Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal…
Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal…
KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week,…
TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported…
KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS.…
RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has…
KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives'…
Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in…
KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final…
KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this…
CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing…
A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week,…
KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant…
KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become…
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The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21035', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Iran's President Raisi, FM die in Helicopter Crash: State TV ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior officials was forced into a hard landing in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan due to the bad weather on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of Raisi's accompanying team, including East Azarbaijan's Governor Malek Rahmati, and the Friday prayers leader Tabriz Mohammad Ali Ale-Hasehem, as well as the flight crew also lost their lives, the report said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The tragedy occurred while Raisi was on his way from Khoda Afarin County, where he had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam, to the provincial capital Tabriz for the inauguration of a petrochemical complex. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Media reports said images show the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Fog and rain had hampered the search operation before rescuers spotted the helicopter earlier in the day. – Xinhua/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20762', 'image' => '20240520040139_20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:01:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21032', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Muktinath Bikas Bank Distributes School Uniforms', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank provided uniforms as part of its corporate social responsibility, according to a press release issued by the bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bank employees, school teachers, officials, and students were present at the uniform handover program. The bank believes that this program will encourage students to pursue their education.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20758', 'image' => '20240520083154_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 08:30:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21030', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘BRI Implementation Plan in Final Stage’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at a seminar organized by the Embassy of China in Kathmandu on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "Nepal is ready to sign it at a mutually convenient time. I am confident that the implementation of this plan will bring visible results on the ground." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The seminar on "Review of the Friendship since the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Nepal and China, and Moving Forward Together for a Better Future" witnessed the participation from all major political parties, scholars and professionals as well as the chiefs and representatives from the friendship organizations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also shared that Nepal has decided to join the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiatives (GDI), which was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping and formed at the United Nations to engage further in common development endeavours, including the fight against climate change impacts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Shrestha added that Nepal-China ties is built on commonalities of culture, and geography, as well as people-to-people relations. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Over the years, we have built strong relations based on mutual respect, trust, goodwill, and understanding. Our relations are founded solidly on the bedrock of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence called Panchsheel, age-old legacy of friendship, close and good neighbourliness, mutual cooperation and understanding, appreciation of each other’s sensitivities, and trusted partnership," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Deputy Prime Minister said Nepal and China have discussed some key issues including enhancing support for socio-economic development and prosperity of Nepal, agriculture, connectivity, infrastructure, trade and investment, education, technology and innovation, sustainable development, and people-to-people relations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that discussions were held with the Chinese side on matters relating to the opening of 14 traditional border trading points between Nepal and China, swift implementation of the ongoing development projects in Nepal, and further activating the established bilateral mechanisms. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is committed to widening and deepening its cooperation with China in vital sectors such as connectivity, infrastructure development, agriculture, trade, tourism, investment, ICT, and people-to-people relations, among others, he added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song shared that the two countries have respected each other's interests and developed confidence. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ambassador Chen made commitment to China's support to Nepal's development endeavors. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20757', 'image' => '20240520061520_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:14:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21029', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will There Be No Shortage of Chemical Fertilizer this Year?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. ', 'content' => '<p>KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. </p> <p>It may be noted that farmers of Nepal facing extreme shortage of chemical fertilizers every year during the main planting season has become a perennial problem.