Submit your Article

The Mahaabhiyan for the Protection of Nation, Nationality, Religion, Culture and Citizens has withdrawn its programmes of protests and others scheduled to be held from today. 

The Mahaabhiyan has withdrawn its protest programs following talks and agreement signed at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar.

The memorandum of understanding has been signed by the Prime Minister's Chief Advisor Ajaya Bhadra Khanal and Secretary Premdeep Limbu on behalf of the Mahaabhiyan. 

Discussions were held at length regarding the 27-point demands raised by the Mahaabhiyan during the talks and an agreement was reached through continuous discussions, negotiations and facilitation. 

The government has agreed to address the legitimate issues raised by the Mahaabhiyan, keeping in mind the current situation of law and order in the country, reads a statement.

Following the agreement, the Nepal Bandh and indefinite general strike programs announced by the Mahaabhiyan starting from today have also been withdrawn and only peaceful programs shall be held. 

An agreement has also been reached to hold the next round of talks with the Mahaabhiyan leadership as soon as possible.

Boundary disputes have resurfaced across five local levels in Banke district, affecting communities, development works, and natural resource extraction in multiple areas. The conflict is most prominent between Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality and Duduwa Rural Municipality, where nearly 100 bighas of riverbed land near the Sidhaniya Ghat area of the Rapti River is being claimed by both sides.

According to Lavaraj Kharel, Ward Chair of Rapti Sonari–6, farmers from Khalla Chapari possess land ownership certificates for the area, yet Duduwa has been staking its own claim. “I myself have 15 kathhas there. Despite our attempts to resolve the dispute, we have not succeeded. We have now written to the municipality administration, requesting a settlement,” Kharel said.

The Rapti River forms the natural boundary between the two municipalities. With the river changing its course over time, Duduwa has claimed that parts of its Gokul Community Forest land have shifted across the river. Duduwa–5 Ward Chair Jhankabahadur Thapa blames excessive extraction of river-based materials for intensifying the dispute. “We claim the land as ours; Rapti Sonari says the same. It is necessary for both municipal leaderships to hold discussions and find a conclusion,” he stated.

The unresolved boundary dispute has disrupted the awarding of contracts for riverbed material extraction. Rapti Sonari has called for bids twice but received no applicants, said Vice-chair Manisha Singh Tharu. Meanwhile, Duduwa has continued extraction using excavators.

Boundary issues are not limited to these two municipalities. A prolonged dispute also exists between Kohalpur Municipality and Baijanath Rural Municipality. In wards bordering both areas—Baijanath-4 and Kohalpur-1 and 2—more than 250 households of Kaushilanagar and Gauri Danda are caught in confusion over jurisdiction. Some residents have even received land certificates through the Land Commission under Kohalpur’s administration.

Baijanath-4 Chair Prem Bahadur Shahi claims Kohalpur is wrongfully asserting ownership over Baijanath’s territory. “These settlements fall under the former Naubasta VDC-8 and 9, which are clearly within our ward boundaries. But Kohalpur has issued land certificates there,” he said. Kohalpur Ward 1 member Bindukumari Shahi acknowledged the dispute, saying it has deprived residents of essential development and construction work.

Baijanath Rural Municipality also faces another dispute with Khajura Rural Municipality. According to Baijanath Vice-chair Nirmala Shahi, 12 bighas of land in Bhandariya village of Ward 7 have been encroached upon by Khajura.

The disputes date back to the administrative restructuring of 2017, when new local-level boundaries were established. Even after eight years of elected representatives assuming office, many of these disputes remain unresolved.

Gyandendra Kumar Chaudhary, Chief of the District Coordination Committee (DCC) Banke, said efforts are ongoing to resolve the issues. “We have tried extensively to settle the Rapti Sonari–Duduwa dispute, even conducting joint surveys, but both sides have refused to agree. For the Kohalpur–Baijanath dispute, we have sought assistance from the Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center Nepal,” he said.

Rohit Chaudhary, national resource person at the center, said they have been working for a year to mediate the Kohalpur–Baijanath dispute through a multi-stakeholder dialogue process. “We are now at the stage of discussing possible options for agreement. We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon,” he added.

Despite ongoing mediation efforts, boundary disputes continue to hinder local governance, service delivery, and development across multiple areas in Banke.

A total of 35,952 foreigners visited different tourist destinations in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in the month of Kartik (from mid-October to mid-November) this year.

The number of total visitors is eight percent more compared to the figure of the same month last year in ACAP, one of the best trekking routes in the world.

The ACAP officials shared that 33,310 trekkers had visited the area in the month of Kartik last year. The autumn season, especially the months of Ashoj and Kartik, is considered the right time for trekking along the ACAP.

Chief of ACAP Dr Rabin Kadariya shared that the number of Indian tourists is the highest among the visitors here.

Besides the foreigners, the number of domestic tourists has also significantly increased year on year.

Dr Kadariya stated that domestic tourists throng the ACAP for trekking by utilizing the vacation of the major festivals.

The key touristic destinations in the ACAP are Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, Ghandruk, Tilicho Lake, Thorang-la Pass, Upper Mustang, Ghorepani, Punhil and several others.

The ACAP covers some 15 local levels in Kaski, Lamjung, Manang, Myagdi and Mustang districts.

The weather today will remain partly cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and mainly fair in the remaining areas of the country this afternoon.

Light rain and snowfall are likely at one or two places of the mountainous regions of Koshi Province, according to the Weather Forecasting Division.

The meteorological analysis by the Division states that there is no significant effect of the weather system across the country at present.

Likewise, the weather is likely to remain partly cloudy in the hilly area of Koshi and Gandaki Provinces and generally fair in rest of the parts of the country tonight.