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Nepal
Kathmandu, September 5
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai today said the government was determined to construct the proposed Nijgad International Airport in Bara despite criticism from all corners.
&I know I will face criticism for executing the project. But I cannot please everyone. There will be protests, but I will face them with patience,& Minister Bhattarai said.
He was speaking at a programme organised to make public ‘Report on Environmental, Social and Economic Impacts of the International Nijgadh Airport, Bara& prepared by Nepal Forum for Environmental Journalists.
NEFEJ report has raised questions on the project for its failure to draft the detailed project report.
The report has urged the government to carry out extensive study on environmental impact of the project before executing the project.
NEFEJ has pointed out 11 major lapses in environment impact assessment report of the proposed airport, which was okayed by the Cabinet in May last year.
The EIA stated that 2.45 million trees needed to be felled in the forest area of 8,049 hectare. It also suggested that 25 new saplings should be planted for each tree cut down for the project, but it did not mention anything about the place and time for doing so, according to NEFEJ.
Other major weaknesses in the EIA report were, it remained silent on the issue of water resources that will be affected by the proposed airport in the area, impact of noise pollution on the wildlife and exotic species, impact on Chure area, possible floods due to deforestation and relocation of people from Tangia settlement.
NEFEJ has also raised question over governmentability to control possible encroachment of the forest area after the construction of the airport.
NEFEJ also questioned why Nepal needed a big airport covering 8,000 hectare land, which if will be three times bigger than some of the worldlargest airports such as the UKHeathrow Airport, IndiaIndira Gandhi International Airport, and ThailandSubarna Bhumi Airport.
Answering queries of the stakeholders, Minister Bhattarai said that he was aware about the possible impact on the environment caused by the project.
&We will ensure that the project will have least impact on environment,& said Minister Bhattarai.
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Write comment (96 Comments)KATHMANDU:Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has returned home from Singapore today.
PM Oli, who had gone to Singapore for his health treatment, has returned to Nepal via Thai Airlines after a fortnight. This was the Prime Ministersecond visit to Singapore in a month.
Prime Minister Oli, who had left on August 22, was being treated for his condition through the process of plasmapheresis in National University Hospital, Singapore.
While he was there, PM Oli also got in touch with ministers in Nepal through video conference, twice.
It has been reported that Nepal Communist Party (NCP) General Secretary Bishnu Paudel and the partysenior leader Bam Dev Gautam — who had gone to Singapore to meet the Prime Minister — have also returned home.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya in his trip.
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Write comment (94 Comments)- South-East Asia is vulnerable to emerging, re-emerging diseases and natural disasters
Kathmandu, September 5
Member countries of World Health Organisation South-East Asia Region, including Nepal, have pledged to strengthen emergency preparedness capacity by scaling up risk assessment, higher investment, and by enhancing implementation of multi-sectoral plans.
As member countries adopted Delhi Declaration, ‘Emergency Preparedness in the South-East Asia Region& at a ministerial round table in New Delhi yesterday, Regional Director of WHO Poonam Khetrapal Singh underscored the importance of preparedness, according to a press statement released by Nepal-based WHO Office.
&Stronger the capacity of our own countries, stronger will be the region and stronger will be the world,& said Singh.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population Upendra Yadav was among the heads of delegation participating in the roundtable, read the statement.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressing the 72nd Session of WHO South-East Asia Regional Committee through video conference said, &Preparedness will save lives and money. The Delhi declaration on emergency preparedness is a vital step forward towards making the region safer for its people.&
The Delhi declaration calls for four key initiatives identify risks by mapping and assessing vulnerabilities for evdence-based planning, implement measures for disaster risk reduction, prepare and operationalise readiness. The declaration also called for implementing, monitoring, testing and adequately funding national action plans on disaster risk management, emergency preparedness and response.
It emphasised on interlinking multiple sectors and networking to bridge the gap between diverse sectors including human, animal and environment for prevention and control of emerging and re-merging diseases.
Participating in the roundtable, ministers of health and heads of delegations of 11 member countries including Nepal, that account for one-fourth of the global population, shared experiences from numerous health emergencies that hit the region the past. &We have a lot to share and learn from each other,& Regional Director Singh said.
Turning point for disaster preparedness was the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, that killed over 200,000 people and caused massive destruction in six countries of the region.
The region then set benchmarks for disaster preparedness and response and created South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund that has funded 39 emergencies in 9 countries, disbursing 6.07 million USD, read the press release.
Despite improved capacities and responses to health emergencies, WHO South-East Asia continues to be one of the most vulnerable regions at risk of emerging and re-emerging diseases, diseases associated with climate change and rapid and unplanned urbanisation, and natural disasters.
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Write comment (94 Comments)Kathmandu, September 5
Nepal Communist Party (NCP) senior leader and Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal today said unification process of the party would conclude soon.
