Dahal says fresh elections vague, risky idea

Nepal’s No. 1
English Daily
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Vol. XI No.323 • Kathmandu, Thursday, October 11, 2012, Ashwin 25, 2069, Nepal Sambat 1132
• SHORT TAKES
Reuters
Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge,
arriving for a visit to CRI Stockton Recovery
Service, in Stockton-On-Tees, northern
England, on Wednesday.
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs) SELLING (in Rs)
Indian Rs 100 160.00 160.15
U.S. Dollar 1 84.63 85.23
Euro 1 108.91 109.68
Pound Sterling 1 135.50 136.46
Japanese Yen 10 10.81 10.89
Chinese Yuan 1 13.47 13.56
The foreign exchange rates are fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
Dahal says fresh
elections vague,
risky idea
Underscores the need to revive
CA to promulgate constitution
Prakash Acharya
Kathmandu, October 10
Moving the goalposts is not new
in Nepali politics. Days after four
major political forces reached an
understanding to hold fresh
polls, one of the stakeholders —
the Unified CPN-Maoist — is
back to calling for revival of the
dissolved Constituent Assembly.
UCPN-M Chairman Pushpa
Kamal Dahal today even went on
to say that the idea of promulgating
a constitution through a new
assembly ‘is vague and risky and
probably will not pay dividends’.
Dahal’s today’s statement
forces one to recall the situation
that had arisen just before CA’s
obituary was being written on
May 27. Nepali Congress, CPN-
UML and Subas Nembang, in capacity
of CA chairman, had then
proposed to promulgate the constitution
by incorporating the
settled issues and leaving the unsettled
ones for a new Parliament
to deal with. But the ruling coalition
partners UCPN-M and United
Democratic Madhesi Front
turned down the proposal. It’s
only a matter of speculation at
this time if the country would
have found a constitution had
the UCPN-M and UDMF agreed
to that proposal. More than four
months have passed since the CA
died and parties despite their repeated
commitments have invariably
failed to strike a deal on
future course.
But Dahal, speaking at a programme
in the Capital, today
said the signatory parties of the
12-point deal now must be ‘ready
to promulgate the constitution
by reviving the CA’. “The number
and names of the federal units
can be decided through a new
Parliament,” said Dahal, adding
that his party took a decision to
this effect during yesterday’s party
meeting and that his party has
already conveyed this to NC. “I
hope NC will accept our proposal
to save the country.”
But NC and UML, which themselves
are victim of indecision,
are already wary of UCPN-M’s
moves and maneuvers. NC leaders
of late have been saying that
the UCPN-M ‘has a pretty bad
record when it comes to translating
their words into action’.
Dahal, however, said UCPN-M
was the one that suffered the
most due to CA’s dissolution, but
If NC and
UML agree to
UCPN-M’s
proposal
to revive the
CA, they don’t
have to
sacrifice their
agendas
related to
federalism, and
they can take
their issues to
the new
Parliament
stopped short of telling why his
party did not heed to NC, UML’s
proposal on the night of May 27.
Instead, he tried to assuage NC
and UML’s fears, saying if they
agreed to UCPN-M’s proposal to
revive the CA, they ‘don’t have to
sacrifice their federalism agendas
and that they can take their
issues to the new Parliament’.
“The next Parliament will give a
legitimate verdict on the issue(s).
I think it is a win-win situation.”
Madhesi leaders cautiously optimistic
Say unity must for larger cause,not for short-term benefits
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Chairman of Madhesi
Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal
Upendra Yadav today said
unification of Madhesi parties
was necessary to emancipate
Madhesis from subjugation
but unity should
not serve as a springboard
for opportunists.
Addressing an interaction
on ‘Unification process of
Madhesi parties: Prospects
and challenges’ organised
by Madhesi Youth Forum-
Nepal, Yadav said they were
open either for a unified
Madhesi party or an electoral
front but the ideological
basis of the unity should
be the emancipation of
Madhes, and nothing else.
“Madhesi ministers are
powerless because they
care more for their own welfare
than the larger cause,”
added Yadav. “Madhesis
and Janajatis should also
fight under an alliance.”
Sharat Singh Bhandari,
Chairman, National Madhes
Socialist Party, said uni-
• UNIFICATION PROSPECTS
fication of Madhesi parties
and an alliance of Madhesi
and other marginalised
communities of the hills
and Himalayas was necessary
to achieve a federal
constitution. “Marginalised
and oppressed groups need
a new constitution more
than anybody else, and if we
fail to forge unity among
ourselves, our sons and
daughters will have to fight
a long battle for their
rights,” Bhandari said. “But
we must diagnose the causes
of the splits that the Madhesi
parties suffered in the
past,” he added. “But we
cannot join hands with
those who betrayed Madhesis.”
In an oblique reference to
his former party colleague
Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar,
Bhandari said Madhesi
leaders do not utter a word
when Madhes issues are ignored,
but when their
‘favourites are not promoted,
they threaten to quit the
government’. Chairperson
of Nepal Sadbhawana Party
(Anandidevi) Sarita Giri said
unification of Madhesi parties
should be for Madhes
empowerment and not
merely electoral advantage.
“Madhesi parties need to
clarify first why they split in
the past,” she said, adding
that the United Democratic
Madhesi Front did not have
an independent status. Giri
maintained that the issue of
federalism might derail if it
was not decided by a simple
majority in the CA.
Vice-chair of Nepal Bar
Association Surendra Kumar
Mahato said the rise of
Madhesi parties was the
main reason why Madhesis
could now live with dignity
and pride in all parts of the
country and a united Madhesi
force could achieve
more for the deprived communities.
Unification, he
said, is the best preferred
option for Madhesi parties.
“If you can not unite then
— Pushpa Kamal Dahal,
UCPN-M chairman
THT
go for an electoral alliance,”
he added.
Columnist CK Lal said
Madhesis don’t need to
worry even if Madhesi parties
don’t unite. “If the hills
where half of the population
lives can have 40 parties,
why can’t Madhes have
17 parties?” he wondered.
In the next election, he said,
major polarisation will occur
between the Maoist and
the non-Maoist forces and
that Madhesis have the opportunity
to create the third
front comprising those supporting
identity-based federalism.
Madhes activist Tula
Narayan Sah said it was an
irony that those who engineered
splits in Madhesi
parties in the past were now
spearheading the campaign
to unite them. “I don’t think
Hridayesh Tripathi and Upendra
Yadav can stay together.
Neither can Mahanatha
Thakur and Mahendra
Prasad Yadav or Bijaya
Kumar Gachhadar and
Sharat Singh Bhandari remain
in one party,” he said.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Freedom fighter and ‘living
martyr’ Ram Hari Sharma
passed away this morning.
He died at Capital’s Blue
Cross Hospital at around
9:00am while undergoing
treatment. He was 97. Sharma’s
final rites were performed
at Pashupati
Aryaghat. His sons Niranjan
Nepal and Ajaya Nepal lit the
funeral pyre this evening as
per the Hindu rituals.
Sharma was the founding
member of Nepal’s first political
party Praja Parishad that
waged a war against the autocratic
Rana regime some
76 years ago.
Sharma was arrested,
along with Dasharath Chanda,
Gangalal Shrestha, Dharma
Bhakta Mathema, Tanka
Prasad Acharya and Sukra
Raj Shastri, about 72 years
ago. While Chanda, Shrestha,
Mathema and Shastri were
killed by then Rana rulers for
‘conspiring against the
regime’, Sharma was spared
because he belonged to the
Brahmin caste, and the Rana
rulers were too scared to
have a Brahmin’s blood on
their hands. The Rana rulers,
however, had semi-tonsured
Sharma and Acharya, announced
that they had been
‘relegated to a lower caste’
and sent them to jail.
Sharma along with
Acharya, Chand and Mathema
had secretly founded the
Praja Parishad Party in a
Jhonchhein-based house of
Mathema to fight against the
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‘Living martyr’ Ram Hari Sharma dies
People paying tribute to freedom fighter Ram Hari Sharma (inset) just before his final
rites were performed at the Pashupati Aryaghat, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday.
NC hails crusader, major parties mum
KATHMANDU: Nepali
Congress and its president
Sushil Koirala, in a press
statement, on Wednesday
hailed late Ram Hari Sharma
as a crusader who devoted
his whole life for the
cause of democracy in
Nepal. “The death of living
martyr Ram Hari Sharma
has shocked and saddened
me and the whole party.
The invaluable contribution
Sharma made in
course of ushering in
democracy in Nepal has
left an indelible mark in
history,” said Koirala. Former
speaker Tara Nath
Ranabhat and leaders Nilambar
Acharya, CP
Mainali, Narahari Acharya,
Dip Kumar Upadhyay, Rajeshwor
Devkota and
Ganesh Sah had reached
Pashupati Aryaghat to pay
tribute to late Sharma.
However, government authorities
and senior leaders
of major political parties
did not show any attention
over the veteran
leader and freedom fighter
Sharma’s demise. — HNS
THT
tyrannical Rana rule. Then
king Tribhuvan, who was
confined to the Naryanhity
Palace by the Ranas, had
stealthily supported the
movement. In 1940, Sharma
became the general secretary
of Praja Parishad. Sharma
was released only after the
establishment of democracy
in 1950.
Later, Sharma supported
the Panchayat system and
was elected Rastriya Panchayat
member in 1967. He
was also appointed ambassador
to Germany and member
of then Raj Parishad
Standing Committee.
Sharma is survived by two
sons and six daughters.

PAGE 2 www.thehimalayantimes.com
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
CAPITAL
• IN BRIEF
Woman stabbed
LALITPUR: Police arrested Sanjeev
Hamal (30) of Dhobighat for knifing
Rita Aryal (22) of the same area on
Wednesday. Aryal has sustained injury
on the hands. Nanda Kishor Yadav,
a police constable, was also injured
in the incident while trying to
defend Aryal. — HNS
Jailbird dies
THT
Participants in a signature
campaign demanding revocation of
death sentence on Hari Bahadur
Ghale in Malaysia, in Kathmandu,
on Wednesday.
KATHMANDU: Mohammad Iqbal
(45), a Pakistani national doing time
in Central Jail on the charge of smuggling
fake currency notes, died while
undergoing treatment in the emergency
ward of Bir Hospital on Tuesday
night, police said. He was admitted
to the hospital eight days ago after
he was diagnosed with heart disease.
— HNS
On wrong side of law
KATHMANDU: An on-duty police
constable landed in trouble after he
tried to make a motorcyclist cough
up money in Kapan on Tuesday
night. Ganesh Mahat, a cop in Kapan,
misbehaved with Deepak Budhathoki
for refusing to pay him Rs 200.
Budhathoki was heading home when
Mahat stopped him ‘for security
check’. Budhathoki had his driving licence
but had forgotten to carry the
bill book. But the cop asked him for
Rs 200. Budhathoki lodged a complaint
with Police Control Room and
Mahat was caught on the wrong side
of the law. —HNS
Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, October 10
The government has plans
to complete the Melamchi
drinking water project by
March 2016 and it is likely to
call for fresh bidding on November
9.
Dissatisfied with the Chinese
contractor selected to execute
the Melamchi Water
Supply Project for supplying
water to Kathmandu Valley, the
government had terminated
the contract with the company
on September 25.
“The government has
planned to call for fresh bids
on November 9. The Chinese
company, whose contract was
cancelled, will not be allowed
to bid next time,” said Krishna
Prasad Acharya, executive director
of Melamchi Water Supply
Development Board
(MWSDB). “The project agreement
will be signed in March
2013 and completed by March
2016,” he added.
The government planned to
assess the project performance
and achievement within
two weeks of termination
Students demand 45 pc fare discount
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Nepali Congress aligned Nepal Students
Union (NSU) today submitted
an eight-point memorandum
to National Transport Entrepreneurs
Federation demanding 45
per cent concession for students
travelling on public transportation.
• WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Stigma impeding
treatment
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Psychiatrist Dr Deep
Prakash Malla today urged
people to seek help from
specialists if they are suffering
from any mental illness.
Dr Malla of Norvic International
Hospital said very
few people see psychiatrists
due to the stigma attached
to depression.
“Although there are effective
treatments available
for depression, access
to treatment is a problem
in a country like Nepal,”
said Malla.
Addressing a programme
at the hospital, he
said depression is the most
common mental illness affecting
more than 350 million
people worldwide irrespective
of age, sex or community.
October 10 is marked as
World Mental Health Day
to promote greater public
awareness and understanding
of mental health
and mental illness. The
theme of World Mental
Health Day this year is ‘Depression:
A Global Crisis’.
A press statement said
more than 50 per cent of
mental illnesses start at
around 14 years of age and
Govt to call for fresh bids in November
NSU said passengers should be
carried on the basis of seat availability
and the fare rate should be
pasted at every bus stop and on
hoarding boards. Students also demanded
action against those who
show fake student identity card for
discount on public vehicles.
Students sought special discount
on transportation during festive
is more common among
females. A minimum of ten
per cent of the country’s
population is suffering
from one or another type
of mental illness and depression
is the most common
among them.
“While depression is the
leading cause of disability
among both males and females,
the risk is 50 per
cent higher in females. In
fact, depression is the leading
cause of disease burden
for women in both
high-income and low and
middle-income groups in
Nepal”, said the statement.
“Myths and misconceptions
about these disorders
still persist, leading to stigma
and discrimination
against those who suffer,”
said the statement.
Depression can be controlled
through consultations
with psychiatrists,
psycho therapists and taking
medicine as advised. It
can also be controlled with
healthy life style, avoiding
alcohol, smoking, caffeine,
taking proper diet, exercise,
adequate sleep,
laughing, deep breathing
exercise, giving time to
family and friends, balancing
work and personal life
and having a sense of purpose
in life.
• MELAMCHI DRINKING WATER PROJECT
and begin the rebidding
process. However, assessment
began only yesterday due
to lack of cooperation
from the terminated
contractor, according
to sources at
the Ministry of
Urban Development.
“The contractingcompany,
which
has asked for
time till October
end, delayed
handing
over documents,equipment,
project
plants and performance
details to be
evaluated,” said officials.
“The engineers,
however, agreed and allowed
the contractor the time
sought.”
On the behalf of Nepal Government,
MWSDB and the
Chinese joint venture China
Railway 15 Bureau Group Cor-
Dangers of melting
Himalayas highlighted
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Experts and authorities on
security and climate issues
today highlighted the impact
of climate change on South
Asia’s socio-economic life
and security.
At a programme organised
jointly by the Institute of Foreign
Affairs and Frederich-
Ebert Stiftung in the Valley
today, Christian Wagner, Senior
fellow of German Institute
for International and Security
Affairs, said as South
Asia is amongst the most
vulnerable in view of climate
change, it needs to address
the crisis through intracountry,
inter-country and
inter-regional cooperation
and concerted efforts.
“Climate change causes
natural disasters, which only
accelerates and intensifies
the already degrading political-security
situation in the
region,” Wagner said, pre-
senting his concept paper on
“Climate Change as a Security
Risk in South Asia”.
He further made a presentation
on the impact of climate
change on three main
areas — water, agriculture
and health and expressed
the need to preserve these
sectors.
Speaking at the function,
Minister for Environment,
Science and Technology Keshab
Man Shakya said as far
as climate change is concerned,
Nepal is among the
most vulnerable countries.
He said the melting of the
Himalayas should be seen
not only as having an impact
on climate change and global
warming, but also as inevitable
risk to the socioeconomic
and political security
of the entire region.
FES-Nepal chief Dev Raj
Dahal said climate change
impacts ultimately lead a society
towards violence, conflict
and even war.
seasons. They also demanded that
the syndicate system in transportation
be scrapped and implementation
of past agreements between
student unions, government and
the Department of Transport Management.
NSU cadres have given 48-hour
ultimatum to fulfil students’ demands.
poration
and China Machinery
Industry Construction Group
Inc signed the contract agreement
on February 19, 2009,
promising to complete the
project by September 2, 2013.
The Chinese contractor
on September 18 sought
extension of the project
till end of 2015,
but the government
cancelled
the contract.
However,
only 6.5 km of
the 26.5 kmlong
tunnel of
the project has
been completed
till now. The
project was delayed
due to
protests from locals
and negligence
on the part
of the contractor.
Although the estimated
budget was six billion
rupees, the Chinese
company had bid Rs 4.28 billion.
Acharya said that the ceiling
of budget for a fresh contract
was yet to be finalised. “It will
certainly increase due to infla-
tion, rise in dollar price and
variation costs,” he said,
adding, “If the new contractor
completes the project before
the contract period expires, it
will be rewarded with bonus of
six months and be punished
for taking longer time,” he
added.
The project is expected to
partially address the drinking
water problem of Kathmandu
Valley by supplying 170 million
litres of water per day to the
Valley.
The daily demand of drinking
water in Kathmandu valley
is estimated at 320 million
litres, but Kathmandu Upatyaka
Khanepani Limited has
been able to supply only 88.8
million litres per day including
32 per cent from ground water
and 67 per cent from the surface
during dry season.
Around 118.4 million litres
per day, including 29 per cent
ground water and 71 per cent
surface water is supplied during
the wet season.
Data shows a water deficit of
78.5 per cent during dry season
and 63 per cent during wet
season, according to a report.
Representatives of political parties at a meeting called by the Election Commission at its office
in Kantipath, Kathmandu on Wednesday.
Probe panel gets
details from TIA
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Airport security guards today submitted all
files related to investigation into the October
5 seizure of illegal foreign currency notes
from an Indian citizen to the high-level probe
panel led by AIG Bhisma Prasai.
A source said the files were submitted to
the high-level committee upon demand.
Binod Kumar Soni (35) was held with illegal
foreign currency notes with face value of
Rs 12.4 million on board a Fly Dubai plane.
Nepal Police Headquarters had formed the
investigation panel after police employees
were found involved in assisting Soni to
sneak the illegal money into TIA. The police
head constable, who has been accused of
helping Soni to evade security check points
at the airport to take the money into the
plane is still at large.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
With Dashain just around
the corner, police have
started making use of
loudhailers in the centres
and on the outskirts of
Kathmandu to raise
awareness against crime
— especially use of drugs,
robbery and burglary.
SSP Jaya Bahadur
Chand, in-charge, Metropolitan
Police Range
Hanumandhoka, said the
public awareness drive
was launched to warn
denizens against rising
property crimes in the
city.
“It is during the festive
season that the city becomes
vulnerable to
property crime due to increase
in financial transactions
,” he warned.
“Keeping in mind the
likelihood of property
crimes, loudhailers are
being used to alert people
to the need to cooperate
with the law enforcement
agency to prevent any untoward
incident.
Through the awareness
campaign, on-duty cops
have been asking people
to dial the toll free number
100 in order to call the
police when they come
across persons showing
suspicious behaviour in
their areas.” Chand
added.
Police have also urged
people to arrange lighting,
which they called an
PAGE 3
SC tells MoFA
to accept
Notary Public
documents
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
The Supreme Court today directed
the Foreign Ministry
to recognise documents certified
by the notary public.
A division bench of Justices
Sushila Karki and
Bharat Raj Upreti noted
there was no legal obstacle in
counter-verifying and authenticating
notary publicdocuments
for the consulate
section of MOFA and declined
to issue interim order
to revive the authority of
Nepal Law Book Management
Committee to translate
public documents for foreign
purposes.
