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The graph of crimes is increasing in Kathmandu year by year, data shows.

According to the Kathmandu District Police Range, the cases of banking fraud and other economic offenses have significantly soared here in recent times. 

In the fiscal year 2077/78 BS (2020/21) a total of 5,662 cases of crimes were registered in Kathmandu and this number increased to 8,977 in the following year and further rose to 13,464 in the fiscal year 2022-23. Notably, more than half of these cases, specifically 7,101 cases, were related to banking fraud.

Similarly, 2,894 are related to abuse, 647 involve theft, 414 are associated with swindling, 368 are related to drug abuse and smuggling, 357 are related to suicide incidents, and 326 are concerning to women and children.

Likewise, 189 cases are related to traffic accidents and injuries, 27 cases are about murder, and 1,141 cases related to other forms of offenses.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Dan Bahadur Karki, said the data presents the escalating trend of banking fraud and other economic offenses in Kathmandu lately. 

This includes banking fraud, swindling through lottery scams, and deceptive promises of lucrative employment opportunities abroad. 

A person died and 13 others were injured when a taxi they were traveling in met with an accident near Krishna Mandir in Phidim-2 of Panchthar on Tuesday.

The identity of the deceased is yet to be established.

The injured are undergoing treatment at the Panchthar Hospital.

The taxi (Me 1 Ja 1941) was heading towards Phidim from Jhapa when the incident occurred.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

At least 30 people have been injured when a bus and a truck collided with each other at Chaudhakilo along the Narayangarh-Muglin road section in Chitwan on Tuesday.

The mishap took place on a bridge at Chaudhakilo in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29.

The bus (Ra 18 Kha 2236) heading towards Muglin from Narayangarh collided with the truck (Na 6 Kha 4942) this morning, the District Police Office, Chitwan said.

Among the injured, the driver and a passenger are said to be in serious condition while others have received minor injuries, police said.

Eighteen of the injured including the drivers are undergoing treatment at the Old Medical College while others are being treated at the Chitwan Medical College.

The government has fixed the minimum support price of paddy for fiscal year 2023/24 much earlier this year compared to last year. 

The cabinet meeting held on July 11 fixed the minimum support price. The minimum support price of paddy has been set at Rs 3,198 per quintal for thick rice, which is Rs 231 higher than the previous fiscal year. Similarly, the minimum support price of medium rice has been fixed at Rs 3,362 per quintal, which is Rs 262 more than the previous fiscal year. 

Last year, the government had fixed the minimum support price for paddy in October. This delay compelled farmers to sell paddy at lower prices. As a result, many farmers couldn’t even recover their cost of production. Since government agencies such as the Food Management and Trading Company Ltd and the Farm Modernization Project also delayed paddy procurement, farmers were left with no option but to accept whatever prices the traders offered. 

As per the standard, the government should fix the minimum support price before the seedbed is prepared. Although the government fixed the support price during the paddy transplantation season, agriculture expert Krishna Prasad Poudel said it was still late. “The government should fix the minimum support price before the seedbed is prepared. Since spring paddy is transplanted in March, the price should be fixed a month before that,” Poudel said. “This would enable farmers to compare their cost of production with the prices offered and decide whether to cultivate paddy. If the returns are high, they would cultivate it in more areas.”

Prem Dangal, chairman of the National Farmers’ Commission, said the minimum support price would mean nothing until the government agrees to buy all the paddy that farmers grow. “The government agencies procured only 31,000 tons of paddy last year, although 2m tons of paddy are sold in the market every year,” Dangal added. “The government should make necessary preparations to procure all the paddy that farmers intend to sell. Otherwise, there is no point in fixing a minimum support price.” 

However, as the minimum support price fixed by the government is higher than the market price, government agencies have been facing difficulty in selling paddy procured from farmers. As a result, they procured paddy at a much later date last year.

Sharmila Neupane Subedi, the spokesperson for the Food Management and Trading Company Ltd, said they would soon issue a circular to all their subordinate offices to make necessary preparations for paddy procurement.