Kathmandu, May 7, 2007 Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula today met Maoist chairman Prachanda at the latter’s residence. The duo discussed issues to be sorted out during the upcoming high-level meeting of the eight political parties. Sitaula told Prachanda that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala will call the meeting within a week and it would finalise another date for holding the constituent assembly elections. It is learnt that Sitaula met Prachanda to find a way out of the existing political deadlock. Leaders of the eight parties have not been able to hold the crucial meeting since the interim government was formed on April 1 and they are holding each other responsible for it. The duo also discussed the effective management of Maoist cantonments before the start of the monsoon, highhandedness of the Maoists’ Young Communist League, the Tarai agitation and monarchy. The political deadlock surfaced after the Election Commission expressed its inability to hold the elections as earlier scheduled on June 20. Meanwhile, a meeting held at the Peace and Reconstruction Ministry took a crucial decision on the effective management of the seven Maoist cantonments and 21 satellite camps. Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hishila Yami told this daily that around 1,000 shelters would be constructed under the first phase and they would accommodate at least 15,000 combatants. She said the shelters would be built before the monsoon sets in. These villages could do with some light Siudeni (Nuwakot), May 7, 2007 A few villages in Nuwakot district are still in the dark age. The so-called upper caste people of those villages do not let Kamis walk freely, believing that if an “upper caste” man runs into a Kami while setting out on a journey, it will bring bad luck. Keshav Kami of Siudeni village hesitates to walk freely in his own village. “Because of the ‘upper caste’ persons’ superstition, we have to take care not to cross their paths,” said Keshav. Being a Kami, Megh Bahadur Kami of the same village had to quit the post of the chairman of the Ratmate-Galchhi road construction committee. “The locals had selected me the chairman of the road construction committee. However, Brahmins dismissed me from the post saying that it would bring bad luck if a Kami became chairman,” said Megh Bahadur. Not only Keshav and Megh Bahadur but 70 Kami households of Pahire of Chauthe VDC and Chitre, Siudeni and Kagatigau villages of Okharpauwa VDC in Nuwakot district are regularly insulted by the so-called upper castes. “We have to walk like thieves, hiding ourselves to avoid pouring bad luck on upper caste persons when they set out on a journey,” said Shyam Lal Kami of Okharpauwa. Otharpauwa and Chauthe VDCs are not far off from Kathmandu, but people there are superstitious to their marrow.