ICC U-19 World Cup: Nepal colts pull off a coup

Nepal stunned Test giants New Zealand by 32 runs in their opening match of the ICC U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh to regain their status as giant killers in the youth cricket’s global showpiece.

Invited to make the first use of the pitch, Nepal made 238-7 in 50 overs and bowled New Zealand out for 206 in 47.1 overs. Nepal captain Raju Rijal led from the front with a composed 65-ball 48 and put on 61 runs for the fifth wicket with Aarif Sheikh.

It was Nepal’s second win over New Zealand and seventh overall against a Test playing nation. Nepal had defeated the junior Black Caps by one wicket to win the Plate Championship final in 2006. It was Nepal’s first victory over a Test playing nation since they humbled Zimbabwe by 99 runs in the 2008 Plate quarter-finals.

Once given a moniker of ‘giant killers’ in the wake of a string of stunning results against big guns like South African (twice), Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, off late Nepal have been struggling even to qualify for the World Cup. They had missed out on the 2010 edition and finished 13th in 2012 before failing to qualify for the 2014 event.

While Afghanistan, Fiji, Canada, Namibia and Scotland made it to the finals as champions among non-Test playing teams from their respective regions, Nepal needed to win the Global Qualifiers to secure the last available berth in the 16-team event in Bangladesh. But with Thursday’s win, Nepal have not only reclaimed the ‘giant killers’ tag but also opened a chance to enter the second round. Nepal will play Ireland in their next game in Group D which also features three-times U-19 champions India.

Current Nepal national team skipper Paras Khadka, who was part of the team that defeated New Zealand in 2006 Plate Final, was as excited as the rest of the country by Nepali colts’ latest exploit.

“We are back with what we were known for in U-19 cricket. It proves we have inherent cricketing talent which can do wonders provided there are exposures and opportunities,” said Khadka.

“It’s an amazing feeling to beat a Test nation because we cannot be compared with them in terms of infrastructure and resources. The boys have given a massive start to the tournament but there is still a long way to go,” he added.

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Dahal bats for national unity govt

Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has stressed the need to form a national unity government for effective implementation of constitution and to expedite the post-disaster reconstruction process.

Dahal, however, did not divulge details about whether the current government would be transformed into a unity government or that there would be a new

leadership. Speaking to reporters in Dhanghadhi on Sunday, Dahal said only a national unity can deal with the adverse situation facing the country.

“After a broad agreement on the issues, there can be discussions whether this government should continue as unity government or a new government be formed,” Dahal said, adding that the UCPN (Maoist) had been in favour of a national unity government since the day the constitution was promulgated.

“Discussions are underway with Nepali Congress regarding the formation of a national unity government,” he said, without divulging details about the talks with the main opposition.

Despite dissatisfaction in the party over performances of the government, Maoist leaders say chances of it withdrawing support to the government in immediate future are slim. Even Dahal has made remarks in public that performances of government as dismal. Questions were raised in the party over performances of some Maoist ministers who along with the senior coalition CPN-UML share vital posts in the government.

Dahal is said to have told NC leaders about the possible change in government after the party’s general convention in the first week of March. The NC leaders are said to against the change in government in immediate future.

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Nepal register 1st football victory after 2013

Nepal won an international match after two years at the expense of Sri Lanka at the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Nepal striker Bimal Gharti Magar’s early score was enough for Nepal to win the game against their South Asian rivals Sri Lanka.

It was the first victory of Nepal in any international football match after their 2-1 win over India in the SAFF Championship in Kathmandu in 2013.

In today’s match, Nepal, however, missed a host of chances to double the lead as strikers failed to capitalise on the opportunities.

Nepal defeated the Sri Lankans to extract the revenge as they had lost an important SAFF Suzuki Cup group game against the Lankans in the dying minutes of the game.

With the victory today, Nepal top the group A score table with four points after two games and  Sri Lanka languish in the bottom of the chart and are on the way back to the Indian Island.

Earlier, Nepal had played a goalless draw with the Felda United of Malaysia on Saturday, January 8.

After being declared the Man of the Match, the sole scorer Magar, speaking at the presentation ceremony, thanked his teammates and his family for their support, looking forward to seeing the next challenge against the hosts on Friday.

Nepal would play their next match against Bangladesh on Friday.

Nepal’s participation in this tournament is expected to add impetus for the upcoming South Asian Games in India next month.

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Absence of women in leadership level sad: Prime Minister Oli

Emphasis has been laid on giving women who comprise half of the country’s total population leadership roles in the policy making level in the civil service.

At an interaction ‘Women in Civil Service’ organised by the Ministry of General Administration here, participants pointed out that women’s participation in civil service which has surged to 18 per cent from 11 per cent is not enough.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said society must understand that women’s reproductive capacity is a big charity for mankind’s development and that policy should be created on this basis.

The PM said that women could not become shareholders despite being given opportunity to participate in every sector, while adding that absence of women in leadership level of the civil service was sad.

Referring to Cuba, PM Oli said that women had gained access to top positions due to development of education.

He further said that women must be encouraged to seek opportunities in the social sector and policy making level, and be given education.

General Administration Minister Rekha Sharma expressed commitment to implement the issues put forth during the interactive programme and said a mechanism would be formed so that all the ministries could address women’s problems.

She said the Civil Service Act would be reformed for gender equality for all women employees.

Public Service Commission Chairman Umesh Mainali said the plan for women’s participation in civil service would remain defunct unless they were given access to the policy making level.

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Reconstruction drive to begin from Jan 16

President Bidya Devi Bhandari is scheduled to launch the national reconstruction campaign by inaugurating Ranipokhari reconstruction project on Jan 16.

The day is also being marked as the 18th Earthquake Safety Day. This information was shared by the publicity subcommittee under the Earthquake Safety Day main organising committee at a press meet in the capital today.

The national reconstruction campaign would be announced with the inauguration of the Ranipokhari reconstruction at 11:56 am, to commemorate the time that the April 25 earthquake struck Nepal with Gorkha as its epicentre.

Similarly, the Prime Minister is scheduled to begin the Bungmati area reconstruction project in Karyabinayak municipality the same day.

A version of this article appears in print on January 09, 2016 of The Himalayan Times.

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Border points will be clear soon: Ambassador Upadhyay

Nepal's Ambassador to India, Dip Kumar Upadhyay, has said Nepal-India relations would be back to normal in the next few days.

Talking to the National News Agency (RSS) on Friday, Ambassador Upadhyay said as the internal problems were being dealt with, a positive message would come soon. "The political issues raised by the Madhesi political parties were being addressed through the amendment of constitution, it will obviously bring positive change", he said.

Saying that the Indian side has wished peace and stability in Nepal with the solution of the internal problems, ambassador Upadhyay said sooner the solution of the internal problems, better the environment.

According to him, the readiness on the part of the government, main opposition and agitating parties in Tarai/Madhes to resolve the issue is a significant achievement.

He further said if the constitution process was initiated on time, the country and the people would not suffer to this extent. "Blaming neighbour does not bring any benefit. Solving internal problems is a wiser step," Ambassador Upadhyay said.

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24 constitution amendment proposals registered in House

Altogether 24 amendment proposals on the Bill on First Amendment of Constitution of Nepal were registered at the Secretariat of Legislature Parliament today, the last day for filing amendment proposals on the bill.

The proposals would be tabled at the House meeting slated for 1:00 pm on January 13.

Six separate amendment proposals were registered by 84 lawmakers from main opposition Nepali Congress.

Three of them were registered at the behest of NC leaders Bimalendra Nidhi, Minendra Rijal and Farmullah Mansur with two choices for constituency delimitation.

The three proposals were registered in consultation with party leaders, while the other three proposals were registered separately by Prakash Sharan Mahat, Romi Gauchan Thakali and Sanjay Kumar Gautam.

No lawmaker from the ruling CPN-UML or the agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front registered any proposal on the bill.

The proposal registered by Nidhi-led group proposes allocating 83 constituencies for Tarai-Madhes region and 82 constituencies for hills and mountains . Rijal-led group has proposed creating 79 or 80 constituencies in Tarai-Madhes and 85 or 86 in hills and mountains.

