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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 36. 83 points to close at 2,749.57 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 8. 35 points to close at 489. 79 points.

A total of 28,346,246-unit shares of 322 companies were traded for Rs 12. 24 billion.

Meanwhile, Kutheli Bukhari Small Hydropower Limited (KBSH) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Three Star Hydropower Limited (TSHL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 10. 00 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 36 trillion.

For the farmers of Syangja district, who lost crops and livestock in wild animal attacks almost two years ago, relief is still beyond reach.

The afflicted farmers aired their woes at a training program organized under the aegis of the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN) to press for payment of relief funds for the harm caused in such attacks. 

Dilmaya Poudel from Putalibazar municipality-5 says she is yet to receive relief funds even after almost two years since the attack. After a leopard attacked and killed two goats during nighttime, Poudel asked for relief funds from the division office, to no avail. Like her, there are many victims that are yet to receive their relief funds. 

Per Amar Bahadur Parajuli, forest officer in the division office, the funds have been put on hold for 20 months. Previously, after validating attacks from wild animals, relief used to be distributed within a month. According to Parajuli, the lack of clear deadlines is behind the delays in the payment of funds. 

Two years ago, it was announced that the Forest Directorate will henceforth provide relief funds coming from the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). Per that announcement, the onus is on both ACAP and the directorate to deliver the funds. But this decision was not included in the budget, giving rise to some uncertainty that has caused delays in the payment of relief funds. 

“We have submitted a recommendation to the directorate and received information that the relief funds will be deposited in the farmers’ bank accounts,” Parajuli said, adding that both the provinces and local governments have allocated budgets for the topic.

Syangja has sent a recommendation for a total of Rs 1.787m in relief funds for the district. Out of 325 incidents reported from the district, one has harmed human life, 338 have caused harm to animals, 270 to birds, including Kalij, and caused loss of 20 quintals of corn. 

According to Navaraj Baral, Head of Division Forest Office, Syangja, the reporting period saw rescue/retrieval of 17 animals. The rescued animals include one leopard cub (rescued alive), three deer (rescued alive), seven dead leopards, and three dead deer.

Deputy Chief of Syangja District Coordination Committee Syangja, Khadga Raj Subedi, demanded immediate relief funds to the victims. Crops and livestock requiring farmers’ hard work, dedication and investments get destroyed/killed in seconds in wild animal attacks, therefore, there should be no delay in providing relief funds, he said. 

Kalidas Subedi, Gandaki province Chairperson of FECOFUN, central member Dob Bahadur Karki and Forest Officer Rookmangud Subedi informed about the directorate at the training program while FECOFUN Syangja Chair Tara Sharma informed about USAID Biodiversity’s contribution. Sharma said forest users should be made aware of the directorate, stressing the need to use state-provided facilities effectively. 

As part of the relief distribution plan being executed with USAID Biodiversity’s financial contribution, information about the behavior of wild animals, community’s responses and the directorate has been provided to members of FECOFUN. 

FECOFUN officials, members and representatives took part in the program held to promote rapid forest management, community rights, inclusivity, good governance and economic development. In case of harm caused to animals due to wild attacks, police recognition, forest management committee’s recommendation, ward office’s recommendation, photos of the incident, and veterinary hospital as well as agriculture office report should be presented. The government has brought the new wild animal attack relief fund directory 2023 in execution. Previously, relief used to be handed out for harm caused by leopards, now it covers losses caused by monkeys too.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 153, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 153, 100 per tola on Wednesday.

The price of silver, however, has decreased by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1,830 per tola today.

Vehicular movement has come to a grinding halt in the Karnali Highway due to a landslide triggered by incessant rainfall.

Public Information Officer at the Road Division Office Jumla Bir Bahadur GT said that the highway has been obstructed following a landslide at Gagnekhola of Kalikot along the Surkhet-Jumla road.

He said efforts are underway to clear the landslide debris.

Landslides have frequently occurred at Dahikhola, Gagnekhola, Esmod and Hulm along the Kalikot section of the Karnali Highway.

The revenue collection on the heading of 'real estate (house and land) registration' and 'vehicle tax' has dropped in the Bagmati Province. 

The revenue collected by the province government under these headings has also been affected due to the decline in the sale and purchase of real estate and new vehicles.

