Family members said Upreti committed suicide at his residence in Gyaneshwor after writing a 'suicide note'. Upreti has blamed the Nepal Bar Association for the incident.
Upreti has written in the suicide note that he was hurt by the Nepal Bar Association's decision of not letting the retired judges plead cases in the Supreme Court, according to his relatives.
In the suicide note, Upreti has stated that his body be provided to a hospital and Rs 500,000 as his obsequies expenses to the earthquake survivors. The body has been taken to Maharajgunj-based Teaching Hospital for postmortem. RSS
Bicycle rally for strengthening bilateral relations
Kanchanpur, May 25: A bicycle rally jointly organised by the border security forces of Nepal and India has reached Kanchanpur today. The rally was begun from the Nepal–India border point Gauriphanta on Sunday.
It is stated that the rally was organized aiming to strengthen bilateral relations and promoting cooperation and mutual harmony among the peoples of two countries. The rally comprises 10 security personnel of the Armed Police Force, Nepal and 10 of Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB), India and five civilians from India and five from Nepal as well.
The participants of the rally are carrying the national flags of respective countries. The rally would complete on May 29 after reaching Gauriphanta. RSS
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Five hundred engineers to mobilize in reconstruction
Kathmandu, May 25: Nepal Engineers Association is to mobilize 500 engineers to provide advice in the reconstruction of the houses and structures damaged due to the earthquake.
The engineers assigned as volunteers for the inspection of the damaged houses before this are being mobilised for providing suggestions for repair works.
"In the first phase we advised people on habitable and uninhabitable houses and their risk level, and in the second phase we will advise people regarding reconstruction of the damaged buildings," General Secretary of the Association, Kishor Jha, said.
Not all houses which have been categorized uninhabitable and risky need to be demolished; the engineers to be mobilised will advise on the ways of retrofitting. The Association has been providing orientation training to the volunteer engineers through teams of foreign experts, he said.
The Association's volunteers have so far inspected 45,038 houses. It has clarified that they have only provided verbal advice to the owners of the houses they have inspected and not pasted any stickers. RSS
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UML chair Oli in Dolakha district for inspection
Kathmandu, May 25: CPN (UML) chairman KP Sharma Oli has left for the quake affected Ramechhap and Dolakha districts for onsite inspection.
Chair Oli has interacted with district based chief officials of different offices and security forces about the latest conditions of rescue and relief operations in Dolakha district.
According to party leader Kailash Dhungel, chair Oli carried out onsite inspection at landslide affected areas in the district.
Similarly, chair Oli will visit Ramechhap district today itself. RSS
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NRPA submits memo demanding investigation
Bhaktapur, May 25: The Nepal Revolutionary Peasants Association (NRPA), a sister organisation of the Nepal Workers Peasants Party, has demanded investigation alleging of partiality in the distribution of relief materials to the quake survivors.
A team led by Association Chairman, Govinda Duwal, today submitted a memorandum to Chief District Officer of Bhaktapur, Anil Kumar Thakur, demanding immediate investigation in this regard, citing of dillydallying, partiality and irregularities in relief and rehabilitation task.
The seven-point memo demands that the relief provided by different national and international organisations, individuals and government be distributed through the one-door policy under the leadership of the chief district officer and that relief be distributed to quake survivors in a proportional way based on the details of loss caused by the quake, among others.
On the occasion, Thakur expressed commitment that he would pay maximum attention in relief distribution as well as to make public the details of distributed relief materials. RSS
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Do not look to return in a hurry, Laprak local tells visiting State Minister
(Prasanna Pokharel)
Gorkha Bazaar, May 25: State Minister for Labour Tek Bahadur Gurung, who visited Laprak area in the district – one of the worst hit districts by the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake- was accosted by the victims pleading for support from the government.
The Laprak residents in dire straits compounded with the shortage of adequate relief materials a month after the earthquake, appealed to Minister Gurung, who reached the site for inspection purpose, to extend utmost support at the time of grief.
"Do not look to return in a hurry," earthquake victim Marsingh Gurung said adding, "Understand our woes and stay with us." Gurung lamented that the political leaders who have visited the village betray their eagerness to turn back.
"We have left our livestock in the jungle," Gurung said. "Our crops have withered and we are forced to live under tarpaulin tents and there is no food," he confided.
The appalling state of the Laprak residents could have moved a stone when they told the visiting Minister the conditions of the elderly, lactating mothers and children living under the makeshift tents were even worse.
