Transmission line to be built to import power from India

The Ministry of Energy (MoE) has asked the Finance Ministry to release Rs 330 million to build a 132 kV transmission line from Duhabi to Kataiya.

The MoE is planning to develop the 15 km power line to import an additional 100 MW of electricity from India to ease the projected power shortage this winter.

MoE spokesperson Anup Kumar Upadhya said that the MoE had written to the Finance Ministry for the money to construct the transmission line. “The project needs to be implemented at the earliest to obtain additional energy from India to reduce load-shedding during the winter season,” he added. The board of directors of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) decided to construct the transmission line last week.

The ministry is mulling handing over the project directly to a Nepali consultant of India’s Power Trading Corporation (PTC). “As we need to develop the project on a fast-track basis and are planning to buy energy from PTC, it would be wise to hire its Nepali consultant for the project to prevent possibilities of delay.’

Out of the total length of the transmission line, 12 km will lie in Nepal and the rest in India. An NEA source said the construction project would cost an estimated Rs 350 million. The MoE will use its internal resources to construct it if the process of getting money from the Finance Ministry takes too much time, said an MoE source.  

A month ago, the NEA had estimated that load-shedding could be extended to as long as 21 hours a day this winter. The projection prompted Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to order the MoE and the NEA to resort to all possible measures to reduce the power cuts. During a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in the Iranian capital Tehran earlier this month, the PM had asked him to export 200 MW to Nepal.

The MoE is currently working on an action plan to reduce power cuts that has accorded high priority to importing electricity from India. The action plan has also proposed a two-day weekend, handing over the diesel plants in Biratnagar and Hetauda to the private sector and purchasing power from industrial captive plans. A recent study carried out by the MoE found the peak energy demand during the winter would reach 1,157 MW. 

MoE officials said that the government should initiate a formal dialogue with the Indian government for the purchase of additional power.

Summer Care - Beat the heat with Fruit Juices

Try out juices of grapes, watermelon, banana, jack fruit, lemon and pineapple during summer. Consumption of fruits and juices reduces body heat and benefits in controlling body temperature.

SUMMER is one of the six seasons of the year. Every two months will make a season or Ritu. Summer is in between the 16th May to 15th July. The strength of the body will be lost during this period. People feel tired and exhausted during the season due to extensive heat rays of the sun, the watery portion (or Kapha) of the body of people, animals, plants, foods and the entire environment will become dry and the vata will become more in the body and the atmosphere. The skin will become dry and may precipitate skin diseases as eczema..

What to Drink and Eat: One must drink the juices of grapes, watermelon, banana, jack fruit, lemon and pineapple. This is to say foods and juices of sweet and cold and easily digestible must be consumed. The preparations of sugar, barely/green gram, sharbats, buttermilk with sugar candy are to be used daily to cool the body. One must take the food of white rice with meat soup of meat of animals reared in cold areas.

The juices of dry grapes, cucumber, kharjura with Dalchini, Cardamom must be drunk along with pure cold water kept in a pot or a freezer or these must be kept at night in moon light and used along with buffalo's milk. Water with parijatha flowers and usheera can also be used for drinking.

- One must not take foods of pungent, sour, dry and salty foods. Foods of rice with milk, sugar candy, butter milk, lassie are good for good health. Ghee can be used.

- Coffee and tea are not all good as they stimulate the central nervous system. Taking them on empty stomach is harmful as they mix with acid and circulated all over the body producing several diseases.

- Alcohol is a hot drink and must not be used druing this season, either avoid it or drink it with plenty of water.

REGIMEN

One must spend time in a place surrounded by water and green trees, or mountains, with the family and children. Must sleep during day. Swimming is also advisable in a pond, lake or river. Stay exposed to moon's rays at night. Should wear light cotton clothes. Must have minimum coitus during this period.

Wear Pearls and flower garlands. Body must be anointed with sandal and usheera paste which cools the body. Cold-water bath is good for the body. Exercise must be limited. Avoid exposure to sun's rays especially during peak hot time.

Man is a microcosm of the universe that is macrocosm. Man is made up of Panchamahabutas in mini form and the universe is made up of Panchamahabutas in mega form.

Any changes in the environment of nature will have deleterious effects on the health of people. So one must adjust and adopt measures suitable for the particular season for maintaining good health.

In this season satvic type of foods is advocated to promote and to preserve good health.

दौरा सुरुवाल तथा कुर्ता सुरुवाल बिद्यालयको पोशाक

सोलुखुम्बु २१ भदौ –जनता प्राबि, सिमखर्क, नेले ५ मा आजबाट दौरा सुरुवाल तथा कुर्ता सुरुवाललाई बिद्यालय पोशाक निर्धारण गरिएको छ । यसअघि अन्य बिद्यालयमा झैं सर्ट, फाईन्ट तथा फ्रकको ब्यवस्था भएपनि आगामी दिनमा नेपालीपन झल्कने गरी दौरासुरुवाल तथा कुर्तासुरुवालको ब्यवस्था गरिएको हो ।
बिद्यालय ब्यवस्थापन समितिका अध्यक्ष अश्विनबाबु थापाकाअनुसार बिद्यालयमा पनि नेपालीपन झल्काउने उद्धेश्यले आजमात्रै बिद्यालयका ३२ जना छात्रछात्राहरुलाई दौरासुरुवाल र स्टिकोट तथा कुर्तासुरुवाद प्रदान गरिएको छ । सो दौरासुरुवाल बिद्यालयमा बालबिकास कोटामा छुट्टिएको २० हजार रुपैंयाले खरिद गरी प्रदान गरिएको पनि अध्यक्ष थापाले जानकारी दिनुभयो ।
कक्षा ३ सम्म पढाई हुँदै आएको सो बिद्यालयका छात्रछात्राहरुलाई सानै उमेरदेखि आफ्नो देशप्रतिको माया र जिम्मेवारी बोध गराउन यस्तो ब्यवस्था गरिएको बिद्यालयको भनाई छ ।