Real estate registration (land revenue) and vehicle tax are the main sources of revenue collection of the province government. According to the chief of Bagmati Province Treasury and Accounts Controller office, Hetauda, revenue of Rs 11.60 billion has been collected in the fiscal year 2080÷81 BS.

According to him, out of the target of collecting Rs 6.75 billion revenue from the real estate registration in the current fiscal year, about 81.32 percent or Rs 5.48 billion has been collected.

The monsoon winds continue to affect the weather condition across the country at present.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the low-pressure line of the monsoon is towards the south of its average location in the west and around average location in the east.

At present, it is partly to generally cloudy throughout the country. Light rain is taking place at one or two places in Gandaki and Bagmati Provinces. The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country today.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the country. Heavy rainfall is also likely to occur at one or two places of Koshi, Gandaki, Lumbini and Karnali Provinces. 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 with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces and at one or two places of rest of the provinces.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the country in the next 24 hours.

Heavy rainfall is also likely to occur at one or two places of Koshi, Gandaki, Lumbini and Karnali Provinces.

The Department has urged the authorities concerned to take necessary precautions to avoid the risk or damage of disasters like floods, landslides and soil erosion in those areas and this may partially affect daily life as well as agriculture, health, tourism, mountaineering, road and air transport in those areas.

The Government of Japan has provided a grant of Japanese Yen 454 million (approximately Rs 423 million) to Nepal to contribute to the implementation of the Project for Human Resource Development for the fiscal year 2024-25.

An agreement in this regard was formalized today with the signing and exchange of notes by both sides at the Ministry of Finance.

Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire, Secretary at the Finance Ministry, and Kikuta Yutaka, Japan's Ambassador to Nepal, signed the agreement from their respective sides.

The Japanese Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) Programme began in Nepal in 2015 with support from the Government of Japan and it is continuing phase-wise, the Ministry said in a press release.

The current grant will support the scholarship programme for 22 candidates: 20 for a two-year Master's Degree and two for a three-year PhD course at various universities in Japan.

To date, 127 JDS fellows including 125 master's degree holders and two doctoral degree holders have completed their studies in Japan and returned to Nepal while 35 are presently pursuing master's degrees and three PhD there.

During the signing ceremony, Secretary Dr Ghimire said that the scholarship programme will enhance the capabilities of Nepal's civil service, contributing to improving the public service delivery. As he hoped, it will also contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations between Nepal and Japan.

Ambassador Kikuta expressed his confidence that the JDS graduates will significantly impact Nepal's development and further enhance the longstanding cooperation between the two nations.

The government has expressed sincere appreciation and thanks to the Government of Japan for its continuous and generous support and commitment to the socio-economic and human resource development of Nepal.

More than 1,300 Nepali workers, who went abroad for employment through legal means, lost their lives in the last fiscal (2023-24), per government data. According to the Foreign Employment Board, 1,346 of the workers registered with the board died in 2023-24.

The highest number of deaths occurred due to various diseases and illnesses, with 321 workers falling victim to sickness.

During the reporting period, 199 workers died from heart attacks, 192 committed suicide, 157 died of natural causes and 157 lost their lives in road accidents. Additionally, 92 workers lost their lives due to other causes, and 46 died in workplace accidents.

Over the past year, 741,000 Nepalis—661,000 men and 80,000 women—went abroad for work, marking a surge in outmigration from a country that sees about 700,000 people seek foreign employment each year.

Government data indicate that around 1,000 Nepali workers die abroad each year, with four deaths occurring daily. 

A yearly surge in the number of Nepali migrant workers has led to an increase in fatalities of Nepalis abroad.

Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, 3,887 Nepali workers lost their lives, while in 2021-22, there were 1,479 deaths, followed by 1,030 deaths in 2022-23, and 1,346 in 2023-24.

Foreign employment experts attribute a high death rate among Nepali workers to a large number of unskilled laborers going abroad. In 2023-24, 145,000 unskilled workers and 532,000 workers with general skills left Nepal for foreign employment whereas only 60,000 semi-skilled and 732 highly-skilled workers went abroad.

Despite these fatalities, only the families of workers who went abroad with a valid work permit are eligible for compensation. If a worker dies within the period of work permit, the board provides compensation of Rs 700,000 to the bereaved family.

The board informed that it distributed Rs 699.9m as compensation to the families of workers who lost their lives abroad in the last fiscal.