24 June, 2004; NOW! 1

C M Y K

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 23 June: Vegetableshopping has become a uniqueexperience. Vendors no longerquote prices by the kilo. Theyspeak in units of 250 gms, spe-cially when it comes to tomatoes.This is perhaps a trick to cush-ion the shock of learning how theprice of this necessary ingredientof every meal has more than dou-bled in past three days. Tomatoesare now Rs. 40 a kilo in localmarkets.

Why?Speaking to wholesalers,

NOW! learnt that with the adventof monsoons, local produce, com-ing mainly from Melli and Teesta,gets pounded off the market by thelashing rains.

Whatever little of the localproduct escapes the rains is of poorquality and the dealers here haveto lift stocks from the markets ofNasik and Bangalore. Costs natu-rally go up.

One wholesaler at Lall Marketdisclosed that there are three quali-ties of tomatoes in the market atpresent: those from Melli the

wholesale price of which is Rs. 10per kg; from Teesta at Rs. 20 perkg; and the imports fromBangalore, the best quality, iswholesaled at Rs. 27 per kg.

Your vegetable vendor ishowever less discriminating andis obviously quoting one pricefor all tomatoes on the rack - Rs.40 per kilo.

Interestingly, a wholesaler alsodisclosed that the Bangalore-toma-toes are mostly lifted by the hotels

and restaurants which require goodquality pieces to prepare salads andother items.

At the other end are the retail-ers who argue that it is the whole-salers who are manipulating theprice.

It is a yearly phenomenon thatwith monsoons, the local supply oftomatoes dips leading to hike inrates. But has anyone sought toratify the rates and see to it that theydon’t bubble out of control?

THE [UNSTEADY] GROUNDBENEATH 6TH MILEa NOW! Focus on why 6th Mile keeps sliding away. DETAILS ON pg 7

WHEN TOMATOES BEATYOUR BUDGET TO PULP

NOMORE

BORINGMONDAYS

ON pg 3

India,Pakistan to

reopenconsulates

NEW DELHI, 23 June: In anotherstep towards improving bilateralties, India and Pakistan have “agreedin principle” to reopen their consu-lates in Karachi and Mumbai and torestore the strength of the respectiveHigh Commissions to 110, it was of-ficially announced today.

These decisions were taken dur-ing intensive parleys External Af-fairs Minister K Natwar Singh hadwith his Pakistani counterpartKhurshid Mehmood Kasuri in theeast Chinese coastal city ofQingdao on Monday.

“This would be further dis-cussed and operationalised whenthe Foreign Secretaries of the twocountries meet on June 27 and 28,”External Affairs Ministry spokes-man Navtej Sarna told reporters.

Vajpayee notto lead BJPany more

MUMBAI, 23 June: Upset over theattacks on him from within the SanghParivar after the poll debacle, formerPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeetoday said he has “had enough” andindicated that he will not be leadingthe party any more.

His outburst came at a BJP rallywhen his supporters shouted thefamous slogan Abki bari AtalBihari [it is Atal Bihari’s turn] af-ter release of a book on him.

Vajpayee retorted in MarathiAata Nako Bari. Pushakal Jhale[Now no more turn. I have hadenough].

The former Prime Minister,who was flanked by L K Advaniand M Venkaiah Naidu, said “pahlibar bauchaar ho rahi hai, to yekitab sahara degi (for the first timeI am under attack. This book willgive me solace).”

The book, a compilation onhim, has been brought out by pro-RSS publication Vivek.

Ever since BJP lost power afterthe Lok Sabha debacle, he had beenunder attack from the Sangh Parivarand more so after his critical com-ments recently against GujaratChief Minister Narendra Modi andhis blame on the post-Godhra vio-lence for the defeat.

Addressing the rally to com-memorate the death anniversary ofShyama Prasad Mukherjee coincidingwith the BJP’s National Executive inMumbai, Vajpayee said victory anddefeat were part of democracy and theelection process linked to it.

He said “consensus on issueslike economic reforms should notbe tampered with, which the newgovernment appears to be doing.”

Expressing grave concern overincreasing influence of money powerin elections, he said if this continued,it could pose a serious threat to de-mocracy and “Janatantra” [democ-racy] could be converted to“Dhanatantra” [money].

DRAVID SELECTEDMTV YOUTH ICON

MUMBAI, 23 June: Star cricketerRahul Dravid today added anothergem to his glittering crown whenhe pipped several eminent person-alities including the evergreenBollywood hero AmitabhBachchan to be selected the MTVYouth Icon of the year.

2; NOW!; 24 June, 2004

C M Y K

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

As horrific as was yesterday’snews that al Qaeda-linkedthugs beheaded another hostage inIraq - a 33-year-old South Korean,Kim Sun-il - the incident, in asense, still marked a kind of vic-tory for the civilized world.

This, after all, was the thirdhigh-profile decapitation by thethugs in recent weeks, followingthe slaughter of Nick Berg in Mayand Paul Johnson on Friday.

And what do the terrorists haveto show for it?

Nothing.Their demands that South Korea

keep its troops out of Iraq were sum-marily ignored. So kudos to Seoul forits resolve in the face of what musthave been unbearable pressure.

Conditions for Johnson’s re-lease - that al Qaeda prisoners beset free - were likewise rejected.

In both cases, the kidnappersfailed to get what they wanted.

“The free world cannot be in-timidated by the brutal actions ofthese barbaric people,” PresidentBush said yesterday.

Indeed, the more of these actsthey commit, the more decent folkwill become inured to them.

And the firmer will be theworld’s resolve to resist them.

Meanwhile, those responsibleare being hunted. Yesterday, Coa-lition forces blasted a Fallujahsafehouse used by thugs loyal toAbu Musab al-Zarqawi - a Jorda-nian linked to al Qaeda who isthought to be behind yesterday’smurder, as well as Berg’s.

Clearly, Zarqawi’s days arenumbered.

