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The CPN (Maoist Center) has withdrawn its support to the Sudurpaschim province government.

A meeting of the Maoist Center Parliamentary Party this morning decided to pull out the support it had given to Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, said the party's Province Assembly member Shiva Singh Oli.

The CPN (Maoist Center) was a partner in the government headed by the Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader Shah. The CPN (Maoist Center) has 10 out of the total 53 seats in the Assembly, except the Speaker.

The Nepali Congress, which is the largest party in the Assembly, has 18 seats after the death in a road accident some months ago of one of its Assembly members from Bajhang, Prithvi Bahadur Singh.

Similarly, the CPN-UML has 10 seats, the Nagarik Unmukti Party seven seats, the CPN (Unified Socialist) four, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) one and an independent member in the Province Assembly.

The Nagarik Unmukti Party and the CPN (Unified Socialist), the present ruling coalition partners, have not decided till this afternoon whether they will remain in the government or not.

Before this, Chief Minister Shah on Tuesday relieved the Social Development Minister Jhapat Bahadur Saud, the Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment Ramesh Singh Dhami and the Minister of State for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment, Gitadevi Mal, representing the CPN (Maoist Centre) in the government, from their posts.

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a regional network of human rights defenders, has called on the Government of Bhutan to release the political prisoners it has detained for decades. SAHR made the call on the occasion of the 16th World Social Forum (WSF) held in Nepal, where a session was organized on ‘Bhutan’s Prisoners of Conscience’.

The session drew attention to the expulsion of Bhutanese citizens of Nepali origin, also known as Lhotshampas, which started in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. While the situation of the Lhotshampa refugees was relatively well known, the reality of political prisoners, many of whom have spent more than 30 years in Chamjang Jail, has only recently been reported. Further, there are also significant numbers of disappeared citizens of Bhutan about whom not much is known.

While at present Bhutan puts up a front of a country high on the Gross National Happiness index, it hides the sufferings of the Lhotshampas who were strategically expelled, made stateless, and also detained as prisoners categorized as ‘non-nationals’ or ‘anti-nationals’. These Prisoners of Conscience are held in prison for their expressions of political beliefs or identity assertion, while others have been framed. Different international human rights organizations have recognised 50-100 people still held as political prisoners in Bhutan, without trials or cases being brought, with 37 kept in Chamgang Jail.

Bhutan as a country moved towards democracy from absolute monarchy in 2008 with the promulgation of the Constitution. However, in many respects the country has remained autocratic, and successive kings have held ultimate power even as the state security establishment cracked down on Lhotshampa activists who demanded democracy and an end to discriminatory policies, including that of Driglam Namza, which called for cultural purity tied to the ‘Drukpa’ community.

Some of the incarcerated Lhotshampa were arrested in the early 1990s and have been detained for nearly 43 years. Different human rights organizations at various times have made efforts for the release of the political prisoners, without success. The ultimate power for release of the political prisoners lies at present with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and SAHR believes that he should personally be held accountable for the continued incarcerations.

SAHR believes that Bhutan’s progression towards a democratic state, where the citizenry is truly ‘happy’ and content, requires the release of the prisoners of conscience. SAHR further calls on the international community, including Nepal as the host country of refugees and India as a country that has not done its bit on the refugee issue being the land neighbor of bhutan and with deep links to the bhutanese state, to work to persuade Bhutan to take back the refugees who have refused to take the option of third-country settlement. These Lhotshampa refugees languish in the camps of Southeast Nepal, maintaining a principled stand on their ‘right of return’.

SAHR is also concerned that the remaining several thousand refugees in southeast Nepal are now without support of international organizations such as UNHCR and WFP. Similarly, the Government of Nepal has disbanded the refugee camps, and it has also become difficult for the refugees to move about and lead normal lives. SAHR demands that the Government of Nepal as well as international organizations re-engage with Bhutanese refugees and provide support and security to the refugees still in Nepal.

SAHR notes that the lives of the refugees have been made more complicated by the scam involving top-level Nepali politicians and officials involved in providing Nepali citizens with fake certificates as bhutanese refugees to make fraudulent income with the promise to get them settled in third countries. The exposure of this scam has, through no fault of their own, made the refugees in Nepal more vulnerable to neglect and delays on the hands of the host country’s officialdom.

The CPN (Maoist Center) has withdrawn its support to the Gandaki province government.

A meeting of the party's Parliamentary Party today decided to withdraw the backing it had lent to the provincial government, said Hari Bahadur Chuman, the parliamentary party leader of the CPN (Maoist Centre) Gandaki Province Assembly.

The Gandaki province government headed by the Nepali Congress has fallen into minority with the Maoist Centre withdrawing its support to it.

Before this, Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey had relieved two ministers from the Maoist Centre of their responsibility on Tuesday.

A committee chaired by former Governor Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri suggested three months ago that Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) sell its shares in Soaltee Hotel Ltd to procure new aircraft.

