Weekly Internet Poll # 305. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ..... Which among these is your favouriteteam in the 2006 Football World Cup?

Weekly Internet Poll # 304

Q..... Do you think the seven party alliancehas given in too much to Maoist demands?

Total votes: 5,236

#304 30 June - 6 July 2006 16 pages Rs 30

olitical transitions are atime of confusion. But thepost-uprising interregnum

is looking more and more bizarre.The Maoists are no longer a

rebel group, they are effectively aparallel government:

Maoist people’s courts aredispensing summary justice evenin the capital, side-by-side withgovernment courts

Maoists are issuing tendersfor construction work sometimesfor projects for which thegovernment has also called

There may be a ceasefire but not a weekgoes by without children and women dyingfrom bombs scattered across Nepal.

On 25 June, the anti-landmine groupGeneva Call organised a seminar inKathmandu that brought together Maoistsand the victims of their bombs.

On the podium was socket bombvictim 13-year-old Ashok Thapa Magar,sitting next to Maoist leaders Ailman andEkraj Bhandari (pictured, right). Afterhearing Ashok’s mother relate how herson was wounded, the audiencebombarded the Maoists with questions.

Used to getting their way with thegun, the comrades have not yet learnt toengage in public debate. Their responsewas: war is not a picnic, people are killedand injured. After we attain victory, therewill be no more violence, etc.

But these answers didn't seem tosatisfy Ashok’s mother about why herson had to suffer.

Everywhere we look, we see doubleParallel government

for bids The government has a police

force, the Maoists have their militiawalking around openly

The country has two armies: theNepal Army and the ‘People’sLiberation Army’

There are DDCs and ‘People’sDistrict Governments’, VDCs and‘Village People’s Governments’.

Which is the real government?Perhaps this is why parliament'sLaw and Justice Committee onThursday condemned the eight-point agreement and moved toget the full house to pass a

resolution rejecting it.This is a direct challenge to

the Maoists and their strategy toget into government by passing aninterim constitution.

But a jointgovernment will bedelayed because thedrafting of theinterimconstitution isitself delayed. The deadline wasFriday, 30 June but the committeestarted work on it only onTuesday.

After a flurry of dramatic

Editorial p2Turn down the volumeNationWhat's the hurry? p10

aparliamentary proclamationsbetween 7-16 June to demote theking, delink him from the armyand declare Nepal secular, everything has come to a grinding halt.

The politicalmomentum unleashedby the April uprisingwas dissipated by theeight-point agreementon 16 June in which

the Maoists forced the governmentto agree to dissolve parliament.Since then, not a single piece offar-reaching new legislation hasbeen passed.

P

KIRAN PANDAY

Explosive legacy

2 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304EDITORIALPublished by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda DixitDesk Editor: Marty LoganDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan ShilpakarVicepresident Corporate Affairs: Sneh SayamiAdvertising: Sambhu Guragain advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: subscription@himalmedia.comHatiban, Godavari Road, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu Tel: 5543333-6, Fax: 5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 5547018

edi tors@nepal i t imes.com,www.nepal i t imes.com

T

GUEST COLUMNAlok K Bohara

Hint, hint, wink, winkDecompressing the Maoists can’t be done withambiguous private guarantees

commitment from Pushpa KamalDahal to the seven partyleadership about disarmamentand multiparty competitiveparliamentary system. Thus theambiguity in the 8-pointagreement has been defended asbeing necessary.

The idea of a privatelyconducted privilegedconversation is a necessaryelement in a negotiation, and anysuch exchanges between Dahaland Koirala are perfectlyunderstandable. But an excessivereliance on ambiguity can alsobackfire. Too much of an openspace for the Maoists canstrengthen their hand in carryingout Dahal’s “October Revolution”.

The more we engage theMaoists the harder it is for themto pull out. This is both a goodthing, and wishful thinking. But,if the negotiation fails amid suchhigh expectations and fanfare, itwould be easier for Dahal to oncemore mobilise his troops andcarry out his October Revolution.The likelihood of such arevolution will be high, especiallyif he is allowed to continue withhis current high-octane proletariatrhetoric sometimes laden withgratuitous remarks. Should he notbe forced to break the bad news tohis troops starting right aboutnow?

At some point, we need to putsome onus on Dahal & Co todeliver too. To convince hiscadres to abide by some of ourexpectations should be ‘hisproblem’. Any supposed privateguarantee (hint, hint, wink, wink)to some of our leaders and civilsociety members should not betaken as proof of a Maoistcommitment. What matters ispublic accountability both inwords and deeds.

At least, we should allow an

open debate and publicexpression from all sides, andthose who participate should notbe branded “conspirators” (Dahal’slanguage), nor should they becalled naysayers. In a democracy,public debate and criticism areessential to generate pressure toform better public policy.

This may not be too obvious tosomeone like Dahal who has beenunderground for so long. Similarly,forcing five -ear militia training onNepali people can’t come throughfiat. Policies like this and otherssuch as our international tradeand treaties, economic policies,and the rule of law must be debatedand deliberated in public andvoted by an elected parliament.

Local Maoists must also learnthat in free society, people have aright to property. Recent coverageof a militia handing over keys of ahouse to its rightful owner is asblatant as honouring a husbandfor not beating his wife.

Decompression of the Maoistcadres to face such realities in anew Nepal should begin inearnest. This is now Dahal’sresponsibility. Civil society andthe media have so far been verypatient with the Maoist leadershipand given them an unprecedentedplatform to articulate theirposition. The post-summit pressconference at Baluwatar impressedsome of our own civil societymembers so much they evendeclared him to be a visionary anddynamic leader comparable to B PKoirala. Well, let history judge that.

For now, disarmament beforethe elections is the single mostvital issue. Creating a governmentwith two armies will be a colossalmistake.

Alok K Bohara, Ph D, is professor ofeconomics at the University of NewMexico, USA.

On 25 June, two sons of the once all-powerful honorary ADC to the king, GenBharat Keshar Simha, tendered an officialapology to Ang Dawa Sherpa, themotorcyclist they beat up in the middle ofthe road at Lainchaur last week.They also agreed to compensate him for thecosts involved in treatment and repairs.

This week, Tulsi Giri deposed before theHigh-level Investigation Commission

headedbyformerSupremeCourt

Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi. Giri toldreporters he had full respect for the rule oflaw.

Media reported that the finance ministryhad asked Narayanhiti to show sources offunds that will be used to import a SUVcosting about Rs 5 million. The royal familywill no longer be tax exempted.

There is a common thread running

through these occurrences. It will be a longhaul before the king and commoners will begoverned by the same laws, but anirreversible process has begun.

Just a year ago, Gen Simha hadthundered in public that the authority of aHindu king couldn’t be confined by anyconstitution. Giri had similarly argued in atv interview that the king acquiredlegitimacy to rule from the loyalty of hissubjects who anointed him at the time of hisascension to the throne.

This was the divine right theory thatjustified the supremacy of the king which inturn was used to create special privilegesfor royal lackeys. Simha and Giri werenotable beneficiaries of royal munificence.They appear to have reconciled themselvesto the changed circumstances of thecountry.

Now it’s the turn of the Maoists topledge that they too will be bound by thelaws of the land. Feudal lords, militaryjuntas, and armed revolutionaries haveidentical views on the law: it is what they in

their infinite wisdom decree.This is the reason the Maoists

leadership’s promise to abide by thedecisions of a constituent assembly hasgiven rise to optimism. It implies that theyare ready to discard the logic of the gun.Like monarchists, someday the Maoists willalso be held accountable for their deeds.Their loyalists too will be asked to testify,depose, and accept responsibility atinvestigation, truth or reconciliationcommissions that will be formed by theconstituent assembly or subsequentparliaments.

Meanwhile, excesses that may becommitted in the name of the supremacy ofthe parliament also must be kept in check.As it happens, the restored house hasdeclared itself sovereign at a time whenthere is no institutional mechanism toensure the checks and balances soessential for the healthy functioning of ademocracy.

To conduct the affairs of the stateaccording to the rule of law, all officials

must be bound not by the oath taken insideparliament but by the provisions of acommonly agreed statute. All thatparliamentary supremacy implies is aregime run by the laws. The distinctionbetween these two different concepts of legalsupremacy shows that all forms ofgovernments are equally likely todegenerate into tyranny if not kept constantlyon their toes by a watchful and informedpublic.

An urgent promulgation of an interimconstitution is thus not just a concession tothe Maoists but a legal necessity toinstitutionalise democracy during thispolitical interregnum.

The job of the Rayamajhi Commissionwill be a lot easier if Laxman Prasad Aryaland his team succeed in making itsrecommendations binding upon the interimgovernment. If that happens, the commissionwill have no hesitation in summoning thechairman of the royal council of ministers forquestioning. The dream of one nation underone law looks tantalisingly close.

Higher they go, further they fallWe need a stop-gap statute for checks and balances during this political interregnum

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

he eight-point agreement hasheightened optimism forpeace as well as raised

concern about what many havetermed to be an ill thought-outappeasement plan.

The main concern is that thesudden dissolution of the hard-fought and newly restored

parliament and the incorporationof the Maoists into the interimgovernment is happening withoutany resolution to the issue ofMaoist arms. But then, otherpoliticians have gone as far as toterm it a peaceful transfer of powerto the Maoists.

