WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR

Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 347 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 22.7 C -2.4 C Saturday, February 13, 2021 | 01-11-2077 Dhankuta Jumla ‘JUSTICE, JUSTICE, JUSTICE’ Fed up with inaction, women march to demand end to impunity

POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL Activists stage a rally at Bhadrakali, Kathmandu on Friday, demanding justice for victims of violence against women and end to all forms of discrimination against women.

SAMIKSHA BARAL been raped before being strangled. their safety and their rights,” Khatri told doing in her capacity. reported, but nothing has changed. From KATHMANDU, FEB 12 The Baitadi rape and murder incident the Post over the phone from Jajarkot. Women led the rally, dubbed “women’s villages to cities, we all are screaming, comes as a grim reminder of a similar Apart from leading protests, Khatri has march”, from Basantapur before it con- but it makes no difference to those in For the past week, Bijaya Khatri has been case more than two and a half years ago. been regularly organising programmes in verged at Bhadrakali. Their plan to march power in Singha Durbar and Baluwatar.” on the streets of Jajarkot–every day with- Nirmala Pant, 13, was found dead in local schools to encourage her friends to up to Singha Durbar was thwarted. Rising number of cases of violence out fail. She is joined by her friends and Kanchanpur on July 27, 2018. Police had speak up. “Justice. Justice. Justice,” the partici- against women and girls has been a cause some other campaigners. They want their concluded that someone had raped and She was on the streets of Jajarkot on pants chanted in the names of all the vic- for concern in Nepal, with rights activists calls to end violence against women and killed her. But the perpetrator(s) of the Friday as well, participating in a demon- tims of violence against women. constantly calling on the government to impunity to be heard. crime still remains unknown. stration demanding justice for the teen- “From the murder of Nirmala Pant to do something about it. “We won’t stop questioning and demand- The family of the Baitadi teenage girl, age girl from Baitadi and an end to vio- the similar recent incident in Baitadi, we Nepal Police records show that 2,144 ing justice,” said the 22-year-old youth who had gone to school never to return, lence against women. have not got justice yet. Every day, around cases of rape and 687 cases of attempted activist who has been leading protests in fears that the culprit(s) may go unpunished. And some 320 kilometres from her six-seven girls and women, some of them rape were reported in the fiscal year 2019- her hometown ever since a teenage girl in Khatri, a medical student in Bangladesh, home district, in the Capital Kathmandu, elderly, are raped,” said Hima Bista, an 20 alone, an increase from 1,480 cases of Baitadi was found dead on February 4. was equally active two years ago as well, hundreds of women, civil society mem- entrepreneur and women’s rights activist, rape and 727 cases of attempted rape in Based on the post-mortem report, police demanding justice for Nirmala. bers and rights activists held a mass rally, while addressing the rally at Bhadrakali. the previous fiscal year. have concluded that the 12th grader had “Girls and women must speak up for amplifying just what Khatri has been “These are merely numbers that are >> Continued on page 2 The legacy of the decade-long ‘people’s war’ Former fighters don’t deny the gains of the sacrifices but wonder whether the political achievements have indeed brought socio-economic transformation in the country.

leaders have held various ministerial portfolios in the last one and a half decades, but for many of those who were part of the war, life continues to be tough, said Darji. The Maoists launched their “peo- ple’s war” on February 13, 1996 to what they called establish “a rule of the proletariat”. The Maoists called for a secular republican state, and a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution. At the heart of their agenda was socio-political transfor- mation of the state. Darji does not say that the “people’s war” was a waste, as it helped bring massive changes in the society. But she denies that the state has achieved the desired socio-political changes. Bishwo Bhakta Dulal, a former Maoist leader, who deserted the Maoist party after Dahal decided to merge it with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s CPN-UML, said except the republic set-up, the Maoist war failed to achieve anything else. “Other political demands with which the party had waged the war– concerns and plight of peasants, workers, janajatis–are yet to be ful- POST FILE PHOTO filled in a true sense,” Dulal told the After the peace deal, 1,460 of the 19,600 Maoist fighters were integrated into the Nepal Army. Post. “Now the republican set-up and the already distorted secularism are TIKA R PRADHAN mainstream politics in 2006, Darji was also under threat from Oli.” KATHMANDU, FEB 12 one of hundreds of those who were Dulal has now joined hands with disqualified as Maoist fighters under former Maoist leaders Mohan Baidya, Laxmi Darji was 11 years old in 2000. It the verification by the United Nations Netra Bikram Chand and Rishi Kattel had been four years since the Maoists Mission in Nepal. When she returned and announced a “strategic united had launched the “people’s war”, an from a camp where the verification front” to fight for “people’s republic/ armed struggle against the state. process was conducted, all that she scientific socialism” which calls for When she joined in, she remembers had with her was the tag of “a minor.” shunning the existing parliamentary the older ones talking about “mukti She currently lives with her young- system. wa mrityu” (liberation or death), she er brother, who works as a security Baidya and Chand left Maoist party said. guard, in Koteshwor. in 2012, accusing Dahal of leaving the A few years later she was told that “I was probably the youngest to be “people’s war” halfway and deviating they were “fighting for a better life”. injured in the Maoist war–I had just from the Maoist ideology and forming “It took us a few years more to entered my teenage,” she said. She CPN-Maoist. Two years later, Chand understand what that ‘liberation or was injured twice during as many parted ways with Baidya and formed death’ refrain meant–or at least we battles with security forces—in 2003 in his own Nepal Communist Party, in thought we understood,” said Darji, Khimadi in Kailali district and in 2005 which he does not have the “Maoist” now 32. in Manma of Kalikot. tag, to launch “unified people’s revolu- The war, the struggle and the libera- Saturday marks the 25th anniversa- tion”. Kattel has his own Nepal tion dream, however, was short-lived. ry of the “people’s war” which ended Communist Party registered with the A year after the Maoists joined after at least 13,000 deaths and thou- Election Commission. sands of disappearances. After the party joined mainstream While the transitional justice politics, the Maoist movement lost process to deliver justice to the steam. Their demand of a new consti- victims of the armed conflict has tution through a Constituent been dragging on for the last 15 Assembly was fulfilled, but when it years, for people like Darji, who was promulgated in 2015, the society were part of the war and were was largely divided. Sections of the later disqualified, everything Nepali society opposed the constitu- looks bleak. tion. Bhattarai, one of the key figures Both of their top leaders– of the Maoist movement, left the party Pushpa Kamal Dahal and and broke away with Dahal a week Baburam Bhattarai–became after Nepal announced its new consti- prime ministers. Dahal led the tution. government twice. Many other >> Continued on page 2

C M Y K SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Draft directives to regulate social media Ministry of Social Development in give authorities power to define decency Sudurpaschim delays funds Provisions of the directives, to be enforced by the Department of Information Technology, are from the controversial Information Technology Bill which is in Parliament. for Saipal eye camp

BIJAY TIMALSINA on information technology law, said it will register themselves with the gov- Aryal criticised this provision say- KATHMANDU, FEB 12 is questionable that the provisions of ernment. This could potentially lead ing that it enables authorities to seek Delay in the release of total budget has led to a bill registered in Parliament are to bans on popular social media out- the personal information of social The Ministry of Communication and included in a directive. “The provi- lets in the country, they say. media users without court orders to non-payment of the expenses incurred in the management Information Technology has prepared sions of a bill are there to be discussed If it is proven that a registered do so. Further, as “public decency” a draft of the directive to regulate the in Parliament,” Aryal said.“The gov- social media has broken existing laws and “morality” are not clearly defined, and treatment of patients during the eye camp. use and registration of social media ernment can’t include such provisions and provisions included in the direc- the government can take action in the country. in a directive.” tive, its registration will be scrapped, against anyone critical to it by misus- The draft, seen by the Post, indi- the draft states. This provision corre- ing this provision, Aryal argues. cates that the government plans to sponds to Section 91 of the controver- Another provision states, “Any data bestow unrestrained authority to the Most provisions in sial Information Technology Bill, or information posted against existing Department of Information which had been criticised widely. laws or public decency and morality Technology to regulate social media, the draft correspond The draft directive mentions that must be deleted if asked to do so.” its operators, and users. the document has been prepared According to Aryal, such a provi- The draft, if implemented, will with those from under Section 79 of the Electronic sion gives the government the author- authorise the department to order Transaction Act, 2008. ity to delete any content it finds objec- social media companies to remove the Information However, advocate Pravin Subedi, tionable. “What is the definition of any post it deems inappropriate. It Technology Bill. an expert on laws related to informa- public decency and morality?” Aryal also states that social media compa- tion technology, argues that the asked. nies have to provide user data for Electronic Transaction Act doesn’t Moreover, the authority to define purposes of criminal investigation One of the provisions in the direc- recognise social media. “The such abstract concepts has been given even without an order from the court tive mentions that social media com- Electronic Transaction Act doesn’t to the department itself. to do so. panies need to be registered in Nepal say anything about social media,” “If any issue arises regarding the “The department may direct the if they want Nepalis to use their prod- Subedi said. “A directive cannot be implementation of the directive or operators of social media to delete any ucts. “Any individual (or company) issued on issues the Act doesn’t touch concerning the operation and use of posts [pertaining to activities] prohib- interested in operating a social media upon.” social media, it will be according to ited by the directive,” reads one of the company must register the social The directive also includes guide- the decision of the department as per provisions. media concerned with the Department lines for the operation of social media. existing laws,” says the draft. Most provisions in the draft corre- of Information Technology as per the “Necessary arrangements will be According to Aryal, such provisions spond with those from the controver- directive,” the draft says. “Social made to ensure posts aren’t unfavour- give authority to the ministry or the sial Information Technology Bill, media in operation before the enforce- able to public decency and morality,” government agency to come up with which was tabled in the Parliament in ment of the directive must register states one of the provisions. arbitrary decisions. February 2019 and approved by the themselves within three months after “Information, data, and particulars “This paves the way for the govern- House committee concerned in the rule comes into force.” demanded by any authorised institu- ment to order the deletion of any December by disregarding dozens of Industry experts say Nepal is a tion during investigations as per exist- social media post or take action amendment proposals. small market for global social media ing laws should be provided by the against anyone for their social media Advocate Baburam Aryal, an expert companies and it is unlikely that they social media operator.” posts,” he said. POST PHOTO: BASANTA PRATAP SINGH The District Hospital in Bajhang had conducted a free eye camp for the local residents of Saipal Rural Municipality at a total expenditure of Rs 5 million.

