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 Nepalese Young Entrepre­neurs’ Forum (NYEF) is set to host the sixth edition of the ‘Made in Nepal’ exhibition in the Capital from March 16.

Issuing a press statement last week, NYEF officials said that the three-day event aims to promote entrepreneurship and domestic goods and services. The event will display prod­ucts like garments, automo­biles, handicrafts, agriculture, leather, furniture, travel and tours, cottage industry, herbal products, fashion designing, music and movies.

With the slogan ‘Afno Bhanya Afnai Ho’, which is a repeat of last year’s edition, the idea, according to the organiz­ers, is to reinforce the percep­tion that Nepali products can also be on a par with interna­tional products.

Himalayan Bank Ltd (HBL), a leading commercial bank, has announced an attractive cash-back offer for its customers upon using a Visa card while shopping via an online portal or POS ter­minal within Nepal. HBL Visa cardholders will get the cash-back offer of up to 10 per cent when they use their Visa Debit, Visa Credit or Visa Prepaid cards, as per a press release.

According to the bank, a cus­tomer will get a five per cent monthly cash back across POS merchant terminals and 10 per cent monthly cash back on online shopping when they use their Visa Debit, Visa Credit and Visa Pre­paid cards within Nepal. Further, the customer’s account will be credited by equivalent cash at the end of the Nepali month.

Mahindra and Mahindra Limited has opened an authorized showroom in Fungling, the district head­quarters of Taplejung, through the company’s autho­rized distributor for Nepal, Agni Incorporated Pvt Ltd. Province 1 assembly members Bal Bahadur Samsohang and Hom Kumari Sanwa, and Country Director of Mahindra and Mahindra, Tapas Patan­ayak, jointly inaugurated the showroom at a function last week.

Currently, the showroom is displaying pick-up vans, jeeps, and tractors of the Mahindra Company. A vehi­cle repair shop has also been opened in Fungling to service Mahindra products.

Nepal Riders’ Meet is slowly estab­lishing itself as one of the sought after riding events in Nepal, wherein Royal Enfield riders bond over a weekend of pure motorcycling madness. With the recently concluded second NRM at Sunsari, Royal Enfield riders from Nepal and India got another opportunity to strengthen this biking camaraderie. The three-day event that started from Febru­ary 16th to 18th, saw 300+ Enfield Rid­ers, pumped up in a line of events and activities in a perfectly executed event.

 Text and photo by Gaurav Sunuwar

Nepalaya publication has released a five-volume compilation ‘Kabi Shiromani Rachanawali’ which includes all the published and unpublished literary works of Kabi Shiromani Lekhnath Paudel, on February 19, Paudel’s memorial day.

Who is who of Nepal’s literature attended the program held in the ‘R’ Shala of Nepalaya. Rama Sharma, General Secretary of Nepali Educa­tion Council, Prativa Pandey, the granddaughter of Shiromani Paudel and Professor Sanat Kumar Wasti, the book’s editor, jointly launched the book.

“I recall writer Jagdish Ghimire saying he wanted to see Baba’s works widely distributed, such that each and every Nepali family could get to read them,” said Pandey. “His desire, Professor Wasti’s enthusiasm and support from Lekhnath Founda­tion made this possible.”

The limited-edition set of five hardcover books is available for Rs 6,975. APEX BUREAU

The Center for Research and Sustainable Development Nepal (CREASION) last week conducted the Tree of the Year Nepal (TOYN) award ceremony and photo exhibition at Taragaon Museum, Hyatt Regency. Affiliated to Asian Tree of the Year awards initiated in Sri Lanka in 2016, the second edition of the annual TOYN saw a total of 30 participants, of whom Uddhav Dangal, Mohan Jaishi and Ashin Poudel won the first, second and third place respectively. The winners were selected by the judge panel of Dr Chudamani Joshi, Landscape Ecologist and special advisor to Embassy of Finland, Kath­mandu; Ranjit Acharya, CEO, Prisma Advertising; and Bikash Karki, Presi­dent, Photojournalist club.

TOYN is an initiation of Volun­teer for Change (VFC) program of CREASION, a non-profit, non-gov­ernmental organization. The pho­tographs entries were sent from different districts of Nepal along with their unique stories of trees which emphasized the importance of pro­tection and preservation of Nepali tree biodiversity.

TOYN is a photo competition open to every Nepali citizen. The main focus of this competition is on starting a conversation on the importance of protecting trees and preserving biodiversity.

 There are 78 households in Thaprang village of Chitwan district. Only one house—that of Bhadra Bahadur Chepang, a member of the local gov­ernment—has a proper toilet.

“I built the toilet so that others would see it and be inspired to build toilets in their own homes,” says Bhadra Bahadur. “But so far no one else has done it.”

It is not that villagers are unaware of the impor­tance of toilets. Raj Bahadur Chepang, now 70, has long wanted to build one at his house. But he says he does not have the money and so he and his family continue to defecate inside a nearby forest.

“If the government gives me building materials,I too will be able to have a toilet at my house,” says Raj Bahadur.

As the residents of this predominantly-Chepang vil­lage defecate in the open, often out of compulsion, the nearby forest and open spac­es have become extremely dirty. The situation is no different in other villages around Thaprang.

Chamre Chepang, another local, says that he too desperately wants a toilet but has no money for it. “When nature calls we have no option but to run to the nearest gully or forest,” he says.

By ANIL DHAKAL | CHITWAN

 Parsa: Petroleum products worth over Rs 42.25 billion has been imported via Birgunj check point in seven months of current fiscal. A total 678,411 kiloliters of petroleum products and 122,939 metric tons of cooking gas were imported via Bir­gunj check point. According to Chief of Birgunj Customs Office, Sewantak Pokharel, import of petroleum prod­ucts was up by 123,155 kiloliters and cooking gas by 22,693 metric tons compared to corresponding period of previous fiscal year. RSS