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Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has said that right information should be disseminated as voters could be affected due to lack of right information during election.

Inaugurating an interaction on 'Dissemination of Right Information during Election' organised by the National Information Commission here today, Speaker Sapkota said the responsibility of disseminating right and true information had increased.

He opined, "Local-level elections scheduled for May 13 is a great festival of the nation. We all should participate in the election as responsible citizens."

Sating that democracy could not remain alive without election, the speaker said that election was an opportunity for the nation and the people.

Some political forces are still wanting to participate in the election process, he said, expressing the view that maximum efforts possible should be taken to bring such forces into the election process.

Speaker Sapkota said that the government should incorporate all sides in the mega campaign of election as the election is for all.

Similarly, Chief Information Commissioner Mahendra Man Gurung said that true and factual information should be disseminated to the people to clear the rumours.

People, political parties and government bodies should be aware of misleading information.

Ambassador of Austria to Nepal Katharina Wieser paid a courtesy call on Minister for energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal on Tuesday.

During the meeting held at the Ministry in Singha Durbar, Minister Bhusal and the Austrian ambassador exchanged views on various matters including mutual relations and cooperation between the two countries.

The Minister thanked the government of Austria for providing support for the renovation of Patan Museum and the garden at Keshar Mahal. She recalled Austria's cooperation to the conservation of environment and cultural heritages and development of water supply projects and tourism.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Bhusal also stressed on the need of further cooperation between the two countries on climate change risk reduction. She expressed the confidence that the Austrian government will support Nepal in meeting the sustainable development goals by 2030.

Congratulating Wieser on her appointment as the Ambassador of Austria to Nepal, Minister Bhusal expressed the belief that the ties between the two countries would grow in strength in the coming days.

On the occasion, the Austrian ambassador said her country and Nepal can collaborate in hydropower development in the coming days, stating that both countries have similar topography. She maintained that 60 percent of Austria's energy needs were met by hydroelectricity while the remaining was fulfilled through solar and biomass.

Energy Secretary Devendra Karki and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials were present in the meeting. Nepal and Austria established diplomatic relations in 1959.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has underscored the need of formulating a bill on urban development along with utility corridors to carry out the development and construction works in a coordinated manner.

He also called for an end to the tendency of one utility agency to construct structures and the next one to dismantle it after a few days for lack of coordination.

The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating a consultative seminar on the Formulation of National Urban Policy, the Urban Development Act and the Utility Corridor Act here today. The seminar is organized by the Ministry of Urban Development.

He said a pilot project would be initiated in some big cities in the coming fiscal year for the implementation of the concept of a utility corridor.

The PM viewed that it is necessary to maintain population balance through the Tarai Madhes-focussed Consolidated Urban Development Programme. “It (the programme) will be expanded to the municipalities in the mountainous and hilly region to discourage migration from the districts of these regions to the Tarai Madhes,” he said.

Prime Minister Deuba said that the duplicity in the development and construction works would be removed by amending and integrating the legislations related to urban development. He opined that there would be a face change in the country’s urban development with the formulation of the Act related to the utility corridor.

According to him, the government will address the problems and challenges seen in urbanization while increasing access to advanced national urban infrastructures through the new urban policy.

“This will help in the proper resource mobilization for urban development as well as in ensuring inter-governmental coordination and urban good governance,” the PM asserted.

Stating that Nepal is among the rapidly urbanizing countries of the world, he said urbanization played a role in the overall development of the country including its economic, social and political development.

PM Deuba stated that although Nepal has been making efforts for systematic urbanization since the Second Five-Year Plan, the cities in the country have not developed as expected. He stressed the need of developing systematic, clean and beautiful new cities and at the same time manage the required infrastructures in the existing old cities.

“It is necessary to urgently start concrete works to bring improvements in the living standards of the people living in the urban areas,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Urban Development has prepared the draft policy incorporating various dimensions of urban development, including major challenges, investment in infrastructures, urban governance requirements etc.

The Prime Minister explained that the draft policy emphasized a coordinated plan formulation and implementation by the three tiers of the government through innovation in the development of advanced, balanced urban systems and investment. 

The CPN (Maoist Centre) has stressed on forging alliances with the ruling coalition in the forthcoming local level elections.

In a circular issued on Monday, party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has given priority to forging electoral alliances and further said that the center's approval is necessary if the elections are to be contested alone.

Dahal said that the recommendation of all the candidates should be made by April 18.