DANG, June 30, 2005

A raw leather collection centre in Dang district has recorded transactions worth millions of rupees. According to the centre, it is making a payment of about 1.1 million rupees to District Development Committee (DDC), annually. Mohan KC , field officer at the centre, said, “We are paying about 1.1 million rupees annually to DDC in three instalments. In the district, transactions in leather amount to more than Rs 10 million annually.” According to him, buffalo leather is available for about one Rs 100 to Rs 400, accordingto its size. The available sizes include B-4, B-5 and B-6. To collect leather, 15 workers have been employed, who get Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 of monthly salaries. Out of them, five persons have been appointed to procure raw leather. The prime leather collection centres in the district are Ghorahi, Tulashipur, Shitalpur and Ragaincha. Field officer KC claimed that more than 200 people in the district are indirectly engaged in this profession. More than 25 buffalo leathers are being collected there daily. Raw leather from throughout the nation is being exported after a process of semi-purification, KC said.

Koirala to hold talks with Maoists ‘openly’

KATHMANDU/POKHARA, June 30, 2005

Even as former prime minister and Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala today announced he would “openly hold dialogue” with the Maoists to restore peace, NC central committee member Ram Chandra Poudel said there was little chance of any political alliance with the Maoists at the moment. Koirala said he did not fear the consequences of his actions. “I don’t fear being arrested,” he told a meeting of former lawmakers organised to commemorate the first Parliament of 2016 BS. Speaker of the dissolved House of Representatives, Taranath Ranabhat, was, however, not present on the occasion. Koirala claimed the agenda of the seven-party alliance has attracted the Maoists. He strongly urged the King to “comprehend” the voices of the modern era “or face the consequences. If not, it would be “unfortunate for him.” He criticised the international community for “raising a hue and cry” over an alliance between the parties and the Maoists. UML leader MK Nepal said there is no alternative to a constituent assembly to bring the Maoists to the mainstream. Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Pashupati SJB Rana, however, stressed the need for a national consensus through dialogue to form an all party government, which would hold fresh elections. He warned of “unfortunate” consequences if the parties discarded dialogue.