- Thursday, 29 September 2022
Adhere To Poll Code
The Election Code of Conduct, 2022 has come into effect from Wednesday. The Election Commission Nepal (ECN) Tuesday issued a 60-point directive, asking the government, political parties, constitutional bodies and other stakeholders to abide by the election code essential to ensure fair and impartial voting. The country is set for federal and provincial polls on Nov
Trade With Caution
After the adaptation of liberal foreign trade policy, Nepal's foreign trade is expanding continuously. Currently, the country makes annual foreign trade of around Rs. 2,120 billion with more than 200 cou
Commitment To Poll Code
As the date for elections of the House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies is coming closer, the Election Commission Nepal (ECN), the government and political parties have accelerated pre
Focus On Dengue Control
Dengue epidemic is now spreading at an alarming rate across the country. Around 30 people succumbed to it while 22,988 dengue cases have been detected so far. The mosquito-transmitted viral disease has emerged as a public health emergency at a time when the health care system has already stretched thin owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, health experts state that the treatment of dengue fever is cost-effective if it has been identified in time. But severe dengue is fatal as there is no specific medicine and treatment of it so prevention is the best option to avoid the dengue infection. WHO states that severe dengue causes serious illness and death but early detection of disease progression and access to proper medical support reduces fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 per cent. Dengue that is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates globally has
Facilitate Trade With China
Nepali traders and entrepreneurs are in trouble as Nepal’s two major border points with China, Rasuwagadhi-Keyrung and Tatopani-Jangmu, at the northern borders h
Power Infrastructure
At a time when the nation is making major strides in electricity generation and export, building reliable transmission lines has gained timely prominence. Nepal has already exported electricity worth billions of rupees to India within a few months and possibilities have emerged for power trade also to Bangladesh. It is indeed a positive development in the energy sector that Nepal Electricity Authority is encouraging its domestic consumers to use as more power appliances as possible at home and offices to make maximum consumption of electricity. This is a testimony of the fact that we have left behind a critical energy scenario when people had to suffer under nagging power deficit and load-shedding. Nepal seems to have
Reform Civil Service
Bureaucracy is the key administrative machinery of any nation. Bureaucrats are non-elected governing officials and an administrative policy-making group. They are so inevitable that no government can deliver public services in an effective manner without having professional, responsible and committed civil servants. Competent and self-motivated bureaucrats alone could be a change maker. They are responsible for enforcing laws and executing policies formulated by the government. They also provide politicians, especially ministers, with ideas an
Regulate Cooperatives
Recognised as the third pillar of Nepal’s economy, cooperative is an autonomous financial institution run with the money collected from its members. As every member has the equal say over the matters of the cooperatives, they function under a democratic framework. The people get involved in the cooperatives to serve their immediate economic needs and start new entrepreneurship with moderate investment. For those, who have no access to big financial institutions, cooperatives have come handy to operate their commercial ventures. A sense of solidarity and self-help guide the cooperatives t
No Padlocking, Please!
The incidents of padlocking and strikes have become a daily staple at the Tribhuvan University (TU), which has almost paralysed the academic and administrative works. Dissatisfied student unions, employees and teachers’ groups often stage strikes or padlock the administrative and other departments. Some of them sometimes go a step further to vandalise the university properties to expr
Snakes' Role In Ecology
Having suitable habitats for snakes, Nepal is home to numerous species of legless reptiles. National parks, other protected areas and their corridors are the major habitats for snakes. They also live in bushes, farms, swamp meadows and riversides. A variety of venomous snake species such as King Cobra and Krait are mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions while numerous other species are sighted at places with altitudes of 3,500 to 4,000 metres above sea level. Though people have a negative perception towards snakes in general, these species, as stated by herpetologists, play an essential role in maintaining balance in the entire ecosystem. In fact, snakes can be both predator as well as prey in most ecosystems. The population
Tricks Of Traffickers
Remittances, sent by Nepali workers from abroad, provide a lifeline to the national economy. But this contribution is not without a huge socio-economic cost. The migrant workers are compelled to get involved in dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs. The insecure jobs have cost the lives of thousands of Nepalis over the years. Every day at least three bodies of Nepali land at the Tribhuvan International Airport. This is indeed a tragedy of Nepali youths forced to make fortune in foreign land owing to poverty, ignorance, lack of better education and employment opportunity at home. As going abroad becomes a compulsion rather than a wish, the Nepali workers make every effort to join the international labour market. This is a reason why they fall prey to fraudsters and deceptive agents of manpower companies. They are easily trapped by the traffickers that work on the pretext of offering lucrative foreign jobs.
Unpredictable Weather
Much of the country will see above-average rainfall this monsoon, went the prediction of meteorologists in the first week of May. Nearly five months, including the rainiest months of July and August, later, the better part of Terai has been in severe drought. So much so that some farmers there are being driven to despair. We are living in a time when extreme weather events have become a new normal. And no part of the world has remained immune to them. Almost whole of Europe has been experiencing worst drought in 500 years. So has been China, where worst heat wave and mega droughts not seen in its recorded history have left the factories shut and many rivers, including the mighty Yangtze, running dry.
Hydropower Policy Review
Nepal holds immense potential for hydropower development with abundant water resources. The country can generate more hydropower to meet an ever increasing domestic demand and provide jobs to many unemployed by utilising hundreds of snow-fed rivers and rivulets in a sustainable manner. Our annual domestic power demand is increasing by around 18-20 per cent annually. The nation’s current power demand stands at about 1,400 MW. The government has to come up with a more effective hydropower policy to focus on power generation in order to meet the growing internal demand and increase power export. The country can help minimise the widening trade deficit with neighbouring India through enhancing power trad
