About 8,000 candidates withdrew their candidacies for the local elections.
According to the data made public by the Election Commission, out of 153,000 candidates for the local elections, 8,000 have withdrawn their candidacies.
According to the total number of candidates and the number of withdrawn candidates, it is seen that there will be around 145,000 candidates now.
The commission has also given election symbols to the existing candidates today.
Election Observation Committee Nepal (EOC Nepal) is going to observe the local level election . The committee has stated that all preparations have been completed .
Organizing a press conference on Saturday, the committee said that it has already deployed observers for the local level elections in 40 districts
Chairman of EOC Nepal Pradip Pokhrel said that the organization was established in 2070 BS and the organization has played an observer role in the Constituent Assembly elections and subsequent elections. He said long-term observers had been sent to 40 of the 77 districts. He said that it is estimated that 20,000 observers will be deployed in the election by all the observer organizations.
During the election, EOC Nepal has stated that it will focus on various areas and themes. EOC Nepal has stated that it will monitor the process and activities from the selection of candidates to the announcement of results during the election.
It has been decided to close the border checkpoint 72 hours before the upcoming local level election. The decision was taken at a coordination meeting of security officials of Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, West Nawalparasi and Siddharthnagar Balrampur districts of India in Bhairahawa of Rupandehi.
During that period, the exit and entry for people will also be completely closed. There will also be a joint patrol of Nepali and Indian security personnel at the border point targeting the election.
During the meeting, security officials from three districts of Nepal and two districts of India discussed the security of the election and a plan was also formulated. In the run-up to the election, the security officials of the two countries have decided to make the border checkpoints systematic and dignified.
Similarly, sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages will also be banned at the border.
Decisions have been made to set up security checkpoints at the border, exchange information immediately, control drugs, human trafficking and smuggling of illegal weapons, trade in illicit currency, conduct awareness programs in border areas and increase border surveillance.
On the other hand, the Indian security officials have expressed their commitment not to allow the printing work to be done against the code of conduct in the flex machines and press which are on the Indian side to enforce the code of conduct.
India have also agreed to repair and manage the border post. In 2006, a joint agreement was reached between the Joint Technical Boundary Committee of Nepal and India.
In that agreement, it was agreed that the pillar of odd number will be repaired by Nepal and the pillar of even number will be repaired by India.
The Election Commission is providing election symbols to the parties and individuals who have nominated their candidates in the local level elections today.
For the local level election, the parties registered with the Commission will get their own election symbol and the Independent candidate will be provided the election symbol by the Election Commission itself.
The commission has investigated the complaint and published the final list of candidates on Friday. Only the candidates on the list will be eligible for the local level election and they will get the election symbol today.
Until the silence period begins, candidates will be able to campaign as soon as they receive their election symbol.
Continuing its interim order, the Supreme Court has ordered to keep the action against Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari of Nepal Rastra Bank as it is.
A joint bench of Justices Sapna Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan upheld the earlier interim order. Earlier, a bench of Justice Hari Phuyal had issued a short-term interim order directing Governor Adhikari to return to work.
Concluding the three-day-long hearing, the Supreme Court upheld the old interim order. The Supreme Court will now regularly hear the original case. Until then, today’s order has paved the way for Governor Adhikari to remain in office.
The Election Commission (EC) has issued a statement today instructing the political parties, fraternal organizations and stakeholders not to use intimidation and threats to withdraw the candidatures of the candidates.
Statement says that it has drawn the attention of commission after they have received several notice and informations regarding the threat to candidates to withdraw the nomination.
After jagannath Poudel had filed an independent candidacy for the post of Bharatpur Metropolitan city aginst the alliance candidate Renu Dahal, home minister Mr.Khand and the several other ministers of the state have been Pushing him to withdraw the candidacy .
The security office of Tribhuvan International Airport has arrested five persons for smuggling about 2.5 kg of gold.
According to Airport Police Chief Bhim Prasad Dhakal, it has been revealed that an attempt was made to smuggle gold by hiding it in the toilet of the plane.
Police have arrested Himalayan Airlines flight attendants Suman Tamang, Bhim Awale and Supervisor Tarkant Chaudhary on gold smuggling charges. They are said to have helped pass the gold hidden in the toilet on a Himalayan Airlines flight.
Among the arrested are Rajesh Rai, 28, of Udayapur and Hem Bahadur Thapa, 41, of Dolakha.
The Democratic Socialist Party (LOS PA) has made its election manifesto public.
Leaders including Chairman Mahanta Thakur and Rajendra Mahato unveiled the manifesto at a program organized at the party office at Baber Mahal today.
The manifesto issued by the party today is only a directive of the party and the local body may make its own manifesto public, said LOSPA leaders.
Full text of the Manifesto issued by LOSPA:
A meeting between the top leaders of the five ruling parties at the PM’s residence in Baluwatar has made a three point decision .
The meeting chaired by Sher Bahadur Deuba has decided to immediately withdraw the candidature registered against the agreement of the coalition. Similarly, it has been decided to force the rebel and independent candidates against the candidates of the alliance to withdraw and if they do not withdraw the candidacy, action will be taken against them.
Nepali Congress has directed to withdraw those who have registered rebel candidacies against the party’s candidates.
Congress chief secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel issued a statement on Friday instructing all the rebel candidates to withdraw their nomination and make the party’s official candidate victorious.
It is mentioned in the press release that if the candidates did not withdraw the nomination within the stipulated date and time, the party membership of the rebel candidate, its proponent and supporter will be terminated in accordance with Article 4 (13) (c) of the Nepali Congress Constitution, 2017 (with amendment).
The case of Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari of Nepal Rastra Bank will be heard today.
As the hearing has been scheduled for today in the governor’s case, Judges Sapna Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan are scheduled to appear in the joint sitting .
Governor Adhikari, who returned to his post with the interim order of the Supreme Court on April 19, was suspended by the government on March 8 and an investigation committee was formed on him.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to continue the interim order in today’s hearing , even if the governor has returned to work. If the interim order is continued, the governor will remain in office.
Candidates who have registered for the local level election can withdraw their candidature today .
According to the Election Commission candidates can withdraw their nomination till 5 pm today. The Commission will also publish the final list of candidates as soon as the time for withdrawal of candidature expires.
More than 141,000 candidates were registered from across the country for the local level election.
Commission had published the preliminary list of candidates on Thursday evening. The final list will be published after the candidates withdraw their names by the evening today.
According to the commission election symbol will be provided tomorrow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned outside forces against interfering in the Ukrainian conflict, promising a “lightning-speed” response to such actions, with the use of Moscow’s most advanced weaponry.
Speaking to lawmakers in Moscow on Wednesday Putin said,“If someone decides to intervene in the ongoing events from the outside and create unacceptable strategic threats to us, they should know that our response to those oncoming blows will be swift, lightning-fast”.
“We have all the tools to do this. Tools that no one except us can brag about. But we’re not going to brag. We’ll use them if such a need arises.Russian authorities have already made all the necessary decisions to prepare for such a response, he added.
Last week, Moscow successfully tested its state-of-the-art RS-28 Sarmat inter-continental ballistic missile. The new nuclear-capable weapon can carry several Avangard hypersonic gliders, which are said to be able to bypass any existing air defenses due to their extreme speed and ability to make constant maneuvers during their flight.
Unlike Russia, the US and its NATO allies currently have no hypersonic weapons in service. For now, at least.
Western countries have been actively supplying Kiev with weapons, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems, armored vehicles and howitzers, since the start of the conflict with Russia. They have also imposed harsh sanctions aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to fund its military campaign.
Source: RT
Although the government has not been able to legalize the use of virtual currency, Nepal Rastra Bank is preparing to introduce digital currency in the domestic market.
Many countries have started issuing digital currency to facilitate seamless transfer of value with lower transaction costs. Speaking at an event on Wednesday, NRB Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra said the central bank was ready to replace the use of physical currency with virtual currency. As India prepares to launch a digital version of its currency by the end of March 2023, Nepal Rastra Bank appears keen to bring in digital currency.
NRB has formed a task force to study the feasibility of implementing digital currency in Nepal. A committee has also been formed under the coordination of Deputy Governor Mishra to give necessary suggestions regarding the use of digital currency.
A test flight will be conducted at Gautam Buddha International Airport this afternoon. The widebody aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation will be used for a flight.
For the test flight, a widebody aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation is scheduled to take off from Kathmandu at 3 pm today and land at Gautam Buddha International Airport at 3.45 pm.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale and 260 others will be on board the flight. The same flight of the corporation will return to Kathmandu at 5:45 pm. Earlier, a Thai company had conducted a 10-day mechanical test flight at the airport.
Jajira Airlines has agreed to operate three flights a week at the airport from May 16.
Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom has said it will cut off Russian gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, two countries that have been supporting and providing military aid to Ukraine.
Russia has said it has cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria because of their continued military support to Ukraine and its reluctance to pay in rubles.
Russia’s move has been opposed by most European nations since the Kremlin proposed that Russian enemies pay in rubles. However, in response to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, Russia demanded that the payment to be made in Russian rubles in every trade with Russia.
Oil and gas prices in the United States and European countries have risen to 40-year highs since Russia cut off supplies.
The government has decided to grant two public holidays a week with effect from May 15.
A cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar decided to grant two public holidays onSaturday and Sunday with effect from May 15..
Minister for Communications Gyanendra Bahadur Karki informed at a press conference today that it has been decided to grant public holiday on every Saturday and Sunday .
The government has taken this decision keeping in mind the growing economic crisis and fuel shortage in the country. The government has taken a strategy to reduce the cost as fuel prices have been skyrocketing recently.
The government argues that giving two days off on Sunday and Saturday would reduce billions of rupees in fuel costs. Earlier, the Nepal Oil Corporation had also proposed to hold a two-day government holidays on Saturday and Sunday.
Nepali Congress leader Dr. Shekhar Koirala has issued a statement today expressing dissatisfaction over the conspiracy to end the political life of the party leaders within the Congress and the selection of candidates for the local level election and ticket distribution process.
He said that the party’s central committee and executive committee had ignored him and had done injustice in ticket distribution. Expressing concern over the reports of money laundering and irregularities in the ticket distribution process, he said that the criteria adopted in the ticket distribution process will be studied and reviewed.
Koirala also said in a statement that there were “planned attempts to end the political life of many of the congress leaders because of the disagreements and that there was a conspiracy to assassinate the political career of the party leaders by abusing the state and party machinery.”
The government has banned the import of 10 items after the foreign reserves declined rapidly during the economic crisis . The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has published a notice, banning the import of 10 items including kurkure chips , alcohol, TV, mobile and motorcycles. The import of luxury consumer goods has been banned till mid-July.
The banned items includes kurkure,lays and similar other products, all types of ready-made liquor, cigarettes and tobacco products (except raw materials).
The import of diamonds (excluding industrial raw materials), mobile sets, color televisions (above 32 inches), jeeps, cars and vans, motorcycles with a capacity of more than 250 cc, all kinds of toys and playing cards are banned.
According to the notice, this provision does not apply in case of import through booking medium has been made before before 26th April, 2022. Similarly, diplomatic missions in Nepal can import these items for their own purposes.
The Election Commission has stated that 141,468 candidates have registered their candidacies for various posts in the local level election to be held on May 13 .
According to the final statistics of the nomination made public by the Commission this morning, there are 22 thousand 194 candidates in State 1 and 36 thousand 275 candidates in Madhesh State. Similarly, there are 23,654 candidates in Bagmati, 12,314 in Gandaki, 22,421 in Lumbini, 12,848 in Karnali and 11,762 in Far-Western.
