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The government which has announced reforms in all the state apparatuses from today on cut down on the snack expenditures of the meeting of Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal informed the meeting of the Council of Ministers held at Singha Durbar this morning that the expenditure on snacks served in the meetings of the Council of Ministers has been cut down, saying the reforms should be initiated from small topics, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

The PM Office stated that approximately Rs 60 thousand was spent on snacks in each meeting of the Council of Ministers. It is said the Council of Ministers meets more than 100 times in a year. Govinda Acharya, the Press Advisor to the Prime Minister, said that around Rs 6 million is saved annually with the cut down on the snack expenses in the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Normal snacks will be served in the meeting of the Council of Ministers from now on, the PM Secretariat said. Acharya said PM Dahal has started reforms from his own office as minor topics are also considered significant in good governance and reforms.

He added that works related to good governance and improvement would be consistently pursued ahead.

Prime Minister Dahal, who has announced to change the working style of the government, has been reaching the Prime Minister's Office at Singha Durbar at 10 am daily, except on public holidays.  He has been taking daily briefings from various ministries and initiatives for resolving the problems seen in development projects, including the national pride projects, from the Singha Durbar.

Meanwhile, the government's decision to use the Nepal Sambat calendar in all the government documents has been implemented. Acharya, the PM's press advisor, said the Nepal Sambat date has started to be used in the messages of best wishes that the PM has been issuing on various occasions.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha acknowledged weaknesses in three areas regarding the Balkumari incident that occurred on Friday, resulting in two casualties and physical losses.

During a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee in the House of Representatives today, the Minister said that the initial conclusion on the incident highlighted the EPS Office Chief's role was not positive, the failure of the security officials assigned to the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport in fulfilling their responsibilities, and a weakness on the part of the field commander of the Nepal Police. The individuals responsible have been suspended until the investigation into the matter concludes.

According to the Minister, the Chief District Officer of Lalitpur has been temporarily transferred to the Ministry, and the District Police Chief to the Police Headquarters to facilitate the investigation process. "One million rupees each has been announced for the families of the victims, with efforts underway to provide them additional relief from the EPS Fund and the Foreign Employment Board."

DPM Shrestha said that the Ministry recognized a weakness in the incident, leading to the formation of a probe committee. A circular has been issued, urging the avoidance of resorting to firing to control the situation as much as possible.

Before taking any actions, it is necessary to assess the serious damage to the lives, government, and private property of the citizens, and it is advised to minimize the use of bullets, he stated.

He also informed the meeting that a three-member Commission, chaired by former High Court judge Shekhar Poudel, has been formed to conduct an impartial and objective inquiry into the incident.

The government has formed a probe commission to investigate the Balkurami incident. 

A three-member probe commission has been formed under the chairmanship of former judge of the High Court, Shekhar Poudel.

A Cabinet meeting held at Singha Durbar today formed the commission under chairmanship of former judge Poudel where former Additional Inspector General of Police Arun BC and Joint-Secretary of Home Ministry, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai are the members, said Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma.

The commission has been directed to study and analyze the physical and human loss in the incident, reason behind the incident and security management at the incident site and security plan and finding out the weaknesses.

Minister Sharma mentioned that the commission would study about the role of individuals, office bearers and bodies related to the Balkumari incident, recommend action against the guilty and give necessary suggestions to curb such types of incidents in coming days.

The commission has got a one-month deadline for the same. The commission would present the facts along with suggestions and the government would implement the suggestions, she added.

Birendra Shah of Achham and Sujan Raut of Dailekh lost their lives on Friday in course of protest launched at Balkumari by youths, who failed the Korean language test for job towards shipbuilding sector, demanding they should be able to fill the language test form for manufacturing sector as well.

Lawmaker Rajendra Rai has demanded resignation of Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

During a meeting of the parliamentary committee called to discuss the death of two youths in police firing on Monday morning, he demanded the resignation of the Home Minister in front of Shrestha.

After Home Minister Shrestha said that a Cabinet meeting held this morning has formed a high-level committee under the headship of former high court judge Shekhar Paudel in accordance with Section 3 (2) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act-1969, Rai said, “The committee cannot investigate the incident until the Home Minister tender his resignation.”

“Why are you suspending the minister’s PSO, DSP and CDO? First, you resign today itself. Do not take action against the employees only,” he said, adding, “The PSO’s duty is to follow the order of the minister. Why are you taking action against him?”

Rai suggested that he resign by organizing a press conference today itself.

Sujan Raut of Dailekh and Birendra Shahi of Achham had died in police firing at Balkumari on Friday.