BASANTA PRATAP SINGH very uncomfortable situation.” BAJHANG, FEB 12 Chief District Officer of Bajhang The legacy of the decade-long ‘people’s war’ Kamalraj Bhandari, who coordinated Four months ago, a team of health the eye camp in Saipal, says he too has >> Continued from page 1 missions formed to look into war-era quent governments for proper imple- plights, but I often think about others workers reached Saipal Rural repeatedly requested the ministry to Today, Bhattarai faces the wrath the cases should complete their work at mentation of what the country who were part of the war but are liv- Municipality, a remote local unit in release the due payment to the hospi- most for the bloody “people’s war”, the earliest.” achieved because of the “people’s war”. ing a miserable life,” said Darji. Bajhang district, to conduct a free eye tal but he also has not received any which left many dead, disappeared Samjhana Gharti of Thawang in “Our major political objectives, save Darji used to receive Rs 12,400 per camp for the local residents. response. and maimed. Bhattarai, however, Rolpa lost her husband Dil Kumar some, were fulfilled. We were in the month as an allowance until last year. The District Hospital in Bajhang defends the need of the war. Pun, who was vice-commander of the phase of implementing them as we But Home Minister Ram Bahadur conducted the three-day camp at a “The people’s war was one of the Mangalsen First Brigade, in a battle continue to strengthen the constitu- Thapa, one of the prominent leaders total expenditure of Rs 5 million. Half A total of 643 historic events that brought signifi- with security forces Arghakhanchi tion,” said Janardan Sharma, a depu- during the Maoist war and of the total amount for the camp was cant changes in modern Nepal that Khanadaha on June 25, 2005. ty commander of the Maoist army Dahal’s comrade-in-arms, scrapped promised as financial assistance by individuals received ended the 250-year-old monarchy and Thawang, known as the hotbed of who served as minister twice. “But the allowance. the Ministry of Social Development in established a federal democratic the revolt, for the Maoists launched unfortunately due to the leadership Thapa is now with Oli even though Sudurpaschim. The hospital says the eye treatment in republic. And for the first time, the their war from here, celebrates who could not understand the spirit of Dahal left the party in December. Now ministry has so far released only Rs constitution was promulgated through February 13 every year organising the people’s war, there were serious Oli of late has been trying to woo 1.5 million out of the Rs 2.5 million the three-day camp. the Constituent Assembly,” Bhattarai different activities. obstructions in implementation.” some former Maoist fighters includ- promised. told the Post. “People have differing Gharti is currently close to the According to Sharma, since it took ing those who were disqualified. The delay in the release of the total views on certain incidents, but we Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal. a long time to complete the peace pro- Darji, however, has not joined in. budget by the provincial government Meanwhile, Raghuram Bista, secre- should consider this as the continua- “I won’t say the country did not cess, many fighters are still having According to analysts, Maoist lead- has led to non-payment of the expens- tary at the Ministry of Social tion of revolutions that happened in achieve anything from the people’s problems. ers, including Dahal and Bhattarai, es incurred in the management and Development in Sudurpaschim the country.” war. But the question is whether these “But the party will look into their are to be blamed as they could not treatment of patients during the eye Province, says the ministry promised On the miserable lives of some for- [political] achievements mean any- issues,” said Sharma. institutionalise the Maoist movement. camp. The hospital has made repeated more than it could deliver. mer fighters, Bhattarai, who current- thing to the working class people,” After seven years, around 1,460 Nor could they come up with concrete attempts to reach out to the ministry “The ministry does not have the ly chairs the federal council of the said Gharti, who herself was a Maoist Maoist fighters, of the 19,600 total, plans to reform the existing political for the release of the budget, says Dr budget. We organised a large project Janata Samajbadi Party, said as per fighter. “I cannot find any solace any- were integrated into the Nepal Army. setting, hence they failed to bring sig- Sandip Okheda, chief at the District without managing funds for it,” said the 2006 Comprehensive Peace where. How is my husband’s sacrifice Many former Maoist leaders admit nificant changes in the lives of the Hospital in Bajhang. Bista. “But we are working towards Agreement, it’s now the responsibility justified?” that a section of the Maoists started to general people, according to them. “I visited the ministry four times solving the issue. It will take some of the state to look after the fighters. As transitional justice continues to behave like those they once fought. “They [the Maoist leaders] forgot, with a letter. Even the chairman of the time but the outstanding amount will “But due to the delay in concluding be on the backburner and former According to them, for Dahal, his they became negligent about those Hospital Development Committee had be paid to the hospital.” the peace process, they are having Maoist fighters struggle, Maoist lead- pressing issue is not the goal of the who made sacrifices for them” said gone to the ministry to request for the According to Krishna Subedi, min- trouble,” said Bhattarai. “The com- ers blame other parties and the subse- “people’s war” but power. Hari Roka, a political economist. “The release of the remaining budget but ister of Social Development in A little over two years Maoist movement lost its way. Many we still haven’t received the amount,” Sudurpaschim Province, he has after forming the Nepal of those who fought for the Maoist said Okheda. The hospital has not directed the secretary to release the Communist Party, Dahal leaders are living a miserable life… been able to pay Simrik Air for 36 hel- amount soon. fell out with Oli. Ever some landed in the Gulf and icopter flights made to transport “The payment will be done within a since Oli dissolved the Malaysia.” equipment, medical supplies, health few days,” said Subedi. House on December 20, But for people like Darji and Gharti, workers and people’s representatives A total of 643 individuals had Dahal, along with Oli’s there are hardly any options. Now from Chainpur, the district headquar- received eye treatment, including cat- long-time bete noire they believe all politicians are the ters of Bajhang, to Saipal. aract surgery, in the three-day camp Madhav Kumar Nepal, has same and they say they have no hope According to Okheda, the hospital while 891 had received various health been busy protesting on and expectations from the top leaders has already written a letter to the min- services on their doorsteps. the streets. Darji said she at whose orders they once were ready istry seven times but to no avail. “We A team from Tilganga Institute often finds herself at her to die. are also making regular phone calls of Ophthalmology had performed wit’s end and wonders “What to expect from them now?” but the ministry has not paid any eye treatment in Saipal. Likewise, how her leaders’ big said Darji. “But there is nothing I can heed,” he said, adding that those who 40 health workers, including nine dreams of social justice, do. I don’t know where to go and what had provided their services during the medical specialists from Seti Provincial equity and equitable soci- to do. We were told we were fighting eye camp have started asking for pay- Hospital, had provided various ety just failed. for a better life, but look at my life now. ments. “They are making phone calls health services including lab tests in “I have my personal I have to borrow just to survive.” on a daily basis. This has put us in a the camp. ‘JUSTICE, JUSTICE, JUSTICE’ >> Continued from page 1 ing issues,” Mohna Ansari, a former commis- the rising incidents of rape in the country. According to police records, nearly 8,000 cases sioner at the National Human Rights Ministers continued to make irresponsible of rapes and 3,100 attempted rapes were reported Commission, told the Post. “Political parties and statements, at times even describing the protests in the last five years when about 60,000 cases of state apparatus are apathetic when it comes to demanding justice for Nirmala as a conspiracy domestic violence were registered. addressing cases of violence against women.” against the government and the ruling party. “[But] the people tend to forget everything Friday’s women’s march in Kathmandu, In December 2018, when police were strug- when they get to power,” said Bista, also the exec- organised as part of the ongoing Brihat Nagarik gling to find a proper lead to solve the Nirmala utive director of WomenLead, an organisation Andolan, a campaign for justice, equity and Pant case, Oli’s close confidante Ishwor Pokharel, that provides leadership training to young democracy, saw a huge number of participants, who was deputy prime minister and Nepali women. “This is a larger citizens’ move- including students and artists as well as the cam- defence minister at the time, proclaimed that the ment and this movement says we don’t want an paigners who have been protesting against culprits had been identified and would be made authoritarian regime.” Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s House dissolu- public soon. Participants at Friday’s women’s march tion move. Ansari, the former human rights commission- came down heavily on the government for its Protesters also put up a play and recited er, said not much has changed when it comes to failure to nab the culprits in Nirmala’s case even poems which tried to explain why they have issues related to women. after two years. taken to the streets. “It is said that even if one human rights “The state has failed us. While women and Rights activists say authorities in Nepal have violation case goes unaddressed, then it can girls are worried about their safety, those in historically paid little attention to women issues have huge repercussions in the future,” said power enjoy multiple layers of security,” said and people in power, including ministers, often- Ansari. “I must say that the government has Prakriti Bhattarai Basnet, a youth activist. times make condescending and ludicrous failed to control violence against women and “Those elected to serve the people have failed to remarks on issues of rape and violence against also failed to stop killings of younger girls in the protect the citizens… they have made a mockery women, reflecting their insensitivity and lack of country.” of democracy.” concern over matters concerning women. Far in Jajarkot, Khatri was planning more Rights activists point at multiple reasons for Instead of implementing laws and making the demonstrations to demand justice for the Baitadi women and girls not getting justice in Nepal. agencies tasked with dealing with cases of vio- teenage girl and all others who have fallen vic- Nepali girls and women who report rape face an lence against women, some ministers in the tims to sexual and domestic violence. insensitive police force that is heavily male and incumbent Oli government, however, employed She regretted that she could not make it to the woefully undertrained when it comes to dealing distractive approaches and made such decisions women’s march in Kathmandu, but she said her with survivors of sexual violence, according to and statements that defy logic. determination to fight for justice and against them. Insensitivity continues in cases where In September 2018, when protests were discrimination and violence faced by women has women and girls are murdered after rape. ongoing to demand justice for Nirmala, the not faded. There’s an utter lack of sincerity among author- Ministry of Communication and Information “We could not go to Kathmandu to participate ities, including the police department, when it Technology, in an unusual move, decided to ban in the march, but we will continue our march comes to investigating rape cases, say rights porn sites, in what it said an attempt to combat here at our level,” said Khatri over the phone. defenders and women’s rights activists. Nirmala sexual violence. “It’s really sad that we have to take to the streets Pant is an example of how the Nepali state has As a national outpouring of anger continued to demand that our fundamental rights be failed girls and women, according to them. demanding justice for Nirmala–the government upheld. The Nepali state has started treating us “Violence against women is deep-rooted in our was on the backfoot for making a spectacular women and girls as second-class citizens. But society. Incidents of violence have been going on bungling in the investigation–Home Minister we will continue to speak up unless justice is since long. We have failed to address the underly- Ram Bahadur Thapa blamed capitalism behind delivered.”

C M Y K 03 | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 NATIONAL

BRIEFING

Bakaiya declared child-friendly rural municipality HETAUDA: Bakaiya Rural Municipality in Makwanpur district has been declared a child-friendly local unit. Chief Minister of Bagmati Province Dormani Paudel made the declara- tion amid a function on Thursday. According to Bakaiya chairman Damodar Khanal, the rural munici- pality has achieved hundred percent success in 19 indicators and 98 per- cent success in the remaining 20 indi- cators set by the Child-Friendly Local Governance Operational Guidelines.

2,702 quake victims to be removed from beneficiary list GORKHA: The district project imple- mentation unit of the National Reconstruction Authority in Gorkha has recommended removing 2,702 earthquake victims from the list of beneficiaries for housing reconstruc- tion aid. According to Ramsharan Acharya, chief at the unit, those ben- eficiaries who have not signed a con- tract agreement for their house’s reconstruction are to be removed from the list. “We have sent the details of those people to the centre. A formal decision from the centre is yet to come,” he added.

