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#518 3 - 9 September 2010 16 pages Rs 30

ost people are soengrossed in the day-to-day that they hardly

notice the lines clogging up thepavements of the capital. Unlessthey are in them themselves. Addup the queues for armyrecruitment, Korean languagetests, passports, and the airport,however, and you get a compositepicture of the desperation Nepaliyouth face when it comes to

Lifelinemaking a living. For every man orwoman who hopes to get into thearmy, police or the APF, there arethousands more who see no wayout but to get out.

And there are plenty who takeadvantage of the mostdisadvantaged members of oursociety. It goes all the way fromthe brokers who step up to theline and promise to facilitatewhatever it is you are looking for

to the politicians who brazenlypocket the life savings of thoseless fortunate than them. Themost depressing aspect of this ishow some Nepalis abroad aredoing the same. The recent case of108 Nepalis rescued from Libya isnot simply about cruel,exploitative foreign employersand states; it illustrates howNepalis are fleecing Nepalis,home and abroad.

PAINFULLY EMPLOYED: Youthsqueue up for army recruitment,Korean language tests, andpassports in the capital

Trafficker Tej: How oneman gambled with thelives of hundreds ofNepali migrant workers

PICS: KIRAN PANDAY

M

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

Publisher: Kunda Dixit | Editor: Rabi ThapaPublished by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Chief Operating Officer: Sunim Tamang | Hattiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu

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2|PUBLISHER�’S NOTE

ON THE WEBwww.nepalitimes.com

Q. “Should I stay or should I go?” - UNMIN

Weekly Internet Poll # 518

Q. What do you make of Paras Shah’s publiccomeback?

Weekly Internet Poll # 519. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Total votes: 1,821

hings fall apart when the centre doesn�’t hold. Theprolonged political uncertainty in Kathmandu ishaving an impact across all sectors of the economy,

and in the everyday lives of citizens.The long queues for jobs in the army or police, the

teeming passport seekers, the throngs at Korean languagetest centres and at the departure gate at the airport allindicate heightened public exasperation anddisenchantment.

Politicians, whose inability to agree on forming astable new government are the cause of all this, ignorethis mass disaffection at their own peril. Someday theywill reap the whirlwind. The only political forces thatbenefit are those that thrive on chaos and anarchy.

Even if it is only for their own self-preservation andwell-being, the democratic parties that believe in non-violent change and pluralism should work together andcurb short-term greed and ambition. If they don�’t stopfighting now, there will be nothing to fight over.

History is replete with example of demagogues and

THE CENTRE CANNOT HOLDdictators who were propelled to power not by theirruthlessness, but by the fecklessness of moderateadherents of an open society, whose greed blinded themfrom seeing what was coming.

There has always been mismanagement in Nepal. Wehave come to take it as a given that governments will beineffective and corrupt. Budgets, if passed, are seldomspent. Garbage has been piling up on Kathmandu streets fordecades, especially since 1990. State-run corporationshave all been bled dry. There have always been kleptocratsin the bureaucracy, and there has always been dacoitry inpolitics. But never has the level of malgovernance,corruption and apathy among our rulers been as visible andblatant as it is today.

The rubbish on the streets is symptomatic of the rot.The inability of the state to cope indicates the level ofstatelessness. Floods are ravaging the land from Mahakalito Mai Khola, but there hasn�’t been a coordinated stateresponse. A CDO inspecting floods from a helicopter inKanchanpur makes the news, not the fact that boulder

mafias were quarrying the flood-control embankment.In this issue we have an investigative report on

how Nepali workers are not just being exploited, butare bought and sold like slaves. The victims areNepali, the traffickers are Nepali. There is no pointblaming the Libyans or the Macau authorities for thismodern-day form of slavery in which the state iscomplicit.

This is what happens when society and the nationare without leadership. Crooks of all hues crawl outfrom holes in the ground to pick at the bones of what isleft.

It is when the state goes into freefall that we haveto be most vigilant to prevent the rise of strong-armdictators who promise to set things right, and restoreorder. If that does happen, the blame will then fallsquarely on the leaders who today call themselves�‘democratic�’.

T

he Maoist-Madhesdynamic is back in thenews. Political circles are

rife with speculation that the twoMJF constituents could shift tothe Maoist camp in the nextround of voting. This has beenreinforced by Pushpa KamalDahal�’s statement that5 September will be decisive, hismeetings with both UpendraYadav and Bijay Gachchadar, andtheir subsequent efforts toconvince other front constituentsto play a more �‘decisive role�’.

It is difficult to judgewhether both the Madhesi parties�– with all their members �– willbe willing to break the front andvote for the Maoists. But thespeculation underlines onceagain the fact that the dynamicbetween these two forces is thebig unpredictable variable inNepali politics.

There appear to be threecauses for the renewedrestlessness in the Madhesicamp.

Upendra Yadav�’s heart is withthe Maoists, and he only

reluctantly agreed to stay neutralbecause of Indian pressure andfear of another split in the party.Yadav sees the other threeMadhesi parties in the front asupstarts who are benefitting fromhis movement. His past Maoistbackground is coupled with thestrong conviction that only atactical alliance with them canwin the Madhes any rights, sincethe Maoists have the least stakein the present structure and arewilling to reform it.

Yadav told an interlocutorlast year, �“Look, just let me bewith the Maoists till we havefederalism. The NC and UML willnever give us that. Once we haveour own state, we will fight theMaoists.�” Add to this thetemptation of becoming deputyprime minister and regaining hisposition as foreign minister.

Bijay Gachchadar, schooled inthe GP Koirala brand of politics,

has an instinctive understandingof where power resides in anycontext. Dahal has been trying totap into that, by offering himDPM-ship and the homeministry. Gachchadar seems torealise he can extract the mostwhile the bigger three parties arefighting. Despite his blusterabout Maoist �‘state capture�’, he isnot worried for he knows that theMaoists can do little to challengehim in his home districts, whichgives him enough space to

manouevre in the capital.Gachchadar also appears

confident that while India maybe upset temporarily if he moves,it has limited options and he canmend the relationship. But theseare all last-minute decisions. Hecould well be cozying up to theMaoists to increase his bargainingposition, and extract more fromthe other side.

The third variable is the

disillusionment among the rankand file Madhesi party MPs.Many of them feel they are justbeing used as pawns in largergames and want to assertthemselves. Add to this thedesire among many from theMadhes to be seen as actingindependent of India �– they aresick of the taunts from otherMPs and constituents that Delhidecides their fate.

There are widespreadrumours about how top leaderswere given some money toremain neutral, but this nevertrickled down to the MPs. Thosewho were not ministers in thelast government see anopportunity now, and feel therewill be more cabinet berths onoffer since both the NC and UMLcould stay out of a governmentled by the Maoists. Many ofthem also dislike the establishedparliamentary parties; note theroyalist background of some ofthe 11 MPs who crossed the floorin the third round. With theMaoists not really in a positionto challenge these politicians onthe ground back in the Tarai,their fear of the former rebels isdiminished.

There is of course anotherschool within these parties, andin the broader Madhesi front.

They point out that the Madhesmovement is essentially ananti-Maoist movement andallying with them could erodetheir base, which NC couldcapitalise on. Alternatively,others say that the Maoistscould use the Madhesi partiesto make inroads in the Tarai.Some leaders also argue thatDahal cannot be trusted one bit�– he may become PM with theirsupport, but the Madhesiparties will not be able tocontrol him at all. And if theUML joins such an arrangementsubsequently, their space willshrink further. But with theIndian enthusiasm to hold theMadhes back from supportingthe Maoists flagging, thesearguments are not supported byadequate hard power.

Irrespective of the result onSunday, these seeminglymundane details are fascinatingfor they show how politics, atthe end of the day, is not aboutbroad principles. Instead,individual calculations,personal relations, money, andraw power are driving forces.Any alliance finally rests on theright combination of thesefactors. The Maoists and asection of the Madhes are tryingto get that mix right.

Nitty-gritty politickingPLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

T

HIGH HOPESConstitution or no constitution, Nepal isbecoming Zimbabwe; Dahal will beRobert Mugabe (�‘Central concerns�’,Prashant Jha, #517). Once in power,no one will be able to dethronePrachanda. He will be a lifetimePresident. The internal split inUCPN(M) is just a drama to fool theopponents; even with their differences,they have to stay together. Prachandacontrols the Maoist treasury, which isvery rich. Only poor parties break. You

cannot compare UCPN-Maoist with anycommunist party of the past.

Gole

CROSSING LINESThis is an amazing story of reconciliationand hope (�‘Same road�’, Srijana Acharya,#517). If these two women who should betrying to exact revenge for thedisappearances of their husbands can worktogether why can�’t our stupid politicalleaders. I think I know the answer: there areno women among the political leadership,

which is made up of 100% bahun males.KiranL

CASH FLOWSWhich India are you talking about(�‘Power to India�’, Ratna SansarShrestha, #517)? The state of India orIndian investors? You should know thatthere is no such thing as �‘financingfatigue�’. There is only looking around forthe right time and right conditions forinvestments that give returns.

RatnaGlobal

The Maoist-Madhesdynamic may yet gel togive Nepal a primeminister next week

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518 OP-ED|3

FOURTH ESTATEC K Lal

he influence of the IndianEmbassy in the internalaffairs of Nepal has always

been felt. Now it can be heard andseen as well. Clearly, Lainchaurdoes not believe in diplomaticniceties in exercising politicalcontrol in a notionallyindependent nation.

