NC,UML want CPN-M,MJF-N in

Nepal’s No. 1 

English Daily 

www.thehimalayantimes.com 

Printed simultaneously from 

Kathmandu and Itahari 

Trekking before Trekking Page 7 US seeks to shore up relations with Pakistan Page 11 LPG bottlers seek more facilities Page 12 

The Himalayan 

T I M E S 

Vol. XI No.306 • Kathmandu, Sunday, September 23, 2012, Ashwin 7, 2069, Nepal Sambat 1132 

• SHORT TAKES 

AFP/RSS 

Competitors preparing to go on stage for 

the first edition of the European Beard and 

Moustache Championships in Wittersdorf, 

eastern France, on Saturday. 

NEPAL 

UCPN-Maoist leaders quit 

KATHMANDU:Three influential UCPN-M 

leaders of the Far-western region resigned 

demanding attention to the far-west. They 

expressed serious concern about the party 

leadership’s indifference and the gradual disintegration 

of the party. (Details on Page 5) 

CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs) SELLING (in Rs) 

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Japanese Yen 10 10.94 11.01 

The foreign exchange rates are fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank 

Himalayan News Service 

Kathmandu, September 22 

Kathmandu Metropolitan 

City’s (plan to operate electric 

vehicles in New Road 

area from today after declaring 

it a vehicle-free zone 

has been postponed for another 

day. 

Earlier, KMC had declared 

New road and Hanumandhoka 

Durbar Square 

areas vehicle-free zone from 

Sunday in a bid to preserve 

the UNESCO World Heritage 

Site. However. the plan 

was put on hold after some 

entrepreneurs in the area 

asked KMC not to be hasty 

in implementing the decision,” 

Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, 

executive chief of the 

civic body said. 

According to KMC 

sources, entrepreneurs were 

afraid that restricting vehicles 

could affect their business 

during the festival season. 

“However, we are committed 

to implementing the 

decision and a new date will 

be published soon after another 

round of discussion 

• CONSENSUS TALKS 

NC, UML want 

CPN-M, MJF-N in 

Himalayan News Service parties to launch a joint move- 


ment if the Baburam Bhattarailed 

government did not step 

Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, down and clear the way for fresh 

who have been dealing with the polls, said Congress sources. 

ruling coalition of Unified CPN- CPN-M Spokesperson Pampha 

Maoist and United Democratic Bhusal said her party leaders held 

Madhesi Front (UDMF), want the talks with NC leaders regarding 

CPN-Maoist led by Mohan Baid- involving her party in the fourhya 

and Madhesi Janaadhikar Foparty negotiations. “Consensus 

rum Nepal led by Upendra Yadav among the four parties cannot 

involved in any future deal be national consensus. All 

among major political forces. other forces must be involved in 

Baidhya and Yadav met Nepali any deal on national agendas,” 

Congress President Sushil Koirala she said. 

yesterday and today and urged NC and UML think the involve- 

him to involve them in the fourment of CPN-M, MJF-N and other 

party meetings to sort out prob- political forces, who do not suplems, 

said NC sources. They said port the ruling coalition, will 

that the four-party “syndicate” make their voice stronger while 

could not be accepted as “nation- dealing with the ruling coalition. 

al consensus”. 

“We should not ignore the 

Baidhya doubted UCPN-M CPN-M, MJF-N and other politi- 

commitment to hold fresh Concal forces if we want national constituent 

Assembly elections and sensus in the true sense. Our par- 

told Koirala that fresh polls could ty wants to involve them in future 

be held only if the four parties talks and it will raise the issue 

took the CPN-Maoist and other strongly in the four-party meeting 

political forces into confidence. tomorrow,” said UML secretary 

Baidhya told Koirala the UCPN- Bishnu Paudel. 

M did not want to hold polls as it UCPN-M spokesman Agni Sap- 

wanted to prolong its stay in the kota, said the four forces were yet 

government in the name of a to decide on involving the CPNpackage 

deal. “The UCPN-M M, MJF-N and other parties in 

wants to use other parties in a talks. “If they are interested, we 

strategic way to prolong its stay in will not exclude them. We are pos- 

government and it is not interestitive about involving them. Howed 

in holding polls until we jointly ever, we are yet to decide,” said 

pressure it,” he said. 

UCPN-M Spokesperson Agni 

Baidhya called on opposition Sapkota. 

Plan to make New Road vehicle free zone deferred 

with entrepreneurs,” Adhikari 

said without divulging 

details of the new 

date. According to KMC, vehicles 

will be barred in the 

area between 8:30 am to 

7:30 pm. However, permanent 

residents will be issued 

entry passes. KMC has been 

holding discussions with all 

the stakeholders, including 

local clubs, entrepreneurs, 

local residents and other 

concerned parties about its 

plan. “We are also in touch 

with vehicle entrepreneurs 

to decide on operation of 

electric vehicles,” Adhikari 

said. 

KMC is likely to buy electric 

vehicles and operate 

them in the area, keeping 

the cost for commuters 

minimum, KMC sources 

said. If the private sector 

shows interest in operating 

electric vehicles at a reasonable 

fare, they can be allowed 

to operate, said Adhikari. 

KMC has three 14seater 

electric vehicles at 

present. “However, if a majority 

of people prefer to 

walk, there may not be any 

need to operate EVs,” he 

added. 

The stakeholders have 

shown concern about parking 

lots in New Road area for 

KMC operated electric vehicles. 

“We are planning to 

manage parking lots in a 

better way,” said Adhikari. 

“We will use the existing 

parking lots and develop 

new ones if the need arises,” 

he added. “We’ll develop 

footpaths and permanent 

road dividers and add 

greenery to the area,” he 

said. 

Weather: Partly cloudy 

Max: 29-31 o 

C Min: 18-20 o 

C 

Sunrise 05:53 Sunset 18:00 

Capital ★ 16+8 pages Rs 3 

Visitors wearing traditional Bavarian clothes raise their beers in a festival tent at the start of the Oktoberfest beer 

festival at the Theresienwiese in Munich, on Saturday. 

Agence France Presse 

Munich, September 22 

The world’s largest beer festival 

opened with a pop today 

as the first keg was tapped at 

Munich’s Oktoberfest, a 16day 

extravaganza of lederhosen, 

oompah music and millions 

of ales. 

With the traditional cry of 

“O’zapft is” (“The keg is 

tapped”) at midday, Mayor 

Christian Ude cracked open 

the first barrel and handed a 

foamy “Mass” (litre-sized 

glass) to a grateful Horst See- 

UCPN-M to claim reins of new govt 

Rubbishes charge of irregularities in camps 



Unified CPN-Maoist today reiterated 

its claim on the next government, 

which will hold fresh 

Constituent Assembly elections. 

“UCPN-M will lead the election 

government because NC’s 

claim is crumbling with the 

parties’ failure to reinstate the 

dissolved CA,” Agni Sapkota, 

UCPN-M spokesperson told a 

press meet. He said the latest 

political development had led 

his party to claim leadership of 

the election government since 

the basis for NC’s claim had fallen 

apart. 

He, however, said his party 

would continue discussions on 

the leadership of the new government. 

Asked about which 

leader from his party would 

lead the government, he said 

the party had not yet decided 

whether Prime Minister Baburam 

Bhattarai would continue 

The NC’s claim is 

crumbling with their 

failure to reinstate the 

dissolved CA 

or Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 

would take the reins. 

Sapkota said the NC already 

has the President, and if they 

are also given prime ministership, 

they could capture state 

power. “If that happens the politics 

of the country will plunge 

into a vicious cycle.” 

Regarding the charge of irregularities 

in Maoist cantonments, 

Sapkota on Saturday 

said the case filed at the Commission 

for the Investigation of 

Abuse of Authority (CIAA) by 

Youth Association Nepal — the 

‘The keg is tapped’ on world’s biggest beer fest 

youth wing of CPN-UML — accusing 

the UCPN-M leadership 

of corruption in the cantonments 

was nothing but propaganda. 

He said the complaint 

held no significance and the 

CIAA would not have any evidence 

to prove the accusation. 

“We can challenge the CIAA to 

find evidences,” he said. 

It should be recalled that during 

the recent seventh extended 

UCPN-M meeting at Bhrikuti 

Mandap, participants, especially 

the ex-combatants had raised 

the issue of irregularities in the 

PLA cantonments. They had 

even obstructed the meeting 

and hurled chairs at the top 

leaders, including Chairman 

Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vicechairman 

Baburam Bhattarai. 

As promised by Chairman 

Dahal the party has formed an 

internal probe commission under 

the leadership of party secretary 

Post Bahadur Bogati, but 

the commission has not revealed 

any details yet. 

hofer, Bavaria’s state premier. 

A steady drizzle did not 

seem to put the party-goers 

off as long queues formed 

outside the bigger beer tents, 

two hours before the massive 

halls were to open and 

well before the suds began to 

flow. More than six million 

revellers from around the 

world were expected to attend 

this year’s festival and 

slurp between them around 

seven million litres of the 

amber nectar in one of the 35 

giant beer tents stretching 

over 26 hectares. To wash it 

down, punters will gobble 

literally tens of thousands of 

giant soft pretzels, pork, 

dumplings and other traditional 

Bavarian delicacies. 

Last year, drinkers worked 

through 118 oxen and 53 

calves. 

Bavarian pilot Andreas 

Maffey, 33, said he was 

proud to be a part of the festival. 

“We have the privilege 

and the luck to have the 

world’s biggest festival on 

our doorstep,” he said. “I reserve 

a table every day dur- 

AFP / RSS 

ing the Oktoberfest but I 

can’t come every day, my liver 

wouldn’t take it,” he joked, 

adding he expected 

nonetheless to consume 

“around eight” litre-sized 

glasses. 

Although the Oktoberfest 

started 202 years ago, this 

year’s event is the 179th edition 

as the party was cancelled 

during two world 

wars, two cholera outbreaks, 

Napoleon’s invasion of 

Bavaria and the hyperinflation 

of the 1920s. This year’s 

event runs until October 7.

PAGE 2 www.thehimalayantimes.com 

CAPITAL 

• IN BRIEF 

Newar musicians clad in traditional 

attire playing the flute at a street 

festival in Bhaktapur on Saturday. 

Social Service Day 

THT 

KATHMANDU : The 33rd Social Service 

Day was observed in the Capital 

on Saturday by organising various 

programmes and felicitating social 

workers. On the occasion, Social Welfare 

Council held a special function 

on its premises where Vice President 

Paramananda Jha was the chief 

guest. Jha suggested that the SWC 

keep a tab on non-government organisations 

operating from the country 

in the wake of growing complaints 

against their activities. He also gave 

away letters of appreciation and 

awards to various organisations and 

individuals working for the welfare of 

the society. As many as 35,837 nongovernment 

and 250 international 

non-government organisations have 

been affiliated to SWC so far. — RSS 

German hailed 

KATHMANDU: The Tribhuvan University’s 

College of International Languages 

marked the German Language 

Day-2012 amidst a programme 

here on Saturday. Inaugurating the 

programme, deputy chief at the Embassy 

of Germany, Henning Hanzen, 

said German language is rich compared 

to other world languages. He 

lauded the college for promoting 

German language in Nepal. Chief of 

the college, Bamdev Adhikari, and director 

at the Goethe Institute, 

Michael Chand, said the demand for 

people who can speak German is increasing 

by the day. Chief of the Department 

of German at the College, 

Dr Manfred Troy, said Germany has 

produced world renowned personalities 

in the field of language, literature, 

science and art. On the occasion, students 

presented songs in German 

language. A film was also screened on 

the occasion. — RSS 

Absconding prisoner held in City 



The Central Investigation Bureau 

of the Nepal Police today 

nabbed a former soldier, who 

had managed to sanction his release 

from jail by submitting 

forged military seals and documents 

from Sundhara. 

On August 27, Ganga Hari Neupane 

(29) of Ranibas-2, Sindhuli, 

had managed to outsmart 

the jailer at the Central Jail by 

producing a forged ‘release letter’ 

from the Nepali Army’s Military 

Special Court. 

Advanced 

training on 

trauma care 



AO Foundation, a Switzerland-based nonprofit 

organisation, hosted for the first 

time a training course on Principles in Operative 

Fracture Management. The foundation 

is committed to enhance knowledge 

of orthopaedic surgeons globally on 

how to perfectly operate on trauma victims. 

Forty-five junior orthopaedic surgeons 

and students of orthopaedics from across 

the country took part in the three-day 

seminar at Nepali Medical College and 

Teaching Hospital, Jorpati. Orthopaedic 

surgeon Dr Ram Kewal Shah, Dr Ramesh 

Prasad Singh, Mahesh Srivastav, Dr Dipak 

Mahara, Dr Subhas B Sah imparted training 

to the participants together with orthopaedic 

surgeon Dr Dhawal Desai from 

India and Dr Sura Pong from Thailand. 

They had recently received advanced 

training in Switzerland. Dr Ram Kewal 

Shah said such trainings used to be held 

only in the US and Europe in the past. 

Now on, AO Foundation will annually 

conduct such training in Nepal, he said, 

expressing hope that the training would 

enable Nepali orthopaedic surgeons to 

perform flawless surgeries in Nepal. 

Dr Shah, Asia representative of the 

foundation, said even senior doctors were 

not aware of advanced skills of trauma 

management in the past. The foundation 

has also been organising trauma management 

training programmes for paramedical 

staff in Nepal since 2005. 

“Training for paramedical staff is also very 

important as only a trained professional 

can rightly manage the patients’ trauma 

better and refer them to appropriate 

health centres,” he added. Founded in 

Switzerland in 1958 under the name of Arbeitsgemeinschaft 

für Osteosynthesefragen 

(Association for the Study of Internal 

Fixation), the foundation today represents 

the world’s leading knowledge organisation 

in osteosynthesis. 

He had been absconding 

since and was picked up from 

the Sundhara-based Chitwan 

Guest House. 

The Summary General Military 

Court of the army had convicted 

Neupane, an erstwhile 

corporal, and sentenced him to 

three years in jail in accordance 

with the Military Act on May 24 

for breaching military discipline 

and acting against professional 

conduct. 

The May 24 ‘release letter’ addressed 

to the Central Jail has a 

fake seal of Military Special 

Court and signature of Major 



World Wildlife Fund, Nepal, today 

felicitated five individuals and three 

organisations with various awards 

at a function in the Capital. 

The awards recognised outstanding 

feats in the field of conservation, 

natural resource management, climate 

change, freshwater, tourism, 

sustainable livelihoods and journalism. 

In a press release, WWF said the 

‘Abraham Conservation Awards’ 

was conferred on DSP Praveen 

General Nirendra Prasad Aryal. 

It has requested the jail administration 

to ‘release Neupane 

with immediate effect as the 

verdict of Summary General 

Military Court was found erroneous’. 

“The falsified letter looked 

like authentic document and 

made the jail administration to 

release the ex-army man,” a police 

investigator said. 

An excerpt of the letter reads, 

“The Appellate Special Committee, 

after investigating into 

the plaintiff’s appeal against the 

verdict of Military Summary 

General Court, has reached the 

conclusion that the August 27 

decision to sentence him is erroneous. 

Therefore, the jail administration 

is requested to release 

the plaintiff and inform 

thereof to this court as soon as 

possible.” 

CIB officials said a thorough 

investigation was launched to 

bust the forgery racket, who assisted 

the soldier to falsify the 

military seals and documents. 

Neupane will face charges 

under the ‘Forgery of Government 

Seals and Signatures’ 

Chapter of the Civic Code. 

Pokhrel from the Central Investigation 

Bureau of the Nepal Police under 

whose command CIB carried 

out more than three dozen operations 

throughout Nepal, arresting 

hundreds of notorious poachers 

and criminals. 

Gyan Bahadur Shah from Kailali 

received the honour for afforestation 

and forest management activities, 

and controlling illegal logging 

and minimising poaching. While 

Hingwa Tharu from Bardia got 

awarded for his dedication towards 

fighting wildlife crimes and for 

playing an instrumental role in the 

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 

Former corporal Ganga Hari Neupane, who was on the 

run after outsmarting the jailer at Central Jail. 

Awards given for nature conservation initiatives 

arrest of a renowned rhino horn 

smuggler as well as 15 other people 

engaged in the trade of wildlife 

parts. 

In the organisation category, the 

Abraham Conservation Award was 

conferred on Nanda Box Battalion 

for playing a crucial role in achieving 

Zero Poaching Year for rhinos in 

Nepal and being at the forefront of 

capturing wildlife criminals for 

more than a decade. 

Kalika Community Forests User 

Group was feted for establishing an 

old-age home for Livestock in 2009 

for conserving vultures and Lang- 

tang Area Conservation Concern 

Society for raising awareness on 

bio-diversity and eco-tourism. 

WWF Conservation Award in media 

was conferred on Krishna Mani 

Baral from Pokhara, for his insightful 

and analytical reporting. Baral is 

a reporter for The Himalayan Times. 

The Special Conservation Award 

went to Nanda Devi Kunwar from 

Kailali in recognition of her bravery 

to fight against forest encroaches. 

This award was given to her with the 

special recommendation from the 

panel of judges involved in the selection 

of the awardees. 

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai felicitating the Suklaphanta Sanchar Griha with a Press Council award in Kathmandu on Saturday. 

Cops give special security plan ‘A’ 

4,127 held during month-long exercise,452 charged 



The month-long Special 

Security Operation, 

launched in Kathmandu on 

August 21, has paid off, City 

police claimed today. 

Making public a monthly 

progress report of the operation 

that Metropolitan Police 

Range, Hanumandhoka 

had initiated together 

with the Kathmandu District 

Administration Office 

to fight burgeoning crimes 

in Kathmandu and take 

preventive measures, MPR 

CPN-UML chair 

off to India 



CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath 

Khanal today left for India to inaugurate 

a convention of the All India 

Pravasi Nepali Sangh, a UML-aligned 

association, slated to be held in 

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday. 

Surya Thapa, secretary of the 

party’s publicity department, said the 

UML chief had no plans to meet any 

of the Indian leaders during his visit. 

Khanal is slated to return home on 

Wednesday. Thapa informed that the 

chairman has appointed vice-chairman 

Bamdev Gautam as acting chairman 

of the party and added that 

Gautam will lead the party in all bilateral 

and multilateral talks with other 

parties. 

Thapa said talks with parties will 

not be affected due to Khanal’s absence 

as Friday’s meeting of UML 

standing committee has come up 

with stand on all political issues. 

Three major parties and UDMF are 

slated to hold another round of talks 

tomorrow. 

in-charge SSP Jaya Bahadur 

Chand said they 

recorded 311 criminal cases 

in the city in August-September 

(Bhadra) this year 

compared to 407 in 2011, 

374 in 2010 and 325 in 2009. 

The cases include armed 

robbery, murder, attempt 

to murder, suicide, burglary, 

theft, attempted 

theft, fraud, forgery, banking 

offence, trafficking of 

drugs and small arms, kidnapping 

and hostage taking, 

attempted kidnapping, 

polygamy, rape, attempted 

rape, human trafficking, 

Nepal Academy Chancellor Bairagi Kainla (left) and literatteur Dahal 

Yagyanidhi at a function held in Kathmandu to honour Dahal. 

Rastriya Samachar Samiti 


vehicle homicide, vehicle 

maim, using of fake currency, 

possession of explosives, 

black marketing, cyber 

crime and extortion. 

“Reported cases in Kathmandu 

fell this Bhadra 

compared to corresponding 

period in the last three 

years, thanks to the special 

security operation,” said 

SSP Chand. 

More importantly, the incidents 

of crime declined 

to 311 in Bhadra against 

305 in Shrawan, and 324 

each in Ashar and Jestha 

this year. SSP Chand in- 

Litterateur and mediaperson Dahal 

Yagyanidhi was felicitated at a 

function in the Capital today. Born 

on Saun 4, 2010 BS in Khotang, litterateur 

Dahal has been suffering 

from kidney disease for long. 

formed that police rounded 

up a total of 4,127 suspects 

during the operation. 

“After investigation, we 

filed charges against 452 

people at the District Administration 

Office and 

Kathmandu District Court 

and handed over 3,675 

people to their kin with a 

warning,” he said. 

For effective implementation 

of the short-term security 

plan, city police had 

divided the inner and outer 

parts of Ring Road into five 

sectors and mobilised 

2,500 personnel. 

Some 60 organisations honoured 

Dahal, who earned popularity 

with his radio programme 

‘Sahitya Sansar’, for his contribution 

to Nepali literature, media, 

language, education, culture and 

democratic movements. 

Senior litterateur Maya Thakuri 

provided handed over the felicita- 

Treat ethnic 

groups as 

equals: PM 



Prime Minister Baburam 

Bhattarai threw in a surprise 

at the inaugural session of 

the sixth national convention 

of Newa Deya Daboo today. 

Addressing the convention 

in Newari, PM Bhattarai, 

who had reached the convention 

venue in Basantapur 

with his wife Hisila Yami, 

said since all the ethnic 

groups in the country are 

equal, they deserve equal 

rights. 

Bhattarai said his government 

is committed to providing 

equal rights to all ethnic 

groups. 

Noting that the nation 

could not get a new constitution 

due to political parties’ 

failure to come to an agreement, 

Bhattarai said the parties 

will soon end the political 

crisis through consensus. 

He also found time to 

heap praise on the Newar 

community, hailing it for its 

significant role in the establishment 

of the Communist 

Party in Nepal and for the 

success of People’s War as 

well as People’s Movement in 

2006. 

Dahal Yagyanidhi feted for contribution to Nepali 

THT 

THT 

THT 

tion letter to Dahal. 

A book titled Jadau, a biography 

of Dahal and his works edited by 

Ramesh Subhechhu, was released 

on the occasion. 

At the function, Chancellor of 

Nepal Academy Bairagi Kainla expressed 

happiness over the honour 

bestowed to Yagyanidhi.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com 

CAPITAL 

• IN BRIEF 

A contestant performing at a 

talent show organised by 

Xavier International College 

in Kathmandu on Saturday. 

49 held for ‘indecency’ 

KATHMANDU: Police on Saturday 

raided hotels and restaurants in Bag 

Bazaar, Sundhara, Balaju, Thamel, 

Koteshwor, Baneshwor, Kalimati, Kamal 

Pokhari and Gongabu, and arrested 

49 people for indulging in ‘illegal 

sex’. Hanumandhoka police informed 

that 26 of the arrestees were 

women and claimed that most couples 

were caught in the act. Around 

50 cops in civvies were mobilised for 

the raids. — HNS 

Robber caught 

KATHMANDU: Police on Friday arrested 

Raju Lama (50) of Phidim-3, 

Ilam, while he was fleeing the scene 

after robbing a pedestrian in Gaushala. 

According to police, Lama had run 

away after robbing Ajaya Chaurasiya 

of Bara of Rs 2,000 by displaying a 

khukuri at around 9.10 pm. On a tipoff, 

a police team followed the suspect 

leading to his arrest. He is in the 

custody of the Metropolitan Police 

Circle, Bouddha for further investigation. 

— HNS 

• DPM VISIT TO UNGA 

Refugees, aid, 

SAARC on agenda 



Deputy Prime Minister Narayan 

Kaji Shrestha is going to raise the 

issue of Bhutanese and Tibetan 

refugees, call for an early meeting 

of the Indo-Nepal Joint Commission 

and convey the country’s proposal 

to postpone the SAARC Summit, 

during the 67th General Assembly 

of the United Nations 

(UNGA) in New York, and on the 

sidelines. 

Shrestha, who is also the Minister 

for Foreign Affairs, will put forward 

Nepal’s views on the Tibetan 

refugee and foreign assistance is- 

sues while addressing the UNGA. 

On the sidelines, he is to call on 

Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y 

Thinley to ask Thimpu to allow 

refugees, who did not opt for thirdcountry 

re-settlement, to return 

home. “The refugee issue has long 

eclipsed prospects of strengthening 

Nepal-Bhutan relations in the 

social and fronts,” Shrestha told 

THT, before leaving for New York. A 

source told this daily that the government 

is expecting Thinley to request 

Nepal for its help in its bid to 

be a non-permanent member of 

the Security Council, which will fall 

vacant at the end of 2012 when India 

completes her term under the 

Asia Group. 

Shrestha set out New York today, 

leading a dozen delegates, including 

Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad 

Bhattarai and UN Division Chief at 

MoFA Dipak Dhital. Some of his 

delegates will join him from the 

Permanent Mission of Nepal to the 

UN in New York. 

Foreign Minister Shrestha is likely 

to hold a meeting with his Indian 

counterpart SM Krishnan. If the 

meeting is held, the Nepali side is 

planning to call on New Delhi to 

set a date for the long-due foreign 

minister-level Joint Commission 

meeting. 

The highest-level 

bilateral mechanism 

has 

not held its meeting since February 

1991. A meeting was slated for 

March this year, but it did not materialise. 

While addressing the UNGA on 

September 27, Shrestha will request 

the international community 

to assist in Nepal’s development 

efforts. The minister will also request 

to the world to take into account 

Nepal’s sensitive position 

while dealing with the Tibetan 

refugee issue. 

Nepal has been stating that it is 

not a party to any international 

convention on refugees and it has 

been doing what it has been doing 

only on moral and humanitarian 

grounds. 

During an informal meeting of 

the SAARC Council of Ministers, 

Shrestha will update his counterparts 

on the political condition in 

Nepal and buy time until September 

2013 to host the 18th SAARC 

Summit. The highest-level meeting 

of the regional bloc was expected 

to be held in early 2013. 

Nepal will also lobby for its candidacy 

to become a member of the 

UN Economic and Social Council 

— election to which will be held in 

October-end. Foreign Secretary 

Bhattarai is to stay in New York until 

then to garner international 

support for Nepal’s bid. 

During his 10-day stay in the US, 

Shreshta is also to call on Presidents 

of Sri Lanka and Switzerland, 

Prime Minister of Bangladesh and 

Secretary-General of the United 

Nations. Separate meetings with 

foreign ministers of Australia, 

Switzerland, Turkey, 

and South Korea 

are also on 

schedule. 

RSS THT 

Minister for Science and Technology Keshav Man Shakya speaking at a programme in Kathmandu on Saturday. 

Want healthy heart? Keep obesity at bay 



Don’t know how to keep 

your heart healthy and prevent 

heart diseases? Here’s a 

medics’ advice: Keep obesity 

at bay. 

At a programme today, 

cardiologist Dr Prakash Raj 

Regmi said obesity and 

coronary heart diseases are 

directly linked. He said overweight 

people are more at 

risk of heart diseases than 

those, who have maintained 

a healthy body 

mass index. 

“Smoking, obesity, inadequate 

intake of fruit and 

vegetables, alcoholism and 

physical inactivity remain 

the major causes of heart 

complications in the country,” 

said Regmi and asked 

the people to be more careful 

with these risk factors to 

protect the heart. 

Addressing a programme 

organised on the occasion 

of the World Heart Day, 

which is on September 29, 

he pointed that high blood 

pressure increases the risk 

of heart attack, stroke and 

kidney failure. 

Hospital data show that 

40 per cent of heart patients 

are suffering from coronary 

heart diseases, 27 per cent 

from rheumatic heart diseases 

and 29 

per cent 

from 

high blood pressure, among 

others. About 15 per cent of 

the country’s population, 

according to Dr Regmi, is 

suffering from one or another 

type of heart disease. 

What’s more alarming is 

that heart patients have increased 

five times in course 

of 10 years. Dr Jyoti Bhattarai, 

diabetes specialist and 

endocrinologist, said diabetes 

is prevalent in the Indian 

subcontinent and 

Nepalis are at high risk. She 

added that inactiveness, unreasonable 

diet and high 

stress are mainly to blame 

for diabetes. 

She said timely treatment 

can prevent devastating 

complications resulting 

from diabetes like kidney 

failure, blindness, stroke 

and heart attack. 

Dr Deewakar Sharma, senior 

consultant cardiologist 

at the Shahid Gangalal National 

Heart Centre, said 

PAGE 3 

high blood pressure can 

lead to heart attack, stroke, 

heart failure, kidney failure, 

eye damage and other risks. 

He said proper treatment 

can reduce the risks to some 

extent. 

In Nepal, 20-25 per cent of 

the adult population above 

18 years has hypertension 

and it increases with age. 

With more than half of heart 

patients do not showing any 

symptoms, heart diseases 

are emerging as a silent 

emergency. 

The main reasons behind 

hypertension are smoking, 

heavy drinking, sedentary 

lifestyle, obesity, high calorie 

diet and increased salt 

consumption, said Sharma. 

He recommends low salt 

diet, regular exercise, moderate 

drinking, high fibre 

food, fruits and vegetables 

to maintain blood pressure 

that can go a long way in 

keeping the heart healthy.


Tika R Pradhan 


Three influential Unified CPN- 

Maoist leaders of the Far-western 

Region have recently resigned en 

mass demanding adequate attention 

to the region. 

The leaders have also expressed 

serious concern over the indifference 

on the part of the leadership 

and gradual disintegration of the 

party. 

Khagraj Bhatta, who is close to 

party Vice-chairman Baburam 

Bhattarai; former minister Bhim 

Bahadur Kadayat, who is close to 

Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 

and Jagat Parki, close to another 

Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji 

Shrestha had resigned en masse 

from the member of the Seven National 

Convention Organising 

Committee. 

According to Bhatta, they had 

submitted their resignation to the 

party Chairman Dahal five days 

earlier. He said Dahal has been 

urging them to withdraw their decision. 

Bhatta said they have 

raised three main issues as their 

demands. 

“Firstly, we have realised that 

the party has been deviated from 

its goal and ideology but the leadership 

has remained indifferent to 

it and hardly did anything to correct 

the course,” he said. He said 

that the party’s ideals have been 

jettisoned. 

Secondly, Bhatta said the Seti 

Mahakali State Committee of the 

party was always neglected from 

the state. “We hoped that our party 

will do some justice, but that remained 

only a dream. Nothing has 

been changed since our party-led 

government was formed,” he 

added. 

Bhatta further said they have 

demanded 20 per cent of the total 

budget of the country must be allocated 

to the far-western region. 

The party remained indifferent 


NATIONAL 

Three UCPN-M Far-west leaders quit party 

Unity govt before 

Dashain, says Oli 


Biratnagar, September 22 

CPN-UML leader KP Oli 

today said that the country 

would get a new government 

led by a non-Maoist 

Prome Minister before 

Dashain government. 