Out of which, 3,318 candidates have filed nominations for the post of chairperson / mayor and 2,036 candidates for the post of deputy mayor / vice-chairperson in the village and municipality. Similarly, there are 3,306 for village chairman, 2,343 for vice chairman and 33,111 for ward chairman, 24,283 for women members, 21,979 for Dalit women members and 51,092 for members.
Similarly, there are 753 candidates for mayor, deputy mayor, chairperson and vice-chairperson, 6,743 for ward chairperson, 35,221 for women members and Dalit women members for the upcoming local elections.
The commission has fixed the date for filing a complaint against the candidate today.
Complaints will be investigated on April 27 and 28. After that, the list of candidates will be published. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 29. The commission will then publish the final list of candidates and provide the election symbol on the 30th.
Candidate registration process for the local level election was completed only late last night. As per the schedule of the Election Commission, if any candidate is found to be non-eligible, any voter can go to the office of the election Officer and lodge a complain against the candidate today.
There is a provision to lodge a complaint against any candidate on the basis of the eligibility of the candidates as determined by paragraph 4 of the Local Level Election Act 2073 and the provision for filing a complaint as specified by the Commission.
The commission has stated that it will investigate the complaints on Wednesday and Thursday and publish the list of candidates on Thursday evening. Similarly, the candidature can be withdrawn on the 29th of the April and the final list of candidates will be published on the same day and the election symbol will be given to all the candidates on the 30th.
The number of candidates registering for various posts under the local level election has reached 137,043.
According to the data released by the Election Commission, 3,276 candidates have filed nominations for the post of chief of various municipalities and 2,009 candidates for the post of deputy chief.
Similarly, 3,264 candidates have registered for the post of chairman and 2,296 for the post of vice-chairman.
According to the data released by the commission, the highest number of candidates has registered 34,747 under Madhesh Pradesh while the lowest number of 11,098 candidates have registered under Far Western Pradesh.
International flights are on hold at Tribhuvan International Airport due to poor visibility. According to the Tribhuvan Airport Office, the flights are now managed through equipment-based flight and landing systems.
Due to which the flights are on hold. At present, Singapore Airlines from Singapore, IndiGo Airlines from Mumbai and Nepal Airlines from Delhi are flying on the sky of Terai.
During IFR flight, landing is not possible as fast as in VFR system. That is why by holding the flights, plane take off and land at a certain time
The Maoist center has decided not to issue a manifesto or any kind of commitment letter for the local elections.
According to the appeal made public by the Maoist center for the local level election on April 5, the local level can issue its own manifesto but the center will not make any manifesto for the election.
The Maoists’ appeal includes issues such as arranging cooperative and door-to-door employment in every local areas, one toll one enterprise, one toll one product, ending unemployment, and implementing poverty alleviation programs.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been elected for a second term. In the second round, he defeated his rival Marin Le Pen.
Despite winning the most votes among the right-wing leaders so far, Marin Le Pen loss the election . Despite losing the presidency, Penn said she had won the most votes ever.Macron received 58.55 percent of the vote, while Penn received 41.45 percent.
Addressing supporters after the victory, Macron said the election was now over and that he was committed to becoming the next president of all.
The ruling coalition of five parties has decided to contest the upcoming local elections by nominating a joint candidate. However, the decision taken by the party’s top leaders at the center has disappointed the cadres of the Nepali Congress.
Local level leaders and cadres, who were dissatisfied with the party’s decision, have started to file an independent candidacy from all over the country. Meanwhile, Chitwan Congress cadres, who were dissatisfied with the decision of the coalition to elect Renu Dahal as the mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, have said that they will also contest as an independent candidate.
Mohit Jung Pandey, joint secretary of Tarun Dal Chitwan, has registered his candidature for the post of mayor on the first day of registration. Carrying a congress flag is not the only way to become a Congress. Pandey said that the true Congress should be able to oppose the wrong move of the party. “My nomination for the post of Mayor is to strengthen the Congress and make them aware who are we as a congress and what does it really means to be a true congress?”,Pandey said.
The candidate registration process for the local level election 2079, which started yesterday, will continue till 5 pm today.
On the first day yesterday, 10 thousand 533 people across the country have given their candidacies for various posts. According to the Election Commission, there are 987 candidates for the post of chairperson and chief and 508 candidates for the post of vice-chairperson and deputy chief. Similarly, there are 2921 candidates for ward chairperson, 3338 for ward members, 1576 for women members and 1203 for Dalit women members. There are 3506 women candidates.
The Election Commission has stated that the final list of candidates will be published as soon as the registration process is over at 5 pm today. The commission has set a deadline of tomorrow for the registration of complaints against the candidates. Similarly, on april 27th candidature can be withdrawn and the final list of candidates will be published in the afternoon same day. Election symbol will be given to all the candidates on the 30th of April.
Nepali Congress has made public its party’s manifesto for the local election 2079 BS.
During a program organized in Kathmandu today, party president Sher Bahadur Deuba unveiled the party’s manifesto ‘Resolution of Nepali Congress’.
Full text of the Nepali Congress Manifesto.
Former Minister of State for Madhesh Pradesh and Member of Constituent Assembly Dimple Kumari Jha has passed away.
Jha died at her residence in Ranibari, Kathmandu this morning. She had been undergoing treatment at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital for about a month and a half.Jha is the wife of Democratic Socialist Party (LSP) leader and former minister Anil Kumar Jha.
She was a member of the second Constituent Assembly. Former Minister of State for Physical Infrastructure of Madhesh Pradesh, Jha is currently a member of the State Assembly of Madhesh Pradesh.
The nomination process for the local level election is starting from today. The Election Commission has said that nominations can be registered today and tomorrow from 10 am to 5 pm at election offices across the country.
Nomination papers will be registered for 753 local level chiefs to ward member posts across the country . Out of 753, there are 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 village municipalities.
Similarly, there are 6743 wards at local level across the country. For each ward, nomination will be registered for one ward chairperson, two ward members, one woman member and one Dalit woman member.
The Election Commission has decided to print ballot papers only after the final list of candidates is published. This decision of the Election Commission will be applicable only in the case of 6 Metropolitan cities and 4 Municipalities of Bhaktapur.
According to Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya, ballot papers of six metropolitan cities and four municipalities of Bhaktapur will be printed only after the final list of candidates is published.
Wherever the national parties field their candidature for the post, the concerned party will have the election symbol and the post of non-candidature will not have the election symbol in the ballot paper.
A meeting between Prime Minister Deuba and a delegation of US lawmakers was held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar this morning.
According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the two sides exchanged views on Nepal-US friendship and measures for multi-dimensional partnership involving the government, parliament and the people, as well as global issues including climate change.
After the meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Khadka, the visiting US Parliamentary delegation and the Nepal-US Parliamentary Friendship Group are currently in a meeting at Hotel Marriott in Kathmandu.
Chairman of the Nepal American Parliamentary Group and leader of the Nepali Congress Dr. Minendra Rijal welcomed the US delegation.
Nepali MPs including Shakti Basnet, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Binda Pandey and Nawaraj Silwal are present in the meeting. US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry and embassy officials are also present at the meeting.
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Corey Booker, Mark Kelly and Monder Jones, a member of the lower house of the House of Representatives, arrived in Kathmandu yesterday evening.
The main opposition UML has made public its election manifesto for the local elections. Chairman KP Oli unveiled the manifesto at the party’s central office in Lalitpur.
Senior Vice President Ishwor Pokharel read out the manifesto made public on the occasion of the 74th founding day of the Communist Party of Nepal.
Full text of the manifesto made public by the CPN (UML).
Cricket Association of Nepal(CAN) has announced a 23-member squad for the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe today. Sunil Dhamala has returned to the team after a long absence while Binod Bhandari has also returned to the team.
U-19 all-rounder Basir Ahmed has made it to the senior team for the first time. Gyanendra Malla and Sharad Bheswakar are not in the team.
There will be three ODIs and three T20I matches between Nepal and Zimbabwe A team.
The one-day series will start from 30 April. The first game will be played on the 30th of April, the second game on the 2nd of May and the third game on the 4th of May.
Similarly, the first match of the T20 series will be played on May 6, the second match on May 7 and the third match on May 9. Zimbabwe has already announced the squad for the tour of Nepal on Thursday. The Zimbabwe A team will arrive in Nepal on April 28.
The Secondary Education Examination (SEE), which has not been held for two years due to the corona epidemic, has started from today. In the academic session 2076 and 2077, the results were made public by the National Examination Board on the basis of school evaluation. This time, on the basis of the question paper prepared by the board, the students are taking the exam from a certain examination center like two years ago. 514,760 students are participating in 2,007 examination centers across the country.
4,88,742 are appearing for the regular examination and 11,454 for the grade promotion. The students taking the grade promotion exam are from two years ago. In the last two years, when the results were published on the basis of internal assessment, there was no opportunity for grade promotion. 14,564 students from 299 technical schools are also participating.
The board has stated that the results will be made public before the start of the academic session of class 11 from July 17. The board has given the responsibility of sending the answer scripts to the states after completing the work of examination and review. The State Board will work in coordination with the State Office. There will be an examination coordination committee under the coordination of the secretary of the ministry of social development and a district examination coordination committee under the chairmanship of the chief district officer in the district.
Image: Dipen Shrestha
The Election Commission has informed that 11.9 million ballot papers have been printed for the local level election.
The commission said that the number of ballot papers has been printed for 53 districts till today. The Election Commission is printing ballot papers at Janak Education Materials Center.
The commission is preparing to print 19.4 million ballot papers for the local elections. This time the number of voters at the local level is 17.7 million 33 thousand 723.
Initially, ballot papers are being printed for remote districts and later for accessible districts. The ballot papers printed for the inaccessible have to be transported at the beginning with security, the commission said.
The Election Commission has informed that the security responsibility for the transportation of ballot papers has been given to the Nepal Army as they are sensitive materials.
Spokesperson Poudel said that the security of other election materials would be provided by the police. The commission has also informed that preparations are being made to send ballot papers by helicopter to the districts where it is not possible to send ballot papers by land.
Commission has sent a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the transportation of other election materials and the police will provide security with necessary coordination. Spokesperson Poudel also said that the Election Commission is monitoring the transportation of election materials through GPS. He said, “An employee of the commission goes to transport the election materials. Employee’s mobile has GPS tracking system.
One person has died in an explosion at Sagarmatha Oxygen Plant in Lalitpur.
One person died inside the plant after an explosion while filling oxygen, police said. The deceased has not been ridentified yet.
A preliminary police investigation has confirmed that seven people were injured in the blast, though it was not immediately clear how many were injured. The injured have been taken to Patan and B&B hospitals for treatment.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi has said that the allegation of blockade on Nepal is baseless.
Speaking at a virtual press conference organized by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Ambassador Yanqi said that trade between Nepal and China has increased despite the Corona epidemic.”Trade between our two countries is 63 percent higher than last year. So the so-called soft blockade is baseless, ”she said.
She said, direct flights had been suspended due to the Corona epidemic and discussions are underway to resume operations.
She also said that a meeting would be held between the officials of Nepal and China’s Tibet region within a month to improve cross-border trade through Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi checkpoints.
The ruling coalition has decided on the party’s candidate for the post of chief and deputy chief of the metropolis and sub-metropolis in the local level election.
A meeting between the top leaders of the alliance chaired by the Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba today has decided on the candidate by consensus.
As per the agreement, the Congress has agreed to field candidates for the post of chief of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Biratnagar Municipal Corporations and deputy chiefs of Birgunj, Bharatpur and Pokhara.
Similarly, it has been agreed to nominate the chiefs of Dharan, Itahari, Kalaiya, Butwal, Tulsipur, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan cities and the deputy chiefs of Jitpur-Simra, Ghorahi and Hetauda sub-metropolitan cities on behalf of the Nepali Congress.
