- Monday, 18 November 2024
Muglin (Chitwan), March 21: Ichhakamana Rural Municipality of Chitwan has distributed improved species of maize sseeds to farmers on subsidy.
The rural municipality has provided maize seeds of ‘Rampur Composite’ and ‘Manakamana 3’ varieties on subsidy.
Chief of agriculture section of the rural municipality, Ashish Tripathi shared maize seeds were provided to the farmers with 60 percent subsidy.
The farmers of Ichhakamana rural municipality now are busy preparing the fields for sowing maize.
The rural municipality has so far distributed 57 quintals of maize seeds, he said. The rural municipality is planning to provide 60 quintals of maize seeds to the farmers in all seven wards. Maize is the main food crop of the farmers here. According to the agriculture section, maize is cultivated in over 1,500 hectares of land in all the seven wards of Ichchhakamana.
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02- 2,380 drinking water schemes completed
Myagdi, March 21: The Gorkha Welfare Trust said it has constructed 2,380 drinking water schemes in 51 districts of the country, including Myagdi.
At a workshop held at Annapurna rural municipality-2, Bhurung Tatopani in Myagdi on Wednesday, Trust’s Executive Director Deepak Kumar Shrestha shared over 61,000 taps were installed for smooth distribution of drinking water.
He claimed that around three percent of the total population of Nepal living in rural areas have access to drinking water with the financial assistance of the trust.
“A total of 2,380 drinking water schemes have been constructed in 51 districts”, he said, adding 61,634 taps and 431 toilets have been constructed in different parts.
The Trust has been delivering education, health, drinking water and sanitation related projects in Nepal since 1976.
On the occasion, Trust’s engineer Leela Sherchan shared 1,900 people have benefited from the drinking water schemes constructed at Khibang of Annapurna Rural Municipality-6, Patar of Ward-4, Dana Bazar, Duwadi and Kavre of Chemdi-3 in Myagdi.
According to him, the Trust has mobilized a resource amounting to Rs 24.1 million in the schemes. In addition, Rs. 10,000 will be provided for the project to be implemented in Besi and Lekhgaon of Ward No. 4 Narchiang in the coming fiscal year.
The trust will spend Rs 11.5 million, he added.
At the two-day learning and experience exchange workshop on ‘Resilient Drinking Water, Sanitation and Disaster Preparedness Programme’, representatives from Taplejug to Humla districts were present. The Trust is running the programme n four municipalities and 10 rural municipalities of 14 districts.
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03- Organic tea farming campaign in Suryodaya municipality
Ilam, March 21: It has been over six years since Ram Prasad Rai of Suryodaya municipality-9, Dhode started cultivating organic farming of tea. He is daily producing 80 kilograms of tea from the tea estate stretching over 16 ropani of land.
“We give Rs 101 per kg to Sundarpani Agriculture Cooperative Society which later sell it to Gorkha Tea Estate at one rupee profit margin”, Rai said, adding, “The minimum support price of tea fixed by the municipality is Rs 40 per kg, but being organic our tea produce is getting more than Rs 100”.
Not only Rai but also all other farmers of Sangpang Tole Dhode are using cow and goat manure by avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers.
Man Bahadur Rai, a local farmer, said, “The organic tea does not harm the health and the selling price is also good. So, it motivates farmers to switch over to organic farming”.
The families of Binod Moktan, Bimal, Sushila, Ram Prasad, Arwalakshi, Purna and Tara Rai of this settlement are busy in their tea estate from dawn to dusk.
Man Bahadur said the first batch of tea harvesting starts from last week of March. The fertile time for the production of green tea is six months from March to September. The municipality has run a campaign to promote farmers to adopt organic tea farming when tea production was not exported to the world market due to lack of quality.
As shared, there has been a challenge in the export of Nepali tea in India and other countries due to quality issue.
“Earlier, India used to conduct CFL test while buying our tea, but now it has started doing other tests”, said Mayor Rana Bahadur Rai.
If tea is not of organic brand, there is less likely to sell the produce, he said, adding farmers should make the produce pesticide-free and quality realizing the challenge in sale.
Mayor Rai further said the municipality is distributing hand-held tea picking machines to 300 farmers to improve the tea harvesting.
The Tea Testing and Research Centre, which was built to ‘brand’ tea and test ‘T’, is also going to be operational in the next few months. The slogan of the long-term vision of the municipality is ‘Prosperity of Suryodaya Municipality, Organic Agriculture, Eco-Tourism and Economic Equality’.
Tea farming is being done in a total of 12,066 hectares of land in Nepal. Ilam is the largest tea producing district in the country having 6,995 tea estates.
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04- Recording Mahara’s statement to continue today
Kathmandu, March 21: The statement of Krishna Bahadur Mahara, vice-chairperson of the CPN (Maoist Centre), who has been arrested in connection with the gold smuggling case is being recorded today too.
