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The traditional festival, Indra Jatra, is being observed by worshiping the Devraj Indra, the God of rains and good harvest, on Friday. This festival is celebrated especially in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, and Dhulikhel and Dolakha. The annual traditional festival begins on the Bhadra Shukla Chaturdasi of Nepali month, Bhadra. It is an eight-day long festival. On the day the festival begins, a sacred wooden pole called Lingo with flags on its top is erected at Hanuman Dhoka, the historic place of Nepal. During the festival, chariot processions and typical cultural songs and dances are performed. The erected pole with flag is called 'Indradhwojotthan'. On the bottom of the pole, Lord Bhairav is worshiped. The Indra Jatra festival is taken as the celebration after conquering the enemies. The wooden pole is brought by performing tantric acts from a jungle of Nala in nearby Kavre district. The pole is made holy with various rituals at Bhotahiti, Kathmandu. When the pole is erected, different cultural dances including Bhakkunach, Mahakalinach, Lakhenach, Dasavatarnach and Pulukisinach are performed in the city. Today, the Head of the State, the President, observes the chariot processions of Shree Kumari, Shree Ganesh and Shree Bhairav at historic Hanumandhoka. Kumari is worshiped as the Living Goddess by the President on the occasion, and prasad received. The government has also announced a public holiday today in Kathmandu Valley.

The government launched the 'Literate Nepal Campaign' a decade back, but 16 districts, including eight in Madhesh province, are yet to be declared as achieving the 'full literate' status. The government had brought a program through its policy and program document, and the budget for fiscal year 2075/76 BS that the country would declare fully literate within two years. Ever since this announcement, the trend of declaring the districts as fully literate has increased of late. Till date, 61 districts have been declared as achieving the 'fully literate' status while all the districts in Madhesh province (Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa), Kapilvastu district in Lumbini province, Mugu, Jumla, Humla, Kalikot and Dolpa districts in Karnali province and Kanchanpur and Doti districts in Sudurpaschim province remain to be declared as fully literate districts. Out of the 753 local units, 176 local units of the above 16 districts remain to be declared as achieving the 'fully literate' status, the Center for Education and Human Resource Development under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said. Center director general Chudamani Poudel said an action plan has been forwarded and a proposal based on cost-sharing is ordered to be prepared under the Literate Nepal Campaign this year. The Center said under this, a program has been brought for holding orientation for the stakeholders in the districts and local units yet to be declared attaining full literacy, for producing learning materials would be produced including the 12 literacy indicators and distributing them and for making the family and community literate by mobilizing the students. There is a provision of declaring a district or local unit as 'literate district or local unit' if 95 percent of the residents aged between 15 to 60 years there are found literate. The literacy rate of the above six years old population is 78 percent, of 15-24 years old population is 92 percent, of the population above 15 years old is 58 percent and of the 15-60 years old population is 85 percent. Percentage-wise, the literacy rate is on improvement traction as compared to the country's literacy rate in 2004 BS. Nepal's literacy rate in 2004 BS was merely 2 percent. There are 35,674 schools in the country, including 27,812 community schools, 6732 institutional (private) schools, and 1, 130 religious schools. Similarly, there are 2,151 community learning centers, 121 open schools and 171 formal adult literacy schools. The government has a policy of seeking voluntary roles of students of various levels in the literacy campaign as past programs and approaches to promote literacy failed to yield expected results. Nepal has launched the literacy campaign since 2004. The 56th International Literacy Day observed today with the theme of 'Transforming Literacy Learning Space' and the Center, too, decided to promote the literacy campaign through the dissemination of electricity and other media contents. In his message of best wishes on the occasion of the Day, Minister for Education and Science and Technology, Devendra Paudel, highlighted the need of cooperation among the three-tier government in the operation of literacy programs and promoting lifelong learning activities. It may be noted that the Nepal Government, Council of Ministers had on 29th November, 2012 endorsed and implemented an approach paper to launch the Intensive Literacy Program by not repeating the people participating the program once in the next class. The paper advised to specify literacy as the mandatory condition for getting government facilities including the old-age allowance. The program aimed to create a base for the people above 15 including the aged one for lifelong learning. In the course of the implementation of the program, the government had announced the fiscal year 2071-72 BS (2014-15) as the ', Illiteracy Elimination Year', but the goal is awaited.  Sindhupalchowk was the first district to be declared as the literate district on June 16, 2014 and Lalitpur was declared the first total literate district on June 22. According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate (for population aged five and above) is 65.94 percent while male literacy is 75.14 percent and female literacy is 57.39 percent. Earlier the government had announced to make all people literacy with the mobilization of all state mechanisms to make all illiterates meet the minimum standard of literacy by 2015.

