- Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Kathmandu, May 1: Popular singer and social activist Ani Choying Dolma is staging a live concert in the UK to raise funds for Manavsewa Ashram, a philanthropist institution.
The concert is being held at the Lakeside Country Club in Camberley, UK on coming May 5. For the event, Singer Dolma and founder and central president of Manavsewa Ashram Ramji Adhikari left Kathmandu for UK today.
Under the auspices of Manavsewa Ashram UK Chapter, various creative programs related to the promotion of humanity will be also held until May 19 following the concert, said Adhikari.
Yadav Shrestha, secretary of Manavsewa Ashram UK chapter, said that the organizer’s goal is to bring in at least 1,000 people to attend the concert. The goal is to raise more than one hundred thousand pounds from the concert titled ‘inner melody for inner peace.
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22- Free cremation at electric crematorium from July 16
Kathmandu, May 1: Cremation at Pashupati Aryaghat-based electric crematorium will be free of cost from the beginning of the coming fiscal year.
Member-Secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust, Dr Milan Kumar Thapa shared this. A decision was taken to make arrangement of free cremation at the electric crematorium keeping in mind the problem faced by low-income and poor people.
Similarly, he shared that a library of international standard would be established at Seto Sattal Guheshwori for the religious and cultural study and research.
Member-Secretary Thapa, who was suspended on the charge of corruption on Jalahari case in Pashupatinath, had resumed office after getting a clean chit from the Special Court on Tuesday.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority had filed a case of corruption against Dr Pradeep Dhakal and Arun Kumar Shrestha along with Member-Secretary Thapa on October 1, 2023.
The Special Court on Tuesday had given clean chit to all three of them.
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23- Finance Minister asserts 4.5 percent economic growth potential
Kathmandu, May 1: Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun has claimed that country’s economy was coming out from a slowdown. Positive indicators are seen in the national economy, he said, expressing confidence on achieving 4.5 percent economic growth.
Finance Minister Pun viewed it while addressing a workshop on ‘financial policy for sustainable development’ here today.
It is worth noting that the National Statistics Office on Tuesday had projected economic growth to stand at 3.54 percent.
The Finance Minister, however, admitted, “Our economy has not fully come out from slowdown. Naturally, there are internal and external factors. Statistics have indicated gradual improvement. The projections made so far by the World Bank, ADB and NSO are based on the nine-month data. So, the government has projected economic growth over 4.5 percent,” he explained, arguing we still have three months left to complete the current fiscal year.
The Minister also expressed hesitation to claim that the economy is stable and robust. According to him, government was formulating policy based on the market of emerging neighbours, India and China.
Also taken into account are global sociopolitical scenario, labour market, national natural resources, and geopolitics, he shared.
Despite the economic slowdown, the hotel and tourism sector witnessed 21 percent economic growth while the energy sector recorded 17 percent growth. The construction sector is however negative, he informed.
Minister Pun said he would not accept the narrative that political instability was behind slow development works in Nepal. The government’s policy on energy has created an atmosphere to export energy to India and Bangladesh, he underlined.
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24- Forest fires raging, with 165 incidents reported
Pragati Dhakal
Kathmandu, May 1: The situation of forest fires in the country is getting worse by the day. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reports that wildfires are currently taking place 165 places in 39 districts as of today.
With no forecast of immediate rain forest fires are likely to continue further. As the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that there will be no rain in the coming few days that could help control the fire.
Meteorologist Govind Jha of the Division said that there is probability of rain in some parts of the country for the next three days but it will not be enough to control the douse the forest fire. “There is a possibility of rains with partial showers in some hilly areas of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali in the next few days”, he said, “but the amount of rainfall that will control forest fires is not likely.”
Meanwhile, two people died in Lalitpur while trying to douse the fire in Tapeshwar Community Forest in Badikhel of Godavari Municipality-4.
Sundar Sharma, an expert at the NDRRMA, said that it is difficult to control forest fires due to the lack of rain for a long time and drought. There are usually around 2,500 fire incidents in Nepal every year. “80 percent of forest fires occur in the four months from late March to late May. While 60 per cent of fire incidents occur between mid-April to mid-May. Hence, we are now in a high risk period”, said Sharma.
Saying incidents of forest fire is increasing due to lack of sustainable management of forests, forest expert Dr Soni Baral Gauli stressed the need of management-oriented forest development rather than protection-oriented forest management.
Likewise, Forest officer at the Division Forest Office, Lalitpur, Thir Prasad Koirala shared that people light fires in forest to chase away wild animals to stop them from entering the village and attacking their cattle.
He further said the incidents of forest fire are increasing due to human reasons including throwing cigarette butt after smoking in the jungle and setting the jungle in fire intentionally to help grow grass faster.
Section 49 (d) of Forest Act has the provision that those involved in setting national forest in fire or involved in any fire-related incident would be punished. “Those involved in such activities will face three –year of imprisonment or Rs 60,000 fine or both’, reads the Act.
Likewise, the forest fire management strategy-2067 has set a target of establishing and strengthening policy and organisational-level structures, mobilizing local community, civil society, government and non-government bodies and making preparedness to take pre information about the possible risk from wildfire to manage forest fire.
However, President of Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal, Thakur Bhandari, points out to lack of effective implementation of the strategy. Some of the forest users have lost their lives in course of bringing the forest fire under control, he added, stating the government has to increase capacity on how to control fire incidents safely.
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25- India’s Comptroller and Auditor General Murmu visit Chandragiri Municipality
Kathmandu, May 1: A high-level Indian delegation led by India’s Comptroller and Auditor General Girish Chandra Murmu visited Chandragiri Municipality in Kathmandu today.