The SC also said that since
the decision of the Notary
Public Council to cease the
authority of the committee
some four months ago was
for implementation of the
Notary Public Act, 2006, the
demand to reinvest authority
on the committee was not
proper.
Stating that some diplomatic
missions have not
been recognising notary
public documents, advocate
Meena Khadka Basnet and a
few aspirants trying to go
abroad had filed a Public Interest
Litigation on September
24 demanding apex
court intervention.
She had demanded that
either notary public documents
be recognised or the
committee’s service be resumed
to do away with obstacles
faced by people.
During the hearing, Notary
Public Association had
intervened demanding court
order to MoFA to recognise
legal documents forwarded
by notary public lawyers.
Anti-crime messages on mikes
THT
inexpensive crime deterrent,
on the premises of
their houses, to not wear
jewellery in a flaunting
manner and not to keep
huge amounts of cash in
their houses, especially
during the festive season.
“Never keep your
house unattended. When
it needs to be so, inform
your trusted neighbours
and the nearest police
station,” SSP Chand said,
adding that most incidents
of burglary and
theft occur in unattended
houses.
Police also warned people
against accepting
food and drinks offered
by strangers, citing incidents
of drugging and
robbing.

PAGE 4
BLONDIE Dean Young and Denis Lebrun
HAGAR Chris Browne
BEETLE BAILEY Mort Walker
BEAU PEEP Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle
• ENGAGEMENTS
EXHIBITION, CLASS AND WORKSHOP
Yoga classes for ladies - Come transform yourself at the Transformers - The Yoga
Studio.Venue: Naxal, time: 6 pm to 7 pm., charge for 21 days: Rs. 3500/-.
Limited seats available. For further details 9841019111.
‘Weaving Art & Change in Nepal’ - The Australian Embassy Presents a collaboration
between Kumbheshwar Technical School & Australian Artists - An Exhibition
of limited edition of carpets, sculptures, artists’ books and paintings from
23rd September to 7th October 2012 at Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal
Revisited, Kathmandu. 11:00 am - 5:00 pm, daily. Contact: 4218048
Handwriting Improvement Workshop: Handwriting Improvement Workshop from
9th Sept to 10th Oct ‘2012. Say GOODBYE to BAD Handwriting.
To register call 9841280251.
FINE CUISINE
Bar-Be-Que Brunch Bazaar- Make your gourmet journey memorable for lifetime
with all live counters serving in one place. Every Saturday at poolside garden of
Gokarna Forest Resort, Kathmandu from 12 noon to 2:30PM at NRs. 1999
NET per person. For more information contact: 4451212
Enjoy the real taste of Tibetan Gyakok and free wi-Fi Internet at Boudha Stupa
Restaurant and Cafe Boudha tel:012130681.
Baithak allows you to be a part of the Feast of the Rana Maharajas, experience
the Authentic Nepali food along with the culture programme with the historic
atmosphere. Contact: 014267346
Cafereena a multi-cuisine restaurant located in the heart of city with the terrace
beer garden turned up with the motto “Feed Your Passion”, Cafereena aims to
be the most exclusive and unique restaurant offering the best lineup of
cuisines. Contact: 014231313(durbarmarg)/ 015009122(Jhamsikhel)
Smoky Charcoal and Hot Stone BBQ Dinner at Splash Bar and Grill, Radisson Hotel
Kathmandu from 14th September onwards every Friday at Rs. 1199 plus
taxes from 18:30 hrs. to 22:00 hrs. Contact: 4411818 Ext. 1302.
EVENT
“Oktoberfest”- A complete German Buffet with a free flow of beer at The Terrace
Garden, New Wing, Radisson Hotel Kathmandu. Fridays: 5th and 12th October
& Saturdays: 6th and 13th October 2012.Time: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Price:
Rs. 1299 plus taxes per person. Contact: 4411818 Ext. 1301 / 1312
Changa Chait 2069: Annual Kite Flying Festival to usher in the spirit of Dashain, at
Club Himalaya, Nagarkot on 13th October 2012, 11:00 AM onwards. Food
Festival, Live Band, Kids Zone and many more. Contact 016680080
Experience your holiday at Kingfisher Jungle Resort at Shukranagar, Meghauli
Chitwan. One night and two days at Rs 3500 and two nights and three days at
Rs 6000. Elephant safari,Canoeing and Nature walk fee to pay extra at the resort
pickup and drop to Narayanghat.Residential package at Rs 30,000 per
month. Contact: Rudra Raj Dotel 9849 059295, Kathmandu
Office: 4260329, Resort: 056 69 4490.
For listing in this column, mail your events to
engagements@thehimalayantimes.com
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Across: 1 Affected or vain persons;
dandies (4)3 Buried underground
(8)9 ___ the fire : making the fire
burn brighter ? (7)10 A secret or illicit
love affair (5)11 `H’ in the alphabet
? (6,6)14 Gargantuan, barbarous
or outrageous (9)17 A system
of names for organizational
purposes (12)22 Part of the leg between
hip and knee (5)23 Science
of navigation (7)24 Photoelectric
device used for automatic control ?
8
9 10
11 12
21
14 15 16
17 18 19 20
22 23
24 25
Quick Clues
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1100 News
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2115 Diya aur Baati Hum
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Hai
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Naam Doon?
2345 Arjun
13
(5,3)25 __ __ example : e.g. ?
(2,2).
Down: 1 To make secure (8)2 A
pointed projection (5)4 “Gel in”
anagram for a man’s name ? (5)5
Praise to the skies (5)6 Hysteric
crowds or those on a rampage ?
(7)7 Wait Until ____ : suspenseful
movie of yesteryears ? (4)8 Young
one of a cat (6)12 The organ of
hearing (3)13 Physically present ?
(6,2)14 Attaching boat etc. to a
fixed object (7)15 Male child (3)16
STARWORLD
1615 Glee
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2015 The Simpsons
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Pa 2012
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Series 2012: China
Open
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2012: Sacramento
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Kastles
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Series H/ls
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1800 Red Riding Hood
(2011)
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Whatever I Am, You
Made Me
2045 True Blood: We’ll Meet
Again
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Episode 6
CINEMAX
1010 Breakdown
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Make Them Die
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2120 From Dusk Till Dawn
2305 Shutter Island
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POTPOURRI
DENNIS Hank Ketcham
HOCUS FOCUS Henry Boltinoff
Himalayan Double Crossword — 5743
You cannot see through this type of
glass (6)18 Set of moral principles
(5)19 Something sweet to eat ?
(5)20 Parts of a larger social group
(5)21 Thing or article (4).
Cryptic Clues
Across: 1 Went into liquidation ?
(4)3 Some cars in Derby, say, will
bypass road works (8)9 An embarrassed
example for rusty fighter (3-
4)10 Claw indigenous to Bosche
Lake (5)11 Foreigner giving money
for making tableware maybe
(6,6)14 Church leaders share rich
spoils (9)17 No more progress to be
made here (3,2,3,4)22 Raises the
spirits of young fellows around university
(5)23 Wax mammal and insect
forms (7)24 The little bird had
the right tohave been in front,
though last here (8)25 Some judges
have quite a few to drink, first to
last (4).
Down: 1 Shoulder no responsibility
? (5,3)2 In London a direct indication
of how low one can sink (5)4
Assistants who provide ideas (5)5
Beat-up windshield sticker perhaps
(5)6 Unity makes no sense (7)7
Item of data (4)8 Representative
opening after leave ends (6)12 Suffix
that is right ? (3)13 They did
smash into instruments! (8)14
Worker, dismissed, gets dole
(4,3)15 Service provided a long way
up (3)16 She’s from an island in a
secret and distant place (6)18 Beginning
of Nineties saw exciting,
timely initiatives (5)19 State organisation
makes sense (5)20 They’re
wild in central Africa (5)21 Competent
Hollywood star’s no good (4).
Yesterday’s Solution
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THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
Himalayan
Baidhya stresses on
roundtable conference Himalayan News Service
table conference which will give a be, to
Kathmandu, October 10
way out of the crisis,” he said.
The CPN-M chief also lambastcom-
CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan ed the UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Con-
Baidhya today said they would gress and CPN-UML – the three
announce the ethnicity-based major political forces – saying
federal units from the streets if the that they are fighting only for
parties did not agree to find solu- power, instead of safeguarding
tion to the problem through the the national interest and na-
roundtable conference.
tionalism.
The UCPN-Maoist’s breakaway He went on to say a gov-
CPN-Maoist has been calling for a ernment comprising patri-
roundtable meet among the parotic, federalists and republities
to settle the political and concans would only give a solustitutional
crisis that cropped up tion to the crisis.
since the dissolution of the Con- “Bhattarai and Dahal
stituent Assembly on May 27. want to hang on to the gov-
Inaugurating the opening cereernment at any cost; whereas
mony of the first convention of the NC and UML do not want
the National People’s Volunteers to budge without the govern-
(NPV), a youth wing akin to that ment led by them,” Baidhya
of the UCPN-Maoist’s Young said, adding that, the problem
Communist League (YCL), at Bas- would remain unresolved without
antapur, Baidhya said, “We will the patriotic, republican and fed-
take to the streets. We will hold eralist forces coming to power. plete
roundtable conference in the Baidhya blamed Bhattarai and the un-
streets and visit all the districts Dahal of turning into a neo-confinished tasks
and announce then and there the servative force after falling into of revolution.
ethnicity-based federal units and the hands of foreigners. He ac- Party leaders said that the NPV
a new constitution.”
cused both leaders of forgetting would be formed comprising
Baidhya claimed that neither the spirit of revolution. “We will people from disqualified PLA
the revival of the dissolved Con- shoulder the responsibility of fighters and others who have prestituent
Assembly nor a fresh CA completing the incomplete Nepaferred voluntary retirements and
election would give solution to li revolution,” he said, adding that dissatisfied YCL members of the
the problem. “It is only the round- they would take up arms, if need UCPN-Maoist.
Task force presents
report on foreign
employment
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
The Task Force under the
High Level Monitoring
Mechanism (HLMM)
formed to curb wrongdoings
in foreign employment
sector today submitted
its report to Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister Narayan Kaji
Shrestha.
Presenting the report,
the Task Force Coordinator
Shankar Koirala, a Joint
Secretary of Ministry of
Home Affairs, briefed
Shrestha about the
progress of the committee
in curbing misconducts in
foreign employment business
since the HLMM and
the Task Force’s formation
on August 25.
Koirala, in today’s meeting
held at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs this afternoon,
presented a litany of
reform measures in providing
service to those who go
to foreign employment
and the government’s
move to reduce the wrongdoings.
Koirala briefed that his
team inspected the Tribhuvan
International Airport
as many as 11 times to curb
the so-called networks of
foreign employment agents,
airport security teams
and immigration officials
— infamously known as
airport setting — in order
to through migrant workers
unlawfully.
In this connection, he
further said, as many as
117 fake passports and two
rackets were busted by officials
deployed from the
Central Intelligence Bureau,
according to a statement
issued by the MoFA.
Similarly, Koirala also
apprised that the team has
already installed CCTV in
the Tribhuvan International
Airport and Immigration
Department to inspect and
observe any wrongdoings
in the name of foreign employment
live.
The meeting also made
conclusion that since the
formation of the HLMM
and its task force, the ratio
misconducts in foreign
employment business
have been reduced.
Secretary at the Prime
Minister’s Office Dharanidhar
Khatiwada, Home Secretary
Nabin Ghimire,
Labour Secretary Somlal
Subedi and Officiating Foreign
Secretary Arjun Bahadur
Thapa were present
at the review meeting.
Addressing the meeting,
DPM Shrestha apprised
that ground works are underway
in order to open
embassies and consulate
generals in most needy
countries, including Bahrain
and Jeddah of
Saudi Arabia.
He also said the Government
of India has been
urged to assist in stopping
of those Nepalis who want
to go for foreign employment
through illegal channels
and fly via India.
NATIONAL
Koirala holds prime minister
responsible for current crisis
News Service
Tikapur, October 10
Nepali Congress President
Sushil Koirala today held Prime
Minister Baburam Bhattarai
responsible for dissolving
the Constituent Assembly
and staging a political
coup on May 27.
Inaugurating the
training programme
of district presidents
and mahasamiti
members of the farwest
region in
Kailali’s Tikapur,
Koirala said, “Bhattarai
staged a political
coup on May 27.
As a result, the country
has plunged into
political morass.”
Koirala went on to say
that the Maoists had lost the
trust of the opposition parties
due to its unilateral decision on
dissolving the Constituent Assembly.
He said his party can no longer trust
UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal
Dahal.
“It is the NC that brought the Maoists
into mainstream politics from the jungle.
But, we cannot trust them now for all their
double standards,” Koirala added. He also
charged that UCPN-Maoist was befuddling
the political landscape by frequently
shifting its decision between revival of the
dissolved CA and fresh polls.
Koirala said explicitly that the resurrection
of the dead Constituent Assembly
would not be acceptable to his party.
Coming down heavily on the Maoists,
NC chief accused them of betraying the
people and country at large. “Six years
have passed hoping for the consensus.
But Maoists always throttled the consensus,”
he added.
On his part NC senior leader Sher Bahadur
Deuba stressed on the need to promulgate
a new constitution by reviving
the dissolved Constituent Assembly.
“Otherwise, the country has to conduct
two polls,” he added.
However, he maintained, the country
cannot bear the economic burden for two
elections.
Deuba argued that a separate state
comprising nine districts of the far-west
would help to develop the region rapidly.
“Tharu community will get more opportunities
if the nine districts are included
in the state,” he added.
NC Vice-president Ramchandra Paudel
accused the UCPN-Maoist of keeping the
country in state of limbo by budging from
revival of the dead CA and fresh polls.
“The UCPN-Maoist is bemusing the
country and people constantly by shifting
its stance between CA revival and fresh
polls,” he said.
Similarly, General Secretary Prakashman
Singh accused the UCPN-Maoist of
trying to capture the state.
• ONCE-OVER
Girls held for fraud
PHIDIM: Police on Wednesday held
two girls who were seeking to procure
passports by submitting fake documents
from Panchthar District Administration
Office. Rajani Gurung
(19) and Pranisha Bhujel (23) of
Phidim-1 were arrested when they
were trying to procure passports by
using fake citizenship certificates.
According to Assistant Chief District
Officer Yagya Prasad Acharya, the
administration has initiated action
against the duo. – HNS
Journo gets life threat
DAILEKH: Journalist Kabiraj BC of
Dailekh has received threatening
calls from some unidentified person.
According to him, an unidentified
person had called him up at about 8
pm on Tuesday and threatened him
for life without citing any reason. BC
has filed a complaint with the police
on Wednesday. He works for the ABC
Television and Gorkhapatra daily. – HNS
Police rescue girl
DHUKIKHEL: Binita BK of Sindhupalchok
district was rescued on
Wednesday, three days after she was
abducted from Dhulikhel. A team of
police led by ASI Shivaraj Baral rescued
the girl, informed SP Gita Uprety.
Anju Shrestha (18) who was suspected
to have kidnapped the girl was
handed over to the police today. – HNS
PAGE 5

PAGE 6 www.thehimalayantimes.com
NATIONAL
DEO cracks
down on
illegal
schools
Himalayan News Service
Illam, October 10
District Education Office
Ilam today padlocked four
private schools which are
running illegally in the district.
The closed schools are
Chamaita English Pratistan,
Garden Boarding School of
Kanyam, Siddhartha Valley
Boarding School of Kanyam
and Golden Flower Boarding
School.
According to Under Secretary
Gahendra Dahal, the
monitoring team also took
away the attendance register
of the teachers and students,
bill pads, stamps and other
important documents from
the schools.
The DEO has started monitoring
the schools after
receiving information from
the Resource Centre that
over 21 private schools are
running illegally in the academic
year.
The documents of five
schools have already been
seized by the monitoring
team and they are planning
to monitor the other remaining
schools before Dashain,
said Dahal.
District Education Officer
Dilanath Puri said that
they would take necessary
action against the schools
which are running illegally
and the schools will be
closed from which the monitoring
team has seized its
documents.
Puri further said that the
office has sent the notice
time and again to take the
permission, but the operators
neglected the warning.
The District Education Office
had monitored the
schools with the help of
the Nepal Police and Armed
Police Force.
‘Govt to take decision within a week’
Himalayan News Service
Pokhara, October 10 • REGIONAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
in the previous agreement.
He assured them that the International
Airport would be
Chief Secretary Leela Mani struction.
be “taken within a week about ing peaceful protests so far, but constructed at any cost.
Paudel today said the govern- He met the PCCI members new process,” he added. if the government ignores Tourism trader Bashu Tripathi
ment would take the decision on his way back to Kathmandu Placating the PCCI mem- there genuine cause then they said that many festivals as
regarding the construction of from Myagdi.
bers, the chief secretary said he will be compelled to stage Dashain, tihar and chhath are
the Regional International Paudel made it clear saying is also from the western region stern protests.
approaching so it would be
Airport in Pokhara within a though the government is seri- and assured them that he will Paudel reached Pokhara to- better to postpone the strike.
week.
ous about the construction of work to provide compensation day to address the locals who Much on the same line, for-
Speaking to the representa- the International Airport in to the ones whose land has have been staging relay strike mer chairperson of PCCI Krtives
of the Pokhara Chamber Pokhara it could not ahead been encroached for the con- at the airport. He informed ishna Mohan Shrestha said
of Commerce and Industry with the earlier arrangement struction of airport.
that the Tourism Ministry is that they will discuss about
(PCCI), Paudel assured them as it found the processes During the discussion, working on the new agreement the postponement of the strike
that the government is serious flawed.
members of the PCCI told as there were some differences as the festive season is ap-
about the issue of airport con- However, a decision would Paudel that they have been do- in the laws of Nepal and China proaching.
Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudel addressing the participants of a hunger strike for the
proposed Regional International Airport in Pokhara on Wednesday.
Teachers boycott classes in Rajbiraj
Himalayan News Service
Rajbiraj, October 10
Part-time teachers at the Rajbiraj-based
Mahendra Bindeshwori
Campus, who have been
agitating for the past few days
with a five-point demand including
the demand for appointment
on contract basis, have
boycotted classes from today.
They also padlocked the
campus main gate today. Citing
the non-implementation of the
assurance given to them by
then campus chief Devidatta
Sah that they would be appointed
on contract basis and
their remuneration would be
on par with other teachers, the
part-time teachers have resorted
to the agitation again.
Four days ago, they had also
padlocked the campus chief’s
office as well as accounts, administration
and exam sections.
THT
After the talks between the
campus administration and the
teachers failed to bear any fruit,
they have decided to boycott
their classes from today.
The teachers have accused
the administration of neglecting
their demands. “We are in
favour of solving the problem
and expect everyone’s cooperation,”
said Nepal Part-time
Teachers Association Chairperson
Nanda Kishor Yadav.
EU hands over energy
project to Nepal
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
European Union handed
over the Renewal Energy
Project (REP) to Nepal government
today.
The project – infrastructure
development for renewal
electricity generation – has
benefitted one million rural
population from all the 21
districts in the country.