According to the Kathmandu District Attorney Office, recording the statement of former Speaker Mahara who was arrested from Pakadi of Kapilvastu on March 18 had started only on Wednesday.
Attorney Office chief Sandesh Shrestha said recording of his statement has started since yesterday and will continue today as well.
The Kathmandu District Court had permitted the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police to keep Mahara in custody for four days in course of investigation into the gold scam.
He had been kept at Norvic Hospital for medication as per the court’s permission.
CiB spokesperson Hobindra Bogati said the remand given to him for investigation will end today and it will be extended again if the statement recording and investigation is not completed.
Mahara’s name has been linked to a Chinese national involved in smuggling 61 kg of gold in brakes shoes and 9 kg gold brought in electronic cigarettes.
At that time, the CIB had released him only after recording his statement. Mahara’s son Rahul was arrested in connection with the case earlier. Rahul is currently in judicial custody.
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05- Rain likely to occur in Kathmandu this afternoon
Kathmandu, March 21: Rainfall is likely to occur in different parts of the country, including Kathmandu Valley today due to the influence of the western low pressure system and the low pressure system around Bihar state.
Meteorologist at Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Chiranjibi Bhetwal said the weather is partly cloudy throughout the country, including the Kathmandu Valley.
Rain is likely to occur in Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces this afternoon. There is a possibility of rain in Kathmandu after noon.
Some places in Koshi province are currently receiving sporadic rainfall. According to the Division, the influence of the western low pressure system will remain active till Friday and it will have an impact in most parts of the country.
Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Madhes and Bagmati provinces. Light snowfall is likely to occur at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.
The Forecasting Division said there is a possibility of scattered rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at some places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces tonight.
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06- Bansbari land grab scam: CIB takes statement from lawmaker Binod Chaudhary
Kathmandu, March 21: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has recorded statement of Nepali Congress lawmaker Binod Chaudhary in connection with the misappropriation of land plot belonging to the Bansbari Leather and Shoe Factory.
CIB took statement from Chaudhary today after informing Speaker Devraj Ghimire, through the Parliament Secretariat, that it has initiated investigations against lawmaker Chaudhary on suspicion of his involvement in the misappropriation of the government land.
CIB Chief Shyam Lal Gyawali said the Chaudhary’s statement is being recorded at the District Government Attorney’s Office.
Additional Inspector General of Police Gyawali said Chaudhary’s statement is being recorded directly without arresting him as there is no circumstance of his absconding and destroying evidences.
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07- 5.643 million children vaccinated against measles, rubella
Kathmandu, March 21: A total of 5 million and 643 thousand children have been vaccinated against measles and rubella in the immunization campaign launched by the government.
The government had launched the immunization campaign from February 25-March 20 in view of risk of measles and rubella infection.
Chief of Child Health and Immunization Section, Dr Abhiyan Gautam, said total 5.643 million children were vaccinated against government’s target of vaccinating 5.742 million children.
“The children were vaccinated as per our target. The preliminary-phase report received from the districts mentioned that 96 per cent children were found vaccinated under the campaign,” he shared.
The government had launched the immunization campaign against measles and rubella infection in 75 districts except in Rukum West and Jajarkot this year. It had launched the vaccination campaign in Rukum West and Jajarkot earlier.
The children from nine months old to 15 years of 21 districts sharing borders with India and three districts of the Kathmandu Valley as well as children from nine months to five years of 51 districts were vaccinated under the campaign.
A total of 49,937 health workers and 59,906 volunteers were mobilized to make the immunization campaign a success.
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08- EC calls for public submissions over amendment to Political Parties Act-2017
Kathmandu, March 21: The Election Commission has sought submissions from political parties, civil society, media, and all the stakeholders concerned over the Political Parties Act-2017 as it aims to enhance the effectiveness of managing and regulating political parties.
The EC has constituted the Act Amendment Directive Committee coordinated by an election commissioner and the Act Amendment Drafting Committee headed by EC secretary and these committees have taken ahead the process for amending the Act, according to EC assistant spokesperson Ram Datta Pandeya.
The EC intends to facilitate substantive discussions among concerned entities on various aspects, including internal democracy in political parties, party membership, fund management, financial transparency, implementation of party statutes, dispute resolution mechanisms, decision archiving, and voluntary economic assistance.
Similarly, it aims to facilitate discussions on transparency, preparations of election manifesto and its enforcement, provisions for party separation and formation, accounting and auditing standards, single electoral symbol utilization, code of conduct enforcement, and the State funding for political parties. The aim is to address these issues appropriately and reach conclusive decisions.