Granted, a perfectly drawn outplan is not a guarantor of peace,as the renewed fighting in SriLanka and East Timor have shown.Similarly, keeping a loophole inthe agreement can also spelldisaster as in the case of Angola,where the rebels with their armsintact renewed fighting after losingin elections and plunged thecountry back into civil war.

That said, much can happen,behind the scenes betweenPrachanda and Koirala. Someclaim there is a sincere verbal

TURN DOWN THE VOLUMEConflict resolution is an art. It has to start with the political will forpeace on both sides, a willingness to reconcile differences,confidence-building and trust. Only after that can a monitoredceasefire lead to demobilisation and decommissioning of weaponsright up to rehabilitation and reconciliation.

Experience of peace processes elsewhere show that theseinterventions must be carefully sequenced. Disarming a rebel groupcan be a serious hurdle. If you insist on it too soon, you riskbreakdown. If you leave it for too late, future elections may be tainted.You have to get the timing right, and a neutral third party can be ofhelp.

Despite Maoist grandstanding, we can be fairly certain there ispolitical will on the part of the leadership to join peaceful competitivepolitics. The pace at which this happens is dictated by the internaldynamics within the Maoist party and the comrades want to becareful their rebellion doesn’t unravel.

But even if the Maoists hadn’t mired this country in 10 years ofwar, our democracy needed to be fixed to make it more meaningfuland inclusive. The peace process is a good opportunity to addressthese structural issues. However, the fact that the Maoists are joiningmainstream politics doesn’t automatically guarantee that democracywill be protected or that marginalised groups will have a voice. Infact, recent inflammatory statements by Maoist leaders give reasonto doubt their sincerity, commitment to democracy and the protectionof fundamental rights.

The peace process and the constituent assembly election is aproject that aims at more equitable power-sharing. It seeks to change237 years of status quo and allow a mechanism for Nepalis who wereleft out of decision-making a future share in it. The present hagglingis about who is to decide on this mechanism and how.

Now that we’ve come this far there are some self-evident truths: a state can’t have two rival armies the paramilitary group needs to be disbanded within an agreed

timeframe a caretaker government can’t include a party that still espouses

violence a hardline split within the rebel movement has to be prevented elections can’t be held without first deommissioning an armed

group’s weapons

So far, our transition from conflict to ceasefire to a newconstitution has happened relatively smoothly. But the road ahead istreacherous becausepost-conflictelections, if theyaren’t properlyhandled, can re-ignite violence.Worse, polarisedcampaigning forsuch polls canturn acomparativelytame class-basedstruggle into amuch morevicious ethnic orseparatist conflict.

SAGAR SHRESTHA

330 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

LETTERSNepali Times welcomes feedback. Lettersshould be brief and may be edited for space.While pseudonyms can be accepted, writerswho provide their real names and contactdetails will be given preference. Email lettersshould be in text format without attachmentswith ‘letter to the editor’ in the subject line.

Email: letters@nepalitimes.comFax: 977-1-5521013Mail: Letters, Nepali Times,GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal.

TRUST‘Mainstreaming the Maoists’ seems to bethe buzzword these days and youreditorials are not immune. But what doesit mean? Changes to Nepal’s politicallandscape require ownership by theMaoists, the political parties, civilsociety and the Nepali people-at-large,as victory in their own terms. It evenrequires recognition from Nepal’s right-of-centre that the attainment of lastingpeace, is a win as well. As you note in‘Why should we trust you?’ (Editorial,#303) concessions to the Maoists haveto be tailored to meet their leadership’schallenge of assuaging the Maoist cadre-base. Similarly, what the Maoists offer inreturn must also qualify as substantivereciprocity to allay the concerns ofpolitical and apolitical actors in Nepaland abroad. This is why rhetoric requiresresponsible moderation. Writing offinflammatory language as necessary toalleviate the concerns of radicals, as youseem to imply in your leader, is akin tocondoning the escalation of counter-rhetoric for the sake of equilibrium. Itwould be most unfortunate to equate theprocess of mainstreaming the Maoistswith the act of defining the mainstreamitself.

I agree that during the run up to theconstituent assembly, it is very importantfor the Maoists to publicly renounceviolence and educate their cadre on thegenerally accepted version of liberaldemocracy. This is just as paramount asit is for advocates of a liberal democraticset-up in Nepal to extend flexibility to theMaoist leadership’s plight.

The onus of rectifying the over-inflated expectations they set for theirown cadre-base, is primarily theMaoists’. The idea here is to mainstreamnot just the Maoist leaders and asegment of sympathetic elements but theentire Maoist mass.

Dipak Singh, email

I was surprised by how thegovernment and our political leaders tookthe army’s reaction to the statement from

unlike now. But just who is going toorganise this? The effectiveness of dogsterilisation has, of course, been provedby various programs throughout theworld, including the one in Jaipur. ‘Lobbing a rock or two’ is merely aneffective and cruel way to move them tosomeone else’s back yard. Great! Yes,there are always more pressing things todeal with—what is your community doingabout these?

Helen Palmer, Kathmandu

GOAL!I’m a New Zealander living in Nepal, and Iread with empathy Kunda Dixit’s dismayat the appallingly low scores of thecurrent round of soccer matches (UnderMy Hat, ‘Moving the goalposts’, #303).Excluding his points 3, 4 and 8, might Isuggest that his final 8-point agreementwith Sepp Blatter beautifully describes agame called rugby. In rugby, you have 30huffing and heaving men (in dreads orcrew-cuts) slogging it out for 80minutes. High scores are usually evidentwhen the New Zealand team (the AllBlacks) step onto the field to thrash theiropponents senseless. All good, mindlessfun, with no sissy-boys prancing aroundafter scoring goals. If at all possible, doyou think that the cable tv poachers couldperhaps extend their reach beyondMyanmar and further into Australia orNew Zealand to steal air time for some ofthe major rugby games? I’ll pay an extraRs 5 per month as my share.

Maurice Lee, email

allow me to pose the following challenge:The prime minister, ministers and deputyprime ministers should replace their soldierbodyguards with Pushpa Kamal Dahal’sweaponless henchmen. Will the concernedauthorities take up the challenge?

J Basnyat, email

I don’t agree with your editorial (#303)that we should ignore Maoist rhetoricbecause they are talking tough to placatetheir cadre. Concessions from all politicalactors can only happen in an atmosphere ofmoderate rhetoric, which by way of publicrecord will define the mainstream going intoconstituent assembly elections.

A peace process meanscompromise. An equitable andsustainable political solution dependsas much on including Maoist demandsas it does on ensuring that every voicein Nepal has adequate politicalrepresentation. This includes the right-of-centre (without royal liability), thecentre, the left-of-centre, the Maoistarmy (or militia) and members of thestate’s security forces. A peace agendathat is premised on meetingunconditional demands from one party

runs the risk of undermining the entireprocess. While the exhibition of willingnesson the part of the Maoists to enter themainstream is a realistic pre-condition topeace, it is also a concession that servestheir legitimisation just as much as it servesthe national interest.

Name withheld, email

Re: Guest Column by Dipta Shah (Why,when and how? #303) How exactly didranting such as this one even get theexclusive op-ed space on Nepali Times? Ihave never read such an appalling article inyour paper. Am I out of the loop or was itjust plain bad writing?

Sabeena Shree Rana, email

A DOG’S LIFE-3Andrew Steele (#303) misses the point,which is a NIMBY (not in my back yard)attitude. By all means, shoot street dogs inthe head, at least they would die quickly,

Pushpa Kamal Dahal. In the SPA-Mdemocracy everyone except the armyseems to get the right to express an opinion.It seems that the army can’t defend itsimage even when it is being singled out forattack. Prachanda had the right to give hisopinion and the army had the right of reply.So why all the fuss? Our politicians are justhardwired to make a mountain out of amolehill every time.

Evan Shrestha, email

As usual, your editorial (‘Why shouldwe trust you’) is balanced and persuasive.Just as the state needs to accept the notionof including the Maoists in the power

apparatus, the Maoists also have to acceptthat their integration requires a behaviourshift. Negotiating with the government onone hand while trying to ‘talk tough’ to theircadre with unrealistic aspirations is nothelpful to anyone. Issuing provocativestatements against the state’s securityforces that detract debate from substantiveissues and drive a wedge amongst theseven party alliance is counterproductive.Soon, the Maoists will learn theconsequences of making empty promises. Itis as critical for the Maoist organisation toremain intact as it is for the seven partyalliance to hold. This is in the best interestsof all Nepalis. Civil society leaders whoadvocate the Maoist position and tolerateinflammatory rhetoric as a necessary evilmust also realise the consequences.

Dev Sharma, email

Keeping in view the present elasticityand fluidity of politics, as an ordinary citizen

4 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304NATION

or more than a decade SitaramTamang and his colleagues havediscussed how they would revive

their ancestral lands: Tamsaling. Nowthey believe the time has come.

In the wake of the people’smovement, Nepal’s indigenous peoplefinally believe they will haveproportional representation in theircountry’s governance.

That means “in 10 years we will havethe majority of seats in parliament,”predicts Tamang of the Nepal TamangGhedung, “but we have no time—we haveto join with Dalits, Madhesis and womento pressure the government.”

While almost all agree it’s time torestructure Nepal so that Janjatis andother ‘disadvantaged’ groups need a largersay in running the state, there’s noconsensus on how to achieve that.Conservative voices argue that politicalparties themselves should first starthaving members from excluded groups.Once they are elected, this logic goes,these individuals will make decisionsthat favour their own.