Police units get 18 new building HETAUDA: Bagmati provincial govern- ment has constructed 18 new build- ings for various police units in 10 dis- tricts after the previous buildings were demolished in the 2015 earth- quake. Madan Bhujel, secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said 28 other buildings are also under construction in various districts of POST PHOTO: PRAKASH TIMILSENA the province. Women take part in Sonam Lhosar celebrations near Bhadrakali, Kathmandu on Friday. Various communities, including Nepal’s Tamang community, celebrate the festival as the beginning of the lunar new year. Centenarian Satya Two years after shortening public holiday Mohan Joshi, wife to list, government starts adding to it again donate their body for Officials are calculating potential political benefits while taking decisions on holidays, critics say. research after death

BINOD GHIMIRE granted a public holiday on January 14 for according to its members. ment of republicanism, secularism, federal- If researchers find clues to longevity, it KATHMANDU, FEB 12 Maghi or Makar Sakranti festival observed “The decision on national public holidays ism, and proportional representation.” by the Tharu community and the Hindus. should be taken based on a proper study,” Meanwhile, the government has would be beneficial to public, he says. The government in March 2018 reduced the Similarly, the government announced a Shanta Raj Subedi, a former government announced that all the holidays axed in 2018 number of national public holidays by 15 national holiday on Friday on the occasion secretary and a member of the Dahal-led will now be incorporated back into the calen- days saying that it was necessary to increase of Gyalbo and Sonam Loshar. committee, told the Post. “However, holidays dar. Speaking at a programme to mark the number of working days to help the gov- Arguing that Nepal is among the countries are being announced on an ad-hoc basis Sonam Loshar in the Capital on Friday, ernment serve the people better and attain with the most number of public holidays, the without furnishing any explanation.” Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur the government’s goal of high economic Dahal committee in 2013 had suggested cut- People from various communities that Thapa said the Cabinet will soon pass a deci- growth. ting down the number of public holidays. received a national holiday to celebrate their sion to announce this. “We will reinstate all The Oli government slashed the number “We had suggested correcting the practice of festivals have also objected to the govern- holidays removed from the calendar earlier,” of holidays to 89 from 104 based on recom- giving unnecessary holidays. It was neces- ment’s ad hoc decision. he said. mendations from the Administrative Reform sary to improve the delivery of public servic- Nepal Federation of the Indigenous Subedi said that governments are calculat- Advice Committee led by Kashi Raj Dahal, es,” said Dahal. “The government began Nationalities, in a statement on the occasion ing potential political benefits while taking a former chairperson of the Administrative implementing our recommendations partial- of Gyalbo and Sonam Loshar, said they are call on issues related to holidays. Every year, Court. ly from 2018.” closely watching the arbitrary decision of the government prepares a list of national As per the government decision, all civil In 2018, the government axed the national the government to axe or add holidays dur- public holidays a few months before the servants would get 67 days of public holidays public holiday on the occasion of Loshar and ing festivals celebrated by indigenous com- beginning of the Nepali New Year. However, in a year. A total of 22 more days was said only those who celebrate the festival munities. there is a tendency among officials to not POST FILE PHOTO reserved for special occasions celebrated by will get the holiday. “The government is taking immature deci- stick to it. Described by many as a ‘renaissance man’ Joshi has over 60 various ethnic and religious groups. The committee suggested that the number sions regarding public holidays for festivals “The government may be announcing books on music, history, culture and literature to his name. However, two years later, the government of national holidays be limited after conclud- celebrated by members of the indigenous national holidays to appease people from has revoked its own decision to reduce the ing that as the country was adopting federal- communities,” reads the statement. “We certain communities,” he said. “While mak- ANUP OJHA number of holidays as it has started grant- ism, the provinces or the local governments would like to draw the attention of the gov- ing such decisions, the government answers KATHMANDU, FEB 12 ing public holidays on one occasion after concerned can announce holidays for festi- ernment towards the contribution and sacri- why a certain day qualifies for a public holi- another. Unlike in the previous years, it vals or cultural events observed locally, fice of the indigenous people in the attain- day, and another doesn’t.” At a programme organised by Nai Prakashan in Kathmandu on Friday, celebrated historian and cente- narian Satya Mohan Joshi made an announcement for the “betterment of humanity” and to “make the world a better place to live in.” Joshi, 101, and his wife Radha, 96, announced that Malaysian social security scheme to enrol Nepali migrants the couple would donate their bodies to a medical col- lege after their death. “Death is inevitable, and there are certain rituals from birth to death,” said Joshi, With the Nepali embassy signing a memorandum of cooperation next week, nearly 500,000 workers will be covered under the scheme. described by many as a “renaissance man” with over 60 books on music, history, culture, and literature, to his CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL cremated there, the family will get financial name. KATHMANDU, FEB 12 support of 2,000 Malaysian Ringgit for “But after my death, I want my body to be examined funeral services,” said Shrestha. “If the to understand how I could survive up to this age, so that Nepali migrants living and working in worker’s body needs to be repatriated home, others may also benefit from the knowledge,” said Malaysia and their families back home will the family will get RM 6,500 for repatriation Joshi who turned 101 on May 12 last year. soon be covered under the Malaysian govern- expenses.” The Joshi couple, along with their son Anu Raj ment’s comprehensive social security Enrolling Nepali workers under the social signed an agreement with Kist Medical College to hand scheme. security scheme is also crucial as a high over the couple’s body to the hospital for further The enrollment of tens of thousands of number of deaths is reported among Nepali research after their death. Nepali workers under a scheme run by the workers in Malaysia. “I am not against my culture, religion, and philoso- Malaysian Social Security Organisation According to the Foreign Employment phy. I take it as a part of life. But it has to be followed (SOCSO) became possible after the Nepal Board, of the 7,467 Nepalis who have died with some reforms,” said the veteran writer, historian, government decided to authorise its Foreign while working abroad in the last 11 years, and cultural expert at the function on the premises of Employment Board to sign an agreement 2,672 of them died in Malaysia, also one of Lalitpur Metropolitan City’s office.. with Malaysian officials to do so. the most preferred labour destinations for Joshi said he has a special bonding with Kist Medical Nepali workers getting to enroll in a social Nepalis. College, ever since he underwent a hernia surgery security scheme abroad is a “milestone” According to the Migration in Nepal there a while ago. moment for the country’s labour migration report, there are an estimated 500,000 Nepali In May 2019, Lalitpur Metropolitan City organised a sector, said Rajan Prasad Shrestha, the migrants in Malaysia, the highest among function to mark his birth centenary and announced a board’s executive director. “For a labour destination countries. public holiday to mark the occasion. In September that source country like Nepal, which sends its “Nepali workers getting benefits from the year, Nepal Rastra Bank unveiled three new coins of citizens to work abroad, getting its people Malaysian government’s social security pro- denominations Rs 100, Rs 1,000, and Rs 2,500 to com- registered under the host country’s social gramme will help the Nepal government memorate his centenary. security scheme is a significant develop- seek similar protection from other destina- Dr Suraj Bajracharya, professor and Head of the ment,” he added. tion countries such as Saudi Arabia and Department of Kist Medical College, said this is an A meeting of the Cabinet this week author- PREUTERS Qatar during government to government exemplary move and that this is going to be an eye-open- ised the government agency that oversees Foreign workers wait in line to be tested for Covid-19 outside a clinic in Kajang, Malaysia. discussions,” said Shrestha. “We can also er for everyone. “The college signed an agreement to the foreign employment sector to sign a make other labour destination countries perform his regular check-ups. We are also conducting memorandum of cooperation with Malaysian Nepali officials are counting on the to contribute an amount equivalent to 1.25 accountable for our workers’ welfare and research on his longevity,” said Dr Professor Balman officials concerned to launch the registra- Malaysian government scheme to protect percent of the worker’s monthly salary to safety.” Singh Karki of Kist Medical College. tion of Nepali workers under the scheme. workers in the Southeast Asian country, con- SOCSO every month. The Malaysian social With the Cabinet’s approval, Nepal’s It’s not just his longevity, his prolific works in litera- “We are yet to see how it will be imple- sidered one of the most unsafe destinations security scheme covers employees in the embassy in Kuala Lumpur will sign the ture, and his active engagement in different functions mented, but with the Malaysian govern- for Nepali workers. The scheme protects event of workplace injuries, occupational agreement with the Malaysian government where he still prefers to go on foot, also awe the public. ment’s social security scheme implemented, Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia and diseases, and accidents during work-related in the coming week, according to Shrestha. For Joshi it’s simple. He says he refrains from negativ- employers and the host government will be their families in Nepal in case of accident, travels. The foreign employment board will be ity and never “complains”, but “contemplates.” more responsible towards the welfare of sickness, and death. Once enrolled under the scheme, a family responsible for the verification of data on “Joshi’s contribution to Nepali literature is immense; Nepali workers.” “The social security system comes with member—spouse, parents, or offspring migrant workers and their families and the he is a living legend. The announcement he made today Negotiations over the memorandum of excellent schemes for protecting our work- under 21 years of age—of the deceased transfer of funds to the concerned families. adds another milestone to his life,” said Chiri Babu cooperation for enrolling Nepali workers ers. It pledges financial support and medical migrant worker will receive an amount “Besides, the social security scheme pro- Maharjan, mayor of the city. under the scheme had been going on for sev- assistance for both short and long-term disa- equivalent to 90 percent of his or her month- tects our workers and it also imparts a mes- Indira Prasai, chairman of Nai Prakashan who has eral months, but the Covid-19 pandemic had bilities and lifetime financial support to the ly salary for the rest of their life. sage to Nepali migrants that they should been promoting Joshi’s work and facilitated Friday’s delayed the progress. dependent family members in Nepal in case Likewise, migrant workers will also be always migrate through formal channels and programme compared Joshi with the sage Dadhichi, a In 2019, the Malaysian government made it a worker dies,” said Shrestha. “The scheme, eligible for financial assistance in case of remain documented,” said Shrestha. “If they central character in Hinduism who sacrificed his life mandatory for all its employers to register at least, guarantees that our workers will temporary disablement. For permanent disa- do not turn undocumented, they will not for the good of the world. the country’s 1.8 million foreign labour force remain safe and will be protected in case of blement, the worker and family member only get coverage from the Malaysian gov- “In Nepal, we do not see people donate one’s body for with the Malaysian Social Security any workplace accidents.” concerned will be entitled to lifetime bene- ernment’s scheme but also receive support research or organ transplant. Joshi’s announcement Organisation and contribute to the employ- As per the contribution-based welfare fits. from the Nepal government’s Foreign serves as an example for all of us to follow,” ment injury scheme. scheme, Malayasian employers are required “If a worker dies in Malaysia and has to be Employment Welfare Fund.” said Prasai.

