WI THOUT F EAR O R F A V O U R

Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 139 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 35.3 C 14.5 C Monday, July 13, 2020 | 29-03-2077 Nepalgunj Jomsom Amid Covid-19, health experts warn of an outbreak of water-borne diseases Doctors say water- and vector-borne diseases could kill more people than the coronavirus if authorities fail to pay attention as the monsoon wreaks havoc.

ARJUN POUDEL Pandey, director at the Epidemiology KATHMANDU, JULY 12 and Disease Control Division. “With incidents of floods and landslides On Sunday morning, a 60-year-old already being reported from across woman from Ramche of Barhabise the country, we will certainly see more Municipality in Sindhupalchok was cases of water-borne diseases.” rushed to Barhabise Primary Health Every year, thousands of people get Care Centre. infected with water- and vector-borne “The woman was suffering from diseases in various parts of the country severe diarrhoea and vomiting for the during monsoon. Dengue, malaria and last two days,” Dr Misanta Sharma, of Kala-azar too are endemic to Nepal. Barhabise Primary Health Care Last year, dengue was reported in 68 Centre, told the Post over the phone districts. The disease killed six people. from Sindhupalchok. “She was Over 16,000 had been infected. brought in unconscious.” Water-borne diseases like diarrhoea The woman was given fluids intra- have the highest morbidity and mor- venously and provided with the treat- tality rates among the communicable ment that was possible at the health diseases in Nepal. centre, said Sharma. According to the Nepal Burden of Sindhupalchok is one of the dis- Disease-2017, a country report based tricts worst hit by recent flooding and on the Global Burden of Disease-2017 landslides, making villages in the dis- study, diarrhoeal diseases are respon- trict highly vulnerable to multiple dis- sible for 5.6 percent of total deaths eases. in Nepal. According to the Health Ministry, The Covid-19 pandemic has already there has been a several fold increase exposed the fragility of the country’s in cases of water-borne diseases--diar- health system, and amid this, a rise in rhoea, hepatitis A and E and typhoid-- cases of water-borne diseases could POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA and dengue, malaria and scrub typhus mean a catastrophe, according to pub- Workers carry construction materials on the Swayambhunath Stupa premises in Kathmandu on Sunday. in health facilities across the country lic health experts. since the start of monsoon. The lockdown has resulted in a halt With Covid-19 cases found in almost to public transportation services, and all districts and the entire human floods and landslides could damage resource focused on this pandemic, roads, making it difficult for patients public health experts have warned to reach health care centres. With that more people could die of water- health facilities and health workers Flooded rivers put settlements in Tarai borne diseases than the coronavirus. asked to focus on Covid-19 cases, there “The problem is our manpower is are also chances that patients of already limited. In the event of out- water-borne diseases might not get breaks of other diseases, we will face immediate treatment. districts at high risk of inundation a huge challenge,” said Dr Basudev >> Continued on page 5 The Saptakoshi is gaining strength as it gushes through provinces 1 and 2, eroding embankments, flooding settlements and displacing people.

around 5o of the 200 people have been moved to a local school building. “The village is at risk of being sur- rounded by the swollen river on all sides in the next few days,” said Bindeshwari. “The village has been inundated with water level about two- feet deep.” On Sunday, officials at the Saptakoshi barrage said water flow measured at 274,365 cusec. “On Friday, authorities opened 39 out of the 56 sluice gates of the bar- rage to reduce the water level,” said Inspector Santosh Khadka of Saptari District Police Office. The rain-swollen Saptakoshi river has also been eroding the embank- ment in Shrilanka Tapu, located in Barahachhetra of Sunsari and Belaka of Udayapur. “The flooded Saptakoshi river has been eroding its embankment near Chiliya settlement in Shrilanka Tapu. The river will enter the settlement if the water flow continues to increase,” said Badri Rai, a local. According to him, the river is erod- ing its western embankment near Spur No 13. “The river has already eroded P ost PhoTO: Om Prakash Thakur around 25 metres of its embankment. A recently constructed embankment on Bagmati River at Kharsalghat in Sarlahi’s Barhathawa Tapeshwori settlement in Belaka will Municipality has been breached, putting settlements downstream at a high risk of flooding. be completely inundated if the river erodes another 300 metres of the ABDHESH KUMAR JHA in SAPTARI & in several places. embankment in the area,” he added. DILLIRAM KHATIWADA in UDAYAPUR “There is a high possibility of the The local authorities in Chiliya JULY 12 river breaching the embankment,” moved 15 families from the area to a said Devnarayan Yadav, chairman of safer location on Sunday, fearing pos- Chitranarayan Sah’s house is just Koshi Victims Society, an organisa- sible floods. about 500 metres from the Saptakoshi tion that works for those who fall vic- According to Shyam Limbu, chair- river in Daluwa, Saptari, and his tims to the flooding and inundation man of Ward 6 of Barahachhetra paddy field runs parallel to the west- due to rivers, including Saptakoshi. Municipality, the displaced people ern embankment. Over the last week, “We have already noticed seepage are taking shelter in their relatives’ it has been a routine for Sah, in his in as many as 13 places along the houses. mid-40s, to go check out the water lev- embankment in Daluwa alone. The Saptakoshi river in the Chatara els in the river. Throughout last year, we urged the area changed its course to the western “It feels like the river has become authorities to repair the embankment embankment last year following the angrier in the last three days. I have before the monsoons, but in vain.” construction of a pilot channel. not been able to sleep properly,” According to Yadav, around 100,000 “A red flag signifying flood threat said Sah. people of Hanumannagar Kankalini has been hoisted in Chatara and we “My house will be washed away if Municipality, Rajbiraj Municipality have urged locals to remain alert,” the river breaches the embankment.” and Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality said Mayor Nilam Khanal of A steady rise in the water levels in in Saptari will be displaced in case Barahachhetra Municipality. Saptakoshi, the country’s biggest the river breaches its embankment The Saptakoshi had breached its river, over the past few days has put in Daluwa. eastern embankment in 2008, causing several settlements near the river- Gobargadha village in Ward 13 of a massive loss of lives and properties banks at high risk of floods and inun- Hanumannagar gets cut off from the in the area. dation. The flooded river has been rest of the district every monsoon. A Another river that wreaks havoc constantly eroding its embankments dirt road that connects the village every monsoon in the Tarai is with the nearest marketplace Lalbakaiya in Rautahat district. faces severe damage by floodwa- Various settlements in Bajaraha in ters during the rainy season. Gaur Municipality are at risk of This year too the dirt road has floods and inundation due to the been submerged, cutting off the rain-swollen Lalbakaiya river, accord- village yet again. Floodwaters ing to authorities. from the Saptakoshi entered the “We have asked security personnel settlement on Friday night. to stay on standby for rescue and “The authorities are scram- relief operations in case of a disas- bling to relocate around 200 vil- ter,” said Basudev Ghimire, chief dis- lagers to safety,” said Shailesh trict officer of Rautahat. Kumar Sah, the mayor. “Floodwaters have started entering According to Bindeshwari the riverside settlements.” Yadav, chair of the Ward 13, >> Continued on page 5

C M Y K MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 | 02 Medley

Inside the Post Quote of the day

Nearly 600 Nepali workers in Malaysia to get refunds National for their recruitment fees, Page 3 The Supreme Court has issued a “show-cause” notice to the government asking why Nepalis working employed in India are not included in the “foreign employment” category, and not treated on a par with other Nepalis working “Recruitment fees and related costs elsewhere. keep poor migrant workers in debt bondage and hence at high risk Opinion The aversion to dialogue, though, is not limited to individuals or intra-party fac- of forced labour.” tions alone; it is a universal phenomenon. The geopolitical drama that has been unfolding over the past few months in Nepal’s immediate neighbourhood is testi- Andy Hall, a migrant workers’ rights specialist, on how exorbitant mony to the failure of disputing parties to foresee the benefits of a meaningful recruitment fees are putting migrant workers into debt trap. dialogue.

Money India has started trade talks with the European Union (EU) and is open to dialogue with the United Kingdom for a free trade agreement, the trade minister Most read online said on Saturday, as Asia’s third largest economy looks for new markets for its products. When it comes to media content, leave it to World viewers’ discretion, experts say Countries in Eastern Europe are facing rising waves of coronavirus infections, In response to “insulting” and “baseless” reports about Prime Minister KP leading to new restrictive measures such as the mandatory use of face masks in Sharma Oli, Nepal’s cable TV operators on Thursday decided to ban Indian Croatia and travel bans or quarantines to be imposed by Hungary. Hungarian news channels. In the immediate aftermath, the decision garnered quite some authorities said Sunday that they would put countries in three categories—red, support, but experts now are questioning the move. yellow and green—based on their rate of new coronavirus infections, and would impose restrictions, including entry bans and mandatory quarantines, depending from which country people were coming from. Even months into the pandemic, the government has yet to introduce risk communication strategy The Ministry of Health on Saturday said that 50 percent of those infected with Covid-19 in the country have been discharged after recovery and that the num- News Quiz ber of new cases in the last 24 hours stood at 70. 33-kg-gold smuggling case: Hari Sharan Khadka, 1. Which of the following 5. What is the highest 10th-wicket Bollywood actors tested posi- partnership in Test cricket his- alleged supplier arrested from airport tive for Covid-19 on Saturday? tory? Post Photo: KESHAV THAPA Hari Sharan Khadka, 42, one of the fugitives of the 33.5 kg gold scam, was a. Salman Khan a. 222 A woman poses for a photo at Swayambhunath temple in Kathmandu. arrested on Saturday after Tribhuvan International Airport immigration staff b. Amitabh Bachchan b. 198 found Khadka’s criminal record in their database while he was trying to exit c. Shahrukh Khan c. 154 after landing in Kathmandu. d. Aamir Khan d. 147

