Sushil-led Government-26

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

Janakpur, July 23, 2014: The last rites to five youths of the enforced disappearance by the State during the armed insurgency 11 years ago were performed in Janakur on Wednesday, July 23, 2014. The dead bodies had been at the TU Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj in Kathmandu for forensic investigation. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) turned over the bodies to the families concerned. Acting Secretary to NHRC Bed Prakash Bhattarai turned over the remains to the families.  A group cremation was performed.

On Asoj 21, 2060 (2033), the security personnel arrested and shot dead the five youths called Sanjiv Kumar Karna, Durgesh Labh, Jitendra Jha, Pramod Narayan Mandal and Shailendra Yadav at Janakpur Municipality-4. They were later buried on the bank of the Kamala River at southern belt of Godar-3 in the district, said Secretary Bhattarai. They were taken under control from Kataiya Chauri of Janakpur-4 and killed later, according to the NHRC report.

On Magh 15, 2064 (2007), NHRC, wrote a letter to the government recommending actions against then senior superintendent of police Chuda Bahadur Shrestha, superintendent of police Kuver Singh, major Anup Adhikari and the then chief district officer Rewati Raman Kafle for their involvement in the murder.

On Bhadra 21, 2067 (2010), the NHRC took German experts and a team of specialist doctors from the TU Teaching Hospital to the place of burial and exhumed the dead bodies. They were then kept at the hospital for further investigation.

The DNA test of the dead was conducted at Helsinki University of Finland. For the delayed NDA test, the security persons charged by the NHRC were getting off the hook.

UCPN-Maoist leader Krisha Bahadur Mahara arrived in Janakpur to turn over the dead ones. He said that the security personals involved in the extra-judicial killing must be brought to justice.

Similarly, legal practitioner advocating for justice to the victim families Raj Kumar Mahasheth said that the youths were the victims of the extra-judicial killings, but the perpetrators have not be punished.

The victims' families and relatives were in broken heart seeing the bodily remains.

Rajiv Karna, brother of the murdered Sanjiv, said they would continue struggle until they get justice. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, July 24, 2014)

Kathmandu, July 21, 2014: The Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee of the Constituent Assembly (CA) today built a consensus on 11 topics on managing the transition. At the committee meeting held to discuss the 48 issues on which the Constitutional Committee of the previous Constituent Assembly had reached a consensus, the political parties on the current CA reached a consensus on 11 issues.

Talking to the journalists after the meeting, chairman of the Committee Dr Baburam Bhattarai said an agreement has been reached to finalize the kind of an election system to be adopted by the State Restructuring Committee. He said the parties also reached an agreement on including the rights to removing the constitutional obstacles under the 'Transition Section' of the proposed new constitution and that the President would issue a decree to that end on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. The parties also agreed that this arrangement should be endorsed by the Parliament within one month of its issuance.

According to Dr Bhattarai, the parties also agreed that the federal legislature would be bicameral and the name of the provincial legislature would be Province Legislature. The parties also reached an agreement that although the term of the incumbent President and Vice President is until the promulgation of a new constitution or until another provision is made in this regard, the existing Legislature-Parliament will fill these posts through elections if these posts fall vacant due to some reasons.

The parties also agreed that the Council of Ministers or constitutional bodies would continue to function until further arrangement was made after the promulgation of the new constitution. Likewise, the parties agreed that laws conflicting with a new constitution would be abrogated within one year of the date of the promulgation of a new constitution. The committee would forward the agreed subject matters to the CA for discussing at its full meeting before it is sent to the Constitution Drafting Committee. The meeting also felt the need for expediting the constitution-writing task, which was of the national priority, and sought commitment in this regard. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, July 21, 2014)

Kathmandu, July 24, 2014: The Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee has built a consensus on the name of the lower house of parliament as the 'House of Representatives'. It also agreed on 'providing voting rights to Nepali citizens reaching 18 years of age' as agreed on by the Constitutional Committee under the first Constituent Assembly (CA). The Constitutional Committee under the first CA had forged a consensus on 48 different issues of a new constitution.

The last meeting of the Committee had forged a consensus on 11 issues under the topic of managing transition.

Discussions on the other issues were also held in the today's meeting. The meeting today discussed from number 12 to 48 articles of the report. The CA members expressed their views on topics such as the numerical strength of each House, the kind of representation in the Upper House, the number of members in the Province Legislature or whether to have executive President and a unicameral legislature or not.

An agreement also has reached on removing some of the points from the list of contentious issues while building a consensus on state restructuring and the electoral system.

Former Prime Minister also CA members duo Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal, and CA members such as Ram Chandra Poudel, Kamal Thapa, Chitra Bahadur KC, Narayan Man Bijukchhe, CP Gajurel, Gokarna Bishta among others put forth their views. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, July 24, 2014)

On Monday, July 21, 2014 09, the Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Building Committee has started taking the ownership of decisions taken by the first Constituent Assembly (CA).

Speaking after the today’s meeting, Chairman of Committee Dr Baburam Bhattarai said that the new parliament would be bi-cameral with the House of Representatives (Lower House called Pratinidhi Sabha) and the National Assembly (Upper House called Rastriya Sabha). “In provinces, the parliament will be unicameral. Today, we approved these provisions about the parliament already decided by the first CA’s sub-committee.”

Sub-committee member Rukmini Chaudhary said a decision on setting up a two-tier parliament at the center and one-tier parliament in the provinces will be taken by the Council of Ministers. The agreements endorsed by the Committee will be forwarded to the CA for detailed discussions. (Source: Nepalnews.com)

Ilam, July 27, 2014: The Constitutional Dialogue Sub-committee under the CA Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee has started talks with the political parties outside the CA in Ilam today.

