Maoist cadres parading in Kathmandu for May Day

It is as part of their revolutionary movement for 'final/decisive war'...Maoists want to seize power in the name of another people's movement by calling general strike. A historic people's movement abolished the monarchy from the country and established federal democratic republic of Nepal in 2006. The movement became successful when all the major political parties were united together to bring democracy and peace in the country. However, Maoists alone are trying to establish totalitarian communism in the country by capturing state power for which they are training their cadres.

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19 ministries defy NPC order to improve performance

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, April 24

The 19 ministries are found defying the recommendation of the National Planning Commission (NPC) to improve performances. The NPC suggested the ministries to take action against the secretaries and other related staff belonging to the concerned ministries for poor and low performance but to no avail.

According to the NPC sources, it has been monitoring 80 big and top priority projects and those impacting on public level in the current fiscal year. The monitoring and evaluation on the performances of those projects under 19 ministries in the first four months of the current fiscal year was publicised on the first week of January.

Those projects include Office of Prime Minister and Ministers-2, Ministry of Education-4, Ministry of Health and Population-4, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare-1, Ministry of Physical Planning and works-15, Ministry of Irrigation-8, Ministry of Energy-7, Ministry of Local Development-9, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives-6, Ministry of Forestry and Soil Conservation-4, and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation-2.

Similarly, others are Ministry of Science and technology-1, Ministry of Environment-2, Ministry of Finance-2, Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction-2, National Planning Commission-1, Ministry of Labour and Transport Management-1, Ministry of Land Reforms and Management-1, Ministry of Industry-1, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies-1 and Miscellenous-4.

Among them, only NPC, MoLTM and MoPR were able to meet the target. The NPC found that rest of those projects including Melamchi Drinking Water Project, distribution of biometric smart card and state facility ID cards from the Office of PM could not meet the target and some were not implemented at all.

“After monitoring, we recommended the concerned ministries to take ministerial actions such as decrease in grades and issuance of warning but none of them has been reported to us yet,” said Dhruba Prasad Dahal, joint-secretary at the NPC. “If the progress of a project is below than 80 per cent, the Office of the Auditor General can stop the budget release,” he said.

However, this is not implemented here. The reports of paper and desk based monitoring of the NPC are submitted to the Office of the PM for execution. The evaluation committee coordinated by Vice-Chancellor of NPC aims at finding out problems, challenges and solutions along with implementation of norms, review and formulation of future policies and strategies and budget allocation.

It is not our responsibility to take direct action against them, said Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, member of the NPC. “We only recommend them to improve the performance and take responsibility of the bad performance,” he said. “We are about to release the second four-month monitoring of those 80 projects. The secretaries should express commitment to meet the target in consecutive four-months. However, we have not received anything about the first monitoring from the ministries,” he added.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD, said that the ministry was ignorant about the direction from NPC and they were not obliged to submit the action reports to NPC. “We inform about internal affairs to the government Chief Secretary. The NPC can not take action against the government officers,” he added. “The reason behind the low performance belongs to the political causes.”

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India-China linkroads to take '20 years' to complete

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, April 23

The proposed roads linking from Indian border to China through Nepal will take another 20 years to complete unless the allocation of budget is proportionally increased. Along with facilitating Himalayan people, the roads are expected to boom tourism and trade with China and India.

According to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW), among the nine roads proposed to link Nepal and China, the construction of six roads is undergoing. The already linked roads are Kathmandu-Kodari (115km), Jomsom-Koral/Lomathang (40km) and Syafrubesui-Rasuwagadhi (16km). Opening of track of Syafrubesi-Lomathang was recently completed.

The other roads under construction are Taplejung-Walangchungwala (100km), Khandbari-Kimathanka (80km), Lamabagar-Falot (25km), Arkhet-Larke (150km), Khulalu-Hilsa (230km), Sanphe-Taklakot (100) and Darchula-Tinkar (90km). The remaining sections of those roads were already linked to India.

The Indian border points of those aforementioned roads are Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Kechana, Jogbani, Bhittamode, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Tikapur and Mahendranagar respectively.

