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The endangered Eurasian Eagle Owl, locally known as 'Huchil', is on the verge of extinction in the eastern belt of Udayapur district. In the past, sights of the bird were common at the Sughachari cliff, Bopatang cliff, Champakot, Siddhipur and Katunjebabala in Belaka Municipality, said Ram Bahadur Magar, a resident of Chaudandi Babala. "The bird would be commonly spotted at cliffs and forests in the locality until some years ago. But nowadays, their sights are rare," he said.  Hunting and habitat destruction have been blamed for them facing extinction, he said. Hunters from other districts visited and killed the bird in collusion with local people, he said. A local Man Bahadur Rai said the endangered bird was rarely seen in the recent period. A live Eurasian eagle-owl is sold for Rs 20,000 in the local market, it has been said. "A campaign has been launched to conserve the rare eagle and the Eurasian eagle-owl at Boptang and Sugachari cliff. The campaign should be continued," said former mayor of Belaka municipality, Durga Kumar Thapa.  

At least 17 persons died when a bus met with an accident at Chalan Ganesthan in Bethanchok Rural Municipality-4 of Kavre district on Tuesday. The bus (Ba 3 Kha 4385) was returning from Chyalte, Bethanchok-5 when the tragedy occurred at around 6:30 pm yesterday. SP Chakra Raj Joshi of the District Police Office, Kavre said that 13 died on the spot and four breathed their last during the course of treatment. The deceased have been identified as bus driver Santosh Timilsina of Mahankal, Lalitpur, Ram Kumar Tamang of Banepa Municipality-14, Nirmala Tamang, Yogesh Tamang, Ankur Tamang, his wife Hema Tamang, Pushkar Tamang, Kopila Tamang, Shreya Tamang of Banepa Municipality-11, Jeli Tamang of Mandan Deupur-1, Buddha Tamang of Dhulikhel Municipality-11, Manju Tamang of Bethanchok-5 and Gita Shrestha of Banepa-14. SP Joshi said that the identities of four others are yet to be ascertained. A three-year-old child and five-year-old Renjen Tamang, who were critically injured in the accident, have been referred to the Annapurna Hospital in Kathmandu and Yogesh Tamang (13) has been taken to the Balmaitri Hospital for treatment, police said. Four others, who were also seriously injured in the incident, are undergoing treatment in Kathmandu and those who sustained minor injuries are receiving treatment in Banepa and Dhulikhel. Local Dib Man Lama said that the incident occurred due to over speeding. Police said that they are looking into the case.  

A pall of gloom has enveloped Chedagad Municipality of Jajarkot district following the death of 12 persons in a jeep accident. The tragedy occurred when the jeep (Karnali Province 2001 Cha 0429) heading towards Lewa from Jewa fell off a cliff at Dasera of Chedagad Municipality-4 on Monday. Issuing a condolence statement on Tuesday, Acting Chief Administrative Officer Ganga Bahadur Rokaya urged all the government and non-government offices to close the services today to mourn the deceased. Those killed in the accident have been identified as Man Bahadur Rawat (driver) of Bhagawatimai Rural Municipality-2 of Dailekh and conductor Birendra KC and Ammar Khada of Bhagawatimai Rural Municipality-3. Similarly, Dipak Adhikari, Nainasara Adhikari, Jaikubara Budha, Ram Bahadur Budha, Devisara Budha, Amar Adhikari, Nisha Adhikari of Chedagad Municipality-5 died in the incident. Jaivan Adhikari, injured in the incident, died while being treated at the Surkhet-based Province Hospital. The District Police Office, Jajarkot further said that Bir Bahadur Khatri of Chedagad-6 also died in the incident.

Police have confiscated 363 kg marijuana from Parsa. Acting on a tip-off, police seized the contraband from a truck (Na 4 Kha 6555) heading towards Bijayabasti of Parsa from Hetauda of Makwanpur. The marijuana packed in 22 cartoons were hidden by making a false bottom in the truck. It has been learnt that the driver fled the scene soon after he saw the police. The confiscated marijuana and truck have been handed over to the Area Police Office, Thori for investigation.