Maoist cantonments to be decided in 3 days: Home Minister Sitaula

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, who is also the chief government negotiator, has said that the government and the Maoist negotiating teams would finalize areas for Maoist cantonments within three days.
Speaking at the parliamentary State Affairs Committee (SAC) Sitaula said, "Both the government and Maoist negotiating teams have been doing homework to finalize specific areas for setting up camps for Maoist combatants in the country by Friday."
"The Maoists are currently working on selecting cantonments at various places in the country. It is necessary for us to work faster so that the UN team would be able to work better once it arrives here," Sitaula told reporters after SAC's meeting.
Home Minister Sitaula further said that a UN mission would arrive in Kathmandu in the first week of September to expedite the peace process.
"The UN team would arrive within 10 days," Sitaula quoted Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as saying in the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
According to him, the government has requested the United Nations to send a mission, establish its office here and operate till sustainable peace is restored.
Expressing his firm belief that the dialogue would not break at any cost this time, the Home Minister said,"The three-month ceasefire will turn into a permanent one. The Maoist leadership is serious about making the dialogue successful."
Apprising SAC members about the government's step to maintain law and order by controlling miscreants, he said that the Nepal Police, during a massive campaign launched Tuesday from Koteshwor to Sanepa, arrested 60 people.
Referring to the Maoists move to kill Nepali Congress cadres in Bardiya and Dhanusha, he said though the incidents were serious ones, they would not affect the peace process as such.

Govt withdraws fuel price hike .

In the wake of nationwide protests, the government on Sunday withdrew the hike in the price of petroleum products.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers this evening decided to direct the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-owned body that looks after supply of petroleum products, to withdraw the price hike.
The cabinet also formed a committee headed by former finance secretary Bhanu Acharya to work out new price set up of petroleum products.
Earlier in the afternoon, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Hridayesh Tripathi, said at the House of Representatives that the government was ready to reconsider the hike in the petroleum products.

Citing the mounting losses of the NOC, the government announced massive increase the price of in petrol, diesel, kerosene, air turbine fuel, cooking gas on Friday. Price of petrol went up by 25.1 percent per litre, dieIsel by 10.95 percent per litre, kerosene by 23.21 percent, air turbine fuel by 38.87 and cooking gas by 11.31 percent per cylinder.
According to the cabinet decision, the price of the petroleum products will remain same as before Friday until next decision.
The price hike sparked furious protests throughout the country, prompting even the ruling parties to speak against the government decision.

Tyre tier rulz the roads in Nepal.

photos from nepalnews.com and ekantipur.com

Petro price hike sparks nationwide protests for second Day.

Normal life of the valley and other parts of the country were affected on Sunday, the second consecutive day, due to the protests organized against the government’s decision to hike the prices of the petroleum products.

Students and other general people took to the streets against the price hike demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision.
The demonstrators blocked the road in various parts of the capital by burning tyres. The traffic movement of the valley largely affected due to protest.
Protestors torched a Nepal Telecom motorcycle with registration number BA 1 MA 1063 at Kupondole chowk, around 9 in the morning today. Similarly, protestors vandalised a taxi with registration number BA 1 JA 3653 and a microbus with registration number BA 1 JA 8082 at Sohrakhutte and Jawlakhel respectively.
At least ten people were hurt in a clash that took place in Jadibuti area of Bhaktapur.
According to radio reports, the clash occurred when a group of people, in a police van, got off the van and attacked people who were burning the effigies of Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat and Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply Hridayesh Tripathi protesting the recent price hike in petroleum products after organizing a protest rally from Pepsikola.
Reports quoted protestors as saying that the vigilantes beat the protestors with iron rods.
Likewise, police had to use minor force to disperse the protestors surrounding the NOC central office at Babar Mahal protesting the price hike.
Police also lobbed teargas shells at Kalimati to disperse the protestors vandalizing the Mali Oil Store. The counter and the pump were damaged by the protestors.
Six students were hurt at Amrit Science College during the clash with police while protesting against the price hike in the Thamel area.

Maitidevi, Lainchaur, Chabhil, Gangabu, Kalimati, Baneshwor, Koteshwor, Patan, Satdobato and Bhaktapur areas remains tense.
Earlier in the morning, UML affiliated All Nepal National Free Student Union closed the roads for one hour in front of Tri Chandra Campus, Pashupati Campus, Ascol, Saraswoti Campus, Ratna Raya Laxmi Campus, Nepal Commerce Campus, Patan Multiple Campus and others.
According to reports, traffic movement also came to a halt in major cities of the country in Dolakha, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Chitwan and Bhairahawa. However, there was no report of violence so far.
A board meeting of the state-owned petroleum supplier NOC decided to raise the prices (per litre) by 25.1 percent on petrol, 10.95 percent on diesel, 23.21 percent on kerosene, 38.87 percent on aviation fuel and 11.31 percent on cooking gas.
Meanwhile a delegation of the UML affiliated ANNFSU submitted a memorandum to the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Hridayesh Tripathi, putting forth its four-point demand on Sunday.
According to chairman of ANNFSU Khim Lal Bhattarai, the demands include withdrawal of decision to hike price of petroleum products, 50 percent discount in petroleum products for students, announcement of relief package for the people under the poverty line and 50 percent discount in transportation fare for students.

In pokahara , a huge demonstration got to vandelize the claim of oil.

Protests in Nepal capital over fuel price rise.

Activists torched dozens of vehicles and attacked a senior politician in Kathmandu on Saturday in protest against an increase in prices of petroleum products, police and witnesses said.Police used batons to break up protests as hundreds of people also burned tyres and stopped traffic in the city, a police officer said.Dozens of protesters threw rocks and broke window panes of the home of Madhav Kumar Nepal, head of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the second biggest group in the multi-party government. But the leader was unhurt, his family said.Activists in the city, home to 1.5 million people, demanded the multi-party government -- formed in April after King Gyanendra was forced to relinquish power -- roll back the increase which was announced late on Friday.The interim government raised retail prices of petroleum products by up to 38 percent saying it was necessary to cut the losses of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-owned oil importing monopoly.Eight unions considered close to the Maoist rebels, including those of students, labourers, peasants, women and teachers, warned the government of more protests if it did not revoke its decision."The government has once again taken an anti-people step. There is still time to reduce the price immediately and correct the mistake," they said in a joint statement."Withdraw the price increase. We don't accept it," shouted protesters, mainly student activists, as traffic on major roads in the temple-studded city came to a standstill.They said higher fuel prices would increase transport costs for food and other commodities in the landlocked mountainous nation which largely depends on road links."The government is not sensitive about the problems of the common people," said Basu Acharya, a student activist, standing near black smoke from burning tyres in front of a Kathmandu college.Dozens of riot police stood nearby but did not intervene.