C M Y K SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 | 04 WORLD

BRIEFING China’s Mars probe sends back video of BBC World News barred in mainland China Red Planet BEIJING: China barred Britain’s BBC World News from airing on Friday AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE and Hong Kong’s public broadcaster BEIJING FEB 12 said it was dropping the channel, a week after Britain’s media regulator China’s space agency released video revoked Chinese state television’s UK footage from its spacecraft circling broadcast licence. China’s National Mars on Friday, two days after it suc- Radio and Television Administration cessfully entered the planet’s orbit in said an investigation found BBC Beijing’s latest ambitious space mis- World News’ China-related reports sion. had “seriously violated” regulations, In the video, published by state including that news should be “truth- broadcaster CCTV, the surface of the ful and fair”, had harmed China’s planet is seen coming into view out of interests and undermined national a pitch black sky against the outside unity. The channel, therefore, did not of the Tianwen-1, which entered the meet requirements for foreign chan- orbit of the Red Planet on Wednesday. nels broadcasting in China and its White craters are visible on the application to air for another year planet’s surface, which fades from would not be accepted, it said. Radio white to black through the video as Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the the probe flies over the course of one publicly funded broadcaster in the Martian day, said official news agency former British territory, said sepa- Xinhua. rately on Friday it was suspending the relay of BBC news programming from Friday, following Beijing’s deci- sion. English-language BBC World White craters are News is not included in most TV channel packages in mainland China, visible on planet’s but is available in some hotels and homes. Two Reuters journalists in surface as the probe Beijing said the channel had gone flies over its course blank on their screens. AFP/RSS Women wearing traditional outfits chat at a park on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Ox in Yokohama, Japan on Friday. on one Martian day. Biden to bring in asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico The five-tonne Tianwen-1—which WASHINGTON: The US government translates as “Questions to Heaven”— next week will begin to gradually pro- includes a Mars orbiter, a lander and a cess asylum seekers forced to wait in solar-powered rover and launched India, pharmacy of the world, falls from southern China last July. Mexico under a controversial pro- gram put in place by former It is the latest step in Beijing’s space President Donald Trump, officials programme, which aims to establish a said. The moves are part of a plan by crewed space station by 2022 and even- the administration of President Joe behind on vaccinations at home tually put an astronaut on the moon, Biden to end the program, known as and has opened up a new, extraterres- the Migrant Protection Protocols Only 7.5 million frontliners have been vaccinated—a rate at which it would take several years to reach the country’s goal. trial arena for US-China competition. (MPP), an effort complicated by the Tianwen-1 launched around the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and same time as a rival US mission, and concerns over illegal immigration. REUTERS ply of vaccines is not a rate-limiting erate vaccinations after a review shot developed by Bharat Biotech in is expected to touch down on the sur- The Trump administration launched NEW DELHI, FEB 12 step, but to meet the timelines set by found “substantial” room for improve- partnership with the state-run Indian face of the planet in May. the program in 2019 as part of a the government, we will have to ment, though the government thinks Council of Medical Research, as well Its success comes the same week as wide-ranging crackdown on the abili- India has won plaudits for gifting and immunise somewhere between 4 and 5 involving too many private players in as a vaccine licensed from AstraZeneca the United Arab Emirates’ “Hope” ty to seek asylum in the United selling Covid-19 vaccines around the times more people each day than we the campaign might be tricky. and Oxford University. probe also successfully entered Mars’ States, which Trump officials depict- world, but it will have to crank up the are doing today.” “Administering vaccines needs a Some doctors and the opposi- orbit—making history as the Arab ed as rife with fraud and meritless pace of immunisations at home to The government says it is ready to system because of the nature of the tion-ruled state of Chhattisgarh, how- world’s first interplanetary mission. claims. The initiative forced more meet its targets. step up vaccinations from next month, disease,” said a senior government ever, are worried about COVAXIN, Chinese scientists hope to land a than 65,000 non-Mexican asylum seek- Having reported the world’s sec- including by roping in more private official involved in the process, declin- which was approved last month for 240-kilogram (530-pound) rover in May ers back across the border to wait for ond-highest number of Covid-19 cases hospitals, once identified groups from ing to be named citing service rules. emergency use without any efficacy in Utopia, a massive impact basin on their US court hearings, although far after the United States, India wants to the general public are given the shots. “They have to take details of the data from a late-stage trial. Mars. Its orbiter will last for a Martian fewer are believed to still be in innoculate 300 million people - a fifth A government online vaccine plat- person taking it, record and monitor The health ministry has chastised year. Mexico. The Biden administration of its population - against the virus by form told Reuters it could handle 10 it.” India, which makes 60 percent of Chhattisgarh for “stoking inhibi- For the three-month study of the will begin by working to process August. million inoculations a day. all vaccines in the world, has gifted or tions” over vaccines during a pandem- planet’s soil and atmosphere, the mis- about 25,000 migrants with active However, in four weeks health work- The health ministry also says India sold Covid-19 shots to 17 countries and ic. India recorded 9,309 daily new sion will take photos, chart maps and claims in the programme. ers vaccinated only 7.5 million front- is the fastest to reach the 7 million has requests from five more. The gov- cases of Covid-19 on Friday, increas- look for signs of past life. line workers on priority, a rate at milestone, though immunisation rela- ernment, however, told Parliament ing the total number to 10.88 million The probe has already sent back its which it would take India several tive to population has been much this week it was coordinating with the cases since the pandemic began. first image of Mars—a black-and- Kim fires minister, blasts years to reach its goal. higher in many other countries. manufacturers to ensure adequate Deaths rose by 87 to a total of 155,447. white photo that showed geological “Vaccination programmes usually Several big Indian states, such as supplies for its own campaign. “In such unprecedented times, you features including the Schiaparelli Cabinet for unambitious plans start off slow and then ramp up as Tamil Nadu and Punjab, have covered It also says infrastructure such as should help address any vaccine hesi- crater and the Valles Marineris, a vast SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong logistic and operational issues are fewer than 40% of their high-risk peo- cold storage and special vehicles are tancy and do what’s in the best inter- stretch of canyons on the Martian Un sacked his economy chief, who sorted out,” said Gagandeep Kang, ple such as nurses, doctors and hospi- not an issue, while acknowledging est of people, not further vested inter- surface. was only appointed last month, and Professor of Microbiology at the tal cleaning staff, worrying the federal vaccine hesitancy among some benefi- ests!” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Mars has proved to be a challenging denounced his cabinet for a lack of Christian Medical College in Vellore. government. ciaries. said on Twitter in response to a letter target, with most missions since 1960, innovation in drafting goals for a new “In India, we are fortunate that sup- New Delhi has urged states to accel- India has deployed the COVAXIN from his Chhattisgarh counterpart. sent by Russia, Japan and India. five-year economic plan, state media reported on Friday. The ruling Workers’ Party wrapped up its four- day plenary meeting on Thursday, where Kim also mapped out his vision for inter-Korean affairs and Myanmar’s protesters back on the streets as US sanctions coup leaders relations with other countries, as well as party rules and personnel issues. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Mawlamyine, arresting at least five. Prisoners monitoring group. With the economy topping the YANGON, FEB 12 The UN opened an emergency Concerns are growing over a draft agenda, Kim reviewed action plans Human Rights Council with a warn- cybersecurity bill that grants the for his new five-year strategy which Huge crowds thronged cities around ing that any international response to regime power to order internet black- was unveiled at last month’s party Myanmar on Friday in a seventh the coup should avoid harming vul- outs and website bans. congress amid international sanc- straight day of protests demanding nerable people, after the Biden admin- The junta has already ordered tele- tions, a prolonged border closure and the return of ousted leader Aung San istration unveiled targeted sanctions coms to block Twitter and Facebook reduced outside aid due to the corona- Suu Kyi, after Washington announced against senior regime figures. and imposed a temporary nationwide virus pandemic. He accused the cabi- sanctions on the generals behind last With teachers, bureaucrats and air internet shutdown last weekend. net of drafting plans with “no big week’s coup. traffic controllers among the govern- Facebook called the situation in changes” from previous ones, which A torrent of anger and defiance has ment employees walking off the job Myanmar “an emergency” and he has said had “failed tremendously brought hundreds of thousands of this week to demand an end to junta announced it would reduce the reach on almost every sector.” The commit- people out in nationwide rallies rule, the new military leader Min of content published on pages run by tee appointed O Su Yong, a longtime demanding the country’s generals Aung Hlaing told striking workers to the military. economic policymaker, to be the new relinquish power. return to their offices. Suu Kyi has not been seen since she director of its Department of Demonstrations have so far largely More than 260 people have been was detained on February 1, the same Economic Affairs, replacing Kim been peaceful, but police fired rubber detained in the days since the coup day a new parliament was due to con- AFP/RSS Tu Il who was appointed in bullets on students while dispersing a and about 20 released, according to the vene, but NLD officials have said the A protester gives a ring to his fiancé as he proposes to her during a demonstration against January. (AGENCIES) sit-down protest in the city of Assistance Association for Political Nobel laureate was in “good health”. the military coup in front of the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Friday. Digital siege: Internet cuts become favoured tool of regimes

ASSOCIATED PRESS documenting efforts like his expand, November—the latest in a series of The risk is that regular shutdowns LONDON, FEB 12 he said. outages with no sign of service return- become normalized, said Toker. Last year there were 93 major inter- ing anytime soon. That’s made it chal- “You get a kind of Pavlovian When army generals in Myanmar net shutdowns in 21 countries, accord- lenging to know how many civilians response where both the public in the staged a coup last week, they briefly ing to a report by Top10VPN, a U.K.- have been killed, to what extent fight- country and the wider international cut internet access in an apparent based digital privacy and security ing continues or whether people are community will become desensitized attempt to stymie protests. In Uganda, research group. The list doesn’t starting to die of starvation, as some to these shutdowns,” he said, calling it residents couldn’t use Facebook, include places like China and North have warned. the “greatest risk to our collective Twitter and other social media for Korea, where the government tightly In Uganda, restrictions on social freedom in the digital age.” weeks after a recent election. And in controls or restricts the internet. media sites including Twitter, Internet shutdowns are also com- Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, Shutdowns can range from all-encom- Facebook and YouTube took effect mon in democratic India, where Prime the internet has been down for months passing internet blackouts to blocking ahead of a Jan. 14 presidential elec- Minister Narendra Modi’s govern- amid a wider conflict. social media platforms or severely tion, along with a total internet black- ment has increasingly used them to Around the world, shutting down throttling internet speeds, the report out on the eve of polling. Authorities target his political opposition. His the internet has become an increas- said. said it was to prevent opposition sup- Hindu nationalist government has ingly popular tactic of repressive and Internet cuts have political, eco- porters from organizing potentially ordered hundreds of regional shut- authoritarian regimes and some illib- nomic, and humanitarian costs, dangerous street protests. downs, according to a tracking site. eral democracies. Digital rights experts warned. The effects are exac- The social media curbs were lifted Most have been in disputed groups say governments use them to erbated by Covid-19 lockdowns that Wednesday, except for Facebook. Kashmir, which endured an 18-month stifle dissent, silence opposition voic- are forcing activities like school class- Longtime leader Yoweri Museveni, blockade of high-speed mobile service es or cover up human rights abuses, es online. who was facing his biggest challenge that ended last week. But they’ve also raising concerns about restricting The shutdowns play into a wider to power yet from popular sing- been deployed elsewhere for anti-gov- freedom of speech. battle over control of the internet. In AP/RSS er-turned-lawmaker Bobi Wine, had ernment demonstrations, including Regimes often cut online access in the West, efforts to rein in social This Jan 14 photo shows security forces patrol the streets on election day in Kampala, been angered by the social network’s massive farmers’ protests that have response to protests or civil unrest, media platforms have raised compet- Uganda. Residents haven’t been able to use social media since an election three weeks ago. removal before the vote of what it said rattled Modi’s administration. particularly around elections, as they ing concerns about restricting free were fake accounts linked to his party. “It used to be authoritarian govern- try to keep their grip on power by speech and limiting harmful informa- was suddenly restored. It’s a familiar move by Myanmar’s In Belarus, the internet went down ments who did this, but we are seeing restricting the flow of information, tion, the latter sometimes used by Norway’s Telenor ASA, which runs government, which carried out one of for 61 hours after the Aug. 9 presiden- the practice become more common in researchers say. It’s the digital equiva- authoritarian regimes to justify one of Myanmar’s main wireless car- the world’s longest internet shut- tial election, marking Europe’s first democracies such as India,” said lent of seizing control of the local TV clampdowns. riers, said the communications minis- downs in Rakhine and Chin states internet blackout. Service was cut Darrell West, a vice president of gov- and radio station that was part of the In Myanmar, internet access was try cited “circulation of fake news, aimed at disrupting operations of an after election results handed victory ernance studies at the Brookings pre-internet playbook for despots. cut for about 24 hours last weekend, in stability of the nation and interest of armed ethnic group. The cutoff began to authoritarian President Alexander Institution who has studied internet “Internet shutdowns have been an apparent bid to head off protests the public” in ordering operators to in June 2019 and was only lifted on Lukashenko but the vote was widely shutdowns. massively underreported or misre- against the army’s seizing of power temporarily shut down networks. February 3. seen as rigged and sparked enormous “The risk is that once one democra- ported over the years,” said Alp Toker, and the detention of leader Aung San Telenor said it had to comply with Another long-running internet protests. Access remained unstable cy does it, others will be tempted to do founder of internet monitoring organ- Suu Kyi and her allies. By Sunday local laws. “We deeply regret the shutdown is in Ethiopia’s Tigray for months, particularly around week- the same thing. It may start at the ization Netblocks. The world is “start- afternoon, internet users reported impact the shutdown has on the peo- region, which has been choked off end protests, when mobile internet local level to deal with unrest, but ing to realize what’s happening,” as data access on their mobile phones ple in Myanmar,” it said. since fighting started in early service repeatedly went down. then spread more broadly.”

C M Y K 05 | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 MONEY Palpa acts to revive hand-woven dhaka and rescue a local icon The training programme aims to turn out 1,500 dhaka entrepreneurs in three years, officials say.

