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The government has prepared a separate draft of the National Action Plan-2083 to reduce possible risk from snowfall and cold wave in mountain and high-hilly areas as well as in the Tarai-Madhes region during winter.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has given final touches to the draft after holding consultation and discussions with bodies concerned. 

Earlier, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal had directed the Authority to carry out activities for preparedness to reduce possible risk from snowfall and cold wave. 

NDRRMA Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Prasad Bhatt, said preparations are underway to pass the action plan from the executive committee chaired by the Home Minister and to implement it.

It has been estimated that 29 mountain and high-hilly districts might be affected from snowfall and 21 districts in Tarai from the cold wave.

Special strategy activities have been included in the action plan to adopt special precautions and reduce possible risk from snowfall and cold wave in these districts. The government is to issue the national action plan for the first time with an objective of lessening possible losses and impact on lives from snowfall and the cold wave.  

According to the NDRRMA, in general, there is the impact of heavy snowfall in mountain and high-hilly districts as well as of the cold wave in Tarai districts from mid-November to mid-March. 

Similarly, Jhapa, Sunsari, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East), Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West), Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur would be most affected from cold wave.

It is estimated that the cold wave will have a general impact also in Udayapur, Makawanpur, Sindhuli and Surkhet.

According to the action plan, it is predicted that the mountainous and high hill districts of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces will be most affected by snowfall.

It is estimated that the upper reaches of Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu, Panchthar, Tehrathum, and Bhojpur in Koshi Province will be more affected.

The action plan states that snowfall will affect Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhupalchok, Rasuwa and Dhading in Bagmati Province, and Gorkha, Manang, Mustang, Baglung and Kaski in Gandaki Provinces , and Rukum East in Lumbini Province.

Dolpa, Jumla, Mugu, Humla and Kalikot in Karnali province and Bajura, Bajhang, Darchula, Baitadi and Dadeldhura in Sudurpaschim province are highly likely to be more affected by snowfall.

Executive Chief Bhatt stated that the implementation of the program would help make life easier for the underprivileged people, senior citizens, children, people with chronic illnesses, pregnant women, new mothers, and persons with disabilities during the winter.

A plan has been prepared to minimize the potential impact of snowfall and cold waves on people's lives and to make advance arrangements for the necessary relief materials for response.

“Based on this same plan, all districts, provinces and local levels affected by snowfall will be able to prepare and implement action plans according to local conditions,” said Executive Chief Bhatt.

A strategy has been formulated to identify, by December 1, the areas and target groups that may be affected by snowfall, update the data, and determine the priorities of beneficiaries in accordance with the work plan.

The action plan includes the strategy for preparations for disaster response due to snowfall, measures to reduce damage based on forecasts, and making the forecasting and early warning mechanisms operational to ensure timely information reaches the concerned communities throughout the month of Mangsir.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bishwo Adhikari has been recommended for promotion to the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG).

The Promotion Recommendation Committee endorsed Adhikari for the upgrade. He had been excluded in the previous round of promotions, during which five SSPs were elevated to DIG despite Adhikari being at the top of the merit list.

Adhikari was the chief of Kathmandu District Police Range during the GenZ protests on Sept 8 and 9.

He was later transferred, and SSP Ramesh Thapa was appointed in his place. Meanwhile, Technical SSP Ram Kumar Chaudhary has also been recommended for promotion to technical DIG.

The committee put forward his name on Monday.

Chaudhary is currently working in the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Administration Department at the Nepal Police Headquarters in Naxal. He serves under the engineering subgroup within the technical category.

The government still has to recover Rs 275 billion from 30,912 taxpayers till fiscal year 2081/82 BS.

As per the annual progress report of the Inland Revenue Department made public on Monday, the highest amount of dues of Rs 219 billion in income tax arrears should be collected from 193,620 taxpayers.

Similarly, Rs 48.70 billion dues remain to be collected in VAT arrears from 137,253 taxpayers while Rs 4.9 billion dues are yet to be collected from 364 taxpayers under Excise Duty as well as Rs 3.15 billion dues from 1,770 taxpayers under other categories.

The annual target progress set by the Inland Revenue Department in the last fiscal year to raise dues was minimal.

"Only Rs 8.71 billion remaining amount of income tax was collected against the target of collecting Rs 22.76 billion in the last fiscal year. Only 38.29 percent of progress was achieved as compared to the target," reads the annual report.

