Tatopani border reopened

Kathmandu, Oct. 29

Tatopani entry point at the northern border with China has come into operation from Thursday after being shut for 23 days since 6 October.

It resumed operation with a container truck's entry into Nepal from China in the afternoon today, said that Department of Customs. It said that the entry of the truck was made to mark the resumption of the services, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the two countries had agreed to resume operation from Wednesday.

From Friday, at least seven containers will cross the Miteri Bridge and reach the Nepali customs yard. Chinese containers are large enough to carry goods that require two Nepali containers.

The Chinese container trucks will offload the goods at the isolation centre created in Nepal side, they will be kept there for maximum 48 hours before loading in a container and transporting to various locations in the country. Workers are already sent to the customs yard.

About 400 containers are stuck at Tatopani.

Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi border points were remained for more than five months due to COVID-19 and landslides during the monsoon this year.

Closure of the border entry point had resulted in more than 700 containers trucks with goods for Nepal being stuck across the border in China. Although China started to pass five containers a day from September 25 from Rasuwagadhi border, traders are unable to get all goods so far.

Raw materials, readymade clothes, shoes, food and fruits were stuck at the bordering cities in China.

Fruits had been already damaged while many industries are facing difficulties in their operation due to the shortage of raw materials which have arrived at the border side but couldn't make its way through the customs.

Nepalis continue to return home

 Kathmandu, Oct. 28

About 123,848 Nepalis have returned to their home country after the advent of coronavirus pandemic Nepal and subsequent lockdown on March 24 this year.

According to the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC), those Nepali nationals have returned from 33 countries.

The highest migrant returnees are from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Approximately 35,992 Nepalis have returned from the UAE, 23,135 are from Qatar, 17,924 from Malaysia, 17,322 from Saudi Arabia and 9,923 from Kuwait.

Likewise, till 27 October, 3,541 returned to Nepal from Japan, 2,973 from Turkey, 2,126 from Oman, 1,811 from South Korea, 1,339 from Bahrain, 1,100 from Australia and 1,026 from Maldives.

Although a large number for Nepalis want to return home from foreign land, the limited aeroplane seats available has prevented them from coming here. About 1000-1500 individuals are returning a day on an average. As per the CCMC data, about 743 passengers, including two foreigners, landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport via various airlines.

They were from Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Nepalis in foreign countries say that it was difficult to get a ticket to travel back home for the next couple of months. They suggested to increase the number of flights to Kathmandu from various destinations, especially the Gulf and Malaysia.

Likewise, many are awaiting the resumption of flight services to various Indian cities.

The returnee migrants are directly taken to the holding centres managed by the Nepal Army in Kathmandu, and after registering their individual profile and conducting health check-up are sent to the quarentines in coordination with the respective states.

President inaugurates reconstructed Ranipokhari, Durbar High School

 Kathmandu, Oct. 21

Newly reconstructed Ranipokhari and Durbar High School, the two iconic historic monuments facing each other at the heart of the capital city, were inaugurated on Wednesday.

Both the heritages were badly damaged in the 2015 earthquake. They are among the first major monuments – among 800 damaged in the quake - to be reconstructed.  

President Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the reconstructed structures and handed them over to the concerned authorities in separate functions held today.

On the occasion, President Bhandari prayed at the puja marking the installation of the newly reconstructed Balgopaleswar Temple in the middle of the Ranipokhari and offered sacred water to the pond.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel, Ministers and other dignitaries also offered holy water brought from various sacred rivers from different parts of the country, said the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).

Ranipokhari has been rebuilt in its original style, look and technology, despite facing various hurdles and challenges.

Addressing the function, President Bhandari expressed her satisfaction over the NRA’s integrated master plan to develop the Ranipokhari area, including Ratna Park, Khula Manch, Tundikhel, Bhrikuti Mandap and Dasharath Stadium. “This master plan, along with under-construction Dharahara area, will provide people in Kathmandu with an extensive open area,” she said.

In his welcome address, Chief Executive Officer of the NRA Sushil Gyewali updated about various aspects of the post-earthquake reconstruction, including rebuilding of private houses and heritage sites.

“We are working to complete the retrofitting of the main façade of the Singh Durbar. We plan to complete to shift the Prime Minister’s Office to this new site by mid-December.” He also said that the main structure of 22-storey Dharahara would be completed by early next year.

The reconstruction of Ranipokhari was carried out under the aegis of the local users’ committee while the construction of Balgopaleswar Temple, the bridge and the beautification works have been done through a contracting company.

Besides involving the local community and cultural experts, the traditional artisans from Bhaktapur contributed significantly in rebuilding the basement of the pond.

Rs. 280 million was spent for the reconstruction of Ranipokhari and Balgopaleswar Temple.