MADHAV ARYAL dhaka fabric by hand. Tansen cies and organisations have been PALPA, FEB 12 Municipality has helped to save the active in maintaining the identity of handlooms. The United Nations Palpali dhaka cloth in recent times,” Sangita BK of Pipaldanda in Rambha Development Programme, Rural said Leela Bahadur Karki, executive rural municipality attended classes Economic Development Association director of the Rural Economic for three months to learn to weave has taught 16 women to weave dhaka Development Association. Palpali dhaka, a hand-woven fabric with eight traditional handlooms. “We are now ready to teach tradi- widely produced in Palpa in western They learned the craft at Maharjan’s tional weavers to move to the next Nepal. weaving factory. The UKAID Skills for level,” he said. “Those who have The training course has armed her Employment Programme has been received training for three months with confidence to become a self-em- helping women to become self-em- will be provided additional training ployed woman. “I have a skill now. I ployed by becoming entrepreneurs, for three months. This will not only have seen dhaka cloth before, but I and is also assisting with market man- provide self-employment but also save didn’t know how it was made,” she agement of the product. traditional dhaka.” said. “This is the first project for dhaka There is no problem in the Palpali Renu Palli Magar of Baganaskali-4, fabric,” said Hari Rayamajhi, dhaka market. Sales are high. But the Khanichhap has learned embroidery, vice-president of the Palpali Dhaka amount of fake dhaka has increased. the craft of sewing designs on cloth. Association. “If the project is success- “Traders are bringing fake dhaka and She didn’t know how dhaka fabric was ful, it is sure there will be long-term selling it as the real thing at low pric- woven using a handloom, and now she support,” he said. es,” said Maharjan of the association. has mastered the skill. “Our aim is to enable women to Gyanu Karki, proprietor of Karki “I can also make small repairs to become self-employed,” said Dhaka Textile Industry, said that the handloom,” she said. “I have Rayamajhi. “We plan to revive the domestic tourists from schools, coop- learned a lot by taking the training.” dhaka industry by establishing the eratives, clubs and organisations from Besides BK and Magar, the Palpali Palpali dhaka brand,” he said. different parts of the country used to Dhaka Association in Tansen has The provincial government plans to buy dhaka products. taught 198 people to weave dhaka fab- establish dhaka fabric as a symbol of Till last year, dhaka shops in Tansen ric using a handloom. Lumbini province. An agreement has numbering a dozen and a half used to The federal and provincial govern- been inked to provide training, build be crowded with customers from ments have implemented the training handlooms and make women self-em- morning till evening. programme with the support of the ployed to save Palpali dhaka. POST PHOTO: MADHAV ARYAL Sitam Bhandari, proprietor of UKAID Skills for Employment According to Ashok Kumar Shahi, Women weave Palpali Dhaka cloth at Poudyal Dhaka Garment Industry in Tansen. Madanpokhara Dhaka shop, said daily Programme, Tansen Municipality and mayor of Tansen Municipality, the sales used to increase up to fivefold Palpali Dhaka Association. effort aims to make Palpali dhaka pop- Sales of Palpali dhaka have expand- vided any cash assistance but the and a campaign was started to save during the tourist season. The scheme aims to produce at least ular within the country and in the ed, but it faces tough competition from Palpali Dhaka Association said it had them in Palpa. Dhaka stores saw a daily turnover 1,500 dhaka entrepreneurs in three international market. readymade products from India and promised to provide municipal land in Weavers of traditional Palpali of more than Rs100,000 each during years—500 entrepreneurs annually. “The skill of weaving dhaka has China. Money is flowing out of the the Narayansthan area to set up a dhaka cloth are worried as imported the tourist season. She said that “There were some problems due to been transforming the lives of country as a result, and at the same Palpali dhaka museum. dhaka has begun to take over the mar- domestic tourists had boosted the Covid-19 that forced us to stop the pro- women,” Shahi said. “It is the duty of time, entrepreneurs are not getting Maharjan said the municipality had ket. The local government started dhaka trade here. Dhaka is the first gramme abruptly in the last fiscal the local government to preserve the work, so the Palpali Dhaka Association also given assurances to help those teaching women to weave traditional choice of domestic tourists while year,” said Purna Maya Maharjan, identity of dhaka,” he said. wants to encourage local production, who do not have space at home to keep dhaka fabric after even new products only a few foreign visitors show president of the Palpali Dhaka Shahi expects demand for hand-wo- it said. a handloom. made by using J-cards started losing interest in it. Association. “But the programme will ven dhaka to swell with the trend “We can make people self-employed Binimaya Rana of Tansen sales to imported dhaka. Dhaka products such as hats, take more participants next year.” shifting towards traditional objects in by turning them into dhaka weavers,” Basantapur had no knowledge of Shahi said preparations were scarves, handkerchiefs, purses, waist- “The three-year project aims to pre- recent years. He said he would help to said Manoj Raj Sharma Poudyal, sec- Jacquard looms or traditional hand- underway to create a trademark for coats, bags and ties are popular among vent the art of weaving Palpali dhaka promote dhaka. The main objective is retary of the Palpali Dhaka looms, and she said she learned a lot traditional Palpali dhaka. This will domestic tourists who buy them for from dying,” said Maharjan. to make women self-employed by pro- Association. “It will help to preserve after taking weaving lessons. help buyers to distinguish between souvenirs or as gifts for friends and The federal, state and local govern- moting Palpali dhaka, he added. the identity of dhaka that has gained Sanu KC of Tansen Bartuk is now the genuine product and fakes so they family, Bhandari said. ments have also taken the initiative to He promised to help with market popularity in the past,” he said. able to clearly recognise the different will not be cheated. According to the Cottage and Small prepare Dhaka entrepreneurs. management, export promotion and Sagarman Maharjan, ward chair- types of dhaka fabrics made using Although more than 1,000 people Industries Office, only about 1,000 peo- Maharjan, 82, said, “I am hopeful preservation of the identity of tradi- man of Tansen Municipality-6 and a traditional handlooms, pitlung, J-card have become self-employed by weav- ple are currently employed. that Palpali dhaka will be revived. tional Palpali dhaka. “The brand and dhaka trader, said the project was and machines. ing and selling Palpali dhaka, the mar- The number of handlooms has also Everyone’s attention is now focused label of Palpali dhaka will be different designed to benefit women in Tansen With the advent of modern machine ket is full of fake dhaka fabrics decreased. The dhaka textile business on traditional fabric.” in the market now. The municipality and rural areas. looms, traditional dhaka fabrics and imported from India and China. generates an annual turnover of Few people can be seen weaving is ready to help,” he said. Tansen Municipality has not pro- handlooms started getting pushed out, “The local government, donor agen- Rs100 million.

FOREX India’s sugar exports to Australia report says make Google US Dollar 116.71

Euro 141.27 Pound Sterling 160.91 drop more than 24 percent and Facebook pay for news Japanese Yen 11.12 ASSOCIATED PRESS Chinese Yuan 18.07 in 2020-21, trade body says CANBERRA, FEB 12 Qatari Riyal 32.05 Australia’s Parliament will debate Australian Dollar 90.21 tonnes shipped in the previous making Google and Facebook pay for year, said R P Bhagria, chief executive news after a Senate committee on Malaysian Ringit 28.87 of the All India Sugar Trade Friday recommended no changes to Association (AISTA). drafts of the world’s first such laws. Saudi Arab Riyal 31.12 Also, sugar shipments to Iran, a key The Senate Economics Legislation Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank buyer of India’s sweetener, look likely Committee has been scrutinizing the to drop this year, Bhagria said. bill since it was introduced in In the 2019/20 season, Iran imported Parliament in December. a record 1.14 million tonnes of The senators rejected Facebook and PRICE PER TOLA BULLION sugar from India, accounting for some Google’s arguments that the so-called 20 percent of the country’s sugar media bargaining code, which would Fine Gold Rs 90,900 exports, according to Indian customs force the digital giants to negotiate AP/RSS data. payment to Australian news media for A sign is shown on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, California. Silver Rs 1,320 Late last year, Reuters reported that the news content to which the plat- India’s sugar exports to Iran are forms link, was unworkable. The bill’s passage is guaranteed in solution that truly protects the SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA expected to be significantly lower in But the committee also recognized the House of Representatives where long-term sustainability of the news the 2020-21 season due to a shortage of that the legislation carried risks and the government holds a majority of industry.” Indian rupees. should be reviewed after a year. seats, unlike in the Senate. Former President Donald Trump’s GASOLINE WATCH Under US sanctions, Tehran is una- “The committee accepts that there Google continues to hold out hope administration had also opposed the ble to use US dollars to transact oil remains the possibility that not all for amendments. model and requested Australia sus- sales. risks have been taken into account, “We look forward to engaging with pend any plans to finalize the law. Iran previously had a deal to sell its and that further refinement may be policymakers through the parliamen- “The US government is concerned oil to India in exchange for rupees, needed to the arbitration mechanism tary process to address our concerns that any attempt, through legislation, REUTERS which it used to import critical and other parts of the code so that and achieve a code that works for to regulate the competitive positions Workers load harvested sugarcane onto a goods, including sugar, but New Delhi they work in an optimum manner,” everyone—publishers, digital plat- of specific players in a fast-evolving trailer in a field in Gove village, India. stopped buying Tehran’s oil in May the report said. forms, and Australian businesses and digital market, to the clear detriment 2019 after its US sanctions waiver Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said his users,” Google Director Lucinda of two US firms, may result in harm- REUTERS expired. department would review the law a Longcroft said. ful outcomes,” Assistant US Trade NEW DELHI, FEB 12 Tehran continued using rupees to year after it took effect to “ensure it is Google has ramped up its campaign Representatives Daniel Bahar and import critical goods from India, and delivering outcomes that are against the proposed law, telling the Karl Ehlers wrote in a submission to India’s sugar exports are likely to after 19 months of no oil sales, the consistent with the government’s committee last month that the plat- the committee dated January 15 under drop more than 24 percent in Islamic Republic’s rupee reserves are policy intent.” form would likely make its search the letterhead “Executive Office of the the current year to September depleted. “The government expects all par- engine unavailable in Australia if the President.” due to logistical constraints such Mills in India, the world’s biggest ties to continue to work constructively code were introduced. Australia’s proposed code aims to as a shortage of containers and consumer of the sugar, are expected to towards reaching commercial agree- Google has not responded to a make Google and Facebook pay congestion at the country’s ports, churn out 29.9 million tonnes ments in the spirit of collaboration request from The Associated Press for Australian media companies fairly for a leading trade body said on of the sweetener in the 2020-21 season, and good faith encouraged by the an explanation of how it would go using news content the tech giants Thursday. up from 27.40 million tonnes produced code,” he added. about excluding Australia from its source from news sites. India, the world’s second biggest in the previous season. Parliament is scheduled to consider search function. There are no plans to make smaller sugar producer after Brazil, is likely Output in top sugar producing the bill on Tuesday and the conserva- Facebook has threatened to prevent search engines such as Bing pay for to sell 4.3 million tonnes of the states Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra tive government hopes it will be its users from sharing Australian linking users to Australian news, but sweetener on the world market in the is expected at 10.5 and 10.2 million approved during the next two-week news. Facebook said Friday it hoped the government has not ruled that 2020-21 season against 5.7 million tonnes respectively, Bhagria said. sitting. Australia would legislate a “workable option out. China New Year travel slumps amid pandemic Global spending on green