Similarly, the Department had set a target of raising Rs 16.33 billion dues in VAT arrears, but only 63.28 percent (Rs 10.33 billion) was collected. Towards income tax in arrears adjustment in the last fiscal year, Rs 21.39 billion dues were collected against the target of Rs 27.38 billion.

Likewise, a target had been set to collect 18.17 billion in VAT arrears, 122.63 billion target progress was achieved as compared to previous fiscal year.

The Department had collected Rs 22.29 billion in the last fiscal year.

Every few weeks, Mina Sodari makes a short journey from Lamki Bazar to Kuntikhet, Kailali. The three-kilometer trip brings her to Srijanshil Duna Tapari Industry, a modest cottage enterprise that has become an essential part of her family’s religious life. As a member of a Hindu household, Dodari frequently observes festivals, rituals, and pujas—occasions where duna and tapari (traditional leaf plates) are indispensable. 

“I come whenever we have a ceremony at home,” she says, sorting stacks of freshly made taparis. “They are natural, clean, and perfect for our rituals.” 

Behind the simple structure of the workshop, away from the bustle of Lamki Bazar, a quiet transformation has been unfolding—one that intertwines tradition, livelihood, and conservation. 

The man behind this is 62-year-old Birbahadur Bohara, a retired government schoolteacher who stumbled into the leaf-plate business after a series of failed ventures. He and his wife Dhankumari Kunwar own the enterprise.  

“After retirement, I tried vegetable farming and poultry, but each attempt went into loss,” Bohara recalls. “People joked that I was cursed in business. Some even said I was mad to start making duna and tapari, because no one would buy them.” Duna and tapari making is a traditional leaf plate making work which is done in the family and is not generally used for commercial purposes.  

But the skepticism around him never outweighed his conviction. Four years ago, he started Srijanshil Duna Tapari Industry, beginning with a single machine supported by Lamki Chuha Municipality. Initially, production was small and demand uncertain. Still, he persisted, believing that Nepal’s cultural traditions—and rising environmental concerns—would eventually bring customers back to leaf plates instead of plastic or thermocol. 

His instincts turned out to be right. Two years ago, the enterprise received a significant boost. WWF Nepal and the GEF-supported Integrated Landscape Management to Secure Nepal’s Protected Areas and Critical Corridors (ILaM) project, under the Ministry of Forests and Environment, provided a second machine. With two machines, production doubled almost overnight. 

Today, a small duna sells for Rs 1, while a larger tapari fetches Rs 5. The business may seem modest, but in a rural economy, the numbers tell a larger story. Last year, Bohara earned a profit of around Rs 90,000. This year, he has already crossed Rs 200,000. “This is a respectable and profitable business,” he says with an unmistakable sense of pride. “And it’s growing. I want to add one more machine.” 

The heart of the operation, however, is not the machines—it is the eight women who collect the raw materials and prepare the leaves. Every day, they head to Janakalya Community Forest, where the group is allowed to gather leaves free of charge. Back in the village, they sort, dry, and ready the leaves for pressing. 

For every tapari they help produce, Bohara pays them Rs 2. For every five duna, they earn the same. “It’s not just income,” says one of the women. “It’s a way to support our families without having to migrate or depend on irregular farm work.” 

The work may be rooted in tradition, but it also carries an environmental message. Leaf plates, made from sal leaves, decompose naturally and reduce reliance on plastic products that have become a growing pollution problem in rural and urban Nepal. 

As the business thrives, Bohara is no longer just a producer—he has become a trainer. Villagers from nearby settlements often visit the workshop to learn how to operate the machines and understand the process. Some hope to start similar ventures, inspired by Bohara’s journey. “I don’t want this skill to stay only with me,” he says. “If more people learn, more families will earn. And the environment benefits as well.” 

What began as a small, almost ridiculed experiment has grown into a symbol of sustainable rural entrepreneurship.  

In Kailali’s quiet corners, where tradition meets environmental stewardship, Srijanshil Duna Tapari Industry stands as proof that old practices can power new livelihoods. For Sodari and countless families like hers, the simple leaf plates carry cultural significance. But for people like Bohara and the women he employs, each duna and tapari represents something more—dignity, income, and the promise of a greener future.