Jica to help Nepal recover from quake

 The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has proposed to provide Nepal a comprehensive assistance package in the form of grant, loan and technical assistance to rebuild the country following the terrible earthquake.

The funds will be spent on rural housing and school reconstruction, maintenance of roads damaged by the quake and preparation of a comprehensive city resilience reconstruction master plan.  

According to the Jica proposal, its aid will be concentrated in three districts, namely Gorkha, Sindhupalchok and Kathmandu.

The Japanese aid agency said that its assistance would be based on a people-centric, inclusive, full-fledged approach to rural and urban areas towards Build Back Better (BBB). 

Jica will follow a multi-sectoral BBB approach in the hardest-hit districts of Gorkha and Sindhupalchok. A livelihood support programme will be implemented immediately to restore community incomes and a housing restoration mechanism will be established and conducted.

Likewise, essential social and public services will be provided and a community-help mechanism established.

Regarding the plan for the Kathmandu Valley, the Japanese aid agency has proposed developing a comprehensive city resilience reconstruction master plan and implementing a detailed risk assessment to reflect future risk assessment planning. 

The reasons why buildings collapsed will be analyzed to explore various measures for resilient city planning, the local economy including tourism will be supported and a resilient infrastructure will be achieved.

ìThey have not revealed the value of the assistance package,î said Hari Pandey, under secretary at the Finance Ministry. 

ìThey will probably announce the figure at the international donorsí conference scheduled for June 25.

However, Pandey confirmed that Jica had proposed providing a grant of Rs4 billion particularly intended for repairing the roads damaged by the quake. The money will be used to bring the damaged portions of the Kathmandu-Bhaktapur and Kathmandu-Sindhuli roads, known as BP Highway, back into shape. 

As per Jicaís proposal, it will provide loans to Nepal in partnership with multilateral donor agencies the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Pandey said that Jica would partner with the WB for rural housing reconstruction while it will partner with the ADB for school reconstruction. Jica will provide grants for both the tasks, according to the proposal. 

According to Pandey, the two sides are currently holding discussions on the proposal and it is yet to be approved by the government.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry said that the quake had affected 4,113 schools across the country, fully damaging 12,971 classrooms. A total of 1,788 school toilets and 1,174 school water connections have been destroyed. Likewise, 510,762 private homes were fully ruined and 291,707 homes partially damaged.

Janakpur make it to semi-finals

Region 7 (Janakpur) defeated Region 6 (Baitadi) by 26 runs to enter the semi-finals of the Prime Minister Cup Womenís National Twenty20 Cricket Tournament here on Friday. 

It was Janakpurís third consecutive victory that put them atop the Group ëAí standings with six points, while second placed Region 9 (Dhangadi) have four points from two matches with rest of the teams not in the position to overcome the pool leaders.  Region 4 (Bhairahawa), meanwhile, remained in contention from the pool defeating Region 2 (Birgunj) by 44 runs in the other match from the group. Bhairahawa now have two points and are third behind Dhangadi. 

A 54-ball 69 from Shova Ale was the cornerstone for Janakpur victory as the region made 99-5 in 20 overs before restricting Baitadi to 73-8. Baitadi had a modest start when Manju Bokati (eight) and Dropati Kunwar began with a 27-run stand but their innings never gathered pace. Kunwar top scored with 20 off 34, while Anjali Chand (15) and Samjhana Khadka (13) were the only remaining players to score in double figures. Shanti Chaudhary picked up three wickets for Janakpur with Santoshi Chaudhary also getting two scalps.

Earlier, Janakpur innings was built around Ale, who kept on scoring runs despite wickets kept tumbling at the other end. She completed her half century in 41 balls and struck eight boundaries and two sixes. Chand took two wickets for Baitadi.

In the second match, Saraswati Pun put an allround display to help Bhairahawa earn their first victory. Pun shared 54 runs for the fifth wicket with Indu Barma, leading Bhairahawa to 110-8 in 20 overs. The No 6 batswoman then returned claim 4-18 from four overs to dismiss Birgunj for just 66 in 17.4 overs. Barma also grabbed two wickets. 

Birgunj collected 26 runs from extras with none of their batswomen managing to make runs in double figures. Bhairahawa were reduced to 33-4 before Pun-Barma partnership guided them to safety. Barma made 29 off 45 balls and Pun contributed 24 off 35. Pushpa Aryal (3-7) and Rojina Aryal (2-24) shared five wickets between them for Birgunj. 

In Pokhara, Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club were forced to share points with bottom side Region 8 (Pokhara) due to bad ground conditions. APF have five points from three games at the top of Group ëBí while Pokhara lie at the bottom with one. 

Kathmandu, meanwhile, posted their second consecutive win by defeating Region 1 (Biratnagar) by 32 runs. Kathmandu recovered from 37-3 before making 118-9 in 20 overs. Biratnagar, in reply, were skittled out for 86 in 18.3 overs. Only Sabnam Rai (19) and Sangita Rai (13) managed to make runs in double digits for Biratnagar, whose total was bolstered by 22 extra runs. Sandhya Upretti picked up three and Ashmina Karmacharya had two victims for Kathmandu. 

