JTMM free Upreti

RAUTAHAT: The Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) on Tuesday released one Govinda Upreti, 60, of Sundarpur village development committee-9 in Sarlahi district after requests from human rights activists and journalists from Samanpur of Rautahat district, said JTMM Rautahat district political commissar Arjun Yadav. A group of armed Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha activists had abducted him on Sunday evening. Govinda is the father of Nepali film actor Nikhil Upreti. — HNS

JNU awards Nepali

NEW DELHI: Dinesh Prasain, a Nepali student pursuing PhD degree in the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology in Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, has been awarded with the Best Abstract Award 2006. The All India Sociological Congress decided to award Prasain with the honour after evaluating research work and academic performance of students under 35 years of age in the Faculty. Prasain’s working paper on Theoretical Framework for Social Movement was adjudged the best abstract for the year 2006. He is the first Nepali to be honoured with the award. — HNS

HoR ratifies treaty

KATHMANDU: The House of Representatives on Tuesday ratified the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives had presented a proposal in the House a few days ago seeking its approval on the treaty to protect the rights of the farmers. The treaty now has 110 signatory parties, including Nepal. Minister for Women and Social Welfare Urmila Aryal tabled the Anti-Trafficking Bill in the House on Tuesday. The Bill has made str a stringent provision of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 100,000 for a trafficker. — HNS

Flights cancelled

NEPALGUNJ: Bad weather and poor visibility affected flights to and from the Nepalgunj airport on Tuesday. “Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula was scheduled to arrive here to provide compensation to the victims of Nepalgunj incident but the helicopter he had boarded was forced to land in Palpa due to bad weather here,” said Chief District Officer Narendra Raj Sharma. No flights took off or landed at Nepalgunj airport on Tuesday, said Suresh Kumar Ajad of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. — HNS

Worker dies in blast

NUWAKOT: One worker Nimgel Tamang, 60, of Manakamana VDC in Nuwakot was killed when an explosive used to break boulders suddenly went off on Monday evening, said DSP Dhiraj Prasad Singh. Tamang was working for the Mailungkhola Hydro Power Project in Rasuwa district and died while on the way to a hospital in Kathmandu. — HNS

NRCS ex-chief dies

KATHMANDU: Akhanda Shumsher JB Rana, founder member of Nepal Red Cross Society and former president of the NRCS Kathmandu District Branch, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81. He was the president of the NRCS Kathmandu branch for 12 years from 2039 BS. He played an important role in expanding the NRCS in Nepal. He is survived by two sons. In a press release on Tuesday, the NRCS Kathmandu branch expressed deep sorrow over the demise of its former president Rana. — RSS

Police posts back

Taplejung: Displaced police posts of Taplejung are being re-established despite Maoist pressure. Although the Maoists are pressuring not to re-establish displaced police posts until they are included in the government, the police posts are being re-established as per the locals’ demands, District Police Office (DPO) Taplejung stated. Five police posts have so far been re-established in Taplejung, DSP Nawa Raj Bhatta said. The police posts at Dovan, Sinwa, Tellok, Lelep and Thechambu of Taplejung were re-established at different times. Of these, Tellok, Lelep and Thechambu police posts were re-established very recently after repeated demands from locals, DSP Bhatta said. The DPO will re-establish 11 of 16 displaced police posts of Taplejung after necessary preparation is over. — HNS

Small arms ‘harmful’

Kathmandu: Small arms are the root cause of psychological and social problems, according to a study conducted jointly by three NGOs - INSEC, IHRICON and HURDEC - in 35 districts. Speaking at a programme here on Tuesday, Shobha Gautam, president of the Institute of Human Rights Communication Nepal (IHRICON), said: “Small arms can be carried secretly, so there is a greater chance of using them on less important matters.” According to the survey conducted on 248 people from mid-western and central development regions, small arms had adverse effect on their psychology. Forty-one per cent of the respondents have migrated to other places due to fear of arms. — HNS