JUMLA: Flights have resumed in this far flung district from today. The district had been cut off from the means of transportation as Simikot Airport in the district headquarters, Simikot was non-operational due to incessant snowfall since Tuesday.

Snowfall had paralyzed the normal and the district faced food shortage. National and private airlines have started operating flights from Surkhet carrying food stuffs, according to Raj Bahadur Bohora, an employee at Simikot Airport.

KATHMANDU: Today’s meeting of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, approved a proposal on ‘Province Public Service Commission (Basis and Standard Determination) Bill, 2075’.

The House approved the bill unanimously. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bhanubhakta Dhakal, had presented the bill on behalf of the Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli.

Presenting the proposal on the bill, Minister Dhakal said that the bill has been brought to enable the Public Service Commission to work in an easy manner at the province level. He added that the bill has provisions where the central Public Service Commission can provide advice and support to the provincial public service commissions. The bill also aims at bringing uniformity among the central and the provincial public service commissions.

Lawmaker Pushpa Bhusal, expressing her views during the discussions on the principles of the bill thanked the government for making the legal arrangements regarding the provincial public service commission. She stressed that the provincial public service commission should also pay attention to fairness and impartiality.

Similarly, the House of Representatives also approved the proposal seeking consideration on the amendment to two separate bills, today.

The lower house passed the proposal seeking consideration on the amendment made by the National Assembly, regarding the ‘Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts, 2075’ tabled by the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bhanubhakta Dhakal.

KATHMANDU: The health condition of Bharat Mohan Adhikari, a senior leader of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), is deteriorating, said Hospital for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (HAMS) in Dhumbarahi.

The doctors at the hospital have been working hard in restoring the health of the 82 years old senior leader. However, his vital organs are not functioning well and chances of reviving his health is slim, said a doctor at a press meet on the hospital premises today.

The octogenarian leader is receiving treatment at the hospital for the past three weeks.

CHITWAN: Upendra Yadav, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population has appealed people for the participation in the posthumous organs donation.

Inaugurating a social campaign of donation of organs (posthumously) launched by the Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal here today, he said that the campaign would save the lives of many if supported by all. Describing the campaign as a noble cause, he called on one and all to join it.

In the meanwhile, he also urged the domestic pharmaceutical industry to ensure quality in the manufacturing of drugs. The minister also revealed that the government is going to bring out the policy allowing the imports of only those drugs that are not manufactured at home.

Umesh Lal Shrestha of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) promised support to promote the campaign nationwide. He called on doctors to give first priority to domestic drugs. Shrestha stressed that Nepali need to develop a culture of seeking treatment within the country.

BANKE: Nepalgunj Sub-metropolis has chosen lottery system to decide foreign visits of its representative. The move was taken following an intense debate among the Nepali Congress representatives as to who would occupy a quota among three quotas for foreign visit allocated to the party.

The local government has 10 quotas for Switzerland, Thailand and Dubai, according to Nepalgunj-11 Ward Chair, Ujjawal Singh Rathaur. There was a heated debate among the Nepali Congress local representatives as Deputy Mayor Uma Thapa Magar insisted that she deserved the opportunity.

DARCHULA: Passengers who died in a jeep accident in Duhu Rural Municipality-3 in the district, Friday night, have been identified.

According to DSP Bhim Bahadur Chand of Armed Police Force, the deceased are Manmani Bhatta, 43, Gautami Bam, 45, Danam Bam, 71, Dhan Bahadur Bam of Duhu Rural Municipality-1, Kalyan Singh Badal and 17-year-old daughter Nirmala Badal and Paruli Dhami of Ward no. 2.

Also killed in the accident are Amar Bam, 55,  Ayusha Bam, 7, of Duhu Rural Municipality-4, Dhan Bahadur Chand, 60 of Dogadakedar Rural Municipality, Baitadi and Sneha Chand, 21.

A total of 11 people including seven women and a girl child died when an ill-fated jeep, Ma 1 Ja 280, plunged around 300 meters in the Mahakali River.

Driver Dipak Kumar Sigh Dhami, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to Pithauragadh of India for treatment. He received head and leg injuries. The accident site is seven kilometers away from the district headquarters Khalanga. Overload and break failure are the causes behind the accident, said police.

Dead bodies are kept at the District Hospital for postmortem.

Prime Minister condoles jeep mishap victims

Meanwhile, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has expressed condolences over those who lost their lives in the Ratakatha jeep accident.

PM Oli wished speedy recovery of the driver Dipak Kumar Dhami and expressed grief for the family members of the deceased.

SURKHET: A total of l 139,520 people in Jajorkot, Surkhet, Rukum and Kalikot districts in Karnali province now have access to health insurance facility, according to Health Insurance Board. These number of people joined the government’s health insurance program in the past 19 months.

As per their insurance claim, Rs. 44 million has already been paid. The Board had also collected Rs. 47 million as contributions for the insurance scheme from all the service recipients.

Meanwhile, the board is planning to extend the scheme to Humla, Dolpa, Mugu and Dailekh in the current fiscal year.

KATHMANDU: Secretariat member of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Bamdev Gautam has said  a conspiracy is being hatched against him yet again.

Writing a Facebook status today, leader Gautam has said anti elements are hatching conspiracies against him over his participation in the funeral ceremony for late Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari in Pokhara.

“Conspiracies are afoot to taint my image yet again by misinterpreting my participation in the funeral ceremony of  late Rabindra Adhikari in Pokhara. Devastated by my beloved comrade Adhikari, I went to Pokhara to pay last respect to  Adhikari but my participation was misconstrued as my intention behind taking part in the by-elections from his constituency, dubbing it as ‘conspiratorial and insulting.”

Meanwhile, Gautam, on his Facebook, clarified that he would not take part in the elections from Adhikari’s constituency.

Taking part in the last rites in Pokhara, leaders Bamdev Gautam and Narayan Kaji Shrestha had draped party’s flag on Adhikari’s mortal remains while Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Ishwor Pokharel had draped a national flag.

Adhikari had been cremated at Ramghat, Pokhara with state honors yesterday. Seven people including Adhikari had died in an Air Dynasty chopper crash in Taplejung on Wednesday.

KATHMANDU: The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) has booked 52 taxi drivers for irregularities. Division has punished the taxi drivers for charging more than the actual fare to the customers, rejecting to go to places that the customers want and those tampering with the billing machine.

Basant Kumar Pant, SSP at the division said, “A campaign has been expedited to punish the unruly taxi drivers following increasing complaints from the service recipients,”. The division has been mobilizing 40 to 50 traffic police personnel in plain clothes for special monitoring.

Police have fined up to 3,000 rupees, as authorized by the Department of Transport Management. According to the police, taxi drivers operating at Thamel, Maharajgunj, Machhapokhari, Kalanki, Koteswar and the airport areas were found to be cheating clients.

More than 6 thousand taxi drivers have been punished so far in the current fiscal air. There are 10,645 taxis in operation in Kathmandu valley, according to the Department.

KATHMANDU: The Lalitpur District Court has sent three people to 10 years in jail each after finding them guilty of rape in the Godamchaur incident.