It would be difficult for a hu-mane world to strip away the goreand drama surrounding the decapi-tations, particularly when photosare disseminated. Were it possible,though, what would be left wouldbe no more powerful than thedeaths from, say, roadside bomb-ings, sniper fire or gun battles.

Indeed, the fact that the terror-ists are resorting to ploys that mayshock and repulse but that don’tinflict massive casualties or devas-tation is a sign of their desperation:They know they’re losing.

So now they’re cutting offheads. And, yes, they’ll keep on do-ing it.

But they should know: They’regoing down. And when they do, asBush said yesterday, the world willbe a more peaceful place.

- editorial featuredin The New York Post

ResistingTerror

Fixing AccountabilityThe immediate reaction to the HRD Minister’s rather brave an-nouncement of a departmental file suggesting the termination fromservice of 100 teachers for continued negligence is bound to re-ceive mixed reactions. The immediate reaction is going to be oneof cynicism from those who believe that the file is actually a pack-age of victimisation. The other reaction is obviously going to be“why only 100.” Of course, the same argument is being stretchedfurther by many to wonder aloud “why only teachers.” Negligenceafter all has now become synonymous with government function-aries. Files get delayed on a regular basis because someone orthe other in the chain of command is “not on his desk” when re-quired. Grease money has become mandatory for getting evenordinary things like verifications passed. Directives are ignoredwith impudence and the buck never really stops rolling within thedepartments. Continued exposure to such an extortionist bubudomhas inured the people to what should be a shocking disregard forresponsibility. It is no secret that the entire system demands a mas-sive overhaul. It is also no secret that no catharsis comes withoutthe incumbent heartburn. There will be allegations aplenty and manybruised egos, but the fact remains that a beginning has to be madesomewhere. The debate on how to curb corruption always agreeson one thing that the corrupt have to be exposed and charged. Thesame debate also falls through everytime because of the sheerenormity of such an exercise. How many and who all can one proc-ess corruption charges against. What is also sad for Sikkim is thatthe public is less exacting here. They whisper a lot, but rarely speakup. Anywhere else in India, an announcement as sensational asthe one made by the HRD Minister would have drawn the peopleout on the streets. There would have been public displays of bothsupport and protest. In Sikkim, the announcement is consumed ata private level with private opinions shared with friends. If there isindeed a cleanup drive afoot, it should have ideally started with ademand from the people. They should have asked for action againsterrant officials and the departments should have provided follow-upaction. That way the entire process would have been transparentand acceptance more universal.

Even though the results of thisyear’s School Leaving Certificate [SLC] examinationscame as good news to SaranSapkota of New Baneshwore, hewas anything but happy. Though hepassed with flying colors, securingover 75 percent, Sapkota was in apensive mood.

“I feel hopeless and helpless.One look around and a pall ofgloom sets in my mind. The schoolsand colleges are closed. Where arewe going to get admission?” asksSapkota. “The most depressing partis that the strikes have become aregular phenomenon. Even if oneorganization calls off its strikes,there are many others waiting fortheir turn.”

Grishma Sharma of Balajuhas similar grievances. “It is ab-surd that they are calling strikesin education by putting forthpolitical demands,” she said.

The endless series of strikesare already taking their toll onNepalese society.

“Of late, we are observing adangerous trend in society. Wehave started to take every otherstrike normally. This mass indif-ference will exact a heavy costin future,” said Bishnu Phunyal,a worried parent of two children.

Over 6.5 million school andcollege students of Nepal face anuncertain future as their aca-demic activities continue to beheld at ransom by various parties.

Beginning June 6, over33,500 schools and colleges - in-cluding 25,000 public schools and8,500 private schools – have beenclosed at the call of indefinite strikein all educational institutions by theMaoist-affiliated All Nepal Na-tional Free Students Union - Revo-lutionary [ANNFSU-R].

The frequency of various formsof strikes has shot up in the conflict-ridden Himalayan Kingdom affect-ing the schools and colleges themost. In the last one year, the schoolscould only complete less than 150-class days against the minimumschedule of 180 class days.

Apart from the numerous callsof general strikes by the Maoists aswell as some mainstream politicalparties, the specific strikes targetedat education sector have derailedthe normal teaching-learning envi-ronment. The Maoists’ studentwing had also announced five-daystrikes in educational institutionson February 25-29 this year.

The ANNFSU-R has put forthits five-point demand to end thestrike. Their demands include mak-ing the education up to secondarylevel [Grade 10] free in publicschools; slashing down the fees ofprivate schools and higher second-ary [Grade 11-12] by over 25 per-cent, among others. Moreover, theyhave demanded that the govern-ment first withdraw the ‘terrorist’tag on their organization. The gov-ernment had labeled all organiza-

tions affiliated with the Maoists asterrorist organizations followingthe breakdown of ceasefire in Au-gust 27, 2003.

IMPACT OF STRIKE“The series of strikes will deal abloody blow to the future of millionsof young Nepalese. A year of dis-turbed academic environment willpush the future of a student by fiveyears,” said Dr. Mana Prasad Wagle,a well-known educationist who isthe Professor of Education, Facultyof Education at the Tribhuwan Uni-versity - the largest university of thecountry. “Overall, the mental impactthese strikes have on students areincalculable. Even if we find somesolution, we cannot bring back those

lost time,” he added.No family in Nepal is left un-

touched by the profound affect oneducation sector. Out of 23 millionpopulation, there are over 6.5 mil-lion students who represent everycaste and ethnic group, region andreligion. Strikes in education, thus,affect all these segments.

“Definitely, these young stu-dents will suffer from problems likedepression, anxiety and frustrationin future if proper settlements arenot found soon to put at rest theendless series of disturbances,” saidDr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay, asenior psychologist.

“There is no doubt that the on-going strikes and closures are hav-ing a very serious affect on our chil-dren. But unfortunately, nobodyseems to be bothered about the pil-lars of this nation,” said SuprabhatBhandari, president of Guardians’Association of Nepal.

