Sep 30, 2013

Quality of gold products improving, tests show

KATHMANDU, SEP 30 -Latest market monitoring and sample tests of jewellery have shown gold dealers have started to maintain quality in their products. Of the 14 products tested on Sunday, 13 were of “first class” quality, according to the Department of Commerce and Supply Management.

Resuming the inspection of the jewellery market, the department on Sunday monitored five jewellery shops—New Baral Jewellery, Sayapatri Merry gold Jewellers, Lucky Jewellers, Natraj Jewellers and Jaya Matadi Gold Palace—of the Capital.

“We found the outlets maintaining first class quality this time,” said Hari Narayan Belbase, director of the department. He added the 24-carat gold products were found 99.6 percent pure, against 90 percent in some products in previous inspections.

The sample tests, which were conducted by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) on Sunday, showed only one product of Sayapatri Merry gold Jewellers was of low quality. The monitoring team had sent products such as gold chain, necklace, earring, ring, bangle and silver products for the tests.
The department has instructed jewellery traders to keep the price list in their shops and submit the purchase and sale bills of the last 10 days within the next three days.

Sep 28, 2013

Money goes Mobile

KATHMANDU--When Shiv Bhushan Lal had first made a call to Nepal from Finland using a mobile phone the size of a small briefcase, he was absolutely amazed by the technology. The year was 1987, and Lal, an IT professional, had been attending a training organised by Nokia. In the almost three decades since, however, the realm of communications and mobile technology has witnessed a veritable explosion, the impact of which has been seen and felt the world over. The advancements therein have come to revolutionise lives, thanks to the many—and ever-growing—services that might’ve once seemed impossibly far-fetched, but are now available at the click of a button. And mobile-banking is a prominent instance among these, a feature that is fast gaining in popularity even in Nepal, and one that is set to forever change the way we conduct financial transactions.

The evolution of the mobile phone has been fascinating to behold. Simple boxy equipment with limited black-and-white display have now morphed into sleeker, more user-friendly designs, with great quality colourful visuals, as seen in the almost-ubiquitous smartphones, for example. But more than aesthetics alone, it’s how these hand-held devices have come to represent the centre of convergence between a range of technologies that has really defined their ascent. And that has precisely been the appeal of mobile-banking around the world, and what mobile financial services platforms like Fonepay and Hello Paisa are now out to cash in on in Nepal.

Lal is the present-day head of the IT directorate at Nepal Telecom (NT), which introduced the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) here in 1999, and he says that the ease of cashless transactions that mobile banking is set to offer is a major draw. "Imagine never having to handle bundles of paper money, and still being able to channel your savings as you please," he says. "Who wouldn’t prefer that?" Lal believes that in a country where mobile phones have spread so far and wide in a short while, and where it is not physically possible to establish bank outlets in all remote corners, a collaboration between telecom companies and banks could pave the way for mobile banking to become a dominant, and more convenient, mode of transaction.

NTA asks telcos, ISPs to revise promotions

KATHMANDU, SEP 28 -The Nepal Telecommunications Authority ( NTA ) has instructed the telecom operators and internet service providers (ISP) to stop implementing promotional schemes beyond three months. The telecom regulator said the move was taken in order to discourage possible unhealthy competition.  The telecom sector regulator had earlier restricted telecom companies and ISPs from launching lucky draw based promotional offers two weeks ago.

The NTA also made it mandatory for the companies to introduce schemes that would cover all the subscribers of their service, after a few companies introduced schemes that benefited only a certain category of customers.The regulator’s directive has come at the time when the companies are introducing schemes targeting the festivals. The instructions have affected Ncell, Smart Tel and Subisu Cable Net the most among others.

The Smart Telecom had been providing an offer whereby customers purchasing a SIM card and credit worth Rs 100 previously received a talk time value of Rs 1,000, according to the NTA . “These types of offers the companies had been providing do not promote fair competition,” said Arjun Ghimire, deputy director at the NTA . He said that if the companies are found running any schemes without approval, they would take action.

