Evoke your sensations
The Evoke Café and Bistro at Jhamiskhel, Lalitpur is a venue that offers great coffee choices, an eclectic food menu and selective live music, in a calm and cozy environment.
With its own spacious parking space and both indoors and outdoors seating, Evoke hosts a variety of events from mini-markets to theater performances, barbecue parties to live music.
The premise also shares space with The Local Project—a shop, gallery and studio—so you can eat, drink, party, and shop as well.
THE MENU
Chef’s Special:
Evoke Lasagna, Waffles, Mozzarella Sticks, Fish and Chips
Opening hours
8 am-10 pm
Average Meal for two: Rs 2,500
Cards
Accepted
Sixth Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup
Turkish Airlines, a world leader in civil aviation, launched the sixth edition of its Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup this week. Following its inception in 2013, the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup has established itself as one of the prominent corporate tournaments in global golf, while representing the powerful link between the game of golf and the Turkish Airlines.
The Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup players are personally invited by Turkish Airlines and more than 8,000 are expected to feature in 100 tournaments around the world, with each hoping to qualify for the Grand Finals in Antalya in November.
Royal Birkdale, the 2017 British Open Championship venue, and Ryder Cup courses Gleneagles, Edinburgh, the K Club, Dublin and Paris’s Le Golf National, which hosts September’s match between Europe and the United States, are among the venues on the schedule.
The players reaching the Grand Finals will receive Business Class flights to Turkey and accommodation at the five-star Titanic Golf Deluxe Belek Hotel and the winners in Belek will have the chance to play in the Pro-Am at the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open along some of the finest golfers in the world.
This year’s Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup is also supported by The Financial Times, National, Titanic Hotels and Ruck & Maul.
NIC Asia’s discount scheme
On the occasion of the Nepali New Year 2075, NIC Asia Bank has launched a new discount scheme for its cardholders.
NIC Asia Bank will be providing discounts ranging from five percent to 50 percent to its debit and credit cardholders in select outlets throughout the Nepali calendar year. At present, this discount scheme is applicable in over 30 outlets across the country. The bank says the number of outlets where the discount can be availed will increase in the near future.
Berger Paints brings “Berger Ko ATM”
Berger Paints Nepal, on the occasion of New Year 2075, has announced its new offer ‘Berger Ko ATM’ to get your home spruced up this season with loads of cash rewards.
In this offer, house owners may win up to Rs 3 million. Also, on the purchase of Berger Silk Range, Weathercoat All Guard or Weathercoat Anti Dust Emulsions, house owners will get 100 sq. ft. Silk Illusion Design for free. Three best commercial buildings will get Rs 50,000 each and the most liked house on Berger’s Facebook page will win Rs 25,000.
To be part of this offer, house owners need to call Berger’s toll free numbers—1660-01-23434 (NTC) or 9801571001 (NCell) or send an SMS to 33377 typing <berger>—to register themselves before painting their house. Once the registration is done, a unique code shall be provided to each individual house at the time of call or via an automatic SMS system.
The promotion, which started on April 15, will be valid for registration till July 16.
‘ Facebook disputes’ breaking families
The local level judicial committees in the eastern district of Ilam have had to adjudicate an increasing number of cases revolving around marital disputes arising from the reported abuse of social media, or the alleged misuse of money sent by a spouse working abroad. These committees, headed by municipal deputy mayors or ward deputy chairpersons, were formed to resolve disputes locally in line with a constitutional provision. The committees have the authority to arbitrate civil as well as criminal cases whose sentence can last up to a year.
Ilam’s Mai municipality, which borders the district of Jhapa, gets over 50 cases in a month. Bishnu Maya Rijal, coordinator of the judicial committee and deputy mayor, says many of those cases have to do with marital problems, and that while the committee is able to resolve some cases, others are more complicated. One such reported case involved a wife who asked for an expensive mobile phone from her husband working abroad and used the device to establish relations with another man.
Rijal argues that families whose members work abroad are being broken apart because of social media abuse. Facebook seems to be a major culprit. Women (but also men in some cases) are apparently using it to begin extra-marital affairs. They splurge the hard-earned money sent by their spouse working abroad, the filed cases accuse.
Similar cases are being filed in other areas too. Pabimaya Rai, deputy mayor and head of the Judicial Committee at Deumai municipality, says that there has been a drastic increase in the number of ‘Facebook disputes’. “There are many cases of a woman indulging in profligacy or licentiousness while her husband is abroad,” says Rai.
No law yet
The standard procedure for adjudicating cases hasn’t yet been formed at Ilam’s local level. But Shumsher Rai, chairperson of Rong rural municipality, says that despite the lack of laws, local disputes are resolved through mediation.
