Submit your Article

The volume of Chinese goods imported from the Rasuwagadhi transit point on the Nepal-China border here has increased this year compared to the previous one. Only 14 containers carrying various imported goods used to pass through this transit point in a day following the decline in COVID-19 pandemic. These days as many as 21 such containers are transiting through this checkpoint on a daily basis, the Rasuwa Customs Office said. Hundreds of containers crossed the border daily to the Chinese towns Kerung and Pangsing to fetch the imported goods. Nowadays, the Chinese side has started transporting the goods up to Rasuwagadhi. Before this, movement of people and goods through the 'Nepal-China friendship bridge' here was suspended after the outbreak of COVID-19. It is said the imported goods are brought up to the transit point by Chinese trailers from the production company itself and various transport companies including the Musa Transport are involved in this. The import through Rasuwagadhi transit point recently resumed from September 15 after a long hiatus. Among the imported goods are mostly readymade clothes. It is said that one Chinese container is equivalent to two Nepali containers. Among the goods imported so far are 119 tippers of readymade clothes, 35 tippers of hydroelectricity equipment and four tippers of walnut. However, apples have not arrived until Saturday. One hundred fifty-eight big Chinese containers have brought the imported goods up to Rasuwagadhi in the interval of 10 days.

The Food Management and Trading Company Limited (FMTCL) has said it is effortful to ensure adequate supply of food grains in the remote areas including Karnali during the festivals–Dashain and Tihar. The biggest festivals of Nepalis - Dashain, Tihar and Chhath- are only a week away. They, together, last for about a month. Executive Director Mohan Prakash Chand said food grains would be supplied as per the quota determined on the basis of population density and need while remaining within the budget limit set by the government. As he said there might have been incidents of crowding at some FMTCL depots as people are on a buying spree taking advantage of the discount offered on food items on the occasion of the festivals. "The Company requests all the consumers to extend cooperation by buying only the required food grains and daily essentials and not for hoarding purposes," Chand said. FMTCL is selling and supplying quality food grains and commodities as rice, lentils, cooking oil, salt, sugar and beans, among others at discount from 45 outlets in 41 districts across the country. Stating that arrangements have been made for providing discount to the extent which can be felt compared to the private sector during big festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, the FMTCL executive director said sales depots have been set up at various places with the objective of smooth supply of food grains and commodities in remote areas. The state-owned company is effortful towards making available to consumers the essential foodstuffs at concessional rate and in easy manner in several remote districts. It has informed that works have been started for transporting the food grains and essentials to the remote districts through tender process. Chand said that the supplies would be ferried by helicopter to several other places in remote districts where tenders for the supply of food grains have not been received. FMTCL has been supplying commodities at the people's doorstep in few urban areas like the Kathmandu Valley in response to online orders citing high demand of supplies at the fair price shops the company is operating. The company has also been selling goats in the Kathmandu Valley for maintaining price balance in the sale and supply of goats during the big festivals. It brings the goats from various places of the country for this purpose. Before this it used to bring sheep and mountain goats from Tibet of China for sale and supply in Kathmandu until 2002. Until some years back the company brought mountain goats also from Manang and Mustang districts but stopped doing so with the onset of COVID-19 pandemic.

The government is to enforce the 'time card' system in public transport operating on long routes in a bid to prevent accidents and for efficient traffic management during the festival period. The biggest festivals of Nepalis - Dashain, Tihar and Chhath- are only a week away. They last together for about a month. A meeting of the committee formed for this purpose on Saturday took a decision in this connection. It is said the time card system is also being enforced with a view to discouraging the tendency of driving at high speed to reach the destination earlier. The committee has made 14 various decisions including implementing the time card by identifying places on the highway in coordination with Nepal Police, the Department of Transport Management and the transport entrepreneurs. The meeting was chaired by Home Ministry spokesperson and the committee coordinator Phanindra Mani Pokharel. It decided to strictly prohibit travelling on the roofs of buses or vehicles or hanging. The committee will also carry out monitoring as needed for preventing drunk driving. The committee has taken a decision requiring every public transportation vehicle to keep a first aid kit, stickers with necessary information as police hotline contact number, a signal object if there is an accident and to make arrangements for sanitizing the vehicle. Likewise, the committee decided to make public the phone number for passengers to complain in case the driver drives the vehicle in an unusual manner and to arrange for directing all the police units for immediate mobilization after getting such a complaint. As per the information shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Transport Management will make arrangements for conducting mechanical checks at the main places in the Kathmandu Valley on vehicles operating on the medium and long routes beginning September 25. This would be conducted in coordination of the authorized seller, the Traffic Police and the transport entrepreneurs. A decision has been taken requiring the transport entrepreneurs’ federation to assign a contact person in every province and district for the smooth operation of vehicles and provide his/her phone number to Nepal Police.

