Submit your Article

Jhapa’s Haldibari Rural Municipality has launched a campaign to replace old wooden bridges with durable concrete structures, funding the initiative entirely from its internal budget. Two years ago, the municipality laid the foundation for three concrete bridges—one over the Bhuteni Khola and two over the Bhusudi Khola—with a total project cost of Rs 49.68m.

On Wednesday, the newly constructed concrete bridge over Bhuteni Khola, connecting Wards 1 and 5, was officially inaugurated by Rajendra Prasad Lingden, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, and the current Member of Parliament from Jhapa Constituency-3.

Speaking at the inauguration, Haldibari Rural Municipality Chairperson Rabindra Prasad Lingden shared that in 2017, a team from the Department of Roads’ Bridge Division had visited the area and conducted a soil test for the bridge. They later prepared a DPR (Detailed Project Report) and estimated the cost of a single bridge at approximately Rs 270m. “That estimate shocked us,” said Lingden. “We were unsure whether we could construct the bridge with our limited resources. But we decided to move forward, and we successfully completed the bridge with just Rs 23m.” He added that the bridge division’s estimate might have included a slightly longer and higher bridge, “but there’s no way it required such a large budget.”

Highlighting that all three bridges were constructed for under Rs 50m, Lingden stated, “The inauguration of the remaining two bridges will follow soon. Haldibari is now free from its dependency on wooden bridges.” He emphasized that this project is a strong example of how disciplined and honest leadership can accomplish major infrastructure works at minimal cost.

At least 21 persons including 14 teachers were injured in a commuter bus accident at Shivasatakshi in Jhapa on Saturday.

According to the District Police Office, Jhapa, the incident occurred when the bus (Province 1-01-001 B4235) en route to Kathmandu from Jhapa turned turtle at Milan Chowk in Shivasatakshi Municipality this morning.

Among the injured, nine are being treated at B & C Hospital and 12 at Birtacity Hospital, Birtamod. All the injured are out of danger, police said.

They were on the way to Kathmandu from Jhapa to participate in the teachers' protest, the District Police Office said.

The Area Police Office, Jhiljhile has impounded the bus and arrested its driver Mahendra Kandangwa (38) for investigation.

Two persons died in a motorbike in Damak, Jhapa.

DSP Krishna Kumar Chand of the District Police Office, Jhapa informed that the accident took place last night.

The deceased have been identified as Jamuna Dhimal (32) of Gauradaha Municipality-5 and Om Kumari Rai (25) of Gauradaha Municipality-5 in Jhapa district.

Similarly, motorcycle rider Biraj Thapa (27) of Ratumai Municipality-8, Morang, who was injured in the incident, is undergoing treatment at Birtamode-based B&C Hospital.

Further investigation into the incident is underway.

The motorbike has been kept at the Area Police Office, Damak. 

A total of 1,065 people have been infected with dengue in Koshi Province in the past two years.

During this period, two people died in Jhapa due to dengue infection. Bimala Dahal Paudel (42) of Haldibari-3 and eight-year-old Alok Jung Basnet of Birtamod-4 have died of dengue in Jhapa, according to Birendra Das, dengue focal person of the health office.

The number of people infected with dengue has reached 128 people in Jhapa in the past two months.

Koshi, Morang tops the list of infected with 532 followed by Jhapa, Dhankuta and Sunsari at 81, 80 and 70 respectively.

According to Surakchya Khatri, Focal Person of Health Directorate, Dhankuta, 69 in Udayapur, 68 in Bhojpur, 67 in Sankhuwasabha, 29 in Okhaldhunga, 21 in Panchthar, six in Solukhumbu, five in Ilam, four in Khotang and two in Terhathum have been infected with dengue.

In Jhapa district, 22 people have been infected with dengue in Damak, seven in Haldibari and five in Bhadrapur.

A storm that occurred in Jhapa district last night has caused significant damage to public and private property.

Power supply poles have been uprooted and the roofs of houses of many people have been blown off, and trees have also fallen, said spokesperson at the District Police Office Jhapa, Krishna Bahadur Chand. The details of the damage incurred are yet to be received and compiled.

No human casualty has been reported yet.

According to police, the fallen trees on the highway were removed last night itself.

Meanwhile, a car was damaged after a tree fell on it at Charali near Paupathibhara Mandir along the East-West Highway.

The car with registration number Bagmati Province 01-023 Cha 5093 was heading towards Birtamod from Charali when the incident took place.

All five people traveling in the car including the driver escaped unhurt.

With the heavy winds uprooting power supply poles, electricity supply has been disrupted in Dhulabari, Dhaijan, and Kankarvitta of Mechinagar Municipality.

Four people lost their lives in the monsoon-induced disasters in Jhapa district during the period of last one month, according to the District Police Office, Jhapa.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Krishna Kumar Chand said that two people were swept away by the rivers and two others died in lightning strikes.

