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As many as 55 people have gone missing with 21 vehicles plunging into the Trishuli river from the Narayangadh-Muglin section and the Muglin-Mauwakhola section of the Prithvi Highway in the last eight years.

Among those missing is former Home Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Madhav Prasad Ghimire.

The District Traffic Police Office stated that five vehicles went missing in the river in Fiscal Year 2016/17, four vehicles in FY 2017/18, four vehicles in FY 2018/19, one each in FY 2019/ 2020, FY 2020/ 21 and FY 2021/ 22 and five in FY 2022/23.

Fourteen people went missing in the missing vehicles in FY 2016/ 17, four people in FY 2021/ 22 and 37 people in FY 2023/ 24. Sixty-six vehicles met with accidents in the road sections during that period.

Among the vehicles that met with accidents on the road sections from FY 2016/ 17 to 2023/ 24 include 40 trucks, nine buses, 12 cars, three motorbikes and two other vehicles, according to the District Traffic Police Office.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 800 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 147, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 146, 000 per tola on Tuesday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 147, 100 per tola.

Meanwhile, the price of silver has increased by Rs 40 and is being traded at Rs 1, 780 per tola today. 

A man was found dead in Balkhu, Kathmandu Metropolitan-14 on Wednesday.

Locals said that he may have died after being swept away by the flash flood last night.

They informed police after they saw the body near the vegetable market this morning.

His family members have reached the incident site.

Metropolitan Police Circle, Kalimati is investigating the case.

Two laborers of a hydropower project went missing after being swept away by the flood in Bhojpur district on Tuesday.

According to the Chief of District Police Office Yubaraj Timsina, two workers of the under-construction Ikhuwa Hydropower Project in Salpasilichho Rural Municipality were swept away by the flood last night.

The missing persons have been identified as Timsina said that Shyam Kumar Tharu (26) and Ramesh Tharu (30) of Barabardiya Rural Municipality-3 in Bardiya district.

Ram Kisan Tharu (26) was rescued from the site and is receiving treatment at Kulung Health Post.

Police said that a search for the missing ones is going on.

A landslide occurred this morning at Kharkhare cliff of Besisahar Municipality-6 in Lamjung district has caused vehicular obstruction along the Besisahar-Chame road section, the District Police Office said.

A heavy rain occurring in the district since last night has resulted in the landslide in the area.  

Police Inspector Thaneshwor Chapagain said that the Kharkhare area is a landslide-prone zone.

People traveling to and from Manang and northern belt of Lamjung have been stranded mid-way due to the obstruction.

Some places in Koshi, Lumbini and Karnali Provinces and one or two places Bagmati and Gandaki and some places in Koshi, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces are likely to receive heavy rain with thunder and lightning.

In the next 24 hours, the weather will remain generally cloudy throughout the country and light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur in some places of all provinces, according to today's morning bulletin published by the Department.

According to the Department, several parts of Bagmati and Madhes Provinces and some parts in other provinces are receiving light to moderate rain now.

The Department stated that some parts of Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces received heavy rainfall in the past 12 hours.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said the CPN-UML-Nepali Congress coalition government will carry out its duties as per the spirit of the seven-point agreement between the two parties.  

Addressing the government ministers and secretaries at Singha Durbar on Tuesday, he assured that he shall tender his resignation and hand over power to Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba a week before his two-year term ends.

“You don’t need to worry about this coalition collapsing all of a sudden. This government will not collapse, nor will it even wobble. It was formed with a sense of duty. It was created by major parties with wisdom and careful consideration. There will be no instability.”

The prime minister also advised ministers not to criticize others during the first 100 days of the government's term, but instead carry out their duties responsibly. 

“Focus on your work. Every ministry should work toward producing attractive reports within 100 days to show what has been accomplished.” 

Reassuring secretaries to make decisions without fear, Prime Minister Oli noted that the current government does not even have the luxury of a ‘honeymoon period.’ 

Prime Minister Oli also issued a 26-point directive to government ministers and secretaries on fundamental tasks that need to be accomplished.

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Prime Minister’s directives

1. Senior citizens unable to stand in line for services like driving license, passport, citizenship, and national ID is a sad state of affairs. This issue was observed in a Lalitpur office. Such incidents frustrate the public and must end. Employees are here to serve, not to govern. We must serve the people with kindness. Services can be made practical and effective through the Citizen App. The relevant ministries and agencies should provide these services easily. 

2. This government has come with the responsibility of stability, so work with confidence.

3. It is not appropriate for employees in state ministries and agencies to receive meeting allowances when over 20 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. We must commit to serving the country and the people. 

4. Instead of starting new projects, we must focus on completing the ones already underway. The main focus should be on completing tasks.

5. We should aim to save billions spent on fuel imports by focusing on the development and use of hydropower.

6. Israel and Malaysia are turning seawater into drinking water. We should also think about branding Sagarmatha’s (Mount Everest’s) water.