The number of dengue patients has increased all of a sudden from the third week of August. All beds at the District Hospital are occupied by dengue patients. Dr Adarsha Limbu of the District Hospital said the hospital recorded 28 dengue patients from the third week of August to September 7. Only three dengue cases were detected in the hospital in the previous month but the hospital beds are full with dengue patients this month. Most of the people visiting the hospital have symptoms of dengue. Dr Limbu further said they are not in a condition to admit new patients as the hospital beds are full of dengue patients. Although there is no lack of kits for the dengue test, there is a problem of beds in the hospital, he opined. He added high-fever, body pain, stomach ache are some symptoms of dengue. Dengue has been detected on prisoners and detainees at the District Jail in the district. A total of seven prisoners and detainees were found suffering from dengue so far. Jailer Ramraj Panta said problems have surfaced in treatment of prisoners due to this. A letter has been sent to the bodies concerned for the arrangement of treatment of prisoners and detainees suffering from dengue, he mentioned. There are 77 prisoners and 14 detainees in the District Jail. Efforts to control dengue inside the District Jail are underway, Panta added.

A delegation led by Chairperson of France-Nepal Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, Daniel Salmon, paid a courtesy call on Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota at his office, Singha Durbar, this morning. On the occasion, Speaker Sapkota said Nepal and France have diplomatic relation since 1949 and the relation is marked by cordiality as well as based on equity and mutual understanding. Speaker Sapkota expressed the belief that the high-level visit would give an impetus to the relation. Lauding the support of France in Nepal’s democratic process, he recalled the basic norms of French revolution. The Speaker mentioned that climate change is having a direct impact and effect in many countries of the world, stressing the need of joining hands to face it. Similarly, Chairperson Daniel extended gratitude for the warm welcome accorded to him and his delegation in Nepal. The Group Chair said all should use their power to mitigate impacts of climate change, adding Nepal has been doing remarkable works in the environment sector, according to the Secretariat of Speaker Sapkota.

The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) is to coordinate with provinces and local levels to control dengue infection. A high-level meeting held among secretaries at the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Health Secretary and Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration in the presence of Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairangi on Wednesday discussed the matter on how dengue infection could be prevented and controlled. The meeting decided that the Health Ministry would coordinate and facilitate provinces and local levels in order to control dengue, said Ministry Spokesperson Sanjay Kumar Thakur. The meeting also decided to organize an awareness campaign and prepare and disseminate informative audio and visual content through different media in order to intensify the 'search and destroy mosquito larva' campaign, identify the disease and arrange necessary treatment.