Sep 26, 2013

Makalu Yatayat asked to explain ‘suspicious’ Dashain bookings

KATHMANDU, SEP 26 --Makalu Yatayat , one of the major transport operators providing services from Kathmandu to eastern parts of the country, has been allegedly receiving advance ticket bookings in “a suspicious way”. The Department of Transport Management has directed the company to give clarification regarding the advance reservations on Thursday.

The suspicious ticketing was revealed after a monitoring team, comprising of officials from the department and police, on Wednesday inspected the head office of Makalu Yatayat , located at Kalanki.

The inspection team has also taken copies, detailing the advance ticketing, for further investigation. “The operators were found reserving 6-20 tickets under a single name, which is dubious,” said Baikuntha Sapkota, inspection officer of the department. “To give an example, Chandra Mani Guragain is issued 20 tickets in advance for Dashain.”

Sep 25, 2013

KTM-Hetuada Tunnel Highway construction to begin November 11

KATHMANDU, SEP 25 -The construction of the much-talked-about Kathmandu-Kulekhani Tunnel Highway is all set to begin from November 11. An executive committee meeting of Nepal Purbadhar Bikas Company (NPBC) held on Monday decided to kick start the construction work.

Last Monday, the first annual general meeting (AGM) of NPBC elected a new executive committee under the chairmanship of Kush Kumar Joshi. Other members of the committee are Jayaram Lamichhane, Pradip Jung Pandey, Sukunta Lal Hirachan, Subash Chandra Thakuri, Sidhi Lal Shrestha, Mohan Basnet, Rajuman Maharjan and Nugal Ananda Baidhya. Lal Krishna KC has been elected vice-chairman of the company.

NPBC was established last year to build the tunnel highway , a national toll road of Asian Highway Standards. “We found November 11 the appropriate date after festival to start construction,” said Joshi, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. He said the construction would complete as per the schedule.

NPBC has targeted to complete the construction of the 58-km highway by December 2016, making Hetauda only an hour’s drive away from Kathmandu.The highway will have three tunnels with a combined distance of 4.5 km in Chobhar, Kulekhani and Bhaise. In a bid to attract investment in the project, the AGM has also decided to devise a favorable rule for individual and collaborative investors.

Government action against Dashain bus ticket cheats

KATHMANDU, SEP 25 -The government has taken action against transport entrepreneurs collecting higher fares during advance ticket bookings for Dashain. Through the monitoring, the Department of Transport Management had found some booking counters at Sundhara and New Bus Park overcharging customers.

Focusing on the advance ticket reservations for the Dashain rush; the department, in cooperation with police, has been carrying out daily monitoring on advance ticketing for the last week. “We have started taking action on each transporter or committee charging higher fares from customers,” said Mukti Prasad KC, spokesperson of the department.

He added that they have been issuing notice to the transporters for clarification, and those not abiding would be punished as per law. During the monitoring, Mahakali Yatayat was found to be overcharging customers on the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route from ticker counters in New Bus Park, according to Baikuntha Sapkota, inspection officer of the department. Similarly, counters that were assigned to issue advance tickets for Kathmandu-Baglung, Beni, and Parbat were found to be charging higher fares than the government set price from its counters at Sundhara.

Sep 24, 2013

11 percent of Nepalis have internet access: UN report

KATHMANDU, SEP 24 -Nepal has been ranked in the 148th position among 192 countries in terms of the percentage of population having access to internet service.The report entitled The State of Broadband 2013 published by the UN Broadband Commission states that 11.1 percent of Nepalis use the internet .

Compared to the 2012 rankings, Nepal has slipped nine places. Last year’s report on broadband access worldwide had put Nepal in the 139th position with internet penetration at 9 percent.

Even though the country has experienced rapid development in the telecom sector during the last one decade, it has lagged behind in extending fixed and mobile broadband connection to a wider section of the population. The report has put Nepal in the 136th position, down from the 127th spot last year, on the basis of fixed broadband lines provided.

