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The District Administration Office, Sunsari, has issued a total of 12,177 new citizenship certificates in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Chief District Officer Humkala Pandey confirmed. Likewise, altogether 11,339 duplicate copies of the citizenship certificates were also issued during the same period in the current fiscal year. Similarly, the administration has provided 11,309 passport copies during the review period. CDO Pandey said that a total of Rs 2 million plus has been distributed in relief from the District Administration Office during the period. According to CDO Pandey, the administration carried out monitoring of market, public entities and security bodies as well. However, monitoring of the development projects could not take place so far in the current fiscal year. In the district, 112 new organizations have been registered while 426 other organizations obtained their renewal certificate, according to CDO Pandey.

The public transport fare has decreased in Bagmati Province, including in the Kathmandu Valley. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Transport has reduced the fare, nine days after Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) slashed the price of diesel. The Ministry has decreased the fare of public transport vehicles operating on short routes within the Bagmati Province. The reduced transport fare has been published in the Nepal Gazette. According to the public transport latest fare determined by the Ministry, the fare has been decreased by 5.9 percent in the Kathmandu Valley, and by 4.18 percent in public vehicles and by 5.69 percent in goods-carrier vehicles operating in short routes in places outside the Valley, said Asman Tamang, Secretary at the Ministry. "The reduced public transport fare would come into effect from today itself as it has already been published in the Gazette," he said. The transport entrepreneurs had determined the fare on their own before this as the public transport fare of vehicles operating on short routes was not increased even as the price of diesel went up. The public transport fare of only vehicles operating on long routes was increased at that time. NOC had reduced the price of diesel effective from Wednesday last week. Immediately after this, the government had increased the public transport fare on vehicles operating on long routes. The transport fare of long route or inter-province is determined by the federal government while that of the short route or inter-municipality is fixed by the province government. The NOC on April 3 slashed the price of diesel and kerosene by Rs 10 each per liter and petrol by Rs 3 per liter. It reduced the price of diesel and petrol by Rs 10 each per liter effective from last Wednesday. As per the reduced fuel price, diesel costs Rs 155 per liter. The transport fare of public transport vehicles operated in short route within the province was increased last year. As per the increased transport fare, passengers are charged Rs 20 upon boarding the public bus in Kathmandu Valley.  

The country at present has the impacts of local and westerly winds with low pressure system, causing partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region in the country, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The Department said that light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is expected to take place at some places of Madhes, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces and hilly and mountainous regions of rest of the provinces. The Department said that chances of storms are also likely in some places of Tarai belt.

President Ram Chandra Paudel today observed the Bhoto Jatra festival, a ritualistic festival dedicated to the Rato Machhindranath, the deity of rain and bountiful harvest. The President attended the Bhoto Jatra festival at Jawalakhel this afternoon and observed the ritual of displaying the Bhoto (the jewel-studded mythical vest believed to belong to the deity). As part of this ritual, an employee of the Guthi Sansthan Lalitpur displayed the Bhoto from the pinnacle of a chariot of the Rato Machhindranath deity. It is a tradition to display the Bhoto on the fourth day the chariot of the deity is towed in a procession up to Jawalakhel from Lagankhel. On the occasion, the Head-of-the-State paid homage to the Rato Machhindranath deity and also took the prasad. He also paid obeisance to the living goddess Kumari on the occasion. The chariot festival which started from April 24 concluded today with the displaying of the Bhoto. Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and the government ministers were also present on the occasion. A large number of people had also gathered at Jawalakhel to observe the festival.