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09- Indo-Nepal T20 Championship from today
Chitwan, March 21: Indo-Nepal T20 Championship is kicking off in Bharatpur today. A total of six teams including two from India will be competing in the event to take place at Gautam Buddha International Cricket Ground.
According to organisers, the Bharatpur XI and Bagmati are competing in today’s match. The competition is hosted by the Chitwan District Cricket Association. It is said three provincials teams: Bagmati, Sudurpaschim and Madhesh and Bharatpur 11 and two from India: Talatala Institute Kolkata and PSR Group Lucknow are vying for the title of the Championship to be held under a single round-robin format.
According to Association secretary Suraj Gyawali, the event aims to promote the Bharatpur Visit Year-2024 and deepen the Nepal-India relations in the cricket sphere as well. Under the tournament, a total of 18 matches will be held.
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10- Nepal-EU Joint Commission meeting commits to work together for democracy, good governance
Kathmandu, March 21: Nepal and the European Union (EU) have reiterated their commitment to work together in upholding democracy and human rights, promoting good governance, realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting investment, and coping against global challenges such as climate change.
This is stated in a Joint Press Release issued following the15th meeting of the Joint Commission (JC) between Nepal and the European Union held on March 19 in Kathmandu.
In the meeting, the Nepali side highlighted achievements and bottlenecks in the realization of SDGs. A broad range of issues of mutual interests were discussed during the meeting. Nepal and the EU are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year.
The meeting was co-chaired by Sewa Lamsal, Foreign Secretary, and Paola Pampaloni, Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific of the European External Affairs Service, EU, the Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.
The EU welcomed Nepal’s Transition Strategy to graduate from LDC status and expressed their commitment to continue their cooperation through the Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (MIP).
The EU and Nepal reviewed the progress of EU’s development cooperation in various sectors. The meeting acknowledged the Sub-commission meeting on development cooperation held on March 6. Nepal welcomed the EU’s MIP for the term 2021-2027. Nepal also appreciated the MIP for aligning with the plans and priorities of the Government of Nepal, the press release states.
On regional and multilateral processes, the EU and Nepal discussed about SAARC and BIMSTEC. They two sides underlined the importance of effective multilateral cooperation. The EU praised Nepal’s contributions to UN Peacekeeping Operations. The EU and Nepal reaffirmed their commitments to cooperate within the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and other global fora to promote effective multilateralism and the rules-based international order.
Human rights including social inclusion were also discussed at the meeting. The Nepali side reaffirmed its commitment to upholding human rights and concluding transitional justice as soon as possible. The EU expressed hope on the early conclusion of Nepal’s peace process.
The two sides unanimously agreed that corruption, including money laundering and financing of terrorism, is a major impediment to sustainable development. The EU took note of Nepal’s ongoing legislative efforts and underlined the importance of compliance and enforcement.
The EU commended Nepal’s remarkable strides on inclusive participation and women empowerment. Both sides praised the EU flagship action “Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal”, launched last year by the EU and the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens of Nepal. The EU commended Nepal for the child grant schemes and encouraged its expansion.
The EU appreciated the achievements made by Nepal in its socio-economic transformation. The EU and Nepal appraised the recent developments in upholding the democratic processes and institutions, and stressed the important role of civil society and media for strengthening democracy and good governance.
Nepal underlined their multiple vulnerabilities of natural disasters, exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, and discussed climate adaptation finance. The EU complimented Nepal for its position on Climate Change and the ‘Mountain Agenda’ during COP28 and also on its ambitious goal of reaching net zero carbon status by 2045.
The Nepali side expressed gratitude for the EU’s generous assistance following the Jajarkot earthquake, in post-earthquake resilient reconstruction and recovery efforts, and appreciated the cooperative partnership in disaster risk reduction.
The two sides exchanged their views on bilateral trade relations, including the criteria for acceding to the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).
Nepal expressed appreciation for the exchanges under the Erasmus+ programme, and the scholarships offered for Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree programmes, including people-to-people contacts.
The EU and Nepal underlined that air safety remains a key priority area in their bilateral relations. Nepal assured of addressing all observations of the EU’s assessment visit in September 2023, while the EU will support Nepal in this process. Both sides agreed to follow-up at technical levels.
The next Joint Commission meeting will take place in Brussels next year.
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11- Government appoints three members in NPC
Kathmandu, March 21: The government has made appointment to the vacant post of members of the National Planning Commission (NPC).
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held today appointed Prof Sangita Singh (Kathmandu), Dr Kusendra Bahadur Mahat (Jumla), Prof Shiva Raj Adhikari (Palpa) and Dr Araniko Pandey (Lalitpur) as the members of the Commission, informed Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma.
Similarly, the meeting decided to waive the royalty required for climbing the Jugal mountain peak located in Sindhupalchowk for seven Koreans and three Nepalis on the occasion of completion of 50th years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the Republic of Korea.
