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The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in Chitwan has asked 14 different internet companies to clear the rent for the use of utility poles in the district’s main city areas. The internet companies have not renewed their contract agreement though they are supposed to renew their contract within the first three months of the fiscal year, Chief of NEA Distribution Centre Bharatpur Rajendra Poudel said. “No company has visited us to renew the contract till this time (in the current fiscal year).” The NEA has been charging Rs 9,000 for one kilometer in the metropolitan city and Rs 7,000 in the municipality and rural municipality area, Poudel shared. He further added that the NEA office would start a campaign calling upon the internet companies to renew their contract with the NEA for the use of electric poles. The NEA is preparing to seize the goods and equipment if the internet companies refuse to renew their contract. In the last fiscal year, the internet service providing companies had paid Rs 18.5 million to the NEA for the use of poles. This year, they are expected to pay some Rs 20 million, Poudel added. The NEA Distribution Centre Bharatpur oversees most of the wards of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality.

DSP Thug Bahadur KC of the Area Police Office, Butwal has been arrested for taking the gold from a businessman and keeping it himself. A team of the Central Investigation Bureau, Kathmandu nabbed KC from his residence. The team apprehended KC with the gold and cash on Sunday evening. Police said that they have confiscated 35 tola gold and Rs 2.5 million in cash from his possession. Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.    

Kathmandu Valley has recorded the coldest day today. The minimum temperature in the Valley was 4.5 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The Valley's temperature was recorded at a minimum 5.3 degrees on Saturday. In the past few days, temperature in the Valley has been sharply dropping with the cold increasing, said the Division. Similarly, temperature in Jumla district today dropped to a minimum minus 5.6 degrees Celsius. Also, Jomsom recorded minus 6.1 degrees and Jiri minus 0.7 degree, said meteorologist Hira Bhattarai. The western belt of the country will remain cloudy today with the impact of the westerly low-pressure system, he said.  Sudurpaschim and Karnali Provinces will likely remain completely cloudy today. The Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts) and surrounding districts are expected to remain cloudy partially, said the Division. On Saturday, some parts of Kaski, Khotang and Myagdi district received rainfall. The Machhapuchchhre Base Camp in Kaski district recorded 3.6 millimeters of rainfall, Ghorepani in Myagdi district 1.5 millimeters and Duthkoshi in Khotang district 2 millimeters.

In view of the increasing COVID-19 cases in neighboring India and China, the Ministry of Health and Population has urged all people to receive booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines. The new variant, BF.7, has been detected in India and China, and its transmission to Nepal may take place due to open borders with the countries, said Ministry's spokesperson Dr Sanjaya Kumar Thakur. So, precaution should be adopted, he added. The variant has not been detected in Nepal so far. Those who have taken the first and second dose of the vaccines should compulsorily get booster shots, he said. The government is at work to bring booster doses. According to him, 1.5 million booster doses would be brought soon. Out of the total 9.2 million doses of the vaccines agreed to Nepal under the COVAX facility, 3.7 million doses have reached the country so far, it has been said. Similarly, the Ministry has urged people to follow health protocols, and use facemasks and sanitizers, wash hands with soap and maintain physical distance. Meanwhile, the Ministry has urged people to be safe from the risk of cold waves and snow. Ministry's assistant spokesperson Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said the people have been urged to keep themselves safe as the cold is increasing due to the cold wave and snowfall since some time. The Ministry has urged people to wear warm clothes covering the whole body, to keep the rooms warm and to manage proper ventilation and air flow in the room. Adhikari said that the children, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with chronic disease should be protected from cold. Likewise, the Ministry urged people to regular breast-feeding to the breast-fed infants, feeding them with warm and nutritious liquid feed. It also urged people against smoking and drinking alcohol.