National Briefs

PM for building trust

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday said building trust among the political parties was need of the hour to achieve national goals. Addressing a function organised here to mark the Democracy Day, PM Nepal urged all parties to trust and not fear each other. "As long as we suspect the other party, we cannot build the atmosphere of trust and good relation," he said. Hinting at the main opposition, the UCPN-Maoist, the PM said any particular view could not be the ultimate truth and cannot be the foundation for building mutual cooperation. Beauties of democracy are tolerance, competition, co-existence and cooperation, he added.

Rampant logging

Rautahat: Deforestation is rampant in national forests in the district. Smugglers have been clearing the forests guarded by range posts during the night. According to locals, the smugglers get active at night as the staffers go home instead of patrolling the jungle or standing by. Gopal Acharya, a local, said more than 1,000 trees have been cut in the forests under Dhansar, Brindaban and Rangapur range posts within a month. "The forest staffers are responsible for the state of affairs,'' Acharya said. District Forest Office, Chandranigahpur, seized 20 tractors of wood recently. District leader of Nepali Congress Shyam Chandra Jha claimed that the forest was being cleared in tandem with the foresters.

‘NC can quit govt’

Kavre: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala on Friday said her party -- Nepali Congress -- could pull out of the government any time if the CPN-UML continued its unilateral actions. Addressing a programme organised by the Nepal Teachers' Union in Kavre's Banepa, Koirala claimed that the CPN-UML was working only for the welfare of its cadres. "The party wants its follower in the post of governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank,'' she accused. "Our party can take any decision at any time if the CPN-UML fails to correct itself." She said the NC was ready to guide the nation staying out of the government. "It was our party to lead revolutionary movements in the country,'' she said, adding that the NC could always be a significant force to help out when the country faced a great problem.