Biz Briefs...
Radisson Hotel Kathmandu organizes “Jyoti Ko Paila”
Radisson Hotel Kathmandu recently organized “Jyoti Ko Paila”, an initiative to educate students of Shree Jyoti Secondary School, Jalapa, Khotang as a part of its corporate social responsibility with themes “Think Planet”, “Think Community” and “Think People.”
In the initiative organized in this week, 40 students of grade IX and X of Shree Jyoti Secondary School were hosted for an educational day tour at the hotel. The event started off with welcome greetings, brief introduction about hotel industry, career opportunities and hiring procedures which provided an insight to the students regarding the career possibilities in one of the largest industries of Nepal. The students, 95% of whom had never left their district before, were oriented with the operations of the 5-star hotel and were delighted by the experience, press release issued by the hotel reads.
Radisson Hotel Group is known globally for their responsible business practices. Likewise, Radisson Hotel Kathmandu has put up continuous effort by showing that they care about the lives of people outside the walls of their businesses by conducting numerous CSR activities every year. The company encourages and advocates on sharing resources with need-based entities to unite for common causes, the press release read.
Nepal Finance Limited opens new branch
Nepal Finance Limited (NFS) this opened a new branch at Bhurjungkhola in Machhapuchre Rural Municipality-2, Kaski. The branch became operational from April 4.
NFS, which is the first finance in Nepal to open through private sectors, was established in 1992. With its head office at Kamaladi, Kathmandu, NFS currently has branch offices in Pulchowk, Lalitpur; Banepa, Kavrepalanchowk; Murgiya, Rupandehi and Nawalpur, Gaindakot.
After the opening of the new branch in Kaski, NFS plans to expand its services with new branch offices at Dahnushadham, Janakpur and Hetuada, Makwanpur within this fiscal year. The finance company also plans to open services counter at Kantipath and Kalimati in Kathmandu within the same period.
The branch opening event was chaired by NFS’s Assistant CEO Bishnu Prasad Gautam, promoter/director Diprash Shakya and Chairman Prof. Hirendra Man Pradhan.
NIBL Ace Capital appointed registrar for NCC
NIBL Ace Capital Ltd has been appointed debenture registrar of Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd (NCC Bank). NCC Bank, formally registered as Nepal-Bank of Ceylon Ltd (NBOC), commenced its operation on October 14, 1996 as a joint venture with Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka.
The name of the bank was changed to NCC Bank on September 10, 2002, after transfer of shares and management of the bank from Bank of Ceylon to Nepali promoters.
The Debenture Registrar Service Agreement was signed recently between Rajesh Raj Dhungel, senior manager of NCC Bank, and Sachindra Dhungana, assistant general manager of NIBL Ace Capital Ltd.
Kebab by the kerb
One week we print an article on how you could cut down meat from your plate, and the very next week recommend you one of the most meatilicious joints in town: the “Kebab Village restaurant and Bar” at Tangal.
We’re not sure why it’s called a ‘village’ though. It’s located right on the main road beside the Tangal Ganesh Temple (on the way to Bhatbhateni) in a proper new building that also houses the “Swornim Boutique Hotel.”
The Kebab Village has a menu full of the best meat dishes of Middle Eastern and Indian origins with some options for vegetarians as well. There’s also a small multi-cuisine menu but that’s probably not what you go there for. The kebab varieties should be enough to satisfy your hunger.
