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This year’s Yashaswi Book Award 2081 will recognize six books across various categories. 

As announced in a press release by Ranjana Niraula, Director of Yashasvi Pragya Pratishthan, the awardees include Devvrat for his poetry collection ‘Aswasthamako Nidharbata Bagmati Bagchha’, Muna Chaudhary for her fiction ‘Laar’, and Momila Joshi for her non-fiction work ‘Prashnaharu Ta Baki Nai Rahanchhan’, which she will share with Arun Gupta for ‘Sanskriti Chintan’. Additionally, Rohini Rana’s ‘The Nepal Cook Book’ (English) and Yagyaraj Upadhyay’s research work ‘Kali-Karnaliko Lok Sahitya Tatha Sanskriti’ will also be recognized. 

The awards, which include a prize of Rs 20,000 for each recipient, will be presented at the Kathmandu-Kalinga Literary Festival on Sept 7.

Tara Air is going to resume its Pokhara-Jomsom from Tuesday.

The flight that was halted due to adverse weather will restart from tomorrow, said the Company in a press statement.

Sudarshan Bartaula, Aviation Security Officer at Tara Air, shared that the resumption of the flight is attributed to favorable weather and soon-to-start tourist season.

The aircraft will be stationed at Pokhara at night to facilitate the flight from Pokhara to Jomsom and vice versa, informed Bartaula, adding that the flight will be conducted from the old airport in Pokhara.

Situated at 2,736 meters above the sea level, the Jomsom Airport's runway's length measures at 739 meters.

Additionally, Tara Air has unveiled a flight schedule from Ramechhap-Lukla-Ramechhap from September 20 keeping the tourist season in mind.

The Airline has a plan to operate 10 to 15 flights daily from Manthali of Ramechhap district to Lukla in Solukhumbu district using its two twin Otter airplanes, according to Bartaula.

The arrangement is made taking into account the influx of tourists in the Everest region as the tourist season starts after the end of monsoon.

Lukla is considered to be the Gateway to the Everest Region that houses the highest mountain in the world-Mt Everest (Sagarmatha).

The tourist arrival in August this year soared by 8.3 percent as compared to the corresponding month last year, 2023.

According to the data of the Nepal Tourism Board, the country witnessed the arrival of 5,566 more tourists last month compared to the corresponding period last year.

In August 2023, a total of 67,153 visited Nepal and the figure was 72,719 tourists mostly from India (25,832) in 2024.

Four people have lost their lives to diarrhea in Narainapur.  Likewise, other seven have fallen ill due to diarrhea that broke out at Gegli Village in Narainapur Rural Municipality-3 of Banke district.

The deceased have been identified as 25-year-old Rusa Pasi, his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Nandini Pasi, 60-year-old Shanti Pasi and 10-year-old Yusuf Ali of Gegal, said Narainapur-3 ward chair Ajay Mishra.

Chief of the Health Section at Narainapur Rural Municipality, Nagendra Kumar Saha informed that diarrhea has been broken out at Gegli, a village bordering India.

"A team of health workers has reached the village and is providing treatment to the patients," he said. Coordination has also been made with the Health Office, Banke to control diarrhea, according to health workers.

The health workers said that the diarrheal outbreak might have been caused by impure drinking water.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 127.32 points to close at 2,823.25 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 22.94 points to close at 503. 83 points.

A total of 31,430,048-unit shares of 335 companies were traded for Rs 13. 10 billion.

Meanwhile, National Hydro Power Company Limited (NHPC), Best Finance Company Ltd. (BFC), Samriddhi Finance Company Limited (SFCL), Progressive Finance Limited (PROFL) and NLG Insurance Company Ltd. (NLG) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Laxmi Unnati Kosh (LUK) was the top loser as its price fell by 4.71 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 48 trillion.

Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios 2023 has unveiled the crown of Miss Universe Nepal 2024. The Crown Reveal Ceremony took place at the Hilton Kathmandu, where dignitaries, celebrities, and the top 22 contestants of Miss Universe Nepal 2024 gathered to witness the moment. The crown, named the ‘Star of the Universe’, is designed to represent empowerment, resilience, and the cultural richness of Nepal, says the pageant organizer. “Made from white gold and adorned with diamonds and vibrant gemstones, it symbolizes the beauty and strength of the women competing for the title.”

