WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 60 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 34.5 C 4.4 C Saturday, April 25, 2020 | 13-01-2077 Nepalgunj Jumla Repealing ordinances might quell dissent but Oli still faces moral questions Prime minister needs to answer for a series of political events, including an alleged kidnapping, triggered by the two controversial ordinances, leaders and analysts say. ANIL GIRI KATHMANDU, APRIL 24 Five days after issuing two ordinances to a mass outcry, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on Friday, backtracked and withdrew both the ordinances. Although the withdrawal could somewhat quell the dissent that had arisen from across the political spec- trum, including his own party, leaders PHOTO COURTESY: PM’S SECRETARIAT and analysts say that the repeal alone Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli doesn’t absolve Oli of his moral failings. The Oli Cabinet on Friday decided amendment allowing 40 percent of to recommend that both the ordinanc- central committee or Parliamentary es—one related to political parties and Party members to split a party. the other to the Constitutional Based on the new provision, a sec- Council—be repealed. President Bidya tion of leaders from the Samajbadi Devi Bhandari accordingly repealed Party had sought to split the party. But both the ordinances, in much the same the Samajbadi leadership’s sudden manner that she had approved them— decision to merge with the Rastriya without delay and consultation. Janata Party blocked that plan. “Though the government has decid- Surendra Yadav, a lawmaker from ed to withdraw both the ordinances, the Samajbadi Party Nepal, has the prime minister still needs to alleged that he was forcefully brought answer some moral questions,” said to Kathmandu from Janakpur at Oli’s Jhala Nath Khanal, a senior ruling behest, leading to allegations of kid- party leader and former prime minis- napping. ter. “The move to issue ordinances “There are reports that a lawmaker triggered a series of events that also was kidnapped and if that’s true, this include allegations that a lawmaker incident was triggered by the decision was kidnapped. Who’s answerable?” to issue the ordinance,” Khanal of the The ordinance on the Political Party Nepal Communist Party (NCP) told POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL Act sought to ease party split and reg- the Post. Ranipokhari, one of the iconic monuments ravaged by the earthquake five years ago, has yet to be rebuilt fully. The reconstruction campaign started here but disputes have delayed work. istration of a new party, with the new >> Continued on page 4 A normal monsoon could boost agricultural output, if only farmers weren’t locked down A labour shortfall due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a potential shortage of chemical fertilisers could offset any potential gains from a bountiful rainfall, economists say. “Farmers can go ahead with normal crops this monsoon. When the mon- soon is below normal, they have had to go for paddy varieties prescribed for a drought-like situation, or flood-toler- ant varieties in case of excessive rain during an above-normal rainfall,” said Kadel. “Normal monsoon also means fewer natural disasters, but that doesn’t mean there will not be any extreme events.” Normal monsoon boosts farm out- put and farmers’ incomes, and helps keep inflation in check. A normal monsoon also has positive impacts on hydropower, irrigation, drinking water and groundwater recharge. The country has witnessed a nor- mal monsoon for three consecutive years, propelling the country to record growth rates of over six percent for three years in a row, driven largely by the agricultural sector. In the fiscal year 2016-17, the coun- try’s economy expanded by 7.74 per- POST PHOTO: MANOJ POUDEL cent, the highest since 1993-94. Farmers haven’t been able to work the fields due to a lockdown lasting more than a month. An above-normal monsoon record- ed in 2016-17 helped Nepal secure the SANGAM PRASAIN & CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL March 24, there are fears that the biggest paddy harvest, which jumped KATHMANDU, APRIL 24 boost a normal monsoon could pro- 21.66 percent to 5.23 million tonnes, vide to paddy plantation this year bucking the trend of two consecutive Nepal is looking at a favourable ‘nor- could be lost. years of falling harvests triggered by mal’ monsoon season this year, which The sixteenth session of the South drought. would, in normal times, bode well for Asian Climate Outlook Forum, a con- The economy grew by 6.3 percent in the country’s paddy plantation. But sortium of meteorologists and hydro- the following year 2017-18, according these are extraordinary circumstanc- logical experts from South Asia, has to the Central Bureau of Statistics. In es and thousands of farmers remain predicted a normal monsoon over 2017-18, Nepal’s paddy output totalled indoors under lockdown due to the South Asia this summer. 