Rs 180 million has been allocated for Darchula-Tinker section in the current fiscal year while Rs 20 million has been allotted for Sanphe-Taklakot. About Rs 40 million has been allocated for each of the other sections of link roads.

Rs 10 million is necessary to construct the one kilometre of track roads, said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, joint-secretary at the MoPPW. “Additional Rs 15 million needs to blacktop per kilometre of roads, including construction of bridges,” Sitaula said. “If this ratio of allocation of budget continues, it will take another 20 years for completion of the roads,” he added.

The officials at the ministry said that the construction of these roads was not visionary in sense of connecting people of Nepal and major trade centres of China. “We must need to link the roads with major trade centres Lhasa, Shigatse and Mansarovar of China. Lhasa and Shigatse are already linked by Kodari,” they argued.

They reasoned that Nepalese settlements on the high Himalayas are very limited. They can be resettled in the lower parts of the mountains by developing settlements, they said. “It will be better to invest on the hilly highway linking east to west of Nepal that crosses 26 districts of the country. Branch roads can be constructed towards the dense settlement in north and south of the proposed hilly east-west high way,” they added.

The Mid-Hill East West Highway beginning from Chiyabhanjyang, a point in Panchathar district in the far-east with Jhulaghat in Baitadi district in the west measures 1770 km long. Out of the total 1770 km, around 200km is still left to open the track. The road will connect Panchthar, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Sindhuli, Kavre, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Dhading, Chitwan, Tanahu, Kaski, Parbat, Baglung, Rukum, Surkhet, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Achham, Doti, Dadheldhura and Baitadi districts.

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NPC priority on jobs generation in next plan flayed

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, April 22

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has focused to give top priority on the employment generation in the next three-year periodic plan that begins from mid-July. However, economists say 'impossible'.

According to the NPC, the interim three-year periodic plan ends on mid-July along with the end of the current fiscal year. Following the interim political situation of the country, the government came up with the concept of three-year periodic plan after the Tenth Five-Year Plan ended three years ago.

“The employment and productivity will be kept on first priority in the next three-year periodic plan,” said Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, member of the NPC. “We are working out to finalise the programmes and policies,” he added. “The motto of the plan will be employment for the unemployed people.”

The poverty reduction was the top priority in the current plan. The government claimed the poverty was reduced by 6 per cent during the period against 31 per cent people below the poverty line in the country.

However, the achievement was not satisfactory as expected and claimed. Economist Prof Dr Bishwombhar Pyakurel said the policies failed utterly to meet the target. “So we can not expect much in the future too,” he said. “The government has estimated GDP growth by 5.5 per cent at a time when it is decreasing and can not exceed 3.5 per cent in future. It should be at least 8 per cent to create employment opportunities for the increasing unemployment ratio,” Pyakurel said. “If GDP rate grows by 5 per cent, it will take 3-5 years to meet the target.”

Every year, 400,000 youths above 24 go jobless. Whole manufacturing and agriculture sectors, whose GDP is decreasing annually owing to the political instability, cannot accommodate more than 10 per cent of it, said Pyakurel. “In this context, how can we achieve the target?”

Dr Devkota said unless the productivity increased, growth of the Gross Domestic Products was impossible. “All of the sectors will be encouraged to increase production and create employment opportunities,” he said. “The sectors like industry, agriculture, forestry, education and skill oriented training will be given top priority to promote the employment opportunities,” he said, adding the target of the volume of employment opportunities would be finalised soon.

The present GDP growth rate of the country hovers around 4.70 per cent. In 1960, the GDP of Nepal, China, India and Vietnam was equal of about US$ 105 per capita income. Now, the per capita income of Nepal stands at about US$ 400 while other countries have taken giant leap. Presently, per capita income of China is US$ 3,200.

Meantime, the country has failed to utilise the available resources including manpower properly, speeding development of the country. “Certainly, the existing human resources is underutilised, encouraging the brain drain,” said Devkota. “The next plan will address the issue with high priority.”

The next plan is all set to keep the infrastructure development and agriculture on second and third place respectively. “It is the need of economic and social transformation. So policies should be formulated to address these issues,” said Devkota. “Developing a political as well as economic consensus on objectives is essential.”