Fixed broadband, also known as wired broadband service which includes cable internet , ADSL and cable modem, has reached 0.4 per 100 inhabitants. Similarly, the country is in the 99th position among 128 developing countries with 4.1 percentage of the households having internet connection.

Officials at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) said that the sector could not progress at the pace of international economies that resulted in Nepal slipping in the international rankings. “Due to growing competition and the entry of new operators, mobile broadband will witness good growth in the days to come,” said Ananda Raj Khanal, director of the NTA.

Sep 23, 2013

Fate of fast track project hangs in balance

KATHMANDU, SEP 23 -In a major setback to the development of the Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track, none of the three short-listed Indian firms submitted the request for proposal (RFP) to undertake the project, leaving the fate of the76km expressway uncertain.

With this, the government’s efforts to select an investor for the project appear to have been in vain after selection procedures took nearly five years. The deadline for submitting the RFP ended on Sunday without receiving any proposals from the three Indian firms: the Reliance Infrastructure, the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) and the Larsen and Turbo (L&T) Infrastructure Development Projects. Earlier, the government had twice extended the deadline for submitting the RFP.

“We did not receive proposals for the Fast Track road,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. He added that the Fast Track Project Steering Committee, under the chairmanship of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, would soon hold a meeting to decide the next step to be taken for the construction of the road.

The firms were supposed to submit the RFP with detailed descriptions about the approximate construction cost, average annual maintenance operation cost, likely construction period, traffic, revenue forecast and feasibility.

After the firms failed to submit the bid documents in June, the Physical Infrastructure Ministry had extended the RFP submission deadline by three months as per the request of IL&FS and L&T.They had proposed undertaking a study on the possible impacts of the Kathmandu-Hetauda Tunnel Highway on the traffic of the Fast Track. The government has already permitted the Nepal Purbadhar Bikas Company to construct the tunnel highway.

Sep 19, 2013

Nepal's economic freedom declines further

KATHMANDU, SPET 18--The country’s economic freedom has slid further being world’s one of the least economically free countries.  The Economic Freedom of the World 2013 shows that Nepal has been ranked in 125 among 152 nations.

The annual report is produced by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank, in cooperation with independent institutes in 80 nations and territories, which includes. It was released amid a function in the Capital on Wednesday by Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, which is the partner institute from Nepal for Fraser Institute.

Nepal ranks 125 among152 countries this year with the overall score of 6.19, according to a press release issued by Samriddhi. Compared to the overall score of 6.33 in 2012 and ranking as 110th among 144 countries, Nepal has slid further down on the economic freedom ladder this year. 

This year’s report shows that the overall levels of economic freedom have increased modestly around the globe. However, for Nepal it is not the case. Compared to the previous year, growing government and decrease in freedom to trade internationally contributes to Nepal’s declining performance this year, as per the report.

Nepal has showed mixed performance in regards to all the five measured areas of economic freedom that include--size of government; access to sound money; freedom to trade internationally; and regulation of credit, labour, and business and legal structure and security of property rights. Though its ranking and scores in some of the areas have improved, Nepal’s overall performance in terms of economic freedom continues to be low.

15pc of Ncell stations to have solar back up by end of 2013

KATHMANDU, SEP 19 -The Ncell company has announced that it will have 15 percent of its total base stations backed up by solar power by the end of 2013. The company has been giving priority to ‘going green’ by building the solar based stations, sighting both power cuts and environmental impact for the switch.

Normally, investment for solar based stations is substantially higher compared to traditional, electrical grid powered base stations. “Ideally, it would be better if we had an uninterrupted electricity supply. But, when that’s not happening, we would rather switch to solar than diesel generators,” said Sanju Koirala, corporate communication director of the telecommunication giant.

While the company is heavily focused on expanding, they are still committed to customers receiving quality service while being in harmony with the environment. For any mobile company, building a network is a monumental task, but ensuring the system is up and running requires an ongoing commitment.