During the visit, Chandragiri Municipality Mayor Ghanashyam Giri briefed the visiting Indian delegation about the works being delivered by the Municipality.
The Municipality is the largest one in the Bagmati Province with 11 of its 15 wards falling in the highway area. The Municipality boasts of the first-ever- tunnel-way of the country linking Naagdhunga to Naubise which is under-construction at present.
On the occasion, Mayor Giri shared, “The Municipality has accorded the highest priority to make public service delivery effective and prompt. The Municipality emphasized construction of infrastructure, drinking water and sanitation, open public spaces, parks, health insurance, health centers and education for all among others programmes in participation of local community.”
Similarly, visiting Indian Comptroller and Auditor General Murmu commended that the Municipality had been faring well in delivery of good-governance, fiscal transparency and auditing among others.
The Office of Auditor General of Nepal had chosen the Municipality to offer the presentation on the local government’s experiences to the visiting delegation.
The delegation took stock of the ongoing projects and programmes of the Municipality some of which were supported by the government of India such as construction of school buildings and Chandan Barateshwor Mahadev.
The delegation was accompanied by Auditor General of Nepal Toyam Raya, Deputy Auditor Generals Bamdev Sharma, Bindu Bista and Padma Raj Poudel among others.
On the occasion, Municipality’s Chief Administration Officer Hemraj Aryal shed lights on the works undertaken by the Municipality on the areas of social development.
The Indian delegation, that arrived Nepal on last Tuesday, includes Comptroller and Auditor General Murmu as well as Director General of Audit Rina Akoijam, Dr Gaurav Kumar and Karan Vohra among others.
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26- Two die of asphyxiation while digging well
Bhaktapur, May 1: Two persons have died of suffocation while digging a well at Khanalchwok of Changunarayan municipality-4 on Wednesday.
Sandesh Sunar, 28, and his uncle Dipak Sunar, 46, originally hailing from Umakunda-4 of Ramechhap died of asphyxiation, according to police person Rajan Karki from District Police Sector, Bhaktapur.
They were digging the well in a land they took in rent.
Police person Karki further informed that concerted efforts were made to rescue them alive from the well, but in vain.
The rescue team consisting of 30 police persons from the Sector, nine from the Armed Police Force and 25 from Disaster Management Division, Kathmandu had reached the site immediately after getting information that Sunar duos fell unconscious in the well – 55 feet down the surface. They were taken out of the well and rushed to the Bhaktpur Hospital, where the doctors declared they had already breathed their last.
The dead bodies are kept at hospital for post mortem. Investigation into the incident is underway, police added.
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27- Sudurpaschim CM Sodari to seek vote of confidence
Sudurpaschim, May 1: Sudurpaschim Province Chief Minister Dirgha Bahadur Sodari is set to seek vote of confidence in the upcoming meeting of Province Assembly on May 3.
According to Province Assembly Secretariat’s Information Officer Yuwaraj Jaishi, CM Sodari has summoned the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on the same day prior to seeking the vote of confidence.
The Province Assembly meeting is convening at 5:00 pm.
Sodari was elected to the post on April 18 with the support of the CPN (UML), CPN (Maoist Centre), Nagarik Unmukti Party and independent candidate Dr Tara Joshi in accordance with the Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal.
Sodari is the leader of CPN (Unified Socialist) parliamentary party in the Province that has four members in its Province Assembly. CM Sodari is preparing to give completion to his cabinet after obtaining the vote of confidence.
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28- Godawari municipality to provide Rs 500,000 to wildfire victim families
Godawari (Lalitpur), May 1: Godawari municipality is to provide Rs 500,000 as financial assistance to each family of those killed in course of trying to bring the wild fire under control.
Shankar Pahari and Ramesh Pahari of Badikhel in Godawari municipality had lost their lives in course of dousing the wildfire. Spokesperson of the municipality, Milan Silwal, said the meeting of the municipal executive held on Wednesday took the decision in this regard.
Chairperson of Naudhara Forest Users’ Committee in Godawari-3, Madan Pantha, shared that the forest fire had taken place in the area after 12 years.
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29- Film ‘Labour’ based on workers’ plight to be produced
Kathmandu, May 1: It was announced at a programme that a film named ‘Labour’ would be produced about the workers’ plight.
The announcement to this was made on Wednesday on the occasion of the 135th International Labour Day.
Director Purnendu K Jha informed at a press conference that the film would be made in Maithili language and dubbed in Nepali and Bhojpuri languages. “A huge number of Nepali youths are leaving the country for foreign jobs. After conducting research and study in this issue, we decided to make a film to show the plight of the Nepalis,” he said, adding that it is a common story of every Nepali. It will be prepared in the background of Madhes.
Jha has already directed ‘Samrakshya’ and ‘Chauka Dau’ films in Nepali language. “We’re working to find an international market of Nepali film and trying to ensure quality accordingly,” he underlined.
On the occasion, former ambassador Dr Suryanath Mishra hoped the film would prod the concerned agencies by exposing the irregularities relating to employment. It would be laudable to prepare a film on such a pressing issue, he added.
On the occasion, RSS Executive Chairman Dharmendra Jha extended best wishes to the production team and believed a modern journey of Maithili filmmaking had begun with this.
“The audiovisual presented here made me believe that the new generation has embraced modernity in Maithili filmmaking. The labour problems are related to the workers of all three languages used in the film. So, I hope this film will serve as a voice of such people that warrants proper address,” Chairman Jha underlined.
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