“The parties should ensurerepresentation within themselves,” KBGurung, NC general secretary told us,“Janjatis must be provided their language,religion and traditions. That must begiven by the government and parties.”

Many outspoken, senior leaders of

Nepali Times: Under the autonomy that youpropose would each region be allocated completepolitical powers or would it be like a federal systemwhere the regions get some powers and the centreother ones?Deb Gurung: We havepractised both systems in ourown way. The autonomousregions have a constitution,judiciary and other stateorgans. Foreign affairs,national defence and moneymatters are vested in thefederal government. Otherpowers, like schools,language, culture, naturalresources and many otherthings are vested in theautonomous regions.

Then how do federal andautonomous systems differ?We have guaranteed the rightof secession to theautonomous regions. If theyfeel oppressed they candetach themselves from the central government.

So it’s possible that the country could split apart?They have the right to secession but nowadays thetrend of globalisation is that strength is found inunity.

Where would the resources come from for eachregion to run its own affairs, particularly in thewest, the poorest part of the country?The main resources are people’s capability andhard work. But Nepal’s feudal economic system

MARTY LOGAN

Including the excludedJanjati leaders say that sharing powers will fortify Nepal

Janjatis and other excluded sectors arguethat the time has passed when their peopleshould depend on the largesse of the ruling‘upper’ caste elite. Not only do they wantto mould the country into a federal statewith a central government and provinces,they say that those smaller units should bebased on ethnicity/language and should beautonomous. The Maoists go even a stepfurther, saying that autonomous regionsshould have the right to becomeindependent countries (see interview).

“The whole nation is talking about anew constitution...it is the proper time todiscuss all the national problems, of theethnic people, the tarai people,” says rights

activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar. “Ethnicgroups want their own regions so they canhave their own language, education in theirmother tongue, their own culture.”

But Tuladhar says even the Maoistsdon’t understand this. Among the tens ofthousands of posters that the party printedto advertise its recent giant rally inKathmandu, none was in Newari, hepoints out.

Academics like Krishna Bhattachanargue that Nepal wasn’t so much unified byKing Prthibi Narayan Shah but variousregions were given autonomy under afederal structure. ‘The king’s idea ofinternal autonomy (was) to bind the

different ethnic groups into a singleterritorial nation-state, or into a multi-ethnic nation-state,’ Bhattachan writes.

If so, federalism shouldn’t be such analien concept for Nepal.

However, rulers since Nepal’sformation in the 18th centuryhave twisted the notion to ensuredomination of the Bahun-Chhetri elite,Bhattachan says.

Not all Janjatis are convinced thatautonomy, or even a restructured state, arepriorities. “Yes we need more rights butfirst you need to have a vision of what todo with those rights. And before we candevelop that, the Newars all need to cometogether, stop fighting among themselves,”says one Newar restaurant owner.

But it’s not only Janjati leaders whothink it’s time to share power. “We thinkthat more freedom will make a strongerNepal,” says the UML’s Amrit Bohara, “butwe have to make sure we don’t go againstour own national interest.”

Civil society leader Devendra RajPanday sees autonomy for Janjatis creatinga threat from within. "The biggestfaultline is how we handle the questionof ethnicity. The challenge is to create afederal state that addresses, ethnicity,geography and development issues,”he adds.

But Sitaram Tamang is matter-of-fact:“We don’t want to take over, we’redemanding only our fair share. We thinkthat’s democracy.”

F

“From feudalism to federalism”The Maoists shocked the nation when they redrew the

map of Nepal in 2004 basing it mainly on ethnicity. Theirsenior leader Deb Gurung talked to us about exactly how

these autonomous regions would function.has made the society dependent on others. Due tothe misuse of local resources by the centre, localproduction has not developed nor have markets.Proper management of those resources wouldsolve this problem.

Although your party has nowagreed to participate in multi-party politics, your ultimateaim is a socialist or Marxiststate, which is a centralisedone. How can you reconcilethat vision with autonomy?In our evaluation of thehistory of states, includingVietnam, China and Cuba, wehave observed certainproblems they had,concerning state power, thearmy and other entities.Prachandapath, ordemocracy of the 21stcentury, is the outcome ofthis deep study with a view tomatching form with reality.Only on the basis of full

democracy do you produce a unified state, not onthe basis of dictatorship.

Many Janajatis and other oppressed peoples diedfor your vision of liberation via an armed struggle.Now you are telling them to put the gun aside anduse the political process to achieve liberation.When the people’s war started that was also apolitical process, war is a continuation of politicsthrough other means. The Nepali people are readyto participate no matter what form of struggle wechoose.

KIRAN PANDAY

DANDA GURUNG

530 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304NATION

NEW PRODUCTS

A

STRICTLY BUSINESSAshutosh Tiwari

n article in the latest issueof Himal Khabarpatrikaasks: If the war-torn African

nation Angola could be acontender in this year’s WorldCup soccer tournament inGermany, why not Nepal?

But what it neglects tomention is how Angola became acontender in the first place.Angolan national football squadmembers have been playingprofessionally for clubs in

countries such as Kuwait, Spainand the UK. Last year, Angolagathered their talented butinternationally scattered players,and fielded a team which playedsuccessfully in the qualifyingmatches. Indeed, to any narrativeabout their World Cup debut,Angola’s war-driven politicalhistory serves only as a poignantbackdrop. It’s the individuallyskilled players with internationalexposure who have provided thedazzle to Team Angola.

How can Nepal too aim toproduce a team for a World Cupdebut? For answers, it’s worthsuggesting that All Nepal FootballAssociation (ANFA) recast it role

to invest resources on threecritical priorities.

Hunt for talents: If youvisit the ANFA’s ill-updated website, it’s clear that theorganization’s focus is not reallyon promoting football. There areno photos of players or matches.Nor are there web links to thesites related to the present WorldCup. Instead, ANFA’s emphasesare on spending years on erectinghalf-finished buildings (hostels,office complexes, etc) andsustaining its own committee-swollen bureaucracy.

That leaves room open for anyNepali football fan to worry thatthe deeper ANFA sinks into thebusiness of creating infrastructureitself – instead of having itcompleted within deadlines bythird parties– it’s going to find ithard to concentrate on its numberone priority: Identifying youngfootball talents at grassrootsmatches all over Nepal. In thiscontext, it helps if ANFA officialsthink of themselves as talentscouts—and not bureaucratswasting time on procurementissues and internal quarrels.

Market the talents: Tocater to the rising global demandfor top football talents, ANFA canadopt a two-pronged strategy:Domestically, it can raise the

extent of its partnerships withcorporate houses, eventmanagement firms,municipalities, youth clubs andschools. Doing so will help itincrease the number of local,regional and nationaltournaments. In this, it shouldbuild up on the success of someNepali clubs that are now beingprofessionally managed andwhose players are actually startingto make money from playingfootball.

Internationally, it’s time todevelop and deepen relationswith Asian, African and Europeanclubs, no matter how dauntingsuch tasks look at the present.Unless our sports leaders see that

the road to mastering WorldCup-calibre confidence startsfrom playing with, for andagainst international clubs andcoaches in and out of Nepal, it’llbe difficult for our players togain the physical, technical,tactical and psychologicalstrengths that the game demandsin the global arena. After all,scoring goals only at the DashratStadium – sans internationalexposure — will continue toconsign our players to thedustbin of global mediocrity.

Lead the talents: ANFA’score business of promotingfootball has many interlockingelements. Putting politics andquarrels aside, it needs to start

providing credible publicleadership on matters related tofootball. It can do that byreordering its priorities, reachingout to partners, getting the rightpeople on board (instead of oldsportsmen who know little aboutworking effectively withdifferently-skilled professionals),and completing activities oneby one.

Doing so consistently well fora number of years will help takeNepal closer to the goal of playingand winning qualifying matchesin 2014 and 2018 before, whoknows, bringing home the WorldCup trophy in 2022—100 yearsafter this beautiful game was firstplayed in this country.

How we can make it to the World CupANFA must recast it role to invest on three critical priorities

NEPALNEWS.COM

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Jumla crash probeEven while a CAAN investigation team begins its probe of the crashof a Yeti Airlines Twin Otter crash in Jumla on 22 June that killed ninepeople, aviation experts have called for stricter flying codes. Eye-witnesses said the Twin Otter was trying to be ahead of a Sita AirDornier also flying into Jumla, but found its air speed too high for alanding. The pilot then flew on to the other end of the runway foranother approach. The plane stalled and crashed while making whateye-witnesses said was an excessively tight turn. Preliminaryfindings of the Jumla crash point to several possibilities: crew fatigue,movement of cabin cargo during tight turn, inexperience of one of thepilots. There have been seven Twin Otter crashes since 1998 inNepal killing 85 passengers and crew, nearly all have been due topilots flying into mountains in bad weather. CAAN said this week itwas investigating two other pilots for reckless flying.

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Single-digit povertyAttracting more investment and boosting workers’ productivity couldhelp South Asian nations cut poverty rates to single digits in less thana decade, says the World Bank in Economic Growth in South Asia,released on Tuesday. But governments must ensure that the cut is notaccompanied by a growing gulf between nations’ haves and have-nots, warns the bank. Accelerating growth to 10 percent a year until2015 would reduce poverty rates to single digits and also reduce thenumber of South Asians living in poverty by two-third. In Nepal, 10percent growth would produce a 9.4 poverty rate by 2015. In 2003poverty here was estimated at 31 percent, said the Bank.