Multiple avenues have been implemented for customer care, such as contact centres, front offices, dealers support, Ncell shop support, e-care, corporate and channel sales, and emails. The customers can have any concerns addressed through these channels, according to the company.  The Ncell company has 80 percent of its total sites backed up by optical fiber and microwaves to ensure quality is delivered, irrespective of any disturbances. It has been running 3G sites with satellite connection, and installed the highest 3G site in the world; at the 5,171 metre high Everest Base Camp.

Sep 18, 2013

Gold import quota hiked to 20 kg a day

KATHMANDU, SEP 18 -The government has increased the gold import quota by 5 kg, to 20 kg per day, for a three month period. The import quantity has been hiked, focusing on the upcoming festival and wedding season, during which the demand normally rises.

A board meeting of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Monday decided to increase the quota. “Import quota has been increased by 5 kg, as the wedding season is starting immediately after the festivals,” said Bashkar Mani Gyawali, spokesperson of the NRB.

Normally, the demand for gold rises during festivals and the wedding season. According to gold dealers, despite the festival season, customers’ attraction toward the yellow metal is comparatively less this year, and traders have not bought the metal from the banks. This has resulted in gold stocks of over 300 kg in banks that are authorised to import.

Over the last three weeks, dealers have not bought the gold given the low demand, and fewer orders are being supplied by smugglers at cheaper rates than the pricing of the banks, a source said.

SC scraps cases against unified licence

KATHMANDU, SEP 18 -The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday scrapped the cases related to the unified telecom licence, paving the way for the government to move ahead with the new telecom licensing regime intended to allow all small telecom companies to operate nationwide GSM cellular mobile service.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Damodar Prasad Sharma and Justice Tarka Raj Bhatta took the decision scrap the seven writ petitions.

With this, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s (NTA) decision to issue the unified licence, spectrum policy and an ad-hoc committee formed to make policy-level decisions at NTA have received the legal backing.

“The decision has opened the door for big investment in the telecom sector and its further development,” said Ananda Raj Khanal, acting chief of the NTA. He said they would now be able to auction the 3G and 4G spectrums, besides bringing new mobile operators in the market.

Tuesday’s decision of the court means there will be greater competition in the GSM segment, making the tariff cheaper and ultimately benefiting the consumers. Currently, Nepal Telecom (NT) and Ncell are proving the GSM mobile service.

Sep 17, 2013

Indian firm set to bag smart card driving licence project

KATHMANDU, SEP 17 -The government is all set to award the contract of the much-talk-about project on electronic driving licence to India’s Madras Security Printers.

A meeting of the Project Implementation Unit under the Department of Transport Management on Monday decided to call the Indian company for signing an agreement. Sources said the Indian company will be invited by Wednesday.

“Madras Security Printers has stood first among the three shortlisted firms after evaluation and marking of both technical and financial proposals,” said the source.

The hi-tech e-driving licence and blue book project had landed into controversy after it was revealed that Madras Security Printers was blacklisted in India for selling personal information to private companies.

The source added they received a “no objection” from the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday and from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week on awarding the contract to the Indian company. The ADB, under its ICT Development Project, has provided $2.3 million for this project to the department.

Sep 16, 2013

Bus ticket bookings for Dashain travel to open tomorrow

KATHMANDU, SEP 16 -Transporters are opening advance bus ticket bookings for Dashain travel from Tuesday for all destinations across the country. The government is also set to establish temporary help desks for customers from the same day.

After a meeting with the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), the Federation of Nepalese Nati-onal Transport Entrepreneurs has issued a circulation to all bus operators’ committees, asking them to start ticket reservations within September 17-22. Earlier, the transporters had planned to start the bookings on September 21.

“Customers can book tickets from places like New Bus Park at Gongabu and Old Bus Park starting Tuesday,” said Dol Nath Khanal, general secretary of the transporters’ federation. He added all existing vehicles, including those normally unused due to a lack of demand, and new vehicles would be operated by transporters during Dashain .

