Kantipur Report KATHMANDU, July 30 - Regular traffic jams inside the Valley are no surprise, but if one considers the increase in number of vehicles, and compares it to the increase in the length of roads inside the valley, there is but one conclusion: there are more vehicles in the valley than what the roads can handle. While 2004-05 saw 23,749 new vehicles registered in the zone, 2008-09 saw nearly double that amount, 50,090 new vehicles being registered. In fact, there were around 235,000 vehicles registered in Bagmati till 2003-04, but in the last five years itself, a staggering 181,000 new vehicles have been registered. Also, Bagmati accounts for more than half of all the vehicles in the country itself. Metropolitan Traffic Police Superintendent Rabi Raj Shrestha said, “The number of vehicles inside the valley is easily more than what its roads can take.” He claimed that if all the vehicles inside the Valley came on the streets together, there wouldn’t be any space at all. Strangely, the Department of Roads does not have the data regarding the increase in the length of roads in the last five years. However, the Budget this year stated that a measly 62 km of roads were added across the whole country in the first eight months of fiscal year 2008-09, whereas in the last year itself, 102,570 new vehicles were registered in the country. Data on the Department of Road’s website states there was a mere 8.57 percent growth in the Valley’s roads in the two years between 2002 and 2004. Sharad Chandra Paudyal, director-general at Department of Transport Management denies that the Valley’s roads are overcrowded. He blames the traffic management rather than the length of the roads. “The traffic management should be systematic. Drivers should park vehicles at the right place and the traffic police should manage the situation better.” Suraj Sigdel, senior divisional engineer at the Department of Roads said, “Roads have not been increased in terms of length. Only the maintenance is done.”
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Waste disposal continues to be stalled
Okharpauwa locals have been obstructing waste disposal demanding a written commitment from the government to fulfill their different demands since last week. “We couldn’t reach an agreement due to the irresponsibility of the government,” said Ramesh Prasad Paudyal, coordinator of the struggle committee.
Paudyal also said that the committee hasn’t asked the government for any money but has demanded development works be initiated at the land fill site in Okharpauwa. However, Paudyal said “the government is never serious about our demands”,and that they will not let KMC dispose garbage “untill the government gives a written commitment”.
Waste disposal has been obstructed time and again by protesting locals. The current obstruction has already seen at least 2,500 tonnes of garbage lying unattended in the Valley. The three cities inside the Valley generate at least 500 tonnes of waste everyday.
Rabinman Shrestha, chief of the environmental department at KMC, said, “Locals form a group consisting of three or four members, and come up with different demands every time to obstruct waste disposal, which has made it difficult for the government to fulfill their demands.” He said that there are at least two dozen such committees.
According to KMC, over Rs. 90 million has so far been invested towards the development of the Okharpauwa landfill site over the last four years.
Shrestha said a “trend” of obstructing waste disposal has developed among locals of landfill sites to pressurise the government to meet their demands. He said some of the demands may be valid to some extent and those need to be addressed, but the government should take stronger initiatives in finding an alternative to the problem.
The government is planning to develop Banchareydanda, between Nuwakot and Dhading, as a long-term solution for disposing the valley’s waste.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Autism kids’ plight in focus
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
When Animal Attacks Men 6 leopard attacks within last year
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Information whiteout No climbing, no phones, no cameras, no reporting
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| IRON CURTAIN: A temporary police checkpoint near Everest Base Camp where expedition gear is checked for pro-Tibet flags and material. All video cameras, satellite phones have to be surrendered. |
The ice pillars on the Khumbu glacier sparkled. The seracs on the Nuptse wall were blue-green and translucent.
We felt elated despite the 5,000m elevation as we walked towards Base Camp on Monday. Both the army and a trekking company had assured us as reporters we might be able to seek exemption from the ban on satellite phones and video cameras.
But minutes after arriving at Base Camp and being escorted to a temporary post by a friendly plainclothes policeman, Deputy Secretary of the Tourism Ministry Prabodh Dhakal took charge of us. "You are not allowed to talk to any one here," he said sternly. "If anyone is found talking to you, they will be expelled."
No journalist was allowed to enter Base Camp without a permit. "You are also unofficial here, so leave this place as soon as possible," Dhakal told us.
The government has ordered an information blackout at Everest Base Camp. Not only video cameras and satellite phones, but also satellite internet and walkie-talkies, essential for mountain rescue, have been confiscated. We were told we could not even cover non-political subjects.
