Standing committee member of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal Hemanta Prakash Oli being arrested by the police on Saturday morning has been featured in all major newspapers along with news of SEE examination starting from Sunday.
Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the front pages of national broadsheets:
Important
Oli and eight other nabbed by police
Nagarik, Annapurna Post, Kantipur, Nepal Samacharpatra, Rajdhani and Republica report that police have arrested Hemanta Prakash Oli, 53, a standing committee member and in-charge of the central region command of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal and eight other cadres of the outfit on Saturday morning from Kavre district.
Oli had owned up the Ncell blast last month. Sources say Oli was in Ramechhap during the Ncell blast. Police will file a case against Oli and other cadres of the outfit after interrogation.
Government sources expect the arrest of Oli and Mohan Karki, politburo member of the party, will put pressure on the outfit to come to the negotiating table.
Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa’s political Adviser Surya Subedi says that the government is ready to hold dialogue with the Chand-led group and is discussing this issue with officials of security agencies at the Home Ministry.
The Chand-led group has been avoiding dialogues with the government.
Eight other leaders and cadres of the Chand-led group who were arrested on Saturday are Dharma Raj Rajbahak, Ram Krishna Khatiwada, Bijaya Shrestha, Lalit Tamang, Shankar Adhikari, DevGhimire, Sanjiv Karki and Lokendra Khadka.
According to police, a joint team deployed from the special bureau, the Central Investigation Bureau and the District Police Office apprehended Oli and others during a search operation from Milche area of Khanikhola Rural Municipality, Kavrepalanchowk, at 4:50 am on Saturday while they were travelling towards Kathmandu in a jeep.
Police sources said the Chand-led leaders would face charges under homicide and arms and ammunition laws. Police have seized a pistol and some explosives from Oli and his team.
According to police, a joint team of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force was searching for Oli. Police were able to arrest Oli and his team members after they discovered the location of the mobile phones they were using. Oli was under police watch after he owned up the Ncell blast.
SEE examination begins from today
Nepal Samacharpatra reports that more than 400,000 candidates across the country are appearing in the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) starting from Sunday. According to the Office of the Controller of Examinations, Sanothimi, 475,003 candidates will give their 10th grade exam. Of them, 236,445 are boys and 238,558 are girls. The examination will conclude on April 4. This year, the exams are being conducted as per the federal structure.
One dies from swine flu
Nepal Samacharpatra and Annapurna Post report that a man in Birgunj has died from swine flu. The man was suffering from common cold and fever for a week after which he was taken to India for further treatment. He died while undergoing treatment in Lucknow.
Ignored
Army officials unhappy with government’s decision
The Kathmandu Post reports that the government’s bid to further empower the prime minister by giving him the “sole authority” to mobilise the Army has not gone down well with the national defence force. Multiple sources claimed that Nepal Army officials have expressed discontent at the government’s attempt to vest power to deploy the force without holding a meeting of the National Security Council.
The government on March 13 registered the Bill on Work, Responsibility and Rights of the National Security Council.
The prime minister chairs the National Security Council while the ministers for defence, home, foreign and finance as well as the chief secretary and the Army chief are its members. The bill proposed in Parliament has a provision that the PM can deploy the army without consulting with the council.
The composition of the Council was changed after a strong lobby from the Army. Earlier, there was no role for the Army Chief in the Security Council.
X-ray machine at the airport not functioning well
Annapurna Post reports that the x-ray machine at the airport hasn’t been functioning well. Last week the machine failed to detect nearly 100 packet cigarettes brought from Malaysia. Officials are surprised that the x-ray didn’t notice the cigarettes. Officials have said that they are taking this matter very seriously and are monitoring why the cigarettes were not seen in the machine.
NC district presidents call meeting to protest CWC work
Naya Patrika reports that the district presidents on the Nepali Congress going against senior party leaders have called for a meeting April 3 and 4. They are calling the meeting to protest the decision made by the Central Working Committee on March 5.
While the establishment faction led by party president Sher Bahadur Deuba is for formation of various committees on the basis of factional division of membership of the committees, the rival factions have been saying that such important committees should be formed on the basis of a broad-based consensus in such a way that they represent the aspirations of all.
Parliamentary committee submits reports without visiting incident site
Republica reports that a parliamentary committee has been found to be preparing a field report on Chhaupadi deaths without any of its members visiting the incident site. Even though the officials were Bajura district, none of them visited the incident sites. A team of parliamentarians which had gone to Bajura on a UNDP-sponsored trip summoned the victims at Dhamkanne, seven kilometres away from the incident site, and returned to Kathmandu.
The parliamentarians blamed the cold for not being able to visit the actual crime site. According to the report, the committee spent five days on field visit, spent two days at the district headquarters and just half a day in the village near the incident site to inquire about the deaths.
Interesting
Both international airports to be completed on time
Gorkhapatra reports that international airport in both Pokhara and Bhairawa will be completed on time. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation has said it is working extra hard to complete both airport within the estimated time. The runway at Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairawa is almost ready and the work on the administrative buildings and control tower is at its final stages and will be ready by 2021. The Ministry says that works are also gathering pace at the new Pokhara airport which is 70 per cent complete and will be ready by January 2021.
Caesarean section rate alarmingly high in Nepal
The Kathmandu Post reports that the Family Welfare Division of the Department of Health Services admits that the caesarean delivery rate at private hospitals has increased sharply in recent years. The World Health Organisation says the ideal rate for C-section delivery is between 10 and 15 per cent. However, recent records state that the C-section delivery in private hospitals in Nepal is around 95 per cent.
Insurance companies starting ‘Film Project Insurance Policy’
Arthik Abhiyan reports that film producers can now buy ‘Film Project Insurance Policy’ to secure their finances. Lumbini General Insurance Pvt Ltd is coming up with this policy which will help producers safeguard their investments which can exceed their budget during shooting mishaps and accidents. The policy will have insurance for actors, cameras and many shooting props and equipment. The policy will also safeguard the producer from natural incidents. The producer will have to deposit 1 per cent of the budget while buying the insurance.