The pressure exerted on theforeign ministry by the Indiandiplomatic mission led to delayof the the Machine ReadablePassport (MRP) deal. Though theprinting contract was initiallyawarded to a company owned bythe Government of India, thesubsequent fiasco finally endedwith the cancellation of thatcontract.

The verity of the accusationsthat former lawmaker Ram KumarSharma levelled against anIndian embassy official has notbeen established. But theperception is that Sharma maywell have been threatened asalleged.

Now the tussle betweenKantipur Group and Lainchaurhas just got dirtier. In the first

part of the drama, the embassypersuaded Indian nationalsheading businesses in Nepal tothrottle the advertisementpipeline of KantipurPublications. When this failed tohave the desired effect, non-tariffbarriers to trade were used tostarve the publishing house ofnewsprint supply.

The third episode began with

a terse embassy press release on27 August charging the Nepalimedia with using slanderouscoverage to elicit commercialadvantage. The statement was notonly undiplomatic andpolitically incorrect, but alsoinsulting. Paid news is notunknown to the Indian media;theTimes of India sells itsloyalty openly to the highestbidders through what it calls�‘private treaties�’. Prominentmedia organisations werejustified in demanding anapology from the Indian mission,particularly after a second andeven more belligerent statement

was released.The fundamental premise of

these press releases is flawed. TheIndian joint ventures are legalentities in Nepal. They areexpected to approach lawenforcement agencies if they haveany complaints. The law does notoffer them any special privilegesjust because they are Indian. Theyhave crossed the limits of

decency by approaching a foreignembassy for what was essentiallya difference of opinion or disputebetween some Nepali advertisersand the national media.

Indeed, when approachedwith such grievances, theembassy should haverecommended that the offendedparty either register complaintswith the Press Council, thepolice, or the courts. The NepalIndia Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (NICCI) could also havebeen asked to intervene. TheNICCI did place a notice innewspapers calling for restrainton all sides on Wednesday, but it

was clearly a case of too little, toolate.

Diplomats need to realise thatNepal-India ties are fraught withpotential misunderstanding.India may not be the superpowerit aspires to be yet, but it is agiant that India-locked Nepal canill afford to ignore. Thishelplessness in the face of India�’smight has rankled every ruler inKathmandu from the time ofChandra Shamsher. Indianofficialdom hasn�’t yet realisedthat with great power comes greatresponsibility, and playing uponthe vulnerability of Nepalis iscounterproductive.

Meddling in the media

It’s not the Indian Embassy’sjob to impose a code of ethicson Nepali journalism

T

It is not the responsibility ofthe Indian Embassy inKathmandu to foist a code ofethics on Nepali journalists. Butthe Press Council is embroiled ina controversy with the Ministryof Communication, and isdysfunctional at present. Variousother media forums probablyrealise that whatever is beingreported about certain Indian-owned joint ventures may not beabove board. But meddlesomestatements from the Indianmission have made their task,of monitoring the activities oftheir colleagues, almostimpossible.

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #5184|TRANSPORT

ne week after the crash of the Agni Air Dornier,investigators finally located on Tuesday eveningthe Flight Data Recorder (black box) of the

Kathmandu-Lukla flight. Once it is decoded in India, themystery of exactly what caused the twin turboprop tonosedive into the ground will become clearer. Elevenpassengers and three crew members died in the crash asthe plane was trying to return to Kathmandu because of badweather and equipment malfunction. From interviews withpilots and air traffic controllers, Nepali Times has piecedtogether the last 26 minutes of �‘Hotel Echo�’ (9N-AHE) on24 August.

0700: Word came that Lukla had good visibility for thefirst time in more than a week. Domestic airlines scrambledto get their planes in the air. There was a huge backlog ofpassengers and cargo at both Kathmandu and Lukla as theKhumbu geared up for the autumn trekking season.

0704: Although Kathmandu had heavy rain and poorvisibility, Hotel Echo got clearance. Capt Lucky Shah, aveteran pilot with nearly 30 years of flying experience inNepal and India, and co-pilot Sophia Singh, who had loggednearly 920 hours on Dorniers, were in the cockpit. HotelEcho was first off the domestic apron with a Buddha AirBeech 1900D taxiing out for a Mt Everest sightseeing flight.

0710: After takeoff, the plane cancelled its standardinstrument �‘Igris-1 Alpha�’ departure, involving a climbingcircle overhead, then headed north east.

0718: Hotel Echo was 35 miles out, approachingRamechhap, when it decided to turn back because of reportsthat clouds were closing in on Lukla. It is not known whetherthe pilot had already detected problems in the cockpit.

0720: Hotel Echo acknowledged instructions to maintainan altitude of 12,000 ft and follow a 20-mile arc to the southto make an instrument approach to Kathmandu. A few minuteslater, the captain indicated generator malfunction but did notdeclare an emergency.

0722: Capt Lucky was in touch with the crew of anotherLukla-bound Agni crew on the ground in Kathmandu (9N-AIE), and said he was trying to switch to the backupgenerator, but was having difficulty. He then said he wastrying to �‘recycle�’ the battery pack. Generators supply powerto cockpit instruments, and without it most avionics shutdown and the pilot is flying without direction or distance-measuring equipment.

0725: Capt Lucky said he could see the terrain and wouldshoot for a �‘visual approach�’ to Kathmandu. The alternateairport at Simara was closed due to bad weather. That wasthe last contact from Hotel Echo, and the plane dropped offthe radar.

0736: At the plane�’s estimated time of arrival inKathmandu, the radio remained quiet and there was no signof the plane.

The crash crater at Shikharpur at 1,700ft altitude is 10mwide and 5m deep. It is clear the plane hit the ground at asteep, if not vertical, angle. The impact probably happenedaround 0726, a couple of minutes after the last communicationand just two miles short of the right turn Capt Lucky wassupposed to make to intercept the approach to runway 02 inKathmandu.

Why did the plane spin out of control? Was the crewdisoriented in whiteout conditions over rugged terrain? Didthe engine flameout due to heavy rain? Was the pilot tryingto break through cloud to remain visual and couldn�’t pullout? Was there fuel adulteration?

Only the contents of the black box can now tell us more,and perhaps offer lessons for the future about aircraftmaintenance, rules for bad weather flight, and weakregulatory oversight.

Participants:Capt PJ Shah: has been flying in Nepal since the age of theDC-3s and spent 40 years as a senior captain with RoyalNepal Airlines and then Emirates. His nephew, Capt LuckyShah, was commanding the Agni Air flight that crashed onMonday.

Hemant Arjyal: engineer, aviation analyst and a member ofthe Nepal National Aviation Council.

Dorji Tsering Sherpa: airline entrepreneur who was withYeti Airlines, Lumbini Airways and Skyline, and now AirKasthamandap. His daughter, Sarah Sherpa, was on her firstflight as an Agni Air flight attendant when she was killed inMonday�’s accident.

Binod Kumar Gautam: Deputy Director at the Civil AviationAuthority of Nepal (CAAN).

Sanjiv Gautam: Head of Air Traffic Control Division, CAAN.

Hemant Arjyal: Statistically, if you look atthe record since the first crash in the 1950s, yousee that most accidents happened in the monsoonand most of them have been classified asControlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), whichmeans a perfectly good plane in full control of thepilot hits a mountain in cloud. Therefore, humanfactors are involved. It could be that there iscomplacency about the dangers of mountain-flying in the monsoon season, over-confidence,and pressure on pilots to fly in bad weather frompassengers or the company.

PJ Shah: The preliminary indications arethat the Agni Air crash was not a CFIT, as thenature of the impact suggests the pilot was not incontrol of the aircraft. The crash should be awarning, but we seem not to have learnt fromprevious crashes. We need a complete structural

D A M B A R K R I S H N A S H R E S T H A

Hotel Echo�’slast minutes

The latest airlinercrash in Nepal hasunderlined the dangerof monsoon flying inthe Himalaya.Nepali Times gathereda panel of experts onMonday to discussNepal’s appallingaviation safety record,and to suggestremedial measures.

�“I don�’t want

O

Legally freeThe songs from 1974 AD�’s new album Aath Atharacan be downloaded for free from www.cellroti.com.The concept of free licensed downloads is beingtried out for the first time in the Nepali musicindustry, and is being supported by Cellroti andNcell.

New branchBank of Kathmandu opened its 37th branch inNarayangadh. The newly opened branch willprovide services to Sauraha and Mugling ofChitwan and also the area extending fromGaindakot to Pragatinagar of Nawalparasi district.

Chery queenMiss Nepal2010 SadichhaShresthareceived aChery QQ3 asa gift fromBama Motors.The car was

handed over to her after the announcement of thewinners at the pageant.

Cycling copsVarun Beverages Nepal and Devyani Internationalhanded over 10 bicycles to the Nepal Police.

Seven of the cycles were from Pepsi and threewere from KFC.

Stepping upCG Impex, the sole authoriseddistributor of LG Mobiles for Nepal,plans to introduce more than 10premium models of LG handsets.According to first quarter 2010

statistics from research firm Gartner, LG is nowthe third highest seller of mobile handsets in theworld.

Going onlineOn its 13th anniversary, Nawakantipur MPCooperative Society introduced internet banking.Its clients can now log on towww.nawakantipur.com to check their accounttransactions, interest and tax details and alsoorder chequebooks.

