Act on code violations, EC tells govt

The Election Commission (EC) has directed the government to take immediate action against individuals and parties, including the Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist, that have breached the election code of conduct.
The directive follows the CPN-Maoist move to launch an anti-election campaign on Thursday. Party leaders had then staged a symbolic protest and smashed dummy ballot boxes. The code that came into effect last Monday bars all parties and individuals from conducting activities that could disrupt or affect the election preparations.
“The government should have taken prompt action against those involved in violating the election code,” Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety told the Post.
In the directive, the EC has sought a clarification from the government on its ‘negligence’ in taking timely action against those involved in violating the code. It also asked the government to keep ‘strict vigil’ to avoid violations in the future.
EC officials say they are concerned about the CPN-Maoist, I/NGOs and individuals violating the election code even after it issued directives to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) asking it to maintain security and strictly implement the code.

Baidya party gets ‘final’ talks invite from HLPC

Dismayed by the CPN-Maoist’s ‘cold shoulder’ to an offer to hold talks, the High-level Political Committee ( HLPC ) on Sunday decided to make a last-ditch effort to bring the party on board the election process.
A meeting of the committee once again, and most probably for the last time, called on the poll-opposing party led by Mohan Baidya to sit for talks. The HLPC said it will not wait for the party anymore and move ahead by finalising the remaining issues related to the elections in a couple of days if the CPN-Maoist fails to show up this time around.
The HLPC has already sent two letters inviting the CPN-Maoist-led 33-party alliance for talks. The bloc is, however, adamant on not sitting for dialogue.
The HLPC expressed ‘sadness and surprise’ over the CPN-Maoist’s indifference to negotiations and the Constituent Assembly elections slated for November 19.
“We are always ready to talk to the agitating parties, but this issue is having a psychological affect (on the government and the major parties) as they make preparations for the elections,” UCPN(Maoist) Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said.
“We will not wait them after this. We will move ahead,” said CPN-UML leader Raghuji Panta.
The committee has decided to seek a ‘package solution’ on the demands being made by dissenting parties after holding talks with the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal (MJF-N) and Federal Social Party Nepal (FSP-N). The two parties have also put forth certain preconditions for taking part in the elections.
The four-party mechanism, however, failed to sort out disputes over constituency delimitation. The taskforce formed by the HLPC to make suggestions on re-marking the electoral constituencies has failed to come up with a concrete solution.
The Constituency Delimitation Commission (CDC) has not been able to rework on the constituencies, owing to constitutional ambiguities. The CDC’s term has recently been extended by 10 more days.

Property worth over Rs 1 million gutted in fire

Fire that engulfed a house and a grocery shop on Monday evening destroyed property worth rupees one million. The fire gutted the house and shop of Baburam Tabdar of Tankisinwari VDC-1 Morang on Monday evening, confirmed the Morang Police. Electric short circuit is the cause behind the fire outbreak.      It was brought under control with the efforts of local people and police personnel.

Two girls rescued from biratnagar

Sushmita Dahal, 14, and Sirjana Kharel, 12, who had run away from home unable to bear the misbehavior at home have been rescued by CWIN-Nepal from Biratnagar - 5. Sushmita who had complained  that she was misbehaved by step mother was rescued from home and Sirjana who has no parents and  was living at maternal uncle's home in Panchthar, said she ran away as her maternal aunt used to beat her up. She was rescued from Biratnagar . Both have been kept at the CWIN Child Protection Home.

Two held with narcotics

Police have arrested two youth s along with banned narcotics in Biratnagar 21. The police nabbed the youth s in course of regular security screening while the latter were importing drugs from neighboring Indian market. The arrestees were Sanjiv Rai, 20, of Morang -1, Baniga and Rewat Magar, 21, of Damak-16, Jhapa. Further investigation in this connection is on, said the Area Police Office.

Youths open agriculture market in Kavre

Nine youth s in Kavrepalanchok district have opened an agriculture market with an investment of Rs 40 million. The bazaar, which has been launched as part of a youth self-employment initiative, is located on the way to Budol in Banepa Municipality. All types of farm products including maize, wheat, millet, potato and fruits are sold at the market which came into operation on April 14. The promoters of the enterprise are Raj Kumar Basnet, Saroj Duwal, Vijay Shrestha, Bikram Manandhar, Bal Krishna Shahi, Dhana Shahi, Nati Bhai Manandhar, Bil Bahadur Manandhar and Shanti Raj Khadka. The market is registered under the name of Kavre Agro Market Multipurpose. “The future of Nepal lies in agriculture” said company chairman Basnet. “We want to show that large incomes can be made from agriculture if we work hard.” The market is spread over 10 ropanis of land and has 110 stalls and warehouses. It can handle 10 trucks at a time. Basnet said that farmers were not getting appropriate prices for their produce due to lack of a proper market even though the district is a leader in agricultural production in the region. “The market will help farmers to get their produce to market, and consumers too will not be cheated by middlemen,” he added. Another investor, Saroj Duwal, who is also the manager of the market, said the newly established market was the biggest one after those in the Kathmandu valley. “Every type of agro product is available here under a single roof, and we have accorded priority to products from the district.” Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs have also planned to invest in an agro farm. They aim to forge a partnership with farmers for commercial farming. The agriculture market has adopted an integrated approach with all the necessary arrangements to ensure safety and convenience for consumers. It has modern digital machines for weighing, 24-hour security guards, managed warehouse, parking and auxiliary power from generators for times of power cuts. Currently, 10 percent of the vegetables and milk produced in the district is consumed locally while the rest is shipped to the Kathmandu valley. Vegetables like potato, tomato, cauliflower, cabbage and chilly, among others, are produced in large quantities in the district. Panchkhal, Nala, Mahadevsthan, Jaisithok, Jyamdi, Kushadevi and Dhungakharka are considered to be pocket areas for vegetable farming. Kavre has established itself as one of the largest producers of potato and milk. “About 70,000 tonnes of vegetables produced here are shipped outside the district,” said Sahadev Humagain, chief of the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO). “Farmers will benefit from the opening of the market here.” According to DADO, 134,038 tonnes of vegetables were grown on 8,253 hectares of land during the last fiscal year.

Youths found dead in mysterious condition

Two youth s died in a mysterious condition while sleeping in the Sky Phone Tower at Ratamate of Rolpa district. Mansingh Oli, 18, and Devraj Oli, 16, residents of Garta in Ranka VDC -7 in Rolpa, who were sleeping in the room where generator was kept, died Monday night. They had gone to sleep at the tower house with the security staff of the tower. Although four people had slept in the house, two people sleeping in separate room died, said a local Mahabir Rana. They might have died from leakage of generator gas, locals suppose. Police team has reached there from Supekuna Pachhawang.