No arms deal with India: PM

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said the government has not reached to any agreement with the government of India for purchasing arms during the visit of Defense Minister Bidhya Bhandari. Addressing the parliament session Tuesday after the Unified CPN (Maoist) demanded clarification from prime minister on the reported arms deal with India, PM Nepal said defense minister’s visit was for strengthening bilateral relations and personal medication. He said the government is committed to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the then government and CPN (Maoist) which bars any arms purchase until the peace process ends. PM Nepal also informed the House that government is using all its resources to control the cholera breakout in mid and far western hilly districts. According to the details he gave, 188 have died of the epidemic so far and 22,415 have been infected by the disease. He said government has invested over Rs 17 million to control the epidemic. He further said Rs 10,000 will be given to each family losing its member, and those losing parents will get additional Rs 5,000 as immediate compensation from the government. “Government will take responsibilities for shelter and education of the orphaned children,” Nepal announced. He mentioned unhygienic habits and contaminated water as the main cause of cholera breakout and announced that programme for supplying chlorinated water and construction of toilets in all villages will start. In another context, PM Nepal said Laxman Lal Yadav, central member of the YCL from Rautahat, was killed by the Terai based armed outfit Terai Mukti Morcha and that investigations are underway to catch the culprit. However, Nepal did not mention anything about the murder of a Tarun Dal member. Following his address to the parliament, the Maoists allowed normal business to resume at the House from today
source:Nepalnews.com