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The government has relieved General Manager of the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Dim Prasad Paudel today.

A Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to remove Paudel from the top post of the NAC, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation said.

Earlier, the Ministry had asked for clarification from Paudel. The government had recalled Paudel to the Ministry saying that he was working against the norms and values of the NAC.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Ale had recommended the government to sack Paudel saying that he was working against the interest of the Corporation.

The erstwhile KP Sharma Oli-led government had appointed Paudel as the General Manager of the NAC for four years.

A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court against the government decision to reintroduce a two-day weekend—on Saturday and Sunday.

Advocates Tej Kumar Lohiya, Ram Bahadur Shahi, Santosh Bhandari, Trilok Chand and Deepak Khanal among others filed the writ petition arguing that the government decided to grant a two-day weekend without thinking about the long term effect.

Saying that the government’s decision to give two days of holiday in a week will have a huge impact on the economic, education and health sector, the advocates have demanded that the government roll back its decision to grant a two-day weekend at the earliest.

Police on Monday arrested seven persons for their alleged involvement in gang-raping a 16-year old girl in Banke.

According to DSP Mukunda Neupane of the District Police Office, Banke, the detainees have been identified as Hem Raj Tharu, Raj Kumar Tharu, Bikrant Tharu, Nirajan Tharu, Prabin Tharu, Bishwonath Tharu and Nirdeshan Tharu.

The incident occurred on Saturday night. 

According to a preliminary investigation, Hem Raj Tharu had invited the girl to celebrate his birthday. They had become friends through Facebook a year ago. 

The girl reached Phulbari at Mankhola in Baijanath Rural Municipality-8 by a bus. 

Hem Raj along with his friends, who had gathered at the Phulbari to celebrate the birthday, started consuming alcohol and also offered it to the girl. 

When they got intoxicated, Hem Raj along with his friends raped her, police said. 

Later, they took the girl, who fell unconscious after the incident, to a pig farm of Bikrant on a motorbike at Pipari in Baijanath-8 where they raped her again. 

Police said that they rounded up the culprits while they were taking the girl to Nepalgunj. 

Further investigation into the incident is underway.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged by 12. 89 points to close at 2,065.82 points on Monday. 

Similarly, the sensitive index fell 3. 12 points to reach 400. 36 points.

A total of 4,409,691 units of shares of 228 companies were traded for Rs 1. 27 billion.

Likewise, all sub-indices saw red in today’s market except for Development Bank, Finance, Manu & Pro, Others, Microfinance and Mutual Fund. 

Meanwhile, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Himalayan Bank Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 9.99 percent. 

At the end of the day, total market civilization stands at Rs 2. 94 trillion.

Nepal reported 21 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 990 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which seven returned positive. Likewise, 1, 258 people underwent antigen tests, of which 14 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that eight infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 109 active cases in the country.

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa has urged the government to stop terrifying people in the name of embossed number plate.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, he urged the government to be serious on the issue of embossed number plate.

Leader Thapa said that the government's directive to install embossed number plates in all vehicles was an atrocity against the citizens.

Earlier, the Department of Transport Management had issued a notice asking people of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces to install embossed number plates to their vehicles by mid-July.

The Department said that action would be taken against those who do not affix embossed number plates to their vehicles.

Saying that it would be too expensive to install embossed number plates, Thapa urged the government to review its decision at the earliest.

An embossed number plate is camera-readable and contains a microchip, which is connected to the vehicle’s GPS system so that the vehicle can be located in the event of theft or accident.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) increased by 0. 89 points to reach 2, 079.60 points in the pre-open session on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0. 47 points.

As many as 1, 130 shares of four companies were traded at Rs 430, 080.

At least 25 persons are confirmed to have died after a bus carrying 28 tourists from Panna district in Madhya Pradesh and two staffers fell in a 150-metre-deep gorge in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Sunday evening, The Indian Express reported.

According to officials of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), which is involved in the rescue and relief operation along with the district administration, 25 bodies have been recovered and the five injured people taken to a nearby hospital. The passengers were on their way to Yamunotri Dham in Uttarkashi.

“On Sunday evening we were informed that around 4 km ahead of Damta, under the Purola police station area, a tourist bus fell into a gorge. The bus reportedly had 28-30 passengers and fell into a 150-metre-deep gorge. Soon after getting the information, SDRF teams reached the spot and started a rescue operation. Backup teams from Ujeli, Mori, Chakrata, and Sahastradhara posts have also been sent,” read a statement issued by the SDRF.

“So far, we have recovered 25 bodies from the spot and five were injured. As per unverified information, one of the injured died during treatment. There were a total of 30 persons on the bus–28 pilgrims, a driver and a conductor,” said an SDRF official, adding that the rescue operation was going on.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the kin of those killed in the accident. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each.

In a tweet from the PMO India Twitter account, Modi said the bus accident in Uttarakhand was heart-wrenching. “I express my condolences to those who lost their loved ones. The local administration in the supervision of the state government is trying to provide every possible help,” he tweeted, according to The Indian Express.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the disaster control room in Dehradun and directed the district administration to carry out relief and rescue work expeditiously. Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked to Dhami over the incident and said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams had also been deployed to help with the search and rescue operation.

“The information of a bus carrying devotees falling into a gorge is sad. I have talked to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the incident. Local administration and SDRF teams are involved in the rescue operation and those injured are being taken to nearby hospitals. The NDRF will also reach there soon,” Shah tweeted.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the death of the pilgrims from Panna was unfortunate. “I and my team are in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government and district administration. Arrangements are being made for the treatment of the injured and bringing the bodies of the deceased to Madhya Pradesh. The families should not consider themselves alone in this time of crisis. We all are with the grieving families,” he tweeted, The Indian Express reported.