Submit your Article

The 16th meeting of Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism began in Kathmandu today.

Spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry, Amrit Bahadur Rai, shared that discussions are underway regarding overall areas of Nepal-China bilateral relations and cooperation in the meeting.

Similarly, discussions would be held on exchanging cooperation in different sectors including education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, trade, investment, tourism and financial support and connectivity in the meeting.

Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal on the behalf of Nepal is leading the delegation in the meeting which comprises senior officers of different ministries.

Likewise, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Sun Weidong, is leading the Chinese delegation.

Weidong arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday morning for a three-day official visit to attend the meeting.

During his visit, the Vice Minister is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel.

He paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday. He is scheduled to return home tomorrow.

The gold is being traded at Rs 142, 300 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 141, 600 per tola.

Meanwhile, the price of silver, however, has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,815 per tola today.  

The government has decided to accept a loan worth USD 80 million from the World Bank.

Speaking at a press conference organized to make public the decisions of the Cabinet meeting held in Singha Durbar on Monday, government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma informed that the government has decided to accept concessional loan assistance worth USD 80 million from the World Bank.

Similarly, the meeting has decided to accept an additional grant of 8.1 million pounds sterling from the British government for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructures  and resettlement of earthquake victims in Karnali Province.

Spokesperson Sharma informed that the meeting has decided to approve the China visit of Finance Minister Barshaman Pun. He is going to the northern neighbor to participate in the high-level conference to be held on July 11-July 13.

Likewise, the meeting has decided to appoint Dr Ram Prasad Dhital as the Chairman of the Electricity Regulatory Commission and Madhusudhan Adhikari and Jhamak Prasad Sharma as the members of the Commission.

Meanwhile, the meeting has appointed Dr Rajendra Prasad Yadav as the Executive Director of the National Dairy Development Board.  

Spokesperson Sharma informed that a recommendation committee has been formed under the headship of the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture for the appointment of the Executive Director at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council.

The government is to provide social security allowance from July 16 in 28 districts, where national identity card number has been made mandatory for social security allowance, if the identity card of beneficiaries is renewed by obtaining national ID number till August 16.

Issuing a press release today, the Home Ministry requested the beneficiaries to get service at their convenient time as national ID number is not required for children, helpless, disabled and senior citizens above 90 years to get allowance. 

The government had made national ID number mandatory for beneficiaries of Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Udayapur, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat,  Sarlahi, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Sindhuli, Makawanpur, Chitwan, Kaski, Tanahu, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Kailali and Kanchanpur district from July 16.

With the government's decision, a huge crowd of beneficiaries have started gathering at District Administration Offices to register their details for obtaining the national ID card.

Spokesperson of the Home Ministry, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, shared that such arrangement has been made after receiving the complaints that senior citizens and disabled persons are facing difficulties to get national ID numbers.

Chief District Officers have been directed to make arrangement of details collection at the related ward offices of the local levels in coordination with concerned local governments targeting the senior citizens and disabled persons, according to the Home Ministry.

The Ministry also requested all local levels for necessary facilitation in the national ID registration process by coordinating with the District Administration Office.  It had deputed 438 detailed registration operators in 28 districts, where national id has been made mandatory, in the first phase in order to provide service in an easy and smooth manner. 

A weather station has been set up in Beni, the headquarters of Myagdi district in Gandaki Province.

The Hydrology and Meteorology Office, Pokhara established the weather station in coordination with the Beni Municipality.

The Office said information on climate change and weather would be available easily and on time from the weather station.

Office Chief Sujan Subedi said information on temperature, precipitation and wind speed would be promptly available by means of the automatic instruments installed at the weather station and this data would be stored.

"Weather-related information available from the automatic instruments installed at the station would be constantly updated and stored in the central server. Arrangements have been made to disseminate the information via the website connected to the server" said Subedi, adding that the stored and archived weather data and information would be useful for disaster preparedness and risk reduction as well as for study and research.

The previous weather station at Beni was closed after it was destroyed during the skirmish between the then Maoist rebels and the security forces on March 20, 2004.

The Beni Municipality has provided the land for establishing the new weather station at its office premises.

There are 26 weather stations, including the one in Beni, in Gandaki province. Automatic equipment is installed at 12 of the 26 weather stations.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 3.21 points to close at 2,066.16 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.39 points to close at 364. 81 points.

A total of 10,707,878-unit shares of 322 companies were traded for Rs 5. 07 billion.

Meanwhile, Nepal Finance Ltd. (NFS) and Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GMFBS) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Buddha Bhumi Nepal Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC) was the top loser as its price fell by 7.01 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 27 trillion.

The Melamchi Water Supply Board has suspended the water supply from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk to the Kathmandu Valley beginning today.

Board Executive Director Ratna Lamichhane said that with the flood in the river, it turned murky, leading to the closure of the water supply to the Valley. The supply will be restored once the rain thwarts.

Though earlier, the Board had planned to halt the supply from June 13, the schedule was postponed as no significant rains occurred amidst this. Later, the Board also prepared for closing the project last Friday and the supplies continued as water flow in the river did not increase as it was estimated, it is said

The government regularizes the water supplies from Melamchi during the monsoon bearing in mind its possible consequences on its headworks and other structures.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, this year monsoon entered the country on June 10, three days earlier than the tentative date and generally exits on October 2.

The Project management consultants and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were advising the Board to halt the supplies to save the project's structures from the monsoon-related hazards. "We decided to close it after the river waters turned muddy."

As many as 7,000 people will likely be affected due to the landslides and floods this year in Tanahun district, according to the Emergency Response Plan, 2024 prepared by the District Administration Office, Tanahun.

It is estimated that 70,000 people of 15,969 households in the entire Gandaki Province will be affected due to monsoon-induced disasters this year. The Plan has listed landslide as the number one risk this year in Tanahun, said Janardhan Gautam, the Chief District Officer and Chair of the District Disaster Management Committee.

"The estimates have been made on the basis of the scientific analysis of data. The risk of landslides is much higher in Tanahun district compared to other disasters," CDO Gautam added. Based on the data from 2010 to 2020 made available by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the vulnerable population to monsoon-induced disasters in 2081 BS is around one million and 250 thousand.

According to the Chief District Officer, the District Disaster Management Committee is prepared for responding to the disasters.

Four urban municipalities and six rural municipalities in the district are at high risk of landslides. The Plan identifies high risk of flooding, fires, epidemics, drought, road accident, lightning and storm in the district after the landslide.

It is stated that 48 of the total 85 wards of 10 local levels in the district are at high risk of landslide.