The Ruling Party Is Making a Mockery of Democracy, Analysts
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WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 192 | 16 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 35.5 C 14.2 C Friday, September 04, 2020 | 19-05-2077 Nepalgunj Jomsom Authorities caught unawares of protests despite calls The ruling party is for allowing the Machhindranath chariot festival The local administration has imposed a curfew inside Ring Road of Lalitpur from 4 am to 10 pm on Friday after a clash making a mockery between police and locals who attempted to commence the jatra which has been on hold for months. of democracy, analysts say Nepal Communist Party decides to send Bamdev Gautam, who lost parliamentary polls, to the National Assembly. BINOD GHIMIRE KATHMANDU, SEPT 3 The ruling Nepal Communist Party’s decision to nominate party vice-chair Bamdev Gautam as National Assembly member has once again raised the question: Have Nepali politicians indeed internalised the concept of bicameral legislature, and the essence POST FILE PHOTO of the Upper House in its truest sense? Bamdev Gautam Constitutional experts say the deci- sion to send Gautam to the Upper be appointed to the National Assembly House is problematic, prima facie, as even after losing parliamentary elec- he lost the 2017 parliamentary elec- tions. In January , Nepal Communist tions. Appointing a person who was Party spokesperson Narayan Kaji rejected by the people to the hallowed Shrestha was appointed to the Upper chambers of the National Assembly is House. While Gautam lost the contest akin to disrespecting the electorate, for the Bardiya constituency during and by extension democracy, they say. the 2017 elections to Sanjay Gautam of Purna Man Shakya, a senior consti- the Nepali Congress, Shrestha tutional lawyer, said the National couldn’t beat Baburam Bhattarai of Assembly, in principle, is envisaged as then Naya Shakti Party for the a place where people from diverse Gorkha-1 seat. groups, marginalised communities, According to a report by the intellectuals, experts and representa- International Institute for Democracy tives of different provinces come and Electoral Assistance, an organisa- together to make laws. tion promoting sustainable democra- “The government must answer and cy, members of the Upper House explain to the people how its decision should be picked in such a way that is in accordance with the spirit of the they represent sub-national govern- constitution and the objectives of the ments, and act as a body of experts to National Assembly,” Shakya told the scrutinise decisions made by the POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA Post. “This is a question of propriety.” Lower House. People defy the Covid-19 prohibitory orders and gather in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, to pull the Rato Machhindranath chariot on Thursday. Clashes between the police and the people ensued and police Gautam is the second politician to >> Continued on page 2 fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. SHASHWAT PANT to call anyone. They came here out of euphoric to something that has never LALITPUR, SEPT 3 their own free will,” said Rabi Shakya, been seen before at a major festival in a local from Patan. the Kathmandu Valley. Around 10 am on Thursday, around But things quickly turned ugly. But what happened in Patan on 100 people gathered near the chariot Despite repeated warnings by the Thursday was not just a matter of of Rato Machhindranath to protest police, locals continued to protest, and frustrated locals wanting to celebrate the authorities’ turning a blind eye to pull the chariot. a festival. It was a culmination of a the festival. A clash between the locals and the series of events that started since the But soon, despite prohibitory orders police force ensued, with police using lockdown that prohibited Patan locals being in place, 100 became 200 and tear gas and water cannons to dis- from observing one of their most within a couple of hours, there were perse the crowd. Locals resorted to important festivals. over 500 people assembled in stone pelting. Several people were Chief District Officer of Lalitpur Pulchowk, dime baja and bhusya in injured including the police. Narayan Prasad Bhatta said that they hands, urging people to pull the chari- “Since people had arrived in huge had not imagined that the situation ot of the rain god. numbers, police alone were unable to would escalate as much as it had and “The people you see here came control the crowd,” said Senior put the blame on “irresponsible because of their faith. We didn’t have Superintendent Tek Prasad Rai, chief groups” for causing tension. of Lalitpur Metropolitan Police “We never expected something like Range. “So we sought the help of this would