Speaking to mediapersons 

in Biratnagar, Oli said 

the UCPN-Maoist party 

would have ministers in 

the consensus government 

but they will not be leading 

it. 

“The country will face 

more challenges if the 

UCPN-M led government 

is allowed to continue on,” 

he said adding the UCPN- 

M’s reluctance to hand 

over power was stalling th 

formation of a new government. 

On a different note, 

Oli said if Prime Minister 

Baburam Bhattarai does 

not put in his papers, the 

President will form a new 

government under the 

leadership of a non-Maoist 

leader. The UML leader 

clarified that the country 

would suffer more if the 

UCPN-M and the Prime 

Minister do not show 

readiness to forge consensus. 

“The President has to be 

made more active as he is 

the protector of the nation 

and the constitution. He 

needs to take steps to save 

the country.” 

Oli further said that the 

President must be pro-active 

to form a new government 

using Article 43 of the 

Interim Constitution. 

“The country is witnessing 

a political crisis due to 

the UCPN-M,” he said. Oli 

informed that his party has 

proposed that Nepali Congress 

be given the opportunity 

to lead the new government. 

“UML could lead the 

government if the conflict 

arises in NC,” he added. He 

said that he himself was capable 

for the top post and 

was one of his party’s candidates 

for the post. 

‘UCPN-M hell-bent 

on capturing power’ 


Pokhara, September 22 

Nepali Congress central 

leader Arjun Nur Singh KC 

today alleged the Unified 

CPN-Maoist was hell bent 

on capturing the state. 

Speaking at a press meet 

organised by the Press 

Union Kaski in Pokhara, 

NC leader called on the opposition 

parties to go for 

street protest as Maoists 

were not willing to abandon 

the government without 

easily. 

“Maoist is hoodwinking 

opposition parties to meet 

its goal in the name of consensus,” 

KC alleged. 

Reiterating that UCPN- 

Maoist would not quit the 

government easily, KC 

asked the opposition parties 

to hit the street to overthrow 

Prime Minister 

Baburam Bhatatrai-led 

government. 

On the political standoff 

facing the country, KC remarked 

that consensus 

was a must to resolve the 

protracted political crisis. 

He, however, charged that 

UCPN-Maoist was en- 

grossed in befuddling the 

NC and CPN-UML. 

Coming down heavily on 

the incumbent government, 

the NC leader said 

that Maoist-led government 

was unconstitutional. 

He urged the Maoist to 

demonstrate flexibility for 

building national consensus. 

“As consensus is a 

must for political outlet, 

UCPN-Maoists have to abjure 

its rigidity,” KC added. 

On a different note, KC 

said that his party favours 

election to the fresh Constituent 

Assembly polls. He 

went on to say that opposition 

parties had foiled 

Maoist design of reviving 

the dissolved CA to take 

unnecessary advantage. 

He opined that his party 

would not go for fresh polls 

under the Maoist-led government. 

On former king Gyanendra 

Shah’s visit, NC leader 

clarified that ex-royal had 

the right to make a trip in 

the democratic polity. “NC 

does not and will not obstruct 

ex-royal’s religious 

tour to far-west,” KC 

added. 

RPP leader Thapa 

takes parties to task 


Biratnagar, September 22 

Rastriya Janasakti Party 

Chairperson Surya Bahadur 

Thapa today said the 

country is facing the risk of 

a serious constitutional 

crisis owing to the lack of 

sincerity on the part of the 

major political parties. 

Speaking to journalists 

at the Biratnagar Airport 

here today, Thapa came 

down heavily on the major-political 

parties for 

their failure to reach consensus. 

“The so-called big parties 

are locking horns, leaving 

the country and the 

people in the lurch,” the 

RJP chief argued, adding, 

“The country that is already 

facing a constitutional 

crisis will face the 

worst of it should the parties 

fail to form a consensus 

government by mid- 

October. 

“In the absence of the 

consensus government 

any time soon the constitutional 

bodies including 

the election commission 

will be vacant ending the 

chances for the country to 

seen elections in the future.” 

Further, suggesting revival 

of the dead constitutional 

assembly even for a 

short time as an option for 

extricating the country 

from the present deadlock, 

Thapa also criticised Prime 

Minister Dr Baburam 

Bhattarai and his party the 

Unified CPN-Maoist for 

being a hurdle in ending 

the present crisis. 

“The prevailing crisis has 

failed to end owing to the 

UCPN-M chief and the 

prime minister,” Thapa 

averred, also calling for the 

President’s role to end the 

current crisis if need be. 

even when the leaders of far-west 

had been seriously raising such issues 

many a times, he said. 

Lastly, the three leaders have demanded 

appropriate representation 

of the leaders from the farwest 

as far as responsibilities of 

the party are concerned and also 

in the government positions. 

“Leaders from the far-west have 

been neglected everywhere. They 

are refrained from leadership both 

within the party as well as in the 

government,” he said. 

Asked why only three leaders 

had resigned, Bhatta said they 

have the support from all the leaders 

of the far-west and the people 

have been showering congratulations 

and best wishes for the step 

they had taken for the welfare of 

their place. 

The leaders, however, are committed 

to their demands and 

claimed they would never compromise 

unless their demands 

were met. “We have been discussing 

the demands that are to be 

addressed right away and those 

which could be addressed gradually,” 

he said. 

The central Maoist leaders of 

the far-western region were very 

disappointed after they were ignored 

when the party selected the 

leaders to join the government. 

Bajura faces textbook shortage 

BAJURA : Textbook shortage 

has hit majority of the 

schools in Bajura district. 

Sources said that different 

schools located in Bichhyaa, 

PAGE 5 

Rugin, Sapatta, Jukot, Bandhu, 

Dahkot and Wai VDCs are 

yet to get the textbooks even 

after six months into the new 

academic session. —HNS

PAGE 6 

• ONCE-OVER 

Former workers of the Birgunj 

Sugar Mills that had been closed 

for long showing journalists the 

factory in Birgunj, on Saturday. 

Road re-opened 

THT 

PYUTHANK: The Bhaluwang-Pyuthan 

portion of the road obstructed 

by landslide has come into operation 

from Friday. The road was obstructed 

by landslide triggered by rains near 

Kundule of Dhungegadhi. Vehicles 

began to ply as usual after the opening, 

said the Sworgadwari Public 

Transport Entrepreneurs Committee. 

The obstruction had stranded long 

and short routes vehicles of both 

Pyuthan and Rolpa districts. The road 

was cleared with the help of local police 

and dozer, said the District Police 

Office. More than five dozen buses, 

trucks, jeeps and motorcycles had 

been stranded. —RSS 

Anthology released 

JANAKPURDHAM: An anthology of 

stories Somali written by press freedom 

fighter and senior journalist 

Rajeswor Nepali was released amid a 

function here on Friday. While releasing 

the book, chief guest and Chairman 

of the International Maithili Literary 

Council Dr Kamal Kant Jha said 

that people knew Nepali as a journalist 

but he is a multifaceted personality. 

He also said he came to know at 

the programme that he was also a 

story writer and a historian. At the 

programme presided over by litterateur 

Dr Rewati Raman Lal, senior 

journalist Nepali said he started writing 

stories when he was arrested in 

the bomb scandal of 2042 BS, but this 

was his first book in Maithili. The 

anthology Somali has 23 stories 

and dwell on rural society. —RSS 

Hospital sans toilet 

SOLUKHUMBU: Hospitals are for 

care and comfort of the sick people, 

but what if a hospital is running without 

a toilet? But this is what patients 

have to face the situation at the District 

Hospital in Solukhumbu. Patients 

reaching the hospital for treatment 

say their illness is further aggravated 

in the hospital for lack of toilet. 

Mithumaya Basnet of Salleri who is 

being treated in the hospital bed, says 

she has to stay in the hospital without 

eating anything for fear of having to 

go to toilet. The ill people have to go 

to the nearest jungle behind the hospital 

for relieving themselves as the 

only toilet in the hospital was closed 

for the past three months. —RSS 


Parbat, September 22 

Former king Gyanendra Shah 

today said the current political 

scenario in the country and 

‘waning nationalism’ has worried 

like every other citizens. 

Talking to mediapersons at a 

local hotel in Baglung, Shah 

said it was a misfortune that 

the people complaining. “No 

one is happy with the country’s 

present situation and I am 

worried like you all,” said the 

former monarch, who is on a 

‘religious tour’ of the western 

region. 

“During my visit, I have 

heard lots of complaints from 

the people. They all complained 

about the bad political 

scenario and said the spirit of 

nationalism was in crisis. I respect 

their feelings,” said Shah. 

The former king met local 

businessmen, social activists, 

Rastriya Prajatantra Party- 

Nepal cadres and representatives 

from various organizations 

in the course of his visit. 

Shah, who paid homage to 

Kalika Bhagawati shrine at 

noon, has returned to Pokhara. 


NATIONAL 

Ex-king speaks of crisis 

RPP-N against 

secularism: Thapa 


Lamjung, September 22 

Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal Chairman Kamal 

Thapa today said his party was against secularism, 

republicanism and federalism. 

Speaking at his party’s programme in Besisahar, 

Lamjung, Thapa said that state was being weakened 

in the name of secularism. He accused the 

four major political forces of abolishing the 

monarchy by cheating the people. 

Thapa remarked that former king Gyanendra 

Shah has every right to visit religious areas. The 

royalist leader argued that political parties 

protested Shah’s visit due to growing support for 

the former monarch throughout the country. 

On a different note, Thapa alleged the four major 

political forces made the now dissolved Constituent 

Assembly a rubber stamp and plunged 

the country into crisis. “The country is facing a 

political crisis due to the parties’ shortsightedness,” 

Thapa blamed. 

Noting that his party was for national integrity, 

Hindu state, and constitutional monarchy, 

Thapa held that country would never see an autocratic 

rule. 

Hundreds of supporters, who 

chanted slogans calling on him 

to play to role to resolve the 

current crisis, had come to the 

temple to receive the former 

king. 

He also visited the Gayatri 

temple and Ananda Gumba of 

Parbat. Earlier, hundreds of 

motorcycle-borne supporters 

from Parbat and Baglung 

had escorted Shah from Nayapul 

of Kaski. 

Shah is scheduled to visit a 

number of religious sites in 

Kaski and Tanahun before returning 

to the Capital. 

FDRA to hold mass 

rallies in five cities 



Federal Democratic Republic 

Alliance today decided to organise 

mass rallies in five major 

cities of the country to build 

public opinion in favour of national 

consensus. 

A meeting of the FDRA today 

took a decision to hold mass 

meetings in Biratnagar on October 

3 and in Janakpur on October 

5, said alliance’s Spokesperson 

Prem Bahadur Singh. 

Similarly, mass meetings 

would also be organised on October 

7, 9 and 12 in Nepalgunj, 

Pokhara and Kathmandu respectively. 

Singh said holding fresh Constituent 

Assembly elections 

were the alliance’s first priority, 

however it was open to the revival 

of the CA. 

“Our first priority is holding 

Nepali Army and police personnel cleaning a pond on the premises of Bhagawati Mandir in Rajbiraj on Saturday. 


Finance Minister Barshaman Pun among others participating in a western regional 

symposium on revenue leakage control in Butwal, on Saturday. 

the fresh CA elections but we 

are open to the idea of promulgating 

a new constitution 

through a revived CA because 

voices for the same are growing 

within the Nepali Congress and 

the CPN-UML,” Singh maintained. 

FDRA Chairman Pushpa Kamal 

Dahal briefed the alliance 

partners on the progress made 

in the recent talks held with the 

NC and the UML. 

The FDRA also decided to 

seek solution to all the issues including 

formation of a national 

consensus government, leadership 

of the new government, 

ways to conduct fresh elections, 

term and strength of the CA and 

ways to amend the Interim Constitution, 

according to Singh. 

The FDRA will soon form a 

Management Committee to 

hold mass meetings in major 

cities of the country. 

THT 

Police make Khumbuwan 

ex-central member public 


Khotang, September 22 

Khotang District Police today 

made public Birdhan Rai, former 

Central member of Khumbhuwan 

Rastriya Morcha popularly known 

as Biswash Sampang Khumbu 

today. 

Khumbu was arrested on Thursday 

with the weapons and explosive 

materials at Bakshila-4 by a 

team headed by the Regional Police 

Office Biratnagar, DSP Bhim 

Bahadur Dahal. 

The police team seized one pistol, 

10 round bullets, 15 pieces of 

Gelatin, 36 detonators, one 

Khukari, six pieces of bill pad, 

one pad of the membership 

letter of the Khumban Students 

Morcha, the statute related to 

Khumbuhan, proclamation letter, 

working papers and 26 pieces 

books and pamphlets, informed 

police. 


Dhulikhel, September 22 

Deputy Prime Minister and 

Home Minister Bijaya Kumar 

Gachhadar today suggested the 

country could go for fresh election 

under the present government by 

forging consensus among the political 

parties. 

Speaking at a press meet following 

the conclusion of the party 

central committee meeting here 

today, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Democratic 

chief held political 

parties could forge consensus 

and go for the fresh polls under the 

leadership of the present coalition 

led by Prime Minister Baburam 

Bhattarai. 

Further, attributing the demise 

of the Constituent Assembly to the 

vested interests of the Nepali Congress, 

CPN-UML, Unified CPN- 

THT 

Similarly, the police also seized a 

diary where he mentioned the donation 

taken from 30 different 

schools of Khotang including 

some future planning. 

The police found that he had 

taken the donation from the 

teachers of the northern parts of 

the district. It also found that 

he had the secret plan to declare 

the Rashtriya Janakranti Party and 

attack the Area Police Post, Bakshila, 

informed DSP Dahal. 

Over 10 youths have actively 

participated to execute their 

plans, and 20 more were planning 

to form the Janakrantikari volunteer 

party, police said. Khumbu 

will be punished under the Explosive 

Materials Act, informed 

Dahal. 

He was fired from his party 

for taking the donation without 

the party’s knowledge, informed 

the Khumbu Morcha Central 

Committee. 

MJF-D bats for fresh polls 

Maoist and Madhesi Morcha, he, 

however, held his party was ready 

to accept the leadership of any 

party if it was backed by consensus. 

On a different note, he claimed 

the country’s security situation 

has improved a lot since he took 

charge of the home ministry. 

Meanwhile, the central committee 

meeting of the Madhesi Janadhikar 

Forum Democratic concluded 

in Dhulikhel today, floating six 

conditions for the Constituent Assembly 

election. 

As per a source, the meeting has 

stressed the need of a fresh CA 

election so as to promulgate the 

statute. It has also called for the 

necessary amendments in the 

constitution prior to the election. 

The two-day meeting had started 

at a resort in Dhulikhel from 

Friday.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com 

Angelique van Leeuwen 

Dhunche 

Choosing Dhunche as starting 

point for a trekking trip 

is perfect when going to 

Gosainkunda or Langtang 

Valley. Less optimal in 

monsoon time though. So it proved 

for 34-year-old French traveller Florent 

Avella, who went on a four-day 

journey, starting September 1, to digitally 

capture the famous Gosainkunda 

lakes. Learning about the religious 

significance in addition to the amazing 

natural setting, this was a mustdestination 

for him, being a professional 

travel photographer. The journey 

was interesting, but he never got 

to see the lakes. 

It seemed straightforward. He 

booked the short hiking trip with an 

office in Thamel. Clear instructions 

given for the bus to Dhunche, permit 

and accommodation arranged, and 

the guide would be waiting for him. 

The next morning, they would start to 

walk from there, fresh and full of energy. 

All handled in good order at a 

competitive price. It would only take 

a seven-hour bus trip to the starting 

point. Normally it does. However, the 

monsoon decided differently this 

year. 

The bus ride turned into a full-size 

trekking adventure, matching the 

hike he supposed to start the day after. 

Hours into the journey the bus 

stopped and it soon became clear 

that everybody had to abandon it 

with all their belongings. A landslide 

made it impossible for the bus to continue. 

Sure, a landslide is a common 

occurrence during monsoon time, 

but this one was one of larger scale. 


Kathmandu 

The people of Nepal need 

peace which ultimately 

leads to progress. Giving a 

similar message with people, 

peace and progress in mind, the 

first Nepal Music Festival was organised 

on September 22 at 

TheHimalayan 

ON S U N D A Y 

TREKKING 

BEFORE TREKKING 

Everybody had to walk for at least a 

few kilometres, wading through newly 

developed rivers and following narrow 

mud paths, to a point where the 

next bus was waiting for them. Part of 

travel adventure. However, it felt less 

adventurous when everybody had to 

get off bus number 2 and hike for another 

few kilometres, to get into waiting 

bus number 3, and everybody felt 

completely exhausted after another 

long journey by foot, meeting up with 

final bus number 4. This had turned 

into serious unplanned hiking before 

the planned hiking trip. 

Did this damage happen 

overnight? Nobody in Thamel 

seemed to know about it, or failed to 

mention it. Clearly it was not important 

enough for the daily news. No 

people died during the landslides. 

Only road damage occurred, on a 

large scale. Even local people did not 

seem to be informed or they took it as 

the usual burden that coincides with 

monsoon season. Turning around is 

not an option. Two people on motorbikes 

did not even decide to return to 

where they came from, but chose to 

drag their bikes up the slippery and 

narrow paths kindly helped by locals, 

taking the same route as the bus passengers 

had to take, oblivious to any 

risks of personal injury or bike damage. 

Clearly getting there was more 

important, no matter what. 

As for Avella, he cut his trip short, 

knowing that two days later he had to 

do this unplanned hike again on his 

return to Kathmandu. Thinking of the 

local people, let’s hope that they do 

not have to embark on this journey 

on a regular basis, as the landslides on 

the route Kathmandu-Dhunche are 

not likely to be cleared very soon. Nature 

has done too much damage here. 

Stay informed before visiting this region 

at this time, or you might also be 

trekking before trekking! 

(The writer is a freelance writer / 

journalist from The Netherlands) 

PEACE THROUGH MUSIC 

Jawalakhel Football Ground. 

National and international 

artistes came together where music 

acted as a medium to spread the 

message of peace and unity. This annual 

festival also aims for sustainable 

development. 

Filling the air with peaceful instruments, 

it was Sukarma that inaugurated 

the festival. Sarangi play- 

er Shyam Nepali of Sukarma believes 

that “music brings positive 

energy” and their classical music 

without any hard beats did create a 

tranquil ambience. 

“The festival has brought national 

and international artistes together 

and we are performing one genre irrespective 

of varieties of genre we 

do,” he added. 

Photos: THT 

On a mission to entertain 

the crowd at the 

venue, artistes like 

Swiss 1001 Ways, Resa 

Fusion, Playing For 

Change, Astha Tamang 

Maskey, Robin and The 

New Revolution, Cobwed, 

Tumbleweed, Indian 

Parinday Music of 

Soul, Danish Soul Set, 

Mukti and Revival and 

1974 AD performed in 

the festival. 

After Robin and The 

New Revolution on 

stage, the crowd was 

high on music, kicking 

off to break their shell 

to sway and rock. 

Among the crowd, 

supporting his musician 

friend, festival DJ 

Salim Akhtar was witnessing and 

enjoying the festival. “They are 

catering varieties of music which is 

suitable for people from young to 

old. It is also conveying positive 

messages which is good,” he said 

about the festival. 

Indeed, the venue was one place 

where many genres of music came 

together — from traditional music 

to world fusion to rock. Songs like 

Namaste Namaste, Mercedes Benz, 

Another Brick In Wall, It’s Gotta Be 

Love to name a few were performed 

by the artistes. 

Down to the vision of the festival, 

some of the performing artistes de- 

livered notes on harmony and unity 

through their songs as the festival is 

tied with peace. 1001 Ways sang 

about Gandhi, No More Wars, I Just 

Hope, Born Free and Dream Come 

True while Robin and The New Revolution 

performed Mero Desh, Keta 

Keta, Bhul Ma Bhulyo which told 

about the present situation of 

Nepal. 

Moreover, Project Co-Director Tobias 

Huber, also a member of 1001 

Ways, portrayed Nepal Music Festival 

as “an amazing opportunity to 

heal the wounds of war with music 

as universal language”. 

He sees that the need of the festi- 

PAGE 7 

Photos: Courtesy Florent Avella 

val in Nepal “to get together”. 

“Work for peace putting down all 

the borders and barriers,” he shares 

this message that he wants to deliver 

to people hoping that they would 

get the message and that festival will 

grow in the years to come. 

Music is for entertainment for 

some while it is for expression to 

others — be it anything, music is 

powerful. Here, music is being used 

as medium in this festival. As per 

Ranjan Ojha, Founder and Project 

Director of the festival, “It doesn’t 

matter how many audience gather 

for the festival but what we are communicating 

is important.”


Apartments 

or otherwise, 

choice depends on 

individual preference 

■ To purchase or construct a 

house and apartment has its advantages 

and disadvantages. 

Nonetheless, apartment life is 

more attractive for me. Apartment 

life is more convenient in 

this modern age with use of the 

latest technology, designs and 

materials. And you feel secured 

against attack, danger and risk of 

theft and robbery. Likewise, we 

can take full advantage of the 

mental, physical and financial 

facilities in and out of the apartments. 

For instance, free from 

tension about unnecessary 

things and its management of 

small necessities. Similarly, gardens, 

parking facility, lift and 

pools are added advantages. 

Moreover, management and 

construction, infrastructure, 

earthing make us feel safe from 

earthquake destruction psychologically. 

It provides high standard 

comfort and quick service 

with electricity supply and its 

maintenance, water supply, sanitation, 

central heating and operating 

systems. 

— Padam Bahadur Chhetri, 

Baksila-04,Khotang 

■ Home is where you come to 

when you have nothing better to 

do. Whether it is a magnificent 

multi-storied apartment or a 

simple countryside house, the 

important thing is that you feel 

comfortable. It entirely depends 

upon the mind and mentality of 

people on which type of residence 

they think suits them the 

most. All we can do is just sit 

back and suggest through our 

own ideas and perspectives although 

we cannot say that one 

option has more advantages 

than its alternatives as both have 

their own pros and cons. 

Recently developed concept 

clarifies that owning apartments 

is more advantageous as it is 

more convenient and cheaper. 

To some extent apartments limit 

the tension of ownership that often 

serves as a burden after the 

construction of one’s personal 

house and comes as a package of 

facilities. But people owning 

apartments often are not content 

with the “ready-made” 

facilities. 

On the other hand, constructing 

a house according to one’s 

personal choice can be quite 

beneficial for living as it radiates 

the rays of satisfaction in the 

eyes of the customers. However, 

purchasing a house can also 

prove to be a wrong decision in 

the present context if the area of 

construction is not chosen wisely. 

Complications related to the 

matters like privacy, drinking 

water, electricity, et cetera may 

rise later. 

— Sushant Shrestha 

■ I think constructing a house is 

a better option because the concept 

of apartment does not reflect 

the notion of sustainable 

development. 

Kathmandu is prone to earthquake 

and huge apartments can 

probably not be as safe as small 

buildings. Also, apartments give 

our city the appearance of concrete 

jungle. 

Similarly, the more apartments 

we build the more resistance 

capacity we try to build in 

our city. This may create false 

consciousness in government 

about people’s need. The socalled 

‘happy life in apartment’ 

can delude the government 

away from decentralisation policy. 

There are chances that state’s 

resources will be concentrated 

only in over-populated areas, instead 

of utilising it for the overall 

development of the country. 

Nevertheless, the housing pattern 

of our cities is also not less 

dangerous. Congested buildings, 

unlawful constructions and 

rampant building of new houses 

cannot be called safe and beneficial 

living. 

Hence, only providing license 

to housing companies cannot be 

a long-term solution. Instead, 

the government should focus on 

mobilising resources throughout 

the country so that development 

reaches every corner. This 

will decentralise people, and 

hence, people will be encouraged 

to build their own and safe 

houses, away from congested 

cities, where they can live 

comfortably. 

— Adity Karkee 

■ In recent years, most of the investment 

is flowing to real estate 

as people are finding it profitable. 

Apartments are gaining 

popularity. It has become a business 

to build such tall, big and 

sophisticated apartments. And 

people are attracted towards it as 

one can buy it paying a handful 

of amount easily. They don’t 

have to face any trouble and tension 

of building a house. Also, 

those people who have a busy 

life and cannot spare time to 

make their house can easily 

choose the apartment of their 

choice within a few hours. So, 

due to such things people are attracted 

towards buying apartment. 

But, they are not affordable 

to general people as it is 

expensive. 

Buying a land is also expensive 

and in present context, it is hard 

to find a suitable land. So, building 

a big and large complex can 

be a good alternative. But, in 

Nepal’s context it doesn’t carry 

much beauty as the infrastructure 

is not developed well. 

In my view, it is not that bad. It 

is providing jobs to many people. 

But, the government should 

bring rules and regulations in 

this sector and monitor well as 

this is not much productive sector. 

Investment should flow on 

productive sector like hydropower 

and manufacturing 

sector. 

— Sulochana Panta, 

Kaverpalanchowk, 

Birta Deurali-1 

■ Construction of buildings is 

growing rapidly in the urban sector. 

The concept of apartment 

for small family is quite beneficial, 

but it has not been a keen 

interest for common people. 

People are attracted towards the 

apartments but it is not comfortable 

and reliable as we expect. 

There is complexity of owning 

an apartment because of complicated 

rules and high interest 

rate and people think of constructing 

a new house but it is 

not an easy task. Facilities provided 

in the apartment are not 

satisfactory. People who live in a 

house or in an apartment must 

feel secure and should be happy 

with their property. 

— Samman Baral,Masbar, 

Pokhara-7 

■ There is a recent trend — people 

seeking to own apartments. 

But the majority have keen interest 

in constructing their own 

house rather than apartment because 

apartments are more expensive. 

But, there are some 

positive aspects of apartments 

like they are managed properly, 

have earthquake resistant standard 

and security with various 

facilities. Land space is properly 

utilised in an apartment. If 

everyone constructs/purchases 

AGENDA 

his/her own house, land space 

will become less. So, I think 

apartment life is better. But, a 

question is — where will people 

feel more comfortable in — a 

house or an apartment? 

— Rasbin Rijal,Biratnagar 

■ Well neither of the options is 

okay. It’s the matter of what’s 

good for you. An extrovert might 

prefer building a home and being 

gregarious, whereas an introvert 

might prefer being aloof by 

living in an apartment. 

It doesn’t mean that accommodating 

in an apartment 

means being apart from people 

and staying aloof. There are examples 

where people from different 

apartments live like a single 

family, but again these few 

examples cannot speak for all. 

And if it’s a matter of financial resource, 

apartment is worth opting 

for because the cost of buying 

land and making a home is 

exorbitant moreover nowadays 

apartments with fair prices are 

available. So, before making a 

choice ask yourself what you really 

want and then go for it. 

— Anonymous 

■ It is better to construct a house 

rather than to own an apartment. 

I find life in an apartment 

bound by a chain where there is 

lack of freedom. We cannot decorate 

the apartment according 

to our plan and desire. The owner 

of the apartment also has to 

be under the control of others. 

The apartments are readymade 

for us but the houses are 

built from our own instruction 

and ideas. I don’t think apartments 

are built for the sake of 

the people instead it is built for 

the sake of estate agents. 

Life in an apartment may be 

luxurious, but is too expensive, 

which is not affordable for common 

people. In my case, I want 

to have a small but beautiful 

house surrounded by perennial 

fruit trees in countryside. 

— Pradip Pokharel, 

Kohobara,Jhapa 

■ People want to have a house 

rather than an apartment, although 

the apartment is not different 

from a house in comfort. 

One difference however is — 

apartment is one flat that you 

own whereas house is all yours. 

In present context, specially, in a 

city like Kathmandu, owning an 

apartment is better than constructing 

a house, because if 

every new comer in the city 

starts building a house, there will 

no land left. And, obviously, construction 

of a house causes deforestation, 

water shortage, as 

water wells will be owned by 

each of the new houses built. 

Building a house takes time 

and in modern world, time is 

money. So ultimately, you are 

wasting your time and money by 

building a house. 

However, living environment 

is better in a house, because, 

you’ll have lots of neighbours 

around and affinity with the 

people will be more. It won’t be 

the same in an apartment. Even 

while playing music you have to 

think twice, because the family 

next door will get disturbed. 

So to choose either an apartment 

or a house depends on the 

person’s way of living. 

— Sugat Maharjan 

■ If I’ve to make a choice then I 

would own a house rather than 

an apartment. As house is a personal 

asset and one can do 

everything and anything they 

wish with it. But in apartment 

one should follow many guidelines 

as many families will be living 

in the same building. 

Owing a house gives a sense of 

pride. If I want changes in its interior 

and exterior then I can do 

it easily but this option is not 

available in apartments. Organising 

parties, gathering friends 

and enjoying to the fullest are 

only possible in a house but in 

an apartment, there are rules, 

which have to be strictly followed. 

Many compromises have 

to be made while owing an 

apartment. If I want to change 

the colour of one room then I 

can do it easily, without anyone’s 

consent. If I wish then I can put a 

swing and can dry clothes on the 

terrace of a house and take a sun 

bath for long hours, which is not 

possible in an apartment. 

— Moin Uddin,Ghattekulo, 

Kathmandu 

■ The concept of apartment life 

has started in the big cities like 

Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Butwal, 

et cetera in of our country. Undoubtedly, 

apartments have attracted 

the people. Apartments 

are peaceful and calm with adequate 

facilities. People with nuclear 

and small family find it advantageous. 

For those opting 

modern and western lifestyle 

apartments are really good. 

But, in our country, which is 

influenced by eastern culture 

and Aryan civilisation people 

find advantageous to have own 

house. People don’t feel the ownership 

of the apartments as they 

do for a house. In a family like 

ours, where we celebrate many 

festivals and frequently have 

gatherings with the relatives, 

apartments are not a feasible 

choice. 

Though, lack of space for construction 

prevails, people often 

select house to apartments. People 

can enjoy the freedom in 

house, which may be limited in 

apartments. Despite the various 

advantages of apartments, in 

our context for a comfortable 

and satisfactory life house is 

beneficial. 

