News

11-    Suspension bridge constructed over Ritung Rivulet

Babiyachaur (Myagdi), June 3: A suspension bridge has been constructed over the Ritung Rivulet at the adjoining point of Niskot and Devisthan of Malika Rural Municipality in the district.

The 26.6-meter-long bridge was constructed at the total cost of over 2.6 million rupees. With the construction of the bridge, over 283 households at the locality have been directly benefited, said users' committee chair Dut Bahadur Phagami  

The bridge was constructed with support of the District Coordination Committee. 

Meanwhile, a building for Nepal Red Cross Bhurung Tatopani sub branch office at Annapurna Rural Municipality-2 has been constructed at the total cost of over one million rupees.

12-    Deuba's candidacy for PM registered

          Kathmandu, June 3: Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has registered his candidacy for the post of the Prime Minister.

          The candidacy registered at the Legislature-Parliament Secretariat this afternoon was proposed by outgoing Prime Minister and CPN (MC) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. Likewise, NC senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Nepal Democratic Forum Chair Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar, Socialist Janata Dal Chair Prem Bahadur Singh, Akhanda Nepal Party Kumar Khadka and CPN (United) leader Jayadev Joshi have seconded Deuba's candidacy.

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          The filing of nominations for the post of the new Prime Minister is taking place from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm today. The election will take place in the parliament meeting to be held tomorrow.

          Earlier, the NC parliamentary party, work execution committee had decided to propose the party leader Deuba for the post of the Prime Minister. NC leader Poudel proposed Deuba's name with the responsibility of implementing the new constitution and ensuring the party's win in the remaining elections, according to NC Chief Whip Chinkaji Shrestha.

          As per the agreement with the NC, Prime Minister Prachanda resigned from his post on May 24, paving the way for the new election to the post of the Prime Minister. RSS
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13-    Over 40 metric tonnes of garbage managed from major rivers in Valley

          Kathmandu, May 3: As high as 40 metric tonnes of garbage was collected from various major rivers and ring road areas in Kathmandu Valley on Saturday.

          Around 9 metric tonnes of solid waste was managed while cleaning the Bagmati River as part of the Bagmati Clean-Up campaign that entered its 212th week today, according to campaigner Umesh Bohra.

          On the occasion, the Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE) organized bicycle rally on the stretch from Tripureswar to Ram Mandir in the Pashupati Temple area.

          A special clean-up drive was conducted in the Pashupatipati Temple area on the occasion.

          The Ministry had distributed some 100 pairs of boot, 500 pairs of gloves and similar number of masks for the participants in the event.

According to campaigner Bohra, over 500 people from various walks of life and representing several government agencies in the country joined the clean-up campaign that aims to help the holy river Bagmati regain its chastity.

Participants joining today's weekly also included personnel from security agencies including Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Nepal Police Force as well as Sisnupani Nepal, Advertising Association of Nepal and officials from the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization.

In attendance in the clean up drive were Secretary at the MoEP Dr Bishwanath Oli and Pashupati Area Development Trust member-secretary Dr Govinda Tondon among other government agencies representatives and social workers.

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Similarly, some 100 volunteers representing Pudasaini Maitri Samaj and Ramro Jorpati Hamro Jorpati campaign extracted two metric tonnes of solid waste from the Guiheshwori stretch of the Bagmati river, as well as the Bagmati Batika Pillar in Gokarneshower Municipality-5, according to Samaj's President Uttam Pudasaini.

Meanwhile, the Rudramati Clean-up Campaign, which is into its 171st  week, scooped out garbage amounting to one metric tonnes from the Ram Mandir area in the Pashupatinath Temple, shared campaigner Rohit Giri.

The clean up drive saw participation of the newly elected ward's chair of ward no 30, Dal Bahadur Karki, added campaigner Giri added.

Likewise, six metric tonnes of waste products was extracted Tarkeshower Gumba in Tarkeshower Municipality-10 as the Bishumati Clean-up Campaign entered the 143rd week today. More than 150 volunteers took part in the event.

Likewise, Tilganga Women's group collected one metric tonnes of garbage from the Tilganga stretch of the Bagmati river.