LUMBINI: Participating conservationists and guests put their hands together when the bird festival organised by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) on 26 November 2018 declared the Sarus crane (Grus antigone) as ‘city bird’ of Lumbini. The world’s tallest flying bird species has found its historical and spiritual significance in epic Ramayana and a story surrounding Siddhartha Gautam Buddha. But, the non-migratory birds have faced existential threat due to factors like their collision with electricity lines, increasing urbanisation, noise and industrial pollution, hunting, rampant use of pesticides and human activities, and largely due to encroachment on their habitats. Arjun Kurmi, chairperson of Green Youth, Lumbini, a local club working for the conservation of birds, said the bird species were increasingly disappearing. Earlier, more than two dozen pairs of the bird were spotted outside the eastern wall of the LDT building. But, they disappeared in the past few years, he said. Seven pairs of the bird species reared in the wetland area of Lumbini Village in the northern part of the LDT also vanished, he said. He added that they were forced to move elsewhere to lay and hatch eggs as their habitats–lakes, streams, wetlands and farmlands at Bharthapur, Bhujahiya and Aama of Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality, Betkuiya and Pharena of Sammarimai Rural Municipality and Bogadiya of Kotahimai Rural Municipality–get dried during the dry season. Drying up wetlands during summer has also affected the breeding of the bird. The sarus cranes are mostly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. In 2000, they were enlisted in the IUCN red list of threatened species. Similarly, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 has enlisted sarus crane as a protected bird. In Nepal, killing a sarus crane is punishable by Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 in fine per person or three to nine months imprisonment or both, according to the Act. The world’s tallest flying bird stands 152-156 cms tall with a wingspan of 240 cms. It weighs 6.8-7.8 kilograms. They are a social creature, found mostly in pairs or small groups of three or four. Nests are built on water in natural wetlands or in flooded farmlands. According to ornithologist Hiru Lal Dagaura, it lays two eggs. After laying eggs, both the male and female protect them alternately. The chicks live with their parents for six months, and thereafter they live in pairs. The chicks hatch at an interval of around 30 to 32 days. In Nepal, they are mostly found in Kapilvastu, Banke, Dang and Chitwan; Kalikich lake and the buffer zone, Beldandi of the Shuklaphanta National Park in Kanchanpur. However, their numbers have been on the decline. According to a study carried out in March, 2022 by the Himalayan Nature, a development and conservation research institute, their number in Rupandehi and Kapilvastu was 354 as opposed to 394 in 2021 and 404 in 2020. The institute works for sustainable livelihoods of Himalayan communities as initiating scientific research on Himalayan biodiversity and the broader environment. “In the past, the bird species in hordes could be easily spotted at a single place. They are fond of living in pairs wondered in farmlands. But, these sights are rare nowadays,” observed a local media-person Anjana Chauhan. Increasing urbanisation has posed threats to it, she argued. Dr Sudip Subedi, programme director for the Himalayan Nature admitted to declining bird species. Rampant use of pesticides, unmanaged urbanization and hunting among others are main threats to them, he said. “Excessive use of pesticides in farmlands is detrimental to their reproduction.” The bird species help with crops as they feast on insects, he said. In general, they hatch eggs during mid-June and mid-August. “They build nests in paddy fields where long-stemmed rice plants are grown. However, lately, people left planting long-stemmed rice saplings, thus destroying their habitats,” he said. Live electric wires and stray dogs are major threats to them. In the past five years, seven sarus cranes were electrocuted on the edge of Aamagaun in the municipality-12, said Kailash Jayaswal of the Nature Conservation Foundation. “Many sarus cranes died in the municipality area from collusion with power lines during winter in particular. The average mortality rate was six pairs of the bird every year,” he said. In the first week of August, 2020, two pairs died after being electrocuted in the southern border of Tarakulaha village in the municipality-6, he said. Insulating electric wires through various means like putting reflectors and a layer of plastic are among ways to save the birds, he suggested. According to a school teacher Hari Mohan Chaudhary, the bird is a symbol of love and devotion. They live in pairs; in case of death of their spouse, it lives alone throughout its life without getting married again or it even sacrifices its life in mourning. The bird holds spiritual significance connection with Gautam Buddha. According to sayings, prince Siddhartha, many years before he would become Buddha after getting enlightenment, saved a wounded sarus crane. The bird got wounded by an arrow shot by his cousin Devadatta. Later, a dispute arose between Siddhartha and Devadatta over who the wounded bird belonged to. The matter, eventually, landed in the court of King Suddhodhan, father of Siddhartha, and the king gave the verdict that the wounded bird belonged to Siddhartha–the one who nurtured and saved it, but not the one; who tried to kill it. The bird is also associated with the Ramayana. The epic’s composer Valmiki was inspired–by separation of a couple of sarus crane–to write its verses. The opening of the Ramayana is believed to be based on the separation of a couple of the bird,” said Tribhuvan Barai, a lecturer at Tribhuvan University. A spouse of a bird couple, while making love, was shot dead by an arrow by a hunter along the banks of the Tamasa river. The bird struck by separation with its spouse killed itself. After seeing the tragic story of the couple of the bird, a sage cursed the hunter, and the opening verses of the Ramayana are based on this curse. After Siddhartha saved life of a wounded sarus crane, its presence grew in Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, it has been said. “Sarus crane is Lord Buddha’s bird. It is our duty to save it,” said right activist and civil society leader of Kapilvastu Ram Dayal Thakur. The birds also hold a special relationship with the farmers of Lumbini. The presence of the birds is believed to be the indicative of healthy wetlands—favourite habitat for them—meaning for the production of good crops. Lumbini has also honoured the bird by declaring it as ‘city bird’ On the occasion of the bird festival, the then mayor of the Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality, Manamohan Chaudhary, said, “There is a special relation between Lord Buddha and sarus. So, we announced it as ‘city bird’.” In the country, the number of the bird was around 300—out of which Lumbini alone had 250–according to Bhupal Nepali, the project officer for the Nepal Bird Conservation Association. In a bid to protect the birds, the sarus protection campaign has been in place since 1994 in collaboration between the LDT and the Crane Foundation. After reaching an agreement with the LDT (December 25, 1994), the International Crane Foundation has established the Lumbini sarus reserve in a bid to conserve the birds—for which it has leased 256 acre land (153 bigha) in the Lumbini village out of 1,155 bigha allocated to conserve sarus crane bird species. Dagaura also blamed habitat losses primarily caused by a destruction of wetlands, and a lack of their prey for their decreasing number. The birds are found mostly in Nepal, Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan and Vietnam, according to ornithologists. Out of 15 bird species in the globe, four are found in Nepal.

