Nepal

Kathmandu, June 18

Nepalfirst satellite, NepaliSat-1 started revolving around the Earthorbit after it was successfully deployed from the International Space Station into space at 4:00pm yesterday.

But the country has to turn to its eastern neighbour, Bhutan to receive signals sent by the satellite as Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) failed to build a ground station it had promised three monthsbefore the satellite was scheduled to be launched.

NepaliSat-1 needs seven to 10 days to become fully functional. Until then its condition has to be timely checked each time the satellite passes the country. Since Nepal does not have its own ground station to carry out checks, officials at NAST are asking officials at the Ministry of Communications in Bhutan to send information about the satellite.

Scientists need to study four kinds of information regarding the satellite before it starts taking photographs. The ground station has to record whether or not the position of the satellite is accurately placed; whether the strength of the signal it is sending is strong enough; whether the temperature of the satellite is ideal and whether the battery is working properly.

All information of the satellite can be known immediately once it is launched into space.

NAST officials said they observed the condition of the satellite last evening, after officials of Bhutan-based ground station sent them screen shots of the information they received. The satellite revolves around the earth every 90 minutes and it passes over Nepal two to four times a day allowing around six minutes& time to record information.

Roshan Pandey, acting chief of Faculty of Technology at NAST said, &We have requested Bhutanese officials to track the condition of our satellite and provide us information through e-mails. They are supporting us.&

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said after the satellite was launched on April 17 that Nepal had transited into the space-era, but in stark contrast, NAST, the apex body for promoting science and technology in the country has not been able to establish a ground station.

Rabindra Dhakal, chief of Faculty of Technology at NAST had, on multiple occasions said that they were confident about operating the ground station before NepaliSat-1 was deployed into space.

NAST had handed over responsibilities to Decade International Pvt Ltd to build the ground station. The deadline provided for the contractor will ended on June 22. Although NAST officials have reiterated confidence about building the ground station within the deadline, it cannot be believed so easily given their past record.

&We have now almost completed the construction, and we are confident that our own ground station will receive the first pictures taken by NepaliSat-1,& Dhakal said.

NAST had scheduled a live telecast of the satellite being released into the Earthorbit from its auditorium. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), had facilitated the live telecast of the deployment.

Despite the live broadcast here in the country, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokhrel and Sunil Babu Shrestha vice-chancellor of NAST, had travelled to Japan at JAXA to witness live deployment of the satellite.

Two Nepali scientists, Aabhas Maskey and Hariram Shrestha, who are studying in JapanKyushu Institute of Technology had developed the satellite in collaboration with NAST.

The satellite will be useful for taking pictures of various geographical locations in the country.

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Kathmandu, June 18

The Federation of Nepali Journalists today launched its third phase of protest against the Media Council Bill tabled by the government in the Federal Parliament.

A press statement issued by the FNJ said nationwide signature campaign was initiated to exert pressure on the government to withdraw the bill that aimed to gag the media. &The FNJ announced the third phase of protest after the government took lightly the first and second phases of its protest programmes, organised on June 8 and June 12,& the statement read.

The FNJ informed that its central office, district office and associate chapters would conduct a signature campaign for three days and submit the signatures to Prime Minster KP Sharma Oli through the concerned district administration offices, on June 21. It has also appealed all journalists, media, professionals, political parties, civil society, rights activists and general public for their active participation in the signature campaign.

Section 18 (1) of the new bill stipulates that if any media publish contents in contravention of the code of conduct, and if an investigation launched after the complaint finds that such news contents had damaged the reputation of the complainant, the council can impose a fine between Rs 25,000 and one million rupees on media outlets, publishers, editors and reporters. The bill has drawn flak from all corners, including journalists and other stakeholders.

Section 17 proposes punishment for violating the code of conduct, which includes suspending press pass of mediapersons and downgrading the classification of print media outlets.

The draconian bill also allows a government-controlled Nepal Media Council to replace the existing Press Council Nepal to curtail the press freedom, instead of empowering it. Stakeholders are also demanding that violation of code of conduct should not be made a serious crime as media themselves should act as self-regulatory bodies.

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• Activists want the bill to be scrapped
• Protest at Maitighar to be held today as planned earlier

Kathmandu, June 18

Under pressure from various quarters, the government today withdrew the controversial Guthi Bill.