— Dinesh Bhandari, 

Sinamangal,Kathmandu 

■ It is indeed true that the people 

these days are attracted towards 

owning the readymade 

apartment rather constructing a 

house after buying a piece of 

land. First of all, it is all because 

of decreasing land or paddy field 

in the Kathmandu valley where 

no piece of land is open for the 

construction. It’s already packed 

or soon it will be as purchasing 

land is a booming business. 

The apartment business has 

been heightening since couple 

of years because of the growth of 

real estate business in the country. 

So, it is very difficult to purchase 

even a very small piece of 

land even for affluent people. It 

is all about how and where the 

economic condition of the 

country is heading. 

So far, the best option among 

the two choices is — it totally depends 

on one’s interest, suitability 

and willingness. Some people 

may prefer buying a piece of 

land and some prefer to buy a 

small house of the particular 

cost. The apartment business is 

very expensive now. I think those 

who prefer buying an apartment 

is because they expect it to be 

like the ones in the west. 

Apartment business in Nepal 

is a new and dependent business 

on banks and financial institutions 

so it’s difficult to achieve a 

level of faith by the public. 

Hence I choose to get a piece of 

land and build a small house in a 

lesser amount. 

— Arjun Prasad Tiwari 

■ It is a matter of taste and preference. 

From my view of point, I 

think houses are more comfortable 

than apartment. To be very 

frank, houses are classy, fancy 

and impart the owner with pride 

and prestige. A house is generally 

owned, but it can also be rented. 

The most remarkable feature 

of a house is that it offers more 

space and more privacy. The 

floor, the yard, the roof and the 

garage are all yours. A house is 

the perfect accommodation for 

those individuals who are introvert, 

and do not appreciate interventions 

by others. 

When you own a house, you 


PEOPLESPEAK 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

can decorate it as you please, listen 

to music as loud as you want, 

and not be bothered if neighbours 

are indulged in any notorious 

activity. Apartments can in 

no way top houses in the privacy 

arena. When you live in a house, 

you have a home, not some 

room that you’re renting from a 

landlord. What’s the point of living 

somewhere if that space 

doesn’t actually belong to you? 

Apartments are unhealthy and 

cramped while houses give the 

owner freedom and happiness. 

Houses provide safety, privacy, 

and a good family environment 

that apartments simply cannot 

match. 

— Anamika Sharma Poudel 

■ Owning apartments or constructing/purchasing 

house depends 

upon people’s choice. Yet 

in recent days, people seem attracted 

towards owning apartments 

as it provides wide range 

of facilities which enhance sophisticated 

life. After all it is 

ready-made, tension regarding 

supervising the newly constructing 

house, bargaining with 

worker’s are absent. 

In my opinion, constructing or 

purchasing a house is the best 

option as it has lots of advantages 

over apartments. First, we 

can design and make the house 

as per our requirements which 

are not possible in apartments. 

Second, the foundation of house 

is stronger which may not be in 

apartments. Lots of money is not 

needed to construct a house so 

economically also it is beneficial. 

Lastly constructing a house 

means, giving it your time and 

sweat and you will definitely be 

attached to it. 

— Pratibha Pandey 

■ Well, in my opinion, constructing 

one’s own house is better 

than buying an apartment as 

an individual must apply his 

hard work which really sounds 

good from social point of view. 

Buying or owning apartments is 

rather termed as a fashion with 

the advent of globalisation as 

mainly young generations are 

seen to be attracted towards 

such a task. If an individual 

works hard, collects enough 

money, follows housing laws and 

starts construction of his house 

that looks far better than owning 

an apartment. For example, if we 

are searching for an earthquakeproof 

house, we might not get 

that one. So, it is far effective to 

construct one’s own house than 

buying an apartment. 

— Pratik Shrestha, 

Buddhanagar,Baneshwor 

With advancement in technology, new gadgets with advanced features are being introduced. And the 

fascination for such gadgets is always high among the public. Among the gadgets introduced till date, 

which is your favourite one? Why? Do you have a dream gadget that has not been invented yet? What 

features would you want in it? 

Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday, September 28 by 2 pm to Features Department, 

The Himalayan Times, e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com; 

Log on to www.thehimalayantimes.com 

Ratna Sagar Shrestha / THT


WORDS 

POTPOURRI SUNDAY 

1 The Secret History of the World by Jonathan Black, paperback, 

published by Quercus, pp 603, Rs 638 

2 The Mammoth Book of Tattoos by Lal Hardy, paperback, 

published by Robinson, pp 447, Rs 798 

3 Beautiful Thing by Sonia Faleiro, hardbound, published by 

Penguin Books, pp 216, Rs 720 

4 The Story That Must Not Be Told by Kavery Nambisan, 

hardbound, published by Penguin Viking, pp 272, Rs 798 

5 Capital by John Lanchester, paperback, published by Faber 

and Faber, pp 577, Rs 1118 

EKTA BOOKS 

Ekta Books, Thapathali, Kathmandu, 4245787, 4230729; 

Ekta Educational Palace, Manbhawan, Lalitpur, 5533862 

Ekta Books Pvt Ltd, Lamachaur, Pokhara, 061-440409 

ektabook@mos.com.np 


Kathmandu 

If you are sending your 

children for tuition classes 

but not paying the 

fees, then think again — 

your children might be 

suffering from your irresponsible 

behaviour. 

The parents of Bhunte 

(Bhawani Aryal- Gopal), Dalli 

(Radha Shrestha) and another 

student (Prakesh Sindhuliya) 

have not paid tuition fees to the 

teacher (Prabhakar Neupane). 

As such, once they reach their 

tuition class, they are forced to 

clean the house, buy vegetables 

and other household chores for 

their teacher. Meanwhile, other 

two students (Raju Aryal and 

Sabina Badal) get love, preference 

and attention from the 

same teacher because their 

parents pay the tuition fees on 

time. The former two grow up 

as dull and poor students while 

the later two are clever and talented. 

Meanwhile, these students 

start mischief once the 

teacher is away from sight. 

This story is of Khairati Mas- 

THT 

The Secret ... 

How will the world end? 

Is the Antichrist coming 

— or is he already here? 

Jonathan Black considers 

all these questions and 

many more in this fascinating 

new edition, which will 

change the way you see the 

world. From mystic revelations 

to esoteric codes, here 

is a history of the world 

based upon the beliefs of 

the secret societies — a radical 

re-interpretation of human 

existence and a view of 

the world previously hidden 

from us. The startling 

revelations that form the 

core of this book show the 

world as deeply strange and 

mysterious. 

ART & CULTURE 

...Tattoos 

This stunningly produced 

volume brings 

together 80 leading tattoo 

artists from the US, UK, and 

Europe who have made a 

name in body art. Over 500 

photographs of tattoos cover 

the full range of styles. 

From bold tribal pieces to 

delicate air-brushed designs, 

all-over “body suits” 

or individual motifs, here 

are works as distinctive as 

the bodies they adorn. 

Among the internationally 

acclaimed artists featured 

are Hannah Aitchinson, 

George Bone, Paul Booth, 

Joe Capobianco, Hercoly, 

Thomas Hooper, Corey 

Miller, et cetera. 

Beautiful Thing 

Beautiful Thing, one of 

most original works of 

non-fiction from India in 

years, is a vivid and intimate 

portrait of one reporter’s 

journey into the 

dark, pulsating and ultimately 

damaged soul of 

Bombay. Sonia Faleiro was 

a reporter in search of a story 

when she met Leela, a 

beautiful and charismatic 

bar dancer with a story to 

tell. Leela introduced Sonia 

to the underworld of Bombay’s 

dance bars: a world of 

glamourous women, of 

fierce love, sex and violence, 

of customers and 

gangsters, of police, prostitutes 

and pimps. 

The Story ... 

Simon Jesukumar, an ageing 

widower, aspires to 

do something worthwhile 

with what remains of his 

circumscribed, frustratingly 

blameless, cocooned 

middle class life. His aspirations 

are stirred by his nagging 

guilt about the slum 

next door — named ‘Sitara’. 

The well-off residents of his 

colony use the inhabitants 

of Sitara for menial jobs but 

ignore their real needs. As 

the story plunges into the 

heart of the slum, Simon 

understands that good intentions 

and acts of kindness 

achieve little when 

faced with the problems of 

a stratum of humanity. 

Capital 

At forty, Roger Yount is 

blessed with an expensive 

life, a stalled marriage 

and a job in the City. Smitty, 

bad-boy provocateur of the 

art world, is maintaining 

the delicate balance of success 

and anonymity. Sipping 

a triple-shot cappuccino 

in his Shoreditch workshop, 

he considers his next 

site-specific conceptual 

piece. Elsewhere in the capital, 

Zbigniew has come 

from Warsaw to indulge the 

affluent in their interior 

decoration whims. Freddy, 

teenage football sensation 

has left a two-room shack 

in Senagal to follow his 

dream. 

Serious message beneath the laughter 

ter, a 

play that is being staged at Sarwanam 

Theatre, Kalikasthan 

from September 20. The artistes 

from Arambha, a group of 

artistes, have enacted the drama 

written by late litterateur 

Hridaya Chandra Singh 

Pradhan. 

The play that seems to be a 

satire on the present “boring” 

teaching 

methodology and the reflection 

of a teacher “who does not give 

quality works as he is not rewarded 

for his works” is fun to 

watch. 

The actors deserve applause 

for being able to reflect the reallife 

school-students and teachers. 

Watching Gopal perform 

the gullible Bhunte and 

Shrestha as Dalli, you will re- 

member those innocent 

students often 

bullied by clever and 

cunning friends. 

Sindhuliya gives life 

to the character of a 

typical cunning guy 

who always steals 

other’s homework. 

While Raju and 

Badal are true representation 

of students 

who love to 

be teacher’s pets. 

Neupane as the 

middle-aged 

teacher who depends 

upon the 

students’ fee to 

meet his expenses 

is worth watching. 

Meanwhile Manash Raj as 

the money-lender has done an 

okay job. 

It is a comic and satirical play 

that makes you laugh throughout 

its staging of one hour. The 

play gets quite boring in few 

moments when scenes of similar 

nature seems to be lengthened 

which could be cut short. 

But funny dialogues and actions, 

cheerful music and inter- 

THE WANT TO BELONG 

KATHMANDU: Everyone 

has a sense of belongingness 

to the 

place s/he lives in, 

family and friends. But one remains 

in pain if s/he does not 

feel belonging to someone or 

somewhere. 

This search of belongingness 

can be seen in the third solo 

painting exhibition ‘Inheriting 

Statelessness’ by artist Saroj Ba- 

jracharya. In the exhibition that 

started at Park Gallery, Pulchowk 

from September 21, the 

artist has portrayed his journey 

from sense of non-belongingness 

towards a sense of 

belongingness. 

His paintings are all figurative 

with symbolic meanings in 

them. The repetitive motifs like 

shankha (conch shell), moon, 

third eye of Lord Shiva denote 

knowledge, spirituality and realisation 

respectively. In some 

of the backgrounds of the 

paintings, one can see lines to 

create map and the paintings of 

map resemble the images taken 

from aerial view. 

Mukesh Malla, artist/art 

writer at the exhibition shared, 

“His artworks tend to have a 

deep philosophic meaning — 

that knowledge comes from 

within after realisation — and it 

can be seen in these works.” 

Meanwhile, talking about his 

works, the artist shared, “During 

my childhood days I chose 

to remain alone and I was not 

able to express myself. Being an 

introvert I didn’t like to play 

with friends. I felt I didn’t have 

my true expression and don’t 

belong anywhere.” 

This psychological aspect of 

him and his search for belongingness 

for example can be 

seen in one of the series of three 

paintings. 

In the first painting, an astronaut 

wearing a brick suit is trying 

to see a conch-shell, but 

“the truth is blocked by brick 

which reflects confusion and 

conch-shell means knowledge 

and truth” as per the artist. In 

the second one, the fire is flowing 

down from a tap instead of 

water — fire which as per the 

artist is his “self-realisation that 

every person belongs to the 

other”. And the flow of fire 

means “the pain caused because 

of not being able to know 

the truth that was just infront of 

me”. Likewise in the last one, 

the astronaut is looking in a 

mirror where his eyes are reflected 

and the brick-like suit 

esting song that are performed 

in between different scenes will 

force you to overlook the 

weaknesses. 

The stage setting is simple — 

the whole play takes place in 

the teacher’s room that has a 

carpet, a small table with few 

books and a telephone and a 

chair. 

The play as per Gopal, President 

of Arambha, is not directed 

by one person. “It is a group 

effort,” he informed further revealing, 

“We wanted to work on 

a play based on child psychology 

and education.” 

The play has messages to 

cater. “A teacher forced to work 

for free can’t give quality work 

and students cannot enjoy our 

existing boring teaching 

method,” is what the play wants 

to deliver to the audience, as 

per him. 

But you won’t feel the play 

being didactic, instead you will 

realise the “serious message 

underlined within the plot of 

the play while laughing”. 

The play will be staged at 

11:30 am and 1:30 pm on September 

23. 

doesn’t exist any more. “My 

search for belongingness has 

ended and I am able to see the 

truth,” he related of the third 

painting. 

This psychological aspect 

and his search of belongingness 

are shown through his artwork 

where he has come to a 

point of belonging to his surroundings 

due to the realisation 

with time, as per Bajracharya. 

The colours in his paintings 

like purple, blue, pink, orange, 

yellow and more are used in a 

subtle way in a flat background 

without any flashiness which as 

per Bajracharya reflect the expression 

that is calm, balanced 

and sober. 

On the same day, artist Puran 

Khadka launched a book Future 

of History — penned by Bajracharya 

and Malla. The book 

has documented a collaborative 

art project conducted by 

Art’s Network Asia. 

The exhibition is on till 

October 5. — HNS 

PAGE 9 

Eminent Indian artists 

through Dr Sen’s eyes 

KATHMANDU: With an initiation 

to build an alternative 

platform and space for 

artists and creative 

thinkers, Kathmandu Quartet presented 

a new book — Your History 

Gets In The Way Of My Memory Essays 

On Indian Artists. 

The book penned by Dr Geeti 

Sen, Director of the Indian Cultural 

Centre, was launched during the 

closing ceremony ‘Evolving Within’, 

the second art exhibition of 

Kathmandu Quartet that took 

place at Nepal Art Council, 

Babarmahal on September 20. 

Indian Ambassador Jayant 

Prasad launched the book published 

by Harper Collins Publishers, 

New Delhi which has already 

been launched in India. 

Kurchi Dasgupta, one of the 

members of the group shared, 

“Our group has realised the need 

to give space to as many writers 

and artists as possible. And the 

launch of Dr Sen’s book of essays 

that explores the lives of India’s celebrated 

contemporary artists is 

our first attempt to provide such a 

space to creative works.” 

During the launch, the author 

gave an insightful lecture on eight 

eminent Indian artists that have 

Photos: THT 

THT 

been included in her book through 

power point presentation. 

Ganesh Pyne, MF Hussain, Anupam 

Sud, Nilima Sheikh, Manjit 

Bawa, Meera Mukherjee, Zarina 

Hashmi and SH Raza are the artists 

that the book talks about. “I became 

biased and selected these 

particular artists only as I know 

them well where there are four 

male and four female artists,” Dr 

Sen revealed about her selection of 

artists. 

She added, “I feel deeply enriched 

to know them personally 

and I am happy that I got the opportunity 

to understand them, 

their work and even watch them 

working.” 

It was after 1971 when she was 

“working as an art critic for Times 

of India and then India Today” she 

first met these artists and she “was 

able to witness dynamic changes 

in the art vocabulary in India”. 

Her writings on art and artists 

since then has brought Dr Sen 

“into close association with the 

artists who have now became 

iconic figures”. And after reading 

this book, as per Dr Sen, “that is 

easily accessible, one can understand 

these artists and their 

works.” — HNS


Heroine 

Genre: Drama 

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar 

Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun 

Rampal, Randeep Hooda, 

Shahana Goswami, Ranveer 

Shorey, Govind Namdeo 

Being screened at theatres 

near you 

MUMBAI: Somewhere 

deep within 

the corroding 

flamboyance of 

filmdom, there is a 

tale of heartbreaking compromises 

and immorality tucked away 

from the naked, tearless eye. Madhur 

Bhandarkar nearly gets to the 

nerve centre of that world, and 

then pulls back just before he’s really 

gotten there. 

Heroine lacks a centre, sometimes 

even a focus as it tries to 

cram in too many incidents, 

episodes, scandals, controversies 

and plain absurdities that are an 

integral part of Bollywood, so 

much so that the first hour or so 

gets suffocatingly airtight. 

And then you realise towards 

the end, that the world of the superstar 

Mahi Khanna traps the 

star, makes her a puppet of success, 

traps her in a web of deceit 

and finally throws her into a whirlwind 

of vapourous deceptions. 

The closing moments have that 

gut-wrenching element which 

made Bhandarkar’s Chandni Bar, 

Page 3 and Fashion among the 

more sensitive dramas in recent 

times. 

Mahi is shattered forlorn and 

bereft, trapped in a car surrounded 

by merciless television journalists. 

As the haunting background 

score by Salim-Sulaiman builds up 

to a shattering crescendo, Mahi’s 

THT TALKIES 

hands fold together in a plea of 

mercy. In moments our hearts 

bleed for Mahi. 

Kareena Kapoor in the best performance 

of her career so far, leads 

Mahi’s character through the 

murky labyrinth of ambition, rivalry 

and self-destructive tricks of 

survival in the rat race. Though her 

character is inconsistent (suffering, 

we are told, from bipolar disorder 

or is it just the writer’s va- 

Nilima Maden crowned first Miss Limbu 

KATHMANDU: September 

22 was a historic 

day for the 

Limbu community 

of Nepal and outside as they 

got their First Miss Limbu. 

Outnumbering 27 participants, 

Nilima Maden became 

the first Miss Limbu after 

she took the title of Spark 

Miss Limbu 2012 at an event 

held at Nepal Academy, Kamaladi. 

Following Maden, Dr 

Alisha Wanem took the first 

runner-up title while Alina 

Thalang was judged the second 

runner-up. 

In the last question and 

answer round, the top seven 

finalists were asked to give 

their opinion on “Love 

makes life prosperous at the 

same time it destroys your 

life. Do you agree with this?” 

to which Maden answered, 

“Love makes life blissful but 

THT-DOKU-1210 

SUDOKU-1400 

also destroys it because love 

evolves in selflessness. Love 

is the essence of purity, innocence 

and commitment, it 

inspires to spread love and 

motivates to stay alive without 

selfishness. So, I believe 

purity prepares my soul for 

love and love chooses my 

soul in purity.” 

As the winner, Maden won 

Rs 50,000 while Wanem won 

Rs 25,000 and Thalang took 

home Rs 15,000. There were 

other prizes as well for the 

three main winners along 

with trophies and crowns. 

Organised by Yakthung 

Youth Association, the 

pageant was judged by actor 

Rajesh Hamal, choreographer 

Jayan Subba, Academician 

Amar Tumyang, former 

Tourism Minister Yankila 

Sherpa, among others. 

The pageant began with an 

garies?) Kapoor 

furnishes the 

heroine’s character 

with a 

rare vulnerability 

and an exceptional 

inner 

life. 

In the film’s 

rawest moments 

when 

the star’s mask 

peels off comp 

l e t e l y , 

Kapoor’s face 

shows that 

stricken expression 

of 

naked panic and abject solitude 

that one last saw in the performance 

of Tabu in Mira Nair’s The 

Namesake after her husband’s 

sudden death. 

Stardom kills you bit by bit. 

Kapoor bravely undertakes Mahi’s 

perilous journey from the top to 

the bottom of the star-ladder. This 

is Kapoor’s most fearless performance 

to date. 

Interestingly this is the second 

film in three weeks where a des- 

introduction round where 

the participants showcased 

their culture, language and 

capabilities. Then the competition 

came out to Top 15 

from which the Top 7 finalists 

were chosen. The audience 

also got to witness fashion, 

dances and song performances 

in the competition. 

With the announcement 

of the winner, central member 

of the organising team 

Deo Kumar Limbu expressed, 

“I am relieved now. 

We were under so much 

pressure.” As per him, Miss 

Limbu was dreamt 12 years 

ago. Now it has materialised 

“to give platform and identity 

to our women”. 

“What could be better 

than Miss Limbu when we 

have our culture, language, 

tradition, dress to showcase?” 

asked Limbu. — HNS 

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. 

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 

THT 

MIXED FARE 

Another tale 

of desperate 

falling star 

perate falling star resorts to the 

dirtiest of measures to retrieve her 

stardom. Raaz ki baat to yeh hai ki 

Heroine sidesteps all the cliches of 

the film industry even while 

plonking the plot pat into those 

predictable places. 

So does Bhandarkar’s film exaggerate 

the sham that underlines 

the shindig of showbiz? The answer 

is, yes. Heroine is guilty of 

gross excesses. There are too many 

unnecessary characters,specially 

in the first-half bustling around in 

clumsily staged ramp shows, 

awards functions and filmy parties 

claiming our attention. 

Once Bhandarkar and his cowriters 

Manoj Tyagi, Nilanjan 

Iyenger and Anuradha Tiwary get 

over their look-we-know-showbizin-and-out 

fetish, the narrative finally 

settles down to telling us 

Mahi’s story vis-a-vis the two men 

in her life, the star Aryan Khanna 

(Arjun Rampal) and the cricketer 

Angad Pal (Randeep Hooda). 

Though Rampal’s character reminded 

me of Arbaaz Khan in 

Bhandarkar’s Fashion, both are 

characters despite their uni-di- 

mensional nature and are brought 

to life by two of our most interesting 

actors today. 

At least three other stand-out 

performances that burnish Bhandarkar’s 

flawed but fabulous film 

are those by Divya Dutt playing 

Mahi’s ruthless business manager 

who occasionally surprises herself 

by feeling real emotions for the 

fast-fading actress, Ranveer 

Shorey as the eccentric egomaniacal 

arthouse filmmaker from Bengal 

and Shahana Goswami as 

Mahi’s Bengali co-actor in one of 

the film’s finest episodes when 

Mahi, in a defiant attempt to show 

she is star who can act, has a disastrous 

trust with realistic cinema. 

In fact, Goswami and Kapoor 

share some of the film’s most special 

moments. Bhandarkar overjuices 

some of the film’s sensual 

possibilities, under-develops 

some of the more engrossing characters, 

for example the yesteryear’s’ 

star played by Helen. 

The love-making scenes are 

done fitfully and hastily. And the 

dialogues are spoken by the actors 

in the tone of a radio play. The dialogues 

could have been far more 

powerful. Instead they try to shock 

with a casual candour that fails to 

ignite the scenes. 

But Heroine still works, and 

works wonderfully in some places. 

There’s an inconsistency to the 

storytelling that works effectively 

in putting the protagonist’s flawed 

and fractured character into a pulsating 

perspective wherein we can 

no longer distinguish between the 

fatal flaws of the main character 

and the action and reactions that 

have been written to define her 

flawed existence. The film is 

flawed, but also bewildering, beguiling 

and beautiful. — IANS 

DIAMONDS 

AND DRESSES 

KATHMANDU: The ramp was set, 

everybody was seated and eagerly 

awaited to get one glimpse of 

Zeenat Aman, those glorious diamond 

jewelleries along with a good fashion 

show at the Classic Diamond Jewelry 

Fashion Show, 2012 and the programme 

started ‘on time’ on September 21 at Hotel 

Yak and Yeti. 

The first sequence was Short Dresses. 

Paired with with diamond, ruby and 

emerald jewelleries, models looked stunning, 

but below the neck, dresses were 

disappointing. It was all the more disappointing 

because you don’t expect such 

designs from Vivek Upadhyaya. The bar 

definitely rises when his name is attached. 

There was nothing new in the collection, 

the colours were black and white, 

though Chanel has set a benchmark with 

this combination, it didn’t quite work 

here. 

The second sequence was Cocktail, 

again the jewelleries mesmerised everyone. 

But out of all the pieces, the one with 

pearl stood out — it looked timeless. You 

perhaps saw your grandmother adorn it 

and it still looks fashionable in this era. 

Sticking to the sequence title, the dresses 

were well fitted, cut right, flowy, but again 

would you wear it, was a big question. 

Materials used were georgette, chiffon, 

Chinese silk satin, net and Indian silk velvet 

with floral and animal prints (lots of 

it). All the dresses were tube or one shoulder 

or strings. The reason for it was “to 

showcase the jewelleries the demand was 

such,” says Upadhyaya. 

Unfortunately, the velvet dresses 

looked very gaudy. Yes, it is stretch velvet 

and it accentuates the figure, but the Capital 

may not be ready for this just yet. “Precisely 

the reason why I used this material, 

it hasn’t been used, but it is great. Besides 

winter is approaching and 

it’s a good material for the 

season where you won’t 

be worried about being 

cold and look stylish.” 

Finally it was time for 

the last sequence — 

Bridal Collection. Ethnic 

wear being Upadhyaya’s 

forte, this sequence was a 

breath of fresh air. It was 

loud, but there was elegance, 

it was flamboyant, 

but was chic and every 

bride would want to give 

anything to wear and own 

at least one lehenga, sari 

or sherwani from this collection. 

Even the jewelleries 

were grand and 

looked royal with lots of 

chokers — diamond studded 

to go. 

Upadhyaya again used 

the velvet here, which was 

something new and it 

somehow worked well in 

sari than in a dress. The 

colour combination was 

brown and pink, which 

didn’t look bad and the 

golden blouse was 

something to flaunt — 

beautiful. 

This being the last sequence, 

Aman’s entry was 

evident, but when she 

walked the ramp, she 

Photos: THT 

donned in Rehan Shah’s 

design, the choreographer of the show 

who is also a designer from India. 

Does this bother you? Is a question that 

had to be raised and Upadhyaya answered, 

“No it doesn’t. It is an understanding 

with Classic Diamond that the showstopper 

will wear his design and I am fine 

with it.” 

Fashion show is about something innovative 

and sometimes reinventing from 

the old, which Upadhyaya and Classic Diamond 

Jewellers brought forth and till the 

next year we can only anticipate what will 

happen. — HNS 


YOUR LUCK 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: This year you experience a lot of ups and downs. If 

you can remain flexible, you will start to enjoy the ever-changing daily 

life you experience. Do not resist the inevitable; instead, flow with it. If 

you are single, you might not view a relationship as being long-term until 

it has lasted for at least a year. Keep that in mind as time goes on. You 

could meet one potential suitor after another. If you are attached, the two 

of you perpetually renegotiate your needs, as your desires always are 

changing. Accept rather than judge. Let go of rules and boundaries. 

CAPRICORN can be a burden. 

A baby born today has a Sun in Libra and a Moon in Capricorn all day. 

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Once more, you seem to be 

called upon to handle a pivotal situation or meeting.You 

could be surprised by someone’s reaction, but you’ll 

choose to continue as you have been.You also might want 

to let someone else step up to plate; there is nothing wrong with that. 

Tonight: Get a head start on tomorrow. 

This Week: You will think a lot about a friendship. ✹✹✹ 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Reach out to a friend who 

might be experiencing an unusual amount of tumultuousness.You 

could decide that a trip is in order. Ultimately, it is 

your decision. Clarify communication, whether it is to confirm 

a meeting time or express your feelings. 

Tonight: Catch up on email. 

This Week: A lot of people are asking you to perform. ✹✹✹✹✹ 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take the time for one special 

person in your life. Make sure your plans include them, if 

possible.You will see your bond become stronger for this 

effort.At the same time, clarify a misunderstanding. 

Tonight: Togetherness works. 

This Week: Keep smiling and say little, no matter how preposterous 

someone becomes. ✹✹✹✹ 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You might decide to revamp 

your plans because of someone’s mood. Make this change 

OK, because in the long run, both of you will be happier 

without a collision. Clarify a misunderstanding. Explain 

what you meant, but don’t make any accusations. 

Tonight: Invite friends over for dinner. 

This Week: If you want to get results, work with others directly. ✹✹✹✹ 

LEO (July 23-Aug 22): You might want to avoid social 

events, as you’re a little tired and withdrawn.After reading 

the Sunday paper, throw yourself into a favourite pastime. 

Make sure you do for you right now, as you will be very 

busy soon. 

Tonight: Avoid complications. 

This Week: Others want to take control. Take this opportunity to free 

yourself up. ✹✹✹ 

VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): Be spontaneous, and you’ll discover 

that a loved one will meet you halfway.Avoid a misunderstanding 

by confirming what you have heard, especially 

if it feels off. Use the intensity of the moment to bond 

more closely with a child or loved one. 

Tonight: Forget tomorrow; live now. 

This Week: You are a sign about work and duty. You get to show off your 

skills this week. ✹✹✹✹✹ 

LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): Invite a friend or family member 

over.You like visiting others, but right now you are particularly 

comfortable at home. Squeeze in a walk or fit in some 

exercise in order to reduce stress. Share the current good 

feelings. 

Tonight: Order in. 

This Week: Mix intellect with creativity. ✹✹✹✹ 

SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): Reach out for a close relative, 

especially if you have not spent time together or chatted 

on the phone in a while.You love catching up on this person’s 

news. Revamp your plans, as someone needs you 

and clearly asks for your time. 

Tonight: Swap weekend stories. 

This Week: Stay close to home.You need to be easily found. ✹✹✹✹✹ 

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): You might want to check 

on the total cost of a major purchase.The variation in the 

prices and types of the object might force you to rethink 

your original idea.The unexpected occurs with a family 

member. 

Tonight: Make it your treat 

This Week: Telling it like it is means really telling it the way you see it. 

Learn to accept other views. ✹✹✹✹ 

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): You are on top of your 

game. Others seem to sense your inner strength and collectiveness.As 

a result, they’ll seek you out. Revise your 

schedule, as a more exciting offer heads your way. Follow 

through on your heartfelt desires. 

Tonight: As you like. 

This Week: You always are careful with taking financial risks. Be even 

more careful this week. ✹✹✹✹✹ 

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): Kick back and share more of 

what you’re thinking — but only after the other person reveals 

more of what is on his or her mind.You do not need 

to make yourself unnecessarily vulnerable.A judgment 

might be off, which you will discover later. 

Tonight: Early to bed. 

This Week: You hit your power days. Go for what you want. ✹✹✹ 

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Throw your hat in the ring. 

Get together with friends for a ballgame or a movie.You’ll 

discover how contagious someone’s mood is. Do not hesitate 

to change your plans in order to accommodate a sudden 

invitation. 

Tonight: You could go on and on. 