 

 

 

Ranipokhari in Malla era style

Originally known as Nhu Pukhu (New Pond in Newari), Ranipokhari now wears a new look with the Balgopaleswar Temple in the middle of the pond built in Malla-era style called Granthakut or Shikhar more than 350 years ago.

Although many people see the temple as completely new, this has been reconstructed in the original style built during the reign of King of Kantipur Pratap Malla in 1669. Later, Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana rebuilt the temple in Gumbaz style in 1803. After the devastating earthquake in 1933, Juddha Shumsher Rana again rebuilt the temple in Gumbaz style.

The earthquake had damaged the temple beyond repair. President Bhandari had laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of Ranipokhari on January 16, 2016.

Almost two years after the foundation stone was laid, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) formed an 11-member expert group under the leadership of Bishnuraj Karki, former Director General of the Department of Archeology (DoA). This group suggested rebuilding the Balgopaleswar Temple in Malla-era style.

The group meeting chaired by the then Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation late Rabindra Adhikari decided to rebuild the temple in Shikhar or Granthakut style.

As the reconstruction got delayed due to various issues and concerns raised by the local community and culture experts, the government handed over the responsibility of rebuilding Ranipokhari to the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) on January 28, 2019. Soon after, the NRA formed a five-member users’ committee under the leadership of Ajay Ratna Sthapit to construct the basement and the inner wall to hold water on March 2. 2019.

The NRA had signed an agreement with CA/Tulsi Construction JV on July 9, 2019 to construct the Balgopaleswar temple and the bridge. The Gajur, pinnacle or spire, was installed on the temple on October 1, 2020.

 

Country’s first school gets a facelift

Durbar High School, the country’s first school, has received a major facelift after the workers from Nepal and China worked hard to rebuild the school facilities under the financial assistance of the Chinese government.

The old school which was established by the Rana regime in 1854 was already in a dilapidated condition and could not withstand the quake in April 2015.

Though the Rana regime built the school to provide quality education to their children only, the Rana Prime Minister Dev Shumsher Rana opened the school for general public in 1901.

The historic school has now been rebuilt with all the necessary modern facilities and the government hopes to improve the education standard in the school.

The Chinese government has spent around Rs. 900 million to rebuild the school in which 1,000 students can be accommodated now.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 October 2020. 

Protecting life is government responsibility: PM

 Kathmandu, Oct. 23

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that protecting citizens and their life during any disaster was the unconditional responsibility of the government.

"The government elected by your vote will not abstain from fulfilling this responsibility under any pretext," he said in an address to people on the occasion of Bada Dashain on Friday and urged one an all to be rest assured that the government would make arrangements for testing and treatment of all citizens infected by COVID-19.

Not only in tracing, testing and treatment, the government will also remain active in making the vaccine against the disease easily accessible to all Nepali people, he maintained.

Saying that rumours surface during national disaster and many rumours of the type that make people petrified and helpless have been spread since the first lockdown started on 24 April 2020, PM Oli stated that such layers of rumours had been cleared one after another.

Indicating to the rumours that the government had allegedly stepped back from the treatment of coronavirus affected people, he said, "At the times of pandemic or mega disasters, it is natural for the state to expect reasonable solidarity of its people. Helping the poor is not only a humanitarian aspect, but also the tradition of the Nepalis."

According to him, the Government has been making provisions for equal access of everyone to contact tracing of infection, testing and treatment. The provision of free treatment of the infected patients continues, as long as the concerned person, his or her family or Hospital Development Committee declares that they cannot afford.

Management of dead bodies also continues as usual without any change in earlier procedures. Arrangements have also been made to allow performing last rites by families according to their local traditions.

PM Oli said that in the battle against the pandemic every citizen was a soldier, and in this battle, all should make contributions to their own safety as well as to the safety of family, community and the entire population. He expressed gratitude to the doctors, nurses and medical workers, security personnel, civil servants, social workers, people's representatives, philanthropic organisations and common people who were constantly active in the fight against the pandemic.

He said that since the country was welcoming Bada Dashain amidst COVID-19 pandemic and all are in the middle of doubt and uncertainties, and urged to be cautious about health discipline even when receiving the blessings from the elders and venerated of the family.

He also said that there would be no 'public Tika programme' at the PM's residence this year.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 24 October 2020. 

Shangri-la reaches Ason

Kathmandu, Oct. 22

Shangri-la Development Bank Limited has expanded its services to Ason, a core city area and busy marketplace in Kathmandu.

To make our presence stronger across the country, we have started banking operation in Ason through a newly established branch there, said the bank in a statement. The branch has begun its services from Thursday.

