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The 'Dhegaun' of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality-5 of Mustang, which was full of human settlement two decades ago, is now turning empty.

Climate change is believably one of the reasons behind the eviction of villagers. With drying up of water sources in the village due to the effects of climate change, people were forced to leave the settlement.

The mass displacement did not only desert the village but also cause gradual disappearance of local traditions, culture and history.

Old houses are collapsing and the settlement looks ruined and rugged. Hundreds of hectares of cultivable land have turned barren due to the outflow of the locals in search of water.

Loghekar Damodarkunda rural municipality-5 ward chair Pasang Gurung said there was no one living in the village due to internal migration with the deepening water crisis.

"After the drying up of irrigation and drinking water sources, there was no condition to live", he said. People are forced to abandon their settlements with humans and animals being deprived of access to drinking water.

The ward chair bemoaned although he had spent his life at Dhe village since childhood, he was now forced to leave due to the water crisis.

Farming and livestock are the main sources of livelihood for the people. Ward Chair Gurung said that the water source has dried up after low volume of snowfall in the winter. "Snow was the main source of water, but due to climate change, there was a decreasing volume of snow", he said. According to him, the locals now go to the cowshed only to graze sheep and goats in the rainy season.

Agricultural land has not been cultivated when there was no adequate rainfall and drying up of irrigation water sources.

Dhey village was located in ward 9 of the then Surkhang Village Development Committee. At present, Dhe and Thamjung fall in the same ward. There is a large population of Gurung and Lowa people here.

The then VDCs and district development committees had initiated the process of relocating the settlements when water shortage was looming large.

Ward Chair Gurung said that infrastructure has been constructed in the new settlement with the help of the government and donor agencies. They are cultivating apples in the new settlement.

"We have been affected the most by the rise in temperature and climate change", he said.

The Dhe village is about 4,000 meters above sea level. The Thamjung-based new settlement on the banks of the river is at an altitude of 3,700 meters.

At present, there are 26 households in the village. Along with the settlement, the school has been shifted to Thamjung. Since 2064 BS, the migration to Thamjung had started.

Thamjung, which is close to Charang and Surkhang, has drinking water, electricity and other facilities. 

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said the country has witnessed impacts of monsoon winds along with partial influence of low-pressure system in and around north-eastern Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh of India.

At present, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country including Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hilly region including Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

There is a possibility of a wind storm in some places of the Tarai region of Lumbini province. Similarly, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and partly cloudy in the rest of the country tonight.

Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces.

In the next 24 hours, light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of the hilly region and at one or two places of the rest of the country.

There is a possibility of wind storm in some places of Lumbini and Tarai region of Sudurpaschim Province.

Instagram is a treasure trove of recipes. Bollywood celebrity Janhvi Kapoor, in an interview, swore by healthy recipes that she had stumbled upon on Instagram. This week we bring to you three Instagram accounts that can inspire you to cook healthy meals at home, pay attention to what you are eating, try and incorporate all the required nutrients in your diet.

The Classy Foodophile

Pavitra Kaur is the digital content creator behind this amazing account that has over 200 healthy recipes. The voice over is soothing and makes you want to keep scrolling through her page. Kaur is currently pregnant so she also shares ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos that are extremely helpful if you want to eat clean and get more protein in your diet. The account is a good one to follow if you want to whip up quick and easy meals at home. There are plenty of breakfast and lunch recipes that we are sure everyone will love. She also has a website if you would like to get your hands on the many cutesy products she uses in her reels.

Flavoromas

Banker turned blogger Zaha S’s page is a delight. She shares easy recipes and lunch plate ideas that inspire you to create your own ‘perfect’ meals. The content creator is all about finding balance in life through cooking and organizing and uses her account to share that with her followers. You will also find quite a lot of lifestyle inspiration in the posts. We love how aesthetic everything looks. There are great ASMR feels in many of the posts that you will want to watch them on repeat. There aren’t many recipes but you get a sense of what food goes well together as well as many ideas for your own innovative meals by watching the reels.  

The Modern Desi.co

A software engineer by day in Australia, Bhavna Kalra would apparently turn to desi food whenever she felt homesick. This eventually led to her becoming an avid food blogger. Her Instagram page has lots of recipes that look like modern, contemporary food but is actually a traditional meal at heart. The point of modern desi is to connect people and cultures with the shared love of food. Every recipe is accompanied by a personal story that makes it all the more enticing. If the Instagram account doesn’t satiate your hunger for food content, we recommend heading over to the website that is filled with a lot of inspiration and posts to get you thinking creatively about food.

Eight elephant calves are arriving at the Elephant Breeding and Training Center of the Chitwan National Park (CNP) at Khorsor this year.

While two calves have already been born, the Centre is awaiting the birth of the remaining six, said Mana Puran Chaudhary, Chief of the Training Centre.

According to him, Karnalikali gave birth to a male calf on May 25 while Himalikali gave birth to a female calf on May 29.

Devikali, Tirthaman Kali and Rimjhim Kali are expecting to give birth within October 16. Similarly, Tamorkali, Loktantrakali and Chitwankali are giving birth within this year.

The elephant calves are trained three years after birth, Chaudhary said.

There are 11 mother elephants and 10 calves at the Breeding Center at present. The Center started to be operated in 2044 BS. Calves started to be born in 2054 BS and so far, 67 calves have been born.

The calves born here are mobilized at different posts of CNP after training them.

The French Embassy in Nepal has felicitated Nepali athlete Palesha Goverdhan amidst a function in Kathmandu.

