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The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has moved the Special Court against Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Madhu Kumar Marasini and eight others demanding the recovery of around Rs 230m embezzled in the name of a National Payment Gateway about six years ago.  

Other officials facing the charge of committing irregularities to the tune of Rs 230m in the National Payment Gateway scam include the then secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology and chair at National Information Technology Center (NITC) Sanjaya Sharma, then executive director at NITC Pranita Upadhyaya, Nepal Telecom’s managing director Sunil Poudel (then deputy executive director at NITC) and NITC director Safal Shrestha (deputy director at the time of the scam). CIAA has also accused then assistant director at NITC Ramesh Pokharel, then account officer Nim Bahaduar Wali, then account officer at the center Ram Bahadur Budha and engineer at the center Ram Sharan Gayak of involvement in the scam.     

The anti-corruption agency has accused Marasini, then chief at the Ministry of Finance’s Budget and Program Division, of getting around Rs 250m released in the name of the gateway by preparing a faulty estimate and getting it approved despite the absence of infrastructure required for the operation of the gateway by keeping subordinate and superordinate authorities in the dark.

The CIAA unearthed the scam while investigating a complaint regarding irregularities related to the gateway and subsequently moved the court against the nine officials. It has demanded the recovery of around Rs 230.27m from them as per sub-clause 3(1) of clause 17 of Corruption Eradication Act 2059 for causing loss/damage to government property of the government as well as a public enterprise.

The payment gateway, procured six years ago, remains non-functional till date.

At noon on Thursday, a lot of people were waiting for their turn to purchase outpatient department (OPD) tickets at the Provincial Hospital of Madhesh Institute of Health Sciences in Janakpurdham, Dhanusha. However, there were no specialist hospitals on duty. Patients waited till 3 pm, but the doctors were nowhere to be seen.

While the names of several doctors, including Dr. Siddhidatri Jha, Dr. Ramdev Chaudhary, Dr. Bipin Kumar Yadav, Dr. Digbijaya Kumar Thakur, Dr. Rameshwar Mahaseth, Dr. Shyam Babu Sah, and Dr. Tarakeshwar Mahato, were listed on the duty roster, only Dr. Siddhidatri Jha was on duty attending to patients. Dr. Thakur had taken leave, but the others remained conspicuously absent without notifying the hospital administration.

In the pediatric department, where four doctors, including Dr. Baidyanath Thakur, Dr. Abhaya Mandal, Dr. Jamun Prasad Singh, and Dr. Jitendra Dhakur, were expected to be on duty, none were in attendance. Among the four doctors assigned to the gynecology department, only three were present, as Dr. Shweta Sah was absent without prior communication with the hospital administration.

The patients, who were waiting since 11 am, had no option but to return home. Some were compelled to seek medical care at private hospitals. Bindeshwar Yadav of Janakpurdham-2, who was waiting to see doctors for his swollen limbs, looked frustrated. "I have been waiting for hours, but I am not sure whether the doctors will arrive," he added. Amod Yadav from Mirchaiya in Siraha echoed the sentiment. “I have been waiting for hours for a doctor to review my report. But the doctor was nowhere to be found,” he added.

This mess is not because the hospital is seeing a shortage of doctors. There are adequate doctors on the hospital’s payroll. However, the visible absence of doctors attending to patients is worrying. Sushil Karna from Janakpur said that most government doctors are attending to patients at private hospitals. "The doctors come, sign the attendance register, and then rush off to attend to patients in private hospitals," he said, adding, "When we ask for doctors, the nurses give us a hard time."

Patients say that a majority of the government doctors work in private hospitals or their own clinics to earn extra income. "Doctors do come to the hospital but often leave around noon. Unfortunately, we cannot question them," a contractual employee at the hospital said. Many employees at the hospital share the sentiment that doctors typically arrive late and leave early. “Since all the doctors have strong political affiliations, they do what they want to,” a staff nurse at the hospital said. “These doctors are expected to be at the hospital from 10 am to 4 pm, but they rarely stay for more than two hours.”

A group of 35 students from Sangda and Thalar settlements in Sigas Rural Municipality-7 of Baitadi, gather on the banks of the Nwaghari River every morning. When their teacher, Lakshmi Chand, arrives, the students remove their shoes and slippers, join hands and cross the river together. The scene repeats in the afternoon when they return home from school.

The absence of a bridge over the Nwaghari River has been forcing these students and their teachers to endure this perilous crossing each day. Although the river has already claimed three lives, the students have no choice but to face this dangerous challenge every day.

“All students wait for me on the river banks. We then form a human chain and cautiously make our way across the river. The looming threat of monsoon floods always hangs over us,” Chand shared.

The students echo her sentiments. “We cannot cross the river on our own. That is why we patiently wait for our teacher. Often, our clothes become wet while crossing, leaving us with no option but to continue our studies with wet clothes on,” Bindu Chand, a tenth grader from Sangda, said. He also said that the river has swept away books and study materials belonging to the students many times.

Kalu Singh Saud, the headmaster of Ganesh Secondary School, lamented the lack of a bridge over the Nwaghari River. “This difficult journey has affected the study of these students,” he added.

