One killed in Dhading mini-truck accident

A person died in a mini-truck accident at Khari in Jamalukhi Rural Municipality-4 of Dhading on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as Uttam Aryal (35) of Jamalukhi-4, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shyam Bahadur Khatri. He said that the incident occurred when the mini-truck (Ga 1 Ja 5580) heading towards Tari from Aryalgaon fell off the road last night. Five people including the driver were injured in the accident. They are undergoing treatment at the Dhading Hospital, DSP Khatri said.

Bajhang earthquake: People urged to stay outdoors

After the tremor was felt again at Patadewal in Khaptadchanna Rural Municipality-6 of Bajhang on Saturday evening, Nepal Police has been using loudspeakers urging local residents to stay outside their houses. The earthquake that occurred last Tuesday midnight had weakened the houses of the locals and hence the locals were asked to stay outdoors as aftershocks continue to take place, said Sub Inspector Ram Bahadur Bam of Patadewal Police Station. It is a risk to stay inside the same houses after the earthquake on Saturday. Residents in Patadewal, Rajkot, Tiune, Pujarigaon are currently staying outside their homes. Even in ward no. 5 of the same Rural Municipality, locals are sitting outside their houses. Kul Prasad Joshi, a local resident, said that the houses that suffered damage in Tuesday's earthquake were further damaged on Saturday. Meanwhile, residents in the district headquarters Chainpur have spent the night on the ground of the Sudurpaschimanchal Boarding School.  

6 nabbed with counterfeit Nepali currency notes in Rautahat

Police have arrested six persons in possession of counterfeit Nepali currency notes from Maulapur Municipality, Rautahat. They were apprehended with Rs 87, 000 fake Nepali currency, the District Police Office, Rautahat said. The notes confiscated by the police were in denomination of 1, 000. Police said that they are looking into the case.

Government recommended to develop separate mechanism for arrears settlement

The government has been advised to develop a separate committee to deal with arrears issues and find an effective way for its settlement and for an improvement in the public finance management system. According to a study report prepared by the National Planning Commission, the government requires a separate body to address overdue issues. The NPC in the report entitled ‘study report about the situation of public auditing and settlement of arrears in Nepal, 2079 BS' proposed that the government should have a separate body for looking after the arrears issues. The 59th annual report of the Auditor General, 2079 BS puts the arrears till the fiscal 2077-78 BS (2020-21) at over Rs 829 billion.  As the report cites, the overdue in the given fiscal date alone was increased by Rs over 115 billion. The document mentions about the lack of enough discussions on the report of the Auditor General in a parliamentary committee, indicating the need for making the account officer more responsible for arrears management and increasing the effectiveness of monitoring and supervision in the relevant sector. According to Commission Spokesperson, Rajendra Kumar Poudel, the size of arrears is increasing in the recent years and its impacts are visible in the public finance management, prompting the urgent need to control it in time. The report points out issues in the plans and policies since their formulation as one of the leading causes for the increasing figure of arrears. It insists the need for identification and pre-preparations before incorporating plans and policies in the budget, stating that coordination and consonance among the periodic plans, government policies and programmes and the budget were missing and it caused challenges to the arrears management. The lack of fiscal discipline, the agreement for multi-year projects without permission, and the lack of effective monitoring and supervision are among other factors fueling the problem, it has been said.