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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that he was serious in addressing several demands of contractors.

The Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Finance and other line ministries to promptly address the demands, including payment of completed works and Value Added Tax on mutual coordination, informed Spokesperson of the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Narayan Prasad Bhatta.

In order to resolve the problem, a six-member taskforce has been formed under the coordination of Public Procurement Monitoring Office Secretary Dr Damodar Regmi with joint-secretaries of line ministries as members.

The committee is mandated to submit the report within 15 days after conducting necessary consultations and coordination with different stakeholders.

The taskforce comprises representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development among others.

The contractors have been staging demonstrations since June 30 demanding that the government make payments for their completed works.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola on Sunday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 750 per tola. It was traded at Rs 110, 550 per tola.

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

Contractors have staged a demonstration in the Capital on Monday also demanding that the government make payments for their completed works.

The contractors staged the demonstration in front of the Department of Road in Chakupat and Department of Irrigation in Jawalakhel.

The contractors have been staging the protest since June 30 demanding a formation of a high-level talks team to address the demands of contractors, extension of the contracts, overdue payments and adjustment of price among others.

The contractors from all over the country have come to the Capital to make the protest successful, contractor Raju Karki said.

They said that they will continue their protest until the government addresses their demands.

Janamat Party lawmaker Anita Devi Sah took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday.

President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to lawmaker Sah amidst a program held in Sheetal Niwas this morning.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had recommended Sah as the Minister for General Administration by removing General Administration Minister Aman Lal Modi.

Sah was elected as the lawmaker under the PR category.

Before being elected as the lawmaker, she had lost the election to the post of deputy mayor of Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City in the local level election.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the working style of Modi and to rope in Janamat Party in the government, an office-bearers meeting of the CPN (Maoist Center) had decided to recall him.

Along with President Paudel, Vice-President Ram Sahay Yadav, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Speaker Devraj Ghimire and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina were present in the swearing-in ceremony.

Earlier, Janamat Party’s Abdul Khan had got the responsibility of the Ministry of Drinking Water.

The party, however, quit the government expressing dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Dahal.

The water level in the rain-fed Narayani river has crossed the danger mark.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the Narayani river crossed the danger mark at 5.51 am on Monday.

With the constant rise in the water level in the river, the local administrations have asked the river side settlements in Chitwan and Nawalparasi to adopt safety alerts.

According to the Weather Forecasting Division, heavy rainfall is likely to take place in different parts of the country today.

Floods triggered by heavy rains on Sunday evening wreaked havoc at Kagbeni in Warjung Muktichhetra-4 of Mustang.

According to a preliminary investigation, the flood triggered by torrential rainfall in the Thado Khola last night washed away around two dozen houses.

Warjung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality Chairman Rinjin Namgel Gurung said that the floods swept away houses, shops, hotels, police station and ward office among other structures.

Likewise, the flood in the Kagbeni river also washed away religious shrines and temples.

The flood caused partial damage to the house where NMB Bank is located and Janashakti Secondary School.

The sudden flood has swept away goods of half a dozen houses and houses in the southeast of Kagbeni river have been completely destroyed.

The flood also washed away a temporary bridge and an under construction bridge that would connect Josom and Korala.

Similarly, it has been said that the flood also swept away two parked vehicles.

Earlier on Sunday evening, the landslide had blocked the Thado Muktinath Kagkhola in Kagbeni.

Following the incidents, the locals have been moved to safer places.

Chief District Officer of Mustang Anup KC said that no human casualties have been reported so far.

He said that preparations are underway to collect the details of the properties destroyed and damaged by the floods.

CDO KC further said that a team of security personnel has left for the incident site to carry out rescue operations.

The water level in Saptakoshi river has crossed this year's highest mark due to the torrential rainfall in the eastern hilly districts.

DSP Raj Kumar Rai of the District Police Office, Sunsari said that all the 56 sluices of the Saptakoshi barrage have been opened after the water level crossed the danger level.

He said that all the people of the riverside settlements have been urged to stay on high alert.

The water flow in the river had reached 442,000 cusec on Sunday night. The water flow was measured at 439, 000 cusec on Monday morning, DSP Rai said.

It is considered as dangerous after the water level crosses 150, 000 cusec in the river.

A red light has been lit as a sign of danger at the Koshi Barrage, which is under India’s control.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s crackdown has severely affected the livelihood of street vendors, a study has revealed.

The study conducted by Center for Informal Economy and Hope for Change Nepal found that many street vendors are having to seek loans to sustain their daily life, as they can no longer ply their trade.

One hundred and thirty street vendors were interviewed for the study, and nearly 89 percent of them said that they were borrowing money to live.

The study, which was presented during an event in Kathmandu, also noted that only a small minority of street vendors have relocated their businesses elsewhere, while some still sell goods on streets hiding from the municipal police.

Nearly 68 percent of the study participants considered street trading their main occupation. 

In terms of the types of products sold on streets, the study found that 50 percent of vendors sold fruits, 25 percent sold clothing and accessories, 10 percent sold footwear, while others sold vegetables, food snacks and beauty products.

Approximately 44 percent of sidewalk business customers belong to the low and middle-income classes, with 17.7 percent falling into unspecified categories.

Furthermore, the study revealed that the KMC failed to return the goods confiscated from street vendors. It was also found that 95 percent of the vendors had not registered their businesses, while 56 percent were unaware of the business registration process. It was also found that nearly 55 percent of the street vendors were aware about the KMC’s monitoring efforts, whereas about 45 percent were uninformed.

To conduct the study, input was gathered from street vendors, consumers, local households, metropolitan police, ward chairpersons, and provincial assembly lawmakers from Bagmati province through various channels. The study encompassed the perspectives of participants from 83 municipalities across 39 different districts throughout the country.

The removal of street vendors has been positively received by pedestrians and local households. They  believe that the city’s actions have led to quieter and cleaner streets, improved walkability, reduced traffic, and less pollution.