Submit your Article

The Nagdhunga-Malekhu road section, which was being partially closed for five hours daily for up-gradation works, has been opened for Friday and Saturday. 

The road stretch will remain open with no mobility restriction in keeping with the inaugural session of the 11th National Congress of the CPN-UML. 

It may be noted that the Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project had been working on the section since last December 10 by partially closing the road. 

The project has shared the information that the road section would not be closed for two days. 

Chief of the Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project eastern section Keshab Prasad Ojha informed that after this the road up-gradation works would continue by closing the road operations during the stated time as per the previous schedule. 

"We have been carrying out the works on the road section by restricting the mobility for five hours from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm since December 10 in coordination with the Dhading and Kathmandu district administration offices. We took the decision not to close the road considering possible traffic pressure in view of the UML's National Congress", he shared. 

A group of Youth Association on Wednesday had met Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kulman Ghising and requested that the road be opened for two days for the party's national congress. 

A tiger census is scheduled to begin in Chitwan National Park (CNP) from December 16. The census will also be conducted in three other national parks: Banke, Bardiya, and Shuklaphanta. 

The three-month survey is conducted every four years.

According to CNP Information Officer Abinash Thapa Magar, enumerators will undergo orientation on December 16–17.

Participants will include CNP staff, technical experts from the National Trust for Nature Conservation, local volunteers, students, and conservation partners. 

Around 150 personnel will be mobilized for the census.

Magar said that 900 grids have been demarcated in the two wildlife reserves. This means that a two square kilometres area will be counted using one grid. 

During the counting process, the two reserves will be divided into three sections for counting. 

Cameras will be placed in each section for 20 days. Each section will have 300 grids. 

A camera will be placed in a grid for 20 days. Technicians will set up camp and stay in the spaces between the grids to conduct the counting.

Previously, in the tiger census conducted in 2022, it was reported that there were 335 adult tigers in Nepal. 

In that census, 128 tigers were counted in Chitwan, 125 in Bardia National Park, 25 in Banke National Park, 41 in Parsa and 36 in Shuklaphanta.

According to Magar, preparations are underway to conduct a rhino census after the tiger census is completed.

The 13th Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival (NHRIFF) is starting in Kathmandu today with the aim of bringing human rights-focused films from around the world under a single roof.

Festival director Pandav Khatri said that with the slogan 'Children's Rights', the festival will be held for five days until December 15 at the auditorium of the Film Development Board and Nepal Tourism Board.

"We are screening 50 films from 26 countries, and most of the films selected for the festival have already participated in prestigious international film festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Venice, and Busan," he said.

Khatri said the films screened at the festival would present the subject of human rights to the audience in an easy and simple manner. 

He stated that the attractions of the festival include the 'Palme d'Or' (short film) winner 'I Am Glad You Are Dead Now' under the 'Cannes Film Festival 2025', 'Navi Lili', which was screened for the first time at the same festival, and 'Aajur', the first feature film in Bajjika language.

The NHRIFF organizers stated that various programs such as interactive group discussions, photo exhibitions, and 'live painting' will be held at the festival in the presence of directors, producers, artists, and human rights activists.

The reconstruction of Dharahara, which was completely destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, remains unfinished. The government awarded the reconstruction contract on 13 Sept 2018, but more than seven years later the project is still incomplete. According to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), physical progress has reached about 90 percent. The museum being built on the former Tax Department site, however, has been completed.

Despite this slow progress, the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the partially built Dharahara amid much fanfare in April 2018, when only 42 percent of the work had been completed. At that time, the government promoted the narrative that the tower had been rebuilt in just three years. Yet more than four years after that inauguration, construction is still not finished.

The reconstruction contract is held by GIETC-Raman JV, with the Chinese company GIETC supervising and Nepali contractor Raman Construction executing the work. The contractor has indicated it will miss even the eighth deadline, and has already applied for a ninth extension.

Jhapar Singh Bishwakarma, acting project director at the DUDBC’s Central Project Implementation Unit, said the tower is now in its final stage of construction. He added that the government is preparing to extend the deadline one last time, with a target completion date in April.

The original contract required completion by 30 Sept 2020. The deadline was later extended for the fifth time to October 2023. If approved, the upcoming ninth extension will push the deadline to April 2025. Although each extension has been granted in six-month increments, it remains uncertain whether even this revised target will be met.

According to DUDBC data, the government’s initial cost estimate for the Dharahara reconstruction exceeded Rs 4.4bn. The revised estimate, including VAT, rose to more than Rs 4.71bn. The initial contract amount was set at over Rs 3.48bn, later revised to above Rs 3.53bn, of which around Rs 3.10bn has already been paid.

Although Dharahara is the centerpiece, the project encompasses multiple structures. The site today feels visually appealing but busy with construction. A new temple stands at the entrance, surrounded by a landscaped garden. A three-level parking facility has been built, with capacity for 2,000 two-wheelers and 300 four-wheelers; one level currently operates as a free parking zone.

Inside the gate, the new Dharahara rises clean and bright, while the remnants of the old collapsed tower sit nearby. The area, however, still feels somewhat disorganized, with several structures unfinished. The government has also built a Mint Museum on the grounds of the former Mint Department, though its finishing work is pending. Lighting, illumination, and decorative works across the site are also incomplete, leaving visitors confused about access and layout.

Bishwakarma of DUDBC said several shortcomings emerged during the contract awarding process, contributing to delays. Additional time was required as the project expanded to include the reconstruction and conservation of Sundhara, an adjoining heritage site. Heritage engineers have repeatedly protested, arguing that restoring Sundhara Pond to its original form is not technically feasible. Local opposition has also stalled progress. “Not much construction work is left,” Bishwakarma said. “Electrical installations, lighting, and some finishing tasks remain, and these should not take long.”

Another factor contributing to delays was land acquisition. The old Dharahara occupied a relatively small footprint, but the new design covers a larger area. Land had to be taken from the Employees Provident Fund, the General Post Office, and Nepal Telecom. Completing the necessary transfers took considerable time. The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted progress. Nevertheless, the project team now aims to finish all remaining work by April and hand over the completed site to the government.