Upgraded AlbaMorang Auto works, thesole distributor of Yamahabikes for Nepal, launchedAlba YBR 110, an upgradedmodel of Alba. Buyersreceive a Rs 5,000 discount for cash or throughfinance purchase for a limited period. AlbaYBR 110 is available in red, black and a comboof both colours.

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518 TRANSPORT|5

overhaul of the civil aviation regulatory environment.Dorji Tsering Sherpa: I feel like I have come full

circle in the airline business with the death of mydaughter. Earlier, I had lost relatives in the Thai Airbuscrash in 1992. Capt Lucky was one of the mostexperienced pilots around, a very safety-consciouscommander. I went to the airport on Monday morningand asked why the Lukla flights were allowed to take offin such bad weather. It seems there was competitionamong the private operators to lift out the touristsstranded in Lukla. Someone has to say enough isenough. I don�’t want any more Sarahs to die.

PJ Shah: There are four components to the airlinebusiness. The manufacturer, the operators, the regulator,and the travelling public. Safety has to be the primaryconcern for all four, and the emphasis must shift to thepassengers, without whom there would be no airlinebusiness. Unfortunately, in our country the mostvaluable sector, the passengers, are not treated well. OnlyVVIPs are given importance.

Dorji Tsering Sherpa: I agree, passenger safety hasto be the ultimate goal. Even after this accident there willbe a committee, there will be a report and no one willreally know what happened or whether remedialmeasures were taken. I have been involved in the searchand rescue of previous crashes. In two of them, planescrashed into mountains during the monsoon, but crewconflict was a factor. You have to respect the monsoon;maybe there should be a moratorium on flying to certainairports in the monsoon.

PJ Shah: You can�’t change the weather. I don�’tthink you can stop flying in the monsoon; there areperiods even in August when the weather is good. Nepalis a very difficult place to fly, but there have to bemethods and proper procedures. We should alsodiscourage fusion between the regulators and theoperators. They should be separate, otherwisemaintenance standards will be compromised.

Dorji Tsering Sherpa: The nature of Nepal�’sdomestic airline business and tariffs is such that it isvery difficult with current CAAN rules for an investor tosustain a fleet of multi-engine aircraft. Which is why Ihave always been a proponent of single-engine equipmentfor remote airports: they are easier and cheaper tomaintain and operate. The other aspect is that even asmall airline with only one aircraft is required tomaintain an engineering department, whereas operatorswith the same aircraft should be able to pool maintenanceand crew. But CAAN has no such mechanism.

Binod Kumar Gautam: I think we are a long wayfrom pooling engineering departments. Two airlines withthe same Jetstream or Beechcraft equipment don�’t evenhelp each other out with engine or landing gear spares.

PJ Shah: There is no point imposing more rules, wehave the world�’s best regulations, but let�’s face it, there isa problem with implementing them. There is a �‘whocares�’ attitude among airline staff. There is a culture tocompromise by cutting corners on safety matters.

Hemant Arjyal: If there is a crash every monsoon,you have to plan accordingly, and learn from the previousyears. When can Air Traffic Control clear a plane fortakeoff, what is the trend at the destination airport? Wehave to maintain minimum equipment and provide forair crew training. If there is a pattern of crashes and weknow the causes, we have to be prepared.

Dorji Tsering Sherpa: CAAN has to do something

about search and rescue coordination. It was chaos at theairport on Monday morning.

Sanjiv Gautam: We have a search and rescue unit asper ICAO requirements, it comes into operation only whensomething happens. It involves the army, police and civilpolice. What we need is more communication equipment,maps, charts, procedures, an MoU with the army in apermanent centre at TIA. If most accidents happen in themonsoon, we need rules on visibility, established normsfor monsoon flying, and better coordination among pilots,Air Traffic Control and airlines. There has to be a balancebetween service and safety: if we insist on safety alone, theairlines will go bankrupt.

Binod Kumar Gautam: They say the history ofaviation is written in blood, and in Nepal we have toaddress the human factor since this is the cause in mostcrashes. Pilots go through three phases: first they feelinvincible, then with experience they think they knoweverything and in the third phase they think "it willhappen to someone else, not me". Cockpit dynamics andbureaucratic and peer pressure to fly in bad weather areimportant issues. We have a confidential reporting systemnow that has already yielded results.

Sanjiv Gautam: Accidents happen and we try tolook for someone to blame. But the cause is always acombination of factors. There is always risk, the questionis can we keep the risk at a tolerable level, minimise it, andexamine and eliminate the potential contributing factors?

PJ Shah: If most accidents are human error, we haveto address the what, when, where, how and why, and planaccordingly.

Binod Kumar Gautam: Our main constraints atCAAN are insufficient technical manpower formaintenance inspections and remuneration of staff. Wefollow ICAO procedures, but just because an aircraft haspassed our certification doesn�’t absolve the operator fromresponsibility. Financial regulations for the import ofspares also need to be revamped. You have to wait threedays to open a Letter of Credit (LC) for an urgently neededspare part. How do you keep the plane flying in that time?

Dorji Tsering Sherpa: The hassles in gettingpermits and LCs for spares need to be removed. Also, theprocess for visas and work permits for expat personnelneed to be streamlined. Over-regulation is no regulation.

Hemant Arjyal: Safety has to be a culture, not arequirement. But this can�’t happen overnight.

any more Sarahs to die�”

STRICTLY BUSINESSAshutosh Tiwari

wo weeks ago, this columnargued that the centralbank had no business

capping the salaries and benefitsof CEOs of private commercialbanks. Today, it will explainwhat Nepal Rastra Bank can do touse market forces to influence thesize of CEO salaries.

Specifically, the central bankshould take a broad view of thetalent pool that is potentiallyavailable to run the growingnumber of Nepali commercialbanks. This means being open tobank boards hiring competentCEOs from outside Nepal as wellas from outside the incestuousmilieu of the Nepali commercialbanking sector.

Doing so has become a matterof urgency. If the collectiveachievement of the banking sectorin 73 years (from the founding

year of Nepal Bank Ltd) is thatthree out of every four Nepalis areyet to be served today, surelybanking is one service industrythat cannot continue to afford towrap itself in a mantle of inward-looking inscrutability and highpriesthood into which others arenot allowed.

Four years ago, the centralbank promulgated rules thatbasically said one could not be abank�’s CEO without a minimumof five years of experience in thefinance sector. On the face of it,this sounds like a sensibleprovision. But over the years,with the rise in the number ofbanks and a correspondingshortage of competent manpower,this provision has had threeunintended consequences.

First, it has forced bankboards to recruit their CEOs andtop managers from a very narrowtalent pool. To a degree, thisexplains the sort of bank-hoppingthat we see among bankers today.

Second, enjoying a low-

supply and high-demandsituation, those bankers and theirerstwhile juniors, all now deemedto be top management candidates,have been free to drive hardbargains for high salaries forthemselves and their teams.

And third, with salariesinevitably shooting to

eye-popping levels, the centralbank, citing equity concerns, isnow belatedly trying to cap them.

Summing up, what we have isa situation in which the centralbank, having unwittingly helpedto create a �‘bank CEO bubble�’through rules that promoted thesort of professionalism moresuited to a clubhouse than a

competitive industry, is nowtrying to burst it in a ham-fistedmanner. Surely, the central bankknows that bankers are smartenough to figure out ways aroundany salary cap?

One issue that does not getdiscussed is that commercialbanking, at its core, is not rocket

science. After all, how many yearsof plain-vanilla Nepali bankingexperiences do you really need tobe able to collect deposits at x percent interest rate and lend themout at a higher rate?

But talk to some bankers, andyou�’d think that what they do issomething closer to quantumphysics, and that outsiders have

neither the intelligence nor thediligence to be as good as or betterthan them. That is simplyshorthand for keeping theclubhouse the way it is.

It is this sort of insular,arrogant bubble that the centralbank needs to burst first byletting boards consider hiringCEOs from outside the industryand from outside of Nepal. Thatfreedom to expand the talent poolalone will start exerting adownward pressure on CEOsalaries as more and morecandidates, from variousindustries, start competing fortop jobs.

In the process, who knows,many more banks may discoverundervalued �‘human stock�’,which, once hired and given topresponsibilities, may end upoutperforming even the mostexperienced names, especiallywhen it comes to addressing thecentral bank�’s central concern:how to reach those with no accessto banking services.

If the cap fits

Rather than clumsy capson CEO pay, the centralbank should let marketforces do the job

T

DAMBER KRISHNA SHRESTHA

After a brief hiatus during the war, tourism is boomingin Dhulikhel. Tourists throng its hotels for mountainvistas that are among the best in the world. Twentymountain peaks from Annapurna in the west toKarolung in the east grace the spectacular skylineof Dhulikhel. A breathtaking mountain sunrisecan be viewed from the Kali Temple, southeast ofthe town.

Short hikes can be taken from Dhulikhel toNamobuddha, Panauti, Nagarkot, Sankhu andPalanchowk Bhagwati. Most hotels also provideexcursions to Tatopani and rafting trips on theBhotekoshi.

The old town of Dhulikhel is a visual treat in

LIFE TIMES 63 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

ne need not go far to seehow local participationand able leadership can

do wonders. In just a few years,the scenic town of Dhulikhel hasbecome a health, education andtourism centre befitting its statusas the district headquarters ofKavrepalanchok.