Apart from immense mentalimpact, the strikes also exact mon-etary costs. Umesh Shrestha, presi-dent of Private and BoardingSchools Organization of Nepal[PABSON] calculates the per dayloss of strike in private schools tobe over US$ half a million. “Wecannot continue like this. Either wehave to dismantle our schools orsome solution must be found outat the earliest,” says Shrestha.

Owing to threats from the Mao-

ists, all private as well as publicschools have closed down their shut-ters. On June 6, Maoists exploded abomb at Little Flowers Secondaryschool in Chitawan, of central Ne-pal, slightly damaging its building.The spate of abduction of teachersand students continues unabated. Insuch a situation, no school can pluckcourage to defy their call.

Due to inherent instability inthe country, tens of thousands ofyouths are leaving the country toseek job opportunities in India andoverseas. “Every year over1,50,000 youths go overseas forworks. And about 70 percent ofthem are educated up to second-ary level,” said Narendra Shrestha,general secretary of Nepal Asso-

ciation of Foreign EmploymentAgencies [NEFEA]. “It is be-cause of disturbance in educa-tion here that so many youthsof school-going age dropoutand seek to go abroad forwork,” he added.

There is a growing trend ofyouths going for overseas workrather than pursue further stud-ies. In rural Nepal, the Maoistshave intensified their insurgencyand stepped up en masse abduc-tions of teachers and students.This eerie development has alsoforced thousands of students todropout from their regularclasses and head for India or ur-ban centers of Nepal to escapethe insecurity.

Even among urban resi-dents, the trend of sending chil-

dren for education abroad – particu-larly India – is expected to growfurther. Because of instability backhome, parents who can afford areforced to send their wards toschools in India. Since the currentstrike comes at a time when thisyear’s academic session has juststarted and the results of SLC havejust been published, thousands ofstudents could opt to study abroad.“Billions of rupees will then bespent for study overseas,” said aPABSON official.

DENIAL OF RIGHTSThe strikes in educational institu-tions constitute a serious breach offundamental human rights and chil-dren rights.

Frustrated by the strikes, a del-egation of parents had approachedNational Human Rights Commis-sion [NHRC] to request them toconvince the concerned parties toend violating the right to education.

“There are millions of studentsin the country who come from everyregion and every community. Bydenying their right to education, theMaoist students have hit at the rightof all Nepalese people,” said SushilPyakurel, a member of NHRC.

“We urge them to immediatelyend their strikes and respect educa-tional institutions as Zone of Peace.”

Even Matthew Kahane, Resi-

Held To Ransom

Over 6.5 million students weredenied their fundamental right

to study across Nepal in the pasttwo weeks. Due to the indefinite

strike called by pro-Maoiststudent organization, thechildren of schools and

colleges were forced to stay outof the educational institutions.

In the absence of a stronggovernment that can guaranteesecurity, every other institution

of the country is crumblingunder pressure from the raging

conflict. Among them,educational institutions have

been rendered the mostvulnerable...

turn to pg 7

24 June, 2004; NOW! 3

C M Y K

� RAJDHANI

The Nineteenth Birthday Celebrations of His Holiness

The XVII Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Drodul Trinley

Dorje falls on Saturday the 26th of June, 2004. The

following programme has been scheduled to

commemorate this happy occasion. We would like to

invite all patrons and well wishers to join us at the

Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre to celebrate this event

and together offer our prayers for his swift return to His

rightful seat at the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim.

Programme:

06:30 Sang Offering & Prayers

09:30 Mandala offering to His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa

10:00 Birthday Tribute by Ven. Bokar Rinpoche and other

dignitaries

12:00 Lunch

01:00 Cultural Programme

03:00 Birthday Cake Celebration followed by Vote of Thanks

Rumtek Tsurphu Labrang

Dharma Chakra Centre

Rumtek

ANAND OBEROI

GANGTOK, 23 June: “X’capewill now open on Mondays also,”Pema Ladakhi proudly announces.Previously the joint was open onlyon weekends, i.e. Fridays, Satur-days and Sundays. Pema, the pro-prietor, says he decided on thismove keeping in mind the businesscommunity of MG Marg “…whokeep their establishments shut onTuesdays and technically enjoy aweekend on Monday.”

The popular pub, which wasstarted in December 2003 is alsoall set to host launch parties forproducts from companies as variedas Ray Bans to Bacardi. And it’snot just the business folk whomPema has in mind to seduce into aMonday escape. One realises thisthe moment he suddenly declaressomething about having a Ladies’night and – oh what a heart – anOldies night.

“We can’t forget the ladies, canwe,” says Pema while announcinghis plans “for the women and

housewives who are more reservedbut need to let their hair downsometimes.”

The Oldies night is to target thesenior section of the city popula-tion who have enough youthfulammo left in them to want to kickit out. “This would also be an op-portunity for people to come andenjoy the 70’s music,” informsPema who says that each week newmusic tracks were being added tohis collection.

These theme nights would be abi-monthly affair.

Pema has two DJs to chart outthe X’cape route - DJ P-Shaant andDJ Bolo. Both were introduced toPema by his elder brother, GuruLadhaki.

“I used to earlier entertain peo-ple with the guitar and my vocals;now I do it with my machine,” saysP-Shaant who has been involved inmusic for the past 10 years. He saysthat there are schools one can go tolearn how to DJ but feels that oneneeds to have a love for music toreally succeed.

“DJing is not a piece of cake; ittakes some sweat to keep people onthe floor for hours matching themusic, the ambience and the moodall the time,” says P-Shaant.

DJ Bolo is the hip-hop special-ist at X’cape, though his initiationinto music was via a Tibetan songand video.

“The only thing that we DJsfear is an unresponsive crowd butsoon the worry transfers to what thenext item is going to be,” he says.

DJs, he says, play for the houseand not for any individuals on thedance floor.

