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The ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley each made significant contributions to civil engineering, with the construction of pyramids, ziggurats, and irrigation systems respectively. In fact, even the Ramayana, a Hindu epic, describes an incident where Lord Ram and his team constructed a bridge of stones over a sea. As human beings have evolved, so has civil engineering, with the field experiencing every transition phase of homo sapiens. Today, we rely on civil engineering structures 24/7, whether directly or indirectly. Every civil engineering project has a story that involves the application of mathematics and physics. Because of this, civil engineering is always a topic of discussion among society members, making it a common belief.  Civil engineers have accomplished incredible feats of construction that were once considered unimaginable. However, the current state of civil engineering in Nepal presents a surreal situation. The construction projects in Nepal have yet to leave a significant impact on the world stage. Challenges to proper urbanization such as poorly constructed roads, inadequate drainage systems, congested traffic, polluted air, uneven population distribution, and lack of access to clean drinking water are some of the major civil engineering issues currently facing Nepal. Are there any concrete plans for the future of civil engineering in Nepal, particularly with regards to addressing global warming? Furthermore, how is Nepal progressing towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Currently ranked 91 with a score of 66.18 out of 100, there is still work to be done. It is troubling that Kathmandu consistently ranks among the top three most polluted cities in the world, with many visitors experiencing nasal and vision problems upon arrival. What are the areas in which we need to improve to address the issue of air pollution in Kathmandu? One of the objectives of the Sagarmatha Civil Engineering Student's Society (SCEnSS) at Sagarmatha Engineering College is to address civil engineering problems at a student level and bring attention to potential solutions. Collaborating with similar societies from other institutions can contribute to producing valuable insights. Students have the opportunity to concentrate on various areas, including:

• Organizing awareness programs
• Participating in research-oriented projects
• Developing projects related to diverse civil engineering concepts and challenges
• Co-Hosting events in partnership with national and international organizations

The Kathmandu District Court has allowed those arrested in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee scam to keep in custody for three more days. The District Public Prosecutor's Office had taken the 16 individuals who were apprehended on different dates to the Kathmandu District Court to extend the remand. Police are planning to submit the report prepared by conducting a 55-day long investigation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office today. Joint Attorney Achyutmani Neupane said that case will be registered in the Kathmandu District Court by Tuesday after the police submits the report. Police had started carrying out investigation from March 26 on the basis of the statements given by the victims. Police had prepared the report based on the statements and interrogations taken from various people including the 16 arrested in connection with the scam. The Public Prosecutor’s Office will register the case in the district court after studying the report for 24 hours. Former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, former lawmaker Angtawa Sherpa, Nepal Haj Committee Chairman Shumsher Miya, Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rijal, Keshav Dulal, Sanu Bhandari, Tanka Gurung, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Sandeep Rayamajhi, son to Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Indrajit Rai, aide of Bal Krishna Khand, Narendra KC, Ram Sharan KC and Govinda Chaudhary are in the custody. Niraj Rai and Pratik Thapa, who were involved in the same case, are on the run. Arrest warrants have already been issued against them. Pratik is the son of former home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and Niraj is the son of Indrajit Rai, who served as the security advisor of former home minister Thapa.    

The CPN (Maoist Centre) has denied any financial irregularities in the payment of the then members of the Maoist People's Liberation Army and other managerial works in the cantonments. Organizing a press meet at the party central office Parisdanda today, the party said the Office of the Auditor General had already cleared the matter and there were no irregularities in the budget meant for the supervision and management of ex-Maoist armies took place in the presence of government bodies. Party Vice Chair and Spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said a letter about the budget allocation to the cantonments and its expenditures was sent on June 1, 2012 to the Office of Cantonment Management Central Coordinator in Singha Durbar. The annual report of the Office of the Auditor General-2069 BS (page number 259) has mentioned about the audit of the cantonment expenditures, it has been learnt. The government on April 26, 2012 took a decision to convert around Rs 460 million allocated in advance for the supervision and management of the then Maoist armies in course of implementing the peace process to grants. The decision was based on the recommendations of the parliamentary Public Account Committee and the then Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction. Stating that the payments of salaries were made to the beneficiaries by issuing receipts, then the deputy commander of the Maoist Liberation Army and the CPN (Maoist Centre) Chakrapani Khanal accused the attempts of picking up an issue unnecessarily as 'the matter has been already concluded legally and practically'. There were not any financial irregularities in the cantonments and it could not be, he claimed. The Maoist Centre has asked the government to take a stern action against those involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam stating that its move in proceeding with investigations into the case undeterred has helped save the prestige of the state, and created encouragement and morale among people. The party has especially requested the government to do its maximum part and not to compromise on booking those involved in the scam, said Mahara. The Maoist Centre has emphasized on the need of effective implementation of the government policies and programs, noting that they include topics as realizing self-reliance by increasing production and productivity in agriculture and promoting employment. The governing party has expressed happiness stating the policy and program document incorporated creating at least 500,000 jobs, extending electricity to every household and completing the peace process, among others. The Maoist Centre said the government has tried to give positive message to the Nepali people by starting the process of initiating action against the people implicated in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, formulating laws for providing justice to the loan-sharking victims, enlisting the Nepalis in foreign employment in the social security fund. It also mentioned that for the first time the school students have got textbooks on time and planned initiatives have been undertaken for improving the economy. The Maoist Centre has called attention of the government to carry out additional positive and pro-people works ahead.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 5.88 points to close at 2,883.20 points on Sunday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.14 points to close at 358. 33 points. A total of 4,828,776-unit shares of 273 companies were traded for Rs 1. 60 billion. Meanwhile, Rastriya Beema Company Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Similarly, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 6.56 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 74 trillion.

