The Kathmandu Post - 11 May, 2024 (2024)

NEW DELHI,
India’s top court gave temporary bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a graft case on Friday, allowing him to campaign in the ongoing general elections, boosting the opposition alliance of which he is a prominent figure.
The Supreme Court said Kejriwal—a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi—would be out on bail until June 1, the last day of the nationwide seven-phase vote, and would have to return to pre-trial detention on June 2.
India began voting on April 19 and elections for more than half of the 543 seats in parliament have now been completed following the third phase of the vote on May 7.
The two areas governed by Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—the National Capital Territory that includes New Delhi, and the northern state of Punjab—go to the polls on May 25 and June 1 respectively.
Votes will be counted on June 4 and results are expected to be announced the same day.
“It feels good to be back among you,” Kejriwal, dressed in a dark collarless T-shirt, told supporters through the sun-roof of a vehicle soon after being released from Delhi’s Tihar jail.
Thousands of AAP supporters had gathered waving the party’s yellow and blue flags, setting off firecrackers, shouting slogans and distributing sweets.
“I have only one request for you, we have to come together to save the country from dictatorship,” Kejriwal said. “I am fighting with everything I have against this dictatorship. But 1.4 billion people will have to fight dictatorship,” he said, referring to India’s huge population.
The court had said last week that it may consider granting Kejriwal temporary bail “because of the elections” while it heard an appeal against his arrest, as that hearing could take a while to conclude.
Opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using investigative agencies to hurt its rivals, which the government denies.
Over the years Kejriwal has accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of damaging democracy, promoting corruption, throttling governance in Delhi, abusing their power and attacking the federal structure of the constitution among other things.
BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi said the party has always respected the verdicts of the highest court.
“Kejriwal will not be able to play the victim card. He can’t say that he is being discriminated against, that all the agencies and courts are against him,” she told ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
“Secondly, and importantly, he has got interim bail, not freedom. He has to go back to jail on June 2,” Ilmi added.
The Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime-fighting agency, arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in connection with corruption allegations related to the capital territory’s liquor policy.
Kejriwal’s government and his AAP have denied the allegations. Modi and BJP say the investigating agencies are only doing their job and the government is not influencing them.
Kejriwal has been in pre-trial detention since April 1, and his wife Sunita has stepped in to campaign for his decade-old party which has been hobbled by the detention also of two other senior leaders in the same case.
Members of the INDIA alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties—Modi’s main challenger which includes the AAP—said they were pleased that Kejriwal had received bail.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal and a key INDIA member, said she was “very happy” Kejriwal got bail.

KATHMANDU,
After completing her MBA, Devna applied for jobs in the banking industry and found an exciting role.
However, the interview had turned a little uncomfortable when her prospective manager asked about her plans for marriage and motherhood.
She was assigned to a branch.
In the beginning, Devna lived alone and spent long hours at work. She felt her work-life balance could have been better and she was also concerned for her safety when travelling late.
However, her life as an ambitious young banker kept her motivated.
After marriage, she moved in with her in-laws and her ability to work late changed drastically. She now rushed home after the close of business to be with her daughter, care for her ageing in-laws and manage household tasks.
Devna’s work continued to be impeccable.
However, the lack of support from colleagues and increasing chores at home affected her morale. She was unable to travel often as her daughter was still young. This affected her annual appraisal.
Additionally, unclear and inadequate feedback meant she could not improve.
On some days, Devna wanted to take time off to be with her daughter, finish pending chores, and relax. But her manager was reluctant to approve these short breaks. Many colleagues warned her that taking leave would make her seem “less committed” than her peers. She soldiered on, even when she was burnt out.
She was eventually promoted to middle management—years behind her male peers.
New challenges soon emerged. Previously, she was interrupted when speaking during team
meetings. Now, she also felt disrespected by her subordinates.
***
Despite social challenges in the patriarchal society, Nepal’s banking industry is a leader in South Asia when it comes to women’s representation in commercial banks’ workforce, according to a report published on Wednesday.
Women constitute 45 percent of employees in the financial services industry in Nepal, against a regional average of 20 percent, said the report titled ‘Women’s Advancement in Banking in Emerging South Asian Countries’, the first of its kind in the region published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Among South Asian countries, only Bhutan—where women occupy 46 percent of positions in financial services—has a better representation of women.
In commercial banks too, representation of women in the workforce is better than other regional peers; in Nepal, women occupy 42 percent of all roles in surveyed commercial banks compared to 38 percent in Sri Lanka and 18 percent in Bangladesh.
