Tell me why ...
By C K Lal
Visit Nepal Year 1998. The slogan has a nice ring to it. It does not create an imagery. it promises no USP (Unique Sales Proposition or an attribute that differentiate a product or a service from the competition). It does not even build upon a 'competitive advantage' - the latest buzz-word of international marketing. It's simple and direct. To the point, almost like Bhiksham Dehi. Unfortunately, altruism is alien in the cut-throat competition for pleasure-pound and leisure-lira. The yen for Yen and the yearning for Yankee yuppie is unlikely to succeed in the absence of a focussed marketing effort. Some people may climb the mountains because 'they are there,' but when it comes to choosing a holiday destination for their family; they aren't usually that rash.
Can any one say with any amount of conviction why a discerning traveller should choose to pay us a visit in the "Visit Nepal Year"? Himalyas? They were there before and shall still be there a decade after. Temples? How about Ankor-Wat. Shangri-la? Tibet or Mongolia, any one? To economise words and let sleeping metaphors snore, allow yours' truly to assert that it's not assets which count in hospitality business. it's the value that you add through your imaginative use of resources that has a decisive impact. Novelty soon wears off, novel ideas are slightly more enduring. Do our tourism tsars have that? If you were to go by their choice of the all-important catch-phrase, then you would become as cynical as I am.
Getting down to brass tacks, one wonders if the objectives of the campaign have been clearly defined. has the target audience been closely identified? Presumbly, a methodology has been agreed upon, a budget worked out and the duties and resonsiblities of various sub-sectors clearly assigned. Excellent! However, there is a little problem. When this competently choreographed opera was being enacted, some one forgot to raise the curtain and the audience was blissfully unaware of what went on. One hopes that it's just the rehearsals. What's the big deal? It doesn't pay to put the cart before the horse. Even the most prepared needs quite a lot of preparation and 1998 isn't that far awayTalkg about preparations. How prepared are we - to welcome the expected hordes? Tourism businesses in Nepal are run on feudal lines and the general public receive very little, if at all any; benefit from a boom in the business. More often, they are adversely hit by it's inflationary pressure in the tourist - infested regions. Hence, we have to be educated with more information than the pontifiction of 'Guest is God'. It doesn't help your smile when you learn that some of the bloated priests are making hell-lot-of-dough out of your back-packing Gods.
Let's face the bare facts now. Nothing has been done till date to disapprove the popular notion that the slogan in all it's intent an officious farce. Tourism is a serious business these days. The halcyon days of putting up a wooden signboard with a legend like "Buddha's Abode' on your cattle-shed and fighting off a smashed-out junkie from mounting a cow are long gone. Like a bank, a hospital or a school, the reputation of a service industry is on the precipice. One wrong move and the edifice built over the years will collapse. It's for this very reason that 'Visit Nepal Year' should not drift into a fiasco. In this finicky business, successes are built upon successes and one is only as good as one's last failure. It's certainly not too late, to formulate a more commercially viable strategy.
Years ago, I had written in a Nepali newsmagazine that while the Himalayas can do wonders; yet it had no cure for the ailments of our tourism industry. With profound sadness, I am sorry to report that things haven't changed.over the years.
World Bank approves more than $ 18 million for Nepal's rural water and sanitation
The World Bank has approved a $ 18.28 million credit for the Nepal Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project. The project will support rural communities, using a demand-driven approach for service delivery and a participatory process to decision making to implement water supply and sanitation schemes in the villages with assistance from support organisations such as non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and private firms. The project will support a package of investments for water and sanitation as well as community development activities to deliver clean and safe drinking water and provide hygienic sanitation facilities to 550,000 villagers. The credit will be provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary lending arm.
"Improvements in water supply and sanitation are important elements in reducing poverty and improving quality of life," says World Bank Resident Representative Joe Manickavasagam. "Rural productivity is constrained directly by the high rate of water related diseases." Manickavasagam added, "The Rural Water Project is an innovation, in that it explicitly uses NGOs and a participatory approach, which means the community and beneficiaries play an active role in decision-making and management of the programmes under the project. Furthermore, more than $ 2 million will be contributed by the communities themselves."
As part of project preparation, the project was piloted in several villages in Nepal over the last two years. The project's three main objectives are to:
* deliver sustainable health and hygiene benefits to the rural population through improvements in water supply and sanitation;
* improve rural real incomes through time savings and income earning opportunities for women; and
* improve government and non-governmental capabilities to undertake and sustain these efforts.
Koirala launches tirade against government
By D L Bhandari
The President of the Nepali Congress (NC), Girija Prasad Koirala, is presumably daunted by the presence of the vastly unorganised opposition in the party; if his invectives against the coalition government led by the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba are anything to go by. He used the three day western regime meeting and colloquium of the NC workers that ended on August 26 at Pokhara, to his advantage to air his grievances.
The party president's speech couched in the form a working paper on the coordination and Interrelation between the elected office bearers of Nepali Congress local party units hinted t the need for an imminent mid-term poll. However, he has been trumpeting for this cause to make inroads to the top and regain his lost glory of 1994.
He has been forthright in admitting his past follies that in a way split the party rank of file into splinter-groups. Political stability, too finds priority in his train of thought - a fact that, he feels can only be achieved through the continuity of government. Yet his speech was peppered with vitriolic remarks against the people in power.