7. There should be no delays in anything. Citizens who travel long distances and spend money to come to government offices should have their work done without hassle. 

8. Do not create unnecessary committees and structures. Work in a way that shows results.

9. We must work with dedication for the country and the people, and shake off the habit of shift responsibilities on others.

10. Adopt a system of completing tasks on time through performance and delegation of authority. Work according to the law, taking responsibility instead of relying solely on orders.

11. We are responsible for achieving sustainable development goals. Ending poverty should be our main target.

12. There are complications in proving the legitimacy of one’s own property. Situations like having to show the source even when selling one’s own property need to be addressed. These uncertainties and technical hurdles must be addressed.

13. There have been claims of budget shortages for work. What is the reality? Regular budgets are being spent, but development expenditures are low. Development delivers to the people. Therefore, there must be sufficient capital expenditure. We need to move toward a system where work starts as soon as a request is made and decisions are given quickly. 

14. The situation where insurance payouts, VAT refunds, and payments for farmers' milk and sugarcane are not made is not good. They take loans to invest, and delaying payments puts them in trouble. This hinders agricultural modernization.

15. Contractors not receiving payment for completed work should not happen. Completed work payments should not be stopped due to unresolved accounts or other reasons.

16. We must adhere to financial discipline. Work should be done transparently. Grants should be distributed systematically. Entrepreneurs should be encouraged, but misuse of grants for personal agricultural subsidies should be monitored.

17. Do not be enthusiastic about increasing tax rates. The monetary policy has brought good momentum in the market, which should be maintained. The market should be kept dynamic.

18. Dharahara is built but not operational due to parking issues. It should be operational even if a parking fee is charged. Nepali people contributed millions to the “I will build my Dharahara” campaign. The public has participated in its reconstruction but has not yet been able to visit Dharahara. I instruct that it be made operational as soon as possible.

19. Up to 100 days of the government's term, ministers should not criticize others. Focus on your work. Each ministry should work toward delivering attractive reports within 100 days.

20. Projects prioritized should not take years to complete.

21. We will hold the Sagarmatha Dialogue, so make preparations accordingly.

22. Why wasn’t the National Talent Award, started with the money from an international award I received with additional budget allocations, regularized? It should be regular. We must encourage talent.

23. There have been incidents of air and vehicle accidents. We need to plant deep-rooted trees along highways and design new constructions to be safe. We plan to operate trains and ships as well. There is public demand for trains. This will be our priority.

24. The People’s Housing and Integrated Development Program should be linked to business. Relocating squatters in Kathmandu to isolated areas without market access was not effective. Learning from such projects, we must work practically and appropriately.

25. Decide within three months whether to use pesticides in vegetables or not.

26. We need to collaborate with the private sector. Listen to grievances from the business sector

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has instructed the secretaries of the government to make public service delivery efficient so as to instill a sense of hope in the people.

While giving instructions to the secretaries at Singha Durbar today, he said employees are there to serve not to govern.

Citing a public office in Lalitpur, Prime Minister Oli said that the compulsion of senior citizens having to stand in queue to get services such as passport, citizenship, national identity card etc., is sad.

 "We are committed to serving the country and the people. If there is a tendency to not work all day, and take the allowance for working after five o'clock, this should be stopped now", said Prime Minister Oli.

Prime Minister Oli said that the current government has the task of providing stability, good governance, control of corruption and economic prosperity to the country.

The Prime Minister pointed out the need for the government to pay attention to the development and use of hydroelectric power and to save billions spent on fuel import. He emphasized that the government has the responsibility to fulfill the goals of sustainable development and that the main goal should be to end poverty.

On a different note, Prime Minister Oli said that the situation of non-payment of insurance, VAT refund, payment of farmers' milk and sugarcane farmers is not good. If payment is not made on time, those who have taken loan and invested will be in trouble and thus modernization of agriculture cannot be achieved.

"Those who do business should be encouraged, but the amount of agricultural subsidy given to individuals has been misused," he said.

Stating that the new monetary policy created enthusiasm in the market, he pointed out the need to put into practice and drive the market accordingly.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli directed the concerned authorities to bring the Dharahara into operation as soon as possible. "Dharahara has been built but is not operational. The Nepali people also contributed millions of rupees in the campaign 'I will build my Dharahara'. The people have participated in its reconstruction but they are not able climb the tower. I urged the concerned to bring it into operation as soon as possible."

He also instructed every ministry to come with a progress report for the first 100 days of the government.

Prime Minister Oli said that the situation where priority projects are not completed for years should be ended. He said the Sagarmatha dialogue should be started as well as the national talent award, which he said was initiated with the money he got as an award and was handed over to the government.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister also expressed concern over the increasing number of air and road accidents. "We have a plan to operate trains and ships. And since there is public demand for train service, it will be our priority."

He expressed the belief to move forward by addressing the concerns of the businesspersons while taking the private sector on board.