Deep Purple concert postponed

The Deep Purple concert earlier scheduled for March 15 has been postponed till April 26.
Earlier, the concert was scheduled to take place at Dasarath Stadium in the capital this Friday.
According to ODC Entertainment and its CEO Simant Gurung, the concert has been postponed citing frequent strikes, general strikes in Nepal.
"Ticket selling was satisfactory but very slow," Gurung said.
It has been learnt that the organisers telephoned Deep Purple to hold back the concert for Saturday, however, the band refused the proposal citing lack of time and its effect in their other concerts and agreed for the concert on April 26.
The tickets being sold will be used for the April 26 concert, ODC informed.
Deep Purple , an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968 is considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years.

Flow of new account openers slow despite simplified KYC

The flow of new account openers at banks is still slow even though Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has relaxed the know your customer (KYC) requirements. Extra paperwork imposed by the central bank had put off potential customers spreading concern among bankers.
Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) said that their existing depositors too had not provided additional documents as required by the central bank’s directive. NRB has extended the deadline for them to update their information till the end of this fiscal year.
The central bank issued stringent KYC requirements on October 12, 2012 as per the country’s international commitment against anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Under the new rules, potential account openers had to provide photocopies of the citizenship certificates of their antecedents going back three generations.
BFIs had asked the central bank to simplify the requirements after the number of new account openers dropped drastically because of the complicated paperwork.
Last February, NRB changed the provision stating that it would be enough to provide only the number of the citizenship certificates. The central bank has told the BFIs that they have to pay a fine of Rs 500,000 as per the Anti-Money Laundering Act if they do not seek the details as per the directive.
However, bankers said that it had not made any significant difference to the downward trend.
“There has not been any significant difference after NRB simplified the provision,” said Sashin Joshi, chief executive officer of NIC Bank. He added that the new KYC rules had resulted in the number of new account openers dropping by half at his bank. “We used to see 1,000-1,500 new account openings daily which has now fallen by half,” he said. NIC Bank presently has around 170,000 deposit accounts.
Similarly, Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) said that new account openers stayed away in droves in the second quarter of this fiscal after the new KYC rules were issued.
“The number of new accounts decreased by 30-35 percent in the second quarter,” said CEO Jyoti Pandey. He added that things had improved after the central bank simplified the
procedures. “First, we have to develop the habit of submitting family
background details to open an account,” he said. The bank has 482,000 plus deposit accounts.
Pandey said that they had also been asking their old account holders to update their details by sending an sms or over the phone.
“There has been little progress at major branches like Putali Sadak and Durbar Marg, but a majority of the depositors at our new branches have updated their profiles,” he said.
Meanwhile, Commerz and Trust Bank Nepal said that the number of new account openers had plunged by half due to KYC. “New account opening has come down to 100 daily from over 200 in the past,” said CEO Anal Raj Bhattarai. “The situation has not changed much even after the KYC rules were simplified.”  Likewise, Civil Bank has reported a sharp decline in new customers. “Account opening has come down to five-six a day from 50-60 in the past,” said CEO Kishore Maharjan.

Business Flow of new account openers slow despite simplified KYC

The flow of new account openers at banks is still slow even though Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has relaxed the know your customer (KYC) requirements. Extra paperwork imposed by the central bank had put off potential customers spreading concern among bankers.
Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) said that their existing depositors too had not provided additional documents as required by the central bank’s directive. NRB has extended the deadline for them to update their information till the end of this fiscal year.
The central bank issued stringent KYC requirements on October 12, 2012 as per the country’s international commitment against anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Under the new rules, potential account openers had to provide photocopies of the citizenship certificates of their antecedents going back three generations.
BFIs had asked the central bank to simplify the requirements after the number of new account openers dropped drastically because of the complicated paperwork.
Last February, NRB changed the provision stating that it would be enough to provide only the number of the citizenship certificates. The central bank has told the BFIs that they have to pay a fine of Rs 500,000 as per the Anti-Money Laundering Act if they do not seek the details as per the directive.
However, bankers said that it had not made any significant difference to the downward trend.
“There has not been any significant difference after NRB simplified the provision,” said Sashin Joshi, chief executive officer of NIC Bank. He added that the new KYC rules had resulted in the number of new account openers dropping by half at his bank. “We used to see 1,000-1,500 new account openings daily which has now fallen by half,” he said. NIC Bank presently has around 170,000 deposit accounts.
Similarly, Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) said that new account openers stayed away in droves in the second quarter of this fiscal after the new KYC rules were issued.
“The number of new accounts decreased by 30-35 percent in the second quarter,” said CEO Jyoti Pandey. He added that things had improved after the central bank simplified the
procedures. “First, we have to develop the habit of submitting family
background details to open an account,” he said. The bank has 482,000 plus deposit accounts.