The CPN (Maoist Center) will nominate for the post of Chief of Bharatpur Municipal Corporation and Deputy Chief of Lalitpur Municipal Corporation, Chief of Jitpur-Simra and Ghorahi Sub-metropolis and Deputy Chief of Dharan and Dhangadhi Sub-metropolis.
The CPN (Unified Socialist) has agreed to nominate for the post of Chief of Pokhara Metropolitan City and Deputy Chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Chief of Hetauda Sub-metropolis and Deputy Chief of Itahari, Butwal and Tulsipur Sub-metropolis.
Similarly, the Janata Samajwadi Party has agreed to nominate for the Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City and Deputy Chief of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Chief of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City and Deputy Chief of Kalaiya and Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City.
The letter was jointly signed by Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Deuba, UCPN (Maoist) Central Committee Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, JASAPA Chairman Upendra Yadav and Rastriya Janamorcha Vice Chairman Durga Poudel. It has also been mentioned that if there is no consensus, friendly competition can be held within the alliance.
Suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari has returned to work with the short-term interim order of the Supreme Court.
Hearing a writ petition filed by the governor against the government alleging that he was illegally suspended on personal grounds, the apex court ordered not to implement the decision of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance immediately.
The Supreme Court has directed the Prime Minister’s Office and the Office of the Council of Ministers to submit a written reply through the Office of the Attorney General within 15 days.
The local level people’s representatives will have to resign from their posts before registering their nominations in the local level elections.
An earlier short-term interim order from the Supreme Court has been overturned today.
A joint bench of Justices Tej Bahadur KC and Til Prasad Shrestha has decided to dismiss the writ petition filed by Nima Galgen Sherpa, chairperson of Helmu village in Sindhupalchowk.
A preliminary hearing will be held in the Supreme Court today on the writ petition filed by suspended Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari seeking reversal of the action taken against him.
Claiming that he was suspended due to biased retaliation, suspended Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has demanded an order to be issued to lift the suspension on him.
He has also questioned the impartiality of those in the committee formed to investigate him. The suspended governor has challenged to confirm the allegations, saying that government could not provide evidence even though he was accused of not cooperating with the government’s policies and programs.
In his writ petition, he said that Finance Minister Sharma had tried to interfere in some files related to money laundering. That is why he has been suspended.
The government is launching the second phase of national vitamin A program across the country from today.
According to the Family Welfare Division under the Ministry of Health and Population, there is a national vitamin A and anti-worm drug feeding program in 753 municipalities today and tomorrow .
The ministry plans to provide vitamin A to 2.7 million children across the country and anti-worm drugs to 2.393 million more children.
Children from 6 months to 59 months will be given Vitamin A and children from 1 to 5 years will be given worm medicine. The local level will administer the medicine from the school or the nearest health center.
52,000 women health volunteers have been mobilized to provide Vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency affects the growth and development of children, leading to problems such as malnutrition, chronic diseases, and reduced ability to fight disease.
Government has been administering Vitamin A since 2053 BS to reduce the risk of health complications and malnutrition in children from 6 months to 59 months. The worm medicine has been given to children twice a year since 2058 BS.
The second round of meetings between the top leaders of the coalition parties ended without any conclusion.
Today’s second round of talks between the top leaders of the ruling coalition ended without any conclusion after the debates heated up on the matter of seats distribution.
After the second meeting failed to reach an agreement on the issue of candidate , the meeting will reconvene tomorrow at 11:30 am.
It is said that today’s meeting was mainly focused on the distribution of seats in 6 metropolises and 11 sub-metropolises. However, after the Maoist center, the Unified Socialists and the JASAPA claimed more seats, no agreement was reached.
A meeting of the ruling coalition has been postponed to distribute seats for coordination in the local level election. A meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar today morning has been postponed till evening.
According to the leaders of the coalition the meeting has been postponed till the evening to finalize the seat distribution.
The Nepali Congress, the CPN-Maoist Center, the CPN-Unified Socialist Party, the Janata Samajwadi Party and the Rastriya Janamorcha, which are in the coalition, are not yet able to decide about the distrubition of seats in the election. The coalition has already issued seven-point criteria for coordination.
It is said that today’s meeting is basically about the distrubition of seats in 6 metropolitan cities and 11 sub-metropolitan cities. However, after the Maoist center, the Unified Socialists and the JSP claimed many seats, no agreement was reached.
The government has decided to cut fuel for government facilities by 20 percent due to declining foreign exchange reserves.
According to the Ministry of Finance, various ministries, agencies and public organizations affiliated to the government have to cut 20 percent of the remaining budget on fuel. It has been mentioned that the decision of the government will not be implemented in the case of essential vehicles, vehicles used in local elections and vehicles used for peace and security.
It is also said that the decision taken by the cabinet meeting on April 13 will be implemented till July 16.
Suspended Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has reached the Supreme Court with a case against the government. He has filed a writ petition at the apex court today alleging that the government has taken action against him illegally.
The government had also formed an inquiry committee with the suspension alleging that he was not able to work as planned and leaked confidential information.
Governor Adhikari had reached the Supreme Court yesterday seeking an interim order reversing the government’s decision and allowing him to continue working. After studying his writ petition, the apex administration registered his writ today.
The main opposition party CPN-UML has convened a meeting of the secretariat to discuss the local level election manifesto and other issues.
The meeting will be held at the residence of Chairman KP Sharma Oli at 6:30 pm today. The party has stated that it will issue a manifesto for the local level election .
A meeting will be held at the party’s central office at 11 am today before the secretariat meeting. The meeting will also discuss the leadership of the metropolis and sub-metropolis.
As the date of the local level election is approaching, a dispute has erupted at the local level over the candidature of the alliance. Top leaders from the coalition had a meeting on the issue today in Baluwatar.
A meeting of the top leaders of the coalition held to decide the candidates in the disputed metropolis decided to finalize the distribution of the metropolis and sub-metropolis by tomorrow.
The candidature of the alliance has become controversial after the Congress leaders of different districts issued a statement saying that the alliance cannot be accepted.
Earlier, the alliance had agreed to do the distribution of the metropolis and sub-metropolis from the center. The coalition has also set up mechanisms at the central, state and local levels to understand the state of coordination at the local level.
The Secondary Education Examination (SEE), which has not been held for two years due to the corona epidemic, will be conducted from April 22. The results of the SEE were made public by the National Examination Board on the basis of the internal assessment done by the school during the academic session 2076 and 2077 due to the corona epidemic.
This time there will be 514,760 students in the examination. Students from 11,615 schools across the country are participating in the examination. 20 students of a school run by Nepali in Japan will also participate in SEE.
Controller of Examinations said that 4,88,742 students will participate in the regular category and 11,454 students will participate in the grade promotion. The students taking the grade increment exam are from two years ago. In the last two years, when the results were published on the basis of internal assessment, there was no opportunity for grade increase. 14,564 students from 299 schools across the country conducting technical classes are also giving SEE.
Russia has banned top diplomats, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, from entering Russia.
Britain has strongly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Britain has also been helping Ukraine fight Russia.
Various countries have expelled Russian diplomats, accusing Russia of doing wrong by invading Ukraine. Russia has announced that it will not allow high-ranking British officials to enter Russia, as more and more countries are expelling Russian officials.
Russia has barred top officials, including Britain’s foreign secretary and defense minister, from entering Russia.
Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has warned that the country could be in a big accident if the election is postponed.
Speaking at the local level election 2079 media orientation program in Janakpurdham , he said, “Missiles have been launched by fixing the date and destination of the election.” Trying to change it upside down, around or in any way is to cause an accident. ‘
He said that there was discussion and debate on the constitution / law when the date of the election was fixed.
Chief Commissioner Thapaliya said that there is no need to disrupt the election process, adding that the election would be held in a clean, free and fair manner. He also claimed that the elections to the House of Representatives, State Assembly, President and Vice President would be held this year.
He also warned that action would be taken against for violating the election code of conduct.
The Ankuram Under-20 National Rugby Championship, organized by the Nepal Rugby Association and managed by the Chitwan Rugby Association, will start tomorrow at 6 am at the Krishnapur Sports Ground in Chitwan.
The one-day competition will be held tomorrow from 6 am to 5 pm. According to Suman Poudel, president of the Chitwan Rugby Association, all the preparations for the tournament have been completed and the players have already arrived in Chitwan.
According to Binod Tamang, coordinator of the competition, 10 clubs and district teams including men and women will participate in the competition.
In preparation for the U-18 Asian Trophy International Tournament to be held in Nepal next year, the competition has been started targeting the national team selection of players up to 18 years of age, said the coordinator Tamang.
15 April, Kathmandu. A meeting of the election mobilization committee held at the Nepali Congress party headquarters Sanepa today has directed not to violate the decision of the Center in the local level election.
The committee has instructed all the subordinate sbodies to participate in the local level election by coordinating as per the decision made by the center.
Today’s meeting has also decided to form various sub-committees for the election saying that it should not go against the spirit of the alliance while going to the polls in a coordinated manner.
15 April, Chitwan. Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden has said that RPP will contest the local elections on its own without any alliance with any political party.
Lingden, who arrived in Chitwan today for a party function, told reporters that Rastriya Prajatanta Party is not ready to contest the election by forming an alliance with any political party and that there is no formal discussion about forming an alliance with anyone.
“We have given the responsibility of selecting candidates and the entire election to the local level, but without forming an alliance with any party, RPP will contest the election on its own,” Lingden said.
The government has decided to take a soft loan of Rs 18 billion from the World Bank Group’s International Development Organization. Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Spokesperson to the Government Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said this while announcing the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers.
The government has also decided to accept USD 659 million, or about Rs 80 billion, from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Locals of Madhyapurthimi area are celebrating Sindur Jatra today.
Sindur Jatra is one of the major and Centuries-old tradition of bhaktapur which is celebrated every year on the 2nd of Baisakh.This festival is called Suthah Sia in the local language.
People carry chariots of Hindu gods and goddesses and go around the house of the deity at Digutol. People put red vermilion onto each-other on the occassion.
Out of the 19.4 million ballot papers required for the upcoming local level election, 7 million 33 thousand ballot papers have been printed in 39 districts till date. At present, an average of eight hundred thousand ballot papers are being printed daily.
The commission has stated that applications have been received from 65 organizations for the observation of local level elections within 15 days.
The number of observers proposed by these organizations is 20 thousand 467 out of which 11 thousand 694 are men, 8 thousand 482 are women and 291 others. The Commission will investigate the application and decide on the supervision permit as soon as possible.
The Election Commission (EC) has started publishing ‘Local Level Election e-Bulletin’ every day to provide information on all activities and information related to local level elections. The bulletin will be available on the Commission’s website. From this, the commission is confident that the official information of the commission will reach everyone.
It has been informed that the ‘Provincial Training on Election Operation and Management’ has been conducted in Biratnagar, Dhulikhel, Pokhara and Nepalgunj for the Chief Electoral Officer.
Similar training programs will be held in Janakpur, Hetauda, Butwal and Dhangadhi . After the training, the Commission will provide appointment letter and necessary materials to the Officer.
Media Orientation Program has been conducted in Biratnagar, Gandaki, Pokhara and Surkhet in Karnali Province to enhance the coordination and cooperation with the Commission and the media in the local level elections .
The Election Commission has urged all the stakeholders including the leaders of the political parties not to make any confusing statements against about the election.
Spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Poudel said at a regular press conference that the commission has drawn attention to the statements made by the leaders and activists of the political parties in a manner that casts doubt on the election as the preparations for holding the local elections on time have reached the final stage.
He said that the commission is monitoring the incidents of violation of election code of conduct and working on correspondence and understanding to investigate for necessary action against the violators.
The hearing of the writ petition filed by the Election Commission seeking upholding the election code of conduct is scheduled to be held on April 17 .
