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Marshyangdi adds to power cut woes

2010-11-16T04:32:00.000-08:00

LAMJUNG, NOV 15 - The country’s largest hydropower project will stay shut for a week starting Monday. The closure of Mid-Marshyangdi Hydro Electricity Project is likely to add to the country’s power woes. According to project chief Mahendra Adhikari, Mid-Marshyangdi will be closed for the next three weeks owing to the repair and overhauling of the turbines, He said that both the 35-MW capacity turbines will be completely shut down for the next first week and later repair works will be carried out simultaneously to minimise the energy crisis in the country.

“The repair and maintenance work is being carried out as per the agreement signed during the construction period that binds us to carry out repair work every year,” said Bhandari.

“We will try to expedite the repair work to minimise the burden of load-shedding in the country”. Maintenance will be carried out by German and Australian companies, respectively.

Meanwhile, Chiran-jivi Sharma, chief of

the Department of Systems Operation and Maintenance of Nepal Electricity Authority, said that the new schedule of load-shedding has not been fixed yet.

“We are holding a meeting in this regard and will publicise

the new schedule soon,” he added.

Suu Kyi urges freedom of speech in army-ruled Myanmar

2010-11-16T04:25:00.000-08:00

YANGON, NOV 15 - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on Sunday for freedom of speech in army-ruled Myanmar, urged thousands of supporters to stand up for their rights, and indicated she may urge the West to end sanctions. Suu Kyi's first major speech since being freed from seven years of house arrest a day earlier left little doubt she would resume an influential political role in one of the world's most isolated and oppressive countries.

"The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech," she said to roaring cheers from thousands of supporters crammed into a cordoned-off street in front of her party's headquarters. "Even if you are not political, politics will come to you."

The 65-year-old Nobel peace laureate, who had lost none of her ability to rouse and mesmerize crowds, offered an olive branch to the military junta, saying she had no antagonism for those who kept her detained for 15 of the past 21 years.

Asked by a reporter what message she had for supreme leader Senior General Than Shwe, she replied, "let's meet and talk."

The address, given in an informal style in contrast to the usual stuffy military speeches that dominate state media, illustrated the strength of Suu Kyi's pro-democracy voice at a critical time, just a week after an election widely condemned as rigged to prolong military power behind a facade of democracy.

"You have to stand up for what is right," Suu Kyi added, urging supporters to be more politically assertive in the former British colony formerly known as Burma, where the army controls nearly every facet of life. "A one woman show is not a democracy."

Later, speaking with reporters, she declined to comment directly on whether she would urge the West to roll back sanctions that many say hurt ordinary people by allowing the junta to monopolize the country's resource-rich economy.

"If people really want sanctions to be lifted, I will consider this," she said. "This is the time Burma needs help. We ask everyone to help us. Western nations. Eastern nations. The whole world...it all starts with dialogue."

Diplomats expect Suu Kyi to work with the West to end sanctions she once supported but which are now seen by many as contributing to chronic economic problems in the country of 50 million people where a third of the population live in poverty.

She spoke outside the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, standing on a chair, after wading through a sea of supporters, her hair bound with flowers in Burmese style and dressed in blue blouse and traditional wrap-around longyi.

At times, she joked with the crowd. "I know I said I wanted to hear what the public is thinking, but now that there are so many voices and so much noise, I don't know what is being said anymore," she said to a roar of laughter and applause.

She at one point held up a poster reading "I love the public too" and expressed amazement at advances in technology made during her detention, especially the spread of mobile phones. "These things should be used to the good advantage," she said.

Her comment on free speech resonated in a country where every song, book, cartoon and planned piece of art requires approval by censors rooting out political messages and criticisms of Myanmar's authoritarian system.

"NATIONAL LEADER"

State media said she was given a "pardon" after "she was found to be displaying good conduct" ahead of the expiry of her arrest term on Saturday. It quoted a police chief as telling her the junta was "ready to give her whatever help she needs."

She is expected to rebuild her party, which scored a landslide election victory in 1990 which the junta ignored, but other pro-democracy parties looked forward to her leadership and she told the crowd she would work with other democratic forces.

"She belongs to the entire nation," said Khin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force, a party led by renegade members of Suu Kyi's party. "We consider her a national leader and she does not belong to any single group or party."

The NLD, Myanmar's strongest democratic force, was dissolved by the military in September for failing to register for an election it dismissed as unfair and unjust. The party has since been declared an "unlawful association" and will play no official role in Myanmar's new political system.

Across the commercial capital Yangon, residents celebrated freedom for "The Lady," as she is affectionately known.

"All we are worried about now is whether she will be able to get a chance to work for the peace and prosperity of the country," said Ba Ohn, 43, a food stall owner. "Things could not be worse for us."

Electrician Ko Aye Cho, 33, expressed relief. "I consider her as my own mother. I hope she will bring our country toward a brighter future peacefully."

Although Myanmar is rich in natural gas, timber and minerals, it ranks among the world's most corrupt countries. Ethnic militias oversee the world's second-largest opium crop, its economy is monopolized by the military elite, and about a third of the population lives below the poverty line.