Tuberculosis test was conducted free of cost at eight wards of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association with the collaboration of Japan-Nepal Health and Tuberculosis Research Organization and the KMC ward offices organized a two-day free tuberculosis health camp. The free tuberculosis health camp was organized at KMC ward 6, 7, 10, 15, 16, 18, 26 and 32. Program Coordinator of Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, DN Sharma, shared that a free tuberculosis health camp was organized targeting the wards having dense population. According to the Association, a free tuberculosis camp would be organized in all wards of KMC in the coming days. Sharma added that building a tuberculosis-free society after carrying out treatment of tuberculosis patients by identifying them is the main objective of the Association. Similarly, Japan-Nepal Health and Tuberculosis Research Organization is working in tuberculosis sector in 11 districts of the country—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Dhading, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Kaski, Tanahu, Syangja and Nawalpur.  

Nepal and the Republic of Korea today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for two projects - Strengthening Stage-Wise Support System for the Stable Reintegration of Korea Returnee Migrants in Nepal and Establishment of Cyber Bureau with Capacity Building for Nepal Police. The MoU signing was held at the Ministry of Finance. For these two projects, the Government of Korea agrees to extend a total of USD 16 million (approximately NRs 2.00 billion) and USD 8 million each as grant assistance to Nepal, the Ministry of Finance said. The MoU to this effect were signed by Krishna Hari Pushkar, Finance Secretary and Chong-suk Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nepal. The projects will be implemented by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in close collaboration and coordination with respective line ministries and other government agencies. The Korea Returnee migrant support project aims to contribute to the socio-economic development of Nepal and increase employment through stable reintegration of Korea returnee migrants and enhancement of their entrepreneurship capacity. The project will also create a virtuous cycle and support system for Korea returnee migrants in Nepal for their enhanced information accessibility, and increased access to financial support through Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADBL). Similarly, the main objective of the Cyber Bureau project is to strengthen the anti-cyber-crime capabilities of Nepal Police wherein, the main component of the project is to construct a state-of-art building of the Cyber Bureau, provide equipment related to cyber-crime investigation and digital forensic lab and capacity building of relevant human resources of Nepal Police. Finance Secretary Pushkar, in his brief remark, expressed the importance of these two projects in equipping and capacitating Cyber Bureau to control increasing cases of cyber-crime as well as reintegrating the returnee migrant workers from Korea to establish themselves in their society and to increase their employability in Nepal. During the event, Ambassador Park expressed his concerns on the rate of cybercrimes that is massively increasing worldwide and in Nepal as well and he hoped that the Cyber Crime Control Project shall be an important support to strengthen the capacity of Nepal Police to control cyber crimes in Nepal. Similarly, Park stated that through the Korea Returnee Migrants project the large number of Korea returnees can utilize their skills and establish enterprise, which can generate employment and contribute to the economic growth of the country. The government of Nepal has expressed its sincere appreciation to the government of the Republic of Korea for this financial support as well as other support extended to Nepal.

Flights are to be operated to Solukhumbu-Lukla from Manthali airport in Ramechhap district in the near future. The Solukhumbu-Lukla flights used to be operated from Kathmandu before this. Director General at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Pradeep Adhikari said the CAAN has decided to operate flights to Solukhumbu-Lukla from Manthali airport in the near future. He said that works related to expansion and construction of other infrastructures are under way at the Manthali airport for this purpose. The private sector airlines are also preparing to start flights on the Ramechhap-Lukla route from September 25. The CAAN said expansion and construction works have been expedited at the Manthali airport for upgrading it and readying the facilities and services required to cater to the passengers in this route who are largely foreign travelers.  

Police have arrested three persons for possessing illegal guns in Gorkha. The suspects have been identified as Sita Bahadur Ghale (53) Maila Ghale (60) and Krishna Prasad Ghale (26) of Parpak Sulikot Rural Municipality. DSP Leelaraj Lamichhane said that police nabbed the trio after they were found keeping the guns without taking permission from the concerned authority. He said that muzzle-loader rifles were recovered from separate locations. DSP Lamichhane said that a short gun along with 24 bullets and its magazines were also recovered from the house of Sita Bahadur.

A person died one the spot and five others were seriously injured when a jeep met with an accident at Timla village of Api Himal Rural Municipality-5 in Darchula district on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as 18-year-old Dinesh Singh Dhami of Api Himal Rural Municipality-6, Rural Municipality Chairman Bhagat Singh Thekre confirmed. The incident occurred when the jeep (Ma 1 Jha 233) towards Makarigad of Api Himal from Latinath of Marma Rural Municipality fell some 200 meters of the road last night. Altogether nine persons were traveling in the jeep. Three persons were rescued by police personnel and local residents. Five others are receiving treatment at the Latinath Health Post, it has been learnt.