Citizenship acquiring process eased

The Council of Ministers has passed a bill to make acquiring citizenship more convenient to those who have been facing difficulties obtaining one.
The meeting of the cabinet held at the prime minister's residence at Baluwatar on Wednesday decided to move ahead the process to provide Nepali citizenship to those who have been residing in Nepal until the second week of April 1990 and for those having any written evidence of being a Nepali.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Pradip Gyawali said that the government passed the bill to ease the citizenship acquiring process.
"To end the citizenship crisis permanently, the government, in the new bill, has amended the existing Citizenship Act adding some provisions to punish any illegal acquirement of one. And the citizenship acquiring process has been simplified so that no genuine Nepali shall be deprived of a citizenship certificate," said the minister.
It is learnt that with the government decision, some 4 million people living in the Terai regions will benefit from the new bill.
Now, descendants whether from the father or mother, who has Nepali citizenship and given birth to their child before 1990, will have the opportunity to acquire citizenship.
Today's bill, passed by the cabinet also has made provisions for those who have registered their names at the last national census to acquire citizenship.

SAC deprives King from approving Public Documents

The Parliament's State Affairs Committee (SAC) has decided to scrap the terminology ‘His Majesty’ from the Bill on Approving Public Document and deprived the King from the power of approving Public Documents.
The meeting of the SAC took the decision to remove the terminology from the bill, saying it would not affect the functioning of the Act.
The Bill, in Clause (2), had given the right to approve public documents to ‘His Majesty’. After the bill is passed by the parliament, any person appointed by the Nepal government will have the authority of approving the public documents.
Earlier, the meeting of the committee adjourned twice following dispute among lawmakers on whether to allow the King the right to verify public documents or not.
In previous meetings, Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) leaders proposed going with the ‘Head of the State,’ but leftist lawmakers strongly opposed it, demanding definition of the term, if it was to be used to replace the term His Majesty.
The amended act presented by law minister Narendra Bikram Nemwang before the parliament earlier sparked criticism and was referred to the SAC after Clause (2) had given the right to approve public documents to ‘His Majesty’.
Meanwhile, chairman of the SAC Hridaya Ram Thani told Nepalnews that henceforth the credentials of the foreign diplomats will be received by the person appointed by the government of Nepal. He said the person could be Prime Minister, chief secretary or Speaker.
"This has scrapped all powers vested in the king making him a citizen of the country," Thani said. He, however, said the king will still be the head of the state even after this amendment.

Flood victims waiting for relief material

Flood and landslide hit people of mid and far western regions are waiting for the relief materials as diseases have struck the stranded starving people of Banke.
Most affected are the children and the aged from Simrana Khadaicha, Chhitaipurawa, Chauferi in Holiya VDC of Banke district. They are suffering from cholera, pneumonia, typhoid and common flu.
People lament that no health team has so far visited the affected areas. More than 100 persons are suffering from diarrhea and fever in Holiya’s Chauferi, said Ramdin Yadav, one of the flood victims .
Of the 500 persons who were air-lifted from Holiya’s Semarhana to Uchuwa in Jhora forests, more than 200 have fallen ill. Of them 150 are children, who have fever, cholera and conjunctivitis.
Reports quoted assistant Chief District Officer Narendra Prasad Sharma as saying that the authorities were aware that the flood-hit people were falling ill and necessary medical treatment was underway.
More than 500 houses in Banke district have been completely damaged due to the flood.
The relief material, including food grains and clothes meant for flood victims of Khaptad and Devisthan, has been stuck in Achham’s Sanfebagar airport as the helicopter could not take off due to bad weather.
The food grains and clothes were collected at the initiative of Sanfebagar management committee on Wednesday.
The relief operation has been hit by torrential rain, said Commander of Nepal Army’s Badimalika Battalion, Srikanta Koirala.
More than 25 thousand people from Banke and Bardiya districts have been displaced due to floods triggered by torrential down pours.

Meanwhile a press statement issued by the Directorate of Public Relations of Nepal Army said the army rescued four people from Simail Tank area of the Dashrathchand municipality of Baitadi district and sent them to Baitadi district hospital for treatment.
The release further said that the army carried out rescue operations in Bardiya, Chitwan and Accham District.
The statement further said that the acting Chief of the Army Staff, General Rukmangad Katawal has directed all units of Nepal army to actively assist the local administration in carrying out rescue operations.
Katawal also asked the army personnel to work in coordination with the local people, civil servants and effectively utilize the resources.

