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Qatar Airways has announced that it has entered into an MoU with Moscow’s Vnu­kovo International Airport, Russia’s third-largest, to potentially acquire up to 25 percent of the airport’s total shares.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, signed the MoU along with Chairman of the Board of Vnukovo International Airport JSC, Vitaly Vantsev. The signing took place in Doha in the pres­ence of Deputy General Commerce for Vnukovo International Airport, Anton Kuznetsov.

Says Akbar Al Baker, “As we celebrate the Year of Culture between Russia and the State of Qatar, such an investment will complement the strong ties we have already established with the country.” This potential investment supports the airline’s investment strategy, which already includes 20 percent investment in International Airlines Group, 10 percent investment in LATAM Airlines Group, 9.94 percent investment in Cathay Pacific, and 49 percent investment in Air Italy.

The Nepalese Society of Implant Dentistry (NSID) organized a conference ‘International Implantology Congress 2018’ on April 7 and 8, on the theme of ‘Broadening Horizon’ at Hotel Yak and Yeti, Kathmandu. Thirteen acclaimed speakers from Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Serbia, Thailand, India and Malaysia shared their views on the latest science and ways to provide better care to dental patients. Some of the more renowned speakers were Prof. Dr. Mauricio Araujo from Brazil and Prof. Dr. Alesksa Markovic from Serbia.

“The conference was organized with an aim to exchange ideas on the latest technology and developments in implantation,” Dr Neil Pande, president of NSID, told APEX. “Implan­tation is one of the best methods in dentistry. It’s been 13 years since some of us started using it here and it’s time for more Nepali dentists to adopt it”.

The conference was attended by more than 175 dental surgeons and experts from around the world. It was the first conference of its kind in Nepal and it is expected that it’d be of immense benefit to the profession of dentistry. Some of the major actors in implantology par­ticipated in the conference and provided their insight on the technique. APEX BUREAU

“Where do you send your kids to school?” is a com­mon question I get from those with school-going kids. I tell them where my boys go and I see an unfamiliar expression on their faces. Because they go to a very com­mon school, not so “fancy” in other words, and thus not very popular. The season of graduation of young kids is on. Schools and parents are both competing—schools with other schools to attract more students through innovative programs and services; parents against each other to send their kids to well-known schools. Thousands of parents are eyeing schools like St. Mary’s and St. Xavier’s that provide good edu­cation at affordable fees.

The same parents who strong­ly oppose “examination” while their kids are in preschool, des­perately want their little ones to “prepare” and sit for the “entrance” exam for grade one. I find the pressure on the children around just six to go through this new “iron gate” worrisome.

Equating fees and the brand with quality of education has also created a kind of class divide among the low­er-middle, middle, and upper-mid­dle class urban Nepali families. It gets associated with status—high­er the school fees paid, higher the social status. Education is no doubt important but should you spend so much? There are schools charging monthly fees equivalent to 11 grams of gold. Has education become a new luxury good?

I graduated from 10th grade two decades ago from an inexpensive school that focused on nothing but bookish knowledge. I never had a chance to learn dance, play sports, or do anything that would make me stand out from the rest, besides my academic performance (which I wasn’t good at). I always hoped I could at least compete in some spell­ing contests, but that didn’t hap­pen either. Unlike me, kids growing up today by default learn different activities at any school, and their learning continues beyond school. They have many mediums to learn from. Internet at their fingertips, is of course, one example. Parents’ willingness to give them more, is another. Yes, working parents may not have enough time to do that but time planning is crucial; the kids won’t have their childhood back.

Nepali parents sponsor their chil­dren’s education until, in most cas­es, up to the Bachelor’s Level. The amount spent in primary or high school education could be saved and invested in higher education.

If parents spare some time for their young ones, involve them in things they do, encourage them to build their strengths, and teach them to keep their feet on the ground, not only would the family ties be stronger, the chase for a “good” school would also perhaps end.

By PRERANA MARASINI
[email protected]

The Karnali Highway, constructed under the command of the Nepal Army, has been in operation for 11 years. But all these years, passengers haven’t been able to travel safely on the highway, where hundreds have died in road accidents. The highway, which links Surkhet with Jumla, is so treacherous that it is often dubbed a ‘death-way’. In the past two years, although the frequency of accidents has declined, the suffering of the passengers hasn’t. They have to travel for two days to make a trip that should take no more than eight hours. That the highway is only single lane was already a hassle. What has compounded the problem is the delay in the construction of bridges on it.

The government has invested Rs 150 mil­lion to construct five of these bridges. (Cur­rently, most vehicles plying the highway have to ford treacherous rivers.) Another 18 bridges are being built with a World Bank grant of Rs 600 million, according to the Road Divi­sion Office, Jumla. But construction works are marred by problems.

For instance construction of the bridge over Takulla River has been halted, no one knows exactly why. The Road Division had recom­mended that its constructor, Jagriti Tulchi Durga JV, be blacklisted.

“But the Supreme Court issued an order not to place the company on the blacklist,” rues division head Madhav Prasad Adhikari.

However, construction of another bridge project that had earlier been halted has now resumed. The project had begun seven years ago under an agreement that it would be completed in 15 months. But the bridge remains incomplete after seven years, and the construction resumed only recently after the road division warned the constructor, Yakthumhang Goldengate JV, that it would be blacklisted.