When I asked why I, as a Nepali, could not stay, Dhakal said repeatedly that these were "exceptional circumstances". He told us to come back after the Olympic Torch had reached the summit via the Chinese side.
"You have heard that Chinese officials have been meeting the Prime Minister and other government officials. It's an order from the top. You are not allowed to stay here: you don't have a permit," he said.
This Base Camp is on the Nepal side of the mountain, but it might as well be in China. Nepal has officially closed the southern side of Chomolungma until at least 10 May from Camp 2 (6,500 m) upwards. In addition, all foreigners without a climbing permits have been ordered to leave Base Camp from 1-4 May. That includes photographers, team leaders and spouses of climbers.
As a Nepali I felt sad and humiliated. A Nepali mountaineering official, who didn't want to be named, explained: "Nepal is a beggar country. We are getting lots of economic help from China, so we can't jeopardise our relationship." But it's not just geopolitics, mountaineers' lives are also at risk. A climber at Base Camp who also didn't want to be quoted, fearing expulsion, said that the longer the mountain was closed, the greater was the danger. "Within 10 days, we could have made Camp 4 ready for the first summit push," he said. "But the longer the closure, the greater the danger of ice falling on us. It's endangering our lives."
The reason for all this bandobast is that China doesn't want any embarrassing Free Tibet banners at Base Camp or on the mountain during the torch's journey to the summit. Chinese ambassador Zheng Xianling flew into Base Camp this week in an army helicopter. The police had found a Free Tibet flag in the rucksack of an American mountaineer, he was sent down the mountain and later deported.
There is anger along the Everest Trail for the decline in business and employment this season. Dendi Sherpa, a lodge owner, said the restrictions were a sign of the Nepal government's weakness. "It's China that is holding the Olympics-why should we have to close all these things?" asked Dendi. Trekkers are also unhappy they aren't allowed to use video cameras near Base Camp.
The Rinpoche of Tengboche Monastery has said he was "extremely worried" that the home ministry had sent armed soldiers to Chomolungma. But for Major D B Thapa in Namche, it is clear Nepal can't jeopardise relations with China. He said: "We want the Olympic Torch to reach the top of Sagarmatha successfully."
Torch nearing summit
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The Chinese took the Olympic Torch to the summit of Mt Everest on May Day itself in an expedition that has been shrouded in secrecy.
The Olympic flame arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Another torch was taken to the north Base Camp last week and is said to be making its way to the top. The Olympic flame split in Beijing last month, with the main torch heading to Europe, the United States and Asia on its protest-marked world tour.
Western reporters at the Rongbuk Glacier on the north side of Everest have said there is no information about the torch. The flame will be carried in a lantern, allowing a carefully designed torch using special fuel to be lit in the thin air of the summit.
Some had speculated that the team hoped to make the ascent Wednesday, exactly 100 days before the Olympics and amid celebrations in Beijing. The torch may have been delayed because of gale force winds at the summit this week.
There has been Chinese air activity over the summit on Tuesday and Wednesday which could indicate the torch is nearing the summit. Chinese CCTV reported mountaineers had completed the setup of a staging point at 8,300m for the final assault on the 8,850m summit.
Call to ban corporal punishment
ISHWAR RAUNIYAR KATHMANDU, JULY 15 |
Seventeen different organizations submitted a memorandum on Wednesday to the Ministry of Education asking for legal ban over corporal punishment. The memorandum calls for "prohibition of physical and psychological tortures to the students…teachers found guilty should be punished according to the law." The organisations have launched a campaign to submit a memorandum on the 15th of every month until the government meets their demands. Last month, Rojina Lamichhane and Prashna Sharma, both grade 10 students at Prashanti Siksha Sadan at Kapan, Kathmandu, were beaten up by their principal, and were admitted in Om hospital for treatment. Their crime was that they ate in the 'canteen', which was against the rules. In a similar incident last year, Hittan Ramjali, a grade nine student, was beaten up by three teachers of Tripureshwor Secondary School. He was blamed for leaking the air out of his teacher's cycle. After the beating, he disappeared for 11 days, and was later found dead. Psychologist Ganga Pathak shared one such incident. She said, "A boy was forced to write 'I am a cheater, I am a liar' a hundred times because he didn't do the homework. The boy was depressed for many weeks after that. Most schools in the Valley mete out corporal punishment to students." However, Dr. Bidhyanath Koirala, lecturer at Tribhuvan University, thinks parents are responsible as well for such incidents. He said, "Parents shouldn't use physically hit their children." He said there are two types of such teachers: those who were themselves beaten up when they were young, and those who enjoy such beatings. Koirala also said, "Students are of two types as well: one, who are pampered at home and need to be controlled, and the other who are physically abused at home |
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Motorcycle theft on the rise
Durkaman Maharjan of Kirtipur had a similar fate; however, his motorcycle was stolen from outside his house on Sunday morning as well.
