Major Nepali and English broadsheets published from Kathmandu on Tuesday have prioritised contemporary political issues over others. Results of the third phase of local level elections held in eight districts of Province 2 have almost come out and newspapers have carried stories analysing the patterns. Likewise, discussions in Parliament and various parliamentary committees including two committees’ directive to scrap a deal with Chinese contractor on construction of Budhigandaki Hydropower Project have also been prioritised.
Dr Govinda KC’s 12th fast-unto-death that began in Kathmandu yesterday and strike of doctors putting forth various demands have also received attention.
Important
New law gives equal rights to sons, daughters in parental property
Parliament on Monday endorsed various bills including the Civil Code Bill and the Civil Procedure Code Bill and major newspapers have covered the issue in the front page.
The Himalayan Times lead story for the day reads that the Civil Code Bill will now let both sons and daughters enjoy equal share over property of their parents. Earlier, generally, only the sons would have the right to inherit parental property.
However, the bill did not include the will system about the handing over of personal property after women rights activists protested the provision though the new system was okayed by the Legislation Committee of Parliament.
The two laws will come into force on August 17, 2018, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Nepal Samacharpatra says the House endorsed the bills while some opposition lawmakers were raising voice over the lack of quorum in the meeting.
Doctors’ strike force patients to return home empty-handed
Doctors working at private and government hospitals have decided not to stop their protests unless their demands are met, further forcing patients visiting health facilities to return home empty-handed. The doctors have shut all services except the emergency department for last four days and they have decided to continue the protests despite the government call to stop them, says a story in Annapurna Post.
A Cabinet meeting held yesterday had called the doctors to withdraw protest programmes citing the demands would be fulfilled as soon as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba would return to Nepal from his United Nations trip, according to Nagarik.
The Kathmandu Post lead story for the day says the doctors are protesting a government plan to introduce a new law that aims to “rein in negligent medical practitioners.”
According to a rough estimate, around 400,000 patients visit the outpatient departments of hospitals and clinics every day.
Ignored
New law will authorise DRI to settle small-scale evasion cases
The government is drafting a new law which will authorise the Department of Revenue Investigation to settle tax evasion cases upto the ones involving Rs 5 million on its own without forwarding them to the court, reports Karobar.
The new law aims to lessen the burden of courts so that they can settle bigger cases more effectively, the report reads, adding the Department has already prepared the draft and forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for further discussion. “We are holding discussions on the draft and I am currently not in the position to make any comment on it,” Chief of the Law Division at the Ministry, Udaya Raj Sapkota, has told the paper.
The new law will replace the existing law on tax leakage.
Traders modifying Rudraksha seeds for better fortune
Farmers of eastern Nepal have been earning a huge profit by selling seeds of Rudraksha, which is considered holy and used in prayer beads by Hindus. Of late, Chinese traders have been modifying the shape of these precious seeds before they get mature to earn better fortune and it has made the holy beads quite “unnatural”, reports Rajdhani in its anchor story filed form Sankhuwasabha district today.
Meanwhile, government authorities are unknown about such practice. Further, the lack of legal provision about such issues has also prevented controlling the practice, the report informs.
Sankhuwasabha’s Acting Chief District Officer Mohan Mani Ghimire says the government has not been able to take action against such traders though some local farmers and traders have filed complaints about the malpractice.
Interesting
Similar poll symbols trouble parties
The Kathmandu Post anchor story informs that the Election Commission’s decision to distribute almost same election symbols to different political parties has been a trouble for the parties and they have raised concerns over the decision.
“An umbrella and an umbrella inside a circle. A plough inside a circle and a plough inside a rectangle. And, there are different combinations of a sickle, a hammer and a star,” the report reads, “Political parties have raised concerns about the EC decision of granting similar election symbols, saying this could confuse voters no end.”
EC officials, however, defended their decision, saying the poll body tried to find a middle path after there were disputes over election symbols. “It’s the duty of concerned political party to convince its voters about the election symbol,” says Commissioner Narendra Dahal.