The locals have been living in Gopsidanda hill after a total of 550 households in Laprak were leveled by the destructive quake. The Gopsidanda itself has suffered deformation and is teetering perilously on an edge of an imminent landslide. "There are no sources of water in this hill," said Santosh Gurung, who is former VDC Chairman of Laprak.
"The difficulties are only adding up," he said, further explaining that when rain lashed the makeshift settlement people had to pin down the tarpaulin sheets to prevent rain from sipping inside. The Laprak locals have been living in a single unit with tarp tents pitched on the hill. Laprak itself was a single village comprising nine wards. "We have accommodated the lactating mothers and elderly people in places where gust does not blow," Gurung said.
Gurung further said the villagers could not use firewood for cooking as the rain had dampened it. "How long are we to survive by eating raw noodles," he questioned. He demanded the government for good tents. Gurung said the wind and rain were tearing the tarps apart and making life difficult.
Gurung stressed the government must end its practice of making promises and not delivering. The villagers presented the Minister with a verbal memorandum for urgent supply of food commodities before the onset of monsoon.
In response, Minister Gurung pledged for immediate relief packages, temporary shelters and even promised to send youths abroad for foreign employment as a sustainable solution. "I have come to Laprak to understand the problem," he said, adding, "I will not only listen to your problems, but take immediate steps to resolve the issue by broaching the subject in the meeting of the Council of Ministers."
The Laprak locals have already apprised Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, Former PM Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Chinkaji Shrestha and NC Central Member Surendra Raj Pandey of their tribulations.
Another Laprak local, Pushpa Gurung said the sick had no medicines while all were forced to live without communication and electricity further aggravating their plight. RSS
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Time to Care Mental Health and Heal Invisible Wounds
( Narayan Prasad Ghimire)
Almost a month has passed since the destructive 7.8 Richter scale earthquake shook the country. The huge disaster occurred in 80 years of history has claimed the lives of over 8,600 and injured more than 22,000. Tens of thousands of houses and public structures turned to debris. The mighty aftershocks of April 26 and May 12 added woes while other minor ones are still continuous seizing everyone's attention, and forcing for compromised lives with less sleep and less work.
For a month, the media are flooded with the oodles of shocking, agonizing and excruciating moments of quake survivors. Photographs and visuals of the dead ones, decay and destruction are enough to chill down one's spine. It is not uncommon the newspaper readers or the TV viewers, though not losing any loved ones or any property damages, get stuck, speechless and cogitate to secrete the stress hormone. And mount the worries and anxieties.
Before bursting into tear on a TV camera in Dolakha recently, a man of around 40 says, "I spent my most energetic days of life in foreign countries toiling hard. It was all to earn money and raise my family's standard. And I utilized the earnings by building a five-story house in the headquarters of Dolakha district. See, the debris now. I'm split."
Similarly, a remote relative of mine shares over telephone that her teenage son lost appetite and sleep. Fear is still gripping him though almost a month has passed since the main shock of April 25 struck the country.
Compared to human loss, the incidents may not weigh a lot. However, the stress and anxiety caused are always unseen.
To the country, which was already stung by the decade plus insurgency which too ravaged the people's hearts with over 13,000 killings of the innocent ones and huge damage of properties, the unprecedented loss and damages has left again to tremendous challenges to face in the imminent and the future.
Seen are the deaths, decay, and destruction. But unseen is more harrowing aspect of human life- broken heart which leads to the deterioration of mental health. The physical wound and scars are noticeable, can be touched and felt quickly. They are short-lived. The invisible wounds are incremental and sometime go out of control if attention is not paid on time.
At such situation, it can't be denied that mental health challenges will be an invisible disaster to Nepal. So, concerted efforts are essential on time to avoid the future risks.
The examples above are the responses to the deaths and devastations. The extent of the responses can be normal for some time, but the likelihood of worsening condition can not be ruled out, as the experts caution.
Actually, Nepal has no or very poor preparedness to care the mental health in disaster. Although almost a month has passed, no initiative from the government has been made public to tend mental health, which is obviously fragile at such times of devastation.
It is obvious that hundreds of thousands of Nepalis are suffering from stress now. But we must initiate imparting psychosocial counselling to liberate them from fear- an unseen factor which may cause various other invisible symptoms.
In the post traumatic stress disaster (PTSD) the people suffering from this condition after disaster experience sleeplessness, fear, loneliness, vacuity, stress, anxiety, loss of appetite, difficulty in respiration, and quick heart beat.
