Reports related to Nepal Police’s decision to form a task force in coordination with Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department to monitor leaders of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) has received considerable attention in the press on Sunday. Nepal finishing as group winners in the SAFF Woman’s Championship has also been covered.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the front pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Taskforce formed to monitor Biplav’s activities
Republica and Kantipur report that Nepal Police, in coordination with two other national security agencies, has formed a special task force to monitor the activities of leaders of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).
According to high-level sources at Nepal Police headquarters, the special task force is headed by a deputy inspector general (DIG). It also includes officials from the National Investigation Department (NID) and the Armed Police Force (APF).
The task force has been instructing police across the nation to monitor, carry out searches and arrest cadres and leaders of the outfit whose activities were recently banned by the government. The government’s move came in the wake of two major bomb blasts in the capital over two months. One person was killed and two sustained injuries in the incidents. The outfit had taken responsibility for both the blasts.
Politburo member arrested
Kantipur and Republica report that police have arrested Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) politburo member Mohan Karki alias Jibanta. A special bureau of the Nepal Police arrested Karki on Friday evening near his Lalitpur-based rented room, according to police sources.
Karki is the senior-most leader of the party to be arrested by police, five days after the government banned the activities of Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN in response to the growing incidents of extortion and violence by the party.
Raut outfit meeting to decide future course of action
Republica and The Himalayan Times report that the Alliance for Independent Madhesh (AIM) is meeting on Sunday to decide its future. The meeting of the outfit is taking place for the first time since its leader CK Raut signed an 11-point agreement with the government on March 8.
Eyes are on the meeting in the context of both the government and the AIM interpreting the agreement in their own ways. Although the government negotiators say the agreement was signed after Raut agreed to renounce the demand for secession of Madhes from Nepal, his supporters have been claiming that the government has agreed to hold a referendum on secession. AIM leader Sudip Raj Kushwaha informed that the meeting was called to chart out the party’s future course after the signing of the ‘historic agreement’ with the government.
Ignored
CIEDP to submit interim report in two weeks
The Himalayan Times reports that the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons will be submitting an interim report to the government on progress made so far, within two weeks. CIEDP Spokesperson Bishnu Pathak said the interim report would be divided into four sections—truth, justice, reparation and institutional reforms.
The ‘truth’ section will include complaints lodged with the commission, victims’ testimonies, and progress in the investigation. The ‘justice’ section will include procedures related to recording of statements from alleged perpetrators. The CIEDP formulated the procedures after recording the statements of victims. The third section, ‘reparation’, will include procedure on the types of reparation such as social, cultural, personal and financial, among others. This section will also include matters such as the distribution of identity cards to conflict victims. Finally, the ‘institutional reforms’ section will include recommendations in terms of policy-level, ideological and procedural reforms to be implemented in the CIEDP to make it more effective.
Neupane on the run
Nagarik reports that Executive Chairman of Nepal Engineering College, Lambodar Neupane is on the run after he was caught offering former CIAA commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak a bribe of Rs 7.5 million. CIAA had asked the police at TIA to be on high alert as people involved in the bribery case might want to leave the country. The CIAA assumes that Neupane has left the country after he didn’t show up the CIAA to record his statement. CIAA source say they have searched for him everywhere but Neupane hasn’t been found. A police task force has been assigned to look for Neupane.
Interesting
Private developers interested in solar plants
The Kathmandu Post reports that private developers are showing interest in installing solar plants in different parts of the country. In this fiscal year alone, the Department of Electricity Development (DoED) has awarded survey licences to various developers willing to install solar plants at 21 different locations within the country. The combined installed capacity of these solar plants will be 317.14MW which will account for almost 70 percent of the total installed capacity of 56 solar plants that have received survey licence from the department till date.
The increased attraction of the private sector towards the solar plant, according to Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, director general at the DoED, is due to two factors—fall in price of photovoltaic solar panels in the international market and good power purchase rate offered by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility and sole off-taker of electricity generated in the country.
26 Paragliding Companies banned
Naya Patrika reports that Pokhara municipality has banned 26 paragliding companies from operating their business as they failed to renew their registration. Last week, the metropolitan had said it would halt flights of companies not paying taxes. The companies had agreed to clear all the dues within a week and the service was resumed.
The companies were given till Tuesday to file their taxes and only 16 had renewed the company. When the deadline was extended by a day, 10 other company registered with tax payment. Those companies that failed to register have been restricted from operating from Sunday.