Kebab Village restaurant and bar
Location: Tangal
Opening time: 7:00 am to 9:30 pm
Chef’s special:
Tandoori Rock Prawn
Grilled Chicken
Afghani Kebab
Reservation: 014422177/4422199
Meal for 2: Rs 2500
Panorama: Perfect ending
Biraj Maharjan, Nepal's most-capped national footballer, celebrates with his teammate after Nepal wins the final of the Three Nations Cup against Bangladesh, 2-1, on March 29. With the victory, Nepal ends a 37-year-long drought for a home tournament win. Maharjan, who made his international debut against Pakistan in 2008, played his last international match on the day | Sunita Dangol
Ashok Koirala: An eastern polestar of Nepali Congress
Birth: 23 April 1943, Nawalparasi
Death: 18 March 2021, Biratnagar
The year was 1985. In a cold police cell in Biratnagar with only a tiny ventilation hole allowing some rays of light, Ashok Koirala was given third-degree torture for his involvement in anti-Panchayat activities. At one point, the officers inserted a packet-full of red chili powder into his anus, knocking him unconscious. The incident, infamously known as Khursani Kanda in Nepali politics, failed to faze him though. In the grim and blurry moments that followed, he felt an ever stronger resolve to fight for democracy.
Outside, public pressure was mounting and the authorities released him after two months of unlawful custody. Koirala, a member of the outlawed Nepali Congress party, rejoined the ongoing anti-Panchayat democratic movement. Five years later in 1990, a multi-party democracy replaced the Panchayat regime. Biratnagar elected Koirala as its first mayor.
Often regarded as a man of principles by his contemporaries, Koirala was a staunch defender of democratic values. For his opposition to nepotism and never seeking favors despite his right connections, his party colleagues spoke of him highly. While former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was his cousin, another ex-PM Sushil Koirala was his elder brother.
Koirala was the fourth among 12 children of a civil servant father and a homemaker mother. He grew up in Kailali, Nepalgunj, and Siraha, as the middle-income family moved with the father’s transfers. The young Koirala did not have stable education but plenty of exposure to different places and people.
When his father got transferred to Biratnagar in eastern Nepal from Nepalgunj, Koirala’s family had to split. Ashok accompanied father Bodh Prasad and mother Kumudini to Biratnagar, where he spent the rest of his life. He married Shanta Koirala when he was 46.
Koirala got involved in student politics, and later played a key role in leading the student movement during the 1990 People’s Movement. He was a founding central committee member of the Nepal Student Union, the student wing of the Nepali Congress. He served the union as vice-president under President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who later rose to party presidency and became four-time prime minister.
He is remembered for his outstanding leadership of the second People's Movement of 2006, when he was the president of Nepali Congress Morang district committee. He was a key figure in the consolidation of party organization in its most important base—Biratnagar. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in 2013, he was among the drafters of the new Nepali constitution.
The 77-year-old was undergoing treatment for pneumonia at Biratnagar-based Neuro Hospital when he passed away. He is survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.
AP1 HD broadcasting Nepal Super League
AP1 HD television is live-broadcasting the first-ever season of the franchise football Nepal Super League (NSL). An agreement to this effect was signed this week between Shreyans Karki, director of Nepal Sports and Events Management, and Sachan Thapa, director of AP1 HD TV.
The league is being organized by Nepal Sports and Events Management with technical assistance of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) at Dasharath Stadium from April 11 to 25. The league’s first edition will feature seven franchise teams named after different Nepali cities.
The teams Biratnagar City, Kathmandu Razors, Lalitpur City, FC Chitwan, Dhangadhi FC, Pokhara Thunders and Butwal Lumbini Football FC will compete in a total of 25 round-robin matches. An auction was also held this week to recruit players for different teams in the league that will also feature foreign players.
AP1 HD broadcasting Nepal Super League
AP1 HD television is live-broadcasting the first-ever season of the franchise football Nepal Super League (NSL). An agreement to this effect was signed this week between Shreyans Karki, director of Nepal Sports and Events Management, and Sachan Thapa, director of AP1 HD TV.
The league is being organized by Nepal Sports and Events Management with technical assistance of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) at Dasharath Stadium from April 11 to 25. The league’s first edition will feature seven franchise teams named after different Nepali cities.