“It sucks when we get a request

and the guy gets pissed off whenhe is told to wait,” Bolo says.

“X’cape has music for everyone. We play Trance, House, Euro,Hip-Hop and club, even Hindiremixes and Bhangra. The largestcrowd we have played to is about450 on New Year’s Eve and about300 in May. Fridays we play Hip-Hop and R&B, Saturdays we do amixed bag of almost everything.Sundays is for club music, trance,house, Euro and Fusion and Mon-days we shall play the Indi-pop andBhangra etc,” informs P-Shaant.

X’cape has 2,600 watts of RMS[1 RMS is 6 times that of PMPO].

“We also have intelligent lights andlights controlled by remotes whichblend with the music being airedby the DJs,” Pema says. X’cape hasalso got a new mixer and a new CDsystem from DENON.

As if the above mentioned freshinitiatives were not enough, X’capeis also to host a DJ workshop withthe best DJs in the country.

“This will give an opportunityto those interested in DJing,” feelsPema. There will also be amultiutility counter for the peopleto deposit their belongings beforeentering X’cape. And yes, they alsohost private parties.

NO MOREBORINGMONDAYS

TEAM X’CAPE: Pema Ladakhi and DJsBolo and P-ShaantTHEY NOW WORK ON AN

EXTENDED WEEKEND FROM

FRIDAY INTO MONDAY

4; NOW!; 24 June, 2004

C M Y K

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 23 June: Repre-sentatives of the All Sikkim Stu-dents Union led by its GeneralSecretary, Arjun Pradhan, today,met GM Gurung, Minister, Hu-man Resource Development[erstwhile Education Depart-ment] and submitted a demandletter relating to the admissionsrelated problems at the Sikkim

a NOW REPORT

SAMDUNG, 23 June: SikkimGorkha Party, yesterday, held its firstpublic meeting since the elections atSamdung in the Rakdong-Tintek con-stituency. The meeting was chairedby party president, GM Rai and wasalso addressed by former AdditionalAdvocate General, NB Khatiwadaand other party members.

Addressing the gathering Mr.Rai explained that Sikkim was theonly State in the country where a“Gorkha” could become the ChiefMinister and lead the Gorkha com-

munity residing all over India.But, he added, the Gorkhas were

politically handicapped by the flawedseat reservation formula of Sikkim.

Sikkim Gorkha Party, it may be men-tioned here is the political wing of GorkhaApex Committee which has in the pastprotested the 12 seats reserved for theState’s BL community as “unfair”.

At yesterday’s meeting, Mr. Raifurther alleged that past govern-ments had already become victimsof the minority communities andwere forced to work under pressureof the “black mailing tactics”adopted by these communities.

Giving a brief on the main ob-jectives of the party, he disclosed thatthe party stood for seat reservationon the basis of population ratio,amendment of Revenue Order No. 1and fixation of creamy layer conceptin tribals as it is done for OBCs.

Mr. Khatiwada, advisor of the party,in his address alleged that both the ChiefMinister Pawan Chamling and his pred-ecessor, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, had nottaken any steps for the welfare of theGorkha community in the State. He fur-ther said that both the leaders had failedto give equal status to the Gorkha andBL communities in Sikkim.

Sikkim Gorkha Party meets at Samdung,pushes party ideology

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Jorethang

police

chases thief

to IslampurPURAN TAMANG

JORETHANG, 23 June: A policeteam from Jorethang went rightdown to Islampur to recover sto-len money. Kalimuddin, whohad been working as a cook inthe house of Palash Biswas,manager, Goodwill Enterprises,Jorethang, had run away withRs. 3,20,000 from the residenceof his employer.

The theft had taken place on 5June. As confirmed by SP South,MS Tuli, the theft had been com-mitted by Kalimuddin who hailedfrom Islampur.

An investigation team fromJorethang, headed by ASI PR Raithen followed Kalimuddin toIslampur on 07 June.

There, they conducted a raid atthe residence of the accused ataround 1:30 am.

During the raid the police re-covered Rs. 53,382 which hadbeen stashed away. Kalimuddin,however, managed to give the po-lice the slip.

The SP South informs that in-vestigations were still on to find outwhether anyone was assistingKalimuddin or not.

Government College, Tadong.During the meeting, Mr.

Gurung assured the delegation thatthe government would solve theproblems relating to the admissioncommittee’s decision of a highercut-off percentage of 50 percent.The Minister also announced thatthe government would take positivesteps to increase the number ofseats in the college.

During the meeting, it also ex-

pressed that students from southand west districts should take ad-mission at Namchi College unlessthey were opting for Honourscourses.

The Minister informed that thegovernment was planning to launcha Financial Assistant [FA] schemeat Namchi College. The scheme offinancial assistance would benefitthose students who belong to theBPL category, the said.

AASU seeks HRD Minister’s interventionin resolving admission impasse

CPM allegesbeing

deprived ofcampaign

timea NOW REPORT

KALIMPONG, 23 June: In yet an-other incident, the trade union of CPI-M, CITU alleged that the GNLF partycadres were openly threatening someof its independent candidates.

Amir Hasan, the CITU-backedindependent candidate from wardno 19 today filed a general diaryon the basis that he was not allowedto canvas for the civic polls.

CITU has backed a total of fif-teen independent candidates in theexisting twenty-three wards.

“This political season has beentermed as the restoration of democ-racy, but incidents as such can beentermed as the murder of democracyin broad daylight,” said TaraSundas, President of theKalimpong Branch of the CITU.

Incidentally, the GNLF candi-date from ward no 19 is C K Kumai.The GNLF has already declaredhim as the future chairman of theKalimpong Municipality.

Confirming the General Diarya senior police officer stated,“Many such cases have been filedand we will see that strict actionsfor the conduction of free and fairpolls in the sub-division is done.”

KARAN SHAH

KALIMPONG, 23 June: ThePeople’s Democratic Front [PDF]has accused the the ruling GNLFof threatening independent candi-dates unabashedly.