Dr Alexander Spachis,
head of the European Union
Delegation to Nepal, said
that the REP is a successful
example of a joint undertaking
between the Government
of Nepal and the EU
that has made a significant
contribution in improving
the quality of life in rural areas
of the country.
“Nepal attaches top priority
to tap the immense renewable
energy potential
that it possesses for reducing
poverty through promoting
inclusive, green and sustainable
economic development,”
said the ambassador.
Despite the huge potentials
in hydro power generation,
the country could not
able to produce it said
Spachis. “The post-conflict
period and political instability
has delayed the comple-
tion of the project,” he said,
urging for sustainable
awareness and replication of
the programme.
The project was carried
out at the cost the EUR
15.675 million to which the
European Union contributed
EUR 15 million;
while the Government of
Nepal had invested EUR 675,
000 through its Alternative
Energy Promotion Centre
(AEPC).
The REP has established
the foundation for rural
communities in Nepal to
move towards the sustainable
use of resources, conservation
of the environment
and enhancement of
their local economies.
The project has also provided
solar systems to over
206 health posts, 378 schools,
29 community computer
literacy programmes, 59
community entertainment
centres and 124 community
telecommunication centres.
The REP has also put renewable
energy infrastructures
in remote rural areas to
facilitate income generation,
sustainable growth and delivery
of social services for
poverty alleviating by installing
of 933 Photovoltaic
and 38 thermal systems.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
• ONCE-OVER
Vehicles plying via landslide
damaged road section of Helambu
Road near Phedi on Wednesday.
Shops monitored
THT
LEKHANATH: In view of possible
malpractices during the festive season,
authorities today monitored
shops at Lekhanath Chowk and
Gagangauda in Kaski district. A team
led by Antar Bahadur Silwa, Assistant
Chief District Officer, Kaski, with the
help of representatives of the local
consumer forum, Standards and Meteorology
Office, FNCCI Lekhanath
chapter and journalists visited shops
in Lekhanath Chowk. The team visited
a number of shops and instructed
the shop owners to keep price list at
their outlets. Some substandard and
date-expired food items including
soft drinks and cooking oil were
seized and destroyed during the
monitoring drive. The team also instructed
local grocery stores to abide
by the government-set MRP list. —HNS
Police beef up security
BIRATNAGAR: Morang police have
beefed up security in and around Biratnagar
from today as robbery cases
have gone up in the area. Morang’s
DSP Uma Prasad Chaturbedi said the
security has been tightened after they
received a tip off that a gang of robbers
from Bihar had entered Biratnagar.
Police claimed that the same
gang was behind the robberies that
took place during last year’s Dashain-
Tihar and Chhath festivals. Police
surmised that the gang comprises
around 30 members. Chaturbedi
said, “Some of them are on India’s
Most Wanted list.” A 16-member
police team has been formed to nab
the two criminals identified with the
help of a bank’s CCTV. — HNS

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
INTERNATIONAL
• THE WORLD OVER
Lirak Bejko, 47, a former Albanian
political prisoner setting fire to
himself in Tirana on Wednesday.
Authorities say a second former
political prisoner has set himself on
fire to protest delays in government
compensation for victims of the
communist regime.
French terror plot
AP / RSS
PARIS: French police discovered
bomb-making materials in an underground
parking lot near Paris as part
of a probe of an “extremely dangerous
terrorist cell” linked to an attack
on a kosher grocery, a state prosecutor
said on Wednesday. Paris prosecutor
Francois Molins said the discovery
late on Tuesday in Torcy, east of
the capital, led authorities to invoke a
rarely used legal clause to allow them
to extend questioning of the 12 suspects
by a day - and possibly two. Authorities
have been on high alert for
possible terror attacks by radical Islamists
after a man who claimed links
to Al-Qaeda shot and killed three Jewish
children, a rabbi and three paratroopers
in southern France in
March. — AP
Court-martial files
WASHINGTON: The US military’s
highest court is hearing arguments
on whether the American public
should have access to written records
in the court-martial of an Army private
charged with giving reams of
classified information to the secretsharing
website WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks
and its founder Julian Assange are
among those represented by the New
York-based Centre for Constitutional
Rights at the hearing on Wednesday
before the Court of Appeals for
Armed Forces in Washington. They
are seeking reversal of a lower court
order denying them access to written
motions, opinions and other records
that are generally available in civilian
courts. — AP
Democrats
on edge
Associated Press
Washington, October 10
It’s more than President
Barack Obama’s lacklustre
debate performance that
has some Democrats on
edge a month from Election
Day.
Party loyalists, in Washington
and in battleground
states are fretting
that Obama’s campaign
has been slow to rebound
after Republican Mitt
Romney’s commanding
debate. They’re worried
that the Democratic ticket
isn’t aggressive enough in
blocking Romney’s postdebate
pivot to the political
centre. And they fear
Romney’s new effort to
show a softer side gives
the Republican nominee
an opening with female
voters, who are crucial to
the president’s re-election
prospects. “I’m not feeling
very positive,” said Awilda
Marquez, a prominent
Democrat in Colorado. “I
know it’s only the first debate,
but he can’t seem to
change the relentless negative
coverage. Romney
has been able to take control.”
Her nervousness
was echoed by roughly a
dozen Democrats in interviews
across the country
this week before Obama’s
next opportunity to get his
campaign back on track -
Vice President Joe Biden’s
debate Thursday against
Republican Paul Ryan.
Obama’s campaign says
it’s sticking to its homestretch
plan and doesn’t
expect major strategy
changes. Nevertheless it’s
seeking to reassure handwringing
Democrats that
key factors still favour the
president.
Turkey vows more force
against Syrian shelling
Associated Press
Ankara, October 10
Turkey’s military chief vowed today
to respond with more force
to any further shelling from Syria,
keeping up the pressure on its
southern neighbor a day after
NATO said it stood ready to defend
Turkey.
General Necdet Ozel was inspecting
troops who have been
put on alert along the 910-kilometre
border with Syria after a
week of cross-border artillery
and mortar exchanges escalated
tensions between the neighbours,
sparking fears of a wider
regional conflict. Turkey has reinforced
the border with artillery
guns and also deployed more
fighter jets to an air base close to
the border region since shelling
from Syria killed five Turkish
civilians last week.
“We responded and if the
shelling continues, we will respond
with more force,” the private
Dogan news agency quoted
Ozel as saying during a visit to
the town of Akcakale. Yesterday,
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen
said the alliance was
ready to defend Turkey, its
strongest show of support to its
UK to police
social media
Reuters
London, October 10
Britain’s Crown Prosecution
Service is holding discussions
on laws governing social media,
with the aim of publishing
guidelines by Christmas, after
a flurry of cases concerning inflammatory
Twitter and Facebook
comments.
Police have expressed concern
about growing number of
such cases. This week alone,
two people have been sentenced
for social media offences.
Teenager Matthew
Woods was sentenced on
Monday to 12 weeks in jail for
offensive jokes on Facebook
about missing Welsh five-yearold
April Jones.
A day later Azhar Ahmed,
20, was given 240 hours of
community service after writing
"all soldiers should die and
go to hell" on Facebook following
the death of six British
soldiers in Afghanistan.
ally since the firing began.
The solidarity, however, is
largely symbolic. NATO member
Turkey has sought backing in
case it is attacked, but despite
publicly supporting Syria’s rebels
Ankara isn’t seeking direct intervention.
And the alliance is
thought to be reluctant to get involved
militarily at a time when
its main priority is the war in
Afghanistan.
Syrian activists, meanwhile,
said the rebel units of the Free
Syrian Army took control of
Maaret al-Numan, a strategic
city along the main highway in
Idlib province that connects the
central city of Homs with northern
city of Aleppo and the capital
Damascus.
Fadi Yassin, an activist in
Maarat al-Numan told the AP on
Skype that rebels are in control of
the town, although fierce fighting
continued around the military
barracks in the eastern part
today, three days after the FSA
launched a “liberation battle,” he
added.
“The city has been liberated,”
Yassin said of the biggest city in
Idlib province with a population
of 130,000.
Holding on to Maaret al-Nu-
Associated Press
Stockholm, October 10
Two American researchers won
the Nobel Prize in chemistry today
for studies
of protein receptors
that let
body cells
sense and respond
to outside
signals like
danger or the
flavour of food.
Such studies
are key for de-
veloping better drugs.
The Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences said Robert Lefkowitz
and Brian Kobilka had made
groundbreaking discoveries,
mainly in the 1980s, on an important
family of receptors,
known as G-protein-coupled receptors.
About half of all medications
act on these receptors, including
beta blockers and antihista-
man would be a significant
achievement for the rebels, enabling
them to cut the army’s
main supply route to two battered
cities of Aleppo and Homs,
both of which came under bombardment
from the regime’s helicopters
and artillery today, according
to activists.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu
Agency reported fighting between
Syrian rebels and forces
loyal to Syrian President Bashar
Assad’s regime around the Syrian
town of Azmarin, in Idlib
province, across from the Turkish
border. It said Syrians were
fleeing homes in the Azmarin region,
some crossing into Turkey
on rowing boats over the river
Orontes.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, who has been
fiercely critical of Assad, said today
that Syria was “the bleeding
heart of humanity and the whole
Islamic world.”
Erdogan told a meeting of the
Islamic Conference in Istanbul
that Turkey had refrained from
responding to half a dozen shells
from Syria, but when five people
were killed last week “we had to
retaliate in the strongest way that
we could.”
American scientists win
Chemistry Nobel
Lefkowitz
mines, so learning about them
will help scientists to come up
with better drugs. The human
body has about 1,000 kinds of
such receptors, structures on the
surface of cells,
which let the
body respond
to a wide variety
of chemical
signals, like
adrenaline.
Some receptors
are in the
Kobilka
nose, tongue
and eyes, and
let us sense smells, tastes and
light.
Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator
at the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute and professor at
Duke University Medical Center
in Durham, North Carolina.
Kobilka, 57, worked for
Lefkowitz at Duke before transferring
to Stanford University
School of Medicine in California,
where he is now a professor.
PAGE 7
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta addressing a press meet next to NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (left), Supreme Allied Commander Europe US Navy
Admiral James Stavridis (second right) and US Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford
(first right) during a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
Benghazi attack:
State department
toes Republicans
Associated Press
Washington, October 10
The State Department
now says it never believed
the September
11 attack on the US
consulate in Benghazi,
Libya, was a film
protest gone awry,
giving congressional
Republicans new fodder
for criticising the
Obama administration’s
initial accounts
of the assault. The
State Department’s
extraordinary break
with other administration
offices came in
a department briefing
yesterday, where officials
said “others” in
the executive branch
concluded initially
that the protest was
based, like others in
the Middle East, on a
film that ridiculed the
Prophet Mohammad.
That was never the
department’s conclusion,
a senior official
told reporters.
The Republican-led
House Oversight and
Government Reform
Committee holds a
hearing today on
diplomatic security in
the attack that killed
US Ambassador to
Libya Chris Stevens
and three other Amer-
icans. The attack has
become a political
football in the final
weeks before the election.
The committee’s
chairman, Republican
Darrell Issa, a California
Republican,
has accused the State
Department of turning
aside pleas from
its diplomats in Libya
to increase security in
the months and
weeks before the attack
in Benghazi.
One scheduled witness
today, Eric Nordstrom,
is the former
chief security officer
for US diplomats in
Libya who told the
committee his pleas
for more security were
ignored.
Briefing reporters
ahead of the hearing
yesterday, department
officials were
asked about the administration’s
initial
— and since retracted
— explanation linking
the violence to
protests over an
American-made anti-
Muslim video circulating
on the Internet.
One official responded,
without specifying,
that it was a question
for others to answer.
Romney
braces for
Ohio battle
Associated Press
Washington, October 10
Reuters
Republican challenger Mitt Romney
is spending a second day in Ohio today,
a must-win state in the November
election, as he tries to build on a
shift in momentum that has him closing
in on President Barack Obama after
the incumbent’s dismal performance
last week in the first presidential
debate.
No Republican candidate has ever
won the White House without carrying
Ohio, the Midwestern state that
Obama also visited a day earlier. He
returned to the White House after a
fundraising trip through California
and a stop yesterday at Ohio State
University, where he urged students
to cast their ballots early.
Romney is trying to drive home his
economic message in the key state
where Obama has held a significant
polling advantage because of his decision
early in his presidency to
pump vast amounts of federal money
into the failing auto industry. Since
then Ohio’s economy, which is heavily
dependent on that industry, has
fared better than most states, with
unemployment falling to levels below
that national average.
As the tight race for the presidency
grows closer, US voters still say that
fixing the struggling economy and accelerating
the creation of jobs is uppermost
in their minds with Election
Day less than a month away.
“This economy is not creating the
jobs it should. We’ve got to fix it,”
Romney said yesterday in Cuyahoga
Falls, Ohio. “We’re going to do it here
in Ohio.”

PAGE 8 www.thehimalayantimes.com
TheHimalayan
T I M E S
A THOUGHT FOR T ODAY
For an impenetrable shield,
stand inside yourself.
—Thoreau
Grim scenario
The economy of the country is in troubled waters
for a number of reasons. While the manufacturing
sector is working below capacity, the agricultural sector
too is not looking up. A few years back the realty
sector had seen an unprecedented boom period but
it was soon to collapse. In a way the liquidity crunch
seen in the banking sector was mostly an impact of
the borrowers defaulting on their repayment. With
that the realty sector was in deep crisis with many an
apartment blocks remaining incomplete for the lack
of funds. Even those entrepreneurs who had managed
to sell apartments on advance payment could
not complete them to hand them over to the person
or institution making the booking. The state has
reached such a proportion that many a loan defaulters
have been listed in the blacklist. An interesting
fact has emerged that the defaulters have been seen
to be issuing cheques that bounce. Such a situation
has made life difficult for banks and financial institutions,
particularly with the realty sector going
through hard times.
It is seen that the development of the realty sector
is important from the perspective of the economic
recovery. With the huge amount locked in the realty
sector, the BFIs are also facing bleak times, and have
not been able to reduce the interest rates for loans
which has discouraged investors. Therefore, it is seen
that only the realty sector
coming out of the vicious
The situation calls circle can see economic
for brainstorming revival provided the government
too pitches in its
to find out the contribution in the form
ways and means of spurring development
activities. However, at the
so that the overall moment with only one-
economy could be third of the budget allocated,
the development
propped up on activities have been hit
firm footing
hard. So, the need is for
some sort of strategy to
jumpstart the realty sector which will go to make input
in other sectors of the economy. However, with
the caretaker government focussing only on its clinging
onto power, it looks as if it is not going to do anything
for the revival of the sagging economy.
Reasoning has it that development activities are vital
for economic growth. With it not only are employment
opportunities thrown open to manpower, production
and sale of construction and other goods
among others. The service sector would see new avenues
to explore. That explains for bailing out the realty
sector out of the mire that it has been trapped in.
If that can be done, not only the realty sector but also
the banks and financial institutions will be rescued
and the positive effects can be sensed in every sector
of the economy. The creation of blacklist of the loan
defaulters alone does not help except for identifying
the defaulters and assisting the BFIs from making
any loans to them. The situation is indeed unique,
but the government is not paying any attention to
this grim scenario which will have a grave repercussion
as time advances. Without the recovery of the
loans made, the BFIs have only the option of auctioning
the collateral, and in these crisis-ridden times
there is a paucity of buyers wanting to invest in the
realty sector. So, the situation calls for brainstorming
to find out the means and ways so that the overall
economy could be propped up on firm footing.
Rural development
The economy of the country is in doldrums basically
because of the lopsided development of the
rural region as compared to the urban areas. The focus
on urban areas has not changed despite the high
need to see the rural areas rise up on the economic
front. The outflow of manpower from the villages for
foreign employment too has impacted on the agricultural
activities there. Yet, the government priorities
for rural development has not been adequate.
Moreover, the growing employment opportunities in
the urban centres, particularly Kathmandu valley, is
also seeing people landing up here. But, the fact remains
that without the development of the rural areas,
the overall development of the urban areas is not
possible.
Rural development is an input for urban development.
But, in Nepal, the imbalance remains as far as
rural development is concerned. Now, in the rural areas
agriculture is the predominant occupation, but
agricultural activities have not scaled new heights as
it should so the contribution to GDP is not satisfactory.
For balanced development to take place policies
and programmes must strike the right chord for rural
as well as urban areas.
• LETTERS
Democratic
way out
Some scholars in Nepal seem to
believe that new CA polls to get
a fresh mandate is undoubtedly
the most democratic path for a
democracy. I, however, would
like to disagree with them. The
truth is the fact that the political
parties at present have
completely lost the mandate
of the people to decide
anything on their (people’s)
behalf. Any decision by the
political parties to go for the
CA-reinstatement or for a fresh
poll for a new CA would be
completely undemocratic. In
neighboring India, the Indian
President doe not have a
ceremonial job as most of
the Nepalese scholars seem to
believe. The President of Nepal
too is not a purely ceremonial
chair when we have a
parliament. After May 27, all the
executive powers delegated by
the supreme people of Nepal
have shifted to the President.
Any fresh election as decided by
the status-less parties would
be unconstitutional and
undemocratic. The most
democratic way ahead would
be the national referendum on
a pre-drafted republican
constitution that is drafted by
the expert-committee
appointed by the President.
The ratification of the draft
directly by the people would be
final and the most democratic.
Pragya Ananda, Kathmandu
Tragic
This is with reference to the
news “Seven-yr-old kills self for
20 rupees” (THT, Oct. 8, Page 1).
ISABEL GUERRERO
It is 2020. Vasu - a trucker
operating between India
and Bangladesh - is both
contributing to and benefiting
from an economic
boom. Every morning, he
loads up his truck with fabrics,
drives the 80 kilometers
to Bangladesh, is quickly
waved through the border,
offloads his cargo at the destination,
takes on a load of
low cost clothes, drives back
to India, and offloads the
goods into the container
ships awaiting at Kolkata’s
port.
The Indian transport infrastructure
logistics with
Bangladeshi apparel expertise
mean that Bangladeshi
garments are some of the
world’s most competitive.
Low transportation costs
also benefit Bangladeshi
import consumption, both
as inputs to its growing
manufacturing sector and
as final goods. And Vasu
is now part of India’s
growing middle class,
affording a comfortable
house in Kolkata’s metropolitan
area.
At the start of business,
life was not easy. Back in
2012, Vasu wasn’t allowed to
operate his truck within
Bangladesh. He had to offload
his cargo into a
Bangladeshi-owned truck –
a 10 hour affair on average
• TOPICS
PRATIBHA RAWAL
Once my father telephoned
me, he told me to leave
Bhairahawa and come to Kathmandu
as soon as possible to
join the Nepal Police. I was excited
that I had finally been given a
new lease of life. But, when I
arrived in Kathmandu, I came
to know that my parents had
fooled me.” Actually, they
wanted to admit me in the rehab
centre, says Sandeep Gautam.
He is a role model in Aasara
Rehabilitation Centre, who was
earlier an A-level student but
drugs led him to this rehab.
