Submit your Article

Bird census has started in Chitwan today.

Bird Education Society Chitwan has started counting the birds from Rapti River, Budhirapti, Dhumre, Kasara and other areas of East Chitwan.

According to the district president of the society, Tikaram Giri, bird census started from Saturday across the country but it has started in Chitwan from today. Birds will be counted at nine locations in East Chitwan, to be followed by a census in West Chitwan.

The census is scheduled to be completed by January 21. Binocular cameras, GPS, sound recorders etc. are being used to count the birds.

So far, more than 650 species of birds have been found in Chitwan district.

Bird counting has been taking place in Nepal since 1987.

Of the total 717 jailbirds in Chitwan prison, 111 are found to have suffered from different diseases.

The officials at the prison office shared that more than half of the patients are suffering from high blood pressure.

Kamal Prasad Acharya, chief of the prison, said that the number of patients in Chitwan jail is on the rise. This is also due to the arrival of the jailbirds from other districts for treatment.

The inmates from Nawalparasi, Dhading, Gorkha, Makawanpur and other neighboring countries are taken here for their medical treatment, Acharya shared.

Currently, 26 diabetes patients and four people living with HIV are doing their time in Chitwan jail.

Likewise, there are three thyroid patients, four heart patients, for epilepsy patients and five mental patients.

The Chitwan prison is overcrowded as well since more than 200 inmates are housed than the jail's capacity.

The jail administration also shared that the officials have faced difficulties for the treatment of the jailbirds for lack of sufficient budget. "We are taking support from donors for the treatment of jailbirds for lack of budget to purchase medicines," Acharya shared.

Two people died when a jeep hit a motorbike on the bridge over Chitai Khola at Chitai Khola in Madi Municipality-1, Chitwan on Saturday.

Police identified the deceased as bike rider Surya Adhikari, accountant of the Someshwar Secondary School, and pillion rider Beg Bahadur Khatri, teacher of the same school.

Another teacher Bhawani Prasad Poudel was injured in the incident, Chief of Madi Area Police Office, Deepak Rijal, said.

The incident occurred when the four-wheeler (Lu 2 Cha 2508) hit the two-wheeler (Bagmati Province 06001P 4093) last evening.

Khatri died during the treatment at the Bagouda Hospital while Adhikari died at the Bharatpur Hospital this morning.

Adhikari was a resident of Madi Municipality-1 and Khatri was from Agrigaon of Sinta Rural Municipality-3, Surkhet.

Poudel, who was injured in the accident, is undergoing treatment at the Old Medical College in Bharatpur. His condition is reported to be stable.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Migratory birds from home and foreign countries have started flocking to the Chitwan National Park and surroundings in Chitwan district.

The migration of such birds including ducks, hawks and kites takes place every year to avoid cold. President of the Bird Education Society Chitwan Tikaram Giri said such birds have been spotted on the river banks and at water bodies. According to him, 12 to 15 species of ducks from foreign countries have been seen in the Narayani and Rapti rivers, and Riukhola.  

Saying the birds started coming in from August, he said many such migratory birds had arrived, and some others would reach by end-October. Even from the hilly areas of Nepal, birds come to Chitwan to avoid cold, he said.

Ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral said birds come to Nepal from countries including Siberia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and China.  Birds like various species of duck like Chakhewa, Suiropuchhre, Malak, Khadakhade, Bijula and Gairi are among the migratory birds that visit Nepal to avoid cold, he said. "It is found that birds migrate to the southern area from northern one to avoid cold."

According to him, 100 of 150 species of birds that come to Nepal as visitors have arrived in Nepal this season so far. These birds would return from the south to the north after six months during the time of hatching, he said. These birds visit Nepal as during winter, the days are shorter and nights are longer in the north pole of the earth, and there is short time for them to graze, he said.

Particularly, birds living in wetlands, grasslands, forests and farmlands visit Nepal during winter, it has been said. There are 892 species of birds across Nepal with 650 species in Chitwan alone. 

Rapti, Narayani and Riu rivers that run through the CNP and wetlands in the surroundings are good habitats for waterbirds while the CNP, buffer zones, parks and community forests are considered good areas for wandering.

A Royal Bengal tiger has been found dead in the Hariyali Community Forest in Chitwan.

The female tiger of around six to seven years old was found dead in the community forest under the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park (CNP) at Bharatpur Municipality-27 this morning, said CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

According to Tiwari, it is suspected that the tiger might have died due to a fight with another tiger.

A team of CNP has brought the dead tigress to Kasara for postmortem.

There are 128 tigers in CNP as per a tiger census conducted in 2022.