�“We had a clear vision on howto develop Dhulikhel. We wantedbasic infrastructure like water,health and educational facilitiesin place, and we wanted the

schools. Upon the three-yearproject�’s completion, the SLCpass rate of Dhulikhel jumpedfrom 26 to 73 per cent.

Dhulikhel is also home tothe country�’s first communityhospital. Established in 1996,Dhulikhel Hospital is one of thebest equipped in the country,but that hasn�’t stopped it frombeing accessible to the poor. Itprovides quality health servicesat one of the cheapest rates inNepal and is the only one totreat patients before chargingthem, though most patients aretreated for free. The hospitalruns outreach centres at 17

locations in surroundingdistricts, and is also a teachinghospital for the students ofKathmandu University MedicalSchool.

�“Everyone should haveaccess to quality healthcarewhether or not they can affordit,�” saysDr Ram Kantha Shrestha, thehospital�’s founder. �“Just becauseit is a hospital for the poordoesn�’t mean it should be badlymaintained, or that we shouldcompromise on the quality ofservices.�” The success of thismodel is apparent, for there are200 community hospitals inNepal now.

Water management inDhulikhel is also an exemplar ofhow users can manage utilities.While most towns in Nepal reelunder water shortages,80 per cent of Dhulikhel�’spopulation is supplied withpurified drinking water from asource 14km away. TheDhulikhel Drinking Water UsersCommittee, which is the onlyurban water supply systemmanaged by users in Nepal, alsoensures that revenue is used toexpand its services. The projectwas constructed with the aid ofGTZ, donations from locals, andmunicipal funds.

There was a time, back in the1980s, when the decision toelevate Dhulikhel to the statusof a municipality provoked suchoutrage in neighbouring Banepathat it blockaded the up andcoming town. Today, DhulikhelMunicipality has proved whollydeserving of the designation. Ithas been estimated that Nepal�’surban population, at 10 per centin 1991, will reach 32 per centby 2027. If towns across thecountry �– and indeed the capital�– can draw on the lessons ofDhulikhel, they will secure theirfuture for themselves.

ModelDhulikhelIf towns across Nepal learntfrom the example of Dhulikhel,urban living would actuallymean better living

for road, electricity and waterwithin three years. Although themunicipality had an annualbudget of only Rs 2 million,Shrestha, who was mayor then,motivated local businessmento chip in with some landand money.

The university, completed in1991, has become an integral partof the local economy today. Itemploys many locals and manystudents from Banepa andDhulikhel study there. After theuniversity was completed, aQuality Education project wasinitiated in 1997 to upgrade theeducational standards of local

people to lead these projects,�”says Bel Prasad Shrestha, theformer mayor of Dhulikhel.

Today, Dhulikhel is home tothe country�’s finest university, astate-of-the-art communityhospital, and a consumer-managed drinking water system,all built through initiatives fromthe local community.

The founders of KathmanduUniversity had failed to find alocation until they were invitedto Dhulikhel to build thecampus. The municipalityquickly recognised its potentialand agreed to donate 200 ropaniesof land, and make arrangements

R U B E E N A M A H A T Oin DHULIKHEL

O

itself. The cobbled streets of Dhulikhel are lined withNewari-style houses, some of which are more than ahundred years old. At 1,500 metres above sea level,the climate is pleasantly cool and the lush greenhills make for pleasant walks and great mountainbiking trails.

In the past few years, Dhulikhel has alsodeveloped as a centre for conference tourism. �“Hotelsin Dhulikhel always have one conference or meetingtaking place at all times,�” says former mayor BelPrasad Shrestha, who is also the owner of HotelHimalayan Horizon and Dhulikhel Lodge. Mid to high-end accommodation is available in the 24 hotels inDhulikhel.

Mountains and more

P PARASH SHRESTHA

PARASH SHRESTHA

Everyone inDhulikhel wouldagree that the changesin town would nothave been possiblewithout thecharismaticleadership of BelPrasad Shrestha (pic,left). The three-timemayor of Dhulikhel

was the first in town to open a lodge for tourists and the first tobuild a public toilet. His success in bringing water to the townmade him highly popular and the people showed their support byelecting him for three consecutive terms.

Bel Prasad, however, thinks otherwise. �“Dhulikhel hassucceeded where other places have failed because everything thatwe did here was a people�’s project. If we had waited for thegovernment, Dhulikhel would still be the same nondescript townit was along the Arniko highway.�”

The sense of community is strong in this Newari town. Manyof its people have gone as far as Sikkim and Assam to do business,but value their roots in Dhulikhel. Schools, temples and roadshave been built with their remittances. Dr Ram Kantha Shrestha(pic, right), for instance, left his well-paying job in Austria toopen a hospital for the poor back home. Having started with nomore than two doctors and four rooms, Dhulikhel Hospital hasalready served 2.6 million people and conducts 10,000 surgeriesand 500,000 treatments a year.

Leadingthe charge

NEIL DIXIT

Banepa Bardibas highway, which is nearing completion, willopen up a range of possibilities for Dhulikhel. Once thehighway is completed, Dhulikhel will be the main entry pointto eastern Nepal, and may soon develop into an economic hub.The Suryabinayak-Tinkune highway will mean that Dhulikhelwill be accessible from the centre of Kathmandu in 45minutes. But does this mean that this model town will fallprey to unplanned urbanisation?

�“It does not have to be that way,�” says the Chief of thePlanning Section in Dhulikhel Municipality, Jaisi Mandal. Hesays tourism will remain their main priority and the currentpolicy of banning industries that pollute the town willcontinue even after the roads are opened.

As a centre for tourism, Dhulikhel has always understoodthe importance of maintaining a clean environment. Themunicipality disposes of solid waste in a dumping site afterseparating recyclable waste, and sewage is treated in a reed bedtreatment plant before it flows back into the rivers.

These practices are adequate for a population of 15,000 butsome fear that the pressure will be too high once the townstarts growing.

�“Efforts are already underway to prepare Dhulikhel for thepopulation rise that will accompany the completion of theroads,�” says Prakash Aryal, Project Manager of the UrbanEnvironmental Improvement Project. A land pooling projectwill build a planned settlement for more than 5,000 people.

Former mayor Bel Prasad Shrestha believes that there is noalternative to expanding the town. �“A greater municipalityshould be formed by merging Panauti, Banepa, Dhulikhel andthe surrounding villages. The municipality should then bedeveloped in a planned way with separate sections forresidential, tourism and industrial purposes. Let that be amodel for planned development in Nepal,�” he says.

The roadto progress

SAILENDRA KHAREL

8|LIFE TIMES

onfession, first off. Even beforelaying my hands on Kalakarmi,I�’d declared on numerousoccasions that Hari Maharjan is

�‘the best guitarist in Nepal�’. So even if awhole succession of Thamel music shopsseemed bemused by my request for theHari Maharjan Project�’s debut album (�“Ko?Naamai sunyaa chaina...�”), I expectedmuch.

I wasn�’t disappointed. And you don�’thave to be a bedroom guitarist to lock intoKalakarmi, either. Along with RizuTuladhar (bass), Daniel Rasaily (drums/percussion) and Nawaraj Gurung (tabla),Hari has created a sound that fuses andtranscends the genres he draws on, andpromises to grant him internationalcritical acclaim, if not fame and fortune.

Those accustomed to Hari�’spyrotechnics on the electric guitar at livevenues across town may have expectedmore obvious fireworks, and simply

World-class debut

Album: KalakarmiArtist: Hari Maharjan ProjectDistributor: Music NepalPrice: Rs 300

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

inspired, clean-toned, jazz-rock riffs,alternately elongated and shredded toperfection, are spread over nine instrumentaltracks that reward repeated listening.

The most accessible tracks on Kalakarmiare already a staple of HMP�’s liveperformances. Never gonna drink and driveagain and Soul in you are simplyphenomenal world-class tunes. Both boastamazing, complex sets of crunchy, funkyriffs, and you may well find yourselfhumming the unorthodox melodies the dayafter. Bass and percussion are in perfect synchere, with Hari surfing the beats. But it�’snot all spacey, funky jazz. There are Shakti-esque moments in both Big Brother and thetitle track Kalakarmi, and the gallopingChyante Ghoda evokes Mustang in moreways than one.

Throughout, while remaining essentiallya jazz album, Kalakarmi showcases HMP�’sfluency in rock, blues and funk. What setstheir debut apart from a host of high-minded

modern jazz fusion is the uncontrived,organic nature of the compositions,which are laced through with mostlysubtle references to Nepali musicalcultures. The beautiful melody inRaktika, for instance, brings one in mindof a nursery rhyme �– or is it a Newaritune?