This Week: Hatch ideas rather than act on them ... at least until 

Friday. ✹✹✹✹✹ 

BORN TODAY: Founder of Roman Empire Augustus Caesar (63 B.C.), founder of 

the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan (1215), musician Ray Charles (1930) 

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. 

Balan, beau to marry in December 

MUMBAI: Bollywood’s leading and the national 

award-winning actress Vidya Balan has a steady 

relationship with Siddharth Roy Kapur, UTV 

CEO. Sources say, now it is all right with each other and 

both have planned to take their relationship to the next 

level. Balan and Kapur are planning for marriage by the 

end of this year, most likely December. Balan is 34 and Kapur 

is 38. Sources say that their family members wanted 

the pair to marry soon, hence both have opted for December 

wedding. But, there is no official announcement yet. 

They have been dating since they met each other last year 

on the sets of No one killed Jessica. 

Balan publicly announced her bond with Kapur last 

year; she confirmed her relationship with him saying that 

she was dating him but nothing beyond that. — Agencies


INTERNATIONAL 

• THE WORLD OVER 

The Space Shuttle Endeavour being 

escorted by two F-18 jets as it passes 

the Hollywood sign on the back of a 

NASA 747 in Los Angeles on Friday. 

Clean chit to Pak girl 

Reuters 

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani police official 

says no incriminating evidence 

has been found that a young Christian 

girl desecrated Islam’s holy book. 

But Munir Jaffery said his final report 

filed with an Islamabad court on Saturday 

showed there is indication that 

the cleric of a nearby mosque tampered 

with evidence by putting pages 

of a Quran into a shopping bag the 

girl had been carrying. The case 

gained huge attention because of the 

girl’s age and questions about her 

mental capacity. It was also a rare instance 

where someone was held responsible 

for an apparently false accusation. 

Officials arrested the imam, 

and the girl was freed on bail. The final 

police report backs earlier revelations 

and will likely bolster the defence’s 

plans to have the entire case 

thrown out. — AP 

Drone kills four 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani intelligence 

officials say a US drone has fired two 

missiles at a vehicle in northwest Pakistan, 

killing four suspected militants. 

The officials say the attack took place 

Saturday in Mohammed Khel village 

in the North Waziristan tribal region 

bordering Afghanistan. They say the 

identities and nationalities of the 

slain men was not immediately 

known and their agents are trying to 

get more details. The two officials 

spoke on condition of anonymity because 

they were not authorised to 

speak to reporters. The latest attack 

comes despite Pakistani demands to 

halt the missile strikes. It also comes 

at a time when Pakistani Foreign 

Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is visiting 

Washington to discuss a range of 

issues, including how to resolve differences 

over US drone attacks in 

Pakistan. — AP 

Two UK soldiers die 

LONDON: Britain’s defence ministry 

says two soldiers have died in separate 

incidents in southern 

afghanistan. The ministry said on Friday 

that neither incident is being 

treated as a result of ‘hostile action’ 

and investigations into the circumstances 

are ongoing. One soldier 

from the 104 Force Support Battalion 

was attached to 4 Close Support Battalion, 

Royal Electrical and Mechanical 

Engineers and died at Camp Bastion 

in Helmand Province, according 

to the defence ministry. — AP 

Associated Press 

Washington, September 22 

The world’s leaders are 

gathering in New York, but 

President Barack Obama 

has no plans to meet privately 

with any of them. 

He will make time for 

The View, a freewheeling 

TV talk show more likely to 

reach voters than Obama 

would with the diplomacy 

he is skipping at the United 

Nations. 

Just six weeks until the 

election, the realities and 

priorities of campaign politics 

hang prominently 

over Obama’s final turn on 

the world stage before facing 

voters. Unlike his predecessors, 

he is skipping 

the face-to-face meetings 

with counterparts where 

much of the UN works gets 

done, leaving Secretary of 

State Hillary Rodham Clinton 

to pick up more of 

those sessions herself. 

Obama’s itinerary on 

Monday and Tuesday is 

compressed so that he can 

get back to campaigning in 

some of the most contested 

states such as Ohio and 

Virginia. Obama’s address 

to the UN General Assembly, 

while avoiding any references 

to Republican rival 

Mitt Romney, will be 

viewed in more of an election 

context by many observers. 

Those include the 

more than 130 heads of 

state and government who 

are keenly interested in 

who will be in the 

White House next year. 

Obama’s two worlds will 

collide in his speech Tuesday. 

He will have a chance 

to distinguish his world vision 

from Romney’s at a 

time when foreign crises 

have intruded in an 

election focused primarily 

on the economy. 

Obama campaign officials 

privately welcome the 

imagery of the president 

commanding the UN stage 

and making his case about 

a stronger US position in 

the world. But the speech 

is less anticipated this year, 

seeming also to be 

squeezed into a pursuit of 

a second term built more 

US seeks to shore up relations with Pakistan 



The Obama administration 

sought today to shore up already 

tense US ties with Pakistan 

amid massive, violent 

anti-American protests in several 

Pakistani cities over an 

It is important for 

responsible leaders, 

responsible people 

everywhere, to stand 

Your condemnation 

has given a strong 

message that US has 

absolutely no support 

Protesters, cops clash in B’desh 


Dhaka, September 22 

Scores of people were injured 

today in a clash in 

anti-Islam film produced in 

the United States. 

With protests still smouldering 

in some areas of Pakistan 

and speak out against 

violence 

for such blasphemous 

videos or content 

Bangladesh’s capital between 

police and hundreds of 

demonstrators, as protests 

continued in the Muslim 

on a holiday specially created 

world against a film produced 

for peaceful demonstrations, 

in the United States that deni- 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 

Clinton called on ‘responsible 

leaders’ everywhere to ex- 

Hillary Clinton 

US Secretary of State 

Hina Rabbani Khar 

Pakistan Foreign Minister 

grates Islam’s Prophet 

Muhammad. 

The film has sparked vioplicitly 

condemn violence 

lent protests throughout the 

sparked by the video. But Pak- go a long way to ending the vi- advance their own extremist Muslim world that resulted in 

istani Foreign Minister Hina olence on many streets on the ideologies,” Clinton said. 

the deaths of dozens, includ- 

Rabbani Khar, standing beside world,” she said, finishing her The State Department had ing the US ambassador to 

Clinton at the State Department, 

ignored the invitation. 

Instead, Khar focused her remarks 

entirely on the film, 

remarks on the subject and 

turning then to the broader 

state of US-Pakistan relations. 

Clinton, who spoke before 

no immediate comment on 

Khar’s remarks. Spokeswoman 

Victoria Nuland had told reporters 

before the meeting 

Libya. In Bangladesh, police 

fired tear gas and used batons 

today to disperse the stonethrowing 

protesters, who 

AFP / RSS 

A cop arresting a man protesting against an anti-Islam film 

in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday. 

which Muslims believe is blas- Khar, repeated her denuncia- that she believed Pakistani were from about a dozen Isphemous. 

She thanked Presition of the film but made it President Asif Ali Zardari had lamic groups. 

since yesterday, when more group — marched through Isdent 

Barack Obama and Clin- clear she was looking for con- spoken against violence last The protesters burned sev- than 2,000 people marched lamabad’s streets and then 

ton for speaking out against demnation of the violence week and that Khar would be eral vehicles, including a po- and burned an effigy of Presi- gathered near Parliament, 

the video and making clear it which has wracked Pakistan making ‘public statements’ to lice van, witnesses said. dent Barack Obama. 

chanting slogans against the 

did not have the support of the for the past two days but not that effect with Clinton on Fri- Dozens of protesters were The protesters announced filmmaker and demanding 

US government. But she avoid- yet resulted in any damage or day. 

arrested at the demonstration a nationwide general strike stern punishment for him. 

ed direct criticism of the vio- attacks on US diplomatic mis- In Pakistan, where more and inside the nearby Nation- tomorrow to protest the po- Thousands of people also 

lence.sions 

there, as has happened than 20 people died yesterday al Press Club, where particilice action. 

protested today in Nigeria’s 

“The condemnation of this in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and in clashes with police in cities pants took refuge, a Dhaka In Pakistan, protests con- largest city, Kano. The crowd 

blasphemous video, which has Yemen. 

throughout the country, a Cab- Metropolitan Police official tinued today, with more than marched from a mosque to 

certainly stoked the sensitivi- “We found the video... offeninet minister offered a said on condition of 1,500 people, including the palace of the Emir of 

ties of the Muslims, goes a long sive, disgusting and reprehen- $100,000 reward for the death anonymity in line with police women and children, rallying Kano, the region’s top spiritual 

way,” Khar said. “Your consible, but that does not provide of the filmmaker. 

policy. Police and witnesses in Pakistan’s capital. The leader for Muslims. 

demnation has given a strong justification for violence, and Railways Minister Ghulam said scores of people were in- crowd was peaceful but angry About 200 students in Sri- 

message that the United States therefore it is important for re- Ahmad Balor told The Associjured. over the release of the video nagar, the main city in Kash- 

government not only consponsible leaders, indeed reated Press that he would pay The clash erupted when au- called Innocence of Muslims, mir, chanted ‘Down with 

demns it, but has absolutely no sponsible people everywhere, the reward out of his own thorities attempted to halt the which portrays Prophet America’ and ‘Long live Islam’ 

support for such blasphemous to stand and speak out against pocket. He urged the Taliban demonstration, police said. Muhammad as a fraud, a in a peaceful protest. Some 

videos or content anywhere.” violence and particularly and al-Qaeda to perform the Authorities have banned all womaniser and a child moles- carried a placard that read, 

“I think that is a strong mes- against those who would ex- ‘sacred duty’ of helping locate protests near the city’s main ter. The protesters — from the ‘There is no God but Allah and 

sage, and that message should ploit this difficult moment to and kill the filmmaker. 

Baitul Mokarram mosque Minhaj-ul-Quran religious Muhammad is his messenger’ 

Dutch town Facebook 

party turns to rioting 


Amsterdam, September 22 

Thousands of revellers descended 

on a small Dutch 

town sparking a riot after a 

party invitation posted on 

Facebook went viral, authorities 

said today. 

Prosecutor Hessel Schuth 

said 34 people were arrested 

were arrested yesterday night 

and in the early hours of this 

morning and would be prosecuted 

for public order offences. 

Several people were injured, 

but none were believed 

to be seriously hurt. 

“Scum ran amok in our 

town,” said Rob Bats, mayor of 

Haren, 185 kilometres north of 

Amsterdam. “An innocent invitation 

on Facebook for a party 

led to serious rioting, destruction, 

plundering, arson and injuries 

in the middle of Haren,” 

Obama, in election mode, 

tightens his UN diplomacy 

AP / RSS 

President Barack Obama swings with an imaginary 

bat as he arrives on stage to speak at a campaign event 

at G Richard Pfitzner Stadium on Friday. 

on domestic concerns. 

Obama is expected to 

explain, explore and defend 

US engagement in the 

world as anti-American 

rage has run high in many 

nations, fueled by anti- 

Muslim film that was made 

in the United States but 

unconnected to and denounced 

by Obama’s administration. 

At the UN, Obama will 

try to differentiate himself 

from Romney by projecting 

a less aggressive tone 

toward the world, while 

also defending America 

and not seeming like an 

apologist, said Shibley Telhami, 

a Middle East scholar 

and senior fellow at the 

Brookings Institution. 

he said. 

Bats said an initial analysis 

showed a core group of rioters 

‘were very violent and wellprepared 

and deliberately 

sought confrontation’ with 

hundreds of police who had 

been dispatched to the town 

amid fears of trouble. 

Dutch media reported that 

the party originally was 

planned as a small celebration 

by a 16-year-old girl but her invitation 

went viral when she 

posted it on Facebook. 

Some of the people arriving 

in Haren yesterday wore Tshirts 

emblazoned with ‘Project 

X Haren’, a reference to the 

film Project X that portrayed an 

out-of-control party. 

Today, another Facebook 

group sprang up called Project 

Clean-X Haren, urging people 

to help clear up the debris littering 

the town’s streets. 

Libya killings 

were terrorist 

attack: Clinton 



Secretary of State Hillary 

Rodham Clinton says it was a 

‘terrorist attack’ that killed 

the American ambassador to 

Libya and three others, and 

she says the US will not rest 

until those responsible are 

brought to justice. 

Clinton told reporters yesterday 

at the State Department 

that ‘what happened in 

Benghazi was a terrorist attack’. 

“The US would track 

down the terrorists who 

murdered four Americans.” 

she said. 

Meanwhile, Reuters reported 

that an Islamist militia 

was driven out of the city 

of Benghazi early today in a 

surge of protest against the 

armed groups that control 

large parts of Libya more 

than a year after the overthrow 

of Moammar Gadhafi. 

A spokesman for Ansar al- 

Sharia said the group had 

evacuated its bases in Benghazi 

‘to preserve security in 

the city’. In a dramatic sign of 

Libya’s fragility, after sweeping 

through the base the 

crowd went on to attack a 

pro-government militia, believing 

them to be Islamists, 

triggering an armed response 

in which at least 11 

people were killed and more 

than 60 wounded. 

Ansar al-Sharia has been 

linked to the attack on the 

US consulate in Benghazi 

last week. 

Rebels down fighter jet in north Syria 

Reuters 

Amman, September 22 

Rebel fighters trying to oust 

President Bashar al-Assad 

shot down a fighter jet as it 

flew over the northern Syrian 

town of Atarib in Idlib 

province, a witness said. 

The witness, an independent 

journalist who asked to 

remain anonymous, said 

rebel fighters were attacking 

a military base near the 

town when the jet flew over 

and rebels shot it down with 

anti-aircraft guns. 

Vastly outgunned, rebels 

say they need surface-to-air 

missiles to take down 

planes and helicopters used 

by the Syrian military to 

bombard opposition 

strongholds. Fighters use 

outdated anti-aircraft machine 

guns that are welded 

to pickup trucks but they 

are inaccurate and useless if 

the military aircraft fly 

above a certain altitude. Despite 

calling for Assad to 

step down, the West is wary 

of arming rebel groups. 

PAGE 11


Business 

• BIZ BRIEFS 

AceTravels expands 

THT 

KATHMANDU: AceTravels.com, a 

travel brand of the country, has 

opened 11 branches across the country. 

It is the first time in Nepal that a 

single travel agency owns a dozen 

branches, it said. Former president of 

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of 

Commerce and Industry Kush Kumar 

Joshi inaugurated the branches in Biratnagar, 

Dharan, Birtamod, Banepa 

outside the Kathmandu valley, and at 

New Baneshwor, Pulchowk, Thamel, 

Kalimati, Swayambhu, Tinkune and 

Maharajgunj inside the valley at an 

event in the capital. The company, established 

on September 21, 2009, has 

more than 50,000 satisfied customers 

and 150 dedicated employees. It 

plans to promote more destinations 

inside the country targeting domestic 

as well as outbound tourists in the 

near future. — HNS 

Saurabh’s scheme 

KATHMANDU: Saurabh Photo International 

that distributes international 

and national brands including 

Konka, Asano and well acknowledged 

brand, Force in the domestic market 

has launched a new scheme ‘Swatta 

koryo, Phyatta Paryo’ targeting 

Dashain and Tihar. Under the 

scheme, the company will be giving a 

scratch coupon on every purchase of 

refrigerator, LED/CRT TV, washing 

machine and de-freezer Konka, 

Asano and Force brands. The customer 

can win 19”, 22”, 24”, 32” and 

42” LED TV, washing machine (semi 

automatic), vacuum cleaner, woofer, 

stand fan, rice cooker, Force 

dry/steam iron, and cash prizes. — HNS 

Tri-Nation Escape 

KATHMANDU: Mahindra and 

Mahindra and JK Tyre sponsored first 

edition of ‘Tri-Nation Escape 2012’ –– 

organised by Mahindra Adventure –– 

that had flagged off on September 11 

from Delhi has completed its adventure 

in Nepal and India, and has now 

headed towards Bhutan. The adventure, 

participated by 27 expeditionready 

vehicles, will conclude on Saturday 

in Bagdogra, India. The expedition 

covered the beautiful and mystical 

land of Nepal and is now in 

Bhutan, the land of the thunder dragon. 

This ultimate test of endurance 

for both man and machine gives participants 

the chance to experience 

magnificent landscapes, it said. –– HNS 

Diplomatic fair 

KATHMANDU: The Department of 

International Relations and Cooperation 

recently organised a Diplomatic 

Fair in Union Building, Pretoria, 

South Africa. The objectives of the 

fair were to strengthen diplomatic relations 

between South Africa and 

other countries and also to educate 

the South African society about different 

cultures in the world. About 45 

embassies and high commissions 

participated in the fair including the 

Nepali embassy. Among them nine 

embassies participated with their 

cultural groups. Inaugurating the fair, 

deputy minister of international relations 

and cooperation Ebrahim 

Ebrahim said that the fair was not 

only aimed at experiencing different 

cultures, but also at bringing government, 

diplomats and ordinary people 

together. Ambassador of Nepal to 

South Africa Arun Prasad Dhital presented 

a souvenir to the deputy minister 

when he visited the Nepal stall. 

Nepali woollen carpets, woollen 

shawls, handicraft goods, Nepali tea 

and Nepal’s tourism promotion materials 

were displayed at the fair. — HNS 

• FOREX RATES 

The foreign exchange rates for September 23 as fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank are as follows: 

CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs.) SELLING (in Rs.) 

Swiss Franc 1 91.65 92.29 

Australian Dollar 1 89.49 90.12 

Canadian Dollar 1 87.70 88.32 

Singapore Dollar 1 69.87 70.36 

Saudi Arab Riyal 1 22.79 22.95 

Qatari Riyal 1 23.48 23.64 

Thai Bhat 1 2.77 2.79 

UAE Dihram 1 23.27 23.44 

Malaysian Ringit 1 27.97 28.16 

Swedish Krona 1 13.08 

Danish Krona 1 14.89 

Hong Kong Dollar 1 11.03 

Note: Under the present system the open market exchange rates quoted by 

different /commercial banks may differ. 

LPG bottlers seek more facilities 



A committee formed by the government 

to study the current 

commission structure of LPG 

bottling plants is in a dilemma 

due to the mounting pressure 

from bottlers to increase commission 

and other profits. 

Liquefied Petroleum Gas 

(LPG) bottling plants have started 

putting pressure on the government 

to increase the existing 

commission rate and other facilities 

being provided, a member 

of the committee said. 

The nexus between bottling 

• BRAND WATCH 

plants, top bureaucrats and 

politicians has created pressure 

on the committee to raise the 

existing commission rate, the 

source added. 

Preliminary calculation has 

shown that the committee will 

recommend the government to 

raise the existing commission 

rate under some headings, said 

head of the committee and under 

secretary at the Ministry of 

Commerce and Supplies Nutaraj 

Pokharel. However, he did not 

disclose the details of the revision. 

The committee will publish 

the report soon, he said. 

Earlier, the committee had 

claimed that bottling plants 

have been receiving expenses 

from the government to distribute 

salaries to employees, 

change the valve of LPG cylinders, 

and pay the interest of the 

loan taken when setting up the 

plant. “All the facilities being 

provided to bottling plants are 

irrational and the committee 

will try to lower it,” a member of 

the committee said. 

Bottling plants have been 

receiving expenses even to provide 

bonus to their employees 

and for other administrative 

costs, the member said. 

The government had formed 

AFP / RSS 

Apple Store employees creating a tunnel for customers as they are allowed into the shop 

to buy the new iPhone 5 at Covent Garden in London, on Saturday. 

Three new Ford vehicles roll in 



GO Ford surprised everyone 

with the unveiling of three 

new vehicles — the all-new 

Ranger from Thailand, and 

Focus and Kuga from Germany 

— from the international 

Ford stable. 

Following Ford’s worldwide 

‘One Ford’ strategy and 

new slogan ‘Go Further’, 

world-class models like the 

all-new Fiesta has already 

been launched in Nepal. 

Manufactured in Thailand, 

the all-new Ranger is the latest 

in a wave of global products 

driven by the ‘One Ford’ 

strategy. Designed and engineered 

and based on a new 

global compact truck platform, 

Ranger has been transformed 

to assert true pick-up 

truck leadership, it said, 

claiming that totally new 

from the ground up, the allnew 

Ranger is designed to be 

a segment defining vehicle 

with proven durability, outstanding 

capability, advanced 

technologies and exceptional 

fuel efficiency. 

Its innovative interior offers 

more room and practical 

storage areas, besides being 

equipped with a whole list of 

smart technologies such as 

Bluetooth®1 with Voice Control. 

“Ranger Double Cab 

model delivers best-in-class 

leg room and knee clearance 

in the second row,” it added. 

It has high payload capacity 

as its outstanding ground 

clearance of up to 237mm 

and class-leading waterwading 

capability of 800mm 

boost its off-road capability. 

It delivers refined ride, confident 

handling and interiors. 

Similarly, manufactured in 

Germany, the Ford Focus is 

the world’s best-selling car of 

2012. In the first half of 2012, 

Ford Focus sold 489,616 

units, besting Toyota Corolla. 

The latest Focus is Ford’s bid 

to produce a vehicle that 

could be sold in its basic 

form all around the world. 

Following an unprecedented 

global development 

programme under the company’s 

‘One Ford’ strategy, 

Focus demonstrates how 

Ford can scale to meet the 

universal needs of worldwide 

customers, while fine tuning 

to suit regional preferences. 

Distinguished by its sleek 

and sporty design, Focus is 

packed with affordable technologies 

and features. It offers 

high standards of quality 

and craftsmanship and 

class-leading fuel economy. 

Manufactured in Germany, 

Kuga, also dubbed by 

Ford as the ‘Smarter Utility 

Vehicle’ for its fuel economy, 

versatility and new technology 

that makes driving easier 

and more fun, Kuga has a 

sleek and modern design. 

An innovative technology 

that sets Kuga apart is its 

hands-free automatic 

tailgate that can be opened 

and closed by sweeping a 

foot under rear bumper. It is 

a resounding proof of the 

global ‘One Ford’ strategy 

that maximises single-platform 

commonality and 

leverages global economies 

of scale. 

the committee following a strike 

called by LP Gas Association 

Nepal in the beginning of August 

to put pressure on the government 

to fulfill their 16-point demand. 

The government and the 

association had agreed to form 

the committee to study whether 

the government should raise the 

commission rate along with 

transportation cost. 

Nepal Oil Corporation has 

been providing Rs 105.81 for 

transportation cost, Rs 1.39 for 

technical loss, Rs 56 as dealer 

commission, and Rs 50 as insurance 

cost and technical loss on a 

cylinder of cooking gas. 

Govt proposes 

handicraft village 

at Kharipati 



The government is finally gearing up to 

develop a handicraft village in Kharipati, 

Bhaktapur. 

Handicraft industrialists had previously 

wanted the handicraft village to be 

developed in the Himal Cement Factory 

area, but things did not work out due to 

various issues. However, the government 

later proposed the area occupied 

by Nepal Electricity Authority in Kharipati, 

Bhaktapur to develop the handicraft 

village. 

“We are delighted with the government’s 

decision and we are also looking 

forward to its future strategy regarding 

the development of a handicraft village 

in the proposed area,” said president of 

Federation of Handicraft Associations of 

Nepal (FHAN) Bikash Ratna Dhakwa. 

“The government will form a committee 

within a week, which will study on 

how the handicraft village can be best 

managed,” Dhakwa said. The committee 

will also work in selecting partners 

for the handicraft village under the 

Public Private Partnership model. 

Earlier, the government had formed a 

three-member taskforce under the coordination 

of joint secretary at the secretariat 

of Council of Ministers, joint secretary 

from the Ministry of Commerce 

and Supplies, and a member of the Federation 

of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce 

and Industry. 

Eco Park is a concept developed by 

Nepal Business Forum to improve the 

handicraft sector. Meanwhile, the private 

sector has also proposed to develop 

an international convention centre and 

handicraft village with the reference of 

the location and the estimated cost. 

FHAN had earlier planned to develop 

a handicraft village that would 

have 12 products with one product having 

one cluster and 20 enterprises. The 

plan also mentioned that the clusters 

would comprise of metal craft, handmade 

paper, woollen and silk carpets, 

gems and jewellery, gold and silver, 

wood carving, thanka and modern 

painting, potteries and ceramics, stone 

carving, pashmina and handloom, traditional 

garments made of natural fabric, 

and an auxiliary factory for accessories 

that are required to manufacture 

handicraft products. 

Nepal has direct handicraft exports of 

Rs 3 billion and indirect exports worth 

Rs 4 billion annually. To promote Nepali 

handicraft in the Indian market, the association 

is also planning to organise a 

trade fair which will include India as its 

country partner. 

“To promote Nepali handicrafts, we 

have plans to choose one international 

partner each year and this year India will 

be our country partner,” said Dhakwa, 

adding that India can be a major market 

for Nepali handicraft products. 


• WEEKLY GOLD 

PRICES IN RUPEES PER TOLA (11.664 GRAM) 

(Source: Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association) 

• WEEKLY SILVER 

PRICES IN RUPEES PER TOLA (11.664 GRAM) 

(Source: Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association) 

• WEEKLY DOLLAR RATE 



Consumers and activists 

have urged the government 

to focus on enforcing 

the maximum retail 

price (MRP). Market monitoring 

should be MRPcentric 

for a full-fledged 

implementation of the relief 

programme, they said. 

The government had set 

the MRP of 15 essential 

consumer goods to control 

skyrocketing prices on 

September 13 amid severe 

criticism from the private 

sector — Federation of 

Nepalese Chambers of 

Commerce and Industry, 

and Confederation of 

Nepalese Industries. However, 

trader groups — 

Nepal Chamber of Commerce, 

and Nepal Retailers’ 

Association — had 

agreed to support the government’s 

initiative. 

MRP has already been 

published in the Nepal 

Gazette, so it must be implemented, 

said consumer 

rights activist Jyoti 

Baniya. “Market monitoring 

mechanism of Department 

of Commerce and 

Supply Management 

should lay more emphasis 

on it,” he said, adding that 

IN RUPEES 

(Source: Nepal Rastra Bank) 

Consumers urge 

action on MRP 

blindly believing the 

traders will not work. 

The department, in its 

circular to the media on 

September 14, had mentioned 

that it had started 

MRP monitoring from the 

same day. However, it has 

not punished a single trader 

in the last one week. According 

to the department, 

there has been no 

MRP violation in the market 

till date. “We will take 

immediate action if consumers 

complain about 

it,” said director general at 

the department Narayan 

Prasad Bidari. 

However, consumers 

have not felt any change in 

the market. There is no 

change in price due to the 

MRP, said Binita Karki, a 

housewife shopping at 

Mangal Bazar of Lalitpur 

sub-metropolis. “I bought 

jira masino rice for Rs 58 

kg today,” she said. However, 

the MRP of one kg 

jira masino is Rs 55. 

Consumers in New 

Baneshwor, Kalimati and 

Anamnagar echoed Karki. 

They said setting MRP is 

not enough. “Strict monitoring 

is a must to implement 

it,” said a college 

graduate Hirdaya Sapkota 

at Anamnagar. 

Nepse upbeat as shareholders try to cash in on dividends 



418.90 points on Sunday afternoon 

reached 420.83 points by 

the end of the day. It further 

| WEEKLY SHARE UPDATE | 

highest number of transactions 

with 578 transactions. 

Trading of blue chip stocks 

Hotel and Oriental Hotels. 

Others gained 5.87 points as 

Nepal Telecom gained Rs six 

The expectation of dividends went up the next two days 

–– shares of class ‘A’ companies per unit share. Commercial 

has driven a majority of in- reaching 425.47 points by 

–– amounted to 43.59 per cent banks lost 0.63 points, while fivestors 

to purchase shares Tuesday. In the next two days, 

of the total trading amounting nance companies and devel- 

which has led to the bench- the index slid reaching 420.45 

to Rs 274.4 million. The sensiopment banks gained 0.96 

mark index sustaining at above points by the end of the week. 

tive index that measures the points and 3.78 points, respec- 

420 points throughout the This week, the market wit- 

performance of blue chip tively. Insurance companies 

week –– September 16 to 20. nessed transactions of 3.52 

stocks gained 0.19 points. The earned 7.84 points. Manufac- 

As almost half of the listed million unit shares worth Rs 

indicator of the performance turing subgroup lost 32.51 

banks, major hydropower 629.5 million of 125 companies 

of actual shares traded –– float points as Unilever lost Rs 631 

companies, development in 7028 transactions. The 

index –– lost 0.02 points to per unit share. 

banks and finance companies transaction volume has in- 

reach 31.44 points. 

The top five performers of 

have announced dividends creased by 70.17 per cent and 

Chilime Hydropower gained the week were Machha- 

from last fiscal year’s earnings, the number of shares traded 

Rs 35 per unit share, and both puchchhre Bank (Rs 158.39 

shareholders trying to cash in 

on the dividends before book 

has gone up by about 30 times, 

in comparison to last week, es- 

(Figures in points. Source: Nepse) 

Butwal Power Company and million), Chilime Hydropower 

Arun Valley also were able (Rs 91.10 million), Arun Valley 

closure are bidding higher for pecially, due to Machha- 

to register gains pushing Hydropower (Rs 42.17 mil- 

shares. The index earned 1.55 puchchhre Bank Ltd (MBL)’s nessed the highest transaction lion unit shares worth Rs 158.4 hydropower subgroup up by lion), Kist Bank (Rs 39.25 mil- 

points this week. 

share transactions. 

volume and number of shares million. Chilime Hydropower 23.31 points. Hotels gained lion) and Everest Bank (Rs 

The market that opened at This week, MBL shares wit- traded with trading of 1.86 mil- was the forerunner in terms of 22.61 points due to Soaltee 33.26 million).


THTshopping shopping 

shopping 

destination 

Sangita Shrestha 

Kathmandu 

Even though one says s/he 

likes modern dress and 

feels comfortable in casual 

clothing, there is always a corner 

in one’s heart to get all 

dressed up in embroidered 

shimmering attire. If you are 

thinking of gorgeously embroidered 

saris, kurtis, gowns, sherwanis 

and so on, or even without 

the embroidery, then head 

towards Kupondole to get that 

perfect look for you. 