“The company has agreed to bear all the additional cost incurred by the delay and to seek payment only after the construc­tion is complete,” says the Road Division Office, Jumla. This bridge is being built at a spot where vehicles get stuck for weeks when there’s a landslide.

Raj Bahadur Mahat, chairperson of Jumla Civil Society, laments that the government has failed to take action against construction companies that have dragged construction for years. “These companies enjoy political protection, which is why they can get away with abandoning the work. If the state is indeed serious about Karnali’s welfare, upgrading the highway is a must,” says Mahat.

The road division claims that building the bridges and widening the highway is a top pri­ority, and that construction has picked up pace after it took charge of the work in February. Earlier the Nepal Army was in charge.

The road division office claims that is doesn’t have the necessary budget for highway expan­sion and upgrade. It also argues that construc­tion work has suffered due to the region’s remoteness and the 2015-16 blockade.

By Govinda Devkota | Nepalgunj

The much-awaited Melamchi Water Supply Project is finally near completion. A ‘breakthrough’ on April 10 in the 7.5-km Sindhu-Gyalthum section of the 26-km tunnel has raised the odds that Melamchi River’s water will reach the Kathmandu Valley before the Dashain festival in October.

Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Bina Magar said that with the latest breakthrough, the tunnel-digging work of the project has been completed. “We intend to finish the remaining tasks in the next four months, so valley residents will get to consume the water from Melamchi latest by Dashain,” said Magar. After taking over the ministry on Feb­ruary 18, Magar had observed the project site and instructed the project chief to carry out the breakthrough in 25 days. It was completed four days before the deadline.

Of the total project cost of Rs 76.7 billion, Rs 24.2 billion has already been spent, with 80 percent being borne by the Asian Development Bank and the remaining by the Nepal government.

The main objectives of the project, according to the ADB, are to alleviate the chronic water shortage in Kathmandu Valley on a sustainable, long-term basis, and to improve the health and well-being of its inhabitants. It is expected to bring 170 million liters of water to the capital every day. The much-delayed proj­ect also seeks to develop a comprehensive institutional framework for urban water management in the valley.

Earlier breakthroughs in the tunnel work included the 9.4-km Sundarijal-Sindhu sec­tion in 2016 and the 8.2-km Gyalthum-Ambathan section in late 2017.

“Melamchi’s water will be supplied to Kathmandu’s households in September if things go smoothly. But even if there are technical difficulties, that will happen by October,” says Ramchandra Devkota, executive director of the Melam­chi Water Supply Board.

“We are working on a Detailed Project Report to bring an additional 170 million liters of water each from Yangri and Larke rivers. Both will require 11-km long tunnels,” said Devkota. Tiresh Prasad Khatri, director of the Project Imple­mentation Directorate, KUKL, informed that the state water utility will need 15 days to supply water to households after it reaches Sundarijal.

By YUVARAJ PURI | SINDHUPALCHOK

With inputs from Gopikrishna Dhungana in Kathmandu

Weekly Editorial Cartoon

 “Why isn’t Thamel, which is at the heart of Nepali tourism, open 24 hours a day?” The questioner was visibly angry at the government’s inability to do so. The event was a public hearing in Thamel of top cops and administrators of Kathmandu district on a recent Friday evening. The incoming chief of Nepal Police, Sarbendra Khanal, who was instrumental in making Thamel a no-vehicle zone, must have heard this question many times. It is just a sliver of the immense challenge he will face.

Khanal takes over as the Inspector General of Nepal Police as the country is making a difficult transition to a federal structure. Nepal Police, which is still highly centralized, is struggling with this drastic change. The number of crimes this fiscal is up, by eight percent from the previous year, with murders and rapes accounting for most of the increase. There are now an average of over three rapes in Nepal every day. It falls on Khanal to enhance public trust in his institution, to sincerely implement the slogan of “Police My Friend”. A trusted police force is also an effective one.

You wouldn’t bet against Khanal. After all, he has had a stellar career. His investigative skills were amply demonstrated when he looked into and led the suc­cessful prosecution of national footballers enmeshed in match-fixing. Besides his investigative skills, Khanal was as noted for his tough line against notorious dons. Khanal, who had received top marks in the internal evaluation of Nepal Police to choose the new police chief, is one of the rare Inspector Generals whose appointment was based largely on merit. This will, hopefully, set a strong precedent.

It would have been better still had Khanal been first appointed the Assistant Inspector General (AIG), the second highest rank, and promoted to Inspector Gen­eral after some time. But as all serving AIGs had retired at the same time, the government had no option but to choose from among the third-highest ranking Depu­ty Inspector Generals (DIGs), Khanal among them. To ensure that there is no such void in the future, and that the next police chief is well trained as an administrator, the provision of compulsory retirement after 30 years of service has to be modified. The sooner the better.

The good news is that merit has prevailed over poli­ticking in the appointment of the Nepal Police chief, as well as the new chief of the Armed Police Force, which is now led by Shailendra Khanal, another competent hand. This bodes well in these uncertain times.

Weekly Editorial Cartoon