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From the Kathmandu Press: Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Two most significant issues that made to the front page of major Nepali and English broadsheets published from Kathmandu on Wednesday are the government decision to stop registration and renewal of transport entrepreneur committees and a meeting between the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre that failed to make any concrete progress on the proposed unification. Few newspapers have also highlighted the China visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

Important

Govt stricter against transport cartels

File: A passenger bus in Kathmandu

The Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday evening decided to stop registration and renewal of committees of transport entrepreneurs as nonprofit NGOs, thereby effectively ending their monopoly in public transport sectors, according to newspaper reports.

Nagarik lead story quotes State Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Banskota to inform that the government decided to stop registration of such organisations at all district administration offices after transport entrepreneur committees decided to launch a strike against the government decision about not limiting route permits to such committees only. But, five major transport federations are set to announce a new joint protest programme on Wednesday, reports Republica.

After the Cabinet decision, transport entrepreneurs now need to register themselves as for-profit business companies.

Meanwhile, the government has warned of cancelling route permits and suspending their banking transactions if the entrepreneurs resort to the strike demanding monopoly, according to Karobar lead story. Likewise, the government has warned of taking the vehicles under control and operating them on its own, according to Kantipur.

Left merger hits roadblock

Newspaper reports say the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre are now certain that their proposed unification cannot be announced on April 22 now as they had planned earlier after the Party Unification Coordination Committee could not make any progress on contentious issues.

Rajdhani reports that the meeting assigned top leaders of both the parties to settle four key contentious issues: I) leadership management, II) ratio of two parties in the new organisation, III) election symbol, and IV) interpretation of people’s war. Kantipur, on the other hand, says there are some more serious unseen disputes including the leadership after general assembly, division of premiership between UML’s KP Sharma Oli and Maoist Centre’s Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and responsibilities of two chairpersons.

Nepal Samacharpatra, however, claims the two parties have agreed to keep the sun as their election symbol.

Meanwhile, the two parties are not sure on when they will meet next to discuss the issues, according to Naya Patrika.

Apex court upholds President’s oath

President Bidya Devi Bhandari takes oath of office and secrecy, in March 2018.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided that the oath taken by President Bidya Devi Bhandari by then Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli was legitimate, reports Republica in its single column story.

A single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla handed down the verdict scrapping a writ petition filed at the court claiming that the oath was not valid as Parajuli had already been relieved of the post when he administered the oath.

Ignored

Cases of ‘fake verdicts’ on the rise

Annapurna Post lead story for the day reports that many people have been found to have forged court verdicts on themselves so as to pass through paperwork they require to migrate abroad. Some underground outfits might have been involved in production of such fake documents, the report informs, but quotes Chief of Nepal Police Central Investigation Bureau, Pushkar Karki, to say, “This issue is serious, but we are not informed about it.”

Local units ‘unqualified’ to deliver justice

Nagarik and Republica publish reports from Dang that officials of local governments in the region have been found unqualified to deliver justice to applicants as assigned by the constitution. The reports quote Debaka Belbase, Deputy Mayor of Lamahi Municipality who heads the judicial body at her government, to say that she does not know much about legal provisions; hence, the assignment has been too tough.

Provincial govts still lack their own police force

Naya Patrika lead story for the day informs that none of seven provincial governments have established their own police force though the constitution envisioned provincial police organisations. The report says Home Ministers of provincial governments have been provided security by staff of the central police force.

The report also quotes all seven provincial home ministers about the issue.

Former lawmaker arrested in connection with explosion at Indian Embassy field office

Indian field office, Biratnagar

Police in Biratnagar of Morang district on Tuesday arrested a former lawmaker suspecting his involvement in the explosion targeting Indian Embassy field office on Monday night, Gorkhapatra informs in a single column box story.

The arrestee is Babulal Paswan, who was in the Constituent Assembly representing the CPN-Maoist Centre, the report informs, adding that Paswan had later quit the party and joined Baburam Bhattarai-led Naya Shakti Party Nepal.

Interesting

New limit on credit card cash access

File image: Nepal Rastra Bank

Abhiyan and The Kathmandu Post report that the central bank has issued a new directive on electronic transaction thereby setting limits on credit card cash access among others.

Now onwards, credit cardholders are barred from withdrawing more than 25 per cent of their credit limit in cash. Till now, they can exhaust the entire credit line, The Kathmandu Post reports. Earlier, the Nepal Rastra Bank had sent the proposal to all commercial banks before officially introducing the rule, according to Abhiyan.

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