Variety galore 

The Bagmati bridge that 

starts from Thapathali ends at 

Kupondole and from the end 

point of the bridge you will be 

able to see many stores and 

boutiques that deal with attires, 

mostly for females but at some 

stores you will get attires for all 

age groups. The stores namely 

The New Saaranz, Envy Fashion, 

Silk Sequence, Yes Mam 

and Fashion Boutique Dot Com 

are some stores where you can 

get the traditional attires while 

the Kupondole area is lined up 

with numerous stores dealing 

with traditional attires as well as 

modern and you can get clothing 

as per your need. 

At these stores you can get 

normal casual traditional attires 

to partywear where the partywear 

have embroidered works. 

Moreover, at Silk Sequence, Yes 

Mam and Fashion Boutique Dot 

Com you can get gowns with 

heavy embroidered attractive 

work on its neckline that can be 

made according to your size, or 

you can just get the readymade 

ones. 

At Yes Mam, you will get sherwanis 

for men and children. 

Shradha Pal 

Kathmandu 

Remember 

trying to 

ride a cycle 

for the first 

time? You 

bruised yourself, fell 

down and lost count 

after the sixth time; you would 

be petrified if your sibling let go 

of the cycle while you were on 

it. Despite all this, when you finally 

learn to ride it, happiness 

knows no bounds. For a few 

months, you don’t let go and 

one day all the excitement will 

vanish and the cycle will be a 

piece of junk. 

Perhaps this would have 

been true a few years ago, not 

anymore. Now it’s not only 

about learning to ride, it’s 

about knowing everything 

about the bike — making, 

cost, popularity, function, 

taking care of it and so forth. 

It’s about the sport and 

falling in love with it! 

If you can relate to the 

words, you are looking for a 

place to buy that perfect 

cycle. 

Photos: THT 

Your options 

Stores like Nepal Moun- 

Shine ’n shimmer for all 

The store also has jewelleries 

and clutches. Anup Tandukar, 

staff at the store informs, “The 

readymade kurta-salwars, kurtis 

and gowns for ladies are 

available from size 36 to 42 

inches and for men the size for 

sherwani is 38 to 46 inches.” 

About the designs for the attire 

Shila Shrestha, owner of Silk 

Sequence says, “We can design 

as per the customer’s sample or 

we can help them while choosing 

according to their body 

type.” A good option when you 

are confused. 

tain Bike Tours at Thamel, Himalayan 

Single Track at Thamel and 

Epic Mountain Bike at Jhamshikhel 

can be your three options. All these 

stores sell bikes of different brands. 

At Nepal Mountain Bike Tours, 

you will get Trek brand cycle with 

4300 model, where the brand has 20 

different models. “If you want another 

model, you can order and will 

be made available in seven days,” 

adds Ranjan Rajbhandari, owner of 

the store. But you will have to pay 

the shipping cost plus tax along with 

the cost of the bike. 

Other than Trek there are other 

ranges of the brand available called 

Fuel, Superfly, Slash and Remedy, 

which are the expensive ranges 

from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. “At present 

we already have 2013 model 

(4300) which costs Rs 58,000,” says 

Rajbhandari. 

So how can one know if the products 

are original or not? “Log on to 

trekbikes.com, whatever is mentioned 

on this official website is 

what you get,” answers Rajbhandari. 

Services provided are cleaning the 

bike twice for free after purchase 

from the store and “if some parts get 

spoilt it will be repaired or replaced 

where price varies according to the 

parts”. 

Another brand sold at Himalayan 

Single Track is Giant, “which is an 

American company and the products 

here come from Taiwan. This 

Getting the right fit 

As these stores also are boutiques 

you can choose from a 

range of fabrics, consult with 

the designers, get the measurement 

and within one week your 

clothes are ready. About the 

kinds of fabric available at The 

New Saaranz, Sanju Manandhar 

owner of the store informs, “You 

can find more than 15 kinds of 

materials like cotton, linen, brocade, 

velvet, silk, raw silk, cotton 

silk, crepe and so on.” 

A customer here Joyti Basnet 

expresses, “I am a regular customer 

here and the collection is 

good and I get lots of choices 

and meet my criteria. I am satisfied 

with their work.” 

The popular saris are georgette, 

net and chiffon and all the 

materials are imported from India, 

as per Manandhar. 

Meanwhile at Envy Fashion 

you can get materials like lycra, 

silk, cotton and more according 

to Shanti Shakya, owner of Envy 

Fashion. About the selection of 

prints and patterns Shakya explains, 

“ Those who are heavy in 

weight should choose materials 

like silk and small prints while 

for the light weight they should 

choose big prints while any ma- 

brand is the oldest to manufacture 

cycles,” informs Santosh Rai, owner 

of the store. 

Different products are available 

here like cross country, downfall et 

cetera bike, “basically from basic 

mountain bike to high quality ones”. 

As for the services — three servicing 

are free after purchase, you will 

also get water bottle case and chain 

guard for free. Not only that “we also 

teach interested customers how to 

work on gear, brake, puncture and 

fix chain”. 

Apart from this if you want any information 

related to cycle or rides, 

you can visit the store from 9:00 am 

to 7:00 pm, which won’t cost a dime. 

At Epic Mountain Bike the brands 

are again completely different like 

Commencal, French brand, Ells 

Worth, American brand, Chain, 

Nepali brand, Black Eye again 

American brand and De Bomb, Taiwanese 

brand. You also can buy accessories, 

parts and bike clothing 

here. 

They also provide you with customised 

bikes. “Mostly people with 

knowledge about bike go for this op- 

Riding lory 

“... understand the feeling as 

experience is vital, then buy the 

cycle” 

tion, 

but others are also 

welcome,” shares Rupesh Man 

Shrestha, MD at the store. 

The best aspect about customised 

bikes are — everything from parts, 

colours, size will be as per your 

choice. “You know what’s going on 

in the making. Moreover, we customise 

the bike as per customer’s 

choice and budget.” 

However, when it comes to popularity, 

Commencal is the one. There 

terial is fine for them.” 

In terms of colour the popular 

choices are black, blue, red, 

pink and green, where the designs 

for kurta-salwar is 

anarkali and churidars, as per 

Rita Shakya, proprietor of Fashion 

Boutique Dot Com. 

About choosing her store 

Shakya adds, “You will get good 

finishing and that also in the exact 

time that we have 

promised.” 

Agreeing with her Sabina 

Ghale, a customer, shares, “I am 

satisfied with the work and the 

I am not 

a shopaholic, 

I am just helping 

the economy 

— Anonymous 

are children’s bike, downhill, all 

mountain, free ride and others 

available here. Besides it is a 

high end brand as it has won 

may races worldwide. “Also 

its parts are easily accessible 

here.” 

At the store general services 

of servicing and repairing 

is offered, but if 

you buy a bike from here, 

use it for six months and 

don’t like it, “we will exchange 

it with another 

model plus additional 

charges”. 

Before 

purchasing 

You may want 

to own a fancy 

bike with gears 

and all, but before 

all this 

you ought to 

know the 

right bike 

for you, 

which has 

to be according to your 

frame, height and length 

of your legs. “If you don’t 

adhere to this, you can 

suffer from back, back, 

shoulder and wrist pain,” 

warns Rajbhandari and 

adds “60 to 70 per cent 

of the people don’t know 

this fact”. 

Another practical advice 

is by Shrestha, who 

stresses “rent the cycle 

once or twice, understand 

the feeling as experience 

is vital, then 

buy the cycle”. 

You also have to 

keep in mind the purpose 

of the bike and 

then opt for one. 

Being a beginner 

you can get confused 

by various choices so 

stick to the basic and 

cheap ones at first 

then gradually upgrade. 

Taking care 

Cycle at the end of the day is a machine 

and it needs care. 

• Every five to six months do the 

full servicing 

• Change suspension oil 

• Use chain oil regularly “make 

sure to use dry chain oil and wet 

chain oil as per the season,” says 

Rajbhandari 

price is also reasonable as compared 

to other stores. The 

clothes are delivered at the exact 

time we asked for.” 

Discounts here 

While looking forward to the 

festive season, these stores are 

giving discounts from10 to 35 

per cent where most of the 

stores have a fixed rate. And if 

you want your clothes made urgently, 

you can also get that service 

without any extra charge at 

Fashion Boutique Dot Com, 

Envy Fashion and Silk Se- 

cost 

price 

Nepal Mountain 

Bike Tours 

Rs 58,000 to Rs 3 

lakhs 

Ph: 4701701 

quence. The New Saaranz 

Sari: Rs 4,000 to Rs 30,000 

Kurti: Rs 950 to Rs 2,000 

Kurta-salwar: Rs 2,500 to Rs 

9,000 

Envy Fashion 

Stitching: Rs 500 to Rs 2,200 

(price varies according to the 

design) 

Sari: Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 

Kurti: Rs 400 and above 

Silk Sequence 

Kurta-salwar and gown: Rs 

6,500 to Rs 11,000 

Sari: Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000 

Yes Mam 

Sari: Rs 1,200 to Rs 30,000 


20,000 

Kurtis: Rs 800 to Rs 3,000 

Children’s sherwani: Rs 1,250 

to Rs 3,200 

Sherwani: Rs 4,200 to Rs 

16,000 

Gown: Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 

Fashion Boutique Dot Com 

One piece dress: Rs 8,000 to 

Rs 45,000 


8,000 

PAGE 13 

Himalayan Single 

Track 

Price on request 

Website: www.himalayansingletrack.com 

Ph: 9841090702 

Epic Mountain Bike 

Commencal: Rs 

45,000 to Rs 3 lakhs 

Ells Worth: Rs 3 lakhs 

Chain: Rs 25,000 to 

Rs 60,000 

Black Eye: Rs 25,000 

De Bomb: Rs 60,000 

onwards 

Ph: 5555021


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Zealand made items. If you are 

looking for the treasures from the 

past — visit Master Woodturner, 

Rick Taylor’s studio. Be amazed at 

the spectacular grains and colours 

of the ancient Kauri Taylor uses for 

his bowls, platters, hollows pot and 

more. Taylor has been wood turning 

for over 30 years and offers individ- 

THTshopping shopping 

Nestling in Northland 

� 

Heart shaped candles, 

priced at Rs 495 per 

packet, available at 

Hallmark 

Orange aromatic candle, 

priced at Rs 300, available 

at Bagmati Flora Pvt Ltd 

ual wood turning tuition at his studio. 

Ancient Kauri wood blanks, 

blocks and slabs are also available 

here. At Dargavill, you can also enjoy 

the Kai Iwi Lakes, Waipoua Kauri 

Forest, artist’s studios, cruise Northern 

Wairoa River, see shipwrecks 

and the Rainbow Warrior Masts and 

so much more. 

Outpost Hokianga 

In the small township of Rawene 

and on the site of one of New 

Zealand’s first post offices, Outpost 

Hokianga proudly continues the 

tradition of communication and 

trade. A general store for the 21st 

century, the Outpost deals in quality 

goods, limited editions and one 

offs. All fashion, art, books, music 

and fine foods are locally made or 

specifically imported. Hokianga 

Outpost strongly believes in supporting 

independent artists, artisans 

and small companies who 

carve out a living on passion and 

� 

� 

Flowery blue candles, priced at 

Rs 245 per packet, available at 

Hallmark 

Red aromatic 

candle, priced at 

Rs 275, available at 

Hallmark 

Store Information: 

Hallmark Cards and Gifts 

Khichapokhari, Kathmandu 

ph — 4218168 

Bagmati Flora Pvt Ltd 

Kathmandu Plaza, Kamaladi 

ph — 4168600, 9851008963 

poetry. 

Tuatara 

It is a unique store and gallery 

space that aims to have the most diverse 

and eclectic selection of the 

most beautiful things in New 

Zealand, especially those that reflect 

Aotearoa and the Pacific. Focusing 

predominantly on high 

quality works, the shop is filled with 

a mix of clothing, jewellery, artwork, 

giftware and homewares. Traditional 

taonga (Maori treasures) sit 

alongside the best of contemporary 

NZ art and design as well as a handpicked 

selection of kiwiana kitsch 

and classic souvenirs. The gallery 

space opens on to a courtyard and 

is especially supportive of contemporary 

Maori artists. Various exhibitions 

in the gallery are held 

throughout the year, reflecting the 

work of many local artists. 

Keriblue Ceramics 

A visit to Kerikeri isn’t complete 

without a visit to the Keriblue Ceramics 

studio shop. One of New 

Zealand’s leading ceramic studios, 

Keriblue Ceramics is a working studio 

where you can watch the artists 

at work. Renowned for their stylish 

New Zealand inspired designs, 

beautiful colours and shining finish, 

Keriblue Ceramics are popular 

with visitors wanting to take home 

those special, hand painted gifts or 

memento. As an added bonus, Keriblue 

Ceramics are very practical, 

being dishwasher, microwave and 

oven proof. — Compiled


• TIME OUT 

Everton’s Marouane Fellani (right) 

vies for the ball with Swansea’s 

Jonathan De Guzman during their 

English Premier League match at 

the Liberty Stadium on Saturday. 

Hamilton on pole 

Reuters 

SINGAPORE: McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton 

continued his surge in the second 

half of the season by nailing down 

pole position for the Formula One 

Singapore Grand Prix with a stirring 

drive around the Marina Bay Street 

Circuit on Saturday. The Briton has 

won two of the last three races to 

close within 37 points of championship 

leader Fernando Alonso with 

seven rounds remaining. World 

champion Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull 

could only finish third in 1:46.905, 

ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren team 

mate Jenson Button. — Reuters 

Seppi beats Monfils 

METZ: Andreas Seppi of Italy fought 

back to beat Gael Monfils of France 3- 

6, 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the 

Moselle Open final. The fifth-seeded 

Seppi will play his third final of the 

season against either top-seeded Jo- 

Wilfried Tsonga or No 8 Nikolay 

Davydenko in the final. “It’s always 

tough against Gael, he is always fighting 

until the end,” Seppi said. “It’s 

never easy to close out the match, especially 

a semifinal here in France 

against him. But I played the right 

points and waited for my chance.” — AP 

Alaba back in camp 

BERLIN: Bayern Munich’s versatile 

leftback David Alaba returned to 

training on Friday two months after 

breaking a bone in his foot during a 

friendly in July, the Bundesliga leaders 

said. The 20-year-old Austrian 

footballer of the year had a 20minute 

individual training session 

and is set to join team training, Bayern 

said In a statement. They did not, 

however, set a date for his return. — AP 

Cole goal lifts 

Blues over Stoke 

Reuters 

London, September 22 

Chelsea needed a late winner 

from Ashley Cole to 

beat Stoke City 1-0 and 

move three points clear at 

the top of the English Premier 

League table today. 

The European champions, 

without a win in their 

last three matches in all 

competitions, moved on to 

13 points from five matches 

to lead the standings 

from Everton and West 

Bromwich Albion. England 

defender Cole, who had 

not scored in the league for 

over two years, struck with 

five minutes to play when 

he hammered the ball past 

Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic 

at Stamford Bridge. 

Everton won 3-0 at 

Swansea City with goals 

from Victor Anichebe, 

Kevin Mirallas and 

Maroaune Fellaini lifting 

them to second in the 

table. Swansea, attempting 

to find a way back after 

conceding twice before 

halftime, endured a miserable 

90 minutes and were 

reduced to 10 men when 

halftime substitute Nathan 

Dyer was sent off just 12 

minutes after coming on. 

West Bromwich Albion 

moved into third place, 

also with 10 points, after 

Romelu Lukaku — on loan 

from Chelsea — scored 

what proved to be the winner 

after 71 minutes 

against promoted bottom 

side Reading. 

Southampton, who had 

lost their first four matches 

after winning promotion to 

the top tier of English football, 

came from behind to 

beat Aston Villa 4-1 at 

home to climb off the bottom 

of the table. 

Sunderland were close to 

ending a run of 11 games 

without a victory dating 

back to last March when 

they led West Ham United 

for most of the match at 

Upton Park with an early 

Steven Fletcher goal. 

But Kevin Nolan 

equalised just before the 

end to rescue a point for 

the Hammers with Sunderland 

now having drawn all 

four of their league matches. 

Fulham continued their 

promising start to the season 

with a 2-1 win at Wigan 

Athletic with Hudo Rodallega 

scoring the opener 

against his former team. 

On Sunday, Liverpool 

host Manchester United at 

Anfield and champions 

Manchester City welcome 

Arsenal in two games likely 

to affect the positions at 

the top. Sunday's other 

games include Tottenham 

Hotspur at home to 

Queens Park Rangers and 

Newcastle United against 

Norwich City. 

De Villiers leads 

SA to victory 

over Sri Lanka 


Hambantota, September 22 

South Africa captain AB de Villiers 

hit a breezy 30 and his 

seamers pinned down Sri Lanka’s 

batsmen to produce a 

comfortable 32-run win over 

the hosts in a rain-shortened 

World Twenty20 match today. 

De Villiers faced 13 balls and 

led from the front with a four 

and two sixes in the Proteas 

healthy 78-4 total after rain reduced 

the last Group C match 

to seven overs per side. Dale 

Steyn (2-10) bowled well upfront 

as the hosts finished at 

46-5. The result did not stop 

both teams from advancing to 

the Super Eights after they 

recorded victories over Zimbabwe. 

Sri Lanka defeated the 

African team by 82 runs while 

South Africa won by 10 wickets. 

Sri Lanka will be placed in 

Group 1 of the Super Eights 

while South Africa will be in 

Group 2. “Beating Sri Lanka is 

nice because they are one of 

the best teams in the world,” de 

Villiers said. “Now we are ready 

to go for the Super Eights. We 

didn’t take anything for granted 

in this match.” 

It was an anti-climax for a 

sellout crowd of 35,000 at the 

Mahinda Rajapaksa International 

Cricket Stadium, who 

waited for two and half hours 

to see the contest among two 

evenly matched teams. 

Sri Lanka’s innings never 

found any sort of momentum 

with Tillakaratne Dilshan run 

out without a ball being faced 

and captain Mahela Jayawardene 

holing out in the deep after 

scoring just one boundary 

to became one of two victims 

for Steyn. Kumar Sangakkara 

(13) was twice dropped but 

could not capitalize on the 

chances as all the South 

African bowlers — including 

spinner Johan Botha — bowled 

to a perfect line and length and 

never allowed Sri Lanka’s batsmen 

to get going. 

Earlier, after being sent in to 

bat first, South Africa lost 

Richard Levi (4) in the very first 

over when Dilshan Munaweera 

took a brilliant running catch 

at wide mid wicket. Hashim 


Sports 

Amla (13) hit three boundaries 

before he was stumped by Sangakkara, 

but the arrival of de 

Villiers virtually silenced the 

big crowd. 

De Villiers lofted Rangana 

Herath for a straight six and 

then dispatched Lasith Malinga 

over the mid wicket fence as 

he added a rapid 38 runs off 18 

balls together with Faf du 

Plessis (13) by converting singles 

into twos. 

JP Dumminy hit a four and a 

six off Thisara Perera’s last over 

of the innings that gave the 

Proteas enough runs to defend. 

Sri Lanka also badly missed 

star spinner Ajantha Mendis, 

who didn’t play because of side 

strain after returning figures of 

6-8 against Zimbabwe. “It’s 

tough in a rain-reduced match 

and since we didn’t want to 

take risk on Ajantha Mendis we 

were one quality bowler short,” 

Jayawardene said. 

Aussies through 

COLOMBO: Australia are 

through to the Super Eight 

phase of the World Twenty20 

thanks to a 17-run 

Duckworth/Lewis victory 

over the West Indies at the 

R Premadasa Stadium on 

Saturday. Earlier, half-centuries 

from Chris Gayle 

and Marlon Samuels powered 

the Windies to 191-8 

after a slow start. But some 

poor bowling and big hitting 

from David Warner 

and Shane Watson (41 not 

out) helped Australia 

surge to 100-1 off 9.1 overs 

when rain ended play. The 

West Indies will play Ireland 

on Monday for the 

second qualifying spot. 

The heavy Colombo rain 

denied spectators what 

could have been the most 

exciting finish of the tournament 

so far. With nine 

wickets in hand, Australia 

were undoubtedly 

favourites, but with 92 

runs still needed off 65 

balls there was still a 

chance for the Windies to 

triumph. — Agencies 

South Africa’s AB de Villiers plays a shot during their ICC World Twenty20 match 

against Sri Lanka at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota on Saturday. 

Lazio face disciplinary action 



Lazio is facing disciplinary 

action for racist behavior 

by its fans in a Europa 

League at Tottenham after 

UEFA opened a case 

against the Italian club on 

Friday. 

Monkey chants were reportedly 

directed at Tottenham 

players Jermain 

Defoe, Aaron Lennon and 

Andros Townsend during 

the 0-0 draw at White Hart 

Reuters 

Atlanta, September 22 

Veteran Jim Furyk, hunting his 

first PGA Tour victory in two 

years, took advantage of a sizzling 

start to grab a one-shot 

lead in Friday’s second round 

of the Tour Championship. 

While tournament favourite 

Rory McIlroy carded a twounder-par 

68 to stay on track 

for FedExCup playoff honours 

and the mind-boggling bonus 

of $10 million, Furyk birdied 

seven of first 10 holes on the 

way to a best-of-the week 64. 

Lane on Thursday which 

was attended by UEFA 

President Michel Platini. 

Lazio was charged after 

UEFA received the reports 

from referee Ovidiu Alin 

Hategan and match delegate 

Adonis Procopiou. 

“UEFA has opened disciplinary 

proceedings 

against SS Lazio for the improper 

conduct of the 

club’s supporters (racist 

behaviour),” European 

football’s governing body 

said. When the case is 

American Furyk scorched 

the front nine in six-under 29 

with a stunning display of pinpoint 

approach shots before 

finding the going much 

tougher after the turn. He offset 

birdies at the 10th, 15th 

and 17th with bogeys at the 

13th, 16th and par-three last 

to post a seven-under total of 

133 in the PGA Tour’s fourth 

and final playoff event. 

Britain’s Justin Rose, coleader 

overnight with twice 

winner Tiger Woods in the 

elite 30-man field after opening 

with a 66, was alone in sec- 

heard on October 18 by 

UEFA’s control and disciplinary 

body, Lazio could 

be facing a fine. 

On Friday, Bulgarian 

club Levski Sofia said it has 

been fined $39,000 by 

UEFA for racist abuse by 

their fans at a Europa 

League match in July 

against Bosnian team Sarajevo. 

A report by British 

legislators this week urged 

football authorities to do 

more to combat racism in 

football. 

Reuters 

ond place after sinking a fivefoot 

birdie putt at the last for a 

68. Masters champion Bubba 

Watson birdied two of the last 

three holes for a 66 to finish at 

five-under, level with fellow 

American Bo Van Pelt (68) and 

one ahead of Dustin Johnson 

(67) and Matt Kuchar (69), 

also of the United States. 

Northern Irishman McIlroy 

was a further stroke back at 

three-under while Woods battled 

to a 73 for a one-under total. 

Furyk has not triumphed 

on the PGA Tour since he 

clinched the Tour Champi- 


PAGE 15 

Fergie asks fans 

to stay calm 

Manager Alex Ferguson has written 

to Manchester United fans attending 

Sunday’s match against Liverpool, 

urging them not to let the rivalry turn 

into “personal hatred”. 

The Premier League match is the 

first between the two fierce rivals 

since the publication last week of an 

independent report into the Hillsborough 

stadium disaster which exonerated 

Liverpool fans of any blame in 

the 1989 tragedy that claimed 96 lives. 

Sunday’s occasion is likely to be 

highly emotional with players and 

staff having urged fans all week to 

show each other respect. In Ferguson’s 

letter, which will be handed to 

away fans entering Anfield, he says 

United “stands with our great neighbours 

Liverpool”. 

“Our rivalry with Liverpool is based 

on a determination to come out on 

top — a wish to see us crowned the 

best against a team that held that honour 

for so long,” he adds. “It cannot 

and should never be based on personal 

hatred. Just 10 days ago we 

heard the terrible, damning truth 

about the deaths of 96 fans who went 

to watch their team try and reach the 

FA Cup final and never came back,” 

said Ferguson. 

“What happened to them should 

wake the conscience of everyone 

connected with the game.” An anti- 

Liverpool chant of ‘it’s never your 

fault, always the victims’ was heard 

from some quarters at Old Trafford 

last weekend in United’s 4-0 victory 

over Wigan Athletic. 

Some United fans said those 

chants did not refer to Hillsborough 

but to the fallout from the Luis 

Suarez-Patrice Evra race row last season. 

Liverpool forward Suarez was 

banned for eight matches for racially 

abusing United defender Evra at Anfield 

in October. 

Furyk takes lead at Tour Championship 

onship and FedExCup honours 

in 2010 and to complete 

the ‘double’ this week he 

needs a lot to go his way. 

Among several requirements, 

FedExCup points leader McIlroy 

would have to finish 12th 

or worse and second-ranked 

Woods fifth or worse. 

Any of the top five players in 

the standings would secure 

the playoff title by winning the 

Tour Championship — and 

that quintet comprises McIlroy 

and Americans Woods, 

Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson 

and Brandt Snedeker.

PAGE 16 

• TIME OUT 

Players vie for the ball during the 

Pathsala Cup second National Mini 

Basketball Championships in 

Kathmandu on Saturday. 

Sangina honoured 

KATHMANDU: The Trishuli-Kathmandu 

Society on Saturday honoured 

taekwondo ace Sangina Baidhya. 

Expert on Culture Satya Mohan 

Joshi feted the Olympian with Rs 

20,000 for her contribution in sports. 

Sangina is the first Nepali player to 

earn Olympics berth through qualification 

when she made it to the 2004 

Athens Olympic Games. A gold 

medallist in the 1996 Asian Taekwondo 

Championship, Sangina has also 

won eighth and ninth South Asian 

Games gold medals. – HNS 

‘C’ Division League 

LALITPUR: Kalanki Navajyoti Club 

and Khumaltar Youth Club won their 

respective matches of the Martyrs 

Memorial Red Bull ‘C’ Division 

League football tournament here on 

Saturday. Kalanki Navajyoti defeated 

Boys Sports Club 4-2 on goals from 

Sunil Subedi, Ujjwal Shrestha, Utsav 

KC and Aashish Lama. Yaman Maharjan 

struck twice for the losers. Khumaltar 

cruised past Khalibari FC 2-0 

after Rup Bahadur Lama and Anup 

Bista scored. In the third match of the 

day, Jhamshikhel Youth Club and 

Gyan Bhariav played a 2-2 draw. Sunil 

Shahi and Anush Jung Pandey scored 

for Jhamshikhel, while Mohan Limbu 

and Shailesh KC got into the score 

sheet for Gyan Bhairav. – HNS 

Tika Ram wins title 

KATHMANDU: Tika Ram Thapa won 

the first Kathmandu Open Triathlon 

Championship here on Saturday. In 

the sprint event of the discipline, Tika 

Ram timed 11:22 minutes in 750km 

swimming, 55:58 minutes in 20km 

cycling and 25:06 minutes in 5km 

running for the overall best timing of 

1:32:26 hours. Chandra Thapa Magar 

finished second clocking 1:34:48 

hours overall where he timed 14:36 

minutes in swimming, 56:28 in cycling 

and 23:44 in running. Luke 

Davis was third with the overall timing 

1:34:48 hours. Persia Manandhar 

was the lone participant in the 

women’s section winning her event in 

2 hours 37:13 minutes. The top three 

finishers received Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 

and Rs 2,000 respectively. – HNS 

Anupam bags trophy 

KATHMANDU: Anupam Neupane 

won the men’s singles final of the 

Bishalnagar Library Open Badminton 

Championships here on Saturday. 

Anupam rallied from a set 

down to beat Nir Bikram Devkota 21- 

23, 21-18, 21-19. Man Bahadur Budhathoki 

finished third. The duo of 

Ramesh Dangol and Rakesh Singh 

cruised past Khem Purja/Umesh Gurung 

21-18, 21-18 for the men’s doubles 

title. Ram Prasa Prajapati/Datta 

Thapa ended up third. The gold, silver 

and bronze medallists took home 

Rs 15,000, Rs 7,500 and Rs 4,000 respectively. 

– HNS 

School Basketball 

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Unified 

(KU) City College is organising the 

first KU City Inter-school Senior Boys 

Basketball Tournament here from 

Monday. A total of eight teams are 

participating in the five-day leaguecum-knockout 

tournament with two 

teams from two groups making it to 

the semi-finals. – HNS 

Pennwood triumph 

KATHMANDU: Pennwood claimed 

double title of the third PABSON Midregion 

Cup Inter-school Basketball 

Championships here on Saturday. 

Deneb were the loser in both the 

boys’ and girls’ section finals. In the 

boys section, Pennwood won 41-24 

riding on 16 points from Phurba 

Sherpa, while Priya Lama’s 17 points 

gave them a 32-2 victory in the girls’ 

final. Suryodaya and Kathmandu 

English School won their respective 

third place playoff matches. Phurba 

and Alish Budhathoki of Pennwood 

were adjudged the MVPs. – HNS 

Five-a-Side Football 

KATHMANDU: The third Buffalo Cup 

Five-a-Side Football Tournament is 

beginning in Handigaon from Sunday. 

A total of 27 teams are taking part 

in the tournament organised by Yi 

Sahayogi Haat on the occasion of 

Dashain festival. Jhi Newa will take 

on hosts ‘A’ team in the inaugural 

match. — HNS 


SPORTS 


Friends stun Three Star; Bouddha win 



Prakash Budhathoki scored a 

solitary goal as NIBL Friends 

Club stunned Three Star 

Club 1-0 in the Ncell Cup 

here at the Dasharath Stadium 

today. 

The loss meant Three Star 

— who had played a 1-1 

draw with newcomers Iceberg 

Madhyapur Youth Association 

on September 12 — 

stayed at the bottom in the 

four-team Group ‘A’ with one 

point. Nepal Armed Police 

Force (APF) Club, who are 

tied on three points with 

Friends, are atop. With just 

mathematical chances remaining 

to enter the last 

eight, Three Star will have to 

rely on other teams’ results 

apart from winning their 

next match against APF. 

Prakash Budhathoki netted 

the decider in the 39th 

minute after Three Star skipper 

and goalkeeper Kiran 

Chemjong fumbled a shot 

from Bishnu KC. 