Terming the act as illegal thePDF has submitted memorandumsto all higher authorities for the con-duction of free and fair civic polls.

Though other sub-divisions havewitnessed uncontested seats in favourof the GNLF, there are no uncon-tested wards in Kalimpong. In fact,

the rush of candidates has risen somuch that the GNLF has already de-clared Ward No 2 as a free zone.

Many have termed the contest-ing of as many as 101 candidatesfor the polls as the “revival of de-mocracy,” but the coalition force ofthe opposition claimed that the ini-tial nomination of 203 candidatesitself was a victory for the PDF.

“It’s a victory when comparedto the past record,” said an opposi-tion party cadre.

In an open address today, fromDamber Chowk, the opposition

front claimed that the GNLF wasresorting to threats out of fear oflosing the polls.

In a declaration, Dr. HarkaBahadur Chettri, General Secretaryof Akhil Bharitya Gorkha Leaguesaid: “The GNLF is feeling thepressure in many wards and thereis the feeling that if the GNLF can-didate fails to secure victory, thenthe whole of the ward will be vic-timized in terms of development.But the fact of the matter is thatthose voting in favour of the GNLFwill be victimized rather than thosevoting against them. We have sup-ported them for the past fifteenyears and have been victimised allthrough.”

The ABGL leader also tauntedthe GNLF for raising the promiseof Statehood in Municipality polls.

“What were they doing whenChattisgarh was being granted.Weren’t they present when talks

were on for the grant of Telenganaas a separate state? They talk ofwelfare for the masses of the hillsbut the fact is that they have donenothing,” he said.

In relation to incidents wheremany were complaining of threats bythe GNLF, Dr. Chettri said, “It’s evi-dent that after years of ruling, theyseem to take themselves as kings andapply rules of a monarchy by threat-ening anyone they feel like.”

While stressing a change for thebetter, a senior Congress [I] leader,Hem Kumar Rai, said, “The 27th ofthis month will bear out the matu-rity of the masses of the hills. Thewinds of change are evident so justgive us a chance to prove ourselves.”

The address lifted the morale ofall the party workers. The PDF alsoalleged that the aim of the GNLFwas to win all the wards uncon-tested because it knew it could notwin through the ballot.

PDF-GNLF TANGO CONTINUES

24 June, 2004; NOW! 5

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programsKATHMANDU, 23 June: Thefour agitating parties here haveunveiled a new set of protest pro-grams for the next phase againstwhat they term ‘regression’.

As per the protest programs,the parties will continue withprotest rallies, burning of effigiesof ‘regression’ and holding inter-actions across the country on de-mocracy, peace, nationalism andhuman rights.

Similar programs are on thecards in major cities across thecountry.

A meeting of the Task Forceof the agitating parties has alsodecided to decentralize their pro-test programs taking themonsoon into account.

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GANGTOK, 23 June: Panoramahas begun a new digital imagingshop and lab at Tibet Road. Thenew establishment, the only one ofits kind in the region, with the near-est such unit in Kolkata, is locatedopposite the Election Departmentoffice and was inaugurated yester-day. The new Panorama outlet isequipped with a state-of-the-artRA4 Digital Lab.

The entire digital equipmentcost almost Rs. 28 lakhs [alongwith the various machines and sys-tems that accompany it], informsBabulal Malu, proprietor, Pano-rama Colour Lab.

The developing of all types ofphoto works from passport size to8x12 inches can be done here. ThePanorama studio has been involvedin digital works for the last one andhalf years. The new venture has a

CPDM technology machine with la-ser technology imported from Ger-many. The shop also has a Kodakscanner - F235 plus - with multi func-tions which cost about Rs. 4.5 lakhs.This scanner can process negatives,slides films and APS films.

The new unit offers one the serv-ices of instant printing with manyoptions including borders on printsin different styles, index prints forproof and all types of media workwith advanced photo system.

Mr. Malu, who trained inMumbai on the machine, says thatwith the “advanced technology” athis disposal, he now has a solutionfor just about any problem that thedigital media can throw up. And,at affordable prices.

This is a handsome comeback forthe Panorama family, which barely ayear ago had lost its entire photo stu-dio at MG Marg to a freak fire on 14August, 2003.

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 23 June: Many,who have not gone through theSDF manifesto in proper detailbelieve that rural consumerswill be provided Free electric-ity. Which is perhaps why somerural folk are in a dilemma tofind their electricity bills actu-ally rising.

Take one incident. Aboutthree-four months back, officialsfrom the Power Departmentequipped with new meters arrivedat areas covered by the LowerLagyap Hydel Project, Ranipool,and replaced all the old ones in thevillage with new meters.

Every house, including thosewho had free power connectionsunder State Government’s free con-nection scheme got a new meter.

Two months later, the villagerswere in for a surprise when theirnew electricity bills showed anamount of Rs. 100 instead of theearlier figures which hovered be-

tween Rs. 25 to Rs. 45.When they approached the

power officials on the issue, theywere told that billing was accord-ing to what the meters recorded.

When NOW! narrated the epi-sode to DD Pradhan, Secretary,Power, he said he had little knowl-edge about it.

He, however, explained thatthere was a proposal to give freeelectricity upto 50 units to the ru-ral poor, but added that no furthernotification had reached his officeyet. He clarified that acting on thegovernment proposal, the depart-ment had installed the new metersto see how many villagers con-sumed less than 50 units in the ru-ral areas.

Mr. Pradhan said that those whoare really poor would not consumemore than 50 units as they gener-

ally have to light only two bulbs.He also maintained that earlier bill-ing was done on a system of aver-ages, which resulted in losses forthe department.

The present power tariff for do-mestic users in rural areas is 50paise per unit for below 50 units,Rs. 1.50 for 50-100 units, Rs. 2.75for 100-200 units, Rs. 3.25 for 200-400 units and Rs. 3.50 for 400 unitsand above.