Moreover, Ring Road Clean-up Campaign that entered its 8th week today managed 22 metric tonnes of waste from the area starting from Green City Hospital to the Taleju Petrol Pump in Samakhusi stretch.

Around 550 locals and volunteers took part in the clean-up drive.

14-    One electrocuted

          Lahan, June 3: A person was electrocuted at Nabarajpur Rural Municipality-2 in Siraha district last night.

          Local resident Bechan Mukhiya, 45, died after he came in contact with live electric current while picking up an iron rod.  Area Police Jhajhapatti said that seriously hurt Mukhiya died on the way to hospital.


15-    Pol parties in Baitadi intertwining voter education with political campaign

Baitadi, May 3: The political parties in Baitadi district that are gearing up for the second phase of local level elections on June 28 have been imparting voter education while campaigning for the poll.

The sole objective is to decrease the number of invalid votes, which was recorded in high numbers in the first phase of election on June 14.


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The cadres of various political parties contesting in the second phase of poll that is taking places in 41 districts across province no 1, 2 5 and 7, are visiting the eligible voters door-to-door and teaching how to vote in the right way, according to Nepali Congress Baitadi Chapter Secretary Bir Bahadur Bista.

Bista said that the political parties have employed sample Swastika sign and ballot papers to give practical education to the voters on voting in the right way.

Similarly, CPN-UML Baitdai Chapter Secretary Leeladhar Bhatta shared that his party has underscored voter education besides political campaign aiming to attract voters.

Likewise, CPN-Maoist Centre Baitadi District Coordinator Prem Prakash Bhatta admitted that they were actively involved in educating voters besides attracting them in view of the upcoming poll.

Bhatta said that the cadres have been reaching out to the voters for the same.

On the corollary, the District Election Office (DEO), Baitadi has also launched voter education and awareness campaign in the district since May 19, according to the DEO Chief Madhav Prasad Phuyal. RSS
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16-    US-Nepal cultural fair begins in Pokhara
       
          Pokhara, June 3:  The US-Nepal cultural fair has been organized at Exhibition Hall in Pokhara from today. 

The fair was organized on the occasion of 70 years of US-Nepal diplomatic ties.

      The fair is supported by Kathmandu based US embassy and NCell Nepal.   As part of the fair, different artists had shown their talent.

The cultural programme including dance, live wall painting, face painting and child games are the major attractions of the fair.

17-    Stakeholders for giving rights to local level to accelerate reconstruction jobs 

          Kathmandu, June 3: Education Minister Dhaniram Poudel has said that the grants doled out from the government would go to the beneficiaries earlier if the local levels were given rights for the job.

          At a programme in the capital city today, he expressed his confidence that reconstruction job would accelerate if the local level polls were given the rights.

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          On the occasion, Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said that the reconstruction tasks would be meaningful if the private residences, public infrastructure, project development and heritages were reconstructed.

          Likewise, Executive Director of NSET Dr Amodmani Dixit opined that the government should prioritize the construction of buildings full of technology.

          Similarly, expert member of the National Reconstruction Authority Dr Chandra Bahadur Shrestha said that the Authority was working with high speed by sending expert groups in the local levels for the reconstruction efforts.
         
          Also speaking at the programme were Nepal Tourism Board CEO Dipak Raj Joshi, Director General of Department of Archeology Bhesh Narayan Dahal, journalist Shreeram Singh Basnet and others.

          RSS NEWS COMMENTARY:
18-    Sagging share of industries in GDP, a matter of concern for country's economic health
          (Deepraj Sanyal)

          Kathmandu: The government on Monday unveiled the statement of estimated income and expenditure (budget) for the fiscal year 2017/18. Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara presented the budget estimates of Rs 1 trillion 278 billion 994 million 855 thousand for the new fiscal.  The relatively jumbo-size budget compared to the national economy aims for 7.2 percent economic growth rate. It has the target of creating nearly 500 thousand jobs.

          One of the major thrusts of the budget is transfer of funds to the local level to support the implementation of federal structure of governance in the country. Another feature of the budget is that it aims to keep the inflation well under 7 per cent.
         
          The budget prioritizes implementation of federalism, post-earthquake reconstruction, job creation, production and productivity growth, infrastructure development and the projects of national pride, modernization of the agriculture sector and energy including hydropower production. Similarly, development of road and railway infrastructure, and reforms in the public administration and service sectors are also the priority areas in the new budget.

