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Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s scheduled India visit next week has been uncertain following the postponement of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2022.

The global investor summit organized by the Indian state of Gujarat was scheduled to begin on January 10. It has been canceled following a surge in Covid-19 cases in India.

PM Deuba was invited as one of the high-level guests at the inauguration of the summit. Along with attending the Summit, Deuba was supposed to hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Two countries were preparing some Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) on some projects including the purchase of fertilizer from India and construction of a bridge in the Mahakali River. 

India has dismissed the possibility of convening the 19th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) in the near future.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Arindam Bagchi Spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs of India made it clear that there is still no consensus among the member states about holding the Summit.

India’s statement comes three days after Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his country is ready to host the SAARC Summit. The Pakistani foreign minister had said that ‘India can attend the meet virtually if it does not wish to participate in person.’

Responding to Pakistan’s offer, Spokesperson Bagchi said, “We have seen media reports regarding Pakistani Foreign Minister’s remark about the SAARC Summit. You are aware of the background of why the SAARC summit has not been held since 2014. There has been no material change in the situation.”

The 19th SAARC Summit was scheduled to take place on November 9-10, 2016 in Islamabad. India, however, refused to participate in the Summit claiming that Pakistan is supporting the cross-border terrorist which Pakistan always denies. Since then, indicating to Pakistan, India has stated that the regional environment is not appropriate for holding the summit.

It is Pakistan’s turn to hold the Summit and Nepal are currently serving as a chair of SAARC. India’s response comes amid the reports that preparations are underway for holding the Summit in the second half of this year.

To date, SAARC was stalled due to India-Pakistan tensions. Now, there is a new development in Afghanistan, a member state of SAARC where the Taliban has returned to power. Taliban is yet to get international recognition. There would be disputes among SAARC members about inviting Afghanistan to the Summit. So chances of the SAARC Summit in the near future appear slim.

A Cabinet meeting of India has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for the construction of the bridge at Dharchula. As per the decision, a bridge will be built over the Mahakali river at the Nepal-India border.

“With the signing of MoU, diplomatic relation between the two countries will further improve," the statement read.

India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the MoU between India and Nepal will be signed in the “near future" and the bridge will be completed within three years. “The construction of the bridge will help people living in Dharchula in Uttarakhand and in the territory of Nepal," he said. In his tweet, India's Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishnakar has termed it an important that will deepen friendly ties. 

Query

I am a 23-year-old CA student. All my life, I have struggled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), even though I have only been diagnosed recently. The symptoms go back to my earliest years and I don’t remember not having it. As ADHD is not taken seriously in Nepal and its medications are banned, I have had to struggle with depression and anxiety for most of my life. I have been taking counseling sessions but haven’t felt better. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -A hopeful neurodivergent student

Answer by Dr Rishav Koirala, Psychiatrist at Grande Hospital

This is a growing concern. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may include persistent problems like struggling to pay attention, being hyperactive, and being impulsive. It starts from childhood and a huge percentage may also later have Adult ADHD.

Yes, it is a new concept in Nepal. Only recently is childhood ADHD slowly being addressed. This is not enough. But Adult ADHD is still not something many people are aware of. We don't have a cultural expression of Adult ADHD apart from seeing it as bad behavior, hence we don’t notice and hence do not care if somebody is suffering from ADHD, thus worsening things for the sufferers. On average, about four or five percent of the total population suffers from ADHD.

As ADHD is not recognized here, there are almost no medications available for someone who needs it. The Department of Drug Administration is still to approve medicines for the condition. There is a shortage of skilled professionals to diagnose and treat Adult ADHD as well.

However, just like you, a growing number of young people struggling with ADHD have been able to recognize it and are becoming aware that they need help. Some have been bringing medicines from different countries, but that is not possible for all. (I wonder if that is an option for you.)

Though psychotherapy can help in ADHD, pharmacological treatment is the gold standard. The best option, for now, would be to visit a psychiatrist and tell them about what you struggle with, and even if they don’t have any experience with it in the past, you will get some kind of help. Since ADHD is associated with anxiety and depression, a professional can help you with those too.

But this is also a larger social issue. On a community level, there is a need for greater awareness of ADHD and its prevalence in children, which can often continue into adulthood. Mass awareness will also make the concerned authorities think of making ADHD treatment and medication available in our own country. 

Kathmandu District Court has issued an arrest warrant against high profile persons including Nepali Congress leader Bijay Kumar Gachhadar and Former Chief Commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Deep Basnyat to investigate the Lalita Niwas scam.

Gachhadar was Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport when the land of Lalita Niwas was transferred in the name of individual people through a cabinet meeting. So far, Kathmandu District Court has issued arrest warrants against 300 persons in this case.

The Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) has taken the investigation to the final stage with the conclusion that 143 ropanis of the land of Lalita Niwas have been misappropriated. Out of which 136 ropanis of land has been registered in the name of individuals. Sources say that Basnyat and Gachhadar are ‘out of contact’ since the arrest warrant has been issued.

Kathmandu- A cabinet meeting has approved Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s India visit. PM will leave for India on January 9 for a four-day official visit.  

Along with high-level meetings, PM is scheduled to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, a biennial development summit organized by the Indian state of Gujarat. PM Deuba will lead a 25-member government delegation.

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has dismissed the possibility of an electoral alliance with other parties in the upcoming local governments and parliamentary elections.

Thapa said except in the elections of National Assembly members which is taking place this month, there will not be any alliances.  Speaking at a program in Kathmandu he said, “NC will fight three-tier of elections alone. There will not be any electoral alliances.”

Thapa’s statement comes at a time when CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal is seeking an electoral alliance with NC in the upcoming elections. There are strong sentiments among the second-rung leaders of NC  that the party should not make alliances with other parties.

Nepal has logged 435 news cases Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. As Omicron cases continue to surge across the world, Covid-19 cases are gradually increasing in Nepal.

370 new cases were recorded on January 4, 435 people tested positive on January 5, taking the total nationwide active cases tally to 5,225. A total of 6,715 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, and 239 patients achieved recovery.