Likewise, the government took the decision to promote Chudamani Poudel to the vacant Secretary post (Gazetted Special Class) towards Nepal Administrative Service.
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12- Overall Nepal-Germany relations, ongoing cooperation reviewed
Kathmandu, March 21: The third meeting of Nepal-Germany Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was held here on Wednesday.
Division Head (Joint Secretary) of the Europe America Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ganesh Prasad Dhakal, Director for Indo-Pacific Policy, South Asia, Afghanistan of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Erik Kurzweil, led their respective delegations to the meeting.
During the meeting, the two sides took stock of overall state of the bilateral relations and cooperation between Nepal and Germany.
At the outset, the two sides reviewed the overall Nepal-Germany relations and ongoing cooperation.
On the occasion, Joint Secretary Dhakal appreciated the continued cooperation of Germany to Nepal’s development endeavours, reads a press statement issued today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Similarly, Director Kurzweil shared about ongoing development cooperation extended to Nepal under German development assistance.
The two co-chairs stressed the need of continuing interactions, including the exchange of high-level visits, between the two countries. They underscored the importance of enhancing partnership in productive sectors, including investment and trade.
Joint-Secretary Dhakal briefed about the business-friendly policies adopted by Nepal and requested the German side to encourage their participation in the upcoming third Nepal Investment Summit and explore possibilities of future investments in Nepal.
Likewise, matters of regional and global importance were also discussed during the meeting. The two co-chairs agreed to work together on matters of common interest, including climate change at various multilateral fora, reads the statement.
Views were also exchanged to further strengthening cultural relations, enhancing people-to-people contacts and connectivity, among others.
The Nepali delegation comprised of senior officials of the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Forest and Environment, Home Ministry and Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and irrigation.
Similarly, the German delegation included Ambassador of Germany to Nepal, Thomas Prinz and other officials of the Embassy of Germany.
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13- 488 fire incidents reported in Koshi province in three months
Jhapa, March 21: Incidences of fire have escalated with the start of the dry season. Four hundred and eighty-eight fire incidents were reported in 14 districts of Koshi province in the last three months, according to the Koshi Province Police Office.
Superintendent of the Office Deepak Pokharel said 12 people were killed and 24 others injured in the fire incidents in a period of three months from December 17, 2023 to March 21, 2024.
According to him, the fire incidents have mostly occurred due to electric short circuit and when fire lit in the kitchen and cow sheds go out of control.
Stating that wildfires have also broken out in local forests, SP Pokharel warned of the bush fires sometimes spreading to human settlements if not doused in time.
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14- Minister Basnet calls for citizens’ increased access to early warning system
Kathmandu, March 21: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, has underlined the need of citizen’s increased access to early warning system.
Inaugurating a ‘National-Level Learning Sharing Workshop on Early Warning System’ organised by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in collaboration with the Institute of Himalayan Risk Reduction, the Minister said all should have access to early warning system.
The event is supported by the USAID.
Developing countries like Nepal have a minimum role in climate change. We face a growing risk of climate change due to the contribution of rich and industrial nations to carbon emissions, according to the Minister who said the climate change impact led to rising incidences of water induced-disasters such as floods and landslides. He utilised the forum to urge for finding a substantive way out to mitigate and address the issue.
The Minister underlined the need of assessing impacts of monsoon-related activities, forecasting potential risk and focusing on safety management. He was of the opinion that people’s increased access to the early warning system would help mitigate potential damages from disasters like landslides and floods.
Minister Basnet said, “Hundreds of people lost their lives while physical property got damaged every year due to disaster incidents, flood and landslide “, adding possible losses could be reduced if early warning system is made systematic and accessible to all.
He expressed the belief that new dimension would be added making the early warning system effective in coming days. The Minister mentioned that Nepal should give priority to climate adaptation programmes rather than disaster reduction programmes to reduce risk of climate change.
Saying monsoon-related disaster might affect country’s economic system, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Sushil Chandra Tiwar, clarified that the role of early warning system is important to lessen losses.
“Problem are surfacing every year due to natural disaster including flood and landslide. Different sectors including infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and bio-diversity have been affected along with huge loss of lives and property”, he stressed.
Possible damages could be lessened if early information related to monsoon-related incidents could be dispatched on time, Tiwari added.
Similarly, Director General at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Dr Jagadishwor Karmacharya pointed out that an early warning system was necessary to effectively reduce disaster-related incidents.
He underlined that the Ministry would move ahead collaborating with all benefitting the general people from early information system.
Likewise, Executive Chief of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Anil Pokharel, shared that preparation was underway to make a concrete plan regarding reducing loss as country’s economy was affected due to damage in hydropower and infrastructures by flood in recent period.
It was necessary to move ahead developing early warning system in other areas where there is more monsoon-related risk and discussion was underway with bodies concerned on this matter, he mentioned.