happen,” Bhatta told the the Armed Police Force.” Post. In the aftermath of the clash, Chandra Maharjan, who coordi- the chariot of Karuranamaya lay nates the festival, said there was a in the middle of the road, tilted meeting going on with stakeholders dangerously, less than a 100 when they heard that people were metres from where it was kept pulling the chariot. for nearly two months, surround- “We were not part of what happened ed by Armed Police Force per- earlier today. Today’s incident does not sonnel and the red bricks that involve the main stakeholders and we now lay strewn on the street. don’t recognise those who attempted to Within a few hours, the atmos- pull the chariot,” Maharjan said. phere at Pulchowk turned from >> Continued on page 3 Cluster infections cause Covid-19 cases to soar in Valley despite restrictions Just extending curbs is not helping contain the virus spread as nearly two-thirds of the cases so far were detected during two weeks of prohibitory orders, health experts say. office [urban health division under the metropolitan city] has asked us to try to contact people by phone.” Public health experts say the health workers’ concerns are understandable but since contact tracing involves so many things, it is not possible just by phone. Contact tracing is the key to break- ing the virus transmission chain and doctors have for long argued that the prohibitory period should have been used to ramp up efforts to ensure effective contact tracing. Even after two weeks of prohibitory orders, the virus spread has shown no signs of slowing. On Thursday, 445 people tested posi- POST PHOTO tive in the Kathmandu Valley–357 in The total number of Covid-19 cases in the Valley has reached 7,038 as of Thursday. Kathmandu, 46 in Lalitpur and 42 in Bhaktapur. The number of new cases ARJUN POUDEL contacts, checking the facilities for the stood at 200 on August 19, when the KATHMANDU, SEPT 3 infected people to stay in home isola- prohibitory orders first came into tion, and taking updates on their health. force in the Valley. Maiya Sainju is the in-charge of urban But with cases rising, Sainju has As of Thursday, the number of health clinic at the office of Ward No. not been going out these days for the cases in the Valley reached 7,038 with 32 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. fear of getting exposed to the virus. 4,540 of them detected after the pro- Amid the coronavirus pandemic, she Like Sainju, most of the health hibitory orders were announced on has been assigned the duty of contact workers deputed for contact tracing August 19 midnight. tracing, which entails informing the are doing their job over the phone. Across the country the tally stands infected people about their infection, “Due to the infection risk, we have at 42,877 with 1,228 reported in the last enquiring about the family members stopped meeting the infected people 24 hours. and others who came in their close and others,” Sainju told the Post. “Our >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Opening shops till 11am in Valley could At least 14 dead, 41 missing in backfire, health officials warn Traffic police booked 600 motorists for violating prohibitory orders while hundreds of flood and landslide in Baglung people descended on the street of Pulchowk for chariot-pulling festival on Thursday. The disaster occurred in Dhorpatan Municipality on Wednesday midnight when Bhuji ANUP OJHA at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious removed for vehicles.” River, blocked by landslide debris, flooded the settlements along the river banks. KATHMANDU, SEPT 3 Disease Hospital. The government’s data show that On Thursday morning, the Valley 7,098 people have been infected with PRAKASH BARAL The three district administration police had a difficult time managing the coronavirus in the three districts BAGLUNG, SEPT 3 offices of Kathmandu Valley on the people who were out of their of Kathmandu Valley-- 5,622 in Wednesday extended the prohibitory homes. Kathmandu, 877 in Lalitpur and 599 in Nim Bahadur BK, a resident of orders by a week while also deciding Bhaktapur--while 43 people have lost Lankuribot in Dhorpatan to allow shops to open till 11 am. their lives till date. Municipality Ward No. 9, Baglung dis- Before this, shops selling food and Nepal on Thursday On Thursday, the country saw the trict, woke up to find his house shak- other essential items were allowed to highest single-day surge of the coro- ing on Wednesday midnight. The open only till 9 am. saw the highest navirus cases with 1,228 new infec- 45-year-old woke his wife and three The decision to widen the time tions. children up and rushed outside just frame was made considering the con- single-day surge of According to the Ministry of Health before the floodwaters from Bhuji venience of the public.