The court had earlier issued an interim order not to immediately implement the provision of the commission’s code of conduct after a writ petition was filed against the election code of conduct. However, a joint bench of Justices Tej Bahadur KC and Kumar Regmi has ordered to hear the commission’s petition on April 17 after the commission filed a petition in the Supreme Court through the Attorney General’s Office seeking revocation of the interim order.
The commission had implemented the code of conduct saying that the people’s representative who is running for re-election in the local level election can become a candidate in the election only by resigning from his post.
RPP-Nepal led by Kamal Thapa is going to the polls with the sun symbol in the local elections.
According to the agreement reached between the UML and RPP-Nepal at the central office of the CPN-UML today, RPP-Nepal will go to the polls with the sun sign. As per the agreement, it has been decided to field candidates by mutual coordination.
As per the agreement, RPP-Nepal will support UML , while UML will support RPP-Nepal in the place where RPP-Nepal’s candidate file for the nomination.
However, the agreement will be implemented only after the permission of the central level. It is also mentioned that both the parties will coordinate and facilitate for the implementation of the agreement.
The Rastriya Janamorcha, a member of the ruling coalition, has published its manifesto for the local elections.
Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC unveiled the manifesto at a program organized at Butwal in Rupandehi today. In the manifesto, the Jana Morcha has raised the issue of abolition of federalism with prominence.
The Jana Morcha has kept the basic slogan of local level election as ‘Let’s protect the republic and nationality, let’s abolish federalism’.
In the manifesto, the Jana Morcha has expressed confidence that a lot of work can be done for the people as the local level will be directly connected with the people.
The Election Commission (EC) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to uphold the election code of conduct requiring elected representatives to resign from their posts while contesting local elections.
In the code of conduct of the Election Commission, it has been mentioned that the people’s representative should resign from the post twhile contesting the local level election. The commission has filed a petition in the court on the same basis.
Earlier, the court had issued an interim order not to implement the provision of the commission’s code of conduct immediately. However, the commission has filed a petition through the Attorney General’s Office seeking revocation of the interim order.
The government has appointed Pushparam KC as the Inspector General of Armed Police Force.
After Shailendra Khanal retired on Monday, the cabinet meeting appointed KC as IGP.
KC will lead the Armed Police Force till May 1. He will be on leave due to 19 to 30 years of service provision. There is a provision in the Armed Police Regulations that the tenure of DIG and AIG can be extended by one year if the government so desires.
The National Information Commission has directed to update the information by April 28. The commission has directed to publish the information automatically every three months.
According to Information Commissioner Ratna Prasad Mainali, the commission has directed the public bodies to publish the details of the third quarter which should be published automatically every three months as per sections 3 and 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2064 BS.
The act stipulates that public bodies must update their office information every three months.
The meeting of the Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress is scheduled to be held at the party office, Sanepa, at 2 pm today.
Today’s meeting of the Congress Central Working Committee will discuss the preparation of the manifesto for the local elections. The Nepali Congress has also informed that it has a schedule to make the manifesto public on April 25.
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President Vidyadevi Bhandari has given approval to mobilize Nepal Army for the upcoming local level election security. Elections are being held in one phase all over the country .
In a statement issued today , Sagar Acharya, spokesperson of the President’s Office, said that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had recommended to President Bhandari for the approval to mobilize the army for the election. In order to conduct the election in a free, fair and fearless environment, a meeting of the Central Security Committee chaired by Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand passed the ‘Local Level Election Integrated Security Plan-2078’ with the deployment of Army, Police, Armed Police force, National Investigation Department and temporary police. Accordingly, a blueprint has been drawn up for the integrated and coordinated operation of the security agencies.
Following the decision of the Security Committee meeting, the National Security Council meeting had recommended to the Council of Ministers to mobilize the army . Following the same decision, Prime Minister Deuba had recommended to President Bhandari for approval of the mobilization of the army for election security purposes with the approval of the Council of Ministers.
With the approval of President Bhandari to mobilize the army, the way has been opened for the deployment of the army for security at 753 local levels.
Aiming at the upcoming local elections, Nepal Police has tightened security in the districts bordering India.
According to Central Police Spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Nepal Police Bishnu Kumar KC, special attention will be made to increase the surveillance especially in the border areas and tighten the security check on the people entering the border. Similarly, 48 hours before the election, the border checkpoints will be sealed after discussions between the concerned parties.
Meanwhile, Chief of the District Police Office, Parsa and Superintendent of Police Ramesh Basnet said that the security has been tightened at all the border places in urban and rural areas by mobilizing the units under the District Police Office.He said that adequate arrangements will be made to strengthen the security arrangements to control all kinds of criminal activities .
Leaders of Nepali Congress Pokhara and Kaski arrived in Kathmandu for a delegation after the Unified Socialist claimed mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City in the ruling coalition.
District leaders led by former minister Yagya Bahadur Thapa have arrived in Kathmandu for the delegation. Arriving in Kathmandu with the stance of not leaving the post of mayor of Pokhara, they have scheduled to meet top leaders including the Prime Minister and party president Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Leaders of the ruling CPN-Maoist Center, CPN-Unified Socialist Party and Janata Samajwadi Party have proposed the Congress to take three metropolises and leave three for the other parties in the coalition. They have proposed congress to take Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Lalitpur while Bharatpur will be taken by Maoists, Birgunj by JASAPA and Pokhara by Unified Socialists .
In the last election, UML candidate Man Bahadur GC had won in Pokhara Metropolitan City with 60,118 votes. Congress candidate Ramji Kunwar lost with 46,416 votes.
Narayan Dahal, who was nominated as a member of the National Assembly on the recommendation of the government, has taken oath of office and secrecy.
Narayan Dahal, nominated as a member of the National Assembly from the UCPN (Maoist) Center in the alliance, took oath of office and secrecy before National Assembly Speaker Ganesh Timalsina today.
The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) intends to interact with non-resident Nepalis to help ease the declining foreign exchange reserves in the country. Government officials will also participate in the interaction.
A meeting of the International Coordinating Council of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has decided to join hands with the government to resolve the possible economic crisis in the country, said NRNA spokesperson Shiva Baruwal. In a meeting chaired by NRNA Executive Chairman Kul Acharya,
The meeting on Wednesday decided to hold a detailed interaction with the participation of the Finance Minister, Finance Secretary, Nepal Rastra Bank officials, economists and others to address the declining foreign reserves.
The NRNA spokesperson informed that the meeting decided to request all non-resident Nepalese to open an account in any bank of Nepal in US dollars and deposit at least 1000 US dollars in that account.
The meeting has decided to form a task force led by NRNA Vice President Bhushan Ghimire to study the problems that may arise when opening a dollar account, sending dollars, saving money in that account and withdrawing money from the account when needed.
The meeting also decided to facilitate all non-resident Nepalis to open dollar accounts.
After nearly a week of political turmoil, Pakistan’s parliament has elected opposition leader Shebaj Sharif as the country’s new prime minister, replacing Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s parliament has elected Shebaaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister with 174 votes in the 342-seat assembly. Sharif is the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Acting Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced that Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has been elected as the Prime Minister.
The newly elected Prime Minister will now form a new government that will last until October 2023.
With the departure of Imran Khan, leaders and activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have staged protests across Pakistan, while PTI lawmakers have resigned.
Finance Minister Janardan Sharma told a press conference at the ministry today that there is no major crisis in the economy.
Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Finance today, Minister Sharma said that action taken against the governor was legal.Many things would become clear after the report of the investigation committee comes out. “We have formed a committee to investigate,” he said.
He said that the current situation is being closely monitored by the concerned bodies including the Ministry of Finance. Finance Minister Sharma also informed that work is being done on the proposal submitted to the Council of Ministers by the Ministry of Finance under the leadership of the Chief Secretary to address the problems seen in the economy over the last seven months.
He also said that preparations are being made to regulate the import of petroleum products to control the trade deficit. Minister Sharma has said that the proposal to reduce the cost of petroleum fuel for government purposes has reached the Council of Ministers. He also informed that preparations are being made to increase the customs duty on some luxury items too.
The Nepse index has declined by 44.56 points to 2419.80 points on the first trading day of the week today .
The Sensitive Index, which measures the trading activity of Class A companies, also fell by 8.87 points. The transaction amount exceeded Rs 2 billion. A total of 5 million 95 thousand 834 shares of 233 companies were traded through 40 thousand 507 transactions during the day. Out of which, the transaction amount has reached Rs. 2 billion 267 million 86 thousand 628.
Acting Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Nilam Dhungana Timilsina said that there is a need of patience for some time as there is liquidity pressure in the banking system.
Speaking at the 3rd National Microfinance Members’ Conference in Kathmandu on today, Acting Governor Dhungana said that everyone needs to be patience for a while as the microfinance and overall banking sector is going through liquidity crunch. She said that there is a problem of liquidity and interest rate not only in the banking sector but also in microfinance.
Acting Governor Dhungana claimed that the overall economy and the people have suffered due to fluctuations in liquidity and interest rates. She said that since the business cycle will also be cyclical, everything will gradually improve. She mentioned that microfinance institutions have been an effective tool for 20 percent of the population in Nepal who are out of poverty and out of financial reach.
She said that despite various efforts for inclusive economic development in Nepal, 18 percent of the total population of Nepal is still below the poverty line. She said that microfinance has played an important role in supporting the economic upliftment of the poor and the target community, supporting gender based violence and women’s empowerment and reducing economic inequality.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the governor has been suspended for not cooperating with the finance minister.
Following the suspension of the governor, the government on Friday had formed a three-member inquiry committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
At a meeting of the ruling party held today amid widespread criticism of the action against the governor, General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Gagan Kumar Thapa and CPN-Maoist central leader Barshaman Pun had raised questions about the economic crisis and the action taken against the governor.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Deuba said that action was taken against him for not cooperating with the Finance Minister.
It is said that action was taken against the governor on the basis of the complaint of the finance minister that he did not cooperate in all the works.
A meeting of the coalition held at the PM’s residence in Baluwatar today has called upon the party cadres to move forward with mutual cooperation and mutual support by coordinating the election according to the place and situation.
The meeting also said that it will move forward by putting aside all the differences of yesterday.
An appeal signed by the top leaders of the coalition has also requested for support to the coalition.
A meeting of the top leaders of the coalition is underway at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar.
A five-party election preparation and monitoring committee led by senior Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel has submitted a report to the top leadership with recommendations prepared on the basis of the details of the recent situation of all parties at the local level.
The meeting is attended by Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Senior Leader and Coordinator of the Monitoring Committee Poudel, Deputy Chairman Purna Bahadur Khadka, General Secretary Gagan Thapa, Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Leader Krishna Sitaula and other leaders.
Similarly, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Dev Gurung are from the CPN-Maoist. Respected leader Jhala Nath Khanal from CPN-S, Deputy General Secretary Vijay Poudel, Ashok Rai from JASAPA, Renukumari Yadav and Durga Poudel from Janamorcha are participating.
CPN (Maoist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jaspa Executive Council Chairman Upendra Yadav are not present at the meeting.
Stating that Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has interfered in the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank, CPN-UML Vice-Chairman Bishnu Poudel said that such a decision of the government would further collapse the country’s economy.
Speaking at a press conference organized by the UML on the country’s economy today, Poudel said, “The government has intervened to disrupt the country’s economic system by suspending the governor at a time when the country’s economic situation is weak and the economy needs to improve.”
He also said that if the government does not intervene positively, it will push the country into an economic crisis similar to that of Sri Lanka. Speaking at a press conference, he said that the speech of the Prime Minister or the Minister alone could not stop the current economic crisis.
Today, the price of gold in the local market has exceeded one lakh.
According to the Federation of Nepalese Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association , gold has risen by Rs 800 per tola compared to the previous trading day.
