May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food.…
May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food.…
May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.…
May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus…
May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19…
May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus.…
May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under…
May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp.…
The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign…
May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the…
May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY…
May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of…
May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS.…
May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country.…
May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts.…
May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. The production of major food products of Nepal such as paddy, maize, wheat, millet and buckwheat has been declining over the years. The production of buckwheat has been most affected. It has declined by 40 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Considering the findings of the National Census of Agriculture 2001/2002, the country’s agriculture is expected to shrink by 30 percent by 2021/ 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The then government had opened a company in 1978 to export rice to foreign countries. The company used to export rice to Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. But Nepal currently imports rice worth Rs 2 billion from different countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 300 million kilograms of rice from India and 733,000 kilograms of rice from the USA in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal imported 330 million kilograms of maize from India, 2.4 million kilograms of maize each from Brazil and Argentina.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The National Census of Agriculture 2011/2012 shows that the production of paddy declined by 6 percent. Similarly, the production of maize, wheat, millet, buckwheat, barley and mustard declined by 12 percent, 6 percent, 19 percent, 40 percent, 35 percent and 13 percent respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Agriculture experts claim that the major reasons for the decline in agriculture as plotting of land, leaving the arable land fallow, and farmers, especially women, moving into cities from villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr Yogendra Kumar Karki says that the agriculture production of the country must be increased in order to sustain the growing population of Nepal, mentions a news report published by the national news agency RSS.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13113', 'image' => '20210510032220_1620598671.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 15:21:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13367', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prohibitory Order Raises Prospect of Starvation among Daily-Wage Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Daily wage labourers and workers of the informal sector have been hard hit by the prohibitory order as they do not have regular source of income and the government has banned all other activities except emergency work. This has raised the prospect of starvation among the families who depend on daily work to make a living.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The affected group of people say that they are worried about starvation as the government has not announced any relief packages for such workers and small enterprises.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ratna Shrestha of Kavre, who runs a fancy dress shop in Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, has not been able to operate his business since the last ten days. He says he is now struggling to meet his daily expenses. He is worried about managing the rent of his stall if the restrictions get prolonged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rajesh Shrestha who runs a mobile and TV shop in New Road is equally worried. He says that he is in great stress for not being able to open his shop. He is also worried about how to pay the rent if he cannot run his business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Man Bahadur Pariyar also shares a similar story. Originally from Sindhupalchowk, Pariyar has been operating a tailoring shop in New Baneshwar. He is also struggling to make ends meet due to the prohibitory order.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The rent of the shutter is exorbitant. I started this tailoring shop one and a half year ago by getting some loan. I am still not able to pay the loan. On top of it, the restrictions have brought by work to a standstill. It is getting difficult to meet the daily expenses,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Workers of the informal sector are deeply worried as they are unable to work due to the prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The labourers recalled relief from government and NGOs during last year’s lockdown. However, they are concerned this time because neither the government or any other organisations have announced relief packages for them. They have urged the government as well as NGOs to make arrangements for relief distribution in order to prevent starvation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the latest data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are 1.5 million daily wage labourers in Nepal. Similarly, 2.6 million people are employed in the formal sector while 4.4 million people work in the informal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to a study conducted by the National Planning Commission, around 1.7 million people lost their jobs in the domestic market during the lockdown last year. The figure stands at 2.1 million considering the number of Nepali migrant workers who lost their jobs. Despite collecting the information, the government has failed to effectively address their problem, say labour experts.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ganesh Gurung, a labour expert, says that the government has extended the prohibitory order but has not paid any attention towards the welfare of the workers. He says that the government must announce short-term and long-term programmes to avoid starvation among the people who are also fighting against the deadly disease. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13112', 'image' => '20210510124947_20171127050546_thamel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 12:48:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13366', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hospitals in Kathmandu Struggling to meet the Demand for Oxygen', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients. The scarcity of oxygen is getting extreme due to the sudden rise in number of patients with critical condition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">It has been learnt that the hospitals in the capital at present are able to meet only 50 percent of the demand for oxygen. Vice Chairman of the Association of Private Health Institutes of Nepal Dr Kumar Thapa says that there are high chances of situation getting out of control if the government does not supply oxygen in the coming days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Dr Thapa, they are struggling to provide oxygen support to patients with severe cases of Covid-19. He further said that patients in critical condition require at least five cylinders of oxygen per day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Kathmandu-based HAMS, Alka Hospital, Nidan Hospital and other hospitals in Bhaktapur have reported scarcity of oxygen. They have started referring patients with severe case of Covid-19 elsewhere in lack of sufficient oxygen, according to doctors working at those hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There are altogether 31 oxygen plants in operation in the country including the Kathmandu Valley. Meanwhile, hospitals are currently using 6,300 cylinders of oxygen. But the demand for oxygen has outnumbered the available oxygen. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Nepal Medical Association has urged the government to ensure smooth supply of oxygen. Issuing a statement on Saturday, the NMA requested the government to immediately address the problem.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the lack of sufficient oxygen has been causing problems in admission of new patients, General Secretary of NMA Bari Rijal urged the concerned bodies to ensure oxygen supply and beds for Covid-19 patients.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, health authorities have said that the government has already started managing supply of oxygen. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Jageshwar Gautam said that the government has initiated the process of importing oxygen cylinders from China to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to the hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13111', 'image' => '20210509054048_20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:39:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13365', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Industries on the Verge of Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting the movement of workers to the industry which is leading to closure of industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Most of the food producing industries related to pulses, rice and oil are located in cities like Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj. These cities have the highest rate of COVID-19 infection which is resulting in the shutdown of those industries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, workers are reluctant to come to the industry due to fear of coronavirus infection. Neither is the condition appropriate to make them work in the industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">About 75 percent of the food industries have been shut down and the rest of the industries are also about to be closed, he said. According to the industrialists, the demand of products has also declined as purchasing power of consumers has declined due to the loss of employment. Gupta said that if the infection rate continues to increase, all the food industries would have to be closed down within the next 15 days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">At present, industries are running in a single shift due to the growing panic among the workers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Naresh Rathi, proprietor of Chandrashiv Rice and Oil Mill, Biratnagar, said that some of the workers have not been able to come to work due to infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Under normal circumstances, industries in Nepal produce about 60 percent of the total annual demand for rice, 62 percent for pulses and 35 percent for oil.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The threat of infection is rising on one hand and on the other, industries are dealing with shortage of raw materials due to the high cost. The price of raw material has gone up in the international market. According to the industrialists, they have not been able to bring the required raw materials as they are not able to trade in cash due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The price of mustard oil has gone up to $820 per ton from $580 in the international market. Similarly, the price of Sona Mansuli rice has also increased by Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 3,000 per quintal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200911122318_1599774036.Clipboard06.jpg" style="height:450px; width:800px" /></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13110', 'image' => '20210509051303_20170820113716_c.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:10:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13364', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still Collecting Royalties from Mountaineering Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. More mountaineers have arrived in Nepal during the ongoing pandemic than in 2019. Likewise, royalty collection has also increased by 50 percent. However, tourism entrepreneurs complain that they are facing obstruction on movement. The lack of coordination among government agencies has forced the tourism agencies to suffer.<br /> Tourism agencies affiliated to the Department of Tourism have been given passes to transport tourists from the airport to hotels and other destinations. However, the administration does not recognize the department's pass and detained the visitors hours.<br /> Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association (EOA) Nepal, an umbrella organization of mountaineering entrepreneurs, said that the vehicles of tourism agencies often get stopped while they are on their way to pick up tourists. This leaves a bad impression on the tourists, says Parajuli.</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">"This has increased the risk of losing the trust of tourists," Parajuli added. "There is no problem in carrying tourists to their destinations and hotels, but those who go to pick them up are tortured."<br /> According to him, about 750 climbers have come to Nepal so far. He complained that the administration officials did not facilitate the movement despite showing the pass provided by the ministry and the department. In the current situation, 50 percent more royalties have been collected than in the corresponding period of 2019. However, Parajuli accused the government of not providing any assistance to the businessmen and agencies trying to revive tourism.<br /> Now that the entire tourism sector has collapsed, mountain tourism has brought some glimmer of hope.<br /> Parajuli says that the administration needs to help in facilitating the movement of tourists as soon as possible. An official of the department also said that the businessmen and agencies were saddened by the non-cooperation of the administration even though the department provided them pass.<br /> "Even in such a difficult time, tourists are willing to come by chartering a plane and the authorities shouldn't discourage the tourists," the official said requesting anonymity.<br /> The district administration offices in several districts have issued prohibitory orders due to the unprecedented surge in coronavirus infection. However, the government has not stopped giving permits for mountaineering and collecting royalties. The department had been issuing permits for climbing Mt Everest till May 7.<br /> Stating that the government should stop the issuance of permits and collection of royalties, one entrepreneur said, “They don't want to stop collecting royalties but are creating obstacles in the movement of representatives of tourism agencies. This is not practical.”</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the department, citizens of 78 countries are now allowed to climb various mountains and peaks in Nepal. There was zero mountaineering in the spring of 2020, but so far this season, 742 people from 85 climbing teams have taken permission for climbing different mountains.<br /> According to the department, most of them have got permission to climb Mt Everest. A total of 408 people have got permission to climb Mt Everest. On May 7 alone, 12 Nepali Sherpas completed the ascent of Everest for fixing ropes.<br /> Record-breaking climber Kamirita Sherpa broke his own record by successfully climbing Mt Everest for the 25th time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13109', 'image' => '20210509013149_20200917091916_Clipboard36.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 13:30:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13363', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pandemic is Under Control: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister made such claim in an interview with American news channel CNN on Saturday morning (May 8).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The remark made by Prime Minister Oli has caused massive backlash. Social media was abuzz the whole day with criticism of PM Oli for his remark as the crisis was deepening across the country. Critics said that the prime minister lost an opportunity to seek international support by giving a false statement. They were of the view that Oli should have given the real picture and that could have helped the government receive foreign assistance to fight the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the interview, PM Oli said that the first wave of coronavirus had come under control but there was an outbreak of second wave due to the negligence of the public.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We had brought the infection under control last year. The death toll had dropped to zero. New infection was below 50 per day. But the general people thought that the pandemic had ended and were negligent. That caused the second wave of coronavirus,” PM Oli told CNN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have mobilized all our mechanisms to bring the situation under control,” he added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister further said that the government has been busy in creating awareness among the people to save lives. Although the prime minister maintained that the situation was under control, the health ministry had recently said that the rate of infection is rising at an alarming rate and that the health facilities of the country were not able to cope with the situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the data provided by the ministry, a total of 53 people died due to the disease across the country on Saturday alone. Daily infection has climbed above 8,000 while the number of active cases is almost 100,000.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13108', 'image' => '20210509121210_1620516771.Clipboard12.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 12:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13362', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'No Infection at Everest Base Camp: Tourism Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">T</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">he ministry said in a statement that its attention has been drawn towards the recent news reports that some members of the Everest expedition teams for the spring season had tested positive for Covid-19, raising fears of a serious outbreak. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“There is no such risk at Everest Base Camp as claimed by some media,’’ the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the ministry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Some domestic and international media recently published reports claiming that the virus had spread at the base camp and climbers faced great risk of infection. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the ministry, 774 people of 86 expedition teams from 79 countries have acquired permission for climbing Everest this season and they all have followed the health safety protocols to the possible extent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Taranath Adhikari, said that a liaison officer has been mobilized to oversee activities of each expedition team and report any important incident and information relating to the pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Based on the available information, we can say there is no such infection risk at Everest Base Camp as reported in media,” he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The ministry has urged one and all not to entertain and disseminate unreliable and unverified information, creating fears among members of the expedition teams and their families and to follow information provided by official sources. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A Covid-19 crisis facilitation and coordination unit has been formed under the coordination of joint-secretary Buddisagar Lamichhane to make arrangements for the rescue of any climber and trekker in adverse situation and escort her/him to the destination safely. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The climbing for this season has officially kicked off with Kami Rita Sherpa successfully reaching the top of Everest at 18:00 pm on Friday (May 7) as a leader of rope fixing team, along with 11 other Sherpas (icefall doctors). This is a record 25th ascent of Everest by Kami Rita Sherpa. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13107', 'image' => '20210509114233_20210219104343_20201108030120_Contribution of Mountains to the Tourism Economy_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 11:41:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13360', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt conducting study on impacts of Covid-19 on foreign employment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. ', 'content' => '<p>May 8: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. </p> <p>Krishna Prasad Dawadi, Director General of the DoFE, said that the department is carrying out a study on the impact of Covid-19 on foreign employment sector in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and associations of recruiting firms.</p> <p>The department has requested the MoFA and associations of manpower companies to collect data of workers affected by the Covid-19 as well as other details on the impact of the pandemic on foreign employment from the respective embassies of the labor destination countries, according to Dawadi. </p> <p>He said that they have sought details on the Covid-19 situation in the destination countries, impact of pandemic on Nepali workers working abroad and their current condition. </p> <p>Following the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19, the number of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been falling in line with a decline in the demand for workers from labor receiving countries. <br /> “Since the international flights were suspended from May 6, the number of migrant workers leaving for foreign employment on Wednesday and Thursday was the highest if compared to the average number of workers leaving the country in recent months. However, the number of Nepali workers going abroad was already on a declining trend," said Dawadi.</p> <p>“We cannot say for sure that the second wave of the Covid-19 is the cause for the decline. So, we have decided to conduct the study,” he said. </p> <p>According to Dawadi, the study would help the government to understand how Nepali workers are impacted by the Covid-19 while working abroad as well as come up with relief and other necessary support to them. </p> <p>Foreign employment was severely affected by the first wave of Covid-19 and subsequent containment measures including the lockdown imposed in Nepal and destination countries. Thousands of Nepali workers were unable to go for foreign employment while many people returned home after losing their jobs abroad. <br /> The demand for workers was gradually increasing after the effects of Covid-19 started to subside. However, the unfolding Covid-19 crisis is once again hitting the foreign employment sector. <br /> Though international flights have been suspended, the department has not stopped distribution of work permits. The DoFE has started online services to issue work permits to Nepali workers to go for foreign employment. According to Dawadi, the DoFE has not stopped issuing work permits to avoid a backlog of applications for work permits and ensure that the department is not crowded with workers after the ongoing prohibitory period ends. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-08', 'modified' => '2021-05-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13105', 'image' => '20210508021733_Foreign Employment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-08 14:45:41', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13359', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NTB Sets up Crisis Management and Communication Cell to Rescue Tourists', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.<br /> The CMCC will facilitate in rescue and coordination of tourists and also monitor and manage hotel quarantine for passengers coming to Nepal from India under the Nepal-India air bubble agreement.<br /> Accordingly, CMCC has rescued 11 foreigners from Langtang, 4 Ukrainians from Pokhara, and 2 Americans from Lukla and brought them to Kathmandu. Similarly, as per the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation dated April 21, the tourism board has prepared hotel quarantine criteria for air passengers and facilitated them by liaising and coordinating with the hotels listed by the Ministry.<br /> The board has set up hotlines and emails (Hotline: 9851252666, Email:<br /> <a href="mailto:crisiscell@ntb.org.np" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">crisiscell@ntb.org.np</a>, website:-<a href="http://www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19</a>) to ensure that no tourist is stranded due to lack of necessary information during the pandemic.</span></span><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13104', 'image' => '20210507054326_202009.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 17:42:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13358', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Likely to Announce Agriculture Budget of 36.23 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21). The proposed budget is less than the budget allocated in the current fiscal year by Rs 5 billion.<br /> Last year, the government had allocated a budget of Rs 41.40 billion for the agriculture sector. Based on the ceiling set by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is currently drafting the budget for the agriculture sector.<br /> During a virtual programme on 'Coronavirus Pandemic and Agriculture Budget' organized by the Association of Agricultural Journalists (ANAJ) on Thursday, May 6, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Head of the Planning Branch Dr Hari Bahadur KC said that the ministry is preparing a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year.<br /> Out of the total budget for the agriculture sector, about 25 percent of the budget will be allocated for chemical fertilizers. KC said that a large amount of money had to be allocated for chemical fertilizer which is a major need for agricultural production.<br /> Likewise, Rs 3.21 billion will be spent on the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, and more than Rs 3 billion on the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARC).<br /> Similarly, Rs 3 billion has also been allocated for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry. A total of Rs 14 billion has been allocated under the subsidy heading, of which Rs 15 million will be allocated for various types of agricultural insurance and Rs 1 billion for sugarcane farmers. Likewise, Rs 8 billion has been allocated for the local and state governments, while Rs 1.60 billion will be allocated for financial budget management.<br /> The budget also emphasizes formulating the organic manure mission programme, digital soil mapping, and increasing the scope of soil testing. Likewise, the government plans to set up as many as 100 fruit nurseries, make fisheries self-reliant, and increase milk production and improve its distribution and storage systems. For that, plans have been made to build a powdered milk factory in Kohalpur and milk storage facilities in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13103', 'image' => '20210507033217_1620343279.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 15:31:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13357', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector ‘Surprised’ by Government’s Decision to Increase Minimum Wage of Workers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) have said that the minimum wage fixed by the government of workers would be difficult to implement owing to the current crisis of Covid-19. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Issuing a joint press statement here today, the umbrella bodies of entrepreneurs in the country have urged the government not to interfere in the process of determining wages for the labourers. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In a notice published on the Nepal Gazette on May 3, the government had raised the minimum wage of workers effective from the upcoming fiscal year. As per the decision, employers have to pay a labourer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The organizations have said that the partial and full prohibitory order enforced in 56 districts in the country to contain the second wave of Covid-19 had affected over 700,000 enterprises. They were of the view that the private sector enterprises might not be able to pay regular wages in such a situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement added that the private sector has been struggling to meet the daily expenses as the prohibitory orders have been extended by the government. In such a situation, they expressed surprise at the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage of workers. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">At a time when the small and medium scale enterprises have been hardest hit due to the health crisis, the organizations, through the press statement, have appealed to the government not to interfere in the determination of the minimum wages of the workers. They said that they will decide the matter on the basis of mutual understanding. </span></span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13102', 'image' => '20210507123102_1620290616.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 12:30:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13356', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Leaders and Experts Share Mixed Views on MCC ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Speaking at a recent programme, the politicians expressed diverse views over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and ratification of the MCC Compact from the parliament. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the virtual programme organized by Friends of Silk Road and Nepal China Friendship Forum on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bhim Rawal took exception to some of the points of MCC agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rawal reiterated that the some issues of MCC should be amended otherwise the parliament should not ratify it, RSS reported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat praised the MCC Compact stating that the MCC Board is chaired by Secretary of the Finance Ministry to facilitate the timely completion of projects and it is in Nepal’s national interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Dr Mahat was of the view that the grant received under the MCC would be mobilized as per Nepal’s laws. According to RSS, Mahat added that the MCC in Nepal was brought into controversy due to misleading information and propaganda. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries backed the MCC stating that it is more focused on development of infrastructures and it has nothing to do with politics. He argued that power grid is important in Nepal and added that electricity price will go up in Nepal if the transmission lines were not completed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">President of Friend of Silk Road Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma said that the programme was organised to inform the people and welcome healthy discussions of stakeholders and experts. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13101', 'image' => '20210507114916_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 11:48:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13355', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Financial Picture Challenging due to Covid-19, says Finance Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Addressing an informal meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers virtually on Wednesday (May 5), Minister Poudel said, “We have faced obstacle to achieve financial growth due to the multifaceted effects of Covid-19 in inclusive and sustainable development.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the virtual meeting held on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Poudel reiterated that although utmost efforts were made to bring the situation under control by uplifting the economy, the current circumstances have painted a grim picture of Nepal's economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the outbreak of second wave of Covid-19 had caused a huge setback to the economy of Nepal, Minister Poudel said that the tourism sector and other service sectors were most affected by the pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The adverse effects of Covid-19 has been reflected in the cut down in jobs, lay-offs of the employees, loss in business among others, argued the Minister. He added that Covid-19 had posed challenges for efforts aimed at promoting inclusiveness, human development and alleviating poverty. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Minister also expressed his view that it was imperative to ensure that all the countries had access to procure the vaccines against coronavirus. On the occasion, he extended gratefulness towards the government of India for providing vaccines against Covid-19 and said that it had enabled launching of vaccination drive in the SAARC region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He pressed for formulating policies and strategies by all the SAARC-member nations to cushion the effects of Covid-19 on the SAARC region’s economy and to promote local production in the developing nations of the region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Poudel extended his thankfulness to the ADB for its financial and technical support to Nepal in its covid-19 response and efforts to promote economic activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The finance ministers of SAARC and delegates had univocally underscored the need for mutual cooperation for socio-economic recovery to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on the economy of SAARC region. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13100', 'image' => '20210506032215_20210110034934_1610265858.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:20:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13354', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supply Chain of Construction Materials Affected: FCAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The FCAN said in a statement that the movement of vehicles supplying construction materials have been obstructed in different places, and are not given an easy access by security forces. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although factories are producing construction materials, the supply chain and availability of the produced goods have been badly affected as dealers and distributors have not been allowed to operate their business, FCAN noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement further says that FCAN’s attention was drawn seriously to the unusual price hike of construction materials during the time of prohibitory order. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement issued by general secretary of FCAN Roshan Dahal also added that construction work is likely to be affected in densely-populated areas and some other construction sites. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13099', 'image' => '20210506031251_20200415125719_1586906108.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:12:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13353', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Prepares Draft of Policies and Programmes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Government officials confirmed that the draft of the policies and programmes has been prepared and will be presented at a joint session of the House of Representatives and National Assembly by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on behalf of the government. As per the constitutional provision, the fiscal budget should be presented on the 15th day in the month of Jestha (May 29). The policies and programmes should be presented before the budget. However, the budget session has already been delayed this time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, Rojnath Pandey, said that all preparations for the budget session has been made but it is not certain when the policies and programmes will be tabled in the parliament as the budget session has not been called yet. A special session of parliament has been called for May 10 to seek vote of confidence by Prime Minister KP Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to a senior official involved in preparing the draft of the policies and programmes, the government has given priority to the construction of state-of-the-art hospitals at every local level. Similarly, relief packages will be introduced for the industries affected by COVID-19 pandemic and programmes will be included to expedite the development process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The policies and programmes will also focus on increasing economic activities, invest in the productive sector, prioritize internal resource mobilization and reduce unnecessary expenses in light of the COVID-19 crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the official, the policies and programmes have prioritized commercial farming, industrial development and increasing productivity, completion of national pride projects within the deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government is set to announce an increase in old-age allowance so that elderly people can look after themselves and implement the new minimum salary strictly from mid-July. The government is also preparing to introduce incentives for innovation, special discounts for export-oriented industries, special emphasis on the Digital Nepal campaign, and additional employment generation programmes through the Prime Minister's Employment Programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">In the mid-February, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi had instructed the secretaries to prepare policies and programs that are worthy of implementation. He had also instructed them to formulate policies and programs by holding necessary discussions to avoid duplication with the local level programmes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13098', 'image' => '20210506025841_20210409035508_20200409120151_1586383527.