Chronic economic mismanagement during 48 years of direct military rule has ruined much of the infrastructure of a country that was one of Southest Asia's wealthiest, the world's top rice exporter and a major energy producer.

Suu Kyi's popularity is still a threat to the military although her release may give the junta a hint of legitimacy after last week's election, the first in 20 years, was ridiculed as a sham to prolong military rule behind a facade of democracy.

World leaders -- from U.S. President Barack Obama who hailed her as a personal hero to those in Europe and Asia -- welcomed her release but many governments urged the junta to free all Myanmar's estimated 2,100 political prisoners.

Telecom service quality to be put under scanner

2010-11-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

The government plans to conduct studies on the quality of service of basic telephone, cellular mobile and internet services within the current fiscal year. The move has come amid increasing criticism of the quality of telecom service, particularly cellular service. The government will carry out studies on the quality of mobile service in four major cities and along three highways. The Nepal Telecomm-unications Authority, the regulator of the telecom sector, aims to accomplish the task within the current fiscal year.

It plans to conduct quality surveys in Biratnagar, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nepalgunj and on the Tatopani-Raxaul, Kathmandu-Pokhara and East-West highways. This is the second time that the government is coming up with such a plan to monitor cellular service and check its quality. Earlier, the authority had conducted a quality survey in the Kathmandu Valley by appointing the Centre for Economic and Development Administration (CEDA) as consultant. However, the final result has not been made public citing the need for further work to simplify the report. CEDA had submitted the final report on Feb. 9, 2010.

“The report is very technical,” said an official of the authority. “We have asked CEDA to simplify it.”

In the current fiscal year, the authority plans to conduct studies on the service operator’s performance, the tariff being charged and tower/infrastructure sharing, among others to expand telecom services in rural areas and make them available at affordable prices.

“The studies will help formulate a long-term strategic plan for making quality telecom service available to customers,” said Kailash Neupane, spokesperson of the authority. He said that the authority aimed to conduct studies on telecom infrastructure development in rural areas, adding new operators to make the service more competitive, new technology and improvement of service and expansion of optical fibre.

Apart from the quality of service of cellular telephony, the government this year will examine the quality of service of basic telephone and internet services too. The authority said that it would monitor and check if the licensees of the basic telecom, mobile and internet service were working as per the pre-conditions set in the licensee and the proposal forwarded by the service providers.

Currently, there are three basic telecom service operators, two mobile service

operators and 46 internet and e-mail service providers in the country.

Power tariff hike looms on the horizon

2010-11-16T04:13:00.000-08:00

KATHMANDU, NOV 16 - Finally after nine years of hiatus, the Electricity Tariff Commission (ETC), an autonomous body in the country, is ready to hike the electricity tariff, said an official. However, the exact figure to be hiked is yet to be decided by the committee. Mahendra Nath Aryal, chairperson of the Electricity Tariff Fixation Committee formed to revise the tariff rate in October, said all the committee members have agreed to hike the existing tariff in ‘principle’, but are still negotiating for an appropriate rate.

“We are still discussing on the total percentage hike. The exact figure stating the total hike will be decided soon after holding a meeting,” he said. However, the increment would not be applicable to those who consume less than 20 units per month.

The six-member committee comprising representative from the sectors concerned, including power entrepreneurs, government and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) were scheduled to hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss the tariff, but it was called off due to absence of some members.

The committee members are likely to meet on Tuesday to further discussions and come to a conclusive end, said Aryal.

On Feb. 25, NEA had submitted a proposal to ETC, urging the latter to increase the tariff by a minimum of 25 percent so as to stabilise its financial condition by equalising the loss and profits. The tariff rate has not been adjusted for the last nine years. The current utility rate is Rs 7 per unit.

NEA Director Sher Singh Bhat said due to poor financial health of the country’s only power utility, the independent power developers were discouraged to fund for the hydropower development in the country.

“The increase in electricity tariff will not only rescue NEA from huge financial crisis but also help to minimise the load-shedding being faced by the country during winters,” said Bhat.

Aryal added that the committee has been reviewing the existing mechanism of the NEA structure and drawbacks, including increase in power leakage, lack of repair of diesel plant, government’s failure to provide proposed money to buy additional power from India and poor monitoring of the government owned and other big private companies to pay the electricity bills, which is causing revenue loss for NEA.

Meanwhile, Jyoti Baniya, one of the members of the committee and representative of Consumer Group, proposed to increase the electricity tariff to five percent of the existing price and recommended NEA to improve its financial status by upgrading the technical loss and structural improvement, among others.

“The NEA itself needs reformation of its administrative and financial structure to prevent further financial loss,” said Aryal. “It is clear that the revival of existing electricity tariff is inevitable to prevent the NEA from bankruptcy, but at the same time it (NEA) needs to reduce the irregularities within its organisation.”

