Submit your Article

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publication has released a five-volume compilation ‘Kabi Shiromani Rachanawali’ which includes all the published and unpublished literary works of Kabi Shiromani Lekhnath Paudel, on February 19, Paudel’s memorial day.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

Kathmandu: Sajha Yatayat is prepar­ing to start a new technology-sup­ported payment and ticketing ser­vices in its public buses. According to acting CEO of the Sajha Yatayat (Transport) Mahendra Pandey, Sajha is launching e-ticketing with the coordination of Nepal Rastra Bank. Passengers may then use a card (which will be like an ATM card) to pay for transport. The Sajha now has 46 buses in operation, 44 of which run inside Kathmandu valley. RSS

Age, it seems, is starting to catch up with Sher Bahadur Deuba. The recently-ousted Prime Minister and President of Nepali Congress—the main opposition party in national and in six of the seven provincial parliaments—needs physi­cal assistance to safely move around these days. Raised in an environment where political leaders tend to cling to power till they are literally on their death-beds, Deu­ba is not the only aging top leader in active politics. Yet there are other good reasons why time has come for the four-time prime minister to bow out, while he can still do so with a smidgen of grace.

Having earned for himself such unappetizing epi­thets as ‘incompetent’ and ‘wasteful’ over his previous three terms as prime minister, Deuba, however, will also be remembered for successfully holding all three constitutionally-mandated elections on time during his fourth term. This is no small feat. In doing so he has paved the way for a peaceful and prosperous New Nepal. It would make sense for him to retire on this high. On the other hand, if he looks to hang on, it is all downhill for the septuagenarian.

It is hard to see the electoral fortunes of Congress turn around under Deuba. His party’s rather humiliating outing in recent elections—in national parliament, the party won just 63 seats compared to CPN-UML’s 121—has largely been attributed to two factors. One, the party’s paucity of agenda save for endlessly demonizing ‘the authori­tarian left’ at the hustings. Two, people’s lack of faith in Deuba as a statesman. So long as Deuba and Congress continue to be coterminous, it will be difficult to asso­ciate the party as the one that has been at the vanguard of every major democratic change since 1950.

With the unity of the two left parties, which together now enjoy thumping majorities in the federal as well as in six provincial parliaments, and in most local units, too, the country desperately needs a strong and credi­ble opposition. But only a Congress that is thoroughly revamped, from the grassroots right up to its top lead­ership, can play this vital role. Both age and new imagi­nation not on his side, Deuba knows this well. Perhaps he as well realizes that his last-ditch efforts to retain party leadership is a lost battle. It also does grievous harm to his party and his country.

The construction of the Bheri Bridge con­necting Chaurjahari of West Rukum and Kudu of Jajarkot has been stuck in limbo. The 150m-long bridge is part of the Mid-hill highway, also called the Pushpalal highway.Although construction began five years ago, even foundational work on the bridge remains incomplete. The Department of Roads (DoR) has attributed the delay to the tardiness and negligence on the part of YP Construction Kath­mandu, the company that has the Rs 150 million contract for the bridge. The company, on the other hand, blames the delay on a “flawed design estimate”.

Bishal Sharma, head of Chaurjahari municipality, says construction was affect­ed because the road section linking Chaurja­hari and Sallibazar is treacherous. He adds that despite repeated requests for speedy construction of the bridge, work has dragged on due to the construction company’s refusal to cooperate.

“The work that was supposed to be complet­ed in three years has dragged on for five years. The local government will take action against the construction company if it does not resume work in this fiscal year,” he said.

However, Raju Shrestha, proprietor of the construction company, offers a counter-nar­rative. He argues that the DoR’s plan had to be redesigned two years into construction. He puts the blame for the delay squarely on the DoR, which he alleges of making a perfunctory design without visiting the site. This, he says, made a second design necessary. But Shrestha is confident construction will be completed in next two years as a new design had already been drawn up.

The delay in building the bridge has adversely affected the construction of the Jajarkot section of the highway, depriving people of Jajarkot and Rukum of a motor road. This means they will continue to have to rely on a suspension bridge for mobility. The delay has also obstruct­ed work on the highway’s upgrade as well as town-planning at Chaurjahari.

 By Rajendra Karki | Jajarkot