Bijay Gurung squandered 

a chance for Three Star on 

one-on-one encounter with 

Friends goalkeeper Birendra 

Bahadur Chand. Likewise, 

Divas Gurung could not connect 

Jagjeet Shrestha’s acute 

cross for Friends in the 32nd 

minute. 

Friends were reduced to 

10 men after their skipper 

Sagar Thapa brought down 

Santosh Sahukhala prompting 

FIFA Referee Sudish 

Pandey to give the marching 

orders for double bookable 

offense in the 87th minute. 

Friends were one man 

short for the last 12 minutes 

— three minutes of regulation 

time and nine-minute 

injury time. 

Friends Club coach Dil 

Kaji Gurung was a happy 

man after the victory and 

praised his players. “It feels 

really good to come up with 

a win against a balanced side 

like Three Star. I am proud of 

the performance of my 

boys,” said Gurung. 

Three Star coach Megh Raj 

KC, who promptly resigned 

from his post after the loss, 

lamented his team’s performance. 

“We did not play as a 

team today. We failed to create 

even a single comeback 

opportunity throughout the 

entire match,” said KC 

adding his players didn’t put 

any effort and lacked the zeal 

as well. 

Earlier, substitute Govinda 

Thapa converted a late 

penalty as Bouddha Football 

Club registered a 1-0 victory 

over Samsung Jawalakhel 

Youth Club (JYC) to make a 

winning start in Group ‘D’. 

Bouddha earned the spot 

kick in the dying moments of 

the three-minute injury time 

after Nabin Gurung brought 

down Suman Lama inside 

the area. After a barren first 

half, Bouddha created a 

threatening move in the 54th 

minute only for Suman 

Lama to see his powerful 

strike hit the post. 

TODAY’S MATCH 

MMC vs TAC @ 1500hrs 

NIBL Friends Club players celebrate after Prakash Budhathoki (third from left) scored a goal against Three Star Club during their 

Ncell Cup Football Tournament match at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Saturday. 

KC steps down 



Megh Raj KC on Saturday 

stepped down as Three Star 

Club coach following a 

poor run in the Ncell Cup 

Football Tournament. 

The former national 

team assistant coach announced 

his resignation after 

their 1-0 loss at the 

hands of NIBL Friends Club 

at the Dasharath Stadium. 

“I am quitting on moral 

grounds as the team has 

not been producing results 

in the recent days,” said the 

coach after the match. 

“During my two-year 

tenure at the club, we 

worked as the members of a 

family. I will put in my papers 

to the club mentioning 

the reasons behind my decision 

to quit the job,” said 

the coach. He also thanked 

the club, players and wellwishers 

for their wholehearted 

support. 

“It was a great opportunity 

for me to handle a big 

club like Three Star,” said 

the emotional coach. KC 

guided Three Star to three 

major trophies — British 

Gurkha Cup, Aaha Gold 

Cup (Pokhara) and Budha 

Subba Gold Cup (Dharan). 

Under the guidance of 

KC, the Lalitpur-based outfit 

also won the Bhim 

Narayan Gold Cup and 

Udaypur Gold Cup titles 

besides finishing second in 

the Bharat Ratna Lokopriya 

Bordoloi Trophy Football 

Tournament in India. 

Boys heading towards bigger stage with ‘intensity’ 

Adarsha Dhakal 


Nepal’s national cricket 

coach Pubudu Dassanayake 

had openly talked about his 

team’s lack of intensity when 

his side was outplayed by 

Afghanistan in the ACC 

Twenty20 Trophy semi-finals 

in Kathmandu last year. 

After three months of 

hard work, Dassanayake 

was a proud man when 

Nepal finished seventh in 

the 16-team ICC World 

Twenty20 Qualifiers in 

Dubai. Nepal’s impressive 

display in Dubai came after 

they qualified for the 

event as a bottom ranked 

team by virtue of finishing 

fourth in the ACC Twenty20 

Trophy on home soil. 

Dassanayake was finally a 

relieved man with Nepal’s 

historic title triumph in 

Malaysia in the ICC World 

Cricket League Division-IV 

earlier this month. The Division-IV 

victory not only gave 

Nepal a promotion to Division-III 

but also kept them 

alive in the race to 2015 

Cricket World Cup – a place 

where Dassanayake has always 

wanted his team to be. 

More than the success in 

Malaysia, the coach along 

• LOCAL BRIEFS 

TIA enter final 

KATHMANDU: Trungram International 

Academy (TIA) and 

Daffodil on Friday set the girls’ 

section title clash of the third 

Bagmati Inter-school Basketball 

Championships. TIA defeated 

Valley Public 19-16 and 

Daffodil eased past Bagmati 25- 

19 in their respective semi-final 

matches. Daffodil also made it 

to the boys’ section final with a 

40-31 victory over Valley Public. 

They will meet NIMS – a 40-24 

winner over Gyan Niketan – in 

Sunday’s final. – HNS 

Wilson lift trophy 

KATHMANDU: Wilson Academy 

won the title of the first Radiant 

Inter-school Boys Basketball 

Tournament here on Saturday. 

In a high-scoring final 

with his entire team is over 

the moon after they came 

out of their submissiveness 

in the international stage. 

Nepal were often criticised 

for choking in crunch 

matches with the team relying 

on other teams’ results. 

But, a different story unfolded 

in Malaysia when 

Nepal ended up as the only 

unbeaten team with thumping 

victories in all the six 

matches they played. There 

was no room for critics 

when batsmen began talking 

with the bat — centuries 

match, Wilson edged RIBS 66- 

60 with Amar Singh tossing in 

18 points for the winners. Amar 

was also adjudged the Most 

Valuable Player, while Ratan 

Bista of RIBS won the highest 

scorer’s award. A total of 16 

teams participated in the fiveday 

tournament. – HNS 

White House win 

KATHMANDU: White House 

College registered victory in the 

Akhil Cup Men’s National Basketball 

Tournament here on 

Saturday. White House hammered 

Global College 65-13 riding 

on 10 points from Wisdom 

Pandey. White House never 

looked back after they took a 

19-0 lead in the first quarter. 

The prevailed in the remaining 

three quarters 16-5, 17-4, 13-4. 

On Sunday, Mahendra Campus, 

from openers Subash 

Khakurel and Anil Mandal 

were just examples. 

Binod Das — who impressed 

with the new ball in 

his comeback tournament 

— knows the status of the 

current team. “We used to 

be a bit defensive in our 

thinking process and approach. 

We doubted ourselves 

whether our plans 

would work or not. Now we 

have built as a different 

team with huge amount of 

winning attitude,” said the 

former skipper while taking 

Dharan will take on Reliance International 

Academy and 

Pasang Lhamu College play 

against Pyramid International 

College. – HNS 

SWCC advance 

KATHMANDU: Hosts South 

Western Cricket Club (SWCC), 

Glacier International College 

and Red Cherry entered the 

quarter-finals of the first South 

Western Cricket Tournament 

on Saturday. SWCC defeated 

Unique Boys by 72 runs. Batting 

first, SWCC were all out for 107 

in 15.3 overs and their bowlers 

did well to restrict Unique to 35 

all out in seven overs. In other 

matches, Glacier beat Rajan 

Memorial Cricket Club by seven 

wickets and Red Cherry pipped 

Kathmandu University in Super 

Over. – HNS 

a short break from training 

at the TU Stadium. Binod 

also credited his coach for 

changing the team’s attitude. 

“He (Dassanayake) is 

the one who stands behind 

us and keeps on pushing 

forward along with the captain,” 

added Binod. 

The coach himself said his 

boys are instilled with huge 

amount of intensity. “These 

are the same boys when I 

came here two years back. 

The only thing that has 

changed is their mindset,” 

said Dassanayake who tast- 

ed victory in his first 50-over 

assignment with the senior 

team. “There was a time 

when we used to be nervous. 

When we walked to 

the ground, we didn’t know 

what we were doing,” he recalled. 

“But, now we have 

crossed the boundary line. 

We want to win every time, 

no matter who ever our opponents 

be,” said the coach. 

Dassanayake has reasons 

over team’s transformations. 

“There are a lot of factors. 

Senior players like Shakti 

(Gauchan) and Binod have 

done pretty well in their 

comeback. Skipper Paras — 

coming back from Canada 

and backing the team with 

huge amount of confidence 

— has been crucial for us. To 

add to the batting strength, 

Subash alone has played 

around 150 overs in the last 

three months,” he added. 

Skipper Paras, however, 

warned the team not to be 

buoyed by the achievement. 

“The confidence at the moment 

is sky high but the 

thing is that we have just 

started. We still have a long 

way to go. We need to focus 

on the areas to improve instead 

of basking in the glory 

of the feat,” said a circumspect 

captain. 

Double delight 

for Brihaspati 



Brihaspati Vidhya Sadan registered double 

victory in the Pathsala Cup second 

National Mini Basketball Championships 

here today. 

In their first match at the Pathsala 

School court in New Baneshwor, Brihaspati 

blanked defending champions Ullens 

11-0. 

They followed 

the 

resoundingvictory 

with a 

16-4 victory 

over 

Rato Bang 

a l a . 

Saugat 

Gurung 

scored six 

points for 

Brihaspati 

in the first 

match, while Prashant Pandey netted 

eight points in the second. 

In other matches on Saturday, Kanjirowa 

hammered Premier 16-2 and 

Nepal Police School ran riot over Pathsala 

Nepal, Bagdol 14-0. Also, Gyan Niketan 

inflicted Pathsala Nepal, New 

Baneshwor a humiliating 40-2 loss. Likewise, 

Subhatara sidelined Awareness International 

Academy 18-13. 

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 

Photos: THT

Breaking Views: 

Who pays? 

Page 3 Industry Insight : 

Showing cracks 

Page 5 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 

The Himalayan Times 

PERSPECTIVES 

NEPSE 420.44 ▼ 1.35 DOLLAR Rs 86.08 EURO Rs 111.81 YUAN Rs 13.65 

GOLD Rs 52,300 OIL $ 92.96 ▲ 0.07 

Still 

waiting 

to break 

the glass 

ceiling 

Manjushree Adhikari 

Kathmandu 

The presence of women in the banking 

sector, though significant, seems to 

dwindle as they climb the corporate 

ladder. This is perhaps most evident 

by the fact that while there are 32 

commercial banks in the country, all 

bank CEOs happen to be men. 

THE REASON WHY 

The primary reasons cited for the disparity 

is education and experience. Anil Shah, 

CEO of Mega Bank Nepal Limited, says, 

“When we started our career, there were 

hardly any women in the sector. So, it’s only 

normal that backed by our knowledge and 

experience, we’re in this position.” 

Barsha Shrestha, general manager of 

Clean Energy Development Bank, says the 

patriarchal system that looked down upon 

working women is also to blame. “Most 

Nepalis still have this conservative mentality 

that women are responsible for the 

household chores and men are the bread 

earners in the family,” she highlights, 

adding that the mindset affects every 

aspect of society, with the banking sector 

being no exception. 

Euden Koirala, head of main branch and 

manager service excellence at Laxmi Bank, 

Hattisar, says, “I think when men entered 

the banking industry 20 years ago, women 

had not really stepped into the professional 

world.” According to her, now women 

are coming forward and many are at the 

executive level and compete with men 

in every task. 

Raveena Desraj Shrestha, chief of consumer 

banking and corporate affairs at 

Mega Bank, says gender discrimination 

still prevails. “While it’s readily accepted 

when men advance in their careers, their 

female counterparts are viewed with suspicions 

when they show progress,” she says. 

Since bank employees at the 

lower level are the ones who 

deal with customers on a 

one-on-one basis, most banking 

institutions are now hiring 

women for such posts — there- 

by increasing their numbers. 

“Women are generally kind by 

nature, and hence better 

equipped to handle even the 

most disgruntled customers,” 

expains Raveena. 

She says, however, often it 

is women who tarnish the 

image of women and engage 

in leg-pulling. “Many women 

hesitate to even perform to 

their full potential because they 

fear backbiting and spreading 

of negativity and rumours 

about them,” she asserts. 

CHANGING SCENARIO 

The good news is that things 

are changing fast. The fact that 

there are three personnel 

holding parallel posts below the 

CEO’s position in Mega Bank 

and two of them are women 

attests to this. “We have women 

like Raveena and Anupama 

Khunjeli, who is the chief 

operating officer, at our bank 

and they continuously demonstrate 

that they aren’t inferior 

to men in any way,” says Shah. 

The allure of the banking sector 

is undeniable and Raveena 

attributes it to the stability and 

reputability. “Women these 

days value independence and 

banking is often the first choice 

for many because it is considered 

to be a respectable profession,” 

she says. She further 

says that female workers are 

more dedicated and efficient in 

carrying out the tasks assigned 

to them. Speaking from professional 

experience, Barsha 

also reiterates this and says, 

Troika pauses 

Greek talks 

Page 6 

“Perhaps it’s because they feel 

the need to prove their worth 

to themselves and others.” 

LIVING EXAMPLES 

Women like Barsha and 

Raveena are setting the bar 

high and paving the way for 

hundreds of young women 

entering the banking sector. 

These women have very different 

stories on how they landed 

here, but they have many 

commonalities that helped 

them get to where they are. 

Barsha was actually a medical 

student, but not very enthused 

about venturing into a 

medical profession. “It was the 

influence of my friends and encouragement 

from my family 

members that I decided to 

change my field,” she recalls. 

Her career took off as trainee 

in Nabil Bank Pvt Ltd in 1984. 

According to her, since it 

was the first commercial bank 

in the country, there was no 

proper system and guidelines 

Dell delights 

Page 7 

WHY ARE THERE NO FEMALE CEOS IN THE BANKING SECTOR? 

from the central bank. “But we 

learnt from our mistakes and 

grew along with the bank,” says 

Barsha, adding that she does 

not see that kind of ownership 

in new recruits. 

She says, “The market today 

is competitive, but one needs to 

explore, manage time and not 

let petty things like gender 

come in the way of progress.” 

Raveena, on the other hand, 

started her career as a trainee 

assistant at Standard Chartered 

Bank 22 years ago. She 

says she does not like to discuss 

gender issues, which she claims 

was never an issue for her. “My 

accomplishments speak volumes 

in terms of how far I’ve 

come and I never let sexual category 

hold me back,” she says. 

THE WAY AHEAD 

Blaming traditional mindset 

for the prevalent gender inconsistency, 

Ashoke Sumsher JB 

Rana, president of the Nepal 

Bankers’ Association, says, 

“The change has to come from 

the top and women have to be 

given equal priority as men.” 

In this, Shah adds that a 

quota system should not be 

introduced in the name of 

maintaining gender balance. 

“It might take some time, but I 

wish to see women attaining 

high positions based on their 

calibre and through fair 

competition. Women need our 

support, not our sympathies,” 

he says. Established in July 

2010, Mega Bank currently 

employs 279 staffs with a male 

to female ratio at six to four. 

According to Shah, a small step 

like only hiring qualified people 

rather than favouring kin 

or relatives would minimise 

the gender gap to a large extent. 

Raveena, on the other hand, 

believes that the first step 

should be to empower and 

educate women. “Women themselves 

need to believe in their 

kind and stop looking down 

upon other women,” she says. 

Barsha believes that women 

should not be discouraged or 

fear anyone dragging them 

down. “I faced numerous challenges 

in my two decades in 

banking, but I never let it break 

my spirit or deteriorate my performance 

in any way,” she says. 

Shah and Koirala are hopeful 

about seeing the first female 

CEO in a commercial bank 

within three years. Barsha 

and Raveena, however, believe 

it might take at least five 

more years before we get to 

be so fortunate.

02 

PERSPECTIVES 

Sanam Chitrakar 

Kathmandu 

Many a time, we witness 

leaders who defy conventional 

leadership 

traits and carve a new 

path for their vision. Rabindra 

Puri is one of the few 

distinguished leaders who 

inspire generations to come. 

He translates his visions, 

often in contrasting fields, 

in a breathless fashion. 

Puri is renowned as a cultural 

preserver who bagged 

the 2004 Asia Pacific Cultural 

Heritage Award for his 

Namuna Ghar or model 

house. He is one of the few 

people who turned his hobby 

into a living. Astounded by 

the great architecture of 

Bhaktapur, he was dismayed 

at every traditional house 

that was torn down and 

concrete building that took 

its space. He dreamed of a 

city with traditionally-built 

houses. In an effort to realise 

this dream, Puri is passionately 

working to make 

CORPORATE 

Platform for agents 

of change 

ACKNOWLEDGING AND ENCOURAGING HIDDEN HEROES 

Jason Shah / Anupama Shakya 

Kathmandu 

There are many ordinary 

people doing extraordinary 

work to create social, environmental 

and economic 

value that we are unaware 

of. The Surya Nepal Asha 

Social Entrepreneurship Award 

(SNASEA) was thus initiated to 

acknowledge such hidden heroes 

for their achievements and 

encourage others to follow their 

examples. This year, it will 

encompass three different events 

— Three–day Social Entrepreneurship 

Bazaar from October 

4 to 6, seminar series in 

November and the award 

ceremony in December. 

FOR TRANSACTION AND 

TRANSFORMATION 

The three–day Social Entrepreneurship 

Bazaar will be 

hosted at the picturesque 

setting of Baber Mahal Revisited 

Courtyard, which has also 

hosted the night bazaars in the 

past few months. Organised by 

ChangeFusion Nepal (CFN), 

supported by National Business 

Initiative (NBI) and sponsored by 

Surya Nepal Private Limited, the 

event is an attempt to bring social 

entrepreneurs from across Nepal 

and their potential supporters 

— their customers, investors, 

advisers and mentors — to a platform 

where they can exchange, 

interact and learn. 

The major objective of this 

bazaar is to showcase Nepali 

social entrepreneurs from different 

sectors and regions and to 

highlight their ventures and the 

impact they have on their 

communities. It will thus be a 

marketplace for transaction and 

transformation and differ from 

other fairs and exhibitions, as the 

major focus will be on social 

entrepreneurs and the creation of 

a network for them to expand 

their ventures. 

In addition to featuring already 

established social ventures to 

display their products and 

Helping 

services, this bazaar also 

expects participation of aspiring 

social entrepreneurs. They will 

share their venture ideas with 

potential clients, investors and 

support organisations that 

are promoting entrepreneurship 

in Nepal by providing 

different support systems 

ranging from seed funding to 

mentoring and networking. 

socialenterpreneurship 

Visionary leader 

Profiting 

The bazaar will feature around 

20 exhibitors each day comprising 

of social entrepreneurs 

and support organisations. The 

products featured will vary from 

creative home décor to apparels 

and accessories, handicrafts, 

Learning 

products or 

services catering to energy 

conservation, agro-based ventures, 

and much more. In addition, 

the bazaar shall also feature 

a variety of culinary delights, 

cultural performances and other 

attractions for the visitors. For 

more information, please visit 

https://www.facebook.com/ celebratingsocialentrepreneurship. 

GIVING DUE RECOGNITION 

In addition to awarding the social 

entrepreneurs, ‘Agent of 

Change 2012’, which was introduced 

by NBI, recognises businesses 

that support enterprise development 

and cultivate culture 

of entrepreneurship in Nepal. 

With the skyrocketing increase 

in the discourse of entrepreneurship 

in the country, budding entrepreneurs 

need comprehensive 

information about the existing 

support-system that they can access 

to kick-start their ventures; 

leadershipleague 

and the NBI Agent of Change is 

an effort to discover those initiatives, 

launched by for-profit institutions, 

which provide assistance 

to target entrepreneurs in several 

capacities, including but not limited 

to access to finance, value 

chain incorporation, logistical 

assistance, training or education, 

and visibility or access to business 

networks. Additionally, it 

also considers the initiatives that 

provide indirect assistance such 

as media programmes on entrepreneurship 

and both financial 

and material support to 

entrepreneur groups and 

students. 

The NBI Agent of 

Change aims to provide 

visibility to the selected 

initiatives, and connect 

the businesses 

that have the proven 

capacity to support 

enterprises with the 

entrepreneurs who 

have the proven ability 

to deliver market solutions. 

While NBI Agent 

of Change will only 

officially recognise few 

selected businesses for 

their support efforts, all the 

eligible initiatives shall be 

profiled in publications at the 

end of the identification process 

and featured in different media 

outreach programmes. 

One of the major advantages 

for partnership with SNASEA is 

to bring together resourceful 

businesses and social entrepreneurs 

so that the possibilities 

for large social enterprises 

through economies of scale and 

agglomeration can be groomed. 

This recognition wants to demonstrate 

the reality that businesses 

have a huge role to play in developing 

responsible entrepreneurship 

and that there are profitable 

market opportunities in 

partnering with social entrepreneurs 

to solve social and environmental 

challenges. Applications 

and nominations for the NBI 

Agent of Change 2012 are 

open till September 30 and 

more information available at 

http://asha2012.wordpress.com. 

(Shah is working as a research 

associate at NBI and can be 

reached at jshah@uno.edu, while 

Shakya is the programme 

co-coordinator for social 

entrepreneurship at CFN 

and can be reached at 

shakyaanu31@gmail.com) 

Panauti a culturally preserved 

model city by 2030. His 

team has restored six houses 

in the locality, including few 

under private ownership. He 

is also the man behind Sanga 

Housing, which is again 

on the traditional theme. 

His community service 

includes school buildings in 

various parts of the country 

using local materials and 

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES 


Reclaiming the fire 

HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE CAN OVERCOME 

BURNOUT 

People erroneously believe that 

once they have ‘made it’ in a 

profession, their lives will be 

perfect. In reality, it is often 

psychologically destructive to attain 

the highest level of achievement in 

sports, business, science, entertainment, 

or arts, and then realise that 

you are expected to perform at that 

same high level, forever. 

The excitement of pursuit is over 

but the pressure remains. Dr Steven 

Berglas, a clinical psychologist who 

currently teaches at UCLA and is an 

adjunct faculty member at Harvard 

Medical School, colourfully describes 

this situation as ‘supernova burnout’ 

where successful people begin to 

experience the daily requirements of 

their work as ‘Sisyphean monotony’. 

Dr Berglas notes that people expect 

success to bring happiness, but few 

are prepared for ‘success depression’, 

the crippling sense of disappointment 

that follows the experience of 

RATHER THAN BLAMING OTHERS, NOTICE THE POSSIBILITIES WITHIN PROBLEMS 

resources, thereby making it 

safe, affordable and attractive. 

He was also recently 

elected as the president of Rotary 

Club of Bhaktapur. How 

can a single person handle all 

these projects almost singlehandedly? 

What makes him a 

unique leader that defies 

traditional leadership styles? 

Puri’s visionary capacity 

separates him from other 

huge accomplishment. 

Dr Berglas recommends several 

strategies to prevent and recover 

from job burnout: 

• Nurture satisfying connection 

with others. 

• Mentor people who are the next 

generation of achievers. 

• Learn something new. 

• Find a cause in which you believe 

and dedicate yourself to it. If the 

cause sparks a bit of righteous anger 

for you, that is actually a good thing 

to help you feel motivation again 

and recover from burnout. — Agencies 

Ncell's training on 'Personal Excellence' facilitated by Kabule — the Wise Leader 

on September 21 at Hotel Marshyangdi 

Mex talent search at Liberty College 

theweekthatwas 

The Week That Was is a picture gallery that celebrates business events, launch 

programmes and cocktail functions of the business and diplomatic community in Nepal. 

E-mail us the photographs along with a brief description of the event 

and the names and designation of the people in the picture to 

perspectives.tht@gmail.com or 

call us at 2239991 

CORPORATE MOVEMENT tracks new appointments, transfers and 

movement of top and middle management. If you have new 

appointments in your organisation, send us the details 

with a picture of the appointed person to 

perspectives.tht@gmail.com or 

call us at 2239991 

leaders. He sees possibilities 

within problems that most 

of us would dismiss as the 

responsibility of others or 

the government. But rather 

than blaming the government 

for not doing enough to 

preserve priceless old buildings, 

he left his high-paying 

job to declare war against 

conservative mindsets. 

Moreover, his vision 

strikes a fine balance 

between profit and larger 

benefit for society. He 

executes his vision through 

his subordinates and partners. 

He inspires and injects 

his visions into his team 

mates, who execute it in 

their own way, nevertheless 

maintaining the underlying 

superstructure of his vision. 

(The author is the MD, 

trainer and consultant of 

Aadhar Development Pvt Ltd. 

Also the founding member 

and consultant of Catalyst 

for Transformation Pvt Ltd, 

he can be contacted at 

sanamchitrakar@gmail.com)



Koshish Acharya 

Kathmandu 

Every year the governmentsubsidises, 

provides loans, 

incurs bad debts 

and hence manages 

to save public enterprises 

— covering the 

losses from the taxes 

that citizens pay of their 

hard earned money. 

But is it fair for the 

people to bear the cost 

of the failure of public 

enterprises? 

THE PRELUDE 

The government of 

Nepal has provided total 

loan amounting to Rs 

95.16 billion to public enterprises, 

of which Rs 

10.25 billion was granted 

in the fiscal year 2010-11 

alone. This amount 

could have been better 

utilised. According to 

Independent Power Producers’ 

Association 

Nepal, the production of 

one MW of electricity 

costs Rs 150 million, 

which means 634.4 MW 

of electricity could have 

been produced with 

95.16 billion, solving 70 

per cent of power crisis 

in the country. Similarly, 

establishing a school 

costs approximately Rs 

10 million, which means 

9,516 schools could have 

been built in Nepal. 

The government, however, 

continues to pour 

money into the 37 public 

enterprises, of which 21 

earned net profit, 14 incurred 

net loss and 

Nepal Engineering Consultancy 

Service Centre 

Ltd and Hydropower Investment 

and Development 

Company Ltd did 

not have any business 

transaction. The public 

enterprises are categorised 

under: manufacturing 

(7), trade (6), service 

(7) social (5) public 

utility (3) and financial 

(9). Out of these, only 

service, public utility 

and financial sectors 

have been able to make a 

net profit in the last 

three years. The net 

profit of all the public 

enterprises dropped 

down to Rs 6.38 billion in 

2010-11 from Rs 10.56 

billion the year earlier. 

CURRENT 

SCENARIO 

Amongst all the public 

enterprises, only Nepal 

Telecom (NTC) has been 

able to generate substantial 

profit over the last 

three years with the current 

fiscal year’s profit 

amounting to Rs 13.07 

billion. The highest lost 

incurring public enterprises 

were Nepal Electricity 

Authority (NEA) 

and Nepal Oil Corporation 

(NOC), with a total 

loss of Rs 18.27 billion. 

NEA is far from addressing 

its problem and 

yet the government continues 

to provide loans 

that have now amounted 

to Rs 62.63 billion in total. 

The loss could easily 

have been reduced if 

electricity prices were 

raised in par with inflation 

but because of political 

reasons the price 

hike has never been considered 

as an alternative. 

Similarly, NOC has 

an outstanding debt of 

Rs 16.52 billion that it 

owes the government. 

Another issue of concern 

is overstaffing 

in public enterprises 

(32,383 employees in 

37 enterprises). With a 

total negative operating 

profit amounting to Rs 

613.7 million, the ratio 

of operating profit per 

employee comes to 0.19. 

In this regard, the public 

enterprises in financial 

sector like Agriculture 

Development Bank, Rastriya 

Banijya Bank and 

others have the operat- 

PERSPECTIVES 03 

MANAGEMENT 

Who pays? 

WHY SHOULD PEOPLE BEAR THE LOSSES OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES? 

ing profit per employee 

ratio of 3.08. In contrast, 

the public enterprises in 

trading sector like NOC 

have the operating profit 

per employee ratio of 

negative 21.92. 

As public enterprises 

do not function on the 

principle of demand and 

supply and are guided 

by bureaucratic laws 

and regulation, they 

tend to be ineffective. In 

fact, public enterprises 

are established with taxpayers’ 

money, the products 

and services they 

provide are also consumed 

by general public 

and when these enterprises 

do not function, 

they are bailed out by 

the government with 

taxpayer’s money again. 

Eventually, the general 

public is being forced to 

pay for the losses. 

Other issues like 

corruption, inefficiency, 

low productivity, trade 

union issues, political 

appointments and political 

manipulation in 

the management of the 

public enterprises have 

hampered its progress. 

WHAT CAN BE 

DONE? 

It is clear that NTC is 

the only public enterprise 

that has actually 

made a substantial 

amount of profit because 

of proper management 

and open competi- 

3 ways to avoid 

communication breakdowns 

BE IN TUNE WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES 

Even though communication 

is the lifeblood of an organisation, 

it is difficult to 

find a company that does 

not have its momentary breakdowns 

in that area. Here are 

three ways to keep them 

to a minimum: 

Provide context: For 

people to understand a message, 

they have to know why 

it is important. Therefore, give 

them enough information so 

they know where things fall on 

the priority list. 

Encourage questions: Do not 

just ask if people have questions, 

encourage them to raise 

concerns. This type of interaction 

helps people absorb information 

manager’stoolkit 

and understand messages so 

they can pass them on. 

Stay connected: People respond 

to communications very differently, 

even when they are hearing the 

same information. By being in 

tune with your employees, you 

can anticipate their reactions 

and better understand how to 

deliver messages. — Agencies 

Ratna Sagar Shrestha / THT 

breakingviews 

tion. On the other hand, NEA and NOC have 

absolute monopoly in the market, making 

them less productive and innovative. 

One of the best possible solutions could 

be to liquidate the enterprises that are running 

in loss and shut them down completely. 

Privatisation could be another solution but it 

has to be coupled with policies to ensure transparency 

and avoid disastrous consequences 

like in Harisiddhi Brick and Tile Factory, 

Bhrikuti Paper Mill and Biratnagar Jute Mill. 

Another way to deal with this problem is 

by handing over the management to private 

management or firms requiring transparency 

in competitive bidding procedure, accounts 

details, audits and bureaucratic process. 

Some pertinent questions are: Should the 

government run public enterprises at all? 

Why not leave it to the market which does not 

use public money, ensures competition and is 

constantly innovating to provide better quality 

products and services at competitive prices? 

Should the government rather not focus 

on issues like rule of law, defence and 

foreign policy — issues that market forces 

cannot deal with? 

In the name of subsidies, the taxpayers 

eventually end up paying more than necessary 

for products and services that are largely 

monopolised by public enterprises. A win-win 

situation may lie in having the general public 

pay market prices for what they use without 

promoting a culture of misuse of taxes. 

