KATHMANDU: Basantapur, popularly known as Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, located at the heart of the capital city, is a major tourist attraction.
It is the heart of Kathmandu, and carries a lot of cultural and historical significance.
This ancient site boasts of several temples of archeological and historical importance. It is also known as Hanuman Dhoka thanks to the statue of Hanuman erected by King Pratap Malla in front of an ancient royal palace in 1972.
Temples in this area are built in pagoda style. Hanuman Dhoka Palace used to be the seat of Royal families from the Shah dynasty where coronation ceremonies were held.
Some temples in the area include: Kumari temple, Kastha Mandap, Ganesh Temple, Shiva Parvati Temple, Taleju Temple, Jagannath Temple and Kal Bhairav Temple among others.
Several monuments having historical importance, which were damaged due to the massive earthquake in 2015, are currently being constructed. The construction work of these traditional monuments is being carried out.
Hanumandhoka Palace area has more than 36 monuments. Nautale Durbar and Kashthamandap Palace are also under construction.
RUKUM: Police arrested two persons on charges of possessing opium and hashish weighing 12 kg. They are identified as Dhan Bahadur Malla, 42 and Chandra Bahadur Shahi, 30 of Tribeni Nalgad Municipality in Jajarkot district. Police also confiscated cash rs.50,000 from the duo, according to Sumit Khadka, the chief at the District Police Office.
JAJARKOT: Four people were killed, nine others injured in a bus accident at Rimna of Bheri in Jajarkot Thursday evening.
The accident took place when the ill-fated bus bearing registration plate Bhe 1 Kha 1329 veered off the road and fell some 100 meters down in the Bheri River along the Jajarko-Dolpa road, police said. The bus was heading to Radi Bazaar of Rukum from Nepalgunj.
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli is addressing the nation at 4 pm today.
PM Oli’s Press coordinator Chetan Adhikari informed that the Prime Minister will address to the nation to inform people about the government’s achievements performed during the last one year.
The Oli-led government was formed on February 15, 2018.
KATHMANDU: Police have arrested two people with 18 kg of gold from Indian border Punarwas of Kanchanpur on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team from District Police Office, Kanchanpur and Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested them with 18 kg of gold from Nepal-India border Punarwas of Kanchanpur, said SP Abhusan Timsina, chief of Kanchanpur District Police Office.
SP Timsina said they are investigating the case after taking the arrested into the police custody of Kanchanpur.
SURKHET: Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota has urged Nepali Congress to refrain from doing ‘politics of pollution’.
He also urged the main opposition party to refrain from being restless since the government is periodic.
Inaugurating the national conference of Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Nepal (ACORAB) in Surkhet, Minister Baskota urged the NC party to stop indulging in dirty politics.
On the occasion, he also suggested the media to play the role of a critique of the government, not as the opposition.
It is hard to believe but true. As many as 40 thousand drivers have been found in possession of fake driving licenses, obtained without undergoing the required legal procedures.
Several of the fake license holders have come under police net. However, the number could go even higher as police have doubts of involvement of a huge racket behind fake licenses throughout the country.
Drivers are required to undergo a driving test and should have a sound knowledge of road traffic rules. However, an alarmingly significant number of drivers have been found to be possessing licenses sans the required legal procedures.
Police on last November 8 seized a fake driving license 06-055834 possessed by Man Bahadur Moktan from Kalimati of Kathmandu. Earlier, police seized a fake license possessed by Bhunsang Dorje Lama from Koteshwor in September, last year. These are some representative cases.
According to SSP Basanta Pant, chief of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, Kathmandu, they have seized a total of 33 fake driving licenses in the last four years.
The number of seized fake licenses:
Fiscal Year 2014/15 – 14
Fiscal Year 2015/16 – 8
Fiscal Year 2016/17 – 8
Fiscal Year 2017/18 – 4
The Metropolitan Police Circle, Durbar Marg recently apprehended a group of fraudulent people involved in fake driving license racket. According to the police, persons involved in this racket had been issuing a license with a minimum charge of around Rs 20 thousand each. The group is active for the last six years, and has been found to be issuing at least 12 fake licenses a day. So far, this group has issued 26 thousand fake licenses.
According to police, the group involved in the racket uses fake documents, government stamps, and signatures. “These are criminal offences,” a traffic official said.
According to police, they are investigating the case to find out the location where these groups work on fake licenses. In fact, these groups basically target the people who are going abroad.
There are several groups involved in this business. According to the record of registered vehicles and legal licenses at the Department of Transport Management, around 40 thousand drivers are believed to be holding fake driving licenses.
However, Gokarna Prasad Upadhyay, spokesperson at the Department of Transport Management, expressed ignorance over the issue. “Yes, we have been reading reports on newspapers but we do not have any official information,” he informed.
He also brushed aside allegations about the involvement of Department officials in the scam. Traffic police authorities, however, suspect of the involvement of a huge racket adding that they have been working day and night to unravel the network.
According to police, they are investigating the case to find out the location where these groups work on fake licenses. In fact, these groups basically target the people who are going abroad.
SINDHULI: Agitating students have brought the vehicular movement along the BP Highway to a grinding halt in protest of unruly driving.
Students said that they resorted to halting the traffic services after a Tata Sumo jeep hit the college going girls and left the scene.
Rojina Karki and Manita Thapa, students of Sindhuli Multiple College, sustained injuries when the jeep hit them at Kamalamai Municiplaity-4, Dhungebas on Wednesday morning. Critically injured Rojina has been sent to Kathmandu for treatment while Manita is receiving treatment at Sindhuli Hospital.
Irate students hit the street and threw the vehicular movement out of gear calling for action against the guilty and arrangement of treatment to the injured students.
Meanwhile, Chakra Bahadur Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP) at the District Police Office Sindhuli, informed that they have taken control of the Sumo jeep (Ba 3 Cha 6751) and the driver.
With the traffic halt, the vehicular movement from Kathmandu to Tarai districts and from Tarai to Kathmandu has been affected.
KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday appointed Udaya Raj Pandey to the post of Nepal’s Ambassador to Malaysia.
The President appointed Pandey to the post as per Article 282 of the Constitution and on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, the Office of the President has said.
SUNSARI: A woman has been gruesomely murdered at Itarahi Sub Metropolitan City of the district on Tuesday.
According to Police Inspector Buddhi Chaulagain, Soniya Rai was stabbed to death in her own rented room in Makhim tole area.
Meanwhile, police have arrested Lal Bahadur Rai, a local, in connection with the Rai’s murder.
Rai is a married woman and her husband is a migrant worker. Police said they are investigating the case.