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The number of visitors to Rara is steadily increasing, supported by improved road and air connectivity that has boosted tourism in the region. Situated at an altitude of 2,990 meters above sea level in Mugu district, Rara is Nepal’s largest lake and a growing attraction for both domestic and international tourists.

Since Mugu was connected to road and air transport 12–15 years ago, tourism promotion efforts have gained momentum. Tourism entrepreneurs say the recent surge in visitors signals a shift in Rara’s tourism landscape.

Fifteen years ago, limited transport and minimal publicity made reaching Rara difficult. Travelers had to fly to Jumla or Bajura and then walk two days to reach the lake. The opening of Rara Airport in 2003 and the Nagma-Gamgadhi road in 2013 have significantly improved accessibility.

According to Rara National Park, around 10,000 domestic and international tourists have visited Rara so far this fiscal year. Over the past five years, more than one million tourists are estimated to have visited the area. Tourism entrepreneur Gopal Bam suggests that with stronger promotion and better infrastructure—such as upgrading the Surkhet-Nagma road, paving the Nagma-Gamgadhi section, and ensuring regular flights—Rara could attract over a million visitors annually.

Although Rara previously lacked well-equipped hotels, several small and medium-sized accommodations have been established along the lakeshore. Approximately a dozen hotels now operate in Salleri, with another dozen in Ghatta Murma Top, contributing to local employment and encouraging business in the region, says hotelier Kal Bahadur Rawal.

Despite rising tourist numbers, many local youths had previously been preparing to go abroad, citing a lack of economic opportunities. However, the popularity of horse safaris among tourists has encouraged some to stay and engage in tourism-related businesses.

Horse breeder Krishna Prasad Bham recalls that horses once sold for Rs 50,000–80,000, but due to transport improvements, demand fell sharply, and horses couldn’t even be sold for Rs 20,000. Now, with the return of demand for horse safaris, horses are again selling for Rs 100,000–150,000.

Horse safari is currently one of the most lucrative businesses in the region. Youths from Murma, Jhayari, Topla, and Sigadi villages are engaged in this sector, earning Rs 50,000–100,000 monthly during peak season. These safaris transport tourists between Upper Mili, Danfe, and various resorts and hotels in the area.

To address the shortage of well-equipped accommodations, construction of a four-star resort has begun at Murma Top, backed by investment from Nepalis living in Australia. The project, led by Abhishek Bikram Shah and his team, was announced during the third investment summit in Kathmandu and is being developed under Rara Holdings Resort in coordination with the Government of Nepal. The resort is expected to be completed within 18 months.

The resort, to be built on 73 ropanis of land with a total investment of Rs 1bn, will offer 36 rooms in the first phase and 98 beds in 19 high-end rooms in the second phase, accommodating around 100 guests daily.

Project Manager Arun Chand stated that the resort aims to promote tourism in Karnali’s religious and natural sites by linking destinations such as Sinja Valley, Rara, Chhayanath, and Khaptad. According to resort representative Aitan Malla, the project will provide direct employment to 120 people and indirect employment to over 1,000.

Additionally, several large hotel companies have begun purchasing land in Murma Top, Salleri, and surrounding areas to develop infrastructure for future tourism ventures.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has issued a ruling to the government to respond to various concerns raised in the House of Representatives (HoR) over time.

During today's HoR meeting, lawmakers from the Janamat Party stood in protest over the recent detention of Nagarik Unmukti Party patron Resham Chaudhary by police for several hours without explanation.

Janamat Party lawmaker Abdul Khan announced that the party would not allow the House to function until the government provides a convincing explanation regarding the incident.

In response, Speaker Ghimire urged lawmakers to allow proceedings to continue, stating that Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak is scheduled to address the issue during a House session on May 8. The matter has now been officially listed on the parliamentary agenda.

Meanwhile, the budget session has begun with party-wise discussions on the government’s new policies and programs for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.

Three persons died and 11 others were injured in a bus accident at Dhankuta on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as Krishna Kumari Bhujel (73) of Dhankuta Municipality-6, bus driver Rudra Tamang (51) of Dharan Sub-Metropolis-13 and Leela Bahadur Shrestha (58) of Shadananda Municipality-13.

Bhujel and Tamang died on Monday in the course of treatment at the Dhankuta Hospital while Shrestha breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences at 4 am today, said police.

The bus (Ko 1 Kha 2177) was heading towards Dhankuta from Dharan when the incident occurred.

Surya Mani Tamang and Anmol Tamang of Shadanand Municipality-13, Krishna Raut of Barahachhetra Municipality-2, Ganga Prasad Sapkota of Pauwadungma Rural Municipality3, Sabina Baraili and Devi BK of Bhojpur Municipality-11, Hansha Bahadur Rai of Sagurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Purna Maya Tamang of Shadananda Municipality-11, Dirgha Maya Rai of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Ayush Rai of Itahari and Dhan Kumar BK of Dhankuta-6 were injured in the accident.

They are receiving treatment at Dhankuta Hospital, Nobel Hospital and BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences.

The Kaligandaki Corridor, stretching 430 kilometers from Gaindakot in eastern Nawalparasi to the Korala border crossing in Mustang, has significantly enhanced regional connectivity and economic development across central Nepal. The blacktopped road now runs alongside the Kaligandaki River, enabling smooth vehicle movement through areas that were once difficult to access.

The corridor directly links six districts—East Nawalparasi, Palpa, Gulmi, Baglung, Myagdi, and Mustang—spanning both Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. It also intersects with major national highways including the Mid-Hill Highway, Madan Bhandari Highway, Siddhartha Highway, and Mahendra Highway.