Nepal also has a legal framework to promote women’s economic participation that is more comprehensive than its neighbours in South Asia.
Dedicated laws like those that guarantee parental leave for both women and men and prohibit workplace discrimination based on a person’s sex are in effect and have created a strong foundation for women to participate and contribute to the industry.
Nepal also requires companies, including banks, to have at least one female board member.
Nearly all banks have also instituted policies aimed at improving women’s representation in their workforce.
“Nepal has a strong legal framework to promote women’s economic participation in the country. And these provisions are more comprehensive than other countries in South Asia,” said Martin Holtmann, IFC Country Manager for Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.
“While these progressive policies have allowed Nepal to be a leader in the region, more needs to be done to increase the number of women in leadership positions and to reach gender parity.”
Despite the overwhelming representation of women at the entry level, only 23 percent manage to lead senior management roles in Nepal. The study identifies opportunities that can enable more women to advance to senior roles in the banking industry in South Asia.
The report said that Nepal is ahead of its neighbours in terms of representation in leadership roles as well, but has yet to catch up to the global average.
In comparison, women constitute 20 percent of senior management roles in Sri Lanka and 12 percent of the same in Bangladesh. Nepal also requires companies, including banks, to have at least one female board member.
However, many class-A (commercial) banks do not have female representation on their boards, the report said.
The country has yet to catch up to the global average. Globally, women constitute 28 percent of the senior leadership roles in commercial banks.
The gulf is wider when compared to high-income countries like the United Kingdom where women form 36 percent of the senior leadership in banks.
A majority of the surveyed banks in Nepal have clearly articulated gender diversity and inclusion policies. They have also set gender balance targets for the workforce. However, major gaps still exist.
“To tell the truth, men find it hard to trust and feel at ease with women in senior positions. We belong to a patriarchal society, which makes it difficult for men to obey the orders from women. It hurts their ego,” said Anupama Khunjeli, former CEO of Mega Bank Nepal, now Nepal Investment Mega Bank.
“This is the only issue as I see, otherwise women these days are well-educated and smart.”
As large numbers of Nepali men are going abroad to study and work, women are willing to take jobs in their own country, Khunjeli said.
“Plus women start working at the age of 24-25, the family tells them to get married and once they have a child, they do not become able to compete compared to men as women have the social responsibility to look after the family as well,” Khunjeli said.
“So, women hardly make it to managerial positions. And even if she reached senior managerial level, the high representation of men has low acceptance of women.”
More women are engaged in banks and financial institutions due to their sincerity in jobs with low fraudulent activities, Khunjeli said.

Kathmandu,
Kenisha Thapa could have avoided two years of mental and emotional anguish. She finished her 10th grade in Kavya School, and up until then, her days knew little trouble as her school was unbelievably liberal. Her teachers didn’t harp on her about grades, and were empathetic to students’ concerns. Life was good.
When she began her +2 at a different school, however, hell broke loose.
At her new school, students were not allowed to change their once chosen seats from their first day. Thapa enjoyed her time with her classmates, but there she could barely interact with anyone beyond the two people she first met. Her school had a number of senseless rules—the bathrooms had no mirrors because, according to the school, students should spend all their time studying, not grooming themselves.
In a traumatising incident one day, she was called out in the middle of her high school grounds for merely talking to a guy friend.
“They told me that the way I was talking to a guy friend was ‘unethical’,” said Thapa. “My high school teachers had no idea of what constitutes a healthy environment at schools. Mental health concerns were the least of their priorities.”
In many sociological definitions, schools where children spend the most of their early life, are social institutions that cater to the needs of society by churning out adults who can maintain social harmony, and facilitate social growth.
Research shows that adolescence is a vulnerable time when it comes to mental health, mainly due to the profound physical and mental changes that mark this age.
School counsellors perform a multitude of roles for students—from tackling academic issues, to psychosocial and emotional support, as well as other mental health concerns.
According to the National Health Survey 2022, 13 percent of women of age 14-19 years, and seven percent of the same age group suffer from anxiety. Within the same age group, four percent women, and one percent men have some form of depression.
School students and mental health counsellors alike believe that regular school counselling can go a long way in creating a healthy environment at schools.
Madhu Bilash Khanal has over a decade of experience as a school counsellor. He believes that a school can explore a student’s fullest potential only by providing psychological counselling. Schools should make efforts to understand their students’ feelings and struggles and help them solve the problems.