The SDF manifesto, although itdoes not promise absolutely freeelecticity, had raised the bar to 100free units.

The Secretary also admittedthat power theft in rural areas wascommon.

“Rural people even use heatersand other such equipment to cook

Babulal Malu of Panorama at work on his new machines

Panorama getsDigital

FREE ELECTRICITY ONLYUPTO 50 UNITS FOR RURALCONSUMERS, SAYS POWER

THE POOR WON’T CONSUME MORE THAN50 UNITS A MONTH, FEELS DEPTT., THE

REST SHOULD PAY FOR LAVISH USEfodder for their cattle which over-loads the transmission network andalso creates shortage of power else-where,” he said.

He informed that to make upthis shortage the department had tobuy power from outside the state.“For this, revenue collection is veryimportant and thus those who usepower lavishly are billed higherthan those who use it only whennecessary,” he added.

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Scion of Khariar royal familyBhubaneswar Prasad Singhdeoand his wife Puspalata Singhdeohave been absconding after a childtorture case hit the headlines.

They had been accused of tor-turing their 8-year-old servant boyPrashant Nahak. Nahak wasbrought to work in the palace ‘LalMahal’ from Puspalata’s native vil-lage Sodaka in Ganjam on August23 last year. But he was badlytreated.

Puspalata has been accused of

pouring boiling water on him andmaking him squat on a burningheater. The boy has severe burn in-juries and medical reports have alsofound fractures in his frail body. Acase under ‘Juvenile Justice, Careand Protection Act 2000’ was reg-istered after the Officer-in-chargeof Khariar Police station filed anFIR on June 12, 2004.

The two-member Crime Branchteam that investigated the allega-tions of child torture has foundprima facie evidence to support the

allegations. Teams have been des-patched to track down the abscond-ing royal couple who have inciden-tally filed an anticipatory bail peti-tion at the Orissa High Court.

The accused have contestedthat they have been falsely impli-cated because of political rivalry.The petition cites that the child wassuffering from malnutrition andinjuries and was treated at a Mis-sion hospital where Puspalataseems to have given him blood.

After Prashant Nahak’s torture

case came to light, a few other chil-dren who had worked at ‘LalMahal’ earlier have also come outagainst Puspalata.

Nina of Junani village, whoworked at the palace, said Puspalatawas ill-tempered and would throwhot rice gruel on her and hit her atevery pretext.

Another boy, Minaketana ofGadarmunda village, also related asimilar tale and said that becauseof torture, he had escaped sometime back.

MUMBAI, 23 June: The BJP na-tional executive on Wednesday pro-posed a political resolution torededicate the party to its idealismand redouble its commitment to de-velopmental issues, especially forfarmers and the poor.

The party, in its political resolu-tion, has said it would overcome or-ganisational shortcomings, whichcost it dear in states like Gujarat andUttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls.

The resolution exhorted theparty cadre to vigorously exposecontradictions within the Congress-led UPA government.

The resolution expressed confi-dence in the leadership of formerPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeeand senior party leader L K Advaniand said the party has grown underthe statesmanship of Vajpayee.

The United Progressive Alliance(UPA) Government is continu-ing with its drive to weed out theso-called ‘saffron’ appointees offormer Human Resource Develop-ment Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

After showing the door to ICHRmember-secretary Kapil Kumar andNCERT secretary Anil Kapoor, Joshi’ssuccessor Arjun Singh may add to hishitlist several heads of institutionsunder his Ministry, and bureaucrats,appointed by the NDA regime.

Sources reveal VN RajasekharanPillai, Vice-Chairman, UniversityGrants Commission, might be the nextto get the axe. In Joshi’s time, he wasbeing considered heir-apparent toArun Nigavekar, Chairman of theUGC. He was appointed as his deputyin April, 2003. Another person, who

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The party also thanked Advanifor taking a gruelling rath yatra toimprove the party’s prospects in theelection. But the party said its pre-election assessment was not goodand it did not properly reflect themood of the electorate.

The BJP resolved to launch acampaign against the Congress-ledgovernment for soft-pedalling theissues of terrorism and infiltration,which is posing a grave threat tothe country’s security and integrity.

It criticised the Common Mini-mum Programme of the UnitedProgressive Alliance coalition foraltogether omitting the dangerposed by terrorism and also resolv-ing to scrap POTA at the same time.

BJP “wishes to alert the entirepolitical class of the country”about the “belittling” of the high

office of the Prime Minister by themanner in which ManmohanSingh was appointed the leader ofthe government by the CongressParliamentary Party ChairpersonSonia Gandhi.

“For the first time in the coun-try we have a selected Prime Min-ister and not an elected one,” theresolution said.

“Manmohan Singh plays a sec-ond fidde to the super Prime Min-ister Sonia Gandhi,” the resolutionsaid, and added that Congress andits allies were “systematically” di-luting the dignity of the high officeof the Prime Minister.

Accepting the verdict and thedefeat, the resolution said, “Theverdict requires that BJP and NDAplay the role of a constructive andresponsible opposition.”

BJP resolution vows to fightSuper PM Sonia

CHENNAI, 23 June: Tamil NaduChief Minister J Jayalalithaa todaysacked two ministers from theCabinet. The Ministers are SSemmalai [Education] and RJeevanantham [Backward classes].

Jayalalithaa also reshuffled hercabinet. The education portfolio, heldby Semmalai and backward classes by

Jeevanatham, have both been given toCV Shanmugam, the labour minister.

The labour ministry now goesto P Annavi, the agriculture minis-ter, while the rural industries min-ister, K Pandurangan, has also beenentrusted with agriculture. Thechanges were announced in a RajBhavan press release.

JAYALALITHAA SACKSTWO MINISTERS

might figure on the Government’shitlist is PK Joshi, director of the Na-tional Institute of Educational Plan-ning and Administration [NIEPA].