</p> <p>According to government authorities, they often fail to import fertilizer on time due to lack of adequate budget for fertilizer procurement, failure of procurement process and lack of provision for back-up tenders.</p> <p>With the planting season just around the corner, the promise made by the ministry seems unlikely to materialize as the government does not have sufficient stock of fertilizers and the quantity it intends to import seems to be too less than the requirement.</p> <p>According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 700,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers are required per year for a total of 3.391 million hectares of land.</p> <p>Information Officer of the Ministry, Mahananda Joshi, told RSS that the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has a stock of 52,000 metric tonnes of urea while the Salt Trading Corporation has 26,050 metric tones of urea. Similarly, the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has 5,434 metric tonnes of DAP in stock and the Salt Trading Company has 4,092 metric tonnes of DAP. Furthermore, the two state-owned companies have a stock of more than 11,800 metric tonnes of potash.</p> <p>The ministry said that both the companies are importing an additional 242,119 metric tonnes of urea and almost 98,000 metric tonnes of DAP. Information Officer Joshi shared that the remaining quantity of fertilizers will be imported within a month. </p> <p>The adverse effect of fertilizer shortage has also started to be seen in Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years. During the last decade, the contribution of agriculture sector in GDP decreased from 32.7 percent to 23.9 percent.</p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20756', 'image' => '20240520060139_20240519100436_20210105121301_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:00:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21028', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Water Sources in CNP Drying up due to Drought, Putting Wild Animals in Trouble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said that the water level in the 134 big and small lakes and ponds inside the park has started to recede fast due to the dry spell, putting the wild animals in trouble.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, the water level of the wetland, rivers and streams as well as of the natural water bodies and those of the man-made ponds inside the CNP has drastically decreased compared to the same period of last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said the water level in the lakes and ponds has fallen since there is no precipitation for a long time. There is high water evaporation from the water bodies due to the scorching heat and there is no rain to replenish it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It is estimated that the water level has dropped compared to the last few years. This is because there was less rainfall during the winter this year. The wild animals have been directly hit due to this condition," he added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rare one-horned rhino likes to wallow in the ponds during the summer. Other animals also direly need water. However, the old ponds and wetlands here are not managed accordingly for that purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The CNP Office has stated that they are facing problems in carrying out cleaning up and management works of water sources like removing the debris due to the lack of funds. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"In the fiscal year 2075/76 BS, Rs 14.5 million was earmarked for managing the water sources inside the park. We had carried out work related to managing 60 ponds that year. That fund has reduced to just Rs 2.5 million this fiscal year 2080/81, which means it is not adequate to carry out cleaning and other management works," the Conservation Officer said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, only seven ponds have been managed from the available funds this year. This means there is increased risk of human-wildlife conflict this year as the wild animals are likely to stray into human settlements. -- RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20755', 'image' => '20240520060000_20240519092413_20220915044159_20220613080155_Chitwan 3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 05:59:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21027', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Crashes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Iranian state media said the crash occurred on Sunday near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Raisi was returning from a visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, where he had travelled to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, when the incident took place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had "reached their destination safely," according to Tasnim news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">People who were with the president inside the helicopter managed to make an emergency call, according to the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Search and rescue team were headed to the remote mountain area, state media in the Islamic republic reported, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also aboard the aircraft.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site," state TV said in an on-screen news alert.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">State TV broadcast footage of an Iranian Red Crescent team walking up a slope in thick fog, as well as live footage of crowds of worshippers reciting prayers in the holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the city Mashhad, Raisi's hometown. -- AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20754', 'image' => '20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 22:15:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21024', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' NEPSE Surges 45.69 Points, Life Insurance Sector Leads Gains', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today's trading session, 323 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 74,991 transactions. A total of 12,240,802 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.25 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CEDB Hydropower Development Company Limited (CHDC) led the turnover amount with transactions worth Rs 14 crores. Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SABSL) and Aatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiay Sanstha Limited (ANLB) each saw a 10% gain and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Mandu Hydropower Limited (MANDU) faced the maximum loss of 9.9%, closing at a market price of Rs 869.50 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all indices closed in positive territory. The Life Insurance sector witnessed the highest gain of 4.38%, while the Trading Index saw the least gain at 0.55%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20751', 'image' => '20240519044620_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 16:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21023', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increase in Arrival of Tourists Boosts Profits for Nepal's Hotels and Tourism Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Out of six companies in the hotel and tourism sector listed in the secondary market of securities, five have increased their profits by the third quarter of the current fiscal year. Among them, two companies have nearly achieved a 40 percent increase in profit. Despite one company still facing losses, it has managed to reduce its deficit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the unaudited financial statements for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Taragaon Regency Hotels increased its net profit by 39.54%, Chandragiri Hills by 38.82%, Soaltee Hotel by 11.08%, Oriental Hotels by 9.91%, and Kalinchok Darshan by 6.92%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">By the third quarter, Taragaon Regency Hotels earned a net profit of over Rs 333.2 million, compared to more than Rs 238.8 million during the same period last year. The company attributes its improved profit to a higher occupancy rate due to an increase in international tourists entering Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Looking ahead, Taragaon Regency Hotels aims to boost its income by increasing hotel occupancy through state-of-the-art technology and commercial strategic mechanisms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills' net profit exceeded Rs 107.9 million, up from Rs 77.7 million in the same period last year. Soaltee Hotel's net profit rose to over Rs 412.3 million, compared to Rs 371.1 million last year. Oriental Hotel's net profit increased slightly to over Rs 605.9 million from Rs 600 million last year. Kalinchok Darshan saw its net profit rise to around Rs 247 million from above Rs 203.1 million last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Three of these six companies have consistently distributed dividends to the investors. This year, Taragaon Regency Hotels, Soaltee Hotel, and Oriental Hotels continued this trend, unlike many companies of other sector. Soaltee Hotel distributed 5% bonus shares and 26.57% cash dividend, totaling a 31.58% dividend. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oriental Hotels, which hadn't distributed dividends since 2018/19, offered a 5.26% cash dividend this year. Taragaon Regency Hotels provided 5% bonus shares and 11% cash dividend, totaling a 15% dividend. Chandragiri Hills, Kalinchok Darshan, and City Hotel, which had issued initial public offerings last year, are gradually moving towards dividend distribution.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The rise in income for these tourism sector companies is attributed to the increase in arrival of foreign tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 416,069 foreign tourists visited Nepal by April 2024, a 27.42% increase from the same period in 2023. In 2023, over one million foreign tourists entered Nepal, marking the first time since the pandemic that this number was surpassed. The National Statistics Office estimates a 21.84% growth rate in accommodation and food service this year due to improvement in arrival of tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Despite the overall improvement, City Hotel remains in a loss, though it has reduced its deficit. By the third quarter, City Hotel reported a net loss of over Rs 150.37 million, down from more than Rs 216.1 million in the same period last year. The company had projected a net profit of Rs 9.849 million for the current year before issuing its IPO in May 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Director Tilak Koirala stated that the company is focused on reducing expenses and improving its financial situation. City Hotel has started generating income by renting out spaces for casino operations. The expansion of the banquet hall, which can accommodate 200 people, is near completion, and Koirala expects this to further increase income next year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, City Hotel has reached an agreement with Hyatt International South West Asia to upgrade its current Hyatt Place brand to the Hyatt Centric brand, with the target to complete this upgrade by the first quarter of next year. The hotel is also prioritizing infrastructure changes to reflect the cultural heritage of the valley. Despite having a debt of over Rs 3 billion, Koirala is optimistic that the company will provide returns to investors within the next 2 to 3 years.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20750', 'image' => '20240519032706_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:25:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21022', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of Phukot-Karnali Hydropower Project Uncertain', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Indian company NHPC Limited is reconsidering the agreement to provide a certain percentage of the electricity produced to Nepal for free. Additionally, a petition filed in the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to allow the Indian company to develop the project has cast further doubt on the project's immediate implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India in May last year, an agreement was signed to build the project in Kalikot district through a joint venture between Nepal’s Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited and NHPC Limited. According to this agreement, the Indian company would hold a 51 percent share in the joint venture, with the Nepali company holding the remaining share. The agreement also stipulated that 21.9 percent of the energy produced would be available to Nepal free of charge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, Nepali officials reported that around a month ago, the Indian company demanded an amendment to the free electricity provision in the contract.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Bakhat Bahadur Shahi, Chief Executive Officer of the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, stated that NHPC has sent a letter requesting a reconsideration of this provision, claiming that the project is not financially feasible with the free electricity clause.