K.C. and Maharjan were both at the Traffic Police office to file reports. But they are not the only ones. Kathmandu is seeing an increasing number of motorcycle thefts, and according to police records, 132 motorcycles were reported stolen this month. Include the past six months, and 983 motorcycles owners registered cases with the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division. Of the 983, the police have just found 193 motorcycles so far.
"Motorcycle thefts are increasing as people from different parts of the country are coming to the capital," said Bibhuti Raj Pandey, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Office.
He also said that much of the youth is unemployed, and this is an easy way to earn some quick bucks.
Traffic Police Inspector Roshan Acharya added, "Motorcycle owners should be careful while parking their vehicles at their homes at night." According to him, most motorcycles are stolen from the premises of the owners.
However, motorcycle owner Ramesh Aryal from Old Baneshwor blames the police for the rise in thefts. He said, "The police has not been mobilised to every part of the city, which has made robbers more confident."
The police also say there are at least 10 to 12 thefts per month from the 28 paid parking spots inside the city. Despite paying a sum of Rs. 5 per hour for two-wheelers, Namraj Dhakal, chief, department of revenue collection at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Office, said, "There are no rules that the parking tender holders have to pay for any thefts." He added, "It is the duty of the police to look after and control these kinds of activities."
Pandey, however, disagrees with Dhakal's statement. He said, "We have been requesting the Metropolitan Office to make an agreement where parking tender holders are responsible for any thefts from the paid parking area. But they have ignored our requests."
There are nearly 334,000 motorcycles registered in Bagmati. There are also nearly 350 motorcycles at the traffic police compound, whose owners have not claimed them. The motorcycles were brought to the office for investigation of theft charges
Rising impunity ticking off citizens
But delve deeper into the tendency, and one finds that it is a culmination of several factors which have collectively become a sort of ‘tipping-point’ for society.
Two factors seem to point towards this trend of increasing mob tendencies: people don't have faith in the administration, or that they don't fear they will get punished.
“This trend has been rapidly increasing for a decade in the absence of justice,” said Gagan Thapa, Constituent Assembly member, said. “There are no cases where people have been punished while becoming involved in criminal acts such as demonstrations or other killings. This has increased the confidence of those who want to commit crime.”
Thapa added, “Political factor is also responsible towards the situation.” Hinting at the recent clash between student wings of two rival parties, he said it's not only about “why the bullet was shot”, but rather the confidence among the groups to “actually fire bullets”.
Human Rights activist Subodh Pyakurel blames the police for not working and political players for making the police weak. He said, “The police are deceiving people by not giving out full information. The police should find out why so many children are being abducted; it's not only for ransom.” According to him, 40% of abductions are for ransom, while the motives of 60% are unclear.
Chief of Metropolitan Police Office, Kathmandu, Navaraj Silwal said, “Impunity is increasing in society due to unemployment and the deprived who feel that it is the best time for revenge.” But, he denies the fact that distrust towards the police has anything to do with it.
He said, “People want to punish the accused themselves, and they feel that arrested culprits will be treated according to the law, which, for others, is sometimes not enough.” Silwal also said that the emotional factor has been high after the murder of Khyati Shrestha.
According to police records, they have been successful in securing the release of the hostage in 27 out of the 29 cases.
Psychologist Ganga Pathak sees the civil war as a factor that led to people being used to hearing news of murder and abduction. She feels political instability is another prominent factor. “The state is in a transitional phase, and the government is not functioning well. This has given space for these kinds of crimes.” She also said that the Nepali people haven't had an ideal political role-model in the past few decades, and “the Maoists coming into the government has also left an impression on society that killing thousands can result in forming the government.”
For civil society, it seems the police must do something to enhance their presence, and must give an impression that crime will be punished. However, Silwal counters this by saying that they have mobilised patrol groups inside the valley regularly. Also, they have been “conducting classes to make students aware about the issue.” Pyakurel has an interesting point; he says, the media sensationalizes such cases, and this has further increased paranoia levels among society.