“It is vital that every school incorporates counselling to bring out the best in their students,” Khanal says.
In western countries, school mental health screening tests are also beginning to gain traction. These tests not only highlight psychological problems, but also serve as a preventative tool for students at risk of developing severe mental health problems.
Khanal states that a major role of school counsellors is also to recognise and refer students with severe psychological problems to hospitals and psychiatric facilities.
A research conducted in 2020 on Nepali teachers’ awareness on the mental well-being of students showed that a significant number of teachers were aware of the emotional and mental health issues of their students. While 10 percent of the teachers had no idea about the issues of their students, a whopping 70 percent were able to identify somatic problems like tiredness, attention problems and 50 percent of the teachers could recognise mental health problems like being sad, bullied, and various speech problems.
Prakriti Pourel, a learning support counsellor at The British School, Kathmandu, shares that school counsellors play a crucial role in creating a safe environment at schools for optimal education. She states that school counselling is a combination of an understanding between teachers, students, as well as parents, to promote the overall mental well-being of a child.
“We, as counsellors, coordinate with teachers to better understand the emotional well-being of a student. If there’s something that a teacher does that affects students emotionally, we ask them to stop,” says Pourel.
Teachers do take a long time to grasp the full extent of mental well-being of students, says Khanal.
“A lot of teachers take mental health lightly. We take time to train teachers that schools are not just about studying. They should also understand students well, and equip them with skills that help them throughout life,” Khanal says.
Thapa, the student, also sees lack of understanding on the teachers’ part as a reason for her emotional distress.
“Teachers at my school didn’t know how to handle these issues privately. First of all, there’s nothing wrong with talking to a boy in my class, and teachers should know that. And there was no need to call me out in front of the entire school like that,” says Thapa.
Often, children suffering from bad academics have hidden family problems. Inability to concentrate at schools, engaging in risky behaviours, poor attendance—they can be the result of deep-rooted personal and family problems.
“School counselling also addresses familial issues, and this involves directly engaging parents in counselling,” Khanal says. “To ensure the best for students, bringing in the parents, and teachers, to counselling is the key to holistic growth of the students.”
A research conducted in Kailali district revealed that students from poor economic backgrounds also have poor academic records. This was because such parents worry about employment more than their children’s education. This eventually results in the students seeking low paying jobs in the labour market.
School counselling may play an important role to avoid this vicious cycle of poverty. Many private schools in the country now employ school counsellors who can cater to the middle- and upper-middle class students. But as students from poor economic backgrounds could be facing even more stress, providing school counsellors in community and government schools, as well as the rural areas of the country is vital.
Khanal, who engages in programmes with community and government schools, with the Centre for Mental Health and Counselling-Nepal (CMC), shares that the government should prioritise catering to the mental health of less-privileged students.
Sambhavya Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has been working with several government schools to incorporate counselling for students, along with teachers, and parents.
On April 28, CMC also announced a plan to start training teachers on mental health and psychosocial counselling in community schools.
Khadka Bahadur Basnet, central committee member of N-PABSON, an umbrella organisation of private schools, agrees that counselling in schools is necessary. He finds faults in the age-old system of rote learning that only tests students’ ability to memorise the texts, instead of truly understanding them.
“That leads students to frustration and to give up on their studies. The only way to bring out the best in students, while also training the teachers to understand students, is counselling,” said Basnet. “Instead of punishing the students, it’s vital to understand them. For this, counselling is absolutely necessary.”
Students that the Post talked to said there is often a hesitancy on their part to seek counselling. At times, they choose to keep it to themselves for a while.
Many students may take time to open up fully, especially while deciding to take one-on-one sessions. Pourel, , the learning support counsellor, shares her observation that as opposed to girls, boys are much less forthcoming on their issues, and almost never approach mental health counsellors on their own.
Despite this, students that the Post talked to agreed that accessible counselling would benefit both their psychological and academic lives.
A study conducted in Kenya also revealed that a significant amount of students felt positive changes and satisfaction following school counselling. Around 74.3 percent of students showed academic improvement, and 80 percent of students expressed a positive student life in the aftermath of psychosocial school counselling.
“If children are told at a young age that it’s okay to ask for help, they will feel heard and healed starting from a vulnerable age. This will significantly improve their mental health in the future,” says Pourel.

Kathmandu,
The main opposition Nepali Congress obstructed the proceedings of the House of Representatives on the first day of the budget session on Friday to press its demand for a parliamentary investigation into Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane for his alleged role in the cooperatives scam.