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 14:51:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13368', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Production Declining in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. The production of major food products of Nepal such as paddy, maize, wheat, millet and buckwheat has been declining over the years. The production of buckwheat has been most affected. It has declined by 40 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Considering the findings of the National Census of Agriculture 2001/2002, the country’s agriculture is expected to shrink by 30 percent by 2021/ 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The then government had opened a company in 1978 to export rice to foreign countries. The company used to export rice to Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. But Nepal currently imports rice worth Rs 2 billion from different countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 300 million kilograms of rice from India and 733,000 kilograms of rice from the USA in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal imported 330 million kilograms of maize from India, 2.4 million kilograms of maize each from Brazil and Argentina.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The National Census of Agriculture 2011/2012 shows that the production of paddy declined by 6 percent. Similarly, the production of maize, wheat, millet, buckwheat, barley and mustard declined by 12 percent, 6 percent, 19 percent, 40 percent, 35 percent and 13 percent respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Agriculture experts claim that the major reasons for the decline in agriculture as plotting of land, leaving the arable land fallow, and farmers, especially women, moving into cities from villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr Yogendra Kumar Karki says that the agriculture production of the country must be increased in order to sustain the growing population of Nepal, mentions a news report published by the national news agency RSS.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13113', 'image' => '20210510032220_1620598671.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 15:21:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13367', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prohibitory Order Raises Prospect of Starvation among Daily-Wage Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Daily wage labourers and workers of the informal sector have been hard hit by the prohibitory order as they do not have regular source of income and the government has banned all other activities except emergency work. This has raised the prospect of starvation among the families who depend on daily work to make a living.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The affected group of people say that they are worried about starvation as the government has not announced any relief packages for such workers and small enterprises.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ratna Shrestha of Kavre, who runs a fancy dress shop in Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, has not been able to operate his business since the last ten days. He says he is now struggling to meet his daily expenses. He is worried about managing the rent of his stall if the restrictions get prolonged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rajesh Shrestha who runs a mobile and TV shop in New Road is equally worried. He says that he is in great stress for not being able to open his shop. He is also worried about how to pay the rent if he cannot run his business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Man Bahadur Pariyar also shares a similar story. Originally from Sindhupalchowk, Pariyar has been operating a tailoring shop in New Baneshwar. He is also struggling to make ends meet due to the prohibitory order.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The rent of the shutter is exorbitant. I started this tailoring shop one and a half year ago by getting some loan. I am still not able to pay the loan. On top of it, the restrictions have brought by work to a standstill. It is getting difficult to meet the daily expenses,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Workers of the informal sector are deeply worried as they are unable to work due to the prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The labourers recalled relief from government and NGOs during last year’s lockdown. However, they are concerned this time because neither the government or any other organisations have announced relief packages for them. They have urged the government as well as NGOs to make arrangements for relief distribution in order to prevent starvation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the latest data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are 1.5 million daily wage labourers in Nepal. Similarly, 2.6 million people are employed in the formal sector while 4.4 million people work in the informal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to a study conducted by the National Planning Commission, around 1.7 million people lost their jobs in the domestic market during the lockdown last year. The figure stands at 2.1 million considering the number of Nepali migrant workers who lost their jobs. Despite collecting the information, the government has failed to effectively address their problem, say labour experts.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ganesh Gurung, a labour expert, says that the government has extended the prohibitory order but has not paid any attention towards the welfare of the workers. He says that the government must announce short-term and long-term programmes to avoid starvation among the people who are also fighting against the deadly disease. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13112', 'image' => '20210510124947_20171127050546_thamel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 12:48:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13366', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hospitals in Kathmandu Struggling to meet the Demand for Oxygen', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients. The scarcity of oxygen is getting extreme due to the sudden rise in number of patients with critical condition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">It has been learnt that the hospitals in the capital at present are able to meet only 50 percent of the demand for oxygen. Vice Chairman of the Association of Private Health Institutes of Nepal Dr Kumar Thapa says that there are high chances of situation getting out of control if the government does not supply oxygen in the coming days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Dr Thapa, they are struggling to provide oxygen support to patients with severe cases of Covid-19. He further said that patients in critical condition require at least five cylinders of oxygen per day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Kathmandu-based HAMS, Alka Hospital, Nidan Hospital and other hospitals in Bhaktapur have reported scarcity of oxygen. They have started referring patients with severe case of Covid-19 elsewhere in lack of sufficient oxygen, according to doctors working at those hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There are altogether 31 oxygen plants in operation in the country including the Kathmandu Valley. Meanwhile, hospitals are currently using 6,300 cylinders of oxygen. But the demand for oxygen has outnumbered the available oxygen. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Nepal Medical Association has urged the government to ensure smooth supply of oxygen. Issuing a statement on Saturday, the NMA requested the government to immediately address the problem.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the lack of sufficient oxygen has been causing problems in admission of new patients, General Secretary of NMA Bari Rijal urged the concerned bodies to ensure oxygen supply and beds for Covid-19 patients.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, health authorities have said that the government has already started managing supply of oxygen. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Jageshwar Gautam said that the government has initiated the process of importing oxygen cylinders from China to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to the hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13111', 'image' => '20210509054048_20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:39:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13365', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Industries on the Verge of Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting the movement of workers to the industry which is leading to closure of industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Most of the food producing industries related to pulses, rice and oil are located in cities like Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj. These cities have the highest rate of COVID-19 infection which is resulting in the shutdown of those industries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, workers are reluctant to come to the industry due to fear of coronavirus infection. Neither is the condition appropriate to make them work in the industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">About 75 percent of the food industries have been shut down and the rest of the industries are also about to be closed, he said. According to the industrialists, the demand of products has also declined as purchasing power of consumers has declined due to the loss of employment. Gupta said that if the infection rate continues to increase, all the food industries would have to be closed down within the next 15 days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">At present, industries are running in a single shift due to the growing panic among the workers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Naresh Rathi, proprietor of Chandrashiv Rice and Oil Mill, Biratnagar, said that some of the workers have not been able to come to work due to infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Under normal circumstances, industries in Nepal produce about 60 percent of the total annual demand for rice, 62 percent for pulses and 35 percent for oil.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The threat of infection is rising on one hand and on the other, industries are dealing with shortage of raw materials due to the high cost. The price of raw material has gone up in the international market. According to the industrialists, they have not been able to bring the required raw materials as they are not able to trade in cash due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The price of mustard oil has gone up to $820 per ton from $580 in the international market. Similarly, the price of Sona Mansuli rice has also increased by Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 3,000 per quintal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200911122318_1599774036.Clipboard06.jpg" style="height:450px; width:800px" /></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13110', 'image' => '20210509051303_20170820113716_c.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:10:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13364', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still Collecting Royalties from Mountaineering Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. More mountaineers have arrived in Nepal during the ongoing pandemic than in 2019. Likewise, royalty collection has also increased by 50 percent. However, tourism entrepreneurs complain that they are facing obstruction on movement. The lack of coordination among government agencies has forced the tourism agencies to suffer.<br /> Tourism agencies affiliated to the Department of Tourism have been given passes to transport tourists from the airport to hotels and other destinations. However, the administration does not recognize the department's pass and detained the visitors hours.<br /> Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association (EOA) Nepal, an umbrella organization of mountaineering entrepreneurs, said that the vehicles of tourism agencies often get stopped while they are on their way to pick up tourists. This leaves a bad impression on the tourists, says Parajuli.</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">"This has increased the risk of losing the trust of tourists," Parajuli added. "There is no problem in carrying tourists to their destinations and hotels, but those who go to pick them up are tortured."<br /> According to him, about 750 climbers have come to Nepal so far. He complained that the administration officials did not facilitate the movement despite showing the pass provided by the ministry and the department. In the current situation, 50 percent more royalties have been collected than in the corresponding period of 2019. However, Parajuli accused the government of not providing any assistance to the businessmen and agencies trying to revive tourism.<br /> Now that the entire tourism sector has collapsed, mountain tourism has brought some glimmer of hope.<br /> Parajuli says that the administration needs to help in facilitating the movement of tourists as soon as possible. An official of the department also said that the businessmen and agencies were saddened by the non-cooperation of the administration even though the department provided them pass.<br /> "Even in such a difficult time, tourists are willing to come by chartering a plane and the authorities shouldn't discourage the tourists," the official said requesting anonymity.<br /> The district administration offices in several districts have issued prohibitory orders due to the unprecedented surge in coronavirus infection. However, the government has not stopped giving permits for mountaineering and collecting royalties. The department had been issuing permits for climbing Mt Everest till May 7.<br /> Stating that the government should stop the issuance of permits and collection of royalties, one entrepreneur said, “They don't want to stop collecting royalties but are creating obstacles in the movement of representatives of tourism agencies. This is not practical.”</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the department, citizens of 78 countries are now allowed to climb various mountains and peaks in Nepal. There was zero mountaineering in the spring of 2020, but so far this season, 742 people from 85 climbing teams have taken permission for climbing different mountains.<br /> According to the department, most of them have got permission to climb Mt Everest. A total of 408 people have got permission to climb Mt Everest. On May 7 alone, 12 Nepali Sherpas completed the ascent of Everest for fixing ropes.<br /> Record-breaking climber Kamirita Sherpa broke his own record by successfully climbing Mt Everest for the 25th time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13109', 'image' => '20210509013149_20200917091916_Clipboard36.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 13:30:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13363', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pandemic is Under Control: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister made such claim in an interview with American news channel CNN on Saturday morning (May 8).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The remark made by Prime Minister Oli has caused massive backlash. Social media was abuzz the whole day with criticism of PM Oli for his remark as the crisis was deepening across the country. Critics said that the prime minister lost an opportunity to seek international support by giving a false statement. They were of the view that Oli should have given the real picture and that could have helped the government receive foreign assistance to fight the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the interview, PM Oli said that the first wave of coronavirus had come under control but there was an outbreak of second wave due to the negligence of the public.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We had brought the infection under control last year. The death toll had dropped to zero. New infection was below 50 per day. But the general people thought that the pandemic had ended and were negligent. That caused the second wave of coronavirus,” PM Oli told CNN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have mobilized all our mechanisms to bring the situation under control,” he added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister further said that the government has been busy in creating awareness among the people to save lives. Although the prime minister maintained that the situation was under control, the health ministry had recently said that the rate of infection is rising at an alarming rate and that the health facilities of the country were not able to cope with the situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the data provided by the ministry, a total of 53 people died due to the disease across the country on Saturday alone. Daily infection has climbed above 8,000 while the number of active cases is almost 100,000.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13108', 'image' => '20210509121210_1620516771.Clipboard12.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 12:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13362', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'No Infection at Everest Base Camp: Tourism Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">T</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">he ministry said in a statement that its attention has been drawn towards the recent news reports that some members of the Everest expedition teams for the spring season had tested positive for Covid-19, raising fears of a serious outbreak. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“There is no such risk at Everest Base Camp as claimed by some media,’’ the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the ministry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Some domestic and international media recently published reports claiming that the virus had spread at the base camp and climbers faced great risk of infection. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the ministry, 774 people of 86 expedition teams from 79 countries have acquired permission for climbing Everest this season and they all have followed the health safety protocols to the possible extent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Taranath Adhikari, said that a liaison officer has been mobilized to oversee activities of each expedition team and report any important incident and information relating to the pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Based on the available information, we can say there is no such infection risk at Everest Base Camp as reported in media,” he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The ministry has urged one and all not to entertain and disseminate unreliable and unverified information, creating fears among members of the expedition teams and their families and to follow information provided by official sources. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A Covid-19 crisis facilitation and coordination unit has been formed under the coordination of joint-secretary Buddisagar Lamichhane to make arrangements for the rescue of any climber and trekker in adverse situation and escort her/him to the destination safely. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The climbing for this season has officially kicked off with Kami Rita Sherpa successfully reaching the top of Everest at 18:00 pm on Friday (May 7) as a leader of rope fixing team, along with 11 other Sherpas (icefall doctors). This is a record 25th ascent of Everest by Kami Rita Sherpa. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13107', 'image' => '20210509114233_20210219104343_20201108030120_Contribution of Mountains to the Tourism Economy_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 11:41:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13360', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt conducting study on impacts of Covid-19 on foreign employment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. ', 'content' => '<p>May 8: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. </p> <p>Krishna Prasad Dawadi, Director General of the DoFE, said that the department is carrying out a study on the impact of Covid-19 on foreign employment sector in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and associations of recruiting firms.</p> <p>The department has requested the MoFA and associations of manpower companies to collect data of workers affected by the Covid-19 as well as other details on the impact of the pandemic on foreign employment from the respective embassies of the labor destination countries, according to Dawadi. </p> <p>He said that they have sought details on the Covid-19 situation in the destination countries, impact of pandemic on Nepali workers working abroad and their current condition. </p> <p>Following the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19, the number of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been falling in line with a decline in the demand for workers from labor receiving countries. <br /> “Since the international flights were suspended from May 6, the number of migrant workers leaving for foreign employment on Wednesday and Thursday was the highest if compared to the average number of workers leaving the country in recent months. However, the number of Nepali workers going abroad was already on a declining trend," said Dawadi.</p> <p>“We cannot say for sure that the second wave of the Covid-19 is the cause for the decline. So, we have decided to conduct the study,” he said. </p> <p>According to Dawadi, the study would help the government to understand how Nepali workers are impacted by the Covid-19 while working abroad as well as come up with relief and other necessary support to them. </p> <p>Foreign employment was severely affected by the first wave of Covid-19 and subsequent containment measures including the lockdown imposed in Nepal and destination countries. Thousands of Nepali workers were unable to go for foreign employment while many people returned home after losing their jobs abroad. <br /> The demand for workers was gradually increasing after the effects of Covid-19 started to subside. However, the unfolding Covid-19 crisis is once again hitting the foreign employment sector. <br /> Though international flights have been suspended, the department has not stopped distribution of work permits. The DoFE has started online services to issue work permits to Nepali workers to go for foreign employment. According to Dawadi, the DoFE has not stopped issuing work permits to avoid a backlog of applications for work permits and ensure that the department is not crowded with workers after the ongoing prohibitory period ends. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-08', 'modified' => '2021-05-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13105', 'image' => '20210508021733_Foreign Employment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-08 14:45:41', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13359', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NTB Sets up Crisis Management and Communication Cell to Rescue Tourists', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.<br /> The CMCC will facilitate in rescue and coordination of tourists and also monitor and manage hotel quarantine for passengers coming to Nepal from India under the Nepal-India air bubble agreement.<br /> Accordingly, CMCC has rescued 11 foreigners from Langtang, 4 Ukrainians from Pokhara, and 2 Americans from Lukla and brought them to Kathmandu. Similarly, as per the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation dated April 21, the tourism board has prepared hotel quarantine criteria for air passengers and facilitated them by liaising and coordinating with the hotels listed by the Ministry.<br /> The board has set up hotlines and emails (Hotline: 9851252666, Email:<br /> <a href="mailto:crisiscell@ntb.org.np" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">crisiscell@ntb.org.np</a>, website:-<a href="http://www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19</a>) to ensure that no tourist is stranded due to lack of necessary information during the pandemic.</span></span><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13104', 'image' => '20210507054326_202009.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 17:42:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13358', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Likely to Announce Agriculture Budget of 36.23 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21). The proposed budget is less than the budget allocated in the current fiscal year by Rs 5 billion.<br /> Last year, the government had allocated a budget of Rs 41.40 billion for the agriculture sector. Based on the ceiling set by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is currently drafting the budget for the agriculture sector.<br /> During a virtual programme on 'Coronavirus Pandemic and Agriculture Budget' organized by the Association of Agricultural Journalists (ANAJ) on Thursday, May 6, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Head of the Planning Branch Dr Hari Bahadur KC said that the ministry is preparing a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year.<br /> Out of the total budget for the agriculture sector, about 25 percent of the budget will be allocated for chemical fertilizers. KC said that a large amount of money had to be allocated for chemical fertilizer which is a major need for agricultural production.<br /> Likewise, Rs 3.21 billion will be spent on the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, and more than Rs 3 billion on the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARC).<br /> Similarly, Rs 3 billion has also been allocated for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry. A total of Rs 14 billion has been allocated under the subsidy heading, of which Rs 15 million will be allocated for various types of agricultural insurance and Rs 1 billion for sugarcane farmers. Likewise, Rs 8 billion has been allocated for the local and state governments, while Rs 1.60 billion will be allocated for financial budget management.<br /> The budget also emphasizes formulating the organic manure mission programme, digital soil mapping, and increasing the scope of soil testing. Likewise, the government plans to set up as many as 100 fruit nurseries, make fisheries self-reliant, and increase milk production and improve its distribution and storage systems. For that, plans have been made to build a powdered milk factory in Kohalpur and milk storage facilities in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13103', 'image' => '20210507033217_1620343279.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 15:31:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13357', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector ‘Surprised’ by Government’s Decision to Increase Minimum Wage of Workers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) have said that the minimum wage fixed by the government of workers would be difficult to implement owing to the current crisis of Covid-19. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Issuing a joint press statement here today, the umbrella bodies of entrepreneurs in the country have urged the government not to interfere in the process of determining wages for the labourers. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In a notice published on the Nepal Gazette on May 3, the government had raised the minimum wage of workers effective from the upcoming fiscal year. As per the decision, employers have to pay a labourer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The organizations have said that the partial and full prohibitory order enforced in 56 districts in the country to contain the second wave of Covid-19 had affected over 700,000 enterprises. They were of the view that the private sector enterprises might not be able to pay regular wages in such a situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement added that the private sector has been struggling to meet the daily expenses as the prohibitory orders have been extended by the government. In such a situation, they expressed surprise at the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage of workers. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">At a time when the small and medium scale enterprises have been hardest hit due to the health crisis, the organizations, through the press statement, have appealed to the government not to interfere in the determination of the minimum wages of the workers. They said that they will decide the matter on the basis of mutual understanding. </span></span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13102', 'image' => '20210507123102_1620290616.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 12:30:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13356', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Leaders and Experts Share Mixed Views on MCC ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Speaking at a recent programme, the politicians expressed diverse views over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and ratification of the MCC Compact from the parliament. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the virtual programme organized by Friends of Silk Road and Nepal China Friendship Forum on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bhim Rawal took exception to some of the points of MCC agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rawal reiterated that the some issues of MCC should be amended otherwise the parliament should not ratify it, RSS reported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat praised the MCC Compact stating that the MCC Board is chaired by Secretary of the Finance Ministry to facilitate the timely completion of projects and it is in Nepal’s national interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Dr Mahat was of the view that the grant received under the MCC would be mobilized as per Nepal’s laws. According to RSS, Mahat added that the MCC in Nepal was brought into controversy due to misleading information and propaganda. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries backed the MCC stating that it is more focused on development of infrastructures and it has nothing to do with politics. He argued that power grid is important in Nepal and added that electricity price will go up in Nepal if the transmission lines were not completed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">President of Friend of Silk Road Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma said that the programme was organised to inform the people and welcome healthy discussions of stakeholders and experts. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13101', 'image' => '20210507114916_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 11:48:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13355', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Financial Picture Challenging due to Covid-19, says Finance Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Addressing an informal meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers virtually on Wednesday (May 5), Minister Poudel said, “We have faced obstacle to achieve financial growth due to the multifaceted effects of Covid-19 in inclusive and sustainable development.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the virtual meeting held on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Poudel reiterated that although utmost efforts were made to bring the situation under control by uplifting the economy, the current circumstances have painted a grim picture of Nepal's economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the outbreak of second wave of Covid-19 had caused a huge setback to the economy of Nepal, Minister Poudel said that the tourism sector and other service sectors were most affected by the pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The adverse effects of Covid-19 has been reflected in the cut down in jobs, lay-offs of the employees, loss in business among others, argued the Minister. He added that Covid-19 had posed challenges for efforts aimed at promoting inclusiveness, human development and alleviating poverty. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Minister also expressed his view that it was imperative to ensure that all the countries had access to procure the vaccines against coronavirus. On the occasion, he extended gratefulness towards the government of India for providing vaccines against Covid-19 and said that it had enabled launching of vaccination drive in the SAARC region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He pressed for formulating policies and strategies by all the SAARC-member nations to cushion the effects of Covid-19 on the SAARC region’s economy and to promote local production in the developing nations of the region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Poudel extended his thankfulness to the ADB for its financial and technical support to Nepal in its covid-19 response and efforts to promote economic activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The finance ministers of SAARC and delegates had univocally underscored the need for mutual cooperation for socio-economic recovery to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on the economy of SAARC region. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13100', 'image' => '20210506032215_20210110034934_1610265858.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:20:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13354', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supply Chain of Construction Materials Affected: FCAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The FCAN said in a statement that the movement of vehicles supplying construction materials have been obstructed in different places, and are not given an easy access by security forces. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although factories are producing construction materials, the supply chain and availability of the produced goods have been badly affected as dealers and distributors have not been allowed to operate their business, FCAN noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement further says that FCAN’s attention was drawn seriously to the unusual price hike of construction materials during the time of prohibitory order. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement issued by general secretary of FCAN Roshan Dahal also added that construction work is likely to be affected in densely-populated areas and some other construction sites. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13099', 'image' => '20210506031251_20200415125719_1586906108.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:12:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13353', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Prepares Draft of Policies and Programmes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Government officials confirmed that the draft of the policies and programmes has been prepared and will be presented at a joint session of the House of Representatives and National Assembly by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on behalf of the government. As per the constitutional provision, the fiscal budget should be presented on the 15th day in the month of Jestha (May 29). The policies and programmes should be presented before the budget. However, the budget session has already been delayed this time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, Rojnath Pandey, said that all preparations for the budget session has been made but it is not certain when the policies and programmes will be tabled in the parliament as the budget session has not been called yet. A special session of parliament has been called for May 10 to seek vote of confidence by Prime Minister KP Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to a senior official involved in preparing the draft of the policies and programmes, the government has given priority to the construction of state-of-the-art hospitals at every local level. Similarly, relief packages will be introduced for the industries affected by COVID-19 pandemic and programmes will be included to expedite the development process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The policies and programmes will also focus on increasing economic activities, invest in the productive sector, prioritize internal resource mobilization and reduce unnecessary expenses in light of the COVID-19 crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the official, the policies and programmes have prioritized commercial farming, industrial development and increasing productivity, completion of national pride projects within the deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government is set to announce an increase in old-age allowance so that elderly people can look after themselves and implement the new minimum salary strictly from mid-July. The government is also preparing to introduce incentives for innovation, special discounts for export-oriented industries, special emphasis on the Digital Nepal campaign, and additional employment generation programmes through the Prime Minister's Employment Programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">In the mid-February, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi had instructed the secretaries to prepare policies and programs that are worthy of implementation. He had also instructed them to formulate policies and programs by holding necessary discussions to avoid duplication with the local level programmes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13098', 'image' => '20210506025841_20210409035508_20200409120151_1586383527.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 14:51:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13368', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Production Declining in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. The production of major food products of Nepal such as paddy, maize, wheat, millet and buckwheat has been declining over the years. The production of buckwheat has been most affected. It has declined by 40 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Considering the findings of the National Census of Agriculture 2001/2002, the country’s agriculture is expected to shrink by 30 percent by 2021/ 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The then government had opened a company in 1978 to export rice to foreign countries. The company used to export rice to Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. But Nepal currently imports rice worth Rs 2 billion from different countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 300 million kilograms of rice from India and 733,000 kilograms of rice from the USA in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal imported 330 million kilograms of maize from India, 2.4 million kilograms of maize each from Brazil and Argentina.