It’s been a year that he is not
taking drugs. Gautam further
adds, “Nothing can change a
person until he/she really wants
This accident reflects the
poverty in our country. This is a
reflection of the fact that the
economic growth has not been
adequate and poverty remains.
Poverty can be very cruel, like
the suicide of the young boy.
Since the government is
responsible for the situation
in the country, it must play a
curative role for poverty
alleviation. The government
must increase employment
opportunities within the
country so that the living
standard of the people can
be raised. If that happens, the
country is bound to become
prosperous.
Saroj Khadgi,
Basundhara,Kathmandu
Threat
This is with reference to your
Trade barrier-reduction in South Asia
Growth enhancement
— which took the cargo
to the factory. Bangladeshi
and Indian officials subjected
his truck to, on average,
78 hours of queuing and
customs. 80 per cent of
each trip was spent idling
his truck near the
Bangladesh border. As a
result, his truck was only
able to make 1/5th as many
trips in 2012 as compared to
2020.
Vasu is not the only beneficiary.
Delhi native Lakshmi,
an IT system designer,
had previously been shut
out of South Asian markets
because of low internet
penetration and expensive
intra-regional calls. Connectivity
also meant that
clean energy from Central
and South Asia is lighting
the homes of Azin in Herat
and Amir in Karachi. A
decade ago, 40 per cent of
the population was in the
dark and most with grid
connection suffered daily
power cuts.
Presently, the regional
borders are hampering
South Asia’s economic
growth by penalizing
efficient trade routes. Only
two borders —
Afghanistan/Pakistan and
India/Nepal — are open to
trucks. And then there is the
plethora of paperwork.
Complying with trade restrictions
in South Asia
takes an average of a month,
Wrong direction! Choose yours…
to change themselves, these
rehabs are only safe places for
us.” He is 25-year-old energetic
boy who has the aim to change
people’s behavior towards
drug addicts.
This is only one scenario of a
young boy; there are many
Sandeeps in our society. The role
of parents is very essential in
one’s life. But, when we look at
today’s world we can only find
big freedom given by parents to
their children. In parties, festivals
or any rituals we can see a
father and son drinking wine together
on the same table. Children
do not have any fear of
drinking alcohol in front of their
parents.
The parents also allow children
to have the drinks. But they
• BLOG SURF • CARTOON
For justice
ANJESH
Iunderstand people are and need to be sentimental;
otherwise they would be better
termed insane. But obstructing others in the
name of sentiment is not justifiable...there
was a long queue of vehicles all the way from
Gwarko - the most happening place in Kathmandu
in terms of accidents...i got senti and
just didn’t find any better place to pour my
emotions. I was moving here and there just
hoping for some space to squeeze through the
crowd and I ended up wasting my time, energy
and the most precious fuel. It took me an
hour to reach my destination which otherwise
would take maximum 20 minutes. If you calculate
the same for hundreds or even thousands
of others who faced similar circumstances,
how justifiable is the blocking of
road...I heard that there was some killing of a
person or some driver...That was definitely
wrong and the perpetrator should definitely
be brought behind bars. I don’t know how to
ask for justice - whether by blocking the road
or by asking for justice.—www.anjesh.blogspot.com
news article “Justice Bam
murder a threat to judiciary,
says probe report” (THT, Oct. 8,
Page 1). This is a serious news
and it’s a threat to everyone of
us. Though the criminals have
targeted and killed Justice Rana
Bahadur Bam as he was dealing
with the numerous fragile
With some effort, South Asia can reap
massive regional integration benefits. If
intra-regional trade is facilitated, cheaper
transport costs, wider markets, and broader
supply chains will reduce production costs
and expand jobs for the 1 to 1.2 million
young South Asians entering the labor
market each month
compared to 20 days in
Latin America and only 11
days in OECD countries.
The container shipment
within South Asia costs 25
per cent more than within
Latin America and 50 per
cent more than within
OECD.
These border issues result
in circuitous routes: trade
worry and hate their children
when the children use drugs.
Why? People who live in a
culture where there is a high
social acceptance of alcohol
use, those people can easily be
attracted towards drugs. The
parents are unaware of the fact
that this drink is the first step of
their children towards drugs.
Now, who is to be blamed:
the careless parents or their
free children?
“Our parents don’t want us
to return home because they
fear the society” said a resident
of the rehab centre. The reason
is that access to drugs is easy.
Parents do not know whether
their children are treading
the right path. As a result, 80 per
cent patients in rehabs are
cases. This has terrorized and
created fear among not only the
lawyers and justices but also
among the general people. The
people in general live in fear of
what waits for them round the
corner. Will they be able to
return home? These are the
questions that arises in the
from India to Pakistan goes
via Dubai rather than making
the short crossing over
land borders or from
Karachi to Mumbai. These
barriers may have risen out
of security concerns. But
poor infrastructure, logistics
and management systems
have compounded their
costs on trade competitive-
youngsters. It starts with their
experiment with drugs and then
addiction.
Usually, people use drugs or
alcohol to reduce tension,
problems etc. But, youngsters
basically use it for pleasure.
The parents are also responsible
for their ward’s addiction. In
fact, the freedom given to
the children is fine to some
extent, but too much of it can
be damaging. Youngsters may
fall into drug and alcohol
use through peer pressure.
All thoughts of the future is
forgotten. But, for the addicted,
it’s never too late to restart
their life with a new vision
and goal if they have the will and
determination, and proper
guidance.
mind of almost every citizen.
When even the high profile
government officers are not
safe, how can the general
people be safe? Various armed
groups and forces in the Tarai
are taking the responsibility
after committing crimes which
is a mockery of the police force.
Police are clueless in finding the
culprit even after the criminals
themselves take up the
responsibility. However, they
must keep on working to nab
the culprits and stop them from
committing crimes.
Moin Uddin,
Ghattekulo, Kathmandu
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
ness. For instance, the rail
network is largely inwardfacing
in South Asian countries
with few links between
countries. Track gauge
differences mean that trains
from one country cannot
run on another. The high
logistics and regulatory
costs must be factored
into all cross-border
shipping.
India and Pakistan have
attempted to decrease wait
times at their borders by implementing
customs reform
and system modernization.
These promising initiatives
need to be complemented
with broader systemic
changes – infrastructure, capacity
building, and autonomous
monitoring and
evaluation - to fully realize
the efficiency potential.
Energy deficits take a heavy
toll on South Asian
economies. South Asia has
large but unevenly distributed
energy resource potential
(across space and
seasons) which suggests
strong potential complementarities
in their primary
energy sources. For example,
Nepal, Bhutan and
Central Asia have ample hydropower
resources, but
developing this energy potential
is only profitable if
cross border trading occurs.
The region’s telecommunications
and electronic infrastructure
also need inte-
Letters to this column should be addressed to
Letters C/o Edit Page Editor,The Himalayan Times,
Post Box 11651,APCA House,
Baidya Khana Road, Kathmandu, Nepal
email: edit@thehimalayantimes.com,
Fax 0977-1-4771959
gration. It costs more than
twice as much to call from
Bangladesh to India as it
does to the United States.
The region has exorbitant
roaming rates. A Bhutanese
in India pays over $1 per
minute to make a roaming
call, 56 times the cost with
an Indian SIM card.
With some effort, South
Asia can reap massive
regional integration benefits.
If intra-regional trade
is facilitated, cheaper
transport costs, wider markets,
and broader supply
chains will reduce production
costs and expand jobs
for the 1 to 1.2 million young
South Asians entering
the labor market each
month. By 2020, reducing
regional trade barriers,
rationalizing transport
cross-border regulations,
simplifying customs procedures,
and facilitating
higher-tech and efficient
border control systems,
could result in a 17 per cent
increase in GDP for
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, a
15 per cent increase for India,
and a 5 percent increase
for Pakistan. Such gains
would reenergize South
Asia’s growth and allow a
million Vasus to realize the
true meaning of their names
– wealth.
Guerrero is Vice President,
South Asia region,
The World Bank
• THT 10 YEARS AGO
King still
silent on govt
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10, 2002
With the much-expected announcement
of the new government by
King Gyanendra failing to come about today
and the King not extending an invite
to leaders of the six major political parties
to the palace, the big six continued tuttuting
and calling for an agreement between
the monarch and democratic
forces to resolve the crisis. The King had,
in his address to the nation after sacking
the Sher Bahadur Deuba government last
Friday, asked the parties to submit names
of people with a clean image to be included
in the new cabinet. The parties,
however, responded by saying he should
give their representatives an audience.
They also registered a petition at the royal
palace. After its standing committee
meeting today, the Communist Party of
Nepal-UML said the King and the six parties
should come together and form a
new government since no force or individual
can single-handedly resolve the
crisis. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party
(RPP), following an emergency meeting
of its central working committee (CWC),
backed the royal intervention. In sharp
contrast, the Nepali Congress (Democratic),
after a meeting today said it would
hold rallies and public meetings after
Dashain, protesting the King’s dismissal
of the Deuba government and taking
over executive powers. The meeting, participated
by all the sister organisations of
the party, also discussed the financial
plan for the year ahead, said sources. The
Nepali Congress CWC, which met today,
raised concern over the recent political
developments and stated that the King’s
move, besides tarnishing his image,
would add to the existing unrest.
No cabinet but
government work
goes on
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10, 2002
There is no government in place but it
has not made a wee bit of difference
in government departments, if the officials
there are to be believed. The country
has been without an executive since King
Gyanendra dismissed the Sher Bahadur
Deuba cabinet. All the work is being carried
out smoothly except those at the
cabinet level, said officials. “Government
departments and secretariats are functioning
smoothly even in the absence of
the council of ministers,” said Purna
Prasad Manandhar, secretary of the cabinet
secretariat. However, he said that the
formation of the cabinet will definitely
help execute cabinet level decisions.
Narayan Silwal, secretary at the finance
ministry, confirmed that daily work at all
the departments of the government is
being carried out normally. He too added
that the formation of a government
would make things easier. Some government
employees said they have been carrying
out their duties without any difficulty.
“Everything is going well,” said a
government official requesting anonymity.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
NEIGHBOURS
• SNIPPETS
AP / RSS
A landless woman taking part in a
march near Agra on Wednesday.
The march for land pulled crowds.
Dormitory fire kills 12
BEIJING: Chinese state media said a
fire in a workers’ dormitory killed 12
people and injured 24 in northwestern
China on Wednesday. The official
Xinhua News Agency said the fire
broke out early on Wednesday in the
dormitory of a water diversion project
in Shaanxi province. However,
the cause of the blaze remains unknown.
— AP
Ship delivery delayed
NEW DELHI: Russia has delayed delivery
of a trouble-plagued aircraft
carrier for at least a year, a blow to India's
efforts to quickly build up naval
strength as increasingly assertive
Asian rival China expands its maritime
reach. Originally built as the
Admiral Gorshkov in the Soviet
Union, the $2.3 billion aircraft carrier
is being reconditioned and was due
to be ready this year, but problems
with the ship's boilers have pushed
the delivery date back several times.
"We believe the handover of the ship
will take place in the fourth quarter of
2013," Russian Defence Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov said at a news
conference in New Delhi. — Reuters
China’s Mars mission
BEIJING: China is planning to collect
samples from the surface of Mars by
2030, according to the chief scientist
of the country’s lunar orbiter project,
state media reported today.
Ouyang Ziyuan said the mission
would have three stages — remote
sensing, soft-landing and exploration,
and return after automatic
sampling, Xinhua news agency quoted
him as saying in a lecture organised
by the Chinese Society of Astronautics.
Ouyang also briefed attendees
on the tests and work to be carried
out by China’s lunar probe, the
Chang’e-3, which is expected to
touch down on the moon in the second
half of 2013. — AFP
Bounty for filmmaker
KABUL: A religious cleric in western
Afghanistan said on Wednesday he is
offering a $300,000 bounty to anyone
who kills the maker of an anti-Islam
film that has angered Muslims
around the world. Mir Farooq Hussini,
a cleric and the spokesman for an
organisation representing about 450
religious schools in Herat, made the
latest bounty offer. US federal prosecutors
said Mark Basseley Youssef, 55,
is behind the film. — AP
Ex-Maldives president released
Gets 25 days to respond to allegations
Agence France Presse
Male, October 10
The former president of the
Maldives was freed yesterday
after overnight detention
and given 25 days to answer
allegations that he abused
his powers while in office, officials
said.
Mohamed Nasheed, 45,
who resigned in February in
what he calls a coup, was arrested
and taken before a
three-judge bench after he
had ignored two court
summonses and violated an
order to remain on the capital
island Male.
“He denied the charges
against him and raised objections
to the process,” said
Shauna Aminath, an official
from Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic
Party (MDP).
“He has been asked to appear
before court on November
4 for the next hearing.”
Government spokesman
Masood Imad said Nasheed
was free to leave after yesterday’s
hearing.
“The court has given him 25
days to make a detailed submission
on the charges,” Imad
said.
Nasheed is accused of giving
an illegal order to the
military to arrest a senior
judge in January when he was
the president.
If convicted, he could be
jailed or banished to a remote
island for three years — a punishment
that could bar him
from future elections. The
next polls are scheduled to
take place by July next year.
The MDP maintained he
cannot expect a fair trial in the
Maldives and wants the government
to carry out judicial
reforms immediately.
“President Nasheed’s legal
team has already complained
about the extraordinary way
the trial is being conducted,”
an MDP statement said.
It said Nasheed’s lawyers
did not receive notifications
from the court about trial
dates.
“Instead, they are finding
this information out from
local media,” the statement
added.
Shooting of Pak
girl activist
sparks outrage
Associated Press
Peshawar, October 10
Many schools in Pakistan’s Swat
Valley closed their doors in protest
today and the country’s army chief
vowed to fight on against militants
as anger erupted across the nation
over the Taliban attack on a 14year-old
activist famed for promoting
girls’ education.
Malala Yousufzai was in the
intensive care unit at a military
hospital in Peshawar, recovering
from an early morning surgery to
remove a bullet from her neck a
day after the attack. A Pakistani official
said doctors thought she was
out of danger.
The shooting of Malala on her
way home from school yesterday
in Mingora in the volatile Swat Valley
horrified Pakistanis across the
religious, political and ethnic spectrum.
A Taliban gunman walked up
to a bus taking schoolchildren and
shot her in the head and neck. Another
girl on the bus was also
wounded.
The country’s top military officer,
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,
issued a strongly-worded statement
condemning the attack.
“In attacking Malala, the terrorists
have failed to grasp that she
is not only an individual, but an
icon of courage and hope who
vindicates the great sacrifices that
the people of Swat and the nation
A large number of supporters
turned up outside the
court in the capital Male. They
carried yellow flags of the
MDP and called for the release
of Nasheed who was arrested
by riot police on Monday.
The Maldives, better known
as a luxury holiday destination,
has been rocked by violent
protests over the past year
in a standoff between
Nasheed’s MDP and its opponents
who are now in power.
Nasheed, who won the first
free elections in the Maldives
in 2008, was forced out eight
months ago after prolonged
public demonstrations
against him and a mutiny by
police who took over the state
television broadcaster.
After his arrest on Monday,
he was held overnight at
Dhoonidhoo, a small prison
island near Male.
Human rights watchdog
Amnesty International accused
police of using excessive
force while detaining
Nasheed on an island in the
south of the archipelago
nation.
gave, for wresting the valley
from the scourge of terrorism,”
Kayani said.
He vowed the military would not
bow to terrorists like those who
shot the young activist. He also
visited the hospital to get a firsthand
account of her condition, the
statement said.
Malala is admired across Pakistan
for exposing the Taliban’s
atrocities and advocating for girls’
education in the face of religious
extremism. She began writing a
blog when she was just 11 under a
pseudonym for the BBC about life
under the Taliban, and began
speaking out publicly in 2009
about the need for girls’ education.
The Taliban strongly opposes education
for women, and the group
has claimed responsibility for the
Tuesday attack.
Private schools in the Swat Valley
were closed today in a sign of
protest over the shooting and in
solidarity with Malala, said Ahmed
Shah, the chairman of an association
of private schools.
The front pages of both Englishand
Urdu-language newspapers
were plastered with stories and
pictures of Malala. Television
channels constantly replayed
footage of her being taken to the
hospital in Peshawar as well as
clips from previous appearances
she’d made while promoting girls’
education.
Prize for Indian
sanitation plan
Agence France Presse
Geneva, October 10
An innovative scheme to provide rural Indian
communities with toilets and running water has
bagged the first Global+5 award in Geneva.
“It is more than water and sanitation, it’s human
dignity,” said Joe Madiath, head of the
Mantra project (Movement and Action network
for Transformation of Rural Lives) run by NGO,
Gram Vikas.
Madiath expressed surprise that a project involving
toilets “could lead to such a big prize.”
The Global+5 award, created by the Genevabased
Global Journal, is aimed at honouring the
“solutions to the most pressing global questions
of the next five years.”
Based in Orissa, Gram Vikas helps to provide
“blanket coverage” of toilets and piped running
water to communities where 85 per cent of the
population has no access to a toilet and 99 per
cent lives without running water.
So far, the Indian group says it has reached 988
villages, including those in hilly areas lacking
electricity, claiming its project has led to a more
than 80-per cent drop in waterborne disease.
Lack of basic sanitation is a widespread
problem in Indian homes, with census data
showing that more households have a telephone
than a toilet.
The award jury also praised six other projects
nominated for the award.
Female supporters of Amin Tehrik (peace movement) holding signs during a rally to condemn the attack on
schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai in Peshawar on Wednesday.
Bullet removed from Taliban-shot schoolchild
Reuters
Peshawar, October 10
Pakistani surgeons removed
a bullet today from a 14year-old
girl shot by the Taliban
for speaking out
against the militants and
promoting education for
girls, doctors said.
Malala Yousufzai was in
critical condition after gunmen
shot her in the head
and neck yesterday as she
left school. Two other girls
were also wounded.
Yousufzai began standing
up to the Pakistani Taliban
when she was just 11, when
the government had effectively
ceded control of the
Swat Valley where she lives
to the militants.
Her courage made her a
national hero and many
Pakistanis were shocked by
her shooting. General Ashfaq
Kayani, chief of Pak-
Afghanistan not headed for collapse: UN envoy
Associated Press
Kabul, October 10
The international community will
continue supporting Afghanistan
after US and NATO combat forces
leave the war-wracked nation by
the end of 2014, a top UN envoy has
said.
Jan Kubis said yesterday he heard
strong commitment for
Afghanistan at a recent UN Security
Council meeting and dismissed
predictions that the nation was
headed for collapse after the foreign
troops withdraw.
“That commitment is based not
on the expectation of seeing
Afghanistan collapsing after 2014,”
Kubis told reporters at a news conference
in Kabul. “On the contrary,
there is an expectation that
Afghanistan will work, will develop
with problems, with challenges,
with difficulties — maybe more
than now — but still will develop.”
Fears have been looming that
Afghanistan, which remains bitterly
divided and where ethnic tensions
still simmer, could again fracture
along ethnic lines once the foreigners
leave — as it did after the Soviet
exit from Afghanistan in the 1990s.
“The international community is
ready to do everything possible to
support Afghanistan and frankly, to
help Afghanistan not lapse into
these kind of doom-and-gloom
scenarios that are coming from different
places,” said Kubis, the UN
envoy to Afghanistan.
