Day: June 28, 2024

Kathmandu: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hit Bahadur Tamang, has said the mountain climbing has contributed to the foreign income generation. In his address to a programme organized to honour icefall doctors by the Expedition Operator's Association Nepal here Friday, the Minister applauded the roles of such people conveniencing the climbers. On the occasion, he reminded Nepal's mountaineering business should be operated remaining within the existing acts, laws and rules. The Minister pledged the government's full supports in making the mountain expedition safe. He said consequences of climate change such as cases of snow melting and glacier lake outburst have posed challenges to mountain climbing. The government is committed to bringing the Tourism Act soon after consultations with the authorities concerned, according to him. Association Chair Dambar Parajui demanded implementation of a certain procedure for fixing ropes during mountain ascent. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The representative artistic creations and photos by Egyptian artists were put on display in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday. The exhibition aimed at bilateral cultural exchanges between Nepal and Egypt was organized at the Embassy of Nepal in Cairo with the coordination of the Embassy of Nepal there, it is said. Veteran Egyptian artist Galal Gomma attended the exhibition. Embassy's Third Secretary Madhavraj Kafle said that artistic creations and photos of Nepal by 18 artists, photojournalists and documentary makers including Ashraf Talaat, Yasher Al Mubarak and others were kept in the exhibition. Ashraf Talaat had taken photos from Mustang and Lumbini in last March and May while Yasher's photos include from Pashupatinath taken in last year's Shivaratri festival. On the occasion, Nepal's Ambassador to Egypt Sushil Kumar Lamsal expressed gratitude towards photographers and artists for their live presentation of Nepal's diverse landscape, cultural heritages and Nepali faces in their arts and photos. A mbassador Lamsal and Egyptian lawmaker Dr Mai El-Batran said that such creations from the artists would further contribute to deepen cultural ties between Nepal and Egypt. On the occasion, Nepali scientist working at United Oil Company Dr Prakash Adhikari said that such programmes organized in foreign countries are crucial for Nepal's publicity efforts. Around 100 individuals including artists, diplomats, journalists, students, Nepali diaspora members and others were present on the occasion. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: President Ramchandra Paudel has said it is imperative to make the government, farmers and stakeholders concerned aware and active to increase rice production and productivity. The President underlined the need of minimising climate change impact on rice farming. In his message of best wishes on the occasion of the 21st National Paddy Day today, the President pressed an idea for implementing climate-friendly technologies in rice farming to increase production, replace rice imports and achieve a food security and food sufficiency. "May this Day inspire all of us to advance towards this end," he said. The President reminded of the constitutional guarantee of the right to food as the fundamental right of the citizens. He reiterated that the State's entire attention should be focused on improving irrigation facility in the country and modernizing the agricultural sector. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: Six campaigners of the Right to Information who were arrested and detained for the past 12 days solely for demanding information of public importance from Gokarneswor municipality and its subordinate agencies were released today. The right activists had demanded information concerning irregularities and misappropriation in the municipality and its agencies. Acting on an anonymous complaint, the Police Circuit Bouddha arrested and kept in custody RTI campaigners, Asmita Khatry, Adarsha Kshetri, Raju Sunar, Prem Prasad Shrestha, Kiran KC and Balaram Chalise for requesting information on the governance malaise related issues. RTI Federation Chair Umid Bagchand told RSS that the police was compelled to release the six campaigners - four were arrested on June 18 and two on June 25 - for not being able to substantiate the case with evidence. The Foundation has been drawing attention of the Home Ministry, National Information Commission, National Human Rights Commission and Police Circuit Bouddha sinc e the arrest of the campaigners. Source: National News Agency RSS

Minister for Drinking Water, Rajendra Kumar Rai, has said government was committed to supplying pure drinking water to all people. Laying a foundation stone to the 'Biratnagar Drinking Water Reform Project' being constructed by Nepal Drinking Water Corporation here Friday, Minister Rai viewed ministry was at work to end people's compulsion of fetching drinking water from distant places. "'One House: One Tap' scheme would be realized with the cooperation of all three tiers of government," he said, extending gratitude to the Japan government for providing support to build drinking water infrastructures. Ministry secretary Suresh Acharya, and representatives from Japanese Embassy in Nepal, and JICA Nepal also expressed their views at the programme. Official from the Drinking Water Corporation, Kamal Thapa, informed that the project launched to complete by 2026 would benefit nearly 100 thousand people in Biratnagar city. Source: National News Agency RSS