"We hope that the new branch will help our customers to obtain the banking services and facilities easily. We will continue to expand our business and services," said the bank.

SDBL is operating 92 branches and 30 ATMs across the country.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 23 October 2020. 

US support now focuses on COVID-19: Envoy Berry

 Kathmandu, Oct. 21

Ambassador of the United States of America to Nepal Randy Berry said that the major US aid to Nepal was focused on the control and treatment of coronavirus pandemic.

In a meeting with Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel on Wednesday at his office at Singha Durbar, he also pledged the continuous US support to Nepal in the days to come.

He congratulated the newly appointed minister for his successful tenure

Minister Paudel recalled the age-old bilateral relations with the USA and expressed gratitude for its continuous support to Nepal's development.

They discussed about the bilateral economic cooperation, control of COVID-19 pandemic and support to the post-COVID rehabilitation, said the Ministry of Finance in a statement.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 October 2020. 

Traders fret as Chinese agents demand money to pass containers stuck at border

 Kathmandu, Oct. 20

More than 2,000 traders in Kathmandu and other cities in the country have lost millions of rupees as they failed to bring their goods stuck in the bordering towns of China to Nepal for more than six months.

Recently, they have felt salt in their bruise as the Chinese customs agents at Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani started to demand 25,000 to 60,000 RMB to pass a container with goods.

Traders who have been waiting for their goods to pass through the customs offices are shocked with this new malady. "We are shocked to hear that the customs agents have been bargaining with Nepali traders to pass the goods. How can the importers now pay additional money that goes up to Rs. 900,000 per container?" said Niraj Rai, Chair of Customs Committee at the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).

The goods stuck at the bordering cities includes raw materials, readymade clothes, shoes, food and fruits. Fruits had been already damaged while many industries are facing difficulties in their operation due to the shortage of raw materials which have arrived at the border side but couldn't make its way through the customs.

According to the traders, there are about 25 agents at the Chinese Customs across the border. They said that the if they paid the amount demanded by the Chinese customs agents, the cost of the imported goods and raw materials will go exponentially up which would make the trading of such goods difficult.

"It has already been a disaster for us. Most of my stuck goods include clothes and fashion items targeted for the summer season which is over now and again I am asked for additional charge to bring the same good to Nepal," a trader said.

China has shut the operations including the movement of goods at Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani – two major cross-border entry points between Nepal and China – in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year. China has started to pass five containers a day from September 25 from Rasuwagadhi border while Tatopani border was open from October 6.

As it would take about two months just to pass 300 containers stuck Keyrung and 400 in Khasa with 5 trucks a day, governments of both the countries had agreed to allow 10 trucks a day through each border point.

"But the new demand of the customs agent has made the things worse," said Rai.

Many traders said that they would think twice now before conducting trade via Keyrung and Tatopani border. According to them, it felt like a blockade. Rai said that this episode would be a great shock to some medium-scale traders while some industry relying on raw materials from China had been closed.

Traders want greater cooperation and facilitation from the Embassy of China in Kathmandu and Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS).

Secretary of the MoICS Baikuntha Aryal said that the two countries had been discussing the issue of the border facilitation and Tatopani border would come into full operation within a couple of day.

"The issue of Tatopani border is resolved however, it would take some more days for Rasuwagadhi border point to operate normally," he said, "It was delayed due to the COVID-19 sensitivity."

Chinse Embassy in Kathmandu has also been reiterating that the border was closed for the precautions against COVID-19 pandemic. However, it maintained that the medical supplies had not been obstructed.

It has recently reopened Zhangmu and Jilong ports for one-way cross-border transit to send goods from China to Nepal.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 October 2020.

ADBL partners with Khalti for digital payments

Kathmandu, Oct. 20

Agricultural Development Bank Limited has signed an agreement with Khalti Digital Wallet to facilitate its internet and mobile banking customers for digital payments.

Yagya Prakash Neupane, Chief Finance Officer of the bank, and Amit Agrawal, Director of Khalti, signed a partnership agreement at the bank’s head office in Ramshahapath Kathmandu the other day.                                 

With this partnership, the  ADBL customers can now load funds in their Khalti wallet using the bank’s mobile banking and internet banking service and make all kinds of digital payments available at Khalti’s platform, said the bank in a statement. 

It said that it believed that the customers of the bank would get broader facilities of digital solutions.

This partnership is expected to further help in the adoption of digital payments in Nepal ultimately moving the country towards a cashless economy, read the statement.

According to this agreement, the bank will provide Khalti with a Virtual Machine Operating System through which the customers can load Khalti using the online and offline medium.

ADBL users can load funds in Khalti through different media such as E-banking, Mobile Banking, Bank Smart, and Banking Checkout, which will provide ‘Load Khalti’ service. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 October 2020. 