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The National Census of Agriculture 2011/2012 shows that the production of paddy declined by 6 percent. Similarly, the production of maize, wheat, millet, buckwheat, barley and mustard declined by 12 percent, 6 percent, 19 percent, 40 percent, 35 percent and 13 percent respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Agriculture experts claim that the major reasons for the decline in agriculture as plotting of land, leaving the arable land fallow, and farmers, especially women, moving into cities from villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr Yogendra Kumar Karki says that the agriculture production of the country must be increased in order to sustain the growing population of Nepal, mentions a news report published by the national news agency RSS.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13113', 'image' => '20210510032220_1620598671.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 15:21:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13367', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prohibitory Order Raises Prospect of Starvation among Daily-Wage Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Daily wage labourers and workers of the informal sector have been hard hit by the prohibitory order as they do not have regular source of income and the government has banned all other activities except emergency work. This has raised the prospect of starvation among the families who depend on daily work to make a living.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The affected group of people say that they are worried about starvation as the government has not announced any relief packages for such workers and small enterprises.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ratna Shrestha of Kavre, who runs a fancy dress shop in Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, has not been able to operate his business since the last ten days. He says he is now struggling to meet his daily expenses. He is worried about managing the rent of his stall if the restrictions get prolonged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rajesh Shrestha who runs a mobile and TV shop in New Road is equally worried. He says that he is in great stress for not being able to open his shop. He is also worried about how to pay the rent if he cannot run his business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Man Bahadur Pariyar also shares a similar story. Originally from Sindhupalchowk, Pariyar has been operating a tailoring shop in New Baneshwar. He is also struggling to make ends meet due to the prohibitory order.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The rent of the shutter is exorbitant. I started this tailoring shop one and a half year ago by getting some loan. I am still not able to pay the loan. On top of it, the restrictions have brought by work to a standstill. It is getting difficult to meet the daily expenses,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Workers of the informal sector are deeply worried as they are unable to work due to the prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The labourers recalled relief from government and NGOs during last year’s lockdown. However, they are concerned this time because neither the government or any other organisations have announced relief packages for them. They have urged the government as well as NGOs to make arrangements for relief distribution in order to prevent starvation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the latest data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are 1.5 million daily wage labourers in Nepal. Similarly, 2.6 million people are employed in the formal sector while 4.4 million people work in the informal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to a study conducted by the National Planning Commission, around 1.7 million people lost their jobs in the domestic market during the lockdown last year. The figure stands at 2.1 million considering the number of Nepali migrant workers who lost their jobs. Despite collecting the information, the government has failed to effectively address their problem, say labour experts.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ganesh Gurung, a labour expert, says that the government has extended the prohibitory order but has not paid any attention towards the welfare of the workers. He says that the government must announce short-term and long-term programmes to avoid starvation among the people who are also fighting against the deadly disease. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13112', 'image' => '20210510124947_20171127050546_thamel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 12:48:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13366', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hospitals in Kathmandu Struggling to meet the Demand for Oxygen', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients. The scarcity of oxygen is getting extreme due to the sudden rise in number of patients with critical condition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">It has been learnt that the hospitals in the capital at present are able to meet only 50 percent of the demand for oxygen. Vice Chairman of the Association of Private Health Institutes of Nepal Dr Kumar Thapa says that there are high chances of situation getting out of control if the government does not supply oxygen in the coming days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Dr Thapa, they are struggling to provide oxygen support to patients with severe cases of Covid-19. He further said that patients in critical condition require at least five cylinders of oxygen per day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Kathmandu-based HAMS, Alka Hospital, Nidan Hospital and other hospitals in Bhaktapur have reported scarcity of oxygen. They have started referring patients with severe case of Covid-19 elsewhere in lack of sufficient oxygen, according to doctors working at those hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There are altogether 31 oxygen plants in operation in the country including the Kathmandu Valley. Meanwhile, hospitals are currently using 6,300 cylinders of oxygen. But the demand for oxygen has outnumbered the available oxygen. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Nepal Medical Association has urged the government to ensure smooth supply of oxygen. Issuing a statement on Saturday, the NMA requested the government to immediately address the problem.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the lack of sufficient oxygen has been causing problems in admission of new patients, General Secretary of NMA Bari Rijal urged the concerned bodies to ensure oxygen supply and beds for Covid-19 patients.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, health authorities have said that the government has already started managing supply of oxygen. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Jageshwar Gautam said that the government has initiated the process of importing oxygen cylinders from China to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to the hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13111', 'image' => '20210509054048_20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:39:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13365', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Industries on the Verge of Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting the movement of workers to the industry which is leading to closure of industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Most of the food producing industries related to pulses, rice and oil are located in cities like Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj. These cities have the highest rate of COVID-19 infection which is resulting in the shutdown of those industries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, workers are reluctant to come to the industry due to fear of coronavirus infection. Neither is the condition appropriate to make them work in the industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">About 75 percent of the food industries have been shut down and the rest of the industries are also about to be closed, he said. According to the industrialists, the demand of products has also declined as purchasing power of consumers has declined due to the loss of employment. Gupta said that if the infection rate continues to increase, all the food industries would have to be closed down within the next 15 days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">At present, industries are running in a single shift due to the growing panic among the workers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Naresh Rathi, proprietor of Chandrashiv Rice and Oil Mill, Biratnagar, said that some of the workers have not been able to come to work due to infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Under normal circumstances, industries in Nepal produce about 60 percent of the total annual demand for rice, 62 percent for pulses and 35 percent for oil.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The threat of infection is rising on one hand and on the other, industries are dealing with shortage of raw materials due to the high cost. The price of raw material has gone up in the international market. According to the industrialists, they have not been able to bring the required raw materials as they are not able to trade in cash due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The price of mustard oil has gone up to $820 per ton from $580 in the international market. Similarly, the price of Sona Mansuli rice has also increased by Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 3,000 per quintal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200911122318_1599774036.Clipboard06.jpg" style="height:450px; width:800px" /></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13110', 'image' => '20210509051303_20170820113716_c.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:10:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13364', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still Collecting Royalties from Mountaineering Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. More mountaineers have arrived in Nepal during the ongoing pandemic than in 2019. Likewise, royalty collection has also increased by 50 percent. However, tourism entrepreneurs complain that they are facing obstruction on movement. The lack of coordination among government agencies has forced the tourism agencies to suffer.<br /> Tourism agencies affiliated to the Department of Tourism have been given passes to transport tourists from the airport to hotels and other destinations. However, the administration does not recognize the department's pass and detained the visitors hours.<br /> Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association (EOA) Nepal, an umbrella organization of mountaineering entrepreneurs, said that the vehicles of tourism agencies often get stopped while they are on their way to pick up tourists. This leaves a bad impression on the tourists, says Parajuli.</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">"This has increased the risk of losing the trust of tourists," Parajuli added. "There is no problem in carrying tourists to their destinations and hotels, but those who go to pick them up are tortured."<br /> According to him, about 750 climbers have come to Nepal so far. He complained that the administration officials did not facilitate the movement despite showing the pass provided by the ministry and the department. In the current situation, 50 percent more royalties have been collected than in the corresponding period of 2019. However, Parajuli accused the government of not providing any assistance to the businessmen and agencies trying to revive tourism.<br /> Now that the entire tourism sector has collapsed, mountain tourism has brought some glimmer of hope.<br /> Parajuli says that the administration needs to help in facilitating the movement of tourists as soon as possible. An official of the department also said that the businessmen and agencies were saddened by the non-cooperation of the administration even though the department provided them pass.<br /> "Even in such a difficult time, tourists are willing to come by chartering a plane and the authorities shouldn't discourage the tourists," the official said requesting anonymity.<br /> The district administration offices in several districts have issued prohibitory orders due to the unprecedented surge in coronavirus infection. However, the government has not stopped giving permits for mountaineering and collecting royalties. The department had been issuing permits for climbing Mt Everest till May 7.<br /> Stating that the government should stop the issuance of permits and collection of royalties, one entrepreneur said, “They don't want to stop collecting royalties but are creating obstacles in the movement of representatives of tourism agencies. This is not practical.”</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the department, citizens of 78 countries are now allowed to climb various mountains and peaks in Nepal. There was zero mountaineering in the spring of 2020, but so far this season, 742 people from 85 climbing teams have taken permission for climbing different mountains.<br /> According to the department, most of them have got permission to climb Mt Everest. A total of 408 people have got permission to climb Mt Everest. On May 7 alone, 12 Nepali Sherpas completed the ascent of Everest for fixing ropes.<br /> Record-breaking climber Kamirita Sherpa broke his own record by successfully climbing Mt Everest for the 25th time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13109', 'image' => '20210509013149_20200917091916_Clipboard36.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 13:30:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13363', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pandemic is Under Control: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister made such claim in an interview with American news channel CNN on Saturday morning (May 8).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The remark made by Prime Minister Oli has caused massive backlash. Social media was abuzz the whole day with criticism of PM Oli for his remark as the crisis was deepening across the country. Critics said that the prime minister lost an opportunity to seek international support by giving a false statement. They were of the view that Oli should have given the real picture and that could have helped the government receive foreign assistance to fight the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the interview, PM Oli said that the first wave of coronavirus had come under control but there was an outbreak of second wave due to the negligence of the public.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We had brought the infection under control last year. The death toll had dropped to zero. New infection was below 50 per day. But the general people thought that the pandemic had ended and were negligent. That caused the second wave of coronavirus,” PM Oli told CNN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have mobilized all our mechanisms to bring the situation under control,” he added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister further said that the government has been busy in creating awareness among the people to save lives. Although the prime minister maintained that the situation was under control, the health ministry had recently said that the rate of infection is rising at an alarming rate and that the health facilities of the country were not able to cope with the situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the data provided by the ministry, a total of 53 people died due to the disease across the country on Saturday alone. Daily infection has climbed above 8,000 while the number of active cases is almost 100,000.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13108', 'image' => '20210509121210_1620516771.Clipboard12.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 12:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13362', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'No Infection at Everest Base Camp: Tourism Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">T</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">he ministry said in a statement that its attention has been drawn towards the recent news reports that some members of the Everest expedition teams for the spring season had tested positive for Covid-19, raising fears of a serious outbreak. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“There is no such risk at Everest Base Camp as claimed by some media,’’ the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the ministry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Some domestic and international media recently published reports claiming that the virus had spread at the base camp and climbers faced great risk of infection. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the ministry, 774 people of 86 expedition teams from 79 countries have acquired permission for climbing Everest this season and they all have followed the health safety protocols to the possible extent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Taranath Adhikari, said that a liaison officer has been mobilized to oversee activities of each expedition team and report any important incident and information relating to the pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Based on the available information, we can say there is no such infection risk at Everest Base Camp as reported in media,” he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The ministry has urged one and all not to entertain and disseminate unreliable and unverified information, creating fears among members of the expedition teams and their families and to follow information provided by official sources. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A Covid-19 crisis facilitation and coordination unit has been formed under the coordination of joint-secretary Buddisagar Lamichhane to make arrangements for the rescue of any climber and trekker in adverse situation and escort her/him to the destination safely. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The climbing for this season has officially kicked off with Kami Rita Sherpa successfully reaching the top of Everest at 18:00 pm on Friday (May 7) as a leader of rope fixing team, along with 11 other Sherpas (icefall doctors). This is a record 25th ascent of Everest by Kami Rita Sherpa. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13107', 'image' => '20210509114233_20210219104343_20201108030120_Contribution of Mountains to the Tourism Economy_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 11:41:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13360', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt conducting study on impacts of Covid-19 on foreign employment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. ', 'content' => '<p>May 8: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. </p> <p>Krishna Prasad Dawadi, Director General of the DoFE, said that the department is carrying out a study on the impact of Covid-19 on foreign employment sector in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and associations of recruiting firms.