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Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions increased significantly in the first month of the current fiscal year 2024/25 (mid-July to mid-August), a recent study report of the Nepal Rastra Bank  (RRB) shows.

A total of 74,380 individuals conducted RTGS transactions worth Rs 1080.3bn during the review month. This is an increase of 65.13 percent compared to total RTGS transactions of Rs 654.11bn in the previous month (mid-June to mid-July). The number of transactions between mid-July to mid-August (2.86m), however, was lower compared to mid-June to mid-July when 2.98m RTGs transactions were conducted, Monthly Payment Systems Indicators Report of the central bank shows.

RTGS refers to a funds transfer system in which the transfer of funds between one bank and another takes place in ‘real time’ and on a ‘gross’—transaction by transaction—basis.

During the first month of 2024/25, people withdrew Rs 87.87bn from ATMs, a slight decrease compared to Rs 91.26bn withdrawn by 11.21m people in the previous month of mid-June to mid-July. 

Transactions through ConnectIPS saw a decline in both the number of users and transaction volumes during mid-July to mid-August. According to the report, 6.84m users processed total transactions worth Rs 525.33bn through connectIPS during the review month, down from Rs 666.58bn processed by 7.79m in the previous month. 

According to the report, transactions through internet banking saw an increase to Rs 22.49bn in the first month of the previous fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August), compared to Rs 17.73bn in mid-June to mid-July. The number of people doing internet banking transactions also increased to 409,065 from 351,301 transactions during the period. Mobile banking transactions also increased to Rs 377.63bn in the review month compared to Rs 373.97bn in the previous month.

Transaction through digital wallets increased by 14.55 percent to Rs 43.69bn during mid-July to mid-August compared to Rs 38.14bn. The number of transactions, however, fell to 30.87m, down from 32.1m in the previous month. 

QR-based payments increased to Rs 62.28bn during mid-July to mid-August compared to Rs 61.73bn in the previous month. Such transactions during the review month, however, recorded more than 100 percent growth compared to the last first month mid-July to mid-August of last year when QR-payments worth Rs 29.99bn were recorded.

The Madhes Province government has decided to allocate Rs 10 million each to the eight districts in the province for the emergency relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the loss and damage caused by the relentless rain.

The provincial government has also decided to immediately allot Rs 50 million to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development for the reconstruction of roads damaged due to the flooding in the Madhes.

A meeting of the Madhes Province Government on Sunday took these decisions, Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh said.

"The meetings of the Provincial Security Committee has been ordered under the leadership of the Minister of Home, Communications and Law of the Madhes government and it has been urged to collect details of the damage at the ward-level," Chief Minister Singh said, adding that eight districts of the Madhes province have been affected by the floods and landslides.

According to the Chief Minister, the worst hit areas include Hanumannagar, Kankalani in Saptari by the swollen Koshi river, the Rajdevi Municipality in Rautahat by the Bagmati river, and various local levels including Balara Municipality in Sarlahi by the Bakaiya and Bafmati rivers.

Chief Minister Singh said the provincial government has made an open call to all the donor agencies for relief and a decision has been made to reach the affected areas. He also said that the bodies concerned have been directed to provide prompt health services in the affected areas in the Madhes.

The Lumbini Province government has put its subordinate bodies on standby to respond to potential risks from natural disasters.

The government has expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and properties in disasters caused by the continuous three-day rains in the province. 

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Monday has stressed the need to mobilize all mechanisms considering that greater cooperation is essential for effectively managing situations before, during, and after disasters, according to Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, Bhumishwor Dhakal.

The meeting agreed to establish a road infrastructure development office in Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East).  Eleven districts in the province already have such offices.

According to Minister Dhakal, the Cabinet decided to designate roles and responsibilities of the secretary recently transferred here.

As per the decision, Bhimarjun Pandey has been designated to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Bhupendra Thapa to the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, and Ishwor Raj Paudel has been assigned to oversee the Office of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers.

It also endorsed the Province Gazette and Regulations on Editing and Publications of Laws – 2081 BS.