“The first alternative closely reflects the demand of the agitating Madhesi parties. But if it cannot be agreed upon, the second alternative would accommodate the concerns of all,” said NC lawmaker Ganesh Kumar Mandal. NC lawmakers’ proposals were registered after holding consultations with the agitating UDMF, according to NC sources.

Farmullah-led group has proposed 11 clusters instead of existing 17 for proportional inclusion in state mechanisms.

The 11 clusters women, Dalits, indigenous nationalities, Madhesis, Tharus, Muslims, disabled persons, backward groups, sexual minorities, people belonging to backward regions and Khas Arya, however, should be from backward regions.

Mahat has proposed reserving at least one constituency for all mountainous and remote districts and equally sharing the remaining constituencies between the hills and the Tarai on the basis of population.

Similarly, Thakali seeks to secure at least one constituency for each mountainous and geographically remote hill district. Gautam wants all Tarai districts to be called Tarai-Madhes instead of only Madhes.

Eleven lawmakers from UCPN-M registered separate proposals on the bill at the behest of lawmaker Ram Narayan Bidari, though most of them seek almost the same thing.

They have proposed two clusters one for proportional inclusion and another for inclusion.

Their proposals seek to include nine clusters women, indigenous nationalities, Madhesi, Tharu, Muslim, people of backward region, poor peasants and laborers for proportional inclusion.

The UCPN-M lawmakers have proposed 12 other clusters aboriginals, minorities, disabled persons, marginalised, backward groups, sexual minorities, youth, peasant, laborers, oppressed and economically disadvantaged Khas Arya for inclusion in the state mechanisms.

Yogendra Chaudhari of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic) has sought 51 per cent constituencies for Tarai-Madhes and 49 percent for hills and mountains.

Prem Suwal and Anuradha Thapa Magar of Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party have sought free education and employment to all.

Durga Paudel and Mina Pun of Rastriya Janamorcha, Jay Dev Joshi of CPN (United) and Rukmini Chaudhari of Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch (Tharuhat) also registered their proposals.

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Ensuring smooth supplies, curbing black marketeering govt's priorities: Home Minister

Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet has said ensuring smooth supply of essentials and controlling black marketeering are the priorities of the government when the country is going through an adverse situation.

Taking part in a discussion programme on 'measures to control black market' organised by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Kathmandu chapter here Thursday, the Home Minister said the government had adopted a strong policy to discourage black marketeering surfaced in the country with the disruption of supplies system owing to Nepal-India border problems. He urged everyone to immediately inform the police, respective District Administration Office or even the Home Ministry if any incident of black marketeering came into their notice.

Also speaking on the occasion, Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Office Chief, Additional Inspector General of Police Pratap Singh Thapa, said police in the past four months arrested 121 people on charge of involvement in black marketeering while cases have been filed against 80.

Director General of Department of Commerce Shambhu Koirala said black marketeering would automatically flourish when there was an imbalance between the demand and supply sides. The Department was doing its best to discourage this trend, he added.

FNJ Kathmandu Chapter Govinda Chaulagai and Consumers Welfare Forum representative Pramlal Maharjan accused the government of failing to implement standard measures to control the black marketeering. RSS

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4.6m Nepalis without citizenship, report claims

As the citizenship provision in the new constitution is being contested on the grounds of gender equality, a new report suggests that around 0.9 million individuals, who are eligible for citizenship, are living with single parent.

The citizenship law requires a woman to prove that the whereabouts of her husband are unknown to pass on citizenship to her child, while the provision is silent on the case of single male parent.

Census 2011 has recorded 161,231 widowers and 498,606 widows (around 0.65 million single parents). There are also an estimated 23,000 divorced and 40,000 separated couples.

A report titled “Acquisition of citizenship certificates in Nepal: Estimation and projection” released on Tuesday by the Forum for Women Law and Development, an NGO, has also revealed that 4.6 million people above 16 years of age have no citizenship certificate. The number accounts for 22.82 percent of the total population.

According to Sabin Shrestha, one of the researchers, the report is based on the number of individuals who lack citizenship certificates that has been estimated using the population growth rate determined by the 2011 census and the total number of citizenship certificates distributed each year. The population growth rate was also was taken into consideration.