(The author is a research assistant at 

Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation and 

can be reached at koshish@samriddhi.org) 

Kalpana Arora 

New Delhi 

Customer facilitation is 

the focus of all organisations 

today since 

delighted customers 

result in long-term customer 

relations, which are imperative 

to maximise productivity 

and profitability. It 

is with this perspective that 

most organisations have 

set up call centres. 

The advantage to the customer 

is that he needs to call 

on a single number which 

may also be toll free for any 

requirement he may have. 

Since these call centres are 

manned by large number of 

executives, they are expected 

to provide an easy and 

speedy resolution to their 

requirements and problems. 

The question, however, is 

that while these call centres 

are meant to speed up 

customer service, are they 

really achieving the objective? 

Do they really make 

customers feel happy? Are 

they really facilitating the 

company to customer contact 

in the right manner? 

At the outset, getting 

connected is a challenge for 

most people. So while the 

recorded message keeps 

assuring the customer that 

he is most important for the 

organisation, the customer 

keeps waiting endlessly to 

be connected with someone 

who would listen or attend 

to him. Many customers 

complain about being put 

on hold for 20 to 30 minutes 

just to get connected. 

Then again, the system is 

such that each time one calls 

the centre, he gets to speak 

to a new person. So in case a 

managementmantra 

Call centres — 

boon or bane? 

A GOOD INITIATIVE HAS TURNED 

INTO ONE WHICH CUSTOMERS 

NOW DREAD 

problem was shared and discussed 

and not resolved for 

which a person is calling 

again, he has to start all over 

again since the person to 

whom he is speaking now 

has no inkling of the 

problem! This can be really 

frustrating for the customer. 

In case the customer has 

some questions or needs 

clarifications, God help him! 

This is because the executives 

speak from a script and 

cannot deviate from it. So 

irrespective of the questions, 

the answers would be 

as per the script — even if 

they are unrelated! The 

script is surely required to 

guide executives in terms of 

what and how to speak — 

however most of them deliver 

it like robotic machines, 

without any element of 

personal touch or care. 

Another difficulty is that 

most of these call centres 

are outsourced and are 

manned by staff who have 

no domain knowledge. They 

have been trained on what 

and how to say something, 

but are unable to actually 

help customers. Also, 

customers can interact 

only with these executives 

and have no way of 

getting across to their supervisors 

or other people who 

may have the requisite 

knowledge or solution to 

their problems. 

Turn around time is critical 

for these call centres. 

Calls have to be disposed and 

problems resolved within a 

given time period. To maintain 

this, people may be cut 

short or their queries left 

unanswered. There have 

been instances where executives 

have updated their 

databases indicating that 

the customer problem was 

resolved when in reality it 

was still outstanding! 

The above problems have 

turned a good initiative 

into one which customers 

now dread. Something 

surely needs to be done if 

it is to deliver what it was 

envisioned for. 

(The author is a learning 

and development consultant 

and the chief synergist of 

Kiai Peoplez Solutions at 

Delhi. She can be reached at 

kalpanaarora@hotmail.com)

04 

AUSTRALIA 

PERSPECTIVES 

worldthisweek - key news 

USA 

The former managing director of The Star 

casino in Sydney was paid nearly USD 

200,000 after being sacked for inappropriate 

behaviour. Sid Vaikunta was stood down 

in February by the casino’s owner Echo 

Entertainment because of allegations of 

sexual harassment involving a female 

member of The Star’s staff. Vaikunta has 

denied the allegations. Echo’s annual report 

for the 2011-12 financial year shows Vaikunta 

received a termination payment of USD 

192,125. He was also paid a salary of just over 

USD 470,000 up to the date of his sacking, 

taking his total payments in the financial year 

to USD 662,270. Vaikunta’s pay in the previous 

year totalled USD 1.95 million. 

Retailer Premier Investments has recorded 

a 68 per cent profit rise on the back of a 

cost cutting drive. The company, which owns 

Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Peter Alexander and 

stationery brand Smiggle, made a net profit 

of USD 68.2 million in the year to July, up 

from USD 40.5 million in the previous year. 

Sales from Premier’s retail business fell 4.3 

per cent to USD 829.1 million but the company 

clawed USD 27.8 million back through 

lower costs. The previous year’s result also 

included more than USD 15 million costs 

related to Premier’s strategy review which 

resulted in a number of store closures and 

an increased focus on the expansion of its 

Peter Alexander and Smiggle brands. 

BANGLADESH 

Analysis: Romney can still win, 

but it will not be easy 

The last few weeks have been 

ugly for Republican Presidential 

Contender Mitt Romney. A 

flat Republican convention, a 

fumbled response to unrest in the 

Middle East, reports of discord 

within his campaign and a secretly 

taped video of Romney deriding 47 

per cent of US voters have left his 

team reeling — and has many 

Republicans fearing doom in the 

November 6 election. Democratic 

President Barack Obama has 

Rough road ahead for Romney 

opened a slight lead over Romney 

in national polls, and new surveys 

indicate that Obama has a significant 

edge where it matters 

most: in Ohio, Virginia and Florida, 

the most coveted of nine politically 

divided ‘swing’ states that are 

crucial to cobbling together the 

270 electoral votes needed to win 

the White House. 

US lifts ban on the New 

Zealand warships 

The United States has lifted a 

ban on visits by New Zealand 

warships to US defence and coast 

guard bases around the world, 

Sacked Star casino boss paid $ 200,000 

The Bangladesh Association of International 

Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) 

threatened to stop manpower export if the 

government level agreement between 

Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur was not scraped 

immediately. Shah Jalal Mojumder, president 

of the BAIRA gave the warning at a press 

conference. While reading out a written 

statement, the BAIRA chief also sought Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention in this 

regard. On September 12, Dhaka and Kuala 

Lumpur decided to go for state level arrange- 

BAIRA threatens to stop manpower export 

further thawing relations after 

a 26 year stand-off on nuclear 

issues. US Defence Secretary Leon 

Panetta made the announcement 

during a visit to New Zealand 

on Friday. He said Washington 

would lift restrictions on military 

exercises and facilitate more talks 

with New Zealand even though 

Wellington maintains its long-held 

nuclear-free stance. For the first 

time since the suspension of the 

ANZUS Treaty in 1986, Washington 

will allow individual visits by Royal 

New Zealand Navy ships to US 

Department of Defence or Coast 

Guard facilities in the United 

States and around the world, 

Panetta said in Auckland, New 

Zealand’s largest city. 

WORLD 

Tensions high for day of 

anti-Islam film protests 

Security forces in several Muslim 

countries are gearing up 

for a day of fresh protests against 

an anti-Islam film made in the US. 

In Pakistan, the government has 

declared a ‘special day of love’ for 

the Prophet Muhammad. Washington 

has paid for adverts on 

Pakistani TV that show President 

Barack Obama condemning the 

film. Widespread unrest over the 

amateur film Innocence of Muslims 

has already claimed several 

lives around the world. Although 

the US has borne the brunt of 

protests, anti-Western sentiment 

has been stoked further by caricatures 

of the Prophet Muhammad 

ments for recruitment of Bangladeshi 

workers by Malaysia, putting aside the 

long involvement of private manpower 

agencies and brokers in the process. 

Six entrepreneurs have got nod to their 

financing plan for investing USD 48.55 

million foreign loan in six projects. Private 

Sector Foreign Loan and Supplier’s Credit 

Committee approved the loan in its 68th meeting 

held at the Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters. 

Of the total amount, USD 9.75 million 

has been approved for NovoAir Limited, USD 

0.5 million for RZ Power Limited, USD 7.5 million 

for Esquire Knit Composite Limited, USD 

nine million for SQ Celsius Limited and USD 20 

million for KYCR Coils Limited. “More foreign 

financing proposal is under processing and 

close consideration for the approval,” a senior 

government official said, adding that this type 

of foreign financing will be helpful to keep the 

country’s foreign exchange market stable. 

CHINA 

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has urged the 

EU to lift its arms embargo on Beijing at 

his last EU-China summit before handing over 

power this year. Speaking in Brussels, Wen 

said, “The solution has been elusive over the 

past 10 years. I deeply regret this.” The EU 

embargo was imposed after the violent suppression 

of the Tiananmen Square protests in 

1989. EU sources, quoted ahead of the summit, 

said, “We have agreed to disagree with 

China on the issue.” Wen also mentioned the 

EU’s refusal to treat China as a fully-fledged 

market economy, which is preventing Brussels 

from lifting its tariffs on Chinese goods. 

His one-day talks in Brussels with senior EU 

figures, including European Council President 

Herman Van Rompuy and Foreign Policy Chief 

Catherine Ashton, focused on a range of other 

economic issues. China clinched a deal to 

work with the EU to cut greenhouse gases and 

move to a low-carbon economy, the European 

Commission said in a statement. 

China premier urges end to EU arms embargo 

China Molybdenum Co Ltd, a major Chinese 

producer of tungsten and molybdenum, 

raised a much less-than-expected 600 million 

yuan (USD 95 million) through a share offering 

in Shanghai, reflecting slack demand for 

resource-related firms amid a slowing 

economy. China Molybdenum sold 200 million 

shares at three yuan apiece, it said in a filing 

to the Shanghai stock exchange late on Thursday. 

It had said it was planning to raise 3.65 

billion yuan by selling no more than 542 

million shares to build new projects. The sluggish 

performance of China’s stock market has 

GLOBAL 

Security forces ready for protests 

published in a satirical French 

magazine. Pakistan has urged 

people to demonstrate peacefully, 

but the BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in 

Islamabad says the police are 

prepared for trouble, with mobile 

phone services cut across the 

country to reduce security risks. 

Syria uprising: Assad says 

Arab Spring brought chaos 

President Bashar al-Assad of 

Syria has told an Egyptian 

magazine that the Arab Spring 

uprisings only brought chaos and 

that the Syrian rebels cannot win. 

The only solution to the crisis in 

Syria was dialogue, he said, 

speaking in a rare interview for 

the weekly al-Ahram al-Arabi. He 

insisted that his government 

would not fall like that of the 

late Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. 

At least 20,000 people have 

died in Syria’s conflict, the UN 

estimates. On Thursday, a government 

warplane attacked a petrol 

station in the north-east of the 

country, killing at least 30 

people, opposition activists said. 

Speaking from his office in the 

capital Damascus, Assad said, 

“Change cannot be achieved 

through foreign intervention.” 

dented investor appetite for new share issues, 

forcing a number of companies including 

China Communications Construction Co Ltd 

and CITIC Heavy Industries Co to either 

postpone offerings or downsize their deals. 

EUROPE 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has 

cut its growth forecast for South Korea 

citing risks from further intensification of the 

Euro Zone crisis. The fund said it expects a 

growth of three per cent for this year, down 

from its projection of 3.25 per cent in June. The 

Euro Zone crisis has dented demand in the 

region and hurt South Korea’s exports, which 

account for nearly half of its economic output. 

The IMF said that South Korea was well placed 

to handle any further risks. “In the event of a 

significant downside scenario, the economy 

has sufficient policy space to respond, 

especially on the fiscal side,” the IMF said in a 

report on the Asian economy. According to 

data released earlier this month, South 

Korea’s economy grew less-than-forecast in 

the April to June quarter, hurt by a slowdown 

in exports and investment. 

IMF cuts South Korea's GDP growth outlook 

Spain is considering freezing pensions and 

speeding up a planned rise in the retirement 

age as it races to cut spending and meet 

conditions of an expected international sovereign 

aid package, sources with knowledge of 

the matter said. The measures would save at 

least four billion euros a year as well as fulfil 

recommendations in a European Union document 

released in May which senior Euro Zone 

sources said was being used as a blueprint for 

the terms of a sovereign aid programme. The 

acceleration of the raising of retirement age 

to 67 from 65, currently scheduled to take 

place over 15 years, is a done deal, the 

sources said. The elimination of an inflationlinked 

annual pension hike is still being considered. 

Spain, the new epicentre of the Euro 

Zone debt crisis after Greece, Ireland and Portugal, 

is hesitating to apply for external aid to 

handle a high public deficit and soaring debt. 

INDIA 

Former Managing Director of sportswear 

business Reebok India, Subhinder Singh 

Prem, and Ex-chief Operating Officer, Vishnu 

Bhagat, have been arrested in connection 

with a fraud case. They have been alleged to 

have indulged in fictitious sales and fudging 

of company accounts. Reebok has claimed 

that such activities had resulted in a loss of 

almost IRs 8.7 billion for the firm. The two 

former executives, who left the firm in March, 

have denied the charges. Three other people 

have also been arrested in connection with 

the case. “We will seek police remand. All 

these accomplices were not co-operating with 

the police,” Gurgaon Police Commissioner 

KK Sandhu was quoted as saying by the 

Economic Times in India. The case come to 

light after Adidas, the parent company of 

Reebok, warned investors early this year that 

commercial irregularities at its Reebok unit in 

India could dent the firm’s profits. 

Reebok's ex-MD, COO among five arrested 

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) 

has started an investigation against Coal 

India Limited (CIL) for allegedly adopting 

unfair trade practices and misusing its 

dominant position while supplying coal. The 

Maharatna firm is also accused of supplying a 

huge quantity of stones and boulders along 

with coal. The Maharashtra State Electricity 

Board had filed a complaint against CIL and 

some of its subsidiaries earlier this year, 

following which the CCI started the probe. In 

September, central power utilities NTPC and 

DVC — two of the largest coal consumers in 

the country — backed up the complaint. If the 

charges are substantiated, the CIL might have 

to pay a hefty fine, possibly as high as IRs 100 

billion. The CCI had imposed a fine of IRs 60.34 

billion on 11 cement companies earlier this 

year for cartelisation. “If the allegations are 

proven, CIL has to restate its financials,” an 

NTPC official said. 

JAPAN 

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has extended its 

asset purchasing programme by 10 trillion 

yen, following similar moves by the Federal 

Reserve and the European Central Bank. The 

move, aimed at boosting the economy, 

increases the overall size of the stimulus 

programme to 80 trillion yen. Although the 

increase had been anticipated by some 

analysts, many were surprised by the size of 

it. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said, “The BoJ 

took more action than we anticipated.” Under 

the asset purchasing programme, the central 

bank buys bonds in order to keep the 

long-term cost of borrowing down. The BoJ 

also left interest rates unchanged at 

between zero and 0.1 per cent. Recent data 

showed that Japan’s exports and industrial 

output both slumped in July. The central 

bank now expects economic activity in Japan 

to level off more or less. 

Japan’s exports and imports dipped in 

August, raising fears about the impact of a 

global slowdown on its economy. Exports fell 

5.8 per cent from a year earlier, hurt by 

slowing demand from the European Union 

(EU) and China. Imports fell 5.4 per cent from 

a year ago, indicating that domestic demand 

continues to remain weak. The data comes 

amid fears that Japan’s trade with China, its 

biggest trading partner, may be hurt by the 

continuing territorial dispute between them. 

“It is going from bad to worse for the Japanese 

export sector,” Martin Schulz of Fujitsu 

Research Institute told the BBC, adding, 

“Recovery in the US remains weak, the EU 

crisis is far from over and now the dispute 

with China could have a negative impact on 

exports to the mainland in the near term.” 

Japan Airlines (JAL) shares rose modestly on 

its re-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 

more than two years after it filed for bankruptcy 

in one of Japan’s biggest corporate 

failures. JAL shares climbed one per cent, 

trading at 3,830 yen up from 3,790 yen. The 663 

billion yen initial public offering comes after 

the airline was given a government-backed 

bail out in 2010. It is the second biggest share 

sale this year globally after Facebook. Japan 

airlines were de-listed from the stock 

exchanged after becoming insolvent. Since 

then it has carried out huge restructuring, 

cutting more than a third of its workforce, 

cancelling unprofitable routes and replacing 

older planes. In August, JAL announced that 

net profit had doubled in the April to June period, 

compared with the previous year. It was 

even recently called the world’s most profitable 

airline after record operating profits. 

MALAYSIA 

AirAsia may be expanding its wings to India 

through a new start-up with an Indian 

partner and also strengthening its presence in 

the Philippines by acquiring a stake in Zest 

Airways, newspapers reported in the two 

countries. The Times of India reported on 

Wednesday that AirAsia might be the first 

carrier to invest in the aviation industry there 

after India’s cabinet decided to allow foreign 

investors to own up to a 49 per cent stake in 

its airlines. The newspaper also reported that 

Asia’s largest low-cost carrier was looking 

at the possibility of a start-up with a strong 

Indian partner instead of investing in an 

existing airline. Replying to the Indian daily 

through e-mail, AirAsia Group Chief Tan 

Sri Tony Fernandes said, “We will make 

statements in due course.” 

AirAsia Eyes India, Zest Airways 

The Malaysian Industrial Development 

Authority (MIDA) approved 469 manufacturing 

projects valued at 27.5 billion ringgit in 

January to July this year, which are expected 

to generate 46,137 jobs. The Ministry of 

International Trade and Industry (MITI) said 

that 69.3 per cent of the jobs would be in 

the managerial, technical, supervisory and 

skilled manpower categories. “Malaysia 

continues to attract high-quality investments 

in the manufacturing sector, reflecting the 

country’s competitiveness as a location of 

choice for high-tech investment in the 

region,” MIDA said. MITI said most of the 

projects approved in January to July 2012 were 

new projects (279 projects) with investments 

of 17.4 billion ringgit. 

PAKISTAN 

The government held a pre-bid conference 

for prospective consultancy firms, which 

may be hired to ensure transparent auction of 

the third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications 

technology spectrum. The event 

marks the beginning of an auctioning process 

expected to generate at least USD one billion 

in revenues for the government. The Pakistan 

Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had 

earlier sought proposals from internationally 

reputed consultants, companies or consortia, 

aimed at assisting the PTA conduct the Mobile 

Cellular Spectrum License Auction in Pakistan. 

The successful culmination of the prebid 

conference also marks the formal beginning 

of the process of issuance of 3G licences, 

which has been repeatedly haunted by allegations 

of corruption. Apart from the accusations, 

mishandling of the process has also 

delayed the 3G auction by at least a year. 

BoJ increases asset purchase programme Govt starts laying groundwork for 3G auction 

The Planning Commission (PC) has 

proposed that the 969-megawatt Neelum 

Jhelum hydropower project can be registered 

as a public limited company — a move that 

will pave the way for floating its shares in the 

open market to raise funds and complete the 

project. The proposal comes in the face of a 

sharp increase in project cost, which has 

jumped 225 per cent to 274.8 billion Pakistani 

rupees against earlier estimates of 84.5 billion 

Pakistani rupees because of years of delay. 

According to sources, the energy wing of PC 

has given the suggestion that the Neelum 

Jhelum project should be converted into a 

public limited company for issuing its shares 

in the open market. It also pointed out 

that Pakistani rupee component of the 

project could be arranged through a cash 

development loan instead of grant from 

the government. 

RUSSIA 

Russia agreed to write off nearly USD 500 

million in debt due from Kyrgyzstan in 

exchange for a package of deals that will extend 

Moscow’s military and energy footprints 

on the volatile fringes of the former Soviet 

Union. As Kyrgyzstan confirmed plans to close 

a US base used to fly troops in and out of 

Afghanistan after Washington’s lease expires 

in 2014, President Vladimir Putin secured a 15year 

extension to Russia’s lease on its own 

base in the country. The deals, which will see 

Russian companies build hydro power plants 

allowing them to mediate between conflicting 

Russia writes off Kyrgyz debt 



interests over water use, reinforce the 

Kremlin’s influence in Central Asia as the 

region guards against the possible spill over 

of Islamist militancy from Afghanistan. 

BP is in talks with Rosneft that may result in 

the British oil major acquiring at least 12.5 

per cent of the Russian state oil firm, the 

Kommersant financial daily reported, citing 

sources close to the two companies. BP’s acquisition 

of Rosneft shares would take place 

as part of a deal under discussion to sell BP’s 

50 per cent stake in Anglo-Russian oil venture 

TNK-BP Russia’s number three oil firm. 

Rosneft is looking at buying 25 per cent of 

TNK-BP’s shares for USD 10 to USD 15 billion in 

cash, with another 25 per cent to be acquired 

with Rosneft shares, Kommersant wrote. 

THAILAND 

APM Group, a leading consultancy, expects 

its sales will almost double by 2015 from 

300 million baht this year, thanks to rising 

demand from corporate clients wishing to 

enhance their competency and competitiveness 

to cope with the formation of the Asean 

Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. “We’ll 

grow along with our clients, who are adjusting 

to a new business environment. The AEC will 

bring both threats and opportunities,” said 

Managing Director Arinya Talerngsri. She said 

many companies are willing to change, and 

the changes cannot be done in only some 

areas, the whole organisation must adapt, 

and the first step is to adjust the mindset of 

employees from management to junior staff. 

“I think Thai companies should have a mindset 

that they’re in the global market, not only 

in Thailand or the AEC,” said Talerngsri. 

The Stop Global Warming Association 

(SGWA) vows to protest against any 

efforts to set up or expand industrial estates if 

the government and private sector fail to 

tackle environmental problems at Map Ta 

Phut. “If the Map Ta Phut issue is not resolved, 

don’t hope for any expansion or setting up 

other industrial estates in Thailand,” SGWA 

President Srisuwan Janya said at a Community 

Partnership Association forum, attended 

by the chief executives of the five founding 

members of the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. 

NGO vows deadlock if estates do not clean up 

USA 

Bank of America (BoA) Corp is speeding up 

planned job cuts as revenue continues to 

decline amid new regulations and a tepid 

economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The second largest US bank intends to slash 

16,000 jobs by year end, putting it a year 

ahead of a plan to eliminate 30,000 under a 

cost-cutting programme called Project New 

BAC, the newspaper said, citing a document 

given to top management. The bank began 

cutting jobs last fall and had been expected 

to complete the task by the end of 2013. 

BoA has lagged rivals in recovering from 

the financial crisis, largely due to mortgagerelated 

losses. Total revenue has declined 

for four straight quarters, raising investor 

concerns about how it will boost earnings. 

“Given the uncertainty in the economy, 

expense savings and efficiencies are the 

primary catalyst that they have for earnings 

growth over the next year,” Guggenheim 

Partners Analyst Marty Mosby said. 

BoA speeds up plans to cut 16,000 jobs 

Pennsylvania State University has hired a 

high-profile law firm to try to settle suits 

arising from the Jerry Sandusky child sex 

scandal by the end of the year, the school said 

on Thursday. The Washington law firm of 

Feinberg Rozen has been hired to help 

with potential out-of-court settlements, the 

university said in a statement. Feinberg Rozen 

received national attention for helping resolve 

suits arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil 

spill, the Virginia Tech mass shootings in 2007 

and the September 11, 2001 attacks. “In 

retaining Feinberg Rozen, we are seeking to 

make sure we do the right thing in terms of 

providing a just outcome for the victims,” 

Penn State President Rodney Erickson said. 

The law firm will be working to close claims 

out of court over a concentrated, three-month 

period and wrap them up by the end of the 

year, the statement said.


SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 PERSPECTIVES 

BUSINESS 

Showing cracks 

Guneshwor Ojha 

Kathmandu 

Huge reserves of limestone in 

Nepal cast a promising 

future for the cement industry. 

Prompted by remittance 

propelled construction activities 

in rural areas, new cement factories 

are in the offing. However, 

unfavourable environment due to 

power crisis and social problems, 

among others might engulf this 

industry as well, fear industrialists. 

While the country almost entirely 

relied on imports a decade ago, 

domestic production today meets 

50 per cent of the total cement 

requirement in Nepal. Emboldened 

by construction activities taking 

place in rural Nepal thanks to 

remittance, some new cement 

industries are set to enter Nepali 

market, informs Pashupati Murarka, 

an industrialist. “After six 

months, domestic production will 

Monish Bajracharya 

Kathmandu 

In the last column, we 

discussed creating shared 

value (CSV) as the 

guiding principle for corporate 

social responsibility 

(CSR). Here, we try to present 

one international and some 

national examples of how 

promoting entrepreneurship 

as a CSR activity can 

create shared social and 

economic value for business 

and community. 

Despite the low official 

unemployment rate of 2.1 

per cent, the reality of unemployed 

or underemployed 

youth poses a huge challenge 

for Nepal and might turn into 

a bigger worry if it remains 

unaddressed. Many ‘income 

generating activities’ of unemployed 

youth have been 

correlated with societal ills 

like crime and violent conflict 

and young people are 

easily dragged into unproductive 

engagements. To 

prevent youth from getting 

onto the wrong path and to 

unleash their productive 

potential (as entrepreneurs, 

substitute 90 per cent of cement imports,” 

claims Murarka. Due to the 

huge presence of limestone in the 

hills of Nepal, industrialists see the 

cement industry as an important 

propeller of the national economy. 

However, sluggish construction 

work in urban area and poor power 

supply, among other factors, have 

adversely impacted the industry. 

“Though the market witnessed a 

growth of 10 to 15 per cent a few 

years back, it has dwindled to a 

mere five per cent in recent years,” 

informs Bishnu Prasad Neupane, 

general secretary of Cement Manufacturers’ 

Association of Nepal. 

The country has over three dozen 

cement factories and around 

a dozen industries producing 

clinkers, the main ingredient for 

cement. Limestone forms the main 

element of the industry, as clinker 

is derived from it. Since clinker 

produced domestically is insufficient 

to meet the needs of local factories, 

it is imported from India. “A 

heavy duty imposed on import 

of clinker and other 

ingredients have bur- 

industryinsight 

income earners, tax payers, et 

cetera), job creation has 

huge societal values. Youths 

engaged in economic activities 

are youths absent 

from calling bandhs, pelting 

stones or carrying weapons. 

Obviously, businesses in 

general create jobs but there 

dened us,” says Neupane. 

Lack of access to lime, 

erratic power supply, and 

high interest rate are some 

other factors plaguing the 

industry. “In the absence of 

government regulation 

and mining areas politicised 

by locals create hassles, 

often disrupting 

work,” complains Murarka adding, 

“Rather than halting work in mines 

if a company is found to be indulged 

in any untoward activities, 

concerned locals should seek 

resolution through government authorities, 

like the chief district officer’s 

office,” he opines. Frequent 

trouble by locals putting forth unnecessary 

demands only harasses 

industrialists to the point of 

frustration, which may ultimately 

lead to the closure of a 

factory, states Murarka. 

Industrialists demand 

that the government 

devise a mechanism so 

that Nepal Rastriya 

Bank provides them 

loans at seven to eight 

per cent against the current interest 

rate of 13 to 14 per cent to 

encourage them to set up factories. 

Cartels by transport operators 

have also hugely affected the industry. 

“Transportation cost of cement 

or its raw materials along the 

700 km route from Calcutta, India to 

Nepal’s border city, Birgunj is 

around Rs 2,000 but from Birjung to 

Kathmandu (250 km) it is around Rs 

2,500,” Neupane says, insisting that 

the government must break the 

ill-practice of transport cartel. 

Seeking licence to launch a new 

factory is also a huge challenge, 

as one has to frequent multiple 

concerned bodies such as the 

Ministry of Industry, Ministry 

of Environment, Department of 

Geology, District Development 

Committee, et cetera, he laments. 

“Since the industry requires uninterrupted 

power supply, the government 

should focus on increasing 

hydro electricity capacity of the 

country,” stresses Pradeep Jung 

Pandey, another industrialist. 

Industrialists see border states of 

is more that can be done. 

A township development 

project in the South African 

city Harrismith turned local 

black youth into entrepreneurs 

through a collaboration 

with local contractors. 

Encouraged by buy-back 

guarantees, which are 

provided by infrastructure 

developers, previously unem- 

ployedyoungsters now produce 

quality 

bricks and other 

building materials. 

The promotion 

of entrepreneurship 

through 

local sourcing has 

been strategically 

used to advance economic 

inclusion of 

black youths. This 

is a great example 

of how to prevent 

young people from destroying 

infrastructure out of 

frustration and lack of 

perspectives, and instead 

make them actually build it. 

Nepal also has its homegrown 

examples of private 

entrepreneurship promotion. 

One commercial bank 

provides loans to economic 

India that lack lime mines as potential 

markets for Nepali cement. The 

industrialists argue that fostering 

of cement industries through 

adequate power supply and easing 

other social and red tape hassles 

would boost export, thereby earn 

foreign currency. However, if the 

problems persists, the industry will 

be inefficient to compete with 

Indian cement and the country will 

again revert to imports, they warn. 

Sadly, industrialists themselves 

differ on various issues of the 

industry. While some believe the 

government should tighten the 

import of clinker to promote domestic 

factories, others argue that 

clinkers should be availed at low 

cost to facilitate cement factories. 

Moreover, government directive 

requiring all cement companies in 

the country to use laminated bag 

citing health and environmental 

concerns seems to have created 

a rift. While industrialists like 

Neupane appreciate the government’s 

move, others call the 

mandatory provision impractical. 

Industrialists like Murarka and 

Pandey argue that the directive 

should be optional as it would 

increase the cost of cement. 

“Since laminated bag technology 

is expensive, installation of the 

machines by a single company 

could result in monopoly. So, such 

measures need to be implemented 

gradually,” expresses Pandey. 

However, laminated bags are not 

only friendly to the labourers and 

dealers, they also save the cost of 

cement as consumers lose one kg of 

cement during transportation. “My 

company simply wants to follow the 

best practice and already uses 

laminated bags,” says Neupane. 

youngguns 

actors at 

various levels of 

agricultural value chains. It 

gives micro loans to farmers 

to cultivate sugarcane, small 

loans to SMEs to run sugar 

mills and finally enables 

SMEs to integrate into the 

supply chain of national 

corporates. The bank not 

only promotes access to 

finance to rural farmers but 

also ignites start-ups and 

integrates infant businesses 

Solar 

solutions 


Kathmandu 

Prakash Acharya, an engineer 

involved in clean energy 

business, believes that the 

idea of slow and steady wins 

the race in any venture. Following 

his desire to become an entrepreneur 

and aided by likeminded 

classmates, Acharya 

founded Clean Concept Group 

Pvt Ltd — a solar energy company 

— in 2010 right after graduating 

from an engineering campus 

in Kathmandu. “We did project 

work on renewable energy 

during our course and decided to 

start a company as a team,” 

shares Acharya, who hails from 

the touristic city Pokhara. 

