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The African swine fever outbreak in pigs in three different wards of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has been brought under control.

The swine fever has been brought under control after the Livestock Services Office, Hetauda, carried out pest control, sanitation, stricter transportation of pigs from the affected areas and other awareness-raising programs in the affected wards said Dr Brajkishore Thakur, Chief of the Office.

More than 200 pigs raised by farmers in ward 1, 11 and 17 of the sub-metropolis had died from swine fever in the past four months.

Similarly, the Livestock Services Office has vaccinated 300,000 sheep and goats with the PPR vaccine. Under the PPR vaccination program conducted by the office in all 10 municipalities of Makawanpur from January, 300,000 sheep and goats were vaccinated, said Thakur.

The vaccination campaign was implemented in accordance with the instructions of the provincial government to control and prevent PPR disease in sheep and goats.

Likewise, 8,000 cows and buffaloes raised by farmers in Makawanpur were vaccinated against lumpy skin disease. According to Dr Bijay Poudel, veterinarian of the office, 8,000 cows and buffaloes in various municipalities of the district, including Hetauda, have been vaccinated against lumpy skin.

Under the vaccination program, more than 6,000 cattle heads have been vaccinated against foot and mouth disease in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan corporation-9, 12 and 15 and Manahari Rural Municipality-6 and 7.

Similarly, 1,000 stray dogs and cats in the district have been vaccinated against rabies.

A person has died after being attacked by a wild elephant in eastern Chitwan.

The deceased has been identified as Suresh Mahato (35), a permanent resident of Khairhani Municipality and currently residing in Ratnanagar Municipality-7.

According to Chitwan National Park Information Officer Abinash Thapa Magar, Mahato was attacked by an elephant on Saturday behind the Chitwan Adventure Hotel in Laukhani, Ratnanagar-7.

Mahato died on the spot after being attacked by the wild elephant named Gobinde.

The number of deaths due to wild animal attacks has reached 11 in the current fiscal year.

Light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly region of Koshi and Bagmati Provinces in the next 24 hours.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division has said that the weather today will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

Light snowfall is likely to occur at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces.

At present, there is a partial influence of westerly wind as well as local air in the country and the weather at present is partly cloudy in the hilly region and mainly fair in the rest of the country.

As we celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8 under the theme, ‘For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,’ female participation in Nepal’s government agencies and public bodies remains significantly low. While some progress has been made, women remain underrepresented in key decision-making roles.

Security forces reflect a stark gender gap, with women making up only 10.5 percent of the Nepali Army, 12.2 percent of Nepal Police, and just 9.4 percent of the Armed Police Force. In the civil service, women hold 28.2 percent of positions, indicating a slightly better, yet still unequal, representation.

Local bodies fare comparatively better, with 40.96 percent female representation, but the numbers decline sharply in diplomatic and constitutional roles. Out of 33 ambassadors, only three are women. Constitutional commissions also show a male-dominated trend, with bodies such as the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission and the Muslim Commission having no female representation at all.

Parliamentary representation remains uneven, with women making up 33.4 percent of the House of Representatives and 37.2 percent of the National Assembly. While some political parties have higher female participation, others, like the CPN (Unified Socialist), have no women in their parliamentary ranks.

These figures highlight the persistent barriers women face in public service, underscoring the need for stronger policies to ensure more equitable gender representation in governance.