Nepal

Kathmandu, April 30

Uniform has been made mandatory for the employees working at ticket counters of public transportation. A meeting among the Kathmandu Metropolis, traffic police and transport entrepreneurs agreed on the provision towards that end.

The provision was first implemented from the New Bus Park area on the joint initiative of the Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneurs& Association and the Lhotse Multipurpose Pvt Ltd on Monday. On the occasion, over 150 staffers at the ticket counters there were seen in uniform.

Federation general secretary Saroj Sitaula said the decision aimed to further improve the countrypublic transport service sector. &The campaign will go nationwide,& he said, urging employees concerned to follow the dress code (light blue shirt and grey pants), accepting it as a positive move in establishing a good working system.

This measure will clear confusion among passengers to whom they should pay for tickets, the federation said, urging passengers to travel on public vehicles by compulsorily purchasing tickets. Besides uniform, it is also mandatory for employees to carry their identity cards.

&The New Bus Park based in Gongabu is the only national bus park of the country and we are working collaboratively with authorities concerned to upgrade it into a facility of international standard,& said Sitaula.

Metropolitan Traffic Police Divisionchief, Senior Superintendent of Police Basanta Kumar Panta said the dress code for employees handling ticket counters would prevent passengers from being cheated.

Kathmandu, April 30

Police arrested 11 persons with drugs from different places of Kathmandu valley yesterday.

Metropolitan Police Office raided a Chhauni-based restaurant and held six persons. Those arrested are Saroj Silwal, 36, Sujan Tamang, 19, Dipendra Shrestha, 42, Anil Bhujel, 32, Ranjeet Tiwari, 43, and Navin Manandhar, 39, of Kathmandu.

Police said 744 grams of amphetamines, a scooter, Rs 176,000 in cash, 45 pipes used for consuming the drug and a digital weighing machine were confiscated from them. Police had raided the restaurant acting on tip-off that it had been a drug haven for peddlers and users.

In a separate operation, police arrested Prabesh Malla,18, of Dhading, Santosh Tamang,18, of Makwanpur and Sujan Gurung,19, of Nuwakot with 600 tablets of nitrazepam from Lainchaur area. Police said they were found to have involved in drug peddling.

In yet another incident, police arrested Saroj Khadka, 24, of Ramechhap with psychoactive substances from Sanothimi, Bhaktapur Municipality-2. Forty tablets of nitrazepam were seized from his possession. Also Suresh Karki, 35, of Bhaktapur, was arrested with 10 ampules of diazepam, an injectable prescription drug from Duwakot. Police said all the arrestees were charged under the Narcotics Drug (Control and Punishment) Act.

Kathmandu, April 30

Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal, and National Private and Boarding Schools Association Nepal have sought the central governmentintervention to stop local governments from defaming the private schools thereby discouraging students from studying at such schools.

Issuing a joint press statement, PABSON and N-PABSON stated that some local governments were spreading rumours that student studying at private school would not be eligible for government jobs in the future.

&Local levels are imposing fear among students and parents,& said General Secretary of N-PABSON Subash Neupane, adding that some local governments had even spread the rumour that certificates of the students studying at private schools would not be valid in the future.

&There are more than 6,000 private schools in the country providing quality education to over two million children. Instead of appreciating the contribution of private schools the local bodies are trying to ruin the schools,& he said.

Kathmandu, April 30

Kathmandu valley reported 1,398 complaints of bike thefts during eight months of the current fiscal 2018-19. However, only 376 bikes were recovered over the period, according to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.

&Of the recovered bikes, we handed over 263 two-wheelers to their owners upon verification of documents, while 99 unclaimed bikes were submitted to the Department of Customs for further legal process,& said Senior Superintendent of Police Basant Kumar Pant who is also MTPD in-charge. He informed that MTPD had arrested 69 persons involved in lifting motorcycles in eight months of the current fiscal.

Victim Support Unit at MTPD had received 1,634 complaints of bike theft in 2017-18. Of them, traffic police had managed to retrieve 461 two-wheelers and arrested 42 persons in connection with the property crime.

Bouddha, Jorpati, Pepsicola, Baneshwor, Koteshwor, Chabahil, Budhanilkantha, Maharajgunj, Thamel, Sundhara, Balaju, Kalanki, Pulchowk, Jawalakhel and Lagankhel are the places from where motorcycle were mostly lifted.

Hospital and cinema hall premises and busy markets are more vulnerable to bike thefts, according to police.

MTPD said that most of the bikes stolen from the valley were found to have been used outside Kathmandu valley in places like in Birtamod, Damak, Biratnagar, Dharan, Inaruwa, Saptari, Rautahat, Kaski, Rupandehi, Surkhel and Kailali. The stolen bikes were also used in some hill districts that have road networks but lack the presence of law enforcement officials.

Traffic police deploy sleuths led by an inspector in remote hill and the Terai areas to intercept stolen bikes.

Almost all two-wheelers lifted from the valley are sold to clients in other districts. Buyers usually posses fake blue book and use the two-wheelers to transport fodder and milk.

Racketeers are found selling a stolen bike for Rs 20,000 to Rs 100,000 depending on its condition and brand.

SSP Pant suggested bike owners to park their two-wheelers at safe places with handles locked and also to install intelligent locking system with double lock options, making it difficult for thieves to lift bikes.

He said traffic police had stepped up surveillance against bike theft to combat the property crime. &Owners should be on high alert to prevent potential theft. We encourage the owners to use wheel-lock, disc-lock, brake-lock, fuel-lock system and GPS tracker in their bikes to ensure safety of their properties,& SSP Pant suggested.