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15- KVDA officer faces lawsuit for amassing over 32 million with unidentified source
Kathmandu, March 21: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has moved the Special Court against Yam Kumar Karki, the section officer at the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), on the allegation of amassing property illegally.
Karki has been alleged of amassing over Rs 32 million illegally as he failed to provide the income source of the amount.
He joined the public service on July 31, 2001 and during the investigation of his property details till April 23, 2023 his total income was calculated to be Rs 37.7 million while his expenditures were around Rs 70 million, according to CIAA Spokesperson Narahari Ghimire.
In the lawsuit filed today, the CIAA has demanded the confiscation of property in the name of Karki’s spouse as well.
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16- Home Ministry issues 21-point directives
Kathmandu, March 21: The Home Ministry has issued a 21-point directive to District Administration Office of all 77 districts of the country.
As per the ministerial decision of March 20, the Ministry issued the directives to the DAOs, as the representative of the government of Nepal, to increase the trust of citizens by playing an active role on the issues of peace, security, service delivery, good governance, regulations, coordination and facilitation.
The Ministry issued such directives as per the instructions by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to make improvement in work execution of local administration making the people feel about it, according to Minister Lamichhane’s Secretariat.
Various issues including maintaining peace and security, controlling crime, cybercrime, financial crime, disciplined use of social media, road safety and reducing road accidents, controlling revenue leakage, effective service delivery, complaints management, employees behavior and discipline, protection of government and public property, coordination and felicitation in development activities are incorporated in the 21-point directives.
Home Minister Lamichhane urged the high-level officials to evaluate whether Ministry’s directives was implemented or not.
He also instructed the inline employees not to be influenced by anyone while delivering services.
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17- Industry Minister vows to reduce losses of Udayapur and Hetauda cement industries
Kathmandu, March 21: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, has expressed the commitment to take a prompt decision to minimise the losses of the Udayapur and Hetauda cement industries.
He made this commitment while speaking in the meeting of the Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Welfare Committee of the House of Representatives today.
On the occasion, Minister Bhandari pledged to reach to a decision after carrying out a study on the losses of the two cement industries, adding that there is no lacking in the quality and marketing of their products. He said the government is serious over the financial health of these two industries.
According to him, the government will further promote the industries it has been operating so as to generate employment opportunities within the country itself for the workforce that is on foreign employment.
The Minister insisted that the government is carrying out works so as to fulfill the aspiration of a prosperous Nepal.
Committee member Lal Prasad Sanwa Limbu suggested to the government to move ahead with a new plan and thinking if it was to run the cement industries in a profitable manner.
Lawmakers Rama Koirala Poudyal, Ranendra Barali and Suryaman Tamang Dong called for making a thorough assessment of the status of the two cement industries. They suggested for a serious dialogue between the Ministry of Finance and the two industries for running them as the best industries.
A committee formed to make an analysis of the present condition of the two industries and to suggest on the way forward had recommended to carry out a study on the merger of the two industries, saying this topic was also included in the last year’s budget document.
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18- PM Dahal sees need of eliminating caste-based discrimination for just society
Kathmandu, March 21: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has underlined the need of eliminating all sorts of discriminations against humanity.
In his address to a function organised marking the 59th International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination here today, the Prime Minister announced that until discrimination is not eliminated, the accomplishments of change could not be safeguarded.
As the Prime Minister said, despite the Constitutional guarantee of the fundamental rights of the Dalit community, they continue to suffer the caste-based discriminations. The expected outcomes have remained unmet. According to him, it is matter of concerns that cases of insult, suppression, exploitation, social exclusion, beating and murder against the Dalit community are not mitigated due to the social practice of caste-based discriminations.
The government head also urged one and all to contribute to eliminating all forms of bias including the gender-based and linguistic discriminations and regional suppression to build an inclusive and discrimination-free society.
Acknowledging the significant contribution of the Dalit community to bringing political transformations in the society, the Prime Minister stressed the need of mainstreaming the involvement of Dalit community in the building of a federal inclusive democratic republic and discrimination-free society along with the guarantee of a proportional representation system.
The Prime Minister asserted that it is the responsibility of the State to legally prosecute anyone indulgeing in the caste-based discrimination and untouchability. “It is an unalienable right of every citizen to live with equality and independence. However, the Nepali society is yet to be freed from the slavery mindset in this modern era of human civilisation.”
He also took time to highlight the necessity of another phase of struggle for an effective implementation of the Constitutional and legal provisions that promote the rights of Dalits. PM Dahal pressed an idea of launching a social awakening and political campaign along with the strong enforcement of law to eliminate the caste-based discrimination, a crime against humanity.