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Immortality of mortal and beautiful nature

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, April 11: A blissful moment of pigeons and children at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple. Sceneries inside Singhdurbar, headquarters of the Government of Nepal, main gate of the Singhdurbar, setting sun across Bhimsen Tower from Tundikhel and trees rustling on the Singhdurbar premises made me spellbound when I reached there this week.

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Political parties eyeing dev budget in local bodies

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Lalitpur, April 10

The users’ committees in the local bodies are crucial agents for the development activities of more than Rs 13 billion annually. However, all of the committee members are politically appointed against the development discipline and spirit.

The monitoring reports of the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) recently assessed in 10 districts reveal that the users’ committees to mobilise government grants in the development activities are appointees against the spirit of the Local Self-Governance Act-2055BS. A project below Rs six million is spent through the user’s committees, according to the MoLD.

“The committees should be transparently formed from the direct beneficiaries,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD. “Government grants of some Rs seven billion is disbursed for the VDCs and more than Rs six billion for the districts,” he said. “All of the amounts are spent on the development activities through the user’s committees,” he added.

Users’ committees contribute upto 50 per cent of the project to the development activities in the local bodies whereas government shares at least 50 per cent of it. There are 3,915 village development committees and 58 municipalities in 75 districts across the country. A total of Rs 42 billion including Rs 22 billion for development and Rs 20 billion on administrative expenses has been allocated for the local bodies this year.

Dhruba Bandhu Aryal, under-secretary at the Local Development Section of the National Planning Commission, said the performances were badly affected due to the political appointees who are biased and work under the influence of certain political parties.

“User’s committees are under the capture of big parties while other small parties are excluded from the involvement in the development activities,” he said. “In the name of users’ committees, the development works are indirectly handed over to the contractors against the spirit of the users’ committees,” he added.

Thapaliya said the senior posts were allocated for the bigger parties and the junior ones to the smaller ones. “Even the parliament members come to recommend their cadres for the user’s committees. This kind of realised capture has created a loophole to misuse resources,” he said.

“On the other hand, the real people are deprived of the state resources for the development,” Thapaliya said. “The law provisions to appoint 80 per cent of the technical staff to carry out development activities in the local bodies but 80 per cent of the staffs are non-technical and only about 20 per cent technical staffers are appointed,” he said.

Aryal underlined the need of analysing state policies. “It is an urgent need to evaluate past and devise for the future goals to address the voice of the common people,” he said. Thapaliya focussed on a specific law to mobilise the committees unitarily.

The MoLD monitored whole performances including development activities and use of allocated funds in 10 districts--Morang, Ilam, Bara, Kaski, Rupandehi, Banke Surkhet, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Rautahat. After the first phase, the monitoring is being carried out in other 10 districts. Five more districts will be scrutinised within the current fiscal.

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Political parties forcing to practise non-existent law

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 9

The political parties have still forced the District Development Committees to follow non-existent Panchyati law for misusing development founds for their vested interests.

The monitoring reports of the Ministry of Local Development recently assessed in 10 districts show that the budget has been allocated on ‘donation and financial assistance’ for the political parties, which is against the Local Self-Governance Act-2055BS.

“The political parties have forced the local bodies to allocate budget for them and their sister organisations in almost all districts, even Kathmandu,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD. “There is no such provision in law to assist any organisation or person with more than Rs 300, not exceeding a total of Rs 50,000. It was practised in Panchyat era prior to two decades to pacify their cadres. But political parties are still stuck to this unlawful tradition,” he told THT.

An instance in Rupandehi district

·        Rs 120,000 for Progressive Teachers’ Union

·        Rs 500,000 for construction of Nepal Trade Union Office

·        Rs 137,000 for Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi)

·        Rs 136,000 for CPN-UML

·        Rs 110,000 for Nepali Congress

·        Rs 89,000 for Madheshi Janasdhikar Forum

·        Rs 60,000 for UCPN-Maoist

·        Rs 53,000 for CPN (Unified)

·        Rs 25,000 for CPN-ML

·        Rs 25,000 for Janamorcha Nepal (Sherchan)

·        Rs 22,000 for Janamorcha Nepal

·        Rs 15,000 for Rastriya Janamorcha

·        Rs 12,000 for Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Mahato)

       ·        Rs 4,000 for CPN (Unified Marxist)

 The MoLD monitored whole performances including development activities and use of allocated funds in 10 districts--Morang, Ilam, Bara, Kaski, Rupandehi, Banke Surkhet, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Rautahat. After the first phase, the monitoring is being carried out in other 10 districts. Five more districts will be scrutinised within the current fiscal.