2. Which day is observed as the 6. Which of the following clubs On this day in history Women rights organisations urge Human Rights Council to World Population Day? holds the record of scoring 100 take up issue of women’s equality in citizenship rights a. March 11 points in a season of Premier The National Women Coalition has called for an amendment to the Citizenship b. May 11 League? Nepal’s population may cross 100 m by the end of next century Act to ensure an equal right for women on the issue of citizenship. The coali- c. June 11 a. Liverpool tion, which comprises 44 organisations working for women’s rights, has request- d. July 11 b. Manchester United KATHMANDU - “In Nepal, the population census in 1991 recorded the figure at 18.2 ed the Human Rights Council to take up the issue of women’s citizenship rights c. Arsenal million, double its population in 1961. With the present growth rate of two per- in the upcoming Universal Periodic Review of the council slated for January 3. How many Covid-19 related d. Manchester City cent, Nepal’s population could reach 37 million by the year 2020, 74 million by next year. deaths were confirmed by the 2050, and well over 100 million before the end of the 21st century,” said Resident Health Ministry on Saturday? Representative of the UN Development Programme, Carroll Long at the launch- a. Three ing of the UNFPA’s World Population Report 1995 on Tuesday, July 11, at the UN b. Two Complex in Pulchowk. Long stated that the world population which is currently c. One at 5.7 billion is projected to increase at an annual rate of 86 million until the d. Zero year 2015. “Projections for 2015 range from 7.1 to 7.8 billion,” Long said, adding Corrections that the actual total will depend on the success in promoting the goals of the 4. Who has become the first play- Cairo Conference. Our reporters and editors do their best to make sure our reporting is free from er to register 20 assists and errors. But when we make mistakes that warrant correction, we will be transparent score 20 goals in a La Liga The Kathmandu Post and clarify at the bottom of the specific article. Season? July 13, 1995 If you believe we have got something wrong and it requires correction, please a. Luis Suarez email us at [email protected] with “correction” in the subject line. b. Karem Benzema For the most recent corrections, visit kathmandupost.com/corrections. s Answers to News Quiz: 1(b), 2(d), 3(a), 4(c), 5(b), 6(d) c. Lionel Messi r

d. Toni Kroos Reute HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21-April 19) CANCER (June 22-July 22) LIBRA (September 23-October 22) CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) *** *** *** *** Your resources are feeling a bit pinched lately, You will get a lot further if you connect with You could have an unexpected hole punched in Changing your daily routine sounds a lot easier but your creativity is still fully fleshed out and other people. Do not be aloof, because it could the middle of your day. These free hours will than it is. But the efforts you are putting forth to powerful! If you’re feeling strapped for cash, give you a reputation for being difficult to work offer you a very good excuse for deep thought find a better way of doing things will definitely simply apply your ingenuity to the situation. with or even rude. Open yourself up to other and contemplation about a recent conflict or be worth it. Not only will they make your life See if you can get something for free. You can people as much as you can, and don’t be afraid problem. Your subconscious has been mulling more interesting, but they will also keep a cer- think of a new way to get what you want with- to give your honest opinion about things even if this over for a while, but today you should get tain someone more interested in finding out out giving up more than you have. you think it will create a ruckus. your conscious mind involved. what your next move might be!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) LEO (July 23-August 22) SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) **** ***** *** *** You might have to perform a tricky negotiation You are feeling more open to new things than It’s time to finish up some unfinished business. As happy as you are to be going where you are with someone who rubs you the wrong way, but ever before, so this is a great day to explore a Whether you forgot a birthday, or left a conver- going right now, not everyone is right there on you’ll do well with it and your confidence will new physical exercise like Pilates, yoga or sation unfinished, today is the day to make up the same page with you. While you must be send a very powerful signal to some very power- tai chi. You’ll be able to get the hang of any new for it. Whoever is waiting to hear from you has aware of it and make adjustments accordingly, ful people. Compromising will put you in a physical actions in no time. You are a longer memory than you do, but they also you don’t have to completely change your path. much more powerful position than you’d ever moving toward a more movement-oriented have a huge heart, so don’t worry about anger That will only cause resentment. Just tone be in if you pushed to get your own way. phase of life. or hurt feelings. things down a bit.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) VIRGO (August 23-September 22) SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) PISCES (February 19-March 20) **** *** ** *** There is nothing to fear from trying something People are going to be extra sensitive to You need to stop comparing yourself to others! Your analytical side and your intuitive side are that you have never tried before. Other influenc- whatever you say today, so do your best to offer You have your own personality. So what if it in conflict right now, and you have to balance es are having a very strong and very positive constructive criticism instead of being just prevents you from clicking with every single the two or you won’t be able to get anything done impact on your life, so be open to them. It’s a plain critical. While you don’t relish the idea of person you meet? It’s no fun to always get along today! Acknowledge that while you really do feel wonderful day for exploring another culture. walking around on eggshells all day long, you with everyone anyway. Conflict is part of life, strongly about something you have no evidence Learn about its customs, foods, traditions, and will be glad you did. The extra effort will pre- and having a preference for who you want to for, you need to get the facts before you can make music. vent them from creating some drama. spend time with shows that you have taste. any kind of commitment.

Crossword Sudoku

Yesterday’s Solution

C M Y K 03 | MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 National Nearly 600 Nepali workers in Malaysia 21 trafficked Nepali to get refunds for their recruitment fees women coming home Malaysia’s leading gloves maker has agreed to compensate nearly 1,600 of its foreign workers. after nine months CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL related costs, which go up to $5,000 per KATHMANDU, JULY 12 worker.” Group had ended up in Manipur after falling in the As per the International Labour Like tens of thousands of Nepali Organisation’s fair and responsible trap of traffickers planning to take them to the Gulf. migrant workers who go on foreign recruitment standards, a migrant work- employment every year, Kafle, who er should be relieved of any such fees SURESH RAJ NEUPANE Manipur state government offi- wanted to be identified only by his sur- and other financial and workplace abus- NEW DELHI, JULY 12 cials told the Post that the rescue name, paid a huge sum of money to a es, leading to forced labour and human was delayed due to the embassy’s recruiting agency in the country for a trafficking. After nine months of languishing negligence. job in Malaysia in 2012. Hall called the WRP’s re-mediation in the Indian state of Manipur, the A Manipur government official For a job in WRP Asia Pacific, a lead- programme a breakthrough. Nepal Embassy in India has finally said the delay in sending Nepali ing gloves maker, Kafle paid Rs60,000. “The WRP agreeing to pay back work- rescued a group of 21 Nepali women home was because they “For years, Nepali workers have ers, who invested a huge sum for jobs, women who were en route to awaited a concrete response from been paying Rs100,000-Rs150,000 for must be a stepping stone to systemic Persian Gulf countries on foreign the Nepali government. Malaysian jobs,” Kafle told the Post over change. It has become the first gloves employment. According to the officer, a letter the phone from Malaysia. REUTERS manufacturer in Malaysia to provide As the Nepal embassy could not was sent to the embassy mention- “I also had to pay for the job for which The Southeast Asian country produces two thirds of the world’s rubber gloves. repayment of past worker recruitment take immediate initiation for their ing that they would make all the I had to take a loan.” fees and related costs,” said Hall. rescue and repatriation the group arrangements for taking the Now, in an interesting turn of events, we will receive RM 114, then the amount Such conditions further force them to “Whilst this is a welcome step, the CBP’s of Nepali women, who had fallen women up to the Nepal-India bor- Kafle and hundreds of other Nepali will be raised to around RM200.” continue working for the company, how- approach to WRP is still discriminatory into the trap of human traffickers der if only a Nepali official would workers stand to get reimbursement of Kafle added the good thing about this ever unrewarding a job may be, because and non-transparent.” while trying to reach the Gulf via take their responsibility. the money they had spent to secure jobs scheme was that even those workers of debt bondage, according to Hall. According to Hall, forced labour Myanmar, were left stranded in Human traffickers had taken in WRP. In a rare instance in the foreign who have already left for Nepal after Many workers are also forced to work remains widespread across the whole Manipur, where they had been liv- the women to the northeastern employment sector, the Malaysian com- February 31 or planning to leave in near for their employers as their passports Malaysian rubber gloves industry and ing in a local shelter. state of Manipur by promising pany has agreed to return the amount future will also be reimbursed. are confiscated, he added. other companies have also shown terri- Following the Post report depict- them lucrative jobs in Oman, the foreign workers had paid to get jobs “They [the employer] have collected The WRP’s decision to compensate its ble mistreatment of foreign workers. ing the negligence on the part of Kuwait and Iraq, among other there. “This feels so unreal that workers all the documents, including bank foreign workers has come after the “The high-risk situation of forced the Nepali mission for their timely countries in the Persian Gulf like me are getting paid back for the details, so that they can deposit the United States’ Customs and Border labour amongst migrant workers in rescue, the embassy finally started region. These women were taken expenses we had paid for our jobs,” said amount,” said Kafle. Protection (CBP) imposed a ban on the Malaysian gloves industry can only be the rescue operation by sending to the Indian capital of New Delhi Kafle, who hails from Dhankuta. “No “Whether Nepali or Bengali, every- company’s exports to the US last addressed once and for all after the Prakash Adhikari, counsellor and by bus and then by flights to one had ever thought that we would ever one is happy with this news.” September over forced labour charges. employers fully reimburse past recruit- SSP for Nepali Embassy in New Dimapur of Nagaland state from receive the money. Every single worker Aspiring migrant workers from The Guardian investigation, in 2018, ment fees and related costs,” said Hall. Delhi, to Imphal, Manipur. where they had travelled to Imphal is happy with the decision.” labour sending countries in South Asia had revealed that at least two Malaysian “Furthermore, ethical recruitment After two weeks of administra- in a bus. As part of the WRP’s recruitment fee like Nepal have to pay exorbitant fees to companies—Top Glove and WRP–were practices or zero cost recruitment poli- tive procedures, the Nepali women According to the rescued re-mediation programme, nearly 1,600 local sub-agents and recruiting agencies subjecting thousands of migrant work- cies should be strictly enforced when were finally rescued. women, the traffickers had of its workers would be benefited with for overseas jobs. Despite strict efforts ers from Nepal and Bangladesh to these companies plan to hire more for- According to Hari Odari, spokes- planned to send them to Myanmar the reimbursement package, a local from both governments—labour send- exploitative working conditions and eign workers in the future.” person for Nepal Embassy in via Moreh—on the India-Myanmar media reported. ing and labour receiving countries, their products were part of forced The Employer’s Pay Model or Zero Delhi, the rescued group has been border, which has emerged as a The move will also provide respite to migrant workers have been forced to labour. The WRP had then agreed to Cost policy also stresses on making the sent from Manipur to Nepal by a popular route for human traffick- nearly 600 Nepali workers employed by pay hefty amounts for foreign jobs meet conditions set by the CBP to con- employer responsible cover all the bus on Sunday. ing of Nepalis to Southeast Asian WRP Asia Pacific. which should otherwise be free. tinue its exports to the US. According to expenses on behalf of a worker for pro- “The bus will take them to and Gulf countries. These migrant workers will be paid To pay high fees for overseas jobs, Free Malaysia Today, an online news tecting vulnerable migrant workers Kakadbhitta, the Nepal-India bor- After the Nepal government on a quarterly basis with each worker workers often have to take loans. And portal, the ban was lifted in March after from possible exploitations. der,” said Odari. “The group will made No Objection Letter (NOC) expected to receive a total payout rang- once they reach their labour destina- the company assured the CBP that it Nepal and Malaysia have signed a be handed over to local authorities mandatory for going to third coun- ing from Malaysian Ringgit (RM)4,547 to tions, they are caught in a struggle to was no longer producing its rubber pact to provide zero cost jobs to Nepali and representatives of the tries via India, human traffickers RM16,054 over the period of next 30 pay back the loans; for some, making it gloves under forced labour conditions. workers. However, nothing much has Ministry of Women, Children & have been resorting to various months. difficult to escape from the vicious cycle The Southeast Asian country, which changed for Nepali migrant workers as Social Welfare.” measures, including producing The workers’ reimbursement will be of labour migration. remains a major labour destination for they continue to face exploitation. After a long wait for returning fake NOCs, using land-routes and cleared in 11 instalments, which will “Recruitment fees and related costs Nepali migrants, produces two-thirds of Kafle and his fellow workers are home, the stranded women had small cities of India, to smuggle be deposited in the workers’ bank keep poor migrant workers in debt global consumption of rubber gloves. overjoyed by the news of getting their started to approach the Delhi people to other countries. account with their monthly salary, bondage and hence at high risk of The ongoing pandemic has seen money back embassy for help. Last year, in a massive rescue according to the contract document, forced labour,” said Andy Hall, a sky-rocketing of demand for gloves “I got this news when I was planning Initially, the embassy had shown mission that had gone for days, the obtained by the Post. Kathmandu-based migrant worker from Malaysian manufactures, creating to go back but I could not due to other concern and contacted the Manipur authorities had succeed- According to Kafle, a Nepali worker rights specialist working in South and new billionaires in Malaysia. reasons. Who will not be happy with Manipur authorities. However, the ed in rescuing 179 Nepali nationals would be getting (RM)4,547, which is South-East Asia. “This is because work- “A majority of Malaysia glove facto- such a decision?” said Kafle. “We will embassy later stopped taking any from different parts of the state equivalent to Rs128,063. ers are forced to take out high-interest ries’ workforce come from Nepal, get the money sooner or later. But who initiatives. before they could be smuggled into “Every Nepali worker, irrespective of loans from local money lenders and sell Bangladesh, India, Indonesian and would have thought that the money we The Nepal embassy had been Myanmar. The incident had once when they came and how much they property or possessions to ensure the Myanmar,” said Hall. “For such chal- paid to sub-agents would come back to saying that the process could not again exposed that human traffick- paid for the job, are getting the same payments needed to be recruited in the lenging and unrewarding jobs, they us in this foreign country? This seems be completed because of the Covid- ers were using the Myanmar route amount,” said Kafle. “In the first month first place.” have paid recruitment fees and other like godsend.” 19 lockdown in India. However, to traffic Nepali citizens.

