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Pokhara: The Annapurna Express has launched a Pokhara special campaign targeting Pokhara and its neighboring areas. As part of this campaign, a team of ApEx conducted a door-to-door program in Pokhara on Saturday morning, where people were informed about the materials published in The Annapurna Express. They were also informed about the daily’s advertising and subscription plans.  The team also discussed and consulted with the representatives of various organizations in Pokhara about potential cooperation. The daily has decided to report and publish news, advertising and subscription plans targeting Pokhara. In the coming days, ApEx will play a key role in making Pokhara’s tourism sector known to the world.  According to Annapurna Media Network’s Deputy General Manager Bikash Shrestha, an annual subscriber of The Annapurna Express will get two movie tickets of Cineplex cinema, Rs 500 worth discount coupon of Foodmandu, two tickets of Annapurna Cable Car and a health check-up coupon worth Rs 6,000 on behalf of Kathmandu Mediciti Hospital.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 28. 31 points to close at 1,838.48 points on Sunday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 24 points to close at 348. 79 points. A total of 3,843,713-unit shares of 268 companies were traded for Rs 1. 15 billion. Meanwhile, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 97 percent. Likewise, Machhapuchhre Bank Debenture was the top loser with its price dropped by 7. 75 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 66 trillion.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party has suspended lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha after his audio of asking for Rs 20 million bribe with medical entrepreneur Durga Prasain was leaked. An office bearers’ meeting of the party held on Sunday decided to suspend lawmaker Shrestha. RSP Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar said that Shrestha has been suspended for a week. “This is a sensitive issue. He has been suspended for a week. He will be asked to furnish clarification,” he said. In the audiotape, lawmaker Shrestha was heard asking Rs 20 million with Prasain saying that he had to pay the money to the party to become health minister.    

The Rastriya Swatantra Party is to take action against lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha. RSP Vice-President Dol Prasad Aryal said that the party is preparing to expel lawmaker Shrestha after the audio of him asking for kickback with medical entrepreneur Durga Prasain was leaked. “We have got information about the matter. We will take necessary action after carrying out an investigation,” he said. In the audiotape, lawmaker Shrestha was heard asking the bribe with Prasain saying that he had to pay Rs 20 million to the party to become health minister.  

A helicopter belonging to Heli Everest crashed in Dhaulagiri of Myagdi district on Sunday. The chopper, which had lost contact with the air traffic controller since this morning, crashed near Dhaulagiri Base Camp. Tribhuvan International Airport spokesperson Teknath Sitaula said that the incident occurred at 11 am while the helicopter was heading towards Dhaulagiri Base Camp from Italian Base Camp. He said that pilot Priya Adhikari survived the incident. It has been said that she has sustained minor injuries. Another helicopter is heading towards the incident site to carry out a rescue operation. Earlier on Saturday, a helicopter of Air Dynasty met with an accident at the helipad of HAMS Hospital.