The report has used the census data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, records of citizenship certificate distribution from 1952 to 2011 from the Home Ministry, National Population and Housing Census, and Population Perspective Plan 2010-2031 of the Ministry of Health and Population, among others.

The study has the limitation of not verifying the persons who received the certificate in one district and moved to another district later. The Census has also not taken this into account. The next is the Home Ministry not taking the mortality data into account, said Shrestha. 

The report also projects that the number of people without citizenship certificates will be between 4.9 million and 6.7 million in 2021.

Citizenship certificate is the primary identity and is the basis for acquiring other identity documents, enrolling on the voter list, registering marriage, buying or selling land and even opening a bank account.

Stakeholders claim that the constitution has made some headway in ensuring citizenship and that the laws that will be formulated on the basis of the constitution must also ensure that children of either a Nepali father or mother are not left stateless.

The new citizenship laws should have no discriminatory provisions on the grounds of gender that have created a huge gap between the number of stateless women and men, said Sapana Pradhan Malla, a lawyer. Articles 10 and 38.1 of the new constitution guarantee the right to citizenship. The report also suggests that the government continue integrated mobile camps and citizenship certificate distribution campaigns which it had conducted in 2013. More than 1,126,430 individuals had benefited from the mobile citizenship certificate distribution campaign.

However, the Home Ministry has questioned the data and sampling of the research. “Those eligible should go to obtain the citizenship. The government

does not distribute citizenship without verification. It’s an issue only if the state has denied citizenship,” said ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal. Those attaining 16 years of age should go to obtain citizenship, he said. “If there is an issue of birth certificate, it can be discussed.”

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Congress organisation structure to be attuned to federal shape

The Nepali Congress has started homework to restructure the party in view of the country going federal after the adoption of the new constitution. The party is preparing to form its organisation in the seven federal states.

However, according to leaders, there will not be a complete overhaul of the party organisation immediately. Work towards that end will begin during the 13th General Convention while the next convention will complete the mission. The NC is the first party that will hold its convention in the new political set-up.

The convention scheduled to be held in March will take a final decision on the party’s new organisational structure. As party President Sushil Koirala and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba are at odds over the number of office bearers, amending the party statute in the spirit of the federal structure has become a contentious issue.

Some have advised increasing the number of general secretaries and assigning them the responsibility of organisation in each federal state.

But there is no agreement on the idea. NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel said in an interview earlier this week that there were calls to have two vice-presidents and seven general secretaries.
Currently, the party has two general secretaries—one elected and the other appointed by the president.
NC leader Arjun Narsingh KC said the party structures should be attuned to the
federal shape for an effective organisation. “Discussions are going on in the party but we have not reached a conclusion,” said KC.

KC said the convention should appoint heads for the seven states and they should be elected directly by the convention representatives. He is for making the party’s local committees effective and transparent.

According to leaders, there has already been an agreement among the top leaders to elect two Central Working Committee members from each federal unit.

Earlier, there was a provision of electing one CWC member from each zone.
The zonal structure is now irrelevant. According to leaders, it is not possible to make changes in the district, municipality and village committees due to the time constraints. The dispute between the Koirala and Deuba factions regarding the changes has also created problems.

“Federalism has not been truly implemented. So there won’t be drastic changes in the party organisation,” said Ram Hari Khatiwada, a leader close to Deuba.

Rival faction leaders allege that the Koirala group is trying to manage the aspirations of senior leaders from the establishment camp in the name of making the party “federal-friendly”. Khatiwada said another convention will take decisions regarding federalism.

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From mountain to mountain

Phura Geljen Sherpa is a mountain climber who grew up near Everest. Having been influenced by the hundreds of mountaineers who travelled through his village, his interest in mountaineering developed early. After toiling in the snowy trails for over two-and-a-half decades, today he is an expert mountain guide and a professional high altitude mountain rescuer—with countless successful climbing expeditions and rescue missions to his credit. In an interview with the Post’s Gaurav Pote, Sherpa shares bits of his early life, career as a mountain guide, climber and rescuer, and skiing—his new found hobby. Excerpts:

Tell us a little about yourself growing up.
I was born in Panggom village in Solukhumbu district where I spent most of my childhood. As a kid, my father took me trekking with my uncles and brothers to support the local Sherpa climbers. Once I was done with school, I came to Kathmandu and got into trekking as a support staff. This provided me with the opportunity to get upclose with trekking and mountaineering which helped me understand the trade better and push further. Life has been a great adventure so far.