C M Y K MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 | 04 Opinion EDITORIAL Who’s afraid of dialogue? Restoring public transport Humility and critical thinking help individuals and nations alike The government needs to strike a balance between to engage in a mutually beneficial safety and reopening the economy. experience of truth-seeking.

From 2005 to 2018, vehicle registration in Nepal increased at an annual growth rate of 14 percent as per the findings of a baseline Dinesh Kafle fuel economy study. This growth clearly indicates how rapid urbani- sation has fuelled motorisation across the country. In 2018, according to the Department of Transport Management, 96 percent of passen- ger vehicles registered were private vehicles. Public transport vehi- cles represent only 4 percent of the total registered vehicle fleet, but the travel mode share of public transport is almost equal to that of private vehicles. ‘We live in terror because dialogue is While these figures clearly beg urgent restructuring and reform in no longer possible’, the French philoso- public transportation to ensure equity, sustainability and govern- pher-writer Albert Camus lamented ance, Nepal currently has a dangling challenge—restoring public sometime around the middle of the last century. Camus’s concern was that, transportation during Covid-19. A little over a month since the gov- inter alia, the age of abstractions, ernment relaxed lockdown measures, the administration is scram- bureaucracies and machines had bling to implement new adjustments as more and more people inspired people to think that only they emerge from the lockdown and return to work. With the virus still in are right; that they would not entertain circulation and the number of infections soaring, the question of the ideas of others. For those who how to restore public transportation puts both the government and could live only with dialogue and the friendship of others, Camus believed, the public on thin ice. the silence brought about by the unwill- As the numbers show, a vast majority of people rely on public ingness to engage with others meant transportation, especially those from the lower and middle-income the end of the world. groups who are already reeling under financial stress due to the A century earlier, the last Mughal lockdown. On the other side of this dilemma are thousands of driv- Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar had ers, conductors and business owners who make up the public trans- approached the same problem differ- portation ecosystem and have been hard hit since day one of the ently as he wrote in his ghazal: ‘Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na lockdown. The government’s decision hence to resume public trans- thi/ Jaise ab hai teri mehfil kabhi aisi to portation following pressure from business owners and transport na thi’ (It wasn’t so difficult for me to workers is a double-edged sword, one that can have grave conse- talk in your presence before/ Being in quences given how recent research on the virus warns that there is your company never confused my sense risk of airborne transmission, and there’s mounting evidence on before). Between Camus and Shah Shutterstock that front. Zafar, though, there is a fundamental difference of context: The French phi- leaves meetings right after making his ulterior motives never hits the nail on cial to maintain the status quo. Notably, a paper published in the peer-review journal Practical losopher was lamenting the loss of point, as if there’s nothing to be gained its head. While sitting across the table, But India’s attitude towards the sig- Preventive Medicine in February highlighted that the virus could dialogism in a politically volatile world by listening to his comrades. In so the two parties must leave their pre-con- nificance of dialogue in its territorial remain afloat even after the carrier had left the bus. The researchers in the backdrop of World War II; the doing, he fails to acknowledge that the ditions behind. The only conditions that dispute with China is squarely oppo- comprising Chinese government epidemiologists who investigated a Indian poet-king was addressing his art of speaking comes loaded with the apply are those as explained by the site. China has allegedly crossed into local outbreak case in Hunan Province during the peak New Year beloved in the make-believe world of art of listening. The other hand on the Palestinian-American public intellectu- its side of the Line of Actual Control, travel season found that the virus can linger in the air for at least 30 romance. The former’s is a context of yoke, on his part, doesn’t seem to be in al Edward W Said: ‘Real principle and so it sees no other option than to seek alienation, distrust and hatred; the lat- the mood to budge until Oli forfeits real justice have to be implemented an immediate word with the economi- minutes and can travel up to 4.5 metres. ter’s, of submission, trust and love. both the positions, claiming that the before there can be true dialogue’. cally and militarily superior neigh- While authorities have asserted that there will be strict guidelines Both conditions eliminate the possibil- prime minister’s actions have troubled bour. Although Indian Prime Minister like carrying only 50 percent of the seating capacity, taking temper- ity of meaningful dialogue. the party and the country both. Lacking Know thy neighbour Narendra Modi in his election rallies ature reading of commuters and mandatory use of masks and gloves Although it costs nearly nothing for humility, the ‘fierce one’ fails to under- The aversion to dialogue, though, is not promised to show laal aankh (that is, for transport staff, there is widespread concern if the government two parties to engage in a dialogue stand that his obsession with unseating limited to individuals or intra-party take an aggressive stance) against can actually implement the new rules given how new adjustments with each other, it has rich dividends. Oli—and putting himself or his hench- factions alone; it is a universal phe- China on the issue of border encroach- like physical distancing or the limit on public assembly in the wake But, as a fundamental tool for humans men on the top seat—equally takes the nomenon. The geopolitical drama that ment, he went as far as saying that to engage with and know about each country into a tailspin. has been unfolding over the past few there had been no border intrusion of the relaxed lockdown largely remain unheeded by the public and other, dialogue requires both parties to Oli’s monologism and Prachanda’s months in Nepal’s immediate neigh- even as 20 Indian soldiers had been businesses. have epistemic humility—a virtue that dogmatism speak of the same despotic bourhood is testimony to the failure of killed in a fistfight with the Chinese Meanwhile, transport entrepreneurs have rejected the govern- allows you to understand the other but aversion for dialogue and the inability disputing parties to foresee the benefits army. Modi ended up showing his ‘red ment’s decision to resume public transportation and have put forth also makes you aware of the limits of to suspend ego for the larger good. ‘Self- of a meaningful dialogue. India and eyes’ only to Pakistan a few times just their own set of demands to be fulfilled before they start their oper- your own knowledge—to create a lev- sufficiency’, the Brazilian educator and Pakistan, in their inability to leave prior to elections. With Nepal, he has ations. They’ve also announced that public transportation cannot el-playing field for dialogue between philosopher Paulo Freire believed, is their enmity behind and dialogue with averted his gaze altogether. the two. If you do not have the humility ‘incompatible with dialogue’. In each other for their own sake and for As Freire said, dialogue cannot operate at 50 percent capacity. In the midst of this extraordinary to listen to the other, you do not have Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire the sake of others in the neighbour- occur between those who deny others situation where physical distancing is the basic etiquette, authori- the moral standing to speak. It is the writes that since dialogue allows peo- hood, made the South Asian Association the right to speak their word and those ties need to hold their breath and re-examine their own findings lack of such humility that seems to be ple to achieve significance as human for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) whose right to speak has been denied. which report that the share of low occupancy vehicles like minibus- plaguing Nepali politics today. beings, it is an ‘existential necessity’. moribund after India abruptly pulled When it comes to dialoguing with an es, microbuses and tempos account for 94 percent of the total public But for meaningful dialogue to occur, out of the 2016 Summit following ter- opponent, no matter whether the oppo- transport vehicles while the share of large buses stands at Table for two the participants must engage in critical rorist attacks in Uri. nent is financially and militarily only 6 percent. Trying as they are to defeat each other thinking and commit themselves And in the recent months, Nepal and stronger or poorer, what is essential is in an all-out war for political power, KP to the process. The two factions within India have been bickering over the dis- the moral authority to look into their It is public knowledge that transport businesses have suffered Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the two the ruling party even give the impres- puted territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh eyes and talk. It is only by engaging the direly since the lockdown was imposed, and it would only be wise of ‘co-pilots’ of the ruling Nepal sion that they are in dialogue when and Limpiyadhura. Both neighbours other in a horizontal relationship, the government to negotiate tax reliefs and restructure loans. But Communist Party, appear keen to let they, in fact, have no qualms about have claimed cartographic victories rather than a vertical one, that the what’s more concerning here is what alarms public health experts their metaphorical jet crash land if demonising each other. What they are over each other, but they have different mutually beneficial experience of amid the rising number of cases in the Kathmandu Valley. Public needed, rather than work together to doing is just chattering or cross-talking moods when it comes to sitting for a truth-seeking becomes possible. The transportation is usually crowded and unhygienic, and is used by land it safely. For Oli, retaining the rather than engaging in a meaningful dialogue to iron out the differences. showing of red eyes sounds good only positions of prime minister and party dialogue. Despite Nepal’s calls for dialogue, India in rhetoric. What brings about actual thousands of people on a daily basis who travel shoulder to shoulder. chief are non-negotiable. He likes to A fundamental flaw in their approach has been ignoring them. This is because change is your ability to engage in a The government needs to strike a balance between safety and reo- make an impression that he is keen is their unwillingness to get to the core it already has its physical grip over the mutually beneficial art of dialoguing pening the economy. only to speak and not listen. He often of the problem. A dialogue begun with disputed territory; India finds it benefi- with your ‘other’.