</p> <p>The department has requested the MoFA and associations of manpower companies to collect data of workers affected by the Covid-19 as well as other details on the impact of the pandemic on foreign employment from the respective embassies of the labor destination countries, according to Dawadi. </p> <p>He said that they have sought details on the Covid-19 situation in the destination countries, impact of pandemic on Nepali workers working abroad and their current condition. </p> <p>Following the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19, the number of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been falling in line with a decline in the demand for workers from labor receiving countries. <br /> “Since the international flights were suspended from May 6, the number of migrant workers leaving for foreign employment on Wednesday and Thursday was the highest if compared to the average number of workers leaving the country in recent months. However, the number of Nepali workers going abroad was already on a declining trend," said Dawadi.</p> <p>“We cannot say for sure that the second wave of the Covid-19 is the cause for the decline. So, we have decided to conduct the study,” he said. </p> <p>According to Dawadi, the study would help the government to understand how Nepali workers are impacted by the Covid-19 while working abroad as well as come up with relief and other necessary support to them. </p> <p>Foreign employment was severely affected by the first wave of Covid-19 and subsequent containment measures including the lockdown imposed in Nepal and destination countries. Thousands of Nepali workers were unable to go for foreign employment while many people returned home after losing their jobs abroad. <br /> The demand for workers was gradually increasing after the effects of Covid-19 started to subside. However, the unfolding Covid-19 crisis is once again hitting the foreign employment sector. <br /> Though international flights have been suspended, the department has not stopped distribution of work permits. The DoFE has started online services to issue work permits to Nepali workers to go for foreign employment. According to Dawadi, the DoFE has not stopped issuing work permits to avoid a backlog of applications for work permits and ensure that the department is not crowded with workers after the ongoing prohibitory period ends. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-08', 'modified' => '2021-05-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13105', 'image' => '20210508021733_Foreign Employment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-08 14:45:41', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13359', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NTB Sets up Crisis Management and Communication Cell to Rescue Tourists', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.<br /> The CMCC will facilitate in rescue and coordination of tourists and also monitor and manage hotel quarantine for passengers coming to Nepal from India under the Nepal-India air bubble agreement.<br /> Accordingly, CMCC has rescued 11 foreigners from Langtang, 4 Ukrainians from Pokhara, and 2 Americans from Lukla and brought them to Kathmandu. Similarly, as per the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation dated April 21, the tourism board has prepared hotel quarantine criteria for air passengers and facilitated them by liaising and coordinating with the hotels listed by the Ministry.<br /> The board has set up hotlines and emails (Hotline: 9851252666, Email:<br /> <a href="mailto:crisiscell@ntb.org.np" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">crisiscell@ntb.org.np</a>, website:-<a href="http://www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19</a>) to ensure that no tourist is stranded due to lack of necessary information during the pandemic.</span></span><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13104', 'image' => '20210507054326_202009.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 17:42:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13358', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Likely to Announce Agriculture Budget of 36.23 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21). The proposed budget is less than the budget allocated in the current fiscal year by Rs 5 billion.<br /> Last year, the government had allocated a budget of Rs 41.40 billion for the agriculture sector. Based on the ceiling set by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is currently drafting the budget for the agriculture sector.<br /> During a virtual programme on 'Coronavirus Pandemic and Agriculture Budget' organized by the Association of Agricultural Journalists (ANAJ) on Thursday, May 6, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Head of the Planning Branch Dr Hari Bahadur KC said that the ministry is preparing a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year.<br /> Out of the total budget for the agriculture sector, about 25 percent of the budget will be allocated for chemical fertilizers. KC said that a large amount of money had to be allocated for chemical fertilizer which is a major need for agricultural production.<br /> Likewise, Rs 3.21 billion will be spent on the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, and more than Rs 3 billion on the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARC).<br /> Similarly, Rs 3 billion has also been allocated for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry. A total of Rs 14 billion has been allocated under the subsidy heading, of which Rs 15 million will be allocated for various types of agricultural insurance and Rs 1 billion for sugarcane farmers. Likewise, Rs 8 billion has been allocated for the local and state governments, while Rs 1.60 billion will be allocated for financial budget management.<br /> The budget also emphasizes formulating the organic manure mission programme, digital soil mapping, and increasing the scope of soil testing. Likewise, the government plans to set up as many as 100 fruit nurseries, make fisheries self-reliant, and increase milk production and improve its distribution and storage systems. For that, plans have been made to build a powdered milk factory in Kohalpur and milk storage facilities in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13103', 'image' => '20210507033217_1620343279.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 15:31:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13357', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector ‘Surprised’ by Government’s Decision to Increase Minimum Wage of Workers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) have said that the minimum wage fixed by the government of workers would be difficult to implement owing to the current crisis of Covid-19. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Issuing a joint press statement here today, the umbrella bodies of entrepreneurs in the country have urged the government not to interfere in the process of determining wages for the labourers. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In a notice published on the Nepal Gazette on May 3, the government had raised the minimum wage of workers effective from the upcoming fiscal year. As per the decision, employers have to pay a labourer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The organizations have said that the partial and full prohibitory order enforced in 56 districts in the country to contain the second wave of Covid-19 had affected over 700,000 enterprises. They were of the view that the private sector enterprises might not be able to pay regular wages in such a situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement added that the private sector has been struggling to meet the daily expenses as the prohibitory orders have been extended by the government. In such a situation, they expressed surprise at the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage of workers. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">At a time when the small and medium scale enterprises have been hardest hit due to the health crisis, the organizations, through the press statement, have appealed to the government not to interfere in the determination of the minimum wages of the workers. They said that they will decide the matter on the basis of mutual understanding. </span></span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13102', 'image' => '20210507123102_1620290616.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 12:30:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13356', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Leaders and Experts Share Mixed Views on MCC ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Speaking at a recent programme, the politicians expressed diverse views over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and ratification of the MCC Compact from the parliament. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the virtual programme organized by Friends of Silk Road and Nepal China Friendship Forum on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bhim Rawal took exception to some of the points of MCC agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rawal reiterated that the some issues of MCC should be amended otherwise the parliament should not ratify it, RSS reported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat praised the MCC Compact stating that the MCC Board is chaired by Secretary of the Finance Ministry to facilitate the timely completion of projects and it is in Nepal’s national interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Dr Mahat was of the view that the grant received under the MCC would be mobilized as per Nepal’s laws. According to RSS, Mahat added that the MCC in Nepal was brought into controversy due to misleading information and propaganda. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries backed the MCC stating that it is more focused on development of infrastructures and it has nothing to do with politics. He argued that power grid is important in Nepal and added that electricity price will go up in Nepal if the transmission lines were not completed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">President of Friend of Silk Road Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma said that the programme was organised to inform the people and welcome healthy discussions of stakeholders and experts. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13101', 'image' => '20210507114916_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 11:48:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13355', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Financial Picture Challenging due to Covid-19, says Finance Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Addressing an informal meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers virtually on Wednesday (May 5), Minister Poudel said, “We have faced obstacle to achieve financial growth due to the multifaceted effects of Covid-19 in inclusive and sustainable development.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the virtual meeting held on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Poudel reiterated that although utmost efforts were made to bring the situation under control by uplifting the economy, the current circumstances have painted a grim picture of Nepal's economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the outbreak of second wave of Covid-19 had caused a huge setback to the economy of Nepal, Minister Poudel said that the tourism sector and other service sectors were most affected by the pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The adverse effects of Covid-19 has been reflected in the cut down in jobs, lay-offs of the employees, loss in business among others, argued the Minister. He added that Covid-19 had posed challenges for efforts aimed at promoting inclusiveness, human development and alleviating poverty. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Minister also expressed his view that it was imperative to ensure that all the countries had access to procure the vaccines against coronavirus. On the occasion, he extended gratefulness towards the government of India for providing vaccines against Covid-19 and said that it had enabled launching of vaccination drive in the SAARC region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He pressed for formulating policies and strategies by all the SAARC-member nations to cushion the effects of Covid-19 on the SAARC region’s economy and to promote local production in the developing nations of the region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Poudel extended his thankfulness to the ADB for its financial and technical support to Nepal in its covid-19 response and efforts to promote economic activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The finance ministers of SAARC and delegates had univocally underscored the need for mutual cooperation for socio-economic recovery to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on the economy of SAARC region. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13100', 'image' => '20210506032215_20210110034934_1610265858.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:20:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13354', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supply Chain of Construction Materials Affected: FCAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The FCAN said in a statement that the movement of vehicles supplying construction materials have been obstructed in different places, and are not given an easy access by security forces. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although factories are producing construction materials, the supply chain and availability of the produced goods have been badly affected as dealers and distributors have not been allowed to operate their business, FCAN noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement further says that FCAN’s attention was drawn seriously to the unusual price hike of construction materials during the time of prohibitory order. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement issued by general secretary of FCAN Roshan Dahal also added that construction work is likely to be affected in densely-populated areas and some other construction sites. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13099', 'image' => '20210506031251_20200415125719_1586906108.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:12:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13353', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Prepares Draft of Policies and Programmes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Government officials confirmed that the draft of the policies and programmes has been prepared and will be presented at a joint session of the House of Representatives and National Assembly by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on behalf of the government. As per the constitutional provision, the fiscal budget should be presented on the 15th day in the month of Jestha (May 29). The policies and programmes should be presented before the budget. However, the budget session has already been delayed this time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, Rojnath Pandey, said that all preparations for the budget session has been made but it is not certain when the policies and programmes will be tabled in the parliament as the budget session has not been called yet. A special session of parliament has been called for May 10 to seek vote of confidence by Prime Minister KP Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to a senior official involved in preparing the draft of the policies and programmes, the government has given priority to the construction of state-of-the-art hospitals at every local level. Similarly, relief packages will be introduced for the industries affected by COVID-19 pandemic and programmes will be included to expedite the development process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The policies and programmes will also focus on increasing economic activities, invest in the productive sector, prioritize internal resource mobilization and reduce unnecessary expenses in light of the COVID-19 crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the official, the policies and programmes have prioritized commercial farming, industrial development and increasing productivity, completion of national pride projects within the deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government is set to announce an increase in old-age allowance so that elderly people can look after themselves and implement the new minimum salary strictly from mid-July. The government is also preparing to introduce incentives for innovation, special discounts for export-oriented industries, special emphasis on the Digital Nepal campaign, and additional employment generation programmes through the Prime Minister's Employment Programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">In the mid-February, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi had instructed the secretaries to prepare policies and programs that are worthy of implementation. He had also instructed them to formulate policies and programs by holding necessary discussions to avoid duplication with the local level programmes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13098', 'image' => '20210506025841_20210409035508_20200409120151_1586383527.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 14:51:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: The decline in food production since the last 35 years has increased Nepal’s dependence on foreign countries for food. The production of major food products of Nepal such as paddy, maize, wheat, millet and buckwheat has been declining over the years. The production of buckwheat has been most affected. It has declined by 40 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Considering the findings of the National Census of Agriculture 2001/2002, the country’s agriculture is expected to shrink by 30 percent by 2021/ 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The then government had opened a company in 1978 to export rice to foreign countries. The company used to export rice to Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. But Nepal currently imports rice worth Rs 2 billion from different countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 300 million kilograms of rice from India and 733,000 kilograms of rice from the USA in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal imported 330 million kilograms of maize from India, 2.4 million kilograms of maize each from Brazil and Argentina.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The National Census of Agriculture 2011/2012 shows that the production of paddy declined by 6 percent. Similarly, the production of maize, wheat, millet, buckwheat, barley and mustard declined by 12 percent, 6 percent, 19 percent, 40 percent, 35 percent and 13 percent respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Agriculture experts claim that the major reasons for the decline in agriculture as plotting of land, leaving the arable land fallow, and farmers, especially women, moving into cities from villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr Yogendra Kumar Karki says that the agriculture production of the country must be increased in order to sustain the growing population of Nepal, mentions a news report published by the national news agency RSS.