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19- Balanced budget will be brought for coming fiscal year: Finance Minister Pun
Kathmandu, March 21: Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has said a balanced budget would be brought for the coming fiscal year.
A meeting of the Finance Committee under the House of Representatives at Singha Durbar today, Minster Pun expressed the belief that balance would be maintained in the budget within resources and limits.
He shared that issues including modernization of agriculture, marketization, management of capable human resources in inland-revenue, making customs transparent would be prioritized in the coming budget.
The Finance Minister stressed that a budget incorporating the activities carried out by the erstwhile government would be brought as per the current need and relevance, adding priority would be given to national pride projects in the budget.
The coming budget would incorporate the issues including production-oriented sector, agriculture, industry, tourism, education, health and information technology adopting the commitment of building socialism oriented national economy imagined by the constitution, he opined.
The policy of involving huge human resources in agriculture making the agriculture commercial through modernization would be in budget’s priority.
Government plans to export software worth Rs 500 billion in five year
In the meeting of the Finance Committee today, the Finance Minister said a study suggests that Nepal is capable of exporting software services worth Rs 500 billion in the next five years and the budget for an upcoming fiscal year will prioritise this potentiality.
Previous fiscal year, Nepal’s software services and related equipment exports amounted to Rs 76 billion, he said, promising to give top priority to the IT sector in the upcoming budget and to the creation of job opportunities for an escalating size of IT human resources within the country. As he said, annul productions of IT human resources in the country number 10,000.
The Minister also pledged to address concerns and submissions of lawmakers regarding issues of agriculture, energy, tourism, education and health in the budget.
Committee President Santosh Chalise advised the government to focus on the production and export-based sector, electricity, tourism promotion and the modernization of agriculture.
The Committee held discussions with the Finance Minister about the priorities and principles (except taxation) of the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2081-82 BS (2024-25).
The Committee members advised the government to allocate budget on the need basis. They also demanded the Finance Minister allocate budget focusing on the acceleration of projects of national priorities and revival of sick projects.
Former Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said the budget should be brought on the basis of need and not on proximity to power. He stressed that the next fiscal year’s budget should be focussed on meeting the SDGs, completing the incomplete projects and balanced development.
Lawmaker Surya Thapa called for including in the budget for the prompt completion of the projects by strengthening the economy.
Likewise, lawmakers Dipak Khadka, Narayani Sharma, Metmani Chaudhary, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, Chhiring Dumdul Lama (Bhote), Ganga Karki, Rana Kumari Magar, Anjali Shrestha and Mukta Kumari Yadav said the budget should be practical and not bloated. It should be oriented towards import substitution, increasing the revenue collection and adequate budgetary allocations should be made for agriculture, education, health sectors.
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20- Internal translocation of five rhinos completed in CNP
Chitwan, March 21: Three male rhinos and two female ones have been shifted to the eastern part of the Chitwan National Park (CNP) from the western region as of Thursday.
According to CNP Information Officer, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, two rhinos were picked up from Dibyapuri of Nawalparasi (Bardghat-Susta Purba) and released inside a community forest along the Kuchkuche buffer zone at Khairhani of east Chitwan. The animals aged around eight and 17 years.
Tiwari shared that one rhino of around 10 years was shifted on Wednesday and next one of eight years was shifted Thursday. Likewise, a rhino was shifted from the Kawasoti area of Nawalpur to the east Chitwan. The male rhino of around 28 years old was released in the east to Kasara.
Similarly, two female rhinos have been translocated to the east Chitwan from Sukhipur area of the CNP. All these five rhinos are released at a same site in the CNP.
The decision to translocate the animals internally was promoted by an increasing number of rhinoceros in the CNP’s western belt. A total of 60 human resources, including elephant mahouts, technical personnel, staff and Nepali Army personnel, and elephants were deployed for the rhino relocation.
The park is now preparing to transfer six rhinos internally.According to the latest count, Nepal is home to 752 rhinos. Of them, 694 rhinos are in Chitwan National Park. Likewise, 38 rhinos are in Bardiya national park and 17 in Shuklaphanta national park. There are three rhinos in Parsa National Park.
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21– Suggestions being collected for govt. policies and programmes
Kathmandu, March 21: The office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has started discussions to include various sectors’ issues in the government’s policies and programmes. During the preparation of the government’s policies and programmes for the next fiscal year 2081/82 BS, suggestions have been collected from various sectors so that all issues will be included in policies and programmes.
As announced by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the budget system, and policies and programmes framework will be changed to make it more inclusive and accessible to all. A committee formed for collecting suggestions has discussed and collected suggestions with the representatives and experts from diverse fields on the matters relating to economy, industry, trade, tourism, agriculture, forest, environment and financial sector on Thursday.
Representatives of different organizations from the private sectors including the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Nepal Cottage and Small Scale Industries Federation, Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal, National Cooperative Federation, Non-Resident Nepali Association, Nepal Youth Entrepreneurs Council among others were present.