REUTERS try in the two weeks leading up to insights at ForwardKeys. BEIJING, FEB 12 Lunar New Year, compared with the China’s government in January economic stimulus rising Flight bookings for same period two years ago. urged people to abandon travel plans The number of people who travelled the two weeks prior Travel during last year’s holiday following fresh Covid-19 outbreaks, REUTERS mitigate the impact of polluting sec- in China ahead of Lunar New Year period, during the early stages of the leading local governments to impose LONDON, FEB 12 tors such as energy, transport, indus- plummeted from two years ago as to the holiday stood coronavirus outbreak, was also dis- strict quarantine measures. try, farming and waste, the report coronavirus restrictions curbed the rupted. Some areas relaxed their stance in Massive post-pandemic stimulus found. world’s largest annual domestic at 32.8 percent of the A travel index published by Baidu recent days, triggering some last min- packages are mostly failing to Nevertheless, moves by countries migration. Inc based on GPS data from its users ute bookings, particularly for Sanya, a support action to tackle climate including the United States, Canada, The seven-day celebration, which same period in 2019. showed a 41 percent fall in travellers popular holiday destination in the change or halt the loss of biodiversity, China, Japan and others to kicked off on Thursday, is China’s compared with 2019. South China Sea. but the amount of green spending is support sectors such as renewable most important national holiday Flight bookings for the two weeks Logistics firms, energy producers slowly tracking upwards, according to energy, electric vehicles or afforesta- and is usually marked by big family try’s 1.45 billion population who trav- prior to the holiday stood at 32.8 per- and entertainment providers like a study published on Friday. tion suggest recoveries are becoming reunions. elled this year. cent of the equivalent period in 2019, restaurants and cinemas have Advocates of rapid action to slash more green-tinted, said the study by Millions of workers traditionally With some 48 million more people while tickets issued during the holi- been preparing for greater numbers planet-warming emissions see the think tanks Vivid Economics and travel—sometimes thousands of kilo- expected to stay put in 36 major cities day period were just 14.7 percent of of people who have stayed in the packages as a once-in-a-generation Finance for Biodiversity. metres from Beijing and other major this year compared to years the 2019 level, according to travel ana- major cities. opportunity to invest at the scale “We are seeing momentum cities—to their hometowns in remote past, according to the commerce min- lytics firm ForwardKeys. Pre-sales of movie tickets for the needed to catalyse a shift to a low-car- building towards a greener stimulus regions. istry, utility companies and movie the- “The outlook for travel over the holiday period stood at 1.463 billion bon economy in time to avoid cata- package, but there’s still a long Data from the Ministry of atres are preparing for heightened Chinese New Year period is currently yuan ($226.67 million) as of February strophic global warming. way to go,” Jeffrey Beyer, an econo- Transportation, Chinese internet demand. dreadful ... You can see the impact of 11, just beating the 1.458 billion yuan Of a total of $14.9 trillion in mist at Vivid Economics and co-au- giant Baidu Inc and travel analytics Ministry of Transportation data official travel restrictions clearly in recorded in 2019, according to data stimulus spending announced thor of the report, known as the firm ForwardKeys showed a sharp showed a 70 percent drop in the num- consumer booking behaviour,” said from Dengta, a box office data tracker globally since the pandemic began, so Greenness of Stimulus Index, told drop in the percentage of the coun- ber of passenger trips across the coun- Olivier Ponti, vice president of run by Alibaba Pictures. far $1.8 trillion is being used to Reuters.

C M Y K SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 | 06 SPORTS | MEDLEY BRIEFING Police defeat Chandrapur 3-0 in women’s league Tokyo Olympics chief quits TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief The departmental side have 14 points after nine matches and are level with Waling while Chandrapur remain in sixth managing only two wins. Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and apologised again for sexist remarks SPORTS BUREAU that sparked a global outcry, leaving KATHMANDU, FEB 12 WOMEN’S LEAGUE STANDINGS the troubled Olympics searching for a chief five months from the opening Nepal Police Club defeated Team P W L D GF GA PT Chandrapur Municipality 3-0 in the ceremony. The resignation of APF 8 8 0 0 65 0 24 National Women’s League on Friday. former prime minister Mori, 83, will Army 9 7 1 1 54 2 22 further erode confidence in the At the top, it’s a tug of war for the Waling 9 4 3 2 23 14 14 organisers’ ability to pull off the title between leaders Armed Police postponed Summer Games during a Force (APF) Club and Tribhuvan Police 9 4 3 2 16 7 14 coronavirus pandemic. A selection Army Club. The defending champions Biratnagar 9 3 5 1 13 26 10 committee made up of an equal are not very far from securing their Chandrapur 9 2 7 0 9 39 6 number of men and women, and cen- fourth title, which could also deny the Chaudandigadhi 9 0 9 0 2 93 0 tred around athletes, would choose a second-placed Army their first ever new president, Tokyo 2020 chief exec- success in the women’s league. utive Toshiro Muto told a news con- APF are only two points off at the an incoming threat only to surrender ference after a meeting of a board of top having played a game less. But an empty net to Gurung at left as the advisers. He did not say when the they could increase the gap if they ball bounced off her, which she flashed decision would be made but it had to beat Waling Municipality on Saturday. wide. be done “urgently”. Mori sparked a Nepal Police Club have accumulat- But it was BK who gave Police a two- furore when he said during an ed 14 points from nine matches, and goal advantage heading a pass from Olympic committee meeting this are eight points below Army. Nirmala Upadhyaya in the 54th min- month that women talk too much, set- Despite the win against Chandrapur, ute. Paudel then came off the substi- ting off a chorus of calls for him to they are still at fourth in the league tute bench and sealed the victory five be sacked. He initially refused to step standings. Waling are level with Police minutes before the time beating goal- down. but stay in the third position on a goal keeper Rai at the six-yard box with a difference rule. cool finish. Srijana Khadka, Nirmala BK and Police coach Sanjeev Joshi said he Chelsea, Southampton reach Rekha Poudel scored a goal each was expecting more goals. against Chandrapur in the day’s only “Our players were outstanding FA Cup quarter-finals game at the ANFA Complex. today…persistent attack, goal scoring LONDON: Chelsea’s beat Barnsley 1-0 Coming into the second leg after opportunities… but I was expecting to move into the FA Cup quarter-fi- their 3-1 win over Chandrapur on more goals,” said Joshi. nals on Thursday, while Southampton January 31, Police started aggressive- Chandrapur coach Nurraj Kafle put their miserable Premier League ly and almost went ahead in the 4th POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA blamed midfielders for fewer chances. form behind them to reach the last minute. Nepal Police Club’s Srijana Khadka, Nirmala BK (right) and Rekha Paudel scored one goal each against Chandrapur Municipality on Friday. “We played better than previous eight by beating Wolves. Reece James Ranjita Gurung pounced on a weak matches. We failed to score when we created the winning goal as his low clearance by Chandrapur defender fed by Niru Thapa hit the woodwork. led another attack and this time they again. Her second volley attempt was had the chance early. But midfielders cross on 64 minutes left Tammy Sabina Chaudhary and lined up This caused a lot of problems in the got their first goal in the 7th minute. a near miss. were not at their best today,” said Abraham with a simple tap-in for his Nirmala BK into the penalty box but Chandrapur box and Chandrapur Khadka, who was unmarked, convert- Chandrapur did not really threaten Kafle whose side sit second from bot- 12th goal of the season. Beaten final- goalkeeper Yunisha Rai threw herself defender Saru Waiba cleared the ball ed her shot past Chandrapur goalie Police after this. The departmental tom with six points. ists last season, Chelsea will fancy towards the ball, which bought her straight into the path of opponent from the edge of the box. side, meanwhile, continued to build “We need to win the remaining their chances of a return to Wembley enough time for the reinforcements to player Rebika Pandey. But Pandey’s Chandrapur’s Asmita Baidya twice pressure on their opponent. matches,” he added. after drawing Premier League strug- arrive. strike wooshed just inches away over went close to pull a leveller in the 14th They almost capitalised on a Biratnagar Metropolitan City will glers Sheffield United at home in the Seconds later Police were threaten- the crossbar. minute. Her left-footed volley hit the chance soon after the break when take on winless Chaudandigadhi quarter-finals. Southampton’s reward ing again as BK’s header from a cross The encouraged departmental side woodwork before the ball found her goalkeeper Rai advanced a bit to stop Municipality later on Saturday. for seeing off Wolves 2-0 is a south coast derby against the only non-Pre- mier League side left in the competi- tion, Bournemouth, in the last eight. Goals from Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong offered some relief for Kyrgios, fans exit as Australian Open shuts doors Nepal’s tri-series against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men after five consecutive league defeats. Everton AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE rus problems and started three weeks Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. will host Manchester City, while MELBOURNE, FEB 12 late, was the first tennis Grand Slam to The 39-year-old American, tracking a Oman, US postponed Leicester entertain Manchester welcome fans in large numbers since the record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, United in the other quarter-final ties A departing Nick Kyrgios thrilled the pandemic. But it will continue behind dished up 31 unforced errors—but was SPORTS BUREAU League 2 table featuring seven to be played on the weekend of March crowd one last time as the Australian closed doors and with players in a biose- given a big helping hand by Potapova, KATHMANDU, FEB 12 teams. Each team will play 36 ODIs 20 and 21. Open kicked out fans late on Friday cure “bubble” during the five-day lock- 19, who hit five double faults when try- in total when the event concludes before a state-wide snap coronavirus down, after the cluster of 13 cases cen- ing to serve out the first set. Nepal’s tri-series match of the ICC in February 2023. lockdown goes into force. tred on an airport hotel. “It was good to get through that Cricket World Cup League set for The event is the gateway to the Neymar to miss Barcelona tie Thousands of fans, mostly unmasked, With 22,299 spectators on Friday, the match. The first set was extremely March involving hosts Oman and World Cup as the teams finishing PARIS: Paris St Germain forward watched the flamboyant Australian best attendance so far, Serena Williams tight,” Williams said. the United States of America have on top three will secure berths for Neymar will be sidelined for four flame out over five sets against US Open and Naomi Osaka safely reached the last Osaka was troubled by a butterfly that been postponed. the World Cup Qualifiers while the weeks due to a groin injury, the champion Dominic Thiem, who clawed 16 along with fellow major-winner landed on her nose during an otherwise According to Cricket Association bottom four will compete in the French Ligue 1 club said on Thursday, his way back from two sets down. Simona Halep. routine 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tunisian of Nepal (CAN), ICC, the interna- World Cup Qualifiers playoff set to ruling him out of next week’s Public announcements warned fans Kyrgios, the main attraction for 27th seed Ons Jabeur. tional cricket governing body, take place in Zimbabwe in June Champions League trip for their last- to be home by midnight, when six mil- Australian fans, threatened a titanic Osaka’s next opponent is two-time decided to postpone the matches of and July of 2023. 16, first leg against his former club lion people across Victoria state go into upset against third-ranked Thiem before Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza, the series owing to the effect of Nepal have so far played four Barcelona. Neymar was injured in a a five-day lockdown to curb an outbreak going down 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. “Tonight who continued her formidable form Covid-19, long quarantine rules matches in the three-year League 2 challenge during PSG’s 1-0 French of the highly contagious UK strain. was epic and a good last match before with a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 win over and travel restrictions of different cycle and have two wins and defeats Cup win at Ligue 2 side Caen on In the evening’s final match, defend- lockdown, it’s sad to say,” said Austria’s Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas. countries. each. Oman lead the standings win- Wednesday and limped off to be ing champion Novak Djokovic was lead- Thiem, who next plays Bulgaria’s Grigor French Open champion Iga Swiatek, Apart from the Oman series, the ning eight matches from 10 games replaced by Kylian Mbappe. The ing America’s Taylor Fritz by two sets to Dimitrov. 19, seeded at a Grand Slam for the first ICC also postponed other series of played. USA are second with six 29-year-old Brazilian’s availability for one when play was suspended at 11:30 Earlier Williams survived an error- time, beat France’s Fiona Ferro 6-4, 6-3 the League scheduled for April and wins from 12 matches played and the return leg in Paris is also in pm (1230 GMT) to allow fans to leave Rod strewn performance to beat Russia’s to set up a meeting with Halep, a 6-1, 6-3 May involving Papua New Guinea, PNG are at the bottom of the stand- doubt with the match scheduled for Laver Arena. The Australian Open, Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 and set winner over Russia’s Veronika Oman, Scotland, USA and Namibia. ings having lost all eight matches March 10. (AGENCIES) which has encountered severe coronavi- up an encounter with powerful Kudermetova. Nepal currently sit sixth in the played so far. HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21-April 19) **** CANCER (June 22-July 22) *** LIBRA (September 23-October 22) *** CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) **** Saturday’s skies are strangely surreal, Aries. The As a Cancer, you’re well accustomed to your pen- The cosmos are giving you mixed messages under The world wants to hear what you have to say, moon glides through ethereal Pisces and forms a chant for living in the past. Thus, today’s skies Saturday’s skies, Libra. You’re likely to feel torn Capricorn. The moon meanders through creative conjunction with spaced-out Neptune, imbuing the shouldn’t surprise you much, as reality seems between productive action and sleeping the day Pisces all day, forming a conjunction with spaced-out day with a strong element of fantasy, magic, and blurred before your very eyes. Try to strike a balance away, as the spaced-out Pisces moon merges with Neptune on her path. This union makes it all too idealisation. of surrender without feeling lost at sea. reality-dissolving Neptune. easy to slip into a fantasy-prone fog.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) *** LEO (July 23-August 22) *** SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) *** AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) *** Fantasy is bound to be way more appealing than Powerful emotions are at play, Leo. The moon wades Things have been a bit too heavy for you lately, Let yourself dream the dream, Aquarius. Saturday’s hard-and-fast reality today, Taurus. Let yourself through deep-feeling Pisces and spends the day in Scorpio. The cosmos works to give you the break you skies are all about an escape from reality, so rather drift, rather than try to swim upstream! The moon ethereal Neptune’s reality-bending embrace. This deserve today. It will restore a sense of balance and than harp on yourself for not being where you floats through visionary Pisces, merging with other- union can add streaks of fantasy, and deception to bring an uplifted approach to any personal passion want to be, try to embrace what you do have going for worldly Neptune on her path. your story. projects. you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) **** VIRGO (August 23-September 22) **** SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) *** PISCES (February 19-March 20) *** It’s hard to find your footing in reality today, Partnerships come into focus beneath Saturday’s Deep feelings swirl beneath the surface of Saturday’s As a Pisces, you’re well accustomed to having one Gemini. This can feel especially frustrating, given spaced-out skies, Virgo. The moon floats through skies, Sagittarius. The moon glides through empath- foot on earth and one foot in the ether. Saturday’s your desire to be productive on the career front visionary Pisces all day, pulling your attention ic Pisces and merges with non-reality Neptune on skies should bring no real shock to you, as the moon today. There is a fogginess around your ambitions towards the current themes at play in the romantic her path, stirring up untouched ancient sediment cruises through your sign and merges with non-real- today. arena. from your family past. ity Neptune. CROSSWORD SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

