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National Assembly (NA) Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal held bilateral meetings with the President of the National Council of Switzerland, and the leaders of parliamentary delegations from India, China, Thailand, and the Philippines on the sidelines of the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.

Dahal is currently in Geneva, leading the Nepali delegation to the IPU 149th Assembly.

Chairperson Dahal held a bilateral meeting with Eric Nussbaumer, President of the National Council of Swiss Confederation. The two leaders expressed commitment to enhancing inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation in areas of climate change, mountain conservation and disaster risk reduction, strengthening federalism, and the Swiss development cooperation in Nepal including in the peace process, the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva said in a press release.

Later in the evening, Chairman Dahal held a bilateral meeting with the leader of the Indian delegation, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Discussions focused on promoting cooperation in the bilateral, regional and multilateral fronts to strengthen democratic institutions.

Earlier today, the National Assembly Chair held a bilateral meeting with the leader of the Chinese delegation Tian Xuejun. The two sides discussed the need for parliamentary exchanges and cooperation to address the common challenges such as climate change, inequality and digital divide while contributing to promoting peace and stability.

During the bilateral meeting with Mongkol Surasajita, President of the Senate of Thailand, Dahal emphasized the historical and cultural ties between Nepal and Thailand deep rooted in the ideals of Buddhism. The two leaders discussed enhancing parliamentary exchanges and cooperation to promote peace, democracy and development.

The Chairperson of the National Assembly of Nepal also held a bilateral meeting with Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Speaker of the House of Representative of the Republic of the Philippines and discussed promoting inter-parliamentary cooperation to promote peace, democracy and development in the world.

Dengue is spreading rapidly with the number of infected people reaching 19,599 throughout the country, according to the latest data of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD).

The EDCD said nine people have died of the disease so far and it has spread in 76 districts of the country. Dengue has spread the most in Kathmandu with 3,103 cases, followed by Kaski with 2,847 cases, Tanahun with 2,107 cases and Parbat with 1,562 cases.

Similarly, Chitwan reports 971 cases, Lalitpur 827 cases, Gorkha 588 cases, Baglung 610 cases, Bhaktapur 355 cases and Syangja 335 cases.

Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, Research Unit Coordinator at the Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital Teku, said that the risk of dengue rises with the beginning of the post-monsoon period.

According to him, the number of people suffering from dengue is increasing immediately after Dashain. This indicates that dengue is spreading at the community level.

Dengue was confirmed in more than nearly 52, 000 people throughout the country from April 14, 2023 until January 14, 2024. Twenty people had died of the infection in that period.

Hindus across the country are observing the Kojagrat Poornima (full moon day) today as part of the final day of the 15-day Bada Dashain festival by worshiping and paying homage to Mahalaxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

The Bada Dashain festival formally ends today with the marking of the Kojagrat Poornima--devotees offering worship to Mahalaxmi at their homes in the evening, and keeping vigil the whole night.

There is a belief that the goddess Mahalaxmi takes a trip around the world on the night of Kojagrat Poornima 'to check as to who is observing the vigil on this particular night'. As per this belief, the goddess of wealth blesses the people who are found observing the overnight vigil, said Member of Nepal Calendar Determination Committee, Prof Devmani Bhattarai.

Since the ritual of giving and receiving Tika and Jamara of the Dashain festival also concludes on this day, the Jamara that is sprouted and anointed at the Dashainghar and Kot on the day of Ghatasthapana is disposed of in ponds, rivers and holy places as per the religious tradition.

People also perform worship at the Swoyambhu Chaitya and observe the night vigil by lighting the Mahadeep lamp.

The Westerly wind has partial influence across the country, combined with the impact of local winds in the hilly region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces at present, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and mainly fair in the rest of the country with chances of light to moderate rain at some places of the hilly region in Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces in the afternoon today. 

Similarly, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country tonight.

There is a possibility of light to moderate rain at one or two places of the hilly region of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces, the Department stated in its weather bulletin.

Light to moderate rainfall is forecast at one or two places of the hilly region of all provinces in the next 24 hours.

Four people have died and 12 others sustained injuries when a passenger bus met with an accident in Dadeldhura last night.

The bus was on its way towards Purchaudi of Baitadi from Mahendranagar when the mishap occurred at Khasrekhan of Amargadhi Municipality-7, Dadeldhura.

