More than 5,000 forest fires in ten months

Kathmandu, May 18: A total of 5,130 incidents of wild fire have taken place in a period of about ten months. The first month in the Lunar calendar i.e. Baisakh alone saw the occurrence of 3,270 fire incidents, according to statistics of the Department of Forest and Land Conservation.

There was not a single incident of forest fire in the month of Saun, only one fire incident in Bhadau, three in Asoj, five in Kartik, 35 in Mangsir and 103 incidents in Poush. Similarly, there were 83 fire incidents in Magh and 206 in Falgun.

With the start of the dry season, the incidents of wildfires increased to 1,424 in Chait and to 3,270 in Baisakh. Until the end of the month of Baisakh, there have been 5,130 fire incidents till, says the Department.

Officer at the department, Gobinda Shrestha, said that lack of resources, adequate preparation and training are the major hurdles in addressing the increasing number of wildfires in the country. Coordination between government agencies and other stakeholders is necessary for fire control.

Sundar Sharma, an expert on wildfires, says there are usually around 2,500 fire incidents in Nepal every year. “Eighty percent of fire incidents occur in the four months from mid-Falgun to mid-Jetha.

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02-       11 million donated to set up dialysis center

            Damauli (Tanahun), May 18: The Lions Club has donated Rs 11.1 million for setting up a dialysis center at the GP Koirala national centre for respiratory diseases at Belchautara, Shuklagandaki Municipality-5 in Tanahun.

Lions Club International Fund (LCIF) provided the support after Lions Club of Tanahun Khairenitar, Lions Club of Tanahun Magde and Lions Club of Tanahun Shuklagandaki Sisters took the initiative for the setting up of dialysis center in the centre.

District Cabinet Secretary of the Lions Club, Sujith Heerachan, said the process for setting up a dialysis center in the hospital will now start. Preparations are being made to install six dialysis machines in the centre.

So far, there is a dialysis center only in Damauli Hospital in the district. Damauli Hospital has been providing services to kidney patients through seven devices.

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03-       DIG Neupane new spokesperson of APF

Kathmandu, May 18: The Armed Police Force has designated Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumar Neupane as its new spokesperson.

DIG Neupane was recently transferred to Kathmandu from the APF No. 7 Baidhyanath Battalion, Headquarters, Attariya, Kailali of Sudurpaschim. He replaces Superintendent of Police Rajendra Khadka, who has been transferred to the APF UN peace keeping training school in Kakani, Nuwakot, according to APF Headquarters.

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04-       372 drug peddlers arrested in 10 months

Surunga (Jhapa), May 18: The District Police Office, Jhapa has arrested 372 drug peddlers in the past ten months. This also includes drug abusers, who were arrested from various parts of the district.

Of those arrested, 22 are foreign nationals including four women. During the period, the police filed 240 cases related to drugs in the district court, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Krishna Bahadur Chand.

Meanwhile, the police have been organising awareness raising programmes to combat illegal drugs. However, the open border with India touching West Bengal and Bihar states has made it challenging for the police to ensure effective control.

Considering the increasing number of drug users in the district, the District Police Office, Jhapa has recently implemented the ‘mothers for control of drug abuse’, said Superintendent of Police, Milan KC. This programme has been implemented in all the 15 municipalities in the district.

The concerned local levels have collaborated in this door-to-door programme, adds SP KC.

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05-       Four SSP recommended for promotion to DIG

Kathmandu, May 18: Nepal Police has decided to recommend four Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to be promoted to the post of Deputy Inspector General.

The SSPs recommended to be promoted as DIGs are Krishna Hari Sharma, Dan Bahadur Karki, Dr Manoj Kumar KC and Rajan Adhikari. The meeting of the Home Ministry’s Promotion Committee on Friday decided to recommend them for the promotion.

The recommendation was made in accordance with Rule 27 (4) of the Police Regulations, 2071 B.S., according to the Ministry.

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06-       Thematic Committee chairs being selected today in Bagmati

Bagmati, May 18: The chairs of various thematic committees under the Bagmati Provincial Assembly are being selected today.

The names for the committee chairs will be tabled for approval at the meeting of the Provincial Assembly. Speaker Bhuvan Kumar Pathak has summoned the meeting for 11:00 am today.

NC’s Sriram Lamichhane and Tshering Dorje Lama have filed nominations for Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee and Provincial Affairs Committee respectively. Likewise, CPN (MC)’s Thakur Prasad Dhakal has filed nomination for the post of Agriculture, Education and Health Committee Chair while RPP’s Nuraj Bajracharya has filed nomination for the post of Chair of Finance and Development Committee, according to Provincial Assembly Secretariat.

No nomination papers were filed for the post of Industry, Tourism and Environment Committee. The parties have reportedly agreed to award the position to the CPN-UML. —