Kathmandu, August 23:

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said today that the minister-level committee formed to nationalise the property of late King Birendra and his family, now in King Gyanendra’s name, would try its best to submit its report within the 15- day deadline set by the cabinet.

“We will try our best to submit the report on property details of late King Birendra and his family within the deadline,” Sitaula, who is the coordinator of the five-member minister-level committee, said at a function at Reporters Club. Asked to comment on the Maoist chairman Prachanda and coordinator of Joint Revolutionary People’s Council Dr. Baburam Bhattarai’s decision to launch political strike and janakarbahi (people’s action) from the second week of September, Sitaula said that the “Maoists should not organise any programmes harmful to the November 22 CA election”.

He said that the Maoists’ protest programmes had raised suspicion in people about their motive.

“We have been able to end the decade-old conflict at the policy-level but it is yet to be translated into grassroots-level. We must take a message of reconciliation among the general people during the campaign of the constituent assembly,” he said. He also made it clear that the goal of the Jana Andolan would never be achieved without peacefully holding the CA polls.

At the programme, Nepal Medical Association, eight private medical colleges and clinics and Kanti Children’s Hospital Staffers donated a cheque of Rs. 200,000 to the Prime Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund through the Home Minister for the relief of the flood and landslide victims. Likewise, Rishi Dhamala, president of the Club, also donated a cheque of Rs 100,001 to the Home Minister for the relief of flood and landslide victims. According to Sitaula, 133 persons people were killed in floods and landslides in 36 districts of the country. Twenty-nine people were killed in landslides in Baglung district alone.

He said the government has decided to provide Rs 25,000 to the families of the deceased, Rs 10,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively to the families whose houses were completely and partially destroyed in the floods and landslides.

According to the Home Ministry, 20,000 houses were completely or partially destroyed during the rainy season. Sitaula said over Rs. 80 million had already been released to the affected districts to provide relief to the victims.