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Hyundai to hike pricesHyundai Motor India (HMIL) recently announced that it will hike pricesof all Hyundai models, including the flagship ‘Santro Xing’, this monthdue to surge in the oil prices which has lead to increase in freight andlogistical costs. Prices of raw materials like plastic and rubber havealso risen in the recent past, pushing up production costs.

The increase will be in a range of 1-2% of the most entry-levelcompact cars. This price hike will also affect the prices of Hyundaivehicles in Nepal.

YAMAHA GLADIATOR: is the latest 125 cc bike from Yamaha.Morang Auto Works (MAW), the authorised distributor unveils the

5-speed ‘next generation fun bike’.Developed as a next generation fun bike,Gladiator brings with it better performance,

new styling, greater handling andcomfort. Morang has a promo price ofRs 109,900 for Gladiator normal andRs 120,900 for Gladiator DX.

6 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304

Interview with Baburam Bhattarai, chairman of theMaoist United Revolutionary Peoples Council, RadioSagarmatha Ajaka Kura, 17 June

Radio Sagarmatha: Is it now confirmed that your party willbe joining the interim government?Baburam Bhatarai: This is more about the interimconstitution rather than just about just joining the interimgovernment. We will join the interim government, butother things need to happen: date for the constituentassembly elections, dissolving parliament.

Can we expect a tussle about who will join thegovernment?

The interim government will be a division of powers thatwill take us to the constituent assembly?It should not be taken as a division of power. Themovement has given its mandate to the political andorganised powers, those who were active during themovement including civil society. We should moveforward using these powers. Instead of calling it adivision of power it should be better understood as aprovisional administration.

Thirteen thousand people have died, how will there be arepublic?The people’s movement which happened based on thesupport of the peoples’ war and with the support of the12-point agreement, brought the country towards arepublic. Had the political parties not given in topressure from the king and foreign powers we wouldhave had a republic by now. Still, instead of headingdirectly into a republic we will go through an interimsystem. There is no way to stop the republic now. Ninetypercent of the people are for a republic. If you can’t evenaccept that, then there is no use calling yourself ademocrat.

Will your cadres accept this bourgeois republic? Or isthere dissatisfaction within the ranks?That is our program. There is no question of notaccepting it. That is the constitution of our party and therevolution. Our constitution and programs are clear: thatthe bourgeois republic will be formed under theleadership and participation of the proletariat.

Couldn’t you have worked with the 1990 constitution?You have to understand that a democratic republic is nota parliamentary republic. Our understanding is that ademocratic republic is an interim provision slightlyabove a parliamentary republic but which has notreached the level of people’s republic. This could nothappen through the 1990 constitution. It will be brought

“90 percent are for a We haven’t yet reached that stage. It will be decided on thebasis of a mutual agreement between the parties and civilsociety in the same manner in which the movement wasmade successful by the three powers after the 12-pointagreement.

You’ve argued for a leadership role for your party.That is the usual practice. The ground reality is that peoplebelieve a full-fledged democracy, peace and progress willonly be possible if the leadership is in the hands of theMaoists. But we don’t want to make this the major issue andargue about it.

What place will the king have in the interim constitution?We feel there is no need for the king to have a placebecause the Nepali people have already abandoned themonarchy. The movement was proof of that. Likewise, theparliamentary parties have made proclamations which areproof that they want to head the same way. What we haveproposed is to declare a democratic peoples republic whenforming the interim constitution and to give it a structurethrough the constituent assembly.

Looks like the NC doesn’t want to go along with this.That will be clear during the process. We feel there is astrong faction within the NC which is for a republic. Othermajor parties are also going for a republic. Our proposal isnot to keep the king as head of state.

The national political convention that you had beendemanding will not take place now?After the dissolution of parliament and the creation of arepresentative system by the constituent assembly, theissue will arise of where do sovereign and ruling powerslie. We feel that an interim structure must be created, whichis why we have put forth a proposal for a national politicalconvention that includes the seven parties, us, civil societyand various fronts representing regions, ethnicities andcastes.

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

KIRAN PANDAY

730 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Disanirdesh, 25 June

There are so many reasons why theparties and people feel skepticalabout the Maoists: Prachanda’s ofteninsulting remarks against otherpolitical leaders, his utter arroganceunsuitable for a senior leader likehim, his clever attempts to opt outseven parties from decision makingprocess, and the continued violence,abduction and extortions at thehands of his cadres, abductions andlack of guilt about the past mistakes.

Many questions are being raisedabout the intentions of the Maoists:are they really serious about giving uptheir one-party stance and joining themultiparty system or is it just theirpolitical diplomacy to win the heartsof the mass? Is their alliance with theseven parties genuine or merely a wayto use them? The Maoists had notorganised any political struggleduring the Panchayat regime. Theytook up arms only when thecommunist party formed agovernment following generalelections and had started toundertake new progressive activities.There would have been a lot ofprogress if all the leftist parties hadformed a majority in the government.But it seems very clear now that therewere very close relations between the

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Abin Shrestha inSamaya, 29 June

“

“

Who will take the responsibility of the killings of 13,000 people if you want to talk about killing?

- Nikshya SJB Rana , former royalist minister on Nepal One, 27 June

by the present struggle and movement for formation ofnew laws from the constituent assembly.

There is a rumour that your party will be excluded fromcommunist organisations like RIM and COMPOSA ifyou join the government?No. RIM and COMPOSA are our participatoryorganisations so there is no question of us beingexcluded from them. Different parties have their ownprograms and differences in opinion will exist. We arein various committees of RIM and COMPOSA and noone can take us out of them. What is the nature of your democratic republic?In a democratic republic there will be no monarchy andthe people will have complete power. Second, the armywhich has been loyal to the monarchy for 237 years,must be democratised, restructured and a new forceraised. Third, the present form of government isfeudalistic and Brahminised. A government thatrepresents everyone, the exploited, the ethnic castes,various regions will be formed. Basic democraticnorms such as competitive state system, rule of lawand human rights will be an integral part of this system.The rights of women, Dalits and basic rights toeducation, health and employment will be secured. Inthe economic front revolutionary land reforms will takeplace. For a long time, Indian investments in Nepalhave been under a semi-colonial style monopoly. Thiswill end and, Nepal will be developed as anindependent democratic republic.

You say you are against personality cults, yet youglorify Prachandapath.It’s not about not keeping Prachandapath. I was the onewho proposed Prachandapath. It was natural for us toname the ideology after the chairman of the party. I havenever been against Prachanda’s leadership orPrachandapath itself.

republic”

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Bhutani refugeesEditorial in Samaya, 30 June

World Refugee Day came and went this week, and it wasjust a formality. For the 100,000 plus Bhutani refugeeswho have been living in camps for the past 14 years inJhapa and Morang there is no hope of any positivedevelopments this year.

The UNHCR which has been trying to get therefugees repatriated to Bhutan or assimilated in the hostcountry Nepal is now also working on third countryresettlement. For the refugees, this can be a good optionbut not the best one. The UNHCR blames mainly Nepalfor opposing resettlement in third countries. Nepal’sposition is that Bhutan needs to take back some of itspeople as per the bilateral agreement. The Bhutanirefugee leadership agrees with this.

Obviously, the issue of refugees is closely linked tothe protection of human rights and democracy inBhutan. A royal dictatorship can perhaps heapinjustices on a minority for some time. But ultimatelythe people will be victorious, and this has been provenby the recent events in the refugees’ host country.Unfortunately, the lack of an organised pro-democracymovement has bolstered the harsh crackdowns by theBhutani regime. Neighbouring democratic country Indiaand the UN have been indirectly helping the anti-human rights and anti-democratic crackdowns by theBhutani king against his own minority peoples.

It may appear to be in the short-term interest ofsome of the refugees, especially women and children, tobe resettled in third countries. But to be forever tornapart from their country, community, culture andfamilies can only be a last resort. It is important torestart the bilateral ministerial-level talks betweenNepal and Bhutan to resolve the issue. Nepal must alsoremind New Delhi that its neutrality has helped theBhutan king to continue with his activities against therefugees. Such repressive behaviour will be a challengein efforts to fight terrorism in South Asia. It is also atest for King Jigme who seems to want to devolve hispower and usher in democracy. He must remember thatdemocracy isn’t possible by violating the basic humanrights of his minority population. That will just setback democracy.

Girija, Gyanendra and PrachandaMaoist leadership and King Birendra.During that time, efforts were beingmade through Gyanendra andDhirendra to unite with the Maoistsand destroy the leading parties likeNepali Congress and UML. Soon afterthe royal massacre, Prachanda andBaburam had praised kings fromPrithbi Narayan Shah to Birendra.They started the extortions andkillings of hundreds of leaders,workers, teachers, journalists andmany police and army personnelwhile during off duty and visitingtheir families. After this, the Maoiststook refuge in India and mobilisedtheir militia and then came to thecountry to start destruction of publicand private properties.

The whole country and the peoplehad been suffering at the hands of thepalace in the cities and Maoists in thejungle. Thousands were killed forextortion and not supporting therebels. The properties of tens andthousands of families were lootedand over 100,000 displaced. TheMaoists believed that the wholecountry was under their control. Butit was only after their alliance withthe parties especially NC and UMLthat led to huge assemblies of themass. But Baburam now says this waspossible due to the Maoists. He addedthat only few supported the parties.