          The new budget is 21.9 per cent bigger in size than the budget for fiscal year 2016/17 presented by the erstwhile government. The size of the budget for current fiscal 2016/17 is Rs 1 trillion 48 billion 920 million. Regarding the relatively big size of the budget for the next fiscal, Finance Minister Mahara explained that it was because the fiscal transfers to the local and province levels too are included in the current expenditure.


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          Of the total budget, 68.28 percent or Rs 803 billion 531 million 454 thousand has been set aside for general expenditure while 26.2 percent or Rs 335 billion 175 million 970 thousand for capital expenditure. Although the capital expenditure in the 11 months of the current fiscal year remains dismal, i.e. less than one-third of the budget, the Finance Minister has claimed that 84 percent of the capital expenditure would be spent by the end of the current fiscal year.

Diminishing contribution of industrial sector

          Given the budget's thrust on increasing production and productivity, the diminishing contribution of the industrial sector in the GDP is a matter of concern. This shows that the country's economy is import-oriented. The state needs to vigorously promote industrialization for meeting the twin goals of job creation and import substitution. As per the Economic Survey for the fiscal year 2016/17, the contribution of the industry sector to the GDP stood at 5.72 percent in fiscal year 2015/16, which is less than the previous years. The share of the industrial sector in the GDP in fiscal year 2012/13 was 6.35 per cent and 6.2 percent in the following fiscal. It was 6.03 per cent in fiscal year 2014/15 but dropped to 5.72 per cent in fiscal year 2015/16. One reason for the drop in the share of industrial sector in the GDP in fiscal year 2015/16 was due to the contraction of the industrial sector due to the Gorkha Earthquake and the unofficial border blockade imposed by India immediately after that in 2015.

          However, compared to fiscal year 2015/16, the net value growth in the industrial sector is estimated to go up by 9.7 per cent in the current fiscal year due to the sufficient supply of fuel, power and raw materials. Industrialization has not been able to expand to the desired extent in the country due to the political, natural and policy reasons. Looking at the status of industries that were in operation in the last 10 years, the investment capital in industries is seen increasing between fiscal 2007/08 and 2011/12. Capital investment in 279 industries in fiscal year 2011/12 was Rs 84 billion 427 million. It was Rs 119 billion 601 million for 446 industries in 2012/13.

          Compared to the fiscal year 2012/13, the capital increment in 466 industries increased by 142 percent and reached 289 billion 308 million in fiscal year 2013/14, according to the Economic Survey. Nevertheless, the capital increase has not been in that proportion after 2013/14.

          6,834 industries have been registered in the Department of Industries until the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Based on the type of industries, the production based industries account for the largest number of industries at 2,713, which is 39.7 percent of all the industries. The number of tourism-based industries is 1,400 which is 20.6 percent. Likewise, there are 413 agro and forest based industries (6.1 percent), 283 energy based industries (4.1 percent), 63 mineral based industries (0.9 percent) and 49 construction based industries (0.7 percent).


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          Based on the capital investment in industries registered until the first eight months of the fiscal year 2016/17, 52.9 per cent of the investment is in the energy-based industries. Similarly, 23.1 percent of the capital investment is in production-based industries, 10.7 percent of the investment is in service industries, 8 per cent in tourism industries and 3.4 per cent in construction-based industries. Likewise, agriculture and forest based industries account for 1.6 per cent and the mineral-based industries 0.3 per cent of the total capital investment in industries.

          According to economists, the reasons for decrease in the contribution of the industrial sector in the country's GDP are low rate of industrialization and lack of the required laws. The industrialists have been discouraged by the lack of industry-friendly laws and policies. However, the government has brought some encouraging legislations and policies in the last couple of years for the development of the industry sector. These are the Industrial Policy, 2067 BS; the Foreign Investment Policy, 2071; the National Intellectual Property Policy, 2073; the Industrial Enterprises Act, 2073 BS; and the Special Economic Zone  Act, 2073 BS. The Company Act, 2073 BS has been revised while the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act is in the process of timely reform.