What keeps you busy at the moment?
I am currently preparing for my ski training. I am also involved with Nepal National Mountain Guide Association and Nepal Mountaineering Instructor Association.

Can you tell us more about your mountaineering career?
It was in 2000 that I formally entered the trekking and mountaineering profession. I gradually honed my skills through various courses: starting from basic mountaineering training and moving on to the more advanced ones. Simultaneously, I also progressed to higher altitude climbing. I began with 6,000m peaks and eventually found my way into a few 8,000m expeditions. I would tag along with the expeditions that mountaineering companies organised every season. After several successful attempts on other peaks, I dared to take on Everest. I’m proud to have scaled it five times now, along with three other 8,000m peaks: Sishapangma, Cho Oyu and Kanchanjanga.
What inspired you to get into mountain climbing?
Well, my village lies in the middle of one of the most renowned trekking routes in the world. When I was small, I used to see a lot of tourists trek through my village. You could say I was inspired by those adventurous Western climbers who left their homes behind to travel and climb the mountains that I grew up with.
My father and brothers are trekkers too. While growing up, mountaineering was more of a financial obligation for us, as we had to somehow make our living in the harsh Himalayan terrain. It brought home more money than farming and labouring. Later, it became a common profession.

Give us a rundown of all the peaks you have scaled so far.
Chronologically speaking, I first scaled Ama Dablam in 2000 followed by Island Mera peak in 2001 and Mera peak in 2002. In the spring a year later, I climbed Kanchenjunga. In 2004, I scaled Shishapangma after which I went back to climb Kanchenjunga in 2005. The following year, I climbed Cho Oyu for the first time. Finally, in 2007, I summited Mount Everest. I went back again for another successful expedition in 2008. After that, I went on to climb Ama Dablam again in 2009, Everest again in 2010 and 2011, and Ama Dablam again in 2011. During 2012 and 2013, I chanced upon the opportunity to climb Everest yet again, twice.

When did you start working as a mountain rescuer? What sort of mindset do you bring to the work in such an unforgiving terrain?
I stared working as a mountain rescuer in 2011. Whether it’s me or any other rescuer, our mindset always has to be strong, intuitive and persevering before we head out in an expedition or a rescue mission. Emotionally, we need to be able to put the need of others before everything else. Disasters can befall on anyone in the mountains and we need to be strong and prepared for any emergency.

How difficult is it for someone from the local Sherpa community in Nepal to be a certified climber and a mountain rescuer?
These days it is not as easy as it used to be back when I started. There is a lot of paperwork and certifications that are involved to become a certified guide and climber, along with a lot of training and experience. You need to be physically and mentally strong. Financially, too, aspiring climbers and guides need to be sound. As for a mountain rescuer, you need a good heart to help others along with an in-depth knowledge of the place, survival instincts and hard training.

Can you tell us more about your interest in skiing?
I started my ski training last year. It was a Level 1 course in KulluManali, which was facilitated by Mountain Academy of Nepal. The government of Nepal sponsored expenses for the training. I’ll be leaving for a Level 2 course to be held in Switzerland and France.

Do you think there is any scope for skiing in Nepal?
Yes, of course. There are numerous places in Nepal with endless potential for skiing. All we need is a little push from different organisations and government agencies for development and promotion of those destinations, both nationally and internationally. Among many feasible places, I think Mera peak and Puta Himchiuli would be great for skiing. We are slowly getting there but the pace has to be hastened.

Do you have any unforgettable memories from your climbing or rescue expeditions?
There was a rescue attempt that I conducted in 2011. There was a snow blind and frostbitten climber who had to be transported from Lhotse Camp 4 to Camp 2. What’s most incredible about this incident is that he survived, even after enduring so much pain in the snow.

