Bajhang earthquake: People urged to stay outdoors

After the tremor was felt again at Patadewal in Khaptadchanna Rural Municipality-6 of Bajhang on Saturday evening, Nepal Police has been using loudspeakers urging local residents to stay outside their houses. The earthquake that occurred last Tuesday midnight had weakened the houses of the locals and hence the locals were asked to stay outdoors as aftershocks continue to take place, said Sub Inspector Ram Bahadur Bam of Patadewal Police Station. It is a risk to stay inside the same houses after the earthquake on Saturday. Residents in Patadewal, Rajkot, Tiune, Pujarigaon are currently staying outside their homes. Even in ward no. 5 of the same Rural Municipality, locals are sitting outside their houses. Kul Prasad Joshi, a local resident, said that the houses that suffered damage in Tuesday's earthquake were further damaged on Saturday. Meanwhile, residents in the district headquarters Chainpur have spent the night on the ground of the Sudurpaschimanchal Boarding School.  

6 nabbed with counterfeit Nepali currency notes in Rautahat

Police have arrested six persons in possession of counterfeit Nepali currency notes from Maulapur Municipality, Rautahat. They were apprehended with Rs 87, 000 fake Nepali currency, the District Police Office, Rautahat said. The notes confiscated by the police were in denomination of 1, 000. Police said that they are looking into the case.

Government recommended to develop separate mechanism for arrears settlement

The government has been advised to develop a separate committee to deal with arrears issues and find an effective way for its settlement and for an improvement in the public finance management system. According to a study report prepared by the National Planning Commission, the government requires a separate body to address overdue issues. The NPC in the report entitled ‘study report about the situation of public auditing and settlement of arrears in Nepal, 2079 BS' proposed that the government should have a separate body for looking after the arrears issues. The 59th annual report of the Auditor General, 2079 BS puts the arrears till the fiscal 2077-78 BS (2020-21) at over Rs 829 billion.  As the report cites, the overdue in the given fiscal date alone was increased by Rs over 115 billion. The document mentions about the lack of enough discussions on the report of the Auditor General in a parliamentary committee, indicating the need for making the account officer more responsible for arrears management and increasing the effectiveness of monitoring and supervision in the relevant sector. According to Commission Spokesperson, Rajendra Kumar Poudel, the size of arrears is increasing in the recent years and its impacts are visible in the public finance management, prompting the urgent need to control it in time. The report points out issues in the plans and policies since their formulation as one of the leading causes for the increasing figure of arrears. It insists the need for identification and pre-preparations before incorporating plans and policies in the budget, stating that coordination and consonance among the periodic plans, government policies and programmes and the budget were missing and it caused challenges to the arrears management. The lack of fiscal discipline, the agreement for multi-year projects without permission, and the lack of effective monitoring and supervision are among other factors fueling the problem, it has been said.

Documentary on climate change impact in Nepal screened at COP 27

A documentary on the adverse impact of climate change in Nepal has been screened at the 27th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27) currently underway in Sharm el-Sheikh of Egypt. COP 27 commenced on November 6 and will conclude on November 18. The documentary titled 'Women's Voice from the Himalayas' was shown at a COP 27 side event organized on Wednesday by the Rural Reconstruction Nepal and the Institute for Sustainable Development. The documentary film on damage caused by climate change was made by Sathsathai Foundation. It was screened at a program on the theme – the role of women cooperatives in climate finance. The documentary especially talks about the impact of climate change on women and children in the Himalaya region. Foundation President Prajita Karki said the attention of national and international agencies has been drawn to the urgent need of implementing the 'Kalapaththar Declaration' by means of the documentary. A group of 40 women from various sectors made a joint journey to Kalapaththar on the base of Mt Everest on the occasion of the International Women's Day last year and organized a special program there.  The 'Kalapaththar Declaration' was adopted there drawing the attention of the international community to the adverse impact of climate change and the urgent need of tackling it. The Foundation had organized this program. The documentary shows the damage caused by climate change in the high Himalayas and from the mid-hills to Tarai plains of Nepal, and the impact it is having on women's livelihood. It vividly shows the melting of snow in the Himalayan mountains including Mt Everest, the increasing rate of glacier melting, growing incidences of flood and landslides and their effect in the hilly region and the damage to crops and life and property caused by unseasonal rains in the Tarai region. The documentary presents the heart-rending scenes of floods and landslides in Helambu and Melamchi areas of Sindhupalchok as well as the damage caused by natural disaster in Dolpa this year. Dr Madhav Karki, the climate advisor to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, LDC Watch's Arjun Karki, Lydie Neckpill of APMDD and Arati Poudel of Institute for Sustainable Development put their views on the effect of climate change on women's life and addressing the issue at the program.