NIBL Ace launches online purchase platform

Kathmandu, Oct. 20

NIBL Ace Capital Ltd., a subsidiary of Nepal Investment Bank Limited, has launched the online purchase platform for its open-ended mutual fund, NIBL Sahabhagita Fund.

NIBL Sahabhagita Fund is the first ever open-ended mutual fund scheme after the enactment of the mutual fund regulation, 2067.

Investors began investing in the scheme through online platform starting from Sunday, October 18.

This will be a hassle-free platform offered by the Fund Manager to its potential clients, said the company.

It has expressed hope that the new facility would help the investors during the pandemic period as well.

The Fund Manager also believes that the online system would be user-friendly, said the company.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 October 2020. 

NBL to give free banking services

Kathmandu, Oct. 20

 On the occasion of 84^th year of its establishment, Nepal Bank Limited has announced to offer its various services free of cost.

"Our customers will get the mobile banking, internet banking, demat account, mero share, C-ASBA and visa debit card services free of cost on the occasion," said the bank in a statement on Sunday.

It said that it was a reward to the customers for their unflinching trust in the institution.

The bank was established on 15 November 1937.

NBL is also organising various events to mark the occasion.

The bank has 191 branches in 64 districts, 126 ATMs and 36 extension counters across the country.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 October 2020. 

Western Union announces 'Dashain ko Saugat'

Kathmandu, Oct. 19

Western Union money transfer company has launched 'Dashain Ko Saugat' campaign on the occasion of Dashain, Tihar and Chhath.

The campaign offers customers in Nepal a chance to win cash prizes in a weekly draw between 17 October and 12 December 2020, or enter the Bumper Lucky Draw.

"To qualify for the promotion, customers in Nepal are required to receive money through Western Union at select agent locations - Annapurna Travel, CG Finco, Hulas Remittance, Maya Remit, Nabil Bank, Surya Remit and Digitek Remittance," said the company in a statement on Sunday.

All qualifying transactions will be automatically entered into a weekly draw. Every week, 10 lucky customers will receive Rs. 25,000, until 12 December, 2020.

Additionally, all qualifying transactions (excluding the weekly winning transactions) during the promotion period, will be automatically entered in the Bumper Lucky Draw. One lucky customer will have a chance to win Rs. 1,000,000.

The winner of the Bumper Lucky Draw will be announced on 16 December.

“This promotion is our way of sharing the joy during the festive season and also recognizing the determination and hard work of our customers,” said S. S. Ramanathan, Senior Country Manager-Rest of South Asia, Western Union.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 20 October 2020. 

Fonepay announces Dashain offer

Kathmandu, Oct. 18

 Fonepay Payment Service Limited has launched 'Fonepay Directsanga, Dashain Dhana Mauka' campaign for this festive season.

Under this campaign, customers conducting inter-bank transaction through the Fonepay direct can win up to Rs. 100,000, with a bumper prize of Rs. 500,000. The campaign started from Saturday, 17 October and will run till 30 October.

"We have launched the campaign with the aim of promoting digital transaction. However, the payments made through the QR codes will not be eligible for the prize," said the company.

Fonepay has about 150,000 merchants and have expanded service to all seven states in the country. More than 50 banks and financial institutions are connected with the Fonepay.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 19 October 2020. 

PM Oli stresses on cooperation among countries to combat with COVID-19

 Kathmandu, Oct. 13

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has stressed on cooperation among the countries and international organisations, and common work modality to combat with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The threats posed by the pandemic has forced us to think and act together,” he said while addressing a webinar organised by Disaster Risk Reduction National Working Forum on the occasion of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on Tuesday.

He said that the present health crisis has nudged one and all to move to a new world system and collective humanitarian world. It has forced us to realise that the human relation is beyond the society, country and state, he remarked.

According to him, the pandemic has terrorised people with its profound impact on economy, health, equality and modernization. “It has severely affected our journey to the modernity and prosperity, process of social justice, equality and happiness. We have been forced to resize our aspirations,” he said.

He said that the global strategy to combat with the disaster created in 2015 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were closely related. To meet those goals, Nepal had formulated a national policy for disaster risk reduction and created a national strategy 2030.

While we are working to mainstream the policy and strategies formulated by the governments of all levels and forged effective working collaborations with other government institutions as well as non-government organisations, we expect cooperation and initiation from the international organisations, he said.

PM Oli said that Nepal wanted to collaborate with the United Nations and other agencies and organisations working in the disaster risk reduction. “Although earthquake, fire, hurricane, volcano and storm manifest in different forms and size, they are common problems across the world,” he said.