The Sub-committee team coordinated by Ananda Prasad Dhungana has started the talks at the Tea Garden Cottage since 10:00 am with the eight parties including the Federal Democratic National Forum, Sanghiya Limbuwan State Council (Sanjuhang Palungwa group), Kirant Janabadi Workers' Party (Ananta group), Kirant Janabadi Workers' Party (Suman Bantawa group), and Joint Ethnic Freedom Forum (Devraj Lama group).

The Sub-committee started the talks with the political parties that took part in the November CA elections but failed to win any representation with the view of ensuring their participation in the constitution writing process and minimize the possible gap that could be seen after the constitution writing.

According to Ravin Koirala, mediator of the talks, "The government team for talks included two Joint Secretaries of the Ministry of Home, and Peace, eight lawmakers, and coordinator Dhungana.

Meanwhile, Sanghiya Democratic National Forum issued a press statement and demanded that all its cadres imprisoned at the Taplejung District Jail are released and all the 'false' cases filed against the Forum's cadres withdrawn. The Forum also demanded a Limbuwan Autonomous State.

Media persons have been stopped from entering the venue of the talks. The talks would be held for two days, said RK Khambhu, another mediator of the dialogue and lawmaker of the Khambuwan National Forum. (Source: Gorkhaaptraonline.com, July 27, 2014)

Ilam, July 28: the Constitutional Dialogue Sub-committee under the CA Constitutional-Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee and the political parties and also forces outside the CA signed off a three-point agreement in Ilam today.

The Sub-committee team coordinated by Ananda Prasad Dhungana had held talks at the Tea Garden Cottage here since yesterday with eight parties including the Federal Democratic National Forum, Sanghiya Limbuwan State Council (Sanjuhang Palungwa group), Kirant Janabadi Workers' Party (Ananta group), Kirant Janabadi Workers' Party (Suman Bantawa group), and Joint Ethnic Freedom Forum (Devraj Lama group).

According to the agreement, the sub-committee would initiate to withdraw all the 'false' cases filed against the Forum's cadres and include the issues raised by them in the new constitution.

On behalf of the parties Abiral and on behalf of the dialogue sub-committee Ananda Prasad Dhungana signed off the agreement.

The Sub-committee is yet to hold talks with the Limbuwan State Council (Sanjuhang Palungwa group) while Pallo Kinrat Group did not take part in the talks, said R K Khambu. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, July 28, 2014)

Kathmandu, July 29, 2014: Chairman of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli has said that the seven-point agreement reached between the NC and the CPN-UML before the formation of the current coalition government should be implemented immediately.

Talking to journalists on his arrival from Singapore at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) this afternoon, Chairman Oli said, "The seven point agreement was signed not to be stored but for implementation." "UML is in favor of implementing it immediately," he added. (Source: Gorkhaaptraonline.com, July 29, 2014)

Kathmandu, July 31, 2014: Giving continuity to the long-held tradition of providing the chairmanship of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the parliament to the main opposition party, the political parties are all set to elect UCPN-Maoist leader Janardan Sharma unopposed to the head of PAC.

Sharma is the only candidate that registered the candidacy for the post as voting for the purpose is scheduled for 11:00 am on Friday. The time for registering candidacy for the PAC head is until 5:00 pm on Thursday. Sharma is proposed by Prem Bahadur Singh of Samajbadi Janta Party and seconded by Dor Prasad Upadhyaya of UCPN (Maoist).

According to a Parliament Secretariat source, the political parties have reached an understanding to provide the PAC chair to the main opposing party and have decided not to register any candidacy against Sharma.

Parliament Secretariat has scheduled the oath taking function for the chairman of PAC for 11:30 am on Friday at Singha Durbar. (Source: myrepublica.com )

Kathmandu, August 1, 2014: Lawmaker of UCPN-Maoist Janardan Sharma has been elected Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) unopposed. Lawmaker of the Socialist Peoples' Party Prem Bahadur Singh proposed Sharma's name for the post while lawmaker of UCPN-Maoist Dor Prasad Upadhyay seconded it.

Today's meeting chaired by elder member of the PAC Krishna Kumar Rai declared Sharma elected PAC Chairman. Speaker Subas Chandra Nemwang administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected PAC chairman amid a function.

The meeting of the PAC held after the swearing-in function passed the proposal of special thanks to elder member of the PAC Krishna Kumar Rai, and congratulated Sharma on his election to the PAC Chairman. The meeting also wished for PAC Chairman Sharma's successful tenure.

According to the Constituent Assembly Legislature-Parliament Regulations of 2070, an elder member of the PAC chairs the PAC. The 51-member PAC was constituted on April 20, 2014, and Rai had been taking the responsibility of Chairman of the PAC.

Some 12 meetings of the committee have been held so far. The committee elected its chair after three months period of its formation, committee stated. Newly elected chair Sharma expressed his commitment to lessen financial irregularities in public bodies and he would perform his work following the suggestions of the seniors and experts.   

He further said that the committee would function to make the government and public bodies transparent, well-governed and responsible to people. The committee would monitor and inspect the activities of the government and public bodies.

The committee would prioritize to clear off the arrears of 243.9 billion and to realize the outstanding amount of Rs 93.32 stated in the report of the auditor general, chair Sharma stated.

Lawmakers such as Ananda Prasad Dhungana,  Rajendra Kumar KC, Ram Hari Khatiwada, Prem Bahadur Singh, Mahendra Ray Yadav,  Sarbendra  Nath Shukla pointed out the need for the co-work and coordination of the committee to strengthen the national economy.

