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Prime Minister Sushila Karki said that religious belief and cultural heritages should not be affected while carrying out development construction including road infrastructure.

In the course of inspecting Kathmandu-Tarai/Madhes fast track, the national pride project, today, the Prime Minister directed the bodies concerned to find a solution after taking the concerns of locals seriously.

She mentioned, "The concerns of the locals should be taken seriously and find solutions to them. The demarcation along the section as well as zero point should also be changed if needed. We should forward development construction without hurting their faith."  

The Prime Minister also suggested making arrangements of necessary vacant places while constructing physical structures. 

"Open space is needed during natural disasters. It is also required for people's movement, festivals, fairs, and gatherings. Therefore, we should abandon the idea of building any structure after seeing an open space. We should plan and build structure by leaving open space," she argued.

The Prime Minister's team comprises the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the secretaries of different ministries, among other officials.

Previously, Chief of the Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel and project chief Major General Dharmendra Jha had informed Prime Minister Karki about the project's progress so far and related challenges.

There was a slight delay in starting the project as the detailed project report (DPR) of this road under construction under the management of the Nepal Army took time to be approved.

The physical progress of the expressway project, which has a total length of 70.977 km, has currently reached around 45 percent.

Under the expressway, more than 87 bridges will need to be constructed. Among them, some are of a specific type and up to 82 meters tall. 

As these bridges have also reached the final stage of construction, the Army has stated that the project will be completed within the scheduled date of Chaitra-end 2083 BS and within the initial estimated cost of Rs 213 billion.

This will be a short-distance highway connecting Kathmandu Valley directly with the central Tarai region.

After the construction of the expressway, it is expected that transportation of goods from the Tarai to Kathmandu will significantly reduce costs and time, and contribute considerably to the country's economic development.

There are seven tunnels under the project. 

The Army has stated that it is making special efforts to accomplish the tasks according to the project's objectives.

The printing of the ballot papers for the proportional representation (PR) electoral system for the forthcoming House of Representatives (HoR) polls has been completed, the Election Commission (EC) said.  

The EC stated that a total of 20,850,000 ballot papers were printed on Monday at Janak Education Materials Center Limited, Sanothimi, Bhaktapur.

Managing Director of Janak Education Materials Center Limited, Yadunath Paudel, said that printing of the ballot papers for the first past the post electoral system will begin after the completion of the ballot papers for the PR system. 

The Center has already sent almost 1.1 million ballot papers to the EC as samples, which will be used for voter awareness and other related purposes.

The Election Commission (EC) has sought clarifications from the political parties, candidates, government officials and non-government organizations for allegedly breaching the Election Code of Conduct, 2082 BS. 

Assistant Spokesperson of the EC Sita Pun said that the commission had sought clarification from the candidate of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) from Kathmandu District Constituency-4 Dr Surendra Bhandari and from Chief Minister of Koshi Province Hikmat Kumar Karki on January 21. 

Though both were asked to submit responses within three days through correspondence, no reply has been received so far, she stated. 

Bhandari was asked for clarification under Section 4(c) of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082. 

According to this section, it is prohibited to conduct or place election campaign in a way that offends the feelings of senior citizens, women, sexual and gender minorities, and persons with disabilities, or assassinates their character. 

Similarly, Chief Minister Karki of Koshi Province was asked for clarification under Section 5(A) of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082.

The article states the election code of conduct must be abided by the Government of Nepal, provincial governments, ministers and local government authorities and their officials. 

The conduct states that no one should engage in or promote propaganda for and against any political party or candidate. 

On January 22, a letter was sent to candidate of the Rastriya Swatantra Party Jagdish Kharel, requesting him to submit a clear response within three days in accordance with the code of conduct. 

According to the EC's assistant spokesperson, only Kharel has submitted his explanation among eight candidates who were asked for clarification so far. 

Likewise, on the same day, the commission asked the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) for a clear response within two days regarding the organization of the ANFA General Assembly. 

A response to that end has also not been received. 

The Election Commission had also corresponded with the Nepali Communist Party candidate of Jajarkot, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, asking him to submit a clear response within three days. 

Basnet has also not submitted clarification till now. 

The Minister of Industry, Agriculture and Cooperatives of Koshi Province, Israel Mansuri, also corresponded, asking him to submit a clear response within three days. 

The EC had also sought clarification from RSP's candidate from Okhaldhunga-1 Bishwo Raj Pokharel. 

He has also not yet submitted the response, the EC said. 

Printing of ballot papers for the Proportional Representation (PR) system under the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5 has been completed. 

Managing Director at the Janak Education Materials Center, Yadunath Paudel said that the task of printing a total 20, 850, 000 ballot papers for proportional representation has been completed today. 

He also informed that the Center will start printing ballot papers for the first-past-the-post electoral system from today itself.