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Tea cultivation has been initiated in the tourism area of Aamchok Rural Municipality to boost local income and promote tourism in Bhojpur. The project involves greening 14 plantations with significant tourism potential, contributing to the rural municipality's overall economic growth. The initiative, started in 2017/18, aims to utilize vacant land to expand tea cultivation and attract tourism. 

According to Ashok Rai, Chairperson of the rural municipality, “The municipality has invested Rs 45m so far.” Tea farming has been expanded in Wards No. 1, 2, 3, and 6, where the climate is suitable for cultivation. Rai emphasized the long-term plan to develop tea plantations, utilizing vacant land with strong tourism potential. 

“The municipality has systematically expanded tea cultivation over the past six years,” said Rai. “We aim to boost income and tourism by making good use of the vacant land. So far, about 1,400 ropani have been cultivated.” He believes the higher areas of the municipality have great potential due to favorable climate and geography. Programs are being conducted to encourage locals to plant tea on their private land.

Rajinkumar Rai, a local farmer from Balankha, noted that the higher areas are ideal for tea cultivation. “The municipality has encouraged us to expand tea farming, both for income and tourism.” The Aamchok Tea and Coffee Cooperative has been formed to manage the project systematically, with shares distributed to local residents, especially those with weak financial means. Of 10,000 shares, 9,000 were distributed by the village council, and 1,000 were allocated to poor and underprivileged families in the ‘D’ category.

According to municipal data, shares have been distributed to 1,163 extremely poor families in the affected areas. The rural municipality plans to establish a tea development organization once the necessary laws are in place.

Chief Administrative Officer Dhankumar Rai stated that a tea factory is being established in Ward No 2 to process the tea. The factory, funded by Rs 4.5m from the municipality and Rs 10m from the Koshi state government, is nearing completion.

“The work of expanding tea cultivation is ongoing, and the tea processing factory is in its final stages,” Officer Rai said. The municipality is also developing its own tea nursery, producing around 500,000 plants for the upcoming season. Along with tea, efforts are being made to expand coffee cultivation, with a coffee nursery also under development.

The 11th International Snow Leopard Day is being observed today to increase public awareness for safeguarding snow leopards.

The snow leopard which is only found in 12 countries of the globe is considered an indicator of fair mountainous ecology.

The theme of the day for the year 2024 is 'Safeguarding Snow Leopard Habitats for Future Generations'. This theme emphasizes the critical importance of protecting the natural habitats of snow leopards to ensure their survival and the health of mountain ecosystems.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment is marking the day by organizing several programs today. The Ministry's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation is releasing the snow leopard survey results of Kanchenjunga Conservation areas.

Director General of the Department, Ram Chandra Kandel informed that the snow leopard study report of Dolpa National Park will be made public and the photo frame of the wild yak taken inside Dolpa National Park will be unveiled.

He said climate change has affected the high mountainous regions more and its impact has reduced the habitat of snow leopards. He further said the habitat loss has led to a decrease in its food species.

"Nearly 60 percent of the snow leopard habitat is outside the park and such habitats are being fragmented", he shared, adding, "Additionally, there are other challenges such as entrapping snow leopard, adding poison to the diet, geographical difficulties, lack of proper technology, human resource and budget crunch for effective monitoring".

Pointing out the need for cooperation and coordination among the three levels of government for the conservation of snow leopard, DG Kandel said that the Department has been conducting surveys to spread awareness among the local community, monitor it and know about its condition, challenges and solutions.

"As a result, there has been a slight decrease in smuggling," he said. The Department has been helping to build a safe shed to protect the sheep, goats and sparrows of the locals from snow leopards.

Snow leopards are usually found at an altitude of 540 to 5,000 meters above sea level. Snow leopards have been listed by the IUCN as a global risk on the Red List.

Snow leopards are estimated to be between 300 and 500 snow leopards, an important part of the health ecosystem in the high mountainous region.

It is estimated that there are about 300 to 500 snow leopards in Nepal and about 4,000 to 6,500 in the world.

An amount nearly Rs 1.82 billion has been deposited to the Prime Minister Natural Disaster Relief Fund.

According to the details made public by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the amount was deposited to the fund for disaster survivors as of October 20. The fund has received contributions from different individuals, institutions, companies and agencies.

The government has been spending this amount for the relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the floods and landslides following the incessant rains on September 27-28.

It may be noted that the government has also declared the most affected and affected areas to categorically provide relief to the disaster-affected people in a smooth manner.

Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav has been admitted to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH).

He was admitted to the government hospital on Tuesday evening for hernia surgery.

According to Vice President's personal physician Dr Shivaji Bikram Silwal, he will undergo surgery today.

Vice President Yadav has been suffering from hernia related complications for a long time.

Professor Dr Ramesh Singh Bhandari and Associate Professor Dr Sumita Pradhan will perform the surgery.

With the shrinking of the country's construction works, import of petroleum products via Birgunj Customs has also been heavily dropped.

According to the Birgunj Customs Office, the import of diesel and petrol through the customs checkpoint has fallen by over 25 percent.

Birgunj is known as the trade transit point importing the highest volume of diesel and petrol to the country. A total of 135,518 kilolitres of high-speed diesel worth Rs 12.66 billion has been imported to the country via Birgunj during the three months of the current fiscal year.