The party also said it will continue the obstruction until the House forms a committee to investigate Lamichhane and the problems of the cooperative sector.
At the start of the session, Congress lawmakers rose from their seats and chanted slogans until the Speaker asked Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa to make a brief statement. Speaking from his seat, Thapa accused the ruling parties of trying to silence questions in Parliament and warned that his party would not tolerate such attempts.
Similarly, leader of the parliamentary party of the Nepali Congress in the National Assembly House, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, also reiterated on Friday that the party will disrupt proceedings of the upper house until the government announces the investigation committee.
Following Thapa’s warning, the Speaker stopped the House proceeding for 15 minutes and held a discussion with the chief whips of major parties in an attempt to end the stalemate.
In the evening, the Speaker resumed the House session and announced that the home minister wanted to make a statement. However, the Congress lawmakers immediately rushed towards the rostrum and prevented the home minister from speaking.
Speaker Ghimire then adjourned the session until Tuesday.
Police and other state bodies have come up with various probe reports showing Lamichhane’s involvement in cooperative scams. In the latest development, a report of a probe committee formed by the Pokhara Metropolitan City on Thursday revealed that the Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperatives had issued a loan of Rs10 million in the name of Lamichhane based on a form he filled up to borrow the amount.
The transaction details were found when the panel investigated complaints of embezzlement of savings worth Rs1.35 billion by 18,700 members of the cooperative.
Lamichhane, however, on Friday denied the allegation of applying for the loan at the Pokhara-based cooperative.
The Congress also accused the home minister of influencing state organs including the Office of the Attorney General to forestall investigation into the cooperative scam.
“The home minister is facing accusations of embezzling millions of rupees from several cooperatives, yet no case has been filed against him. Also, there has not been any investigation. The prime minister lied to the House. The office of the attorney general was influenced. Should I submit evidence of the home minister taking millions of rupees in loans from various cooperatives? We are demanding a probe committee and until it is formed, we will not allow the House to conduct its business,” said Thapa, speaking in the House on Friday afternoon.
However, the ruling parties, including the home minister, have consistently rubbished the demand for such a committee.
“I am ready to quit politics, if I have taken any loan from a cooperative,” Lamichhane told reporters outside the Parliament building. “Are you [Thapa] too prepared to do the same?”
Congress General Secretary Thapa also challenged Lamichhane to prove the allegations against him wrong through an investigation.
“Today Gaganji claimed he has evidence that I took loans. If I had indeed taken the loan, then I would quit politics. But would he be ready to do the same? Some media are spreading disinformation against me. If it is proven that I applied for the loan, I will quit politics,” said Lamichhane.
But Thapa challenged the home minister. “Come to the parliamentary committee,” said Thapa. “Please prove us wrong, and prove me and Nepali Congress wrong.”
The Congress leaders have accused the home minister of influencing state agencies, perhaps to destroy incriminating evidence against him.
“It has been established by the several inquiries that home minister Lamichhane has taken millions of loans from different cooperatives based in Pokhara, Chitwan and Pokhara,” said Thapa.
“Police have collected these proofs. With so much evidence, why is Lamichhane being let off the hook? Why is he avoiding investigation and obtaining a ‘clean chit’ from an unnecessary police department? According to the Cooperatives Act, no outsider can take loans from a cooperative without becoming its member, and cooperative funds cannot be used in profitable business. But Lamichhane was not a member of any of the cooperatives and the money he borrowed from the cooperatives was ‘illegally’ used to run a media house.”
During their meeting with the Speaker, the Congress stood firm in its demand.
The party also did not allow the Speaker to read out the letter issued by President Ramchandra Paudel.
Another opposition party, the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, has also joined the Congress in demanding a parliamentary investigation against the home minister.
Earlier, on Friday morning, a meeting of the Congress parliamentary party had decided to disrupt both houses of parliament until its demand for parliamentary investigation was addressed.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML chair KP Oli said that the Congress targeted Lamichhane after he rejected the party’s offer to become prime minister. “Now the Congress is digging up dirt on him and playing the game of political vendetta.” Oli was also speaking at the party’s parliamentary meeting on Friday morning.
“At present, the Nepali Congress is not demanding the home minister’s resignation, but it will make the demand soon after the parliamentary committee is formed, citing conflict of interest,” said Oli.
Both the Congress leaders, Thapa and Sitaula, also stated that the Congress has not demanded the resignation of the home minister.
