2 june, kathmandu- Former President Dr Rambaran Yadav has said various organizations were encroaching upon Nepal’s culture and religion, so such activities need to be strongly discouraged and organization brought to book by all three tiers of government.

Inaugurating the weeklong bhagawat recitation programme organized jointly by Narayansthan Devasthal Consumers’ Committee and Omkar Family Nepal in the capital city today, the former President Dr Yadav reminded that constitution had not allowed conversion. It was worrying that foreigners were encouraging conversion by taking advantage of poverty.

Ancient culture of Nepal could be protected and studied to learn the past civilizations. “Unity among the people from diverse cultures and regions is must,” he stressed, pointing out the need of protecting multiple religions as Hindu, Bouddha and various castes. As he argued, nationality fosters when the people from mountain, hills and plains were kept intact with emotional unity.

On a different note, the former President expressed worry over the exhaustion of Chure region. Proper use of natural resources could make the country prosperous, he added.
All sides’ efforts were essential to protect Chure region, according to Dr Yadav. (RSS)

2 june, Rampur- The local entrepreneurs here have pressed for preserving the Rani Mahal (Queen’s Palace) that lies on the bank of Kali Gandaki River in Palpa district.

The palace was built by Khagda Sumsher JB Rana in commemoration of his consort Tej Kumari Rana in 1954 BS. It lies some 13 kilometres east of the district headquarter Tansen.

Palpa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Shailendra Bhattarai underscored the need to provide basic amenities as of food, accommodation for the tourists visiting this historic monument which attracts some 3,000 to 10,000 domestic and foreign visitors on a daily basis.

He also suggested the collection of entrance fee on the visitors which could be used for protection of the palace.
Similarly, Palpa Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Bhojendra Prakash Dhakal said the visitors coming to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, could be attracted if the Rani Mahal area was protected and promoted.
Development of basic infrastructures, including good motorable road, is a prerequisite to bringing in more and more visitors to this historic palace. The palace has two ponds, a temple, a garden, stable and accommodation for female devotees.

The local entrepreneurs were also concerned over the treasures of the palace that were at risk of being stolen or dilapidated in lack of adequate protection.

Occasional repair, renovations and cleanliness drives have taken place at the initiative of the Department of Archeology under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The Ministry also handed over the Palace’s ownership to Tansen Municipality last year.

District Coordination Committee, Tourism Office, Bhairahawa, District Soil Protection Office, Gorkhadal battalion of Nepal Army, District Police Office, Rani Mahal committee, Baganaskali rural municipality, Tansen municipality and local youth clubs among others have been working on the conservation of this palace. (RSS)

2 june, kayhmandu- Thunderstorm accompanied with winds has been predicted in some areas of the hilly and eastern Tarai regions for the next few days, despite partly to generally cloudy throughout the country. According to Meteorological Forecasting Division, wind carrying water vapor originated from the Bay of Bengal that entered Nepal via the eastern region has triggered evening rains for few days and this condition will continue for some days.
Thunderstorm accompanied with lighting after afternoon has been possible for next three or four days. Tentatively, monsoon begins in the country on June 10. But this time, it is likely to be delayed by one week. In Nepal, monsoon enters from Kerala of India where it is yet to begin

However, the Western Tarai is remained unaffected by this weather system and because of this, the region is dry at this time. The Western Tarai remains relatively farther from the Bay of Bengal and it is not always affected by the westerly winds. According to Division’s meteorologist Min Kumar Aryal, the area west to Nepalgunj will remain dry for some days.

Only the hyperactive westerly wind system has its impact in the Western Tarai. Generally, it affects hilly and mountainous regions of the western Nepal. The temperature in western Tarai is five to six degree Celsius more than of the eastern Nepal. The Division latest details show Pokhara experienced the highest 35 millimeters rains in the past 24 hours. (RSS)

2 june, kathmandu- Chairman of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, has urged various communist splinters to join the mainstream NCP. Even the Biplab-led group needs to join NCP for country’s prosperity and socialism, the Chairman stressed.

