Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (June 6, 2019).

China bars Humla residents from entering Tibet, prompting concern in Kathmandu

A sudden decision by the Chinese authorities to bar locals in Humla from entering Tibet, which thousands of residents in the district rely on for their livelihood, has prompted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise the issue with the Embassy of China in Kathmandu.

Over the past two weeks, Chinese authorities have sent back around 470 locals from the border, according to the District Administration Office in Simikot. But a government official posted in Humla told the Post over the phone that around 2,500 Humla locals who had already obtained passes to enter Tibet had to suffer because of the Chinese decision. The official, also posted in the same district, spoke on condition of anonymity because he said he was not allowed to give the “real” figures.

Officials told the Post that the Chinese authorities posted on Nepal-Tibet border confiscated passes issued to Nepalis to cross the border, citing the murder of a Chinese woman by a Nepali on the Chinese side three weeks ago.

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Thirteen years on, victims of the Badarmude incident await compensation

Most victims of the Badarmude bomb attack complain about the government’s apathy towards their condition. Neither the government authorities nor the then Maoist party really cared about the victims, they say.

The explosion was attributed to the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, which was then locked in an armed civil insurgency against the Nepal government. But the fact that a civilian bus had been bombed, a first for the Maoists, was severely criticised by all sectors of society. Even Pushpa Kamal Dahal, while campaigning for the 2017 elections in Chitwan, had called the incident “the biggest mistake of the civil war.”

At the time, Dahal had even signed an agreement with victims of what has come to be known as the ‘Badarmude incident’, promising compensation in the form of Rs 6 million to those who had lost family members, along with free treatment for the injured. The agreement also promised employment for victims’ family members, education for the children of the deceased, and the building of a memorial park.

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Private medical colleges admit to charging extra fees to their students

Private medical colleges admitted to charging extra fees to their students, saying that the fee structure set by the government was not enough to run the colleges, at a meeting with the education and health sub-committee of Parliament on Wednesday.

The sub-committee formed had called the meeting following a number of complaints against private medical colleges who have been charging exorbitant fees to their students. The sub-committee, formed in the wake of the student protest in Gandaki Medical College, had asked medical students across the country to file complaints if their colleges were charging them extra fees. According to the sub-committee, it received around 70 complaints against various medical colleges.

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With heart complications the leading cause of death among Nepali migrants, doctors recommend blood pressure screenings before departure

Last week, Madhusudhan Shrestha, a Nepali migrant worker in South Korea, died under mysterious circumstances. Shrestha, from Arghakhanchi district, had gone to bed as normal, but never woke up the next morning, said his roommate.

While details are forthcoming, doctors believe that Shrestha’s sudden death could possibly be attributed to cardiovascular reasons, the leading cause of death among Nepali migrant workers in foreign lands, according to a recent report from the Labour Ministry.

According to the ‘Labour Migration for Employment—A Status Report for Nepal: 2015/16-2016/2017’, 1,588 migrants—1,144 men and 444 women—have died of cardiac arrests and heart attacks in the past nine years. A total of 5,892 Nepalis—5,765 male and 127 female—have lost their lives in foreign countries over the same period, an average of 1.7 deaths every day.

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