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How is the state of air pollution in our federal capital? Those who breathe in the city air day in, day out know all too well. It will be no wonder if our relevant state organs at local, provincial and federal levels too know about air pollution in the city as it is a small world and those at the helm of those organs also take in the same air.

Recent data from IQAir, whose website claims that it operates the world’s largest free real-time air quality monitoring platform—empowering individuals, researchers and governments to monitor, understand and act to protect the health of populations around the globe—show how unhealthy, how polluted, how unbreathable air is becoming worldwide. 

For example, live AQI (air quality index) City Ranking of around 4 pm, February 27 has a faraway Dakar, the capital city of Senegal in Africa, as the city with the worst air quality ranking (235). Then come a series of cities in our immediate neighborhood, including Beijing, which stands third in terms of worst air quality with an AQI (air quality index) score of 188, Mumbai, which stands fourth with a score of 177, Kolkata (fifth) with a score of 167, Shanghai (sixth) with a score of 165 and Dhaka (seventh) with a score of 162. Per IQAir data, our federal capital is not lagging much far behind these mega cities as it figures as the ninth worst city in terms of air quality with a score of 153 as second-place Hanoi (196) and eighth-place Istanbul (155) give it some breathing space.

Per the website, AQI 0-50 is good, 51-100 moderate, 101-150 unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy and 301+ hazardous.   

Also on the list of most polluted countries, which is based on annual average PM 2.5 concentration (μg/m³), Nepal does not lag much behind, though it is not a country with a robust industrial base. Based on the data of the year 2023, Nepal stood eighth with a score of 42.4 on the list that featured Bangladesh on top with a score of (79.9), followed by Pakistan (73.7), India (54.4), Tajikistan (49), Burkina Faso (46.6), Iraq (43.8) and the UAE (43).

Let’s hope against hope that these unmasked data will prompt our competent authorities to take some serious measures to make the air breathable. 

An earthquake measuring 6. 1 on the Richter scale struck Sindhupalchowk in the wee hours of Friday, with its epicenter at Bhairab Kunda of the district.

According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center, the quake was recorded at 2. 51 am.

The tremor was also felt in Kathmandu Valley.

No immediate reports of damage or casualties have been received.

A strong tremor was felt in Kathmandu at 2. 52 am on Friday.

Magnitude and epicenter are immediately unknown.

The Office of the Attorney General is going to organize the International Conference on Crimes of the Digital Age: Anticipation and Response.

Organizing a news conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Ramesh Badal said the two-day-long event will start on February 27 and is expected to unite experts to explore the growing intersection of AI, digital economic crime, and cyber-enabled crimes.

It is said that the event will focus on innovative strategies for investigating, prosecuting, and preventing technology-driven crimes.

The conference is expected to address the rapidly evolving challenges posed by crimes enabled by advanced technologies, with a focus on technology-facilitated sexual violence and abuse (TFSVA), cyber security crimes, cryptocurrency and related digital economic crime and AI-enabled crimes.

More than 90 government attorneys, legal experts, judges and representatives from legal fraternities will attend from 13 nations including Nepal, the UK, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Maldives, South Korea, Azerbaijan, India, China, Sri Lanka, Norway and Russia.

From Nepal, the representatives from the Supreme Court, Nepal Rastra Bank, different ministries and other bodies will attend the conference where 16 working papers will be presented in various sessions.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to inaugurate the conference. 

The E-Governance Board under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) today unveiled the 'E-Governance Blueprint' aiming to achieve transformative changes in the existing government affairs through a digital technology, making public services paperless.

The draft of the Blueprint that was prepared on January 27 was released today, according to Board's Chief Executive Officer Dipesh Bista.

Prior to this, the Board held discussions and interactions with multi stakeholders to receive their submissions regarding the draft of the Blueprint.

The document cites the government's commitment to making the government services achievable, prompt, transparent, accountable and effective with the support of digital technology by discouraging physical presence in service delivering facilities.

The development of infrastructure, policy and legal structures required for the implementation of digital system, institutional capacity enhancement and operation of and facilitation for digital governance-related governance innovation, research and development endevours have been highlighted as the objectives of the document.

The blueprint has identified seven strategic pillars for digital transformation and they are: a clear governance framework for digital governance; legal and regulatory frameworks, and continued development of digital promoters; digital literacy and skills development; digital standards; formulation and implementation of guidelines; strengthened regional and international cooperation; and innovation, and research and development. The document has assimilated the spirit of ICT Policy of Nepal - 2072 BS, Government Enterprise Architecture Directive-2076 BS and Digital Nepal Framework-2076 BS.

Amidst increasing IT advancement and its growing attraction, the Blueprint is expected to be useful in strengthening inter-agency coordination though exchanges of data, creating pressure for making the public service delivery further transparent and effective.

E-governance blueprint was prepared in view of the arrangement of global compact, government stack as well as other international established model, as a national strategic document was necessary.

Development, strengthen and use of common infrastructures and standards, innovation and procedural simplicity in public service delivery, guarantee of safety and privacy from plan formulation, guarantee of easy accessible of services provided through digital medium, transparency and promotion of e-governance based on development were mentioned in the blueprint.