How to protect refugees in a pandemic

Asylum-seekers from both countries— refugees and local communities alike Governments can ensure totalling 985,512 from the former, and already had access to health facilities 271,967 from the latter so far—are and clean water when the Covid-19 that refugees coexist granted refugee status in Uganda on a pandemic began. As a result, even prima facie basis. those who live in more densely populat- peacefully, prosperously, Asylum-seekers from other coun- ed—and thus higher-risk—settings had tries, including Burundi (36,677 refu- the tools they needed to follow hygiene and in good health. gees), undergo status-determination recommendations from the start. interviews. Nearly 71,000 refugees— Border controls during the pandemic from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, mean that Uganda’s open-door policy Agnes Igoye Somalia, and Sudan—have lived in for asylum-seekers has been suspended. exile in Uganda for three decades. Having spent over a decade as a border Despite its large refugee population, guard—including on the Kenyan fron- none of Uganda’s 139 confirmed cases tier when violence erupted over that of Covid-19 (as of May 14, 2020) country’s 2007 election—I know how occurred within refugee settlements. difficult it can be to ensure safety at the This is a testament to the country’s border. The government’s decision to humane, sustainable, and for- close Uganda’s frontiers reflects its Perhaps the most effective health ward-looking refugee policy, which commitment to protecting the entire interventions in the battle against gives displaced people the resources population, including refugees. Covid-19 so far have been behavioural: and support they need to make a home To be sure, Uganda’s refugee man- social distancing and improved and a living. agement is not free of controversy, hygiene, especially hand-washing. For Uganda’s success begins with including allegations of corruption the world’s 70 million displaced peo- favourable legal and policy frame- and fraud. But the authorities are ple—especially the millions living in works. Its 2006 Refugee Act and the cooperating with the UN High cramped camps and informal settle- 2010 Refugees Regulations guarantee Commissioner for Refugees and the ments—such habits can be virtually essential rights to refugees, including World Food Programme to investigate impossible. Add to that limited access the rights to move freely, work and concerns about the accuracy and reli- to health-care services, a lack of relia- start a business, own property, and ability of data used for refugee pro- ble information about the virus, and access public services like education gramming, fundraising, and assis- governments’ focus on protecting and health care. tance. In 2018, Uganda’s government their own citizens, and the risks of The Comprehensive Refugee began to verify refugees using devastating Covid-19 outbreaks among Response Framework, launched in UNHCR’s biometric systems. displaced populations are rising fast. 2017, provides a blueprint for uphold- Displaced populations are often Refugees International recently ing those rights globally. From emer- thought to represent a dilemma, with sounded the alarm about these risks, gency response to ongoing needs and governments forced to choose between and offered sensible recommendations self-reliance, the CRRF covers every Shutterstock protecting their own populations and to help mitigate them, such as reducing step of a refugee’s experience from the durable institutions, and investment the basis of a non-encampment policy and expanding refugees’ access to edu- protecting refugees and asylum-seek- overcrowding and improving hygiene time of displacement until a durable in skills development. To avoid redun- for refugees. Whereas refugees in cation, employment, and social servic- ers. Uganda has shown that this is a in refugee camps, halting the deporta- solution (local integration, resettle- dancy and ensure adequate funding, Bangladesh, Greece, and Syria typical- es. It has since made significant pro- false choice. With long-term planning tion of asylum-seekers, and improving ment, or voluntary repatriation) is ReHoPE emphasises coordination ly live in overcrowded camps, which gress toward fulfilling its promises. and a multi-sectoral approach, govern- communication. To achieve these found. It thus aligns its approach with among strategic actors, including the rank among the world’s most densely Because most refugees are concen- ments can ensure that refugees and objectives, governments would do well the New York Declaration for Refugees UN, the World Bank, and several populated areas, refugees in Uganda trated in 12 of Uganda’s 121 districts, their host communities coexist peace- to draw lessons from Uganda, a global and Migrants, adopted by the United cross-sectoral partners. receive a plot of land for housing and total service capacity has been fully, prosperously, and in good health. leader in refugee protection. Nations General Assembly in 2016. In Uganda, refugees have been inte- cultivation near local communities. increased in some areas. In 2018, the Uganda, a landlocked country of 43 A key component in implementing grated into the country’s development About 92 percent of Uganda’s refugees Ministry of Education launched an Igoye, a senior Aspen New Voices million people, has taken in 1.36 mil- the CRRF is the Refugee and Host agenda at all levels. Uganda’s National live in settlements alongside native Education Response Plan—a three- Fellow, is Uganda’s Deputy National lion refugees, making it the world’s Population Empowerment (ReHoPE) Development Plan II, launched in 2015, Ugandans, while the remaining 8 per- year initiative to ensure sufficient Coordinator for the Prevention of third-largest host country. Most fled Strategic Framework, which focuses includes the Settlement cent live in urban centres. school capacity. Integrated response Trafficking in Persons and Head of the from conflicts in neighbouring coun- on promoting resilience and self-reli- Transformation Agenda, which pro- At the 2016 Leaders’ Summit on plans for health, water, and the envi- Ugandan Immigration Training tries, especially in South Sudan and ance among refugees and host commu- motes socioeconomic development in Refugees, Uganda committed to ronment soon followed. Academy. the Democratic Republic of the Congo. nities through livelihood initiatives, areas hosting refugees and provides upholding its settlement approach, Thanks to this long-term planning, —Project Syndicate

