Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (August 7, 2019).
Calls from the police shake up human rights activists
On Sunday afternoon, Daman Nath Dhungana, a veteran human rights activist and former Speaker of the House, received a phone call. It was from the police, who said that his name appeared on a list of human rights activists and they were calling to ask him just what organisation he was affiliated with.
“Such an inquiry itself was enough for me to feel the need for human rights,” Dhungana later tweeted.
Deputy Inspector General Bishwaraj Pokharel, spokesperson for the Nepal Police, confirmed that information about human rights activists was being collected by the police headquarters.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is currently undergoing a medical check-up at the National University Hospital in Singapore on the advice of his doctors. A single-bed general ward A1 room at the hospital costs 535 Singapore dollars, roughly equivalent to Rs44,000, a night, while a deluxe room costs 802 Singapore dollars (Rs66,000) a night.
Oli will be in Singapore for a week and even if he spends all his time at the hospital, he is looking at a sizeable bill. But Oli is not alone. He is in Singapore, the most expensive city in the world according to some measures, with his wife Radhika Shakya; his personal doctor, Dr Dibya Singh; Chief Advisor Bishnu Rimal; Personal Secretary Rajesh Bajracharya; two security personnel; and a protocol officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the expenses for his entire entourage are taken into account, it appears that Oli’s Singapore trip will cost at least a few million rupees.
But if the government is not footing the bill, who is?
Haphazard transfers of technical staff leave health services in disarray
Anil Thapa was the coordinator of the National Prevalence Survey at the National Tuberculosis Centre until last week.
Thapa and his team had carried out a study on tuberculosis prevalence throughout the country for three years. But at the time of writing the report, the government transferred Thapa to the Finance Ministry.
Like Thapa, tuberculosis and leprosy officers serving in the 77 districts have been transferred to the health facilities of rural municipalities, municipalities, sub-metropolises or metropolises, and programmes on tuberculosis and leprosy control have been severely affected.
Metropolitan city says it will book all those who dump garbage in public places during the night
After widespread public criticism over its indifference about litterbugs, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City says it has restarted issuing tickets to fly-tippers.
The metropolitan city had deployed two teams under Inspector Purna Chandra Bhatta of the Metro Police of the city’s Environment Division for the job.
Pathao seeks review on tax liability, Tootle stays passive
The tax authority has said it would recover the tax liability determined for Tootle, a ride-sharing company, as any other dues, as it has neither paid the determined tax nor sought an administrative review.
Tootle’s competitor, Pathao, however, has sought a review through the director general of Inland Revenue Department as per the tax laws, according to the Inland Revenue Department.
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