Students, poor to get subsidy

KATHMANDU, Jan 24: The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies is set to propose a subsidy of Rs 10 on every liter of kerosene for the poor people of rural areas and Rs 200 on every gas cylinder for the students of community and government schools and colleges staying in rented rooms.



Minister for Commerce and Supplies Lekha Raj Bhatta said the ministry is set to present the proposal to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. Bhattarai had called the minister to his residence at Baluwatar Tuesday morning and directed the ministry to come up with solid programs to provide relief to students, workers and farmers from the recent fuel price hike.[break]



“But it will take time to prepare framework for implementation of the proposal. That is why I have been asking the students to give us time for preparation,” Minister Bhatta said. The student unions of 13 political parties, including the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), and eight youth wings have been agitating against the hike in fuel prices.



The students, however, have been cold to the proposal and said it does not address their demands.



“This is a conspiracy to weaken our agitation. We have talked about percentage instead of amount in our demands,” said Vice-president of the UML-affiliated All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) Navaraj Paudel.



The students have demanded that the recent fuel price hike be withdrawn and 50 percent concession provided on kerosene and gas for the poor and students at the rate existing before the recent hike.



They had unveiled a nation-wide agitation starting from Friday and culminating in a Valley Banda on January 25. “The protest programs are on and we will meet on Thursday to decide on a stricter mode of agitation if our demands are not met by Wednesday,” Paudel added.

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