There are 75 districts, 3,915 village development committees and 58 municipalities across the country. A total of Rs 42 billion including Rs 22 billion for development and Rs 20 billion on administrative expenses has been allocated for the local bodies this year.

Dhruba Bandhu Aryal, chief of Local Development Section at the National Planning Commission, said party share on budget, programmes and posts could be rampantly traced in the local bodies. “The voice of the people, who are needy, has not been heard even in the multiparty system,” said Aryal.

However, Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, acting Vice-Chairman, NPC, said they were officially ignorant about it. “The concerned ministry should take action on it. If we are reported, we will take action,” he added.

Thapaliya said the laws and regulations were not sincerely obeyed in the districts. “The ministry has given priority on productive sectors, inclusiveness, poverty reduction and completion of already started projects while implementing the allocated budget in the districts,” he said.

“However, it has not been focused on the issues and the political parties are interested in their own personal and vested interests,” said Thapaliya. “The development programmes are under grip of elite groups. There is lack of monitoring in the VDCs. The centre has also failed implementing laws well,” he added. “The local bodies are out of control thinking that they are autonomous bodies.”

Though the all-party mechanism has been formed in the districts in place of elected representatives, whose term was expired eight years ago, the mechanism is irresponsibly influencing Local Development Officers and engineers for vested party interests, said Thapaliya.

Nabindra Raj Joshi, Constituent Assembly member from the Nepali Congress, said law should not be violated at any cost. “However, programmes should be allotted on the basis of priority and necessity,” he said, indicating to provide reasonable support to the political parties.

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Bottom-top devolution policy goes topsy-turvy

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Lalitpur, April 6

Despite laws made for bottom-up policies and programmes, almost all the procedures in the ministries are forced top-down. The people in the local levels are not involved in formulating policies and plans.

The monitoring reports of the Ministry of Local Development recently assessed in 10 districts show that the plans and policies are directly forced from the ministries and political parties for implementation, which is against the Local Self-Governance Act-2055BS. Along with whole national governaning system, the Act has provisioned to devise plans and programmes originated from local roots.

Dr Dinseh Chandra Devkota, acting Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission, said that the devolution could not have been enforced in real sense as the actors of development activities in the districts were less interested and responsible. “The political mechanism in the local bodies should work responsibly above their partisan interests,” he said.

Dr Devkota said that the districts also failed to update them while making periodical plans and programmes. “Neither the centre is interested to devolve power nor the local level is using its rights. The joint efforts from the local level will play a crucial role in materialising the concept,” he said.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD and leader of monitoring team at Western Development Region, conceded that law was not enforced as per its spirit. “The reasons behind this drawback is lack of reporting and punishment system in the local bodies owing to the state impunity,” he said.

The MoLD carried out monitoring of 10 districts-Morang, Ilam, Bara, Kaski, Rupandehi, Banke Surkhet, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Rautahat on the performances including development activities and use of allocated funds.

Similarly, the Ministry is monitoring other ten districts on the second phase. Those districts are Saptari, Panchthar, Parsa, Kathmandu, Tanahu, Kapilvastu, Dang, Dailekh, Kailali and Darchula. Monitoring of five more districts will be carried out within the current fiscal year. There are 75 districts, 3,915 village development committees and 58 municipalities across the country.

The senior officials at the MoLD said that concept of bottom-up policy was badly spoiled by the recommendations and order from ministers, political leaders and even parliament members. "Local bodies also don't want to make the centre annoy by suggesting centre and choosing plans and programmes from the local level," said Thapaliya. "Local bodies and political mechanism in the grassroots should be made more responsible towards people rather than ministry and government."