Nepal's first Paralympic medalist Palesha was honored for her achievement in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. She won a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg category of Para taekwondo.

It was a proud moment for Nepal and a significant milestone in the country's sporting history, the French Embassy in Nepal stated in a press release.

The event was attended by Minister for Youth and Sports, Teju Lal Chaudhary, sports representatives, and business leaders.

On the occasion, French Ambassador Virginie Corteval congratulated Goverdhan for her hard work and success. The Ambassador remarked, “Palesha, you are a beacon of hope and determination. Your journey reflects the audacity to dream and conquer challenges. You have revealed the immense talent of Nepali athletes to the world.”

The event also served as an opportunity to introduce the Choose France/Marque France initiative, which encourages collaboration in business, culture, education etc between France and other countries, including Nepal.

In alignment with the values of the Choose France/Marque France campaign, Goverdhan’s achievement reflects the spirit of perseverance, cooperation, and excellence that both nations strive to promote, it was shared.

Moreover, the Embassy announced the Choose France Tour, scheduled for 28 September 2024 at the Alliance Française, where Nepali students will have the chance to learn more about studying in France and meet the representatives from more than 15 prestigious French educational institutions.

Garlic smuggling through the Indian border at Nawalparasi continues unabated, with an increase in the smuggling of Chinese garlic from Nepal to India. On Monday, a team from the Revenue Investigation Office in Butwal seized over 11,000 kg of garlic during a raid on a warehouse at the border post following complaints of increased smuggling. The investigation is ongoing, according to the Revenue Office. Smuggling has risen as garlic fetches a higher price in India, selling for Rs 30 to 40 per kg. Garlic is being sent to India from Bujhawa, Basaiya, Germi, and other points in the district.

Traders have registered firms near Dashagaja in the border area, building large warehouses under the firm's name to store garlic and other goods. Much of the garlic purchased in Nepal is billed and stored, creating a legal challenge for security officers trying to arrest those involved in smuggling. The garlic is reportedly sent to India at night, crossing Dashagaja, just 50 meters away. 

SP Gyanendra Phuyal, head of the District Police Office in Nawalparasi, said that while authorities receive information about garlic stored in warehouses at the border, the presence of a bill makes it difficult to make arrests. “We get information that goods are coming, but when we check, there is a bill. It’s a legal issue, as it’s permitted to take the goods to the firm near Dashagaja,” Phuyal said.

Smuggling has reportedly been encouraged by revenue office teams who sometimes leave without checking the details of purchases and sales, despite posing as bill collectors. “It’s clear where the goods have gone by looking at the bill and the sales account, but failure to check increases suspicion of the raiding teams,” said a police officer.

SP Phuyal suggested that preventing smuggling would be easier if goods were required to be stored at least 500 meters to one kilometer from the Nepal-India border. Armed Police Force SP Prakash Wagle noted that they have been unable to enforce this as the revenue office holds the authority to raid warehouses and inspect bills.

There are reportedly more than 20 registered firms near Dashagaja in the district, many of which are illegally sending goods to India under the guise of legitimate firms. On Monday, a team from the Revenue Office, with the help of the Armed Police and Customs Office, raided a warehouse in Pratappur Rural Municipality-5, Basaiya. During the raid, 119 quintals of garlic were found in the warehouse of local Ajay Harijan, according to Manoj Sahni, branch officer of the revenue office. “We’ve requested the bill. The auditor claimed he will bring it later. We’ve issued a written order to submit the documents to the office by Thursday,” said Sahni.

The Manakamana Cable Car resumed after an upgrade today.

With the upgrade, the cable transportation run by the Manakamana Darshan Pvt Ltd has gone digital.

The cable car had halted its service since July 15 to change the rope. The ropeway service in operation for 26 years through the analogue system has been upgraded to digital technology, according to Deputy General Manager of Manakamana Darshan Pvt Ltd, Ujjwal Sherchan.

The ropeway's transformation from analogue to digital operation was accomplished with the technological supervision of engineers from Austria.

The cable car was initiated on November 24, 1998 to facilitate the religious visitors' access to the famous Manakamana Temple located at Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality of Gorkha district.

The bottom station of the ropeway is at Cheres of Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality of Chitwan.

The Potato Zone Development Program has been introduced in Mustang for the current fiscal year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development implemented this program in Mustang for the fiscal year 2024/25, aiming to increase potato production and productivity, reduce imports, and support food security.

Netra Prasad Bhatta, head of the project implementation unit in Mustang, said, “A budget allocation of Rs 12.7m has been made, of which Rs 11.7m will be spent on subsidies for the Potato Zone.” He added that the remaining Rs 1.3m will be used for service programs, including training, technology exhibitions, crop cutting, and data collection under the Potato Zone.

A total of 500 hectares has been designated for the Potato Zone Development Program. Farmers from agricultural farms, groups, and cooperatives within the zone are eligible to submit proposals. They will receive an 85 percent subsidy for infrastructure development and a 50 percent subsidy for the purchase of equipment, seeds, and other production and processing materials.

The Ministry of Animal and Poultry Development believes there is great potential for potato cultivation in Mustang, a Himalayan district with a temperate climate. In the fiscal year 2023/24, Mustang produced 7,031 tons of potatoes from 459 hectares, according to data from the Agriculture Knowledge Center.

Mustang’s local white potato is planted in March/April in Upper Mustang and harvested in August. In Lower Mustang, it is planted and harvested in February. Due to Mustang’s cold climate, the potatoes are known for their taste, juiciness, and high quality.