Palacios expressed her honor in unveiling the crown, stating that it represents not just beauty but the determination of every contestant. Before the crown reveal, the contestants participated in a preliminary round judged by a panel of experts. The Miss Universe Nepal 2024 grand finale will be held on Sept 7, where the winner will earn the chance to represent Nepal at Miss Universe 2024.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 152, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 152, 300 per tola on Sunday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 20 and is being traded at Rs 1,775 per tola today.

Nepal’s approach to mental health care is a tragic comedy of errors, a patchwork of underfunded programs, neglected policies, and insufficient services that barely scratch the surface of a growing crisis. Take Patan Mental Hospital, for example. It is the country’s only government-run mental hospital with as little as 50 beds, and is overburdened with the rising number of patients requiring inpatient care. As a result, individuals with severe conditions such as alcohol dependence syndrome, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are often turned away due to the lack of available beds. This is a dire situation, considering that mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a country where mental illness is still widely viewed as a result of bad karma, and the mentally ill are often subjected to stigmatization and abuse, the state of psychiatric care is nothing short of a human rights disaster.

The main root of this problem is however glaringly obvious: Nepal’s mental health sector is woefully underfunded. Various health forums reveal approximately 30 percent of Nepal’s population suffers from some form of mental health issue, yet over 90 percent of these individuals lack access to appropriate mental health services. This disparity is further exacerbated by the government’s negligible investment in mental health, which receives less than one percent of the total healthcare budget. This lack of funding perpetuates a cycle of inadequate services, leading to dire consequences for those who genuinely need help the most. Similarly, it has also been estimated that the number of psychiatrists in the country is as low as 144 while the number of psychologists in private practice is estimated to be around 30. This statistic is not something to be proud of; it’s an indictment of a system that has consistently failed its most vulnerable citizens.

This is not just a healthcare crisis; it is a human rights crisis. The lack of political will, combined with deep-seated stigma and cultural attitudes amongst people, means that mental health issues will remain on the back burner. Even when action plans are proposed, they are often crippled by insufficient funding, inadequate infrastructure, and bureaucratic incompetence. The government’s neglect has condemned people to suffer in silence, with little to no hope of recovery or social rehabilitation. Without significant reform, Nepal’s mental health crisis will continue to be sidelined, leaving an already vulnerable population even further behind. 

So what can the government do? For starters, let’s talk about funding. Currently, Nepal invests a negligible portion of its budget to this critical area, a figure that pales in comparison to other expenditures. By reallocating even a modest percentage of the funds currently allocated as “miscellaneous expenses,” the government could make substantial progress in addressing the mental health crisis. This additional funding could support the recruitment of more mental health professionals, establishment of new treatment centers, and the expansion of important facilities like the Mental Hospital in Patan. 

But beyond throwing money at the problem, there’s a need for a cultural shift. Discussion among people about mental health must be normalized. The government, alongside NGOs and INGOs, must take charge in education and awareness programs that destigmatize mental illness and seek help. More importantly, every school should incorporate mental health education into their curriculum from primary classes itself. 

More importantly, the government should draft and implement a separate and comprehensive mental health policy that addresses the entire spectrum of mental health care, from prevention to treatment to rehabilitation. It should not only improve psychiatric services but also integrate mental health into primary care, so that a visit to the local health post includes a mental health screening as well.

Another area for improvement is the training and retention of mental health professionals. The government should provide scholarships or some sort of incentives for students pursuing psychiatry or psychology which will help reduce the shortage of professionals in the field as it motivates other students to join the field as well. Furthermore, providing continuous training for existing health care workers would ensure that they are able to handle mental health issues competently.

Similarly, in today’s hyper connected world, tele-psychiatry and online counseling services would be a game changer in a country where many people live in remote areas with limited access to transportation and health care facilities. The government or the concerned stakeholders should consider partnering with tech companies that are able to develop and promote these kinds of services, making mental health care more accessible to those who need it.

It is not too late to change our course. With the right investments, policies, and cultural shifts, our country can begin to address the mental health crisis that has been hiding in plain sight. After all, a nation’s true strength is measured not by the height of its tallest buildings but by the well-being of all its people.

Aishwarya Koirala

BA IIIrd Year

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar