Another huge locust invasion apprehended

Kathmandu, July 1

The Locusts Information Centre has warned that a large swarm of locusts is likely to enter Nepal from India over the next couple of days.

According to the centre, the swarm of locusts is headed towards Darjeeling from Bhagalpur and Motihari in Bihar. As the swarm is likely to enter Nepal from there, the centre has issued a notice directing the authorities concerned to be on high alert.

“The swarm with about two million locusts might affect Tarai and lower hilly regions of the country. If it enters the country and doesn’t split up, it will be difficult for us to control it,” said Ram Krishna Subedi, coordinator of the centre.

Although the federal government has fewer resources to deal with locust invasion, provincial governments claim that they are prepared and have enough resources to deal with the pests, he said.

He added that since the wind direction had not changed yet, the risk of invasion was on. “We have alerted the authorities concerned in high risk areas to keep themselves abreast of the locust movement and generate awareness among the people,” he said, adding that Agriculture Knowledge Centre and local governments were working in tandem.

According to the centre, around 24 smaller groups of locusts have been found in the country so far. In the past four days, more than three million locusts have invaded Nepal from India and have fanned out to more than 30 districts. Even though locusts have affected less crops so far, the centre has requested stakeholders to do their best to control the pests.

According to the centre, locusts have affected maize, vegetables, paddy and banana farms in several districts. However, the capital has not suffered major damage. Around two lakh locusts had invaded Kathmandu but moved on to other areas this morning without inflicting major damage, added Subedi.

On June 27, locusts were sighted in Bara and Parsa. Prior to that, locusts were seen in Nepal in 1962. Back then, the swarm had invaded crops in Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Dhading and a few other districts, inflicting much damage to crops.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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PM advised to reach out to rival NCP faction

Kathmandu, July 1

A day after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was asked by Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Standing Committee members to resign from both the posts of prime minister and party co-chair, the PM was advised by his aides in the party to reach out to the rival faction.

Oli held a meeting with his key confidants, including Cabinet ministers, this morning asking them what course of action he should follow.

According to Gandaki Province Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, who was present in the meeting, leaders suggested that the PM reach out to party leaders in an attempt to win their confidence but without quitting as PM or party co-chair.

“Party unification process has not completed yet and if the PM quits the post of party co-chair, it will adversely impact the party unity process,” Gurung said, adding, “Party leaders should not seek resignation of the PM at a time when the PM has done exemplary work by forging national unity.” Gurung said some leaders suggested that the PM change his working style to win the confidence of all leaders in the party.

Deputy parliamentary party leader Subas Chandra Nembang said the PM told leaders that the party was facing tough time and Standing Committee members close to him should defend him in the meeting. Nembang told the PM to reconcile his differences with party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal in order to end the standoff.

Of the 18 Standing Committee members who spoke in the Standing Committee meeting yesterday, 17 had demanded Oli’s resignation — some explicitly, some implicitly.

Standing Committee members, including Dahal, NCP Vicechair Bamdev Gautam and Jhalanath Khanal had sought the PM’s resignation yesterday. Leaders said the PM’s charge that India was plotting to unseat him from the top post undermined the prestige of the people and Parliament of Nepal that elected the prime minister.

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai advised the PM to take the criticisms with an open mind and accept his mistakes while correcting them in a bid to resolve differences within the party.

NCP General Secretary Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ishwar Pokharel, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Development Ghanashyam Bhusal and Province 5 Chief Minister Shankar Pokharel were also present in the meeting.

However, ministers Barshaman Pun, Shakti Basnet and Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, who are close to party Co-chair Dahal were not present in the meeting.

Dahal, meanwhile, held a separate meeting of his faction late in the evening. NCP Standing Committee member Haribol Gajurel said Dahal told party leaders that Oli was acting arbitrarily and the party needed to censure his arbitrary actions, while keeping the party united.

“While party unity is important for us. We cannot let things go awry in the name of party unity,” Gajurel quoted Dahal as telling party leaders.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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US coronavirus cases rise by 47,000, biggest one-day spike of pandemic

WASHINGTON: New US COVID-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday according to a Reuters tally, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double.

California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new US epicenters of the pandemic, reporting record increases in COVID-19 cases.

“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a US Senate committee. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.”

Fauci said the daily increase in new cases could reach 100,000 unless a nationwide push was made to tamp down the resurgent virus.