C M Y K 05 | MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 National Flooded Court asks government rivers put ... Bad weather hampers rescue >> Continued from page 1 why Nepalis working in In Sarlahi, too, floods in the Bagmati river have breached its recently-con- for Besinda landslide victims structed embankment in Kharsalghat of Barhathawa Municipality. Eleven people are missing while four have been rescued alive. The landslide India are not considered to “The floods damaged the embank- ment. The course of the river has now in the Sankhuwasabha village has washed away nine houses. turned west, away from the settle- be in ‘foreign employment’ ments but if it changes its course again, it will put many settlements at DIPENDRA SHAKYA risk,” said Ratna Bahadur Giri, chair- SANKHUWASABHA, JULY 12 Petitioners say excluding work in India from the foreign man of Ward No. 1 of Barhathawa Municipality. Juddha Bahadur Rai learnt that his employment category is discriminatory towards workers. In the eastern district of Jhapa, 65-year-old wife, Gori Maya, and his around 700 people of 172 families have daughter Prakriti, 22, had gone miss- been displaced due to floods in differ- ing after Sunday morning’s landslide CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL of a migrant worker receives financial ent rivers since Saturday. Kankai, only about 12 hours later. KATHMANDU, JULY 12 compensation of Rs 700,000 from the Mechi and Biring rivers as well as The landslide had struck Besinda, government if the worker dies abroad. Paliya stream have been wreaking a village of 86 households, in The Supreme Court has issued a In addition to that, they also get com- havoc in the district for the past few Sankhuwasabha at about 1 am on “show-cause” notice to the govern- pensation from insurance companies days. Sunday. Eleven people are missing ment asking why Nepalis working which can amount up to Rs 1.5million. According to the District Police whereas four have been rescued employed in India are not included in However, for availing these services, Office in Jhapa, around 500 people alive. The landslide washed away nine the “foreign employment” category, the worker must have contributed to have been displaced as more than 114 houses. and not treated on a par with other the welfare fund and gone abroad with houses were inundated in Kumarkhod. When his home was battered by the Nepalis working elsewhere. a labour permit. Similarly, 150 people in Jhiljhile, 14 landslide, Juddha Bahadur was at Responding to a writ petition on “If the government starts issuing in Jhoda, 42 in Siddhartha Tol and 46 kharka, a shelter for sheep and yaks in Friday, a single bench of justice them [the people who go to India] in Shivasatakshi have been displaced the Himalayas, in Bewana village, a Prakash Dhungana asked the Prime labour permit, they will also contrib- by floodwaters in the last few days. two-day travel from his home in Minister’s Office and the Council of ute to the fund, and such workers and A man was swept away by the Biring Besinda. Locals take turns to visit Ministers why Nepalis working in the their families could benefit from the river while another went missing in kharka to care for their cattle. southern neighbour were not recog- welfare fund,” said Upreti. the Mechi river in the past two days, “Eleven individuals have gone miss- nised in the same way as those who go “Migrant workers’ families not only said police. ing in the landslide,” said Deputy to other countries for employment. get financial compensation for losses In Morang, 21 families have been Superintendent of Police Nabaraj “The Foreign Employment Act, 2007 and injuries, but their children also displaced across Biratnagar, Urlabari, Malla. clearly mentions that irrespective of get a scholarship from the board,” Kanepokhari and Miklajung due to The landslide was triggered by the country of destination, every citi- said Upreti. “If there is a law, then floods triggered by heavy rainfall. Ten heavy rains that had continued for a zen going abroad for work is a migrant why they aren’t eligible for the work houses at Simrahi of Biratnagar week in the district. Seventy-nine- worker,” said Advocate Nirmal Kumar permit and enjoy all the facilities?” Metropolis-12 have been inundated. year-old Gowa Singh Rai, a survivor Upreti, one of the petitioners. The petitioners also complained Deputy Superintendent of Police who was rescued on Sunday after- “But labour migration to India has that not including Nepalis working in Man Bahadur Rai said the displaced noon, recalled hearing a loud bang never been considered as foreign India under the foreign employment families were shifted to Bakhari Basic before the landslide tumbled down, employment,” said Upreti, who filed category also deprives them of the School. injuring his hands and head, the the petition on behalf of Forum for government’s reintegration schemes In Mahottari, various places of police quoted him saying. Nation Building Nepal along with meant for returnees. Jaleshwor, the district headquarters, “It was sudden and there was no Dipak Raj Joshi. “They can’t even receive the soft- and several settlements in Ekdara and time to respond before I got injured,” The government doesn’t maintain loan the government has been provid- Mahottari rural municipalities have he said. Gowa Singh’s house is buried records of citizens who go to work in ing to returnee migrant workers and been waterlogged as the floods in Ratu while he is critically injured. India. Even unofficial estimates vary other facilities, even though those river entered the settlement on The injured were yet to be taken to widely. According to a Migration in who work in India are also migrant Sunday. Settlements in Matihani hospital on Sunday evening since the Nepal report, the number of Nepali workers,” said Upreti. Municipality were also inundated due remote village is about a 12-hour population in India is said to be Nepalis have been working in India to the floods in Bigahi stream. walk from the district headquarters between 3 to 4 million. for at least two centuries. The formal and is not connected with a road A majority of Nepalis who work migration to India is supposed to (Shiva Puri in Rautahat, Parwat network. The rains that continued abroad are employed in India as the have begun with the recruitment of Portel in Jhapa, Deo Narayan Sah in the whole day on Sunday have Photo Courtesy: Bhupal Kulung Rai/Facebook two countries share an open border. Nepali Gurkhas by the East India Morang, Sunita Baral in Mahottari made it all the harder for rescuers to The landslide was triggered by heavy rains that had continued for a week in the district. While Nepalis going to work in a third Company in 1815. and Om Prakash Thakur in Sarlahi respond. country have to apply for a labour In the years to come, more Nepalis contributed reporting.) Personnel from Sisuwa and Tamku 60-member team of security personnel “Helicopters are ready to fly from permit from the Nepal government, were drafted into the British and police posts reached the disaster site, from the district headquarters was Itahari but there is poor visibility Nepalis going to work in India do not Indian armies and young Nepali men and by Sunday evening, had moved 349 due to reach the disaster site. due to continuous rains and mist,” receive such permits. This provision, started going abroad for work. In 1950, people in the village to makeshift shel- Bad weather has interrupted heli- Acharya said. the petitioners said, violates their Nepal and India signed the Treaty of ters in Chitre, a two-hour walk from copter rescues, said Jiwan Prasad “If the weather permits, rescue rights. Peace and Friendship that provided Amid Covid-19 ... Besinda, according to DSP Malla. A Acharya, the chief district officer. flights will take off early on Monday.” “Nepali workers in India do not free movement to Nepali and Indian have to take work permits and get nationals across the borders among >> Continued from page 1 insurance before migrating. This other privileges. Last fiscal year, Patients and their relatives may deprives them of financial support Nepal received Rs. 128.5 billion of also hesitate to seek treatment on time from the government and other com- remittance from India, one of the due to fear of contracting the virus. pensation they could get from the highest from a foreign country According to Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, Cases filed against 13 former officials for Nepal government,” said Upreti. “The “The Treaty of Sugauli allowed the the similarity in symptoms of water- government has not maintained free movement of people across the borne diseases and Covid-19 could also records of Nepali workers in India countries. However, India is still a for- result in more deaths. where they must be dying or getting eign country. That’s why going to work “Diarrhoea, fever and sore throat registering land in Indian man’s name injured too. But they can’t claim any- in India should also be considered are common symptoms in persons thing from the Nepal government.” foreign employment,” said Upreti. infected with Covid-19 and those with According to Upreti, such discrimi- water-borne diseases too show similar The Indian man prepared fake documents to claim ownership of the land natory treatment towards Nepalis symptoms,” said Pun. “Due to this, workers in India violates their consti- health workers might be afraid of and then sold it to Nepali nationals. tutional rights to equal treatment. attending to patients of water-borne Nepali migrant workers have diseases, who need immediate care.” POST REPORT different Nepali families. fake documents. received permits to work and live in Floods and landslides are also likely KATHMANDU, JULY 12 Officials suspect that the crime took According to the commission, the over 170 countries, mainly in the to displace people, with around 1,600 place with collusion between the then land at first was owned by one Prem Persian Gulf and Malaysia. Before already forced to flee. In the previous The Commission for Investigation of chief land revenue officer of Sharan Khatri. Mehra pretended to be going abroad, a worker has to contrib- years, such displaced people used to be Abuse of Authority on Sunday filed Kapilvastu Tikram Gyawali, land Prem Sharan’s heir to get the land ute to the Migrant Workers’ Welfare housed in schools and community cases against 13 former officials of reform officer Ishwor Prakash Kalwar ownership transferred and then sold Fund, maintained by the Foreign buildings. land reform, land revenue and local and land revenue officer Manohar it to 12 Nepalis. Employment Board, and buy insur- But this year, most of the schools government offices of Kapilavastu at Prasad Panthi among others. According to the commission, ance. In return, migrant workers’ and have been converted into Covid-19 the Special Court for allegedly regis- Along with them, non-gazetted staff- although the 12 people had no role in their families receive financial assis- quarantine centres. tering 32.2 bighas of land in the name ers Buddhi Sagar Tiwari, Ramesh corruption, they have also been made tance from the government in case a Authorities will be left with no of an Indian national on the basis of Man Shrestha, Village Development defendants in the case to seize the land worker dies, is injured or contracts option than to pitch tents for the dis- fake documents. Committee secretaries Nanda Lal Das, they bought. life-threatening 4x17diseases. The family placed, and with no proper sanitary The plot, located at the erstwhile Buddhi Sagar Subedi and Nandalal facilities, a rise in water-borne diseas- Sanai Village Development Kumhal Kohar, computer operator es is highly expected, according to Committee, was supposed to come Suwas Khadka, low-ranked staffers public health experts. under the ownership of the govern- Netra Bahadur Chaudhary, Amrit Government of Nepal (GoN) “Unhygienic foods, unsafe drinking ment as its original owner had more Kumar Kammu Magar and Khagendra Ministry of Foreign Affairs water and cold could make elderly land than the threshold allowed by the Parajuli and a local from Gerami people and small children sick quick- law. So, the land’s transaction had also Rural Municipality Rabi Kumar Department of Passports ly,” said Baburam Marasini, former been halted, according to the commis- Khatri have been made defendants in director at the Epidemiology and sion. But, the land was registered in this case. Amendments made in the Bid Document No. 03/2076/77/dop-ifb Disease Control Division. “More the name of Indian citizen Anup They have been charged with caus- Published on 02 March 2020 for the Procurement of Security Printing, Supply and Delivery, people could be infected and die Mehra who presented his fake creden- ing a loss of Rs 50.54 million to the from diarrhoeal disease than the tials as Nepali national Anup Kumar government for registering land in the Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Equipment and Personalization of eMRTDs coronavirus.” Khatri. Mehra then sold the land to name of an Indian national based on Contract Identification No.: 03/2076/77/dop Date of Publication of Amendment: 13 July 2020 Addendum No. 5 The Department of Passports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made the following amendments in the Bid Document No. 03/2076/77/dop-ifb published on 02 March 2020 for the Procurement of Security Printing, Supply and Delivery, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Equipment and Personalization of eMRTDs as follows:

