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Classes have been suspended in 93 community schools in Solukhumbu district due to extreme cold. 

Seven local governments have announced winter holidays for the community schools in their area after it became difficult to run classes due to the excessive cold.

Prakanda Neupane, Information Officer of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Solukhumbu, said the schools have been gradually closing down since last November.

There are 289 community schools in the district and of these, 93 have been closed for the winter holiday.

Out of the eight local levels in the district, all the local levels except Sotang Rural Municipality have given winter holidays.

Nawaraj Parajuli, an employee at the Weather Station at Salleri, said that the temperature has reached minus 20 degrees Celsius in the upper region of the district. The temperature has dropped to minus even in the Salleri region.

The Shree Swasthani Bratakatha, a popular month-long ritual of fasting and recitation of Swasthani script observed by the Hindus since Poush Shuklapurnima, kicked off today. The month-long festival is observed from the full moon day of one month to the next full moon day.

Going by the tradition, Nepalis, especially the Hindu women, observe the festival by worshiping Goddess Swasthani and observing fasting and reading out the holy story book-Swasthani -which mainly narrates the stories of those of Goddess Swasthani, God Shiva and other deities.

Devotees- married and unmarried alike- take a holy bath to begin with the ritual and wear clean clothes, trim nails and perform worship rituals in the morning thereafter reading out the stories and take austere meals in the afternoon throughout the month.

Devotees also observe fasting and involve in extensive worship during the period to appease Goddess Swasthani described in the Skanda Purana, a holy text, as the Goddess having four-handed with Chakra, Trident, Lotus and Sword in each hand, hindu scripts mentioned.

It is believed that the married women who observe the fast would be blessed with longevity for their spouses while unmarried ones are bestowed with suitable marriage partners. Women wear red clothes and bangles during the one-month period, as it is believed that red colour brings them good luck.

The rituals associated with the Swasthani Katha takes place on the bank of rivers in various Hindu shrines across the country including the Shalinadi situated in Shankhu, the north-east outskirt of the Kathmandu Valley.

Devotees from various parts have reached the banks of Shalinadi River, on the first day of the month-long festival today.

Muna Adhikari from Jhapa, currently residing in Dubai, is facing challenges with the renewal of her passport, which expires on Feb 5. She has been trying to fill out the application form online for over a month but without success. As a result, she had to hand over her passport to a typing center, paying 50 dirhams (Rs 1,850).  

However, even after two weeks, the typing center has been delaying the process with excuses. “Since the online system is unpredictable—sometimes available, sometimes not—I had no choice but to rely on the typing center to fill out the form,” said Adhikari, a university graduate. “The form hasn’t been submitted yet. There’s no clarity on when I’ll be called for the photo session or when the new passport will be issued.”  

Jeevan Shahi, originally from Surkhet and currently working in Fujairah, managed to renew his passport through a Dubai-based typing center by paying 375 dirhams. Although the renewal fee for a 34-page passport is 200 dirhams, he had to pay an additional 175 dirhams for service charges and courier fees. “Traveling back and forth incurs high transportation costs, so we’re forced to pay whatever the agents demand,” Shahi told ApEx. Many Nepali workers in the UAE are struggling with passport renewal issues.  

The Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi has claimed that it is prioritizing passport renewal services for workers. On Jan 5, the embassy organized a mobile camp 300 kilometers away from Abu Dhabi, where 335 passports were renewed, and 550 people received assistance with labor renewals, remittance, and other awareness programs.  

The embassy currently renews passports for only 200 applicants per day under a quota system. As a result, thousands of workers’ passports remain stuck at typing centers, awaiting online submission. Previously, the embassy used to renew over 350 passports daily. In a statement, the embassy mentioned prioritizing applicants with expired passports, expired visas, or those who lost their documents. However, workers continue to complain that the services are not worker-friendly.  

Mandira Basnet from Bhojpur, who lives in Abu Dhabi, alleged that she experienced harassment by embassy staff. She has requested that her grievances be reported to the embassy. Similarly, Suman Singh from Bara shared his experience of rude behavior from embassy employees.  

Til Bahadur Sunar, the Second Secretary at the Nepali Embassy, acknowledged the difficulty of providing seamless services due to a shortage of staff. He claimed that the embassy is currently operating at full capacity with its available manpower. He added that with the addition of two more staff members, the embassy could offer much smoother services.  

Ranjita Dahal, the Deputy Chief of Mission, stated that the embassy is making efforts to streamline the passport renewal process. However, she defended the current quota system as appropriate. Beyond mobile camps, there seems to be no concrete plan from the embassy to address the widespread difficulties faced by workers in renewing their passports.  

Bikas Shahi, President of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) UAE, stressed the urgent need to resolve the passport renewal issues. He pointed out that most workers cannot fill out the forms themselves and expressed readiness to assist the embassy in simplifying the form-filling process. 

The Nepal-India Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) has made a detailed review of all areas of bilateral trade and economic relations. The IGC is a bilateral mechanism aimed at strengthening trade and business relations between the two countries.

The meeting of the IGC related to trade, transit and cooperation to control unauthorized trade was held in Kathmandu on January 10 and 11.

The agenda included review of transit treaty and trade treaty including electrification of Raxaul-Birgunj railway line, proposed amendments to existing agreements, coordination of norms and gradual development of trade infrastructure. The two sides also reviewed issues related to mutual market access, IPR and taxes.

In the meeting, the Indian side informed that Nepal's request for supply of 200,000 metric tonnes of wheat has been approved.

The Nepali side thanked the Indian side for its continued support in ensuring the supply of essential commodities to Nepal.

At the request of the Nepali side, the Indian side has agreed that in the case of cargo-in-transit in Kakarbhitta (Nepal)-Banglabandh (Bangladesh) via Phulbari (India) route, the maximum axle weight of 18.5 tonnes for two-axle vehicles and 28 tonnes for three-axle vehicles can also be applied in the case of Nepali vehicles as per the prevailing regulations of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Responding to the request of the Nepali side, the Indian side informed that Sal (Shorea robusta) seeds and squash have been included in India's plant quarantine order.

Requests for inclusion of Jatamsi-root extract, Fragrant Kokila Berry extract, Fragrant Rhizome extract and Timur Berry extract in the list of processed products have also been accepted.

At the request of the Indian side, the Nepali side said that it was positive to review the documents related to reclassification of products such as 'IPAQE 28' in its technical system.

The Indian side briefed about the problems seen in the export of milk to Nepal. The Nepali side has agreed to positively consider the Indian side's request for milk products, including mohi (whey), cheese, which are not produced in sufficient quantities in Nepal.

The meeting welcomed the bilateral initiatives aimed at strengthening uninterrupted inter-country connectivity between India and Nepal through construction of new integrated check posts and railway links, among others.

The two sides expressed their commitment to advance bilateral connectivity, reflecting the shared vision of prosperous bilateral trade.

The two sides have agreed to form a joint working group to discuss the online approval with Nepal and the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).

Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Govinda Bahadur Karki led the Nepali delegation to the meeting.

Similarly, the Indian delegation was led by Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce of India in the meeting attended by senior officials from the Embassy of India in Kathmandu and various ministries.

A joint secretary-level inter-governmental sub-committee (IGSC) meeting on trade, transit and cooperation to control unauthorized trade was held in Kathmandu from January 12 and 13, 2024.