Nepal

Kathmandu, August 6

The National Human Rights Commission has said that the government and stakeholders should try harder to control and reduce environmental pollution in Kathmandu valley.

The rights body urged the authorities concerned to carry out monitoring of pollution standards set by the government and initiate action against violators as the rules are binding to all stakeholders.

&The government lacks provision of imposing on the spot fine on the owners of vehicles that fail emission tests in accordance with Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard-2015, Nepal Vehicle Pollution Standard-2015 and Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act-1993. Therefore, the government needs to enact and enforce rules enabling on the spot action against errant owners,& a report recently released by the NHRC said.

As per vehicle emission standards implemented by the government, permissible level for four-wheelers registered in Nepal in or before 1980 is maximum 4.5 per cent of carbon monoxide (CO) of the total emission and maximum 1,000 parts per million hydrocarbon concentration.

Four-wheelers registered in the country after 1981 should not emit CO exceeding three per cent of the total emission and their ppm hydrocarbons emission is required to remain below 1,000. Two-wheelers are not permitted to emit CO exceeding 4.5 per cent of the total emission while their ppm hydrocarbon should be below 7,800.

In recent emission tests conducted by traffic police in various parts of Kathmandu valley, over 50 per cent of vehicles were found violating rules on air pollution. The authorities have also been told to provide for provision of emission testing facilities at all entry points of the valley for conducting tests on public, private and government vehicles.

Any vehicle that fails emission tests should not be allowed inside the valley. The rights body has also urged the government to enforce the provision of green sticker throughout the valley.

In addition, the NHRC has expressed concern about air pollution aggravated by brick factories operating inside the valley. Use of large quantities of coal in brick kilns significantly contribute to emissions of carbon dioxide and particulate matter including black carbon, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide, causing serious and long-term impacts on human health.

About 110 brick kilns (Kathmandu 15, Lalitpur 32 and Bhaktapur 63) are in operation in the valley. The pollutants have adverse impact on the health of workers, valley residents and its vegetation.

&The government needs to ensure that brick kiln owners adopt technologies that help control and prevent emission of carbon dioxide and black carbon, besides conducting regular health check-up of workers and their children,& the NHRC said in its report.

The rights body suggested the government to make provision of waste segregation at sources and to arrange separate vehicles for collection and transportation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. The government has been asked to control visual pollution by removing posters, pamphlets and advertisements placed on walls and utility poles.

The authorities have also been suggested to implement ban on open burning of waste, including plastics, as such a practice was adding to air pollution in the valley. &NHRC also recommends the government to make arrangements of free medical treatment for persons affected by air pollution and recover reasonable compensation to the victims from the concerned polluters,& the report read.

According to Article 30 of the constitution each citizen has the right to live in a clean and healthy environment and be compensated for the harm caused by pollution.

The post Govt told to adopt pollution control measures appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, August 5

The committee formed to recommend commissioners of the two transitional justice bodies plans to hold discussion with conflict victims& representatives in the next two to three days amid victims& demands that the committee be restructured.

The two mechanisms — Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Commission on Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons — have remained vacant since their commissioners retired in April. They have collected more than 63,000 complaints related to conflict-era rights violations.

The committeeSpokesperson Sharmila Karki said although the committee had held formal and informal discussions with the victims, the latter were always complaining that the committee did not listen to them.

&We held a meeting with the victims within a week after the committee was formed. Informal discussions have also been held after that. But they are always complaining that we do not listen to them,& she said. &So we will hold talks with them once again to know what their actual demands are.&

Karki also said the committee was just abiding by the law, which did not allow inclusion of victims in the committee or the two commissions. She said the committee could do nothing about the victims& demand for amendment to the Transitional Justice Act. &They need to pressure the government for act amendment,& she said.

The committee, formed in the last week of March, has been criticised for delaying its work time and again on various pretexts. Victims have charged that the committee is doing nothing but awaiting political consensus on appointment of commissioners in the TRC and CIEDP. The committee has collected 57 applications for the post of chairpersons and members of the commissions.

Concluding that the panel failed to work independently, the victims have demanded that the panel be restructured.

However, Karki said it was taking time to ensure that competent members and commissioners were appointed. She said the panel was in the final stages of adopting criteria for enlisting candidates from outside the list of 57 applicants, and a final list would be made public soon.

The post Selection panel to meet victims appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, August 5

A Chinese national was arrested with four kilograms gold with the help of Airport Customs Office at Tribhuvan International Airport at around 10:30pm last night.

Lin Ning Xi was arrested during routine security check. Xi had hidden the precious yellow metal in a belt kept inside his luggage.

Chief of the Airport Customs Office Gajendra Thakur said instead of wearing the belt around his waist, the suspect had kept it inside his luggage bag, which was a little weird. &Normally, these days smugglers change the outer colour of the precious yellow metal and try different ways to smuggle gold. But this young fellow had simply placed the gold inside the luggage without properly hiding it.&

Four bars of gold weighing one kilogram each were detected by the X-ray machine during security scanning.

Xi, a permanent resident of Beijing, had travelled from Hong Kong and landed in Kathmandu on Dragon Flight KA 104.

Thakur said the 23-year-old had visited Nepal earlier in 2018 and his travel history showed that he had travelled to countries such as the UAE, Ghana and Hong Kong. &These are countries frequently visited by gold smugglers. This has given us enough room to suspect that Xi was actively involved in smuggling gold,& Thakur added.

Meanwhile Deputy Inspector General Sailesh Thapa Chettri said police are working closely with customs officials to find out the Chinese smugglercontact person here in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu District Court has remanded Xi to six days of judicial custody for further investigation.

Of late, the number people involved in gold smuggling via China has been on the rise. A few days ago, on July 25, Dhana Kamal Gurung, a trader of Dharche Rural Municipality, Gorkha, was arrested for allegedly hiding 16 kilogram illegal gold, which was smuggled through Kerung-Rasuwagadi check-point at Nepal-Tibet border.

Police had confiscated 16 gold bars each weighing one kilogram hidden inside a cave. However, police is yet confirm whether Gurung had smuggled the gold inside the country himself or a smuggling racket was involved.

Similarly, in the second week of April, TIA police, had arrested three Chinese nationals with 3.3 kilograms gold concealed in their rectum.

The post Chinese national arrested with four kilograms gold at TIA appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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