According to transporters, over 150 new vehicles have been imported by companies focusing on Dashain demand. Dashain , the biggest Hindu festival, each year witnesses a mass exodus, with people traveling to different parts of the country leaving the Kathmandu valley almost deserted. With the cost of air travel unattainable to many, road transport plays a vital role during this time. Since the festival gets under way on October 15, the Dashain departure will start from the next day, according to transporters.

Sep 15, 2013

Policy on electric and hybrid vehicles soon

KATHMANDU, SEP 15 -If things go as per the government’s plan, the much-awaited policy on the electric and hybrid vehicle s will come into effect within next two months. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) has prepared a draft and sought feedbacks from authorities concerned.

The ministry has asked for suggestions on the draft policy form environment, finance, urban development and industry ministries, the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs and the Nepal Electricity Authority. It said the draft will be forwarded to the Cabinet for endorsement incorporating the inputs.

Customs duty waiver for making electric and hybrid automobiles comparatively cheaper, charging stations for electric public vehicle s and conversion of fossil fuel-run old vehicle s into environment-friendly, among others, are envisioned in the policy. “Many countries have already started converting fuel-run cars into electric, but it has not been permitted in our country so far,” said Nabin Pokhreal, senior divisional engineer at the MoPIT.

Once the policy is endorsed, the government will amend the Vehicle and Transport Management Act to make the policy attuned with the law for effective implementation, according to Pokhrel. Even though there is huge scope of bringing and operating eco-friendly four-wheelers in the country, absence of a policy has made such vehicle s expensive due to the exiting provision of heavy customs duty. “The future transport is electric automobiles so there is no other option but to promoting their use and making such products affordable through tax waiver,” said Shekhar Golchha, president of the Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

Don’t launch lucky draw schemes, NTA tells telcos

KATHMANDU, SEP 15 -The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has issued an interim directive to telecom companies and internet service providers (ISPs) not to introduce schemes based on lucky draw. It has also asked operators to stop promotional offers if there is any of such kind.

Ananda Raj Khanal, acting chief of the NTA, said that the directive would help discourage service providers from luring customers to spend more on their services, while appealing with companies to focus on quality service and tariff instead. “Our instruction will remain effective until the NTA board comes up with a new decision regarding this issue,” he added.

Currently, there is no full board at the NTA, with the case regarding Chairman Digambar Jha currently in the Supreme Court. As per Khanal, the authority will come up with clear guidelines for telecom companies and internet service providers about the limitation of schemes and procedures concerning customer offers.

Sep 12, 2013

Buoyant Sajha Yatayat to expand fleet, routes

KATHMANDU, SEP 12 -Sajha Yatayat Cooperative is planning to expand its fleet encouraged by the overwhelming response to the resumption of its bus services in April with 16 new coaches. The cooperative has been looking for funds from bank and financial institutions to buy buses for its expansion plan.

Sajha plans to operate on other routes in the Kathmandu valley and elsewhere in the country after it acquires new equipment. The number, types and features of the vehicles to be added will depend on the amount of money available, said Sajha. “If things go well, we will be bringing modern Euro IV emission standards vehicles for operation on additional routes in the valley within a year,” said Mahendra Pandeya, manager of Sajha. He added that with the widening of the roads in the valley and increased demand, operation of public transportation services had bright prospects.

Sajha resumed services after a decade-long gap with 16 new buses on two routes. They are Satdobato-Lagankhel-Jawalakhel-Tripureshwor-Ratna Park-Maharajgunj-Basundhara-New Bus Park and Kalanki-Kalimati-New Baneshwor-Tinkune-Airport. Since the service started, more than 10,000 commuters have been riding Sajha buses daily.

Sep 11, 2013

TeliaSonera to exist from NST

KATHMANDU, SEP 11 - TeliaSonera , the parent company of Ncell, has decided to take exit from its ownership in Nepal Satellite Telecom (NST), operator of Hello Nepal brand, citing “regulatory reasons”.

The Swedish multinational company has reached an agreement to sell back its indirect ownership in the NST to Zhodar Investment, booking a loss of Swedish kronor 400 million (equivalent to Rs 6.19 billion) from the deal.