Similarly, low role of board on policy-level issue to maintain digital good governance, functional problem, problems related to management framework for e-governance, lack of citizen service centre to facilitate public service delivery have been taken as the challenges in the blueprint.

Likewise, there is challenge in formulation of digital guideline and directives and implementation, problem in strengthening regional and international cooperation, and to make the issue of public procurement further transparent and competitive.

Various activities have also been determined for next three years--preparing draft of e-governance act, restructuring of Department of Information Technology, establishment of Data Protection Authority and establishment of data exchange platform. After receiving the final draft of blueprint prepared by International consultants with the technical support of United Nations Development Programme on April 29, 2024, it was again internalized from the prospective of Nepal.

The final draft of the blueprint was received on September 30, 2024 from Nepali consultants and final shape was given to it on January 27, 2025.

The fifth meeting of E-Governance Board held under chairmanship of Chief Secretary on January 28 had decided to send the blueprint draft to concerned body for opinion.

Lawmakers have asked for the government's response in the aftermath of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s putting Nepal in the grey list.

Speaking in the Special Hour of the House of Representatives meeting today, Udaya Shumsher JBR demanded to know what the government was doing to remove Nepal from the FATF's grey list.

"Nepal has been placed in the FATF's grey list mainly due to weak regulation of the cooperative sector. What is Nepal's plan to increase the regulation of cooperatives and get out of the grey list soon? Let this be informed to the Parliament," he said.

He said Nepal should benefit from the 'double B minus' in the credit rating and it is better than most south Asian countries.

He also drew the government's attention to the delay in the reconstruction of Kanti Highway to speed up the construction of the BP highway damaged due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rains towards September-end last year.

The lawmaker raised the issues of delay in the construction of various road sections and the risk of floods and landslides due to indiscriminate digging of roads.

He urged the government to assess the damage caused by the floods and landslides in September last year and expedite the reconstruction work in those places.

Corruption a shameful topic Nepal Communist Party (UML) lawmaker Thakur Prasad Gaire has said that the flourishing corruption in the country is a matter of shame. "Corruption, bribery and commission mongering trend is on the rise. Let's present it in parliament backed with facts and figures. Let's create conditions for action against this,” he said.

Lawmaker Gaire stressed the need of fulfilling the responsibilities of building a society with good governance and social justice.

Stating that the ordinance has opened the way for development, he said the UML was moving ahead to take the country towards socialism by ending instability and anarchy.

Lawmaker Gaire said, "We have to move forward in a stronger way to control corruption.” Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Rekha Sharma said that it is natural to reprimand and criticize the wrongdoers in democracy and parliamentary system.

She accused the government of bulldozing the parliament by introducing the ordinances. She also alleged that the ministers amended the bills passed by the parliamentary committees.

Lawmaker Basudev Ghimire said the State should pay attention to the promotion of religious tourism as it would contribute to the country's economic growth. "Religious tourism can be promoted by showing tourists many places including Lumbini, Muktinath, Pathibhara, Pashupatinath and Manakamana in Nepal. For this, the development of physical infrastructure is necessary.” Mangal Prasad Gupta called for prevention of flood risk at Krishnanagar Municipality-12 in Kapilbastu district.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) lawmaker Anisha Nepali has demanded that the national electricity transmission line be extended to Salyan.

Call for timely completion of physical infrastructure-related works Likewise, lawmakers have called on the government to carry out the works related to construction of physical infrastructures on time.

They drew the attention of the government to this topic, citing the people were facing inconveniences due to this. Lawmakers Bhagawati Chaudhary, Bhanubhakta Joshi, Man Bahadur Gurung, Bijula Rayamajhi, Manish Jha, Mahesh Basnet, Madhav Sapkota, Mukta Kumari Yadav, Menaka Kumari Pokharel, Metmani Chaudhary, Raghuji Panta, Rama Koirala Poudel, Ram Kumar Rai and Rukmani Rana voiced this issue in the Zero Hour of the HoR session today.

Likewise, Maina Karki, Rana Kumari Balampaki Magar, Ranendra Baraili, Ranju Kumari Jha, Rajendra Kumar KC, Ram Krishna Yadav, Ram Shankar Yadav, Rupa Sosi (Chaudhary), Laxmi Tiwari and Lal Prasad Sanwa Limbu, among other lawmakers called the government's attention on a host of issues of public importance. 

Farmers involved in animal husbandry in Madhes Province are to be provided with grants.

According to Bardibas-based Economic Corridor Project Office of the Madhes Province Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a process to provide Rs 2 billion grants to 179 farmer groups of Madhes Province has reached the final phase.

The farmer groups are going to be provided with grants with an objective of encouraging them in agriculture and production-oriented activities, said Office Chief, Surendra Yadav. The program is operated with financial support from the World Bank.

The office has selected farmer groups in eight districts of Madhes Province where more than 5,000 farmers are associated in the groups, shared Information Officer, Santosh Prakash.

The farmer groups would get grants as per the number of farmers and their proposal.

