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Three hundred and forty-two people from 81 families have been displaced due to floods and landslides since the start of the monsoon precipitation in Taplejung.

Chief District Officer Rabindra Prasad Acharya said that five people lost their lives to landslide incidents in a period of a week. According to him, eight houses have been completely damaged while 18 more are at high risk due to landslides.

CDO Acharya added that 55 houses are at risk of landslides in various places in the district. "Eighty-four cattle have been killed due to the flood and landslide. Four vehicles have been damaged while the four bridges, including two motorable wooden bridges, have been washed away by the flood," he said.

Stating that 70 displaced families have been sheltering at the homes of their relatives and neighbours, he said 11 families are taking shelter at a nearby school.

The highest numbers of displaced families are from Sirijangha, Sidingwa, Mikwakhola and Phaktanglung rural municipalities. Four members of the same family were killed when their house was swept away by landslide at Phaktanglung-2 while one person from Phidim, Panchthar died at Sirijangha.

Landslides triggered by the incessant rain have damaged the roads as well as the hydroelectricity projects in most of the rural areas. The local governments are making efforts to repair the roads. Most of the rural roads have been obstructed in Sirijangha and Phaktanglung rural municipalities, CDO Acharya said.

The locals said that the flooding and landslides have caused most damage on cardamom farming. The people in the rural areas are living in fear of rain-induced disasters as it has been raining daily.

The Embassy of India organized a yoga demonstration on the banks of Phewa Lake in Pokhara on Wednesday to celebrate the 10th edition of the International Day of Yoga.

The event witnessed enthusiastic participation from the local community, including officials of local administration, members of various local Yoga organizations, retired Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army and staff members of the Embassy’s Pension Paying Office (PPO) in Pokhara, who joined in to promote the ancient practice of Yoga for health and well-being.

The celebration began early in the morning with a series of yoga sessions led by experienced instructors, showcasing a range of asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation techniques.

Participants were guided through the physical and mental benefits of each practice, emphasizing the holistic approach of Yoga to physical and mental health, reads a statement issued by the Indian Embassy on Wednesday.

The Embassy of India also organized a yoga demonstration and health consultation with Ayurvedic practitioners in association with Pokhara University.

Prof. Prem Narayan Aryal, Vice Chancellor, Pokhara University graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The Vice Chancellor thanked the Embassy of India for organizing the event and encouraged the student participants to explore the benefits of Yoga in order to lead mindful and healthy lives.

Reputed Yoga instructors delivered lectures on benefits of Yoga and its practical utility in day-to-day life especially for the youth, according to the statement.

The students and faculty of Pokhara University also benefited from expert consultations from reputed Ayurveda experts who provided valuable insights and advice on incorporating Ayurveda and Yoga into daily life.

Locals and businessmen of New Road staged a protest against the decision of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to ban vehicles in the New Road area.

They staged a protest carrying placards and banners with various slogans like vehicle is our right in New Road, say yes to vehicle, New Road was built for vehicle, life without vehicle is impossible and vehicle is not for luxury in New Road among others.

Earlier, the metropolis had prohibited parking in New Road.

Likewise, the KMC’s plan to expand the footpath could not materialize following a dispute with the Road Division Office.

Upon completion of 100 days in office, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Sumana Shrestha made some of her ‘achievements’ public on Wednesday. 

At a press conference held to mark the occasion, Minister Shrestha highlighted that 825 teachers had renounced the membership of different political parties as part of efforts initiated to end politicization of the education sector. 

Out of complaints lodged against 45 teachers, clarifications were sought from 41 teachers whereas four were acquitted, she said, vowing to not let the teachers take membership of any political party. 

Asked about the Education Bill, which is crucial for effecting reforms in the education sector, she said, “Many people ask us: ‘When will the Education Bill come?’ I myself don’t have an answer to that question. We are part of the executive. The Bill is under discussion at the relevant committee of the legislature (the parliament)—another organ of the state. We have requested the parliament to enact the Bill soon. A parliamentary committee is tasked with visiting every province and conducting discussions on the Bill. I think the committee is doing that.”

Minister Shrestha said her team was busy formulating procedures and standards governing the appointment of officials in higher education (at the university level), adding that a committee for recommending candidates for CTEVT vice-chair’s position has already taken shape. 

