6 june, kathmandu- Four districts of the east (Jhapa, Morang, Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung) are reeling under shortage of petroleum products, thanks to non-cooperation of Indian customs officials to release tankers carrying petroleum products meant for Nepal that were stuck at Panitanki transit point for the past one week.
Indian customs authorities unnecessarily delayed releasing the tankers citing the operation of online entry system, said an official of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), Jhapa. Many petrol pumps have been shut as a result.
Issuing a statement in this regard on Wednesday, Charali-based branch of the NOC chief Sanam Karki said they were making efforts to revive the regular supply of petroleum products from India. The NOC branch looks after supply of petroleum products to the four districts.
For a temporary solution, the NOC branch asked the Biratnagar-based state office of the NOC to provide petroleum products to meet its demand in the four districts. One hundred thousand liters of petrol and 300,000 liters of diesel are consumed in the four districts on a daily basis. The Charali-based NOC branch has been importing petroleum products from Indian Oil Corporation in Siliguri, India. (RSS)
6 june, kathmandu- The government has clarified that budget for the coming fiscal year 2019/20 has been allocated in order to fulfill the goal of socialism enshrined in the constitution.
Responding to queries raised by lawmakers in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR), Minister for Finance, Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, said that the budget has addressed the norms and values guaranteed by the constitution and accepted that weakness could be seen on some issues as activities of fiscal federalism implementation were underway.
He said allocating budget worth Rs 800 billion in projects of national reconstruction and national pride was a mandatory responsibility and added that this responsibility has been adopted in the budget.
The issues of the marginalized communities were being started to be addressed since 2051 BS, and the budget for the coming fiscal year has also addressed this sectors, which were left out in the budget for some years, said the Finance Minister, adding, “I have tried to address marginalized communities in the budget for next fiscal year.”
The government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari had presented the ‘nine sa’ programme in the policy and programme and budget to address the marginalized community.
Saying unnecessary discussion has been taking place on the issue of senior citizen security allowance, Finance Minister Khatiwada said that arrangement of senior citizen security allowance has been made taking into consideration the average life span of Nepalis.
He said, “Grandfathers and grandmothers have bought pencils and copies to their grandchildren. They have been spending their allowances for medical treatment when suffering from different health problems. Is this wrong? The senior citizens are doing the activities that the state has to do. Is this bad?”
Stating the main challenge for the state was urban management, the Finance Minister made it clear that the ‘Let Us Build Our Village Ourselves’ programme has been included in the budget with the realization that the village also was the basis of our modern life.
As he said, special attention should be given to increasing the capital expenditure and since problems have been faced in the infrastructure development also because of locals’ obstructions and the construction entrepreneurs not carrying out their works, it would be an achievement if more than 90 per cent of the development budget could be spent. He stressed that the government was working to increase the development expenditure to the maximum amount and this problem would be addressed to a large extent after some years.
He also expressed the government’s commitment to bring into operation and complete the projects that have already been started.
Steel poles to be installed Finance Minister Khatiwada said that the wooden poles would be replaced by steel poles and this programme has been addressed in the budget.
He argued that the economic growth rate of 8.5 per cent projected in the coming fiscal year was practical and it would be achieved due to the expenditure to be made by the centre, state and local levels. The Finance Minister expressed the belief that the speeding up of the development of big physical infrastructures would also have a positive impact on the labour market as well.
He was of the view that the trade deficit could be decreased through export of services as the Visit Nepal Year 2020 is pursued. The government has declared 2020 as the Visit Nepal Year with the goal of bringing in two million tourists in that year.
Finance Minister said electricity would not have to be imported from the next fiscal year and this would contribute to reducing the trade deficit. But he made it clear that the trade deficit would not be balanced in the next fiscal year. One thousand megawatts power would be added in the national grid in the next fiscal year which would greatly contribute to reduction in import from India.
Stating that Nepal has the most easy situation for taking loans in South Asia, he said the government would not go for taking loans in unproductive sectors. Rather, it would take loans to the extent the GDP would support. He added that the government has set its programmes in a way to controlling the price hike.
Finance Minister Khatiwada said the government has a plan of providing work to the domestic labourers and that the status of unemployment and the unemployed would be known only by studying the labour market structure.
