#82 22 - 28 February 2002 16 pages Rs 20 Arty Spring mountaineering season Aarti16 8-9-10 EXCLUSIVE IN MANGALSEN UMID○○○○○○○○○○○○○ BAGCHAND ○○○○○○ Three more months ust about everyone in remote Achham district was expecting a major Maoist Going by the last three months, political Jattack the week of the sixth anniversary of insiders now have a more realistic the start of the “People’s War”. But no one expectation of the emergency. It is expected it to be such a devastating defeat for Nation in grief not likely to bring a major change in the government, and such a rout of the the battlefield situation, or the security forces. Does nothing shock us anymore? political scenario. Prime Minister Sher Mangalsen residents are still in a state of Bahadur Deuba has bought himself shock, and what emerges on piecing together time, but he will still be too busy their accounts is a tragic tale of warnings not trying to stave off a mutiny within his heeded, of unspeakable carnage and brutality party to pay much attention to during a long night of terror. national development and his much- Five loud explosions at midnight on touted socioeconomic-reform Saturday heralded the start of the attack. It package. The Maoists can be shattered the silence of the sleeping bazar and expected to keep the public in a reverberated across the surrounding hills. The general state of panic with booby- sound of automatic gunfire rent the air, and traps and ambushes, and gear up bullets whizzed all around. There were frantic for major attacks when the next footsteps on the cobbled streets. It was pitch emergency cycle comes to an end dark: the hydropower plant at Kailash Khola Three Malaysia-bound Nepalis trek up towards mid-May. If the security and the telecom tower had been knocked out. to the airport on Monday, 11 February NARENDRAM SHRESTHA situation does not improve in that Half-an-hour later, there was a deafening blast time, parliamentary parties will have in the bazar, more gunfire, more explosions, to get together to ratify a maximum— screams and slogan-shouting Maoists. and final—six-month extension. “We were awakened by the sound of the What the government will hope for is first explosions, and stayed awake all night,” a that the army will make a break- local resident told us. “But no one dared to through and force the Maoists back to look outside until about 10 o’ clock the next An army honour guard salutes fallen comrades at Pashupati’s creamtion site on Tuesday, while a bereaved relative looks on. the negotiating table. morning.” Like many others we talked to, he did not want us to name him. walk uphill. It speaks for the ferocity of the fighting almost to the last man, but they were weeks ago: “It looks The police chief of the district was attack that the battle lasted barely half-an-hour overwhelmed by numbers and the Maoists’ like Kathmandu Editorial p2 25-35 Coming out of slaughter ordering his forces into position, and tried and only two out of a garrison of 59 soldiers better weapons. The attackers used automatic will send reinforce- It is like bargaining at a street market. calling the barracks on the ridge overlooking survived. One army source told us: “It was a rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades ments only for our funerals.” As it turned out, Nepal and India are edging closer the town for help. “No one answered the well-planned attack to completely wipe out the captured during the Ghorahi raid on 23 the first army helicopters landed only at towards concurring on value addition, phone initially, then the line went dead,” Yam base with overwhelming force and firepower.” November. The Maoists looted another 55 10AM the next day. The chief of Accham’s and the meeting in New Delhi next Bahadur Chettri, Deputy Superintendent of Twenty of the dead soldiers had execution- automatic weapons and five machine guns from Intelligence Department had sent in a week may actually produce an Police told us. He said that one hour into the style bullet wounds in the head. Other bodies the Mangalsen barracks. report— which usually goes to the govern- agreement before the 1996 treaty attack, the Maoists were attacking the town were severely charred. One injured soldier had The question on everyone’s mind is why ment, army headquarters and palace— expires at midnight on 5 March. India from all sides. Chettri survived because he fell his hand blown off when he picked up a the base was not more prepared. Villagers warning of the impending attack. had initially proposed 50 percent value into a trench while trying to escape after the Maoist grenade and tried to throw it back to around Mangalsen had noticed Maoist build- Nepali Congress MP for Achham Ram addition as qualification for duty-free Maoists