How many Maoists really gotmartyred during Janandolan II? Howmany of their cadres really gotinjured? When Gyanendra assumeddirect rule, the Maoists said that hebetrayed them. Until then, theMaoists had still not had any serioustalks or reached an understanding.On the other hand, the parties werecriticised for not showing courage toorganise mass protest against theking.

By the time, the Maoists had beenattacking many districts, brutallydestroying the infrastructure andbuildings in the cities and towns.But when they realised that it wasnot possible to capture Kathmanduand win a decisive war in the capital,the Maoist leaders eventually thoughtof the proposal for talks by theparties. It was only after thejanandolan got stronger that theystarted the drama of trying to havetalks. Now Prachanda is saying thatthe parties did not have much to dowith the 12-point understanding.

It’s good that he has started totalk a lot about the Buddha. But it’stime that he started sounding like aresponsible leader, wholeheartedlyaccepting multiparty system,publicly admitting the past mistakesand liberating from old stereotypedthinking.

Peak: Summit talksMen: Seven-party mapThe talks over! Return!

KIRAN PANDAYKIRAN PANDAYMIN BAJRACHARYA

8 OLD AGE HOME

ost people find shelters for senior citizens depressing and avoid visitingthem. But working on this photo feature at the Pashupati Bridhashramover the past six months, I have been inexplicably uplifted. I forget the stress

of living in Kathmandu and my homesickness for my native Bangladesh. I feel fortunatethat I have a family, as many of the senior citizens once had. But what gives me hope isthat even though they have lost families and possessions, they still care. They care foreach other and they retain a deep sense of humanity. The story of how they landed up

These sare fam

PHOTOS and TEXT b

GREETING: “Namaste, aram?” That is how Sankule Lati,77, greets strangers with a namaste and a quick tilt to herhead.

LAUGHING: Til Kumari Khatri, 71, and Yadongba Tamang, 70, laugh and play like children. Til Kumari has been here since 1998.Her daughter-in-law brought her to the shelter one day and left saying: “I’ll be back soon.” She never came back.

EATING: Bishnumaya Lati, 72, takes her evening meal withher two favourite dogs in attendance. She lives here withher husband.

COOKING: Kanchi Khatri cooks food in the shelter. She wasthe maid servant at the home of an astrologer and when shewas no longer able to work nine years ago, her employerbrought her here.

PRAYING: Laxmi Thapa, 68, prays to a wall full of pictures of the godshe was married very young. Laxmi worked as a domestic all her lifearm, her employer abandoned her so she came here. Now she praysthere is no one to help me.”

BATHING: Dhana Kumari Ranabhat, 99, takes a bath withthe help of her husband Dil Bahadhur Ranabhat, 90. Thecouple is lucky, few here still have their spouses. DhanaKumari was forced here after her husband died but marriedDil Bahadhur, a retired soldier.

MCHATTING: Tirtha Maya Thapa, 75 and Man Kumari Thapa,75, sit and chat. Tirtha Maya was so busy taking care of herparents, she never married. But after they died, her relativesevicted her from her house. Man Kumari’s long lost soncame and took her home a few months ago.

930 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304

In my old age

Shanti TuladharMy sons have grown upHuts have turned into high-risesThey’re adding floors one by oneFor me, there is just the pyre left

As the house grew tallerWe were pushed lowerLower than the staircase dark and dankMy son has grown up but what has he done?

I became a burden and he brought me hereMy family is foreign forever,These strangers are family now.

trangersmily now

by SHEBAB UDDIN

RECITING: Shanti Tuladhar recites a poem from herbook, Unko Samjhana. She loves poetry and is stillwriting. Married at 30, her husband was in the army andwhen he died 12 years ago, she was sent here. Shantidoesn’t like to talk about her son. She reads us herfavourite poem:

FEEDING: Dipa Thapa, 75, has two pet cats in the shelter.They are her only friends. She used to sell flowers inPashupati and when her husband died, she came here.

ods. She doesn’t remember where she was born or her family sinceife. Her alcoholic husband used to beat her up. When she broke herys all the time. “I spent all my life helping others,” she says, “now

CHANTING: Every morning and evening residents gather for bhajans. Those who can’t walk to the prayer room chant fromtheir own beds.

COMBING: Ratna Maya Katiwada, 68, has kept toherself since she came here three years ago. No oneknows the whereabouts of her family or where she isfrom.

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here is almost always the same: in their old age they became a burden on their familieswho dumped them at Pashupati. For the elderly, it’s sometimes a relief that they are insuch a holy place and don’t have to bear the taunts of a home where they are no longerwelcome. None of them came here willingly and no one has anywhere to go. The PashupatiBridhashram is run by the government so its budget is limited, it is congested,short-staffed and shows signs of mismanagement. There are 230 residents, 140 ofthem women.

10 NEWS 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304

n the late 1980s, King Jigme SingyeWangchuck decreed that Gross NationalHappiness (GNH) was more important to

his country than Gross National Product(GNP).

He then promptly started evictingNepali-speaking Lhotsampas in a ruthlesscampaign that can only be described asethnic cleansing. So far, because ofcomplicit India and the internationalcommunity, he has got away with it.

His regime has used every trick in thebook of predatory diplomacy to detractinternational attention from the veryexistence of the refugees—more than110,000 of its citizens in makeshift campsin eastern Nepal. This glossy bhutannational human development report 2005(lower case from the original) pretends therefugees don’t even exist. Which is quiteconvenient because if you reduce yourpopulation by one-sixth, obviously yourper capita parameters suddenly look muchrosier.

Like its celebrated postage-stamps,publications of the Royal Government ofBhutan are meant for display. This report isnot an exception. It is crafted, designed,and produced in bleached chlorinated paperto impress. The text bristles withcontemporary catch phrases: environmentalsustainability, good governance, culturalheritage. But like all police states, the morethe regime tries to convince readers that thegovernment is doing great, the more youdoubt its real intentions.

Bhutan has notched notable successesin rural development, hydropower, packagetourism and public health. It is the onlycountry so far to have become tobacco-free

by government edict. Aidocrats andjournalists extol the virtues of this virginland. Learning from their hosts, they loveto say how great Bhutan is by pointing outwhat a mess Nepal is. The hypocrisy ofNew Delhi-based diplomats is breath-taking: they will not tolerate dictatorship,press curbs, ethnic cleansing orchauvinistic politics anywhere else inthe world. But because Bhutan is so cute,it’s ok.

To get the true picture of Bhutan, youhave to visit the camps in Jhapa or spendtime with the refugees camped out lastweek at the UN in Kathmandu. Just asNorth Korea has the Juche Idea, Bhutan hasGNH. It comes out of the same dangerousideology that sees itself as a superior and

somewhat special race.Compared to the dispirited diplomacy

of poor democracies, dictators in the ThirdWorld manage to attract the best andbrightest to push their agenda. Democracyis defined by private sector excellence andpublic sector mediocrity. It’s the other wayround in well-entrenched autocracieswhere a combination of hope and fearkeeps some outstanding professionals tiedwith the regime. The Bhutani governmenthas managed to project itself as the likelyvictim and has succeeded in hiding itscrime against humanity of evicting overone-sixth of its population.

Instead of working for resettlement ofLhotsampas in their homeland, eveninternational bureaucrats have now begun

However much it tries, Bhutan will never be able to brushits refugee crisis under the carpet

Gross national distressto let Thimphu scot free by resettlingthem in third countries. As Tek Nath Rijal,the indomitable Bhutani freedom fighterrightly insists, such a move is tantamountto surrender and will imperil otherminority communities in similarsituations elsewhere.

The NHD Report 2005 needs to be readas an account of potential rather than thereality of a country that wants the worldto see it in soft focus with rose-tintedglasses. If an honourable settlement of therefugee issue is made, Bhutan still has theprospect of emerging as an inclusive andprosperous nation. If it doesn’t, KingJigme will go down in history as someonewho needlessly alienated a large segmentof his people because of racial paranoia.

On 20 June when the rest of the worldwas celebrating Refugee Day theLhotsampa in Nepal marked their 14thyear away from their country and yetanother Black Day in their unending sagaof displacement and despair. CK Lal

he Maoists felt left out anddemanded the dissolutionof parliament on 16 June,

but this has brought flak from theseven party alliance.

Leaders of the SPA are gettingincreasingly frustrated withMaoist stubbornness and aresaying so openly. The level ofmistrust and scepticism isgrowing and the parties blamethis on the arrogance of Maoistcadres who don’t seem to knowhow to make the transition from

armed struggle to peacefulpolitics.

While senior rebel leaders aregoing around the capitalconstantly criticising the partiesand underlining what they saywas their crucial role in themovement, local commanders inthe villages are intimidatingparty workers, especially of theNC and UML.

“We are working really hardtowards building a positivepolitical environment and theMaoists should reciprocate,” saysSushil Koirala of the NC. Withtheir belligerent talk, the Maoists

have been violating the 25-code ofconduct agreed in Gokarna lastmonth to tone down the rhetoric,party leaders say.

The Maoists, meanwhile, areon a public relations offensivemeeting party leaders andKathmandu-based diplomats.

“We hope that the Maoistswill live up to theircommitments, which wereminded their leaders of againrecently,” explained Koirala, whomet Pushpa Kamal Dahal andBaburam Bhattarai on Tuesday inthe capital.