Chairman Dahal was welcoming the politburo member of Biplab-led Communist Party of Nepal, Padam Rai, at party office Dhumrabarahi today. He argued that the course Biplab has adopted would direct nowhere, so it was imperative for him to join mainstream politics. “I, without any condition and bias, request my friends to join mainstream politics. Let’s discuss the matter, review past and present, country affairs and unfolding international situation and fulfill people’s expectations. Let’s give a message of socialist movement to the world. It is a historic need indeed.”

According to Chairman Dahal, the movement waged for over a decade has earned popularity to Nepal’s communist movement resulting in present leadership of the government. People have huge trust on it. So, the campaign for good governance and prosperity must be made successful. The system ensuring social justice is being prepared. He further stressed the need to foil the reactionary forces. “The series of return of former leaders to the main party does not end,” he hoped.

He also asserted that the government’s programmes are budget have focused socialism, which would pay heed to low level and oppressed people.

Chairman Dahal vowed to entrust Rai with appropriate responsibility, acknowledging the sacrifices and contributions he made. According to him, Rai returning to the mainstream and joining the strongest leftist party was the right decision made on the right time as he realized that no positive changes could be achieved in nation through violence.

Buoyed Dahal admitted that earlier he used to worry about Padam Rai and his friends while he was away from the party. Rai, who has already served as a State Minister for Physical Infrastructures and Transport, was elected Constituent Assembly (CA) member from Bhojpur constituency no 1 in first CA election in 2008.
Rai was welcomed into the party by NCP Chairman Dahal along with NCP Secretariat and Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, and Secretary-General Bishnu Poudel, among others.

Rai admitted that he had joined the Biplab-led party, believing they would bring some positive changes in the country but he renounced it as, in reality, he found that the party was waging violent activities lately which could leave the people high and dry and afflict country much.

He also shared that he had taken the lead to hold a dialogue with government when he was in the Biplab-led party but no such efforts yielded any positive outcomes. Furthermore, he chose the path to peace for social transformation rather than wrecking vengeance resorting to violent activities.
He pledged to contribute his bit to help realize the government’s motto of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ now onwards. (RSS)

2 june, Darchula- Electricity supply in Darchula district has been disrupted after it was linked to the national transmission line.

From the Chameliya hydropower, 11 KV transmission line was connected to the national grid 15 days back.
The people in the entire district are bound to live in darkness for two days. Earlier, 800 KW electricity imported from India was curtailed after the connection to the national grid.

Nepal Electricity Authority employee in the district, Minraj Pant, however, said employees were sent to the concerned area for repair. However, it would take time, he added.

Pant further informed that the NEA had identified fault at Shailyashikar municipality. With the disruption of electricity, the people in the district are visiting neigbouring country even for charging the mobile phones, said a local from Khalanga, Mangal Singh Hyaki. The FM radios and television are shut down during the day. (RSS)

2 june, kathmandu- Finance Minister Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada has said there is no inaccuracy in the annual figures of estimated revenue and expenditure of the upcoming fiscal year 2076-77 BS (2019-20). Seeking time from Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara in today’s session of the House of Representatives (HoR), the finance minister said some errors in the schedule of revenue for the local and state level happened at the central level due to technical issues which had already been corrected.

Such mistakes were seen as the digits needed to be added with the help of electronic devices were calculated by humans. “It has been corrected now,” he reminded. Stating that the new budget had accorded top priority to the implementation of federalism, he said the internal debt would not exceed Rs 172 billion.
Prior to this, main opposition party Nepali Congress lawmaker Dr Minendra Rijal apprised the House that they would not allow it move ahead until the finance minister replied the ‘error’ issues.

Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) Nepal’s lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna claimed the appointments made by the Constitutional Council and Judicial Council were not in line with the principle of proportional representation and inclusion. He expressed his concern over the fresh vacancy announcements for 9,000 posts made by the Public Service Commission, stating the announcement was against the constitutional principle of proportional representation and inclusion.