Kalakarmi is an unabashedly seriousdebut. It won�’t gain HMP the flag-wavingdevotion his former bandmates inNepathya enjoy, not least because it�’swholly instrumental and, well, jazz. Ifyou like a rousing chorus, Kalakarmimight seem like an exercise in guitarnoodling. But the very fact that it�’saccessible to non-Nepali speakers sparkshope that with robust marketing andfurther experimentation with othersounds and artists across Nepal, HMPmay well become the first Nepali band totruly represent us on the global stage.Rabi Thapa

listening to Kalakarmi they may also missthe visibly dynamic synergy of Rizu andDaniel, an essential component of the triothat plays live on Hari Maharjan Project(HMP). But they are missing the point. Hari�’s

C

Ebisu Jewellery Exhibition & Sale 2010,exquisite jewellery for the festive season.Till Sunday 5 September, 11am to 7pm,Ebisu Jewellers, Darbar Marg, 4222815

Home and Decor Expo 2010, homemaker�’sparadise, everything you need for yourbeautiful home. From Friday 3 Septemberto 5 September, 11am to 6pm, BhrikutiMandap, Exhibition Road

Midas CAN SofTech 2010, for softwaresolutions and services. Till Saturday 4September, UWTC, Tripureswor

Tarabaji Lai Lai, play directed by MortenKrogh and enacted by Gurukul artists. Till5 September, 5.30pm, Sama Theatre,Gurukul, Purano Baneshwor, 4466956

Gaijatra, solo painting exhibition byacclaimed artist Ragini Upadhya Grela.Till 20 September, Siddhartha Art Gallery,4218048

Repeating Bodies Structural Space,exhibition of paintings by SanjeevMaharjan and Sunita Maharjan. Till 20September, 11am to 5pm, KathmanduContemporary Arts Centre, Jhamsikhel,Lalitpur, 5521120

KCAC Art Criticism Series II, 'Reflections- Should Contemporary Nepali Art beimbued with, or reflect an innateNepaliness or Nepali Punn? ', criticismand debate on the works of artists Sanjeevand Sunita Maharjan. Sunday 5September, 4.30pm, KCAC, Jhamsikhel

Lazimpat Gallery Cafe, screening ofSamson & Delilah. Friday 27 August ,6.30pm, Lazimpat Gallery Cafe, Lazimpat

Cycle 4: Selfie, photo exhibition by 17young amateur photographers. Till 23October, Galleria CUC, Momo Magic,Pulchok

Docskool, screening of Frida, starringSalma Hayek. Friday 3 September, 3.30pm,Kathmandu Academy, Mahendra Bhawan,Naxal, 4471104

Sunday Jazz Brunch, enjoy a relaxingSunday in The Terrace at Hyatt Regencywith barbeque and live jazz music by �‘InnerGroove�’. Every Sunday from 12pm to3.30pm, Hyatt Regency, Boudha, 4491234/4489362

Treasure at the Pub, live performances byThe Treasure Band. Every Friday, 8pm,Irish Pub, Ananda Bhawan, Lazimpat

Bottles and Chimney, live music byNekhvam. Dharmendra Sewan unpluggedevery Wednesday and Friday. 7pmonwards, Thamel, 2123135

House of Music, Karaoke night everyTuesday and in-house band jam sessionevery Saturday. 2pm to 12pm, Thamel,9849243807

The Oriental Tearoom at Pipalbot, try theirsake-cured salmon for lunch and twice-cooked caramelised pork belly for dinner.Wednesday to Monday for lunch, andThursday to Saturday for dinner, BabarMahal Revisited, 4267657, bookingspreferred

Jazoo, a quiet place ideal for beer andrelaxing conversation. Bring a friend andenjoy their special barbeque set for a mix ofeverything, Jawalakhel (near the zoo),5538321

The Factory, a trendy restobar for arefreshing stopover in the chaos that isThamel. Great food and drinks, with zestymusic. Don�’t miss out on their cheesecake,it�’s a must. Mandala Street, Thamel

Hadock, big compound with ample parkingspace, their Western and Thakali dishesare done to perfection. Jhamel, 10am-10am,5546431

Dhokaima Cafe has a new menu, try theBlackened Norwegian Salmon and GrilledShrimp Ajillo. Patan Dhoka, 5522113

Saturday @ Hyatt, take a refreshing dip inthe pool and sample the delicious barbequein open air. Every Saturday from 12.30pmto 4pm at the poolside, Hyatt Regency,Boudha, 4491234

Lhasa Bar, enjoy a beer or a splash ofcocktail at this springboard for excellentyoung musicians starting out on the Thamelcircuit. Thamel, 985101043

Mike�’s Breakfast, huge breakfasts and anever-ending supply of coffee amidst a lush

garden setting characterise this café,popular among tourists and locals alike.Naxal, 4424303

Bronco Billy, a new restaurant in townoffering Tex-Mex and Indian dishes. Theymake their own corn tortillas, which gets abig thumbs-up. Pulchok opposite NamasteSupermarket

Ghangri Café, a quiet place withcomfortable sofas and a lovely courtyard,perfect for those sunny afternoons.Although famous for their open sui mai,they offer a few other great dishes as well.Pulchok (near the Suzuki showroom),11am-10pm except Tuesdays.

New Orleans, offers a wide variety ofwestern dishes that are scrumptious yethealthy. Jhamel, 5522708.

OR2K, One of the few vegetarianrestaurants in the Valley, their MiddleEastern platter is delicious and theircocktails robust. Mandala Street, Thamel,4422097

Organic Café and Salad Bar, heartybreakfasts and healthy salads while youcatch up with your reading or emails in theheart of Thamel. Chakshibari Road, Thamel4215726

Roadhouse Café, serves pizzas cooked toperfection in wood-fired ovens. Health-conscious diners have an alternative in theCaesar salad, garnished with the freshestof ingredients. Jhamel, 5521755

Le Bistro Restaurant & Bar, the outdoordining area invokes a great atmosphere fora night of drinks with friends and family.Thamel, 4701170

Yin &Yang Restaurant, east meets west asyou choose from a variety of Thai andcontinental dishes. Get a little spice in yourlife with their pad thai or green curry. If youcan�’t handle the heat, fall into the safety netof their western dishes. Thamel, 10am-10pm, 4701510

Himalayan Java, one ofour favourite places forcoffee, just got bigger,with a new branchdeeper in the heart ofThamel. Expect thesame excellent serviceand quality food anddrinks with a change ofscenery. Food Bazaar,Thamel.

EVENTS

MUSIC

DINING

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518|9

10|HAPPENINGS

NEW QUEENS: Sadichha Shrestha was crowned Miss Nepal 2010 onWednesday, and Sahana Bajracharya and Sanyukta Timsina werenamed first and the second runner-up respectively.

NHUCHHE MAN DANGOL

MAKING WAVES: Caretaker PM Madhav Kumar Nepal visited the SpinalInjury Rehabilitation Centre in Sanga on Friday.

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

KIRAN PANDAY

BREAK DANCING: Participants perform at the Nepal B BoyChampionship 2010 held at the Rastriya Nach Ghar on Sunday. TheEverest All Stars A won the competition.

BIKRAM RAI

M

DHANVANTARIBuddha Basnyat, MD

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

FRI SAT S U N

27-20 27-21 28-20

K A T H M A N D U

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

K A T H M A N D U

After nearly a decade, this year�’s monsoon hasbrought persistent rains. Farmers of Dolakha,Chitwan and Gorkha report they are happy withthe rains and hope the groundwater in theirfields will be recharged fully after decades.Satellite pictures show a powerful low pressureband sitting over the north Indian plains andthe central Himalaya, from where it iscontinuously drawing fresh clouds from botharms of the monsoon. Western Nepal will getheavy rains while the other parts of the countrywill see light but continuous rains. Expectcloudy days and more rain throughout theweekend.

GREEN SCENE

R

ysterious fevers arecommon in Nepal,especially in the summer.

Sherlock Holmes and Watsonwould have had a field day here,figuring out the causes of theseunknown fevers. But theseoutbreaks are in fact diseases suchas typhoid, typhus, andleptospirosis, which are allmistakenly thought to be commonfever. As our laboratory facilitiesare too weak to make properdiagnoses, Nepal has become a sitefor case studies that have revealedthe lack of systematic curativepractices here.

Almost a decade ago, about900 fever patients were studied atPatan Hospital. Many well-knownconditions such as typhoid werecorrectly identified. However, twodiseases, typhus (not typhoid)and leptospirosis were completelyoverlooked by the physicians.Surprisingly, these turned out tobe the third and fourth mostcommon proven causes of feverafter the pneumonias.

This discovery has helped intreating fever patients in Nepalmore effectively, for the results

led to proper therapy �– the rightdrug for the right disease. It alsoproved that unknown causes offever can be determined onlythrough systematic study. Inmedical parlance, this is knownas �‘differential diagnosis�’.

Thanks to the research, typhusand leptospirosis are now listedas one of the main causes of feverin Nepal. Typhus, which is a flea,louse, mite, or tick-borne illness,can be acquired after being bittenby any of these organisms. Thisshould not be mistaken fortyphoid, which is caused bycontaminant bacteria in our foodor drinking water. Leptospirosison the other hand, is acquired

aju Dangol, Hem NarayanShrestha and GokulDangal could be the

Kathmandu Valley�’s mostinvaluable trio this season, giventhey are rainwater harvestingsystem technicians. The monsoonstill prevails and hundreds ofhouseholds, old and new, couldmake use of this basic technologyfor saving water. The system issimple: rainwater collected in thecatchment area (usually thebalcony or the roof) is channelledthrough a coarse mesh to preventthe passage of debris, and into apipe used to sieve out the firstflush of dirty water. The collectedwater is filtered through bio-sandtanks to rid the water of ammonia,arsenic, iron, and dust, and finallyconveyed to reservoirs under and

Collecting rain

above ground. Excess water canbe channelled to recharge thewater table underground, stavingoff some of the hassle of the dryseason.