Inquired about such, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at TU Teaching Hospital, Saroj Raj Ojha, says, "Many are suffering from psychosocial problems. It's quite normal. But, counselling is urgent- be it at home, school, offices, and hospitals."
According to him, the government in a way remained feeble and ill-prepared on mental health in view of the disaster. It is however an opportunity for all- individuals to government- to learn for coping with challenges. He suggested the Health Ministry to immediately set up a separate mental health desk and provide service soon.
"The government must implement the Mental Health Policy of 1996 immediately, and rescue the eight million people from deterioration of mental health in the country," Dr Ojha stressed.
Following the disaster, various hospitals including TU Teaching in the Kathmandu Valley have been conducting 24-hour emergency psychosocial counselling which is indeed a laudable initiative. However, these are meagre as millions have broken hearts. Schools, government offices and other public institutions can be very good platform to counsel all to recover strength, renew zest, build positive thoughts, try to forget horrors and continue respective jobs.
In the personal level too, people should maintain restraint, do yoga and have long breath, as per doctors' advice. In case of seriousness, one must visit the doctor. Consumption of fresh food and maintenance of hygienic life are equally important to prevent psychosocial problems from deteriorating into mental sickness.
On how the grief can be alleviated, mental health researcher and Founder of Nepal Mental Health Foundation, Jagannath Lamichhane, writes - We need patience and compassion to help people overcome their grief and trauma. We should not be judgmental over individual's experience of loss. Labelling human grief as any kind of mental illness is counterproductive.
Now, it is high time, we- from individual to doctors, policy makers to youths, and experts to government - take concerted efforts to heal agonized minds and put ointment to the broken hearts. RSS
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Lamjung poets share quake experience through their creations
Lamjung, May 25: Poets here have shared their experiences during earthquake and topics like the delay in relief distribution and the need to converting the situation into an opportunity for rebuilding, through their creations, recalling the 'Gorkha Earthquaker'.
At a programme organised by Antaranga National Weekly at Beshisahar, quake survivor poets said that they would involve in literary creation during any disaster.
On the occasion, poets--Tej Narayan Adhikari, Keshav Sigdel, LB Chhetri, Chetonath Adhikari, Kamala KC, Sita Poudel, among others recited poems.
Financial aid of Rs 30,000 was provided to three litterateurs in the district-- Chetonath Adhikari (Bichour), Rudranidhi Tiwari (Chiti) and Bishwo Binod (Gaunsahar). The quake has damaged their houses. The financial assistance was provided by American litterateur Michel Rothernberg through the 'Poet In Need' organisation.
A total of 30 poets and litterateurs of seven quake-hit districts are provided with financial support, said Secretary at the Society of Nepali Writers in English, Keshav Sigdel. RSS
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PM Koirala not to tolerate misuse of relief funds
Kathmandu, May 25: Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said that anyone who misuses the rescue and relief fund should be jailed.
While taking suggestions from the National Information Commission for implementing transparency in relief operations, PM Koirala added that the government was conducting the relief operations in a free and fair manner.
PM Koirala further urged all to generously support the government for relief operations as the government was conducting every relief operation following the criteria and legal provisions as well.
The monitoring agencies were active to monitor all the expenditures of the government therefore there was no confusion of misusing the funds.
Prime Minister Koirala clarified that all the relief and reconstruction operations should be conducted through the government mechanism.
PM Koirala even refuted the rumours that the government was corrupt and partial in relief distribution.
Similarly, the commission has urged the PM Koirala to disseminate authorized news and precautionary information about any possible natural disaster.
Chief Commissioner at the commission Krishna Hari Banskota while submitting the recommendations to PM Koirala, urged the government to arrange special package for media persons who are mobilized in the quake affected risky zones. He further pointed out the need of imparting precaution training to the media persons with necessary equipments.
Likewise, chief commissioner Banskota urged the government to issue a public notice for providing relief package to the media houses and media equipments that were damaged due to the quake.
The commission has stated that the buildings of National News Agency, Radio Nepal, Nepal Television, Gorkhapatra Sansthan, Kantipur Publications, Naya Patrika Daily, Rajdhani Daily, Nepal Republic Media, Kamana News, Nepal News Network International, The Himalayan Times, Karobar Daily, Arthik Aviyan Daily and Himalaya Times were damaged by the quake.
Meanwhile, the commission submitted its suggestion and a memorandum letter prepared by 61 mediapersons including RTI campaigner Taranath Dahal to PM Koirala.
Also present on the occasion were commissioners Kiran Pokharel and Yasoda Timsina. RSS
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