According to the under secretary at the committee Surendra Aryal, the committee failed to hold discussions on the report for three years due to the political instability and the committee was not in existence for two years.      

What is PAC's job?

The PAC specially looks into the public accounts and the report of the Auditor General. It investigates the cases related to the irregularities in the finances of different public bodies, takes measures to prevent the misuse of public funds and issues directives from time to time to the bodies concerned to maintain fiscal discipline.

Similarly, it holds discussions on the report of the Auditor General tabled in the Legislature-Parliament through the Office of the President and also issues the required directives to the bodies concerned.

The Public Accounts Committee was established in 1959. There is the tradition of a member from the opposition party heading the committee which is responsible for critically reviewing the financial activities and work of the ruling party and getting it corrected. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 1, 2014)

Itahari, Aug. 7, 2014: The banda or general shutdown called by groups demanding setting up a Limbuwan state has affected the normal lives of workers and bus entrepreneurs in the nine districts east of the Arun River. The Limbuwan groups announced the banda in the nine districts demanding a separate Limbuwan state as well as observing Shrawan 22 as the 'black day' claiming the Limbu autonomy in the region.

Similarly, workers who used to extract sand and stones from rivulets to earn a living also called Koshi banda today after the government on July 17 banned the quarrying and exporting sand, pebbles and other construction materials from these areas.

Likewise, bus entrepreneurs also announced the Mechi-Koshi banda today due to the dispute surfaced between Ujyalo Bus Entrepreneurs' Association and the Mechi Transport Entrepreneurs' Association. The Mechi Bus Entrepreneurs' Association has been protesting the approval of registration of a new bus entrepreneurs' association.

However, vehicles and trucks plying on long routes are operating their services, but the short-route traffic is halted. Locals have been hit hard due to the disruption of short-route traffic. Educational institutions, factories and shops have been affected due to the banda.

Police personnel have been mobilized to curb untoward incidents during the banda. (Source: “General strike affects Normal life in nine eastern districts”, Gorkhapatra.com, August 7, 2014)

Kathmandu, August 9, 2014: Leaders of ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML today expressed differing opinions about the enforcement of the seven-point agreement signed between the two parties before the government formation.

Whereas NC Spokesperson Dilendra Prasad Badu said the agreement signed on February 9 is already 'fully implemented', UML Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai warned of the UML pulling out of the government if the agreement were not implemented.

Speaking at an interaction Kathmandu today, Spokesperson for NC Badu said that the UML's demand for endorsing the President and the Vice-President was unconstitutional and irrelevant.

Claiming that President Ram Baran Yadav was endorsed from the Parliament after he read out the government's plans and policies at the House meeting, Spokesperson Badu asked the coalition partner not to raise the issue again.

He said issues of constitution writing would be sidelined if UML were to weaken the NC-UML alliance with the issue. He, however, hoped that the two parties could settle the differences through dialogues. He said NC President Sushil Koirala-led government would not be dissolved until promulgation of a new constitution.

At the function, UML Secretary Bhattarai said that his party would step back from the alliance if the President and Vice-President were not endorsed by the Parliament.  Accusing NC of ignoring the seven-point agreement, he said, "We are clear that the agreement should be implemented." "Our party cannot compromise on this," added Bhattarai. UML's central committee meeting scheduled for August 12 will review status of the deal and decide new strategies, according to Bhattarai. "There is imbalance between two parties in the government," Bhattarai stated, "It leads to other serious problems."

Meanwhile, UCPN-Maoist Treasurer Haribol Gajurel said that the Parliament needed not to re-endorse the President and the Vice-President. He suggested NC and UML not to attempt changing the government before January 2015 to ensure promulgation of a constitution by then. Rastriya Janamorch Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC and Sadbhawana Party Co-Chairman Laxman Lal Karna also echoed Gajurel. (Source: “NC‚ UML express difference on 7-pt deal implementation,” Thehimalayantimes.com)

Kathmandu, Feb 9, 2014: The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML on Sunday forged a seven-point agreement on the eve of prime ministerial elections. Following the agreement, NC President Sushil Koirala filed his candidacy for the election, scheduled for tomorrow. In the deal made today, the CPN-UML has agreed to lend support to elect Koirala as the prime minister and form a majority government with both the parties taking part in it.

Also, the two major parties agreed to complete the constitution drafting within a year and hold elections for President, and Vice-President in the time period between the promulgation of a new law of the land and its implementation.

Points of the agreement:

1. Promulgation of new constitution within a year

2. Endorsement of agreements on issues of a new constitution as reached by the parties through the first Constituent Assembly

3. Election of new President and Vice President before the implementation of a new constitution

4. Constituent Assembly, which also doubles as Legislature-Parliament, endorsing a proposal to give continuity to the sitting President and Vice-President CA for the time being

5. CPN-UML vote to Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala

6. Initiation of a process to form the Cabinet of NC and UML within seven days after the PM elections

7. CPN-UML to get the CA chairman post and NC to support. (Source: “NC‚ UML forge seven-point agreement”, Thehimalayantimes.com)

Kathmandu, August 9, 2014: Leaders of the Nepali Congress (NC) and UCPN-Maoist have held discussions to forge a consensus on in the contents and disputed issues of a new constitution on Saturday. The leaders have also agreed to settle the contents and disputed issues of the constitution through unilateral and multilateral talks.

At a meeting held at the NC Parliamentary Party office in Singhdurbar today, Maoist Vice-chairman Narayankaji Shrestha said that the leaders of both the parties have agreed to expedite homework for drafting the constitution in the slated timeframe. He said the major task now was to seek a consensus on the disputed issues. "We urged the NC leaders to bring the CPN-Maoist on board the constitution writing process," he said.