What can be conceived a as desperate bid to gander mass support around him, he reiterated his views that NC will not entertain the need to continue with the present coalition set up at the lost of party principles and policies. But the delegates, were always around to refute his view as and when he dwelled long on the rather and peripeteias of Nepali Congress workers were being given a short shrift he signed off with this ardent belief that the NC can ill-afford to continue with the coalition of the party's identity would have under an axe.
The colloquium, in a sense was a spectacle of an assembly that remained ambiguous an its not cause of action, land credence due to he presence of Koirala's detractors like speaker of the House of Representative, Ram Chandra Poudel, Minister for Communication, Chiranjivi Wagle and Minister for Industry, Dhundiraj Shastri, among others. His detracts like the speaker Poudel put forth his vies against regimented discipline, the NC General Secretary, Sushil Koirala embraced discipline as a necessary evil. However, the startling comment of the day cause from the General Secretary, Taranath Ranabhat, who dwelled on the need to bridge disunity in the party at a time when regressive and revisionist forces are working in Tandem to discredit the multiparty democracy.
Thus, the silver living of the meet can be dubbed as the NC's marshalling of its troops setting aside the pausal differences before they face the electorate during the local elections in near future.
Bill is facing a premature crisis
By A Staff Reporter
It's been for years that various NGO's operating in the country are clamouring for a new Act which would legitimise daughters to inherit parental property irrespective of they get married or not. Political parties two have jumped on the bandwagon primarily on electoral consideration. At present, a team bureaucrats a scrutinising this issue before it is registered at the House of Representatives during the current session of the parliament for legislative approval.
Under the present arrangement a girl child is not intituled to lay claim on parental poverty until he attains the age of 35 and chooses to remain a spinster. In stark contrast to this clause number 16 concerning property in Muluki Ain, - an Act which was promulgated by Rana Prime Minister empowers are male child to inherit property once he attains the age of 18.
The draft of the new Parental Property Act was complied by joint team of women's group and legal experts. But if the words of the Spokesman of the Ministry of law are anything to go by, government has backtracked over the issue of tabling the draft document in its original form and contempts.
The spokesman in question, Hari Prasad Neupane is, however, confident that the bill may be tabled in the HOR in near future without much off an opposition.
Asked about the likelihood of whether the government is committed to pass an independent Act for womens' interest, he says, "It is likely that since the issue is very sensitive, the government may simply amend the clause number 16 regarding parental property distribution, by legitimising women to inherit parental property once they are 30 years of age". However, a similar change may put the son's age of owing the family property only after he attains the age of 30.
It has been reported is the section of the press that the government is willing to restore semblance of parity regarding the inheritance of the parental property, and put a contentious issue to rest. Neupane also quoted the Supreme Court's ruling in this context, "the government should enact such a law which does not in any way dispute social fabric while entitling women to receive parental property."
Even though there has been a couple of NGO's and women's groups demanding for such an Act, women in general do not subscribe to this view. The vice president of the Nepali Congress, Shailaja Acharya filled that if such an Act is put to practice then that "will lead to discrepancies since a daughter once married becomes also the co-sharer of the property held by the husband." However, she has defended the ideal that unmarried women should be empowered by a suitable legal procedure.
The minister of law in the meanwhile is consulting with legal experts and leaders of the political parties before arriving Act any conclusion. Since the issue is one of national importance its needs a judicious scrutiny to eliminate any chance of eventual abuse. It remains to be seen, whether such an Act would revolutionise the lives of Nepali women or not and bring about a sea-change in the existing social fabric.
Kathmandu Utsav '96
By A Staff Reporter
Envisaged as a consumer an oriented fair and industrial exposition, Kathmandu Utsav '96 will be thrown open to visitors from September 10 to 15 at the cities Bhrikuti Mandup complex, according to a press release issued by Everest Exhibition (Pvt) Ltd.
Kathmandu Utsav '96 is conceived as a combination of fashion shows, pup songs competition by cycle rally, beer and cola drinking and buyer-seller meet. There are about 30 companies from Pakistan 20 from India, 70 from Nepal and a solitary firm from Dubahi participating in the fourth coming Kathmandu Utsav '96.
The exhibition hall will be equipped with such facilities, like information counter, conference rooms, telecommunication facilities, in house advertising agency, cafeteria, bank, hotel booking counters and provision for round the clock security arrangement.
Kathmandu Utsav '96 has a fabulous offering in the form of a fashion parade of 27 models, specially trained by IIFT ( Indian Institute of Fashion Technology) who are expected to set the ramps on fire.
Keeping in mind the imminent Dashai festival this consumer fair would act as a forum for the selection and promotion of the best boutique. A panel of distinguished judged appointed by Everest Exhibition Pvt. Ltd. would select two female and male participants from the fashion parade for a gala affair to be held in Chandigarh, India some where litter this year. Besides, Wave magazine will be puclicing the photographs of the four selected models.
Perhaps, for the first time, the city's consumers are given a wide choice of consumer items like dress materials, home appliances, foot stuffs interior decoration items, costume, jewellery, perfumes, ethnic handicrafts, etc.
Kathmandu Utsav '96, is expected with draw about 1 lakh 15 thousand
visitors in the initial stages, an event organised to celebrate
25 years of the accession to the throne by King Birendra.