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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 45. 93 points to close at 2,689.00 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 6. 96 points to close at 457. 04 points.

A total of 17,392,244-unit shares of 321 companies were traded for Rs 7. 46 billion.

Meanwhile, Khanikhola Hydropower Co. Ltd. (KKHC) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Likewise, Khanikhola Hydropower Co. Ltd. (KKHC), Life Insurance Corporation (Nepal) Limited (LICN) and Joshi Hydropower Development Company Ltd (JOSHI) the top losers as their price fell by 10. 00 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 46 trillion.

The drinking water project initiated 13 years ago to supply water to three wards of Jaljala rural municipality in Parbat remains incomplete. Jaljala, located near Benibazar in Myagdi, began constructing the Jaljala Kukurchihan drinking water project in 2011 to provide water to 500 households across various settlements, including Malgaon, Arubot, Dadakateri and Falamedanda.

According to Tilakbahadur GC, ward Chairperson of Jaljala-5, the project has stalled due to inadequate budget allocation. “With an estimated cost of over Rs 30m, the project has only been receiving Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000 annually, limiting progress,” he said. To date, only 65 houses in Banmade and Lopre have access to drinking water, with Rs 5m spent so far.

Despite the transfer of responsibility from the federal to the provincial government, insufficient funding has left residents disappointed. Sam Bahadur Tilija, secretary of the Jaljala Kukurchyan drinking water and sanitation consumers’ association, expressed frustration: “Thirteen years have passed waiting for water. The intake, reserve tanks and taps built as part of the project have fallen into disuse for want of water supply.”

The project aimed to source water from the Kukurchihan and Lopre forest springs at the base of Mohredada in Annapurna rural municipality-8 and distribute it to households via taps. Local resident Purkha Purja Pun emphasized the impact of the delay, noting that Falamedanda, a tourist destination included in the project, has been suffering from chronic water scarcity.

This fiscal year, Rs 21m has been allocated for the project under three headings. The provincial government has earmarked Rs 1m, while the Federal Ministry of Water Resources has allotted Rs 10m each for various segments of the Jaljala project.

Jaljala rural municipality Vice-chairperson Deepak Acharya stated that efforts are underway to coordinate federal and provincial budgets to avoid duplication. Project Office Chief Padam Bahadur Kunwar confirmed that work will be divided into phases to accelerate construction and ensure completion.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 149, 700 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 150, 100 per tola on Friday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1,890 per tola today.

Tikadevi Nepali lives in Lahachowk, Kaski District, where only 33 percent of the population is Dalit. As a single mother, Nepali raised her two sons and one daughter through commercial farming and animal husbandry. Before her, no one in the community had engaged in business by raising cattle and buffaloes.

Nepali’s journey began when the Lahachowk Small Farmers Agricultural Cooperative Society was established. Initially, she raised Murrah buffaloes to sell milk and advance her business. However, she recalls a difficult experience: “People did not buy the milk brought by Dalits, which was very challenging.”

The turning point came when the cooperative served everyone at a community program, reducing the discrimination and allowing Nepali’s milk to be sold in the market. Kamala Kumari Subedi Poudel, president of the cooperative, recounts the incident: “Even the dairy tried to boycott her, saying that if you bring milk, no one else will. But at a cooperative event, we served kheer made from Nepali’s buffalo milk to those who had discriminated against her. After that, no one got sick, and attitudes began to change.”

Iman Singh Gurung, another farmer in the village, started buying Nepali’s buffalo milk and selling it in Pokhara. This helped spread awareness about cow and buffalo farming among other Dalits, who later took loans from the cooperative to start their own livestock farming.

Now 51 years old, Nepali has been selling buffalo milk for nine years. Inspired by her success, other Dalits in the area have also begun raising buffaloes after taking loans, says Chairperson Poudel. Nepali believes that the discrimination she once faced has now been eliminated because of the milk. “Nowadays, everyone eats together at feasts. Discrimination has been reduced due to the milk,” she shared.

Her children have now grown and are helping expand the family’s agricultural enterprise. With the help of her son-in-law, she has also added an additional ropani of land earned from her animal husbandry, vegetable farming, and poultry business. She has also gradually paid off her mortgaged lands and brought them under her name. Nepali's experience shows how enterprise loans not only reduced societal discrimination but also empowered her economically.

The Lahachowk cooperative, which was registered on 31 Aug 2022, initially provided small loans of up to Rs 20,000. However, with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the government, the cooperative now offers rural agricultural enterprise loans at a concessional nine percent interest rate, with individual loan limits of Rs 5m. This has allowed livestock farmers to expand their businesses.

Today, Lahachowk’s milk is famous in Pokhara, and the region now sells 12,000 liters of milk daily. While the cooperative’s loan limit remains Rs 5m, many commercial farmers now prefer loans from banks, which allow for larger investments. As a result, only three rural agricultural enterprises have received loans from the cooperative, according to Chairperson Poudel.

Lahachowk boasts 44 cooperatives, three of which are run solely by women. Chairperson Poudel noted that women-run cooperatives face fewer issues, as loans are efficiently utilized, and the recovery rate is higher.