“The budget for the next fiscal year has made many people happy and only a few unhappy. The budget of the fiscal year after the next fiscal year would make everyone happy,” he added. (RSS)
6 june, Jajarkot- Eight persons leaving their villages for picking yarsagumba, a precious herb, have lost their lives in Dolpa in the past two weeks. Altitude sickness claimed six while two fell off the cliff. Those losing lives are from Jajarkot, Rukum, Jumla and Dolpa districts.
Gopal Bista, 17, from Patarasi rural municipality-6 of Jumla suffered altitude sickness on the way to Dolpa highland. Jaykrishna Pande, 44, from Gothichaur rural municipality-4 of Jumla fell off a cliff. Buddhi Kumari Karki, 38, from Thulibheri municipality-11 of Dolpa also died, falling off a cliff.
Ramesh Chalaune, 22, and Krishna BK, 18, from Barekot rural municipality of Jajarkot; Krishna Bahadur Shahi, 39, from Athbiskot municipality of Rukum West; and Dhalakala Budha, 40, from Thulibheri municipality of Dolpa died of altitude sickness. Even a new born belonging to Kanchhi BK from Kaike rural municipality died of chilling cold, said the District Police Office.
As the highland meadows are far from district headquarters, Dunai, it is difficult to get information about yarsa pickers on time. Although health camps are set up at various nine places in view of the health condition of the people picking the precious herb, the number of those losing life is growing. More than a dozen falling sick have been receiving treatment. There are more than 70 highland meadows opened for yarsa picking in Dolpa. (RSS)
6 june, Okhaldhunga- The Majhi people at Dhabuwaghat of Sunkhosi River in the district have been deprived of clean drinking water for nine years. The settlement on the bank of the river is forced to quench thirst with the muddy water brought from the river.
A local Nara Bahadur Majhi shared the plight that the entire Majhi village with 60 households at Sunkoshi rural municipality-1 in the district had no option but to use the water brought with pump from the Sunkoshi River. It is muddy in the rainy season.
Although the rural municipality tried to lessen the acute shortage of water by installing pump set that helped to supply water in the village, the water from the river is not clean. It is malodorous too, he added. With the use of dirty water, the Majhi people suffer from various health problems frequently.
“Compared to winter, more people fall sick in the rainy season. Children and senior citizen become sick frequently,” added Nara Bahadur. (RSS)
6 june, Jiri- The Gaurishankar Conservation Area has spotted an endangered snow leopard and a golden cat for the first time here. The camera trapping recorded the animals.
The study with the use of infrared camera found these endangered and protected animals at 11 places of Lapchi Valley in Bigu rural municipality in Dolakha district.
The conservation officer Bishnu Prasad Pandey informed that the camera trapping also showed 15 reptiles, black bear, blue sheep, red fox and others. The conservation project had installed the cameras a year back in the Lapchi Valley in order to identify the wild animals in the area. Three images of snow leopard were taken at the height of 4,087 meter.
The poaching of wild animal has been culturally banned in this area. As per National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029, the snow leopard has been listed as the endangered animal. (RSS)
6 june, Attariya- The Dhangadhi airport will remain closed for one more week for the upgrading of the runway. One month has already passed for the upgrading.
The construction company has informed that the airport would resume service on June 12 once the weather remains normal. Rainy weather is adverse to the upgrading activities.
Airport chief Tej Bahadur Bungthapa said the expansion of the airport was also carried out together with the upgrading of the runway. It was delayed because of boggy soil, he added. With the accomplishment, the airport would be spacious for parking four big planes. (RSS)
6 june, Banepa- Central member of the Nepali Congress, Dr Shekhar Koirala, has pointed out the need of holding the fourth national convention of the party rather than conducting national awareness campaign.
At a programme organized by Panauti municipal committee of the party as part the of awareness campaign at Panauti of Kavre on Wednesday, central member Dr Koirala argued the fourth general convention could be delayed, so preparation was needed immediately for the timely convention. If the convention is not held on time, the local level elections would be affected, he added.
Leader Dr Koirala wondered before the party cadres which- the campaign or convention- was more important at present. There was no structure of the party in the rural municipality and municipality drawing confusion. “There are three presidents in a constituency, and which one is the legitimate one,” he asked.