In the absence of the required laws and guidelines, some local level judicial committees have adopted the dispute resolution mechanism of various NGOs. The government has recently sent a preliminary draft of the law to the local level. All local level judicial committees say they are studying the draft.
By TOYANATH BHATTARAI | ILAM
Hidden hemophilia
Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder that prevents blood from clotting effectively. For a person with hemophilia, any injury to a blood vessel can result in an uncontrolled discharge of blood either internally or, when the skin is broken, externally. A bump or a knock, which in a normal person would produce a bruise, may result in a major bleeding episode in a person with hemophilia.People with hemophilia are prone to spontaneous bleeds, particularly in joints such as ankles, elbows and knees. Because these bleeds are accompanied by symptoms of pain and swelling, they are generally obvious and get prompt attention. Nevertheless, over a period of time, the enzymes from these hemorrhages corrode the cartilage, bones and nerves causing chronic pain and arthritis in the affected joints. Another insidious aspect of the disorder is that spontaneous, life-threatening bleeds may occur internally without any specific symptoms, requiring emergency hospitalization.
Except in rare cases, hemophilia occurs only in men; women, however, are the carriers of the hemophilia gene. This condition is incurable but temporarily manageable. The only possible treatment is infusion of blood, plasma, cryoprecipitate or the anti-hemophilic factor concentrate at every instance of bleeding. The treatment is prohibitively expensive.
In line with the World Federation of Hemophilia’s estimated prevalence rate of hemophilia in general population (one in 10,000 live births), there should be around 3,000 persons with hemophilia (PWH) in Nepal. But only around 600 of them have been identified. Nepal Hemophilia Society is a social non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organization that works for these PWH, their families and care-givers. Established in 1992, it is run by a group of voluntary workers who either have hemophilia or are parents of such children.
NHS is working in all aspects of hemophilia care that includes diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, psychosocial counseling and social support. Other important works of NHS include advocacy of hemophilia rights and awareness generation.
NHS is a sole caregiver, the only advocacy group, and a social network for the PWHs and their families in Nepal. After a long strategic planning, advocacy and continuous effort, an important landmark has been achieved i.e. for the first time hemophilia has been categorized as a disability in Nepal under the Persons with Disabilities Rights Act, 2074. Issues of hemophilia have, however, remained largely 'invisible', often side-lined in the rights debate, making those with it unable to enjoy their human rights like everyone else.
As we celebrated the World Hemophilia Day on April 17, the hemophilia fraternity of Nepal was still struggling to get that one vial of anti-hemophiliac factor concentrate for the next bleeding episode.
By SURAKSHA THAPA
The author is a program officer at Nepal Hemophilia Society
No country for the Musahar community
The hand pump in front of the house dried up two years ago. An electricity pole stands adjacent to their house, but they have to rely on a tuki (a traditional oil lamp) at night because their house does not have a power meter. They have been married for 10 years, but their marriage hasn’t been registered. And because they don’t have citizenship cards, their son’s birth hasn’t been registered either, which in turn has hindered his school enrolment. These are just some problems that the family of the 30-year-old Rajwati Musahar from Birta of Gaushala municipality in the central plains district of Mahottari has to face. “I often go to the municipality office, but no one listens,” she says.
Hand-to-mouth existence
Birta’s 60 Musahar families—with a total population of 250—are deprived of even basic rights and state services. “We live hand to mouth,” rues Rajwati. “No one understands our pain.”
There is hardly anyone in Birta’s Musahar community who has completed secondary school. Most children haven’t even been to a school. “My children go to morning school, but they cannot be formally enrolled as they don’t have birth certificates,” says Jitani Devi Musahar, another local resident.
Rambabu Shah, chairman of ward 4, says the process of getting children enrolled in schools has already begun. “We will also ensure that the children have books and uniforms they need in school,” says Shah.
Toilet woes
Part of why the Musahars have been denied government services is that they don’t have a toilet in their homes. The municipality, under its ‘no open defecation’ campaign, has barred households without a toilet from accessing government services.
“We don’t even have land to build a house, how can we build a toilet?” wonders Kabita Musahar, a mother of two.
“Our settlement has five hand pumps. Four of them went dry after the 2015 quake. We have to stand in a long line to fill water from the remaining one,” says 70-year-old Sukadev Sada.
Bikhani Sada claims that people from other caste groups even stop them from using the hand pump. “We have to go to the nearby pond to bathe and wash clothes. The pond water makes my body itch,” she says.
Shivanath Mahato, mayor of Gaushala municipality, claims that he will make sure the Musahar community will soon have ample access to drinking water.
BY RAJKARAN MAHATO | GAUSHALA, MAHOTTARI
