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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s wife, Sita Dahal, was cremated with state honors at Pashupati Aryaghat in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka draped Dahal’s mortal remains with the national flag.

Along with PM Dahal, his two daughters Renu and Ganga lit the funeral pyre.

Cabinet ministers and senior leaders of various political parties gathered at the Aryaghat to pay their last tributes.

An emergency Cabinet meeting held this morning decided to cremate Dahal with state honors.

A band of Nepal Army also offered a gun salute to the departed soul.

Dahal passed away at the age of 69 on Wednesday.

She breathed her last during the course of treatment at the Norvic Hospital at 8: 33 am today, the hospital said.

Dahal was taken to the hospital this morning after her condition became serious.

She was suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy, an uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, Diabetes Mellitus-II and Hypertension for a long time.

While talking about steps to prevent air crashes, Nepal’s topography should be considered along with varying weather conditions. Unlike several other countries, 82 percent of Nepal is hills and mountains, mostly above 25,000 feet. 

Crashes are occurring frequently, despite availability of senior and experienced pilots as well as well-maintained aircraft. Bad weather seems to be the main cause of Tuesday’s Manang Air copter crash at Lamjura, a difficult pass where aircraft face severe turbulence.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), airlines and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology are providing the best air services. 

To curb crashes, the government should set up more weather forecasting cameras, mainly along risky stretches. In Tuesday’s crash, weather was good at Lukla and Kathmandu, but Lamjura had low visibility. A proper weather forecasting system can bring down crashes. Also, pilots should be allowed to fly only if the weather is good throughout.

The author is former director general of CAAN

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s wife Sita Dahal passed away on Wednesday.

She breathed her last during the course of treatment at the Norvic Hospital at 8: 33 am today, the hospital said.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Dr Yuva Raj Sharma said that she died at the age of 69.

Dahal was taken to the hospital this morning after her condition became serious.

She was suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy, an uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, Diabetes Mellitus-II and Hypertension for a long time.

Though she was taken to the US, India and Singapore for treatment earlier, there was no significant improvement in her health.

Dahal’s last rites will be performed at Pashupati Aryaghat at 2 pm today, PM Dahal’s Secretariat said.

Her body will be kept at the party central office Parisdanda, Koteshwar from 11 am to 1 pm to pay the final tributes, the Secretariat said.

The industrialists and business persons in the district are found quitting their businesses and leaving for foreign employment due to the economic slump brought by COVID-19. More and more entrepreneurs are leaving the country for foreign land after their efforts to revitalize their COVID-dented businesses failed to pay off.

The entrepreneurs are finding it hard to pay their staff and the building or land rent. The number of entrepreneurs leaving the country for overseas employment has increased in the district in recent months.

Upon observation, one can see that many outlets and shutters in the main trading hub Narayangarh and surrounding markets are either shut or have put up 'On Sale' notice.

Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Chun Narayan Shrestha said seven businesspersons have closed their businesses and gone abroad. According to him, they went abroad on business visa. Similarly, 12 industrialists and business persons have formally applied for closing their businesses.

"The situation is such that it is difficult to either start a new venture or to continue with the existing business due to the economic slowdown and the exorbitant bank interest rate," Shrestha summed up the current business environment and the reason for entrepreneurs quitting the business.

According to him, although this problem is comparatively less in the main market areas, it is severe in new and expanding trade towns. He said the entrepreneurs and traders are leaving their businesses due to the 'tight' monetary policy.

Shrestha further added, "The big industries and businesses are running for the 'sake of their existence' whereas the smaller businesses have been hit hard and are in a vulnerable situation."

Even those enterprises that are somehow keeping their businesses afloat have been cutting down on their production and employees.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chitwan, said the enterprises that are in operation have also reduced their production. They are producing only around 40 per cent of their total production capacity. Shrestha, the Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said the State suffers from reduced tax while the businesses themselves are facing problems to sustain due to the reduced production.

It is said that among the 4,000 registered members of the Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry that are in operation, most are running in financially weak condition. The automobile sector, poultry sector, concrete manufacturing industries, food industries, construction enterprises, among others, are affected the most by the economic downturn exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President of Industry Association, Chitwan, Trilochan Kandel said till date 30 per cent industries have closed down in Chitwan. He added that this trend is on the increase. According to him, 30 percent of the 1,200 members affiliated to the Association have closed shop.

"The trend of industries closing down is increasing while opening new ones is minimal. It appears that the trend of industries closing down will still increase with the increasing bank interest rates and the economic uncertainty," he added.

Stating that with this growing trend of entrepreneurs going abroad by closing their enterprises will result in large numbers of people losing employment and hundreds of thousands of youths being left with no option but to go for foreign employment, Kandel suggested that the monetary policy of the state should be flexible to stop this trend.

He suggested that the banks reduce the interest rate and bring it down to 1 per cent and the government also paid serious attention to addressing the problems facing the industrialists and businesspersons.