45 Nepali migrant workers left high and dry in Qatar

Forty-five Nepali migrant workers have not been given their salaries or their papers preventing them from returning home. The workers who were employed at three companies based in Sanaiya, Bakra and Mataraqdim complained that they had not been provided identity cards to stay in Qatar , and that they had not been allowed to return home either.
The 35 Nepali workers employed at RTC Company said that they had not been paid for the last four months. “The company gives us a month’s salary after working for four months,” said Hem Shankar Pashawan who hails from Siraha district. “It has been difficult for us to repay our loans and interest back home.”
He added that the company had also not issued identity cards for the Nepali workers which is necessary to live in Qatar . This has made them anxious because they could be arrested at any time by the local police for not having the necessary papers.
The workers said that even though the companies had promised to let them return to Nepal, they had not been allowed to leave. “It has already been four months that we have been waiting to return to Nepal, but there is still no sign of it,” said Sanjiv Shah who is from Mahottari. Shah, who suffers from a nerve-related disease, said that his condition had been deteriorating as the company had not managed his health inspection. “I am having difficulty to stand on my feet due to the lack of health check-up,” he said.
Meanwhile, a local hotel has sacked five Nepalis. Kishan Rijal of Parbat, Kalamdin Nau of Kapilvastu, Gopal Pandey of Butwal, Medhnath Sharma of Baglung and Dhana Bahadur Magar of Gaighat who lost their jobs said that the employer exploited their labour and manhandled them. The hotel in Bakra had not even provided them accommodation. They eventually found shelter at the Nepal Embassy after spending two days in a mosque.
Rijal said that the Jordani owner of the hotel used to make them work at the hotel during the day and at his home during the night. “We had to work at the hotel from 8 am to 12 midnight,” he said. “Then we would be taken to his home to do more work.” He added that they used to be beaten if they refused to work.
The workers gave up their jobs due to the exploitation. “All our stuffs are at the hotel,” said Gopal Pandey of Butwal. “We were not allowed to take our stuffs with us.” Meanwhile, Medhnath Sharma of Baglung who had arrived just two months ago had paid Rs 115,000 to an agent. “I had come here with the hope of getting a job at a good hotel,” he said. “But the hotel was really terrible.”
These five Nepalis are now living in a shelter provided by the Nepal Embassy. They also have filed a case against the owner of the hotel.