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, it is not clear to what extent NHPC seeks flexibility from Nepal regarding the free electricity provision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi mentioned that they the issue will be resolve through mutual agreement. "Since a writ has been filed against the agreement, bilateral discussions have not been possible," Shahi explained.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In December, Yashuda Kumari Baral and Ajay Bahadur Shahi from Raskot Municipality-8 of Kalikot filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding the agreement be canceled, arguing that the 51 percent share given to the Indian company was not in the nation's interest. Baral criticized the decision, stating that projects that could be managed by the Government of Nepal should not be handed to foreign companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The writ lists 10 government offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, the Department of Electricity Development, the Nepal Electricity Authority, the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, and the office of the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project, as opponents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi noted that further discussions between the parties have been stalled due to the Supreme Court case concerning the share distribution to NHPC. The issue will only be resolved after the court's decision, after which formal negotiations on the concerns raised by the Indian company will proceed. "For now, we have informally replied that we should proceed according to the agreement," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">One year after the agreement, the joint venture has still not been registered with the government agency, casting doubt on the project's immediate implementation. Shahi indicated that the Indian company will be registered in the joint venture following the Supreme Court's decision and contract amendments.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Previously, Nepal had proposed that China build this project on the Karnali River under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, no solid agreement was reached between Nepal and China, leading to the Indian company's involvement. NHPC has also been tasked with constructing the 750 MW West Seti and 450 MW Setinadi-6 projects.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20749', 'image' => '20240519031249_9b8ea9d4.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:12:21', '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' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21035', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Iran's President Raisi, FM die in Helicopter Crash: State TV ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior officials was forced into a hard landing in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan due to the bad weather on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of Raisi's accompanying team, including East Azarbaijan's Governor Malek Rahmati, and the Friday prayers leader Tabriz Mohammad Ali Ale-Hasehem, as well as the flight crew also lost their lives, the report said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The tragedy occurred while Raisi was on his way from Khoda Afarin County, where he had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam, to the provincial capital Tabriz for the inauguration of a petrochemical complex. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Media reports said images show the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Fog and rain had hampered the search operation before rescuers spotted the helicopter earlier in the day. – Xinhua/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20762', 'image' => '20240520040139_20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:01:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21032', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Muktinath Bikas Bank Distributes School Uniforms', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank provided uniforms as part of its corporate social responsibility, according to a press release issued by the bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bank employees, school teachers, officials, and students were present at the uniform handover program. The bank believes that this program will encourage students to pursue their education.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20758', 'image' => '20240520083154_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 08:30:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21030', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘BRI Implementation Plan in Final Stage’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at a seminar organized by the Embassy of China in Kathmandu on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "Nepal is ready to sign it at a mutually convenient time. I am confident that the implementation of this plan will bring visible results on the ground." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The seminar on "Review of the Friendship since the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Nepal and China, and Moving Forward Together for a Better Future" witnessed the participation from all major political parties, scholars and professionals as well as the chiefs and representatives from the friendship organizations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also shared that Nepal has decided to join the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiatives (GDI), which was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping and formed at the United Nations to engage further in common development endeavours, including the fight against climate change impacts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Shrestha added that Nepal-China ties is built on commonalities of culture, and geography, as well as people-to-people relations. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Over the years, we have built strong relations based on mutual respect, trust, goodwill, and understanding. Our relations are founded solidly on the bedrock of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence called Panchsheel, age-old legacy of friendship, close and good neighbourliness, mutual cooperation and understanding, appreciation of each other’s sensitivities, and trusted partnership," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Deputy Prime Minister said Nepal and China have discussed some key issues including enhancing support for socio-economic development and prosperity of Nepal, agriculture, connectivity, infrastructure, trade and investment, education, technology and innovation, sustainable development, and people-to-people relations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that discussions were held with the Chinese side on matters relating to the opening of 14 traditional border trading points between Nepal and China, swift implementation of the ongoing development projects in Nepal, and further activating the established bilateral mechanisms. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is committed to widening and deepening its cooperation with China in vital sectors such as connectivity, infrastructure development, agriculture, trade, tourism, investment, ICT, and people-to-people relations, among others, he added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song shared that the two countries have respected each other's interests and developed confidence. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ambassador Chen made commitment to China's support to Nepal's development endeavors. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20757', 'image' => '20240520061520_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:14:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21029', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will There Be No Shortage of Chemical Fertilizer this Year?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. ', 'content' => '<p>KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. </p> <p>It may be noted that farmers of Nepal facing extreme shortage of chemical fertilizers every year during the main planting season has become a perennial problem.</p> <p>According to government authorities, they often fail to import fertilizer on time due to lack of adequate budget for fertilizer procurement, failure of procurement process and lack of provision for back-up tenders.</p> <p>With the planting season just around the corner, the promise made by the ministry seems unlikely to materialize as the government does not have sufficient stock of fertilizers and the quantity it intends to import seems to be too less than the requirement.</p> <p>According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 700,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers are required per year for a total of 3.391 million hectares of land.</p> <p>Information Officer of the Ministry, Mahananda Joshi, told RSS that the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has a stock of 52,000 metric tonnes of urea while the Salt Trading Corporation has 26,050 metric tones of urea. Similarly, the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has 5,434 metric tonnes of DAP in stock and the Salt Trading Company has 4,092 metric tonnes of DAP. Furthermore, the two state-owned companies have a stock of more than 11,800 metric tonnes of potash.</p> <p>The ministry said that both the companies are importing an additional 242,119 metric tonnes of urea and almost 98,000 metric tonnes of DAP. Information Officer Joshi shared that the remaining quantity of fertilizers will be imported within a month. </p> <p>The adverse effect of fertilizer shortage has also started to be seen in Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years. During the last decade, the contribution of agriculture sector in GDP decreased from 32.7 percent to 23.9 percent.</p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20756', 'image' => '20240520060139_20240519100436_20210105121301_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:00:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21028', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Water Sources in CNP Drying up due to Drought, Putting Wild Animals in Trouble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said that the water level in the 134 big and small lakes and ponds inside the park has started to recede fast due to the dry spell, putting the wild animals in trouble.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, the water level of the wetland, rivers and streams as well as of the natural water bodies and those of the man-made ponds inside the CNP has drastically decreased compared to the same period of last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said the water level in the lakes and ponds has fallen since there is no precipitation for a long time. There is high water evaporation from the water bodies due to the scorching heat and there is no rain to replenish it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It is estimated that the water level has dropped compared to the last few years. This is because there was less rainfall during the winter this year. The wild animals have been directly hit due to this condition," he added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rare one-horned rhino likes to wallow in the ponds during the summer. Other animals also direly need water. However, the old ponds and wetlands here are not managed accordingly for that purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The CNP Office has stated that they are facing problems in carrying out cleaning up and management works of water sources like removing the debris due to the lack of funds. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"In the fiscal year 2075/76 BS, Rs 14.5 million was earmarked for managing the water sources inside the park. We had carried out work related to managing 60 ponds that year. That fund has reduced to just Rs 2.5 million this fiscal year 2080/81, which means it is not adequate to carry out cleaning and other management works," the Conservation Officer said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, only seven ponds have been managed from the available funds this year. This means there is increased risk of human-wildlife conflict this year as the wild animals are likely to stray into human settlements. -- RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20755', 'image' => '20240520060000_20240519092413_20220915044159_20220613080155_Chitwan 3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 05:59:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21027', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Crashes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Iranian state media said the crash occurred on Sunday near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Raisi was returning from a visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, where he had travelled to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, when the incident took place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had "reached their destination safely," according to Tasnim news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">People who were with the president inside the helicopter managed to make an emergency call, according to the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Search and rescue team were headed to the remote mountain area, state media in the Islamic republic reported, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also aboard the aircraft.