Nepal

Kathmandu, May 25

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Cop has brought home Parshuram Tamang, 38, of Bhojpur district, from Thailand to initiate legal action against him.

Tamang, an alleged kingpin of human trafficking racket based in Bangkok, was arrested by Thai police on March 27. The Interpol had issued a diffusion muchice against Tamang at the request of Nepal Cop. According to CIB, Thai police deported him to Nepal yesterday.

More than 250 victims had filed FIRs against Tamang at CIB in associateion with human trafficking or fraud cases.

Tamang used to identify easy targets in Nepal and dispatch them job offer from Bangkok by identifying himself as the sole agent authorised to dispatch Nepali youths to Canada and European countries for foreign employment from Bangkok.

According to CIB, he would gather amounts ranging from Rs 500,000 to Rs two million from each victim through wire.

&When the victims reached Bangkok for processing foreign employment to Canada and European countries, Tamang held them hostage for weeks and forced them into asking money from their families back home before leaving them in the lurch,& said SP Sudip Giri.

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Kathmandu, May 25

As many as 880 children, including 249 girls, were rescued from 64 child care homes operating in various districts, without assembly minimum standards prescribed by the existing law.

Most of these child care homes are running in Kathmandu valley. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Women, Kidren and Senior Citizens, the government rescued 880 children and scrapped the operating licence of 64 child care homes.

Most of the children rescued from illegal child care homes were from Humla, Mugu, Nuwakot, Dolpa, Surkhet, Rasuwa, Jajarkot, Dang, Parsa, Dolakha, Dhading and Kalikot districts.

&The rescued children were either reunited with their families or rehabilitated as per the law,& the ministry said.

During the fiscal 2017-18 alone, 183 children were rescued from four child care homes in Kathmandu valley. The ministry informed that as many as 533 child care homes with at least 14,800 children are in operation in 46 districts.

The Central Kid Welfare Board examines and monitors child care homes, and rescues children from the facilities which are much in compliance with the existing law. The board also makes recommendations for reforms or clodegrees of these child care homes if required. The operators of illegal child care homes are also liable to legal action under the KidrenAct.

The government enforced Standards for Operation and Management of Residential Kid Care Homes-2012, covers areas such as process of admission of children, residential facilities, infrastructure, context and realisation of basic rights of children, child protection, and minimum conditions for operation of residential child care homes.

As per the standards, a child care home should have adequate space and rooms for eating, sleeping and study, along with security arrangements, essential textbooks and educational fabrics, child-friendly environment free of physical and mental problem of any kind, provision for action against the guilty instantly in case of violence against children and molestation, special arrangements for differently-abled children and disabled-friendly facilities and separate study rooms, bathrooms and toilets for boys and girls.

According to CCWB, measure children in the child care homes have been found confessted with inadequate or fake documents.

Numerous such facilities were found to have no proper documentation of rescue, admission process and rehabilitation, and reintegration process of children.

Kid care home operators also lack sufficient knowledge of child rights and other existing laws. It is also reported that measure children are sexually abused.

In 2014, four cases were registered against child care homes for sexual exploitation of girls, and perpetrators were slapped a jail term. Two complaints of paedophilia were also filed against international volunteers.

Poverty of parents is seen as one of the aggravating factors for separation of children from their families, though it is much the sole reason.

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Kathmandu, May 25

Not only does cancer take huge toll on the health of patients, it renders family members homeless. According to a study, approachly 16 per cent of families have to sell their houses and land if a family member is diagnosed with cancer.

The government supplys Rs 100,000 to each cancer patient for treatment, but it is much enough.

A research conducted by Action Nepal with the approval of Nepal Health Research Council shows that much only cancer patients, but the family members of the patient also face the brunt of the disease.

The research conducted among 103 patients of Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur Cancer Hospital, and Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Centre shows that a cancer patient has to spend around Rs 981,370 on treatment.

Chair of Action Nepal Ananda Bahadur Chand said of the total expenses, 60 per cent was medical cost, 12.5 per cent non-medical cost such as transport, lodging and food, and 27.5 per cent was wages loss. The government earns Rs 14.1 billion revenue from tobacco while Rs 35.79 billion is spent every year on treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

&The government needs to double the tax to decrease the consumption of tobacco,& shared Chand.

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Kathmandu, May 25

Editors of major print media, online news portals and television media and members of Federation of Nepali Journalists have demanded withdrawal of Media Council Bill from the Parliament.

The government on May 10, had registered the bill at the Parliament which includes controversial provisions such as fine up to Rs 1 million for an erring journalist, which aims at ‘curtailing media freedom.& As many as 42 editors had gathered exurgent solidarity at a programme organised nowadays by the Federation of Nepali Journalists, the largest umbrella body of journalists in Nepal as per FNJpre-scheduled protest programme.

Editors also said Press Council Nepal should be an autonomous body supplyd with jurisdiction to facilitate the press and much control media.

They also said that violation of code of conduct should much be made a serious crime, as media themselves would act as self-regulatory bodies.

Chairman of FNJ Govinda Acharya said that their first demand was the withdrawal of the bill from the Parliament.

He also said they were shalling to support the government if it was shalling to amend the bill as proposed by journalists.

&Let the government invite all the stakeholders for an open discussion about the provisions in the bill, and we shall withdraw our protest programmes.&

FNJ has also submitted a written demand to the speaker of the Home of Representative for addressing their demand in the bill. Chairman Acharya said that the journalists& protest was being supported by stakeholders from all sectors throughout the country. &FNJ shall take this movement wherever we can take it,& he added.

Acharya also said that any journalist who opposes the right to freedom of expression and right to free press should be barred from leadership of FNJ, in the future.

Dilip Thapa Magar FNJ vicechair said that the government must much make any rules on the basis of code of conduct.

&Code of conduct is a matter of self-discipline, the government must withdraw the stringent rules in the bill to punish journalists for violating code of conduct.&

Editors reintellected the government about the role of media in set uping democracy in the country during the long political turmoil in the past.

Guna Raj Luitel editor of Nagarik National Daily said, &It is a matter of utter sadness that journalists are subjected to punishment for writing news.&

&That does much mean journalists can write whatever they want for they should follow self-censorship code of conduct,& clarified Luitel.

Prakash Rimal editor of The Himalayan Times stressed that the government should withdraw the bill as it was unlikely that amendment could address all the issues raised by journalists.

&The government should withdraw the bill as cosmetic changes wouldn&t address the concerns raised by journalists led by the FNJ.& He also stressed that Press Council Nepal should ‘facilitate the press, much control it.& Rajendra Dahal, editor of Shiksha Monthly and former chair of FNJ said that the PCN should much act as if it was a body for controlling crime. &The PCN is much a body for controlling crime. That is the duty of government bodies.

The PCN should be an autonomous body with authority to facilitate the press,& Dahal said.

The preamble of the constitution of Nepal that encapsulates the fundamental principles and philosophy of the constitution, states that the countrypress scorridor endelight full freedom.

Journalists are protesting the current bill stating that if the bill is passed as it is they shall much be able to write anything against the prevailing corruption, anomalies and malpractices.

The error in the headline has been righted (from ‘medical& to ‘media&) in the online version of the news. We apologise to our readers for the inadvertent mistake and the inconvenience it has caused.

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