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A staff nurse was found murdered in Biratnagar on Friday.

DSP Ranjan Kumar Dahal of the District Police Office, Morang said that Chandrika Kumari Das (22), who has been living at a rented room in Biratnagar-4, was found murdered this afternoon.

According to him, Das was working at the Nobel Teaching Hospital in Biratngar.

Das, a permanent resident of Phulkahakatti, Siraha, has been living as a tenant in the house of Dhirenda Giri at Budhathoki Marga in Biratnagar-4 near the hospital.

DSP Dahal said that the body was found in a toilet of the house at around 12 pm.

He said that she was murdered by using a sharp weapon.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said he is doing his best to expedite works of the Budhigandaki Hydroelectric Project.

Receiving a memorandum from a delegation comprising people's representatives from the Gorkha and Dhading districts today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister said, "The matter will be discussed in a meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for today itself," pledging to prioritize the implementation of the Project.

The Budhigandaki Project with a capacity of generating 1200 mw of electricity is yet to be implemented in absence of the preparation of its investment model, though it has been decided to implement it through domestic investment.

The delegation comprises chairperson of Gandaki Rural Municipality in Gorkha, Deepak Timilsina; Chairperson of Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality, Ramesh Babu Thapa Magar; Chair of Bhimsen Rural Municipality, Lok Prasad Banjara; Chair of Arughat Rural Municipality, Raju Gurung; Mayor of Palungtar Municipality, Bibash Chintan; Chair of Tripurasundari Rural Municipality in Dhading, Raju Upreti; and Chair of Jwalamukhi Rural Municipality, Yamanath Danai.

During the meeting, the delegation urged the Prime Minister to promptly ensure the economic sources for the Project and its implementation. 

The local representatives apprised the Prime Minister that the absence of the project implementation has caused more problems for the people of the affected areas.

On Thursday, Budhigandaki Hydroelectricity Company Board of Directors presented drafts of two proposed models to implement the project to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.

According to Company Chief Executive Officer, Jagat Shrestha, the Board of Directors meeting on Thursday endorsed the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and other two alternative models for the Project.

The Ministry is preparing to take a necessary decision on the proposed draft and send it to the Ministry of Finance seeking an approval. 

The total construction cost of the project (when the interest of the construction period is also added) will be equivalent to Rs 317 billion and 670 million as the first option while it will be equivalent to Rs 313 billion and 930 million as the second alternative. The total construction cost is estimated to be Rs 310 billion and 470 million as the third option.

It is said that out of this cost, the total loan would be equivalent to Rs 254 billion and 270 million.

A money transfer operator has been shot at by unidentified persons in Rautahat on Friday.

Police said that Nitesh Sah, operator of Shiva Money Transfer in Paroha Municipality-9, was shot at today.

Lawmaker Kiran Sah of Rautahat-2 had informed the Parliament meeting about the incident.

He demanded that the assailants be brought to book at the earliest.

The government is likely to miss revenue targets yet again.

Data released by the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) shows the government has mobilized Rs 661bn in revenue in the first eight months of the fiscal year 2023/24. Although the collection is 7.13 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year, it is only 41 percent of the revenue target for the current fiscal year.

The government initially set a revenue target of Rs 1,422bn for the current fiscal year through the annual budget announced on May 28 last year. It, however, lowered the revenue target to Rs 1,202bn through the mid-term review of the budget since revenue collection was not picking up as expected.

To meet the revised revenue target, the government needs to raise Rs 541bn in the remaining four months of the fiscal year which is unlikely as the government had mobilized Rs 393bn in the last four months of the previous fiscal year. This means the government needs to collect 38 percent more revenue compared to the last months of 2022/23 to meet the revenue target. Even if the revenue collection in the last four months of the current fiscal year follows the trend of the first eight months, total revenue collection will still be below Rs 1,100bn.

Although the government has managed to mobilize only Rs 661bn over the first eight months of the current fiscal year, it has spent Rs 801bn in the review period, according to FCGO. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, such spending was Rs 779bn.

Of the total spending, Rs 582bn is in recurrent expenditure and Rs 81.21bn is in capital expenditure, while Rs 138bn is toward financial management. In the first eight months of the previous fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 600.8bn toward recurrent expenditure, Rs 84.25bn toward capital expenditure, and Rs 86.12bn toward financial management.

According to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the government has mobilized Rs 578m from tax revenue and Rs 60.37bn from non-tax revenue in the eight-month period.

The government had mobilized Rs 500.18bn from tax revenue, Rs 56.8bn from non-tax revenue, and Rs 35.3bn from other sources in the first eight months of fiscal year 2022/23.

Nepali Congress has demanded resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

Speaking at the Parliament meeting today, lawmaker Pradeep Paudel said that Lamichhane should resign on moral grounds as questions have been raised against him.

“He should not have been the Home Minister with questions on him. The Prime Minister should not have appointed a person with questions as the Home Minister. People have been cheated in 31, 000 cooperatives. How can the victims’ problems be solved when the person under investigation is appointed as the head of the investigation department,” he questioned.

Saying that the Congress has been constantly raising questions in the Parliament, he alleged that the Prime Minister has been ignoring to answer them.

“Instead of facing the questions raised by the Congress for the past few days, he has been running away from them. The Prime Minister's double standard has been seen on this issue,” he said.

Leader Paudel said that the Congress will keep on raising questions until the Prime Minister gives satisfactory answers on the questions raised against the Home Minister.

Home Minister Lamichhane is accused of misappropriating the deposits of a cooperative.

Pokhara is to be declared as the tourism capital of the country.

Pokhara would be declared tourism capital on March 17 in presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Gandaki Province Kuman Singh Gurung shared that the announcement program would be organized by Gandaki Province government and Pokhara Metropolitan City.  

A rally with different cultural processions would be taken out from Basundhara Park before the announcement. 

The announcement program would be organized at the bank of Fewa lake, Barahighat, according to the organiser. 

Pokhara would be officially declared as the tourism capital by unveiling the tourism capital marker, he added.

A main ceremony committee has been formed under coordination of the Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City to make the declaration ceremony grand.

Chief secretary of Gandaki Province, all secretaries, chairpersons of Rupa, Madi, Machhapuchchhre, Annapurna Rural Municipalities of Kaski, Phedikhola of Syangja, Suklagandaki of Tanahun, Kushma and Modi Rural Municipality of Parbat, tourism related organizations are in the committee. 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 125, 800 per tola today.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 124, 800 per tola.

Meanwhile, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,515 per tola today.

The Janak Education Materials Center Limited is preparing to supply school textbooks across the country before the start of the academic year 2081 BS. 

For this to materialize, the Center is completing the printing of school textbooks by March 28.

The Center then plans to distribute the school textbooks from nine distribution centers of all seven provinces from March 29.

Managing Director of Centre, Anil Kumar Jha, said that the Center has completed printing of 95 percent of the total textbooks from grade 5 to 10. "Printing of remaining textbooks will be completed and we will start distribution from March 28 itself. Entire set of the textbooks of all classes will reach students' hands till the start of the academic year," Jha stated.

Currently, the Center is printing 100,000 pieces of textbooks on a daily basis by running its printing press round the clock.

The Center is to print 17.5 million pieces of the school textbooks for the new academic session.

According to Jha, the Center is committed to completing the printing of the remaining 1.8 million pieces of the school textbooks within two weeks and ensuring timely distribution.

For the distribution bid, first priority will be given to the districts of the mountain region and then to the hilly districts.

There will be no shortage of the school textbooks this year too like that of the previous year, Jha shared.