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Tanahun: The National Goat Research Program based at Bandipur has given priority to improving the goat breeds to help enhance the income of leading farmers. The Program has so far exported the Boer breed of goats to 54 districts. 

As part of the goat breed improvement program, pure breed of Boer kids are produced for breeding hybrid breed goats by crossbreeding between the Boer breed and the local Khari breed goats. 

Program coordinator Raju Kandel said they have been exporting Boer breed goats to Tanahun, Kaski, Gorkha, Lamjung, Chitwan and other districts.

According to him, 50 female goats and seven male goats of the Boer breed were brought from Australia ten years back for the goat breed improvement program. The Program has been providing the kids of the Boer, Khari and Sanan breed goats to the leading farmers at subsidized rate. 

The Program currently has around 500 goats of the Boer, Saanen, Khari, Sinhal, Barbari, Jamunapari, among other breeds for the breeding purpose. The Boer goat bulls are sold to the farmers in different districts as per their demand, it is said. 

Similarly, the Sanan breed goats are exported to 32 districts for milk and cheese production purposes and to 22 more districts for commercial goat rearing. Senior Technical Officer Buddhiram Acharaya said there is high demand for Saanen breed goats for milk and cheese production purposes. He added that goat milk is beneficial to cancer patients as well as the goat milk is free of lactogen and has high antibodies.

Cheese made from goat milk costs Rs 3,000 per kg in the market whereas the Program has been selling it at Rs 1,000 per kg.

A police constable shot himself to death at Koshi Katan in Koshi Rural Municipality-4 of Sunsari district on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Amitesh Mandal of Rupani Municipality-2, Saptari district currently posted at Koshi Katan, said the District Police Office, Sunsari.

Police said Mandal shot himself in the head from his pistol when he was alone in the bedroom last night.

It has been said that that Mandal committed suicide due to domestic tension.

Mandal's body has been kept at the District Hospital, Sunsari for postmortem.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.

Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, returned home from China on Wednesday.

DPM Shrestha, who was on an official visit to the People's Republic of China, returned home today after undergoing treatment in Beijing, the capital of China, as he suffered a mild cardiac arrest in the course of the visit.

He suffered from the mild heart attack on Oct 18 after participating in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation organized in Beijing on Oct 17 and 18. The DPM was admitted at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, where he underwent medical treatment for five days.

Kathmandu: People continue to visit the homes of their senior relatives for receiving the Dashain tika, jamara and blessing from them even on the second day of the Bada Dashain festival today. 

This trend continues until the day of Kojagrat Purnima, the fifth day from the day of Bijaya Dashami. This year the Kojagrat Purnima falls on Oct 28 as per the lunar calendar. People observed the Bijaya Dashami yesterday. On the occasion of Bijaya Dashami, people receive tika, jamara, Prasad and blessings from their parents and seniors in their family. 

Tike is a mixture of red vermillion powder, curd and rice grains that the family seniors put on the forehead of the junior members of the family. Jamara are the barley or maize shoots that are germinated on the day of Ghatasthapana of the 10-day Dashain festivities which are put behind the ears while Prasad are the fruits, sweets, dry fruits, cookies and other delicacies that are offered to the Goddess Nawa Durga. 

Tika symbolizes victory and good omen, jamara is considered auspicious and prasad is taken as the sanctified edibles gifted by the goddess. The people eat the Prasad after receiving the tika and jamara along with blessings from the elders in the family.

People who could not make it yesterday on the day of Bada Dashain visit the homes of their senior relatives today until the Kojagrat Purnima.

The federal capital, which saw very little movement of people and activity for some days during the Dashain festival period as many people left for their ancestral homes in outside districts, will see somewhat increased movement of people from today onwards.