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South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a regional network of human rights defender, believed that the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are facing a grave humanitarian issue which needs the immediate attention of the government as well as the neighboring countries and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) before it reaches a critical point.

SAHR has been monitoring the state of the Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin living in Nepal.

Issuing a statement, SAHR believes that it is critically important for the government of Nepal to positively address this issue as their own issue.

According to the SAHR, 6, 577 Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin live in Beldangi of Jhapa and Pathari Sanischare, Morang district in eastern Nepal. About 1, 000 of these refugees are said to be disabled, infirm or elderly.

While talking to them, SAHR found that most of these refugees are living in these camps with the firm intention of returning to Bhutan.

SAHR urged the government of Nepal to allow these Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin who are living in the country since 1990 on humanitarian grounds with the assistance of international organizations, according to the statement.

However, SAHR is concerned that these have not been entitled to any rights or benefits as refugees.

In addition, the UNHCR’s engagement with the Bhutanese refugees to provide healthcare and the World Food Program’s provision of food had halted in 2016.

Subsequently, these refugees have been deprived of basic entitlements such as education, healthcare and food and housing in order to achieve a dignified standard of living in Nepal.

SAHR is concerned that the dwellings living in the camps are the same temporary makeshift constructions that were provided to them in 1990.

At present, they are left to fend for themselves resorting to cautiously indulge in menial work with meagre insufficient earning risking government scrutiny leading to punitive actions, the statement further reads.

Currently, SAHR learns that the government of Nepal only provides Rs 15 per student at the Early Childhood Development Center and there are only 150 students in the camp who benefit from the program.

The Muglin-Narayangadh section of Prithvi highway would remain closed for a week during day time from December 22.

The road section would be closed for three hours daily till December 28 as the road section has to be improved by cutting the rock wall of Pokharebhir and Bishaltar.

According to engineer of Nagdhunga-Muglin road project west section, Bijay Darai, construction activities would be carried out from 11 am to 2 pm by prohibiting the entry of vehicles.

Heavy vehicles entering Gajuri from Naubise would be stopped at Galchhi-Baireni and light vehicles at Jarekhet while heavy vehicles entering Naubise from Chitwan would be stopped at Chalise and light vehicles at Ghatbesi in course of improving Pokharebhir.

Similarly, heavy vehicles entering Malekhu from Muglin would be stationed at Majhimtar and light vehicles at Charaudi bazaar while heavy vehicles entering Muglin from Malekhu at Benighat bazaar and light vehicles at Bishaltar in course of improving Bishaltar turning, he added.

Movement of ambulances and vehicles of security bodies would be allowed.

Investment has been secured for the 37-megawatt Upper Myagdi Hydropower Project, to be built in Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-4. Five banks have agreed to invest Rs 5.34bn in the project, which is promoted by Hydro Empire Pvt. Ltd.

Representatives of Siddhartha Bank, Nepal SBI, Citizens Bank, Everest Bank, and Nabil Bank signed the investment agreement alongside directors of the promoting company in Kathmandu on Monday, according to Jit Bahadur Gharti, Managing Director of Hydro Empire.

The total project cost, excluding bank interest, is estimated at Rs 6.69bn. Including interest, the cost rises to Rs 7.63bn, with plans to repay the loan over 12 years.

The project, financed with 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity investment, is expected to generate 215.714 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually upon completion. The electricity will be transmitted to the Dadakhet substation via a 132 kV single-circuit transmission line spanning 10.2 kilometers.

“A 21-kilometer access road and two bailey bridges with capacities of 50 and 30 metric tons have been constructed. Preparations are underway for the construction of the project’s tunnel, dam, and power plant,” said Managing Director Gharti. “A civil contractor has been mobilized with the goal of generating electricity within the next two and a half years.”

The project has purchased 1.69 hectares of private land and utilized 3.69 hectares of government land. Approval has also been secured for the purchase of explosives required for construction.

The dam is proposed on the right bank of the Myagdi River, 130 meters below the confluence of the Sincos and Myagdi Rivers. An underground sand pond and a headrace tunnel will be built on the left bank, with the powerhouse located one kilometer upstream of the Myagdi and Mudi Rivers’ confluence.

Water channeled through a 3.553-kilometer tunnel will be delivered to the powerhouse from a 300.88-meter-high head. A 797.96-meter-long penstock pipe will connect the outlet to the powerhouse to generate electricity.

Four additional hydropower projects have been approved for construction along the Myagdi River, which flows through the foothills of the Dhaulagiri Mountains. The 53.5-megawatt Upper Myagdi First project has commenced construction, while the 14.7-megawatt Mudikhola and 57.3-megawatt Myagdi Khola projects are constructing access roads.

Meanwhile, Dhaulagiri Kalika Hydro Limited laid the foundation stone for the 25-megawatt Darwang Myagdikhola Hydropower Project in Malika Rural Municipality five years ago, but progress on the project has stalled.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 148, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 149, 000 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 60 and is being traded at Rs 1, 760 per tola.

As of early Dec 2024, 4,061 foreign tourists have visited Upper Mustang. In comparison, 3,484 foreign tourists visited the region in the entire year of 2023. While the number of tourists increased by 14.2 percent in 2024, the average percentage of tourists visiting Upper Mustang this year is 0.71 percent lower than in 2023.

In 2023, 90,356 foreign tourists visited Mustang district, with only 3,484 (3.85 percent) traveling to Upper Mustang. From January to November 2024, a total of 128,991 foreign tourists visited Mustang, of whom 4,061 went to Upper Mustang, according to the National Trust for Nature Conservation's Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) office in Lo Manthang.