Where do you see yourself in a few years?
In the future, I hope I get to share my knowledge and experience in mountaineering and contributein promotingthe Nepali mountaineering profession. Nepal still lacks adequate professional mountain guides and every bit that we mountaineers do will help produce qualified expert guides who will do better work than us. Personally, though, I hope I’ll be a professional skier soon.

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Chaulagain, Shakya, Karki secure places

Ayesha Shakya (Bista), Yan Kumari Chaulagain and Rejina Karki on Monday secured tickets to the 12th South Asian Games (SAG)-slated for February 6-16 in India—after winning their respective weight division finals during the selection tournament.
Representing the National Team, Shakya made booked a place for the regional sports meet for the third time in succession after seeing off the challenge from Sangita Bashyal of Nepal APF Club 8-1 in women’s below 62kg category final. Shakya is the 2011 SAG gold medallist and the 2006 Asian Games bronze medal winner.
Chaulagain also earned a place in the SAG for the third time in succession but will be competing for the second time. She had to pull out at the last moment in the 10th edition due to jaundice. On Monday, the Nepali Army player dispatched Sita Tamang of Nepal Police Club (NPC) 11-2 in the below 49kg weight division final.
Karki of NPC, meanwhile, will make her debut in the SAG after securing a berth in the below 46kg category. She beat Sarita Shrestha of Western Region 1-0 in final.
Two more berths are available for SAG in the women’s category. Gyani Chunara of National Team and Renu Lama of Mid-western Region will battle it out for the below 57-kg place, while Nima Gurung of NPC and Namrata Tuladhar of Nepali Army will clash for the below 53kg category honours on Tuesday.
Along with five female, Nepal are set to field eight male taekwondo players in the SA Games. Prem Rana, Shekhar Upretti, Naresh Chaudhary and Chandra Bahadur Rana Magar made it to the men’s below 54kg weight division semi-finals on Monday.
Ranjan Shrestha, Naubalak Chaudhary, Sunil Paudel and Manmohan Bhattarai secured the last four places in the men’s below 58kg category, while advancing to the semi-finals in the men’s below 63kg event include Bir Bahadur Mahara, Niraj Deuba, Kiran Bahadur Ale and Ajay Gurung.
Padam Tamang, Mohammed Besh, Anil Moktan and James Pradhan entered the men’s below 68kg category semi-finals. Nischal Man Shrestha, Ram Dutta Bhatta, Prabin Shrestha and Bharat Bohara advanced to the below 74kg semi-finals, while Anoj Pujari, Nirajan Khadka, Jay Prakash Khatkhenan and Sakshyam Karki also entered the below 80kg semi-finals. Durga Thapa, Anish Maharjan, Bipin Karki and Ramhari Mahat complete the below 87kg category semi-final lineup. The eventual winners in each of the weight divisions are assured of places in the SAG.
 Taekwondo have so far provided Nepal 24 gold medals in the SA Games.

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People should express outrage at 86 hours of load shedding a week

Load shedding hours have increased once again. From Monday, they went up to 86 hours a week from the previous 77. There had been a seven-hour increase in load shedding just over a week ago. With the new schedule, people will be without electricity for up to 15 hours a day. They will experience a power outage for 13 hours three times a week, and for 15, 14, 10 and eight hours once a week. Official explanation is that the depleting water in rivers feeding major hydropower plants because of inadequate rainfall has forced the Nepal Electricity Authority to increase load shedding. Disturbingly, power generation has decreased to less than 300MW at a time when the demand for electricity has surged due to the ongoing fuel crisis. Currently, peak demand stands at 1,300MW. Despite the government’s pledge to supply electricity during “cooking time”, it’s been long since Nepali people stopped relying solely on electricity for cooking. So much for people’s faith in the government. 

Power outages have become an ordinary phenomenon—so much so that keeping pace with a frequently changing schedule seems to be the most annoying aspect of the problem. People would at least get some respite if the given schedule was properly followed.

