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The Akshaya Tritiya festival, which is celebrated every year on the day of Baisakh Shukla Tritiya, is being celebrated today by donating and consuming Satu and Sarbat. 

According to the classical law, one gets up early this morning, covers one's house, takes a bath, and prepares the goods used while worshiping. 

Diyo, Kalash, and Ganesh are worshiped and a copper plate with Ashta Dal inscription is placed on the Kalash, and Lord Vishnu is worshiped with sixteen ingredients. There is a Vedic tradition of offering pure water in a copper plate or juice in an earthenware vessel made up of cinnamon, cloves, sweet melons, cardamom, honey, sugar, Sakhar, and crystal sugar (Misri) as well as donate Barley Flour (Satu) to the priest.

It is described in various religious texts that the good deeds done on this day including a bath, giving alms or donation, meditation and prayers will never be destroyed. 

Since barley flour and juice are similar to Amrit (elixir) in the summer of Baishakh, there is a tradition from the Vedic times to give alms and also consume it by oneself.

It is also said that it helps to boost the body's immune system, as Satu and Sarbat increase the immunity of the human body. 

Even a small amount of donation on the day of Baishakh Shukla Tritiya (the third day of the waxing moon of the month of Baishakh according to the lunar calendar) will bring prosperity and fortune, it is believed. 

The Ghada donated today is also called the Dharmaghatadi donation. Today, it is customary to donate umbrellas, sticks, and cloth shoes to the elderly and cows, land, grain, and gold are also donated to the deserving Brahmins as well as to the helpless and destitute.

It is believed that Lord Mahadev and Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayas, got married on this day in the Satya Yug. 

That is why there is a belief that you don't have to look for an auspicious moment (Sait) for a marriage today. According to the ancient scriptures, there is also a belief that the Treta Yug began today. 

This date is called Akshaya Tritiya as the good deeds done on this day bring inexhaustible prosperity to the doer.

Currently, there is a partial influence of the westerly and local winds in the country. 

According to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the weather in Koshi Province, hilly and mountainous regions of other provinces would remain generally cloudy today. 

Similarly, there is a possibility of light rain accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning as well as snowfall at a few places in the hilly and mountainous areas of the Koshi Province, Bagmati Province, Gandaki Province and Lumbini Province.

Likewise, light rainfall along with the thunderstorm and lightning as well as snowfall are likely at one or two places in hilly areas of Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province.

Later tonight, generally cloudy weather is expected at mountainous regions, partly cloudy weather in the hilly region and mainly fair weather in Tarai areas of the country. 

There is a possibility of light rainfall and snowfall at one or two places in the mountainous region of Koshi Province, Gandaki Province and Karnali Province.

A provincial workshop on road safety was held in Birendranagar, Surkhet on April 17, jointly organized by the National Road Safety Council, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development (MoPIUD) , and Asian Development Bank to push for endorsement of the Road Safety Bill and stronger implementation of the 2021–2030 action plan.

Addressing the event, Minister Sher Bahadur Budha, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development informed that road crashes cost Nepal about 1.5 percent of GDP and cause around seven deaths daily, citing “weak coordination, poor enforcement, and unsafe road and vehicle conditions” as major issues. He also criticized unregulated dozer use in rural roads, saying it must be corrected.

The sessions were conducted by Nepal Traffic Police (Traffic Chief, SP Mukunda Rijal), Karnali Province; MoPIUD (Er. Arjun Kumar Bam, Secretary); NRSC (Er. Saroj Kumar Pradhan, Technical Advisor); and ADB (Er. Hemant Tiwari, Senior Project Officer – Transport, and Er. Samiksha Adhikari, Transport/Road Safety Engineer) and the program was moderated by  Subha Khanal (ADB Consultant)

The event highlighted key resolutions such as legal reforms, mandatory road safety audits, stricter enforcement and awareness, improved ambulance and emergency response, safer high-risk zones (schools/intersections), removal of unfit vehicles, and integrated road safety planning.

Officials closed the workshop reaffirming commitment to making road safety a national priority.

A policy panel discussion on road safety priorities for Karnali Province moderated by Er. Saroj Kumar Pradhan, brought together Provincial Assembly members, political leaders and senior officials, followed by a Q&A session that informed the final workshop resolutions.

Police on Sunday recovered four pistols and 58 rounds of bullets from the bank of Bishnumati river in Shobhabhagwati, Kathmandu Metropolitan City-15. 

Acting on a tip-off, a team deployed from the Metropolitan Police Circle, Swayambhu carried out a search operation at around 11 am today during which the weapons were found. 

The recovered items include four Types-54 pistols, seven magazines for the same pistols, and 58 rounds of 9mm Beretta ammunition. 

Police said that they are looking into the case.