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site," state TV said in an on-screen news alert.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">State TV broadcast footage of an Iranian Red Crescent team walking up a slope in thick fog, as well as live footage of crowds of worshippers reciting prayers in the holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the city Mashhad, Raisi's hometown. -- AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20754', 'image' => '20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 22:15:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21024', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' NEPSE Surges 45.69 Points, Life Insurance Sector Leads Gains', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today's trading session, 323 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 74,991 transactions. A total of 12,240,802 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.25 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CEDB Hydropower Development Company Limited (CHDC) led the turnover amount with transactions worth Rs 14 crores. Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SABSL) and Aatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiay Sanstha Limited (ANLB) each saw a 10% gain and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Mandu Hydropower Limited (MANDU) faced the maximum loss of 9.9%, closing at a market price of Rs 869.50 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all indices closed in positive territory. The Life Insurance sector witnessed the highest gain of 4.38%, while the Trading Index saw the least gain at 0.55%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20751', 'image' => '20240519044620_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 16:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21023', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increase in Arrival of Tourists Boosts Profits for Nepal's Hotels and Tourism Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Out of six companies in the hotel and tourism sector listed in the secondary market of securities, five have increased their profits by the third quarter of the current fiscal year. Among them, two companies have nearly achieved a 40 percent increase in profit. Despite one company still facing losses, it has managed to reduce its deficit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the unaudited financial statements for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Taragaon Regency Hotels increased its net profit by 39.54%, Chandragiri Hills by 38.82%, Soaltee Hotel by 11.08%, Oriental Hotels by 9.91%, and Kalinchok Darshan by 6.92%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">By the third quarter, Taragaon Regency Hotels earned a net profit of over Rs 333.2 million, compared to more than Rs 238.8 million during the same period last year. The company attributes its improved profit to a higher occupancy rate due to an increase in international tourists entering Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Looking ahead, Taragaon Regency Hotels aims to boost its income by increasing hotel occupancy through state-of-the-art technology and commercial strategic mechanisms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills' net profit exceeded Rs 107.9 million, up from Rs 77.7 million in the same period last year. Soaltee Hotel's net profit rose to over Rs 412.3 million, compared to Rs 371.1 million last year. Oriental Hotel's net profit increased slightly to over Rs 605.9 million from Rs 600 million last year. Kalinchok Darshan saw its net profit rise to around Rs 247 million from above Rs 203.1 million last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Three of these six companies have consistently distributed dividends to the investors. This year, Taragaon Regency Hotels, Soaltee Hotel, and Oriental Hotels continued this trend, unlike many companies of other sector. Soaltee Hotel distributed 5% bonus shares and 26.57% cash dividend, totaling a 31.58% dividend. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oriental Hotels, which hadn't distributed dividends since 2018/19, offered a 5.26% cash dividend this year. Taragaon Regency Hotels provided 5% bonus shares and 11% cash dividend, totaling a 15% dividend. Chandragiri Hills, Kalinchok Darshan, and City Hotel, which had issued initial public offerings last year, are gradually moving towards dividend distribution.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The rise in income for these tourism sector companies is attributed to the increase in arrival of foreign tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 416,069 foreign tourists visited Nepal by April 2024, a 27.42% increase from the same period in 2023. In 2023, over one million foreign tourists entered Nepal, marking the first time since the pandemic that this number was surpassed. The National Statistics Office estimates a 21.84% growth rate in accommodation and food service this year due to improvement in arrival of tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Despite the overall improvement, City Hotel remains in a loss, though it has reduced its deficit. By the third quarter, City Hotel reported a net loss of over Rs 150.37 million, down from more than Rs 216.1 million in the same period last year. The company had projected a net profit of Rs 9.849 million for the current year before issuing its IPO in May 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Director Tilak Koirala stated that the company is focused on reducing expenses and improving its financial situation. City Hotel has started generating income by renting out spaces for casino operations. The expansion of the banquet hall, which can accommodate 200 people, is near completion, and Koirala expects this to further increase income next year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, City Hotel has reached an agreement with Hyatt International South West Asia to upgrade its current Hyatt Place brand to the Hyatt Centric brand, with the target to complete this upgrade by the first quarter of next year. The hotel is also prioritizing infrastructure changes to reflect the cultural heritage of the valley. Despite having a debt of over Rs 3 billion, Koirala is optimistic that the company will provide returns to investors within the next 2 to 3 years.