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Presently there is an influence of the monsoon system in the eastern part of the country. In the rest of the country, there is a partial influence of local and westerly winds.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions, including Koshi, Madhes and Bagmati Provinces while it will remain clear in the rest of the part.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, light rain with thunder and lightning is taking place at some places of Koshi Province. Meteorologist at the Department, Govinda Jha said scattered rainfall is likely to occur at some places in the Kathmandu Valley this afternoon due to the influence of the local wind.

However, the temperature will remain high. It will take a few more days for the monsoon to arrive. The maximum temperature is likely to stand between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and fair in the rest of the country this afternoon. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces tonight.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of the rest of the country.

Similarly, there is a possibility of wind storm in some places of Koshi and Madhes Provinces.

In the next 24 hours, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of the rest of the country.

The Department has urged the people to remain alert as there is a possibility of storm in some places of the Tarai of Koshi Province and Madhes Province.

There are 56 airports in the country. Of these, three are international, 10 are regional, and 43 are in the hilly districts. Likewise, Nijgadh International Airport in Bara, and the airports in Arghakhanchi, Achham and Kalikot, are at different stages of construction.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), air service has reached 46 out of 77 districts in the country so far. This data shows that the government is actively engaged in constructing airports. However, the state-owned aviation regulator and airport operator seems indifferent towards operating the constructed airports. Airfields in 12 districts have turned into grazing grounds due to a lack of flights. Small aircraft operate flights to some remote STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airfields in the country. However, even this service is not reliable at present.

Nepal Airlines is providing services to some remote hilly districts. However, the state-owned carrier has only two Twin Otter aircraft for domestic flights. Currently, both planes are grounded due to technical issues.

Hansa Raj Pandey, the spokesperson and deputy director general of CAAN, said that air service was not being effective due to the lack of an integrated transport policy. “Air service falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. It should now be linked with transportation because foreign tourists are not the only ones who travel by air,” he added.

No flights after 14 years of operation

NAC operated flights to an airfield in Badachaur of Lungri-5, Rolpa regularly for 14 years. However,it stopped flights to the remote airfield in the 1990s. The Badachaur airfield has not seen any flight since that time. Despite this, the political leadership has shown little interest in resuming flights to the airfield.

“We have requested the federal government to resume flights to the airfield. They have been paying lip service only,” Bharat Kumar Thapa, chairperson of Lungri Rural Municipality, said. “We learned from the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25 that the Badachaur airfield will be upgraded. We are yet to receive further details.”

Thapa said that the number of tourists to Swargadwari in Pyuthan, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in Baglung, and the Jaljala region of Rolpa could increase once flights to Badachaur become regular.

Irregular flights

Sher Bahadur Thapa from Tamghas, Gulmi, booked a flight to Resunga airfield from Kathmandu earlier this week. He was excited as the air service reduces travel time from an entire day to just 40 minutes. However, Thapa could not fly. Although the Twin Otter aircraft of Nepal Airlines took off from Kathmandu airport, it returned after 15 minutes citing a technical problem.

“We were told by the pilot that the flight was being turned back due to low visibility. Only after landing were we told that there was a technical problem,” Thapa said.

NAC has been operating scheduled flights to Resunga airfield since April last year. The airline initially operated two flights a week but soon increased the frequency to four flights a week.

However, the flight has now become uncertain as both Twin Otter aircraft of NAC remain grounded.

NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Poudel said both aircraft are likely to be airborne after repairs this week. “We lose Rs 600,000 per day if these aircraft serving 20 remote airfields are grounded,” Poudel added.

Private airlines also interested

Former Spokesperson of the Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), Yograj Kandel, said private carriers have also been requesting the government to operate flights to remote airfields. “Tara Air is interested in operating flights to Resunga airfield in Gulmi. The airfare could be about Rs 300 higher compared to NAC,” he said. “Tara Air is positive about operating daily flights.”

NAC currently charges Rs 7,500 for Resunga flights.

Former Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati said many airfields are turning into grazing grounds for cattle due to a lack of flights. “Public service delivery has been affected due to frequent changes in government and political instability,” Kirati said. “People in remote areas have been deprived of air service due to a lack of aircraft in NAC’s fleet.”

Pandey from CAAN said there is not much demand for flights to some remote airfields due to the construction of roads.

Yashaswi Pragya Pratisthan, Nepal has scheduled to host the 3rd Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival in Kathmandu with over 300 writers, poets and experts from Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Sept 7 and 8. As per the press release the central theme of the Festival will be ‘The Gateways to Asian Art, Culture and Literature’. As per Ranjana Niraula, founder, director and curator of the Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival, the grand literary extravaganza shall bring in writers, thinkers, and experts from all the provinces of Nepal as well as revered authors, and artists from India and beyond.

As per the press release, “The collaboration will strengthen the cultural dialogue, religious as well as literary perspective and prolonged relations between Nepal and India and South Asian Countries. Over 300 writers from Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka will join the festival.”

“Third Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival will showcase literature, music, dance, poetry and other art forms. It will be a lifetime experience for the lovers of literature, music, dance, art, poetry. The Festival will celebrate the long-standing ties between Nepal and India and South Asian countries in the context of the emerging global cultures,” said KLF Founder and Director, Rashmi Ranjan Parida.   

“Overall, Nepal’s contribution to global civilization is significant and diverse, reflecting the country’s unique cultural heritage, natural resources, and strategic location,” said Niraula.

International Booker Prize-winning author Geetanjali Shree, acclaimed writers Jerry Pinto, Mrinal Pandey, Paul Sukirta Kumar, Maria Goreti, Usha Uthup, Yatindra Mishra, Gurcharan Das, Uday Prakash, Yatish Kumar, Kanishk Gupta, Ranjit Rae, and others from India will join the festival. From Nepal Legendary poet and folklore expert Prof. Abhi Subedi, Tulasi Diwasa, Dr Jagman Gurung, Ashesh Malla, SJB Rana, Bishow Parajuli, CK Lal, Rohini Rana, Dhirendra Premarshi, Dr Usha Thakur, Prof. Dr Beena Paudel and over 300 writers will join Kathmandu KLF as speakers. 

From the 3rd edition, Kathmandu-Kalinga Literary Festival introduces Yashaswi Book Awards to five writers from 15 categories.

Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd claimed that it has taken exemptions to the limit as per the prevailing law for tea farming in the family’s private land.

Saying that Giri Bandhu is their private property, Giri Bandhu Tea Estate by organizing a press conference in Jhapa on Wednesday claimed that it has taken exemptions to the limit as per the prevailing law for tea farming.

Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Chairman Chatra Giri objected to the misinformation being spread on social media like the government had given the land to Giri Bandhu for free.

Giri claimed that Giri Bandhu had expanded the tea cultivation before the implementation of the Land Act in 2021.

Though the government had allowed only to keep 500 bigha land, he said that Giri Bandhu now has only 390 bigha land.

He said that the settlement in the place, where the company was established in 1963, has been expanded and developed as the Birtamode market at present. Hence, the fertility of the land decreased.

Giri said that the tea production decreased by 70 percent which had its direct impact on the livelihood of the tea workers.

As the locals started mounting pressure on us to remove the tea farm from the area, he clarified that bowing to the pressure they filed an application to swap Giri Bandhu’s land with plots elsewhere in the province.