C M Y K 07 | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 CULTURE & LIFESTYLE Keeping the faith during a pandemic Perhaps this is what keeping the faith means: to believe that this period will end and we will survive to build a better world.

GRETA RANA and we have to believe that we will live through this pandemic to build again. uring this time of pan- After all, our ancestors survived demic, what does staying through the fall of Troy and the alive mean? Not merely Mahabharata. What could have been breathing, surely? more earth shaking than these great Breathing keeps the body wars? Yes, there have been others, but going but how about the think of the population at the time and Dsoul? The cogito ergo sum of Cartesian the weapons at their disposal. Think philosophy. because it proves we are still keeping the When Descartes posited his famous faith and ready to meet whatever comes. phrase, many struggled to understand it. It is perhaps that shred of pride in our It never dawned on them that the fact ability to think. But surely all animals that people think was the kernel of exist- think? Unlike us however they lack the ence. But Descartes must have thought it power of the pen. No doubt they do com- through. What is it that proves we are municate but do they record? Like the alive? It is that very faculty to think that Neanderthals they probably rely on keeps us going. It’s the reason we believe memory passed down to keep their wis- that when the body dies, the soul surely dom. But we don’t have to. From the lives on. That’s worth remembering in a moment we stood upright and then wrote pandemic that challenges us to stay alive. the first eternal ‘Om’ we have managed to There are great examples of the aged relay our thoughts, our faith from gener- members of the population learning and ation to generation whether we remem- continuing to grow. Old men who take ber or not. It is worth bearing that in degrees when they are already grandfa- mind. Not only that ‘cogito ergo sum’, but thers. It is said that Plato learned Greek that the thinking stays with us from gen- at the age of 90 to read Socrates. How far eration to generation whether we remem- that is true one doesn’t know but what is ber it or not. true is that we know much Socratic wis- This is surely what keeping the faith dom through the pen of Plato. SHUTTERSTOCK means. Faith that this period will end Then there is the power of the pen. “It that deals with the journey back. Then There are so many similarities. Both very existence. Will there ever come a and we will survive to build a better is the pen gives immortality to men.” there is the Aeneid about Aenias leaving have a hero hesitating to fight. In the time when mankind doesn’t believe that world. Had we not believed that time and Perhaps that is true. Did Shakespeare a burning Troy to eventually found Trojan War it is Achilles and in the staying alive means annihilating again we would never have got this far. ever dream that half a millennium down Rome. These are the stories from which Mahabharata it is Arjun. Achilles of everything else, when pride is not always We have to keep the faith. After all it is the line people would still quote him? western history is based, from which it course is refusing because of anger, put before kindness and humanity can written is it not; “I am the alpha and the What made him special? He was a one off, begins. Without the pen we would never Arjun because he is wary of fighting his live in peace? omega, the beginning and the end?” someone who looked at the world in a have known. kin. They have similarities one believes. Perhaps that is not meant to be. We have to keep the faith, faith that we different way. Until today he has not been As we traverse the globe, we can see Both are bisexual. Perhaps it is intended that we annihilate will fight through, just as our ancestors bested. An example of ‘cogito ergo sum’ that there were other great journeys. The The message that comes through both everything and finally ourselves. Perhaps fought through those times in the past. if ever there was one. Mahabharata tells of the great battle and epics is the same: the pandemic is that final chapter on the We had ancestors who were fearless, per- Not to say there were not other great the events leading to it. Is it a coincidence “War is futile, but war is inevitable and human race. We haven’t even survived as haps more fearless than we are today. The writers. But they all seemed to copy his that that too began with the dishonour- it is the duty of the warrior to fight.” long as the dinosaurs and look what hap- ‘cogito ergo sum’ in our genes leads us to themes. Whose themes did he copy? One ing of a woman? One has often wondered This message remains with us today. pened to them! believe that there is a way out. wonders. whether the Fall of Troy and the great Politicians always have an explanation We have always believed that ‘man is So keep the faith friends. It’s kept us The great literature of the ancients all battle of Kurukshetra are not about the for ‘just wars’. the measure of all things’, but perhaps before and we have to believe it will do so seemed to be about journeys. same battle fought by our Indo-European So we keep the faith through the mil- that very arrogance will finish us. Still we again. The Iliad that brought a thousand ancestors before they divided into lennia. Even now we keep the faith keep the faith and perhaps this too will ships to the gates of Troy and the Odyssey Eastern Aryans and Western Aryans. because it is the ‘cogito ergo sum’ of our pass. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day Rana is a writer based in Kathmandu. BEST-SELLERS | NEW RELEASES

Fiction

1. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 2. Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer 3. Suheldev: The king who Saved India by Amish 4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney 5. The Archer by Paulo Coelho Source: Mandala Book Point Source:

Non-Fiction Yes to Life in Spite of Everything This is Not Propaganda: Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty Author: Viktor E Frankl Adventures in the War Against and Solidarity 1. Caste Matters by Suraj Yengde Publication: Beacon Press Reality Author: Timothy Snyder 2. Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Price: Rs798 Author: Peter Pomerantsev Publication: Vintage Digital Douglas Publication: PublicAffairs Price: Rs 798 Frank offers an insightful exploration of Price: Rs 798 3. Simultaneous Identities: Language, the maxim “Live as if you were living for Snyder in this book outlines the les- Education, and the Nepali the second time,” and he unfolds the idea Peter Pomerantsev discusses the dis- sons we must all learn, wherever we 4. Beyond Possible: One Soldier, Fourteen that every crisis contains an opportunity. information age, where he meets are, and finds glimmers of hope in Peaks by Nimsdai Purja Despite the unspeakable horrors of the Twitter revolutionaries and pop-up dark times. He focuses on enshrining 5. The presidential Years 2012-2017 by Nazi concentration camps where he was populists, “behavioural change” sales- healthcare as a human right, elevating Pranab Mukherjee captured for eleven months, Frankl men, Jihadi fanboys, Identitarians, the authority of doctors and truth, learned from the strength of his fellow truth cops, and many others. The book and planning for our children’s future. inmates that it is always possible to “say explores how we can reimagine our And digs deeper at if we can ever live yes to life”. politics and ourselves when reality freely. seems to be coming apart.

Big clothing brands back Bangladesh recycling scheme As part of the initiative, major fashion brands, including H&M, M&S and C&A, aim to use more recycled materials in clothing production.

NAIMUL KARIM either exported or down-cycled for less DHAKA valuable uses, said the GFA, adding the circular plan aims to change that by ajor fashion brands, increasing the value of the waste. including H&M, M&S Miran Ali, a director at the Bangladesh and C&A, are getting Garment Manufacturers and Exporters behind an initiative in Association, said it was time for the fash- Bangladesh that aims ion industry to move away from a linear to use more recycled business model of “take-make-dispose” Mmaterials in clothing production and sig- and towards a circular approach. nificantly cut planet-heating emissions As Bangladeshi factories produce from manufacturing by 2030. items in large volumes, their waste is The Circular Fashion Partnership, standardised, making it relatively easy to announced this week, brings together deal with, he noted. “Therefore, more than 30 international brands, Bangladesh can be a global leader in the Bangladeshi recycling firms and gar- area of circular economy,” he said in a ment manufacturers in a push to reuse statement. textile waste from clothing factories to The Green Climate Fund, set up to help create new products. developing nations adopt clean energy If successful, the initiative could be and adapt to climate change, approved a replicated in other countries, such as separate project last year to help cut Indonesia and Vietnam, and help cut the emissions in Bangladesh’s garment sec- broader fashion industry’s emissions, tor by enabling more efficient energy said the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), a use. nonprofit body that is leading the new H&M, one of the Bangladesh indus- scheme. try’s biggest clients, told the Thomson In 2018, the sector’s greenhouse gas Reuters Foundation it is working on (GHG) emissions were just over 2 billion transforming its whole business to tonnes, a figure that needs to be halved become “fully circular and climate posi- by 2030, to be in line with global climate tive.” goals, said the GFA. To get there, the Swedish fashion “Reducing environmental impacts REUTERS chain’s targets include making its supply such as GHG emissions and circularity A file photo shows garment employees work at Fakhruddin Textile Mills Limited in Gazipur, Bangladesh. chain “climate neutral” - meaning it does go hand in hand,” said GFA spokeswom- not contribute to global warming - and an Alice Roberta Taylor in e-mailed com- nearly 200 countries agreed to slash the combined annual emissions of it was the second-biggest consumer of only using recycled or other sustainably ments. greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by France, Germany and Britain—and water. sourced materials, both by 2030. The partnership would cut carbon mid-century and limit global average needs to intensify its efforts to align with Bangladesh—a low-lying nation con- “As we move towards a business model emissions from clothing production and temperature rise to “well below” 2 the Paris Agreement goals to curb cli- sidered highly vulnerable to climate based on a circular economy, our climate demand for raw materials, which include degrees Celsius above preindustrial mate change. change impacts such as intensifying agenda is pushed. And we want to use fossil fuels, by slimming down the times. The UN Environment Programme in floods, storms and sea level rise—is the our size and scale to make a difference,” amount of waste and increasing the use According to 2020 research by the GFA 2019 put the fashion industry’s share of world’s second-largest producer of Cecilia Strömblad Brännsten, H&M of recycled materials over virgin materi- and McKinsey & Company, the fashion global carbon emissions at 10 percent— clothes and its economy depends heavily Group’s environmental sustainability als, she noted. industry produces 4 percent of global more than all international flights and on the garment industry. manager, said by email. Under the 2015 Paris climate accord, climate-warming emissions—equal to maritime shipping combined—and said But most waste from the industry is — Reuters

C M Y K SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 | 08 CULTURE & LIFESTYLE (C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053 Six films to watch this Valentine’s Day Looking for a nice film for a night in with your partner this Valentine’s Day? Here’s what the Post recommends.

