These are some of the best stories from The Kathmandu Post (March 10, 2020).
Parties spend millions on elections, facilitating corruption and criminalisation, experts say
The finances of Nepal’s political parties have always been murky. The public largely tends to assume that there are billions in dealings, primarily because the parties tend to be exceedingly opaque when it comes to their finances and how they are mobilised, especially during elections.
Three years after the last elections, there is a persistent perception that ‘honest people’ cannot contest elections, given the massive sums of money that are spent.
In the last election, despite the Election Commission placing a ceiling of Rs2.5 million on election expenditure, parties’ spending is believed to have run into the billions.
The victims and human rights defenders reject transitional justice commission’s request for support
Two months have passed since the two transitional justice commissions got their new office-bearers, but they are yet to formally commence their jobs, as the conflict victims and civil society have refused to cooperate.
Conflict victims and civil society members have been saying that unless the government amends the Enforced Disappearance Enquiry and the Truth Reconciliation Commission Act, 2014, they will not cooperate.
Sugarcane farmers postpone second phase of protest over coronavirus fears
Sugarcane farmers, slated to arrive in Kathmandu on March 17 to hold the second phase of their protest programme to pressure mill owners to clear outstanding payments for their crops, have postponed their plan due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Rakesh Mishra, patron of Sugarcane Farmer Struggle Committee, said that the sugarcane growers from the southern plains decided to put off their planned agitation over virus fears.
Thousands of Nepali workers affected as Qatar imposes temporary entry ban amidst Covid-19 outbreak
Nepal’s labour migration is set for a jolt, as Qatar on Sunday decided to place a temporary ban on arrivals from 14 countries, including Nepal, in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak.
The temporary suspension of arrivals announced by the Government Communications Office applies to anyone arriving from Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand, starting Monday.
Locals, entrepreneurs join hands to manage habitat for wild animals in Chitwan
Tourism entrepreneurs, community forest user groups and buffer zone communities have combined forces to manage grassland for wildlife living inside the Chitwan National Park.
This comes amid reports that grassland inside the park is being degraded. The degradation of natural habitat has led to clashes between wild animals inside the park and forced them to wander outside the conservation area.
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