The major political parties have been shapely divided over structure of federalism, forms of governance, electoral system, judiciary and inclusion, among other issues. Top leaders of both the parties were present at the meeting. (RSS news “NC‚ UCPN-M leaders agree to write statute on consensus” on Thehimalayantimes.com)

Kathmandu, August 9, 2014: Amid fast approaching deadline for the promulgation of a new statute, the three major political parties such as Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist have started negotiations to forge a consensus on thorny issues in the constitution writing.

The three major parties have stepped up informal negotiations since last week to forge a consensus on thorny issues and discuss ways to include various dissenting political parties including the CPN-Maoist in the statute-drafting process.

State restructuring, system of governance, electoral system, judiciary, preamble and special measures to be taken to address the concerns of the marginalized and backward communities in the new statute are the key issues for discussions.

On Saturday, senior leaders of UCPN-Maoist, and NC held discussions on these issues, while NC and UML leaders have already met twice to discuss the issues. Likewise, the UCPN-Maoist had separately held discussions with the UML leaders on Thursday to find ways to resolve the contentious issues.

According to NC Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel, NC leaders plan to meet again with the UML leaders to discuss issues of constitution writing.  “We held discussions with the Maoists on key issues of the new statute," Paudel told Republica.

NC leaders Paudel and Mahesh Acharya, UML leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and Bidya Bhandari and UCPN-Maoist leaders Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Krishna Bahadur Mahara are engaged in informal cross-party negotiations to forge a consensus on thorny issues of the new statute.

The latest move by the three major political parties comes in the wake of Chairman of Constitutional, Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee Dr Baburam Bhattarai arguing that discussion within the Dialogue Committee alone would not help forge a consensus.

Bhattarai has maintained that discussions on the dialogue committee could prove effective only if major parties through informal inter-party negotiations reached a tacit understanding on the thorny issues outside the committee. As per the commitment made by the parties during elections to promulgate a new statute within a year, the deadline for the promulgation of a new statute would expire on January 22, 2015.

According to UCPN-Maoist leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha, there has been an understanding among the major parties to promulgate the new statute within the stipulated time and make efforts on including all parties including those outside the CA in the constitution writing process.

Likewise, the major parties have agreed to hold discussions with all stakeholders while trying to forge a consensus on thorny issues and not to compromise on fundamental values of democracy. "We have agreed not to copy democratic models practiced elsewhere in the world," Shrestha said. (Source: “Major Parties Step Up Talks For Consensus On Thorny Issues”, myrepublica.com)

Landslide Dams Sunkoshi River

Kathmandu, August 2, 2014: The government has mobilized its entire force to open up the portion of Sunkoshi River blocked due to the landslide at Jure of Mankha VDC, Sindhupalchowk and take people to safer places.

Security personnel have been mobilized to give outlet to the blocked Sunkoshi River.

A serious discussion to this effect is taking place at a meeting of Central Natural Disaster Rescue Committee held at Home Ministry at Singha Durbar.

With the blockage of the River, a lake of 3km long, 100 m wide, and 90 m deep formed. Burst of this dam could cause huge loss to the human settlement.

The government has made necessary preparation to blow up the blocked portion. Spokesperson Dhakal in a highly urgent notice on Saturday, August 1 urged the local people residing in the vicinity of Sunkoshi River to move to the safer places considering the possible burst of the dammed water causing huge the flood in the River.

The government has asked the local administration to make necessary arrangement to shift the locals vulnerable to the flood to safer places and provide the public with the information on safety measures through the local media. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Kathmandu, Aug. 2, 2014: Prime Minister Suhsil Koirala has directed the Home Ministry to give easy and safe outlet to the dammed Sunkoshi River at Jure of Sindhupalchowk district in a cautious manner to save the life and property and physical infrastructures in the area.

Prime Minister Koirala issued the directive after the massive landslide dammed the river at Jure of Ramche VDC causing the rise of the water level to 130 meters and subsequent inundation of houses and disruption of highway.

At a press release issued by Prime Minister Koirala's press coordinator Prakash Adhikari this morning, PM Koirala directed all security agencies, local administration and the agencies responsible for the management of natural disaster relief to shift the vulnerable communities in the vicinity of river to secured places.

The Prime Minister also directed the authorities concerned to make local people aware of taking safety measures and explore cautious measures to give outlet to the blocked river, reads the press statement. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Chautara, Aug. 2: A dreadful landslide has blocked the Sunkoshi River at Dhuskun VDC, Jure of Sindhupalchowk district since 3.00 AM this morning. Local people residing along the Araniko Highway and Sunkoshi River from Lamosanghu to Dolalghat have fled for safety in fear of possible outburst of the dam.

The police has made public announcement asking local people to go to secured area. The electricity and telephone service has been disrupted in the area after the landslide swept away electric poles. However, movement on the Araniko Highway has not been halted.

Chief District officer Gopal Prasad Parajuli, DSP Bohora and Nepal Army Lieutenant Colonel Suresh Karki have moved to the landslide site immediately after the incident.

There is no single drop of water flowing in the Sunkoshi River due to blockage and local people are reeling under terrible situation, said Basudev Karki, a local of Lamosanghu. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Chautara, Aug. 2: At least five people have so far lost their lives in the incident of landslide occurred at Jure located in between Dhuskun and Ramche VDCs of Sindhupalchowk district. The identity of the deceased has yet to be ascertained,

According to the police, three critically injured among others are undergoing treatment at Stone Hospital in Barhabise while 12 others with minor injuries are being treated at Armed Police Base Camp in Khadichaur. It has been difficult to take critically injured to Kathmandu for further treatment due to the blockage of the highway, police said.