His remarks contrast those of
other experts and envoys, such as
Afghan troops standing to attention during an authority transfer ceremony in Kunar on Wednesday.
Reto Stocker, the outgoing head of
the International Red Cross mission
in the country, who said on
Monday that civilians remain in
greater danger and with less hope
for peace than when he arrived seven
years ago.
Also on Monday, the Brusselsbased
International Crisis Group’s
senior Afghan analyst Candace
Rondeaux warned of a “real risk
that the regime in Kabul could collapse”
after the NATO pullout.
She said the Afghan army and police
are overwhelmed and underprepared
for the transition and that
if the upcoming presidential election
is tainted by corruption, the
unrest that could follow would
push Afghanistan to a “breaking
point.’ However, Kubis said he was
encouraged by the work being done
by the Afghan government, the
election commission, civil society
institutions and political forces to
ensure the 2014 presidential election
is free and fair.
The constitution bars Afghan
President Hamid Karzai from running
for a third term.
“We have no other intention but
to support a good, democratic elec-
istan’s powerful army, visited
her in hospital and condemned
her attackers.
Doctors removed a bullet
from her body near her
spinal cord during a threehour
operation that they
finished at about 0000 GMT.
“She is still unconscious
and kept in the intensive
care unit,” said Mumtaz
Khan, head of a team of
doctors taking care of
Yousufzai in a military hos-
AP / RSS
tion in this country, including financial
support,” Kubis said,
adding that it’s still unclear how
much money the international
community will pledge to support
the election.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, clashes
broke out between Taliban fighters
and Afghan policemen in Archi
district of Kunduz province in the
north. Four policemen were killed,
said provincial police spokesman
Sarwar Hussaini.
The number of casualties among
Afghan security forces has been on
the rise of late.
Associated Press
Beijing, October 10
PAGE 9
Reuters
pital in the northwestern
city of Peshawar.
One of the girls wounded
with Yousufzai is in
critical condition and the
other is recovering and out
of danger.
The shooting was denounced
across Pakistan.
The front pages of national
newspapers carried pictures
of a bandaged and bloody
Yousufzai being brought
to hospital.
American report
highlights unease
about China Inc
Eager to expand in the United States, China’s
biggest technology companies face an
America anxious about threats to jobs and
national security.
The latest blow: A US report that says
telecom equipment makers Huawei Technologies
Inc and ZTE Corp are potential security
threats that Americans should avoid
doing business with.
The report, coming amid an American
presidential race in which trade tensions
with Beijing are a prominent issue, highlights
conflicting US sentiments towardsChina,
an important trading partner but a
potential strategic rival. US companies see
China as both a crucial growth market and
a source of competition and industrial spying.
“A lot of people in America are worried
about a diminishing role in the world and
China being the prime beneficiary and potentially
one day moving into that top slot,”
said Charles Maynard, senior managing director
of Business Development Asia,
which advises companies on acquisitions.
Legislators are “playing to a lot of voters
at home who are very concerned about
that issue,” he said. The report by the
House Intelligence Committee said US
firms should avoid doing business with
Huawei and ZTE and recommended regulators
block them from buying US companies.
It said government computer systems
should not include components from them
because they might pose an espionage risk.

PAGE 10 www.thehimalayantimes.com
Business
• BIZ BRIEFS
Brihat’s anniversary
KATHMANDU: Brihat Investments
organised a blood donation camp
on the occasion of its fifth anniversary
and as part of its corporate
social responsibility at its office with
support of Red Cross Society, Sitapaila.
The blood donation camp
had a total participation of 36 donors,
the company said. — HNS
Qatar’s special fares
KATHMANDU: Qatar Airways is offering
customers unbeatable fares for
flights from Kathmandu to some of
the world’s best destinations this festive
season. The offer will be valid till
October 31, and will give customers
the chance to travel to a variety of
destinations at attractive fares. The
airline has seen rapid growth in 15
years of operations, currently flying a
modern fleet of 111 aircraft to 119 key
destinations worldwide. — HNS
Easy Link adds service
KATHMANDU: Easy Link has started
remittance service from Japan by entering
into an agreement with transremittance
company Rapid Cash. It
was the first company in Nepal to
start remittance service in partnership
with MoneyGram, the Easy Link
said, adding that the company, under
a new management, has opened its
head office in Naya Bazaar,
Sorhakhutte. — HNS
Goodwill’s dividend
KATHMANDU: Goodwill Finance’s
board of directors has proposed nine
per cent dividend — 5.5 per cent cash
and the remaining as stock dividend
— from last fiscal’s profit. After the
dividend, the company’s paid up
capital will reach Rs 310.05 million,
the finance company said. — HNS
Export of readymade
garments to India drops
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
An unexpected decrease in the
export of Nepali readymade
garments has shattered the
expectations of Nepali exporters
of making India its next prime
export destination.
According to garment exporters,
due to non-tariff harassment,
garment exporters
are using illegal channels to
export their products to India,
due to which real figures may
be missing from the available
original export data.
“We are quite surprised with
the changes in the export figures
to India,” said president of Garment
Association – Nepal Uday
Raj Pandey, adding that the demand
for Nepali readymade
garments is good in India.
“We had high expectations
regarding garment exports to
the Indian market but the reason
behind the drop is yet to be
identified,” he said.
According to Pandey, India
was identified as ‘destination
next’ for garments and the association
was expecting an overall
export figure of around Rs 800
million to Rs 900 million in the
fiscal year 2011-12.
However, annual export figures
of Trade and Export Promotion
Centre state that in the
fiscal year 2011-12, garment
worth only Rs 332 million was
exported to India.
“We are planning to interact
with exporters and concerned
authorities to identify the exact
| FIGURES OVER THE YEARS |
reason behind the drop,”
Pandey said, adding that they
had heard that due to non-tariff
harassment at Indian customs,
exporters preferred to export
garments through illegal channels
because of which the actual
data has not been recorded.
After India’s decision to end
additional customs duty on 162
Nepali exportable items, garment
industrialists were looking
forward to more opportunities
in the Indian market.
However, due to unidentified
reasons, garment industrialists
of the country are now worried
about the failure of Nepali
readymade garments to pick up
(Figures in million rupees. Source: Trade and Export Promotion Centre)
pace in the Indian market,
where demand for Nepali garments
has always been high.
“The removal of additional
customs duty has definitely
benefited the garment industry,
but to make Nepali garments
more competitive we are also
asking for a removal of the
countervailing duty of four per
cent which is imposed on products
that are under excise in India,”
said Pandey.
Besides traditional markets
like America and Europe, the
Nepali readymade garment industry
has also identified Australia
and South Africa as
promising destinations.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Outsourcing agencies have
been found to be irresponsible
towards clients — migrant
workers — and have
been treating them as
goods. Migrant workers are
being treated as goods
parceled to foreign countries,
said director general
at the Department of Foreign
Employment Purna
Chandra Bhattarai, in an
interaction on professionalism
in foreign employment
organised by Nepal
Labour Journalist Association
today.
Migrants were referred
to as ‘keta’ which is an insult
to their dignity, he said
requesting outsourcers to
avoid the term. “Professional
dignity cannot be
achieved when you defame
clients,” he said, adding
that there are several other
malpractices that need to
be abolished to make foreign
employment a dignified
business.
“Foreign employment
sector lacks entrepreneurship.
It has not been ruled
by professional ethics,” he
said, urging outsourcers to
follow basic business values
like respect, quality assurance,
proactiveness, responsiveness
and punctuality
while doing business.
Minister for labour and
employment Kumar Belbase
said that foreign employment
sector is nonprofessional
due to lack of
strong pressure groups.
“Therefore, government
has been taking the lead in
reforming the sector. We
have achieved significant
success in reducing fraud
since November and now,
we are targeting financial
discipline,” he said.
The foreign employment
sector has witnessed 2,172
fraud cases worth Rs 1.35
billion. About 23,500 foreign
job aspirants have
been affected by the agent
network of foreign employment
agencies. Similarly,
FNCCI holds
talks with
party leaders
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Federation of Nepalese
Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FNCCI) has objected
to the forced donation
drive and ban on Indian
number plate vehicles by
CPN-Maoist.
A delegation led by FNCCI
president Suraj Vaidya has
launched a formal objection
on the matter with the CPN-
Maoist. The ban on Indian
vehicles has been causing
problems for domestic industries,
trade and commerce,
said Vaidya in a meeting
with chairman of CPN-
Maoist Mohan Vaidhya. “Indians
have also started stopping
Nepali vehicles in response,”
he said, adding theatres
have been empty due
to the ban on Hindi films.
The team also held meetings
with UCPN-Maoist
chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal
and Nepali Congress
president Sushil Koirala. Entrepreneurs
briefed about
the recent CACCI conference
and problems faced by the
industrial sector.
Koirala assured that his
party was in favour of liberal
economy. We have no problem
in forging consensus for
an economic agenda, he
said. Koirala asked the delegation
to talk to other political
parties to build consensus
on the issue.
Dahal echoed FNCCI’s demand
for a regular budget
for rapid development.
‘Outsourcers need
to be responsible
towards workers’
Cases drop
KATHMANDU: Cases
of sending workers
through illegal channels
has reduced by 70
per cent in the last one
month as the government
has started strict
monitoring at the immigration
office of
Tribhuwan International
Airport (TIA).
“Such cases have reduced
significantly,”
said minister for
labour and employment
Kumar Belbase
announcing the figure.
The nexus of human
traffickers, outsourcing
agencies, government
officials and police
were active at TIA
in sending Nepalis
abroad for jobs without
fulfilling the required
criteria. — HNS
over 1,000 Nepali migrant
workers died in foreign
destinations due to poor
working environment.
Thousands of migrant
workers have been cheated
regarding salary, leaves
and other benefits.
Women migrant workers
have their own story to tell,
said programme coordinator
of UN Women Saru
Joshi. “About 2,822 Nepali
women have been rescued
and 82 committed suicide
in the last one and a half
years,” she said, adding
that the problems are directly
associated with irresponsible
agents and their
false promises.
President of Nepal Association
of Foreign Employment
Agencies Bal Bahadur
Tamang pledged to
build the sector as a responsible
and respectable
business. “Changing people’s
perception of foreign
employment agencies will
be my task hereafter,” he
said, adding that the association
has been cooperating
with the department.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
Govt mulling mobile
service to supply sugar
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
The Ministry of Commerce
and Supplies
(MoCS) has said that it
will ask public entities to
start mobile services to
supply sugar at a subsidised
rate to consumers
in the festive season.
The ministry has noticed
that the queues
at fair price shops to buy
sugar are pretty long,
said spokesperson of
ministry of commerce
and supplies Deepak
Subedi, adding that the
ministry has directed
all agencies involved in
fair price shops to
arrange for the system
so that consumers can
buy sugar easily.
Four state-owned entities
— Salt Trading,
National Trading Ltd
(NTL), Nepal Food Corporation,
and Dairy Development
Corporation
— opened fair price
shops on October 2, tar-
• STOCK
SN NAME OF THE COMPANY SHARE VALUE IN RUPEES SHARES QTY
Maximum Minimum Closing
1 Agricultural Dev Bank Ltd 181 175 176 3,367
2 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 342 330 330 8,034
3 Asian Life Insurance Co Ltd 252 250 251 565
4 Biratlaxmi Bikash Bank Ltd 140 138 138 330
5 Bank of Kathmandu 542 535 535 2,669
6 Butwal Power Co Ltd 755 754 754 400
7 Bishwa Bikas Bank Ltd 152 141 146 5,190
8 Business Universal Dev Bank Ltd 111 110 110 1,900
9 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 441 432 441 304
10 City Dev Bank Ltd 203 191 193 1,051
11 Clean Energy Dev Bank Ltd 155 155 155 300
12 Chilime Hydro power Co 965 952 962 1,044
13 Citizen Investment Trust 880 865 880 115
14 Country Dev Bank Ltd 72 70 71 260
15 Citizens Bank International Ltd 195 193 195 1,640
16 Diyalo Bikas Bank Ltd 110 106 110 500
17 Diprox Dev Bank 295 285 285 1,074
18 Everest Bank Ltd 1,140 1,124 1,125 9,516
19 Excel Dev Bank Ltd 308 296 296 93
20 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 148 146 148 100
21 Global IME Bank Ltd 256 251 253 1,964
22 Goodwill Finance Co Ltd 158 158 158 100
23 Guras Life Insurance Co Ltd 173 164 173 3,150
24 Guheyshwori Mer Bank Fin 241 241 241 50
25 Grand Bank Nepal Ltd 172 168 170 5,350
26 Gaurishankar Dev Bank Ltd 92 87 89 524
27 Gulmi Bikas Bank Ltd 139 139 139 86
28 Hama Merchant & Finance Ltd 72 71 71 1,700
29 H & B Dev Bank Ltd 110 106 110 80
30 Himalayan Bank Ltd 698 690 690 277
31 Himalayan Gen Insu Co Ltd 158 146 158 442
32 International Leasing And Fin Co 94 92 92 7,335
33 Jyoti Bikas Bank Ltd 91 89 90 2,370
34 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 134 124 134 12,818
35 Janaki Finance Ltd 357 350 357 2,225
36 Kaski Finance Ltd 108 107 108 116
37 Kailash Bikas Bank Ltd 149 147 147 6,434
38 Kumari Bank Ltd 239 237 237 686
39 Kasthamandap Dev Bank Ltd 81 80 80 687
40 Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd 120 120 120 30
41 KIST Bank Ltd 114 112 114 13,840
42 Kamana Bikas Bank Ltd 128 121 124 1,200
43 Karnali Dev Bank Ltd 73 73 73 200
44 Laxmi Bank Ltd 315 310 311 781
45 Lumbini Finance Ltd 156 156 156 15
46 Lumbini General Insurance 131 129 129 230
47 Life Insurance Co Nepal 1,299 1,250 1,299 190
48 Lumbini Bank Ltd 225 223 225 4,839
49 Machhachapuchhre Bank Ltd 156 149 150 9,473
50 Miteri Dev Bank Ltd 135 133 135 340
51 Manakamana Dev Bank Ltd 71 70 70 370
52 Nepal Aawas Finance Ltd 105 105 105 44
53 Nabil Bank Ltd 1,152 1,143 1,152 224
54 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 161 157 160 14,935
55 Nepal Credit And Com Bank 127 125 126 3,030
56 NDEP Dev Bank Ltd 81 79 80 626
57 Nepal Express Finance Ltd 112 108 108 258
58 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 535 520 532 2,192
59 Neco Insurance Co 130 130 130 23
60 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 343 331 331 84
61 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 1,260 1,243 1,243 293
62 National Life Insu Co Ltd 516 516 516 18
63 NMB Bank Ltd 170 167 168 1,383
64 Nepal Doorsanchar Co Ltd 653 648 648 5,920
65 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 190 190 190 199
66 Oriental Hotel Ltd 99 99 99 210
67 Pathibhara Bikas Bank Ltd 97 97 97 80
68 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 223 221 221 537
69 Prudential Insurance Co 150 150 150 250
70 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 316 292 305 3,624
71 Professional Bikas Bank Ltd 75 74 75 110
72 Prabhu Finance Co Ltd 156 155 156 730
73 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 79 79 79 160
74 Shangrila Dev Bank Ltd 114 112 112 390
75 Sanima Bank Ltd 187 185 187 134
76 Sahayogi Vikas Bank 244 239 240 1,050
77 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 294 289 290 1,885
78 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 1,740 1,715 1,724 430
79 Siddhartha Dev Bank Ltd 76 76 76 271
80 Seti Finance Ltd 93 93 93 3,400
81 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 130 130 130 114
82 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 276 270 276 535
83 Sagarmatha Insurance Co Ltd 652 641 652 141
84 Shikhar Insurance Co Ltd 368 354 354 70
85 Subha Laxmi Finance Co Ltd 76 75 76 3,720
86 Summit Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 204 200 204 2,039
87 Sunrise Bank Ltd 141 138 141 3,997
88 Swabalamwan Bikash Bank 259 252 255 950
89 Taragaon Regency Hotel 85 85 85 10
90 Uniliver Nepal Ltd 7,350 7,350 7,350 30
91 Western Dev Bank Ltd 96 96 96 120
92 Zenith Finance Ltd 99 98 98 200
Float Index: 30.35 ( -0.04)
Base: 24/08/2008=100
geting the upcoming
Dashain and Tihar.
A total of 10 outlets
were opened today in the
Kathmandu valley, and
22 outlets were opened in
remote and hilly districts,
according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, the ministry
has refuted allegations
that fair price shops
have been selling substandard
food items.
Ministry officials visited
at least six fair price
shops today and found
no evidence of sub-standard
food items, he said.
All essential commodities
such as rice, pulse,
flour, ghee, milk products,
sugar and edible oil
are of good quality, he
informed. Government
had earlier decided to
provide a loan of Rs 50
million to NTL to import
sugar for the upcoming
festivals of Dashain, Tihar
and Chhat.
The loan amount was
for the import of 5,000
tonnes of sugar.
Total Traded Amount Rs: 44,934,721
Total Market Cap Rs: 402,213.45 millions
Total Shares: 170,770
Total Transactions: 1184
Nepse Index: 424.75 ( -1.42)
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100 Date: October 10, 2012

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
BUSINESS
• BIZ BRIEFS
NTMBA, Sipradi pact
THT
Binod Chaudhary signing his book
‘Uddhyami Ka Aankha Ma
Arthatantra’, at the ongoing book
fair organised by Sajha Publication,
in Kathmandu, on Wednesday.
KATHMANDU: Sipradi Auto Parts, to
help people involved in tyre maintenance
business, has entered into an
agreement with Nepal Tyre Maintenance
Business Association (NTM-
BA) to replace low quality air compressors
with high quality air compressors
to add safety during the
maintenance of tyres. “Sipradi has
pledged to help the business end the
high risk of explosion that occurs frequently
while using low quality air
compressors,” said president of the
association Indra Dhakal. — HNS
IME road show
KATHMANDU: IME’s direct marketing
campaign ‘IME Haasya Yatra...
Byroad ko Batoma’, organised jointly
with Global IME Bank to promote its
Indo-Nepal remittance service participated
by Deepak Raj Giri and
Deepa Shree Niraula with other
artistes, performed at Narayanghat
on September 26, Butwal on September
27, Liwang on September 28, Bagdulla
on September 29, Salyan on
September 30, Tulsipur on October 2,
Surkhet on October 3, Nepalgunj
and Gularia on October 4, Dhangadi
on October 6, Dadeldhura and Baitadi
on October 7, and Mangalsen on
October 8. Performances will take
place in Sandikharka and Tamghas
on October 11, Tansen on October
12, Syangja on October 13, Baglung
on October 14 and in Damauli on
October 15. — HNS
KBB plans dividends
KATHMANDU: The board meeting of
Kailash Bikash Bank (KBB) has decided
to forward the board’s proposal of
distributing 12 per cent cash dividend
before the company’s annual
general meeting. The bank currently
has a paid-up capital of Rs 700 million
and total deposits of Rs 5.31 billion
and has floated loans worth Rs
4.50 billion till October 5. — HNS
Nepex bonus shares
KATHMANDU: The board meeting of
Nepal Express Finance (Nepex) has
proposed 14 per cent bonus shares
from its paid-up capital of Rs 150.65
million and 0.74 per cent cash dividend
(tax payable after distributing
the bonus shares).It posted net profit
of Rs 20.74 million in the period. — HNS
VW in Biratnagar
KATHMANDU: Pooja International
Nepal — the sole authorised distributor
of Volkswagen (VW) vehicles in
the country — has opened a new
showroom and service centre in Biratnagar.