ANKIT KHADGI Kathaa Is Love Being Enough, Sir? Various circumstances and events lead Aditya KATHMANDU (played by Dulquer Salman) and Tarra to fall for each Set in Bombay, Rohena Gera’s Is Love Being Enough, other. But there’s a catch to their love story. Both of t’s that time of the year again. People gift each Sir? (2021) is one of the most beautiful and poignant them find the institution of marriage outdated and other flowers and chocolates and make meals Hindi films to come out in recent years. they just decide to live with each other until they together to mark the special day of love, A recent Netflix release, in the movie we are pre- choose to separate. Valentine’s Day. sented to the worlds of Ratna and Ashwin, who share Eventually, they end up renting an apartment, And while in the past, during pre-Covid a relationship of employee and employer respective- owned by Ganapathy (played by Prakash Raj) and times, we had the liberty of planning out pic- ly. Ratna works as a house helper in the apartment Bhavani (Leela Samson), an old married couple who Inics, movie dates or dinner dates, the best and the where Ashwin lives. have their own struggles. safest option amidst the pandemic is staying in. And After calling off his marriage, Ashwin is heartbro- Will Aditya and Tarra marry each other? Or will what can be better than watching a great romantic ken. Ratna tries to comfort Ashwin by doing little but they stand strong on their preconceived values about movie together? endearing things like making a shirt for him, making marriage and relationship? If you are in the mood of But choosing the perfect movie for the special day his favourite meals or even just talking to him. While watching an easy-breezy romantic drama and want to can be tough, as there are thousands of romantic YOUTUBE VI A BS they are aware of the boundaries in their relation- experiment in your cinematic choices, then this movies available. That’s why, we have curated a list of ship, which society has created, the romance which Tamil film can be a great movie to watch. REENG RA

six movies that depict every emotion of romance and SC love, which you can enjoy with your loved ones or Cake even alone. Directed by Prashant Rasaily, Kathaa (2013) is a story of two love birds, Kumari (played by Usha Rajak) and Just because it’s Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean only Before Sunrise Kaancha (played by Saugat Malla), whose lives take a the love between two lovers can be celebrated, right? U-turn after Kaancha is obliged to leave Kumari and Love can be anything, and with anyone. And depict- Is there anything that hasn’t been said about this travel to the mountains for money. ing such a range of love is Cake (2018) by Asim classic? Directed by Richard Linklater, Before The story we are presented with isn’t unheard of. Abbasi, a brilliant take on the story of love, death, life Sunrise (1995) is the first film of the Before series There are thousands of stories, poems, and movies and the unconditional affection that exists in a that chronicles the journey of love between Jesse and written about the love between two souls who have to Pakistani family. Celine. live apart from each other because of various circum- When Jesse, an American tourist, is travelling on a stances. But even if the plot is simple, what makes train from Budapest, he meets Celine, a student the film special is its beautiful and nuanced writing, returning to her university in Paris. As soon as they backed with powerful performances of the actors. start talking, sparks fly. But Jesse’s train stop arrives If you are in the mood to go all teary, and cry your soon after, from where he has to catch a flight back heart out and release all the angst and emotions that was cooking beneath their conversations and the home. Not to waste their brief but beautiful moment you have been trapping inside, Kathaa, which is time they spent is openly expressed. of excitement and solace, Celine too gets off and the available on YouTube, might be a good option for you. Packed by powerful, effortless performances, and two decide to roam around Vienna for whatever time subtle and sensitive writing, this movie, where every Jesse has got. Weekend scene is crafted with perfection, should definitely be on people’s list for this Valentine’s day if they are in In his review of the film, Weekend (2011), American the mood for love and some soul-searching. film critic and historian, the late Roger Ebert, said ‘Sex is easy. Love is hard...’ to describe what the film is about. O Kadhal Kanmani And these words exactly encapsulate the premise of this British independent film. Directed by Andrew Haigh, the movie presents viewers a story of two men who easily have sex with each other, but when it comes to love, they try to run away from it. One night, after their meeting at a local queer bar For their ageing and ailing parents, estranged sib- in Nottingham, Russell (played by Tom Cullen), a lings Zara (played by Sanam Saaed) and lifeguard, takes Glen, an artist, home. While their Zareen (Aamina Sheikh) decide to leave their differ- one-night stand was never meant to be more than sex, ences and spend some quality time together as a both of them are instantly drawn to each other, as family. While Zara is dealing with her issues in her they try to deeply understand and confide in each marriage, Zareen finds comfort in a nurse/caretaker, other’s words and silences, even when they have Romeo. polar opposite personalities. But like every South Asian family, there are truths But luck isn’t in favour of them. Glen has hidden by the family members from each other, and The plot of the film is minimalistic and there are to leave in a day or so for his further studies. Will when they start getting honest with each other, their no big conflicts like other movies. But the conversa- Glen stay and think from his heart? Or will whole dynamics get affected. tions the two characters exchange about life, love and he be practical and leave for his studies? The In his three glorious decades in filmmaking, Exploring such themes of love, sibling rivalry, many other issues are filled with so much warmth movie is all about this and the conflict which arises Mani Ratnam has made movies of all kinds, depict- and the loss of a family member, Cake, in its two and compassion that one is deeply invested in watch- in the minds of two men, who want to be together but ing the emotions of love. While Roja (1992), Bombay hours, takes us to a place where we emotionally and ing the small but intense journey of these two souls, can’t. (1995), Dil Se (1998), and Alaipayuthey (2001) are some mentally reciprocate to the events shown in the who are demanding nothing but just a brief moment For those who are looking for a warm, cosy film of his widely known romantic dramas, in 2015, movie. of happiness from each other. filled with some soul-searching conversations and Ratnam went beyond his comfort zone and brought If you have plans to watch a good family drama If you are planning to watch a feel-good film, then interactions between characters, then this film can the story of the young and urban lovers to the that is relatable and entertaining, then Cake is a per- Before Sunrise should be on your list. be an apt choice. celluloid. fect film for you. Chinese TV features blackface performers Thais flock to shrine of love ahead of Valentine’s Day in New Year’s gala The Trimurti shrine has become famous in Thailand as a place single people visit every The ‘African Song and Dance’ performance came at the start of the Spring Festival Gala, Thursday in the quest to find love. one of the world’s most-watched TV programmes.

JOE MCDONALD outbreaks. the pandemic. BEIJING China’s ruling Communist Party tries to pro- “I wish for safety and health, as well as happi- mote an image of unity with African nations as ness for my family,” said Ji, 62. hinese state TV included dancers fellow developing economies. But state broad- The government’s appeal to China’s public to in blackface portraying Africans caster China Central Television has faced criti- avoid travel is denting spending on tourism and during a national broadcast as cism over using blackface to depict African peo- gifts. But economists say the overall impact Asia welcomed the lunar Year of ple in past New Year broadcasts. might be limited if factories, shops and factories the Ox with subdued festivities On Twitter, Black Livity China, a group for keep operating instead of taking their usual Friday amid travel curbs to con- people of African descent who work in or with two-week break. Ctain renewed coronavirus outbreaks. China, called the broadcast “extremely disap- The Commerce Ministry said it found 48 mil- The “African Song and Dance” performance pointing.” It noted CCTV’s 2018 Spring Festival lion more people in Chinese cities planned to Thursday came at the start of the Spring Festival Gala featured performers in blackface with a celebrate where they live instead of traveling. Gala, one of the world’s most-watched TV pro- monkey. Departures from Beijing’s two major airports grammes. It included Chinese dancers in “We cannot stress enough the impact scenes were down 75 percent from last year on African-style costumes and dark face makeup such as these have on African and Afro-diasporic Wednesday, the Chinese capital’s government beating drums. communities living in China,” the group said. reported. The five-hour annual programme, which state Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Daoist tem- In Taiwan, merchants said this year’s sales TV has said in the past is seen by as many as 800 ples that usually are packed with holiday wor- are up 10 percent-20 percent because Taiwanese million viewers, also included tributes to nurs- shippers were closed. Streets in major cities celebrated at home with family dinners instead es, doctors and others who fought the coronavi- were largely empty. of traveling abroad. rus pandemic that began in central China in late Visitors gathered outside the locked gates of “Business this year is good. We have even 2019. the Tibetan-style Lama Temple on Beijing’s more people,” said a sausage vendor in the capi- Festivities for the holiday, normally East north side to burn incense and pray. tal, Taipei, who would give only his surname, Asia’s busiest tourism season, are muted after Ji Jianping, who wore a jacket and face mask Tsai. “People stay home and prepare food for China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments in red, the traditional color of good fortune, said year-end dinner to share with friends and fami- tightened travel curbs and urged the public to she and her family skipped visiting their home- l y. ” avoid big gatherings following renewed virus town in the northern province of Shanxi due to — Associated Press

AP/RSS People pray during a religious ceremony at Phra Trimurti shrine, the God of Love, to wish for luck in searching for soulmates ahead of Valentine’s Day at Bangkok’s shopping district, Thailand.

JIRAPORN KUHAKAN lover before, but we broke up, so BANGKOK I’m here to ask for a new one,” said Thanyathron Sae-aeng, 23. undreds of sin- The ceremony began with a gle Thais attend- blast of sound from a conch ed a ceremony shell by a Brahmin priest at 7.39 this week at a pm, a timing also considered Hindu shrine in auspicious. Bangkok to “I want to meet a person who Hmake offerings as they prayed is good, kind and (find) a love to find that special someone, that’s long-lasting,” said just days ahead of Valentine’s Apimuk Wichasorn, 29, stress- Day. ing that any relationship should Tucked beside one of the cap- also be fun and free of pressure. ital’s biggest shopping malls, Many in the crowd wearing the Trimurti shrine to face masks held offerings of Hinduism’s three most power- roses, candles, incense sticks ful gods has become famous in and soda bottles, all in hues of Thailand as a place people visit red. every Thursday in the quest to “It will be great if I can find find love. But this week’s crowd, love before Valentine’s Day, but mainly young people of all gen- if not, it’s also fine,” said ders, was larger than usual as 25-year-old Suthida Panlalak, the timing also coincided with who said she sought a truthful an auspicious alignment of the partner who could love her the AP/RSS stars. way she is. In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV via AP Video, dancers in blackface and costumes portraying Africans perform on stage during the Spring Festival Gala. “I came here often and got a — Reuters

Published and Printed by Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., Central Business Park, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal, P. B. No. 8559, Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: [email protected], Regd. No. 32/049/050, Chairman & Managing Director: Kailash Sirohiya, Director: Swastika Sirohiya, Editor: Sanjeev Satgainya