Rautahat district would get the highest amount of grants Rs 550 million, Saptari Rs 310 million, Mahottari Rs 260 million, Rs 230 million in Dhanusha, Rs 160 million in Sarlahi and Rs 140 million in Bara.

Similarly, Parsa district would get the lowest Rs 70 million grants. There is a provision where the concerned farmer group has to invest 55 per cent where the office would provide 45 per cent of the total investment.

The program is operated at 84 local levels connected with East-West highway and Postal Highway in the province. The main objective of the project is to develop rural enterprises creating supportive environment for the promotion of market relations between small producers and farmers associated in agriculture value chain.

With no passengers and no planes, Pakistan’s newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery. Entirely financed by China to the tune of $240m, it’s anyone’s guess when New Gwadar International Airport will open for business. Located in the coastal city of Gwadar and completed in Oct 2024, the airport is a stark contrast to the impoverished, restive southwestern Balochistan province around it.

For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. Authorities have hailed it as transformational but there’s scant evidence of change in Gwadar. The city isn’t connected to the national grid—electricity comes from neighboring Iran or solar panels—and there isn’t enough clean water.

An airport with a 400,000 passenger capacity isn’t a priority for the city’s 90,000 people. “This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar,” said Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specializes in Pakistan-China ties. “It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan.”

Caught between militants and the military

CPEC has catalyzed a decadeslong insurgency in resource-rich and strategically located Balochistan. Separatists, aggrieved by what they say is state exploitation at the expense of locals, are fighting for independence—targeting both Pakistani troops and Chinese workers in the province and elsewhere. Members of Pakistan’s ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination by the government and are denied opportunities available elsewhere in the country, charges the government denies.

Pakistan, keen to protect China’s investments, has stepped up its military footprint in Gwadar to combat dissent. The city is a jumble of checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, barricades, and watchtowers. Roads close at any given time, several days a week, to permit the safe passage of Chinese workers and Pakistani VIPs.

Intelligence officers monitor journalists visiting Gwadar. The city’s fish market is deemed too sensitive for coverage.

Many local residents are frazzled.

“Nobody used to ask where we are going, what we are doing, and what is your name,” said 76-year-old Gwadar native Khuda Bakhsh Hashim. “We used to enjoy all-night picnics in the mountains or rural areas.” “We are asked to prove our identity, who we are, where we have come from,” he added. “We are residents. Those who ask should identify themselves as to who they are.” Hashim recalled memories, warm like the winter sunshine, of when Gwadar was part of Oman, not Pakistan, and was a stop for passenger ships heading to Mumbai. People didn’t go to bed hungry and men found work easily, he said. There was always something to eat and no shortage of drinking water.

But Gwadar’s water has dried up because of drought and unchecked exploitation. So has the work. The government says CPEC has created some 2,000 local jobs but it’s not clear whom they mean by “local”—Baloch residents or Pakistanis from elsewhere in the country. Authorities did not elaborate.

People in Gwadar see few benefits from China’s presence

Gwadar is humble but charming, the food excellent and the locals chatty and welcoming with strangers. It gets busy during public holidays, especially the beaches. Still, there is a perception that it’s dangerous or difficult to visit—only one commercial route operates out of Gwadar’s domestic airport, three times a week to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, located at the other end of Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coastline.

There are no direct flights to Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta, hundreds of miles inland, or the national capital of Islamabad, even further north. A scenic coastal highway has few facilities. Since the Baloch insurgency first erupted five decades ago, thousands have gone missing in the province—anyone who speaks up against exploitation or oppression can be detained, suspected of connections with armed groups, the locals say.

People are on edge; activists claim there are forced disappearances and torture, which the government denies. Hashim wants CPEC to succeed so that locals, especially young people, find jobs, hope and purpose. But that hasn’t happened. “When someone has something to eat, then why would he choose to go on the wrong path,” he said. “It is not a good thing to upset people.”

Militant violence declined in Balochistan after a 2014 government counterinsurgency and plateaued toward the end of that decade, according to Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. Attacks picked up after 2021 and have climbed steadily since. Militant groups, especially the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, were emboldened by the Pakistani Taliban ending a ceasefire with the government in Nov 2022.

An inauguration delayed

Security concerns delayed the inauguration of the international airport. There were fears the area’s mountains—and their proximity to the airport—could be the ideal launchpad for an attack. Instead, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang hosted a virtual ceremony. The inaugural flight was off limits to the media and public.

Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, district president of the Balochistan Awami Party, said not a single resident of Gwadar was hired to work at the airport, “not even as a watchman.” “Forget the other jobs, how many Baloch people are at this port that was built for CPEC,” he asked.

In December, Hoth organized daily protests over living conditions in Gwadar. The protests stopped 47 days later, once authorities pledged to meet the locals’ demands, including better access to electricity and water. No progress has been made on implementing those demands since then.

Without local labor, goods or services, there can be no trickle-down benefit from CPEC, said international relations expert Khalid. As Chinese money came to Gwadar, so did a heavy-handed security apparatus that created barriers and deepened mistrust. “The Pakistani government is not willing to give anything to the Baloch people, and the Baloch are not willing to take anything from the government,” said Khalid. AP