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 The government has decided to extend the tenure of four Deputy Inspector Generals of the Armed Police Force—Kamal Giri, Ganesh Bahadur Thada Magar, Kul Bahadur Nembang and Shambhu Subedi by one year.

Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, today shared this while making public the decisions of Cabinet meeting held on January 7.

Similarly, the meeting also decided to assign Joint-Secretary Bishnu Prasad Sharma on deputation as the Executive Director of Special Structures Operation and Management Development Committee. 

Likewise, permission has been granted to Deputy Auditor General Bamdev Sharma Adhikari to participate in 'Workshop on Inhousing SAI-CSO Engagement on the ASOSAI Region' to be held in Manila of Philippines from February 10-12, added Minister Gurung.

The meeting also gave permission to the Minister of State for Forests and Environment to attend the program related to climate change to be organized in Rome of Italy from February 24-26.

Six development banks and finance companies are under the scrutiny of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) after Karnali Development Bank was declared problematic on Dec 25. The central bank took over the management of Karnali Development Bank after it was found that the Class ‘B’ bank had submitted a fake deposit certificate, claiming it had deposits in commercial banks.

Earlier this week, the NRB wrote a letter to different commercial banks, requesting them to furnish details of deposits maintained by these six institutions. An internal investigation by the central bank showed that funds in the Class ‘B’ bank were misappropriated with the involvement of Karnali’s former Executive Chairperson and CEO Rajendra Bir Raya, former CEO Dinesh Kumar Rawat, former Finance Department Head Mahadev aka Bed Prakash Thakuri, and incumbent CEO and Finance Department Head Niraj Bikram Shah.

While the bank’s core banking system showed a balance of Rs 227.46m in Karnali Development Bank’s Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) account at NRB as of 22 Dec 2024, the investigation committee found the account did not have the said funds. The investigation committee also reported that the bank’s senior management covered up the misappropriation by creating fake balance certificates from other banks.

The central bank wrote letters to different commercial banks, requesting them to send details of deposits maintained by Saptakoshi Development Bank, Excel Development Bank, Narayani Bikas Bank, and Sindhu Bikash Bank as well as Janaki Finance and Pokhara Finance.

While share prices of a majority of Class ‘A’ banks, which have better corporate governance compared to these institutions,  are below Rs 300 per unit, shares of these institutions are traded at as high as Rs 1,100 per unit on the bourse.

NRB sources say they have begun analyzing the liquidity situation of four development banks and two finance companies with weak financial conditions and governance issues.

An NRB official said they are taking stock of the liquidity situation in these institutions before taking required action. “Our efforts will be on resolving the issue through the management of the concerned financial institutions themselves,” the official added.

About a decade ago, the central bank formed a dedicated Problematic Institutions Management Department and managed 16 banks and financial institutions.

Normal life in Mahottari district has been adversely affected due the cold wave which continued for five days. The decreasing temperature has taken a toll on people’s movement.

Even the livestock and crops are negatively impacted with plummeting temperatures coupled with cold waves, fog and cloud, according to Birendra Sharma from Jaleshwor-7.

People’s movement is sparse at district headquarters, Jaleshwor. The vehicles are also operated in less numbers.

In the wake of rising cold, the sales of warm clothes have, however, surged in the market.

Similarly, a tea seller Umesh Sah from Jaleshwor Municipality-1 informed that people throng tea shops to take hot soup and scalded tea. Selling tea is on rise, he shared.

Similarly, district health offices and hospitals have witnessed dismal visits of patients.

The locals began making fire to keep themselves warm. The decline in temperature has hit the children, elderly ones and women in postpartum hard. 

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

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the gold is being traded at Rs 154,100 per tola. It was traded at Rs 153,300 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the Federation has fixed the price of silver at Rs 1,845 per tola today.

Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane is appearing before the Kathmandu District Court today.

He was released on Thursday after posting the bail amount of Rs 6.5 million.

Lamichhane, who is also the former Home Minister, was arrested for his alleged involvement in embezzling the funds of local Suryadarshan Cooperatives Saving and Cooperatives, Pokhara.

He is facing a similar case of misappropriation of funds in a cooperative in Kathmandu.

RSP President Lamichhane will appear before the District Court, Kathmandu today, according to acting spokesperson, Manish Jha.

Six persons, including Lamichhane, were released on bail in the same case. They were Chhabi Lal Joshi, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Krishna Bahadur Gurung, Mina Gurung and Arati Gurung, according to the record keeper at Kaski District Court, Rajan Khanal.