For fresh graduates with no 

background in commerce or 

business, starting up a venture 

was challenging. Yet, Acharya 

and his team entered business 

trusting the adage ‘learning 

by doing’. The team started the 

office in a single room at 

Acharya’s apartment. “We 

weren’t very professional those 

days — it was a very casual 

environment,” reminiscences the 

entrepreneur in his late 20s. 

Though the initial plan was to 

work on micro hydro projects 

along with solar energy, the 

company is only focusing on 

CSV through entrepreneurship promotion 

MANY ‘INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES’ OF UNEMPLOYED YOUTH 

HAVE BEEN CORRELATED WITH SOCIETAL ILLS 

responsiblebusiness 

POWER CRISIS AND 

SOCIAL PROBLEMS CAST 

A DARK SPELL ON 

THE CEMENT INDUSTRY 

“IT MAY TAKE TIME, BUT IF 

YOUR WORK IS GENUINE, 

YOU ARE BOUND TO 

PREVAIL AND FLOURISH” 

into the value chains of 

established companies. 

Another barely known but 

mutually beneficial initiative 

comes from the Nepali IT 

sector. The management of 

one company allows its 

employees to use company resources 

to develop and experiment 

new products and pilot 

them in the market. This 

might sound foolish to many 

THT 

05 

solar power for now. 

The company works on 

street solar lights, 

solar home systems 

and in providing power 

back up to institutions 

and business houses 

aided by solar power. 

But there were challenges 

and frustration 

in the beginning. The 

major problem was 

funding, especially as 

the equipments did not 

function due to technical 

errors. “Our other 

classmates were making 

Rs 40,000 to Rs 

50,000 per month and 

apparently led a hassle 

free life either in Nepal 

or abroad, while we 

hardly had pocket 

money and were 

always tense because 

of ceaseless complaints 

from customers 

when things went 

wrong. Thus, we would 

often mull over closing 

down the business,” 

shares Acharya. 

The only thing that 

kept the team together 

and the company going 

were frequent discussions. 

“They served as 

the medium of venting 

out personal dissatisfaction 

and stress, 

and new plans filled 

everybody with renewed hopes 

and zeal,” reveals Acharya. 

But as the number of projects, 

grew, their work also gained 

perfection. Besides, since the 

members were involved in the 

profession they were passionate 

about, any accomplishment filled 

them with a deep satisfaction. 

Though not a big company, it 

has now succeeded in creating a 

solid image among its clients, 

according to Acharya. “We’re 

now working on branding of our 

company,” he says. 

Acharya is unhappy over 

unhealthy competition in the 

market. “People with no technical 

know-how have entered 

the business foreseeing an opportunity 

in solar energy. They are 

polluting the business environment 

by selling substandard 

materials to the gullible public 

at lower prices,” he complains. 

However, he is undeterred and 

says, “It may take time, but if 

your work is genuine, you are 

bound to prevail and flourish.” 

His company’s focus is on ecohouse 

projects, where a house is 

entirely dependent on solar 

power system for all sorts of 

energy needs. If the power supply 

from national grid based on 

hydro electricity remains dismal 

for few more years, solar energy 

will take over, he predicts. 

a competition-fearing entrepreneur, 

but it secures the 

company a steady ‘supply’ of 

highly motivated and entrepreneurial 

applicants as well 

as the opportunity to venture 

into new markets with 

trusted business partners. 

There are many more 

such examples where 

businesses help create 

other businesses and 

mutual benefits. 

The South African 

contractor could have 

bought bricks from any 

other factory instead of 

investing in local youth 

entrepreneurs, the 

Nepali bank could have 

limited itself to ‘high value’ 

customers and the IT 

company could have worried 

about high staff turnovers 

instead of facilitating its 

employees’ innovations. But 

by choosing the alternative 

path, they made their communities 

safer, accessed 

previously untapped customers 

and found a way to 

create an entrepreneurial 

ecosystem from which they 

benefit as well. Beyond that, 

they vindicate their purpose 

of existence by adding social 

to economic value creation. 

(The author is a project 

manager at NBI Nepal and 

can be reached through 

info@nbinepal.org.np)

06 

PERSPECTIVES 

legaleagle 

Prudent decision 

THE PUBLIC HAS CHANCE TO RETHINK 

WHICH PARTY HAS BETTER AGENDA 

Ananta Raj Luitel 

Kathmandu 

For the first time, the political 

parties took a wise decision 

to go for fresh elections and 

give up their agenda to 

revive the dissolved Constituent 

Assembly (CA). Though they 

took the decision three and a 

half months after the expiry of 

the constitution making body, 

they took a prudent decision to 

seek the mandate of the 

people on the constitution 

making process. 

Since they surely 

failed to deliver as 

promised in drafting 

the constitution during 

the last four years after 

the elections on April 

10, 2008, it will not be 

easy to face the public 

and convince them to vote again. 

However, with no other valid 

option left, they had to choose 

this path again. 

Election is the best option in 

democracy because it helps 

foster the confidence of the 

public on current matters and 

also gain the knowledge about 

their views on current matters, 

which can help in making 

decisions. Still, there is no easy 

way for the parties to seek the 

fresh mandate from the public 

without amending the Interim 

Constitution as the current constitution 

does not give way for 

holding any kind of election — 

for the CA or parliament. 

Because the CA is not a regular 

phenomenon, the main law 

of the land did not provision 

holding the elections again and 

again. Therefore, the politicians 

and the entire intellectual sector 

must take it as an opportunity to 

acquire the views of the public 

in resolving disputed matters 

like federalism and decide on 

the number of provinces, the 

governance system, type of 

judiciary and other matters. 

There are numerous 

groups that are still 

demanding referendum 

on the monarchy 

and many other issues. 

As the public had demanded 

referendum 

even during the tenure 

of the CA for many 

other issues, it is now 

up to the parties and 

the public to take proper 

decision. Now, the public has opportunity 

to rethink which party 

has better agenda, the best 

policies in ensuring fundamental 

rights in the coming constitution 

and top economic strategy 

for making a prosperous Nepal. 

“The political forces can use 

the elections for taking the 

disputed matters to the public 

and take their stances,” 

Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, 

former Supreme Court justice 

told THT Perspectives. “If the 

parties fail to take a proper 

decision again, the public 

may start feeling frustrated 

about the democracy,” he added. 

ECONOMICS 

Vivek Risal 

Kathmandu 

The Federal Reserve 

announced the 

launch of the eagerly-anticipatedQuantitative 

Easing 3 (QE3) 

which prompted a bullish 

rally in risky assets. Most 

of the market participants 

had been expecting 

Ben Bernanke to unleash 

the stimulus package, but 

were astonished by the 

extent of the easing. 

Bernanke stated that the 

Federal Reserve will buy 

USD 40 billion worth of 

agency mortgage-backed 

securities every month 

until the job market in 

the nation develops onto 

greener pastures. 

There can be no doubt 

that the Federal Reserve’s 

move is unprecedented 

and it is astonish- 

ing that the American 

central bank is openly 

debasing its currency! 

More importantly, if 

the US job market does 

not improve soon, it is 

probable that QE3 will 

continue for several 

months or even years! In 

terms of morality, the 

Federal Reserve’s latest 

policy initiative is 

questionable at best 

because an open ended 

QE will diminish the purchasing 

power of money 

and penalise savers. 

Nonetheless, from an 

investment perspective, 

QE3 will probably trigger 

a massive rally in global 

stocks and commodities. 

In the precious metals 

arena, both gold and 

silver are soaring and 

this rally is likely to continue 

until next spring. 

Silver was the big benefi- 



Troika pauses Greek talks 

NO DEAL YET ON AUSTERITY CUTS 

Reuters 

Athens 

Greece and its international 

lenders made progress on 

hammering out a contentious 

austerity package 

but failed to clinch a deal 

at the last round of talks before 

visiting inspectors leave Athens 

this weekend, officials said on 

Friday. The talks — marred by 

tension and disagreement over 

public sector reform — are due to 

resume in a week when inspectors 

from the so-called troika of 

European Commission (EU), 

European Central Bank (ECB) 

and International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) return to Athens. 

Near-bankrupt Greece needs the 

troika’s blessing on the spending 

cuts worth nearly 12 billion euros 

to unlock its next tranche of 

aid, without which it faces certain 

default and a potential exit from 

the Euro Zone. 

“There has been progress... the 

talks are continuing,” a Greek 

finance ministry official told 

reporters after talks between 

the troika and the finance 

ministry broke up. “We have 

agreed on a number of measures 

but more are needed.” The EU and 

IMF also confirmed a ‘brief pause’ 

in talks, which it said had notched 

up progress. 

“The mission has had productive 

discussions with the authorities 

since early September and has 

made good progress during this 

period,” the EU and IMF said 

in a statement. 

The austerity package needs to 

be finished by September 28, the 

Greek official said. “We 

need to have the package 

ready by September 28 to 

present it to the Euro 

Working Group meeting. 

Our time limit is until 

then,” the official said. 

“We must also have 

a buffer of measures 

in the event that we 

miss targets.” 

Prime Minister Antonis 

Samaras’s government 

has acknowledged 

that the talks with 

the troika have been ‘difficult’ 

with the inspectors 

pressing Athens to 

make deep cuts and 

accept an end to its taboo 

on firing civil servants. 

So far, Greek officials 

have said agreement on 

9.5 billion euros of the 

11.5 billion-euro package 

of spending cuts had 

been reached. That 

includes 6.5 billion 

euros in cuts to wages, 

pensions and benefit 

payments and a further 

1.1 billion euros in 

savings planned from 

an increase in the 

retirement age. 

An additional 1.9 

billion euros would 

come in savings from 

various modernisation 

measures approved by 

the troika, leaving the 

two sides still wrangling 

over some two billion 

euros in proposed savings 

in health, defence 

and local government. 

The deeply unpopular 

cuts have put additional 

strain on Samaras’s 

already fragile conservative-led 

coalition, which 

has bickered for weeks 

over plans to lay off 

civil servants and 

IMF CHIEF URGES EUROPE TO ACT 

WASHINGTON: European policymakers 

must move quickly to 

coordinate and implement decisions 

they have taken to move the Euro 

Zone beyond its current debt crisis, 

the head of the IMF said. 

In an interview with an IMF 

publication issued on Friday, 

Managing Director Christine Lagarde 

said the United States and 

Japan should also roll out their 

medium-term fiscal plans to anchor 

expectations about economic policy. 

She said action, and not just talk, 

is needed among all countries to 

help the world economy regain its 

stride again, with emerging market 

economies now clearly drawn into 

the slowdown in global growth. “It’s 

a question of really trying to move 

beyond the crisis in the Euro Zone, 

asserting a medium-term plan for 

countries like the United States and 

Japan, and making sure that some 

of the issues that actually created 

the crisis back five years ago are 

really dealt with, not just half dealt 

with,” Lagarde said. — Reuters 

ciary and we believe 

that over the following 

months, silver will outperform 

gold by a wide 

margin. But the notion 

is widely debated, given 

the unpredictable nature 

of the markets lately. 

In the currencies 

patch, the US dollar has 

embarked on a new 

downtrend and further 

weakness is on the 

cards. Given the fact that 

the Federal Reserve is 

debasing its currency, 

the greenback should 

depreciate significantly 

against other forms of 

paper money. In terms of 

the technicalities, the 

US dollar index has 

slipped below the 200-day 

moving average and 

that line should now 

act as a source of 

major resistance. 

Finally, QE3 is already 

slash pensions. 

Still, with Greece 

facing a Euro Zone exit 

— what Samaras called 

a ‘nightmare’ and a 

‘total disaster’ scenario 

— without further 

bailout funds, party leaders 

in his coalition have 

signalled they will reluctantly 

back the package 

in the end. Once all sides 

agree a final deal on 

the cuts, the troika is 

expected to issue a 

report on Greece’s 

progress in meeting 

the terms of its bailout 

that will determine 

whether the country gets 

further bailout funds 

to stay afloat. 

EU officials and diplomats 

earlier told Reuters 

the EU and IMF report 

looked set to be delayed 

after the November 6 

US elections because 

policymakers want to 

avoid any shock to 

the global economy, but 

the EU’s chief inspector 

for Greece denied 

the report. 

Cometh of QE3: an overview 

IT IS PROBABLE THAT LONG-TERM US INTEREST RATES WILL RISE 

AND THE YIELD CURVE WILL STEEPEN 

investosansar 

having an impact on 

bond yields and it is 

probable that long-term 

US interest rates will rise 

and the yield curve 

will steepen. Conversely, 

bearing in mind the ongoing 

rally in risk, we 

believe that peripheral 

European bond yields 

will decline and high 

yield corporate bonds 

will also appreciate over 

the following months. 

Thus, this is the time to 

liquidate US treasuries 

and allocate capital to 

high yield bonds. But this 

is my opinion, which 

could differ from yours! 

(The author is the 

senior assistant manager 

at the research and 

development department 

of Mercantile Exchange 

Nepal. He can be 

contacted through 

r&d@mexnepal.com)


SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 PERSPECTIVES 

BRAND 

Aashreeva KC 

Kathmandu 

Fifteen years ago, World 

Distribution Nepal introduced 

Dell in Nepal 

with a vision to change 

the way Nepalis connect 

with the world. And indeed it 

did, especially as people were 

attracted to the value for 

money that Dell offered 

through its products. Ten 

years later, Generation Next 

Communications Pvt Ltd 

(GNext) was set up to enhance 

customer satisfaction 

and acquired the authorised 

distributorship for Dell in the 

country. 

“Through the years, Dell 

has become a household 

name in Nepal owing to its 

unmatched quality and affordability,” 

claims Aachal 

Shrestha, service head 

manager of GNext. Informing 

that all the 

products they supply 

are imported directly 

from the mother company 

in Malaysia, she says 

Dell enjoys about 60 per cent 

of market share, thereby 

making it the market leader. 

The company is organising 

a campaign titled ‘Be The 

Face Of Dell’, where college 

students are given an 

opportunity to enhance 

their sales skills and 

earn themselves 

a certificate 

and letter of 

appreciation 

along with 

other incentives. 

The winners 

will be awarded 

a Dell Notebook, a Dell 

printer and a Dell 

monitor. The 

c a m - 

paign, 

which 

started 

from August 

20, will last till 

October 5. According 

to the company, over 100 

students have registered 

and won themselves exciting 

gift hampers, movie and 

bowling tickets. 

GNext sells Dell laptops, 

computers, notebooks, ultrabooks, 

printers, projectors 

and monitors. They also 

provide spare parts for 

laptops upon order. Whereas 

retailers form majority of 

Vibhor Kumar Singh 

Kathmandu 

Evolving with times is a 

must for any brand and 

the story of the brand 

‘Amitabh Bachchan’ illustrates 

this golden rule in a 

very apt manner. Even though 

there are a number of factors 

that have shaped the man’s career, 

it is interesting to note that 

the superstar’s career graph is 

directly linked to the ability of 

Amitabh-the-brand to adapt to 

the changing environment. 

Bachchan was the undisputed 

superstar of Indian cinema and 

a global brand export from 

India in the 1970s and 1980s. 

In the closed economy era, 

snake charmers and colourful 

bollywood glitz was synonymous 

with India and the man 

who towered above all this was 

Amitabh Bachchan. He was 

among the few global brands 

that India could boast of. He 

came to represent an era and 

a generation that had seen 

independence as their birth 

right and India as a nation was 

clearly tilted towards socialist 

aspirations. Capitalism was 

frowned upon. The golden era of 

capitalism symbolised by the 

elitist roles of Rajesh Khanna 

was over and India as a nation 

was moving towards socialism. 

Championing the cause of 

the poor was the call of the 

hour. Amitabh, or the ‘angry 

young man’ Vijay was always 

portrayed as a ‘have not’ with 

the exception of few notable 

roles in Sharaabi and Kabhee 

their clients, they rarely deal 

with direct customers. 

“Although our presence in 

the Nepali market has not 

been for very long, we have 

already proven our mettle 

and received ‘The Most Valuable 

Partner’ award from Dell 

for two consecutive years,” 

informs Shrestha. The GNext 

store is located on the 

second floor of Sherpa Mall, 

Durbar Marg. It has also 

opened its new concept 

store at Glass 

House, Putalisadak. 

Their future plan 

basically includes 

the enhancement of 

the concept store 

along with improvement 

of their 

services. 

Neoteric is another 

player in the 

market that is an authorised 

distributor of Dell. Located 

at the Heritage plaza, 

Kamaladi, Neoteric is an 

established name in terms of 

quality. “While competition 

is good, importing products 

paralleling with other 

distributors is quite challenging,” 

says Pawan Pradhan, 

product manager at Neoteric. 

For the brand visibility, 

Neoteric only focuses on 

print media, but regularly organises 

road shows, distributes 

pamphlets, posters and 

sponsors college events. According 

to Pradhan, with the 

festive season around, they 

will be coming up with excit- 

Adept Amitabh 

THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN ADAPTABLE BRAND 

Kabhee, in which money and 

wealth anyways symbolised 

downfall and tragedy. The poor 

versus rich and the triumph of 

the poor was a popular success 

formula. And Bachchan, with 

his hard-hitting dialogues and 

physique fitted seamlessly into 

the picture. By playing roles of 

a coalmine labourer to a hotel 

waiter, Amitabh was always 

there to represent the aspirations 

of the masses and brand 

Amitabh became the poor 

man’s champion. He was the 

people’s brand and all his roles 

connected with the masses on 

this ‘filmy’ platform making the 

brand an instant hit. 

However, with the early 90s 

opening up of the Indian 

economy and the gradual shift 

towards a capitalistic mindset, 

the memorable character of the 

downtrodden Vijay began to 

lose its lustre and so did brand 

Amitabh. Money was not evil 

anymore, and the poor versus 

rich stories no longer a hit. The 

environment was changing and 

brand Amitabh had to change 

or perish. The growing disconnect 

of the socialist brand 

Amitabh with the people to portray 

their new capitalist aspirations 

eroded brand Amitabh. 

The Rajesh Khanna brand 

story was repeating itself. 

The year 2000 saw the birth of 

the ‘capitalistic’ media reign in 

the form of the silver screen 

Kaun Banega Crorepati series 

and as fate would have it, it was 

again brand Amitabh that was 

championing a cause. Brand 

Amitabh had finally caught up 

ing offers soon. “We also plan 

to introduce various tablets 

as soon as Windows 8 arrives 

in Nepal,” says Pradhan. 

The price of Dell laptops 

range from Rs 45,000 to Rs 

145,000, while Dell printers 

cost Rs 10,000 and above. 

The price range of projectors 

is from Rs 45,000 to Rs 

93,000 and that of monitors 

is from Rs 9,000 to Rs 19,000. 

Dell Inc, bearing the 

name of its founder, is 

an American multinational 

computer 

technology corporation 

based in 

Texas, United 

States. The 

company 

develops, sells and supports 

computers and related 

products and services. It is 

one of the largest technological 

corporations in the world, 

employing more than 103,300 

people worldwide. Listed at 

number 41 in the Fortune 

500 list, Dell is the third 

with the changing times! And 

for certain thereafter, brand 

Amitabh clearly shifted its 

positioning from representing 

the poor section of society to 

showcasing flamboyance and 

extravagance. The new brand 

Amitabh had clearly connected 

with the masses once again. 

This perspective on the story 

of Amitabh Bachchan may 

never be agreed upon, but like a 

true Amitabh fan I personally 

feel that what saved Amitabh 

Bachchan from going into 

oblivion, like many other 70 

mm superstars, was the ability 

of the brand Amitabh to adapt 

to the changed environment. 

(The author is associated 

with the Chaudhary Group 

and can be contacted at 

vibhor.kumarsingh@gmail.com) 

largest PC vendor in the 

world after HP and Lenovo. 

Dell computer was founded 

as PC’s Limited in 1984 by 

university student, Michael 

Dell. The company was so 

successful that within two 

years of its inception, PC’s 

Limited had distribution offices 

in Europe, and changed 

its grammatically incorrect 

name to Dell Computer Corporation. 

With much experience 

in mail order telephone 

sales, Dell was one of the first 

companies to offer computers 

for mail order via the 

internet. The Dell coupon 

programme made many 

internet models cheaper than 

other brands, and continues 

to be popular to this day. 

From unconventional PC 

startup to global technology 

leader, the single common 

thread in Dell’s heritage is its 

promise for the unwavering 

commitment to the customer 

for best services. 

2006 

DELL SOCIAL MEDIA TIMELINE 

• Direct2Dell launched — Dell’s 

first official presence in the 

social web 

2007 

• StudioDell launched — a video 

and podcast site, with helpful tips 

and tricks 

• IdeaStorm launched — a voting 

based site allowing customers and 

others to submit ideas for Dell 

• Dell joins Twitter and launches 

EmployeeStorm — internal blogs 

launched for employees 

• DellShares launched — the 

first investor relations blog by a 

public company 

2008 

• Dell aligns organisation 

for success 

• Accepted Solutions launched on 

community — Dell France begins 

Online Community Outreach 

Dell delight 

Dell delights 

brandbasics 

• Inside IT launched — a blog 

focused on business customers 

and cloud computing 

• Dell Outlet achieves USD 0.5 

million sales via Twitter 

• Channel Blog launched 

2009 

• Over USD two million sales via 

Twitter 

• Dell Tech Centre set up 

• Huffington Post Blog 

2010 

• Dell joins Seina Weibo in China 

• Social Media Command Centre 

launched 

• Social Media and Communities 

University launched — 5,000 team 

members trained by the end of 

the year 

2011 

• Dell named number one most 

social brand 

07 

FROM UNCONVENTIONAL 

PC STARTUP TO GLOBAL 

TECHNOLOGY LEADER

08 

PERSPECTIVES 

businesscrossword 

sudokuhighfive 

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 

workingitout 

UNWIND 

TEST YOUR BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE 

ACROSS 

1 Electrical and electronic giants (7) 

5 ‘G’in AGM (7) 

9 __ of Contract: the legal cancellation 

of a contract (9) 

10 Pine nut (5) 

11 Japanese warrior (7) 

12 ‘T’in ITDC (7) 

13 Ceramic ware (9) 

15 Lake Geneva resort (5) 

17 Jobs or Wozniak of Apple computers (5) 

19 The Furies of Greek mythology (9) 

22 American ___: the US bank (7) 

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 

TOURIST-BASHING TURNS UGLY 

IN BERLIN 

BERLIN: Tourism to Berlin is booming as 

never before and filling the debt-ridden 

city’s coffers with much-needed cash, but 

not all Berliners are cheering the influx of 

visitors. Some blame tourists, especially 

the young 20-something ‘Easyjet set’ who 

ride the budget airline to party through 

the night in the uber-cool, hedonistic 

German capital, for a host of ills from rising 

rents to noise pollution. 

‘Noisy tourists go home!’ reads one 

hostile sign in the eastern district of 

Friedrichshain. ‘Berlin doesn’t love you,’ 

say stickers plastering traffic lights in 

nearby Kreuzberg. A gallery in an area 

known for its trendy bars featured for 

months a scrawled sign in the window: 

‘Sorry, no entry for hipsters from the US’. 

“We’ve seen people insulted for looking 

like tourists or get disparaging looks,” said 

David Schuster, an activist for a local leftist 

group that has launched a tourist-friendly 

awareness drive. “There’s some resentment 

that tourists party loudly or throw up on the 

streets,” Schuster said, adding, “I think 

many Berliners do too, but they feel entitled 

to act that way.” 

Berlin, now Europe’s third most visited 

city after the more established magnets 

London and Paris, can ill afford to scare 

away the tourists. — Reuters 

RYANAIR PLANE DISINFECTED 

AFTER INSECT BITE COMPLAINTS 

ROME: Irish low-cost airline Ryanair said it 

took a plane out of service at the request 

of Italian health authorities after passengers 

complained of insect bites, and had it 

disinfected before being 

returned to service. 

Ryanair said on Friday 

two passengers who travelled 

from Billund, Denmark 

to Ciampino, Italy, 

had made a complaint 

while waiting in the terminal 

to collect baggage. 

“As the source of these 

alleged insect bites was 

unknown, Ryanair was 

businessunusual 

25 Tallinn is its capital (7) 

26 An organic compound — ‘Dime I’change ? (5) 

27 Like goods dispatched which are yet 

to reach their destination (2,7) 

28 ‘L’in PLC (7) 

29 Direct or control; projects, businesses, 

et cetera (7) 

DOWN 

1 ___ ___ late: burns midnight oil (5,2) 

2 Business on the internet (1-8) 

3 Confirm or approve usually by putting one’s 

signature on a document (7) 

4 Group of people or nationalised bank (9) 

5 ‘G’of GE Shipping Ltd (5) 

6 The planet eighth in order from the sun (7) 

7 India’s cricket trophy (5) 

8 Photographers (7) 

14 Deputy CEO’s position (6,3) 

16 OPEC member country (9) 

17 S in IMF’s SDR (7) 

18 Highest mountain (7) 

20 Fertiliser type (7) 

21 Space Needle city (7) 

23 Geometric shape or optical device (5) 

24 ___ away from: evaded or avoided (5) 

happy to disinfect the aircraft overnight before 

returning it to service on Friday September 

7,” it said. News agency Ansa and 

several Italian news outlets reported that 

medics diagnosed tick bites, prompting airport 

authorities to call pest control. — Reuters 

FLORIDIANS ASKED TO STOP 

CRASHING INTO POST OFFICES 

FLORIDA: The US Postal Service (USPS) 

has taken the unusual step of releasing a 

set of helpful tips to help reduce the number 

of drivers in Florida who have been crashing 

their cars into post offices. This year 

so far, eight drivers have crashed into post 

offices in Central Florida alone. 

Local ABC affiliate WWSB7 reports that 

the tips include, ‘Avoid distracted driving’; 

‘Proceed slowly and carefully when pulling 

in, and backing out, of parking spaces’; ‘Visibly 

check to see whether your foot is on the 

gas or the brake pedal’, and ‘Visibly check to 

see if the vehicle is in park, reverse or drive’. 

The USPS says the two most common 

causes of such accidents are when drivers 

step on the gas instead of the brake pedal 

and when the driver accelerates thinking 

the vehicle is in reverse. 

Florida is home to more than 15,000,000 

drivers, of whom nearly a third, or about 

four million are over the age of 60. — Agencies 

ELEPHANTS PLAY TRUANT 

FROM COPENHAGEN CIRCUS 

COPENHAGEN: Two 

elephants said goodbye 

to the circus and 

took a walk along 

a Copenhagen street 

packed with rushhour 

traffic on Wednesday, 

one following 

teeingoff 

Try to 

maintain 

the connection 

between your chest 

and both triceps 

Many golfers suffer 

from wayward tee 

shots. When your 

body and arms do 

not coil properly, you 

will certainly spray the ball 

either to the right or left. 

Most amateurs have flying 

elbow on their backswing — 

their right elbow separates as 

they take their swing up, after 

the waist height. There is a 

real misconception amongst 

many amateurs that if they 

were to take a longer or higher 

backswing, they would be able 

to hit the ball harder at a 

greater speed to achieve long 

distance on shots. 

Long time ago, I watched 

Padraig Harrington on the 

European tour event’s practice 

round and he was taking 

numerous practice swings 

during the round having a 

towel tucked in the armpit and 

not letting it drop, I wondered 

what this top golfer was trying 

to achieve, but later realised 

that he was trying to avoid a 

flying elbow on the backswing. 

What can you do to avoid a 

flying elbow in your swing? 

1. Turn your shoulders into 

your backswing until your 

hands are about waist high. 

Your elbows should not bend 

and you should not lift your 

hands. Practice swinging the 

club from one waist-high position 

to the other. Try to maintain 

the connection between 

your chest and both triceps. 

2. Stretch this short ‘takeaway 

swing’ by letting your 

right elbow bend on the 

backswing; this bend will automatically 

cause your wrists to 

cock. You should be able to 

the other with trunk 

ninetofive linked to tail. 

buzzword 

Sonia, 31, and Vana 

Mana, 41, star turns at 

the Circus Benneweis, 

strolled down the multi-lane 

Borups Alle in 

the Danish capital for 

about 200 metres before 

their trainer caught up with them. 

“They were walking past the morning traffic trunk-totail,” 

a police officer told Danish news agency Ritzau. 

Police blocked the road so the tuskers could return to the 

circus site unhurt. “Nobody was hurt, so it was just two 

elephants out for a stroll,” the police officer said. — Reuters 

with DEEPAK ACHARYA 



Avoid flying elbow 

on the backswing 

lengthen this swing until your 

left arm is nearly parallel to the 

ground without losing the connection 

between your right tricep 

and chest. Your hands will 

be just below shoulder level. 

3. Swing the club from your 

shoulder-high backswing position 

to a shoulder-high finish 

position. Your right elbow 

remains bent until your hands 

drop below waist level. At 

that point it straightens and 

remains straight for the rest of 

your swing; your left elbow will 

bend as you reach your shoul- 

der-high finish. This mirrors 

your backswing, just as you did 

with the shorter swing. Again, 

both triceps will remain connected 

to your chest throughout 

this three-quarter swing. 

If you practice the above 

drills, you will be creating a 

one-piece takeaway, this will 

help to keep your arms and 

body together. This will not 

only help you to hit the ball 

straighter, with time and 

practice, you will begin to use 

bigger muscles on the swing. 

This will eventually help you to 

connect the ball with greater 

speed and you will soon find 

your ball not only going 

straight but also long. 

If you have flying elbow, use 

the above drills few times on 

the practice before going on the 

course. If you do not have this 

problem, keep the above drills 

in mind so that bad habits 

do not creep in! 

(The author is a golf 

instructor and golf director at 

Gokarna Forest Golf Resort 

& Spa, Kathmandu. 

He can be contacted through 

prodeepak@hotmail.com) 

The Buzz Word is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands 

for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout 

the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe 

give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. 

Today’s clue: SYO equals JAG. 

Ovxuo ev fvtw jvt y gytoq rvlbyup xh gxwq oqeexuo vu y etyxu. Ytq pvk 

ovxuo hxmep lxgqh yu ivkt vt xh eiq etyxu ovxuo hxmep lxgqh yu ivkt yuc 

pvk'tq skhe hxeexuo hexgg? — Sqyu Bykg Oqeep 

Solution: Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going 

sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you're just sitting still? 

— Jean Paul Getty 

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

NC,UML want CPN-M,MJF-N in

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