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Two persons were killed and two sustained injuries in a tractor accident at Ullani, Shailyashikhar Municipality-6 of Darchula district on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as tractor driver 45-year-old Panchu Rana of Laljhadi Rural Municipality-5, Kanchanpur district, and Santosh Singh Daga of Shailyashikhar -5, said Inspector Rajesh Shahi at the District Police Office, Darchula. The tractor (Su Pa Pra 02001 Ta 1467) was heading towards Gokuleshwor from the district headquarters, Khalanga when the incident occurred last evening. The tractor fell some 150 metres down the road. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Gokuleshwor Hospital, police said.    

The 171-megawatt Dudhkoshi-6 Hydroelectricity Project is to be constructed at Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality-3 in Solukhumbu. The river-based project is being developed by the private sector's Sagarmatha Hydropower.  The district is lately becoming a hub of hydropower projects. A diversion ware, under sluice, gravel trap, settling, basin, headrace pipe, headrace tunnel, surge tank and audit tunnel will be built as major structures under the project. The project is capable of producing 984 Gigawatt annually. The route to reach the project will go along the Dudhkoshi river bank.  The net head of the project will be 367 meters. It will have an underground power house. The power to be generated from the project will be connected to the Nepal Electricity Authority's Naya Khimti substation via the 63-kilometer 220 KV transmission line. The total cost of the project is Rs 30.80 billion. The environmental impact assessment report of the project has been already prepared. Releasing the report, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment has urged the concerned agencies or the residents of the affected zones for submissions. The project will have to acquire 8.3 hectares of land. During the project implementation phase, 550 will be directly employed. The project has allocated Rs 137.59 for the reduction of biological environmental impact.    

Vulnerable settlements will be shifted to safer locations and efforts will be made to mitigate the climate change which has been taking a toll on the agriculture sector. Plastic bags against the standard and the materials which have been negatively affecting the environment will be banned. The points of joint manifesto prepared by the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center) in 2017: --Collective efforts will be made to minimize the impacts of climate change. --Institutionalized and other processes essential against climate change will be started all the earliest. --The program will be started as a campaign by mobilizing the youths, students and women. The points of the election manifesto prepared by the Nepali Congress in 2017 --Major political parties raised the issues of climate change in their party’s election manifesto five years ago. People also gave nearly two-thirds of their votes to the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center) in 2017. The Nepali Congress faced a humiliating defeat. But, the Congress came to power after three years. The major parties led the government for five years. Neither they raised the issues of climate change as per the manifesto nor they organized any programs when they were in the government. Experts have said that the political parties have not taken the issues of climate change seriously. Dr Bimal Regmi said that it is unfortunate that the issues of climate change have not become the agenda of the political parties. The main agenda of the political parties during the election time is just the development of infrastructure. “The political parties give priority only to the development of infrastructure which can be seen by the people,” he said, adding, “The problems of marginalized communities and people have never become the agenda of the political parties. The parties have not been able to make practical commitments.” Now, the country is gearing up for the elections to the House of Representatives and Province Assembly again. But, the political parties have not made their commitments public yet. Experts have underlined that the political parties should include the issues of climate change in their election manifesto and should come up with various programs to minimize the effects of climate change. Climate change expert Madhukar Upadhyay said that the issues of climate change get priority only during the time of COP. “Political parties talk about the issues of climate change only during the time of COP,” he said. He expressed his grievances that the issues of the environment are discussed only on Environment day. “We only talk about the ways to mitigate the climate but never take initiatives to implement them,” Upadhyay said. Interestingly, the issue has not even been raised in the Parliament, he said. “No one is interested and no one cares about the issue,” he said. Recently, the floods in Far-Western region have caused a huge loss. Last year, the floods destroyed the ready-to-harvest paddy crops in the Far-Western region but the government has not been able to give compensation to the people yet. This clearly shows how serious the political leaders are in Nepal, experts said. Upadhyay said there is no one who has been taking the issue of climate change seriously in the country. Some NGOs and INGOs have been doing little from their sides. But, the questions still persist, who will look after the small problems at the local level. Another climate change expert Manjit Dhakal said that it can be taken in a positive way that the political parties have included the issues of climate change in their election manifesto. “But, it has been limited only in the manifesto,” he said, adding, “The issue of climate change has a direct and indirect impact.” The impact of climate change can be seen on the three main sources of the economy, energy, agriculture and tourism. Though the COP has brought the issues of climate change to the international platform, the COP is not everything, Dhakal said. “There are many problems in the country. The problem of farmers always becomes the headlines,” he said, adding, “Unseasonal rain inundated human settlements. But, the government has not been able to raise awareness among the farmers on time.” The agenda and manifesto of the political parties are considered as the important basis to run the country. People trust the agenda and manifesto made public by the political parties. It is obvious for the people to believe that the parties will implement all the commitments made while canvassing the votes after being elected. But, there are many instances that the commitments expressed by the political parties in the manifesto have been limited only to paper.

Tihar, the second largest festival of the Nepali Hindus begins from today. Also known as Yampanchak, the festival is observed for five days. The first day of the Yamapanchak is observed as Kaag Tihar by feeding crows, regarded as messengers in the Nepali society. The second day is Laxmi Puja (worshipping of cows in the morning and Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth in the Hindu mythology in the evening) and Kukur Tihar (worship of the dogs). Likewise, the three day is observed as Goru Pooja (worship of the oxen). Similarly, fourth day is Gobardhan Pooja and Mha Pooja (worship of own soul) in the Newar community while the fifth and final day is Bhai Tika. Bhai Tika, a festival to celebrate the bond between brothers and sisters, falls on November 13 this year. Sisters put Tika wishing for longevity and prosperity of their brothers, while brothers in turn give gifts and pledge to take care of their sisters. The auspicious time for the Bhai Tika this Tihar is at 11: 37 am, according to the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti. Tihar is also a festival of lights and flowers, where people decorate homes with colourful lights or oil-fed lamps and eat various delicacies including sweets and sel roti as a part of this festival. Playing of Deusi Bhailo and worshipping different animals and birds are also significant aspects of this festival. The government has announced a four-day public holiday starting from Laxmi Pooja to Bhai Tika for the festival.