The Koshi Province has so far reported 14 percent rice transplantation. The Agricultural Development Directorate, Koshi Province informed that rice was planted in 37,880.35 hectares of land though it normally takes place in 276,383.72 hectares. Last year, this percent was 16.96 percent till June 29. Directorate's information officer Purna Maya Gurung said among 14 districts in the Province, the highest paddy cultivation takes place in Jhapa as it makes up 77759.184 hectares while the lowest plantation ( 1225) is in Solukhumbu. To date, 11.35 percent paddy cultivation has been reported in Jhapa while it is 10 percent in Morang, 11 percent in Sunsari, 29.40 percent in Taplejung, seven percent in Sankhuwasabha, 35 percent in Solukhumbu, 29 percent in Panchthar, 30 percent in Ilam, 27 percent in Bhojpur, 25 percent in Tehrathum, 12 percent in Dhankuta, 15.25 percent in Udaypur, 12.25 percent in Okhaldhunga and 13.40 percent in Khotang. Directorate Chief Prakash Kumar Dangi said they were preparing to celebr ate the 21st National Paddy Day tomorrow on the 15th of the Nepali month Asad with the theme of "climate-friendly agriculture, increase in rice production". Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has discussed with the professors working in different departments of the Tribhuvan University Institute of Science and Technology on the bills related to science and technology and innovation and applied science and technology and innovation promotion fund. There was a representation of the university teachers from the TU Central Departments of Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Bio-Technology, Statistics, Environment Science, Botany, Biology, and Microbiology among others at the discussion held at the BP Koirala Science Museum Kirtipur today. On the occasion, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Biswobabu Pudasaini, delivered a presentation focusing on theoretical arrangements in the bills. Taking part in the deliberations, the participants stressed that the bill should prioritize research works within the university and increase investment for the same and the State should play a role to boost the co nfidence of the researchers and reduce procedural hassles facing in the research works. Secretary Pudasaini said both the bill on science, technology and innovation and the bill related to the technology innovation fund have provided impetuses to the researchers to engage in research works within the university. "There is a need to increase the visible impacts of researchers to the economic development of the country. Realizing the essence, the ministry would include the inputs and recommendations of the stakeholders on the primary draft of the bills", he noted. Both the bills have been made publicly available through the official website of the ministry for suggestions. It is shared that Minister for Education, Science and Technology Sumana Shrestha has made necessary preparations to bring both the bills to the cabinet after including recommendations of the stakeholders. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has said rains would not create obstruction on management of waste from Kathmandu Valley this year. KMC will not see the problems that were witnessed in the previous year during monsoon, KMC made it clear. KMC's advisor on infrastructure, Sunil Lamsal, said the problems relating to the transportation up to Bancharedanda landfill site were already solved, so the waste management would continue as usual. "The waste at Sisdol was managed with capping and an alternative route was opened to transport the garbage," he added. Strong retention walls were constructed on the spots which used to see landslips. The garbage in the KMC, except nine inner wards, is managed with the collaboration of private companies. Total 1,200 metric tons of waste is collected every day from the Kathmandu Valley, among which, KMC alone collects 500 metric tons. Daily, a total of 200 haulers transport the garbage. Bancharedanda is the present landfill site for the Kathmandu waste, while it was managed at Sisdol and Gokarna previously. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The National Youth Federation Nepal has launched the 'One Youth, Five Saplings' campaign on the occasion of the 73rd birth anniversary of Madan Bhandari. At a programme organised at Jharuwarasi of Godawari municipality in Lalitpur today, Chairperson of the CPN (UML), KP Sharma Oli, inaugurated the campaign by planting a sapling of the Rudraksha tree. Stating that saplings should be planted for maintaining the environmental balance, he stressed that all should participate in the campaign. Federation General-Secretary Suman Puri shared that the campaign would be run till July 29. The campaign would be launched in all 753 local levels and around 300,000 saplings would be planted during the campaign, he added. Puri mentioned that each central committee member of the Federation has to plant five saplings and they have also responsibility