Apparently, Chairman, ICHR,DN Tripathi seems to have foundfavour with the new dispensation.“Else, why will Mr Tripathi, alongwith retired secretary CB Tripathi,be given the task to enquire into thework of an author called Arjun Devin the NCERT?” queried an official.

Until now, Navodaya VidyalayaCommissioner Dilip Kotia, said tobe close to Joshi, has also been re-moved and is moving back to hisparent cadre, Uttaranchal.

The first to be sent out was VSPandey, a UP cadre IAS officer, whowas a joint secretary in the HRD Minis-try after being put on compulsory wait.

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SUBASH RAI

Residents living in areas situ-ated between 6th MileHousing Colony and HolyCross School along the NationalHighway know they are living in asinking zone and also realise thatcertain measures have to be takenimmediately to check the risk oftheir buildings collapsing like theone which collapsed on 26 May.The local Panchayat, too, is wellaware of this.

The root cause for the sinkingof these areas appears to be thethree “untrained” jhoras which cutthrough by this area. The threejhoras - Devithan, Chauhan Gaonand Lieutenant Jhora - are the col-lection point of the entire rainwa-ter from Panihouse, Deorali,Daragaon, Tadong and other areasof the capital. The waters thenempty into Ranikhola below.

Tons of concrete and rocks areadded to the highway each year tocounter the effects of sinking bythe administration. But not athought is given to the search of asolution to the problem literally atthe bottom of the crisis – that isthe series of landslips along jhorastowards the base.

Presently, men are at work withhuge chips of boulders and sandnear Holy Cross gate. It has alsobeen revealed that Holy CrossSchool spends Rs. 6-7 lakhs everyyear just to retract the damage doneby the effects of the sinking land-base. One can also see pucca nar-row drains at the mouth of thesejhoras [along the highway] but noone cares about what is happeningat their base.

The jhoras are just about 3 feetwide at their origin at NH31A butballoon to more than 25 feet as theyprogress. This thanks to the por-tions of the shouldering plots thatthey have carved away. And, weath-ering of the rock and soil as theycome into contact with the gush-ing water is constantly taking place.

Though at present the sinkingof the land mass is clearly vis-ible on the Holy Cross stretch,

dent Coordinator of the UnitedNations system in Nepal, has urgedconcerned parties to respect therights of children. Suomi Sakai,resident representative of UNICEFhas also asked the organizers ofstrike to respect schools and col-leges as Zones of Peace and refrainfrom disturbing them in any kind.

Frustrated by the continuous at-tack against educational institutions,a group of ten international donororganizations strongly deplored theindefinite strike in education insti-tutions. The donor agencies includ-ing DANIDA, FINNIDA, NORAD,

ADB, UNESCO, JICA, EU,UNICEF, World Bank and DFIDasked the Maoists students to imme-diately call off the strike. In a state-ment issued on June 8, on behalf of

the donors, by the Danish embassy,the donors have stated, “We appealto all parties to immediately abstainfrom intimidation, interference, har-assment and violence in or nearschools.”

And yet the problem continues.- Spotlight, Kathmandu

Contd from pg 2

HELD TO RANSOM

6TH MILE SINKING! RESIDENTS SAYLOOK AT THE BASE FOR THE CAUSE

THE GROUND BENEATH 6TH MILE

where the 5-storeyed buildingcollapsed, it is feared that sur-rounding areas consisting ofEntel Motors and HousingColony could experience thesame problems in the near future.

It has been noticed that housessituated below these areas and justabove Ranikhola have more than 6inch wide cracks [see pic]. The resi-dents of the area claim that theirhouses slide down more than 2 feetevery year.

The house of one Bishnu MayaChettri has in fact tilted and isshowing cracks in many places.

She claims that despite severalcomplaints to the panchayats andMLAs, nobody has yet listened toher. Same were the grievances ofothers. But it was surprising to findnone of the residents talking aboutsafety measures.

This correspondent also noticedsome safety walls alongside theDevithan and Lieutenant Jhoras butChauhan Jhora, which seems moredangerous has been left unattendedto [see pic]. This jhora is the mainthreat to the residents of Entel com-

plex and Housing Colony. Despitesuch danger, new constructions arecoming up in a rush.

Prabhat Gurung, WardPanchayat member of Lower 6thMile also maintains that sinkingwas due to soil erosion on the ei-

ther sides of the jhoras. He claimsthat, till date, government hasspent not less than a crore on pre-ventive measures. “…but due tolack of engineering skills, designsand proper planning” the budgethas been ruined.

Mr. Gurung also informed thathe along with the villagers had ear-lier requested the GREF officials toconstruct pucca safety wall up to100 mtrs. below the road but theirrequest fell on deaf ears. He allegedthat the concerned department onlyinitiates preventive works at the topand never reaches the base.

“What will happen is that thedrains and walls constructed atthe top will be pulled down fromthe base,” he feels. He added thatplantation work had been carriedout, but due to lack of protectivewalls, grazing and grass cutting,it had flopped.

He, however, maintained thatthese areas could be prevented fromsliding further if the governmentengaged experienced contractors orcompanies who have proper engi-neering skills. He suggested that itwould be better to consult localpeople before executing the job. Inthis regard, he informed that thevillagers, through their panchayatsand the area MLA, had submitteda memorandum to the Chief Min-ister to also look into this problemunder his 100-days programme. Hehoped that this would bring somesolution to the life and propertythreats that the residents of this areaseem to be living under.

Trees discover the earth gonefrom around their roots after almostevery rain at Chauhan Jhora

Bishnu Maya Chettri’s house nearthe base of Chauhan Jhora whichhas developed cracks on the floor.She made the house barely twoyears ago.

Chauhan Jhora from the base

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OSLO, Norway: Halfway throughhis third song at a Norwegian mu-sic festival, an object came flyingout of the crowd and hit DavidBowie in the eye.

It was a lollipop, probably sentas a message of adoration sinceNorwegians call the hard candy“love on a stick.”

