Kathmandu, 1 February: The vehicle carrying Prime Minister Koirala narrowly averted a mishap when the driver was forced to brake suddenly to avoid hitting a woman who suddenly crossed the road near the airport Thursday morning, traffic police said. “Nobody was injured when the driver braked to save an old woman who suddenly crossed the road near Gausala. But the vehicle carrying the PM was grazed slightly when another vehicle hit it from behind,” a policeman of the traffic police said over telephone. Koirala was driving to the airport to catch a flight to Lumbini, birthplace of Lord Buddha, to inaugurate an international conference on Buddhism.
Koirala returned to the capital later this afternoon as speculation gained momentum over a reshuffle of his 10-month-old cabinet Thursday or Friday. Koirala held a series of discussions this week with former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai on possible changes, political sources said.