The showroom at Munalpath,
Biratnagar was inaugurated by
chairman of Vishal Group Jagdish
Prasad Agrawal amid a function. Pooja
International Nepal has already
sold 600 Volkswagen vehicles of 10
different models, it said, adding it has
basically targeted sales of small cars
like the Polo and Vento there. — HNS
KUSOM health camp
KATHMANDU: KUSOM Social
Club, under the Student Welfare
Council of Kathmandu University
School of Management (KUSOM), organised
a one day ‘General Health
and Vision Screening Camp’ on the
premises of Banglamukhi temple,
Patan. Over 300 people attended
the camp that was financially supported
by Buddha Air, it said, adding
that Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital
had provided doctors and nurses and
Rotaract Club of Kathmandu Midtown
assisted the vision screening
at the health camp. — HNS
• FOREX RATES
The foreign exchange rates for October 11 as fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank are as follows:
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs.) SELLING (in Rs.)
Swiss Franc 1 89.94 90.58
Australian Dollar 1 86.63 87.25
Canadian Dollar 1 86.50 87.12
Singapore Dollar 1 68.85 69.34
Saudi Arab Riyal 1 22.57 22.73
Qatari Riyal 1 23.24 23.41
Thai Bhat 1 2.76 2.78
UAE Dihram 1 23.04 23.20
Malaysian Ringit 1 27.53 27.73
Swedish Krona 1 12.67
Danish Krona 1 14.60
Hongkong Dollar 1 10.92
Note: Under the present system the open market exchange rates quoted by
different /commercial banks may differ.
CDSC to start clearing, settlement in a week
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Manual clearing and settlement
of share transactions is
most likely to be undertaken
by CDS and Clearing (CDSC)
by next week, although automated
settlement of dematerialised
scrips will not be taking
place anytime soon.
CDSC — Nepal’s first central
depository system — is all
geared to take up the job of
clearing and settling physical
scrips from Nepal Stock Exchange
(Nepse) by October 17.
“We are preparing to start
the settlement and clearing of
share transactions post-Octo-
ber 17, so if everything goes as
planned, investors will have to
come to CDSC instead of
Nepse to transfer share ownership
and settle payments,” said
chief executive of CDSC Subodh
Sharma Sigdel.
Earlier, CDSC had planned
to start the settlement procedure
by September 17. “This
time we have already held discourse
with brokers and the
stock exchange regarding the
matter and have got positive
feedback,” said Sigdel.
At present, Nepse undertakes
transfer of share ownership
and settlement of payments
between investors. It is
supposed to carry out the set-
Efficiency in public
expenditure required
Govt must concentrate spending
on pressing national issues
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
It’s not only increased public expenditure
but the efficiency of
public expenditure that is key to
human development, according
to a former finance minister.
“The low quality of governance
coupled with lack of credibility of
government institutions are the
bottlenecks for overall human
development despite increased
public expenditure in education
and health,” said former finance
minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat,
addressing the ‘Regional Consultation
on Human Development
in South Asia,’ co-organised by
the South Asia Centre for Policy
Studies (SACEPS), United Nations
Development Programme,
and Human Development Report
Office, here today.
Similarly, economic growth is a
pre-condition for development,
he said, adding that without economic
growth, the government
cannot generate resources for
other sectors like health and education
that are essential for human
development.
However, the human development
index (HDI) should also set
some directions to some of the
pressing issues, said former chief
secretary Dr Bimal Koirala. “Privatisation
has, due to various
reasons, been painted as antipoor,
though it is pro-poor as it
will lessen the government’s burden
and it can channel and con-
• BRAND WATCH
centrate public spending on
pressing issues,” he said, adding
a strong state, leadership and institutions,
and economic growth
compliment each other but they
are themselves under question.
Participants from South Asian
region — marred by massive
poverty and deprivation despite
emerging as one of the most vibrant
regions with rapid growth
— also suggested Human Development
Report Office (HDRO) to
include governance that is a key
indicator of development.
Similarly, former foreign secretary
and executive director of SA-
CEPS Madhu Raman Acharya
suggested to synergise the various
development parametres as
they overlap each other.
South Asia has the second lowest
regional HDI in the world. Of
the seven countries in the region
covered by it, only Sri Lanka belongs
to high human development
group leaving three — Maldives,
India and Bhutan — in the
medium human development
group, and Nepal, Bangladesh
and Pakistan in the lowest human
development group.
Greater engagement with the
rest of the world, taking advantage
of global markets in terms
that are most favourable, promoting
equity and social justice
through greater equity, voice and
participation, and generating
employment will help promote
human development, said director
at HDRO Khalid Malik.
BLU mobile phones in market
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Pashupati Trade Link, a sister
concern of Murarka Organisation,
has launched BLU mobile
phones in Nepal.
The elegant looking phones
are designed and produced in
Miami, US, it said, adding that
the phones are user-friendly and
colourful with great features and
applications.
Currently, only five models
have been launched in the market
–– Hero, Click Plus, Jenny,
Tank and DJ Plus.
Hero is a resistive elegant
touch screen phone, which offers
swanky features such as built in
analogue TV, social
media capabilities,
MP3/MP4, FM radio,
camera and
video recording to
capture all the exciting
moments in
one’s life, whereas
Click Plus has a simple
and smart look. It
is easy to carry and the
wide colour selection
is a sure match for all
personalities.
Jenny, the bar phone, offers
super-friendly usability and a
nice range of colour choices,
and with a 1.8 inch screen and
music player, it is sure to be a
hit with everyone. It also comes
with wireless FM.
Similarly, Tank is a user friendly
bar phone that will stand out
among all competitors. With its
large and easy to use keypad and
monster battery, it is a hit with
seniors. With a 1.8 inch screen,
FM radio, camera, and video
recorder, this phone has all the
ingredients for a brilliant and
simple phone that will surely impress
the user.
DJ Plus is a slim and easy to
hold phone that can easily fit in
anywhere. It comes
with MP3 player,
FM radio, big memory,
1.8 inch screen,
and a camera.
All BLU mobile
phones come with a
one-year warranty
on the handsets and
six-month warranty
on the battery and
charger, said Sirish
Murarka of Pashupati
Trade Link.
Honda’s CBR 250R in new colour
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Syakar Company — the sole distributor
of Honda motorcycles
n Nepal — has launched the CBR
250R in a new tri colour (racing
colour).
Previously, the
bike was available
in neutral shades
of black, red and
silver, the company
said, adding
that with the addition
of the new
colour combina-
tion now, the bike comes in four
colour options.
The new Honda CBR 250R can
be booked from Wing World Teku
and Boudha Wing World showrooms,
Syakar
said.
Nepal’s first central depository system is all geared
to take up the job of clearing and settling physical scrips
from Nepal Stock Exchange by October 17
tlement within four days of
share transaction through brokers,
which means that after
three days following the trading,
Nepse must conclude the
whole payment process. However,
Nepse is notorious for delaying
settlements, at times
taking even months, and
transfer of share certificates
takes four weeks at the earliest.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Qatar Airways, which is one
of the world’s fastest growing
and most highly rated airlines,
has joined oneworld,
the world’s leading quality
airline alliance.
Its election as a oneworld
member designate was announced
in New York ––
home of oneworld’s central
alliance management office
–– with senior executives of
Qatar Airways and the alliance’s
established member
airlines in attendance.
Qatar Airways, named Airline
of the Year for the past
two years by Skytrax ––an independent
airline quality
rating agency –– is the first of
the three major airlines
based in the Gulf to sign for
any of the global airline alliances,
the airlines said,
adding that it is also the second
largest full service airline
in the world not, until today,
aligned to any of the big
global airline alliances. “The
Doha-based airline’s implementation
into oneworld
is expected to take between
12 to 18 months.”
The carrier is set to move
A few months back, Securities
Board of Nepal (Sebon) —
capital market regulator — had
sternly directed the stock exchange
to settle payments
within ‘T+3’ as promised in
its bylaws.
“We will be able to finish settlement
within T+3 at present,
and after starting demat settlement,
the process will take
into a brand new home in
2013, with the opening of the
New Doha International Airport,
designed to strengthen
its position as a premium
global hub with an eventual
capacity for 50 million passengers
a year.
As a member of oneworld,
Qatar Airways will fly alongside
some of the biggest and
even less time,” added Sigdel.
CDSC is unable to start automated
clearing and settlement
service in absence of Clearing
and Settlement Regulation being
prepared by the regulator.
The current clearing and
settlement rules in bylaws of
Nepse can only cover manual
settlements and not automated
ones. Moreover, after the introduction
of the regulation,
CDSC will have to tweak the
software to adapt to the regulation.
Central depository will
keep share record electronically
in dematerialised form and
allow rapid clearing and settlement,
boosting capital market.
CDSC started the process of
best brands in the airline
business. British Airways will
serve as its sponsor in joining
oneworld, supported by the
central oneworld alliance
team, mentoring the recruit
through its alliance implementation
programme.
Qatar Airways will be
oneworld’s second member
airline based in the Middle
PAGE 11
dematerialising share certificates
from the beginning of the
current fiscal year. It has four
Depository Participants —
Nabil Investment Banking,
Everest Finance Ltd, Ace Capital
and Civil Capital — that will
hold dematerialised accounts.
Agricultural Development
Bank and Ace Development
Bank have already got their
shares registered for dematerialisation.
“There are 12 more
Depository Participants in the
pipeline and a few more companies
— like Laxmi Bank,
Bank of Kathmandu, Siddhartha
Bank and Siddhartha
Insurance — that have applied
for registration,” he informed.
Qatar Airways joins oneworld alliance
Chairman and CEO of American Airlines and Chairman of oneworld Governing Board
Tom Horton, CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker, CEO of IAG Willie Walsh, and CEO of
oneworld Bruce Ashby after the announcement of Qatar Airways joining oneworld.
THT
East, alongside Royal Jordanian,
which became the first
airline from the region to join
any of global alliances when
it boarded oneworld in 2007.
Qatar has built a solid international
network, flying to
key business and leisure destinations
worldwide, and
winning countless awards for
high service levels.

PAGE 12
www.thehimalayantimes.com
Sports
Nepal beat Malaysia, set rematch against UAE
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Skipper Paras Khadka continued
to shine with the bat as
Nepal entered second consecutive
ACC Trophy Elite final
with a 21-run victory over
Malaysia in Dubai today.
Paras struck 89 to help Nepal
made 241-9 in the semi-final
that was reduced to 45 overs
due to foggy condition. In reply,
Malaysia were restricted to
220-9 despite some valiant efforts
from their middle order.
Nepal will now take on the UAE
in the championship match after
the hosts stunned
Afghanistan by eight wickets in
the other semi-final. Nepal had
defeated UAE in their Group ‘B’
opener last week.
Nepal will be playing third final
of the ACC Trophy Elite.
They had entered their first final
in 2002 where they lost to
UAE by six wickets in Singapore.
In the 2010 edition, they
were beaten by Afghanistan.
Amrit Bhattarai gave Nepal
an early breakthrough dismissing
Anwar Arudin (eight) in the
third over but the seamer had
to leave the match in the seventh
due to chest pain — the
reason for which he was kept
out against Kuwait and Saudi
Arabi — after bowling just 3.3
overs. Faizal Hasan and Ahmed
Faiz then took full advantage of
his exit adding 60 runs for the
second wicket.
The Malaysians, however,
were dealt with double blow
when Hasan was bowled by
Bhuwan Karki and Shakti
Gauchan got rid off Faiz in a
space of eight runs. Hasan
made 33 and Faiz scored 29.
Though Khizar Hayat (23) and
Shiva Ram
opens with
two-over 74
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha faltered
on the back nine to open the BILT Open
with two-over 74 at Delhi Golf Club today.
Shiva Ram took the turn at two-under
34 before suffering two double bogeys on
the back nine to settle for tied 46th after
the first day of the INR 10 million tournament
under the Professional Golf Tour of
India (PGTI). Another Nepali pro, Toran
Bikram Shahi shot three-over 75 to stay
further behind on joint 63rd position.
Shiva Ram, who teed off from the 10th,
made a dream start with a birdie on the
par-4 hole and added another on the 14th
after saving pars on three straight holes.
He dropped a shot on the 16th hole before
closing out his front nine with a
birdie on the par-5 18th hole.
After taking the turn at two-under 34,
he began the back nine cautiously and
saved pars on the first two holes. His first
of the two double bogeys came on the
par-4 third hole. He then saved pars on
the next two holes before facing another
double bogey on the par-3 seventh hole.
In between, Shiva Ram carded a birdie on
the sixth but went on to drop another
shot on the eighth hole to finish the back
nine on four-over 40.
Toran, who also started from the 10th
tee, suffered three bogeys on the 11th,
14th and 17th holes against a lone birdie
on the 17th hole to take the turn at twoover
38. Toran — who has been playing in
the PGTI for more than a decade — began
his back nine with a birdie on the par-
5 first hole but dropped shots on the third
and sixth holes before adding his third
birdie of the day on the par-3 seventh. He
finished the back nine at one-over 37.
The local dominance continued in the
PGTI with only two players from outside
India — Sri Lankan duo Mithun Perera
and Anura Rohana — finding their names
in top 20. They carded one-under 71 to
remain tied on 17th place along with
three other Indian pros. Former Surya
Nepal Masters champion Shamim Khan
carded eight-under 64 to take one-shot
lead over fellow Delhi golfer Rashid Khan.
Shamim carded seven birdies and an eagle
in his round that included a bogey.
Rashid had five birdies and an eagle.
Tournament favourite Jyoti Randhawa
was tied on sixth at three-under 69
along with Delhi’s Manav Jaini, Abhinav
Lohan of Faridabad, Kolkata pros Ranjit
Singh Rathore and Shankar Das, Chandigarh’s
Randhir Singh Ghotra and Rajesh
Kumar Rawat of Lucknow, who had an
ace on the 17th hole.
Nepali players celebrate after their victory over Malaysia in the semi-final of the ACC Trophy Elite in Dubai on Wedenesday.
Suhan Kumar added another
46 runs, Nepali bowlers kept it
tight making Malaysia hard to
get the required run rate.
Suhan and Shafiq Sharif
then added 45 runs for the fifth
wicket before Basant Regmi
dismissed the former reducing
Malaysia to 170-5 in 37.5 overs.
It soon became 171-6 when
Shakti trapped Aminuddin
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
McDowell’s Ranipokhari
Corner Team (RCT) advanced
to the Ncell Cup final
with a convincing 2-0 victory
over newcomers Iceberg
Madhyapur Youth Association
(MYA)
here today.
First half
goals from
in-form
strikers
Amar Dangol
and Yugal
Kishor
Rai were
enough for
RCT, who
had not
even made
it to the last
four of any
knock out
tournament inside the valley
since winning the Birthday
Cup in 2000. RCT will
now take on the winners of
Thursday’s semi-final match
between Nepal Police Club
and Laxmi Hyundai Manang
Marshyangdi Club. The final
of the biggest knock out
tournament, in terms of
cash prize, is on Saturday.
“I have no words to express
this happiness,” said
RCT coach Madhu Karki,
Ramly leg before for 43 off 51.
Malaysia came close to required
run rate for the first
time in the match after Paras
was hit for 15 runs in the 40th
over that left Malaysia needing
49 runs from 30 balls. But the
Nepali skipper dismissed dangerous
Sharif to end Malaysian
hopes. Sharif hit 40 off 32 balls
with six boundaries.
who was the member of the
team that won the Birthday
Cup. “This is the outcome of
the hard work from my
boys,” said Madhu. “We do
not have any star player, but
all members in the team
have given 100 per cent,”
said the former skipper of
the club. “We would have
added some more goals but
the players took it lightly in
the second half,” said Karki.
Amar put RCT ahead in
the 19th minute slotting
home from inside the sixyard
box following a cross
from Oladipo Olawale Afeez.
The goal was the fourth for
the ANFA Academy product,
who has became the highest
scorer so far. MYA were
without their four first-
Prithu Baskota was the pick
of the Nepali bowlers with 3-
47, while Shakti claimed 2-30.
Earlier, Paras set Nepal on
course for a huge total with yet
another scintillating knock after
the early fall of openers Anil
Mandal (eight) and Subash
Khakurel (three). Paras, who
was aggressive in his 106
against Kuwait and 61 against
Udipt Singh Chhetry / THT
Tika Ram Shrestha of Sunsari takes an aim during the 10-metre Air Rifle finals
of the Nationwide Open Shooting Championships at the International Sports
Complex shooting range in Lalitpur on Wednesday.
choice players including
skipper Jeevan Sinkeman
and forward Bal Gopal
Sahukhala.
Veteran striker Nirajan
Rayamajhi squandered a
couple of scoring chances in
the first half for MYA. After
firing a 20-yard freekick
inches above
the bar in
the 26th
minute, Nirajanheaded
high from
inside the
box following
a Kishor
Duwal cross
in the first
half injury
time. Yugal,
who missed
from inside
the six-yard
in the 39th
minute, doubled RCT tally
utilising an Afeez cross one
minute before the interval.
MYA should have cut the
deficit in the 55th minute
but their reliable defender
Saroj Dahal missed a penalty.
The Bhaktapur-based ‘A’
division outfit was awarded
the spot kick after Niraj
Remi Magar handled the
ball inside the danger zone
in an attempt to clear Nirajan’s
attempt. MYA were un-
Hong Kong, took time today
making seven runs in the first
18 balls he faced.
But, once he hit Hayat for
two fours in the 14th over, runs
began to flow. Paras shared a
112-run partnership for the
third wicket with Gyanendra
Malla before the vice-captain
was run out. Gyanendra hit
two fours in his 60-ball 34.
Himalayan News Service
Lalitpur, October 10
Damodar Bhandari / THT
Olympians Tika Ram Shrestha
of Sunsari and Sneh Rajya Laxmi
Rana of Rupandehi claimed
the 10m Air Rifle gold medals
in the Nationwide Open Shooting
Championships here at the
International Sports Complex
shooting range today.
The 2004 Athens Olympics
participant Tika scored 657
points out of 700 to claim the
men’s section title ahead of Krishna
Ghorasaini (652) of Tribhuvan
Army Club (TAC) and
Hari Bahadur Thapa (644) of
Nepal Police Club (NPC).
Likewise, 2012 London
Games participant Sneh accumulated
480 points out of 500
to claim the women’s section
Afghans floored
KATHMANDU: Hosts UAE
produced the biggest upset
crushing defending
champions Afghanistan
by eight wickets in their
ACC Trophy Elite semi-final
match on Wednesday.
