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Property worth around Rs 1.5 million was reduced to ashes when a fire broke at a house with tin roof of local Krishna Hari Shrestha in Kathmandu on Saturday.

The fire, which broke out at 9: 40 pm and continued for an hour, destroyed the  one-story house of Shrestha at Syuchatar in Nagarjun Municipality-7, according to Apil Bohara, spokesperson at the District Police Range, Kathmandu.

The fire engines could not reach the house to put off the flame due to the narrow street.

However, the security personnel and locals jointly extinguished the fire with the help of two small-size fire engines. Although four other fire engines had reached around the incident site, they could not access the right place owing to a narrow street.

A police team led by chief of Kalimati Police Circle, Rupak Khadka, was mobilized to douse the fire. Even the police personnel from Swayambhu assisted the rescue team.

All household items including clothes, food grains, furniture and utensils were destroyed in the blaze.

Police have suspected that the incident might have occurred due to power leakage.

Viral infection has gripped Solukhumbu district.

Number of patients suffering from viral fever, common cold and cough, asthma, pneumonia, headache, respiratory problems and diarrhea has been increasing at different places in the district since last week.

According to the District Health Office, the number of patients visiting Phaplu Hospital has increased all of sudden, creating problems in service delivery of the hospital.

More than a dozen patients suffering from viral infection visit Phaplu Hospital for treatment daily.

The 15-bed hospital has now been providing treatment admitting more than 50 patients, according to the hospital administration.

Officiating Chief of the hospital, Sani Sherpa, said they have been facing problems in managing human resources to attend to the patients following the increasing number of patients at the hospital.

Of the patients admitted in the hospital, most of them are patients of viral infection.

"We lack adequate human resources but the patient inflow is high. We have now been mobilizing all available means and resources," Sherpa mentioned.

Most of the patients visiting the hospital are in critical health condition and they have to be put under oxygen.

"All beds in the hospitals are packed. We have been providing treatment keeping the viral patients even in beds in the maternity room. A situation might occur wherein patients will have to be treated keeping them on the floor if the number of patients surges like this," shared the hospital's Dr Ram Babu Joshi.

The rhino census conducted every five years has been suspended this year due to shortage of funds.

Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ram Chandra Kandel, said that the census was being carried out with the help of donors, but it had to be suspended this year due to shortage of funds.

The government has not made any budgetary provision to keep regular records of rhinos. Although the rhino census could not be carried out this year, the status of rhinos would be known through the park's posts on the basis of signals of individual rhinos, he said.

Kandel added that the census would be conducted as far as possible by mobilizing all the human resources of the park.

He said, "Although the exact number might not be possible to ascertain as per the census, the status of the rhinos is determined on the basis of the manual observation of each rhino in a subtle way.”

The Department had been conducting rhino census in collaboration with various donor agencies partnering with the park.

One-horned rhinos are found in Chitwan, Parsa, Bardiya and Shukla Phanta National Parks.

According to the latest census, Chitwan has the highest number of one-horned rhinos. A total of 752 rhinos were counted across the country in this census. There were 694 one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National Park, followed by 38 in Bardiya National Park, 18 in Shukla Phanta National Park and three in Parsa at that time.

According to the Department, there were 800 rhinos in 1950, four hundred in 1955, three hundred in 1960, one hundred in 1965, one hundred and eight in 1970, one hundred and forty-seven in 1975, three hundred and ten in 1980 and 1985, three hundred and fifty-eight in 1990 and 466 in 1995.

Similarly, there were 612 rhinos in Nepal in 2000, four hundred and nine in 2005, four hundred and thirty-five in 2010 and 645 in 2015. Earlier, the rhino census was conducted in 2021.

The Holi festival is being observed in Tarai districts today. Mutual harmony and happiness is shared with Holi greetings.

The festival revelers smear colors on each other's face in a jovial manner. The Holi festival was observed in the hilly districts yesterday.

Observed with the onset of Spring Season, the Holi festival is regarded as the symbol of victory of good over evil.