School buried in landslide

Landslide triggered by incessant rainfall since Friday has completely buried the Devitar Lower Secondary School where around 400 Chepang and Tamang children study, according to a schoolteacher Raj Kumar Syangtan.

Guardians are worried about their children’s education after the school constructed last year with an investment of Rs 2 lakh has been buried.

The villagers’ dream of running a secondary school in the Chepang neighbourhood will remain a dream, Syangtan said.

Classes in other schools of rural areas of Makwanpur, which were closed due to rains, resumed today.

Meanwhile, 33-year-old Raju Sapkota, a native of Aptari, Dhading, was killed in a landslide at Benighat village development committee ward number 9, Dhading today, police said.

Nepal army chief says it will not betray democracy

The new chief of Nepal's army said on Sunday the army, criticised for the bloody crackdown on this year's protests against the king, was committed to democracy in the Himalayan nation.
The country's multi-party government formally appointed General Rukmangat Katuwal last week to head the 90,000-strong army replacing Pyar Jung Thapa who retires this month.
Leading human rights groups criticised his appointment.
"The army will not betray democracy," Katuwal told reporters after receiving the insignia of army chief from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Sunday.
Katuwal is among more than 200 politicians, generals and officials who have been questioned by a panel investigating the crackdown on mass protests which forced King Gyanendra to cede absolute power in April.
At least 22 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded in the crackdown.
The army chief was appointed by the king earlier and the military was considered loyal to the monarch.
But the new government, formed after the protests, took over the king's control over the army, including his title of the Supreme Commander in Chief.
"The Nepal army is committed to democracy and peace and will remain active under the directives of the government," Katuwal said in Nepali.
Earlier on Sunday, a leading human rights group said both the Nepali government and the country's Maoist rebels were killing people and violating human rights despite a truce.
Subodh Pyakurel, chairman of rights group Informal Service Sector Centre (INSEC), said the Maoists had killed 11 people while nine had died in action by security forces.
Both sides have been observing a truce since May, after the king handed power to an alliance of seven political parties.
INSEC also reported the Maoists had violated the truce 144 times compared to 22 cases involving government forces.
"The state is still carrying out killings, torture, intimidation, beating, arbitrary arrests and military action," it said in a statement.
"Maoists have also continued murder, abductions, physical assault, extortion of money through forced donations ... torture in the name of people's courts and labour camps."
A senior government official denied systematic violation of rights by troops but added some deaths attributed to the state were being investigated.
Maoist leaders also rejected the charges of systematic abuse.
Nepal's key foreign donors urged the rebels last week to end extortion and intimidation, saying their acts hurt the economy.
Both the government and Maoists are holding talks to try to end the Maoist insurgency which has killed thousands.

NRN seeks provision of dual citizenship in interim constitution

Non-Residential Nepalis (NRNs) have appealed to the government to make the provision of dual citizenship in the interim constitution as a constitutional right to the people of Nepali origin living abroad.
They made the appeal during the joint convention of Association of Nepalese in Midwest America (ANMA) and Nepalese Association in Southeast America (NASeA) held in Chicago, USA, from 2 – 4 September 2006.
“The latest budget presented by Finance Minister, Dr. Ram S. Mahat, acknowledged the NRN contributions and had recommended for a provision of dual citizenship. Now, the time has come where the contributions of NRNs should be recognized with the provision of dual citizenship in the constitution of new Nepal ,” the outcome of the convention said.
Stating that there is provision of dual citizenship in many countries, participants of the convention also urged the government to do so to benefit from the expertise of Nepali living abroad.
”The advantages of dual citizenship in areas of financial, intellectual and social spheres are far too many. It not only generates new investment resources and opportunities to promote knowledge and skill transfer, but most importantly gives a sense of being connected to the homeland and its rich cultural heritage to people of Nepali origin,” a press statement issued by the organizers said.
Anand Tiwari, President of ANMA, Dr. Narayan Rajbhandari, President of NASeA and Sanjay Shrestha informed about the activities carried out by their respective organizations to preserve and promote Nepali cultural heritage and bring Nepali communities together.
Addressing the session, President of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Dr. Upendra Mahato talked about the challenges faced by overseas Nepali communities.
He further said, “NRNA is not an umbrella organization but a common platform of all overseas Nepalis united with a ‘by-Nepali-for-Nepali’ vision.”
He further informed that apart from over one billion USD received by Nepal in remittances, the overseas Nepalis have invested around 150 million USD in different economic sectors in Nepal and urged Nepalis living in US to send more remittance and support the flagging tourism industry by encouraging foreign friends to visit Nepal .