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Two rhinos of Chitwan National Park have been shifted to the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve.

Four-year-old Pushpa and two-year-old Anjali have been taken to the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve from the Chitwan National Park this morning.

Before being transferred to the Koshi Tappu, they were kept in the cage for the  past one week.

Wildlife technician Lal Bahadur Mahatara had monitored them.

Born in Tamaspur of Nawalpur under the Chitwan National Park in 2019, Pushpa was rescued from the muddy swamp.

Anjali was rescued from Dibyapuri area of Nawalpur, Chitwan National Park on April 5, 2021 during the rhino count when she was just one week old.

According to the data, there are no one-horned rhinos in Koshi Tappu. They are being transferred to Koshi Tappu for the first time.

Haribhadra Acharya, Acting Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department, said that a technical committee had carried out a study on keeping the rhinos in Koshi two years ago.

The committee had concluded that the Koshi Tappu would be an appropriate habitat for rhinos.

Three persons died of dengue infection in Tanahun in the past two months. All three fatalities are from Byas Municipality.

They died from July 1 to September 25. 

Health section Chief of Byas Municipality Pramod Soti informed that dengue infection has been spreading in Damauli for the past few months. The municipality alone has 1,350 dengue patients now.

The municipality is preparing to mobilize its health workers at Damauli Hospital in the wake of a rapid rise in dengue patients. Even the hospital was complaining of shortage of human resources to provide smooth service. A doctor, two lab technicians and two others in the emergency section would be provided to the hospital, he added.

Meanwhile, the municipality has launched a public awareness campaign in every village. Search and destroy campaign would be in place to control the dengue spread.

Now, every ward is running a public health awareness campaign.

Similarly, Chief of Health Office in Tanahun, Shankar Babu Adhikari, urged one and all to maintain further alertness against dengue infection.

He expressed worry over shortage of beds in health facilities with the rise of dengue patients.

Most of patients at Damauli Hospital have dengue fever.

Two persons have died of viral fever at Matesagu in Khaptad Chededaha Rural Municipality-2 of Bajura.

The deceased have been identified as Sauradevi Budha (49) and Kul Bahadur Shahi (62).

Budha died four days ago and Shahi on Sunday night.

Local Ganesh Bahadur Shahi said that both of them died due to viral fever.

Almost all the people in the village have fallen sick.

It has already been a week since the viral fever spread in the village.

Locals have lamented that no health workers have come to the village yet to provide medical treatment.

They said that the patients have the symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Mahesh Chand, Acting Chief of the Health Office, Bajura, said that they are preparing to send a medical team to the village.

He said that two health workers have been sent to the village from Khaptad Chededaha Rural Municipality and preparations are underway to send a team along with medicines from the District Health Office.

Khaptad Chededaha Rural Municipality Chairman Dil Bahadur Raut said that a team of health workers has already been sent to the affected area.

Exactly one year ago, a news article regarding Nepal’s young achiever drew national and international attention. Nepal’s star cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane was accused of sexual coercion and a police case was filed against him. It was a shock to many as the then captain of the national cricket team who had represented in international cricket matches had been alleged for a serious crime. People who had already followed Paul Shah’s almost similar case speculated two possible scenarios. Some believed the celebrities were abusing their stardom to make women/adolescent girls their victims while others believed the stars were being framed. 

Paul Shah served a jail sentence for a year and was released only when the accuser changed her statement but in Lamichhane’s case, nothing seems to be moving. When the police case was filed against him, he did not immediately return to Nepal. Nepal Police had to seek Interpol’s support to track him. The Cricket Association of Nepal did suspend him after the allegations surfaced, but it didn’t take them long to welcome him after he was released on bail. He continues to take part in national and international matches, and we don’t know yet if he is guilty or innocent. In fact, a pattern is noticeable in his case. 

Before any cricket event approaches, the media come up with reports predicting the possibility of Lamichhane joining or not joining the match. First, the media report that Lamichhane may not be able to take part in so and so game. Second, the headlines change and mention CAN requesting authorities to allow him to play in the tournament. The Supreme Court also lifted a travel ban on him so he could play abroad. Finally, the news of Lamichhane leaving for that game appears in the media. Hearings on his case continue to be delayed. Sometimes, they cite lack of time or even judges, and at other times, there are alleged stories of fake documents. One year on, there’s no verdict. Are these attempts to delay the process so that there is less attention or is our judicial system indeed slow? 

If we all believe in the justice system, the truth has to be told in a fair and timely manner. His cricket skills should not be considered more important than the truth. If he committed a crime, he should be punished; if he is innocent, that needs to be shared soon. 

Just a month ago, Spain won the FIFA Women’s World Cup. As the world was watching Spanish footballers being congratulated at the trophy ceremony, a man was seen hugging and kissing the women footballers rather uncomfortably. This was being broadcast live on television around the world. Even I felt the hugs did not have to be that tight and the kisses could have been on cheeks. As the commentators mentioned who he was, I thought they shared a journey together and their closeness permitted that level of affection. 

But it didn’t take long for Jenni Hermoso to talk about the unwanted kiss in the media and termed it ‘not consensual’. Then, the drama unfolded when Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Federation, refused to acknowledge his act and refused to back down. There were widespread criticisms of what was named as the kissgate scandal. Even the manager of England’s women’s football team dedicated her Coach of the Year Award to the World Cup winning Spanish team in solidarity with the issues raised by the team. Rubiales resigned, eventually. 

Spain did the right thing by taking timely actions against the complaints. They have even tried to address issues of inequalities and misogyny existing in the football sector in a month’s time. And here in Nepal, we have already waited for a year to see the conclusion of an alleged rape case involving a high-level cricketer and a minor. Let’s hope the newly-elected team of the Cricket Association of Nepal takes the credibility and morality of its players seriously. Let us also hope that judges will be “available” for the hearings and justice delivered equally to everyone, be it a popular player or an ordinary citizen.