Fresh from competing in
the World Twenty20 in Sri
Lanka earlier this month,
the Afghans — who have
been enjoying ODI status
for the last three years —
were bundled out for 70 in
30.4 overs. UAE, in reply,
reached 71-2 in 23.4 overs
with Haroon Iftikhar making
unbeaten 34 runs. – HNS
After hitting 10 boundaries
and a six, Paras’ brilliant innings
came to an end while going
for a big shot against Anwar
Rahman in the 33rd over.
Nepal collected 65 runs in the
last 7.2 overs , thanks to Sharad
and Prithu, who smashed three
fours and two sixes to make 34
off just 21 balls. Sharad made
44-ball 37 with two boundaries.
Nazrul Rahman took four
wickets for Malaysia.
Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake
said losing Amrit
made the difference. “We lost
Amrit in the middle of the
game in a good batting track
and the Malaysians played our
spinners very well that made
us hard in picking up wickets,”
he said. Dassanayake also said
the decision on both the fast
bowlers, Amrit and Binod Das,
would be made after consulting
with doctors on Thursday.
Binod has not played a single
match due to a knee injury.
Olympians Tika, Sneh
claim 10m Air Rifle gold
title. She beat the 2008 Beijing
Olympian shooter Phul Maya
Kyapchhaki (476) and Durga
Sinjali — both from NPC.
Likewise, Armymen Kuber
KC (640) and Sudan Khadka
(639) won 10m Air Pistol gold
and silver medals respectively.
Bibek Raj Dhungel clinched
the bronze earning 624 points.
Also, Saraswoti Baniya (439) of
NPC, Shreya KC (438) of
Baglung and Sima Tuladhar
(433) of NPC secured top three
positions in the women’s 10m
Air Pistol category.
The top three shooters in all
the four categories received
Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and
Rs 5,000 respectively. National
Sports Council Member Secretary
Yubaraj Lama handed over
the prizes to the winners.
RCT end Madhyapur’s dream run, advance to final
Yugal Kishor Rai of RCT celebrates after scoring against
MYA during their Ncell Cup semi-final match at the
Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
lucky when Raj Kumar Ghising’s
strike in an open net after
beating the advancing
RCT goalkeeper and skipper
Dilip Chhetry rebounded off
the post four minutes before
the whistle.
MYA coach Upendra Man
Singh was all praise of his
team. “We had already
achieved a lot by entering
the semi-finals in our second
appearance at this level,”
said the coach. He said
luck was not on their part
against RCT. “We missed a
couple of scoring chances
and luck did not favour us
today,” added Singh, who is
also the MYA president.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
THT
• TIME OUT
A Nepal Commerce Campus player
goes for a basket under pressure
from a Morgan opponent during
their Akhil Cup National Basketball
Tournament match on Wednesday.
TU, NCC in semis
KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan University
(TU), Nepal Commerce Campus
(NCC), Baneshwor Multiple Campus
and Public Youth College advanced to
the semi-finals of the Manmohan
Memorial Inter-college Akhil Cup National
Volleyball Tournament here on
Wednesday. TU thrashed Manmohan
Memorial Campus 25-19, 25-15,
while NCC saw off Saraswoti Campus
25-21, 25-19. Likewise, Baneshwor
beat Patan Multiple Campus 25-21,
29-27 and Public Youth overcame Siddharth
Nath Campus of Kanchanpur
25-18, 25-11. TU will take on Baneshwor,
while NCC are up against Public
Youth in semi-finals. — HNS
Nepal beat Pakistan
KATHMANDU: Nepal cruised past
Pakistan 4-0 in their third match of
the Kizuna Project Japan SAARC U-14
Football Exchange Programme in
Shizuka on Wednesday. Lalit Thapa
gave the Nepali U-14 team an early
ninth minute lead and Rabi Bhandari
made it 2-0 just a minute later. Bimal
Gharti Magar struck in the 16th
minute, while Shiva Subedi completed
the rout in the 19th, informed the
ANFA. Nepal won both their matches
on Tuesday, crushing Maldives 4-0
and Japan ‘B’ 3-1. — HNS
Thapa enters final
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Kamal Thapa
set a final rematch with S Settu of India
in the All India Senior Tennis Association
(AISTA) Tournament on
Wednesday. In the above-55yrs category
semi-final held at the Vasant Vihar
Club Tennis courts, Thapa overcame
India’s BS Tulasiram 6-3, 6-7, 6-
1 to make into his third consecutive
final. The 2010 winner Thapa had defeated
Yogesh Shah of Guajarat in the
quarter-finals on Tuesday.Thapa also
entered the final in the doubles after
he teamed up with Yogesh to beat K
Vijay and S Sudhakaran of Tamil
Nadu 6-1, 6-2. — HNS
Prime advance
KATHMANDU: Prime and Himalayan
White House entered the
Akhil Cup National Basketball Tournament
semi-finals here on Wednesday.
Prime thumped KIST 48-18 riding
on Ayush Singh’s 12 points, while
Rishi Robertson netted 23 points as
White House defeated Golden Gate
International 59-44. Joining them in
the last four were Morgan and Ace Institute
of Management. Morgan dispatched
Nepal Commerce Campus
37-23 with Nischal Shrestha contributing
13 points and Ace saw off
Kathford 31-19. Prime will play
against Morgan and Whitehouse face
Ace in the semi-finals. — HNS
Futuro-III begins
KATHMANDU: FIFA Futuro-III Administration
and Management
Course, under the programme of
football’s world governing body, began
here on Wednesday. FIFA Assistant
Development Officer Sreesanth
Parera and AFC representative Yogesh
Deshai will conduct the course. Instructors
and coaches from Yemen,
Sri Lanka, Iran, Maldives, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Bhutan and India apart
from representatives of ‘A’ Division
clubs, officials of ANFA and Women
Football Commission are participating
in the five-day course. — HNS

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
Germany football team’s midfielder Thomas Mueller warms up with the ball during
a practice session in Frankfurt on Wednesday ahead of their World Cup qualifying
matches against Ireland and Sweden in the upcoming week.
Away tests for Spain,
Italy, Germany
Agencies
Berlin, October 10
World and European champions
Spain seek a win in
Belarus before a clash with
France next week in World
Cup qualifiers on Friday
which include two matches
between teams yet to drop
a point.
Meanwhile losing Euro
2012 finalists Italy travel to
Armenia, and Germany
hope to continue their winning
streak in qualifiers
when they take on Ireland
in Dublin. In one of the top
matches of the evening,
Russia play Portugal with
both sides on six points after
two games in Group H.
Another duel between
teams with perfect records
is in Group G where Greece
take on Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Losing 2010 World Cup
finalists the Netherlands
are at home to minnows
Andorra in Group D, where
Romania — like the Netherlands
on a maximum six
points — are in Turkey.
England are also up
against rank outsiders San
Marino in Group H before a
trip to Warsaw where they
play Poland on Tuesday.
Germany are without suspended
captain Philipp
Lahm, while central defender
Mats Hummels, and
midfielders Lars Bender
and Ilkay Guendogan have
pulled out injured for the
game at Ireland.
After winning all 10
games in qualifying for
Euro 2012, Joachim Loew’s
side have now won their
opening two games in
Group C of the World Cup
qualifiers. “The target is
qualification and we have a
lot of work to do in these
two games,” team manager
Oliver Bierhoff said.
“These are the two
toughest opponents in the
group. After the last campaign
when we won all 10
games, expectations are
high.” Group rivals Sweden
meanwhile visit the Faroe
Islands, while Austria are at
Kazakhstan.
Spain manager Vicente
del Bosque may pick Santi
Cazorla in midfield in place
of Andres Iniesta, who has
only just returned from injury,
for the Group I encounter
with Belarus in
Minsk. Cesc Fabregas could
also again be used as a
withdrawn striker, a tactic
used at Euro 2012, leaving
strikers David Villa and Fernando
Torres on the bench.
Spain are second with
Djokovic advances
Associated Press
Shanghai, October 10
Novak Djokovic advanced
to the third round of the
Shanghai Masters by beating
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria
6-3, 6-2 today.
The second-seeded
Djokovic won the China
Open in Beijing last week
for his fourth title of the
year and 32nd of his career.
He has now won 66
matches this season, the
most of any player on tour.
Djokovic didn’t offer Dimitrov
a break-point opportunity
and never lost more
than one point in any service
game. He also served
four games at love.
If Djokovic wins in
Shanghai and Roger Federer
loses before the quarterfinals,
the Serb would
reclaim the No 1 ranking
next week. Andy Murray
received a walkover into
the third round following
the withdrawal of Florian
Mayer of Germany because
of a rib injury.
Murray is the two-time
defending champion at
AP / RSS
Novak Djokovic returns
to Grigor Dimitrov in
their Shanghai Masters
match on Wednesday.
the tournament with a 9-0
record after winning finals
against David Ferrer last
year and Federer in 2010.
Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga beat Benoit Paire
7-6 (7), 7-5 in an all-
French match.
For the second straight
day at the tournament, a
match went to three
tiebreaker sets. Marcos
Baghdatis of Cyprus upset
12th-seeded Milos Raonic
of Canada 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5),
7-6 (3). Sam Querrey of the
United States came from
behind to beat 14th-seeded
Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-2, 6-
4 in another secondround
match. Nishikori
sought a medical timeout
for a right ankle injury that
he sustained last week.
Stosur thru
OSAKA: Top-seeded
Samantha Stosur advanced
to the quarterfinals
of the Japan Open by
beating Virginie Razzano
of France 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Stosur,
the 2011 US Open
champion, rallied after
having her serve broken
three times in the first set
at the Utsubo Tennis Center.
Razzano had 10 double-faults.
The Australian will next
face Jamie Hampton in the
quarterfinals. The American
defeated wild-card entry
Tamarine Tanasugarn
of Thailand 7-5, 7-5. Also,
Japanese qualifier Misaki
Doi beat Olga Puchkova of
Russia 6-3, 6-2 and will
play Chanelle Scheepers
of South Africa, while Kai-
Chen Chang of Taiwan defeated
Casey Dellacqua of
Australia 7-6 (4), 6-3 and
will next face eighth-seeded
Laura Robson of Britain
in the quarterfinals.
Reuters
three points from one
game, while France have six
points from two matches.
Group A sees a top-of-the
table clash with Serbia
hosting Belgium, Croatia —
level on four points with
those two — are at Macedonia,
while Wales face unbeaten
Scotland in an all-
British duel.
While Italy meet Armenia,
group B rivals Czech
Republic will be looking to
pick up points at home to
Malta, and Denmark —
Italy’s opponents on Tuesday
— are at Bulgaria, who
have started well with four
points from two games.
Striker Mario Balotelli is
one of several returning
players as Italy seek a convincing
win in Yerevan after
Cesare Prandelli’s team
failed to impress in beating
Malta 2-0 and drawing 2-2
at Bulgaria.
Switzerland are looking
to make it three wins out of
three when they host Norway
in Group E, where
Slovenia meet Cyprus, and
Albanian host Iceland in
the other games. While Russia
and Portugal battle it
out in Group F, Luxembourg
meet Israel in a double
header with the return
on Tuesday.
Reuters
Mumbai, October 10
The International Cricket
Council (ICC) has provisionally
suspended six umpires
who allegedly agreed to spotfix
matches during a recent
sting operation conducted
by an Indian TV channel.
Footage screened on the
Hindi-language India TV on
Monday showed what the
news channel said was officials
from Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
negotiating deals with under-cover
reporters to affect
the outcome of matches.
www.thehimalayantimes.com
SPORTS
ICC bans ‘spot-fixing’ umpires, boards to investigate
Pakistan’s Nadeem Ghauri
and Anees Siddiqui, Nadir
Shah of Bangladesh, and Sri
Lanka’s Gamini Dissanayake,
Maurice Winston and Sagara
Gallage were all seen agreeing
to give favourable decisions
in exchange for umpiring
contracts and money.
The global governing body
said in a statement issued on
Wednesday that the investigations
would be conducted
by the respective cricket
boards of each country while
the umpires will be remaining
barred from officiating in
any matches.
“The ICC and its relevant
full member boards have
agreed not to appoint any of
the umpires named in a sting
operation recently conducted
by India TV to any domestic
or international cricket
matches pending the outcome
of the ongoing investigations
into the allegations
made,” the ICC said.
“The officials named are
not contracted by the ICC
and those boards who employ
and nominate the umpires
directly will conduct
the investigations as a matter
of urgency.” In the sting operation,
conducted in July
and August, the reporters
said they belonged to a
sports management company
and promised the umpires
assignments in different
events around the world,
largely domestic Twenty20
league tournaments.
While Ghauri and Shah
appeared to agree to give
wrong decisions, Gallage was
ready to pass on information
about the toss, the pitch and
weather conditions in a
match before it was available
to the public.
Shah flatly denied the allegations
made against him.
"This is a plot to malign my
character. I was taken to Del-
PAGE 13
hi by a Bangladeshi agent to
sign a contract for umpiring
in the Sri Lanka Premier
League," he said.
"But when I saw these people
are corrupt, I changed my
decision and did not conduct
any match in the SLPL. I was
never involved in anything
like fixing."
In May, the same television
channel’s sting operation
prompted the Indian cricket
board (BCCI) to ban one uncapped
cricketer for life and
hand out lesser punishments
to four others for involvement
in corruption in domestic
cricket.

PAGE 14
SCHOOL TIMES
Life is what we make it
And the prince
came on his
white horse
and took her
away from her evil stepmother
and from all the
pain in this world. Then
they lived happily-ever-after.”
My mother would finish
the story and I would jump
with joy.
When I was a child, I used to
listen to the fairy tales where
dreams came true and there
was always happy ending.
Whenever I heard those fairy
tales, I used to believe that
everyone’s life would have happy
endings and I waited for my
day to come.
But suddenly, the reality
shakes me off. And the world
gets bigger each day and I waver
between delightful contentment
and ardent curiosity. Life’s
been a lot different lately.
The happiness as seen in the
❶
WITH RECYCLED ART
It could be really hard to keep
those plastic bags neatly in
place for later use. But you can
make a handy plastic bag dispenser
out of an old chips can like
Pringles can to store them in an organised
way. It can also be a nice gift
idea for your mum as she’ll be getting
lots of plastic grocery bags during
Dashain shopping.
You will need
• Empty chips can
• Knife
• Wrapping paper or paint
• A pair of scissors
• Piece of string or ribbon
• Hole punch
Instructions
1. First clean the inside of the
chips can. You may also use other
cardboard tube boxes instead of
chips can. Just make sure it can be
cut with paper cutter easily.
2. Wrap around and cover the can
with colourful wrapping paper. If
you like, you can paint the can, too.
3. Draw a medium rectangular
shape at the bottom end of the can
and carefully, cut the drawn outline
world
of fairy tales
turns out to be ‘a work of fiction’.
I realise life isn’t as simple
as I was told and all dreams
don’t come true.
Now I have woken up to the
reality and accepted it. Life is
not perfect but it is so for a reason.
Well, can anyone think of a
perfect world? Perfect means
the end of all possibilities and
this would be our wildest picture
of perfection. So, I have
now learnt to be happy with
Plastic
bag
with a paper cutter. This will be the
opening to pull out the plastic bags.
4. Cover the edges of the cut out
opening with electric tape or cello
tape if you want.
5. For a hanger, punch holes on
both sides of the can and tie a piece
of string or ribbon through the
holes.
6. Stuff the plastic bags inside the
can and close the lid. Hang it in an
appropriate place and a plastic bag
dispenser is ready for use.
— Done by Merina Pradhan
dispenser
what I have. I now know that
“The happiest people don’t always
get the best things but
they make the best out of
what they have.”
I now realise that
people’s expectations
aren’t as important
as your
own. And I
know that
once you stop
worrying
about the
boundaries,
it gets easier
to get past
them.
What awes
me is that despiteeverything,
the ever
unfolding
world still grips
me with utter
curiosity. It makes
me reach out for
more. There is the
urge to keep moving
forward and not
stop dreaming
because I feel
that dreams are
the causes of
every action.
So, I would
rather take ups
and downs to
reach my destination
because I
know that if I
don’t try I would
never succeed. The
thought of not trying
scares me. I don’t want
to sit back and judge the
world rather I want to be a
part of it.
“The one who tries fails but
stands up to continue, but the
one who doesn’t even try can’t
make it anywhere.”
So, dare to do what comes in
front of you and give a damn
care to those who criticise you.
Learn from your mistakes and
write your own unique fairy tale
with your own hand. So, life is
what we make it. Live it up and
make it large.
— Akriti Manandhar,
Class XII,DAV College
www.thehimalayantimes.com
Photos: THT
❸ ❹
❷
❺
Success is not a destination
that you ever reach.
Success is the quality of your journey
— Jennifer James
On April 7, 2012, I got an opportunity
to visit Lumbini. It is the
place where I had always wanted
to go. Lumbini, the birth
place of Lord Buddha, is situated about 22
km from Bhairahawa. It is about 300 km
west of Kathmandu and is situated in
Lumbini zone where other districts like
Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi
are also located.
I was going to this tour along with my
mother and some of my relatives. We
woke up early and started the most memorable
trip. We reached to Narayanghat,
stopped there for sometime and visited a
bihar. Then we went straight to Lumbini
and reached there are 6:00 pm. Then we
went for an evening walk around Lumbini
where there was a mela going on.
The next day, we visited the Lumbini
garden. We also visited monasteries built
by different countries such as Germany,
USA, China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, et
cetera. Each monastery had some unique
featured buildings. The best one was the
German style. Then we went to the Shanti
Deep (International Peace Lamp) which
is situated in front of the lake. Then we
walked to the amazing Mayadevi temple
but sadly the terrace was closed. Then we
went to Kapilvastu and Tilaurakot where
Gautam Buddha lived as a child where we
saw the remains of the place. After all this
travelling, we went to stay in a guest
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
Trip to Lumbini
house .
Next day, early in the
morning, we went to
Ramgram, the stupa
which contains Lord Buddha’s
asti (relics). And
then, after a long ride
singing and making jokes
on the way, we journey
out way back to Kathmandu.
Thus, ended my most
memorable journey to
Lumbini.
— Bhumika Shree
Bajracharya,
Class IX,St Mary’s High School
If I were God for one day
God is like a superman. He can
do everything and if I was
made God for one day, I
would like to bring some changes in
my country. Due to unemployment,
a lot of social evil is taking place in
our society. So, I would make sure
everybody is employed. I would also
make sure that everybody in the
world is literate.
Meanwhile, I would also like to remove
global warming from the environment.
I would make the world a
greener place to live in. I would work
to bring peace in the world. I would
also like to build a lot of swimming
pools so that children can swim
freely. But they won’t need to pay
very high price for using these facilities.
I would also cast rain of iPod,
PSP, video games, chocolates et
cetera.
To sum up, If I become God for one
day, I will make the world a better
place to live in.
— Sovit Dubas,Class VII,
Shikshantar School
God means the creator and the
supreme ruler of the world. If
I could be God for a day, first I
would bless every human being on
this earth. Then my second step
would be to stop differentiating between
a son and a daughter. My goal
would be to maintain peace in the
world. I would also like to give equal
rights to the poor children. I would
also plant lots of trees. I would want
to see everyone happy on the earth.