According to Chief Administrator of the Customs Office Deepak Lamichhane, the import of high-speed diesel has decreased by 25.33 percent in the same period of the current fiscal year compared to that of the last fiscal year.

Revenue collection has also decreased by 27.43 percent with the decrease in diesel imports.

Under the Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline project, high-speed diesel is being imported through the pipeline while petrol import is being done through tankers. According to Nepal Oil Corporation's Provincial Office Chief at Amlekhgunj, Pralayankar Acharya the consumption of petroleum products has decreased due to lack of infrastructure and development activities. According to him, imports will increase as infrastructure and development activities increase.

Consumption of petroleum products has also decreased due to the increase in public attraction towards electric vehicles. 

Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal (FCAN)'s General Secretary Roshan Dahal complained that the construction sector has not been able to pace up during the rainy season and non-payment of completed projects by the government agencies.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has directed the parliamentary committees to table the bills which are under their consideration in the coming session of the Federal Parliament.

Speaker Ghimire issued such directives in the meeting with Committee presidents and chief whips and whips of the major political parties held at his office in Singha Durbar today.

On the occasion, the Speaker inquired about the number of bills under the consideration of the parliamentary committees and time required to pass them, said President of Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Welfare Committee, Abdul Khan.

In the meeting, the parliamentary committee presidents informed Speaker Ghimire that the committee meetings were not held in lack of a quorum as most of the lawmakers are in their hometown with the end of Parliament session, he shared. 

Speaker Ghimire had called presidents of those committees, where bills are under consideration for clause-wise discussion, and chief whips and whips of major political parties, in the meeting and held discussions on related matters.

Chief Whip of CPN-UML Mahesh Bartaula, Chief Whip of Nepali Congress Shyam Kumar Ghimire, Chief Whip of CPN (Maoist Centre) Hitraj Pandey, Chief whip of Rastriya Swatantra Party Santosh Pariyar, and Chief Whip of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Gyan Bahadur Shahi were called in the meeting. 

UML's Chief Whip Bartaula shared that Speaker Ghimire asked them to call the meeting of parliamentary committees.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 25.88 points to close at 2,665.81 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 4.47 points to close at 480. 71 points.

A total of 10,962,281-unit shares of 314 companies were traded for Rs 4. 17 billion.

Meanwhile, Rawa Energy Development Limited (RAWA) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 8. 86 percent. Likewise, Wean Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (WNLB) was the top loser as its price fell by 4.75 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 23 trillion.

Residents of Jhanjhe village in Gurans Rural Municipality-8, Dailekh, have been engaged in commercial vegetable farming, which sustains their annual income and daily livelihood. However, the farmers complain that they have yet to receive any services or facilities from the government. Despite exporting vegetables worth Rs 6m annually, including potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, chilies, and beans, they have not received improved seeds, training, or tools from NGOs either.

“Potato seeds have remained the same for 15 years,” said Tarakeshar Wali, a local farmer. “If the government had supported us, we could have increased production even more.”

Farmers have formed groups within the village and have requested grants, advanced seeds, and other resources from various agencies. However, they report receiving no subsidies or assistance so far. “We’ve heard the government provides subsidies to farmers, but we've received nothing,” said local farmer Man Kumari Khadka. “Neither advanced seeds nor medicine, and no one has trained us.”

The lack of government support for vegetable cultivation has frustrated the farmers. They believe that subsidies, advanced seeds, fertilizers, medicines, training, and agricultural tools could significantly boost their productivity. Farmers also criticize the local government and ward officials for failing to provide agricultural technology or tools and urge the construction of storage facilities to preserve potato seeds.

Transportation challenges

Farmers face significant challenges in transporting their produce to market due to the lack of road access. They are forced to carry their vegetables, which leads to losses as produce spoils before reaching buyers. Local farmer Krishna Khatri shared, “This year, I sold 20 quintals of potatoes and produced 15 quintals of bananas and cauliflower. However, we struggle to sell vegetables since we have to carry them to the market.”

Khatri added that vegetables rot because of the lack of roads, and multiple requests for road improvements have gone unanswered. “We’ve submitted four requests to the ward office, but no attention has been paid,” he said. Similarly, local farmer Pavitra Khadka expressed frustration, asking, “Where is the government for the farmers? We have grown vegetables with our own efforts, but we haven’t received any subsidies or assistance. No one has heard our concerns.”

Exporting Rs 6m worth of vegetables

Despite the lack of government support, the farmers continue to export vegetables worth Rs 6m annually. Potatoes alone account for Rs 2m of this, while cauliflower brings in Rs 1.5m. Tomatoes, chilies, and cucumbers generate Rs 500,000.

“This year, we exported 400 quintals of potatoes, and cabbage and cauliflower were sold in similar amounts,” said local farmer Gagan Bahadur Khatri. “If we had road access, our production could increase further. The village earns Rs 6m annually from vegetable sales, and with government support—such as roads, advanced seeds, fertilizers, marketing, training, and agricultural tools—we could increase both production and income.”

The farmers export their vegetables to markets in Surkhet and Dailekh, and with better infrastructure and support, they believe they could expand their farming efforts even further.