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The country reported almost 70,000 new patients of tuberculosis in the fiscal year 2079/80.

According to the National Tuberculosis Center, only 37,447 patients received treatment of the total 70,000 new patients reported in the year 2079/80 BS.

Likewise, the TB claims 18,000 lives in the country every year.

The information was shared today on the occasion of World TB Day, which was marked across the country by organizing different events with the theme "Yes! We can end TB".

Director of the Centre Dr Prajwal Shrestha said that the people aged 15 to 44 are more vulnerable to TB and the prevalence of TB is also among the senior citizens aged over 65.

Presently, the government is offering anti-TB medicines for free from 6,000 plus health institutions.

According to Director Shrestha, the country is implementing intervention programs against TB as a part of 'TB Free Nepal Campaign' and the identification, diagnosis and treatment services have been implemented in 125 local levels.

The Government of Nepal has set a target to eradicate TB from the country by 2050.

With the start of trekking and mountaineering season, daily flights to Lukla have started from Ramechhap's Manthali Airport.

Tara Air, Summit Air and Sita Air started regular flights to Solukhumbu's Lukla from today. It is believed that operation of flights from Manthali to Lukla and vice-versa will make the travel of tourists to the gateway of Mt Everest easier.

Since the Tribhuvan International Airport is busy during the tourist season, airlines bring tourists to Manthali and fly them to Lukla to avoid traffic jams. A large number of foreign tourists come twice a year to Lukla for hiking and climbing.

Previously, there used to be a large number of tourists visiting Khumbu region from the first week of October to the first week of November.

Praveen Subedi, Ramechhap in-charge of Tara Air, said that the number of tourists visiting from March to May this year is very high. He says that even though the flight started last Friday, flights were not operated that day due to bad weather.

Pooja Thapa, Acting Chief at the Office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Ramechhap, said that regular flights have been started from today with the improvement in the weather. 

She said that supply of aviation fuel has been arranged in Manthali.

Foreign tourists celebrated the Holi festival enthusiastically in Thamel, the major tourist hub in the federal capital Kathmandu and other heritage sites today.

The foreign visitors who have been here with the arrival of the spring season joined the Holi celebrations with much fanfare. Lately, there is an increasing trend of foreign tourists actively participating in the celebrations of Holi, the festival of colors.

The foreign guests were seen since early morning smearing colors at each other, singing and dancing at various locations including Thamel, Basantapur, Durbar Marg, Patan and Boudha areas.

The Thamel Tourism Development Council organized a Holi special program in front of the Employees' Provident Fund Building at Kathmandu metropolis-26.  The program featured a musical performance as well.

Council Chair Bhabishwor Sharma expressed hope that the active participation of foreign tourists in such cultural celebrations would contribute to promoting Nepal's tourism, extending the religious and cultural significance of Nepali festivals globally.

He pressed an idea of preparing a calendar incorporating our cultural festivals so as to connect values for the cause of tourism promotion. "If this happens, we can observe the tourism seasons throughout the year."

Among foreign tourists visiting Nepal, 80 percent reach the Thamel area, according to Council Vice Chair Sahadev Dahamala. 

The Council dedicates the English New Year, Nepali New Year, the Sagarmatha Day, World Tourism Day, Holi and other cultural festival celebrations to entertain foreign tourists.

The Cambridge Learner Award ceremony, jointly organized by the British Council and Cambridge International Education, took place on March 22 at the Hyatt Regency in Boudha. The event aimed to recognize the achievement of the November 2022 and June 2023 Cambridge examination series.

The British Council Nepal has built a strong reputation for fostering cultural exchange, education and language proficiency. With 65 years of involvement in the Global British Council Network, it continues to champion educational opportunities and deepen the relationship between Nepal and the UK.

Rob Fenn, the British Ambassador to Nepal, along with Mahesh Srivasthava, the Regional Director for South Asia International Education at Cambridge University Press Assessment, Satyajit Sarkat, Senior Manager for East India, Bangladesh, and Nepal of Cambridge International Education, Harriet Gardner, the Regional Exam Director for South Asia at the British Council, Shahida MacDougall, the Country Director of the British Council Nepal, principals, academic coordinators, school representatives, parents and students participated in the event. Their presence aimed to celebrate academic excellence and acknowledge their  achievements.

Students from educational institutions such as British School, Trinity International College, St Xavier’s College, Nami College, Budhanilkantha School, Malpi Institute and others were awarded for their Best across Four Cambridge International AS Level, Examination Series, High Achievement-Cambridge International AS Level in different categories like Information Technology, Further Mathematics, Literature in English, Environmental Management, Geography, Sociology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and more.