Representatives of Nepal Rastra Bank, Securities Board of Nepal, Nepal Agricultural Research Council also attended the meeting.
The representatives present in the meeting presented various suggestions to be included in the programme.They suggested that the new policies and programmes should facilitate the registration and renewal of industries and the policies should be introduced to encourage women entrepreneurs, universities should be entrusted with studies and research and the ministries should be given policy arrangements to implement them. Similarly, programmes should be introduced to link the use of forests with prosperity, sufficient budget should be allocated for research in the agricultural sector, participants opined.
The committee had a discussion with the representatives of the concerned bodies of information technology and social sector as well. The Prime Minister’s Office Secretary Arjun Pokharel and officials from various ministries also attended the meeting.
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22- Speaker Ghimire leaves for Switzerland
Kathmandu, March 21: The Speaker of House of Representatives (HoR), Devraj Ghimire, has left here for Switzerland leading a 10-member parliamentary delegation to attend the 148th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Federal Parliament Secretariat stated that Speaker Ghimire is flying to Geneva via Doha today to attend the 148th Assembly of the IPU which is taking place in Geneva of Switzerland from March 23 to 27.
Nepal Congress chief whip in HoR Ramesh Lekhak, UML chief whip Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, CPN (Maoist Centre) chief whip Hitraj Pandey and chief whip of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Santosh Pariyar have accompanied Speaker Ghimire.
Likewise, National Assembly Member Ganga Kumar Belbase, Spokesperson of Federal Parliament Secretariat Yekram Giri and other officials are also included in the parliamentary delegation.
Speaker Ghimire is scheduled to deliver his speech on “Parliamentary Diplomacy: Building Bridges for Peace and Understanding”.The parliamentary delegation is scheduled to return home on March 29
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23- First national conference of women judges begins on Friday
Rastirya Samachar Samiti (RSS)
Kathmandu, March 21: The first national conference of women judges is taking place from Friday. Chief Justice Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha is scheduled to inaugurate the conference, which is being organized jointly by National Judicial Academy Nepal and Judges’ Society Nepal with the theme of “Promotion of Gender Equality in Judicial System: Our Commitment”.
At a news conference on Thursday, Chair of Judges’ Society Nepal and Justice of Supreme Court Sapana Pradhan Malla said the conference is aimed at identifying the issues and challenges of women judges and promote their professional expertise.
Justice Malla said the conference will see discussions on overall issues including increasing participation of women in the judiciary.
Separate sessions on unity and network building, leadership development and empowerment, sharing of ideas, cooperation within the judicial community and other issues would be discussed in the two-day conference.Present ly, there are 43 women judges in the country including three justices in the SC.
The conference will have participation of women judges and women officials serving the judicial service, law service and government attorney.
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24- Recording of statement with leader Mahara over
Kathmandu, March 21: The recording of statement from Krishna Bahadur Mahara, vice chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) has been completed today. Mahara is under police custody for investigation related to the gold smuggling scam.
The chief of the District Attorney Office, joint attorney Sandesh Shrestha shared that the process of recording statements, which started on Wednesday, has been completed today.
After completion of recording of the statement, he was re-admitted to the Norvic hospital in the capital, according to the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police. Due to poor health, the court ordered him to be kept in the
hospital. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) was arrested on March 18 from Kapilvastu district, and is under judicial custody for four days.
CIB spokesperson Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati said that further necessary procedures will be initiated against him Friday. Mahara was arrested by police for investigation as his name was linked to Chinese nationals involved in the smuggling of 61 kg of gold that was hidden in brake shoes of scooter on July 18 last year and 9 kg of gold that was brought concealed in electronic cigarette (vape) in December 2023.
Prior to this also, the CIB had recorded his statement but did not complete the due process. In the same case, Mahara’s son Rahul is currently in custody pending trial.
Meanwhile, in the case of embezzlement of land of Bansbari Shoe Factory, CIB recorded the statement of lawmaker Binod Chaudhary in the presence of the District Public Prosecutor. Talking to media after giving his statement, Chaudhary claimed that the process was just a stunt.
Saying that the best model of PPP has been politicized, he said that the idea of connecting him to the case was of a distorted mentality. The CIB had informed Speaker Devraj Ghimire through the Parliament Secretariat about the ongoing investigation on billionaire Chaudhary.
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25- ‘Present ruling coalition will continue till full term of parliament’
Janakpurdham, March 21: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth has said the current ruling alliance will last until the full term of the parliament.
Talking to the media persons in Janakpurdham Airport on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Mahaseth said the current government will work for nation’s development with firm commitment in cooperation with the opposition parties.
On the occasion, Mahaseth said he would work with firm commitment by keeping the agendas of infrastructure development in top priorities adding that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has also directed accordingly.
