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For the farmers of Syangja district, who lost crops and livestock in wild animal attacks almost two years ago, relief is still beyond reach.

The afflicted farmers aired their woes at a training program organized under the aegis of the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN) to press for payment of relief funds for the harm caused in such attacks. 

Dilmaya Poudel from Putalibazar municipality-5 says she is yet to receive relief funds even after almost two years since the attack. After a leopard attacked and killed two goats during nighttime, Poudel asked for relief funds from the division office, to no avail. Like her, there are many victims that are yet to receive their relief funds. 

Per Amar Bahadur Parajuli, forest officer in the division office, the funds have been put on hold for 20 months. Previously, after validating attacks from wild animals, relief used to be distributed within a month. According to Parajuli, the lack of clear deadlines is behind the delays in the payment of funds. 

Two years ago, it was announced that the Forest Directorate will henceforth provide relief funds coming from the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). Per that announcement, the onus is on both ACAP and the directorate to deliver the funds. But this decision was not included in the budget, giving rise to some uncertainty that has caused delays in the payment of relief funds. 

“We have submitted a recommendation to the directorate and received information that the relief funds will be deposited in the farmers’ bank accounts,” Parajuli said, adding that both the provinces and local governments have allocated budgets for the topic.

Syangja has sent a recommendation for a total of Rs 1.787m in relief funds for the district. Out of 325 incidents reported from the district, one has harmed human life, 338 have caused harm to animals, 270 to birds, including Kalij, and caused loss of 20 quintals of corn. 

According to Navaraj Baral, Head of Division Forest Office, Syangja, the reporting period saw rescue/retrieval of 17 animals. The rescued animals include one leopard cub (rescued alive), three deer (rescued alive), seven dead leopards, and three dead deer.

Deputy Chief of Syangja District Coordination Committee Syangja, Khadga Raj Subedi, demanded immediate relief funds to the victims. Crops and livestock requiring farmers’ hard work, dedication and investments get destroyed/killed in seconds in wild animal attacks, therefore, there should be no delay in providing relief funds, he said. 

Kalidas Subedi, Gandaki province Chairperson of FECOFUN, central member Dob Bahadur Karki and Forest Officer Rookmangud Subedi informed about the directorate at the training program while FECOFUN Syangja Chair Tara Sharma informed about USAID Biodiversity’s contribution. Sharma said forest users should be made aware of the directorate, stressing the need to use state-provided facilities effectively. 

As part of the relief distribution plan being executed with USAID Biodiversity’s financial contribution, information about the behavior of wild animals, community’s responses and the directorate has been provided to members of FECOFUN. 

FECOFUN officials, members and representatives took part in the program held to promote rapid forest management, community rights, inclusivity, good governance and economic development. In case of harm caused to animals due to wild attacks, police recognition, forest management committee’s recommendation, ward office’s recommendation, photos of the incident, and veterinary hospital as well as agriculture office report should be presented. The government has brought the new wild animal attack relief fund directory 2023 in execution. Previously, relief used to be handed out for harm caused by leopards, now it covers losses caused by monkeys too.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 153, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 153, 100 per tola on Wednesday.

The price of silver, however, has decreased by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1,830 per tola today.

Per capita energy consumption reached 400 units in the last fiscal year, according to data released by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Following the end of load shedding in the country and the regular supply of electricity, energy consumption has tripled. 

In the fiscal year 2015/16, energy consumption was 3.72bn units, but by 2023/24, it had increased to 10.2bn units. Over the span of eight years, the country’s energy consumption grew by 6.51bn units. Last year, 4.31bn units were consumed domestically, while industrial consumers used 3.69bn units. Eight years ago, per capita energy consumption was just 131 units.

Eight years ago, there was eight hours of daily load shedding even during the rainy season, with projections of up to 14 hours per day in winter. Starting in Oct 2016, load shedding was eliminated for domestic consumers in the Kathmandu Valley and gradually in other major cities, followed by the end of load shedding for industrial consumers. By April 2022, the entire country was declared load shedding-free.

At that time, only 58 percent of households had access to electricity. Today, electricity reaches 99 percent of households, with 97 percent connected to the national grid and two percent powered by small hydropower, solar energy, and other sources. The number of electricity consumers has grown from around 3m to approximately 5.9m, including community users.

NEA’s Managing Director, Kul Man Ghising, attributes the increase in energy consumption to the regular supply of electricity following the end of load shedding. “Industries are receiving a consistent electricity supply, and their loads are being approved. There is also an increasing use of electricity for household purposes, such as cooking, and in both private and public vehicles. Electrification has been rising rapidly, resulting in increased energy consumption,” Ghising said. “Each year, with rising demand for electricity, the challenges in supply increase. To provide reliable, standard, and safe electricity, major cities have been divided into 11 clusters, and a plan for transmission and distribution infrastructure to meet demand until 2050 has been prepared and is being gradually implemented.”

Electricity consumption, which was 3.72bn units in 2015/16, increased by 28.47 percent to 4.77bn units in 2016/17. Consumption reached 5.56bn units in 2017/18, 6.3bn units in 2018/19, 6.42bn units in 2019/20, and 7.28bn units in 2020/21. In 2021/22, 8.84bn units were consumed, 9.35bn units in 2022/23, and 10.2bn units in 2023/24.

Electricity consumption increased by about 10 percent in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23. The peak demand for electricity in 2023/24 rose by 11.34 percent compared to the previous year, with the highest demand recorded on May 30, 2023, at 2,212 megawatts.

Although Nepal exports electricity to India for six months during the rainy season, winter sees a decrease in production from run-of-river hydropower projects, necessitating imports to meet domestic demand. However, the amount of imported energy is decreasing. Last year, imported energy accounted for 14.68 percent of the system’s supply, an 8.57 percent reduction from the previous year.

Electricity exports increased by 44 percent in the last fiscal year. About 1.9bn units of electricity worth Rs 16.93bn were imported from India, but 1.95bn units worth Rs 17.06bn were exported, making Nepal a net exporter of electricity by a margin of over Rs 130m.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 153, 100 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 152, 300 per tola on Tuesday.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,855 per tola today.