The scarcity of water atpresent and the prospect of itsdepletion in the future areincentive enough to considerinstalling a rainwater harvestingsystem. The rain in Kathmandu isminimally acidic and only needsthe usual filtering and boiling torender it drinkable. With thepossibility of collecting plenty ofwater with a single shower, arainwater harvesting system canbe a workable solution for bothhouseholds and institutions.

The team of three hasinstalled systems for severalhotels and schools across the

Valley, including the SummitHotel, Rosebud School, andFora Darbar. Their experience,along with formal training fromthe Council for TechnicalEducation and VocationalTraining, means they havestrong credibility in their field.According to Dangol, theirnetwork of customers hasmaterialised through word-of-mouth and recommendationsfrom organisations such as theNGO Forum, ENPHO andWEPCO, which they used towork with.

�“Our work is to just connectthe pipes, install the tanks andensure the flow of water, so thisdoes not incur a big expense,�”explains Dangol. The teamcharges 20 per cent of whateverthe equipment costs amount to.While every site has differentrequirements in terms of tanks,pipes, and the size of catchmentarea, prices for householdinstallation have ranged fromRs 800 to Rs 100,000, whereasprices for schools and hotelshave ranged from Rs 10,000 toRs 200,000. This monsoon maybe almost over, but quickservice means you can alreadybenefit from the bounty of theheavens �– now and forever.

Contact:Raju Dangol (9841367690); HemShrestha (9841534189); GokulDangal (9841797404)

Solving mysterious fevers

from rat urine in puddles ofwater getting into abrasions inour skin �– not impossible inNepal. An effective drug for bothtyphus and leptospirosis isdoxycycline.

There are, of course, manyother infectious fevers in Nepalsuch as malaria, kalazar,tuberculosis, and now dengue,but typhus and leptospirosis hadalways been off the radar untilthe ground-breaking study atPatan Hospital. A crucial lessonlearnt from this study is theimportance of investigativeresearch in medicine �– much likeHolmes�’ and Watson�’s work insolving mysteries.

RSS

SHAHANI SINGH

SOCIETY|113 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

he get-together of femalerelatives before Tij is theNepali women�’s version of

football night for men. Exceptyou don�’t drag your inebriatedself home after the party and passout. You attend what has nowbecome a month-longestrogenfest, and recite the trialsand tribulations of women�’s livesmusically: the neglect by thehusband, the mistreatment by thein-laws, and how they shouldtake up the only chance to dancebecause the rest of the year is,well, going to be shit.

Welcome to the life of aNepali woman, where you danceand sing your sorrows away. Andthere is a long list of sorrows. Thematernity death rate for Nepaliwomen ranks among the highestin the world. While the overallliteracy rate has gone up, thepercentage of literate women stilllags behind. Almost 83 per centof households have no propertyunder women�’s ownership.Women earn about three quartersof what men earn in bothagricultural and non-agriculturalsectors.

Those who seek economicindependence in spite of theseinherent disadvantages facefurther harassment in theworkplace. Forget the backwaters,where uneducated men andwomen toil in the fields: around50 per cent of women are victimsof sexual harassment in the shiny

POLITICALLYCRACKEDIndu Nepal

glass towers of urban areas, saysthe International LabourOrganization. That means one outof two women in your office beenphysically or verbally harassed,eyed by sleazy men, or shownpornographic images.

Consider all of this part andparcel of what Nicholas Kristofand Sheryl WuDunncall the �“greatest moral outrage ofour century�” in their new bookHalf the Sky. Discrimination hasled to two million girls being lost

every year; they are killed oraborted because, author claimsthey are unwanted. Another 60 to100 million are �‘missing�’ due totrafficking and slavery. Being awoman is tough all over theworld. In Nepal, you get to singabout it.

Among the educated urbanmass, the troubling aspect of thisphenomenon is the failure torecognise discrimination when ithappens, and the refusal toacknowledge that they can have a

You wouldn’t go around proudly proclaiming you’re aracist. Then why do most people think it’s okay tosay they’re not feminists?

Singing of sorrow

part in either eliminating orpromoting it. During a lightconversation about women�’srights recetnly, a colleague pulleda disgusted face and said, �“I hatefeminists.�” Feminism is a dirtyword. Those of us who risk beinghated by colleagues because wewant equal rights and freedom forwomen have to qualify it bysaying we don�’t want to throwmen off the cliff before extractingtheir semen so that we canpopulate the world with test-tube

babies. There are crazies in everyfield, but will you stop caring forthe environment because of someoverzealous fruitarian eco-warriors who want you to live ina yurt in the woods?

If you question those who goaround proclaiming they are notfeminists and hate those that are,they will usually say that theyhave no problem if women wantto pursue their goals in life. Butto achieve the feminist utopiawhere there is no discriminationbetween the sexes requires a lotof people to change theirbehaviour and outlook. Only 24per cent of men say theyrecognise instances of sexualharassment at work. Others seemto think that women actuallyenjoy being ogled.

We have the advantage thatwe do not live in a society whereoppression is religiously orlegally sanctioned. We canopenly talk, or sing, about ourgrievances. That is the only firststep. Eliminating discriminationis actually a conscious proactiveprocess. But you can start withthis: next time you say you arenot a feminist, ask yourself ifyou would proudly go aroundsaying you are a racist. Becausesaying you don�’t supportequality between the sexes isexactly the same as saying youdon�’t support equal rights foreveryone because of their racialbackground.

T

KIRAN PANDAY

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #51812|NATION

Internet shutdown?Internet Service Providers (ISPs), who met the home and information ministers Thursday morning,said both blamed them for complicity in the call-bypass scam. ISPs say they can�’t run a businesswith the threat of arrest at any time and may collectively return their licenses. This wouldpotentially paralyse internet services in Nepal.

ISPs say the new law holds them liable if an illegal VOIP operator is using its bandwidthwithout the knowledge of the service provider. Said one ISP owner: �“The police want us to tell themabout excessive use, but what is excessive use? Who defines it? There are hundreds of legitimateindividuals and businesses who use more than 1MB, do we report all of them?�”

Nepal�’s 49 ISPs have already blocked scores of pornographic sites under instruction from thepolice in the past month, and they say they can block other sites as well. But they can�’t be filteringeverything because it is impossible, especially since the definition of what is deemed �‘anti-national�’and �‘inciting racial hatred�’ is so broad.

Says the ISP Association�’s Binay Bohara: �“If they tell us what to block we will block, but wecan�’t accept this blanket blame.�”

New police unit designed to combatorganised crime wants internet controls

THIS WEEK

Crackdown riles ISPs

HORROR: NTA sent a letter this week to ISPs,warning of stiff punishment if they didn�’t fulfillconditions for operation that include filteringpornographic and �‘horror�’ content.

he cabinet�’s new Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI), set up lastmonth, has already come under fire

for being overzealous, and violatingconstitutionally guaranteed privacy laws ingoing after Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The new �‘FBI-style�’ unit was set up bythe government two weeks ago in responseto a nationwide rise in abductions, financialscams, cyber-crime and call-bypasssyndicates. The high-powered and well-resourced force works under the directcontrol of the chief of police and is designedto act immediately to counter organisedcrime.

However, by targeting Nepal�’s ISPs, theCBI has stirred a hornet�’s nest among ITcompanies, constitutional lawyers andconsumer advocacy groups, who say the unitis overstepping its bounds.

Sirish Karmacharya of the internetprovider Namche was arrested this week andjailed for having provided bandwidth tocustomers who were allegedly using it tobypass calls. Nepal TelecommunicationAuthority (NTA) sent a letter this week toISPs, warning of stiff punishment if theydidn�’t fulfill conditions for operation thatinclude filtering pornographic and �‘horror�’content. NTA wants material that �‘incitesracial and religious hatred�’ and is againstthe �‘national interest�’ filtered.

�“The conditions are too broad and ISPscan�’t be held responsible for what thesubscribers use the internet for, it�’s theirprivate business,�” explains Binay Bohara ofthe ISP Association. �“In any case, filteringcontent is very expensive, cumbersome anddifficult.�”

Constitutional lawyer Satish Kharel goesa step further and says NTA�’s conditionsfor use also violate the constitutionallyguaranteed right to privacy. �“Onlyparliament can pass laws restrictingfundamental freedoms, it can�’t be done byNTA or the police,�” Kharel says. �“This is aninfringement of the constitution and alsogoes against the right to privacy under

international human rights instrumentsto which Nepal is a signatory.�”

Kharel, who specialises intelecommunications, says if thegovernment is serious about going afterthose misusing Voice over InternetProtocol (VOIP), it should investigate thereal culprits and not those who are simplyselling the connection.

Following the NTA directives to theletter would effectively shut downYouTube, Facebook, popular Nepaliportals like cybersansar.com,mysansar.com, and even nepalitimes.com,because some of the comments in thefeedback section could be construed to beobjectionable.

Minister of Information andCommunication, Shankar Pokharel, saidthe government was losing billions ininternational call-bypass and was forcedto act against operators with VOIP. �“Thestate needs information on who is usingexcessive bandwidth at all times of theday, without this data it is difficult tocatch the culprits,�” Pokharel told NepaliTimes. �“All we are asking is for the ISPs topass on this information.�”

The police say they have beenhandicapped by their inability to accessmobile phone and internet usage data ingoing after criminals. DIG Arjun SinghBhandari says, �“Our main concern is toban VOIP calls as it becomes difficult totrace criminal activities, and organisedcrimes have been carried out using VOIP.We have requested ISPs to help us in ourinvestigation.�”

But Karmacharya�’s arrest and the factthat he has been presumed guilty untilproven innocent has sent shockwavesthrough the ISP community, and lawyersare aghast at the lack of due process in thecase. This has led to suspicion that thepolice are themselves involved in extortingISPs. �“It now seems to be our turn to bemilked,�” said one cyber café owner inThamel.