Similarly, the standard gold price has risen to Rs 99,800 per tola today.
Similarly, the price of silver declined by Rs 10 to Rs 1,365.
The historically famous and important Biska Jatra of Bhaktapur is starting today. The Biska Jatra, which begins with the arrival of the New Year, begins this evening by pulling the chariot of Nakinju Azima to Ghatkha from the front of the Panchatle temple in Tamari and pulling the chariot of Bhairavnath.
The jatra is celebrated with much fanfare for eight nights and nine days.
Before pulling the chariot, Bhairavnath is worshiped and the pilgrims pull the chariot with the help of ropes attached to the front and take it to their respective tole. The main attraction of the procession is pulling the chariot, which is also done in a competitive manner among the toles or settlement blocks.
There is a religious belief that watching the Biska Jatra destroys the enemy, so this Jatra is also called Shatruhanta Jatra.
On the last day of the procession, Bhairavnath’s chariot is pulled from Gahiti as it was on the first day by the residents of Thane and Kwane Tole.
Meanwhile, Chief District Officer Rudra Devi Sharma said that a strategy has been prepared after holding discussions with the stakeholders to complete the jatra in a dignified and timely manner.
Metropolitan Police Chief in Bhaktapur Shiva Kumar Shrestha informed 950 Nepal Police and 400 Armed Police personnel will be mobilized for the jatra. The CCTV cameras have been installed at all the crossroads to identify the rioters during the jatra.RSS
A meeting of the ‘Local Election Preparation and Monitoring Committee’ formed by the ruling coalition for mutual coordination in the upcoming local elections will be held today.
A meeting of the committee will be held to study and analyze the reports received from the states.The meeting will be held at 4 pm at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar.Meeting would also discuss the modalities of coordination in the local level elections.
Local Level Election Preparation and Monitoring Committee was formed under the coordination of senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted after 174 lawmakers voted against him in a parliamentary vote following a no-confidence motion against him.
Earlier on Sunday, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly rejected a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Khan as unconstitutional.Shortly after the no-confidence motion was rejected, Prime Minister Imran Khan recommended President Arif Ali Khan to dissolve the parliament.The president also dissolved parliament on the recommendation of the prime minister.
But Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturned a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and a decision to dissolve parliament, ordering a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Khan to be moved in the reconstituted parliament.
Prime Minister Khan has even accused the US of conspiring against the government.
Among the 342-member of National Assembly Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party only had 133 members. PM Khan was ousted after Coalition lawmakers withdrew their support and some of his own lawmakers voted against him.
The government has decided to grant a public holiday across the country on Sunday on the occasion of Ram Nawami.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a notice today and decided to grant public leave to all government offices across the country on Sunday.
The government has made it mandatory to fill in the self-declaration form for those who going for foreign employment through individual labor permit. As the result of many Nepalese being stranded abroad government has declared the mandatory provision of self declaration form.
The Department of Foreign Employment has made an arrangement to fill the self-declaration form to those who have taken visit visa and personal labor permit in the name of foreign employment, after seeing the tendency of being stranded, cheated and forced to pay more than the fee prescribed by the government.
For the time being, those going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Croatia, Albania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Belarus and those seeking individual labor permits must fill out a self-declaration form. .
Workers going on foreign employment in person will have to fill such self-declaration only after getting the labor permit. The department has stated that the arrangement will be implemented from April 14. The department has implemented the provision in accordance with the guideline on the process of obtaining individual labor permit-2069 BS.
Workers going for foreign employment in the individual labor permit should submit a copy of the passport, a copy of the entry permit issued by the concerned government, a copy of the contract or agreement clearly stating employment service, conditions, facilities and salary (remuneration) to the embassy.
The department urges to submit a copy of the employer’s license registration certificate or a copy of the sponsor’s identity card, a copy of the employer’s trade license or a copy of the employer’s passport or identity card in the case of private workers and a brief description of the company in the case of workers going to the organization.
Individuals going for personal labor will have to submit documents translated into English through the employer company or sponsor to the embassy for verification.
The fare of public transport operated in Kathmandu Valley has been increased. The Bagmati Pradesh government has increased the fare of public transport in 13 districts of Bagmati Pradesh including the Kathmandu Valley which will be effective from 14 April.
The fare of public transport operating within Bagmati Pradesh has been adjusted as per the decision of the Ministry.”
The Bagmati state government has increased fares in Kathmandu Valley on the basis of kilometers. The fare for public transport in the Kathmandu Valley has been fixed at Rs 20 for zero to five kilometers, Rs 25 for 10 kilometers, Rs 30 for 15 kilometers, Rs 33 for 20 kilometers and Rs 38 for more than 20 kilometers.
Similarly, the fare for passenger vehicles operating outside the Kathmandu Valley has already been increased by 10 percent from October 18 2021.
The fare for petroleum-powered taxis in the state has been fixed at Rs 50 for every 50 meters and Rs 10 per 200 meters and Rs 9 per 200 meter for electric taxi services.
The road to the second camp of Everest is open. A team of Icefall Doctors, tasked with building the road to the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, has built the road from the base camp to the second camp.
According to the Everest Pollution Control Committee (SPCC). The Icefall Doctor, experienced snowman are working on signs, ladders, and ropes.
As soon as the road to the second camp is opened, the climbers are allowed to go there, said SPCC vice-president Lama Kaji Sherpa. Climbers can go to the second camp only after the SPCC gives permission. The Camp will be set up in the second base camp soon, as the climbers have to reach the second base camp and return back to acclimatize themselves for climbing.
He informed that 15 ladders were used from the base camp to the second camp this time. Earlier, 32 ladders were used in 2018, but only 20 were used in 2019.
Lhotse and Nuptse mountains, including Mount Everest, are also climbed using the road to the second camp. In the base camp, it is customary for each group to worship according to the Buddhist tradition and ask for forgiveness and strength before stepping on the mountain.
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has urged China to systematically expand the Tatopani checkpoint.
In a meeting with Li Changsu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China, on Friday, he requested on the need to operate the Tatopani and Kerung ports in a more systematic manner.
Stating that the Miteri Bridge in Liping of Tatopani is a symbol of friendship between Nepal and China, Speaker Sapkota spoke on the need to take the relations between the two countries to the people level.
Although it has been shut down after the epidemic of Covid-19 and is currently in operation, the circulation from Tatopani and other checkpoints has not become normal.
Speaker Sapkota highly praised the progress made in building the overall national power in China through economic development, cultural awakening and development of technology and hoped that it would be a guide for development and prosperity for Nepal as well.
He said China’s success in effectively controlling, preventing and responding to the Corona epidemic was exemplary for the world community. Speaker Sapkota thanked the Chinese government for its support from the very beginning for the effective prevention and control of the corona epidemic in Nepal and for the assistance provided by the Chinese government in the provision of vaccines and other health items.
The government has suspended Maha Prasad Adhikari,the Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank.
Deputy Governor Nilam Dhungana Timilsina has been given the responsibility of acting governor of NRB, according to a Finance Ministry source.
It has not yet been disclosed why the government decided to suspend him. But he is being accused of leaking confidential information to the media.
According to a source, the relationship between Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Governor Adhikari has not been good lately.
Earlier on Friday, Finance Minister Sharma had publicly accused that a member of the Board of Directors of NRB had bargained for the release of millions of US dollars from the account of Prithvi Bahadur Shah of Achham. This happened after the media reported that Finance Minister Sharma had put an undue pressure on the NRB to release the money.
Speaking at a program on ‘National Economics and Finance Conference’ organized by NRB, Minister Sharma also accused a high-ranking official of NRB of leaking secret information to the media.
The Election Commission has amended the Local Level Election Code of Conduct 2078 to allow publicity on social media.
According to the spokesperson of the commission, Shaligram Sharma Poudel, the party will be able to express its views and principles from the official page. However, no candidate can be humiliated. The election code of conduct 2078 will be implemented from today midnight until the election is completed.
Earlier,CPN-UML had also written a letter to the commission expressing disagreement on six issues of the election code of conduct. Based on that, it has been said that the issue of publicity through social media may have been modified.
The commission said in a press conference that the code of conduct will be implemented from midnight today. Commission spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Poudel said that the code of conduct will be implemented from tonight and called for full compliance. Sharma also said that the commission would closely monitor the compliance of the code of conduct.
According to Sharma, the code of conduct sets limits on election campaigning. Accordingly, political parties or candidates will not be allowed to wear jackets, shirts, vests, t-shirts, hats or caps with election symbols on it.
Campaigning will not be available at night. It is mentioned in the code of conduct issued by the commission that the election program can be conducted only from 8 am to 7 pm.
Political party and its fraternal organizations can hold a rally, public meeting, corner meeting or meeting in a public place only with the permission of the local administration.
The code of conduct states that political parties or candidates are not allowed to produce and use of jackets, hats, scarves, t-shirts, shirts, masks or lockets with election symbols on it.
The code of conduct also stipulates that the candidate should make election related expenses through banks or financial institutions and the candidate should nominate an authorized personnel to be responsible for the election related expenses.
The date of registration of candidates for the election has been fixed at 23 April, while the final list of candidates is scheduled to be made public by 28 April, giving time for claims, protests and withdrawal. The commission has stated that the candidates will be able to campaign till May 11.
Gopal Krishna Ghimire has been elected as the president of Nepal Bar Association, an umbrella organization of legal practitioners. Ghimire of the Comprehensive Democratic Progressive Inclusive and Professional Law Practitioners Group has been elected as the chairperson with 4433 votes. His nearest rival Bishnumani Adhikari got 2482 votes. Similarly, Anjita Khanal of Ghimire Group has been elected as the General Secretary of the Bar. Khanal got 3682 votes. Her nearest rival Kedar Prasad Koirala has got 2989 votes.
Ghimire panel has also won over other office bearers and members. In the election, there was competition between the Progressive and Professional Law Practitioners Group and the Comprehensive Democratic Progressive Inclusive and Professional Law Practitioners Group for a new working committee.
Elections have been held for a 25-member working committee comprising 11 office bearers and members including the chairperson.
The Pashupati Area Development Fund has locked Hotel Anand in Pashupati’s Dharamshala.
The Pashupati Area Development Fund has locked the gate from outside after the hotel staff did not allow the government team to enter the hotel. Although the representatives of Batas Group have requested to wait for the final decision of the Supreme Court as they are undergoing legal treatment, the fund has locked the gate from outside after the government team was not allowed to enter the hotel operated in Dharamsala even after a two-hour long debate.
Stating that the work was not done as per the agreement, the fund decided to terminate the agreement with Hotel Ananda , run by Batas Group at Dharamsala Bhawan on March 31.
After Batas even refused to receive the letter sent by the government, Pashupati Area Development Fund had issued a public notice to vacate the Pashupati Dharamsala building run by Hotel Anand last monday.
The cabinet meeting held on Thursday has made 23 different decisions.
The decisions made by the government include the appointment of ambassadors, the appointment of staff of the commission, the government’s plan and various issues of national importance.
Spokesperson of the government Gyanendra Bahadur Karki has made public all the decisions taken by the government through a press conference.
The decisions taken by the Council of Ministers are as follows.
Upakar Microfinance Financial Institution Limited has opened sale of ordinary shares (IPO)to the public. The company has opened the sale of 236,250 initial public offerings (IPOs) at a face value of Rs.100.
The company has issued 0.5 percent of the issued capital or 3,281 shares to the employees and five percent of the issued shares or 11,813 shares to the collective investment fund. The public can apply for the purchase of the remaining 221,156 shares.
The public will be able to apply for a minimum of 10 lots and a maximum of 1000 lots till April 12, but if the demand is not received by that time, the eviction will be open till April 22, the company said.
Nepal SBI Merchant Banking Limited has been selected as the manager of securities issuance and sale.