21 more die in floods, landslides

At least 21 people are confirmed dead in the spate of flooding and landslides in various districts in the past two days. While scores are still missing, over 10,000 have been displaced in Bardiya district alone.
Eight bodies each were recovered in Achham and Doti, two each in Bardiya and Baitadi and one in Banke district.
In Achham, five members of a family were buried in a landslide in Balyalta village, Khaptad VDC. Bude Bhul, 45, Company Bhul, 40, Krishna Bhul, 40, and a woman and girl child (unidentified) of the same family were buried under rubble.
Likewise, Prem Rawal, 70, and an unidentified elderly woman were buried alive in Devisthan VDC-5.
Also, Kale Bhul, 19, of Bhageshwor VDC in the same district, was swept away by a flooded river.
Five houses were swept away and over 100 houses have been completely damaged in Balyalta village which has been scarred by over 50 landslides, locals said. Around 300 head of cattle were also swept away by the landslide.
Security sources at Dhangadhi said that a rescue team comprising security personnel and Red Cross officials reached the village in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, a 27-member team headed by Home Minister Krishna Sitaula reached landslide-hit Balyalta village by helicopter and returned to Nepalgunj after inspecting the affected areas.
In Banke, rescue workers recovered the unidentified body of a man at Khatkan Puruwa area in Kamdi VDC, Monday. According to the local administration, 11 persons are still missing in Pudanbhetwa VDC. Army and police have started a full-scale rescue operation in flood-affected areas of the district.
According to the authorities, 300 people from flood-hit villages have been moved to safer places and given relief supplies. However, the scale of damage at villages across the swollen Rapti River could not be ascertained.
In Baitadi, Janaki Chand, 9, of Chokham VDC-4 was swept away by the Gansur rivulet while Ram Singh Saud of Malladehi-4 was buried and died in a landslide in the village Monday.
The local administration fears that the scale of damage in the area could be much worse. A team from the district Red Cross was sent to take stock of the situation.
In Bardiya, two were recovered from local Saryu River while an unidentified body was found on the bank of the Babai River, Monday. Over a dozen are still missing, according to Tirtha Bhattarai, administrative officer at
the District Administration Office.
Over 10,000 people have been displaced in the district. Among them, around 3,000 have been evacuated and accomodated in school buildings, at campuses and at government establishments in Gulariya, the district headquarters.
Over 300,000 people of 11 VDCs in the Rajapur Tappu area in the district have also been affected by flooding.
Meanwhile, Bimala Poudel of Sandhikharka-7 in Arghakhanchi district died and two others were injured after a house collapsed following incessant rainfall in Divarna VDC, Monday morning.
Similarly, Thulimaya Gurung, 60, of Manahari VDC-8 in Makawanpur district was swept away by a stream near her house Sunday morning.
In Nawalparasi, over three dozen families have been displaced while around 150 houses in Rampur and Khadauna VDCs are on the verge of collapse due to flooding.
Over 3,200 bigha of standing paddy in the district has been inundated.
Chief District Officer Madhav Prasad Regmi said that Bhujahawa, Somani, Pratappur, Kudiya and other VDCs were also badly affected by the floods.
Our report from Darchula said that 35 families of Katai VDC have been taking refuge in neighboring villages following landslides in the area.
"We chose to flee leaving behind goods and cattle as it [landslide] is still continuing," said Bhojraj Joshi, a local.
Locals at district headquarters are reeling under darkness as a hydro-power project on the bank of the Lasku Khola was damaged by landslide, Saturday.
In Kailali, six houses were demolished while 26 others were inundated due to flooding in the Chuha area. The flood also destroyed paddy on over 500 bigha of land.
Twenty families at Dhaungana Tole of Narayanpur were evacuated while over 300 families at Pratappur, Thapapur, Joshipur and Dhansinghpur have also been affected.

Maoists must lay down their weapons before joining an interim govt: US Congressmen

Visiting US Congressmen Jim Kolbe and Brian Baird have said they support Prime Minister G P Koirala's position that the Maoists must lay down their weapons before joining an interim government.

