Modi in Nepal, seeks to counter China clout
3rd teen raped, burned alive
KATHMANDU, May 12, (AFP): Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the construction of a mega hydropower plant during a visit to Nepal Friday, part of his government’s move to counter Chinese influence in its backyard.
Modi and his Nepali counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the $1.4 billion India-backed Arun Three hydropower plant, a long-mooted project that could be a game-changer for energy-staved Nepal.
“It is one of the biggest projects in Nepal. Along with employment opportunities, this project will create economic and commercial opportunities in Nepal,” Modi said in Kathmandu following the inauguration.
The plant is the first of five mega hydropower projects, two of which are backed by Chinese companies, to begin construction, which marks a diplomatic win for India.
China has outspent India in Nepal in recent years, as the impoverished Himalayan nation sandwiched between the two Asian giants has titled relations towards its northern neighbour.
In 2017, Chinese firms pledged more than $8.3 billion in investment, dwarfing Indian commitments of $317 million. In May last year, Nepal signed up to Beijing’s ambitious One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative.
But Modi, who cast the visit as part of his “neighbourhood first” policy, has been keen to show that India can also deliver on big-ticket infrastructure promises.
“Historically India-funded projects, while they seem generous, have struggled to show progress, while the Chinese do it quicker and gain on public opinion,” said Kathmandu-based analyst George Varughese.
Nepal suffers from a crippling energy shortage and has been in talks with its two large neighbours for investment in its hydroelectric sector for more than a decade.
The Himalayan nation has enough water to be a hydro powerhouse but it has so far harnessed less than two percent of that potential, according to estimates.
Modi’s visit to Nepal comes a month after newly elected Oli made his first foreign visit to New Delhi.
The neighbours are keen to restore relations that have been strained since 2015 when Nepal passed a controversial new constitution, which sparked deadly protests and triggered a monthslong border blockade.
Kathmandu blamed New Delhi for the blockade that caused a severe shortage of fuel and goods as Nepal struggled to recover from a devastating earthquake earlier that year.
Modi
Voter bribes claimed:
Claims of dirty tricks made by India’s two main parties cast a cloud over voting in a key Indian state Saturday after nearly 10,000 voting cards were seized by election authorities. The opposition Congress party, which has dominated Indian politics in the seven decades since independence, is fighting to retain its last major state, Karnataka, amid a fierce battle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party.
Voting was postponed in one constituency after the discovery of the voting cards, which authorities suspect were obtained through bribes. Police have launched an investigation.
The state election commission said there was a plot to “vitiate the poll process” in Rajarajeshwari Nagar district of the state capital Bangalore.
Congress and Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused each other over the fraud. Voting in the district was pushed back to May 28.
Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed across the state of 65 million people for voting. The results, which will have a major impact on campaigning for a national election next year, are to be announced on Tuesday.
A rainstorm on Friday again exposed Bangalore’s over-stretched infrastructure with traffic snarls, waterlogging and overflowing drains.
The two parties urged voters to brave the disruption and turn out in force.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appealed to party workers to “provide all possible assistance to those affected by heavy rains”.
Teen raped, burned alive:
A third teenage girl has been raped and burned alive in a week in India, the latest brutal sexual assault to shock the country.
The 16-year-old died from the burns after being set alight by a 26-year-old man who acted after the young woman said she would tell her family about the rape.
Two other teenagers were victims of similar attacks a week earlier in Jharkhand state. One died and one is fighting for her life in hospital.
The latest teenager was alone at her home in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh state when she was raped, police said Friday.
“We have arrested the two accused. One of them is the cousin of the girl who informed the main suspect that she was alone in the house,” said Sagar district police superintendent Satyendra Kumar Shukla.
“The main accused is married with a child,” Kumar told AFP.
Indian authorities have faced renewed pressure to act on sexual assaults, notably after brutal gang rape and killing of an eight-yearold Muslim girl in Jammu and Kashmir state sparked demonstrations.
The cases are the most high-profile since the 2012 rape and murder of a student on a New Delhi bus that triggered mass protests.