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Farmers in Taplejung now are busy in harvesting cardamom. With the festive season coming to an end, they are hell bent on picking, peeling and basking cardamom. The season beginning from mid-September to mid-December is a prime time for harvesting cardamom. Gyan Bahadur Gurung, a cardamom farmer of Pathivara Yangwarak Rural Municipality-1, Thechambu, said the farmers have stepped up their preparation to pick and harvest cardamom due to possible menace of wildlife. He further said they did not conveniently celebrate the grand festivals such as Dashain and Tihar due to cardamom season. Farmers had to spend their time in cardamom farm even during festivals as it was the main season for harvesting, said Basanta Limbu, a farmer of Faktanglung rural municipality-6. Madibung. Likewise, Khongdu Sherpa, a farmer of Fungling municipality-6, Bihibare said they were entirely busy in picking, peeling and basking cardamom during Tihar festival. As there is rising fear of wildlife rampage, the farmers had devoted their effort to timely harvest cardamom yields, he added. It is the high time for entire cardamom farmers across the district to harvest their yields. There is massive cardamom farming in 60 wards of all nine local level units in the district. Cardamom has been cultivated in around 4,450 hectares of land in the district.

A man serving term at the Morang District Prison in Biratnagar Metropolitan City-8 died on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Man Bahadur Khapangi (54) of Athrai Rural Municipality-4, Tehrathum, Acting Jailer Tulsiram Bhagat said. He was serving term for rape. Khapangi was sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 23, 2018. Police said that he was admitted to the Koshi Hospital in Morang on October 29 after he suddenly fell sick. Jailer Bhagat said that he breathed his last during the course of treatment at around 6 pm yesterday.

A person was electrocuted in Budhiganga Rural Municipality-2 of Morang district on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Ram Mandal (30) of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-6. DSP Deepak Shresth said that the tragedy occurred while he was cutting bamboo to construct a house in Budhiganga-2. He said that Mandal was critically injured after the bamboo touched the 11, 000-volt high tension wire. Following the incident, he was rushed to the Birat Teaching Hospital in Budhiganga but breathed his last during the course of treatment at around 5 pm yesterday. The body has been kept at the Koshi Hospital for postmortem. Police said that they are looking into the case.    

The World Bank has projected that Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) would fall due to climate change. It has been shown that the negative impact of climate change could reduce the GDP by 25 percent after 70 years. The World Bank made such a projection while making public the report ‘Nepal development update’, on Monday. It has been said in the report that its impact will also depend on the model and parameters adopted by Nepal to control the effects of climate change. That is why, the World Bank has drawn the attention of the government to formulate the policy by observing the changes in the climate. The World Bank stressed on the change in policy as it can affect the construction of infrastructure and foreign employment in Nepal as well. The World Bank has handed the micro fiscal model over to the Nepal government for the same. It has been learnt that this model is also being used in the preparation of Nepal development update. This model is being used in the analysis of economic and monetary facts. If Nepal adopts the model emphasized by the World Bank, it will help in policy making, economists said. According to the report, Nepal has mentioned the options to make environment-friendly policies in the future and to protect the rivers from the risk of drying in the country which has a huge contribution in hydroelectricity. Economist and ICIMOD Program Coordinator Dr Mani Nepal said that the formulation of a good policy would help reduce the risk in the future. It has been mentioned in the report the ways to control the impact of climate change on agriculture and on labor and employment and infrastructure among other sectors. Nepal said that it would help to avoid risks if Nepal changes the policy on such issues. Meanwhile, the World Bank has suggested Nepal to lift the ban on imports. Instead, Nepal has been suggested to increase the policy interest rate based on needs and loan facility. By doing so would subdued external demand and discourage imports, the World Bank said.