Zhodar Investment is a company based in the British Virgin Islands. Over the past year, uncertainty regarding the regulatory and legal environment for consolidation and granting of licences in Nepal has increased, according to a press release issued by TeliaSonera on Wednesday. “Pursuing an acquisition of the NST is therefore not considered possible for regulatory reasons.”

TeliaSonera had acquired shares ownership from Cyprus based Airbell Services that has 50 percent stake in the NST. “The agreement enables TeliaSonera to concentrate on Ncell, which reduces the business risk and complexity of TeliaSonera ’s total involvement in Nepal,” the release states. The Swedish company’s effective ownership of 57 percent in the NST was the result of acquisitions made in 2011 and 2012.

Sep 9, 2013

Internal conflict mars tunnel road project

KATHMANDU, SEP 09 -The Nepal Purbadhar Bikas Company Limited (NPBCL) has faced a setback before commencing construction work on the highly anticipated Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel Highway, with one of its board members resigning.

Bikram Pandey resigned from the position on Thursday, citing “irresponsible decisions” by Chairman Kush Kumar Joshi, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The resignation has raised concern over the future of the project, as Pandey heads a successful construction company.

Pandey has accused Joshi of misusing the power and resources of the company for personal benefits, allegations which Joshi has rejected. The NPBCL, the country’s first infrastructure development company, was established specifically to contruct the 58km Kathmandu-Hetauda tunnel road. Pandey, who resigned from the post on Thursday, was one of the 12 board members of the NPBCL.

Sep 7, 2013

Reforms on cards for transport sector

KATHMANDU, SEP 05 -The government is devising a plan for transport management reform with technical support from the World Bank. The reform aims at addressing issues such as the operation of mass transport, road safety and traffic management.

According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), the new policy on transport management will be introduced in 2014 following the Cabinet’s endorsement.

A consultant hired by the World Bank is preparing a draft of the strategy supported by government agencies concerned, such as MoPIT and the Department of Transport Management. The existing National Transport Policy (2002) has no clear provisions on road transport management, according to MoPIT officials. With an increase in the number of vehicles, the need for an updated policy was evident.

A strategy highlighting transport management will plan for total reform in a phase-focused manner. Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary of the MoPIT said the new strategy will have a short-, medium- and long-term action plan for transport management. “The consultant will submit the final draft by the end of this year based on our inputs,” he added.

Sep 4, 2013

One year on, govt fails to auction 3G, 4G spectrum

KATHMANDU, SEP 04 -The government has failed to auction spectrum for third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) services based on the spectrum policy implemented last year. This has resulted in delays in making new services available in the market and left the telecom sector hard hit.

In November 4 last year, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) had introduced the “Telecommuni-cation Service Radio Frequency (Distribution and Pricing) Policy 2012”, fixing new pricing for frequencies and plan for effective distribution of the scarce resource. However, officials at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) admit that the policy has become just a guideline to collect a spectrum fee rather than pushing for development in the sector.

Two major telecom companies, Ncell and Nepal Telecom (NT), have been planning to roll out 4G service for the last three years and had sought spectrum required for the this technology. Based on the policy, the MoIC was supposed to form a committee to study the international practice, pricing and auctioning procedure, however this has not made any headway to date.

The spectrum policy was devised with a focus on the auctioning of high value spectrum such as 3G and 4G, re-framing these resources, and carrying out regulatory monitoring by the MoIC and NTA on use of airwaves by the telecom companies. It had also talked about taking back the frequencies from companies that are using more than government set limit, and fixing frequency for emergency telecommunication management.

Sep 3, 2013

Construction of track bed for railway to start after festivals

KATHMANDU, SEP 03 -The government has planned to start work on the track bed of the East West Electrical Railway after the festive season ends in November. On Monday, it invited tenders for the construction of the track bed on a 5-km stretch of the Simara-Bardibas section of the proposed railway . The track bed is the foundation on which the railway track will be laid.