The teams Biratnagar City, Kathmandu Razors, Lalitpur City, FC Chitwan, Dhangadhi FC, Pokhara Thunders and Butwal Lumbini Football FC will compete in a total of 25 round-robin matches. An auction was also held this week to recruit players for different teams in the league that will also feature foreign players.
Area of Fewa Tal: Dozen studies, dozen findings
Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Prithvi Subba Gurung on February 28 made public a demarcation report of Fewa Tal. The provincial government, under the coordination of the then District Development Committee Chairman Punya Prasad Poudel, had finalized the report on the famous lake, a major tourist attraction of the region.
Making the report of the ‘Fewa Tal Demarcation and Mapping Committee’ public, minister Subba informed that the area of Fewa Tal is 5.726 sq. km, which is lesser than the area demarcated by a 1982 joint study of the Government of Nepal and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which capped the area of Fewa Tal at 5.80 sq. km.
Punya Poudel, coordinator of the committee, informed the press that the new report is the most scientific. According to a report prepared by the British Survey of India in 1925-1926, the area of Fewa Tal was 3.46 sq. km. Then, in a report prepared by the Survey of India in 1957-1958, the area changed to 4.39 sq. km.
Among all the surveys conducted to measure the area of the Fewa Lake, the report of the Nepal-India Cooperation Mission from 1971-1972 shows the Fewa as expanding over a whopping 10.35 sq. km. But based on available scientific facts and maps, the members of the current study team concluded that never in the history was Fewa Tal so big.
Khim Lal Gautam, member secretary of the committee and chief survey officer of the Survey Office, Kaski, informs that the lake area was calculated based on previous studies, scientific facts and evidences. The committee also analyzed the height of the Fewa Dam and the area covered by water during the rainy season. The demarcation report has been prepared on the basis of physical (electrical resistivity tomography) study.
Area of Fewa Tal in a dozen study reports
1: British Survey of India (1925-1926): 3.46 sq. km.
2: Survey of India (1957-1958): 4.39 sq. km.
3: Report of Nepal-India Cooperation Mission (2018): 10.35 sq. km.
4: First Fort Napi, Lot No. 297 (1976-1977): 4.43 sq. km.
5: Government of Nepal and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Study Report (1982/1983): 5.80 sq. km
6: IUCN Study Report (1995): 4.49 sq. km.
7: District Development Committee Kaski B.Sc. (2005): 4.25 sq. km.
8: Pokhara Valley Urban Development Committee (2008): 5.06 sq. km.
9: Vishwaprakash Lamichhane’s Report (2013): 6.5 sq. km.
10: Ministry of Land Reforms (2015): 5.07 sq. km.
11: Pokhara Municipal Corporation (2021): 5.08 sq. km.
12: Committee formed to demarcate Fewa Tal (2021): 5.726 sq. km.
Ka-band’s faster, cheaper internet for rural Nepal
Following the recommendation of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) to the government on opening the Ka-band frequency segment (19.7-21.2 Ghz Downlink, paired with 29.5-31 Ghz Uplink) for use in Nepal, all regions in the country are expected to benefit from faster internet at affordable rates. The recommendation means that businesses, communities and government agencies within Nepal will soon access services from one of Asia’s latest, state-of-the-art satellites: Kacific 1.
The Kacific 1 satellite, owned by Kacific Broadband Satellites Group, uses Ka-band technology designed specifically to provide reliable, high-speed broadband internet to rural and remote populations through concentrated spot beams and simple easy-to-install onsite 1.2m antennas. This technology, although new in Nepal, has been successfully used in other countries in Asia, including ones with similar mountainous geographies.
Nepal’s mountainous terrains make it difficult for ground-based technologies to provide widespread and reliable coverage, and a large swath of the country cannot be connected with cable-based technologies. This means that for the 22.8 million citizens living in rural areas, (around 80 percent of our 28.6 million population), satellite technology is the only way for individuals and organizations to access broadband. All they would need is a small, easy-to-transport and rapidly deployable satellite dish.