A senior Congress leader said that the party is not going to drop the demand for parliamentary investigation into cooperatives scam until the issue is settled by Parliament.
“This is our red line. The government wants to bring new budget and policies and programmes, but it can do so through an ordinance also. We won’t allow the House to resume as easily as the ruling parties assume,” he said.

MUGU,
With the yarsagumba harvest season kicking off in the highlands of northern districts, many people are taking illegal shortcut routes to get there ahead of schedule and to avoid paying fees for permit fees.
Yarsagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) is a caterpillar fungus prized for its purported medicinal properties. In just one month, officials have arrested and fined 74 collectors for using restricted and prohibited routes inside the Shey Phoksundo National Park.
Yarsa is found in decent quantities in 32 areas, including seven forest areas of Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality, Mugu, and 25 areas of Shey Phoksundo National Park in Dolpa.
According to Bishwababu Shrestha, senior conservation officer of the Shey Phoksundo National Park, permits were issued to collectors only on May 23 to start their treks to the highlands of Dolpa using the traditional routes. Similarly, permits were issued to collectors to start their journey to the Mugu highlands only on May 28. But many others without permits are using illegal routes.
Shey Phoksundo National Park is the largest and only trans-Himalayan national park in Nepal, and it is spread over Mugu and Dolpa. Park officials are having difficulties in carrying out their regular duties because of the trespassers.
Yarsagumba is a parasitic fungus that grows within a variety of moth caterpillars in grasslands high in the Himalayan region. Locally called yarsa, in short, the fungus kills the caterpillar and emerges from the dead body as a thin stem. Yarsagumba is in high demand in a number of countries in East Asia, particularly China.
Yarsagumba fetches up to Rs1.8 million per kilo in Mugu, and up to Rs2 million in Dolpa district.
Shrestha said that the entrance to the highlands is not open, but 74 people were going to the highlands through mountain trails, which require special permission to travel due to various risk factors.
“The number of people using illegal shortcuts to reach the highlands, ignoring the risks, is increasing. On Thursday, a 19-year-old man on his way to the uplands through an illegal route died of altitude sickness,” said Shrestha.
The collectors using illegal routes are mostly from outside Mugu and Dolpa districts.
In order to go to the highlands to collect yarsa, one has to acquire permission from the local unit where the collection area is located, and in the context of Dolpa, one has to acquire permission from the park or the Division Forest Office.
Most of the collectors use illegal routes, risking their lives to reach the highlands early in their attempt to harvest more yarsa and earn more.
The locals of Mugu and Dolpa can acquire permission by paying Rs2,500 per person, and collectors from outside the district have to pay Rs3,000 per person.
Tsering Kyanpe Lama, chairman of Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality, said that despite their repeated efforts, the number of people going to the highlands without acquiring permission, is increasing.
Most of those found in the lower altitudes without permit are turned back without any action, but those found in the highlands are arrested and fined.
“Most of the people arrested using illegal means and without permission were from Jumla. The traditional route for the highlands is through the banks of the Karnali River, which takes three to four days to reach the highlands and more if the weather is bad,” said Lama. “Last year, around 9,000 people went to the highlands to collect yarsa, and two people died due to altitude sickness. We don’t have exact information about people who get lost in the highlands or die, because around 300 to 400 people go to the highlands without obtaining permission or registering themselves,” Lama added.
Shrestha said that the security personnel of the park are having difficulties controlling the people using the illegal routes.
“The local units of both districts have also deployed people along with police to tackle trespassing and to verify permits, but due to the huge influx of people, mainly from outside the district, everybody is having difficulties controlling them,” said Shrestha. “There are countless routes in the mountains to reach the highlands, and due to a lack of manpower, we cannot cover them all,” Shrestha added.

KATHMANDU,
The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Khagaraj Adhikari-led Gandaki provincial government from taking any decisions with long-term consequences.
The interim order issued by the single bench of Justice Abdul Aziz Musalman prohibits the government from doing any work other than regular tasks. The bench was responding to a writ petition filed by immediate past chief minister Surendra Raj Pandey of the Nepali Congress against the controversial vote of confidence given to the chief minister in the provincial assembly on Sunday.
“An interim order not to take decisions with long-term consequences has been issued for now as the court, during a final hearing, will decide whether the position of the chief minister remains intact and what is the majority number determined by the constitution for appointing a chief minister,” the court said in the order.
The bench issued a show-cause notice to the defendants, prioritised the writ petition and scheduled its next hearing for May 21.
