Motorable road complete

ILAM:

Construction of four km long motorable road from Santidada VDC to Sakhejung VDC in Ilam district was completed recently. Rs 32,000 from the district development committee, Ilam, Rs 15,000 from Santidada VDC and voluntary labour from local people were mobilised to construct the road, informed Amar Bahadur Adhikari, chairman of consumers group. — RSS

Exhibition organised

PYUTHAN:

Cottage Industries Development Committee, Pyuthan held a three-day long industrial exhibition recently. Birendra Kumar Karna, judge at the district court, inaugurated the expo. Dol Raj Dhakal, chief district officer, Hasta Bahadur Lama, chief of the committee office spoke at the inaugurate function of the exhibition. Different handicrafts and cottage industry products were displayed at the exhibition. — RSS

Help for tsunami victims

KOCHI:

The Kerala government will replace fishing equipment free for fishermen in tsunami-affected districts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Ernakulam. State fisheries minister Dominic Presentation informed that ward-level committees have been formed to prepare a list of fishermen who lost or suffered damage to their equipment in the December 26 tsunami. Objections were raised when a beneficiary list was earlier prepared for distribution of nets and catamarans. About 50,000 of the state’s 200,000 fishermen use traditional methods of fishing. — HNS

Experts optimistic

BEIJING:

Experts at an international seminar have expressed optimism about the economic recovery of tsunami-hit nations despite the huge death toll and damage inflicted by the disaster, Xinhua reports. Bert Hofman, chief of the World Bank office’s economic unit, said that the impact on the economic situation in the disaster-hit countries is ‘very limited,’ thanks to international efforts to provide relief and aid. About $5 billion from more than 60 donors has been granted so far, he said at a seminar on ‘Post-tsunami: Rebuilding confidence and charting the road in reconstruction’. — HNS