Addressing a programme organised by the party to handover NCPForeign Employment Department to newly appointed leaders, Dahal said although the party leaders worked to finish merger process within three months of its unification, they were yet to finish the task.
Two former communist parties CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre had merged in May, 2018 to form NCP. &Within few days, the partymeeting will complete its merger process and launch programmes from the centre to local levels,& he said.
According to spokesperson of the party Narayan Kaji Shrestha, NCP will hold meeting of its Secretariat after another Co-chair and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli returned.
PM Oli is undergoing treatment at National University Hospital in Singapore.
PM Oli had returned from Singapore on August 12, after getting his health check-up done in the hospital, but had to go back for further treatment on August 22. PM Oli will return home on Friday.
Senior leader of NCP Bamdev Gautam and General Secretary Bishnu Paudel are also in Singapore to see PM Oli. Bamdev Gautam left for Singapore on Wednesday whereas General Secretary Bishnu Paudel left for Singapore on Tuesday. Shrestha said upcoming Central Secretariat meeting of the party will settle remaining merger process.
&So far, we have completed merger of sister-wings and formed 32 departments. But the party has to form a national council, a national advisory council, a few commissions and the politburo. We will complete these tasks soon,& Shrestha, adding the party will be organising programmes at district and local levels. NCP senior leader and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has urged Co-chair Dahal to finish the remaining merger process as soon as possible.
&There are many works to to be done to complete the merger processes. We have just finished few works,& Nepal said. He also said the party should organise nationwide programmes to motivate party leaders and cadres. During the programme, Co-chair Dahal welcomed Chair of Foreign Department Madhav Kumar Nepal and co-chairs Ram Karki and Bishnu Rijal.
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Write comment (93 Comments)Kathmandu, September 5
Nepal Police today arrested absconding former lawmaker of erstwhile CPN-UML, Dol Bahadur Karki, aka DB Karki, from Satungal, Kathmandu.
Karki, elected under proportional representation system from Lamjung district, was convicted by the Supreme Court in July 2018, in a graft case.
He and his accomplice, Swami Brahmananda Udasi were accused of taking Rs 405,000 as bribe from Raj Kumar Rai, promising him the post of police inspector of Nepal Police.
Karki alone was accused of taking the bribe money amounting to Rs 100,000. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had caught him red-handed with the amount.
Superintendent of Police Deepak Regmi at Central Investigation Bureau said Karki was arrested following a tip-off.
Karki was immediately presented in the Kathmandu District Court after his arrest. He was sent to Dilli Bazsar-based prison following courtorder.
In September 2010, the CIAA had first filed a case against DB and his accomplice Udasi at the Special Court.
But, Karki had refuted the charges against him saying that he had taken the money as a donation for Udasicataract surgery.
The court later found Karki and Udasi guilty and slapped a six-month and a four-month jail term on Karki and Udasi, respectively.
The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 each.
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Write comment (100 Comments)Kathmandu, September 5
The main opposition Nepali Congress today announced its second phase of nationwide awareness campaign to inform people about weaknesses of the government.
NC Spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma said the campaign will kick off on September 10, coinciding with BP Koirala106th birth anniversary and will last for 15 days. Besides exposing corruption scandals of the government, main objectives of the nationwide awareness campaign were to enhance mutual harmony among party activists, hold dialogues with people about failure of the government led by Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to address their aspirations and disseminate NCrecent political achievements. NC leaders from the central, regional, district, municipal, village and community level hoped to share quality time with general public during the campaign
Other objectives of the campaign were to hold deliberations at local level about peopledifferences over the constitution and governance system, make NC more dedicated to the cause of people, convince people in the Tarai and Madhes that an amendment to the constitution was possible only under leadership of NC, forge alliance with intellectuals, appeal to the people to pressurise the government to act in accordance with the NCPelection manifesto and create awareness on violence against women and children.
Spokesperson Sharma said the nationwide awareness campaign will also focus on formation of volunteer groups to be mobilised during disasters, ending anomalies in foreign employment sector, warning the government against curtailment of press freedom and distributing partymembership to persons interested to join NC.
The second phase of the campaign called ‘Himal Pahad Tarai Madhes Jagaran Abhiyaan&, will end on September 24. The awareness campaign to be held at ward levels of all 77 districts will be interactive. No leaders will be garlanded during the campaign. On the first day of the campaign, NC has targeted to plant 34,980 trees throughout the country to contribute to protection of environment. The campaign will be conducted from district to ward levels, said a press release issued by the party.
On the last day of the campaign, district level protest rally will be organised against inflation, corruption, increased cases of rape and murder, and undemocratic bills tabled in the parliament and bad governance of the NCP-led government.
The first phase of the one-month campaign had run for a month from April 24 to May 25. NC claimed that peopledissatisfaction with the ruling party was clearly visible during the campaign. As many as 31, 642 persons had joined the party in the course of its campaign, stated the release.
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