In 2023, 139 tourists from SAARC countries and 3,345 other foreign tourists visited Upper Mustang. This figure rose to 226 SAARC tourists and 3,835 other foreign tourists in 2024, marking an increase of 87 SAARC tourists and 490 other foreign tourists.

ACAP Lo Manthang Office Chief, Umesh Poudel, noted a statistical increase in tourist arrivals in 2024. “Although the percentage of visitors to Upper Mustang compared to the whole district is lower, the actual number of both SAARC and foreign tourists has slightly increased,” Poudel said.

Factors contributing to this increase include the easing of Covid-19 risks, the introduction of online ticketing for the Annapurna Conservation Area, international media coverage of Mustang, and the promotion of Upper Mustang’s religious and cultural heritage.

Despite the yearly growth in foreign tourist arrivals in Mustang, only about three percent of these visitors venture to Upper Mustang. This is attributed to its remote geography, high permit fees, and restrictions. Upper Mustang, situated near the northern Chinese border at Korala, is known for its 1,400-year-old palaces, monasteries, stupas, and other archaeological and cultural sites such as the Lo Manthang Palace, Zhong Cave, Ghar Gumba, and Luri Gumba. These sites attract tourists interested in research and Tibetan culture.

The $500 fee for a 10-day permit to Upper Mustang, with an additional $50 per day for overstaying, is a major deterrent. Restrictions also limit access to VIP tourists, with geopolitical sensitivities exacerbated by China’s monitoring of the area following the Tibetan monk Karmapa Lama’s escape to India through Korala in 2000.

Local leaders and tourism entrepreneurs have urged the government to lift these restrictions or reduce the fees to boost tourism. On Oct 30, representatives of Lo Manthang Rural Municipality, Lo Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, and three other local levels submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak during the inauguration of an immigration office in Korala. They argued that viewing Upper Mustang from a security perspective was harming its tourism potential and economic prosperity.

Similar appeals were made to former Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during their visit to Mustang in 2023 for the Climate Dialogue program. However, the government has yet to act on these demands, according to Lopsang Chomphel Bista, chairman of Lo Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, who emphasized the need to address the concerns of the people of Upper Mustang.

For members of the general public, it is getting increasingly difficult these days to know which piece of information is fake and which is not. Recently, a fake video of an incident of manhandling went viral. Apparently, the video was targeted at the country’s top political leadership. 

This, just days after a sustained effort to drag the leadership into controversy over alleged investments offshore.

A cursory reading of unsavory comments in relation to such controversial and often fake contents paints an alarming picture. It shows anarchy reigns supreme in parts of the cyberscape as in several other parts of national life, including in politics. It may be because of poor service delivery on the part of state organs. Worse still, it may be an indication of the direction we are taking as a society. 

In a real democracy, healthy criticism of the government is always welcome. The free press, if it is indeed worth its name, is at the forefront when it comes to taking the government to task. Sadly, there have been instances, in Nepal and elsewhere, where the vanguards of the permanent opposition have paid—and continue to pay—heavy prices for not sparing a government, democratic or otherwise.

Rulers, regardless of their hues and shades, often fail to realize that they should not shoot the messenger just because they don’t like the message. Even those at the helm in great democracies tend to forget that the media is a watchdog, not a lapdog. 

This selective amnesia comes from state powers, unbridled or otherwise. Indeed, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The freedom of expression, the freedom of the press and several other freedoms are enshrined in our Constitution. These freedoms come with boundaries attached. 
Notwithstanding the red lines, cyberspace has become a mute spectator as outlets, in their desperate bids to go viral, cross the limits and resort to misinformation, disinformation and fake news, often targeting high-profile figures, among others. There’s an ecosystem behind it all, with links beyond the national jurisdiction.

Alarmingly, recent days have also seen attempts to malign Nepal as an unsafe neighbor and destabilize the polity by predicting that the government will collapse pretty soon.

In the face of misinformation, disinformation and fake news spreading like wildfire amid proliferation of advanced technologies like AI, our government seems to be in deep slumber.

Time has come for the government to wake up and rein in this sorry situation by safeguarding freedoms enshrined in our charter and improving its poor service delivery, which seems to be the root cause of rising discontent in social media and beyond.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari and his South Korean counterpart, Inkyo Cheong, signed a bilateral Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) agreement.

The agreement was signed in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of completion of 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the RoK.

On the occasion, Minister Bhandari expressed the confidence that the TIPF agreement will take the diplomatic, cultural and economic ties between the two countries to a new high. He stated that the government is committed to creating a favorable environment for foreign investment in Nepal, said Ananda Bhatta, Minister' Bhandari's personal secretary.

South Korea's Trade Minister Cheong said that the companies from his country have invested in the hydropower, automobile, assembling, among other sectors, in Nepal. He opined that the TIPF agreement will take the relations and economic collaboration between the two countries to a new height.

Recalling the cordial ties between the two nations since the past, Minister Cheong underscored on promoting partnership between them.

Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board Nepal, Sushil Gyawali made a presentation on the investment climate and opportunities in Nepal. Industrialists and businessmen from Nepal and South Korea attended the program.

Chief of the Bilateral Trade Division at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Baburam Adhikari made a presentation on the existing trade policy of Nepal and topics of improvement on it.

Officials from the Ministry, the Investment Board Nepal and the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul from the government side and some 30 businessmen including President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Chandra Dhakal, on behalf of the Nepali business sector, participated in the program organized by the Korea Nepal Business Forum.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 31. 43 points to close at 2,596.82 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 35 points to close at 445. 77 points.

A total of 9,832,308-unit shares of 310 companies were traded for Rs 4. 76 billion.

Meanwhile, Support Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. (SMB) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Narayani Development Bank Limited (NABBC) was the top loser with its price dropped by 9. 21 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 30 trillion.