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13113', 'image' => '20210510032220_1620598671.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 15:21:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13367', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prohibitory Order Raises Prospect of Starvation among Daily-Wage Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 10: Government authorities have imposed prohibitory order in 63 districts including the capital Kathmandu in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Daily wage labourers and workers of the informal sector have been hard hit by the prohibitory order as they do not have regular source of income and the government has banned all other activities except emergency work. This has raised the prospect of starvation among the families who depend on daily work to make a living.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The affected group of people say that they are worried about starvation as the government has not announced any relief packages for such workers and small enterprises.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ratna Shrestha of Kavre, who runs a fancy dress shop in Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, has not been able to operate his business since the last ten days. He says he is now struggling to meet his daily expenses. He is worried about managing the rent of his stall if the restrictions get prolonged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rajesh Shrestha who runs a mobile and TV shop in New Road is equally worried. He says that he is in great stress for not being able to open his shop. He is also worried about how to pay the rent if he cannot run his business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Man Bahadur Pariyar also shares a similar story. Originally from Sindhupalchowk, Pariyar has been operating a tailoring shop in New Baneshwar. He is also struggling to make ends meet due to the prohibitory order.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The rent of the shutter is exorbitant. I started this tailoring shop one and a half year ago by getting some loan. I am still not able to pay the loan. On top of it, the restrictions have brought by work to a standstill. It is getting difficult to meet the daily expenses,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Workers of the informal sector are deeply worried as they are unable to work due to the prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The labourers recalled relief from government and NGOs during last year’s lockdown. However, they are concerned this time because neither the government or any other organisations have announced relief packages for them. They have urged the government as well as NGOs to make arrangements for relief distribution in order to prevent starvation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the latest data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are 1.5 million daily wage labourers in Nepal. Similarly, 2.6 million people are employed in the formal sector while 4.4 million people work in the informal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to a study conducted by the National Planning Commission, around 1.7 million people lost their jobs in the domestic market during the lockdown last year. The figure stands at 2.1 million considering the number of Nepali migrant workers who lost their jobs. Despite collecting the information, the government has failed to effectively address their problem, say labour experts.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ganesh Gurung, a labour expert, says that the government has extended the prohibitory order but has not paid any attention towards the welfare of the workers. He says that the government must announce short-term and long-term programmes to avoid starvation among the people who are also fighting against the deadly disease. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-10', 'modified' => '2021-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13112', 'image' => '20210510124947_20171127050546_thamel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-10 12:48:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13366', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hospitals in Kathmandu Struggling to meet the Demand for Oxygen', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: Hospitals in the capital are struggling to meet the demand for oxygen due to the increase in number of coronavirus patients. The scarcity of oxygen is getting extreme due to the sudden rise in number of patients with critical condition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">It has been learnt that the hospitals in the capital at present are able to meet only 50 percent of the demand for oxygen. Vice Chairman of the Association of Private Health Institutes of Nepal Dr Kumar Thapa says that there are high chances of situation getting out of control if the government does not supply oxygen in the coming days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Dr Thapa, they are struggling to provide oxygen support to patients with severe cases of Covid-19. He further said that patients in critical condition require at least five cylinders of oxygen per day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Kathmandu-based HAMS, Alka Hospital, Nidan Hospital and other hospitals in Bhaktapur have reported scarcity of oxygen. They have started referring patients with severe case of Covid-19 elsewhere in lack of sufficient oxygen, according to doctors working at those hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There are altogether 31 oxygen plants in operation in the country including the Kathmandu Valley. Meanwhile, hospitals are currently using 6,300 cylinders of oxygen. But the demand for oxygen has outnumbered the available oxygen. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Nepal Medical Association has urged the government to ensure smooth supply of oxygen. Issuing a statement on Saturday, the NMA requested the government to immediately address the problem.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the lack of sufficient oxygen has been causing problems in admission of new patients, General Secretary of NMA Bari Rijal urged the concerned bodies to ensure oxygen supply and beds for Covid-19 patients.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, health authorities have said that the government has already started managing supply of oxygen. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Jageshwar Gautam said that the government has initiated the process of importing oxygen cylinders from China to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to the hospitals.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13111', 'image' => '20210509054048_20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:39:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13365', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Food Industries on the Verge of Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 9: Food Industries in the country are on the verge of shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting the movement of workers to the industry which is leading to closure of industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Most of the food producing industries related to pulses, rice and oil are located in cities like Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj. These cities have the highest rate of COVID-19 infection which is resulting in the shutdown of those industries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, workers are reluctant to come to the industry due to fear of coronavirus infection. Neither is the condition appropriate to make them work in the industries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">About 75 percent of the food industries have been shut down and the rest of the industries are also about to be closed, he said. According to the industrialists, the demand of products has also declined as purchasing power of consumers has declined due to the loss of employment. Gupta said that if the infection rate continues to increase, all the food industries would have to be closed down within the next 15 days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">At present, industries are running in a single shift due to the growing panic among the workers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Naresh Rathi, proprietor of Chandrashiv Rice and Oil Mill, Biratnagar, said that some of the workers have not been able to come to work due to infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Under normal circumstances, industries in Nepal produce about 60 percent of the total annual demand for rice, 62 percent for pulses and 35 percent for oil.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The threat of infection is rising on one hand and on the other, industries are dealing with shortage of raw materials due to the high cost. The price of raw material has gone up in the international market. According to the industrialists, they have not been able to bring the required raw materials as they are not able to trade in cash due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The price of mustard oil has gone up to $820 per ton from $580 in the international market. Similarly, the price of Sona Mansuli rice has also increased by Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 3,000 per quintal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200911122318_1599774036.Clipboard06.jpg" style="height:450px; width:800px" /></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13110', 'image' => '20210509051303_20170820113716_c.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 17:10:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13364', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still Collecting Royalties from Mountaineering Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 9: Mountain tourism is booming in Nepal amid the surge in coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and the ongoing restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus. More mountaineers have arrived in Nepal during the ongoing pandemic than in 2019. Likewise, royalty collection has also increased by 50 percent. However, tourism entrepreneurs complain that they are facing obstruction on movement. The lack of coordination among government agencies has forced the tourism agencies to suffer.<br /> Tourism agencies affiliated to the Department of Tourism have been given passes to transport tourists from the airport to hotels and other destinations. However, the administration does not recognize the department's pass and detained the visitors hours.<br /> Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association (EOA) Nepal, an umbrella organization of mountaineering entrepreneurs, said that the vehicles of tourism agencies often get stopped while they are on their way to pick up tourists. This leaves a bad impression on the tourists, says Parajuli.</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">"This has increased the risk of losing the trust of tourists," Parajuli added. "There is no problem in carrying tourists to their destinations and hotels, but those who go to pick them up are tortured."<br /> According to him, about 750 climbers have come to Nepal so far. He complained that the administration officials did not facilitate the movement despite showing the pass provided by the ministry and the department. In the current situation, 50 percent more royalties have been collected than in the corresponding period of 2019. However, Parajuli accused the government of not providing any assistance to the businessmen and agencies trying to revive tourism.<br /> Now that the entire tourism sector has collapsed, mountain tourism has brought some glimmer of hope.<br /> Parajuli says that the administration needs to help in facilitating the movement of tourists as soon as possible. An official of the department also said that the businessmen and agencies were saddened by the non-cooperation of the administration even though the department provided them pass.<br /> "Even in such a difficult time, tourists are willing to come by chartering a plane and the authorities shouldn't discourage the tourists," the official said requesting anonymity.<br /> The district administration offices in several districts have issued prohibitory orders due to the unprecedented surge in coronavirus infection. However, the government has not stopped giving permits for mountaineering and collecting royalties. The department had been issuing permits for climbing Mt Everest till May 7.<br /> Stating that the government should stop the issuance of permits and collection of royalties, one entrepreneur said, “They don't want to stop collecting royalties but are creating obstacles in the movement of representatives of tourism agencies. This is not practical.”</span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the department, citizens of 78 countries are now allowed to climb various mountains and peaks in Nepal. There was zero mountaineering in the spring of 2020, but so far this season, 742 people from 85 climbing teams have taken permission for climbing different mountains.<br /> According to the department, most of them have got permission to climb Mt Everest. A total of 408 people have got permission to climb Mt Everest. On May 7 alone, 12 Nepali Sherpas completed the ascent of Everest for fixing ropes.<br /> Record-breaking climber Kamirita Sherpa broke his own record by successfully climbing Mt Everest for the 25th time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13109', 'image' => '20210509013149_20200917091916_Clipboard36.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 13:30:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13363', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pandemic is Under Control: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: At a time when the country is facing severe crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that the situation is still under control.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister made such claim in an interview with American news channel CNN on Saturday morning (May 8).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The remark made by Prime Minister Oli has caused massive backlash. Social media was abuzz the whole day with criticism of PM Oli for his remark as the crisis was deepening across the country. Critics said that the prime minister lost an opportunity to seek international support by giving a false statement. They were of the view that Oli should have given the real picture and that could have helped the government receive foreign assistance to fight the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the interview, PM Oli said that the first wave of coronavirus had come under control but there was an outbreak of second wave due to the negligence of the public.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We had brought the infection under control last year. The death toll had dropped to zero. New infection was below 50 per day. But the general people thought that the pandemic had ended and were negligent. That caused the second wave of coronavirus,” PM Oli told CNN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have mobilized all our mechanisms to bring the situation under control,” he added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The prime minister further said that the government has been busy in creating awareness among the people to save lives. Although the prime minister maintained that the situation was under control, the health ministry had recently said that the rate of infection is rising at an alarming rate and that the health facilities of the country were not able to cope with the situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the data provided by the ministry, a total of 53 people died due to the disease across the country on Saturday alone. Daily infection has climbed above 8,000 while the number of active cases is almost 100,000.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13108', 'image' => '20210509121210_1620516771.Clipboard12.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 12:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13362', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'No Infection at Everest Base Camp: Tourism Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has clarified there is no health safety risks at Everest Base Camp. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">T</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">he ministry said in a statement that its attention has been drawn towards the recent news reports that some members of the Everest expedition teams for the spring season had tested positive for Covid-19, raising fears of a serious outbreak. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“There is no such risk at Everest Base Camp as claimed by some media,’’ the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the ministry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Some domestic and international media recently published reports claiming that the virus had spread at the base camp and climbers faced great risk of infection. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the ministry, 774 people of 86 expedition teams from 79 countries have acquired permission for climbing Everest this season and they all have followed the health safety protocols to the possible extent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Taranath Adhikari, said that a liaison officer has been mobilized to oversee activities of each expedition team and report any important incident and information relating to the pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Based on the available information, we can say there is no such infection risk at Everest Base Camp as reported in media,” he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The ministry has urged one and all not to entertain and disseminate unreliable and unverified information, creating fears among members of the expedition teams and their families and to follow information provided by official sources. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A Covid-19 crisis facilitation and coordination unit has been formed under the coordination of joint-secretary Buddisagar Lamichhane to make arrangements for the rescue of any climber and trekker in adverse situation and escort her/him to the destination safely. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The climbing for this season has officially kicked off with Kami Rita Sherpa successfully reaching the top of Everest at 18:00 pm on Friday (May 7) as a leader of rope fixing team, along with 11 other Sherpas (icefall doctors). This is a record 25th ascent of Everest by Kami Rita Sherpa. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-09', 'modified' => '2021-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13107', 'image' => '20210509114233_20210219104343_20201108030120_Contribution of Mountains to the Tourism Economy_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-09 11:41:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13360', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt conducting study on impacts of Covid-19 on foreign employment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. ', 'content' => '<p>May 8: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has started a study into the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on foreign employment. </p> <p>Krishna Prasad Dawadi, Director General of the DoFE, said that the department is carrying out a study on the impact of Covid-19 on foreign employment sector in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and associations of recruiting firms.</p> <p>The department has requested the MoFA and associations of manpower companies to collect data of workers affected by the Covid-19 as well as other details on the impact of the pandemic on foreign employment from the respective embassies of the labor destination countries, according to Dawadi. </p> <p>He said that they have sought details on the Covid-19 situation in the destination countries, impact of pandemic on Nepali workers working abroad and their current condition. </p> <p>Following the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19, the number of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been falling in line with a decline in the demand for workers from labor receiving countries. <br /> “Since the international flights were suspended from May 6, the number of migrant workers leaving for foreign employment on Wednesday and Thursday was the highest if compared to the average number of workers leaving the country in recent months. However, the number of Nepali workers going abroad was already on a declining trend," said Dawadi.</p> <p>“We cannot say for sure that the second wave of the Covid-19 is the cause for the decline. So, we have decided to conduct the study,” he said. </p> <p>According to Dawadi, the study would help the government to understand how Nepali workers are impacted by the Covid-19 while working abroad as well as come up with relief and other necessary support to them. </p> <p>Foreign employment was severely affected by the first wave of Covid-19 and subsequent containment measures including the lockdown imposed in Nepal and destination countries. Thousands of Nepali workers were unable to go for foreign employment while many people returned home after losing their jobs abroad. <br /> The demand for workers was gradually increasing after the effects of Covid-19 started to subside. However, the unfolding Covid-19 crisis is once again hitting the foreign employment sector. <br /> Though international flights have been suspended, the department has not stopped distribution of work permits. The DoFE has started online services to issue work permits to Nepali workers to go for foreign employment. According to Dawadi, the DoFE has not stopped issuing work permits to avoid a backlog of applications for work permits and ensure that the department is not crowded with workers after the ongoing prohibitory period ends. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-08', 'modified' => '2021-05-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13105', 'image' => '20210508021733_Foreign Employment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-08 14:45:41', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13359', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NTB Sets up Crisis Management and Communication Cell to Rescue Tourists', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 7: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has set up a Crisis Management and Communication Cell (CMCC) for coordination and rescue of tourists stranded in different parts of the country following the prohibition order imposed by the government.<br /> The CMCC will facilitate in rescue and coordination of tourists and also monitor and manage hotel quarantine for passengers coming to Nepal from India under the Nepal-India air bubble agreement.<br /> Accordingly, CMCC has rescued 11 foreigners from Langtang, 4 Ukrainians from Pokhara, and 2 Americans from Lukla and brought them to Kathmandu. Similarly, as per the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation dated April 21, the tourism board has prepared hotel quarantine criteria for air passengers and facilitated them by liaising and coordinating with the hotels listed by the Ministry.<br /> The board has set up hotlines and emails (Hotline: 9851252666, Email:<br /> <a href="mailto:crisiscell@ntb.org.np" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">crisiscell@ntb.org.np</a>, website:-<a href="http://www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">www.welcomenepal.com/plan-your-trip/covid-19</a>) to ensure that no tourist is stranded due to lack of necessary information during the pandemic.</span></span><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13104', 'image' => '20210507054326_202009.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 17:42:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13358', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Likely to Announce Agriculture Budget of 36.23 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 7: The government is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year (FY 2021/21). The proposed budget is less than the budget allocated in the current fiscal year by Rs 5 billion.<br /> Last year, the government had allocated a budget of Rs 41.40 billion for the agriculture sector. Based on the ceiling set by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is currently drafting the budget for the agriculture sector.<br /> During a virtual programme on 'Coronavirus Pandemic and Agriculture Budget' organized by the Association of Agricultural Journalists (ANAJ) on Thursday, May 6, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Head of the Planning Branch Dr Hari Bahadur KC said that the ministry is preparing a budget of Rs 36.23 billion for the agriculture sector in the coming fiscal year.<br /> Out of the total budget for the agriculture sector, about 25 percent of the budget will be allocated for chemical fertilizers. KC said that a large amount of money had to be allocated for chemical fertilizer which is a major need for agricultural production.<br /> Likewise, Rs 3.21 billion will be spent on the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, and more than Rs 3 billion on the Nepal Agricultural Research Institute (NARC).<br /> Similarly, Rs 3 billion has also been allocated for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry. A total of Rs 14 billion has been allocated under the subsidy heading, of which Rs 15 million will be allocated for various types of agricultural insurance and Rs 1 billion for sugarcane farmers. Likewise, Rs 8 billion has been allocated for the local and state governments, while Rs 1.60 billion will be allocated for financial budget management.<br /> The budget also emphasizes formulating the organic manure mission programme, digital soil mapping, and increasing the scope of soil testing. Likewise, the government plans to set up as many as 100 fruit nurseries, make fisheries self-reliant, and increase milk production and improve its distribution and storage systems. For that, plans have been made to build a powdered milk factory in Kohalpur and milk storage facilities in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13103', 'image' => '20210507033217_1620343279.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 15:31:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13357', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector ‘Surprised’ by Government’s Decision to Increase Minimum Wage of Workers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) have said that the minimum wage fixed by the government of workers would be difficult to implement owing to the current crisis of Covid-19. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Issuing a joint press statement here today, the umbrella bodies of entrepreneurs in the country have urged the government not to interfere in the process of determining wages for the labourers. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In a notice published on the Nepal Gazette on May 3, the government had raised the minimum wage of workers effective from the upcoming fiscal year. As per the decision, employers have to pay a labourer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The organizations have said that the partial and full prohibitory order enforced in 56 districts in the country to contain the second wave of Covid-19 had affected over 700,000 enterprises. They were of the view that the private sector enterprises might not be able to pay regular wages in such a situation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement added that the private sector has been struggling to meet the daily expenses as the prohibitory orders have been extended by the government. In such a situation, they expressed surprise at the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage of workers. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">At a time when the small and medium scale enterprises have been hardest hit due to the health crisis, the organizations, through the press statement, have appealed to the government not to interfere in the determination of the minimum wages of the workers. They said that they will decide the matter on the basis of mutual understanding. </span></span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13102', 'image' => '20210507123102_1620290616.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 12:30:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13356', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Leaders and Experts Share Mixed Views on MCC ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies regarding foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations, according to the state-owned national news agency RSS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Speaking at a recent programme, the politicians expressed diverse views over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and ratification of the MCC Compact from the parliament. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the virtual programme organized by Friends of Silk Road and Nepal China Friendship Forum on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bhim Rawal took exception to some of the points of MCC agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Rawal reiterated that the some issues of MCC should be amended otherwise the parliament should not ratify it, RSS reported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat praised the MCC Compact stating that the MCC Board is chaired by Secretary of the Finance Ministry to facilitate the timely completion of projects and it is in Nepal’s national interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Dr Mahat was of the view that the grant received under the MCC would be mobilized as per Nepal’s laws. According to RSS, Mahat added that the MCC in Nepal was brought into controversy due to misleading information and propaganda. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries backed the MCC stating that it is more focused on development of infrastructures and it has nothing to do with politics. He argued that power grid is important in Nepal and added that electricity price will go up in Nepal if the transmission lines were not completed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">President of Friend of Silk Road Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma said that the programme was organised to inform the people and welcome healthy discussions of stakeholders and experts. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-07', 'modified' => '2021-05-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13101', 'image' => '20210507114916_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-07 11:48:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13355', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Financial Picture Challenging due to Covid-19, says Finance Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel has admitted that the second wave of coronavirus has posed a serious threat to the financial future of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Addressing an informal meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers virtually on Wednesday (May 5), Minister Poudel said, “We have faced obstacle to achieve financial growth due to the multifaceted effects of Covid-19 in inclusive and sustainable development.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the virtual meeting held on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Poudel reiterated that although utmost efforts were made to bring the situation under control by uplifting the economy, the current circumstances have painted a grim picture of Nepal's economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Stating that the outbreak of second wave of Covid-19 had caused a huge setback to the economy of Nepal, Minister Poudel said that the tourism sector and other service sectors were most affected by the pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The adverse effects of Covid-19 has been reflected in the cut down in jobs, lay-offs of the employees, loss in business among others, argued the Minister. He added that Covid-19 had posed challenges for efforts aimed at promoting inclusiveness, human development and alleviating poverty. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Minister also expressed his view that it was imperative to ensure that all the countries had access to procure the vaccines against coronavirus. On the occasion, he extended gratefulness towards the government of India for providing vaccines against Covid-19 and said that it had enabled launching of vaccination drive in the SAARC region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He pressed for formulating policies and strategies by all the SAARC-member nations to cushion the effects of Covid-19 on the SAARC region’s economy and to promote local production in the developing nations of the region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Poudel extended his thankfulness to the ADB for its financial and technical support to Nepal in its covid-19 response and efforts to promote economic activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The finance ministers of SAARC and delegates had univocally underscored the need for mutual cooperation for socio-economic recovery to cushion the effect of Covid-19 on the economy of SAARC region. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13100', 'image' => '20210506032215_20210110034934_1610265858.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:20:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13354', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supply Chain of Construction Materials Affected: FCAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">May 6: The Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has reportedly stated that the construction entrepreneurs and stakeholders are facing difficulties to carry out construction works due to the ongoing prohibitory order issued in the capital and other districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The FCAN said in a statement that the movement of vehicles supplying construction materials have been obstructed in different places, and are not given an easy access by security forces. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although factories are producing construction materials, the supply chain and availability of the produced goods have been badly affected as dealers and distributors have not been allowed to operate their business, FCAN noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement further says that FCAN’s attention was drawn seriously to the unusual price hike of construction materials during the time of prohibitory order. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The statement issued by general secretary of FCAN Roshan Dahal also added that construction work is likely to be affected in densely-populated areas and some other construction sites. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13099', 'image' => '20210506031251_20200415125719_1586906108.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 15:12:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13353', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Prepares Draft of Policies and Programmes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has prepared the draft of the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Government officials confirmed that the draft of the policies and programmes has been prepared and will be presented at a joint session of the House of Representatives and National Assembly by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on behalf of the government. As per the constitutional provision, the fiscal budget should be presented on the 15th day in the month of Jestha (May 29). The policies and programmes should be presented before the budget. However, the budget session has already been delayed this time.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, Rojnath Pandey, said that all preparations for the budget session has been made but it is not certain when the policies and programmes will be tabled in the parliament as the budget session has not been called yet. A special session of parliament has been called for May 10 to seek vote of confidence by Prime Minister KP Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to a senior official involved in preparing the draft of the policies and programmes, the government has given priority to the construction of state-of-the-art hospitals at every local level. Similarly, relief packages will be introduced for the industries affected by COVID-19 pandemic and programmes will be included to expedite the development process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The policies and programmes will also focus on increasing economic activities, invest in the productive sector, prioritize internal resource mobilization and reduce unnecessary expenses in light of the COVID-19 crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the official, the policies and programmes have prioritized commercial farming, industrial development and increasing productivity, completion of national pride projects within the deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government is set to announce an increase in old-age allowance so that elderly people can look after themselves and implement the new minimum salary strictly from mid-July. The government is also preparing to introduce incentives for innovation, special discounts for export-oriented industries, special emphasis on the Digital Nepal campaign, and additional employment generation programmes through the Prime Minister's Employment Programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">In the mid-February, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi had instructed the secretaries to prepare policies and programs that are worthy of implementation. He had also instructed them to formulate policies and programs by holding necessary discussions to avoid duplication with the local level programmes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-05-06', 'modified' => '2021-05-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13098', 'image' => '20210506025841_20210409035508_20200409120151_1586383527.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-05-06 14:51:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