At the moment, there is no possibility to clear the debris and open the highway since landslide is still occurring from Ramche side. So far, around 20 houses along the dam in Bansanghu have been entirely inundated. The Araniko Highway has been brought to a grinding halt considering the imminent risks caused by flood in the area. A squad of Nepal Army with technical people deputed from Kathmandu is effortful to give outlet to the river blocked by the massive landslide. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Chaurtara, Aug. 2: The death toll due to landslide-triggered inundation at Jure of Sindhupalchowk district has reached six. The identified deceased are Bimala Shrestha and Shyam Shrestha of Mankha-1 while identity of rest of those died are yet to be ascertained. Efforts on opening the blocked portion of the river have not been materialized, yet. The blockage has caused surge in the flow of the river that could likely to put Barhabise bazaar at risk of inundation, said Keshar Bahadur Khatry, a local.

The landslide-triggered flood has caused huge damages to three-megawatt powerhouse of Sanima Hydropower located at the meeting point of Sunkoshi and Bhotecosi Rivers. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Banepa, Aug 2, 2014: The local administration has asked the people to remain in high alert in eight VDCs of Kavre district around the Sunkoshi River bank after the landslide blocked the river making a big lake in Jure of Mankha VDC, Sindhupalchowk.

Locals in the Dolalghat area have already been shifted to the safer areas, said Chief District Officer (CDO) of Kavre, Kedar Neupane.

The administration has adopted high alert in Bhumlutar, Sarsyukharka, Koshidekha, Boldifediche, Saramthali, and Metckshe among other VDCs in the district. CDO Neupane has already reached Dolalghat to acquire details of settlements affected by the river blockade.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Security Committee in the Sunsari district has also decided to deploy police to alert the people from the possible flood in the river. The police personnel have been deployed at Barahakshetra, Mahendranagar, Prakashpur, Madhuwan, Western Kushah, Haripur, and Koshi barrage area of Sunsari to maintain high alert to the possible flood. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 2, 2014)

Kathmandu, August 2, 2014: to carry out controlled blast and gradually release water from the dammed Sunkoshi River, a team of Nepal Army has been deployed at Jure area of Sindhupalchol district where hills slipped down and blocked the river.

Chief District Officer of Sindhupalchok, Gopal Parajuli told a Kathmandu-based TV that army choppers have already dropped the NA personnel and explosives in the area. "Assessments are being done on how to carry out controlled blast," he said.

The water level is rising and the blocked river is extending upstream forming a lake, posing a threat of inundation upstream and outburst floods downstream. "If we wait for the water to rise up, villages upstream will be submerged," he said, "This is why, we are thinking about this measure (of controlled blast)."

The Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee (CNDRC) has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to declare the areas downstream the blocked Sunkoshi River, from Jure of Sindhupalchok to Nepal-India border, "crisis-hit region" as the threat of outburst floods loomed large.

The CNDRC held an emergency meeting at MoHA this morning to discuss the rescue and relief operation. MoHA has already issued a red alert, asking the people living downstream to evacuate their houses and move to a safer place.

According to the MOHA, the water level rose to above 130 meters. About 100 houses on the bank of the river have been submerged, and some casualties have been reported. The traffic along the Araniko Highway has also been obstructed following landslides. The artificial lake formed due to the river blockage is gradually becoming larger and larger.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has directed MoHA to do the needful to safely release water from the blocked river, and to end the impending crisis, and protect lives and properties. PM Koirala has directed the security personnel, local administration and MoHA's Disaster Risk Management to coordinate with each other and the other stakeholders to carry out rescue operation and evacuate locals to a safer place, a statement issued by his secretariat said. (Source: Thehimalayantimes.com)

Banepa, August 2, 2014: landslides have blocked the Sunkoshi River in Sindhupalchok after torrential rainfall, turning the river into a lake in the wee hours of Saturday morning. According to Inspector Jayeshwor Rimal of the Bahrabise Police Post, at least four people were killed and 16 others were injured after they were buried in landslides at around 2:30 am today. He said that the injured have been airlifted to Kathmandu by a Nepal Army chopper.

As many as 100 houses have been under water after the river water flowed into a human settlement in Jure of Ramche VDC-5. Inspector Rimal said that the Bahrabise bazaar is at high risk of being washed away.

The incident has panicked people living along the river in Lamosanghu, Khadichaur, Kathe, Balefi, Sukute and Chehere, Dolalghat among others.

Water level in the Sunkoshi River has been increasing endlessly. High alert has been announced and locals are being evacuated to a safer place. The authorities have urged the locals to stay safe in highland.

Security personnel of Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police have been deployed in the incident site.

The authorities have also urged the locals of Kavre district to stay in high alert fearing a possible outburst of the blocked river. Technical team from Kathmandu has arrived in the district to monitor the areas.

Biratnagar, August 2, 2014: Three eastern districts such as Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur have been alerted to remain safe from the possible inundation from the Saptakoshi River.

The local administration has asked all people on the riverbanks to remain in high alert after a dreadful landslide at Jure of Sindhupalchok district blocked the Sunkoshi River dam early this morning. Sunkoshi is a tributary of the Saptakoshi River.

The dammed water could even affect settlements in the districts around the Saptakoshi River making a huge disaster if the river water did not flow in its previous course.

Eastern Regional Administrator Mahashram Sharma said that the Security Committee meetings of the three districts held this morning decided to keep the people alert along the river banks for their safety from the possible flood. He said that the affected would be informed from media and the administration is taking initiatives to shift them to the safer sites.

