Fair polls stressed

POKHARA: Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Kedar Prasad Upadhyay said on Thursday that the Constituent Assembly (CA) will be held in a free and impartial manner only when there is a fair competition among the political parties. He said this at an interaction organised here by the NHRC’s western regional office. — HNS

CJ’s stance on statute

Kathtmandu: Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri said on Thursday that independence of the judiciary should be maintained even after the CA polls so as to secure the rights of the public. Giri was addressing a programme organised by the Nepal Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association to help draft a new constitution. Speaking at the programme, president of the Nepal Bar Association Bishwo Kanta Mainali said that only the CA election can lead to the drafting of a ‘beautiful constitution’. — HNS

TU appointments

KATHMANDU: The Tribhuvan University has appointed reader Dr Kamal Das Shrestha assistant dean of the Management Faculty. It has appointed Dr Hari Maharjan and reader Laxmi Narayan Yadav assistant deans of the Faculty of Education, and Krishna Belbase and Devi Dutta Saha chiefs of the Nepal Law Campus and Mahendra Bindeshwari Multiple Campus. The TU has appointed reader Dr Mukunda Gajurel executive director of the TU Foreign Relations Centre, Kirtipur, the TU Information Section said. — RSS

Bodies identified

BAGLUNG: The dead bodies of six persons among the nine who died on Wednesday in an accident which took place at Narethanti VDC of Baglung have been identified. The six persons who died in the accident were assistant overseer at Baglung DDC Buddhi Bahadur Shrees, driver Deepak Acharya, Radhika Sapkota and Sujata Sapkota, Keshab Tiwari and Sita Tiwari of Gulmi. — RSS

House, bikes torched

SAPTARI: A gang torched the house of RPP election candidate from constituency no. 3 of Saptari Govinda Singh at Rajbiraj Municipality-4 on Wednesday. Police said property worth one lakh rupees was destroyed in the fire. Fire-fighters from the Rajbiraj municipality and police doused the fire, police said. Meanwhile, another unidentified gang torched two motorcycles belonging to independent candidate from constituency no. 2 Ashok Yadav. The gang also assaulted three persons, including Yadav, and torched election materials. — RSS

Drinking water crisis

BAGLUNG: Supply of drinking water to Baglung bazaar, the district headquarters of Baglung, has been disrupted since Monday. Many hotels have been closed owing to the shortage of drinking water. Locals have been fetching water from a tap located at Ward No 11 of the municipality. Hotelier Raju Sharma said he had been paying a hefty sum to tankers that supply water. Ram Krishna Sharma, a sweet shop owner, said he has closed his shop for want of water. — RSS

One killed in mishap

GULMI: Hari Kandel, 32, of Sringa VDC died in a motorcycle accident at Tarneta of Paralmi village development committee of Gulmi on Wednesday. The accident occurred when Kandel, a member of the CPN (UML)-affiliated Democratic National Youth Federation (NDYF), was heading to Tamghas, the district headquarters of Gulmi, after attending an election meet in Paralmi. — RSS