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On the occasion of World Environment Day, Annapurna Media Network (AMN) organized an electric vehicle rally in Kathmandu on Monday. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, and Captain Rameshwar Thapa, Chairman of AMN, jointly flagged off the 'Nexon EV AMN EV Rally 2023 in association with Tesla' from Annapurna Tower in Tinkune. Although 200 EVs, including two-wheelers and three-wheelers, participated in the rally organized with the slogan 'We Believe in Action'. During the rally, the participants emphasized the importance of collective participation in the journey towards a sustainable future. The event was supported by TheeGo, World Wildlife Fund-Nepal, Save the Children, and Pan-C Bikes. Additionally, Garden Restaurant served as the food partner, Fruit Agro as the beverage partner, Foodmandu as the online food delivery partner, and Simrik Foundation as the synergy partner for the event. The rally that started from Tinkune progressed through Gaushala, Chabahil, Balaju, Naya Bazaar, Sorhakhutte, Durbar Marg, Gyaneshwar and Gaushala before concluding at Tinkune. All must act to protect environment: Minister Basnet Minister Basnet commended the Annapurna Media Group for organizing the rally. "This event teaches how every person and organization should take the initiative to face the challenges effectively," he added. Highlighting the impact of environmental pollution on human life, Minister Basnet expressed the difficulty in preserving the interdependent relationship between nature and humanity. "If we do not take initiatives in proportion to the extent to which the problems in people's daily life are expanding, then a great imbalance will arise," he warned. Minister Basnet reiterated his confidence that the rally would play a significant role in promoting environmental protection and creating a healthier environment. He said that this campaign was not only relevant but also necessary to address the pressing environmental concerns of our time. Minister Basnet highlighted the role of electric vehicles in reducing air pollution and safeguarding the green environment.  "The use of electric vehicles instead of petroleum vehicles will make a positive contribution by reducing harmful emissions," he said, adding that the government has taken a policy of promoting electric vehicles. During the event, AMN Chairman Captain Rameshwar Thapa highlighted the use of electric vehicles as a positive practice and called on the society, the government, and everyone to act. Thapa said he joined the campaign to protect the environment and that he believed in taking action. Stating that he has closely witnessed the impact of climate change on the mountains, Thapa expressed concern about the melting snow and its risks for humanity. "It is the responsibility of everyone to reduce the impacts of climate change. We, at AMN, consider it our duty to promote positive awareness. The EV rally is a part of our efforts," he added. Meanwhile, Shyam Kaji Maharjan has won an electric bicycle as a door prize of the event.    

Structures in Bandipur Rural Municipality-1, Dumre of Tanahun are being demolished as part of the Prithvi Highway expansion drive. A drive has begun to demolish houses and huts that were constructed within the road section. According to engineer of Muglin-Pokhara Road Project (Eastern Section) Bishnu Pandey, five houses of Dumre Bazaar – the main commercial hub of Bandipur and entry point to Lamjung district – are being razed now. 'The drive is underway to remove structures built within the road territory. As of now, five houses have been razed', he said, adding, 'All the structures constructed within the road scope would be gradually demolished'. Most of the houses built long back in Dumre Bazaar were found within the road area. A plan was mooted to raze such structures by providing compensation. The eastern part includes Anbukhaireni rural municipality, Bandipur rural municipality and Byas municipality. Preparations are also being made to remove the structures built in Anbukhaireni and Byas. He further said that as many as 631 structures would be removed from the section. Compensation amounting to Rs 2.245 million would be distributed to the rightful owner. The Muglin-Pokhara Road Expansion Project has expedited its works in two sections. The eastern section from Anbukhaireni to Jamune has made 30 percent progress, the project sources said. Blacktopping has started in seven-kilometer section of Anbukhaireni. Project chief Narendra Subedi said that works have been expedited with a target to complete blacktopping of seven-kilometer in the current fiscal year. The expansion drive was initiated in the eastern section in April 2021 after contract signing for the same in January 2021. In the 41.45-km road section, three big and four small bridges would be constructed. The contract was awarded to China Communication Construction for the eastern section. The government this year has allocated a budget of Rs 5.42 million for the Muglin-Pokhara road expansion. The four-lane road is being constructed with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank. The contract of Rs 6 billion 231 million was signed for the eastern section while it was Rs 7 billion 44.6 million for the expansion of western section. The four-lane road section will have 20-25 meters on each side.  