Ericsson rejects Nepal Telecom’s 10 million GSM lines project

After Huawei Technologies, Swedish telecom system vendor Ericsson has also refused to undertake the package A of Nepal Telecom’s (NT) ambitious 10 million GSM lines project.

A week ago, the telecom giant had terminated its contract with China’s ZTE Corporation for the package A — installation of 5.2 million GSM lines in the eastern, mid- and far-western regions and the central region outside the Kathmandu valley — and had asked the Swedish company to undertake the package.

NT terminated the initial agreement with ZTE after the two sides failed to reach a conclusion over costs even after three months of negotiations. Now, with all three bidders rejecting the offer, the biggest project of NT to expand 2G, 3G, and 4G services has hit snag, seriously affecting its market strategy.

“I came to know about Ericsson’s denial on Monday,” said NT board member Pramod Gurung. He said although Huawei has in advance informed NT that it would not be able to undertake the package A, NT will formally ask the Chinese vendor as per the bid terms and conditions to accept the package.

Ericsson has told NT in written that it would not be able to work on the package at the price quoted by Huawei, according to a source. NT officials said going by NT’s bid conditions, Ericsson would have had to agree on the amount proposed by Huawei after the second lowest bidder ZTE rejected the package.

The 10 million lines project is being executed under two packages — A and B. Huawei had quoted the lowest for both the packages. According to NT, the Chinese firm had quoted $122 million for the package A and $85 million for B.

After rigorous legal consultations, NT on Tuesday issued a letter of acceptance (LoA) to Ericsson, asking it to sign a contract for the 5.2 million mobile lines within 15 days. “Ericsson has to either honour the conditions of tender or lose bid security of $4.6 million like ZTE,” said the source.

NT officials now say there are possibilities of a fresh tender invitation for the package A.

What has made the situation complicated is that Huawei, to whom NT plans to request to undertake package A, has already refused. Huawei on Aug 27 had informed NT that it would not be able to accept the package. It has also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, seeking a stay against any possible forfeiting of its bid security of $4.6 million. The validity of Huawei’s bid security expires on September 24.

“We will formally ask Huawei to undertake package A,” said senior NT official. “If Huawei refuses, there would be no options to inviting a new tender.”

NT has already signed an agreement with Huawei for the supply, delivery and installation of the equipment and commissioning of 4.8 million lines for the package B at Rs 6.74 billion. This package is targeted for the Kathmandu valley and the western development region.

टुरिष्ट भिषामा नेपालीलाई खाडी जान प्रतिबन्ध

२० भदौ, काठमाण्डौ । नेपालले टुरिष्ट भिषामा नेपाली नागरिकहरुलाई खाडी मुलुकहरुमा जान प्रतिबन्ध लगाएको छ ।

युरोप, अमेरिका र अन्य बिभिन्न मुलुकमा पठाउने भन्दै मानवतस्करहरुले नेपाली कामदारलाई भिजिट भिषामा खाडी मुलुकहरुमा पुर्‍याउने र अलपत्र पार्ने क्रम बढेपछि अध्यागमन बिभागले यस्तो प्रतिबन्ध लगाएको हो । केही समय प्रतिबन्ध लगाएर त्यसको प्रभाव अध्ययन गरिने बिभागका महानिर्देशक सुरेश अधिकारीले जानकारी दिनुभयो ।

हरेक दिन खाडी मुलुकमा जाने नेपालीमध्ये करिव १० देखि १५ प्रतिशत टुरिष्ट भिषामा जाने गरेका छन् । उनीहरुलाई इराक, अफगानिस्तान, मकाउ, अमेरिका तथा युरोपेली मुलुक पठाउने भन्दै मानव तस्करहरुले लैजाने गरेका छन् । यो निर्णयबाट युएई, कतार, साउदी अरव, कुवेत, ओमान, बहराइन लगायतका मुलुकमा जाने नेपालीहरु प्रभावित हुनेछन् ।

मानव तस्करहरुले भारतीय बिमानस्थल हुँदै नेपाली कामदारहरुलाई खाडी मुलुक लैजाने गरेपनि नेपाल सरकारको अनुरोधमा त्यहाँको प्रशासनले नेपालीलाई टुरिष्ट भिषामा यात्रा गर्न कडाई गर्दै आएको छ ।

बैदेशिक रोजगारीमा देखिएका समस्या र ठगी रोक्न सरकारले हालै एक उच्चस्तरीय समिति र टास्कफोर्स गठन गरेको थियो ।