Lack of timely repair of furniture meant for the members of Federal Parliament has forced lawmakers to be worried about their physical safety. In today’s session, major ruling party Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Khagaraj Adhikari sought the attention of the Speaker towards the sorry state of chairs and asked how many times they had to request the House for the repair. He called on the Speaker to ensure lawmakers’ physical safety and in response, Speaker Mahara said his attention was drawn to the matter. (RSS)

2 june, Sindhuli- Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Prasad Banskota, has ruled out the possibility of immediate change of government. Speaking at a press meet organised by the Press Organisation Nepal, Sindhuli chapter at Sindhulimadhi, the minister urged the mass not to run after the rumour of government change.

On a different note, he claimed that the budget for the coming fiscal year would bring quality improvement in people’s living standard. The minister from the ruling Nepal Communist Party of (NCP) went on to say that concepts of short-term and long-term development plans had been presented, basing on the leftist election manifesto.

“The budget has prepared a policy of fast economic development with social justice and created a foundation for socialism-oriented economy. The government is determined to take the country towards an advanced socialism through the development of national capital through the means of self-sufficient economy.”

He was hopeful that the incumbent government would help in the infrastructure development sector, which would function as a backbone for the nation to prosper. According to him, Nepal would be transformed into a middle-income country by 2030 AD.
Stating that the budget had been allocated to several infrastructure projects including the Postal Highway and Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion, he unveiled the preparations for declaring 70 districts the ‘literate zone’ within the next fiscal year.

“The government has placed emphasis on production with the realisation that it is a must for strong base of economy and it will bring improvement in national economy.” The development of transport sector–road, railway and via water–was the priority of the government, he added.

As he said, the budget is not of a distributive one as rumoured by the opposition due to increase in social security scheme and so on. The Communications and Information Technology Minister said confidently that the Media Council Bill was brought for the welfare of journalists and it had provisions for guarantee of wages of working journalists and control over anarchy. “The NCP leadership is fully devoted to the welfare of citizen and party’s both chairs are equally competent to handle the government,” he underscored. (RSS)

2 june, Myagdi- Construction of a trekking route linking the base camp of Annapurna mountain has begun. The Annapurna rural municipality and the Department of Tourism are jointly working to build the trekking route to the base camp.

The DoT has allocated Rs. 2 million and the rural municipality Rs. 300,000 in the current fiscal year for the trekking route. The trekking route is being upgraded to ensure easy and safe travel for the trekkers, said the users committee chair Man Bahadur Purja.

Some 15 kilometers of the route from Humkhola to the base camp will be expanded while some steps will be built along. Workers are stationed on the site to complete the construction work. A total of 29 workers have been mobilized for the purpose, according to Lal Bahadur Sherpunja, one of the workers employed in the construction work.

The trekking route had been constructed in 2068 B.S. at the initiative of the local people. Prior to this, trekkers used to travel via Taulung of Mustang to reach ABC. (RSS)

2 june, parasi- The Nepali Congress leaders have said unity within the party was inevitable. Congress will have to remain behind if intra-party unity is not realized soon, they said. They were speaking at the National Awareness Campaign organised by the party in Bhumahi on Saturday.

On the occasion, leader Dr Shekhar Koirala said the party leadership should hold the general convention on time. He called for ending all kinds of groupism and factionalism in the party.

On a different note, leader Koirala protested against what he called government’s intervention in the media and judiciary of the country.

Likewise, leader Amresh Kumar Singh said efforts were being made to postpone the general convention. He said that the convention should be held on schedule and stressed on enforcement of proportional representation in the party.
Leader Singh also said that the government should conclude the citizenship bill immediately.
Another leader Pradip Giri pointed out the need for the Congress to move ahead with unity. (RSS)

2 june, Chitwan- Traffic on the Narayangadh-Muglin road section has been affected by landslides. Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall on Saturday night have blocked the road in two locations on the section in Jalbire and Paanchkilo.

As a result, traffic on the road has been limited to one-way. Efforts are underway to clear the debris and resume two-way traffic as soon as possible, the District Police Office, Chitwan said.
Despite expansion of the road, landslides continue to obstruct it during the monsoon every year. (RSS)