He said that despite much progress in science and technology in terms of forecasting disasters, countries should work extensively on risk reduction. “We have to preserve our ecosystem. The water recharge system has been greatly affected due to global warming. The Himalaya and sea that are the major sources of clean environment are at the risk. Himalayan nations and small island nations are at greater risk,” he said.

PM Oli suggested to find the root cause of the disasters rather than just offering reliefs to the affected people. Remembering the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015, he said that Nepal had successfully implemented the post-quake reconstruction work. “Now, the government’s priority is to create all structure henceforth quake resistant,” he said.

He also suggested to include the topics like environment, nature and disasters in the school curriculum.

Speaking at the same programme, Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa said that the disaster-affected people’s rehabilitation would be initiated soon.

“Settlements in 49 districts were pushed to risk and thousands of houses were damaged. The government wants to construct all the damaged houses before the coming winter,” he said.

According to him, the local governments must be well equipped with better, policies, instruments and resources in order to manage the disaster risk.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 October 2020. 

FNCCI announces election date

 Kathmandu, Oct. 16

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has decided to hold the elections for the various posts at different locations.

Issuing a notice regarding the annual general meeting and election schedule, the organisation's Election Committee had said that the elections would be held at different places due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The inauguration of the general meeting will kick off online on 26 November at 4:00 PM. The closed meeting will be organised on 27 and elections on 28 November.

Elections will be organised at Nepal Academy, Kamaladi, Karki Banquet, Babarmahal and FNCCI Head Office, Teku.

Voting for the senior vice-president will happen at Nepal Academy, vice-presidents at Karki Banquet and working committee members at FNCCI, according to the notice.

The committee said that district and municipal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) can send two representatives to the meeting while the CCIs that have candidates contesting the election can send three representatives.

About 450 representatives will come to the Capital to participate in the meeting and elections of which 101 are from the commodity associations, 106 are district representatives, and 250 associate members.

 The business body had said that the meeting and elections would be organised with strict adherence to the health and safety protocols against the coronavirus.

As per the statue of the FNCCI, the programmes should have been organised on 10-11 April but the lockdown caused the postponement of the event and it was postponed twice.

The events were rescheduled for August 9 and 10 but were postponed as the cases of COVID-19 continued to increase across the country.

The election does not elect the president of the largest business organisation in the country, since the FNCCI amended its statue about five years ago to automatically elevate the senior VP to the leadership, the highest post to contest the election is the senior VP.

Earlier, on September 8, a committee formed to recommend the modality to organise the election of the FNCCI, had suggested three modalities – organising the general meeting programmes virtually in Zoom, holding the elections of the district and municipal CCI, commodity association and binational chambers in Kathmandu following safety protocols, and holding the elections of the district and municipal CCI in the respective states and of associates in Kathmandu. Application of the modality was about applying the e-voting methods.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 October 2020. 

Urban Minister Shrestha assumes office

 Kathmandu, Oct. 15

Newly appointed Minister for Urban Development Krishna Gopal Shrestha has assumed his post on Thursday.

He took the oath of his office and secrecy this afternoon while the Office of the President had announced his selection for the post the other day.

Assuming his post at the Singhadurbar, he pledged to be result-oriented while implementing the projects and development works.

Ram Bir Manandhar has been working as the Minister of State at the ministry. Shreatha said that he would work with Manandhar and both would jointly fight against every challenge.

He expressed belief about finding adaptation in the challenges. "I am a hopeful person and believe that we can resolve every problem if we work together," he said.

Shrestha had served as the Minister for Local Development in 2005.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 October 2020. 

FM Paudel assumes office

 Kathmandu, Oct. 15

Newly appointed Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has taken the oath to the office and secrecy on Thursday and assumed the post the same day.

He started his office with signing the decision to obtain US$200 million. The money will be used in COVID-19

There is a trend to sign at least one decision while assuming the public post. This is Paudel's second inning at the Finance Ministry. He has begun the second term at the ministry when the coronavirus pandemic has battered the economy and every sector is looking up to the government in the hope of relief, treatment and development.

The economy is projected to follow the negative trend in the current fiscal year and would hover below 1 per cent. Millions have lost their jobs temporarily or permanently due to the business shrinking and shut down in the wake of the pandemic.

He has a challenge to create more jobs, opportunity for self-employment, engage returnee migrant workers and keep the pace of development as desired.

Paudel had served as the Finance Minister from November 2015 to August 2016 in KP Sharma Oli's first premiership and also became the Minister for Defence from February 2011 to August 2011 in Jhala Nath Khanal-led government.

Paudel has also served as the Minister for Water resources (2008-2009) and Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture (1997).

He is representative at the Federal Parliament from Rupandehi constituency no. 2.