Bowie wasn’t seriously injuredat Friday’s Norwegian Wood Fes-tival in Oslo. He backed off the run-way, hunched over, and was as-sisted by his set crew.

Within moments, he was facingthe crowd of 7,500. Swearing at theunknown culprit, Bowie said he

DORIS DAYFEARS FLYING,

CAN’T GETTO D.C.

LOS ANGELES: Doris Day ishonored to be receiving a Presiden-tial Medal of Freedom, but the en-tertainer’s fear of flying will keepher from traveling to WashingtonWednesday to accept it from Presi-dent Bush.

“I am deeply grateful to thepresident and to my country,” saidthe singer-actress, who turned 80in April. “But I won’t fly.”

Day is one of 12 people beingawarded the nation’s highest civil-ian honor.

“My first reaction was: Forwhat?” she said Tuesday by tel-ephone from her home in CarmelValley, south of San Francisco.“I’m not being coy, or looking fora laugh. I have never thought aboutawards, whatever I do.”

Day won an Oscar nominationfor “Pillow Talk” and made severalgold records. She was named theNo. 1 box office star four times.

Day blames her fear of flyingon too many overseas trips withBob Hope entertaining U.S. troops.

“Bob would fly even if a cy-clone was coming,” she recalled. “Isaw him on his knees many a time.In fact, we were all on our knees.We flew in snowstorms, whatever,to get to the next show. When I hitthe ground, I said, Never again.”

The Medal of Freedom, estab-lished by President Truman in 1945to recognize civilians for theirWorld War II service, was reinstatedby President Kennedy in 1963 tohonor distinguished service in arange of fields, including the arts,sports, business and science.

WOMAN SETTLES‘TOILET PHOBIA’

LAWSUITJOHANNESBURG: A South Af-rican woman has settled a lawsuitin which she claimed to have de-veloped a phobia about toilets af-ter falling off one at a hotel.

Antonia Hart, 59, sued the SunInternational hotel chain followingthe August 2003 incident, askingfor 91,000 rand [$14,000] for pain,injury, medical treatment and “lossof amenities,” the South AfricanPress Agency [SAPA] reported.

Hart’s lawyers had accused thehotel of negligence, saying theirclient toppled off the toilet when itsuddenly broke “whilst in normaluse for the purposes for which itwas installed,” SAPA quoted courtpapers as saying.

Sun International’s lawyersconceded that the toilet had broken,but said Hart’s husband had signeda liability waiver upon checking in.

“The matter was settled be-tween the parties and the magistratewas informed on Monday that anagreement had been reached andthat the lawsuit would not pro-ceed,” SAPA said.

only had one good eye. The othereye had been damaged in a child-hood fight.

“Lucky you hit the bad one,”Bowie said, demanding to knowwho threw the lollipop. No onestanding in the cold and drizzlecame forward.

Bowie grumbled about the per-son or persons responsible hidingin the crowd. Then, regaining hiscomposure and sense of humor, the57-year-old singer said he was go-ing to punish the audience by mak-ing the concert extra-long.

Later, during what the Norwe-gian media called one of his best con-

certs ever, Bowie continued to jokeabout the incident. He threw one ofhis guitar picks into the crowd, thenasked if he’d hit someone in the eye.

“Oh, maybe I have to hide inthe band,” he joked.

Norwegian newspapers trackeddown a young woman who claimedto be behind the mishap. Theydidn’t publish her name, but saidshe claimed it was an accident.

The artist’s official Web sitesaid the eye was checked andwasn’t seriously injured.

As for Bowie, he played 27songs over nearly two hours and 20minutes.

BOWIE HIT IN EYE WITH LOLLIPOP DURING SHOW

cessful. You will gain from specula-tion. Trade and agency businesseswill pay you more. Exporters will facea setback in business.VIRGO You may get an opportu-nity to travel abroad. Business willbe brisk. Your status will improve.You may receive a promotion.Teachers will be very busy. Stu-dents will enjoy easy success.LIBRA You will enjoy easy suc-cess. You may get a job opportu-nity overseas. Expenses will be re-duced. Financial status will be verygood. You are going to earn morein speculation. You will enjoy un-expected monies.SCORPIO Export businesses willbe brisk. Cash flow will be verygood. You may acquire a new ve-hicle. Textile, chemical and foodbusinesses will be very profitable.SAGITTARIUS You can try yourluck in speculation to earn money.

Small-scale industries will do well.You may commence new business.Students will get the results theyexpected. You will have the supportof your superiors and subordinates.CAPRICORN You may go on along trip. Expenses will be a littlehigher. Litigation will be postponed.Plastic and rubber businesses willdo very well. Encouraging commu-nication will be received from theperson you are waiting for.AQUARIUS You may go for newbusiness activities. Partnership busi-nesses will be brisk. Social statuswill be maintained. Understandingwith you life partner will be good.PISCES Business will be verybrisk. Your health will be good.You will have to take care of yourfather’’s health. Expenses will beas usual. You will be in a posi-tion to take a decision in officialmatters.

NEW YORK: Mary-Kate Olsen,the brunette half of the Olsen twinsentertainment empire, has entereda treatment facility “to seek profes-sional help for a health-related is-sue,” her publicist said Tuesday.

Us Weekly and People maga-zines reported that Olsen has aneating disorder and entered the uni-dentified treatment center duringthe past few days.

Olsen’s publicist, MichaelPagnotta, would not comment onthose reports.

Us Weekly said Olsen is ano-rexic.

Mary-Kate and her sister,Ashley, turned 18 on June 13. Theyrecently graduated from highschool and plan to attend New York

University in the fall.They’ve been acting together

since they were 9 months old, mostnotably on the sitcom “Full House”and in a series of direct-to-videomovies. They’ve also attached theirnames to a line of products rang-ing from clothing to beauty itemsto home decorating merchandise.

Their big-screen debut, “NewYork Minute,” did poorly at the boxoffice after its May release.

OLSEN TREATED FOR EATING DISORDER