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People from Sundarharaicha Municipality-8 of Morang district have drawn attention of the federal government towards urgency of their safety from wild elephants.

They submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Forest and Environment through the Sub-Division Forest Office, Sakalpur.

A local educator Tikaram Dhakal informed that they were living in constant terror of elephants.

The herds of elephants have been causing human and physical losses in the northern belt of Sundarharaicha for long.

So, those suffering the elephant terror drew the government's attention.

The marauding tuskers not only took human lives but also damaged dozens of houses and crops. "The people in this area have not slept well due to elephant menace. We request the government for seeking measures to ensure safety to citizen's life and property," the letter mentioned, urging the federal government to take concrete steps to address this pressing need.

The Subdivision Forest Office, Morang also informed that the pachyderm was wreaking havoc in the settlements of Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts.

Similarly, Chairman of Sundarharaicha Journalists' Group, Baburam Niraula, said the elephant terror was intensified for some days.

The police have requested the locals not to walk alone and maintain further alertness to avoid elephant attack.

EV Nepal Motors Pvt Ltd has collaborated with Annapurna Media Network for the cycle rally to raise awareness against cancer.

A collaboration agreement was signed amidst a ceremony organized at the AMN’s headquarters in Tinkune on Monday.

AMN General Manager Manoj Basnet, Marketing Assistant Manager Madhuri Sapkota and EV Nepal Motors PVT Ltd General Manager Nawaraj Koirala (NK Sharad) signed the agreement.

“This program to raise awareness against cancer is a very commendable work,” EV Nepal Motors PVT Ltd General Manager Koirala said, adding, “This kind of rally is very important to raise public awareness about cancer and to make Nepal cancer free.”

He said that this cycle rally is not only important to raise awareness against cancer, but also helps in the campaign of green city and clean city.

The bicycle rally will be held at 6:30 am on Saturday.

Nepal has been according high priority to the climate change issue which has emerged as the topic of global concern over the recent years.

Nepal's participation has also been increasing in the national and international programs and forums related to this issue.

In this context, Nepal has resumed preparations to organize 'Sagarmatha Sambaad (Dialogue)' after a long wait. Earlier in 2076 BS, preparations for the Sagarmatha Dialogue initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government had to be postponed at the last moment due to COVID-19.

The government has advanced the Sagarmatha Dialogue to gain global leadership on climate change and advocate for climate justice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Forests and Environment have initiated preparations for the event by forming various committees.

The Council of Ministers has made a decision to organize the Sagarmatha Sambaad every two years. In 2025, it is proposed to be convened on May 15, 16 and 17.

Heads of state and government of mountainous and maritime countries, experts working in the field of climate research, representatives of the private sector of national and international level, subject experts, media experts and social influencers will be especially invited to the dialogue.

Dialogue to be made part of International Year of Glaciers' Preservation

Joint-secretary and chief of the Climate Change Management Division at the Ministry of Forests, Dr Maheshwor Dhakal, said that Nepal is going to start the preparations for the Dialogue by declaring it as part of the International Year of Glacier Conservation tomorrow.

The United Nations is celebrating 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNESCO, representing the United Nations, are jointly launching the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation on January 21.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Oli will announce the Sagarmatha Sambaad in Nepal tomorrow or on January 21.

All ministers, secretaries, heads of diplomatic missions, chiefs of development partner organizations, heads and representatives of organizations working in the climate sector, media and others will participate in the announcement program to be held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The Sagarmatha Sambaad is going to be held for the first time in the country, under the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountain and Human Future'. Since COVID-19, four international conferences have been held in the field of climate change, namely COP-26 in Glasgow, COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, COP-28 in Dubai and COP-29 in Baku. He said that since the climate agenda has become more pronounced, it is inevitable for Nepal to organize the Dialogue.

Joint Secretary Dr Dhakal, who is coordinating for the Dialogue, said, "Looking at the effects of climate change on the mountainous region and the problems faced by the local people, there is a need for more discussion and debate in this area. On the basis of this, the need to find solutions for collective efforts to develop the ability to deal with the effects of climate is being raised everywhere. Nepal has announced that it will reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2045.

Nepal's policies on climate are good, but the resources available for implementation are low and the capacity is weak economically and socially. "In spite of that, Nepal is providing services to the international community by protecting biological diversity and environment," he said, adding, "but instead of paying for these services, the international community has contributed to the melting of snow and glaciers on our mountains by emitting carbon."

According to him, during the dialogue, climate justice will be advocated for and if we fail to explain to the international community in time and find solutions, we may have to pay a huge price to save our human civilization. 

"Informing the international community about the impact of climate change on Nepal, thereby increasing capacity building for access to climate finance, increasing youth participation in technology development and expansion, providing more resources to local communities for adaptation are the objectives of the Dialogue."

Informing the world community about the pain of being exposed to high risk even with low carbon emissions, Nepal will also advocate during the Dialogue regarding the compensation that Nepal should receive from the damage it is suffering from climate change consequences and the payment for the environmental services provided by Nepal.

"Climate change is a serious global challenge to all. Its effect is more visible especially in countries like Nepal with a small crop and sensitive geography."

In this year alone, Nepal had to suffer a huge loss of life and property due to climatic disasters. It is estimated that climate-related risks and disasters will increase in the future. According to scientific studies, it is estimated that the temperature of the Himalayan region will be 0.3°C to 0.7°C higher than the average temperature of the world in the present and future.

Commercial banks have reported a healthy growth in margin lending in the first five months of the current fiscal year. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), margin loans of 20 out of 19 commercial banks increased by 35.57 percent to Rs 86.33bn in mid-Dec 2024, compared to Rs 63.67 in mid-Dec 2023. 

Margin loans refers to loans extended by banks by accepting shares listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) as collateral.  Among commercial banks in the country, only Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd has not issued margin loans. With liquidity in the banking system rising amid slowdown in credit disbursement and surging deposits, investors say banks are encouraging them to take margin loans.

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) removed the Rs 200m ceiling on margin loans for institutional investors through the Monetary Policy for fiscal year 2024/25. This means that institutional investors can now borrow as much as they want. The policy intervention has led to a surge in margin loan disbursements. Margin loans have been capped at Rs 120m for individuals. In the last fiscal year, lending against share collateral had declined by 18.1 percent. 

The total margin loans amounted to Rs 50.4bn in the fiscal year 2019/20. It grew by a whopping 110.84 percent to reach Rs 106.28bn by mid-Aug 2021 as investors poured money into the stock market due to a lack of viable investment avenues during the covid pandemic. Concerned by investment of over Rs 100bn in margin loans, the central bank started tightening such loans. As a result, such loans fell by 24.25 percent to Rs 80.5bn in mid-July 2022 and further to Rs 64bn in the next month.

Data provided by the central bank shows that margin loans of Nepal SBI Bank increased by a whopping 1,890.46 percent in the review period. The bank’s margin loans rose from Rs 23.94m in mid-December last year to Rs 476.58m in mid-December this year.

The bank, however, has the lowest exposure to margin lending. Nabil Bank Ltd has the highest exposure to margin loans among Class ‘A’ banks in the country. Such loans of the bank went up by 2.78 percent to Rs 11.39bn in mid-Dec 2024. The bank had disbursed Rs 11.08 billion in margin loans in mid-December last year.

Global Bank Ltd follows with total margin loans of Rs 11.31bn in mid-December this year—a growth of 77.87 percent from Rs 6.36bn in mid-December last year.

Table

Margin loan disbursement by commercial banks

Source: NRB