The Maoists have not returnedproperty they seized and haverefused to allow party workersback to their villages. “In severalplaces, our cadres have beenconstantly bullied and threatenedby local Maoist cadre who are alsonot ready to return the propertylooted in the past even of poorpeople,” said Pradeep Nepal ofthe UML, who has been sharplycritical of Maoist behaviour.

But citizens groups claim thatthe situation is not so dire as to ojeopardise the understandingbetween the parties and theMaoists.

“There is nomisunderstanding at all butmerely an internal competition

Why the hurry?Even ministers are unhappy at the haste with which the governmentand Maoists are drafting an interim constitution

So far, the South African model for a constituent assembly seems tofit the Nepali situation best. Seats in this type of assembly areelected by a system of proportional representation and allocated onthe basis of the percentage of votes that each party gets. Eachparty appearing on the ballot will submit a rank-ordered list ofcandidates.

The assembly will then replace the parliament and have the dualrole of framing a new constitution and governing the country until agovernment is formed.

“We have to decide on three crucial things: methods ofrepresentation, electoral areas to be determined and methods ofelection,” explains Bhimarjun Acharya, a constitutional lawyerworking on proposals for the best model of a constituent assembly.

“If we go by general parliamentary election style, there willdefinitely be a tussle for power,” explains Acharya.

So far, the parties and the Maoists are reported to be positiveabout the South African model and indigenous groups are also saidto be onboard. “There should be proportional representation by 50percent women candidates and 38 percent adivasis without anyconditions,” says Malla K Sundar, president of the Newar NationalOrganisation.

But people we talked to caution it shouldn’t be done in a hurrylike the interim constitution. South Africa tookfive years to pass itsnew constitution.

NARESH NEWAR

South African model

between the eight parties,” saidpolitical analyst Krishna Khanal.

Both the parties and Maoistsare disseminating their ownpropaganda and naturally thereare differences in opinions.

In addition, the party cadresare not really going to the peoplein the remote villages so it is afalse claim that the Maoists areposing a threat to them.

Maoist leaders say the peaceprocess is moving too slowly andthe government is dragging itsfeet on the setting up of aninterim government but theparties say the pace is more than

expected. At a time when bothsides are supposed to focus onthe key issue of making a clearroad map and finalising themodalities of a constituentassembly election, there has beenlittle homework (see box).

Women’s groups are enragedthat there are no women in thecommittee made up to draft aninterim constitution. Partyleaders, even from within thecabinet, have started to criticiseboth the government and theMaoists for rushing to dissolveparliament and go for the interimconstitution.

TKIRAN PANDAY

I

bhutan national humandevelopment report 2005ISBN 99936-675-0-1Royal Government ofBhutan, Thimpu

KIRAN PANDAY

1130 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304NATION

s the bus hurtled down theEast-West Highway I trieddesperately to apply some

semblance of order to my racingthoughts. As we entered RaptiZone and passed the barrenlandscape of the inner tarai,involuntary memories swarmedaround my head.

The scent of ripening mangosand the luminous green of the ricefields. Suddenly the name of theeldest daughter of the family that Ilived with, a name I had beentrying to remember ever sincearriving again in Nepal, cameback to me: Sumila. Images andfeelings long dormant came backto life.

Dang is not the first place thatcomes to most people’s mindwhen they think of Nepal. It hasbeen a Maoist stronghold andGhorahi was the first place wherethe Maoists attacked the army inNovember 2001.

That was when I was herelast, volunteering with StudentPartnership Worldwide teachingEnglish and environmentaleducation. The people and cultureof this part of the country wouldleave an indelible impression onme. The family that I lived with forfive months and the school andcommunity in which I worked, arewhat brought me back.

After three years of universityand two years struggling inLondon as a freelancephotographer, I’ve finally made itback to Dang. Back to the heatand the parched terrain, back tothe vibrant colours and the mostgenerous people on the planet.

I didn’t know what to expect asthe bus pulled into Ghorahi. As Ichecked into my room at the RaptiSuper Lodge, I was both relievedand a little disappointed to find itin the same state as when I usedto stay here occasionally fiveyears ago. My room is like asauna, fully equipped with apainfully slow-moving fan whosemotor generates more heat thanthe cooling power of the blades.

About 20 minutes out ofGhorahi is the Tharu communityof Syani Ammapur. The Tharusare landless, and looked downupon by neighbouringcommunities. When I ask GegBahadur Thapa, the communityleader, to tell me about theproblems the families here faceeveryone laughs. “We have all theproblems,” he says, “We have nowater, no toilet, not enough food toeat, none to sell, we cannot clotheourselves or our children and wecannot send them to school.”

The adults are uneducated butacutely aware of the need foreducation. The thought that theirchildren will be no better off than

In searchof lost time“My heart belongs to Dang”

JOSH LUSTIG in DANG them is clearly very painful. I askthem about the Maoists. Theseare the people, after all, that theMaoists are fighting for. I am metwith a surly silence and someharsh looks. “We don’t knowanything about the Maoists,”says Geg Bahadur.

Five years ago I hadstumbled across a Maoistmeeting and was forced to staythere all day in case I notified the

authorities. Nowadays in Dangyou don’t stumble upon a Maoistmeeting, you follow crowds ofthousands. On the third day of mystay last month, the Maoists helda program attended by up to200,000 people.

I ask some of the youngpeople there what their feelingsare towards the Maoists and ammet with surprising indifference.“We are here because it’s

something to do,” says 23-year-old Raju Panthi. “I don’t supporteverything that the Maoists say,but at least they are sayingsomething,” he adds. Sankalpfrom Ghorahi refused to come withme to the rally and is far lessenthusiastic. “I hate them,” hesays, “they are terrorists. Theyhave done nothing good for ourpeople, only killed them.”

I wish I could say thatloktantra has brought new hope tothe people of Dang. But I couldn’tsee it. All the people I spoke togave me a funny smile when Isuggested that things now arereally going to change. The youngpeople especially seemedsceptical, with no faith in theirpoliticians or the mechanics of

democracy. Older businessmenalso didn’t foresee thingschanging for the better. Everyoneis focused on the here-and-now,deeply suspicious of anything theMaoists have to say.

Seeing the family I lived withagain and visiting the school that Itaught at after so many yearsbrought back a whole string ofhighly charged feelings. Thevibrancy, warmth and generosityof both the people and the placehave stayed the same.

The mountains are what bringpeople to Nepal and I love themountains. They are where myhead belongs. But my heart? Myheart belongs to Dang.

www.joshlustig.com

A

12 SPORTS 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304

hings did not bode well.The German goalkeeperJens Lehmann complained

it was ‘unpredictable’. Hiscounterpart from England’s team,Paul Robinson, dismissed it as‘goalkeeper unfriendly’. Brazil’sstrikers found it so tricky thatthey scheduled extra trainingsessions. Even before the WorldCup had started, players were

voicing concerns about theofficial ball, Adidas’smultimillion dollar +Teamgeist.

Burdened by a pompous name(the German word for team spirit)with a silly + as a prefix andAdidas’s lofty claims that it wasthe smoothest, roundest and mostaccurate soccer ball ever, the+Teamgeist seemed set to becomethe joke of the 2006 World Cup.Its prospects were not helped bythe fact that many of the

correspondents flocking toGermany remembered that Adidasmade startlingly similarstatements four years ago when itunveiled the Fevernova ball forthe 2002 tournament.

How has the +Teamgeistperformed since the World Cupstarted? Is it living up to Adidas’sclaims? Goalies are stillgrumbling but to the surprise ofcynics, the new ball does seem tobe livening up the game.

“It’s always tempting todismiss innovations in balldesign as marketing hype but thisone is creating more excitement,”said Jack Huckel, director ofmuseum and archives at theNational Soccer Hall of Fame inOneonta, New York. “It can beshot from longer distances withgreater impact and bent at greaterspeed. You see it exploding offthe players’ feet. As a formergoalkeeper, I understand whythey don’t like it.”

The commercial importance ofthe World Cup ball to Adidas isobvious. Adidas pays millions ofdollars to be the official ballsupplier to the World Cup in thehope of creating a bestseller.Having sold a record six millionof the Fevernova ball of 2002, it

has even higher expectations ofthe +Teamgeist.

It is harder to understand whydesigning a soccer ball should beso daunting. After all, it is a ball.How hard can it be to design around object of a specific size andweight? The challenge is toproduce a ball in so robust a formthat it enhances, rather thaninhibits, the quality of play bybehaving in exactly the sameway wherever and whenever itis kicked.

From the late 1800s to 1970,soccer balls consisted of 18 hand-stitched brown leather panels.During the 1966 World Cup,viewers complained they couldnot follow the ball on their black-and-white television screens, andFIFA commissioned Adidas todesign a television-friendlyalternative. The result was theTelstar with 32 leather panels - 12black pentagons and 20 whitehexagons. Launched at the 1970World Cup in Mexico, it has beenthe default design for soccer ballsever since.

“After so many years of 32panels, we decided to trysomething completely differentfor 2006, and chose a 14-panelstructure,” said Hans-Peter

Nürnberg, who led the +Teamgeistdesign team for Adidas as seniordevelopment engineer.

The new ball has two layers,inner and outer, with a newthermal bonding technology usedto create a seamless surface.Adidas’s rationale is that thismakes the ball more consistentbecause the impact of the player’sfoot will be the same wherever itstrikes the surface. As there are noseams, the ball does not absorbmoisture during the game andthereby stays the same weight.