Group 25 urges to give priority to Keyrung-Ktm railway

 Kathmendu, Oct. 14

The Group 25 Plus, a civil society group comprising eminent persons of Nepal, has said that the Raxaul-Kathmandu Railway was not the need of the hour and was not feasible economically so the country should prioritise the Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway.

"The Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway will be benefit Nepal in trade diversification and credibility. It is strategically and geopolitically beneficial to the country as well," said the group in a statement. "It truly makes Nepal a land-linked country and end Indian monopoly and hegemony."

It said that Nepali people would not forget multiple Indian border blockade and its dominating behaviour.

"Even during the COVID-19, India blackmailed Nepal that if the latter did not allow the import vegetables from the southern neighbour, it would stop the entry of other goods as well. This has happened due to Nepal's over and one-sided reliance on India," read the statement.

Demanding the government to expedite the study and construction of the cross-border railway with China, the group said that the broad gauge technology proposed in the construction of the Raxaul-Kathmandu Railway was outdated and Nepal should develop railways in standard gauge.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 October 2020. 

MoIC accepts no excuse in implementing 'clean feed'

 Kathmandu, Oct. 14

Ministry for Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT) said on Wednesday that the clean feed policy would come into effect from 23 October, the official deadline set by the ministry last year in consultation with the stakeholders concerned.

The clean feed provision would be implemented as per the Advertisement (Regulation) Act, 2019 and all concerned business should abide by it, the MoCIT said in a statement.

The law demands the downlink of television channels broadcast from abroad to be advertisement free and they should begin it from 23 October, as per the law.

While the ministry had given a year's period to make necessary provisions, various organisations like Indian Broadcasters Forum, Discovery Networks, BBC News and Federation of Nepal Cable Television have now demanded to extend the deadline of the clean feed implementation.

The ministry's attention is drawn by the demand but there wouldn't be any extension in deadline, Gokarna Mani Duwadi, Spokesperson of the Ministry said in the statement.

The MoCIT had urged all concerned organisations to execute the legal provision and warned that those not abiding by the law would be penalised as per the law.

Clean feed means the broadcast of foreign television channels without foreign advertisement. They can have advertisement but that should be produced in Nepal and in local languages.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 October 2020. 

SA has dysfunctional regional cooperation: experts

Kathmandu, Oct. 14

South Asia’s handling of COVID-19 crisis reveals a dysfunctional regional cooperation mechanism to deal with the trans-boundary crisis implying a need for a revitalized regional cooperation to deal with the climate crisis, experts said.

 Speaking in a virtual meeting organized by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), they emphasized that COVID-19 has diverted efforts away from climate action, which, if not corrected, will have devastating consequences for the region that remains highly vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of climate change.

Dr. Prabhu Budhathoki, Former Member of National Planning Commission of Nepal said that the current pandemic had made it clear that the regional cooperation mechanism in South Asia did not function well at the time of crisis,

"Hence, our governance mechanism has to change if we are to wage an effective fight against the climate change," he said.

Dr. Eklabya Sharma, Deputy Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) emphasized that South Asia, primarily given the significant presence of mountain regions, is one of the most vulnerable regions when it comes to climate change.

"Higher population density and the presence of large number of impoverished populations exacerbate the vulnerabilities in the region," he said.

Dr. Sharma further mentioned that the dire effects of climate change are already visible in the region in the forms of increased occurrence of floods, glacial lake outbursts, landslides, heat waves, and a general degradation of the ecosystem, and warned that a sole focus on COVID-19 at the expense of climate issues is the biggest challenge confronting the region.

Citing Pakistan’s experience in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and lessons learnt through it, Dr. Shafqat Kakakhel, Chair of SDPI, Islamabad and Former Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), highlighted four key elements that South Asia has to strengthen to deal with climate change—resilience to deal with disasters; institutional arrangement for domestic, regional, and international coordination; identification of the most vulnerable communities and rapid dispatch of support to them; and effective use of information technology and social media to inform people.

He said that SAARC had launched many initiatives to foster regional cooperation on climate change issues but poor implementation rendered them inefficacious.  

Dr. Athula Senaratne, Research Fellow and Head of Environment Economic Policy Research at Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, warned that COVID-19 impacts could crowd out the climate finance for several years and hence slow the developments that had gradually been building up in South Asia.

He also pointed out that climate action was currently a peripheral issue in the region and until it became a mainstream issue there would not be effective collective responses to deal with the climate crisis.

“The current pandemic has highlighted the interconnected nature of global systemic risk and it has exposed significant vulnerabilities, including in food systems,” mentioned Dr. Lopa Saxena, Research Fellow, Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, UK.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily 15 October 2020. 

