Kathmandu, March 13, 2006

Stung by the recent detention and interrogation of a few of its staffers by the Department of Labour, the Qatar Airways today said it may be forced to rethink its strategies for Nepal and even end its operations here. The airline’s senior operations manager for the region, Ali Alrais, also said the airline was unfairly dragged into a controversy over its recruitment of Nepalis for the airline’s operations in Doha. “The airline is planning to rethink its strategies which means considering pulling out of Nepal,” said Alrais. The airline has now cancelled recruitment of 1150 candidates for different levels, including 50 crew members. “We will no longer hire Nepali candidates after being subjected to ill treatment by the Nepali authorities. We don’t want to come where we are not wanted,” he said. The police had, on Thursday, detained Qatar Airways officials, including its Area Manager Gyan Amerasinghe, while they were interviewing candidates at Astoria Hotel in Lazimpat.

No clue yet on missing ‘Buddha boy’

Bara,March 13, 2006

No clue has been found on the ‘meditating Buddha boy’ Ram Bahadur Bamjan, who went missing on Saturday from the Charkose Jhadi at Ratanpuri of Bara where he was meditation under a peepal tree ‘without food and water’ for the past 10 months, till late this evening. No clue was found in Bamjan’s case till late in the evening, Police Inspector of the Unified Security Base Camp, Ram Kamal Acharya, said. The security team deployed for the search of Bamjan in the jungle areas around the meditation site returned without any clue, Acharya said. The Bhoomisiddhi and Nagpooja, which were being performed according to Buddhist and Hindu rituals since Sunday, wishing for the return of Bamjan also concluded today. A Buddhist woman, Lamu Holmo, of Kavre who claimed that Buddha has entered into her body today forecasted that Bamjan would return to the meditation site by Tuesday, a local said. Bamjan’s mother, Maya Devi said she was hopeful that her son will return due to God’s power and her prayers. She hasn’t taken food or water since the disappearance of her son. Meanwhile, the District Administration Office, Bara, today freezed the bank account of officials of the Om Namobuddha Tapaswi Sewa Committee in the Nijgadh branch of the Rastriya Banijya Bank. It was a joint account of the officials of the committee — Ek Ratna Kunwar, Ashok Tamang and Baij Nath Gurau. Acting Chief District Officer of the district Hari Krishna Khatiwada said the move was taken to prevent the misuse of the money collected from offerings made by devotees at the meditation site.