T

MP jailedThe Special Court on Tuesday remanded Dol Bahadur Karki, aUML CA member, to 20 days of judicial custody. He has beencharged with accepting bribes from 12 people in exchange forarranging for recruitment into the police force. A CIAA teamarrested him on Monday evening, allegedly while he was in theprocess of accepting a surety of Rs 100,000 from an individual towhom he had promised help in getting through the exams requiredto be appointed as a police officer.

Unlocking the mysteryThe black box of the Dornier 228 belonging to Agni Air has beenfound a week after its crash on Tuesday. The Cockpit VoiceRecorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the planewere recovered from the impact ditch created when the aircraftdived into the ground. Rescue workers used an excavator to lookfor the black box, which was buried 15ft below the surface.

Where have they gone?Human rights organisations, civil society members and victims�’families remembered those disappeared during the decade-longinsurgency on the International Day of the Disappeared onTuesday, with a lamp-lighting ceremony at Basantapur. The Officeof the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights inNepal urged the government to swiftly implement the SupremeCourt decision of 2007 that requires the state to criminalise forceddisappearances. Rights bodies emphasised the need to formcommissions on forced disappearances, truth finding andreconciliation. A bill has been prepared and tabled to this effect,but lack of interest from the political parties has stalled theprocess.

3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518 LABOUR|13

�“Tej Prakash Pun is my relative,�”points out Dolendra BahadurKhatri, 30. But this didn�’t savehim from being trafficked first toMacau, then to China, andeventually to Libya, from wherehe had to be rescued and broughtback to Nepal (see box).

The 108 Nepalis who wererescued from Libya recently arevictims of an internationaltrafficking ring run by Pun (pic,right), aided by his wife TikadeviGurung. Pun, who has beeninvolved in trafficking since atleast the mid-1990s, has a longhistory of fraud, is wanted byHong Kong immigration, and hasnow gone underground in Libya.

Following a troubled time asa student in Myagdi district�’sPrakash Secondary School, Punserved in the British Gurkhasfrom 1981 to 1994. After hisdischarge, he forged a passportand under the alias KesharBahadur Gurung, entered HongKong in 1995 as the husband oflegal resident Radhika Gurung(real name Tikadevi Gurung). Inreality, both were already marriedto other people. Together, theyregistered Gurkha ConstructionLtd in Hong Kong in 1995, andDhawalagiri InternationalManpower in Nepal in 1997.

Pun and Gurung worked as ateam to fleece Nepalis seekingwork abroad, and specialised intrafficking prospective labourersto Hong Kong and Macau. Butwith the tightening of visa onarrival rules for Nepalis in boththese destinations, and HongKong immigration�’s discovery ofPun�’s criminal activity, hemoved to Libya. It became hisnew destination of choice forhapless migrant labourers.

In 2008, Indonesian companyCitramegah Karya Gemilang(CKG) won a bid to construct1,200 houses in Libya. Thecompany approached GurkhaConstruction Ltd for 180 skilledlabourers. Pun charged Nepaliworkers Rs 130,000 to Rs 270,000apiece to arrange for visas andtickets, even though CKG wascovering these costs. Accordingto Mausam Roka, who has justreturned from Libya, GurkhaConstruction sent 25 skilledlabourers from Hong Kong while

Migrant workers are falling prey to traffickers likeTej Prakash Pun, who is responsible for the plightof the 108 Nepalis rescued from Libya recently

Trafficking labour

Dhawalagiri InternationalManpower sent 108 Nepaliworkers. Those from Hong Kongwere paid US$2,000-2,500 amonth but the Nepali workerswere paid just US$300, andeventually had to fend forthemselves (see box). Pun�’sventure fell apart when the

�“I was preparing to go to Bahrain,where I had been promised roomand board and a monthly salary ofRs 25,000, when I met TikadeviGurung and her niece KamalaGurung of DhawalagiriManpower,�” says 40-year-old LalBahadur Khatri of Kaski district. Itwas a fateful meeting. Theypersuaded him to sign up for Libyainstead, though he had alreadysubmitted his passport to anothermanpower agency.

Even after making a paymentof Rs 130,000 (�“I later discovered that CKG had paid for myvisa and travel costs,�” he says), it took a whole year beforeLal Bahadur made it to Libya. But conditions were so bad hehad to resort to eating what the cattle did �– shrubs and grass�– for a week. He�’s now back home, but has to pay back debtsincurred of Rs 80,000. Lal Bahadur says, �“When I rememberwhat I went through, I just feel angry.�”

workers appealed to the Nepaliauthorities, prompting theirrescue. His whereabouts arecurrently unknown, but Tikadeviremains in Hong Kong, where shelives in an apartment she owns.

Despite his recent failure,Pun has done extremely well outof exploiting his countrymen. He

has long had good relations withthe powers that be, and the formerking Gyanendra awarded him theBirendra Aishwarya medal andGorkha Dakshinbahu IV. He isalso the outgoing treasurer of theInternational CoordinationCommittee of the Non-ResidentNepali Association (NRN) and

Dolendra Bahadur Khatri, 30, paid Rs180,000 to his relative Tej PrakashPun to be flown to Macau, where hecovertly worked for a year. Once histourist visa expired, he was taken toGuangzhou, China, where a dozenNepalis lived in a room for threemonths. Dole ndra was then returnedto Nepal and flown to Libya once hemade a further payment of Rs 30,000to Pun�’s partner-in-crime, TikadeviGurung.

�“On 19 May 2009, DhaulagiriManpower gave me a letter of

understanding that said I would be paid US$500 per month,�”recalls Dolendra, who is from Rupandehi. �“I reached Libya. But Iwas paid only US$300, and the food and accommodation wasn�’tas they said it would be. When I demanded my pay so I couldreturn home, Tej Prakash accused us of trying to kidnap him andgot 23 of us arrested. We were tortured in custody.�”

chief advisor to NRN Libya, aswell as the coordinator of theMyagdi Overseas NepaleseAssociation (MONA). Pun andTikadevi Gurung each own sharesworth HK$50,000 in GurkhaConstruction Ltd. DhawalagiriInternational Manpower has aprincipal capital of Rs 4 millionand current capital ofRs 3 million.

The government has nowbanned Nepali labourers fromgoing to Libya. But Pun andGurung are just one of manyinvolved in trafficking Nepalisaround the world. Indeed, Nepalis seen as a source country forhuman trafficking. Trafficking InPerson, a report published by theUS Department of State, listsNepal as an extremely vulnerablecountry, particularly for thetrafficking of children andwomen.

For Surya Limbu ofSankhuwasaba, who exclaimsthat in returning from Libya hefelt as if he had �“escaped amonster�” in the form of TejPrakash Pun, the worst may beover. But while Nepalis stilldream of foreign climes, they willcontinue to fall prey to the worstnightmares that could befallthem.

With Dev Pachbhaiya in Myagdiand the Centre for InvestigativeJournalism

�“We were torturedin custody�”

�“We ate grassto survive�”

J B P U N M A G A R &B A B U R A M B I S W O K A R M Ain HONG KONG

14|FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

Editorial in Kantipur, 30 August

The Indian Embassy has beenallowed to stay here as a diplomaticrepresentative of the Indiangovernment, not to conduct businessor issue threats. But lately, theembassy seems to have forgotten thatNepal is a free and sovereign state. Ithas openly intervened in Nepalipolitics, stopped the KantipurGroup�’s newsprint at Kolkata,pressurised companies with Indianinvestments to not giveadvertisements (which stillcontinues) to the media, and evenissued death threats to a CA member.Now it is challenging the Nepalimedia. Our government chooses toignore these ground-levelinterventions. We may have just acaretaker government but this shouldnot affect the day-to-day functioning of the state. It isimportant to remind them that in such serious

Naya Patrika, 30 August

�“I was heading to my neighbour�’s place at 7am, to helpthem build their home, when suddenly I heard gunfire.The police were advancing towards my home, firinggunshots and setting fire to the neighbourhood. Soonour houses went up in flames and people were cryingaloud�…�” Tantaveer Oli of Khara, Rukum, recalls the daywith sorrow in his eyes. His entire village wasconsumed by flames, with 66 houses and farms burnedto ashes, and 15 innocents were killed by the police. On22 February 2000, the village of Khara fell victim to onethe worst atrocities committed by government forces inthe 10 years of the armed insurgency. Parvati Khatriremembers panicking and going into the jungle,searching for her daughter-in-law. �“I told them that mydaughter-in-law was innocent and my granddaughter wasyoung. I pleaded with them, but those sinners did notlisten. They killed them in front of my eyes.�”

Ramkali Khadka, a mother of two, had gone to thejungle with her husband Laxmi to cut grass. They werehurrying home after realising their village was on fire.But they were targeted by the police themselves, andLaxmi was shot dead. �“I cried and screamed in front ofthem, but they would not listen,�” says Ramkali, recallingthe day of her loss. �“As if that wasn�’t enough, they setfire to our homes too.�”

Tantaveer, Parvati and Ramkali are among many inKhara who faced the terror of seeing their houses burntdown and family members killed. �“Whenever we see auniformed person, we instinctively fear for our lives,�”says Raj Singh Oli.

