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Pokhara: Minister for Youth and Sports Jagat Bishwakar­ma has said a well-equipped international standard stadium would soon be built in Pokhara. Speaking at a press conference organized by the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum, Kaski, he also pointed out the possibility of linking tourism of the lake city with sports.

Acknowledging that sports can­not progress unless athletes can earn a living through their cho­sen profession, he also prom­ised a cricket ground. He high­lighted the recent success of the national cricket team, which has just earned the right to play international ODI cricket for the next four years. RSS

Melamchi project ‘Drinking Water Bina Magar has promised that the water from Melamchi Drinking Water Project will arrive in Kathmandu valley within the next four months.

She said this after visiting Melamchi municipality of the central Nepal district of Sindhupalchowk, the water-source. Since the final leg of the project, tunnel construc­tion, is also nearly complete, she said, there will be no more delays.

The project was started in 2009 and aims to bring 170 million liters of water a day into the parched valley. APEX BUREAU

For the past 40 years, people belonging to the historically downtrodden Dalit community have been deprived of wor­ship rights at the Shiva-Parvati temple in Simraungad municipality of Bara district in the central plains. The local Chamar community has been denied the right to worship because non-Dalits of the area have prevented their entry into the shrine. “The temple was built four decades ago. Dalits have never been allowed in,” says Binod Mahara Chamar, a local resident. The tem­ple is located in Jhawani tol (neighborhood), which has 150 households. Of those, 10 to 12 belong to the Chamar community; the rest belong to Brahmins, Rajputs, Sahani, Teli and Nunia communities.

“Our forefathers helped build the temple as masons and laborers. But when it was built, we were denied entry on the grounds that we are from the ‘lower castes’,” rues Binod. He claims that non-Dalits have barred their entry because they think the presence of Dalits in the temple will defile it.

“We tried hard, but the non-Dalits were determined to keep us out,” says another local Binesh Mahara Chamar. “We are a tiny minority in this neighborhood, so we have little choice but to tolerate such injustice.”

A non-Dalit local leader of Jhawani tol denied such claims. “We haven’t prevented them from entering the temple. But if they worship in that temple, we won’t,” he says.

Another non-Dalit local Jayalal Sahani argued that Dalits are prevented from worshipping in the temple not because they are Dalits per se, but because they are dirty and come to the temple after consuming meat and alcohol. “We won’t stop them if are clean and sober,” says Sahani.

Gagandev Kushwaha, former chairman of Simraungad Village Development Committee (no longer an administrative unit after last year’s local restructuring), for his part says Dal­its have been deprived of their [worship] rights because they aren’t aware of their [civil] rights.

But Ramesh Kushwaha, chairman of Ward 7 (where Jhawani tol lies), pleads ignorance of the discriminatory practice. “I don’t know much about the happenings in the village. I’ll find out,” he says. “If indeed there’s discrimination, I’ll take the initiative to end it.”

 By Kranti Shah | Birgunj

KATHMANDU: Forty eight out of the 55 LPG industries operating in the country have not yet taken the Nepal Standard certification. Although the government has made the NS certification mark mandatory for all LPG bottlers, 48 companies have not been certified. Among the few that have the certification are Manoj Gas Industry (Birgunj), Shree Krishna Gas Industry (Dhading), Saibaba Gas Industry (Dhading), Nepal Gas Industry (Balaju), Janaki Gas Industry (Nawalparasi), Metro Gas Industry (Dhading) and NL Gas Industry (Birgunj). RSS