S. Page Article No. /Heading Existing Provision Amendments Made No. No. A complete set of Bidding A complete set of Bidding iv Notice for Invitation Documents …… fee of NRs. Documents …… fee of NRs. 1. Clause 3 for Bids…. 20,000/- until 15 July 2020 during 20,000/- until 30 July 2020 office hours. during office hours. Electronic bids must be submitted Electronic bids must be submitted … iv Notice for Invitation 2. …….on or before 12:00 hrs (NST) on on or before 12:00 hrs (NST) on 31 Clause 5 for Bids…. on 16 July 2020. July 2020. iv Notice for Invitation The bids will be opened ………at The bids will be opened ……at 3. Clause 6 for Bids…. 12:30 hrs (NST) on 16 July 2020……. 12:30 hrs (NST) on 31 July 2020…. A Pre-Bid Meeting shall take place at ITB 8.2 the following date, time and place: Clarification A Pre-Bid Meeting shall take Date: 20 July 2020 4. 33 of Bidding Document/ place…… Time: 11: 00 hrs (NST) Pre-Bid Meeting Place: Department of Passports, Narayanhiti, Kathmandu The address and deadline for bid The address and deadline for bid Section II submission is: submission is: Bid Data Sheet Place: Department of Passports, Place: Department of Passports, 5. 37 ITB 24.1 Deadline Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal for Submission of Bids Date: 16 July 2020 Date: 31 July 2020 Time: 12:00 hrs (NST) Time: 12:00 hrs (NST) The bid opening shall take place at: The bid opening shall take place at: Section II Place: Department of Passports, Place: Department of Passports, Bid Data Sheet 6. 37 Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal ITB 27.1 Date: 16 July 2020 Date: 31 July 2020 Bid Opening Time: 12:30 hrs (NST) Time: 12:30 hrs (NST) Section II Bid Data Sheet After opening .... .on 16 July 2020 After opening... .on 31 July 2020 7. 38 ITB 27.1 Bid Opening at 12:30 hrs. at 12:30 hrs. (Clause 4) 8. Please refer to Addendum on Bid Documents uploaded in www.bolpatra.gov.np/egp for further details.

C M Y K MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 | 06 Money

FOREX Government okays US Dollar 120.63 Government moves to shorten supply Euro 136.31 42 repatriation Pound Sterling 152.25 Japanese Yen 11.28 chain to benefit consumers charter flights Chinese Yuan 17.23 POST REPORT The goods and services sold in Nepal normally pass through up to seven layers of middlemen, each adding a hefty markup. KATHMANDU, JULY 12 Qatari Riyal 33.12

Australian Dollar 83.83 KRISHANA PRASAIN been acting as a chain to supply goods The government has decided to allow KATHMANDU, JULY 12 in the market out of employment.” 42 repatriation charter flights with a Malaysian Ringit 28.27 According to Gauchan, traders say week-long extension to rescue Nepalis The government has moved to shorten that it will be difficult to sell goods stranded abroad. The deadline for the Saudi Arab Riyal 32.16 the supply chain for the welfare of and services in rural areas without a chartered flights ended on Sunday. Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank consumers with the Department of dealer, distributor, retailer and nation- The decision to extend the repatria- Commerce, Supply and Consumer al distributor. tion charter flights was taken by the Protection drafting regulations to “As consumers are being cheated all meeting of the Covid-19 Crisis Price Per tola limit the layers of intermediaries around, it is necessary to bring the Management Centre on Friday. bullion to three. regulations as soon as possible. The The goods and services sold in Consumer Protection Act is already Fine Gold Rs 92,100 Nepal normally pass through up to there, but the regulations are yet to be Nepal Airlines and seven layers of middlemen, each add- enacted.” Silver Rs 980 ing a hefty markup, forcing consum- Gauchan, who has been involved in Himalaya Airlines ers to pay unfairly high prices, accord- several market study teams, said the SoG urce: FENE OSIDA ing to a report issued by the chain of middlemen was created wil- have been permitted Department of Commerce, Supply and fully and was based on nepotism. Shares Consumer Protection. Normally, in the supply chain, a rela- to operate 16 Multi-layered supply chains are tive of the producer is the dealer or Nepse 1340.29pts 0.68% mostly seen in the trade of agricultur- distributor. “This layer increases the flights each. al goods. A product with a farm gate prices of goods, and an increased bur- highest GAINERS price of Rs10 ends up with a price tag den is being passed on to consumers.” SLBS SLBBL GMFBS MLBBL NICLBSL MFIL 9.98% 9.97% 9.93% 9.92% 9.89% 9.72% of Rs70 by the time it reaches the cus- He said that unnecessary market Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint tomer, says the report. layers were mostly found operating secretary at the Tourism Ministry, moderate GAINERS In most businesses, a product pass- without being registered with any said that as per the decision of the WOMI GLBSL RMDC SDESI ILBS SLBSL 9.32% 7.76% 7.5% 6.15% 6.06% 5.99% es from the manufacturer to the deal- government agency. “We found up to centre, rescue flights have been per- er, main distributor, national distribu- seven layers of middlemen in the mar- mitted from July 15 to July 21. The moderate LOSERS HPPL CLBSL MBL RHPC GRDBL NFS tor, local distributor, wholesaler and ket during our study,” said Gauchan. government has suspended regularly -2.22% -2.26% -2.27% -2.40% -2.67% -2.83% retailer before reaching the final user. Importers are also found having scheduled international and domestic

highest LOSERS As there are no regulations seven layers of middlemen, he said. flights until July 21. TRH RADHI GMFIL SHL JOSHI TMDBL to control the unnecessary layers of According to the department, a Nepal Airlines and Himalaya -3.51% -4.02% -4.51% -4.90% -5.55% -5.75% middlemen, the department said it study done of nine edible oil factories Airlines have been permitted to oper- had prepared a preliminary draft to shutterstock showed there were six layers of mid- ate 16 flights each. Similarly, Air lawfully determine the layers of mid- Multi-layered supply chains are mostly seen in the trade of agricultural goods. dlemen—a product goes from the pro- Arabia and FlyDubai have been per- dlemen in the distribution of essential ducer to the dealer or distributor, and mitted to operate 2 flights each and gasoline watch goods under the Consumer Protection “We have suggested legally recog- Essential consumer goods or servic- then passes through the wholesaler to Malaysia-based Malindo Air has Act 2018. nising the layers of middlemen to es means goods or services that semi-wholesaler and retailers before been granted permission to operate Yogendra Gauchan, former director make the market’s supply chain trans- may be bought or acquired primarily reaching the consumer. 4 flights. general of the Department of parent so that consumers can get qual- for personal, family or household A study done of two drinking water The tourism ministry has been fac- Commerce, Supply and Consumer ity goods and services at reasonable purposes. factories found that there were five ing criticism for allowing repatriation Protection who has been hired as an prices,” he said. The task force conducted discus- layers of middlemen in the jar and charter flights as a handful of firms expert member in the task force to According to the department, the sions with traders, wholesalers and bottled water business. have been charging exorbitant fares prepare the regulations, says the pre- list of essential goods and services is retailers regarding the multiple layers Similarly, in the medicine business, for passengers. liminary report has recommended also being revised as there are 29 list- before preparing the draft. there are five layers of middlemen; Travel trade entrepreneurs have having only three layers of middle- ed daily essential items. The proposed Traders have opposed the new regu- and in cement factories, there are six been saying that with more than two men between producer and consumer. regulations will also include stand- lations which seek to reduce the layers layers of middlemen. There are dozen chartered flights permitted The draft also includes recommen- ards of profit margin on essential of middlemen in the market, said four layers of middlemen in the steel daily, it would not make a difference if dations to fix the market price of all goods and services, accordion to the Gauchan. “They said that minimising business, according to the depart- regular passenger flights were allowed essential goods and services, he said. draft report. the layers will put many who have ment’s report. to resume. AliExpress Russia eyes $10 billion turnover by 2022-2023