On May 5, the Speaker of Gandaki provincial assembly declared that Chief Minister Adhikari secured the trust vote. Amid protest from the opposition party, Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital announced that the votes obtained by the chief minister constituted a majority based on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling.
The announcement triggered yet another controversy regarding the majority number in the 60-strong provincial assembly.
A total of 30 members voted in favour of Chief Minister Adhikari. Then the Speaker claimed that the number was sufficient to prove the majority’s support.
Meanwhile, the top court on the same day refused to issue an interim order as sought by the plaintiff in a separate writ petition challenging the appointment of Hikmat Karki as the Koshi chief minister.
Hearing a petition filed by the immediate past chief minister Kedar Karki of the Congress, a single bench of Justice Hari Phuyal asked the defendants including the Office of the Province Head to furnish reasons within 10 days for the appointment and to explain why the order sought by the plaintiff should not be issued.
“There is no need for an interim order; it is more suitable to resolve the dispute through a final hearing as it requires a constitutional interpretation,” the bench said in the order.
The bench scheduled the final hearing in the writ petition on May 22.
The former chief minister moved the top court on Thursday, terming the appointment of UML’s Hikmat Karki as unconstitutional.
On Thursday, Koshi Province Head Khapung appointed Hikmat Karki after the UML leader staked his claim to the post with the support of 52 lawmakers. The backing of 47 lawmakers is the minimum needed to form a government in the 93-strong assembly.
It is Karki’s third stint as chief minister and the sixth government in Koshi in the 17 months.

RUKUM WEST: Two people died and three others were injured when a tractor plunged into the Bheri River in ward 14 of Athbiskot Municipality, Rukum West, on Friday. According to Police Inspector Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, information officer at the District Police Office Rukum, the tractor en route to Jajarkot from Athbiskot fell some 150 metres down the road, killing two men aged 22 and 18 from Athibiskot. The injured were taken to Chaurjahari Mission Hospital for treatment, he added. Further investigation into the case is underway, said officials.

LAMJUNG: On Thursday night, police arrested a 46-year-old man from ward 7 of Madhyanepal Municipality on charge of raping a 14-year-old mentally challenged girl. According to Police Inspector Thaneshwar Chapai, information officer at the Lamjung District Police Office, the girl was allegedly raped by the man in a local forest on Thursday afternoon, and the arrest was made after victim’s relatives filed a complaint. The accused was presented at the District Court on Friday and has been remanded into judicial custody by the court. Further investigation into the case is going on, said Chapai.

KAVRE: A charred and decomposing body of a man was found in Biraje Kholcha Forest in ward 4 of Panchkhal Municipality on Friday morning. According to Rajkumar Shrestha, an information officer at the Kavre District Police Office, they are investigating the incident as a case of homicide. The man was found tied to a tree using wires and burned. The identity of the man, thought to be of around 30 years of age, has yet to be ascertained. A preliminary police investigation has suggested that the man was killed more than two weeks ago. The body has been sent for a post-mortem, and further investigation into the case is going on, said Shrestha.

KATHMANDU,
On July 14, 2016, Ajit Mijar, 18, was found dead in Dhading in suspicious circ*mstances. The boy belonging to the Dalit community was in a relationship with a girl from the so-called ‘upper caste’, which her family opposed.
The police recorded his death as suicide and his corpse declared as unidentified as he belonged to Kavrepalanchok, a different district. The body was quickly buried by the authorities without informing the family.
Suspecting foul play, Hari Bhakta, Ajit’s father, filed the first information report with the Area Police Office, Gajuri of Dhading on July 17, 2016, claiming the case to be murder. He named three relatives of the girl as suspects. The police, after investigating the incident, lodged a case in the district court. In June 2018, the Dhading District Court acquitted all three accused.
The decision was challenged in a higher court. However, the Patan High Court in April 2022 upheld the lower court’s verdict to acquit the accused.
After instructions from the High Court Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Office of the Attorney General decided not to appeal the judgement. Unsatisfied with the decision, Ajit’s father moved the Supreme Court challenging the decisions of the subordinate courts. Ajit’s corpse is lying in a morgue in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital as his family is unwilling to perform the funeral rites until justice is served.
“In Nepal, where caste-based discrimination is systemic and widespread, several Dalits like Mijar even lose lives due to the criminal practice,” read a research report by Amnesty International unveiled on Friday. “Yet justice is not served.”