Adidas subjected the+Teamgeist to intensivelaboratory and field tests beforeputting the ball into productionlast July. Nürnberg said itexceeded expectations in thetests, which included repeatedkicking by a robotic leg toreplicate the 2,000 kicks it wouldendure in a typical World Cupmatch and rotating the ball 250times under water. Even so, thetoughest test for a soccer ball is itsperformance in a match.

After the first stage of theWorld Cup, observers areconvinced that the +Teamgeistcan be kicked more powerfullyfrom longer distances. Similarly,the swerve of the ball is

ALICE RAWSTHORN

T

1970

Having a ball at

1974 1978 1982 1986 1990

Despite the goalies’ grumbles,the new Adidas world Cup ballis setting new sales records

he 2006 World Cup in Germany isthe first time that people in the Arabworld have felt the overwhelming

power of FIFA and its absolute control of tvimages from the world’s greatest sportingevent.

Want to watch the World Cup? Thenyou’d better pay something like $300 to geta satellite dish and receiver from the ArabRadio and tv Network (ART). And youcan’t just buy a month’s access to watchthe games. You’ll have to get a full year ofaccess to ART’s ‘bouquet’ of channelswhether you want it or not.

In a country like Jordan, where manypeople are barely able to make ends meet,charging them to watch their favoriteglobal sporting event has created a lot ofbitterness. That’s why King Abdullahordered the setting up of 30 public viewingscreens across the country for people whocannot afford PayTV.

World Cup watchers revolt

Those screens are not the onlysolution. Many Jordanians have becomeexperts in satellite receiver hacking.Everyone, including the country’s topcartoonist Hajjaj, is talking aboutbreaking the codes for certain Europeansatellite channels. Even with the codeschanging daily, people are flocking to the

internet where they find satellite hackerforums that provide the latest codes.

In Palestine, local TV channels are re-broadcasting the games on terrestrialwaves. ART has assured thesebroadcasters that they will not be sued.Amongst all the negativity directed at ART,the company’s tolerance of the Palestinian

Citizens are finding innovative ways to bypass FIFA’s tv monopolyAHMAD HUMEID

in JORDAN

TV stations’ ‘piracy’ of their broadcasts wasa good PR move.

On the popular Arab news channel AlArabiyah, only freeze frames of the gamesare being shown during sports newsbulletins.

Normal people using the net to hacksatellite feeds is only the tip of the icebergwhen it comes to what people can do tocircumvent the monopolistic powers ofmainstream media. User generated contentin the form of pictures and videos shared onthe web is starting to become a more visiblemedia byproduct of the tournament.

I can easily imagine a situation in thenear future where people in the stadiumwould be shooting the live event with theircamera phones and ‘webcasting’ them tofriends, family or even a wider audience. Ofcourse such video stream would be nomatch for the ‘official’ professional, multi-angle, professionally directed video. But inan age where the organisers of major,popular, global events are so aggressive inprotecting their broadcasts, this form ofcitizen media might become a viablealternative.

Traditional media companies will notdisappear overnight because of the power ofpeople to generate content. But user-generated content is a factor that no one canafford to ignore anymore.

Excerpted from Ahmad Humeid’s weblog

T

30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304 13SPORTS

accentuated as it bends to the leftor right. “The bend is moredramatic,” affirmed David Jamesof Sheffield Hallam University’ssports engineering department.“This ball is great for players likeDavid Beckham, at least it shouldbe.” Another factor, analyzed byhis colleagues, is the +Teamgeist’stendency to swerve from side toside before hitting the back of thenet when it is kicked straightwithout spin.

All of this makes life tougherfor goalkeepers, as they facestronger shots and unexpectedswerves. As matches progress,these problems are aggravated by

the +Teamgeist’s lightness, whichmakes it harder to catch. “It’s solight that it slips out of yourhands,” Huckel noted.

The +Teamgeist also has atendency to confuse goalies bywavering as it hurtles towardsthem. James attributes this to theaerodynamic complexity of itsshape. “We’re at the cutting edgeof science here because weunderstand more about theaerodynamics of airplanes andFormula One cars than ofspheres,” he said. “A perfectsphere moves through the airwith considerable difficulty,which is why sports balls tend to

have rough surfaces. The felt ontennis balls and dimples on golfballs improves theiraerodynamics and helps them tomove faster.”

Despite the goalies’ grumbles,the +Teamgeist has proved evenmore popular than Adidasexpected, setting a new salesrecord of 15 million balls so far.Nürnberg’s design team is alreadyworking on its successor. “Weneed to erase the imperfections inits structure,” he said. “Althoughwe can’t expect to producesomething as revolutionary asthe +Teamgeist for everyWorld Cup.”

the World Cup

1994 1998 2002 2006

BALLS THROUGH THE AGES:During the 1966 World Cup,viewers complained they couldnot follow the ball on their black-and-white television screens, andFIFA commissioned Adidas todesign a television-friendlyalternative. The result was theTelstar with 32 leather panels: 12black pentagons and 20 whitehexagons. Launched at the 1970World Cup in Mexico, it has beenthe default design for soccer ballsever since. The 2006 ball (left)has two layers, inner and outer,with a new thermal bondingtechnology used to create aseamless surface.

f you are new to astronomy, perhaps one of the most difficult anddaunting parts about beginning is learning all those stars. Relax!It’s a lot easier than you think. Just like moving to a new city,

everything will be unfamiliar at first but with a little help from somemaps, you’ll soon be finding your way around like a pro. Once youbecome familiar with the constellations and how they appear tomove across the night sky, the rest is easy.

And what better time to learnit than in the monsoon. It may beusually cloudy, but clearmonsoon nights are dust-freeand clear enough to see the

milky way if you’re lucky. Anyone even vaguely interested in thenight sky should own a pair of binoculars. While they will neverreveal the heavens in quite as much detail as even a smalltelescope, their availability, ease of use and portability make themthe perfect night sky companion.

Now is the perfect time to try out those new binoculars becauseas if to celebrate the change of the seasons, four of our solarsystem’s bright planets are putting on a parade at dusk during thelast week of June. One of them — giant Jupiter — gleams brilliantlyoverhead as it gets dark. You can’t miss it; it’s the brightest point oflight in the sky these evenings. You might easily overlook the otherthree worlds — Mercury, Mars, and Saturn — which are muchfainter and setting in the west during twilight. Thankfully the waxingcrescent Moon comes to the rescue, pointing the way to theplanetary trio. And your eyes are all you need to enjoy the spectacle— no telescope required!

Mars currently shares Cancer with Saturn. Hope you enjoyedthe Mars-Saturn conjunction in mid June as Mars approached veryclose to the ringed-planet.

Among constellations, Scorpius is now highest near the end ofevening twilight. This magnificent constellation is a favourite ofserious sky watchers. You might wish to see the bright reddish starAntares at the heart of the scorpion. Another prominent star, Spica,of the constellation Virgo, lies close to an imaginary line through thezodiac known as the ecliptic which represents the plane of theEarth’s orbit projected against the stars.

Late July, after evening twilight, the Milky Way Galaxy bubblesup from the southern horizon, traverses high across the eastern skyand dips down in the north. Look south and you stare into theSagittarius Spiral Arm and the centre of our galaxy.

Don’t Miss the Great Hercules Star Cluster (M13) throughbinoculars on 29 July after the moon sets.

Other July highlights:

The Sun & the Earth: The Sun is in the constellation of Gemini at thestart of July, moving into Cancer on the 20th. On 4 July, Earthreaches aphelion, ie, the point farthest from the Sun, at about94,512,000 miles. If you still hold the notion that summer occursbecause the sun is closest to us, this is the perfect occasion torevise that idea.Mercury: Mercury is moving closer to the Sun and on 18 July it willgo through inferior conjunction (in front of the Sun) to become amorning object, visible early August.Venus: Venus is a brilliant morning star, coming up about two hoursbefore sunrise. It is easy to pick out even in the dawn twilight.Mars: Mars may be seen low in the western sky at sunset but itslips steadily downwards into the evening twilight.Jupiter: The giant planet Jupiter is overhead at dusk and sets aftermidnight. On 5 July, the gibbous Moon will appear directly belowJupiter.Saturn: Saturn is almost behind the Sun, and won’t be visible thismonth.Meteors: For meteor enthusiasts, the Delta Aquarid meteor showerreaches its peak on 29 July, producing a meteor every 4 or 5minutes on average. But its peak is broad, lasting a week or so andoverlapping with the beginning of the well-known Perseid shower.

Learning the night sky is justlike getting to know a new city

Starry-eyed

STAR GAZINGKedar S Badu

Nepal Pashmina

I

14 30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304CITY

ABOUT TOWN

KATHMANDU VALLEY

by MAUSAM BEEDNEPALI WEATHER

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

29-19 28-18 29-19 30-20 30-20

Looking at this satellite picture of thesubcontinent taken on Wednesdayafternoon, it is clear that the monsoonis now clearly established across theregion. This week Kathmandu got asmuch rain as the whole monthly quota,so the rain gods are making up for losttime. The Bay of Bengal arm ofsouthwest monsoon is now mature andstrong. The pressure gradient chartconfirms a line of trough in place alongthe southern Himalaya and implies thatthe country is getting a substantialamount of rainfall this weekend, mostlyduring night. This system has severalmonsoon pulses that could bring cloudbursts along the foothills.