281 Nepalis die of COVID-19 abroad

Kathmandu, Oct. 11

COVID-19 pandemic had claimed life of additional 17 Nepali nationals abroad in the past one week.

Of them, 16 were from the Saudi Arabia and one from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

With this, the total death of Nepalis caused by coronavirus in foreign countries has reached 281 in the past nine months. Nepalis in 18 different countries have succumbed to the virus, said the Non-Resident Nepali Association's Health Committee Coordinator Dr. Sanjib Sapkota.

Likewise, virus infection among the Nepali nationals has increased in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the last week.

The NRNA informed that 40,735 Nepalis in 42 countries abroad were infected with the virus by Saturday evening while 89 per cent – 36,673 individuals – have recovered from the disease.

Since the virus has claimed 636 lives of people in Nepal, the total death of Nepalis has reached 917.

Meanwhile, leaders have criticised the government's indifference to the pandemic.

Speaking at the second Knowledge Convention, they blamed the government's inaction for the increment of the contagion.

Former Minister for Education and leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party Dr. Gangalal Tuladhar commented that the government preparations had reached ground zero.

"There was no effective plan for the preparedness and check the spread of the virus. The government has no resource, it’s hopeless," he said.

According to him, there was no effective cooperation and coordination even among the different levels of governments although disaster management was the common right of all of them.

He urged the government to create a permanent structure to fight the natural disasters and pandemics.

Leader of Nepali Congress Gagan Thapa said that the government had missed the opportunity to mobilise the external resources during the pandemic.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 October 2020. 

Buddha Air completes 23 years of operation

Kathmandu, Oct. 11

Buddha Air has completed 23 years in operation. The company has conducted its first flight service on October 11, 1997 with Beach Craft 1900 aeroplanes.

Today, the company has 13 aircraft, 1,100 employees and trust of millions of customers, Buddha Air said in a statement on Sunday.

According to Birendra Bahadur Basnet, Managing Director of the company, the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected every business sector and all the aircraft were grounded from the day lockdown was imposed on 24 March this year.

"We have to maintain the expenditures for the care, repair and human resources even when the aircraft were grounded. For the past six months, there was no income but we had to manage the expenditures," he said.

However, he said, the company regularly paid the salary of 1,100 staff. "Our first priority was to facilitate our employees in managing their lives and keeping the aeroplanes safe and sound," he said and added that the company did not cut the jobs during the lockdown.

Buddha Air had developed a safety manual to operate the safe flight services which was the first of its kind in the country. It provided training and PPEs to its staff and conducted simulation flight services to all destinations across the country.

The company said that it had slashed the existing flight charges.

Basnet said that if the tourism and aviation businesses were run safely with health safety protocols, the market would gain confidence and could contribute to the economy.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 12 October 2020. 

Aid to fight COVID-19 sees a substantial increase

Kathmandu, Oct. 10

Just a day after the announcement of the nation-wide lockdown on 24 March this year, in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada participated in a meeting of the finance ministers and senior government officials of the South Asian nations and international financial organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) about the possible impact the virus would make on  the national and regional economy.

One of his major concerns in that meeting was providing relief to the COVID-19 affected communities with the limited resources available in the country. He suggested the development partners and large economies to provide special support to the developing countries to help them in the fight against the pandemic.

Confusion reigned not only over the people and businesspersons but also the government and global bodies like the World Health Orgnaisation during the initial days of the coronavirus outbreak. Nepal was making cautious moves to provide  relief to the daily wage workers who were put off the job as most of the businesses and construction projects were  shut, initially for a couple of weeks, which later extended to a couple of months.

While the revenue collection was affected in the initial months of the pandemic outbreak, the country received more foreign aid compared to the previous years and even the earlier part of the last fiscal year. The meagre financial resources in the country were aptly augmented by the international aid.

Funds inflow has drastically gone up to Rs. 84.7 billion in the first two months (mid-July to mid-September) of the current fiscal year 2020/21.

It’s nearly 39 per cent of the total foreign support the country received in the last fiscal year 2019/20.

Nepal had received Rs. 219.88 billion foreign aid from multilateral and bilateral donors as well as international non-government organisations in 2019/20, said the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division (IECCD) at the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The aid is about 9 per cent higher than in FY 2018/19 when the inflow of funds stood at about Rs. 200 billion. However, the country received higher amount of funds in the later five months of the last fiscal year than the first seven months. The amount it received from the development partners till mid-February 2020 was Rs. 109.28 billion but the funds from mid-February to mid-July totalled  Rs. 110.6 billion.