India in talks with REUTERS ers on the platform to 50 percent by MOSCOW, JULY 12 2022-2023, adding that purchases from EU for trade deal, China now dominated business. He AliExpress Russia, an e-commerce also said the firm aimed for 50 million venture between Chinese online shop- customers a year. open to UK pact ping giant Alibaba and Russian part- The venture between Alibaba, the ners, said it was aiming for annual Russian Direct Investment Fund, turnover of $10 billion by 2022-2023, up mobile operator Megafon and internet from what analysts estimate is about firm Mail.Ru is one of several players $6 billion now. expanding in Russia’s 2 trillion rouble Chief Executive Dmitry Sergeev, ($28 billion) e-commerce market. who did not give details on current Experts from Moscow’s Higher turnover, told Reuters the company School of Economics estimated the could consider an initial public offer- volume of goods shipped to Russians ing (IPO) in three to four years, from abroad was worth $6.5 billion in although he called the existing share- 2019. A Russian Postal Service official holding structure “optimal”. said more than 90 percent of foreign “We are completely localising busi- shipments arrived from China, much REUTERS ness and are building a separate com- of it driven by online orders via Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Railways pany here,” Sergeev said in an inter- AliExpress Russia. and Minister of Commerce and Industry. view, adding that this meant improv- Sergeev said AliExpress Russia ing the Russian language search func- would invest in logistics in its effort to REUTERS tion and expanding the network of cut delivery times from China to 10 NEW DELHI, JULY 12 local sellers. days from as long as 20 days now, say- He said AliExpress Russia wanted ing this could be achieved with local post photo: KESHAV THAPA India has started trade talks with the to increase the share of Russian sell- Russian partners. Workers are seen at a construction site in Kathmandu. European Union (EU) and is open to dialogue with the United Kingdom for a free trade agreement, the trade min- ister said on Saturday, as Asia’s third largest economy looks for new mar- kets for its products. As beach towns open, businesses are short on foreign workers Piyush Goyal said that India is open to engage with the UK for a preferen- tial trade agreement with the ultimate ASSOCIATED PRESS al business that you can think in what- fill seasonal jobs in Myrtle Beach, he goal of a free trade agreement. BOSTON, JULY 12 ever part of the country has really said, and worries the ban will hurt the He is also in dialogue with the been hurt terribly hard by this,” fragile economy. European Union’s trade commission- At this time of the year, The Friendly Carchidi said. The ban has left season- “Our revenues are going to be down er for a deal that could start with a Fisherman on Cape Cod is usually al businesses scrambling to fill open- because we are cutting our hours and preferential trade agreement. He bustling with foreign students clear- ings just as economies are restarting. they will be down because we can’t added that the ultimate goal ing tables and helping prepare orders Many are forced to scale back hours open all the amenities that everyone here too would be to have a free trade of clam strips or fish and chips. and amenities or close completely. has,” he said. The shortage, however, agreement. But because of a freeze on visas, Patrick Patrick, who has relied has been eased somewhat by the pan- “We’re talking to the EU and I am in Janet Demetri won’t be employing the upon 10 to 15 J-1 visa holders to work demic’s continued impact on the tour- dialogue with the EU trade commis- 20 or so workers this summer. So as at his army navy surplus store in ism industry. sioner. I am looking for an early har- the crowds rush back, Demetri must Provincetown, Massachusetts, got In Myrtle Beach, bars, theatres and vest deal. Open to discussions on a work with nine employees for her res- none this year. He reduced the store’s larger venues are still shuttered and variety of subjects. It’s up to the UK taurant and market—forcing her to hours and isn’t offering dressing visitor numbers are down. Maine, too, and EU whoever picks up the gauntlet shutter the business twice a week. rooms or customer services. is not seeing widespread labour short- first,” Goyal said. “It’s really disturbing because “If you are in hospitality, accommo- age, since business is a fraction of Negotiations for a comprehensive we are really busy,” said Demetri. dations or restaurants and you truly what the state sees in a normal sum- free trade agreement between the EU “We can’t keep up once the doors have no staff, you can’t fake it,” said mer. Still, the visa ban adds another and India were suspended in 2013 after are open.” Patrick, who is also the local chamber layer of uncertainty for businesses six years of talks. The Trump administration ap/rss of commerce president. “We are fak- like the 145-bed Meadowmere, one of India pulled out of the announced last month that it was Mark Lazarus, the president and owner of Lazarus Entertainment Group, in South Carolina. ing it. We’re throwing merchandise on the largest hotels in Maine. It received Regional Comprehensive Economic extending a ban on green cards and the floor and letting customers walk only half of its requested H-2B visas Partnership last year due to fears over adding many temporary visas to the said Mark Krikorian, executive direc- summer. Companies also face the chal- on it and hopefully, they buy it. You and likely won’t be getting seven or China’s access to its markets and is freeze, including J-1 cultural exchange tor of the Center for Immigration lenge of convincing unemployed can’t do that in a restaurant.” eight J-1 student visas. looking for new ways to boost its visas and H-2B visas. Businesses from Studies, which advocates for restric- workers, many who are still collecting In Myrtle Beach, businesses only Other businesses are soldiering on exports. forestry to fisheries to hospitality tions. “Those jobs are already mostly federal benefits, to take a job in the got a fraction of the 3,000 J-1 and H-2B and adjusting to the new reality. The country has also been raising depend on these visas, though done by Americans whether it’s land- hospitality industry amid a pandemic. visas they were expecting, according In Hampton, New Hampshire, busi- trade barriers to block cheap imports there are exceptions for the food pro- scaping, making beds or scooping ice Rising housing prices as well as a lack to Stephen Greene, president & CEO nesses have hired relatives and are from China and replace them with cessing sector. cream. The employers are just going of child care amid the pandemic also of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality working longer hours. Some were able locally made goods for domestic con- The move was billed as a chance to to have to up their game in recruit- pose hurdles. Association. to hire local students to replace the sumption and exports. free up 525,000 jobs to Americans hard ment because there are 20 million Mark Carchidi, whose company Mark Lazarus, the president and visa holders. “Apart from pharmaceuticals, hit by the economic downturn, though people who are unemployed whom Antioch Associates USA II Inc. pro- owner of Lazarus Entertainment “I have a group of kids now that are we have textiles, handicrafts, leather, the administration provided no evi- they could be drawing from.” cesses paperwork for H-2B visas on the Group, employs 1,000 workers at his 17-years-old replacing the J-1s who furniture, industrial machinery, dence to support that. Supporters of Hardest hit by the ban are beach East Coast, said businesses he works three theme parks. About 150 of those hopefully will be here for the next five toys are areas where India can engage immigration reform have hailed communities and mountain getaways with were counting on an additional are usually J-1 visa holders but years,” said Tom McGuirk, who owns with UK & EU at competitive prices,” the move and insisted it should be up and down the East Coast from parts 30,000 visas this year beyond the 66,000 none came this year. As a result, he a hotel and restaurant and was Goyal said. easy to find Americans to bus tables of New Hampshire to Myrtle Beach, already allowed under the programme. has cut his hours and reduced the able to replace seven J-1 visa In the last six years Prime Minister and sell souvenirs at popular tourist South Carolina. More than 108,000 J-1 summer work number of cashiers. workers with teenagers who worked Narendra Modi’s government has destinations. Businesses said they want to hire travel visas were issued last year, Lazarus agrees with Trump’s in shuttered movie theatres and been trying to push exports through “The work that people on H-2B visas Americans but are in regions with according to the State Department, efforts to crackdown on illegal immi- camps. “That is exactly what we have various programmes like “Make in do or on J-1 summer work travel is not tiny labour pools that are no match for but only 1,787 so far this year. gration but admits the J-1 ban “baffles been missing from the market for the India” but with limited success. something that is alien to Americans,” the millions of tourists visiting each “Any seasonal resort area or season- me.” There aren’t enough students to past few years.”