to look after them. UML Standing Committee member Sher Bahadur Tamang and Politburo member Mahesh Basnet among other leaders were present on the occasion. Source : National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: President of Committee for Development, Economic Affairs and Good-Governance under the National Assembly, Kamala Panta, rued that other agendas and issues were overshadowed when politics was dominant in the parliament. In an interaction organized today on the occasion of the International Day of Parliamentarism, President Panta viewed that the parliamentarians' representation was becoming weak in the parliament. The International Day of Parliamentarism also known as World Parliament Day is celebrated every year on June 30. According to her, the parliament was not being critical and the political issues figured almost of the deliberations in the House while not much deliberation was held on social issues. She further frowned that the State also had not paid any heeds to what parliamentarians voiced in the House. Viewing the need for political commitment for addressing various pressing agendas, she called for unity among one and all regarding issues of people with disabilities and their participa tion. She shared that a special committee was formed to address the issues concerning the backward communities. Former parliamentarian and activist Sunil Babu Panta said that many issues relating to sexual minorities were yet to be raised. He grieved that there was no reservation and preferences for the sexual monitories in the civil service. Similarly, Dev Kumari Parajuli, General-Secretary at the Nepal Disabled Women Association, said that they had been requesting the lawmakers to raise voices for them in the parliament but to no avail. She lamented that although parliamentarians had been deliberating on the disabilities related issues parliament, it was not addressed. Former parliamentarian and Chairperson of the National Dalit Journalists' Association, Binod Pahadi, mentioned that along with the decrease in representation of Dalits in the parliament, agendas related to them were also waning. Journalist Binu Subedi argued that although women's representation in Nepal's parliament seems notable compar ed to other countries in the world, the issues have not been raised and addressed completely. Julien Chevillard, Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Nepal, opined that if we looked at the multifaceted representation of women in Nepal's parliament, their participation was satisfactory. She emphasized collective discussions on how to make the House more inclusive. Norwegian Embassy's Consular Aneela Khan said that they long had been collaborating with the government of Nepal in the sector of inclusiveness. "We have been coordinating efforts with the UNDP in the sector of capacity building of the federal and provincial parliament. We have been specially running programmes that enhance capacity of women and marginalized parliamentarians thereby promoting representation and inclusiveness," she informed. Parliamentarians Tara Lama, Urmila Majhi, Goma Laav (Sapkota), Gangaram Chaudhary Dagaura, Amrit Lal Rajbanshi reaffirmed their commitment to eloquently air their voices on issues surrounding women, Dalit, people with disabilities among others in the parliament. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: The Ministry of Health and Population has formed a committee for monitoring the quality and standard of medicines and the pharmaceutical industries. Health Minister Pradip Yadav constituted the committee through a ministerial-level decision. Additional Secretary at the Ministry Dr Bikas Devkota is the coordinator of the committee which has been tasked with monitoring the quality of the medicines as well as studying the status of operation, service delivery, capacity, operation process and standard of the pharmaceutical industries, pharmacies and related agencies. Ministry Spokesperson Dr Prakash Budhathoki said the committee will also make an on-site study of the quality of medicines, associated problems and challenges. He said the committee will submit its finding report to the Ministry within two weeks. The members of the committee include the Director-General of the Department of Drug Administration (DDA) Narayan Prasad Dhakal, a representative from the National Drugs Laboratory, a representa tive from the Pharmacy Council, a representative of the District Administration Office of the district where the monitoring is carried out and the chief of the DDA's district-based office. Source: National News Agency RSS

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves have crossed US$27 billion as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided $1.15 billion loan and other lenders provided $900 million. Talking to BSS, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Executive Director and Spokesperson Mezbaul Haque informed that the final position of gross reserve as on 27.06.2024 is $27.15 billion. "We have received $1.15 billion from the IMF. We also received around $900 million from other sources like South Korea, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and Islamic Development Bank (IDB)," he said. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha