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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.

Four persons died of snake bite in two days in Kapilvastu.

Two persons of Buddhabhumi Municipality-1 died this morning when a poisonous snake bit both of them when they were sleeping at the house on Monday night.

The deceased have been identified as Deepak Bhusal (12) and Pradeep Bhusal (9), said police Inspector at the Gorusinge Area Police Office Naresh Bahadur Shahi. Both the brothers had slept with their grandmother on the floor of their one-storey house. They were taken to a local hospital after they were found unconscious in the morning.

One of the brothers died on the way to Butwal-based Lumbini Provincial Hospital and the next one in course of treatment, added Shahi.

The 60-year-old grandmother Basanta Bhusal has also been sent to the same hospital thinking the snake might have bitten her, said manager at the Snakebite Treatment Center Nabin Bhandari.

Similarly, Mamata Raidas (16) of Buddhabhumi Municipality-10 died of snakebite on Monday morning. She died in the course of treatment at Taulihawa District Hospital.

Likewise, Anita Yadav (30) of Maharajgunj Municipality died when a snake bit her while she was collecting hay near the house on Monday afternoon.

She died on the way to Butwal for treatment, Shahi said.

The Government of Nepal and the Embassy of Republic of Korea in Nepal have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for building a 100-bed well-equipped hospital in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality of Bhaktapur.

The MoU is signed under the project, "Capacity Building of Medical Service to Achieve Universal Health Coverage for the Poor in Vulnerable Areas in Bhaktapur, Nepal."

The MoU was signed by Finance Secretary Arjun Prasad Pokhrel and Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Nepal Park Tae-Young at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar today.

As per the MoU, the Korean Government through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will spend USD 9.5 million (equivalent to Rs 1.25 billion) for this project for five years. The project aims to enhance the capacity of medical infrastructure and professionals for quality hospital management, infection control, and improved coverage of public health insurance to attain the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Bhaktapur, the Finance Ministry said in a press release.

This project shall be implemented by KOICA and the Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and Nepal Korea Friendship Municipality Hospital (NKFMH) in close collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) of Nepal.

KOICA shall construct a 100-bed hospital in the adjoining land of NKFMH, provide necessary medical equipment and develop the capacity of medical and administrative staff of the hospital. The old and new hospital buildings shall be interconnected for effective service delivery, it is stated.

During the signing ceremony, Shreekrishna Nepal, Joint Secretary of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division, Ministry of Finance, acknowledged the support of the Korean Government.

He said that Korea is a trusted development partner of Nepal and its support is being upscaled over the years. Further, he appreciated people to people relations between the two countries.

On the occasion, Kong, Country Director of KOICA said that KOICA has implemented various health projects in Nepal and every project has its own unique achievement.

He added phase 2 of NKFMH shall be instrumental in providing quality health care to the general public and poor and vulnerable people of Bhaktapur and nearby districts shall have easy access to specialized health care services.

During the signing ceremony, Finance Secretary Pokhrel expressed his gratitude to the Government of RoK for the partnership which shall enhance the friendly relation between the two countries. He further assured to fully cooperate for the successful implementation of this project.

Korean Ambassador Tae-Young on the occasion expressed that the new hospital will be very much useful for the general public and he expected full cooperation from the government side to successfully implement this project. He also said that he is looking forward to marking the 50-year bilateral diplomatic relations between Korea and Nepal.

Madhyapur Thimi Municipality Mayor Surendra Shrestha and representatives of MoFAGA, KOICA and NKFMH were also present at the ceremony.