Sharada Wagle lifted Kathmandu innings with a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket with Geeta Chudal before getting dismissed for 36 off 37. Wagle hit three fours. Chudhal made 21 off 25 with two boundaries. Usha Chapagain (3-11) and Sangita (2-18) had five wickets between them.

Follow the students

 Indira Karki, 32, has been buffeted by anxiety over the last five weeks. She was tormented not because her son had missed classes for a month, but because she wanted to obtain his transfer certificate as soon as she could--and she had to wait for the schools to reopen first in order to get the paper. Karkiís son, Bikash, used to be an above-average eighth-grader at Durbar High School, the countryís oldest state-funded school. The school sustained severe damages in the Great Earthquake of April 25. On the bright sunny morning of May 31, when classes resumed, Karki, accompanied by her son too school, and was among the first people to be at the school premises. In less than three hours, Karki had acquired the transfer certificate and had returned home, relieved.

Ever since schools reopened across the country two weeks ago, a significant numbers of guardians, like Karki, who hail from outside the Valley, have been visiting their wardsí schools to get transfer certificates. Frightened by the mega disaster and the frequent aftershocks, they now want their children to stay close to them and study in schools near their homes.

Karki was in her grocery shop in Bagbazaar when the Great Quake struck. One of the walls of her store crumpled, but fortunately, she escaped the quake unscathed. ìIt was dreadful and we wanted to leave Kathmandu the very day, but we couldnít because we had to manage so many things,î she says. ìNow that we are done with everything, we will be leaving within a few days.î She is planning to enroll her son in a school in Biratnagar, her hometown, and start some business there.

On the very first day that classes resumed, Lacche Bahadur KC, principal at Suryodaya Boarding School and the Chairman of the Private and Boarding Schools Organisation--an umbrella body of private schools--was busy trying to convince parents that another big earthquake was very unlikely and that it was completely safe to live in Kathmandu. For the past two weeks, he has been dealing with the parents of his students who wanted to take their wards away from the Valley and back to their hometowns. Despite his attempts to retain them, around 45 students from his school have either taken transfer papers or informed the school administration that they will not be returning.

Depending on the volume of enrollment, 10 to 100 students per school have quit from the Capitalís schools. There is not a single school in the Valley that has not seen a decrease in the number of students. Those who are shifting from the schools in the Capital come mainly from the southern belt of the country or those from other areas who used to live in hostels.

A rough estimation by the District Education Offices and the umbrella bodies of the private schools in the Valley shows that at least 10 percent of the students (around 60, 000 of them) enrolled in schools within the Valley prior to the quake will not return from their home districts now. That decrease in numbers could have a huge impact on whether the private schools will be able to remain afloat, while dozens of public schools, which were struggling to meet their targeted minimum enrolments, may either shut down or merge with other schools. 

Across the nation, private schools, especially in the Valley, have been the first choices for those from the middle- and upper- classes, while a significant numbers of students in the public schools come from families that make a living through roadside businesses, daily wage labour or other such jobs. Many of them also hail from various states in India.

The decrease in the numbers of students will increase the operation costs for schools in the Valley, which could even result in the closure of such schools, say private school operators. Many education experts, however, donít see the reasons for the pessimism. 

They believe that such a trend will increase competition among schools, which could help enhance the overall quality of education in the country. The decrease in the number of students in the Capital could also prompt the private sectors to invest in schools outside the Valley, thereby helping decentralise education.

ìEven though we had to wait for a disaster for this idea to get mooted on a larger scale, I am hopeful that schools will now get better around the country,î says Bishnu Karki, an education expert. ìThe exodus of students outwards from the centre could spur educational improvement outside of it.

According to Karki, if students stop coming to Kathmandu, the private sector will see the benefit in investing in good schools at the local level, which in turn will stanch the ever-increasing flow of students into the Valley. In his view, because the country already has plans to become a federal state, it has come time to plan for the decentralisation of education as well.

Karkiís reasoning makes sense, and he thinks the government should be convinced to come up with a plan to provide incentives to investors who want to set up institutions in the districts. The private sector will invest wherever they see business prospects. If the students shift away from the centre, demand will shift to these places too. 

Private sector leaders say that they are ready to invest in and set up proper academic institutions outside the Valley if the government supports them. They say that the government should, however, first come up with a concrete plan to promote private schools outside the Valley. The government could provide tax subsidies or soft loans to them to expedite the ventures.

ìWe are ready to establish academic institutions that provide quality education across the country, but the government should create an environment that makes it possible for this to happen,î says Umesh Shrestha, Nepali Congress lawmaker and a pioneer of private education in the country. 

Deal divides 30-party alliance

 With three major political forces and one Madhes-based party signing a 16-point agreement to iron out the statute differences and laying out an eight-province federal model withholding their names and demarcation, the 30-party alliance is on the verge of split.

The UCPN (Maoist)-led opposition bloc saw vertical division on Monday over the agreement with three major Madhesi parties and Janajati parties objecting to the understanding on federalism.

After the four-party meeting in Baluawatar reached the understanding, the Maoist party called a meeting of the alliance. The fringe parties objected to the deal saying that decision on the key issues of federalism should not be postponed.