NEA is facing a loss of Rs 4 billion yearly and the total loss so far is around Rs12 billion. As a result of the deepening loss, NEA hasn’t been able to develop new hydropower projects in the recent years, according to ministry officials.

Source: ekantipur

An interview with DJ Tenzing

2010-11-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

What is a DJ in your terms?

Well, to add-on an extra beat in any song using a turntable and make it a dance number without touching its melody on the spot means DJing. Along with it, to make the crowd flow with the beat and to make it enjoyable is one of the most important particular character of a DJ. However, in our context, CD changers are called DJs, which is totally a wrong concept.

How long have you been DJing and what was the encouraging factor?

17 years ago, I started my journey from Jolly Blues Pub. It was just then the culture of parties and Disco started. At first, I took it as a hobby but later on when realizing that people really enjoy when they are on the dance floor I felt satisfied from the depth of my heart. In addition, to make some one happy means a lot for us as a human being. So this encouraged me to pursue my career as a DJ.

Where all have you performed so far and what do you think of the future of dj profession in Nepal?

As I said before, I started my journey in djing from jolly blues pub as a hobby and later carried on as a job. I’ve worked at Club Dynasty, X-Zone Disco, Studio 54, Rox Bar, Club Platinum, to name a few. Besides, I’ve also performed at many different parties and programs at the various central places of the country and have just completed my Europe tour as well. Talking about the dj profession in Nepal, I’d say that it has a good future. People have just started to understand the party culture. Since this business depends a great deal on one’s PR he should have a good PR backed up by the quality of his work. If these criteria are met there is no doubt that the dj profession will be long lasting.

What was your most memorable moment while you were 17 and when are you the most happiest while DJing? Moreover, what types of music do you personally prefer playing and what is the ongoing trend in Nepal?

There are many memorable moments till this date and there is one that I can never forget. Well, I don’t exactly remember the date but once when I was DJing at Nirvana Country club in Dharan, everyone on the dance floor, including me, had a blast. When you are DJing, you feel very satisfied and happy when people on the floor are grooving and enjoying to your music but it’s really annoying when people come to the turn table and ask you to play a music they want to hear! Even though I personally prefer to play Electro House, R&B, and Nepali songs, it mostly depends on the crowd to choose what kind of music to play. There is no any specification regarding the kind of music being played. Teenagers prefer R&B and hip-hop where as youngster like electro house whereas a little older people choose Hindi and Nepali remixes. So the music should be played by the soul and also depends on the crowd.

How is the environment in the discotheques of Nepal and does fights and disturbance cause any effect on the profession?

I don’t think that there is any discotheque that is fully facilitated as only a disco but we can see a noticeable increase in the crowd in the established ones but still we are hopeful from the party culture in Nepal. The turnouts are really good at parties outside the valley. As far as the fights are concerned, though the numbers offights are decreasing, our job is to stay at the turn table and create music. As this is the job of the management, we are not affected by it. In the past people used to get to parties either to approach girls or drink or just to show off but now people understand music and they visit for entertainment. I’d say that the environment in the discotheques is improving.

Though Its been 17 years that you’ve been DJing, DJ’s who join the profession much later came out with albums before you but you just released your first one! What is the reason for your delay?

In Nepal’s scenario, only those people come to the limelight that release an album or come in front of the media. I used to think that it’s not a compulsion for a DJ to release an album and that he is known for his work. But I was proved wrong. After my friends forced me to approach the media, I came out with this album.

What differences did you find after your album was released and what is the difference between live DJ’ing and doing an album?

The only difference is that before the album, only limited people knew me, except that I don’t see much difference. The difference between live DJing and album is - while performing live, the music played; mixing, concept etc are implemented by oneself but when doing an album, a whole lot of teamwork is involved. While working on an album you don’t have to play the music. Everything is being played by the computer. You just have to give your concept and timings to the arranger.

In your opinion, what are the most important things to develop DJ profession in Nepal? As you can see lots of new DJ’s are popping up. Do you have any special message for them?

The backbone of DJ is the Discotheque. In every major city of Nepal, more

Discotheques should be established. Another major thing would be the crowd. People visiting discos should be mentally prepared to enjoy the taste of music before they come out from their homes. Sometimes people drink and yell like a freak show. A person should not show such behavior. Moreover, the management team should be ready for such cases. Well, I shall only wish them luck and if they want to stand on the market, they should know and learn more about music.

What are your future plans?

Truly, there are no any particular plans. However, now I am busy with the promotions stuff, as my album is on the market. Soon I am going to work on the video of‘Jimkaideu Pareli’ by Reshma Sunuwar and Roj Moktan. Along with it, I am also trying to follow up on requests coming from outside the country. After the video, I intend to continue on the Nepal Tour from Nepalgunj that had been discontinued because of my European tour.

Thank you very much for your time. Any last words for you fans:

Well I do not want to stretch more but my last word is that my album has already been released. Therefore, I request my fans to pass on some comments. I thank all my fans for the love and support because of which I am here right now. In addition, I promise to work harder to make better music but I do not want the love to fly away. Thanks again!