          The recent announcement by the government to set up an Industrial Development Fund of Rs 500 billion is a welcome step in the direction of promotion of industries and building an investment-friendly climate. The government, general public, non-resident Nepalese, the private sector, and joint-venture companies will invest in this Fund.

          In this backdrop, it is imperative that the government creates an environment, which encourages establishment and operation of more industries in the country to achieve the goal of rapid economic growth.

19-    Quality health services still challenging: President Bhandari

Kathmandu, June 3: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that ensuring easy and affordable health services was still a challenging task in the country. 

While inaugurating the Nepal Cancer Hospital at Harisiddhi in Lalitpur today, President Bhandari added that people were compelled to spend huge money for the treatment of killer diseases like cancer. She shared that government was reforming the health sector while the private sectors also create trust in health service sector.

 Similarly, Health Minister Gagan Kumar Thapa opined for public support to meet the goals in the health sector adding that the government was launching various programmes in this connection.

  Similarly, Industry Minister Navindra Raj Joshi said that the private sector was playing a positive role to make all kinds of treatment possible in the country. 

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Executive Director at the hospital Dr Sudeep Shrestha shared that the hospital had begun its services to tackle the challenge of providing quality treatment to the cancer patients.  The hospital is the first for providing treatment to cancer patients in the private sector. 

20-    Re-election in Bharatpur-19, EC decides  

          Kathmandu, June 3: Ending a week-long deadlock after the disruption in the counting of votes in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, the Election Commission (EC) today directed the Chief Returning Officer to conduct polls in ward no. 19 of the metropolis

          Issuing a press statement today, EC Spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma said that based on two separate reports it was confirmed that vote counting station was captured and hence a decision taken to declare the entire ballot papers of Ward No. 19 invalid and conduct the re-poll.

          Accordingly, the EC has directed the Chief Returning Officer of Chitwan to make arrangement for re-poll in the ward by fixing the place, date and time for the same as per the sub-clause (5) of clause 50 of the Local Level Election Act, 2074.
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21-    Mental health policy in the offing: Minister Thapa

Kathmandu, June 3: Minister for Health Gagan Kumar Thapa has said that the mental health policy was going to be formulated soon.

Laying the foundation stone for the Child Mental Health Centre's building in the premises of Kanti Children Hospital in Kathmandu today, Minister Thapa expressed his confidence that the policy will provide guidelines for the treatment of the mentally-ill.

Urging parents to be timely aware of the mental health issues in children, Thapa said that the government had started providing mental health services for children in the Kanti Hospital.

Chief Specialist at the Ministry of Health, Dr Kiran Regmi, spoke of the need for the parents to seek medical assistance for any mental complications in the children as he argued that the children's health is very sensitive one.

Similarly, Kanti Children Hospital Director Dr Ajit Rayamajhi shareds that a new plan has been forwarded by the Hospital to avail treatment for the children.

The building, estimated to cost Rs 30 million, will be constructed by two years.


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A study conducted by the Hospital showed that of the children brought to the Hospital for medical intervention; around 10-15 per cent, children were found to have mental complications of any sort.
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22-    Re-election in Bharatpur-19, UML to contest it 

          Kathmandu, June 3: Ending a weeklong deadlock after the disruption in the counting of votes in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, the Election Commission (EC) today directed the Chief Returning Officer to conduct polls in ward no. 19 of the metropolis.

          Issuing a press statement today, EC Spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma said that based on two separate reports it was confirmed that vote counting station was captured and hence a decision taken to declare the entire ballot papers of Ward No. 19 invalid and conduct the re-poll.

          Accordingly, the EC has directed the Chief Returning Officer of Chitwan to make arrangement for re-poll in the ward by fixing the place, date and time for the same as per the sub-clause (5) of clause 50 of the Local Level Election Act, 2074.

          Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has said that it would reject the decision of the Commission to hold re-polling. The meeting today of the UML parliamentary party decided to contest the decision, seeking all kinds of remedy including the legal recourse.

          It may be noted that the UML has been obstructing the house, calling for resumption in the counting of votes in Bharatpur-19. Talking to reporters following the meeting, UML Chair KP Sharma Oli accused the Commission of taking the decision under the pressure and influence of the ruling parties. "This decision to encourage those involved in an election offense does not suit democratic norms and values," he said.