In the meeting, the MJF-Nepal led by Upendra Yadav, Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party led by Mahanta Thakur and the Rajendra Mahato-led Sadbhawana Party said they would not back the deal.

The 28 parties said they would not accept the federal model without sorting the dispute over Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts and the border of the provinces. Only the UCPN (M) and the Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar-led MJF-Loktantrik have agreed to move ahead with the deal.

The regional parties are against mixing Tarai districts with the hill districts to form the provinces. They are of the view that there should not be more than two provinces in the plains. Regarding the demarcation in the hills, the Maoist and Janajati parties are of the view that ethnic clusters should not be broken while federating the country.

In the alliance meeting on Monday, its coordinator and UCPN (M) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal tried to persuade the other parties that time had come to replace the Sushil Koirala government and for that a new political understanding was a must.

“As the alliance coordinator, I tried my best to incorporate our demands and concerns,” Dahal told the meeting, adding that it was impossible to fulfill 100 percent demands in the deal.

After Dahal, Gachhadar also requested the alliance to accept the deal. Both the leaders made it clear at the meeting that “we will not run away from consensus” and would attend the meeting in Baluwatar for clinching the final deal.

After Dahal’s briefing, Madhesi leaders Yadav, Mahato and Hyridayesh Tripathi and other fringe parties had rejected the understanding.

Federal Socialist Party Nepal Chairman Ashok Rai urged Dahal not to accept a deal without agreement on state demarcation. “There is no meaning of the number of federal units alone,” said Rai.

Expressing reservations about the eight-state model, leaders of the Madhes-based parties organised a separate press conference to inform that any agreement reached among the four parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist) and MJF-Loktantrik—would be unacceptable to them. “Any agreement made on the eight states will be only of the four parties, not of the 30-party alliance,” said Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Vice-chairman Tripathi.

“We have not yet split but if any agreement is forged on promulgating a new constitution with eight provinces, we will not be a part of it,” he added. “The so-called agreement is an assault on the post-2006 achievements and past agreements,” he told the Post.

Posted on: 2015-06-09 07:04

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PDCC meet concludes in a minute

 A sub-committee formed by Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee ( PDCC ) on Wednesday failed to arrive at consensus electoral system for upper house, provincial parliament and granting citizenship through mother.

The meeting of PDCC convened this evening ended in a minute after the sub-committee failed to arrive at consensus.

PDCC Chairman Baburam Bhattarai deferred the meeting for until 10 on Thursday morning saying that the sub-committee asked for some more time to hold discussions with the top brass leaders.

The sub-committee was also divided on the number of constitutional commissions to be formed in the new set-up

o in the new set-up.

The sub-committee members will be holding separate and joint discussions with the top leaders of their respective parties in a bid to forge consensus on the disputed issues.

Major four political parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik—signed a 16-point agreement to resolve the key disputes of constitution drafting.

Tuesday’s meeting of Constituent Assembly (CA) had forwarded the pact to the PDCC in order to formalise the agreement.

But the agreement does not have clear provisions on these issues.

Acting Anfa prez no more

 Acting President of All Nepal Football Association Lalit Krishna Shrestha died in Lalitpur on Friday. He was 49. Shresthaís relatives said he was electrocuted at his Bhainsepati-based new house where his family had moved in on Friday. He was pronounced dead at Alka Hospital in Jawalakhel. Shrestha, a popular name among football players and fans in the country, was also the president of the Three Star Club. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Bad weather hinders survey of glacial lakes

 A team from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) which was mobilised to inspect the situation of glacial lakes along the Dudh Koshi and Tama Koshi river basins had to put off the mission on Friday owing to bad weather. 

DHM had decided to send a helicopter carrying the team of hydrologists and technical experts to survey the sites of glacial lakes to confirm if glacial lake outburst had anything to do with the sudden rise in the water level of Dudh Koshi. Glacial lake outburst is believed to have released huge amount of water into the Dudh Koshi, increasing its water level. Many downstream sttlements are said to be at high risk of flood and erosion.

ìWe were unable to determine if the rise in water level is related to the glacial lake outburst in the region,î said DHM Director General Rishi Ram Sharma. 

The team was tasked to inspect the Tsho Rolpa, Imja and other small glacial lakes along the Dudh Koshi river basin. 

The hydrological station at Dudh Koshi River in Solukhumbu which had measured the water discharge from the river at around 100 cubic metre per second on Wednesday night registered a  significant rise of water discharge  (600 cubic metre per second) shortly before midnight. 

The downstream villages, including Rambuwa Bazaar,  almost 80 km downstream from the origins of many small and large glaciers, have witnessed flood-related damages to infrastructure, but there has not been any casualties.

ìThe water level in Dudh Koshi recorded sharp rise from 2.4 metres to 4.5 metres in a matter of 30 minutes. This event has led us to believe that there might be possible glacial lake outburst,î Sharma said.   

DHM has been regularly assessing the status of the glacial lakes that are at risk of bursting. Imja and Tsho Rolpa glacial lakes are considered highly vulnerable because they are located in the earthquake-hit region.