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20750', 'image' => '20240519032706_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:25:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21022', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of Phukot-Karnali Hydropower Project Uncertain', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Indian company NHPC Limited is reconsidering the agreement to provide a certain percentage of the electricity produced to Nepal for free. Additionally, a petition filed in the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to allow the Indian company to develop the project has cast further doubt on the project's immediate implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India in May last year, an agreement was signed to build the project in Kalikot district through a joint venture between Nepal’s Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited and NHPC Limited. According to this agreement, the Indian company would hold a 51 percent share in the joint venture, with the Nepali company holding the remaining share. The agreement also stipulated that 21.9 percent of the energy produced would be available to Nepal free of charge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, Nepali officials reported that around a month ago, the Indian company demanded an amendment to the free electricity provision in the contract.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Bakhat Bahadur Shahi, Chief Executive Officer of the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, stated that NHPC has sent a letter requesting a reconsideration of this provision, claiming that the project is not financially feasible with the free electricity clause.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, it is not clear to what extent NHPC seeks flexibility from Nepal regarding the free electricity provision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi mentioned that they the issue will be resolve through mutual agreement. "Since a writ has been filed against the agreement, bilateral discussions have not been possible," Shahi explained.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In December, Yashuda Kumari Baral and Ajay Bahadur Shahi from Raskot Municipality-8 of Kalikot filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding the agreement be canceled, arguing that the 51 percent share given to the Indian company was not in the nation's interest. Baral criticized the decision, stating that projects that could be managed by the Government of Nepal should not be handed to foreign companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The writ lists 10 government offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, the Department of Electricity Development, the Nepal Electricity Authority, the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, and the office of the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project, as opponents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi noted that further discussions between the parties have been stalled due to the Supreme Court case concerning the share distribution to NHPC. The issue will only be resolved after the court's decision, after which formal negotiations on the concerns raised by the Indian company will proceed. "For now, we have informally replied that we should proceed according to the agreement," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">One year after the agreement, the joint venture has still not been registered with the government agency, casting doubt on the project's immediate implementation. Shahi indicated that the Indian company will be registered in the joint venture following the Supreme Court's decision and contract amendments.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Previously, Nepal had proposed that China build this project on the Karnali River under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, no solid agreement was reached between Nepal and China, leading to the Indian company's involvement. NHPC has also been tasked with constructing the 750 MW West Seti and 450 MW Setinadi-6 projects.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20749', 'image' => '20240519031249_9b8ea9d4.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:12:21', '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' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21035', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Iran's President Raisi, FM die in Helicopter Crash: State TV ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior officials was forced into a hard landing in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan due to the bad weather on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of Raisi's accompanying team, including East Azarbaijan's Governor Malek Rahmati, and the Friday prayers leader Tabriz Mohammad Ali Ale-Hasehem, as well as the flight crew also lost their lives, the report said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The tragedy occurred while Raisi was on his way from Khoda Afarin County, where he had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam, to the provincial capital Tabriz for the inauguration of a petrochemical complex. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Media reports said images show the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Fog and rain had hampered the search operation before rescuers spotted the helicopter earlier in the day. – Xinhua/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20762', 'image' => '20240520040139_20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:01:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21032', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Muktinath Bikas Bank Distributes School Uniforms', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank provided uniforms as part of its corporate social responsibility, according to a press release issued by the bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bank employees, school teachers, officials, and students were present at the uniform handover program. The bank believes that this program will encourage students to pursue their education.