“The country cannot advance towards prosperity without physical infrastructure development. So the first target of the government is to work in the areas relating to the physical infrastructure,” he added.
He also pledged to expedite the upgradation of East West Highway and other road projects.Asked about the issues raised by Nepali Congress in parliament on Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, Mahaseth said NC’s move was the result as other parties did support the NC and argued that the issue raised by NC was under discussion and investigation by the authorities.
Likewise, Mahaseth shared that the ruling parties are holding talks to reconstitute province government in all provinces and a conclusion will be drawn in this issue soon.
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26- Home Ministry committed to freedom of expression and press
Kathmandu, March 21: The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that two points have been removed from the instructions issued for the Chief District Officers on Tuesday.
Issuing a statement, the Ministry has clarified that a revised circular was issued today by removing two points related to media including the social media. The points were removed after objection the media and other stakeholders.
“Taking into account the concerns expressed in the media, the points mentioned in the draft circular point nos. 1.2 and 2.1 have been removed, while continuing with the remaining in the circular sent on March 21”, reads the statement.
In the statement, the ministry has also expressed the commitment to fully adhere to the right to freedom of expression and of press guaranteed by the constitution.
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27- Politics should focus in prosperity and people: Chair Oli
Kathmandu, March 21: Chairperson of CPN (UML) KP Sharma Oli has said that politics should focus on prosperity of the country and its people.
Addressing a programme organized by Nepal Utpidit Dalit Jatiya Mukti Samaj on the occasion of the 59th International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination at the party’s central office in Chyasal, Lalitpur, on Thursday, he said that the democratic republic is only a tool for politics and the goal of politics is the happiness and prosperity of whole mankind.
Chair Oli said that politics is the means for a strong economy and prosperity. He said that politics should be focused for the advancement of society, for progress, equality, law and order, transparency and for respect. He said that no one is born superior or inferior in terms of colour, caste and wealth, religion or nobility.
He said that all people are born equal and free. ‘Only Karma can lead to responsibility but no one is big or small. There is no such thing as untouchability’, he said. Chair Oli stated that UML is not a party of any particular geography, religion, caste or community. He said that the communist movement is a movement for equality and human freedom.
Also former Prime Minister, leader Oli said that the Communist Party of Nepal organized a movement against caste discrimination by forming the Oppressed Caste Utthan Manch in 2045 BS, saying that caste-based discrimination can be ended by organizing and awakening the Dalit community.
He said that UML is serious about capacity building and equal participation of every community including the Dalits.
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28- Conserve watershed to solve the water crisis: President Paudel
Kathmandu, March 22: President Ramchandra Paudel has emphasized on the need to conserve the watershed area for recharging the underground water resources and considering the likelihood of a water crisis in the future.
In a statement today on the occasion of World Water Day 2024, he said underground water level is constantly declining due to the overexploitation of underground water resources and building of concrete structures in the urban areas. Furthermore, water resources are getting polluted due to unorganized human settlements and increasing industrialization.
“Groundwater sources are an important natural resource as it helps to sustain the ecological system, manage the flow of rivers, minimize the impact of climate change and provide safe drinking water”, President Paudel has said in the message, “Conserving nature and water to preserve the existence of life is a challenge for the human civilization today.”
The President has also wished that the day inspires us all to contribute to environmental balance by protecting water resources. March 22 is being observed as International Water Day every year since 1993 at the call of the United Nations. The objective of celebrating the day is to increase public awareness about the importance, protection and sustainable use of water.
In Nepal the slogan for this year’s water is ‘Water for Peace and Prosperity’ and is being observed by organising a variety of programs including public awareness initiatives.
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29- World Happiness Report puts Nepal in 93rd ranking
Kathmandu, March 21: The World Happiness Report 2024 released on Wednesday has put Nepal in the 93rd rank out of 143 countries included in the list.
Finland has scored the highest with the first rank in the list for the seven consecutive years. “The top 10 countries have remained much the same since before COVID. Finland is still in top, with Denmark now very close, and all five Nordic countries in the top 10. But in the next 10, there is more changes, with the transition countries of Eastern Europe rising in happiness (especially Chechnya, Lithuania and Slovenia). Partly for this reason the United States and Germany have fallen to 23 and 24 in the rankings,” according to the report prepared in partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The report stated that life satisfaction drops gradually from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood in most countries. Globally, young people aged 15-24 still report higher life satisfaction than older adults. “But this gap is narrowing in Western Europe and recently reversed in North America due to falling life satisfaction among the young. Conversely, in Sub-Saharan Africa life satisfaction has increased among the young.”
Overall, globally, young people aged 15-24 experienced improved life-satisfaction between 2006 and 2019, and stable life satisfaction since then.
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