“We can’t just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk,” he said.

Fauci said there was no guarantee of a vaccine, although early data had been promising: “Hopefully there will be doses available by the beginning of next year,” he said.

COVID-19 cases more than doubled in June in at least 10 states, including Texas and Florida, a Reuters tally showed. In parts of Texas and Arizona, hospital intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients are in short supply.

More than 126,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and millions have lost their jobs as states and major cities ordered residents to stay home and businesses closed. The economy contracted sharply in the first quarter and is expected to crater in the second.

‘TRUMP FAILED US’

The European Union has excluded Americans from its “safe list” of countries from which the bloc will allow non-essential travel beginning on Wednesday.

The fresh rise in cases and hospitalizations has dimmed hopes that the worst of the human and economic pain had passed, prompting renewed criticism of US President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.

His rival, Democrat Joe Biden, on Tuesday said that Trump’s “historic mismanagement” of the pandemic cost lives and inflicted more damage than necessary to the US economy.

“It didn’t have to be this way. Donald Trump failed us,” the 77-year-old former vice president said in a speech in Delaware, where he unveiled an updated plan to tackle the pandemic calling for more testing and the hiring of 100,000 contract tracers.

In the past week California, Texas and Florida have moved to close recently reopened bars, which public health officials believe are likely one of the larger contributors to the recent spikes.

On Tuesday, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut added travelers from California and seven other states to those who must self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Texas and Florida were named last week.

South Carolina also has also emerged as a hot spot, reporting a record single-day increase of 1,755 cases on Tuesday.

In Texas, where the number of new cases jumped to a one-day record of 6,975 on Tuesday, Houston hospitals said beds were quickly filling up with COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Marc Boom, chief executive of Houston Methodist Hospital, told CNN on Tuesday that his hospital beds have seen a “very significant” increase in COVID-19 patients, although the death rate has lowered.

Boom said he was worried about Independence Day celebrations this weekend, when Americans traditionally flock to beaches and campgrounds to watch fireworks displays.

“Frankly it scares me,” he said.

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Nayab Subbas stage protest against Federal Civil Service Bill

KATHMANDU, JUNE 30

Scores of Nayab Subbas (non-gazetted first class officers) staged a protest in Singha Durbar today, demanding revision of the Federal Civil Service Bill passed by the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives.

The bill was endorsed by the house panel yesterday.

Stating that the bill had done injustice to non-gazetted first class officers, they demanded that it be revised without further delay. They also displayed placards with emotional slogans such as “Honourable lawmakers, didn’t you see tears in our eyes?” The protesters said the provisions stipulated in the bill were deliberately designed to jeopardise career of more than 35,000 non-gazetted first class officers.

They have also launched ‘Save Nayab Subba Campaign’ to pressure the government to meet their six-point demand. The bill, which will replaces the Civil Service Act-1993, if passed by both the houses of the Federal Parliament, stipulates a provision that vacancy of section officers (gazetted third class officers) shall be filled through open competition (80 per cent) and promotion (20 per cent).

Nayab subbas alleged that this provision would obstruct their promotion to the post of section officer.

The bill has also determined the age bar of 40 years for Nayab Subbas to vie for the post of section officer through open competition.

There was no age bar for Nayab Subbas aspiring to be promoted to the post of section officer. A press release issued by the campaign demanded that the government make provision of filling vacancy at the section officer level through open competition (50 per cent), promotion (30 per cent) and internal competition (20 per cent). “If a Nayab Subba is not promoted for 12 years in a row, s/he should be deemed eligible for promotion automatically,” read the release. They have also demand that the provision of age bar for Nayab Subbas vying for the post of section officer be scrapped.

“If the government tables the bill in both the houses of the Federal Parliament for its passage with a conspiracy to lower the morale of non-gazetted first class officers by devaluing their contribution, we will be compelled to resort to stern protest,” the release warned.

Meanwhile, the Authorised Trade Union of Civil Servants today organised a press conference to announce a series of protest programmes against the bill.

As part of the programmes, the trade union led a silent protest in Maitighar Mandala this evening.

It is submitting a letter of attention to the prime minister and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota tomorrow. It will also submit a memorandum to the provincial and district administrative offices on July 2, distribute pamphlets in all government offices on July 3, interact with experts and the trade union on July 4 and work in offices by posting the charter of demands on their chests from July 5 onwards.

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A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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