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The ruling five-party alliance has decided to focus on ensuring people’s partnership for socioeconomic development of the country.

The five parties in their election manifesto stressed on practically reaching ‘Singha Durbar’, the centre of authority and power, to each village along with maximum mobilization of local levels.

As the government closed to the people, the local level’s empowerment is in the alliance’s priority.

The election manifestos made public by the parties have kept in centre the empowered and pro-people local level in a bid to ensure effective implementation of federalism.

Implementation of fundamental rights as citizen’s access to basic health service, free school education, food security, housing, employment, clean environment, regional and gender equality are reiterated as common issues by their manifestos.

In addition to the manifestos, the alliance has mobilized leaders and cadres of their parties for smooth coordination and collaboration in the elections.

The selection of election candidates in consensus is one of the significant features of the electoral alliance.

The leaders have informed that they were going to prepare common election manifestos in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bharatpur, Biratnagar and Biratnagar Metropolises.

Pokhara Metropolis and Ghorahi Sub Metropolis have prepared common manifestos of the alliance.

In this regard, Nepali Congress central member Krishna Kishor Ghimire said for the candidates fielded on behalf of alliance, there is joint mobilization of alliance parties.

Another NC leader and lawmaker Anita Devkota also informed that up to the ward level, NC, Maoist Centre and Janamorcha have forged electoral alliance, so there was no point in worrying about electoral performance.

Spokesperson of the CPN Maoist Centre, Krishna Bahadur Mahara said his party had given priority to socialism oriented prosperity via socio-economic transformation.

“It is local level government, so making manifesto based on the need of respective local levels is imperative. It will be focused,” he added.

Deputy mayoral candidate in Lalitpur Metropolis Baburaja Bajracharya also has the belief that the social justice-focused development model would be viable to pay heed to people’s need at present and ensure socialism in the country.

The International Labour Day is being marked today by organising various programmes by different labour unions and workers, recalling the victory of labourers for their demand for eight-hours of works and legal rights.

On this occasion, trade unions and labour fraternities are conducting different programmes.

The Nepal Trade Union Congress this morning organised a rally in the Capital City. Started from Bhrikutimandap, the rally is to converge into an assembly by reaching at Bhaktapur Buspark from Sahid Gate, New Road Gate and Ratna Park.

Likewise, General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions is scheduled to organise an assembly in Bhrikutimandap this afternoon.

Furthermore, Joint Trade Union Coordination Center (JTUCC), which is a joint union of over a dozen trade unions active in Nepal, is marking this day by organising a grand rally this afternoon in the Capital City.

In view of the security sensitivity for the upcoming local level elections, officials have intensified security in the no-man's land of the Nepal-India border in Banke district.

Security at the border points has been beefed up considering that illegal arms could be brought in from no-man's land to affect the polls scheduled for May 13.

District Police Office, Banke, said security checks had been made strict in the border area as illegal incidents could happen from India due to open border during the time of election.

Currently, security officials from both the countries are carrying out joint patrolling and stricter security checks in Jamunaha and Rupaidiya points, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Banke Madhu Sudan Neupane said.

Overall issues of security are being raised in a joint meeting of security officials taking place later today, it is said.

Banke district shares 65 kilometres of open border with the Indian side.

People no longer have to wait in hours or wander to search the designated bank to pay the fine for traffic rules violations.

The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office now has gone digital to collect fines from violators through QR code.

The 'QR Scan Pay Fine and Withheld Document' has come into effect starting Thursday to ease procedural hassles.

The service, launched in collaboration with Kumari Bank Limited, was jointly inaugurated by SSP Umeshraj Joshi and Bank's digital chief Anil Tamrakar.

SSP Joshi said that new technology was being adopted in the traffic management system of Nepal which is believed to further facilitate the road users.

Similarly, Bank's digital chief Joshi pledged to continue collaboration with the traffic police for better and swift services in the coming days.

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to write to all local levels through the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration seeking approval for use of the physical infrastructures and their premises from May 11-13 for the voting purpose during the time of the local level elections.

The physical infrastructures include public schools, ward offices, health posts and others.

At a news conference on Thursday, the EC said it had decided to write to the federal government through the Chief Secretary to make arrangements for teaching students in an alternative way as the schools with voting centres and polling stations there should be used for three days from May 11-13 for running voting and election-related managerial tasks.