The report “No One Cares: Descent-Based Discrimination against Dalits” documents the experience of systemic caste-based discrimination in Nepal and the challenges they face in accessing justice.
The report based on focus group discussions with 52 individuals from different sectors and one-on-one meetings with 21 representing Dalit communities from Madhesh, Lumbini and Karnali provinces says that the victims are discouraged to register complaints. And even when cases are lodged, there is no assurance of justice owing to the loopholes in the existing law, as per the report.
It claims that at the time of registering a first information report (FIR), the Dalit victims are required to produce evidence of untouchability practice or the discrimination they faced. In some incidents, the victims are beaten by the police to deter them from filing the cases, states the report.
As per the records at the Attorney General’s Office, as many as 52 cases relating to caste-based discrimination were filed in the district courts. Of them, 15 ended in conviction while 12 resulted in acquittal. Similarly, among 42 cases filed in the high courts, only 10 resulted in conviction.
If the claim of Durga Sob, a Dalit rights activist, is anything to go by, less than five percent of cases of caste-based discrimination reach the police.
The reports claim that untouchability has become a norm even if untouchability and caste-based discrimination have been prohibited and criminalised by law.
“Untouchability is an everyday affair in Nepal and the culture of impunity is deeply rooted in the society,” said Monica Vincent, a lead researcher of the report. “The role of the police has been seen as a barrier in accessing justice.”
Officials at the Amnesty International say there are constitutional as well as legal instruments in place against the caste-based discrimination. However, they have not been rightly implemented.
“The authorities in Nepal are not doing enough to counteract the culture of impunity for human rights violations related to descent-based discrimination in Nepal,” said Fernanda Doz Costa, Amnesty International’s director for gender and racial justice programme.
“Efforts made by the authorities are still inadequate and insufficient, and they seem to exist only on paper but do not translate into real changes in the lives and the human rights of Dalits, Dalit women and girls in particular.”
The organisation pointed out that impunity is rampant for several reasons, including inadequate statute of limitations provisioned in existing laws, lack of representation of Dalits in the justice system and institutional discrimination in the police and lack of effective oversight mechanisms and accountability.
“Dalits do not trust the police and the justice system in general, and the limited government level data and statistics available [only 30-43 cases per year registered under the Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability, (Offence and Punishment) Act] confirm their distrust is well-founded, including for Dalit women confronting caste-based violence,” reads the report.
“The inactions or limited actions of Nepali authorities, including failing to hold public officers accountable and closing the trust deficits are reinforcing this culture of impunity and are sending a message to society that caste- and gender-based discrimination and violence are acceptable and natural.”
Amnesty International said the Nepali authorities must create a holistic plan for a truly transformative response to uproot the caste- and gender-based violence and discrimination based on human rights obligations and with an intersectional lens.
There is an urgent need to take special measures to improve the situation of Dalit women and girls due to the inter-generational history of oppression and entrenched culture of caste bias, patriarchy and discrimination, it said.
“Nepal must fulfil its obligation to provide effective, timely and meaningful access to justice and reparations for survivors. It must move away from merely paying lip service to the ideals of achieving equality for all but take a concrete human-rights-centric approach to relegating descent-based discrimination to the dustbins of history,” said Costa.

KATHMANDU,
A total of 1,500 youths from various districts of the country have been receiving vocational training imparted by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
The city office said that an additional 1,100 youths, who had shown keen interest in training, will be selected in the second phase, which will start after the completion of the first batch.
“Our staff have been sorting out additional candidates who are genuinely interested in the training,” said Shailendra Jha, a member of the municipal planning commission. “They will receive training in the second phase.”
The City office had planned to train 2,081 youths in the KMC “Skill Fair-2024” that kicked off on May 1. However, the number of unemployed youths applying for the training opportunity is set to increase given the high demand, officials said. Some aspirants have arrived in Kathmandu all the way from several remote districts.
According to KMC officials, the training is being imparted in collaboration with various organisations including Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal and others.
“Some youths will graduate after a week and some in three weeks,” said Jha. “The training may not make one fully skilled but help them figure out the area of their interest, help them get basic knowledge and encourage them to search for apprenticeship training.”
Officials said they have also contacted various companies to provide on-the-job training to those completing the municipal course. The majority of the youths receiving training are non-voters of the metropolis, according to officials. Most youths have shown interest in mobile repair, computer maintenance, house wiring and plumbing.
The metropolis plans to tie the programme to its labour bank, which was started to help unemployed youths in finding jobs and to help private organisations, companies and business entities operating in the metropolis find the required workforce.