ICRA Nepal Limited has given ‘ BB Minus’ grading to the company while rating the securities as per the provision of credit rating during public issue of securities.
Institutional labor approval from online system from 15 April
The Foreign Employment Office, Kathmandu has made arrangements to sanction institutional labor approval only through online system. Ramesh Aryal, head of the office, informed that it has been decided to allow institutional labor only through the online system from April 15.
The office is working on labor sanction, institutional labor sanction and individual labor sanction. The process of giving institutional labor sanction through online system has been taken forward by modifying the old system of having manpower entrepreneur or their representative present in the office for institutional labor sanction.
The Ministry of Labor has stated that the online system has been implemented to make labor approval faceless, paperless and cashless and to provide services in a fast, quick and transparent manner. Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha has said that an arrangement has been made to sanction labor through online system as per the policy of providing easy service to the workers going for foreign employment.
Aryal said that the work of institutional labor sanction is being done through the online system along with the re-labor sanction as per the directive given by the ministry to provide simple and quick complaint-free service using modern technology.
The office has requested the licensed manpower company and stakeholders to apply online three days in advance for institutional labor approval as it would take time to check the documents and sometimes there might be a problem with the server.
The cabinet meeting held on Thursday has appointed all the vacant government posts from ambassadors to the staff of the commission on the basis of political affiliation.
It is said that it has been decided to fill all the vacancies as the election code of conduct will be applicable soon. The meeting of the Council of Ministers started at 4 pm and lasted till 8 pm yesterday.
The cabinet meeting has also appointed Sunil Poudel as the managing director of Nepal Telecom, who was said to be involved in the controversy over the purchase of security press during his tenure as an executive director of the national information technology center. Similarly, Sudhir Rai and Sangin BC have been appointed as the two board members of Nepal Airlines Corporation while Basant Kumar Pandey has been appointed as the general manager of Hetauda Cement Industry.
Kashiraj Dahal has been appointed as the chairman and Keshav Raj Acharya as the member of the problem cooperative management committee. Similarly, the ruling coalition has formed land commissions in 77 districts on the basis of allotment.
Likewise, yesterday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers has recommended 12 persons, including eight joint secretaries of the Foreign Service, as ambassadors. Nepal has 30 embassies in different countries, three permanent missions to the United Nations and six consulates general.
Currently, 10 Joint Secretaries of the Foreign Service are working as ambassadors. Joint secretaries appointed as ambassadors from yesterday’s cabinet meeting are,Durga Bahadur Subedi (Japan), Ghanshyam Bhandari (Bangladesh), Harishchandra Ghimire (Bahrain), Tirtharaj Wagle (Myanmar), Dornath Aryal (Oman), Sushilkumar Lamsal (Egypt), Bharat Kumar Regmi (Austria), Nirmal Raj Kafle ( Brazil) . The ambassadors appointed on the basis of political affiliation are as follows.
Vishnupukar Shrestha (China)
Dan Bahadur Tamang (South Africa)
Sharmila Parajuli Dhakal (Spain)
Vasudev Mishra (Sri Lanka)
Milan Tuladhar (Russia)
Kailash Pokhrel (Australia)
Dilliraj Poudel (Malaysia)
Shanta Rijal (Israel)
Jyoti Pyakuryal (South Korea)
P.D. Ramsuraj Rai Yadav (Denmark)
Navraj Subedi (Saudi Arabia)
Nareshvikram Dhakal (Qatar)
Physical progress in the Nagdhunga tunnel has reached 35 percent. So far, economic growth has reached 43 percent, including mobilization advances.
The Nagdhunga Tunnel Project has stated that the road excavation work has been completed 76 percent of the time and the work of filling the dam has been completed 37 percent. The overpass has been completed and the flyover is under construction. Two of the three underpasses are finished and three of the four box culverts are finished. Of the three bridges to be built, two have been completed so far.
The main tunnel has been completed 553 meters from the east side and 553 meters from the west side so far. The length of the main tunnel is 2,688 meters. The project has stated that out of the length of 2,557 meters, 1,384 meters have been completed. 507 meters from east side and 577 meters from west side. The working audit has been completed. Of the 128-meter-long cross-passage, 48 meters have been dug so far.
Last month, there was 30 percent physical progress, but in one month, there has been an additional 5 percent progress. The tunnel under construction on the soft loan of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is the first tunnel in Nepal. The construction of the project was started in October, 2076 BS with the soft loan of the Japanese government to be completed in 42 months.
The agreement was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Japanese construction company Hajo Ando Corporation in September 2076 BS. The department has stated that the daily traffic jam on Nagdhunga-Naubise road section will be removed as soon as the tunnel becomes operational. Under the project, two tunnels will be constructed with a width of nine and a half meters and four meters.
Even if the three lanes are not reached, three vehicles will be able to move easily on the main tunnel. Even if one vehicle breaks down, both vehicles will be able to run. Auxiliary tunnels are said to be used for immediate rescue. In some places, auxiliary tunnels will be made from the main tunnel.
Disagreeing with six issues of the local level election code of conduct issued by the Election Commission, the CPN-UML has submitted a letter to the Commission.
A team including UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and Deputy General Secretary Bishnu Rimal have also handed over their letter to Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya regarding the code of conduct.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has recommended a non-MP for the post of Law Minister.
Advocate Govinda Prasad Sharma (Koirala) will be sworn in as the Law Minister at 2 pm today, said Bhesharaj Adhikari, Personal Secretary to the President.
According to Article 78 of the Constitution, a non-MP can be appointed as a Minister by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.However, there is a legal provision that such a minister must become a member of the federal parliament within six months of taking oath, otherwise the post of minister will be automatically revoked.
It is learned that the Prime Minister is preparing to give the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to the present Law Minister Dilendra Prasad Badu after making Sharma the Law Minister.
The Election Commission has directed the government to provide the basic resources and facilities demanded by the security agencies for upcoming election.
The commission discussed the matter and sent a letter to the finance ministry after security officials complained at a meeting of the election security committee that it would be difficult to hold the election with the resources used in the previus election five years ago.
According to Election Commission sources, a few days ago, at a meeting of the Central Election Security Committee, security officials complained that they did not have even the basic resources.
The number of vehicles purchased during the election five years ago has gone down.Some of the vehicles that were in operation at that time are now in a state of disrepair. The security officials had warned that there would be a sudden security risk in the coming days and vehicles would be essential in such a situation even though there are no major security challenges in the current election.
During the election, there will be a three-tier security fence around the polling station. Myadi and Nepal Police teams will be deployed in the first circle of the polling station. The second siege will be guarded by the armed police. Nepal Army will patrol outside the polling station.
The security personnel had briefed the commission officials about the resources saying that the election was being prepared in such a way that the security cordon would be affected as the number of temporary police personnel has not increased this time as compared to the previous time. After that, the team of the Election Commission concluded that there is a lack of resources and that it should be addressed in one way or another.
Comparing to the previous election,this time around 4 million voters have been added. But the number of temporary police is the same as five years ago. Due to the phased election at that time, it was easy to manage the security personnel by mobilizing them from one state to another. But this time it is not possible as the election will be held in one phase.
Election Commission officials also raised the issue during a meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday. According to a commissioner, the main question is about the vehicles that security personnel need to move around. After that, the commission decided to instruct the Ministry of Finance to ‘prevent the security forces from running out of vehicles and provide resources’.
According to sources, the commission had drawn attention to the lack of resources so that the election security would not be questioned. In response, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said, “We will not allow shortage of vehicles but will manage them on rent or in coordination with other government agencies as we do not have the capacity to buy vehicles in the current crisis.”
A team including ‘BBC Master Chef’ Santosh Saha will be arriving at Kathmandu today to promote Nepal’s original food, culture and destination.
The finalists of ‘BBC Master Chef: The Professional 2020’ are coming to Nepal at the invitation of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal Chapter.The PATA Nepal Chapter has stated that it is preparing to welcome the team including ‘BBC Master Chef’ Santosh Saha at Tribhuvan International Airport this afternoon.
Chief Executive Officer of PATA Nepal Chapter Suresh Singh Budal said that the team including Chef Saha has been invited to Nepal to participate in the promotion of original food culture and destination under the post-Corona epidemic tourism revival campaign.
The United States has imposed new economic sanctions on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s family. Putin’s two daughters are also under sanctions.
According to international media reports, the White House has also banned Russia’s two largest banks, Spurbank and Alpha Bank. Money will no longer reach the United States from these banks. Also, no American will be able to do business with these banks.
The United States has also banned Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, former President Dmitry Medvedev, the wife and children of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, members of the Russian Security Council and two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A statement from the White House stated that “Putin has two adult children.” Although the name is not mentioned. But according to media reports, he has two daughters, Manaria Vorotsova and Katrina Tikhonova, born to Russian President Putin’s ex-wife, Lyudmila.
Born in 1985, Vorotsova is an endocrinologist and owner of a medical company. Born in 1986, Tikhonova is also involved in education and business. She is also a talented dancer. She competes in international rock and roll competitions.
The sanctions would seize assets belonging to Putin’s family members in the United States. Also, any kind of business from the United States will be banned.
According to the White House, the US Treasury Department is preparing to impose sanctions on other Russian companies. US President Joe Biden has said that Russia must pay the price for its atrocities in Ukraine.
The Election Preparation and Monitoring Committee of the ruling parties has directed the district level mechanism to give a decision on the election coordination by April 9.
The first meeting of the committee headed by senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel today has reviewed whether the work has been done as per the plan to coordinate the election and assess the situation .
Todays’s meeting has directed the district committee to finalise the situation of electoral coordination in the district within April 9.
The government has decided to provide Rs 4.20 billion to the Nepal Oil Corporation from the Price Stabilization Fund.
The government will provide the amount to Nepal Oil Corporation as it does not have enough fund to pay for the fuel purchase. The corporation will have to pay Rs 19.47 billion to the IOC for the purchase of fuel next Friday, while the corporation has only Rs 13 billion at present.
NOC has been paying IOC every 15 days. The corporation has been incurring a loss of Rs 9 billion every month and Rs 33 billion in the current fiscal year alone.
Democratic Socialist Party Chairman Mahanta Thakur has been airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment today due to health problems.
Thakur, who arrived in Bhairahawa for a party function was treated in Bhim hospital in Bhairahawa soon after he said he had health problems.A team including doctor Siddharth Pandey of Bhim Hospital in Bhairahawa was deployed to treat him.
Thakura has been brought to Kathmandu for further treatment after he was diagnosed with chest problems and high fever and pneumonia. Thakur is undergoing treatment at Medicity Hospital in Kathmandu.
Photo: Kantipur
The Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared a five-year master plan for drug prevention and control. The National Master Plan for Drug Prevention and Control 2079-084 has been prepared with various strategies related to drug control. The master plan, which was prepared for the first time, was passed at the Home Ministerial meeting held on Tuesday which has been discussed with all the concerned agencies today.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, drug cases are on the rise in Nepal. Its storage, consumption, sale and distribution have also increased. Currently, 21 percent of the inmates in various prisons in Nepal are drug addicts. Similarly, 9 percent of crime cases are due to drug use. The ministry said that the three-tier government, police and community will be partnered to implement the master plan.
Presidential candidate Gopal Krishna Ghimire has maintained his lead in the counting of votes for the election of the 26th Central Working Committee of the Nepal Bar Association.
Ghimire has received 905 votes so far while his rival Bishnumani Adhikari has received 447 votes. According to Senior Advocate Usha Malla Pathak, Chief Election Superintendent of Nepal Bar Association, 2078 BS, counting of votes has been completed in 13 centers so far.