After a long period of neglect, the governmentprovided aid to the bereaved families of Rs 100,000 each,along with compensation for destroyed property. Somehave rebuilt their homes, but many used the moneysimply to get by. Those who did not receive adequate aidhave not even been able to pay for their children�’seducation.

When Prachanda was prime minister, minister ofpeace Janardan Sharma declared he would make Khara a�‘village of peace�’. Roads, school buildings, drinkingwater facilities and toilets were built, and even thepolice station was reconstructed. Former VDCchairperson Sita Oli claims that the Ministry of Peaceand Reconciliation spent a total of Rs 3,500,000 on relieffor Khara last year, and Rs 10 million this year.

But the survivors of the Khara massacre would ratherhave their homes reconstructed than be given communalfacilities. Most of all, their hearts still cry for their lovedones. Their loss cannot be erased by development ormoney. Eleven years have gone by since that day of terror,but the wounds of Khara are still raw.

Dil Shahani in Rajdhani, 31 August

UNMIN has raised its finger whenever the Maoistshave been at fault. After all this is what it should do.This is what we invited it for. UNMIN has also raisedits finger when the Nepal Army made mistakes. Butthe political parties and the Nepal Army wantUNMIN to stay quiet no matter what the Army doesand blame the Maoists even when they haven�’t doneanything wrong. UNMIN is not an institution thatdances to someone�’s tune. The parties have blamedUNMIN of acting as an aide of the Maoists. But the

situations the Foreign Ministry holds thepower to call on the ambassador of theconcerned embassy and ask him to maintain

limits in diplomacy and evensend him back.

The organisations that are apart of the Federation of NepaliJournalists should not hesitateto act against suchundiplomatic activities of aforeign diplomatic mission.The time has come for some bigpublications, which have notgiven this matter muchimportance, to forgetcommercial competition andstand up for national issues.Civil society, professionalorganisations and all politicalparties need to unite. Withoutyour support it will bedifficult to drive away thesedark clouds threatening press

freedom, which is so closely linked to ournational integrity.

Undiplomatic diplomacy

Driving UNMIN awayfact is UNMIN is closer to the parliamentaryparties than the UCPN (Maoist) in terms ofideology. UNMIN knows its roles andresponsibilities well. It knows that it has come tomonitor the peace process in the country. So, itsays what it sees.

UNMIN has raised objections to therecruitment drive because it knew that suchactions would increase suspicions between thetwo armies and affect the army integration process.UNMIN has only voiced its concerns. It has notstopped the process. We haven�’t given it the rightsto stop things, after all. We have only allowed it tospeak. And that is what it did. But if we cannoteven tolerate the UNMIN speaking, how can weexpect to make the country a democratic republic?

The country has reached a juncture where itcannot even form a government. The black cloudsof chaos are hovering over us. Where will thecountry go if we send back UNMIN at thismoment? Do we want violence and bloodshedagain? Do we want another emergency? If that iswhat we want, we can send UNMIN back.Otherwise, UNMIN should be kept till the peaceprocess is brought to a logical conclusion.

�“Khara�’swounds arestill raw�”

Oh, the mountains are melting!And this is a mountain in the making? Hahaha..!

Uttam Nepal in Rajdhani, 29 August

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS|153 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 #518

Nabin Jha in HimalKhabarpatrika, 1-16 September

District president of the NationalDemocratic Tarai MadhesOrganisation in Rautahat,Shailendra Singh, is busyshuttling back and forth betweenKathmandu and the Tarai thesedays. The organisation is active asa royalist front in the Madhes.�“We are preparing to rectify pastmistakes and move forward,�”Singh says.

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On 27 August, former crownprince Paras Shah threw a partyat Nirmal Niwas for over 100leaders from Sunsari to Saptari,who are affiliated with theorganisation. Suresh Yadav ofSiraha, Janak Lal Sah of Parsa,Dinesh Mahato, ShailendraSingh and Ajit Singh ofRautahat district had one-on-one conversations with theformer crown prince.

Manmohan Shamsher Rana,who defected from RPP(N) andopened the Patriotic NationalistPeople Unity Party, said thatsince the CA had failed todeliver a new constitution ontime, efforts are being made tofind a place for a �‘worthymonarchy�’ in the newconstitution through an all-party round table conference.

MJF president UpendraYadav has been invited to makethe proposed conference asuccess. Rana said that otherpolitical parties could not becontacted, as they are engaged inthe formation of thegovernment. �“We have alreadyhad informal talks with Yadavregarding the need for an all-party round table conference todraft a new constitution, as theextended term of the CA isillegal,�” he said.

According to MohanShrestha, who heads thepublication and publicitydepartment of RPP(N), LalKrishna Advani and other topIndian leaders will participatein a chariot procession thatbegins on 10 December. Theyhave already arranged Rs 10million for the procession,which will begin fromJanakpur, go all the way to

Lumbini, and conclude inPashupati.

Followers of former KingGyanendra are being mobilised inthe Madhes to exert pressure onpolitical parties to accept a Hindumonarchy. Following frequentvisits to the Madhes by RPP(N)president Kamal Thapa,Gyanendra visited Janakpur on

24 March and said he did notthink that the monarchy wasobsolete. He also visitedNepalganj on 23 May and Birganjon 16 June.

The former crown prince thenvisited Bara, Parsa and Birganj.Sources say Gyanendra isscheduled to make a five-day visitto the Madhes in mid-September.

The royalists have concludedthat the Maoist and Madhesiparties are not against the palace.�“There is no alternative toworking together, for above all, weare for nationality and not forpower,�” said Krishna Mahato.President of the NationalDemocratic Tarai MadhesOrganisation.

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AIf you gotta go, you gotta go

lot of naysayers have been criticisingMakunay for putting up Nepal�’scandidature for the post of General

Assembly president when it is pretty wellknown that the Qataris have alreadyinvested millions and that theirPlenipotentiary in New York is well on hisway to bag the coveted post. But what theheck, Nepal thought, let�’s try to convinceQatar to pull out of the race and get ourCool Man in there. It�’s a risky plan, but itmay just work if we can threaten to pullout all 500,000 Nepali workers from Dohaif they don�’t agree. We have the Qataris bytheir gonads.

It�’s also brilliant timing to get the ArmyChief to speak out against UNMIN. Anarmy that is so dependent on the UN�’sDPKO for extra pocket money for itssoldiers, and core funding for the ArmyWives Welfare Fun, should campaignharder so the UN blacklists NA and it isthen forced to implement the SecuritySector Reform and downsize men-under-arms.

So, with the new arch at the airport, we arenow fully prepared for Visti Nepal Year2011 (see pic by unknown artist, above) .Never one to skip a junket, MKN is off toNY for the MDG session on 17 Sep. Butthen he has to go back on the 28th for hisGA speech, so what to do in the meantime?Makunay decided to pack in a visit to

Canada as well and wait it out. All in all, itnow looks like the PM will be out of thecountry for the entire second half ofSeptember. If you gotta go, you gotta go.Just hope he will still be PM, and therewill still be a country when he returns.

Comrade Bhayanak, meanwhile, isdetermined to sabotage Makunay�’sglobetrotting and replace the Caretakerbefore mid-Sept so as to pull the rug fromunder Makunay before he sets off to NorthAmerica. The way he is trying to do this isby getting both Forum factions in hispocket by making them ministerial offersthey can�’t refuse in the new coalition. Inseparate secret meetings, it looks like

Upadro Yadav readily agreed to come backas Foreigner Minister and even BijayBabu has found the offer of DPM and HomeMinistry plus other plum portfolios forhis sidekicks too juicy to resist. Looks likeit�’s time for Lainchaur to bring back UncleShyam.

Have to hand it to Awesome�’s salespitch, he�’s even convinced Ridesh Tripatito take up the offer of Minister ofInformation and Communication if hebrings his party in on Sunday�’s vote. ButPKD may have a problem on his hands: hehas already offered MoIC to Rajabadi Singhfor getting assorted Madhesis and theWorkers and Peasants Party to defect in thesecond round. The Ass�’ unsolicited tip toAwesome: bifurcate the ministeries and

give Information to Tripati andCommunication to the ex-royal son-in-law. After all, Raja Budder knows toomany secrets since he was the onedistributing monies to fence-sitters. Theman had to hurriedly stash cash worth 9karod under a bed when the MadhesiYouth stormed the Great CattleMarket at the Sunset View Hotel lastmonth, legend has it. But the Begum didmanage to stuff her handbag with as yetunascertained favours.

The Jungli Minister�’s proposal toinduct 5,000 of the Cantonment Warriorsinto a National Park Ranger Force is abrilliant brainwave. The Maobadis will beliterally going back to the jungle, and itwill be like letting foxes guard the poultryfarm. What remains of our rhinos, tigersand crocs will be poached into extinctionand the nature sanctuaries can be turnedinto housing plots.

Ass fans have sent in headlines fromthis week�’s newspapers, which are all tiedfor the coveted News of the Week Medal:�‘Gyawali Smells a Rat�’�‘Kangaroo Testicles, Chefs Say Yes�’'Monkey Business in Parliament�’�‘Natural Orifices Thrill Docs�’

Copy editors write toass(at)nepalitimes.com to claimyour prizes.