A power outage of 86 hours a week in this day and age is simply outrageous. It has serious long-term impact on individual productivity, industrial output and development activities. While that’s bad enough, Nepali people’s fatalistic acceptance of the problem as routine has allowed the nonperforming political class to get away with empty promises. For decades, Nepalis have heard their politicians wax eloquence about bringing load shedding to an end. The problem, if anything, has only worsened over the years.

Prime Minister Oli’s announcement in November to end load shedding within a year is nothing new for Nepalis: yet another official making yet another tall claim. Nothing came of the 2008 energy emergency declared during the tenure of the then Water Resources Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel. The announcement made through a Cabinet decision had decided to set up thermal plants to add some 200 MW to the national grid.

But things can change this time round. At some point, things must change. People have to start demanding accountability from politicians. Oli’s promise, though tall, may not be impossible. At least,

significant progress can be made in a year in reducing, and eventually eliminating, load shedding if the most powerful person in the country is determined to do so. If Oli is told in unequivocal terms that his political future depends on fulfilling his promise, he is more likely to work seriously towards it. More generally, politicians should be held accountable for their performance on numerous small but specific issues. That way, they will think twice before making hollow promises and will approach the particular issues with greater gravity and resolve.

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SLMM drops a hint of deal on 4-pt plan

Pressure is building on the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), whose protests in the Tarai for the last four months now are receiving criticism more than praise. And signs of building pressure are getting clearer. The SLMM, which had earlier outright rejected the government proposal on redrawing provincial boundaries through a mechanism in three months, has indicated that it could accept a cross-party committee for the purpose. It has, however, set two riders: A certain timeframe must be set for such a mechanism and there should be assurance that the recommendation(s) made by the mechanism will be implemented. Even with the preconditions, leaders say there is the likelihood of an agreement on government’s four-point proposal. What the Morcha now wants is “clarity and assurances” on the Terms of References (ToR) of the proposed cross-party mechanism. SLMM leaders have said that the proposed mechanism should finish its work in 15-30 days, instead of three months that the government has proposed. The main opposition Nepali Congress and government coalition partner UCPN (M) though are ready to do so, the ruling CPN- UML has said it will be meaningless to allocate less time (15-30 days) now and extending it later. Leaders from the SLMM, two major parties in the government and the main opposition say a meeting point on time period for the mechanism can be worked out. The SLMM’s call for assurances “that the recommendation(s) made by the mechanism must be implemented” is related to “political legitimacy” of the mechanism. If the mechanism fails to have “political legitimacy”, the SLMM fears there will be no guarantee of its recommendation(s) being implemented. Or in worst-case scenario, the Morcha fears, there will be no agreement at all within the time period set for the mechanism, given the hardened positions taken by the major parties. When it comes to redrawing provincial boundaries, only the UCPN (M) so far has been positive. The NC and UML do not seem to be very keen to revisit the current boundaries under the seven-state federal set-up. Here is where SLMM leaders are hemming and hawing around; they have not been able to decide whether to withdraw their protests or continue with them. Regarding “political legitimacy” of the mechanism, the NC has already proposed setting up a parliamentary committee instead of a cross-party committee. But the UML has said the move to set up a parliamentary panel will carry with it some complications, as disputes could arise over who all will represent. UML leader Pradeep Gyawali, however, has said his party is not against forming a parliamentary panel if it could give a way out to current crisis. Yet another concern that is plaguing the SLMM is whether the cross-party mechanism will work on redrawing boundaries of all Tarai districts or only five districts that have remained “disputed” in terms of boundaries. Besides, SLMM leaders have long been seeking a commitment from parties for two provinces in the Tarai. The SLMM, an alliance of four Madhes-based parties, is also under pressure from India to accept the proposal of forming a cross-party mechanism. Besides, there is a clear trust deficit between the SLMM and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. “We do not have much trust in PM Oli, so NC President Sushil Koirala and UCPN (M) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal should guarantee that there will be two provinces in Madhes and that issues will be settled within a certain period of time,” said SLMM leaders who have been engaged in extensive talks with Dahal and Koirala of late. “There is a trust deficit between two sides. The SLMM should trust the three parties,” said Gyawali. On Saturday, UCPN (M) Chairman said that there will be a deal with SLMM on constituency delineation on the basis of population and inclusive representation.

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