Two women, a man and an infant died on the spot, said Police Inspector Upendra Bahadur Bam at the District Police Office Dadeldhura.

The deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Jayamati Bohara, 20-year-old Kamala Bohara, her infant son and 22-year-old Sahadev Bohara of Purchaudi Municipality-3 in Baitadi district.

Bus driver Birendra Bohara is critically injured in the accident and he has been taken to Dhangadhi for treatment.

The remaining injured persons are receiving treatment at Dadeldhura Hospital, Police Inspector Bam said.

Police suspect that the accident occurred as the driver fell asleep.

Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav has said the entire works on repair and maintenance of the Nallu, Basuki and Devaki water supply projects would be completed within 15 days.

He said so after inspecting the water sources of these projects in Godawari Municipality, Lalitpur on Tuesday. The water supply system in Godawari was disrupted after the flooding and landslide triggered by incessant rains on September 27 and 28 damaged the various structures.

"Today we took stock of the situation of the water source areas. A team comprised of the Director General of the Department of Forests, the Chief of the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and the technical team from our Ministry reached the source of the water supply. The team will prepare a report along with the estimated cost. We will immediately start the repair and maintenance works once they submit the report," the Water Supply Minister said on the occasion. 

Stating that water is the basic right of citizens, Minister Yadav directed the officials concerned to carry out works to restore the local water supply system within three days, establishing coordination among the federal, provincial and local governments, and the technical agencies.

He said that the government was sensitive towards the problems of the local people, stressing on the need of sustainable infrastructures and long-term plans to prevent recurrence of such disasters in the future.

Minister Yadav was accompanied by lawmaker from Lalitpur constituency 1, Udaya Shumsher Rana, Chief of the Lalitpur District Coordination Committee, Rishidev Phuyal, Mayor of Godavari Municipality  Gajendra Maharjan, Deputy Mayor Muna Adhikari and the KUKL, the Department and the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management officials during the observation of the damaged water supply projects. 

Mustang district recorded the transaction of Himalayan goats and sheep, earning Rs 160 million during the Dashain festival.

Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Center in Mustang informed that 4,800 Himalayan goats reared by the farmers in Mustang and 3,000 others brought from Dolpa and Mugu districts were sold in the district.

Center's chief Lal Mani Aryal informed that 7,500 chyangra (Himalayan goats) and 500 sheep were sold in the district. The Mustang farmers sold each Himalayan goat at a price ranging from Rs 28,000 to Rs 38,000 considering the weight.

Last year, as many as 7,000 Himalayan goats and sheep were sold in the district. The Mustang goats were bought by the people from Myagdi, Baglung, Parbat, Kaski and Kathmandu city.

The traders have been happy to see a rise in production of Himalayan goats and sheep that fetched better prices compared to the past.

Arjun Paudel from Beni of Myagdi informed that the goats reared in the highlands are considered healthy and nutritious, as they graze in the pasture having medicinal herbs. Chyangra and sheep are consumed more during the festivals as Dashain and Tihar. The Himalayan goat reaches a slaughter age when it is three-year-old.

Gharapjhong, Loghekar Damodarkunda, Baragung Muktichhetra and Lomanthang are some places famous for chyangra. It is the major source of income for the farmers here.

National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal has said development in science and technology had spurred innovation, making human life easier and dynamic.

Addressing the 149th general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva on Monday, Chairman Dahal underlined the need for formulating and implementing the laws that ensure everyone's equal access to technology and its benefits.

Transformative capacity of States is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals launched in 2015.

He expressed worry over the widening gap among the countries in the access to and capacity relating to information technology. "Still, over two billion people are deprived of information. Collective efforts are imperative to cope with the challenges posed by inequality. All people need to be guaranteed equal access to IT and innovation," Dahal underscored.

According to him, world Parliaments which devise laws, could play effective roles to resolve the problems surfaced in the wake of expansion of IT like privacy breach, cyber threat, and spread of propaganda.

For the relatively backward countries, international assistance and cooperation are required to develop and expand IT, research, resource mobilization and youth engagement.

Exchange of best practices of the Parliaments on science and technology across the world could be useful to bridge gaps between the developed and developing countries, he hoped.

He appreciated the Union's initiative to incorporate artificial intelligence in its action plan by forming a taskforce on science and technology.

"The Union is a significant forum to debate that help cope with worlds' burning problems like climate change, natural disaster, geopolitical tension, poverty and inequality," Dahal observed.