 

WB provides largest support

Of the five major aid packages received in the first two months of the current fiscal year, three are from the WB – trade and connectivity, earthquake support and education sector development projects. US$ 450 million loan to the trade and connectivity project is the largest foreign support that Nepal received so far. Likewise, Japan provided 300 million Japanese Yen and the Asian Development Bank and Norway provided loan of $200 million and grant of $35 million respectively for the power infrastructure project.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has pledged Rs. 7.12 billion (45.8 million Sterling Pound) to Nepal to help it in the fight against the COVID-19. State Minister of Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK Lord Ahmed had announced the financial assistance on August 27 during a virtual meeting with Dr. Khatiwada.

Chief of the IECCD Shreekrishna Nepal said that the government had updated the development partners that Nepal wanted COVID-19 focused support in creating health infrastructure, human resources, expanding health services and rehabilitating the micro, small and medium enterprises hit hard by the pandemic.

Last month, he had urged all development partners working in Nepal to provide targeted and direct support to fight against COVID-19.

Aid during pandemic

Nepal has received about half a dozen foreign aid packages to fight against the COVID-19.

The WB, ADB, IMF and India are among the major donors to provide COVID-19 support to Nepal. While the WB has signed multiple agreements for COVID support, ADB extended $250 million budgetary support for the same.

Both the multilateral donors have pledged additional support whenever required. Funds provided by the ADB are being used to address the impact of the pandemic and strengthen the public health system, provide social protection and create jobs.

According to the estimates of the government and private sector agencies, about 60 per cent workforce, primarily temporary and daily wage workers, have lost their jobs. Although the government is running the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP), it is unlikely to meet the demands of job at least for 100 days to every unemployed citizen.

The European Union (EU) had also announced to provide Rs. 10 billion (75 million Euro) support to stimulate economy and labour demand during the coronavirus crisis. Newly appointed Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Nepal Nona Deprez said recently that EU was studying the prospects for further cooperation.

Other major donors extending their regular support at the time of crisis include Green Climate Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Switzerland.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 11 October 2020. 

Minister, envoy discuss opening new air routes

Kathmandu, Oct. 9

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Binaya Mohan Kwatra have held discussion about concluding the agreement to allow aircraft enter Nepal through Bhairahawa route.

The two governments are conducting correspondence regarding opening the air route that would be needed when the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa comes into operation from next year.

In a meeting held at the Tourism Ministry at Singha Durbar on Friday, the minister and envoy also discussed about the permission to fly into Nepal from Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar sky.

Kwatra had called on the minister on Friday afternoon at his office.

They talked about resuming the air services to various Indian cities from Kathmandu which was halted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the ministry.

Minister Bhattarai and Ambassador Kwatra also discussed about developing the Pashupati, Lumbini and Janakpur as special religious and cultural destinations. Both of them expressed their commitment to implement the concept of Ramayana Circuit at the earliest. The circuit connects Janakpur in Nepal and Ayodhya in India and other various religious-cultural heritages on the way.

Kwatra said that India was ready to support Nepal in the fight against the COVID-19, and develop religious and cultural centres in the country.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 October 2020. 

Bandung Principles are relevant: Gyawali

Kathmandu, Oct. 9

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali addressed the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held virtually on the margins of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.  

Speaking at the meeting this morning, he underlined the relevance of the Bandung Principles as time-tested and sacrosanct ideals for the peaceful global order, informed the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York.

While highlighting the impacts of COVID-19 on the poorest and most vulnerable countries and peoples, he called for greater international collaboration and support in their recovery efforts. 

Minister Gyawali further underscored the need for internalising by all the cost of discord and benefit of cooperation and strengthening multilateral institutions so that all nations- large or small- can coexist in dignity and contribute to the shared goals of peace, prosperity and justice.

“With its numerical and moral strength, NAM should claim its rightful place and amplify the voice of the weak and vulnerable countries. NAM must prove itself as a collective voice of reason and a source of strength to its membership,” he said.

A total of 54 speakers, including 36 Ministers from NAM Member States addressed the meeting which was held under the theme of “Bandung+65: More Relevant, United and Effective NAM against Emerging Global Challenges, including COVID-19”.

The Meeting adopted a Political Declaration and a Special Declaration upon its conclusion.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 October 2020. 

Prabhu Digital becomes a public limited company

Kathmandu, Oct. 9

Prabhu Digital Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Prabhu Group, will run as a public limited company.

The company that has license to operate internet and email services from the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) will run as a public company, it said in a statement the other day.

The NTA recently approved the company’s request to become a public company – it will change its name to Prabhu Digital Limited. Likewise, the company has already amended its name at the Company Registrar’s Office.

With the change in the nature of the company, it can issue its share to the public.

Prabhu Digital is in service for the past three years and operates internet, television, IPTV/OTT services.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 10 October 2020.