Local resident Dan Singh Ayer said the local community have approached all three tiers of government with pleas for a bridge. However, despite assurances from politicians during election campaigns, no tangible progress has been made, he added.

Three years ago, a bridge constructed by the rural municipality was swept away by floods. No initiative for  bridge construction has been taken since that incident.  Karna Singh Saud, the chairman of Ward-7, disclosed that the rural municipality has requested the provincial government’s assistance in building a bridge over the Nwaghari River. Chairperson of the rural municipality, Dhana Dhami, said although there were four bridges over the river, there is a need for one more at the location where the students cross the river. “We will now take initiative to build a bridge there as well,” she added.

The rise in the price of sugar has hit the customers hard. Just two weeks ago, sugar was available in the market at Rs 105 per kilogram, but it has now skyrocketed to Rs 140. Moreover, sugar has become scarce in stores, resulting to black marketing. 

The Department of Commerce has sealed the largest sugar warehouse in Kathmandu over alleged black marketing activities. 

The warehouse belonged to Griheshwori Tradelink, and it had been storing sugar under artificial storage with unclear labeling.

Anandraj Pokhrel, information officer at the department, confirmed the warehouse’s closure and said that the sugar was sent for quality testing. 

A complaint was filed with the department, accusing the businessperson, Santosh Khetan, of buying sugar at a low price from industries and selling it at a higher price in Kathmandu without proper invoices. Khetan was allegedly billing the sugar at only Rs 105 per kilogram after selling it at Rs 127 per kilogram wholesale.  

“The report submitted by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control states that the quality of the sugar has no problem. But as there are no packaging details, we have sent a letter to the producers asking for clarification,” said Pokharel. 

Rajeev Shrestha, a tea shop owner, has not seen such a rise in sugar prices. He said that he had been paying Rs 25 extra for sugar because of the price hike. “Despite the price hike, I have to run the business in order to get by,” he said. 

Sugar ban likely

India is expected to ban sugar mills from exporting from October, making the first halt in export in seven years. The decision is led by a lack of rain that has cut cane yields, according to Reuters. 

India allowed mills to export only 6.1m tons of sugar during the current season to Sept 30, after letting them sell a record 11.1m tons last season. India’s sugar production could fall 3.3 percent to 31.7m tons in the 2023/24 season, as per Reuters. 

In India, sugar prices rose by more than three percent in a fortnight. Monsoon rains in the top cane growing districts of the western state of Maharashtra and the southern state of Karnataka—which together account for more than half of India’s total sugar output—have been as much as 50 percent below average so far this year. Patchy rains would cut sugar output in the 2023/24 season and even reduce planting for the 2024/25 season. 

Trading Economics, an IT service and IT consulting service provider based in New York, reports that insufficient rainfall in India’s key producing states exacerbated poor growing conditions for next season’s crop. The current drought added to concerns that El Nino will extend dryness for a prolonged period, driving cane yields to slump and potentially prompting the Indian government to limit sugar exports for the upcoming season, as it attempts to contain elevated food inflation in the country. 

Rising demand of sugar 

As the Dashain and Tihar festivals are approaching, the demand for sugar has started increasing. The consumption of sugar increases for households and industries ahead of the festival.

Therefore, in view of the upcoming festivals, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has asked the Finance Ministry to waive customs for importing 60,000 tons of sugar to meet the demand. The finance ministry has, however, given permission to import only 20,000 tons for the time being. 

Salt Trading Corporation (STC) and Food Management and Trading Company are set to import 10,000  tons of sugar each for the upcoming festival season. Pokhrel said the procurement process has already started. 

Nepal’s domestic demand for sugar stands at 300,000 tons and it needs to import a huge quantity of sugar mainly from India. There are 12 sugar factories in Nepal that produce around 100,000 tons of sugar. 

The country immediately has 188,000 tons of sugar in stores. The government has slashed the import duty by half to provide relief to consumers. The usual import duty on sugar is 30 percent and there is another 13 percent VAT.

Decline in sugarcane production 

There has been a continuous decline in sugarcane production in the country. As per Statistical Information on Nepalese Agriculture published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Department, the production of sugar has been constantly declining over the past four years. 

The ministry says production has been falling due to high costs and increasing market risk. Difficulties in getting payment from the mills and chemical fertilizer have discouraged farmers from planting the cash crop. Heat waves, untimely rains and depleting water level have also affected the sugarcane production, leading to disruption in demand and supply curve. 

A host of factors such as weather, supply and demand, health concerns and consumer preferences affects the price of sugar.

Jyoti Baniya, a leading consumer rights activist, said the surge in sugar price has affected businesses and households alike.  “As the festivals are nearing, the rise in sugar price and its shortage will make it difficult for people to purchase this essential item,” 

The Consumer Protection Act 2018 states that every consumer has the right of easy access to goods or services and has the right to choose quality goods or services at the fair competitive price. But the access to sugar consumption is not so. 

If the government fails to inspect and meet the demand and supply of sugar, it is likely that the price will continue to rise.