Namaste Air to start scheduled flights by mid-June

Namaste Air, a new private airline, said Thursday that it would begin scheduled flights by mid-June.

Issuing a statement, the airline said it signed an agreement with Agni Air to start operations of domestic flights. “Two of Agni Air’s Dornier aircraft will be used for scheduled flights under the management of Namaste Air,” reads the release.

However, Agni Air will reserve the ownership of the two Dornier aircraft that Namaste Air will fly under its flag.

Additionally, Namaste Air will also bring in three Jetstream aircrafts. “The company will also start flights with its ATR 72-500 aircrafts by September,” Namaste Air said. “There will be another ATR aircraft to operate scheduled flights.”

“We are financially, legally and technically capable to go for scheduled flights in the domestic level,” reads the release.

“The company has already started maintenance of the grounded aircrafts,” the release states Raju KC, executive chairman of the company, saying.

According to the release, the airline will operate scheduled flights between Kathmandu and Pokhara, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Jomsom, Lukla, Dhangadi and Bharatpur. “The company will also provide mountain flight service,” states the statement.

Karki seeks speedy revenue investigation
KATHMANDU : Indicating his first target on revenue leakage, newly appointed chief of the Commission of Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lok Man Singh Karki has instructed senior revenue officials to strengthen revenue investigation.

Calling Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi and the heads of the different departments responsible for revenue collection and investigations to his office, Karki urged them to speed up pending investigations.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and Department of Revenue Investigations (DRI) have been investigating various cases of revenue evasion including VAT fraud involving some big business houses.

“He (Karki) instructed us to speed up the ongoing revenue investigation process, bring more sectors under the revenue net and minimize the cases of default so as to drive up revenue collection by discouraging revenue leakage,” Tanka Mani Sharma, director general of IRD, told Republica on Thursday.
“He assured us of every kind of cooperation in investigating the revenue cases,” added Sharma.

source: republica,10 may 2013