Of them, counting of votes has been completed in Sarlahi, Ilam, Mahendranagar, Parsa, Dipayal, Jhapa, Janakpur, Rautahat, Dhankuta, Dhangadhi, Siraha, Bara and Surkhet. The group led by Ghimire has the lead in the counting of votes . So far, Anjita Khanal has got 813 votes and Kedar Prasad Koirala has got 531 votes. Bharat Bahadur Raut got 870 votes and Jagat Bahadur Karki got 486 votes.
The counting of votes had started on Tuesday morning but was postponed in the evening and resumed from 9 am today. Voting was held in 35 places across the country, including the Kathmandu Center.
Nine thousand 708 voters had cast their votes in the election for the 25-member executive committee including 11 office bearers and members including the chairperson. There were 5,700 voters in the Kathmandu Valley and 3,500 outside the Kathmandu Valley. Only 7,429 votes were cast.
The Supreme Court has refused to grant an interim order in a writ petition filed against the government’s decision to promote three persons to the post of Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG).
A single bench of Justice Kumar Chudal, after a preliminary hearing on the writ petition on Tuesday, has asked the government the reasons. This decision of the Supreme Court is not final. For the time being, the writ petitioner has refused to issue an interim order not to implement the government’s decision.
The apex court has summoned both the parties for discussion on the interim order seeking written reasons within 15 days of the promotion of the junior. After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court will decide whether to issue an interim order or not.
A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court last Thursday, the same day the government decided of promotion.
The cabinet meeting had decided to promote three Deputy Inspector Generals of Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, Vasant Kumar Pant and Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk to the post of Additional Inspector General. A writ petition was filed in the apex court seeking an interim order saying that the decision of the government to promote the junior instead of the senior was wrong.
DIG Ishwar Babu Karki and Prakash Jung Karki have filed separate writ petitions in the Supreme Court against the decision. On the same day, the promotion recommendation committee under the coordination of Home Ministry Secretary Teknarayan Pandey had recommended Vasant Pant, Dhiraj Pratap Singh and Rabindra Dhanuk for promotion.
The identity of a soldier who was killed in a rebel attack while serving in the Congo from the Nepal Army under the United Nations peacekeeping mission has been identified. The deceased has been identified as Anil Gurung of Gurbhakot-14, Surkhet, according to the Nepal Army Public Relations Directorate.
Gurung was injured when rebel militia attacked a Nepal Peace Corps team commanded by Chief Nikil Kunwar during Operation Bali on Tuesday. According to a statement issued by the Directorate,he was rescued from a helicopter and taken to Labial-2 Hospital in Buniya for treatment, where he died .
Chief of Army Staff Prabhuram Sharma has expressed his condolences to the family of Gurung, saying that the incident shocked the Nepal Army. He also paid homage to Gurung’s sacrificial contribution.
The Secretary General of the United Nations has also issued a condolence statement expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased peacekeepers as well as the Government of Nepal and the people of Nepal. He also called on Congolese authorities to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
President Bhandari has issued five ordinances in accordance with Article 114, Clause 1 of the Constitution of Nepal and on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
President Bhandari has ratified Ordinance-2078 to amend the Sexual Violence Act, Ordinance to amend some Acts related to Criminal Offenses and Criminal Procedure-2078 and Social Security (First Amendment) Ordinance-2078.
Similarly, acid and hazardous chemicals (regulations) 2078 and Nepal Police and state police (operation, supervision and coordination) First Amendment 2078 have been certified, according to a statement issued by the Office of the President.
According to the Meteorological Department, Department of Water and Meteorology, the current low-pressure system in and around Bihar, India is currently having a general effect in Nepal.
Currently, there is partial to moderate cloud cover in the hilly areas of Province No. 1 and Bagmati Province and there is partial cloud cover in other parts of the country.
April 6, 2022 (Wednesday)
Afternoon: There will be partial to moderate cloud cover in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province and there will be partial cloud cover in other parts of the country. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in some places in hilly areas of Province No. 1 and in one or two places in hilly areas of Bagmati and Gandaki.
Night: The weather will be generally clear in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province with partial to moderate cloud cover. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in a few places in the hilly terrain of Province No. 1 and in one or two places in the hilly terrain of Gandaki.
April 7, 2022 (Thursday)
Afternoon: There will be partial to moderate cloud cover in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province and there will be partial cloud cover in other parts. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in some places in the hilly terrain of Province No. 1 and in one or two places in the hilly terrain of the rest of the province.
Night: The weather will be generally clear in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province with partial to moderate cloud cover. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in a few places in the hilly terrain of Province No. 1 and in one or two places in the hilly terrain of Gandaki.
April 8, 2022 (Friday)
Afternoon: Partly to moderate cloud cover in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province, partial cloud cover in the rest of the province and the weather will be generally clear in other parts of the country. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in some places of hilly terrain of Province No. 1, Bagmati and Gandaki and in one or two places of hilly terrain of the rest of the province.
Night: The weather will be generally clear in the hilly areas of Province No. 1, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province with partial to moderate cloud cover. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder / lightning in a few places in the hilly terrain of Province No. 1 and Gandaki Province.
Warning / Advisory for next 24 hours
There is a possibility of light rain with thunder and lightning in some places in the hilly areas of Province No. 1 and in the hilly areas of Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.
Nepal Oil Corporation has again increased the price of fuel with effect from 12:00 last night.
The corporation has increased the price of fuel by adjusting the price according to the new purchase price, saying that the price of fuel has gone up due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the corporation is incurring continuous losses.
The corporation has increased the price of diesel, kerosene and petrol by Rs 5 per liter.
Now, the price of petrol in Kathmandu Valley will be Rs 160 per liter and diesel and kerosene will be Rs 143 per liter. Similarly, the price of cooking gas has been increased by Rs 25 per cylinder to Rs 1,600.
The ruling five-party alliance have so far decided to coordinate in 15 different districts for the upcoming local elections.
As per the agreement of the meeting of the district leaders of the coalition parties, coordination has been ensured in Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Chitwan, Kaski, Tanahu, Sindhupalchowk, Baglung, Arghakhanchi, Udaipur, Rolpa, Dhankuta, Terhathum, Kanchanpur, Achham and Lamjung.
A meeting of the five-party alliance led by the Nepali Congress on Monday decided on coordination at the local level and the district coordination committee election.
The dry port constructed at Chobhar of Kathmandu has come into operation from today. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the newly constructed port today.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the operation of Chobhar port will make Kathmandu a hub of international trade. Along with the containers that came to Kathmandu under the internal transport facility, the way is now open to pass the customs check of international trade through Kathmandu.
Chobhar Port is the first port built in the inner city outside the border area. The port has a capacity of 500 containers and 500 trucks for import and export of goods, customs and security.
After the port comes into operation, containers carrying goods coming from the sea ports of India and China for capital-centric trade will now be able to come directly to Kathmandu and domestic goods will also be exported from the same port.
The dry port of Chobhar has been constructed under the Nepal-India Regional Trade and Transit Project with a loan assistance of Rs 1.54 billion from the World Bank.
Nepali Congress has circulated to the subordinate working committees not to decide on the candidate for the local level election immediately.
While the party’s ward, municipality, regional and district working committees are holding discussions to decide the candidate for the upcoming election, the Congress has verbally circulated the circular.
As per the constitution of the Nepali Congress, the candidate for ward chairperson and ward member will be selected by the Regional Parliamentary Committee of the House of Representatives. Similarly, candidates for village chairman and vice-chairman will be selected by the district committee.
Candidates for mayor and deputy mayor of the municipality and sub-metropolis will be selected by the provincial committee and the mayor and deputy mayor of the metropolis will be selected by the central working committee.
The meeting of the ruling coalition held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar has ended.
It is said that discussions have been held on the modalities of coordinating the election and how to go to the polls in the local level election .
An election preparation and monitoring committee has also been formed to coordinate the local level elections. The meeting has formed a monitoring committee under the coordination of senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel.
The meeting agreed to decide on the modalities of coordination on the basis of the reports from the lower level and the meeting of the Preparation and Monitoring Committee will be held on Wednesday.
Considering the state of the country’s economy, the meeting also decided to organize a large-scale interaction with the political parties, economists, planners and stakeholders on behalf of the government and take concrete steps based on suggestions.
In the meeting, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba also briefed about his three-day visit to India. The meeting concluded that the overall visit to India was successful.
For the first time in the history Nepal’s electricity officially entered the Indian market.
Due to the continuous diplomatic efforts of the government India is ready to purchase electricity wasted during the rainy season.
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal’s discussions with the concerned bodies, bilateral and multilateral dialogue at the ministry level and diplomatic initiatives have been meaningful.
As per the agreement reached during the last visit of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India, about 360 MW of electricity has been paved to enter the Indian market during the coming monsoon. This will allow the electricity wasted during the rainy season to enter the Indian market and will also provide additional assistance to Nepali investors in exploring and expanding the market.
The government has already given permission to the subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority to trade electricity. The private sector is also seeking permission to supply electricity to the regional market.
Nepal Power Exchange Limited (NEPEX) is also being set up by Independent Power Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (IPPAN) to sell electricity. But the company has not yet received permission from the government. In a program organized on Monday, Minister Bhusal has already signaled to issue a new Electricity Act and pave the way for the sale of electricity through an ordinance.
According to the NEA, about 500 MW of electricity was wasted in the last monsoon alone. Its market value was about Rs. 5 billion. During the last visit, the Indian side stated that they are ready to use and purchase the electricity that is being stored in Nepal. The government understands that the impact of Nepal’s entry into the Indian market will be strategic.
According to Ganesh Karki, Vice President of IPAN and a member of the visiting delegation of the Prime Minister, the level of agreement reached by the Indian side this time indicates that golden days are coming in Nepal’s energy sector.
Another important aspect is to increase bilateral cooperation in the energy sector on the basis of equality, to jointly develop hydropower projects, and to develop cross-border transmission lines.
Nepal had been demanding the export of about 800 MW of electricity. According to the Ministry of Energy, paving the way for exports up to 360 MW is an achievement in itself as it intends to increase consumption internally and gradually expand while exporting.
A meeting of the ruling coalition is being held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar to discuss the local elections.
The five parties of the ruling coalition have already made a policy decision to coordinate in the local level election. According to a source in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the modalities of coordination will be discussed in today’s meeting.
Earlier, a meeting of the coalition agreed to coordinate in the local level elections and decided to form state, district and municipality level committees . The committee was asked to submit the report today. Leaders have said that the report of the same committee will be discussed in today’s meeting of the ruling coalition.
A vaccination campaign against typhoid will be launched in Madhes from April 8.
According to the state health directorate, the vaccination campaign against typhoid, which is being launched by the government of Nepal to reduce the human losses caused by typhoid, will be conducted in Madhes from April 8 to May 1.
Under the vaccination campaign, children between the ages of 15 months and 15 years will be vaccinated. Director of the Health Directorate, Vijay Kumar Jha, informed that the vaccination program against typhoid, which is being conducted under a special campaign, is being prepared along with regular vaccination.
Stating that there are 1,787,710 people of vaccinating age in eight districts of Madhes state, the health directorate has said that it is preparing to vaccinate at least 95 percent of the target group. Nepal will become the first country in East Asia to be vaccinated against typhoid, said Suresh Shukla, a representative of Madhes in the World Health Organization.
Director Jha urged everyone to take the vaccine with confidence as the research has confirmed that the vaccine is completely safe and fully capable of preventing typhoid. Senior Health Administrator Shravan Nayak urged the people to continue washing their hands regularly, paying special attention to hygiene and wearing masks to prevent typhoid in case of diarrhea.
According to the directorate, five people can be vaccinated with one vial of 2.5 ml and health workers have been trained on vaccination.
The Asset Laundering Investigation Department has registered 95 complaints against persons involved in asset laundering in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.