C M Y K 07 | MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 world Briefing Coronavirus surge in Eastern Mueller defends Russia China raises flood alert probe, notes Stone is a felon to second highest level Europe causes new restrictions BEIJING/SINGAPORE: China raised its Associated Press flood response alert on Sunday to the Washington, July 12 second highest level as heavy rain Infections are also on the rise in India, which has the most cases after US and Brazil. battered regions along the Yangtze Former special counsel Robert River, with the eastern provinces of has over 18,000 confirmed infections Mueller sharply defended his investi- Jiangsu and Jiangxi among the worst and 382 deaths since March, with gation into ties between Russia and hit, state media reported. Flooding in health authorities warning that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential the Poyang county of Jiangxi pushed Serbian hospitals are almost full due campaign, writing in a newspaper water levels of Lake Poyang, China’s to the latest surge in cases. opinion piece on Saturday that the biggest freshwater lake, to above 74 Infections are also on the rise in probe was of “paramount impor- feet, a historical high and well India, which has the most cases after tance” and asserting that a Trump above the alert level of 64 feet). By the United States and Brazil, with a ally, Roger Stone, “remains a convict- Saturday evening, provincial military record surge of 28,637 cases reported ed felon, and rightly so” despite the authorities had dispatched thousands in the past 24 hours as authorities president’s decision to commute his of soldiers to help bolster nearly announced a weeklong lockdown prison sentence. 9 km of the lake’s banks, state televi- beginning Tuesday in the key south- The op-ed in The Washington Post sion said. China has a four-tier flood ern technology hub of Bangalore, marked Mueller’s first public state- control emergency response system, where the offices of top tech compa- ment on his investigation since his with level one representing the nies like Microsoft, Apple and Amazon congressional appearance last July. It AP/rss most severe. are located. represented his firmest defence of the Robert Mueller South Korea has also reported an two-year probe whose results have Hong Kongers cast ‘protest’ uptick in infections around Seoul, its come under attack and even been capital, and other major cities, with 44 partially undone by the Trump Op-ed Mueller’s first vote against new security laws new cases over the past 24 hours. administration, including the presi- HONG KONG: Hundreds of thousands The pandemic is also affecting elec- dent’s extraordinary move on Friday public statement on of Hong Kong citizens queued to cast tions in Europe. evening to grant clemency to Stone ballots over the weekend in what the In Poland, which is holding a runoff just days before he was due to report his investigation Chinese-ruled city’s opposition camp presidential vote Sunday between con- to prison. says is a symbolic protest vote servative incumbent Andrzej Duda, Mueller wrote that though he had since his Congress against tough national security laws and Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal, intended for his team’s work to speak directly imposed by Beijing. The pro-European Union mayor of for itself, he felt compelled to “respond appearance. unofficial poll will decide the strong- Warsaw, voters must wear masks and both to broad claims that our investi- est pro-democracy candidates to con- gloves, maintain social distancing and gation was illegitimate and our test Legislative Council elections in Ap/rss use hand sanitizer. They even can motives were improper, and to specific ated a void for others, including at the September, when they aim to ride a An Indian health worker collects nasal swab sample of a man at a Covid-19 testing centre in use their own pens to mark ballots. claims that Roger Stone was a victim Justice Department, to place their wave of anti-China sentiment Gauhati, Assam on Sunday. Ballot boxes are being disinfected reg- of our office. own stamp on his work. Even before stirred by the law to seize control for ularly and the polling stations are “The Russia investigation was of the report was released Attorney the first time from pro-Beijing rivals. Associated Press Ukraine, Belarus and practically ventilated. paramount importance. Stone was General William Barr issued a four- While the primaries are only for the Budapest, July 12 all of Asia, Africa and South and In the US, there has been an upturn prosecuted and convicted because he page summary document that Mueller opposition camp, observers are Central America—are banned from in coronavirus deaths, driven by fatal- committed federal crimes. He remains privately complained did not ade- watching closely as they say the turn- Countries in Eastern Europe are fac- entering, while Hungarian citizens ities in states in the South and West, a convicted felon, and rightly so,” quately capture the gravity of his out will serve as a test of broader ing rising waves of coronavirus arriving from those locations will with the seven-day rolling average for Mueller wrote. team’s findings. opposition to the law, which critics infections, leading to new restrictive have to stay quarantined for two daily reported deaths increasing from Mueller did not specify who was In the months since, Barr assigned say will gravely undermine the measures such as the mandatory weeks or until they test negative 578 two weeks ago to 664 on July 10— making the claims, but it appeared to a US attorney to investigate the ori- city’s freedoms. use of face masks in Croatia and trav- twice, 48 hours apart. still well below the heights hit in be an obvious reference to Trump, gins of the Russia probe, and the el bans or quarantines to be imposed Both Hungarians and foreigners April—according to an Associated who as recently as Saturday Justice Department moved to dismiss by Hungary. arriving from countries in the yellow Press analysis of data from Johns derided the investigation as this the criminal case against former Russia’s Nornickel reports Hungarian authorities said Sunday category—which includes, among oth- Hopkins University. “whole political witch hunt and the Trump administration national secu- that they would put countries in ers, Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania and A coronavirus death, when it Mueller scam.” rity adviser Michael Flynn even another fuel leak in Arctic three categories—red, yellow and Sweden, as well as Britain, Russia, occurs, typically comes several weeks The mere publication of the op-ed though Flynn pleaded guilty to lying MOSCOW: Russian mining giant green—based on their rate of new Serbia, Japan, China and the United after a person is first infected. And was striking for a former FBI director to the FBI about contacts with the Norilsk Nickel said on Sunday that coronavirus infections, and would States—will have to quarantine for experts predicted states that saw who was exceedingly tight-lipped dur- Russian ambassador during the around 45 tonnes of aviation fuel had impose restrictions, including entry two weeks, but will be allowed increases in cases and hospitaliza- ing the investigation, refusing to presidential transition period. That leaked from its pipeline in the Arctic. bans and mandatory quarantines, out if they test negative for the virus: tions would, at some point, see deaths respond to attacks by the president request is the subject of an ongoing Arctic environment security has been depending from which country people once for Hungarians, or two rise too. Now that’s happening. or his allies or to make public appear- court dispute. in the spotlight at Nornickel’s assets were coming from. negative tests 48 hours apart in the “It’s consistently picking up. ances explaining or justifying his The op-ed chronicled the basis for since another leak of 21,000 tonnes of “We see worrisome signs about an case of foreigners. And it’s picking up at the time you’d work. In his first public statement the Stone prosecution, with Mueller diesel from Nornickel’s power plant increase in the number of cases in the Romania announced a new high expect it to,” said William Hanage, a after the investigation’s conclusion, recounting how Stone had not only near the city of Norilsk on May 29. “A neighbouring countries, Europe and of infections on Saturday, with 698, Harvard University infectious diseas- Mueller said he intended for his 448- tampered with a witness but also lied pipeline owned by Norilsktransgaz the whole world,” said Gergely Gulyas, while 456 new cases were reported es researcher. page report to speak for itself. When repeatedly about his efforts to gain was depressurised while pumping Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief on Sunday. Researchers now expect deaths to he later testified to House lawmakers, inside information about Democratic aviation fuel in the area of Tukhard of staff. Serbia reported 354 new infections rise for at least some weeks, but he was similarly careful not to stray emails that Russian intelligence settlement,” Nornickel said in a state- Foreigners from countries in the on Saturday, although there have been some think the count probably will beyond the report’s findings or offer operatives stole and provided to ment. In about 15 minutes, there was red category—those with a high rate increasing doubts about the accuracy not go up as dramatically as it did in new evidence. WikiLeaks, which published them in a spill of 44.5 tonnes of fuel. (Agencies) of infections, including Albania, of the figures. Officially, the country the spring. But that buttoned-up approach cre- the run-up to the election. Israelis protest against government response to coronavirus

Reuters Israeli media said thousands attend- Tel Aviv, July 12 ed the rally. No official figure for the number of protesters was given. Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Unemployment in Israel has soared on Saturday in Tel Aviv, angered by to 21 percent since the country went what they say has been an inept gov- into partial lockdown in March and ernment response to the economic aid packages promised by the hits they have taken during the coro- government have been slow to come navirus crisis. through, frustrating Israelis who fear In keeping with restrictions on pub- they are on the verge of economic lic gatherings, police limited the num- collapse. ber of people allowed into Tel Aviv’s Alarmed by a new spike in Covid-19 Rabin square for the rally as nearby cases which surged after the economy streets filled with demonstrators began reopening, Prime Minister wearing face masks. Benjamin Netanyahu this week reim- “I have 40 workers with no income, posed a series of restrictions in a bid no money,” said Michal Gaist-Casif, to contain infections, shutting down a vice president of a sound and lighting slew of businesses again. company. With less than half of the $29 billion “We need the government to pump previously pledged in aid paid out in money until we’re back to normal. and anger building, Netanyahu We haven’t been working since mid- announced a new welfare package on March through April, May, June and Thursday, saying the measures would AP/rss July, and August is looking to be a provide an economic safety net for the US President Donald Trump wears a mask as he walks down the hallway during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on Saturday. catastrophe.” coming year. This is the first time that he has been spotted wearing a mask in public. Trump, Biden try to outdo each other on tough talk on China

Associated Press asking themselves whether Trump or little to raise Trump’s poll numbers. on China for supplies—something Washington, July 12 Biden can best defend the US against The Trump campaign credits the that drew attention during the scram- China’s unfair trade practices, theft of president with signing the first phase ble for protective gear for US health China has fast become a top election intellectual property rights, rising of a trade deal with China in January, workers. One more line of off-and-on issue as President Donald Trump and aggression across the globe and which boosted stock markets and attack by Trump, despite no proof of Democrat Joe Biden engage in a ver- human rights abuses. seemingly ended a bruising trade war. impropriety, involves the business bal brawl over who’s better at playing “Which person looks more Republicans want to tether Biden to ties that Biden’s son, Hunter, has had the tough guy against Beijing. subservient to the Chinese leaders is past multinational agreements and with China. The Trump campaign put out ads the person who’s in more jeopardy,” trade deals blamed for an exodus of The Biden campaign is working to showing Biden toasting China’s Xi Luntz said. manufacturing jobs across the portray Trump as someone who talks Jinping, even though Trump did just As the coronavirus spread through- Midwest. Trump campaign officials tough but has failed to hold China that with Xi in Asia and hosted the out the US, a Pew Research Center poll believe they missed that opportunity accountable for its response to the Chinese leader at his Florida club. in March found Americans with in trying to wrest Midwest states from virus and has signed only the first Spots from the Biden campaign fea- increasingly negative views of China, the Democrats in 2016. phase of a trade deal. The campaign ture Trump playing down the corona- with 66 percent saying they had an The White House lists more than says that while that deal was being virus and praising Xi for being trans- unfavourable opinion. That was the two dozen actions the administration negotiated, Trump was saying that parent about the pandemic, even most negative rating since the ques- has taken since April to protect US Covid-19 would “miraculously” be though it’s clear China hid details of tion was first asked in 2005. The same jobs, businesses and US supply chains gone in April and now it’s July the outbreak from the world. poll found 62 percent of Americans from damage caused by the Chinese and cases are surging and the death “I think it’s going to be absolutely calling China’s power and influence a Communist Party’s policies. That toll rising. critical, but I don’t know who is going major threat to the US compared with includes last week’s move to impose “Trump said he’d get tough on to have the advantage,” said 48 percent two years ago. sanctions on Chinese officials for China,” one of Biden campaign ads Republican pollster Frank Luntz. He Trump’s advisers see China as an their roles in repressing religious and says. “He didn’t get tough. He got has been reviewing the ads and thinks opportunity to portray Biden as defer- ethnic minorities. More than a few played.” China is one of the three leading ential to Beijing when he was administration officials have recently The Biden camp highlights other issues along with the economy and the President Barack Obama’s vice presi- delivered speeches calling out China’s Trump vulnerabilities on China that handling of the coronavirus. dent and point person on Asia, accord- policies. surfaced in former national security China is not just a foreign policy ing to three campaign officials and That message could strike a chord adviser John Bolton ‘s new book, issue in the November election. It’s an Republicans close to the White House. with the increasing number of which claims Trump urged Xi to AP/rss issue that runs deeply through the The campaign made a push in May to Americans who have an unfavourable increase Chinese purchases of soy- In this 2015 photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice President Joe Biden walk down the troubles with the virus, which tanked link Biden with China, complete with view of the Asian power. There also is beans and wheat to help him Trump red carpet on the tarmac during an arrival ceremony in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. the US economy. Voters also will be an advertising blitz, but the effort did rising concern about US dependence farm states in November.

C M Y K MONDAY, JULY 13, 2020 | 08 (C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053

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