District Judge Nitij Rai yesterday issued an order saying that Lamichhane be released on a bail of Rs 6.5 million, Joshi on a bail of Rs 8. 8 million, Pachhai on Rs 3. 7 million, Khanal on Rs 1.5 million, Mina Gurung on Rs 500, 000, Arati Gurung on Rs 500, 000 and Krishna Bahadur Gurung on Rs 100, 000.  

However, Pachhai failed to submit the bail amount resulting in continuity of detention.

The District Attorney Office, Kaski on December 22 had filed a case against 44 persons including Lamichhane, accusing them of embezzling the cooperative’s funds.

Annapurna Media Network is to organize a bicycle rally on February 8 on the occasion of the World Cancer Day with an aim to raise awareness against this chronic disease.

World Cancer Day is celebrated every year on February 8 to raise awareness about cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.

Annapurna Media Network has been organizing a bicycle rally every year since 2015 to raise public awareness against cancer.

So far, 20,000 people have participated in the bicycle rally. The slogan for this year’s rally is “Ride for Life”.

“Scientists around the world have been conducting intensive research for the drugs to treat cancer patients. But no medicines have been developed to completely cure cancer till now. Hence, in this situation it is important to raise awareness for the control of this disease,” Annapurna Media Network General Manager Manoj Basnet said. “That is why we have been organizing a bicycle every year to raise awareness against cancer as part of our social responsibility.”

The Network said that it has been organizing this program every year to raise awareness against Cancer, which has been spreading as a terrible disease in recent times, as it can be completely cured if detected and treated on time.

The Network has also started a free cervical cancer screening campaign from this year.

It has also called upon all to participate in the campaign to raise awareness against cancer.

Those who are interested in participating in the rally can fill up the form by clicking on this link. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkdUm_BHo3FOVX5AREn0RN3-KzBgrG1MLxBS4jvCaAhMj4Gg/viewform

Likewise, you can call on Network’s phone number: 014112031 (3728) to register the name for the cycle rally.  

On Jan 7, a sleepy nation woke up at 6.50am to a magnitude-7 quake epicentered at Tingri County (Tibet), China as eastern districts of Nepal, including Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur, shook vigorously along with the federal capital of Kathmandu. Much to the relief of the nation, there was no loss of life and no major property loss in the jolt, though some private houses and the office building of Thame Post of the Sagarmatha National Park at Thametyang suffered damage.

The quake comes close on the heels of a season of disasters that just passed us by. Last monsoon, more than 230 people died, at least 169 people suffered injuries and many went missing as floods and landslides further destabilized a country where political instability has become the norm rather than the exception. The rescue of around 17,000 people during the monsoon season gives an indication of the scale of the disaster. 

Against this backdrop, a polity with a very short memory and a weak institutional capacity to deal with disasters would do well to learn some humble lessons from the disasters old and new. 

Monsoon floods, landslides, wildfires and quakes claim lives every year, render thousands homeless and cause infrastructural losses worth billions of rupees. 

For example, around 80 people died, several others suffered injuries, thousands became shelterless and the nation suffered infrastructural losses worth billions when a magnitude-6.4 temblor epicentered at Ramidanda (Jajarkot district) shook districts of western Nepal, including Jajarkot and Rukum West, at 11.47 pm on 3 Nov 2023. More than a year after the disaster, humanitarian assistance continues to ‘elude’ many shelterless survivors of the Ramidanda jolt. 

It’s time the government realized that disasters don’t kill, lack of preparedness does. Anyway, a government tasked with protecting the life and property of its people cannot get away by blaming death, devastation and displacement on ‘natural’ disasters.       

Let the recent jolt and other disasters wake up all three tiers of our government and prompt them to step up preparedness that can go a long way in protecting life and properties during such disasters.

The Madhes Province government has launched the health insurance program with the goal of improving the health of the family members of the martyrs. 

Addressing a press conference today, Minister for Home, Communications and Law, Raj Kumar Lekhi, said the health insurance program targeting the martyrs' families has been implemented since December 24. 

According to him, the health insurance program aims to provide free of cost health services to the martyrs' family members. He expressed the belief that this program will assist in the treatment of health problems of the targeted population, as it has the objective of relieving the beneficiaries of the burden of health expenses.

Minister Lekhi also informed on the occasion that a taskforce has been formed under the convenorship of the Home Minister for making amendments to the laws related to the local services and structures.

He added that this task force will prepare the draft for reformation in the local level structure.

Apart from this, the Madhes Province government cabinet meeting has also passed some important work procedures related to the Ministry of Education, Health and Transport.