The bill, which was registered in the National Assembly on April 30, sparked mass protests in Kathmandu valley as protesters claimed that the bill was against cultural conservation and favoured the land mafia.

Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Padma Kumari Aryal informed about the billwithdrawal organising a press conference.

&Attempts are being made to mislead and provoke the people and spoil the peaceful environment,& she said. &Therefore, I have decided to withdraw the bill from the National Assembly after realising the need to hold additional consultations with the stakeholders concerned.&

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who had held a meeting with Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmakers from Kathmandu valley yesterday on the issue, welcomed the ministrydecision.

&The ministry took the right decision,& said Oli at a separate press conference organised at Singha Durbar. &I strongly support the decision.&

Oli, however, added that the government had registered the bill with good intentions, but some elements were trying to fish in troubled waters by provoking and misleading the general public.

Oli said the billmajor objective was to conserve heritage, culture and tradition. He claimed that the bill did not have any provision whereby the proposed Guthi Authority would operate guthis.

Stating that problems facing guthis in Kathmandu and outside were entirely different, he said people were being exploited in the name of guthis outside Kathmandu. &We are in favour of protecting guthis related to religion, culture, tradition and family values,& he said. &But negative publicity is being done to mislead the people.&

The prime minister urged all to stay away from elements that were trying to instigate conflict to sabotage democracy and added that there was no need to take to the streets as issues could be settled through dialogue.

Protesters, however, say the withdrawal of the bill and subsequent statement of the prime minister is far from convincing.

Ganapati Lal Shrestha, coordinator of the National Identity Protection Joint Struggle Committee, said they wanted the bill to be scrapped so that a fresh one could be drafted in consultation with guthi trustees, farmers, experts and other stakeholders from across the country. He said they would continue their protests until the government scrapped the bill. Guthi activists have planned a massive demonstration at Maitighar Mandala tomorrow.

The activists also flayed the minister and the prime minister for the language they used. &It is regretful that the minister and the prime minister termed such spontaneous protests as misled and provoked,& said Shrestha. &If the bill is not scrapped by tomorrow, we will launch a decisive protest.&

Earlier, the ministry had issued a press release stating that the bill would be revised after consultations with stakeholders, but it failed to convince protesters.

Stakeholders are against the billprovisions to allow anybody who has occupied guthi land to acquire ownership certificates; bring all private, public and raj guthis under the proposed Guthi Authority ending the role of existing trustees; convert private guthis into public guthis; and give sweeping powers to chief trustees (mathadheesh and pujaris).

According to Guthi Sansthan, raj guthis have an estimated 66,000 bigha land in the Tarai, and around 561,000 ropanis in the hills. There are around 2,335 registered raj guthis. Although private guthis are not registered with the Sansthaan, it estimates their number to be in excess of 5,000.

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Kathmandu, June 18

Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa has directed the police chiefs of all seven provinces to step up vigilance against criminal activities in their respective areas, to maintain peace and security.

He called the deputy inspector generals, who were recently transferred to various provinces, to his office at Singha Durbar today and instructed them to discharge their duties and responsibilities in a way that strengthens peace and security situation in the country and ensures good governance. Minister Thapa also told them to provide quick and effective service to people.

&You should act in such a way that imparts people with a sense of security and makes them feel the presence of the government. While discharging your duties and responsibilities at workstation, you have to think that you are not only an employee but also a citizen,& a press release issued by the MoHA quoted the home minister. He also directed them to act as per the nature of situation and problems.

Minister Thapa also raised the issue of gold racketeers creating a new route for smuggling, and stressed the urgency to bring them to book. &It has been reported that there is a nexus between police and smugglers. So I urge you to closely observe the activities of your subordinates,& he told the DIGs. He directed the provincial police chiefs to control the activities of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, royalists and separatists.

The DIGs recently transferred by the MoHA as provincial police chiefs include Thakur Prasad Gyawali (Province 1), Tarini Prasad Lamsal (Sudurpaschim Province), Purna Chandra Joshi (Karnali Province), Pradhymna Kumar Karki (Province 2), Binod Sharma Ghimire (Gandaki Province), Sher Bahadur Basnet (Province 3) and Suresh Bikram Shah (Province 5).

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