Addressing a brief press meet organized at The American Center in the Nepali capital prior to the conclusion of their four-day visit to Nepal, leader of the delegation Jim Kolbe said it would be impossible to have democracy and stability if one side continued to have arms. "In order to move this peace process further, they (the Maoists) must keep their arms aside," he added.When asked regarding the role of the United Nations in Nepal's peace process, Mr. Kolbe – who is also the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs-- said whatever the mandate of the UN, it will not include the ability to use force to disarm the Maoists. The 11-time representative in the US House from the state of Arizona, Kolbe said it was absolutely essential that the Maoists agree to set aside their arms and take part in the political process. "They are acting in a fashion that is contrary to the peace agreement and contrary to the view of Nepali people," he added.In a joint statement issued at the press meet, Congressmen Kolbe and Brian Baird said, "In our four-day visit, we have been impressed by the promise of Nepal's young democracy. We also grasp the difficult challenges that must be overcome to ensure that this democracy flourishes and Nepal enjoys a peaceful and prosperous future."Responding to a query, senior Democrat Congressman Brian Baird said the delegation was very moved by the situation of Bhutanese refugees in the camps in eastern Nepal. "The ideal condition would be their repatriation to their homeland," he said. Baird – who represents Washington D. C.-- added that during their next leg of visit to Bhutan, they will be meeting Bhutanese officials and urging them to be more proactive especially in working with the Nepali government and not to let the situation worsen further with respect to the Nepali-speaking population within Bhutan.He, however, said some Bhutanese refugees could choose third country settlement as an option. "But that should not be seen by the Bhutan government as an easy solution to this problem. They have a great responsibility to resolve this problem and should not take it as an excuse for further suppression of their people," he added.Responding to another query regarding Tibetan refugees, Kolbe said the US had indicated willingness and desire to take additional five thousand Tibetan refugees to the US. "We are continuing to take some of them," he added.When asked about the timing of his visit, Kolbe said it was an appropriate time for the US delegation to visit Nepal when peace accord had taken place between the government and rebels. "I believe, we have a moral responsibility to help Nepal build democracy," he said adding, "Though a small country, Nepal was located strategically between the two Asian giants and success here in creating a democracy and bringing peace and stability would be extremely important not only for its neighbours but for the whole region.""We can do a lot, but in the end, it has to be the Nepali people themselves to take crucial decisions," he added.The four-member delegation of the US House of Representatives arrived in Kathmandu Friday morning for a four-day visit.
Other members of the delegation included Ander Crenshaw, also a member of the Foreign Operations subcommittee and Fred Upton, a senior official. The delegation will travel to Bhutan, India, and Mongolia after Nepa

Government committed to ratify ICC Rome Statute: PM Koirala

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has assured that the government will ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as soon as possible.
During his meeting with an international delegation of the ICC campaign on Saturday, he said that the government was positive about ratifying the ICC Rome Statute and added that ICC Rome statute was essential for safeguarding the rights of people under serious threats.
“PM Koirala informed us that the government will ratify the Rome Statute and that he intended to bring the Maoists to the mainstream,” reports quoted Dr Ahmed Ziauddin, member of the team, as saying.
The team met deputy prime minister KP Oli and CPN-UML leader Madhav Nepal on Friday, according to the Informal Sector Service Centre. Oli also assured the team that the Rome Statute would be ratified once the Bill on Military Act tabled at the Parliament was amended.
Cases of genocide and grave human rights violations can be tried at the International Criminal Court once Nepal is a signatory to the Statute.
The ICC campaign team arrived in Nepal to lobby with the government regarding the ratification of the ICC Rome Statute.
“It is important for Nepal to become a party to the ICC Rome Statute so that the international mechanism will help the country put the necessary laws in place and reinforce the judiciary,” said Ziauddin, adding it will also help Nepal deal with human rights issues.
Subodh Pyakurel, chairman of INSEC, said the Rome Statute is yet to be tabled at the Parliament although the HoR has already passed a resolution directing the government to ratify the Statute.
On July 25, the House of Representatives had passed a resolution directing the government to ratify the ICC Rome Statute expressing firm commitment against all forms of crime against humanity.

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.