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Saarc international I Thursday 01 March 2012
WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS
Three killed as bomb goes off in heart of Kathmandu
Three persons were killed and seven others injured when a powerful bomb went off some 300 metres away from Singha Durbar, the country’s administrative hub, here on Monday. The explosion outside the Nepal Oil Corporation’s (NOC) central office at Babarmahal occurred at around 1:11pm, killing two men on the spot. The third died at Bir Hospital. Though some callers identifying themselves as “representatives” of a lesser known underground outfit, the Samyukta Jatiya Mukti MorchaBishwokranti (SJMM), claimed responsibility, a statement issued by the same organisation later rubbished the claims. According to the police in Dhading, the SJMM had detonated a bomb at the Ncell mobile phone tower in the district on February 25. Police identified two of the dead in Monday’s blast as Krishna Bahadur Tamang and Man Bahadur Tamang of Baireni, Dhading. The identity of the third victim was yet to be ascertained. The explosion is believed to be the
second most powerful after the 2009 bombing of the Assumption Catholic Church at Dhobighat in Lalitpur when three persons were killed and several
Som Bahadur Tamang, 35; Raghu Nath Khadka, 45, of Bhaktapur and Bishnu Pulara of Dhangadi, Kailali, Man Bahadur Kunwar and
others were injured. Though the church bombing case was solved after about a year with the arrest of Nepal Defence Army Chief Ram Prasad Mainali, three other blast cases after the incident are still unsolved. The injured in Monday’s blast have been identified as Basu Shrestha, 20, of Lubhu, Lalitpur; Lal Bahadur Tamang, 65 of Baireni, Dhading;
Bhim Bahadur Kunwar of Accham, and Som Bahadur Tamang of Bara district. Som Bahadur, who was critically injured, was undergoing an operation at Bir Hospital till late in the evening on Monday. Dr DP Singh, the head of the emergency department at the hospital, said three of the injured have been admitted, while others are being discharged.
“I lost my son and a neighbour. Fate robbed everything from me,” said an injured Lal Bahadur Tamang, the father of Krishna and the neighbour of Man Bahadur. “We have already found clues. Our preliminary investigation shows an improvised explosive device of around 6 volts was used. We will conclude the investigation as soon as possible,” SP Rajendra Shrestha told mediapersons at the site. Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar reached the site at 2.45 pm and left for Bir Hospital after five minutes. After visiting the injured, Gachhadar announced a relief package for the families of the dead and free treatment for the injured. He condemned the blast, saying it was a threat not only to security, but the entire government. In a press meet, Home Ministry Spokesperson Shanker Koirala said the government has formed a fourmember investigation committee chaired by DIG Upendra Kanta Aryal, the head of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB).
“It is understood that the Sumyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha-Bishwokranti carried out the attack. Such bombs were used during the Maoist insurgency,” Koirala said, adding that the government will strengthen the security mechanism to avoid such incidents in the future. Shyam Kaji Maharjan, a witness, said police reached the site a few minutes after they were informed. “We were not in the condition to wait for ambulances. The first thing that came to our mind was how we could help the survivors. Though the police hesitated at first, we put them in the police van and off to the hospital,” he said. The explosion at the NOC office comes three days after the stateowned oil monopoly hiked the prices of petroleum products. A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on the fuel price hike was reportedly underway when the explosion took place. The CPN-UML denounced the attack as “cowardly and terrorising.”
Indian PM to arrive in Nepal ‘very soon’ Hetauda only 4 hours Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be arriving in Nepal ‘very soon’, several sources confirm. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indian Embassy in Kathmandu have kept mum, the visit is most likely in late March or early April. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indian Embassy in Kathmandu have kept mum, the visit — of two to three days — is most likely in late March or early April. Both the countries have even postponed a meeting of joint commission of their foreign ministers slated in Kathmandu for March first week so as to ensure and make Indian Prime Minister Singh’s visit a success at an early date, added sources. “We are in a rush for the preparation of the visit,” said a senior government official. Another source told THT that the only possible threat to the possible visit is whether the incumbent government will be in place or not till then. In a brief conversation with this daily, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said the Indian prime
from Kathmandu now
minister’s visit was very much on cards as per an invitation extended during Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s visit to India and that he wished to make it happen at the earliest date. During Deputy PM and Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar’s visit to New Delhi in January, Singh had reiterated his desire to visit Nepal ‘soon’. Earlier Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad had told journalists that Indian Prime Minister Singh would visit Nepal at an early but convenient date and both the governments were doing the groundwork to make the visit
successful. If Singh arrives in Kathmandu anytime now, he will be the first Indian prime minister to pay an official visit to Nepal since IK Gujral came here in 1997. Atal Bihari Vajpayee though was in Nepal in January 2002, it was not an official visit as he was here to take part in the 11th SAARC summit. Sources said DPM Shrestha, is likely to embark on a New Delhi trip soon to lay foundation for the visit of the Indian prime minister. However, his trip to Delhi will depend on his health, as he is currently recovering after a surgery.
Tiring and bumpy rides to Hetauda from Kathmandu via Kulekhani are a thing of the past now. A 26-km stretch of road from Dakshinkali to Kulekhani came into operation this week, making the road smooth and risk-free. As of now, the Hetauda-KulekhaniKathmandu road is the only alterative to the busiest Prithivi Highway to reach the southern plains from Kathmandu. It will lose the shortcut-road title once the much-hyped fast-tracks from Kathmandu to Nijgad and other proposed routes like a shuttle tunnel and another fast-track from Hetauda to Sisneri come into service. With the repair, the five-hour journey from the Capital to Hetauda has been shortened by more than one hour. Another part of the stretch—Hetauda to Kulekhani (around 25 km)—had been already blacktopped. Joint-secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW) Ramesh Raj Bista and officials from the Department of Roads (DoR) and the Indian Embassy surveyed the condition of the repaired road as they drove out of Kathmandu to Hetauda. “Now the road is very smooth,” said one of the officials. The road was blacktopped with Indian assistance of Rs 90 million. “We have
also requested India to assist in the other sections of this road, to which India is positive,” said the official. More than 1,000 medium and small vehicles ply this route every day, of which, more than 500 are Tata Sumos, a popular public carrier. Meanwhile, the government has also proposed construction of the 92-km Kanti Lok Path, another shortest road to connect Kathmandu with Hetauda and Birgunj. “The increasing population in Kathmandu and the need for a faster and reliable link to speed up economic development in the Valley demand urgent need to redevelop and upgrade Kanti Lok Path to make it a reliable alternative to connect Kathmandu with Hetauda and facilitate import and export from India,” the DoR website says.