The gold is being traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday. The price of yellow metal had increased by Rs 200 per tola on Sunday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 500 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola today.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said that Rs 853 billion will be required for the development of hydropower projects, transmission line projects, and distribution networks in the next five years. In a presentation to newly appointed Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet by NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising, the state-owned power utility has estimated a capital requirement of Rs 437 billion for under-construction projects while Rs 853 billion will be required for both under-construction and planned projects According to the presentation obtained by the Annapurna Express, the largest amount will be required for transmission projects. It will require Rs 548 billion for under-construction and planned transmission line projects in the next five years followed by Rs 162 billion for the generation of electricity through its subsidiary companies. NEA said that it is seeking Rs 65 billion for the generation of power. As much as Rs 56 billion will be required for the distribution while Rs 19 billion will be needed for engineering and energy efficiency. According to NEA, the funding gap is one of the biggest challenges for the power utility body in developing hydropower projects, transmission line projects, and distribution networks. Managing a huge fund gap for generation, transmission, and distribution Infrastructure Development has been mentioned as one of the major challenges in Ghising's presentation. “The existing resources are not adequate and managing resources is challenging as the government is failing to collect enough revenue,” said a senior NEA official. “Without mobilizing soft loans from the donors, it will be difficult to raise sufficient resources.” According to the official, another challenge has been to spend the available budget. “Because of the issue of land acquisition and forest clearance, among others, project implementation has been difficult,” the official said. NEA has planned to add 10,874km to its existing network of transmission lines in the next five years starting from the beginning of the current fiscal year. By mid-March, Nepal added 219 km to its network while 3114km is expected to be added from under-construction projects while the extension of 7541km has been planned from the planned projects. Big transmission infrastructure is being planned in and around the Kathmandu Valley. The state-owned power utility has a master plan for transmission infrastructure for Kathmandu Valley considering the electricity demands as late as 2050. As per the plan, there will be a power demand of 3100MW by 2050. The current infrastructure is okay for sustaining the power demands of just 500MW. The NEA has planned 132kV and 220kV underground transmission lines within the Kathmandu Valley. Likewise, a 220kV transmission ring around the hills of the Kathmandu Valley has also been planned on government-owned land. It will also have to generate resources for constructing three more high-capacity cross-border transmission lines with India. According to the NEA, it needs resources of Rs 198.84 billion in the next five years for the purpose of rural electrification, substation upgrading and automation, system reinforcement and loss reduction, reliability improvement, and smart meter installation. NEA is also involved in developing 100MW Tamakoshi 5, 60MW Modi, 635MW Dudhkoshi Storage, 1061MW Upper Arun, and 210MW Chainpur Seti hydropower projects. The combined cost of the development of these projects has been estimated at USD Rs 588.11 billion.

Five new dry ports are being planned in the northern border points by the government. The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB) has initiated a study to develop new dry ports in five locations along the Nepal-China border. Currently, there is only one dry port in operation along the China border i.e., Tatopani Dry Port while another one in Rasuwagadhi is under construction. The Rasuwagadhi dry port is a gift from the Chinese government. Once the construction is completed, it will have space for 350 container trucks, a warehouse, a parking lot, a customs building, and a quarantine facility. The NITDB, the government agency which manages the inland clearance depots, has begun the study to develop dry ports in Nechung (Mustang), Olangchung Gola (Taplejung), Yari (Humla), Kimathanka (Sankhuwasabha) and Tinje Dho (Dolpa). Of them, the feasibility study of the Nechung dry port has been completed. The NITDB Executive Director Ashish Gajurel said that the detailed project report (DPR) of the Nechung is currently being prepared. Similarly, pre-feasibility studies of Olangchung Gola and Yari dry ports have been completed. However, the DPR has not been carried forward as the road has not reached reach there. The board has recently selected a consultant for conducting the pre-feasibility study of the Kimathanka and Tinje Dho dry ports. The NITDB engineer Shobhakant Raut said that the study will be completed in the current fiscal year. According to Gajurel, the construction of these dry ports will ease foreign trade with China. "As there are not enough dry ports in the northern border, the bilateral trade with China has not grown as expected. That is why, we have advanced the plan to make more dry ports," he said. Currently, the Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani are the two border crossings for the overland route open for trade between Nepal and China. However, not all of these projects will not be built immediately. According to NITDB, a pre-feasibility study has shown that the dry port will be feasible only after the construction of the North-South corridor roads (Koshi, Kaligandaki, and Karnali) are built. But the study has shown the necessity of dry ports in these locations. However, the all-weather road has not reached the places where the proposed dry ports are being planned. "As of now, we have done a feasibility study as a preliminary preparation. The construction will proceed only after the road reaches there," said Raut. Two dry ports on the southern border The board has also started the process of developing dry ports at two locations on the southern border at Jaleshwor (Mahottari) and Dodhara-Chadni (Mahendranagar). The pre-feasibility study of Jaleshwar dry port has been completed. The Dodhra-Chandni dry port is being studied by the Indian government. Currently, four dry ports are in operation at Bhairahawa, Birgunj, Biratnagar, and Kakadbhitta along the Nepal-India border. And, one more dry port is being constructed in Nepalgunj with a grant of Rs 3.20 billion from the Indian government. The dry port is being built in Nepalgunj since it is the fifth largest trading point of Nepal and is closer to the Indian capital New Delhi, which would make imports by Nepal easier.