She vowed to appoint higher education officials like Tribhuvan University Service Commission members and vice-chancellors of universities on merit basis rather than on the basis of the spoils system.

Minister Shrestha informed that her ministry had also initiated an investigation into past irregularities in the education sector, based on the findings of investigative reports on such anomalies.

She said arrangements were being made to stick to the annual schedule and bring about improvements in the higher education sector.

The government has allocated Rs 1bn to Budhigandaki Jalbidhyut Company Ltd (BJCL). Of this amount, the project has received Rs 400m so far. However, the company has been unable to pay its employees’ salaries for the past year.

The company was incorporated in mid-Aug 2022 and started operations in mid-July 2023. Since it has only been authorized to make capital expenditures, it hasn’t been able to cover its recurrent expenses. Jagat Shrestha, the CEO of BJCL, explained that the company hasn’t been able to pay salaries because it hasn’t been allocated a recurrent budget for the current fiscal year. “Since there is no budget heading for salaries, we cannot transfer funds from other headings to pay our employees,” he added.

Before BJCL was incorporated, all activities related to the hydropower project were managed by a project office under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation. Following the construction of the 456-MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project with domestic investment, the government decided to implement the Budhigandaki project using domestic resources. Consequently, BJCL was established. After the project unit was dissolved, the operational expenditure heading in the budget was inadvertently omitted, Shrestha noted. He assured that the employees’ pending salaries and other administrative liabilities for the current fiscal year would be settled after reconciling the financial accounts in the upcoming fiscal year.

The 1,200 MW Budhi Gandaki project is located in the Gorkha and Dhading districts. The land acquisition and compensation process for areas affected by the project is currently ongoing. This fiscal year, the plan includes distributing compensation to people whose names are missing from the official land acquisition records. According to Shrestha, Rs 100m is needed for this purpose. Additionally, Rs 60m is required for people who have land plots in the field book but lack a land registration certificate.

The project was first identified 45 years ago when Snowy Mountain Engineering recommended a 300 MW project. The feasibility study was conducted in the mid-1980s.

During the tenure of Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai (Aug 2011 to March 2013), the government adopted a policy to build a reservoir project in each of the five development regions. Due to its proximity to Kathmandu, the government initiated the development of a reservoir-based hydropower project on the Budhigandaki River.

Tractebel Engineering of France prepared a detailed project report (DPR) about a decade ago. The DPR proposed constructing a 263-meter dam two kilometers upstream of the confluence of the Trishuli and Budhigandaki Rivers. The dam will create a 63 sq km reservoir covering 9,630 hectares.

The reservoir will submerge 2,566 hectares of cultivable land, 2,403 hectares of forest areas, and 1,300 hectares of rivers, cliffs, and religious sites. The project will displace a total of 8,117 families. The government has already spent Rs 43 billion on the project. The government has achieved 95 percent progress in distributing compensation to the affected families.

The gold is being traded at Rs 142, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 141, 500 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,805 per tola today.  

Wrapping up his visit to Switzerland and Germany, President Ram Chandra Paudel returned home on Wednesday.

Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal welcome him at the special room of the Tribhuvan International Airport.

A contingent of the Nepal Army also offered a guard of honor to President Paudel.

President Paudel had left for Switzerland to attend the High-level Segment of the 112th Session of the International Labor Conference in Jeneva on June 11.

After attending the conference, he left for Germany on June 15.

President Paudel’s spouse Sabita Paudel, foreign affairs expert to the President Dr Suresh Chandra Chalise and secretaries of the President’s Office and Foreign Ministry were in the visiting team.

In an apparant case of suicide, a Nepal Police constable, who was deployed for the security of Parliament building in New Baneshwor, shot himself dead on Wednesday.

A police source said that Ajit Gole (22) shot himself in the head with his service rifle while he was on duty at around 8 am today.

Gole, who was deployed at gate number 2 of the western gate of Parliament building, died on the spot.

Kathmandu Police Range SP Nawaraj Adhikari said that Gole, who was on duty since 6 am, was found dead in the toilet at around 8:15 am.

He was a permanent resident of Melung Rural Municipality-4, Dolakha.