Ministry of Home Affairs taking action against District Administration Offices has been featured in a few newspapers along with news of climate change being a key factor in the rise of dengue in hilly areas around Nepal. RJPN’s party headquarters being in a government property like that of the NCP has also been featured on today’s newspapers.
Here’s a summary of important, ignored and interesting reports that made it to the front pages on Wednesday.
Important
Ministry of Home Affairs to take actions against DAOs
Nagarik and Republica report that the government has decided to grill the district administration offices (DAOs) in the southern plains which share a border with India after eight Indians were found to have obtained Nepali citizenship by submitting forged documents.
According to officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Terai districts including Dhanusha, Saptari, Mahottari and Rautahat are under its scanner. The move comes after eight Indians were found to have obtained Nepali citizenship certificates by producing fake documents and bribing government officials in the districts bordering India.
Dengue rising in hilly areas due to climate change
The Himalayan Times reports that climate change was the major reason that dengue was spreading in hilly districts of Rukum, Dailekh, Achham and Kalikot, thanks to climate change. Nepal recorded 3,200 dengue cases from May 13 to August 6.
Climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region is the major cause for the growing number of dengue cases, said Meghanath Dhimal, chief research officer at the Nepal Health Research Council.
A rise in temperature and change in rainfall pattern provide a breeding ground for dengue. The dengue virus replicates in temperature above 18 degrees Celsius. As the temperature exceeds 18 degrees Celsius in many areas of the country, risk of virus replication has gone up.
RJPN office on govt property
Kantipur reports that Rastriya Janata Party Nepal’s central office like that of Nepal Communist Party is at a government owned land. The office is located in Babarmahal was given to a trade union of Madhesi government staff. RJPN for nearly two years has been leasing the building unofficially. It has also re named the building ‘Madesh Bhawan’. According to government rules, a government organization cannot lease its property to a third party.
Ignored
Maintenance cost to be added by ISPs
Karobar reports that government, upon pressure from internet service providers, is planning to impose internet maintenance cost on internet users. The government is amending the Telecommunication Act and putting a provision allowing ISPs to add maintenance cost.
Historical documents missing
Annapurna Post reports that a committee of the national assembly has said that Nepal does not have the original documents of the Sugaili treaty and Nepal – India peace treaty. The committee on Tuesday had asked Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel about the documents. Both failed to answer. Gyawali, however, added that the documents might have gone missing while Gyanendra Shah left the Narayanhiti Palace in 2008.
Human Rights activist mysteriously quizzed by police
The Kathmandu Post reports that calls from the police have shaken up human rights activists in Nepal. At least three human rights activists received unsolicited calls from the police asking for their professional affiliation, without explanation.
Daman Nath Dhungana, a veteran human rights activist and former Speaker of the House, said he received a phone call from the police, asking him which human rights agency he was affiliated with. Dhungana said that the policeman who called Dhungana never specified where he was calling from, let alone the purpose of the call.
Charan Prasain, who coordinates Accountability Watch Committee, a loose forum of human rights defenders, was also questioned about his professional affiliation by a policeman from the Nepal Police headquarters on Sunday. Prasain too said he was not told why the police were calling him.
Krishna Pahadi, founding chairman of the Human Rights and Peace Society, also received a call that same Sunday. Pahadi, who does not carry a cell phone, was called at both his office and his home by the police headquarters, he said.
All three feel that the police were trying to alarm people who were critical of the government.
Interesting
Kathmandu-Terai fast track work delayed
The Kathmandu Post reports that even though the Nepal Army submitted the detailed project report of the Kathmandu-Tarai expressway to the Cabinet in the third week of March, the government is yet to endorse it, creating difficulties for the national defence force to expedite the construction process.
Now those familiar with the project say Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth’s interest in the project is delaying the process. Mahaseth is not happy that the Nepal Army has been given the sole authority to construct the multibillion-rupee project, as he wants his ministry’s involvement in the construction process.
Students weak in Nepali and Maths, says report
Republica reports that a national review of government investment in school sector development conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has shown that 72 per cent of students in Grade V have failed to achieve basic minimum learning in mathematics. The study also showed that 55 per cent of students of the same grade are unable to construct a proper sentence in Nepali on their own. Altogether 28,381 students, 1,400 teachers and 1,400 headmasters at 1,400 public schools were covered in the review.
Nepal fourth most water-stressed country in SA
The Himalayan Times reports that the World Resources Institute’s updated Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas has revealed that Nepal ranks 40th in the list of countries facing water stress in the world.
While the water stress has been categorised as ‘extremely high’ in western Nepal, the stress level is high in mid-western and central regions of the country. The eastern and far-western regions of the country face medium to high water stress, according to WRI. The report unveiled on Tuesday shows that the country is the fourth most water-stressed in the South Asia region, behind India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
LPG price slashed
Rajdhani reports that Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of LPG gas by Rs 25. On the other hand, NOC has increased the price of petrol by Rs 1 per litre and Rs 0.50 on diesel and kerosene.
