JTMM-J kidnaps one

GAUSHALA: Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha-Jwala Singh (JTMM-J) cadres abducted a local, Ananda Jha, from Sahodawa VDC of Mahottari on Tuesday night, according to the family. It was suspected that the gang abducted Jha while he was sleeping at his house on the charge of being involved in the poll campaign of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday. Police said search for Jha is in progress. — RSS

Cops defuse bomb

BIRATNAGAR: A team of the APF defused a bomb on Tuesday morning planted by an unidentified gang at the gate of Satya Narayan Secondary School at Bhrikuti Chowk of Biratnagar Municipality-9. Following the incident, Tuesday’s SLC exam in the centre was delayed by 10 minutes. Meanwhile, police also defused a bomb found at Bhattachowk. — RSS

Security tightened

MYAGDI: The Mustang District Administration Office has beefed up security in Lomanthang, close to Nepal’s border with Tibet, to prevent any untoward incident in Nepal from the ongoing violence in Tibet. — RSS

SC’s directive

Kathmandu: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a directive order to government authorities to reform the health sector by regulating prices of medical supplies. A division bench of justices Bala Ram KC and Top Bahadur Magar issued the order in response to a PIL filed in the apex court, seeking its intervention to regulate the prices of medicines. The bench told the authorities to form a panel and adopt a proper policy on pricing of pharmaceutical products. The bench asked the government to form the panel under the coordination of a senior official of the Nepal Medical Council and include representatives of the Ministry of Health and Pharmaceutical Management Department in teh panel. — HNS

Passengers looted

MAKAWANPUR: An armed gang of robbers looted a passenger bus on Tuesday at Rajaiya of Manahari VDC of Makawanpur district along the Mahendra Highway. According to the police, looters made off with property worth Rs 300,000 from passengers of the bus en route to Kakarvitta from Kathmandu. It has been reported that the gang numbering seven stopped the bus of Baru Amala Travels on the highway and looted the property. — RSS

UNMIN begins work

RAJBIRAJ: The United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) has started work in Saptari from Tuesday after establishing its unit at the district election office to extend support to the Constituent Assembly polls. The UNMIN team comprises three members. The district election office said the UNMIN set up its unit here to study and monitor poll activities, provide counseling and report poll activities and situation in the villages. — RSS

Tour operators’ plea

KATHMANDU: A delegation of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) and PATA Nepal Chapter met Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel at the EC on Wednesday, a press release issued by the NATO said. The delegation requested him to allow essential tourist vehicles to run from hotels and airport on the Election Day. “Pokharel assured the delegation that the EC would issue special passes for essential travelling tourists,” the release added. It was decided that tour operators will not organise any sight-seeing and will not conduct any long-haul transportation. The NATO, PATA Nepal chapter and Nepal Tourism Board have made special arrangement to carry tourists from airport to hotels. Under the arrangement, the NATO, PATA and NTB will issue passes for tourists coming in groups and operate shuttle buses for those coming without prior arrangement. — HNS

NDC’s sixth anniv

Kathmandu: The National Dalit Commission (NDC), the government body responsible to look after downtrodden communities, on Wednesday marked its sixth anniversary by organising a tea reception at its office in Baneshwor height. “In the past years, we had celebrated the anniversary with much funfare, including seminars and interactions, but this year we just organised a tea reception as some half of the NDC office-bearers are contesting the Constituent Assembly polls,” said Ram Lal Biswokarma, president of the NDC. “Of the NDC’s 17-member executive committee, eight are contesting the CA polls representing different parties,” he said. Dan Bahadur Biswokarma, one of the members, is in poll fray under the first-past-the-post system from Kailali district representing the Janamorcha Nepal, he added.— HNS