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Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepalwww.jainepal.com

Sean Boswell is a loner whose only connection to the world around him is throughillegal street racing — which has made him unpopular with the local authorities. Toavoid jail time, Sean is sent out of the country to live in a cramped apartment in a low-rent section of Tokyo. There a simple street race has been replaced with drift racing,a deadly combination of brutal speed on heart stopping courses of hairpin turns andswitchbacks. For his first unsuccessful foray in drift racing, Sean unknowingly takeson the ‘Drift King,’ with ties to the Yakuza, the Japanese crime machine. The onlyway he can pay off the debt of his loss is to venture into the deadly realm of theTokyo underworld.

KATHMANDU

EXHIBITIONSJourney to Nan Guinin by Krishna Thing and Siddhant Thapafrom 27 June at Gallery Nine, Lajimpat. 4428694Sarangi Exhibition by master Sarangi maker Purna Nepali28 June- 4 July at Arto Muse Creation, Putalisadak.Pillars of Hope paintings by Gobinda Prasad Sah ‘Azad’ atSiddhartha Art Gallery 30 June- 20 July. 4218018Innovative Art by Sri Lankan painter Deneth at New OrleansCafé, Thamel. 8-20 July. 9803002631Bagmati River a photo exhibition at Gallery Café, Lajimpat till11 July.

EVENTSMovies at Gallery Café, Lajimpat, Oliver Twist 4 July and TheCurse of the Were Rabbit 6 July.Japanese Tanabata (Wish ) Festival food, actvities for the kids,live music and more at U Café, 2 July, 12PM. 5524202Soccer Night partying the football way at Megha Malhar, SoalteeCrowne Plaza, 7 July 7.30 PMWorld Population Day 11 July.Travelling Film South Asia ’06, Kathmandu fifteen outstandingdocumentaries from the Subcontinent, 14-16 July at YalamayaKendra, Patan Dhoka. 5537408World Cup Action at Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Rodi bar9 June- 9 July. 4273999Bagmati River Festival till 20 August. 5011013Sunsilk Nepal Fashion Week at Hyatt Regency 10-14 August.Alcoholics Anonymous problems with alcohol? 9851016079

MUSICHeartbreakers live every Friday at Rum Doodle Bar & RestaurantCadenza Collective live every Wednesday and Saturday 8PM atUpstairs, Lazimpat.Live Music at New Orleans Café. 4700311Uncork the good times with Ciney and Par-e-jat playing everyFriday from 7PM o at Fusion bar at Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479448Jatra Friday nights, live music by Siron. 4256622Unplugged sessions with Strings, Jatra Saturday nights. 4256622

DININGFloats and Fantasies mocktails and desserts at Juneli Bar till24 June.Brunch from the east weekend brunch till 29 July.World Cup at K-too! All matches available and a free Irish coffeewith every main course. 4470043Mezza and Margarita at Dwarika’s Fusion- the bar everyWednesday, Rs 555Mango Masti at all restaurants in Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 4273999Wet & Wild Summer Splash at Godavari Village Resort, a specialpackage of Swimming & Lunch. 5560675Breakfast at Singma Restaurant. 8.30 – 11.00AM daily. 5009092.

GETAWAYSTiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge, relaxation and massages inPokhara. 4361500Junglewalks rafting, elephant rides all at Jungle Base CampLodge, Bardia. junglebasecamp@yahoo.com Park Village, Budhanilkantha, Full room Rs 1,600. 4375280 Nature Retreat at Park Village Resorts & Spa. 4375280Escape Kathmandu at Shivapuri Heights Cottage. 9841371927

Daily 2045-2115 on 102.4g]kfnL

Radio SagarmathaP.O. Box 6958,

Bakhundole, Lalitpur, NepalTel: ++977-1-545680, 545681,

Fax: ++ 977-1- 530227radio@radiosagarmatha.org,

www.radiosagarmatha.org

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1530 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #304HAPPENINGS

LADIES ON THE TOWN: Sneha Rana chats (left) with two of herfriends at the Midnight Ruby Ladies Night at the Radisson Hotel onWednesday.

SHOOT IT LIKE THIS: Singer Ani Choying Dolma poses for a pictureduring the release of her new album Inner Peace at Everest Hotel onTuesday. Proceeds will go to the Nuns Welfare Foundation of Nepal'sArya Tara School.

KIRAN PANDAY

RIDING THE WAVE: The Media team poses with the Wave KickoffCup after defeating the Celebrity team 7-4 at their match at DashratStadium on Saturday. Funds raised were donated to MayadebiOrphanage.

KIRAN PANDAY

TO HIS MEMORY: Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli getsrefreshed during a program at City Hall to mark the fifth anniversary ofthe Madan Bhandari College on Wednesday.

KIRAN PANDAY

KIRAN PANDAY

n 22 August 2002, 19 peopledied when a Twin Otter flightfrom Jomsom with 16

German tourists on board crashedjust before landing near Pokharaairport.

Among the dead were RenateRockstroh and her husbandRainer, both teachers and on theirfirst trip to Nepal. Renate’s brotherMarcos travelled here to takehome the bodies and met Pokharatourism entrepreneur LaxmanSubedi. The two discussed waysto commemorate the deaths andlives, of the Rockstrohs andthought of helping the localcommunity in the village of Kristiwhere the crash took place.

Marcos went back to Germanyand threw around some ideas withfriends, including Rolf Schmelzer,

A school for Kristia German journalist who has beenvisiting Nepal for the past 15years. They decided to combine amemorial for the victims with along-term project to help thevillage. Subedi contacted thevillagers of Kristi to find out whatthey needed the most.

Although it is five km outsidePokhara with stunning views ofthe city below and the Annapurnasbeyond, the road to Kristi is roughand it’s common to see localspushing and pulling stuck vehiclesout of giant potholes or from theriver bed.

Kristi’s 5,000 inhabitants are aself-sufficient lot with a relativelyhigh standard of living because ofcash crops like oranges. Theywillingly embrace new ideasand many have biogas to fuel

their kitchens.In the end, the villagers decided

what they needed was a primaryschool so their children would nolonger have to make a two hourroundtrip every day. The SocialEnglish School opened in 2002 with15 students and now counts 111pupils up to Class 3.

One of its buildings is theGunter Hauser Memorial SchoolBuilding, supported by DentistsWithout Limits and Germanjournalists led by Schmelzer whovisit Kristi every year.

“The people are very happy withthe school and with the help theyget from the Germans every year,”says Subedi, “they never expectedthat sometimes such a good thingcome out of such a horribletragedy.” Min Bajracharya

MIN BAJRACHARYA

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30 JUNE - 6 JULY 2006 #30416

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UNDER MY HATKunda Dixit

iven the rapid pace of renovation and beautification taking placein the nation’s capital these days, we can be fairly certain thatNepal can make a successful bid to host the 2050 Football

World Cup.One of the most important criteria that FIFA attaches to cities

applying to organise the games is whether or not the host metropolis isself-sufficient in crazy hats. And as the world’s major supplier oflunatic hats for the last three World Cups, the city has assured FIFA’sSite Selection Committee that there is no danger of Kathmandu runningout of headgear in the run-up to the 2050 games. There is, however, onesmall problem: Nepal may cease to exist by then. But we’ll cross thatbridge when we get to it.

So that just leaves us with the knotty question of ensuring that themulti-billion rupee Tinkune Intersection Reconstruction Project willsee completion by January 2050. The Transportation Sub-Committee ofthe World Cup Organising Central Committee (Unfed Marxist-Leninist-

Stalinist) is optimistic that thisshould be possible, given thebreakneck speed at which theMetropolitan Authorities areturning the intersection into alake during this current monsoon

season. It should be able to accumulate enough water by 2050, it ishoped.

Similarly, Rani Pokhari, Ratna Park and the Khula Munch are beingunified into a single park-cum-parking lot to accommodate World Cupfans. Since pedestrians have refused to use both the overhead walkwayand the underground passageway at Asan intersection, KathmanduMetropolitan City will put up a booby-trapped barbed wire fence so nopedestrian from Bag Bajar can cross the road to Asan and vice versa. Thework is expected to be completed in the next 44 years.

According to a timetable made available to mediapersons this week,potholes of diameter 1m and more along Sat Dobato, Balkhu, Lajimpat,Jorpati and Bhaisepati are scheduled for repairs by 2010. All zebracrossings will be repainted by 2025, field trials and simulation exercisesto untangle gridlocks at major bottlenecks are expected to be completedin late 2032 and the traffic light synchronisation will go into effect by2049 in time for the big event.

Asked if Nepal had enough stadiums for the qualifying andknockout rounds of the 2050 games the Organising Committee said:“Ummm, hadn’t thought of that. But we’ll have plenty of pubs andthey’ll be allowed to remain open after 10PM.”

Kathmandu and Patan have traditionally had healthy competitionever since the Malla period when the two kingdoms fought vicious warsover which one had tastier buff momos. Today, this competition ismanifested in the way in which the Patan Sub-Municipality has madesure that not a single halogen street lamp installed during the 2000SAARC Summit is in working condition. And once KathmanduMetropolitan City found out that Patan streets were dark, it decided tobe one up by switching off all street lights between Babar Mahal andMin Bhaban until further notice.

This sense of camaraderie and healthy competition will be carriedinto the Wo