The Melamchi Drinking Water Project has constructed a gate of the alternative system at the project site in Ambathan. According to the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee, the maintenance was carried out to ensure smooth supply of drinking water to Kathmandu even when there was rising water current and sometimes dirty water flow in the Melamchi River. Committee Spokesperson Rajendra Prasad Pant said that the sluice gate 1 of the project was being used to release water into the tunnel and gate 9 to fall water flow. 'Gate 9 checks dirty water flow to the tunnel'. The project remained closed for 10 days for undertaking maintenance of sluice gate under the alternative system. Though headwork was being used to flow the water into the tunnel, the alternative route has been used now for water release when the headwork saw technical glitches no sooner it was constructed. The water supply to the Kathmandu valley had resumed since Tuesday. Committee Spokesperson Pant further said that the gate was closed for maintenance and volume of water was increasingly released being aware of the potential risks. 'One-third of the water will be released in the beginning and then remaining two-third will be supplied. This is how the project is planning to supply water in full capacity', he said.  

At least 288 people have been killed and 803 injured after two passenger trains collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha – the country’s deadliest rail disaster in more than 20 years, The Guardian reported.

The Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata in West Bengal to Chennai in Tamil Nadu, was going about 80mph (130km/h) when it collided with a stationary freight train at about 7pm on Friday, causing it to derail.

Carriages from the freight train then hit two coaches from the Howrah Superfast Express train, which was travelling in the opposite direction, according to South Eastern Railway, resulting in the deadly pile-up.

Rajesh Kumar, the senior deputy commercial manager of South Eastern Railway, said the Coromandel Express had changed tracks, which led to the incident, and that the reason would be investigated.

The death toll was expected to increase as more bodies were recovered from the wreckage and overturned carriages, said the state chief secretary, Pradeep Jena. More than 200 ambulances were called to the scene in Odisha’s Balasore district and 100 additional doctors, on top of 80 already there, had been mobilised, he added. About 850 people had been taken to hospital, according to The Guardian.

“The rescue work is continuing on a war footing,” Jena said. “Additional medical equipment and drugs at hospitals where victims are being treated are also being taken care of.”

Rescue teams were mobilised from Odisha’s capital of Bhubaneswar and Kolkata in West Bengal, said the federal minister for railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, as well as from the National Disaster Response Force, state government teams and the air force. Hundreds of fire department personnel, police officers and sniffer dogs were also involved.

Images from the scene showed hundreds of rescuers climbing up the mangled wreckage of the trains as they worked frantically overnight to find survivors.

Speaking on Saturday morning, after rescue efforts had gone on for almost 12 hours, Sudhanshu Sarangi, the director general of the fire department in Odisha, said: “We’re trying to locate bodies that might still be trapped under the mangled compartments. The operations will continue for a few more hours.”

Visiting the incident site on Saturday morning, the railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, promised a “high-level” investigation into what had caused the crash. “A detailed high-level probe would be conducted and the railway safety commissioner would also do an independent inquiry. Right now, the focus is on rescue and relief operations,” he said, the Guardian reported.

At Howrah and Chennai railway stations, desperate relatives gathered hoping for news about survivors. One survivor told local television news he had been sleeping when the crash happened and woke to find himself trapped under about a dozen passengers before crawling out from the carriage with only injuries to his neck and arm.

“When I got out of the train, I saw limbs scattered all around, a leg here, a hand there. Someone’s face was disfigured,” he said.