Issuing a statement, Surya Prasad Aryal, spokesperson at the Election Commission, said that the Chief Secretary would write a letter to the government seeking a nationwide public holiday on May 13 on the day of the local level elections.

Likewise, the EC said a total of 153,002 candidates had filed their nominations in different posts in the local level elections as per the data entry made till 3:30 pm Thursday.

It is said 3,510 nominations were received for mayor, 3,387 for chairperson, 2,168 for deputy mayor and 2,401 for vice-chair.

Likewise, 35,353 nominations were filed for the post of ward chair.

Till Thursday, the EC said more than 17.77 million ballot papers for 72 districts have been printed and 5.18 million ballot papers for 33 districts have been transported. 

The national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will be conducting an ‘operational performance test flight’ at Gautam Buddha International Airport that serves as the country’s second international airport, today.

The NAC A330 wide-body aircraft is scheduled to take off from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 3:00 pm and land in Bhairahawa of Lumbini where the second international airport is located following a 45-minute flight.

The test flight by the wide-body airbus at the country’s another international airport built after 74 years of the establishment of the first one is said to be historic.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal ( CAAN) director-general engineer Pradip Adhikari, the establishment of another international airport is really significant achievement for the nation.  The wide-body aircraft will be landing beside Kathmandu for the first time in the country’s history.  “It will be a milestone for the country’s aviation service sector. “

According to CAAN, domestic airports in Terai areas as well as Gautam Buddha International Airport are coming into operation for 18 hours daily from today. Similarly, international commercial flights would be operated at Gautam Buddha International Airport for 24 hours from upcoming May 16.

Director-General Adhikari said that it is the first national pride project coming in full operation after its completion.

‘Operational Performance Test Flight’ is going to be conducted by the wide-body aircraft in order to disseminate the message that another international airport has come into operation and any airline companies from across the world could make flights in Nepal.

The much-awaited second international airport, Gautam Buddha International Airport, has formally come into operation on May 22, 2021.   However, international flights would be launched regularly at the airport from May 16. Jazeera Airlines has got permission to operate its flight at the airport and has been making necessary preparation in this regard.

The Nepal Communist Party led by Netra Bikram Chand has removed the party’s secretariat members Hemanta Prakash Oli and Dharmendra Banstola from their posts for carrying out activities against the party.

Party Chair Chand said in a press release today that Oli and Banstola have been removed from their post for an indefinite period.

He stated that a situation has arisen wherein the two leaders had to be sacked from their posts because of their own activities.

A sharp dispute was seen within the party after Banstola issued a statement warning several leaders and cadres of the party who filed their candidacy in the upcoming local level election as per the party’s directives to withdraw their candidature.

Bishwonath Regmi, 74, of Baglung Municipality had to wait for hours in queue while visiting Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital.

Though it is said that senior citizens do not have to stay in line to wait for their turn at the hospital to avail service, hospital staffers insulted Regmi and made him stand in queue.

Saying that although there is a provision of 50 percent concession to senior citizens while travelling in public vehicles, no one has implemented it, senior citizen Regmi complained that although the state has made legal arrangements, the senior citizens are deprived of such facilities due to lack of sensitivity of bodies concerned towards senior citizens' rights. At an interaction organised by the National Human Rights Commission in Baglung, senior citizens participating in the programme, shared they were neglected by all.

They complained about the discrimination they were facing while receiving treatment through insurance scheme at public places.

Secretary of Senior Citizens Association Harilal Subedi said there was no programme to honour senior citizens, adding that they had failed to organise some of the programmes after the local levels did not provide information about the budget allocated for senior citizens.

Employees did not respond when asked about the budget and programme, he said, adding "We have become burden on society."

Bishwanath Regmi, a local of Ward 3 complained that they had been deprived of health insurance and other facilities meant for senior citizens. "I am, till date, deprived of health insurance and concession in public transport given to senior citizens," he complained, adding that though the schemes targeing older people were good, its implementation was still awaited. "Our rights are just confined to paper."

According to civil society leader Kaji Gaunle Shrestha people in the rural areas are even not aware of the rights given to them by the law.

Advocacy for implementation of legal rights of senior citizens sometimes triggered a tussle among the implementing bodies and target groups.

They expressed their grievances during discussions on the rights of senior citizens. Commission of Senior Citizens' Chief Kalpana Nepal, human rights activist Sharmila Thapa, CDO Ramesh Dhakal and SP Dayanidhi Gyawali, among others, apprised about facilities meant for senior citizens.