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The local residents of Kakani Rural Municipality in Nuwakot and Dhunibesi Municipality of Dhading have decided not to allow the disposal of garbage collected from the Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts) in the Bancharedanda landfill site until the agreement reached previously is fully implemented.

The dumping of garbage from Kathmandu has been halted from July 17 citing the non-implementation of an agreement reached last year between the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the locals.

The protest in the form of halting waste disposal would continue until the locals' demands are met, said the Kakani Rural Municipality chair Suman Tamang.

However, the KMC has a different take on the matter. The local people should facilitate in acquiring 3,000 ropanis of land in the area to construct a dumping site as the KMC cannot do it all by itself, said the KMC infrastructure advisor Sunil Lamsal.

Having been dumped in Sisdol for the past 15 years, the waste from the Valley has been disposed of in Bancharedanda from 23 August, 2022.

Following a halt in dumping the waste in Bancharedanda by the local people, a writ petition was filed in the court.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued an interim verdict, directing the local level not to implement their decision of charging fees to the garbage-carrying tipper truck and preventing them from disposing of garbage if they refused to make the payments in fees.

But the locals have halted the disposal of the waste in defiance to the verdict issued by the court.

Paddy is Nepal’s main food crop. Agricultural experts say farmers will get better yields if paddy seedlings are transplanted by mid-July. However, plantation has been completed on only around half of the paddy fields because of factors like a long spell of drought, shortage of fertilizers, and the impact of lumpy skin disease on oxen. 

Plantation had been completed on 65 percent of paddy fields by this time last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, paddy transplantation has been affected this year due to the late onset of monsoon in Madhes, Kosi, and Bagmati provinces, and lumpy skin disease in Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. About 90 percent of the fields in Madhes province, which is considered the country’s granary, are still barren. 

Paddy transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Sudurpashchim Province.

Jhapa, the largest paddy producer in the country, has achieved 65 percent progress in paddy transplantation by mid-July. However, paddy transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Kailali—the second-largest producer. Bajhang, a hilly district of Sudurpashchim Province, has made 100 percent progress in paddy transplantation.

Rabindra Kumar Kushbaha of Belgachhi in Gaushala-8 of Mahottari said paddy fields are barren even in mid-July due to a lack of sufficient rainfall. “Some farmers transplanted paddy by making alternative arrangements, but seedlings are drying up,” he said.

Most of the paddy fields of Dinesh Mahato of Gaushala-11 are barren. Mahato, who cultivated paddy in two and a half bighas last year, hasn't been able to transplant seedlings this year. “Seedlings are drying up in the seedbed,” he added.

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, Mahottari, paddy transplantation has been completed on only 15 percent of paddy fields in the district so far. “The situation is not worrying yet, as paddy transplantation here continues till the end of July. We might get adequate rainfall by that time,” Ram Chandra Yadav, chief of the center, said.

About 90 percent of paddy fields in Madhesh Province are still barren, according to the Ministry of Land Reforms, Agriculture, and Cooperatives. Paddy seedlings have been transplanted on only 33,773 hectares out of 354,383 hectares in eight districts of the province.

Banke of Lumbini Province has made only 50 percent progress in paddy transplanting. “Transplantation progress was only 15 percent at the beginning of June. Most of the farmers have already prepared seedlings in the seedbed. Transplantation will gain pace if there is adequate rain,” Shakil Ahmed, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Center, Banke, said.

Transplantation has been completed only on the paddy fields in Rapti Sonari, Baijanath, Duduwa, and Khajura and areas that receive water from the Sikta Irrigation Project. “Paddy had been transplanted in all areas of Banke, except Narainpur, by this time last year. Narainpur has made the least progress in paddy transplantation this year,” Ahmed added.

Baglung in Gandaki Province has reported 65 percent progress in paddy transplantation. According to the Agriculture Knowledge Center, Baglung, transplantation has been done on 3,824 hectares out of the total of 5,883 hectares.