Police said that a minor is missing in the river while three women have sustained injuries in the lightning incidents.

Police have estimated that property worth around Rs 11 million was damaged from the monsoon-induced disasters in Jhapa.

A student was shot at in Damak, Jhapa on Friday.

Anika Gajmer (Nisha) of Udayapur and currently residing at a rented room in Damak was shot at this morning at around 11.

She was shot at near Jastha Nagarik Pratisthan at Damak-5 while she was returning home after attending the Grade 12 exam at Damak-based Himali Higher Secondary School.

She received a bullet in her stomach.

Gajmer is being treated at ICU.

SP Milan KC of the District Police Office, Jhapa said that a police team has already reached the site to investigate the incident.

Three persons died when a jeep and a motorbike collided with each other at Jhiljhile in Shivasatachhi-8 of Jhapa district on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when the motorbike (Me 3 Pa 5001) heading towards Surunga from Damak along the East-West Highway collided head-on with the jeep (Pra 1-01-001 Cha 9329) at around 5 am today.

Among the three persons riding on the bike, two died on the spot and one breathed his last on the way to the B & C Hospital, DSP Krishna Kumar Chand of the District Police Office, Jhapa said.

The identities of the deceased are yet to be established.

Meanwhile, police have impounded both the vehicles and arrested the jeep driver Rishi Raj Giri (45) of Mechinagar Municipality-6 for the investigation.

Two new cases of Kala-azar have been found in Jhapa, a district in the Terai region of Koshi Province. Similar cases have been reported in previous years as well.

The Health Office in Jhapa has confirmed that the infections were reported in Birtamod Municipality-5 and Shibashatakshi Municipality.

Following illness, the people visited the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and were diagnosed with the infections. Both the infected are males.

The Public Health Office, Jhapa is currently undertaking efforts to raise public awareness about Kala-azar and its prevention measures, while also actively searching for potential cases.

These efforts are being carried out in collaboration with local representatives, women's health volunteers, and other relevant stakeholders. Kala-azar (black fever) can be fatal if left untreated.

Kala-azar is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies.

Six people have lost their lives in elephant attacks in the past five months in Jhapa. The victims were either collecting fodder, on morning walks, or were asleep at home when the incidents occurred.

Meghraj Rai, the Chief of the Division Forest Office in Jhapa, said that two more persons died in elephant attacks only this week. The deceased have been identified as Khadgamaya Mabo (58) of Kamal Rural Municipality-5, and Pabitra Bhetuwal (60) of Shibasatakshi-11.

These recent incidents have left the local community in a state of fear and unease.

Ruma Subba, a resident of Kamal Rural Municipality-5, said they constantly live in fear of potential wild animal attacks in the aftermath of the incident in the locality.

All 15 localities within the district are deemed vulnerable to elephant encounters. The fatalities in the past five months include one in Damak Municipality, two in Shibasatakshi, two in Haldibari, and one in Kamal Rural Municipality.

The tuskers have unleashed terror in the neighboring districts of Morang and Sunsari as well.

It is said that a herd of 29 wild elephants entered Nepal from India through the Bahunadangi point and is yet to move back. The Division Forest Office estimates that there are over 60 wild elephants spread across Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari districts.

Two persons died in separate road accidents in Shivasatakshi Municipality and Kamal Rural Municipality of Jhapa on Saturday.  At least eight people were injured in the accidents.

A person died when a motorbike (Me 10 Pa 7212) and a car (Ba 14 Cha 6603) collided with each other at Shivasatakshi-10.

The deceased has been identified as Anup Dhakal (23) of Damak-9, DSP Khagendra Prasad Rijal said.

Dhakal died while undergoing treatment at the Birta City Hospital, Birtamod. Pillion rider Pradeep Basnet (21) of Urlabari-1, Morang sustained injuries in the accident.

Likewise, car driver Anil Kumar Shah (50) of Birtamod-3, Jaya Prakash Shah (53) of Birtamod-4, Ranjan Shah (44) and Lalit Shah (53) of Birtamod-3 were also injured in the accident.

In yet another road mishap in Jhapa on Saturday, a person died in a scooter-motorbike collision.

The deceased has been identified as Raghunath Bhattarai (70) of Kankai-3.

The accident took place when a motorbike (Me 6 Pa 3152) en route to east from west first hit another motorbike (Province 1-01-016 Pa 8992) heading towards the same direction and then hit a scooter (Province 1-01-016 Pa 7140) coming from the opposite direction.

Chandra Prasad Bhattarai (52) and Raghunath Bhattarai (70) of Kankai-5 were injured in the accident.

Critically injured Raghunath died on the way to hospital, DSP Rijal informed.

Two persons died while three others were injured in separate road accidents in Jhapa district last night.