Minister for Forests and Environment Pradeep Yadav has said that his Ministry is committed to addressing the climate change problems. Addressing the inaugural session of the First Assembly of Climate Action Campaign here today, he said that since becoming the minister he has made decisions on and run various programs for minimizing the climate change and greenhouse gas emission. Minister Yadav added that works have been moved ahead to that end on a war footing. “We have been working at a war-footing to tackle the problem of climate change and the cooperation of all sides is necessary in this connection,” he said. The Minister also on the occasion gave information on other works carried out by the Ministry towards mitigating climate change. Nepal is a state party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, the Minister said and reiterated that it has kept climate change mitigation as its main priority. He further said that policies, strategy, laws, regulations and plans on climate change minimization have been formulated while the National Climate Change Policy, 2076 is under implementation. Stating that the country has adopted the policy of zero emission of Green House Gas by 2045 AD, Minister Yadav informed that works have also been moved ahead toward meeting this target. He also pointed out the need of national and international support for implementing Nepal’s the ‘ambitious’ commitments and programs. The Forests and Environment Minister expressed regrets that although all the nations came together to addressing the climate change issues and also made various commitments for the same, they have not worked in keeping with these commitments. “All states are one on tackling the problem related to climate change and they have also expressed commitment to take various measures for mitigation and adaptation. However, this problem is not being handled as per the commitments and this is a matter of concern,” he said. Reminding that a mountainous and least developed country like Nepal is at high risk of adverse impact of climate change, Minister Yadav stressed on the need of the mountainous countries to work together for addressing the problem. More than 100 environment experts, representatives and youth of several organizations working in the climate change sector from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan are participating in the two-day event.

The Khurkot-Ghurmi road section along the Mid-Hill Highway has been obstructed due to a landslide. Dry landslide occurred at Golanjor Rural Municipality-1, Kudule in Sindhuli had disrupted the highway. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the District Police Office, Bimal Raj Kandel said that vehicular movement was completely halted on the road section after landslide continued to occur since 4 am on Wednesday. Vehicles plying the mid-hill highway from eastern mountainous districts have been stranded on the road after highway disruption, he added. A team of the Area Police Office, Khurkot is now removing landslide debris to bring back the traffic. Locals have joined hands to clear off the road, he informed. “Landslide continues to take place since early this morning”, said Vice-Chairperson of Golanjar Rural Municipality, Jwala Prasad Neupane. Hundreds of passengers have been stranded along the road.