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Progress on the Mid Hill Pushpalal Highway, the project of national pride, has reached a significant milestone with 193 kilometers of the road along the Kaski-Parbat-Baglung section blacktopped so far.

Out of the total 250 kilometers, only 38 kilometers from Bhainse in Madi Rural Municipality to Yamdi in Pokhara Metropolitan City in Kaski, and 13 kilometers from Upallachaur to Ghodabandhe in Baglung district, are yet to be blacktopped.

According to the project officials, preparatory works for infrastructure development to upgrade the road in 51 kilometers are going on.

Shambhu Prasad Acharya, the Chief of the Project Office in Parbat, said that the development of the Upallachaur to Ghodabandhe section has begun under a new contract after terminating the previous contract due to delayed progress. Additionally, the construction of the 99 kilometers of road from Ghodabandhe to Patihalne, bordering Rukum Purba to Baglung districts, has been completed.

Likewise, maintenance works of the roads in some areas have also been initiated. 

Construction of several bridges along the Kaski-Baglung section is underway, with designs for some bridges awaiting approval after contract management.

A total of Rs 204 million has been spent in the first five months of the current fiscal year out of the total Rs 768 million allocated for road and bridges along the Kaski-Parbat-Baglung road section.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate has contracted to 3.4 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2024/25, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

The economic growth rate has contracted due to the landslide and flooding occurred on September 27-29 and the negative growth in the construction sector. 

The NSO said the government has set the target of 6 percent economic growth rate in the current fiscal year and only 3.4 per cent GDP growth rate has been achieved in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The growth rate of 17 out of the 18 various sectors contributing to the economy is in the positive while that of the construction sector is in the negative.

Among them, electricity and gas-related activities have the highest growth rate of 21.4 percent, while the transportation and storage sector are the second fastest-growing industrial sector with a growth rate of 6.7 per cent. Similarly, the value addition of the accommodation and food service activities sector is estimated to grow by 6.3 per cent.

According to the preliminary estimate, the growth rate of the financial and insurance sector will be 5.7 per cent, the growth rate of the administrative support service sector will be 5.4 percent and the growth rate of professional scientific and technical services will be 5.1 per cent in the current fiscal year.

It is estimated that the construction sector is shrinking slightly due to the decline in import of construction goods in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The construction sector is negative by 0.3 per cent.

The value-added growth rate of the agriculture, forests and fishery sector, which share the largest space in the country's economy, is estimated to be three per cent. There is a positive impact on total value addition of this sector following an increase in production of summer crops including paddy as well as vegetables, cash crops and poultry products, it is said. 

 Though agro products were expected to be increased following availability of chemical fertilizer, improved seed and sufficient monsoon rain, the total value-added growth rate of the agro sector could not increase sufficiently due to landslides and floods. 

The wholesale and retail trade sector are estimated to grow by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter. According to the office, it is expected to increase the value-added growth rate of the industrial goods production sector by 2.3 per cent, education sector by 0.4 per cent, health sector by 4.1 per cent and real estate sector by 3.1 per cent during the review period.

Country's overall economy is towards positive growth due to increase in agro-production, power production and distribution, and the flow of tourists, reads the report.

More than 10, 000 foreign tourists visited the Manaslu area of Gorkha district in 2024. Conservation Officer of Manaslu Conservation Area Project Office, Bhuwan Raj Ojha, said a total of 10,605 foreign tourists visited the area in one year.

The number of foreign tourists in Manaslu area was up by 1,428 this year as compared to previous year.  It was 9,177 last year.

He shared that the number of tourists from countries other than SAARC nations visiting the Manaslu area was high this year. The highest number of tourists from France visited the Manaslu area in 2024 which was 1,335. 

Similarly, 1,881 tourists from Germany, 796 from the US and 159 from India visited the Manaslu area. Tourists from Netherlands, London, Australia, Spain, China as well as from other countries used to visit Manaslu area, mentioned Ojha.

Tourists visiting Manaslu area get the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of Manaslu area along with Kulchhuman (Kal) lake, Manaslu peak, Birendra Lake, Shregi mountain, Rajen monastery.

The Embassy of Israel handed over personal belongings of the October 7 Hamas terror attack victims, and other Nepali students who participated in the ‘Learn and Earn Program’ in Israel in 2023.

These personal belongings, carrying deep sentimental value, were handed over to their rightful owners today at the Embassy, reads a statement issued by the Embassy of Israel on Tuesday.

Ambassador Shmulik Arie Bass made personal efforts to bring these suitcases back to Nepal.

He met with Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary, one of the survivors of the Hamas attack, and six other students and victims’ families.

Ambassador Bass expressed his heartfelt support, listened to the victims’ stories, and extended his best wishes for their future.

The people of Israel stand in unwavering solidarity with the affected Nepali families, and wish for the fast return of Bipin Joshi, the Nepali hostage held by Hamas.