A person died when a motorcycle went out of control near Jhilimili Bridge in Bhadrapur Municipality-4 last night, and a person died and two others were injured when a passenger bus hit a motorcycle at Charpane Chowk in Birtamode Municipality-2.

Motorcycle rider Dhanapati Pathak (31) and Lekhnath Dahal (28) of Kachankewal Municipality-2 were injured when the motorcycle (Pra 1-01-013 Pa 9607) went out of control and hit the pillar on the side of the Jhilimili Bridge in Bhadrapur Municipality-4.

Of them, pillion rider Dahal died while undergoing treatment at Omsai Pathibhara Hospital, Bhadrapur while Pathak is still undergoing treatment at the same hospital.

Similarly, Toyanath Upreti of Kankai Municipality-8, died when the motorcycle (Me 1 Pa 7248) he was riding on hit by a passenger bus (Pra 1-01-002Ba. 0149), Police Inspector Nawaraj Neupane of District Traffic Office Jhapa said.

Raviratna Sitaula (59) of Kankai-5 and Sagar Majhi of Bahradashi Rural Municipality-7 who were riding pillion riding were injured in the incident. Both are undergoing treatment at Birta City Hospital, Biratmode.

Police said that they arrested the bus driver for investigation.

A man died after being attacked by a wild elephant in Shivasatakshi Municipality, Jhapa on Thursday.

The District Police Office, Jhapa said that 45-year-old Megh Raj Rai of Dhudhe in the municipality died on the spot after he was attacked by the wild elephant last night.

The incident occurred while they were chasing the tusker who destroyed the houses in the settlement.

With this, four people lost their lives in wild elephant attacks in the past five months in Jhapa district.

According to spokesperson of District Police Office Jhapa, Khagendra Rijal, property worth around Rs 150,000 was destroyed in the incident.

A woman tried to immolate herself by sprinkling petrol on her body demanding swift rescue of her husband who has been stranded in Dubai.

Afruj Khatun of Phulbari, Bhadrapur-8, Jhapa attempted to set herself on fire by reaching the office of Bhadrapur Municipality on Thursday demanding the safe rescue of her husband Akbar Ansari.

Khatun had reached the office of municipal Chief Ganesh Pokharel at around 10 am yesterday to request him to rescue her husband Ansari who has been living as a prisoner in Dubari for the past two months.

While talking with Pokharel, she abruptly sprinkled petrol on her body which she had concealed in her shawl. The staffers present there saved her while she was about to strike the matchstick.

Municipal Chief Pokharel said that he had talked with Ansari from the mobile phone of Khatun a few days ago. During the conversation, he told Ansari that they are taking efforts to rescue him safely.

It has been learnt that she tried to immolate herself after she came to know that five persons who were stranded with Ansari were rescued and her husband was left behind.

Ansari, who has been operating a furniture shop in Bhadrapur, had gone to Dubai through Recruitment Pvt. Ltd on October 15.

A wild tusker killed an elderly man in Jhapa.

The deceased has been identified as Padmalal Tamang (72). He has been residing in Bhutanese refugee camp at Beldangi, Damak.

Chief of Division Forest Office, Jhapa, Meghraj Rai said that the wild elephant had attacked Tamang in Humsedumse Community Forest nearby the camp on Tuesday evening.

Tamang has been residing in hut number 252 of sector two in the camp. He had entered the forest area for firewood.

Chief Rai informed that Tamang was found dead in the forest.

The search was intensified when he did not return home till the evening.

Likewise, a wild tusker has demolished a cemented wall of the house of Bishal Dahal in Mechinagar municipality-11.

Dahal reported that the elephant from the Bansbari Community Forest broke the wall, entered the house and ate up 400-kg paddy and 200-kg rice.

Om Adi Foundation recently organized at Kankai Kotihom, Jhapa, a three-day Mahayagya where Bal Brahmagyani Guru Adi Chandra Yogi and other prominent personalities offered prayers and performed various rituals wishing for world peace, end of conflicts around the world and peace to those who lost their lives in the recent 6.4-magnitude earthquake.  

The Mahayagya held on the banks of the Mai river is part of plans to hold such rituals in 18 different places of the country this year, said Upendra Mahato, the foundation’s president.

Bal Brahmagnyani Guru Adi Chandra Yogi and other prominent personalities performed an Akhanda Yagyahuti ritual during the three-day Mahayagya that concluded on Nov 11, drawing devotees from far and wide. 

The energy received from the Mahayagya will be ‘properly managed’ on the Kankai Dham premises and the area developed as a spiritual destination in line with the vision of Guru Adi Chandra Yogi, said Lakshmi Prasad Prasain, program coordinator and consultant for the foundation.

Kankai municipality Chief Rajendra Kumar Pokharel said this ceremony will help make the land of Kankai more sacred.

Pokharel expressed confidence that rituals like this and active cooperation from local communities will transform the holy Kankai Dham into a well-known and well-managed religious tourism destination.