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Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to ensure regular power supply during the festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Nepal Sambat, Chhath and others.

The Minister called the NEA executive director Kulman Ghising, deputy executive director Manoj Silwal and Chief of the NEA's load-dispatch center Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai to his office in Singha Durbar, and directed them as well as the chiefs of the NEA's distribution centers within the Kathmandu Valley to make arrangements for regular power supply.

He directed NEA to distribute maximum power to the industries and enterprises during the festival time, and also suggested that the excess power is also not wasted.

The energy minister urged NEA to make its no-light centers more responsible, to make arrangements for receiving the phone calls from customers promptly and to manage a rapid team for reaching the consumer's house within minutes in case of any problem.

Minister Basnet is also the Chairperson of the NEA Board of Directors.

On the occasion, Ministry Secretary Gopal Sigdel directed the NEA executive director and other officials to provide services keeping the consumers in the center.

Executive director Ghising informed that human resources have been managed and will be mobilized in the Valley and urban areas round-the-clock.

He said that he will be monitoring and inspecting the distribution centers during the festival time, so that there will be no complaints from consumers.

"We have made efforts as far as possible to prevent wastage of power. Preparations have also been made to supply the excess power to the Indian market, but the final consent has not been received yet (from the Indian side)," he said.

The government has started granting Nepali citizenship to non-resident Nepalis (NRNs). As part of this initiative, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal provided NRN citizenship certificates to President of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Kul Acharya and Executive President Badri KC amidst a function organized at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday.

The District Administration Office (DAO), Kathmandu had issued an NRN citizenship certificate in KC’s name on Monday, while DAO, Parbat had issued the certificate in Acharya’s name on Sunday. 

The issuance of citizenship papers to NRNs is in line with Article 14 of the Constitution of Nepal which states, “The non-residential citizenship of Nepal may be so granted to a person who has acquired the citizenship of a foreign country, has resided in a country other than a member-state of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and who or whose father or mother, grandfather or grandmother was previously a citizen of Nepal by descent or birth but subsequently acquired the citizenship of the foreign country that such person may enjoy economic, social and cultural rights in accordance with the Federal law.”

The government had amended the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2063, to provide Nepali citizenship to NRNs for the protection of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Per the amended Act, those who have NRN citizenship cannot participate in politics, hold government positions and vote. But they can do business and also own property in Nepal.

The NRN citizenship can be revoked if the person acquiring the citizenship is found to have acted against the independence, sovereignty, geographical integrity and national interest.

Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dinesh Bhattarai, informed that the government has made arrangements to distribute NRN citizenship certificates from all 77 districts. This means NRNs can apply for such certificates from today itself. NRNA had been demanding citizenship certificates for NRNs for a long time.

After receiving the citizenship, KC thanked the government and lauded the initiative themed “Once a Nepali, forever a Nepali”.

“Citizenship is not just a paper. It’s a responsibility. The Nepalis living abroad should also contribute to the motherland’s prosperity,” KC stressed.

Stating that the Nepali diasporas have played significant roles in the development of several countries, Acharya mentioned that citizenship has connected people residing abroad with the motherland.

Prime Minister Dahal said that granting citizenship to non-resident Nepalis is a great achievement, reminding that it had become possible after much struggle and effort.

Dahal recalled that he had tried quite hard to include provisions on granting citizenship to NRNs with economic and cultural rights in the Constitution of Nepal, adding that the President, as requested by his government, had authenticated the Citizenship Bill. “I believe that millions of non-resident Nepalis now well understand as to whose struggle and initiative has made all this (granting of NRN citizenship) possible,” he said, asking the Nepali community living abroad to spread the word.

Meanwhile, President Ramchandra Paudel has expressed confidence that the provision on granting citizenship to Non-Resident Nepalis will bring them closer to Nepal.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1,300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 113, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 111, 900 per tola on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 112, 650 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 350 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,375 per tola today.  

A youth of Gaur, Rautahat was shot dead by a group of unidentified persons at Ramgadhuwa Bazaar in Bihar of India on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Dilip Singh (40) of Gaur Municipality-9.