Harriet Gardner, the Regional Exam Director for South Asia at the British Council, praised students for their accomplishments in Cambridge education. She highlighted the partnership with Cambridge International Education in providing recognized qualifications not only in Nepal but also internationally. She emphasized the British Council’s dedication to assisting students in realizing their dreams through Cambridge International Exams, IELTS exams or UK qualifications. She reiterated their mission of promoting peace and prosperity worldwide by fostering connections, understanding and trust.

Fenn emphasized on 100 years of friendship between the UK and Nepal. He says “You are now ready for the world” and expects every student to stay connected, help build a brighter future for Nepal and build friendship deeper than before.

The districts in the Terai/Madhesh, including Kanchanpur, will be celebrating Holi, the festival of colors, tomorrow, Monday. The festival is observed today in the hilly districts.

However, with changing times, the celebratory events of Holi are shrinking, it is said. The traditional Hindu festival, which once featured worship and prayers offered to deities such as Ram and Krishna, as well as presentations of special Holi songs, dances, stories and dramas based on social, natural, and cultural themes, has now become limited to color celebrations.

In the past, dance and singing performances relating to historic and mythical events would be carried out during the festival, symbolizing the victory of truth over falsehood.

However, literary figure Kabiraj Bhatta said that such cultural presentations have vanished over time. The present generation mainly internalizes the festival with playing with colors.

Bhatta sees the need of preserving the cultural values and prestige of the festival. Traditionally, people would visit public places and neighbors' homes to celebrate Holi. The cultural narratives presented during Holi carry historic and cultural values, according to Ramesh Pant, Chair of the Progressive Writers' Association in the far-west region.

He expressed concern over the increasing trend of consuming alcohol and haphazardly playing with colors during Holi, which as he believes undermines its aesthetic values.

Moreover, modern music has replaced traditional musical instruments during the celebrations.

The District Police Office in Kanchanpur has urged everyone to refrain from engaging in any untoward activities and to observe the festival in a decent and civilized manner. They warned of taking action against any unwanted behavior.

Light rain or thunder and lightning are likely to occur at a few places in the hilly region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places in the hilly region of the rest of the country today, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said.

The weather is partly to generally cloudy in Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces along with the hilly regions of the country and partly cloudy to mainly fair in the rest of the country, according to the Division. 

Likewise, there are chances of light snowfall at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous region of the country.

Tonight, it will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country. Light rain or thunder and lightning are forecast at a few places in the hilly region of the country. Similarly, there are chances of light snowfall at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous region of the country.

Presently, there is an influence of Westerly low-pressure system and of local wind induced low pressure system based in Assam and its adjoining areas.  

Division's meteorologist Min Kumar Aryal said that today's maximum temperature in Kathmandu is likely to be measured from 21 to 23 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is measured to 13.6 degrees Celsius and existing visibility is five kilometers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane has said that the government is effortful to solve the problems surfaced in the cooperatives across the country.

Talking to journalists today, Minister Lamichhane said that the government has tried to solve the problems through dialogue with the cooperative victims. He said, "There has been an agreement between the government negotiation team and the cooperative victims. Agreement comes into effect soon.”

He said that the savings of the depositors will be returned even if by adjusting from the property of those who embezzled the cooperative's money.

The Home Minister said that the government has mobilized its full power to arrest G.B. Rai, who is absconding after misappropriating the cooperative's money.

Lamichhane expressed his belief that Rai will be arrested soon, saying that investigation and study conducted by the government should not be made public beforehand. He said that the results of the work done by the government will come in full swing.

"The government will do what the law says. The prime minister's directive is that the innocent should not be caught. That's how it works." Minister Lamichhane said that even if there are some complications in the process, we will work to get results.

Speaking in a different context, he said that the government will work for the presence of the state for the Chepang community, the deprived community living in Chitwan district. He said that he is going to work within the budget this year through discussions with experts and concerned representatives to address the issues of the marginalized Chepang community.  

The World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2024 is being observed in Nepal too by organizing a variety of programs under the main theme of 'Yes! we can end TB'.

Meanwhile, in Baglung, a campaign is being conducted to prevent tuberculosis by increasing the scope of tests for the infection. Leprosy inspector for the district, Dev Prakash Ghimire, said that there is a plan to test the blood of the family members of the infected.

Head of the district health office, Baburam Acharya, said that the number of people infected with TB has increased with the increase in the scope of tuberculosis testing. Tuberculosis tests are now conducted from 14 laboratories in the district.

Chief of the district coordination committee, Amar Bahadur Thapa, said that all efforts should be made to prevent the infection including an awareness campaign among the people.