blew up his office and set his them. He survived because the Maoists gave up two weeks before the attack, the rebels had Bahadur Bista is livid, and says there was export of Nepali goods to India. In the residence on fire. Eye-witnesses said some him up for dead. We were not allowed to distributed pamphlets, pasted posters and even negligence at the highest level. He said: “I Kathmandu talks this week, the figure 2,500 Maoists stormed the town, moving speak to the other survivor, who was in a organised rallies warning that they would attack myself had informed the prime minister and came down to 35. about in batches of 10-15 in a coordinated state of shock. the district headquarters soon. They even wrote home minister of the build up. And nothing Nepal started bargaining at 20 and manner, and forcing cowering residents out of In a simultaneous attack, the Maoists also threatening letters to the district administration, was done until after it was all over on Sunday has gone up to 25, and may be government buildings before blowing them destroyed the airfield at Sanfebagar 20 km to which were passed on to Kathmandu. morning.” This is what remains puzzling. expected to agree on 30 percent, up and setting them on fire. the north, killing another 27policemen. With With all signs pointing to an impending Why, if so much information was available, though one Nepali official told us: The first explosions had come from the the barracks razed and nearly everyone killed, attack, the Chief District Officer Mohan Singh was nothing done to safeguard Mangalsen and “Twenty-five percent is as far as we top of the spur on which the town sits, where the Maoists had a run of the district headquar- Khatri (who was killed in the raid) is said to Sanfebagar? can go.” It seems the state elections in the military barracks are located, a 10-minute ters. The policemen put up a brave defence, have lamented at an all-party meeting a few (With additional reporting in Kathmandu.) Uttar Pradesh were holding New Delhi back from a softer stance. electricity from the Locally-designed and locally-financed small Syange projects costs Rs 3.57 per unit hydros are changing Nepal’s energy future. Weekly Internet Poll # 22 during the wet Q. Was the VDIS scheme a good or bad idea? Small is feasible season and Rs 5.06 IN SYANGE RAMYATA○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ LIMBU during the dry There is a revolution sweeping hydropower development in Nepal. No, we are not season—in rupees— talking about mammoth projects like the $ 450 million Kali Gandaki A which will come on and even though for line this year. Across Nepal, small-scale power projects, privately-financed and locally the next three years built, are starting to feed electricity into the national grid and helping rural electrification. the price will increase The beauty of these projects is that they don’t need foreign consultants, foreign by six percent aid, or foreign investment. And here in upper Lamjung District on a snow-fed tributary annually, it is still far more competitive. of the Marsyangdi is a shining example of how it works. “The development of water resources by foreign parties, which inevitably had to Last month, the Rs 19 million Syange Project delivered the first unit of electricity to be big enough to justify their costs, led to the price of energy being unaffordable for the national grid, the first kW of hydro electricity supplied to the NEA by a private the Nepali population,” says Kumar Pandey of the Lamjung Electricity Development producer since the 36 megawatt Bhote Kosi Project came on line last year. But there is Company (LEDCO). “This is a new model of hydropower development in Nepal. This is a difference. Electricity from the $100 million Bhote Kosi costs the government 7 cents, the future.” Go to p4 Total votes: 389 approximately Rs 5.40, per unit all year round, and is charged in dollars. Buying 2 EDITORIAL 22 - 28 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES NATION 22 - 28 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES 3 Nepali Times is published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Editor: Anagha Neelakantan COMMENTARY by PUSKAR GAUTAM Design: Kiran Maharjan [email protected], www.nepalitimes.com Advertising: Sunaina Shah [email protected] Subscription: Anil Karki [email protected] Sales: Sudan Bista [email protected] Sanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, Lalitpur GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 01-543333-7, Fax: 01-521013 Printed at Jagadamba Press: 01-521393 COMING OUT OF SLAUGHTER Accham post-mortem hat can we say that we haven’t said before? And is airliner leasing scam and the biggest debacle in the nation’s on the marketplace of ideas.