Water supply of Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Ltd (KUKL) has been disrupted in Lalitpur due to the flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rain.

The KUKL Lalitpur branch chief, Leela Bhatta, informed that the water supply has been interrupted due to the recent relentless rains, as the penstock pipe from Pharping Pump House and the pipeline from Nallu in Lalitpur to Chapagaun Panipokhari have been damaged.

"The pipeline and intake of water coming from Nallu have been completely damaged. There has not been any on-site inspection due to the landslide in Pharpingdanda. The pipe is bent and broken in some places and it will take some time to restore it", Bhatta said. 

Chief Bhatta said that it is difficult to reach the source and conduct an on-site inspector as the road has been damaged following the landslide.

Bhatta informed that about 70 percent of households will be affected.

It is shared that it will take 10 days to restore the service after the assessment of the damage caused by the disaster through on-site inspection.

Two-way traffic along the Prithvi Highway has resumed after clearing the landslide debris since this morning.

The Bimalnagar-Aanbukhaireni section has been opened for two-way traffic after the removal of large boulders that had fallen on the road in Bimalnagar, Bandipur Rural Municipality-4 of Tanahun along the Prithvi Highway.

Due to the landslides triggered by incessant rain, the section, which was operated one way after removing the fallen boulders on Sunday afternoon, has been resumed for two-way traffic since this morning.

Vehicles were banned for some time in the morning to remove the boulders. Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Rai of the District Police Office in Tanahun said that all road sections in the district were made operational now.

Among the roads obstructed following heavy rainfall and landslides, three roads connecting Hetauda-Kathmandu of Makawanpur and Hetauda-Dharan-Chatara have come into operation.

According to the District Police Office, traffic has resumed on Hetauda-Bhaise, Simbhanjyang-Palung-Naubise and Hetauda-Sindhuli-Dharan Chatara roads along the Madan Bhandari Highway since this morning.

Similarly, the Hetauda-Bhaise-Chitlang-Chandragiri-Kathmandu road along the Tribhuvan Highway came into operation on Sunday evening.

Police Inspector Thakur Prasad Sapkota, acting spokesperson at the District Police Office, informed that the traffic has resumed after removing the landslide debris.

The road was obstructed after a landslide at Daman in Thaha Municipality-5 in Makawanpur. It is still completely blocked due to landslides at Ghattepakha of Bakaiya Rural Municipality-12 and Lamrang and the ward 11, Ampachaur.

According to Police Inspector Sapkota, the Kulekhani-Fakhel-Farping road of Indrasarovar Rural Municipality-3 has been completely obstructed due to A landslide at Ram Chandra Bhanjyang along the Dakshinkali-Chhaimle-Sisneri road.

The Thankot-Kulekhani road section has been completely disrupted due to A landslide at Simlang of Indrasarovar Rural Municipality-1 on the Kulekhani-Markhu inner road section.

Sapkota said that the road connecting Hetauda-Kulekhani has been completely blocked due to landslides at Ratomate of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-4 and Dhokaphedi of Bhimphedi-6.

Efforts are being made to clear the landslide debris, he added.

The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has decided to provide Rs 10 million to the Nepalis affected by floods, landslides and inundation in different parts of the country due to incessant rains.

In a virtual meeting held on Sunday, the NRNA office-bearers decided to provide Rs 10 million for the flood victims in the first phase, NRNA President Dr Badri KC informed.

The meeting has formed a high-level financial assistance collection committee under the coordination of NRNA vice-president Dr Hemraj Sharma.

The committee comprises office-bearers of the association, regional coordinators and chairs of the National Coordination Council.

Pakistan has expressed its readiness to provide assistance to Nepal affected by floods and landslides.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives due to devastating floods and extended sympathy on behalf of the government of Pakistan and the people of his country to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the people of Nepal.

According to its Kathmandu-based Embassy, Pakistan, which had suffered a calamitous flood in 2022, stood in full solidarity with Nepal in this hour of grief and expressed readiness to provide necessary assistance to the government of Nepal.