Dhruba Bandhu Aryal, under-secretary at Local Development Section of the NPC, said that the influence from the political parties and government was the major factor in making up-bottom policies. “Though it has been gradually reformed, we are yet to wait for bottom-up plans and policies,” said Aryal, who is also member of the monitoring team assigned for districts.

“We are working homework to make the devolution more effective by empowering local bodies for developing programmes and utilising resources on infrastructure development in the grassroots,” informed Devkota.

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Water woes to remain another 15 years!

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 5

The people of the Kathmandu valley will have to face scarcity of drinking water at least till 2025. If the government plans are not materialised, the shortage may linger to an uncertain period of time.

“If the government plans are materialised by 2025, the drinking water will be sufficiently supplied to valley denizens,” said Krishna Prasad Acharya, joint-secretary and acting spokesperson at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW). “We are planning to supply 680 million litres of water per day (ML/D) by implementing Melamchi, Yangri and Larke drinking water projects by then,” he said. “The existing supply includes in it,” he added.

The MoPPW has planned to complete Melamchi drinking water project by 2013 and Yangri and Larke by 2025. Each of the three projects will supply 170ML/D.

At a time when the Melamchi drinking water project has faced tardy pace to begin, the government is optimistic to translate the plans into action. “If the socio-political obstruction doesn’t arise, the projects will be completed in time,” said Acharya. However, he was sckeptical about not facing any hurdle.

According to the MoPPW, at least 687 million litres of water needs daily to supply demands of about four million people in the valley by 2025. The Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) claims that it has been supplying about 100 million litre everyday through 167,000 taps. “But no water is supplied in my home,” said Ram Chandra Devkota, member-secretary of the Bagmati Development Committee.

Present demand is 203ML/D while it will reach 332ML/D in 2015, 446ML/D in 2020 and 724ML/D in 2025 along with the increasing ratio of people, says a survey prepared by the ministry.

A bid worth Rs 4 billion on Melamchi project was finalised in February 2009 and given to a Chinese construction company, which targeted to complete it in 54 months. Fourteen months have already passed and the project is yet to begin owing to the local protests.

Melamchi River is located at Helambu VDC in Sindhupalchowk district, about 27km away from Kathmandu. The project was conceived in 1985 and widely discussed since 1988. It has been already 10 years since the government started working on the project.

Acharya, who is also head of the Drinking Water Division at the ministry, said that the tunnel digging using excavator has been just started from Sundarijal in Kathmandu. “The setting up of camps at Sindu, Ambasthan and Gyalthum in Sindhipalchowk to dig has been undergoing. The digging of tunnel will begin soon from both directions of three places,” he said. “There is no doubt the well-equipped and high profile Chinese company will be able to complete the project within 40 months,” he affirmed.

Before then, existing water resources will be managed and services will be updated to minimise the shortage, said Acharya. “A recent ADB report reveals that US$ 300 million is necessary to revamp the present water supplying system and replace the old infrastructure for implementing new projects,” he said.

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A moment with Swami Ram Dev

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 3

It was the regular day I am living in this world. But it was not the same as other days. I prepared myself to attend a meeting with Yoga Guru Swami Ram Dev, who was in Nepal for a yoga camp. He was to leave Nepal today and I left my apartment at 07:07 AM. It was told another day Swami will meet us at 7:45 at Sant Niwas, the residence of Dr Upendra Mahato, former president of Non-Resident Nepalis. I was curious to visit him and listen to his words.

However, he could not come in time as he could not avoid meeting President Dr Ram Baran Yadav before leaving Nepal. It was his urgent appointment. Before meeting President, Swami had devoted him to teach the  armed police force personnel yoga at its Headquarters. He arrived at the scheduled at about 9 AM. And he started talking to media persons. In course of talks, he said all people are different from each other but some are more different than others. "But I am unable to cure their disease of blaming others."

He felicitated the journalists wrapping with shawls for covering news about Yoga. I was one of them. It was the first time I was felicitated. I was not the only person to be hounoured. I was among all the journalists, about two dozens, who were thanked in this way. This was new experience for me that remained a moment of being myself a sage inside me spiritually. I, who belong to The Himalayan Times, did not write any word offending Swami but I cannot say about others.