56 percent progress in Koshi 

Koshi Province has achieved 56 percent progress in paddy transplantation till mid-July. According to the Agriculture Development Directorate, Biratnagar, this is seven percent more compared to the same period last year. “Paddy transplantation has been completed on 50 percent of paddy fields in high hilly areas, 47 percent in mid-hills area, and 60 percent in Tarai areas,” Prakash Kumar Danig, chief of the directorate, said.

Dangi said paddy transplantation is progressing smoothly in Koshi Province. “We had achieved 49 percent progress in the same period last year. Paddy can be transplanted in Tarai districts until late August,” he added.

Paddy is cultivated on 340,829 hectares out of 826,646 hectares of arable land in Koshi. Of them, paddy has already been transplanted on 191,000 hectares.

73 percent progress in Karnali 

Plantation is going on at a slow pace in Karnali which would have completed transplantation on 90 percent of fields by mid-July. According to Tilak Pandey, an information officer at the Directorate of Agricultural Development, Surkhet, transplantation has been completed on 73.79 percent of paddy fields so far.

Out of 15,240 hectares of paddy fields in Surkhet, transplantation has been completed on 10,023 hectares, or 65 percent. Progress in paddy transplantation stands at 53 percent in Dailekh, 85 percent in Jajarkot, 83 percent in West Rukum, 90 percent in Salyan, 100 percent in Dolpa, 84 percent in Humla, 97 percent in Jumla, and 84 percent in Kalikot.

66.71 percent progress in Gandaki 

Paddy transplantation has been completed on 66.71 percent of paddy fields in Gandaki by mid-July, compared to 79.45 percent in the same period of the last fiscal year.

According to the Directorate of Agriculture Development, Pokahra, most of the districts in the province depend on monsoon rains for paddy. Only 37 percent of arable land in Gandaki has irrigation facilities.

While paddy transplantation has been completed on 50 percent of paddy fields in Gorkha, progress in transplantation stands at 65 percent in Lamjung, 68 percent in Tanahun, 65 percent in Parbat, 40 percent in Syangja, 65 percent in Baglung, 80 percent in Kaski, and 85 percent in Nawalpur.

Highest progress in Sudurpashchim

Sudurpashchim has achieved 92 percent progress in paddy transplantation—the highest among the seven provinces of the country.

According to Keshav Raj Pandey, information officer of the Directorate of Agricultural Development, Dhangadhi, transplantation has been completed on 95 percent of paddy fields in Kailali—the largest paddy producer in the province.

“Likewise, Kanchanpur has made 91 percent progress in transplantation. Thanks to good monsoon rains, transplantation has been completed even on farms that do not have irrigation facilities,” Pandey added.

Transplantation, however, hasn’t made much progress in eight hilly districts of the province, which depend on monsoon rains. “These districts haven’t received rain for the past three to four days,” Yagya Raj Pandey, director of the directorate, said. “Nevertheless, we are hopeful that transplantation will be completed in the province within a week.”

Paddy is cultivated on 179,000 hectares in nine districts of Sudurpashchim. While Baitadi has reported 98 percent progress in paddy transplantation, progress in other districts stands at 90 percent in Darchula and Dadeldhura, 88 percent in Doti, and 85 percent each in Achham and Bajura.

An earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale shook Kaski district on Wednesday.

The National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center said that the tremor was felt at 9: 53 am local time with its epicenter at Mirsa of the district.

On July 13, an earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale occurred in Humla, with its epicenter at Kalika.  

Police have arrested a man on the charge of keeping a suspicious object in Sinamangal.

SP Sitaram Rijal of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, said that a man has been apprehended for placing a suspicious object in Sinamagal.

His details will be made public shortly, police said.

A suspicious object was found near the Khotang Halesi Jewelers in Sinamangal on Wednesday morning.

A pamphlet of a party called Nepal Utthan Krantikari was also found in the place where the suspicious object was found.

Meanwhile, a bomb disposal squad of Nepal Army defused the suspicious object.