Records with the Asset Laundering Investigation Department show that out of the total cases, 17 cases were received from the financial information unit of Nepal Rastra Bank and the remaining 69 cases were collected from other agencies. According to the Asset Laundering Investigation Department, investigation has been started against the accused.
Between July 2021 and March 2022, the Asset Laundering Investigation Department filed two lawsuits against Indian nationals in a special court for allegedly depositing 9.5 million in cash. Similarly, a case has been filed against eight stakeholders of Nepal Engineering College for embezzling Rs 80 million.
The Asset Laundering Investigation Department, which was established a decade ago, has so far registered 2,508 cases. Of these, only 62 cases have been decided and more than 1,700 cases are under investigation.
India has appointed Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinaya Mohan Kwatra as a Foreign Secretary.
The Cabinet Appointments Committee on Monday appointed Ambassador Kwatra as India’s Foreign Secretary. Kwatra has been India’s Ambassador to Nepal since March 2020.
The appointment of the Indian Ambassador to Nepal as the new Foreign Secretary is expected to help resolve various bilateral issues between the two countries.
Nepal has won the triangular T20 International Series title.
Nepal clinched the title by defeating Papua New Guinea by 50 runs in the final match played at the Tribi Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
After losing the toss, Nepal challenged PNG with 169 runs. PNG, which was under pressure from the very beginning, was bowled out for 118 runs.
A writ petition filed in the Supreme Court against the decision to promote three Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) of Nepal Police to the post of Additional Inspector General (AIG) has been kept out of the hearing list .
Though a hearing has been scheduled for today in the single sitting of Judge Kumar Regmi, it has been placed out of the hearing list.
According to Supreme Court Spokesperson Vimal Poudel, Judge Regmi was not allowed to look into the matter, but he was present at the hearing. Therefore, no hearing could be held even today.
DIG Ishwar Babu Karki, Ghanshyam Aryal and Prakash Jung Karki had filed a writ petition against the promotion of AIG.
The cabinet meeting had decided to promote DIG Dhiraj Pratap Singh, Vasant Pant and Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk to AIG.
Nepal is playing against Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the final today for the title of the triangular T20 series. Nepal will bat first after losing the toss.
PNG won the toss and elected to field at the Kirtipur-based ground.
A change has been made in the Nepali team. Sompal Kami is playing in place of Kamal Singh Airy who was injured in the last match of the league.
A young man of Mikwakhola Village Municipality, Ward No. 2 of Taplejung has gone missing after being swept away by the river Tamor while fishing.
20 years old son Parbat of Bahadur Khokling has gone missing. Chief of the District Police Office, Taplejung (DSP) Kailash Rai said that the search for the missing person is ongoing.
Police said that his friends saw him slipped into the river Tamor while fishing and informed the police. Police have started investigation into the incident.
The ruling coalition parties have decided to mobilize the party leadership in their districts to review all the municipalities and villages in Madhes and submit a report for a possible election alliance in the upcoming local elections.
According to the Janata Samajwadi Party, Madhes Pradesh, a meeting of the partners of the ruling coalition to intensify the preparations for the upcoming local elections has decided to send a letter to all the eight district-level coalitions to review the individual municipalities and submit their reports by May 8.
During the meeting held at the state office of the Nepali Congress in Janakpurdham, they discussed about how to coordinate the election and which party will field candidates at different local levels of the state, said Yadav. He said that further discussions would be held after receiving the report on the situation of each municipality and village in the state.
The meeting was attended by the state chairpersons and senior leaders of the ruling parties including the ruling Janata Samajwadi Party, Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist).
The ruling coalition has already decided to coordinate in the upcoming election.
Following the decision, the ruling coalition parties in Madhes have also intensified discussions for electoral coordination.
There are 136 local level governments in Madhes including one metropolis.
Sri Lankan ministers have resigned en masse amid an economic crisis. With the exception of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, all 26 Sri Lankan ministers have resigned en masse. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are brothers.
Due to the extreme economic crisis, the anger of Sri Lankan citizens is growing. A nationwide curfew has been imposed after anti-government demonstrations and looting increased. Citizens of Sri Lanka have protested against the curfew. Troops have been mobilized on the streets in an attempt to quell the protests.
Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic situation since independence from Britain in 1948. Due to the shortage of dollars, Sri Lanka has not been able to import essential food items, medicines, fuel and other items. Earlier, the school examination was postponed due to lack of money to buy copy and ink. Long lines of people can be seen at petrol pumps and food shops.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returned home on Sunday evening after completing a three-day official visit to India.
Speaking at a press conference held at Tribhuvan International Airport on the sidelines of Prime Minister Deuba’s visit to Nepal, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka expressed confidence that bilateral talks with high level leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Prime Minister Deuba’s three-day visit would further deepen mutual cooperation. During the meeting, the two Prime Ministers agreed on the Nepal-India Joint Vision Statement on Energy Sector Cooperation to further strengthen long-term cooperation in hydropower with the objective of deepening the close and cordial relations between the two countries. They discussed the need to promote connectivity and infrastructure by building roads, railways, pipelines, transmission lines and air services.
Minister Khadka informed that the following important documents were exchanged between Nepal and India: MoU to enhance technical assistance in the railway sector; The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance; Agreement between NOC and IOC to supply fuel for 5 years and agreement between NOC and IOC for exchange of technical expertise. Similarly, the Jayanagar-Janakpur Cross Border Rail Link Project, 132 KVDC Solu Corridor Transmission Line Project, construction of 132 health institutions and Rupee Card were inaugurated in the presence of both the Prime Ministers.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Deuba had requested his Indian counterpart for additional air routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. Minister Dr. Khadka informed that the Prime Minister of India has responded positively to various proposals for development and economic partnership between Nepal and India.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on G2G supply of urea and DAP from India to Nepal. Prime Minister Deuba has requested to send the first consignment of 150,000 metric tons of manure to Nepal before the coming monsoon. He thanked his Indian counterpart for India’s assistance in providing Covid-19 vaccine, medicine, liquid oxygen and other medical supplies to Nepal.
Prime Minister Deuba also expressed Nepal’s gratitude for India’s assistance in post-earthquake reconstruction. Trade and transit, culture and tourism, cooperation in the field of agriculture and sugarcane germplasm and other bilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting. The two Prime Ministers discussed the development of National Respiratory Disease Center in Tanahu as an institution for cooperation in the health sector.
The two leaders had a talk on border dispute. Discussions were held on resolving the border dispute through the established bilateral mechanism. Stressing on the need for strong public relations, Prime Minister Deuba said that Nepal attaches high importance to its relations with India.
On the occasion, India requested Nepal to come up with a new proposal to utilize the unspent amount of USD 500 million under LOC-IV proposal. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both the Prime Ministers mentioned that there is great potential for intensifying economic and development partnership in historic projects like Pancheshwor Hydropower Project. Both sides have stressed on the need to finalize the DPR of Pancheshwor Hydropower Project as soon as possible so that the project can be implemented in mutual interest.
Prime Minister Deuba has also extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to visit Nepal.
Locals are excited after the regular operation of Jayanagar-Kurtha train service.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi inaugurated the train service from New Delhi, India on Saturday.
The train, which left at 8.30 am on Sunday, reached Janakpur station at 10.15 am.
General Manager of Nepal Railway Company Niranjan Jha informed that the train from Jayanagar to Kurtha and from Kurtha to Jayanagar on the first day was full of passengers in both ordinary and AC compartment .
He said that regular trains have started running as per the schedule.
According to him, the service has been schedule twice a day . He informed that the train will leave Jayanagar at 8:30 am and 3 pm and another train will leave Kurtha at 10:30 am and 5:15 am.
At the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistani President Arif Alvi has dissolved the parliament.
Accusing his political opponents of working with the United States to overthrow his government, Prime Minister Imran Khan called on the president to dissolve parliament.
Earlier,Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri had rejected the motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Khan. Prime Minister Khan’s government was in crisis after the ruling coalition backed a no-confidence motion by the opposition.
The government has increased the fare of long distance public transport within the state by 15 percent. The Department of Transport Management has increased the fare for passenger vehicles by 10 percent as per the ministerial decision of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
According to the Department of Transport Management, the fare has been increased by 13 percent in the hills and 15 percent in the Terai region. It has been decided to increase the fare by 10 to 15 percent depending on the geography of hilly and terai areas including passenger and freight carriers.
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Renu kumari Yadav has also decided to adjust the vehicle fare only after the changes in the fuel price occurs by at least 5 percent.
Now, the fare adjustment will be done by reviewing the price increase of other parties including vehicle parts in Chait every year. As per the arrangement of adjusting the scientific fare of vehicles, the fare had to be adjusted after the price of the fuel was changed by Rs. 5 till now. However, since the provision is not effective, the department has made an arrangement to adjust the fare only after the changes in fuel price occurs by 5 percent.
Sunday the first day of the week share trading gauge Nepse index has decreased by double digits. The Nepse index dropped by 30.89 points to 2513.41 points. The Sensitive Index, which measures the trading activity of Class A companies, also declined by 6.44 points.
The transaction amount has also decreased down on todays market. The transaction amount on did not even reach Rs 1.5 billion. A total of 3253,816 shares of 225 securities have been traded through 28,113 transactions during the day. Out of which, the transaction amount has been stopped at Rs. 1 billion 466 million 73 thousand 729.
The Ministry of Health and Population has made arrangements to give booster vaccine three months after the completion of the first series of vaccination of Covid-19.
The family welfare division of the ministry has written to all the state health directorates and all 77 district health offices requesting to give booster dose within three months of completing the first series of vaccinations. Earlier, it was the government’s policy to give a booster dose only six months after the first series of Covid-19 vaccines.
A writ petition filed by UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli demanding dismissal of 14 lawmakers including Madhav Kumar Nepal could not be heard even today.
A lawyer from Madhav Nepal’s side had filed a petition seeking adjournment of the hearing. But that was denied by Justices Anil Kumar Sinha and Subedi.
The hearing was adjourned as it was not possible to proceed. Judges Anil Kumar Sinha and Nahakul Subedi were scheduled to appear in the bench for a full hearing of the case.
Earlier, a bench of Justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Kumar Chundal had decided to take the writ to full hearing and ordered to hear the case today.
Oli has demanded action against 14 lawmakers, including Nepal, who split the UML and formed the CPN-Unified Socialist Party.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has recommended to President Arif Alvi to dissolve the parliament. Speaking on behalf of the nation, PM Khan said that he had recommended to the President to dissolve the parliament.
The no-confidence motion against PM Khan was rejected by Deputy Speaker Qassim Suri.
Immediately after the no-confidence motion was rejected by the parliament, addressing the nation, PM Khan directed the people to prepare for the elections. He further added that the people have the right to decide whether to remove the government or not.
Prime Minister Khan’s government was in crisis after the ruling coalition parties sided with the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition. He was in the minority.
Protests have turned violent after the Sri Lankan government imposed a curfew to control public unrest caused by the country’s economic crisis. Social media has been blocked, saying the situation could provoke in escalating violence.
A state of emergency was declared amid widespread protests, blocking access to platforms including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram. The Defense Ministry said the ban is only temporary.
Youth and Sports Minister Namal Rajapakse has said that the ban on socila media will never be forgiven.
Even though the movement of petroleum businessmen has been withdrawn, the crowd at petrol pumps remains the same.
Petroleum businessmen, who had stopped loading and unloading fuel had withdrawn their agitation on Saturday after reaching a four-point agreement with the Nepal Oil Corporation. But the crowd that has been growing since Saturday on the fear of shortage of petroleum products due to the strike of petroleum businessmen remains the same even today all over the country.
The LP Gas Industry Association, Petroleum Dealers Association, and Petroleum Transporters were in agitation demanding automatic fares to reduce the price ratio of diesel in external and internal freight rates.
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