The Department of Railways said that it would select three contractors within the next two months to construct the track bed in three packages. As per the plan, the contractors will have to start work immediately after the festivals based on the detailed project report (DPR) readied by South Korean consultants.

The DPR of the 108-km Simara-Bardibas section of the East-West Railway was completed last year. “Construction of the track bed will cost Rs 500 million,” said Rajeshwor Man Singh, superintendent engineer of the department.

The scope of the tender issued for the track bed includes construction of cross drainage structures, animal crossings, underpasses, embankments, earthen drains and bio-engineering works. However, even though the tender notice has been published, the exact locations where the track bed will be constructed have not been finalised yet.

Sep 2, 2013

All phone numbers to have 10 digits

KATHMANDU, SEP 02 -All phone numbers will have 10 digits under the government’s National Numbering Plan (NNP) which is expected to be implemented in this fiscal year. Presently, mobile phone s have 10-digit numbers while fixed line and limited mobility services such as the one provided by United Telecom Limited (UTL) have nine-digit phone numbers including the area code.

“This is a move to standardize the numbering of telephone services,” said Min Prasad Aryal, deputy director at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA). “This will increase the capacity of operators to distribute more telephone lines.”

Nepal Telecom (NT) has been given the operator codes 4, 5 and 6 allowing it to distribute 30 million lines. Ncell’s operator codes are 0 and 1 permitting it to distribute a maximum of 20 million lines.

“Standardization will enable operators to distribute 200 million lines,’ said Aryal.  “The operators have been given single-digit operator codes, and standardization will allow them to get double-digit operator codes which will enable them to distribute more telephone lines.”

A study carried out by a team led by Gyanendra Man Baidhya, telecom expert on national numbering, had recommended to the NTA to implement a new numbering system with 10-digit numbers.

Market monitoring team seals 5 valley shops

KATHMANDU, SEP 02 -The government market monitoring team on Sunday sealed four grocery shops and a bakery in the Capital for not complying with the government instructions to maintain price list, signboard, labeling of food packet, among others.

Siriz Kirana Store of Thapathali, Edmund Bakery Centre, Shubha Pathibhara Stores, Manakamana Store, Acharya General Stores of Babarmahal have been sealed, according to the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) which coordinates the daily market monitoring . The shops were closed after a follow-up monitoring by the DoCSM on Sunday.

The department said it was compelled to take such an action after the shops continued with old practice, overlooking previous warnings. The monitoring team found that five of the seven shops were not adhering to the department’s instruction.

“The five shops failed to implement our instructions that include maintaining price list, sign board and labels on their products,” said Hari Narayan Belbase, director at the DoCSM.  On top of regular monitoring , the depatment has intensified its follow-up inspections by taking into account the upcoming festive season. The shops in question were inspected by a market monitoring team on July 23. Manakamana Stores and Siriz Kirana Store had not registered with the government agency and they failed to abide by the department’s instruction in this regard.

Sep 1, 2013

Disputes, lack of coordination among agencies hit road projects

KATHMANDU, AUG 31-Alignment dispute, heavy demand for compensation and lack of coordination among government agencies have become problems while implementing road projects. Seti Highway, Postal Road, Mid-Hill Highway, Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track road are some of the projects facing such problems.

Normally, when the government has to acquire private land it faces problem of higher compensation amount. And, getting the government owned land for projects is also not easy task for procedural delay and lack of coordination among the agencies concerned such as the Department of Roads (DoR), Department of Forest (DoF), Department of Survey and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservations.

DoR officials in a recent meeting on annual review of projects at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) said that even if it had been two years since they sought the permission of the DoF to cut down the tress and make way for alignment of Seti Highway in section of Tikapur-Achham, they have not been able to do it. The highway links Achham, Bajura District and Bajhang and meet border of China.

Arjun Jung Thapa, deputy director general of the DoR said that the delay in clearing the space for alignment falling in forest areas in eastern Kailai had affected contractors for opening the road track of the Postal Highway. “Alignment dispute and land acquisition have become tough issues when implementing projects and such things ultimately delay projects,” he added.