According to the Maldhunga-Gaindakot Road Project Office in Palpa, the corridor has spurred the growth of over 50 new markets and significantly boosted economic activity. Settlements have expanded as people relocate closer to the corridor, and there has been a noticeable increase in land transactions and rising real estate values.

The corridor is also being promoted as a trade and religious tourism route. Project data shows the following distribution: 78 kilometers of the route lie in eastern Nawalparasi, 87 kilometers in Palpa, 39 in Gulmi, and 36 in Baglung. The remaining sections extend from Maldhunga to Beni (8 km), Beni to Jomsom (82 km), and Jomsom to Korala in Upper Mustang (101 km).

The route directly connects key district headquarters including Mustang’s Jomsom, Myagdi’s Beni, and Chitwan’s Bharatpur. It also provides improved access to Parbat’s Kushma, Baglung Bazaar, and Palpa’s Tansen. Baglung’s Waleya Airport and the Korala border point have become operational following the corridor's development.

The corridor has also improved north-south trade logistics, especially in the Mid-Hill region, reducing transportation time and improving market access. For example, travel from Butwal to Muktinath, which previously took two days, can now be completed in a single day. The new route from Maldhunga to Butwal via Tansen has shortened travel distance by 75 kilometers compared to the previous route via Pokhara.

Officials state that the corridor provides more direct access from Gulmi and Arghakhanchi to destinations such as Syangja, Pokhara, Narayangadh, and the eastern Terai. Residents of the Kaligandaki region, including those in Gulmi, can now reach their district headquarters much faster—cutting travel time from multiple districts to just a couple of hours.

According to a draft document obtained by Reuters, the United States is attempting to weaken a UN treaty intended to assist developing nations in addressing financial and climate change issues. In preparation for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in June, the document describes suggested changes to the global financial system, such as those pertaining to credit ratings, taxes, and subsidies for fossil fuels.

The United States opposes these amendments and seeks to eliminate references to "climate," "gender equality," and "sustainability." It also intends to replace a request to "reform the international financial architecture" with softer language about enhancing its resilience.

The US delegation claims that the document is excessively comprehensive and challenges the "ever-widening definition of sustainable development." It also opposes the United Nations influence over institutions like as the World Bank and the IMF, arguing that they should remain independent, Reuters reported.

These positions reflect a broader “America First” approach that resists global coordination on climate and development issues.

OpenAI has reversed plans to reduce its nonprofit parent’s control over its for-profit arm, after backlash and a lawsuit from co-founder Elon Musk.

 Although the goal of the planned change to a public benefit corporation (PBC) was to increase funding, there was a chance that this would compromise the nonprofit's control, Reuters reported.

The decision may jeopardize OpenAI's original goal of creating artificial intelligence for the good of humanity, according to critics. CEO Sam Altman affirmed on Monday that the nonprofit will continue to have complete authority over the governance of the business, according to Reuters.

While OpenAI plans to restructure its for-profit operations in order to generate funds and remain competitive in the AI market, the nonprofit will continue to oversee its direction. Altman emphasized that the current governance paradigm will not change.

The 37.5 MW Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat Hydropower Project has been constructed in Raghuganga Rural Municipality of Myagdi. The project, promoted by Tudi Power Company Limited, has begun testing the dam, descender (water retention pond) and tunnel by pouring water into it.

Prakash Timilsina, the project’s resident engineer, informed that the testing of the physical structure has begun as per the schedule to start trial production on May 15. “The testing of the physical structure is being done by filling the dam, descender, tunnel and penstock pipeline with water,” he said. “The equipment installation at the power house has been completed and the transmission line is ready.”

Timilsina said that the penstock test was successful and no problems were seen in the tunnel, descender and dam, which were filled with water since Tuesday. A dam has been constructed in Bandi, Raghuganga Rural Municipality-8, and a 110-meter-long, 8-meter-high, and 30-meter-wide water retention pond has been constructed nearby.

A 950-meter-long penstock pipeline has been constructed to transport the water brought from the dam through a 5-kilometer, 300-meter-long tunnel to the power house at Bagar in Chimkhola, Raghuganga Rural Municipality-7.

The height of the outlet from the power house to the tunnel is 360 meters. The civil contractor for the project, whose construction began in November 2020, is Ramechhap Sherpa and South Asian Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. The tunnel was dug from four places.

A 14-kilometer-long 220 kV transmission line has been constructed from the power house to the switchyard built in the power house premises of the Rahughat Hydropower Project in Raghuganga Rural Municipality-3. The transmission line has 49 towers. The electricity generated from the project will be connected to the 220 kV Dana-Kushma transmission line through a ‘loop in, loop out’ (Lilo) method. The 48.5 MW Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project, promoted by Tudi Power, along with Chimkhola-Mangle-Rahughat, is estimated to cost Rs 14bn.

Upper Rahughat is also in the final stages of construction. Chimkhola-Mangle-Rahughat is the first hydropower project to be completed in the Rahughat Basin. 21.3 MW Thulokhola, and 22.3 MW Upper Thulokhola hydropower projects on the Rahughat River are nearing completion.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 9. 62 points to close at 2,610. 76 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 24 points to close at 440. 25 points.

A total of 18,437,942-unit shares of 319 companies were traded for Rs 7. 63 billion.

Meanwhile, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited (NMIC), Om Megashree Pharmaceuticals Limited (OMPL) and Citizens Super 30 Mutual Fund (C30MF) were the top gainers today with their price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Himalayan Power Partner Ltd. (HPPL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 9. 99 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 34 trillion.