The Ministry of Homer Affairs has already directed the authorities to open all the floodgates of Koshi Barrage along the Mahendra Highway, considering the threat of outburst floods.

The local administration has already begun its task to alert the people of riverside in Sunsari to shift them to safer places while the administrations in Udaypur and Saptari districts have made arrangements to inform people about the blockage of river and make people aware of the possible flooding, said Sharma.

It is feared that as many as 500 VDCs in the districts and Bihar State of India would be inundated if the blocked landslide debris opened at once and the Koshi barrage was damaged. (Source: Thehimalayantime.com)

Khotang, August 2, 2014: As many as 14 VDCs in Khotang district are at high risk of inundation after the landslide in Sindhupalchok district blocked the Sunkoshi River.

Bahunidanda, Dikuwa, Chyasmitar, Durchhim, Dhitung, Rajapani, Batase, Chichkiramche, Barahapokhari, Saunechaur, Suntale and few other VDCs along the Sunkoshi River are at high risk of flooding.

The District Administration Office and District Police Office have urged the locals to shift to the safer areas to save themselves from the possible disasters. Assistant Chief District Officer Arjun Rai said that the locals of the low land site have been asked to move to higher grounds. (Source: RSS news on Thehimalayantimes.com)

Sindhupalchowk, August 2, 2014: At least eight persons were killed and many are still missing in the landslide that blocked Sunkoshi River at Gure in Mangkha of the district forming an artificial lake which abrupt burst could result in flash flood downstream.

Water from the river started gushing out of the dam as high as 90-100 meters after Nepal Army (NA) detonated two explosives at around 4 pm this evening.

According to police, four men, two women and two children were killed in the landslide. The deceased are Abisekh Shrestha, 40, of Badame-1, Ashamadevi Shrestha, 18, Ramdevi Shrestha, 40, Bimala Shrestha, 30, and Shyam Shrestha,35, of Mankha-1.

Identifications of other two deceased have not been established yet, according to DSP Bharat Bahadur Bohara.

Forty people injured from the rubbles airlifted to Kathmandu are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

The emergency meeting of the Central Disaster Rescue Committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) this morning recommended the government to declare crisis zone to the downstream areas inside Nepalese territory, which might be affected by blockage of the river.

Spokesperson for the Ministry Laxmi Prasad Dhakal informed that the meeting of the committee decided to write to the government for declaring the crisis zone area possibly be affected by the flood as a massive landslide blocked the Sunkoshi River in Sindhuplalchok.

The meeting had also directed the District Disaster Management Committees to starts evacuating the people from the settlements along the downstream area of the Sunkoshi River.

Ground shook like an earthquake

An eyewitness said that they felt the landslide like earthquake at the time when it occurred.

"There are nearly 100 people in the 60 houses in my village and 20 more people in the neighboring village buried by the landslide. All of them are likely dead," international news agency Associated Press quoted injured Durga Lal Shrestha as saying.

Shrestha suffered bruises on his face and arms. He said that when the landslide occurred, he and his family heard a rumbling sound and then the ground shook like an earthquake, the report added.

"The walls in my house caved in, but the roof was fine and that is how we were able to survive," he said. "When we came out, it was dark and muddy. Everyone was screaming and it was a chaotic situation," the report quoted Shrestha as saying.

High alert and flood crisis zones declared

People were kept on high alerts in different districts. Flood prone zones have been declared along the riverbanks to avert possible damages by the likely burst of the dammed river. The local administration has asked all people on the riverbanks to remain in high alert and has also sifted people to safer places.

All 56 Saptakoshi floodgates opened

All 56 floodgates of the barrage on the SaptaKoshi River in the Sunsari district have kept opened to avoid possible damage by imminent flash flood in the river. Earlier this afternoon, the government had requested India to open floodgates to avert possible damages.

Indian state also kept on high alert on Koshi River

Bihar government placed the people on high alert cautioning several northern districts about imminent floods. The water resources department (WRD) called an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation that has built up due to the landslide on the SunKoshi River. It also discussed increasing water retaining capacity at Birpur barrage over Kosi on Indo-Nepal border through sluice gate operations, reported PTI. (Source: myrepublica.com)

Kathmandu, Aug 2, 2014: The UCPN-Maoist has said that the government’s rescue task to the Sunkoshi inundated site was not satisfactory. At a press meet held at the party headquarters Koteshwor today, party spokesman Dina Nath Sharma urged the government to immediately rescue and release the relief materials to the victims of landslide and inundation.  He also directed the party cadres of neighboring districts to support the landslide victims. (Source: myrepublica.com)

DPM Gautam Inspects Jure Landslide Area

Banepa Aug. 3, 2014: Deputy Prime Minister also Minister for Home Affairs Bamdev Gautam has carried out an on-site inspection of the landslide affected areas of Jure in Sindhupalchowk district today. DPM Gautam met the landslide-affected people on the occasion and heard their complaints.

During the DPM's visit to the area, the affected people urged him to intensify the rescue works as they were beyond the contact of their relatives who were reportedly lost in the landslide. Rescuers' teams have been mobilized to rescue and assess the loss occurred there and the government would immediately manage the appropriate and safer places for the affected people, DPM Gautam added. 

Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for the rescue task on the site. At least nine people were killed and about a hundred people are missing in the accident. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 3, 2014)

Sindhupalchowk, August 4, 2014: At least 155 people are missing after a landslide struck Sindhupalchowk yesterday and rescuers have lost any hope of finding them alive though rescue operations continued today as well in Sindhupalchowk.

Sindhupalchowk CDO Gopal Prasad Parajuli said 155 missing people have been identified and the number of the missing could go up as the district administration was collecting data on loss and damage to life and property. He ruled out the possibility of finding any missing person alive.