Everyone should have a smile on
their face and should live a tension
free life. I would also make childless
couples adopt orphans. God has all
the powers. So if I was god for one
day I would use these powers to
eradicate evils from the society.
— Sipradi Mishra,Class VI,
Shikshantar School
God is a superhuman. If I become
God for one day I would
maintain peace in the world. I
would make the poor people rich. I
would create a dustbin where I
would put all the garbage of the
DO SEND YOUR
ARTICLES,
ESSAYS, ART
WORK, POEMS
to school@thehimalayantimes.com
or to
Features Department,
The Himalayan Times,
Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal
world and recycle it. I would put an
end to evils like stealing, murder,
drugs et cetera. I would make the
earth big so that we can accommodate
the increasing population. I
would also make the earth greener
for a healthy environment to live in.
If I could be God for one day, I
would make the world clean and
peaceful for everyone. I would create
a world that no one has ever thought
of.
— Sashya Paudel,Class VI,
Shikshantar School

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
Variety
PAGE 15
YOUR LUCK
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: This year you often are easygoing and fortunate;
however, at times you could be fussy and difficult when it comes to
dealing with certain people. Others who relate to you might not
know which voice is really yours. The answer is: both! Dealing with
you could be challenging, especially as you have developed a short
fuse. If you are single, you are desirable, but often, people back
away as they get confused by your mixed signals. It will take a diverse
and understanding person to relate successfully with you. If
you are attached, you easily could be driving your sweetie wild by
your changeability. He or she might want to understand you better.
VIRGO becomes even more critical when dealing with you.
A baby born today has a Sun in Libra and a Moon in Leo if born before 12:22
pm (PDT).Afterward, the Moon will be in Virgo.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You hit a wall of confusion.
Step back, and allow the situation to unravel naturally.
Focus on work — whatever that may look like
for you — and worry less about gathering information.
You’ll discover a hands-off approach that will help clarity develop.
Tonight: Remember, you need to take a break sometimes. ✹✹✹
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have difficulty grasping
a long-term desire. Frustration emerges, yet you
are able to get to the bottom of a problem. If you need
to, choose an easy stressbuster in order to relax; take
a walk around the block, for example. Your creativity soars, and answers
appear. Tonight: Time for some fun. ✹✹✹✹
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Complete tasks in the
morning. In the afternoon, a gentle haze moves in. Before
you realiSe it, you could be walking in a fog. It’s
not just you — others feel similarly. Forcing clarity will
only compound the situation. You might become frustrated, but on
the other hand, you also might find time to do something you have
been putting off. Tonight: At home. ✹✹✹✹
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Allow openness in financial
discussions. You might be unusually resourceful,
but others cannot hear your suggestions. Communication
allows greater give-and-take, but don’t make any
decisions just yet. Use care around machinery and all electronic
items, as your mind easily drifts to yonder lands. Tonight: Share a
dream. ✹✹✹
LEO (July 23-Aug 22): Get an early start on the day.
Listen to your instincts regarding your assets, which
could involve an innate talent. You might decide not to
let a conversation drag you down; however, ignoring it
might not be the best idea, either. Frustration fuels anger. Tonight:
Choose a stressbuster. ✹✹✹✹
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): Listen before acting on a
decision. More information might come in. Given time,
your conclusion could change. Uncertainty prevails in
the evening, even though you have a lot of energy and
want to get moving. Do only what you are 100 per cent sure about.
Tonight: Finally, others follow your lead. ✹✹✹
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): How you feel in the morning
might be very different from your mood in the evening.
Clarify important details, and follow through on what
you feel counts. Interpersonal relationships will be
highlighted.Your ability to create and imagine remains high.Tap into
that energy later today. Tonight: Make it exclusive. ✹✹✹
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): You might feel as if you are
always behind the podium directing. An undefined
swing of events or a change in energy finds you on the
lead horse. As a result, success seems guaranteed.
You might be stunned by the difference between reality and your
perceptions. Tonight: Where people are. ✹✹✹
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): Reach out for more
information. A long-distance contact could be involved.
You might be unsure of which way to head, as
you juggle your home life with different, and nearly opposing,
interests. Give time a chance to work its magic, and you will
like the results. Tonight: Into the wee hours. ✹✹✹✹
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Your imagination
blazes in a discussion, and what emerges is a willingness
to break past self-imposed mental boundaries.
The ability to conceptualise and express some of your
thoughts could be difficult later. Just wait a day or two, and try not to
worry so much. Tonight: Let your mind lead the way. ✹✹✹✹
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): A partner or friend is relieved.
Finally, you make time for him or her. Your recent
popularity has been overwhelming, and this person
has powerful feedback for you, if you are willing to
listen. Confusion surrounds money. Be careful when dealing with an
associate who expresses his or her anger. Pull back some. Tonight:
Go for something cozy. ✹✹✹✹
PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Your understanding
could be distinctly altered by the rose-coloured shades
you’re wearing. You could find yourself feeling disappointed,
but realise that the cause is your distorted reality.
Much can be said about positive thinking. Forget losing your
temper. Tonight: Go with a suggestion. ✹✹✹✹✹
Born today: Businessman Henry John Heinz (1844), novelist Elmore
Leonard (1925), actress Joan Cusack (1962)
By Jacqueline Bigar
Note: Bigar’s Stars is based on the degree of your sun at birth.The sign
name is simply a label astrologers put on a set of degrees for convenience.
For best results, readers should refer to the dates following each sign
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
There is chaos in almost every sector of the country,
negativity and hopelessness in people. Yet, we Nepalis
have not given up and are living strong expecting the
best. In the past one year what do you think is the
greatest achievement made by any Nepali or any
incident that has made you feel proud to be a Nepali?
Send your replies in not more than 200 words
by Friday, October 12 by 2 pm to Features
Department, The Himalayan Times,
e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com;
Log on to www.thehimalayantimes.com
Journey of restoring sight
KATHMANDU: You
would definitely
be aghast by imagining
life without
sight. However, for those
people without sight, the
day they are able to see the
world would be the happiest
day in their life. But the
happiness does not limit to
themselves, rather it reaches
their near and dear ones
as well.
This happiness can be
seen in the photo exhibition
‘Nepal and Australia:
20 years of Restoring Sight’
that begun on October 9 at
Siddhartha Art Gallery.
The exhibition has been
organised by Embassy of
Australia in Nepal, The Fred
Hollows Foundation and
Tilganga Institute of Oph-
Didgeridoo,
from the lips
of Atkins
KATHMANDU:
For half an hour
straight, he took
everyone to the
wild dessert of Australia
through the sound of old
yet magical wind instrument
— didgeridoo. Performing
the magic was
Australian Aboriginal
musician Mark Atkins.
“It was absolutely fantastic.
I have heard many
artistes play the instrument
in Australia, but
not as good as him,”
artist Judy Holding said
after listening to Atkins’s
performance. She loved
the fact that “Atkins
played six or seven
drone at the same time”
while others only can
produce one or two.
Producing different
Australia’s animal
sounds, Atkins amalgamated
the traditional
way of playing didgeridoo
with his own style.
He produced one low
sound, mixed with animal
noises creating consistent
rhythm and constant
vibrant effects and
vibration. The sound
was new to many people
at the venue.
Listening to his new
THT-DOKU-1228
sound for the first time,
Keepa Vaidya from
Tripureshwor expressed,
“It was nice and unique.”
In the beginning of the
performance Atkins
said, “Close your eyes
and go back to Australia”
and his piece actually
took everyone to Australia’s
wilderness.
In the concert of 45
minutes, Nepali didgeridoo
player Salil Kanika
Subedi jammed up with
Atkins which he called
“free flow jam up”. The
rhythmic style of Subedi
and slow deep sound of
didgeridoo blended well
to produce groovy piece.
“We were expressing
ourselves through the
instrument. We were
conversing with each
other through the vibration
of the instrument,”
Subedi shared about
their impromptu playing.
For him “it was important
to hear and feel
what Atkins played as he
presented his signature
Australian Aboriginal
music”. The concert was
presented by Australian
Government, Department
of Foreign Affairs
and Trade. — HNS
One Pussy Riot member
free, two still in jail
MOSCOW: A Russian
appeals court
on October
10 ordered the release
of one member
of punk band Pussy
Riot after giving her a
suspended term but
ordered two others
serve two years in a
prison camp. Maria
Alyokhina, Yekaterina
Samutsevich and Nadezhda
Tolokonnikova, were
contesting their conviction
for hooliganism over per-
forming a song opposing
Putin in Moscow’s main
cathedral. The release
of Samutsevich
came after she announced
she was
changing her lawyer.
Her new lawyer Irina
Khrunova argued her
client did not take
part in the so-called Punk
Prayer protest with the others
since a security guard
grabbed her and her electric
guitar as soon as the
performance began. — AFP
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
HOW TO SOLVE THT-DOKU: Place numbers into the puzzle cells in such a way that each row and
column contains each of the digits from 1 up to 5. Like a Sudoku puzzle, no number is
repeated in any row or column. Each bold-outlined group of cells contains a hint consisting of a
number and one of the mathematical symbols — + x - /. The number is the result of applying the
mathematical operation represented by the symbol to the digits contained within the domain.
THT
thalmology to celebrate the
20th anniversary of The
Fred Hollows Foundation
and also to explore the journey
of Tilganga and its work
in Nepal and other regions
over the past two decades.
The photographs in the
exhibition are captured by
photographers Michael
Amendola, Ami Vitale,
Anne Crawford, Jon Reid,
Penny Bradfield, Ray Martin
and Satish Sharma.
There are over 80 black
and white as well as colour
photographs from the albums
of Tilganga and The
Fred Hollows Foundation
who have worked together
since 1994 to restore sight.
In a series of six black and
THT
white photographs by Amndial,
a donated cornea is
excised from the deceased
by a specialist at scared site
of Pashupatinath temple. In
another colour photograph
by Bradfield, a young man
in a remote village is being
carried by a volunteer
where his wife is walking
behind. Meanwhile, in another
photograph of same
couple, the young lady is
filled with joy as her husband
can see her.
In a black and white photograph
by Crawford, Dr
Sanduk Ruit is diagnosing
an elderly man where
everyone emits a smile.
About the exhibition actor
Hari Bansha Acharya,
who is one of the founder
members of Tilganga
shared, “Dr Rauit looks like
the son of the elderly man
in this photograph and the
exhibition has special importance
to me where one
can know how leadership of
Dr Ruit has helped many to
see this world again.”
Following the opening of
the exhibition, there was a
special musical performance
by Australia’s
renowned didgeridoo player
Mark Atkins.
The exhibition is on till
till October 17. — HNS
Fragments of
Bangladesh on canvas
KATHMANDU: A piece
of art sometimes represents
the culture
and place of an artist
where the vibrant lifestyle of
that place often becomes the
artist’s source of inspiration.
Similar is the case of group
painting exhibition — Color
of Time, a group exhibition by
11 Bangladeshi artists from an
art group Space Visual Art —
were you can get the
Bangladeshi flavour.
The painting exhibition
that started from October 9 at
Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal
has nature, folk art, religious
belief and people of
Bangladesh as major themes
with variations in each work.
In artist Debashis Pal’s artwork
titled ‘Journe in Fire’, the
artist has put forth three series
of ceramic paintings with
shiny crystals and dull black
ceramics that depict folk art of
Bangladesh. And you can find
the elephants, Lord Ganesh
and farmer in those paintings
that are pleasing to the eyes.
“The shiny objects are
melting silica and crystal with
colour,” Pal shares about the
objects used in his paintings.
Another artist Anisuzzaman
Anis has used collagraph
and woodcut print in his
SUDOKU-1418
THT
works. He has depicted the
nature in a form of green forest
where the interesting mix
of light green and dark green
colour has created a different
look.
As each artist has presented
their own taste of work, one
can find variations in their
creations. Colourful semi abstract
and abstract works in
oil on paper or canvas, wood
plate, acrylic on canvas, mix
media and more are featured
in the exhibition.
The exhibition has become
a reality because of the co-ordination
of artist Bidhata KC
where she said, “The exhibition
helps to know about the
art scene of other countries.
One can explore and learn
more from these artists and
enhance one’s work.”
Agreeing with her, Fahmida
Khatun, one of the
Bangladeshi artists expressed,
“This kind of exhibition outside
home always gives us a
chance for cultural exchange
and represent our country.”
Formed in 2007, Space Visual
Art aims to conduct at
least three exhibitions a year
and Color of Time is continuation
of it.
The exhibition is on till
October 12. — HNS
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
HOW TO SOLVE: Every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of
the 9 vertical columns, in each of the 9 horizontal rows and in
each of the 9 boxes

PAGE 16 www.thehimalayantimes.com
VARIETY
SOPHIA PANDÉ
is a writer and
independent
filmmaker. The MFA
graduate, who is
working on
a documentary
about
Newar Architecture,
is willing to try
out all kinds of
cuisines
Urmila’s
comeback wish
MUMBAI: Her journey has been great
and there is no time for regret, says UrmilaMatondkar
and adds that she is
keen to “make a comeback”
but will wait till
she gets an exciting offer.
“The journey has been
great so far and there is
no time for regret. So
right now I am only looking
for a good script. I
am absolutely happy the
way my career has
shaped up,” the 38-yeartold
IANS.
Last seen in 2007 release
Karzzzz, Urmila
added, “Yes, even I want
to make a comeback.
But the kind of body of work that I have done
earlier I would only want to choose scripts that I
have not done before.” When asked if she is planning
to direct, she said, “No, I am not eyeing direction
right now.” — IANS
When tradition meets modernity
If you cross Patan Durbar
square and head north,
leaving the palace on your
right, you will soon reach
Swotha Tole and at the end
of this little cul de sac you will find
Swotha Guesthouse and Restaurant.
Our favourite table is just
outside on the steps, from which
we relish late afternoons with a
Mediterranean glass of wine, enjoying
the medieval feeling, the
diversity of the passersby, and the
magic poetry of this old street.
That was where François Driard
and I made our way to fulfil our
responsibilities as the Food Spy.
Walk in and you will be surprised
to find a modern, minimalist
dining room. The place is
small, and seats around 24 in total.
There are few other outdoor
tables in their small back garden.
The music is always on, eclectic,
and perfect for the small intimate
setting; there is a blackboard listed
with the specials of the day.
Swotha also has a comprehensive
set menu, with an all day
breakfast option. You can choose
between an English breakfast
complete with Bacon, Sausages,
Grilled Toma-
toes and Eggs, or a Nepali breakfast;
Paratha, Stew and Chutney!
They also always have a homemade
Potato Gnocchi option for
the main course, Vegetable
Quiche and a Paneer Burger.
Camille, the French manager
of the place, makes sure one is
comfortable and taken care of,
and then there is Paul, a young,
tall British chef who favours local
products over imported ones and
goes to shop for vegetables and
meats himself, building a different
menu every week.
On Sundays and Tuesdays he
occupies the kitchen, and one
can have the rare treat of an Organic
Lamb Terrine, or Duck Egg
Salad with Mixed Greens and
Roasted Potatoes. Paul also specialises
in Home Made Pastas
and his Tagliatelle and Ravioli are
divine, light and fluffy, flavoured
with delicate sauces.
Though we were only there in
the evening, we are certain that
Swotha is equally pleasant during
the day. You can take your visitors
on a walk around Patan
Durbar Square and stop by
Swotha for breakfast, or coffee
with their now famous cheesecakes,
one is traditional, the other
a concoction of the real Bhaktapur
‘Juju Dhau’ baked in a clay
pot with pistachios. They also
have a Nepali Daal Bhat option
which comes with the most delicious
tart pickle, made up of
slightly fermented vegetables.
The service is always pleasant,
attentive, but not intrusive.
Another dish that ought not to
be missed is the snacky Mezze
Platter: an assortment of Quail
Eggs, Soya Bean, Hummus,
Baba Ganoush, Potatoes and
Grilled Tomatoes that comes
with fresh Pita Bread. It is the best
way to start off your dinner as an
appetiser. The wines are decent,
and the bathroom is large, pleasant
and extremely clean, complete
with mini towels to dry
ones’ hands.
Try out Swotha for a real culinary
experience amidst a mix of
old bricks and modernity in the
middle of medieval Patan.
HANKS ADMIRES AAMIR
NEW DELHI: Hollywood
star Tom Hanks
read about Bollywood
actor Aamir Khan’s work for
the Indian society, and is
mightily impressed. He says
“giving back” (to the society)
is tough.
Hanks, whose new film
Cloud Atlas is releasing in Indian
theatres on October 26,
read about Aamir in the September
10 issue of the Time
magazine, in which he was
positioned as India’s “first superstar-activist”.
“I really admire the work
that Aamir Khan is doing (in
India). Very few celebrities
take the initiative of coming
forward to change the society
and he has done a remarkable
job,” Hanks said in a
statement.
Aamir awakened several
television viewers with his
small screen debut, Satyamev
Jayate, a show through which
he brought several social issues
like female foeticide and
dowry to the fore, backed by
statistics. Hanks feels it is all a
part of giving back to the people,
who give artists so much
SWOTHA
RATINGS
Ambience: 10
Food quality/
presentation: 8
Quality of service: 9
Hygiene: 10
Value for money: 10
Overall satisfaction
value: 9
Sophia Pandé
love.
“It’s the ‘giving-back’ that’s
tough. Aamir seems to understand
the influencing
power of being a celebrity
and is using it to act as a catalyst
for change in society,
something that definitely deserves
both appreciation and
support from all quarters,”
said Hanks.
The Forrest Gump actor
will feature with Halle Berry
and Hugh Grant in Cloud Atlas,
co-directed by Lana Wachowski,
Andy Wachowski
and Tom Tykwer. — IANS
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
Rihanna
most
likeable
star on fb
NEW YORK: Rihanna is the
leader — on Facebook. The
pop superstar has been
crowned the most-likeable star on
the social networking website after
overtaking Eminem in the popularity
stakes.
The Stan hitmaker became the
first person to reach 60 million
‘friends’ on the site in July, but the
Umbrella hitmaker has now surpassed
his total.
Rihanna boasted 61,617,468
likes, while Eminem was a
close second with
61,269,210.
Shakira is in third
place with 54.8
million followers,
Lady GaGa bags
fourth place with
53.2 million and
late singer Michael
Jackson rounds out
the top five celebrities
on the site with
51.9 million fans.
Meanwhile, Rihanna
will reportedly
be the
inspiration
behind Stella
McCartney‘s
next
collection.
Stella,
40, met
the Umbrella
hitmaker
two years ago
and are now
thinking of collaborating
on a
fashion range.
“They have
been having regular
chats,” a source
said. “Stella feels she
needs to tap into a
younger generation
and Rihanna is
happy to help. It’s
a bizarre way to
create a fashion
line but they
work well together.”
— Agencies
Published by: International Media Network Nepal (Pvt) Ltd, APCA House, Baidya Khana Road, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO Box 11651 Phone: 4771489, Fax: 977-1-4770701 / 4771959, E-mail: editorial@thehimalayantimes.com Regd No 143/051/052 Postal Regd. 069-070 Printed at: Sama Printers (Pvt) Ltd, Sainbu VDC, Lalitpur. Editor: Ajaya Bhadra Khanal