However, the NAC management couldn’t reach a decision on whether to sell its shares in Soaltee Hotel to procure aircraft. As a result, it formed another committee. The new study committee, led by former Captain KB Limbu, suggested that NAC sell its shares in Soaltee Hotel only as a last resort measure.

NAC is in a difficult situation of having to sell its property to buy aircraft. It has called for bids for the procurement of small aircraft for STOL operation and leased two narrow-body aircraft for its international flights. However, NAC doesn’t have resources to make the procurement or take the aircraft on lease. Nor has it found lenders to finance aircraft procurement. The national flag carrier, which is seeing its market share in the domestic and international markets dwindle gradually, has a loan liability of over Rs 48bn.

While its existing aircraft are not operating to full capacity, it has also not found any takers for the Chinese aircraft that it has been trying to get rid off. Experts say NAC could go bankrupt at any time if the situation persists any longer.

What’s in Limbu’s report?

NAC owns 10,333,699 units of shares in Soaltee Hotel Ltd. The market value of shares is worth around Rs 4.6bn. The NAC management is planning to buy new aircraft by selling these shares. However, the Limbu-led government has prescribed share sale to finance aircraft procurement as the third option to finance aircraft procurement.

The committee has said that NAC should first explore the possibility of taking concessional loans from financial institutions. Second, it has suggested that the management request the government to make additional equity investments. The third alternative prescribed by the committee is mobilizing internal resources to procure aircraft. The committee has said that the management could sell NAC’s shares in Soaltee Hotel Ltd if it has no other alternatives.

Limbu said the committee hasn’t encouraged the NAC management to sell its shares in Soaltee Hotel. “Since the share prices are increasing, NAC stands to make more profits from the shares,” Limbu said.

NAC is getting other benefits from the hotel as a shareholder. It is getting special discounts on room tariffs and airline catering. “NAC could get these discounts as long as it has shares in Soaltee Hotel,” he added.

The government holds 51 percent equity in NAC against the investment of Rs 320m. The committee has suggested that the government increase its equity investment in NAC.

According to the audit report of 2018/19, NAC has total assets of Rs 54bn while its liability is worth around Rs 47bn.

The Limbu-led committee is the fourth study panel that NAC has formed. The previous three panels have suggested that NAC management put grounded aircraft into operation and optimize the operation of all aircraft, according to Limbu.

NAC is paying an average interest of 10 percent on its accumulated loans of Rs 48.03bn. Study panels have suggested that NAC explore the possibility of getting concessional loans to gradually reduce its loan liabilities.

NAC has a long-term loan of Rs 47bn that it took to finance procurement of four jets for international flights. It would take NAC at least 10 years to clear this loan if it sets aside Rs 5bn annually for loan repayment. NAC’s total revenue was Rs 16bn in 2021/22, while its total operating expenses were more or less similar. NAC has been failing to service its long-term loans taken to finance procurement for two narrow-body and two wide-body jets.

Plan to wet-lease narrow-body jets

NAC has launched a global tender to take two narrow-body jets on wet lease. However, the Limbu-led committee has suggested that NAC should rather procure aircraft on installments than take aircraft on a wet lease.

In its 10-year (2021-2030) business plan, NAC has set a target of adding aircraft for domestic and international flights by 2022, maintain a 70:30 equity and credit ratio, hire technical staff and construct a commercial building on its land in Sinamangal on BOOT. However, it has just begun the process of procuring and leasing aircraft. Aircraft are being grounded for a long time due to a lack of timely recruitment of technical workforce.

Shrinking market share

Until the mid-1990s, NAC used to fly to 39 domestic destinations. It is currently flying to only 19 destinations. Likewise, NAC was operating flights to 13 international destinations in the mid-1990s; it is now flying to only nine destinations.

NAC has four aircraft for international flights. These aircraft can fly for 56 hours daily. However, they have been flying for only 10-11 hours at present. This speaks volume about the weakness of the incumbent management.

While NAC’s two wide-body aircraft are logging losses, two narrow-body jets are making profit. It has already grounded the Boeing 757 and six small Chinese aircraft—two MA 60 and four Harbin Y12 aircraft. Although the Chinese aircraft have been grounded, NAC is still paying maintenance and parking fees and bank interest rates for these aircraft. According to NAC, it is spending Rs 283.1m for the MA 60s and Rs 197.8m for Y12 aircraft annually. This figure excludes pay and perks of pilots.

Although the domestic aviation market is worth around Rs 20bn, NAC is generating a business of only around Rs 120m.

Grounded aircraft

NAC’s Twin Otter with 9N-ABX call sign has been grounded since 2012. Although NAC has set aside Rs 200m to bring the aircraft into operation, the NAC management is failing to repair it.

It has already been six months since Tourism Minister Sudan Kirati issued a directive to bring the aircraft into operation at the earliest. However, it is still uncertain when the aircraft will be airborne.

NAC mobilized revenue of Rs 2.19bn from its international flights in the months of May and June last year. According to NAC’s official publication ‘Shwet Bhairav’, the aircraft operated at only 50 percent of their capacity in those months. NAC incurs a loss of Rs 10m if its aircraft are grounded for a day. However, NAC hasn’t been able to press all four aircraft into operation all the time.