5.15 million tonnes, down 1.49 percent Covid-19 pandemic. “Broadly speaking, the SASCOF-16 from the 2016-17 bumper harvest. The rice plantation period normally has predicted that Nepal can expect a The country’s economy grew by 7.1 begins in early May in the hills and normal monsoon this year,” said percent in 2018-19. June in the Tarai, the country’s food Indira Kadel, senior divisional mete- But there are worries that the bene- basket. The monsoon usually begins orologist and chief of the climate fits of a normal monsoon could be on June 10 and lasts till September 23. analysis section at the Department of lost, with a looming shortage of chem- Nearly three-quarters of annual rain- Hydrology and Meteorology. ical fertilisers as factories across the fall in the country occurs during the “On a countrywide scale, rainfall is world remain closed. monsoon and sustains the livelihood predicted to be normal, but if we look A shortage of workers could affect of 66 percent of the population that is at the prediction minutely, it can the delivery of chemical fertilisers for dependent on agriculture. swing between near-normal and the upcoming paddy plantation peri- But as tens of thousands of farmers below-normal, as the probability is od, according to Bishnu Prasad have been under lockdown since between 40-50 percent,” she said. “But Pokhrel, spokesperson for the the chances of a below-normal Agriculture Inputs Company, the state- monsoon are low.” run supplier of subsidised fertiliser. The weather and climate, as “We have enough stock of diammo- well as the agriculture of Nepal nium phosphate, the most widely used and the entire South Asian phosphorus fertiliser, but there could region, is dominated by the mon- be a shortage of urea if suppliers fail soon, which supplies nearly 70-80 to deliver it on time,” said Pokhrel. percent of annual rainfall. According to Pokhrel, the company According to Kadel, a normal currently has 70,000 tonnes of chemi- monsoon means favourable con- cal fertiliser, which includes both DAP ditions for agricultural produc- and urea, in stock, but paddy planta- tion, as rainfall is directly linked tion during the June-August period with the country’s agriculture requires more than 150,000 tonnes. and in turn, the economy. >> Continued on page 4 C M Y K SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020 | 02 MEDLEY Inside the Post Quote of the day Repealing ordinances might quell dissent National but Oli still faces moral questions, Page 1 The country marked the fifth anniversary of the deadly disaster on Friday, and the government is still struggling to ensure funds for the reconstruction projects. “The move to issue ordinances triggered Money a series of events that also include Dipak Khadka, who has been working at ND’s Café and Restaurant at Mahabouddha allegations that a lawmaker was kidnapped. for the past 16 years, did not think that staff salaries would be stopped because the place has been closed for the past month due to the virus lockdown. Who’s answerable?” World Jhala Nath Khanal, a senior leader of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), questions Prime Minister Oli’s motive behind issuing two ordinances, Muslims across the world began marking the holy month of Ramadan under only to later repeal them. unprecedented coronavirus lockdowns on Friday as the US added another half a trillion dollars to an economic support package and Europe groped towards its own huge rescue plan. Sports Most read online UEFA is keener on leagues adopting new formats to determine final league places for European qualification if suspended domestic competitions cannot be com- Health ministry to recommend easing of lockdown restrictions pleted due to government restrictions or financial concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. in areas outside coronavirus hotspots The Ministry of Health and Population is likely to recommend the Covid-19 high-level committee and the Crisis Management Center to ease lockdown Books restrictions in areas outside infection hotspots. Sangam is quite an accomplishment when it comes to Nepali poetry in translation. Since the translator himself is a distinguished poet, he has taken great care of not just passing the meaning into another language but giving the Nepalis in England on the receiving end of xenophobia final product its much-deserved rhythm, cadence and life. amidst Covid-19 fears On Wednesday, April 15, Milan Limbu was playing video games in his room when he heard a loud explosion. At first, he thought it was the sound of fire- works. But it was 11 pm in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood of Maidstone, an News Quiz English town south-east of London. How Oli aimed ordinances at splitting parties 1.