Twenty lawmakers have registered an amendment proposal on the government policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year 2023/24. Speaker Devraj Ghimire informed the House about the registration of the amendment proposal at the Parliament Secretariat in today's meeting of the House of the Representatives. Shyam Kumar Ghimire and Dilendra Prasad Badu from the ruling Nepali Congress are among those lawmakers seeing the need to revise the government policies and programs that were presented on May 19 in the joint meeting of the federal Parliament by President Ramchandra Paudel. Yeknath Dhakal, Basudev Ghimire, Surya Bahadur Thapa Chhetri, Narayan Prasad Acharya, Juli Kumari Mahato (Mahaseth), Bhagawati Chaudhary, Jwala Kumari Shah, Dayal Bahadur Shahi, Damodar Poudel Bairagi, Mahesh Kumar Bartaula and Surya Prasad Dhakal are the main opposition lawmakers demanding amendment to the policies and programs. Likewise, Chandra Karki Bhandari, Shobita Gautam and Sumana Shrestha of Rastriya Swatantra Party, Chitra Bahadur KC of Rastriya Janamorcha, Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party, Gangaram Chaudhary of Nagarik Unmukti and Ram Prakash Chaudhary of Loktantrik Samajbadi Party have sought amendments to the policies and programs.

The government’s effort to expand the East-West Highway to four lanes has received a major boost with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approving $300m in loan assistance. For the last few years, the government has been working on expanding the different sections of the highway with loans, particularly from the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). It’s been five years since the government started the expansion of the highway to a four-lane, there is still a long way to go before the entire highway is expanded. The East-West Highway is the only highway that currently connects Nepal's eastern border to the western border through the southern plains, thus is economically vital for the country. Though the Mid-Hill Highway aims to connect the eastern to western borders of the country through the hill regions, it is still a work in progress. On Wednesday, ADB confirmed that it approved a $300m loan to expand the road from Kakarbhitta (Jhapa) to Laukahi (Sunsari) to a four-lane dual carriageway from the current two lanes. Issuing a press statement, ADB has said the 95-km road section of the highway is a vital component of transport connectivity with India and Bangladesh. The Manila-based lender is supporting the expansion of the highway as part of its South Asia Sub-Regional Cooperation Highway Improvement Project. According to ADB, the existing road section will be upgraded to an Asian Standard Class I and Nepal Road Standard Class II. The Department of Roads (DoR), the government agency under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport responsible for the expansion of the highway, has been working on the contractor selection process for the last several months. “We have sent the names of selected bidders to the ADB for approval,” said an official of the project directorate (Asian Development Bank) of DoR. “Once we get the approval, we plan to award the project to the contractor before the end of the current fiscal year in mid-July.” ADB has also financed the expansion of the Butwal-Narayanghat section of the East-West Highway. In Nov 2019, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, the contractor for this section of the road, formally started the work in the field. Though the original deadline for widening the road from the current two lanes to six was on 7 Aug 2022, physical progress of the work has remained less than 20 percent till the deadline, according to DoR. Then, the department extended the deadline by another 386 days. After DoR warned the Chinese contractor to terminate the contract, officials said that the contractor has now accelerated the work. "If the contractor continues at this pace, we should no longer terminate the contract,” a DoR official working at the Narayanghat-Butwal Road section said. According to the official, the contractor has also started blacktopping the road in certain sections. In October 2018, ADB approved loans amounting to $180m to expand the road from Kanchanpur in Saptari to Kamala in Siraha on the East-West Highway. “Construction work is currently underway in this 87km section of road,” said the official of the project directorate (ADB). However, DoR failed to call the tender for Kanchanpur to Laukahi section of the East-West Highway because of a delay in forest clearance. “As Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserves falls under the section of the road, we have not yet got forest clearance,” the official said, adding that a detailed project report of the section has already been prepared. Besides ADB, the World Bank has also been supporting the expansion of a number of sections of the East-West Highway. An official at the Foreign Aid Implementation Section of DoR said that a detailed design is being prepared with the assistance of the World Bank to expand the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathalaiya section of the highway stretching 130 kilometers. Likewise, DoR is also preparing a detailed design for the expansion of the 59 km Butwal-Gurusinghe-Chanauta section of the East-West Highway. “Detailed designs of both sections will be finalized in the next 3-4 months,” said the department official. “Our plan is to invite biddings and award contracts in the next fiscal year 2023/24.” In June 2020, the World Bank approved a loan package of $450 to improve the Kamala-Dhalkebar-Pathlaiya road section of the East-West Highway along with the Nagdhunga-Naubise-Mugling road section of the Prithvi Highway. The World Bank is supporting for improvement of these road sections as a part of its Nepal Strategic Road Connectivity and Trade Improvement Project. According to the World Bank, both road sections are crucial to Nepal’s connectivity and trade with India and other countries.

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has demanded fair and impartial investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. Speaking at a House meeting on Sunday, Oli expressed his suspicion that attempts are being made to protect the culprits in the case. “Attempts are being made to protect the culprits and frame the innocent,” he said, adding, “Investigation should be carried out in a fair manner and action should be taken against the guilty.” The former prime minister said that police should be allowed to investigate the incident impartially. Why were those arrested on the basis of complaints filed earlier were released? he questioned. “Police did not release them. They were forced to free them. Do not dare to cover-up the issue,” Oli warned. So far 16 individuals including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, former lawmaker Angtawa Sherpa and Nepal Haj Committee Chairman Shumsher Miya have been arrested.

The House of Representatives (HoR), lower house of the Federal Parliament, has started deliberations on the policies and programs of the government. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal presented a proposal in the meeting of the lower house today seeking the initiation of deliberations on the government's policies and programs for the fiscal year 2023/24. President Ram Chandra Paudel addressed the joint meeting of both houses of the federal Parliament on May 19 and read out the government's policies and programs.