The landslide that blocked the Sunkoshi River had buried more than 20 houses in Jure bazaar and 50 in Mankha VDC. More than 5,000 residents from over a dozen VDCs have been displaced.

Police said one more unidentified body was recovered from the incident site today, raising the death toll to 10. Local administration reported that 27 people stuck under the debris were rescued today.

The landslide swept away five more houses this morning. It has also damaged two iron gates of Lamosanghu-Sunkoshi hydro electricity dam.

DPM and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam and Irrigation Minister NP Saud inspected the incident site this morning. Gautam’s inspection was followed by announcement of immediate relief of Rs 5,000 to each victim. The locals were not satisfied with the government’s response and clashed with the police.

Sindhupalchowk, August 4, 2014: Tek Bahadur Timilsina, 63, of Jure has been searching for his 30-year-old daughter-in-law Mithu, who ran a grocery store in Jure Bazaar, and his two grandsons Rajiv and Ramit, aged 10 and 8, respectively, after they went missing in the landslide on Sunday morning. “I have been looking for them since morning and I’m losing hope to find them alive,” said Tek Bahadur, whose son has gone to UN peace mission.

Another local, Ram Bahadur Lama, said five members each from his and his brother’s family had gone missing. “Where shall I search for them? I don’t hope to even find their bodies,” said Lama. He said his son and he were the only ones from his family to have survived the tragedy.

Ganesh Kumari Paudel, a peon at local Bansanghu Secondary School, can’t find her daughter-in-law and grandchildren after the landslide struck. (Source: Thehimalayantimes.com)

Water level decreases by 40 cm

The water level in the dammed lake of Sunkoshi river has decreased by 40 centimeters, says Nepal Army on Tuesday. The reduction in water level became possible as the NA conducted one more blast today. After the blast, the inflow of water in the dammed lake is 170 cusecs and the outflow is 180 cusecs. Both Indian and Nepali experts who reached the landslide site today hailed the methods applied by the NA to provide a safe outlet to the dammed lake. Security forces and related experts on Tuesday set a target of letting out at least 250 Cusecs of water from dam.

“We are jointly carrying out the works to open up the dammed lake and conduct search, rescue and relief operations,” says Chief District Officer of Sindhupalchok, Gopal Parajuli. During today’s operation, the security forces have found a truck buried inside the debris.

Meanwhile, the government of Britain has provided various equipment related to search and rescue to the NA. Col Sean Harris, OBE, the defense attaché at the British Embassy in Kathmandu handed over the equipments to army officer Baldev Raj Mahat today. The equipment are worth around Rs 10 million, says the NA.

Search and rescue operations resumed Tuesday morning at Jure in Sindhupalchowk, where a landslide swept away about 77 households on Saturday morning. According to Sindhupalchowk CDO Parajuli, the work of releasing more water from the dammed lake also resumed. Officials present at the site say that a three-member expert team has reached the site. After the search and rescue teams found 23 more bodies on Monday, the death toll from the landslide stands at 33 while more than 150 are still missing.

A landslide above Jure in 2013: the same landslide where the landslide event occurred on 2 August 2014.

Lawmakers Vocal Against Sluggish Relief Efforts

Lawmakers have heavily come down against the government’s slow efforts to provide relief to Jure and Sankhuasabha landslide victims. Speaking at the meeting of Legislature-Parliament on Tuesday, they said no concrete works have been carried out for the victims’ rehabilitation and rescue operations.

“Despite declaring Sunkoshi River bank as the emergency-hit area, the government and its administration has not been able to make arrangements as per the declaration. They do not seem serious as they are ignoring human sensitivities at this time of crisis,” said Agni Sapkota, a UCPN-Maoist lawmaker from Sindhupalchok, the district where the Jure landslide took place Saturday. “Instead of making its own mechanism effective, the government is waiting for assistance from friendly countries.”

Nepali Congress lawmaker Mohan Bahadur Basnet, yet another lawmaker from Sindhupalchok, said the Jure landslide has displaced 436 locals, while 121 are missing and 57 houses have been destroyed. “The bodies buried under the debris may spread infectious diseases. Injured and ill ones must get medical treatment immediately.”

CPN-UML lawmaker Amrit Kumar Bohora demanded with the government to fulfill the basic requirements of the affected people. “The government has to open up an alternative highway as the blocked road has given rise to a number of problems.”

Madhesi Janadhikar Forum lawmaker Upendra Yadav said people in Terai region have been living under threat as the Koshi barrage alarm is ringing constantly due to the blockade of Sunkoshi river.

Federal Socialist Party lawmaker Ashok Rai demanded immediate relief to the landslide victims of Sankhuasabha district. Similarly, Milan Kumari Rajbanshi of Janta Dal and Prem Suwal of Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party also demanded immediate relief and rescue for all the landslide victims across the country. (Source: Nepalnews.com, Tuesday, 05 August 2014)

Kathmandu, Aug 6, 2014: Nepal government on Wednesday declared dead the 123 people missing in the country's worst landslide in over a decade, taking the death toll from the disaster to 156, as the search for the bodies buried under the debris was called off. The landslide, triggered by heavy rains, hit Sindhupalchowk district on Saturday after the Sunkoshi river, which flows across the border into Bihar as the Kosi river, was blocked creating an artificial lake near Nepal-Tibet border.

READ ALSO: No rise in water level of Kosi; 70,000 evacuated to safety

Chief district officer Gopal Parajuli confirmed that all 123 missing in the landslide were dead on the basis of data submitted by local people.  "The missing persons were declared dead after the nature of the site showed no possibilities of finding the bodies," said Parajul. He said rescue work has been called off for the time being as the deployment of heavy machinery and earth pullers may trigger more landslides.

