharya
Dharan, August 3
“But I, being poor, have only my
dreams,” WB Yeats. Shibaraj
Praja has somehow imbibed
this famous lines of Yeats,
though inadvertently.
At 21, this inspiring youth
from the Chepang community
of Dhading, Dhusa VDC-8,
Bhoomidanda, is a bright ray of
hope that makes him standout
in his entire community.
It's not the riches that he
could, however, imagine being
a member of this extremely
backward community.
But more than that he has a
strong underlining desire to become
a doctor – something he
always dreamt since his early
childhood – to serve his community
and his countrymen.
As a first step towards realizing
his dream, he has come
all the way to Dharan to appear
for the MBBS entrance examination
slated to be held at the
BP Koirala Institute of Health
and Sciences on Saturday.
A brilliant student from his
early childhood, Shibaraj got an
opportunity to study from
Grade IX to Grade XII from the
Pokhara-based Step By Step
Higher Secondary School,
thanks to a Dutch national who
out of compassion financed for
his studies after The Himalayan
Times and the Annapurna Post
carried a news report about
him about seven years ago. He
secured 78 and 65 per cent in
SLC and ISC respectively.
Years after, he is now a second
year student of Microbiology
Bachelors level at the Kathmandu-based
Tri-Chandra College.
"I wanted to be a doctor from
my early childhood. As a doctor
I will serve the poor and helpless
people of my country," said
Shibaraj, lamenting he could
not compete from the government
quota as he did not do his
schooling from a government
school.
"Since 1994, when the institute
began MBBS entrance,
Shibaraj is the first Chepang
student appearing for the
entrance," said Prof Umesh
Thapa of the BPKIHS Education
Department, adding that, a
total of 135 students have applied
for three Jaanajati quota
seats.
The institute is conducting
the entrance examination on
Saturday for 100 quota students
for MBBS and 40 for BDS this
year. For the exams, five exam
centres have been fixed in Dharan
and Biratnagar.
According to the BPKIHS Education
Department chief
Deepak Shakya, a total of 2,115
examinees, including 186 from
India are appearing for the entrance
exams.
Locals helping the rescue team at a landslide site, where a house was buried in Thulolumpek VDC
of Gulmi, on Friday.
SC Secretariat, told that the integration
matter has been fallen
into a conundrum, which
can only be cracked through
broader political consensus.
“We are compelled to respect
the seven-point agreement,”
he said. “But, NA tried
to recruit PLAs, instead of integrating
them, attributing its
standard norms and agreement.”
He said even, the PM himself
is not in a position to resolve
the issue. “Chairman Dahal
has assured us that he would
urge other political parties to
address the age issue soon,” he
said, adding that, “We hope
that would bear some fruit in
the integration front.”
With the prolonged stay at
the camps under the command
of the Nepali Army since
April, lately many combatants
have expressed preferred to go
rather for voluntary retirement.
But at this stage they can
go for this option only if they
are unfit for the integration.
Khanal said, “Due to they are
encamped under the NA’s
command, we need a Special
Committee decision to send all
of them for retirement.”
Balananda Sharma, coordinator
of the Secretariat under
the SC, said integration should
be done as the matter has already
been mentioned in the
Interim Constitution.
“It will be a breach of the
statute if we fail to integrate
the former rebels into the national
force,” he said, adding
that, “Number does not matter.
At least we have to integrate
those fighters who are eligible
as per the agreed norms
and standard.”
Participants of the Third International Gai Jatra Festival organised by the Blue Diamond Society in Pokhara, on Friday.
10 SLC invigilators expelled in Achham
Himalayan News Service
Achham, August 3
Ten invigilators were expelled
on the third day of
School Leaving Certificate
(SLC) Chance Examination
in Achham district today.
Nripa Rawal from the
Shivaniwas Lower Secondary
School Examination
Centre, and Tikhada and
THT
Janak Rawal from Achham
Multiple Campus Examination
Centre were accused of
cheating and helping examinees
cheat during the Mathematics
examination.
Similarly, Tirtharaj Neupane,
Tapendra Swar, Hemraj
Tiwari, Prakash Bohara,
Hamsa Bhatta, Asharam
Dhakal, Rajan Singh and Siddharaj
Bhandari from So-
DAO asks doctors to resume duty
Himalayan News Service
Pokhara, August 3
Despite its frequent calls and
talks to bring around the
striking doctors of the Manipal
hospital to withdraw
their agitation, District Administration
Office, Kaski today
issued a notice, ordering
the hospital administration
to resume its services at the
earliest.
Stating that the public
health was severely affected
by the ongoing doctors' agitation,
CDO Chetnath Bhattarai,
invoking the Local Administration
Act today issued
the notice in the name
of the hospital administration.
The administration, in
its notice, has also pledged to
take action against any person
or group if they created
dasha Higher Secondary Examination
centre were also
expelled for the same reason
today.
They were expelled within
15 minutes of the examination
time by a team of
Deputy Secretary of the District
Education Office Ramsuresh
Yadav, Acting Chief
District Officer Chhabilal
Nepali, District Education
any obstruction in resuming
the day to day function of the
hospital on Sunday.
According to the hospital
human resources department
chief Birendar Yadav,
they will resume all the hospital
services from Sunday as
per the administration’s instruction.
The hospital administration
also thanked
everyone who had helped to
reopen the hospital.
The administration, issuing
a statement in the
evening today said the agitating
doctors gave two
hoots to the CDO and the
civil society even when the
hospital management was
ready to adjust their remuneration
as per their demand.
Meanwhile, even after receiving
the notice, the doc-
THT
Officer Shyamsingh Dhami
and Police Inspector Mahendrasingh
Kalouni.
Some invigilators were
writing on the answer sheets
while some were openly allowing
the students to cheat,
said Dhami. All the invigilators
were banned from SLC
Examination in the coming
years, said the District Education
Committee.
tors have shown no sign to
return to work anytime soon.
"We won't return to work
until our demands are met,"
vowed All-Nepal Progressive
Public Health Workers Association
Manipal Unit chairperson
Dr Krishna Koirala,
warning of a possible clash
on Sunday should the hospital
administration to use
force.
"We won't return to work
unless the hospital administration
assures the increment
in our salary," he said.
Health services and teaching
activities at the hospital
have been affected after doctors
affiliated to All Nepal
Progressive Public Health
Workers' Union began their
agitation from Sunday demanding
increment in their
salary.