He was disheartened by an article published in the Kantipur daily--"Swami is above President...". This allusion was related to the stage where Swami was on his posture at his place and President was on the other side. "I honour and respect President. It was not my fault that place was made to address people and teach them yoga. I am touched with this misinterpretation," he said.

Ram Dev Baba is really a sage and totally a humanitarian person but not a shrewd, selfish and dishonest politician. He is kind enough for humanity and dedicated to help people get rid of ailments through yoga practices. His intention to teach Patanjali Yog is crystal clear. Nobody knows mystery inside a person but an enlightened person is said to understand others. This is the problem that I don't have to solve it.

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NC friction on display at GPK mourning ritual

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 1

While national and international dignitaries gathered at Bankali of Pashupatinath today to pay tribute to the 13^th day of demise of Nepalese politics tower Girija Prasad Koirala, the senior leaders of Nepali Congress looked hesitant to sit together side by side.

After the death of former Prime Minister and NC President Koirala, acting president Sushil Koirala, former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and NC vice president Ram Chandra Paudel did not sit together even a minute together during the last day of death ritual of GPK. They posed together for media to photograph once.

Sushil Koirala, who arrived earlier than the other senior party leaders and Paudel made a match in a column for about five hours. And Deuba spent almost two and half an hour with GPK’s daughter Sujata Koirala, who is deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs. Deuba and Sujata were seen together in another column of the stage.

Deputy PM Sujata was busy welcoming the national and international guests and thanking them. Hindu priests, Buddhist Lamas and Christian priests chanted mantras as per their religious rites to wish peace for the departed soul.

The guests included Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, former PMs Surya Bahadur Thapa and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Yoser Thinley, CPN-UML chief Jhala Nath Khanal, Chief of the Army Staff Chhatra Man Gurung, ex-CoAS Rookmangud Katwal, Nepal Police IGP Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Armed Police Force IGP, chiefs of judiciary and foreign diplomatic missions.

Other present at the mourning were Deputy PM Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, UCPN Maoist leaders Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai, government ministers and high ranking officials, Constituent Assembly members, Yoga Guru Swami Ram Dev, leaders from the different political parties and more than 10,000 ordinary people, well wishers and NC party workers. People from all ages and walks of life paid tribute to last death ritual of democratic icon for peace process, reconciliation, unity and co-work for the national interest.

However, faces of the political leaders except a few did not read solemnity and gravity in mourning ceremony to remember late Koirala. UCPN-UML head Khanal looked serious while Deputy PM Gachhadar was gloomy. Deuba’s face read uncertainty and Sujata’s desperate. The senior NC leaders looked worried in their faces. Old NC well wishers were sobbing on the stage.

Dharmendra Pandey, president of Democratic Employees’ Union at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal was disappointed by the early character display of NC leaders and dilemma in future of the nation. “NC leaders not sitting together indicates a very bad signal in the party politics,” he said. “It is the omen symptom of crisis in national politics and compromising for the national interest too.”

Mrs Shuva Kala Jha from Chandragadhi-7 in Jhapa said this made them remember GPK for his guidance and principles. “If the leaders forget his steps, the country will fall into an abyss,” she worried. “I am afraid whether they will follow the steps of Girija Babu or overlook his principles gradually in course of passing time.”

The district chapters of NC paid tribute to GPK throughout the country. Meanwhile, Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi, India along with Nepali and Indian people expressed condolence over his death. Remains of GPK were ritually consigned to the Ganges River in Haridwar of India today, according to the Embassy.

PM Nepal released GP Koirala’s Struggle for Democracy in Nepal: A biography, penned by Dr Paramananda, professor of Delhi University and JNU among other universities.

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Last-day of death ritual of Girija Prasad Koirala

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu: April1

It is the 13th, last day, of funeral rituals of Girija Prasad Koirala, who passed away on March 20. Koirala (1925-2010), president of Nepali Congress and six-time Prime Minister of Nepal, who fought for democracy. These are some glimpses captured on March 21 around Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu where hundreds of thousands people

thronged to pay tribute during the funeral procession. The body was cremated as per the Hindu rituals and rites at Pashupatinath with national honour on March 21. Koirala passed away at 12:10 on march 20.

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