Earlier, 33 were pulled out from the rubble laid bare by Nepal's worst landslide in over a decade. Eighteen people were rescued by Nepal Army. The district has been evacuated and some 600 stranded tourists, including Indian nationals, have been moved to safer locations. Police and army personnel carried out search and rescue operations for the past five days to locate the missing persons. They drained out water from the artificial lake using controlled explosions.

About 5,000 people across 11 districts have been affected due to the landslide; more than 1,000 have been displaced. Over 60 houses in three villages were swept away and dozens of other structures damaged.

The government has distributed Rs 40,000 as relief to the families of dead and missing in the disaster. Those whose houses were damaged were given Rs 5,000.  (Source: “Nepal landslide: Death toll touches 156, search called off”, Timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Sindhupalchowk, August 6, 2014: The District Administration Office, Sindhupalchok on Wednesday declared as many as 123 people missing the Sunkoshi landslide at Jure VDC in Sindhupalchowk district dead.  The death toll in the landslide with formal announcement of the government on Wednesday reached 156, said Chief District Officer Gopal Prasad Parajuli of the district. Bodies of 33 persons were recovered so far from the incident site by Tuesday evening, confirmed the CDO.

The District Administration Office said as many as 123 persons were declared dead who were missing in the landslide that swept away the entire Jure bazaar of the district on Saturday. CDO Parajuli said that so far from the preliminary studies, a total of 123 houses had been completely buried in the landslide. He said those buried in the landslide were declared dead as per the demand of their respective family members who have become successful to avert the massive landslide.

Following the government’s declaration of their death, various civil society groups, private institutions in the inspection of district-based Natural Disaster Rescue Committee started distributing relief packages to landslide hit family members.

Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bimalendra Nidhi Wednesday inspected the landslide-hit site. He went there in a helicopter in presence of security personnel of the Nepalese Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police and Director General of Department of Transport Management Devendra Bahadur Karki.

Nidhi interacting with the locals said that the government would support them in all difficulties. Locals on the occasion demanded to manage proper shelter for displaced family members and conduct prompt rescue operations.

The Nepalese Army officials and deployed security personnel on Wednesday explodes some big rocks that blocked the water flow of the Sunkoshi River.  Tuesday’s efforts to explode rocks were halted due to downpours in the area. CDO Parajuli said NA officials were given permission to explode big rocks that blocked the Sunkoshi River after technical analysis from geologists. Currently, the water level in the river has been decreased by 40 per cent, said CDO Parajuli.

Meanwhile, the families who had lost their lives have already started to perform last rites of their beloved who were declared dead by the local administration. According to one of the bereaved members of Mankha VDC-1 who was available in Pashupati Aryaghat for the last rites of his missing family members Megh Raj Parajuli said that he performed the last rites of his five members of his family who had not been found in the landslide. “I perform the last rites of my missing family members making an effigy of their families taking Kush, a secret plant making as symbolic bodies those had been buried in the landslide.” Likewise, the six family members of Deu Rishi Parajuli and four other family members of Rishi Ram Poudel’s last rites had been performed in Pashupatinath. (Source: gorkhapatraonline.com, August 6, 2014)

Chautara, Aug. 6, 2014: Eight private schools from Barhabise to Balefi, the areas affected by a huge landslide that hit Jure, Ramche VDC-5 of Sindhupalchok district the morning of August 2 have been closed for an indefinite period following large number of human casualties that included students and teachers of these schools, it is learnt.

According to Rishi Nepal, Secretary of the Private and Boarding Schools Organization Nepal (PABSON) District Committee, all schools in the district were closed on Tuesday to condole the death of the people who died due to the landslide. Nepal said 10 bodies of students of the Greenland Boarding School at Lamosanghu have been found from the landslide debris while 40 students studying at different schools are still unaccounted for. The school bus and five members of the driver's family are also missing. Similarly, although two bodies of the students at Kiston Boarding School, Barhabise have been retrieved, the bodies of two teachers there have not been found.

The PABSON Sindhupalchok district working committee has started a campaign to collect donation for the relief of the affected families. (Source: RSS news on Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 6, 2014)

Chautara, Aug. 6: A study on opening an alternate road to the one-and-half-kilometer section of the Araniko Highway submerged by the damming of the Sunkosi River due to the massive landslide that occurred at Jure of Ramche VDC-5 in Sindhupalchok district is ongoing. The section of the highway from Dam site at Mangkha-1 and one and a half kilometers beyond has been completely damaged disrupting vehicular movement.

A team of engineers led by Director General of the Department of Roads Devendra Bahadur Karki arrived here to make an on-site inspection, is carrying out a study on the possibility of opening an alternate road. Deputy Director Generals of the Department Keshav Sharma and Arjun Thapa are also on the team.

The section of the submerged highway would be operable if the water level in the artificial dam would reduce by 50 percent, said Arun Kumar Sribastav, an engineer at the Division Roads Office, Dolakha. But it is stated that landslide continues at the site.

He said if it was not feasible to open an alternate route at the same place, then there is also the option of operating the Sildhunga-Piskar-Tauthali-Sunkosi road or the Kharidhunga, Piskar-Dhuskun-Sunkosi rural road as an alternate after their repair.

However, since these two rural roads are going to be long, extending the road linking the Dam Site to Tekanapur by constructing additional two kilometers road could open an alternate road.

Sribastav said that two engineers and a loader and scavator have been kept on stand-by in the affected area. (Source: Gorkhapatraonline.com, August 6, 2014)

August 9, 2014