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Eight people have died of dengue infection in Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City.

Umesh Mehta, Chief of Health Division, said that the deceased are four men and four women.

Mehta said that a 10-year-old boy of Dharan-11 died in the last 24 hours in Dharan.

The child died during the course of treatment on Wednesday.

Earlier, one woman each of Dharan-17 on June 13, Dharan-11 on June 30, Dharan-18 on July 18, Dharan-5 on July 19 and one man each of Dharan-11 on July 18, Dharan-2 on July 23 and Dharan-10 on July 24 died of dengue infection.

BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan has started the treatment by operating a separate dengue hospital after dengue became endemic to Dharan.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr Prahlad Karki said that a separate dengue hospital was brought into operation to facilitate the treatment of patients after Dharan has been overwhelmed by dengue patients.

President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday authenticated the bill aimed at taking action against loan sharks.

The President’s Office said that President Paudel certified the bill ‘to amend some other Nepal Acts including Civil Code 2080.

President Paudel authenticated the bill endorsed by both the Houses as per Article 113 (2) of the Constitution.

It will get the legal status after it is published in the Nepal gazette.

The Upper House on Thursday unanimously endorsed the bill aimed at taking action against loan sharks. With the National Assembly endorsing a bill ‘to amend some other Nepal Acts including Civil Code 2080’, the passage has been cleared for its authentication from the President.

Tabling the bill, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Dhanraj Gurung said that since the period of the ordinance related to usurious lending has expired, the bill had to be brought as an amendment to some other Nepal Acts to provide the justice of the loan shark victims. 

Following a series of protests from the loan shark victims, the government on May 3 had issued an ordinance to criminalize usurious lending and provide justice to the victimized borrowers. The government also formed an inquiry commission led by Gauri Bahadur Karki to collect complaints from the victims and study them based on the ordinance. The government and the victims on April 1, had reached an agreement to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalize unscrupulous lending.

Since the ordinance has to be endorsed by the parliament within 60 days, the government tabled the replacement bill at the National Assembly on June 20 and the national assembly passed the bill on June 30.  The replacement bill to the ordinance was supposed to be endorsed from the House of Representatives on July 5. However, as the opposition parties including main opposition CPN(UML) obstructed the parliament against a controversial statement made by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the bill couldn’t be endorsed.

With the expiry of the ordinance and failure to endorse from the parliament created a legal vacuum in the investigations, the government again tabled the bill at the House of Representatives which endorsed it on July 17. However, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina initially refused to include the bill in the proceedings of the upper house and sought opinion from the Attorney General’s Office.

The bill has taken a significant step by criminalizing the practice of lending money at exorbitant interest rates through unfair transactions. It establishes provisions for imprisonment of up to seven years and imposes fines of up to Rs 70,000 on individuals engaged in such predatory lending practices. This move aims to protect vulnerable borrowers from falling into debt traps and to deter loan sharks from exploiting people in dire financial situations.

In addition to criminalizing predatory lending practices, the bill has defined the forcible transfer of a debtor’s immovable property through threats, violence, or exploitation for debt recovery as an unfair transaction. Furthermore, the bill addresses the issue of exorbitant interest rates by stating that charging interest to the extent that it exceeds the principal amount is punishable. 

The commission has opened its office in Janakpur, the capital of Madhes Province, as it will be easier for the victims to share their problems. Most of the loan shark victims are from districts of the Terai region.  Of the 24,000 complaints received by the Karki commission, majority are from eight districts of Madhesh and Nawalparasi (Susta West). The commission has settled around 1,800 complaints so far and returned 8 bigha of land to victims from lenders.

Two persons died and three others were injured in a car accident on Friday.

District Police Range, Kathmandu deputy speaker Anil Adhikari said that the car (Ba 10 Cha 3546) was heading towards Chitlang from Kathmandu when the incident occurred near Panighat today.

The deceased have been identified as car driver Nawaraj Thokar Tamang (20) and Anil Tamang (45).

The reason behind the accident is yet to be ascertained, police said.

Police said that five persons were traveling in the four-wheeler.

Koshi Province Acting Chief Minister Hikmat Karki said that the CPN-UML is ready to form a new government together with the Nepali Congress.

Karki, who was reinstated after the Supreme Court removed Congress province Parliamentary Party leader Uddhav Thapa from the post of chief minister, took charge as the acting chief minister today.

Speaking to journalists at the Biratnagar Airport this afternoon, he said that the UML will not be the stumbling block for the prosperity of the province.

Karki said that the country’s largest parties—Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—could go together.

“We can go ahead by forming a new government if the Nepali Congress is ready to work with the UML for democracy and good governance. We are open,” he said.

Karki said that discussions are going on for the same.

“We are ready to give the post of chief minister. The party should be ready to give the post of chief minister if it has no majority. But I do not agree with the proposal to change the leadership on the rotation basis,” he said.

Karki said that the UML could also go to the office of the province chief for the formation of a new government by garnering a majority.

Madhya-Pahadi Lokmarga Project Engineer Hari Kumar Pokharel has been arrested on the charge of raping a woman.

District Police Range, Kathmandu deputy speaker Anil Adhikari confirmed the arrest of Pokharel.

A few days ago, a woman of Ramechhap and currently residing in Kathmandu had filed a complaint at Women Cell of the Kalimati Police Beat saying that she was raped by Pokharel.

Based on the same complaint, police apprehended Pokharel.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 900 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 112, 600 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 113, 500 per tola on Thursday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 112, 050 per tola.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 40 and is being traded at Rs 1,450 per tola today.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has invited United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres to visit Nepal.

PM Dahal said that he extended an invitation to visit Nepal to Secretary General Guterres while returning home from Rome, Italy after taking part in a program of the United Nations.

Speaking to journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport, PM Dahal said that United Nations Secretary General Guterres will visit Nepal soon.

“I have extended an invitation to the Secretary General of the United Nations to visit Nepal. He will visit Nepal soon,” the PM said.

On the sidelines of the event, Prime Minister Dahal had held a meeting with the UN Secretary General in Rome.

During the meeting, they discussed Nepal-UN relations, Nepal’s contribution to establish world peace, climate change and food security among other issues.