Submit your Article

The commercial charter flight has been operated from Pokhara International Airport to Chengdu in Sichuan Province of China for the first time.

Two years after the inauguration of the airport, the first commercial charter flight took place from Pokhara to Chengdu on Tuesday.

The first-ever Pokhara-Chengdu commercial flight was operated under the leadership of Pokhara Tourism Council in collaboration with Pokhara Metropolitan City, Chinese Embassy in Nepal, Sichuan Airlines and Chinese Association in Nepal.

It may be noted that it was materialized after continuous efforts from different fronts, including the private sector for international flights from the Pokhara International Airport.

Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, Pokhara Tourism Council Chair Taranath Pahari, Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Chief Maniraj Lamichhane, Pokhara Visit Year-2025 Performance Committee Coordinator Gopi Bahadur Bhattarai and a 126-member team of tourism entrepreneurs and media persons have come to Chengdu to promote tourism.

Nepali Consul General to China Suresh Raut, high-ranking officials of Sichuan Province and representatives of Sichuan Airlines, among others, welcomed the Pokharel team at Chengdu Airport.

On the occasion, Mayor Acharya said that the first commercial charter flight has been made with the continuous efforts of the Metropolitan City, Pokhara Tourism Council at a time when international flights could not be operated from Pokhara International Airport. The Chinese Embassy also held discussions on 'B2B' between tourism entrepreneurs of the two countries regarding tourism development of Pokhara.

The Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated on January 1, 2023. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 7. 66 points to close at 2, 697. 04 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 06 points to close at 452. 89 points.

 A total of 8,237,902-unit shares of 313 companies were traded for Rs 4. 34 billion.

Meanwhile, Mithila LaghuBitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (MLBBL) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 96 percent. Likewise, Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SLBSL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 8. 21 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 47 trillion.

Two hundred and thirty-six hatcheries have closed down in the country after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Nepal Poultry Federation.

The industries have been closed after the hatched chicks did not fetch even the production price after the pandemic.

According to Tikaram Pokhrel, vice-president of the Federation, there were 348 hatchery industries operating across the country before Covid-19. Now the number has come down to 120. Similarly, layer hatcheries have been reduced from 14 to six.

Pokhrel said 5.5 million broiler chicks used to be produced in a week by the hatcheries before and it has decreased to 3 million. Likewise, the production of layer chicks has decreased from 250, 000 per week to 130, 000.

According to Pokharel, the production cost of broiler chicks ranges from Rs 55 to Rs 60 per chick while that of layer chick ranges from Rs 120 to 125.

Rajendra Lamichhane, central senior vice-president of Nepal Hatchery Industry Association, said the hatcheries have been closed as they even did not get the production cost for the chicks for two years after Covid-19.

After a long time, the price of broiler chicks has now reached Rs 70 to Rs 75 per chick while the price of layer chicks is in the range of Rs 130 to Rs 150.

"Most of the hatcheries were shut down as the chicks did not fetch even the production cost for a long time and even those industries which were running have also done so with additional loans from banks," he said.

Hatchery industries and poultry farmers have been displaced from their business due to the hatched chicks not fetching the production cost, increase in prices of poultry feed and medicines, higher bank interest rates, low price of meat, displacement of poultry farmers and illegal entry of chicks from the Indian market.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged its subsidiary Chilime Hydropower Limited to complete the construction of the Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project and the Khimti-Bahrabise transmission line in Sindhupalchowk within a month.

During the testing of the structure and equipment to start electricity generation from the completed Madhya Bhotekoshi, the tunnel leaked while pouring water and currently it is being repaired for improvement of the tunnel and to stop it from leaking. 

As 40 MW of electricity has been generated from the Madhya Bhotekoshi with an installed capacity of 102 MW during the winter months it is regarded as a great importance for managing electricity supply as per the demand of the winter months, the NEA management has taken the initiative and urged to bring Madhya Bhotekoshi into operation as soon as possible.

A team comprising Kulman Ghising, Executive Director of the NEA, and Subhash Kumar Mishra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chilime Hydropower Company and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Company, have conducted a monitoring visit to the transmission line and substation and taken information about the construction progress.

The construction of the 400 kV transmission line from the new Khimti substation in Ramechhap to Bahrabise in Sindhupalchowk under the Tamakoshi-Kathmandu kV transmission line project, which will transmit electricity generated from the Madhya Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project, is in the final stage. All the towers in the Khimti-Bahrabise section under the transmission line project have been erected. Only about one kilometer of wire remains to be laid.

The 400 kV new Khimti-Bahrabise transmission line will be brought into operation at 200 kV immediately and the electricity of Madhya Bhotekoshi will be incorporated into the national transmission grid. The process of installing the necessary infrastructure at the new Khimti and Bahrabise substations to charge the line at 200 kV has already progressed.

The team led by Executive Director Ghising has discussed the ongoing work at the new Khimti and Bahrabise substations to charge the Khimti-Bahrabise line at 200 kV and instructed the project management and construction entrepreneurs to immediately proceed with the remaining work. The team also inspected the ongoing wire pulling work at the Tripurasundari Rural Municipality-2 intersection in Sindhupalchok under the transmission line.

Stating that the construction of both projects was sensitive and essential, Ghising personally came to the field to monitor the construction, he also directed to take the construction seriously and coordinate the remaining work expeditiously. A four-kilometer 220 kV transmission line connecting the powerhouse of the Madhya Bhotekoshi project in Bahrabise Municipality-5 to the NEA’s Bahrabise substation in the same municipality-3 has been constructed.

The Tamakoshi-Kathmandu transmission line has been constructed to supply electricity to the existing and future hydroelectric projects on the Tamakoshi and Sunkoshi rivers and their tributaries. Out of the 122 towers on the Bahrabise-Lapsiphedi line section, only two are yet to be constructed.