On a different note, he blamed the government of concentrating 80 percent of the national budget in the centre, while allocating six percent to the State and 14 to local level. It signals that government wants to concentrate authority in the centre, he asserted.
On the occasion, party’s central policy, research and training academy’s director Purushottam Dahal suggested the party that it could set up district training department for strengthening party base and organization. (RSS)
6 june, Biratnagar- Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Giriraj Mani Pokharel, has said the National Medical Act 2075 shall remove the anomalies prevalent in the medical and the medical education sectors.
The Minister said this while inaugurating an orientation programme on the National Medical Act, 2075 organized by the Commission on Medical Education here today. He stated that the Act envisaged promoting capital investment in establishing medical education institutions in the rural areas by ending the anomalies and aberrations in the private medical education.
Stating that Nepali students have been going for abroad studies in medical education without meeting the standards and have been failing in the examination given by the Medical Council, not once or twice but up to 20 times, the Education Minister said that the number of students going for abroad studies has decreased to 400 from 1,500 after the introduction of the entrance examination for the same.
He stressed on the need of research in medical education and the Act emphasized mainly on service, teaching and learning, and research. The Minister also called for sensitivity while delivering medical services as it is related to the people’s health and life.
Reiterating the need of producing adequate numbers of human resources in the medical sector to meet the demand, Minister Pokharel said only the production of the human resources from the private sector was not enough and the human resources had to be managed. He believed that the Act will address this issue.
State 1 government minister for social development, Jeevan Ghimire, said that the Act has provisions for monitoring and taking action against the physicians not working in the government hospitals for a specified time.
He stressed providing additional facilities and perks to the physicians for the education of their children and for their own further education as medical service was different from the civil service.
Coordinator of the District Coordination Committee Morang, Naresh Pokharel, expressed the conviction that the Act will help address the problems and anomalies in the education sector and make it dignified.
Chiefs and representatives of the medical colleges, various private and government hospitals and educational institutions in Morang, Sunsari and Jhapa districts had presented their suggestions regarding points to be improved for the Act’s successful implementation, in the one-day orientation. (RSS)
6 june, kathmandu- The Secretariat meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) scheduled to be held today, has been postponed.
The meeting was postponed as Prime Minister and NCP’s Chair, KP Sharma Oli, and another chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ have yet to do much homework for the meeting, said party Spokesperson, Narayankaji Shrestha.
Top leaders of the party had reached the official residence of the Prime Minister at Baluwatar at 11:00 am for the meeting, but it was put off after a while.
He said, “Both Chairpersons asked for some more time to carry out further homework to allocate work to central members and determining District committee in-charge and joint in-charge. Although all secretariat members were present, it was postponed after a while.”
Next Secretariat meeting is scheduled only after PM Oli returns from his Europe visit, he said. PM Oli is scheduled to embark on a weeklong visit to Europe from coming Saturday.
Today’s scheduled meeting of the Secretariat had expected to settle the issue of work allocation of party central members and allocating post of in-charge and co-in charge of party district committee.
(RSS)
6 june, kathmandu- Departmental Nepal Police Club (NPC) entered the finals of the ongoing Prime Minister Cup One-Day National Cricket Men’s Cricket Tournament by defeating departmental Armed Police Force (APF) by five wickets in today’s match at Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
Invited to bat first after losing the toss, APF posted a meager 42-run target against NPC, which the team achieved in 9.3 overs losing five wickets. APF made only 41 runs in 22.1 overs at the loss of all wickets. For NPC, Paban Sarraf remained unbeaten on 21 runs, while Dipendra Singh Airee contributed 13.
Likewise, Captain Basanta Regmi claimed three wickets for APF and Sharad Bheshwakar two. No cricketers made double digit runs for APF. Bheshwakar made 7, while Prithu Baskota 7, Amar Singh Rautela 6 and Sandip Jora 5.
For NPC, Lalit Narayan Rajbamshi took four wickets, while Kushal Bhurtel and Sagar Dhakal claimed three wickets each. NCP and departmental Tribhuvan Army Club are competing in the finals on June 8. (RSS)