Nepal, Afghanistan share the spoils

KATHMANDU, JUL 23 -
Nepal had to be content with a point after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Afghanistan in the SAFF U-16 Championship match at Dashrath Stadium on Monday.

After the goalless first half, Afghanistan drew first blood capitalising on Nepal ’s lapse in defence. Aliahmad Mansory’s header near the post gave them a lead in the 74th minute.

This led to the home side coming with all guns blazing. As a result the hosts equalised in the 81st minute. Skipper Hemanta Thapa Magar rescued his team from defeat from his direct free-kick a few yards away from the centre half.

Nepal , looking to secure a place in the semi-finals with a win against Afghanistan ,  had began in attacking mode.

They looked the better of the two teams in the early exchanges but had to be content with the draw after failing to convert their chances.

The home team had even got a few chances to shoot at the goal, but Afghanistan ’s defenders blocked them.

Ravi Bhandari’s shot was cleared by Afghani defender from the goal line. Samir Tanauni cleared the rebound of Ananta Tamang.  Bimal Gharti Magar, who had scored a hat trick against Bhutan in the opener, too was blocked on two occasions.

In second half, too, Nepal continued the attack with better ball possession but the opponent keeper Mohammed Hussain Rasuli kept Afghanistan in the match with a brilliant performance. He saved numerous shots on-target to avoid Nepal from scoring. Nepal had almost taken the lead in 86th minute but a scorching ball from substitute Shiva Subedi hit the side bar. “We played good football but as it was, couldn’t convert the good moves,” said Nepal ’s coach, Bal Gopal Maharjan.

“The score line does not reflect the good show put on by my boys.”

He added that Nepal will now look to defeat Pakistan and sail to the final four as group toppers.  Nepal top the points table with four points from two matches.

They had hammered Bhutan 7-0 in the inaugural match on Saturday.

Likewise, Afghanistan and Pakistan have two points each from two draws and Bhutan reside at the bottom with a single point.

“We are very satisfied with the result as we planned to draw the match and both teams played competitive game,” stated Afghanistan ’s Coach Waheedullan Wahedi.

“We had watched Nepal ’s match against Bhutan and had planned to focus on their weak points which worked. The match was very competitive and the boys did well,” Wahedi added.

In the other match played at Army ground Lagankhel, Pakistan were surprised by underdogs Bhutan as they were held  to a goalless draw.  Nepal take on defending champions Pakistan in their last group match on Wednesday.
Talks between the agitating Gas Dealers Federation Nepal (GDFN) and Nepal LPG Industry Association (NLPGIA) on LPG dealers’ commission ended inconclusive on Monday.

The dealers said that the bottlers refused to address their demands that include providing commission as determined by the government, removing old liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders from the market, and depositing in bank the LPG cylinder guarantee amount paid by customers.

“We have decided to continue our agitation until the bottlers address our demand,” said Chandra Thapa, Kathmandu district president of GDFN.

GDFN is sales the agent of NLPGIA, the apex body of LPG bottlers which refill cooking gas cylinders and sell them in the market through the dealers.

GDFN has stopped taking consignments of LPG cylinders from bottling plants since Friday. They have said although the government hiked the commission by Rs 4 per cylinder, the bottlers are only offering a two-rupee hike in the commission.

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has raised the shipping charge, local transportation charge, company overheads and the commission for dealers and bottlers by 9 percent to Rs 19.28 per cylinder. Under the plan, the commission for LPG dealers was increased to Rs 32 per cylinder flat.

According to the federation, before the hike, bottlers used to offer Rs 30 per cylinder as sales commission to dealers, and after the hike, the commission has been increased to just Rs 32 per cylinder. GDFN said the commission was inadequate in view of the current inflationary trends.

The federation has formed a struggle committee comprising members from 11 organisations to protest against NLPGIA. The struggle committee on Saturday vandalised trucks ferrying LPG cylinders in different parts of Kathmandu.

The trucks belonged to Shiva Prasad Ghimire, president of NLPGIA. On Monday, the committee forcefully shuttered the Banepa-based refuelling plant of Himal Gas.

Consumer rights activists said the ongoing tussle between gas dealers and bottlers is a “planned move” to create an artificial LPG shortage in the market.

“These traders are agitating for Rs 2. Their vested interest is likely to hit consumers if the agitation prolongs by 2-3 days,” said consumer rights activists Prem Lal Maharjan.

He said the government has to break its silence and intervene. “The government should immediately activate the Essential Service Act to prevent a strike on LPG supply,” he said.

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