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Entrepreneurs and the business community of Rupandehi have drawn attention of bodies concerned, demanding operation of regular flights at Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport.

Organizing a press meet here today, the Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rupandehi, the Siddhartha Network Rupandehi and the Rupandehi Chamber of Commerce announced a phase-wise agitation program to press for fulfillment of their demand.

Industrialists said they would launch decisive agitation together for the operation of regular flights at Gautam Buddha International Airport. A joint agitation struggle committee has also been formed for the agitation to be launched at leadership of Siddhartha Network Rupandehi. 

Under the first-phase agitation program, discussion will be held with representative of different political parties of Rupandehi district, people's representatives of local levels as well as people's representatives elected in federation and province assembly as well as Chiefs of concerned Airlines, said Committee Coordinator and Chairperson of Siddhartha Network, Anil Kumar Gyawali.

Similarly, a peace protest will be organized in front of the airport in presence of thousands of people, attention of the Prime Minister, Tourism Minister, Finance Minister, Labor Minister, Health Minister, secretary of concerned ministries and chief of Nepal Airlines Corporation would be drawn about the agitation program, he mentioned.

Workers heading to foreign job destinations will now have to pay nearly 50 percent more for health examinations. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security has raised the health check-up fee to Rs 9,500 through a minister-level decision made last week. Issuing a notice, the ministry stated that the comprehensive package for all health tests for migrant workers will now cost Rs 9,500. The ministry introduced the new health test fee by amending the guidelines related to the listing, renewal, and monitoring of health institutions conducting medical examinations for migrant workers.

This decision has sparked concerns about affordability and the quality of services for Nepali workers seeking employment opportunities abroad.

Additionally, the ministry has formed a committee of experts to prepare a report within a month to transition the health examination process to an electronic system. As per the notice, 34 types of health tests are included in the package. Likewise, registered health facilities will have to upgrade their infrastructure to provide all 34 types of tests within two months of the notice's publication. Ministry officials will then observe and approve the upgraded facilities. According to the notice, the registration of facilities that fail to upgrade their infrastructure as required will not be renewed.

The notice also stated that final approval for workers heading abroad will only be granted after the designated tests are completed and duly uploaded to the Department of Foreign Employment. The ministry decided to increase the health test fee despite the recommendations made by a task force in December last year. The task force, led by Dipendra Raman Singh, had suggested integrating the health examinations of migrant workers into the government-run health insurance scheme.

Among others, the task force emphasized the need for uniformity in health examination fees, the appointment of health counselors in countries with over 100,000 Nepali workers, and a requirement for at least B-grade laboratories for testing. Currently, medical checks for migrant workers are conducted at C-grade facilities. The report, however, had not recommended increasing the health check-up fees.

Around 700,000 Nepalis leave for foreign employment every year after obtaining a labor approval permit from the ministry. Additionally, a significant number of people travel to job destinations on visit visas and arrange employment on their own.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 2, 000 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 175, 400 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 173, 400 per tola on Tuesday.  

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1, 835 per tola today.

Two Indian airlines, SpiceJet and Air India Express, have received permission to operate scheduled flights to Kathmandu. According to the Summer Schedule published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), SpiceJet will resume its daily New Delhi–Kathmandu flights starting May 10. The flight will arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 9:55 am and depart at 10:55 am. The airline will use a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft with a seating capacity of 189 passengers. 

SpiceJet had suspended its Kathmandu operations during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has appointed Himalayan Globe Travel Services as its General Sales Agent (GSA) in Nepal. Meanwhile, Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, has received permission to operate daily flights to Kathmandu from Bangalore and Mumbai. According to CAAN, the Bangalore flight will arrive in Kathmandu 8:05 am and depart at 9:05 am. The Mumbai flight will land at 5:05 pm and depart at 6:00 pm. Both services are scheduled to commence in June. Air India Express has not made any formal announcement regarding its new flights.

With the addition of these two carriers, the number of Indian airlines operating regular flights to Kathmandu has increased to four. Full-service airline Air India has six daily flights on the New Delhi–Kathmandu route whereas low-cost carrier IndiGo operates three daily flights from New Delhi and one from Mumbai.

Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier, also operates direct flights to New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore from Kathmandu. The privately-owned Nepali carrier, Buddha Air, flies to Varanasi from Kathmandu. Bhutanese carriers—Bhutan Airlines and Druk Air—also operate flights between Kathmandu and New Delhi.

India is the largest tourism source country for Nepal, accounting for nearly one-third of the total international tourist arrivals. Improved air connectivity between major Indian cities and Kathmandu is expected to further boost tourist inflow to Nepal.