Business Suzuki Hayate to make Nepal debut

he entry-level two-wheeler segment will soon see a new member with Japanese auto major Suzuki planning to roll out the Suzuki Hayate by April. According to Ganesh International, the sole authorised distributor of Suzuki in Nepal, the coming motorcycle is stylish and will cater to the demand of people looking for an entry-level commuter bike
with style. The machine to be sold in Nepal will be imported from Suzuki India.
The aggressive promotional strategy of Suzuki India for this new motorcycle has made it a big success in the Indian market. It has also helped the company to earn loyal fans in Nepal who have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Hayate.
“We had planned to launch the Suzuki Hayate in January. However, due to its high demand in the Indian market, Suzuki India does not have adequate stock for export to foreign markets including Nepal,” said Upendra Sigdel, marketing manager at Ganesh International. “ Suzuki India has pledged to make the two-wheeler available in Nepal by April.”
The entry of the Suzuki Hayate will increase the competition in the domestic two-wheeler market, which is already teeming with models like the Bajaj Discover, Yamaha YBR, Hero Passion Pro, Hero Splendor and the Honda Dream Yuga. Commuter segment motorcycles have a significant market share in the country’s two-wheeler market as they are considered to be the most efficient and easy mode of mobility.
In terms of looks, the new two-wheeler is identical to its preceding model the Suzuki Slingshot. The bike’s front mudguard and headlight look aerodynamic, and it uses an all-black theme with major components like the silencer, engine, alloy wheel and side panels featuring black colour. The Hayate’s tail light and grab rail is quite identical to the Honda Shine.
The new offering from Suzuki has a mono-cylinder, air-cooled, 112.8 cc SOHC engine. The machine’s four-stroke engine has a capability to generate a peak power of 8.3 bhp at 7,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 8.4 nm at 5,500 rpm. The Hayate’s engine has been mated with a four-speed manual transmission system with all gears in a down-shift pattern.
Suzuki India has claimed that the motorcycle delivers a mileage of 65 kmpl. For the comfort of riders, the bike has telescopic, coil spring front suspension with five-step adjustable rear shock swing arm suspension. The bike has 130 mm front and 110 mm rear brakes.

ktm-tarai fast track : Chalnakhel-Nijgadh track opening completes

The Kathmandu-Tarai Frast Track Road’s track opening work from Chalnakhel (Lalitpur) to Nijgadh (Bara) has finally completed. The project completed the last remaining job—cutting through the cliffs along Ipa VDC-2—on Saturday.
The entire track opening of this national pride project will be completed once the row over land acquisition in Khokana, Lalitpur, settles.
Nepal Army (NA) personnel were deployed round the clock with a target to complete the track opening by March 10 (the Nepal Army Day or Maha Shivaratri). The Directorate of Development and Military Engineering Service of the NA had also directed the NA personnel to complete the work on the prescribed date. “Now, there is access to a direct road network from Chalnakhel to Nijgadh,”
said Bhagawan Karki, Battalion Commander of Bikash Nirmaan Karyadal 1.
The NA, after getting the authority for the track opening from the government, completed the job (Chalnakhel-Nijgadh section) in 39 months. According to an NA official, construction was delayed due to problems related to land confiscation and compensation issues. A total of 700 NA personal had been deployed for carrying out the job, setting up camps in 10 locations between Sisneri and Nijgadh, where the road ends. Locations where the work was left included Ipa VDC-2 (around 200m in Ipaveer), Gadhi VDC-1 (100m in Badar Khola), Chhatiwan VDC-4 (700m in Adheri and Aapdamar). All the locations fall in Makawanpur district.
With the track opening,
light vehicles can now be operated along the road. About a month ago, travelers had to get off the vehicles at two locations along the road due to the cliffs. “There is no need to walk along the Chalnakhel-Nigjadh segment now,” said a senior NA official. The track opening of the 76-km road was commenced by the NA in November 2009. For the purpose, the government disbursed Rs 250 million in the first year, Rs 270 million in the second year and Rs 160 million in the last fiscal year. Similarly, Rs 140 million has been allocated for the current fiscal year.
An official at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management said they were also doing final preparation to start work on acquiring land on the Khokhana section. “After we issue a public notice on land acquisition and provide compensation, track opening in Khokhana can be completed within a week,” said the official.

Woman kills 2 sons, self

A 22-year-old woman murdered two of her sons before committing suicide in Satbariya VDC-6 here on Saturday.
Police Inspector Babu Kaji Giri at Area Police Office, Lamahi, said Sita Kumari Chaudhary consumed poison after she force-fed her Subham (6) and Aryan (3) with poison-laced food. The motive behind the act was, however, not immediately clear.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that Sita killed herself by consuming poison after she murdered her children,” Giri said. Chaudhary’s husband, Banarasi, was out to fetch bricks for their under-construction house when the incident occurred. Banarasi said everything was ‘fine’ at home that day. “She urged me to go to the forest to collect firewood in the morning. She got angry when I refused, for I had to arrange the bricks,” he said.
Relatives and neighbours said the couple shared a “very good” relationship.