Police have suspected that the unidentified persons opened fire at Singh, who had been working as an accountant at Shivashakti Rice and Flour Mill in Ramgadhuwa Bazaar for the past few years, with an intention to rob the money.

Singh was returning from Muzaffarpur, India after collecting money when the unidentified group shot him near the mill.

Singh, who received a bullet in his chest, died on the spot, Gaur Municipality-9 Chairman Arjun Singh said.

It has been learnt that the gang also robbed INR 2.9 million off Singh.

Police said that they have recovered a Bolero jeep (BR 29 G 7851) from the incident site.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, Indian police said.

DSP Damodar KC of the District Police Office, Rautahat confirmed the incident.

The body has been handed over to the family members following due process, police said.

Nepal are taking on the UAE in their first match of the T20 International Triangular Series at the Mulpani Cricket Ground in Kathmandu this afternoon.

Nepal and the UAE have so far faced each other five times. In the race, Nepal won two matches and the UAE three.  

The Nepali team led by captain Rohit Kumar Poudel comprises Ashif Sheikh, Kushal Bhurtel, Deependra Singh Airee, Saneep Jora, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Pratish GC, Lalit Narayan Rajbamshi, Abhinash Bohora, Bibek Yadav, Sagar Dhakal, Binod Bhandari, Lokesh Bam, Surya Tamang and Shyam (Mausam) Dhakal.

Eighteen Nepali nationals, who were rescued from war-torn Israel, have arrived in India.

The 18 Nepalis arrived in the southern neighbor through the ‘Operation Ajay’ campaign of the Indian government.

Nepali Ambassador India Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma welcomes the rescued Nepalis at the Delhi Airport. He said that transportation has been arranged for them to go to Nepal.

Taking to social media, he said, “families are excited as they return home during Dashain.”

Earlier, the Nepal government had evacuated 253 Nepali students from Israel after the armed attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the war-hit West Asian country. They were airlifted by a Nepal Airlines plane.

Ten Nepali students were killed and four others sustained injuries in the attacks by Hamas. One is still unaccounted for.

The Foreign Ministry said that they are searching for missing Bipin Joshi.

The three injured are in the protection of the Tel Aviv-based Nepali Embassy.

The Foreign Ministry said that preparations are being made to repatriate the bodies of Nepali students killed in Israel.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reached Mustang on Wednesday. He landed at the Jomsom Airport at 7:45 am today.

Province In-Charge Devendra Paudel, District In-Charge Kapil Lama, Chief District Officer Janak Raj Panta and security personnel among others welcomed him at the airport.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Upper Mustang and to address an interaction related to climate and a joint district assembly in Jomsom.

A person died when a motorbike and EV microbus collided with each other at Sundarbasti in Dhulilkhel among the BP Highway on Wednesday.

The electric vehicle (Pradesh 03-001 Ja 0298) heading towards Manthali from Kathmandu collided head-on with the two-wheeler (Ba 64 Pa 1772) at around 6:30 am today.

Ramila Budhathoki (20) of Manthali Municipality-12, who was traveling in the microbus, was critically injured in the incident.

DSP Raj Kumar Shrestha of the District Police Office, Kavre said that Budhathoki  breathed her last during the course of treatment at the Dhulikhel Hospital at around 7:30 am.

He said that Pushpa Tamang of Manthali Municipality-1, Tanka Prasad Dahal of Likhu Tamakoshi Rural Municipality-6, Gyanu Dhungel of Manthali Municipality-2, Rikit Dhungel of Manthali Municipality-1, Anil Ale Magar of Likhu Tamakoshi Rural Municipality-6 and Urmila Ghimire of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-3, Sindhuli were also injured in the incident. They were traveling in the electric bus.

DSP Shrestha said that bike rider Ram Kumar Rai (40) of Thakthum Rural Municipality-3, Ilam and his wife Prabisa Sunuwar (39) sustained injuries on their back and left legs. They are being treated at the Dhulikhel Hospital.

Police said that they have taken bus driver Birendra Thapa (41) of Panauti Municipality-5, Kavre for investigation.