What next for Chinese planes?

NAC has put five Chinese aircraft—two MA 60s and three Y12s—on sale. However, it hasn’t been able to find buyers for these planes.

NAC procured six Chinese aircraft to increase its share in the domestic market. Of these six aircraft, China provided one MA 60 and one Y12 on grant, while the remaining four were purchased on a government-to-government agreement. China also provided concessional loans for aircraft procurement. NAC still owes about Rs 4bn to the Chinese lenders.

NAC has been stating that the Chinese aircraft are inoperable due to a lack of trained pilots, high training costs for pilots, non-availability of instructor pilots, and high insurance fees, among other factors.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 123, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 124, 000 per tola on Tuesday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 122, 900 per tola. It was traded at Rs 122, 400 per tola.

Meanwhile, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola today. 

Seven persons died when a commuter bus plunged into the Trishuli river at Ghatbesi in Gajuri Municipality of Dhading district along the Prithvi Highway on Wednesday.

The bus (Lu 2 Kha 2121) was heading towards Kathmandu from Kapilvastu when the tragedy occurred this morning.

SP Gautam KC of the District Police Office, Dhading said that seven persons, including a woman died in the accident. The identities of the deceased are yet to be established.

At least 30 passengers were injured in the mishap. "The injured were rescued and taken to Kathmandu for further treatment ", SP Gautam informed.

Locals along with Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army personnel had rescued the passengers.

It is assumed that the death toll may rise as the bus plunged into the river.

A team of Armed Police Force and Disaster Management Training School, Kurintar, Chitwan has been carrying out a rescue operation.

Police have arrested bus driver Hariram Harijan (38) of Lumbini Sanskriti Municipality-9 of Rupandehi.

Nepali Congress has decided to withdraw its support to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government.

A meeting of the Central Work Execution Committee meeting held in Budhanilkantha on Tuesday decided to withdraw support extended to the government, Vice-President Dhanraj Gurung said.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had ditched his key coalition partner, Nepali Congress, to form a new alliance with the main opposition, CPN-UML.

Now, Prime Minister Dahal has to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days.

The Netherlands clinched the title of the Tri-nation T20 International Series, defeating Nepal by four wickets in the final held today at Kirtipur-based Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground.

Despite Nepal posting a challenging total of 185 runs, the Netherlands successfully chased down the target in 19.3 overs at the loss of six wickets.

Michael Levitt played significantly in the Netherlands' victory, scoring a half-century with 54 runs off 29 balls, including three sixes and six fours. Max O'Dowd scored 22 runs off 23 balls, hitting one six and two fours.

The Netherlands' opening pair of Levitt and O'Dowd played with a solid partnership of 83 runs for the first wicket.

Though Nepal's Kushal Malla joined his team for bowling in ninth overs and took two wickets in his first over, it was not enough to derail the Netherlands' momentum.

Vikramajit Singh bolstered the Netherlands' innings with 29 runs off 23 balls, smashing three sixes while captain Scott Andrew Edwards added just two runs to the team. 

At the fall of the fifth wicket from Nepal, Sybrand Engelbrecht was dismissed before he scored 48 with three sixes and four fours in 29 balls. In its sixth wicket, Nepal dismissed Teja Nidamanuru with just two runs.

Bowler Timm van der Gugten contributed 21 runs with the help of two sixes and two fours in five balls while Roelof van der Merwe made two runs for the Netherland's victory.  Both of them were not out.

Levitt, who contributed 54 runs and took two wickets, was declared the Player of the Match.

Nepal, which opted to bat first after winning the toss, made 184 runs in the allotted 20 overs, losing eight wickets.

Opener Aashif Shekh contributed 47 runs including three sixes and one four off 37 balls while another opener Kushal Bhurtel made 20 runs. Captain Rohit Poudel made 25 runs while Gulshan Jha made 34 runs.

Dipendra Singh Airee was out with single run while Kushal Malla made 26 runs in 11 balls with the help of three sixes. Aarif Sekh could not make any run while Karan KC hit nine.

The final order batters Sompal Kami and Pratis GC each made six runs.

Fred Klaassen, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Levitt and Sybrand Englebrecht each took two wickets for the Netherlands.

Remaining in second position with four points in league phase, Nepal entered into the final while the Netherlands is in top position with five points.

The Netherlands which was in the top place in the score table with five points and Nepal with four points had entered into the final of the Series.

Namibia, which had secured three points, was at the bottom of the score tally. It played four matches, winning in one, losing in two and drawing in one.

Namibia defeated Nepal by 20 runs in the first match of the Series while the Netherlands beat Nepal by two runs in the second match.

Likewise, the Netherlands trounced Namibia by 59 runs in the third match while Nepal secured a three-run exciting win against Namibia in the fourth match of the Series.

In the fifth match, Nepal had secured an easy six-wicket win against the Netherlands whereas the match between Namibia and the Netherlands was canceled due to rain, with both teams sharing one point each.