Around 400 unemployed youths, who had applied for jobs, have found jobs under the city office itself for repair and maintenance, cleaning, environmental conservation, and river cleaning. Officials said that organisations and companies can also approach the metropolis if they want to hire the unemployed youths.

LONDON/SINGAPORE,
The dollar steadied on Friday after losing ground overnight on the back of US data showing further signs of a cooling labour market, while the British pound inched higher after data showed the UK economy beat expectations in the first quarter.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at 155.68 yen, up 0.15 percent but unable to reclaim Thursday’s 155.95 high. The euro stood at $1.0783, almost flat after a 0.3 percent gain overnight.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was little changed at 105.22 after falling 0.3 percent on Thursday.
The retreat followed data showing a jump in initial claims for US state unemployment benefits. Coming on top of last week’s weak payrolls report, it further encouraged investors that the Federal Reserve will start lowering interest rates in the autumn and spurred buying of stocks and bonds, pulling down yields.
Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said the dollar was unlikely to fall too far, however, given that high US interest rates still make US bonds attractive.
“They’re still offering the highest rates in the G10 space. So that, in tandem with low volatility, suggests the US dollar will remain supported,” he said.
“It’s setting up to be more range-trading unless we see some kind of a shock.”
Investors nudged sterling higher on Friday after data showed the UK economy grew 0.6 percent, more than expected, in the first quarter of the year, exiting a mild recession.
The pound was last up 0.1 percent at $1.2537, having traded at $1.2516 before the figures. It fell to a two-week low on Thursday after the Bank of England held interest rates but paved the way for a cut in the summer.

MILAN,
Atalanta head into Sunday’s Serie A top-five showdown with dejected Roma on the highest of highs after reaching their first ever European final in the greatest night of the club’s 117-year history.
Used to punching above their weight, traditionally tiny Atalanta keep reaching new heights under Gian Piero Gasperini and will face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final on May 22 after yet
another swashbuckling performance against sorry Marseille on Thursday night.
In eight brilliant years under Gasperini Atalanta have failed to win the trophy their often thrilling football has deserved but now have the chance to claim two in seven days as they also face Juventus in the Italian Cup on Wednesday.
Just getting to those two finals is a remarkable achievement for a club whose only major honour is the 1963 Italian Cup, while the furthest Atalanta had previously gone in European competition was the last four in the 1988 Cup Winners’ Cup when they were a second division team.
But the rough-and-ready days of Serie B are long gone as the well-organised club led by the local Percassi family continue to progress beyond their station while still staying true to their home town of Bergamo.
Fireworks were fired from behind the stands long before the final whistle at the Gewiss Stadium, their own sparkling new arena and built on the site of the old, ramshackled and city-owned Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
When finished, scheduled for the start of next season, the ground will hold 25,000 supporters drawn almost entirely from the city and province of Bergamo, which is nestled at the foot of the Alps and was the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic when Atalanta were cruelly denied a Champions League semi-final by Paris Saint-Germain in 2020.
“Maybe the final is between two clubs that don’t make the TV companies very happy, but it will give hope to plenty of teams,” Gasperini told reporters.
“You can play good football without having millions of fans all over the world. Football is also about the fans we all saw in the stadium tonight in Bergamo.”
A good chunk of those fans will be shaking off hangovers on Friday morning after thousands flooded into the centre of Bergamo to celebrate their team’s 4-1 aggregate thumping of Marseille.

Downbeat Roma
Their buoyant mood contrasts sharply with Roma’s, who came close to completing a remarkable comeback against Leverkusen in Thursday’s other Europa League semi only to suffer late heartbreak in Germany.
Daniele De Rossi’s team have been running on fumes for weeks and now have to break back into the top five if they are to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2018.
Goal difference separates Roma from Atalanta, who have a game in hand and are nestled in the fifth and final spot for Europe’s top club competition, and De Rossi needs to pick his team up following their 4-2 aggregate defeat to never-losing Leverkusen.
Roma’s talisman Paulo Dybala sat out Thursday’s painful elimination, which came after Leandro Paredes levelled the tie at two apiece with a brace of penalties, and De Rossi said that the Argentina international had not fully recovered from a thigh injury picked up last weekend against Juventus.
De Rossi will also be without Leonardo Spinazzola on Sunday after the Italy full-back pulled up early on Sunday night as he tries to hold back Atalanta’s wave of positivity.