Kathmandu, June 29, 2005

At least 12 army men were injured, one of them critically, in a powerful explosion in the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) Valley Division Headquarters inside Singha Durbar this afternoon.

The explosion blew up two rooms of one L-shaped pre-fabhouse at around 1:40 pm.

According to officials, a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder had exploded when a few men went to douse a fire caused by electric short-circuit in the kitchen store. Sources say the Valley Division used to store “live explosives retrieved from the Maoists” in its office.

Asked how there could have been a blast without somebody detonating an explosive, a source said, “High explosives can explode if stored in certain temperature which could have been created by the fire inside the pre-fab house.” However, the RNA spokesperson said, “LPG cylinders, kerosene heaters and stoves were stored in the room.

An LPG cylinder exploded due to the fire after the electric short-circuit.”A soldier critically injured is undergoing treatment in the military hospital. The pre-fab house, next to the Ministry of Defence and in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been completely destroyed.

Reporters reached the spot only to see fire brigade men putting out the fire and ambulances picking up the injured and a huge smoke billowing “Small pieces of tin-roof and other things could be seen flying in the air as all of a sudden the house had exploded,” said an eyewitness working in one of the ministries inside Singha Durbar.

WB approves $3 million to encourage reforms

Kathmandu, June 29, 2005

The World Bank has approved a $3 million grant to Nepal to help finance technical assistance needs of its comprehensive reform agenda. The bank has also stated the assistance is a part of its continuous support to Nepal.

The grant, which comes under the Economic Reform Technical Assistance Project (ERTA), intends to strengthen home-grown reforms in the areas of public sector capacity, service delivery, social inclusion, governance and reduction in the unproductive public sector intervention in the economy.

All these issues will be critical to place Nepal on a higher growth path, states a World Bank statement, today.

“Key policy makers in Nepal are keenly aware that these improvements are central to promoting social equity and building lasting peace,” reads the statement quoting Kenichi Ohashi, World Bank country director for Nepal, as saying.

“This is reflected in Nepal’s Poverty Reduction Strategy which has formed the foundation for strong internal pressures to reform. However, Nepali policy makers do not always find solutions to their technical problems in assistance provided by Nepal’s external development partners.