Kathmandu, July 9, 2007

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ordered the British defence ministry to “review all issues relating to Gurkha veterans and their families, the Mirror reported today.

The Gurkhas have three demands: right to equal pension, right to permanent settlement and the right to compensation. Prime Minister Brown’s order came after 84-year-old Nepali Gurkha Tul Bahadur Pun, who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for single-handedly storming a Japanese machine gun position in Burma in 1945, met Brown on July 6 soon after arriving in Britain following an immigration battle, the Daily Mirror reported today.

Pun had initially had his settlement visa for Britain rejected, though British officials reversed that decision. “You have been a very brave and courageous man and we would like to help you in whatever way possible,” the Mirror quoted Brown as saying. “Your bravery is something which we would all wish to celebrate, thank you very much.”

Brown also reportedly wished Pun well for a forthcoming cataract operation. “To be here and greet the prime minister of Britain makes me absolutely pleased and is something I have never imagined before,” said Pun. During the 12-minute meeting, Pun is reported to have said: “I am a poor man.

Currency note crunch looms as NRB is topless

Kathmandu, July 9, 2007

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has hinted that the country could face a shortage of currency notes from November if the central bank continues to be governor-less.

Only the NRB governor can sign on those notes. The bank has also said that notes with denominations below Rs 100 will be in short supply, as the current reserve is enough to meet demands up to Dashain only.

The bank currently has no full-fledged governor, as governor Bijaya Nath Bhattarai was suspended after the CIAA filed a corruption case against him in the Special Court. The current reserve of currency notes with the bank will meet the demands up to October-end, Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, officiating governor at NRB, informed lawmakers at a meeting of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, today.

He said that the demand for smaller denomination currency notes would go up during the festival time, particularly in Dashain and Tihar. “It takes about seven to nine months for fresh printing of currency notes, if everything is on place,” he said, adding that the NRB has adequate reserve of notes of higher denominations — Rs 500 and Rs 1000.

Although the bank has prequalified about a dozen companies for the next round of printing of notes, it cannot move further, as it lacks a governor, who alone is empowered to sign on the currency notes, Manandhar said.