Nepal

The bill envisages a district security committee to maintain law and order

Kathmandu, September 21

The Peace and Security Bill registered by the government in the House of Representatives stipulates a provision of imposing restriction on fairs, festivals and mass meetings.

Section 13 of the bill says that the chief district officer concerned may prohibit celebration of any fair or festival if the programme is likely to affect peace and security. &The power to maintain law and order in any festival or fair shall lie with the CDO. If the CDO believes that a fair or festival will threaten the law and order situation, s/he may issue an order against organising such programme,& reads the bill.

The CDO may impose a fine of up to Rs 25,000 on an organiser of such programmes besides mobilising security forces to stop it if s/he continues with the fair or festival in contravention of the order of the local administration. The bill also prohibits use of loud speaker, sound system and other electronic equipment in a manner that generates noise pollution contrary to the standard prescribed under the existing law.

&If anyone causes noise pollution in contravention of the prescribed standard, the CDO concerned may give an order to confiscate the sound amplifier and other equipment in addition to a fine of up to Rs 10,000,& reads the bill.

Noise pollution is emerging as a serious environmental problem in urban areas. The noise pollution has also caused medical problems. People staying in noisy areas, especially above 70 decibel (dBA) must take precautionary measures in orderto avoid noise induced hearing loss, according to Nepal Health Research Council. The World Health Organisation has set limit of 70 dBA in ‘High Traffic Area& and 64 dBA in ‘Commercial-Cum-Residence Area&. However, Nepal is yet to prescribe permissible noise pollution limit in such areas.

The bill also stipulates a provision of taking a mentally unstable person under control for maintaining law and security and sending him/her to a health facility or a rehabilitation centre for treatment.

According to the bill, the CDO shall make arrangements for peace and security in coordination with the provincial government. Likewise, the security of all government offices except court and defence-related offices shall be overseen by the CDO.

The bill envisages a seven-member district security committee led by the CDO to maintain law and order. The committee includes representatives from Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, National Investigation Department and Provincial Police, and assistant CDO as members.

The functions and duties of the committee are to analyse overall security situation of the concerned district, collect intelligence, maintain peace and security, mobilise and coordinate security forces, and plan and implement security strategies, among others.

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Kathmandu, September 20

Minister of Forest and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet left the country last night, leading a Nepali delegation to participate in the United Nations Climate Action Summit to be held in New York, USA. The summit kicks off on September 23 at the UN Headquarters, New York.

Minister Basnet is scheduled to address two sessions during the summit, according to his Press Coordinator Dayanidhi Bhatta. He will address sessions entitled ‘A Call for Action: Raising Ambition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience& and ‘Community Resilience Partnership Programme&. The delegation will participate in the UN special session on sustainable development goals on Tuesday.

Students holding placards take part in the Global Climate Strike in Kathmandu, Nepal September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Before leaving for New York, the minister talking to mediapersons said Nepal would use the UN forum to appeal the international community to come up with sustainable and effective programmes for climate change adaptation.

The world is soon to face a grave crisis due to consequences of climate change, and its solution is not possible through ordinary efforts. Therefore combined efforts at the global level is needed and this issue will be raised during the summit on behalf of Nepal, according to the minister.

Nepal plans to appeal for arrangements of resources for enhancing adaptation capacity of countries like Nepal, which have the least contribution to climate change or the greenhouse effect, but bears the brunt of its consequences.

Besides, Nepal is to draw the worldattention towards the alarming rate at which snow was melting due to climate change. The summit is being held as preparation for the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled to be held in Chile in coming November.

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Kathmandu, September 20

The government has announced that President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will confer medals, awards, decoration and honours on 634 personalities, living or dead, from different walks of life in recognition of their valuable contribution to the country.

The announcement was made to mark the Constitution Day today. According to a notice issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the highest civilian award of Mahaujjwal Rastradeep (first class) will be presented to veteran literary figure Madan Mani Dixit and late Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, posthumously. Adhikari, the then minister of culture, tourism and civil aviation, had died in a chopper crash in Taplejung district in February.

The government has decided to honour Professor Divya Singh Shah, who is also a personal physician to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and tourism entrepreneur late Ang Tshering Sherpa with Suprasiddha Prabal Janasewa Shree (first class). Sherpa was also killed in the chopper crash along with the then minister Adhikari. Chief Justice Cholendra Shunsher JBR, Professor Anantharaman Vatshala of Singapore and Professor Anant Kumar, Dr Rajeev K Sharma and Dr Harsha Dua of India are also among the recipients of Suprasiddha Prabal Janasewa Shree (first class).

Kashiraj Dahal, chairperson of the High Level Administrative Reforms Commission, will be decorated with Ujjwal Kirtimaya Rastradeep (second class). Dr Bhagwan Koirala and entrepreneur Rajesh Kaji Shrestha will receive Sukirtimaya Rastradeep (third class). The government has yet to fix the date of giving away the awards.

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Kathmandu, September 20

Nepal Police has set up disaster management sections in all seven provinces to enhance disaster risk reduction, management and response services at the community level.

Earlier, the security agency had the Disaster Management Division at its headquarters in Kathmandu. The division makes necessary preparation prior to onset of monsoon to prevent and reduce the loss of lives and property due to rain-induced disasters such as flood, landslide and inundation. It also prepares a special team for search, rescue and relief works from among police personnel by providing them with training.

Senior Superintendent of Police Umesh Raj Joshi, joint spokesperson for Nepal Police, said the security agency was making necessary efforts to equip the provincial disaster management sections with resources to carry out search, rescue and relief operations during disasters.

According to the data provided by Nepal Police, as many as 271 persons were killed and 646 others injured in various rain-induced disasters throughout the country from April 14 to September 15 this year. At least 30 persons went missing during the same period. The disasters rendered 767 persons homeless and killed 1,963 livestock.

The data also revealed that total 4,607 houses were inundated. Floods and landslides damaged 15 bridges, 1,761 houses, 217 sheds, 12 industries, 28 schools and 74 government buildings. The estimated loss incurred from natural disasters was around Rs 2.42 billion. SSP Joshi said Nepal Police had deployed 16,200 cops for search, rescue and relief operations during the period.

The disasters that claimed lives were 829 incidents of fire, 248 floods, 471 landslides, 213 lightning, 108 animal attacks and 111 windstorms. SSP Joshi said Nepal Police was working in coordination with local levels and other stakeholders in line with the concept of Community-Police Partnership for disaster preparedness and response.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has been working to establish a Disaster Information Management System that will serve as a repository of data, information, policies, and key decisions on disaster risk reduction and management in the country.

According to national position paper on ‘Disaster Risk Reduction and Management& recently presented by the MoHA at Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction-2019, held in Geneva, the DIMS will serve as the common sharing platform for the purpose of disaster risk reduction and management. Nepal is one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters.

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