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20758', 'image' => '20240520083154_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 08:30:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21030', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘BRI Implementation Plan in Final Stage’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at a seminar organized by the Embassy of China in Kathmandu on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "Nepal is ready to sign it at a mutually convenient time. I am confident that the implementation of this plan will bring visible results on the ground." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The seminar on "Review of the Friendship since the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Nepal and China, and Moving Forward Together for a Better Future" witnessed the participation from all major political parties, scholars and professionals as well as the chiefs and representatives from the friendship organizations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also shared that Nepal has decided to join the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiatives (GDI), which was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping and formed at the United Nations to engage further in common development endeavours, including the fight against climate change impacts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Shrestha added that Nepal-China ties is built on commonalities of culture, and geography, as well as people-to-people relations. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Over the years, we have built strong relations based on mutual respect, trust, goodwill, and understanding. Our relations are founded solidly on the bedrock of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence called Panchsheel, age-old legacy of friendship, close and good neighbourliness, mutual cooperation and understanding, appreciation of each other’s sensitivities, and trusted partnership," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Deputy Prime Minister said Nepal and China have discussed some key issues including enhancing support for socio-economic development and prosperity of Nepal, agriculture, connectivity, infrastructure, trade and investment, education, technology and innovation, sustainable development, and people-to-people relations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that discussions were held with the Chinese side on matters relating to the opening of 14 traditional border trading points between Nepal and China, swift implementation of the ongoing development projects in Nepal, and further activating the established bilateral mechanisms. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is committed to widening and deepening its cooperation with China in vital sectors such as connectivity, infrastructure development, agriculture, trade, tourism, investment, ICT, and people-to-people relations, among others, he added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song shared that the two countries have respected each other's interests and developed confidence. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ambassador Chen made commitment to China's support to Nepal's development endeavors. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20757', 'image' => '20240520061520_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:14:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21029', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will There Be No Shortage of Chemical Fertilizer this Year?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. ', 'content' => '<p>KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. </p> <p>It may be noted that farmers of Nepal facing extreme shortage of chemical fertilizers every year during the main planting season has become a perennial problem.</p> <p>According to government authorities, they often fail to import fertilizer on time due to lack of adequate budget for fertilizer procurement, failure of procurement process and lack of provision for back-up tenders.</p> <p>With the planting season just around the corner, the promise made by the ministry seems unlikely to materialize as the government does not have sufficient stock of fertilizers and the quantity it intends to import seems to be too less than the requirement.</p> <p>According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 700,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers are required per year for a total of 3.391 million hectares of land.</p> <p>Information Officer of the Ministry, Mahananda Joshi, told RSS that the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has a stock of 52,000 metric tonnes of urea while the Salt Trading Corporation has 26,050 metric tones of urea. Similarly, the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has 5,434 metric tonnes of DAP in stock and the Salt Trading Company has 4,092 metric tonnes of DAP. Furthermore, the two state-owned companies have a stock of more than 11,800 metric tonnes of potash.</p> <p>The ministry said that both the companies are importing an additional 242,119 metric tonnes of urea and almost 98,000 metric tonnes of DAP. Information Officer Joshi shared that the remaining quantity of fertilizers will be imported within a month. </p> <p>The adverse effect of fertilizer shortage has also started to be seen in Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years. During the last decade, the contribution of agriculture sector in GDP decreased from 32.7 percent to 23.9 percent.</p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20756', 'image' => '20240520060139_20240519100436_20210105121301_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:00:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21028', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Water Sources in CNP Drying up due to Drought, Putting Wild Animals in Trouble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said that the water level in the 134 big and small lakes and ponds inside the park has started to recede fast due to the dry spell, putting the wild animals in trouble.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, the water level of the wetland, rivers and streams as well as of the natural water bodies and those of the man-made ponds inside the CNP has drastically decreased compared to the same period of last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said the water level in the lakes and ponds has fallen since there is no precipitation for a long time. There is high water evaporation from the water bodies due to the scorching heat and there is no rain to replenish it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It is estimated that the water level has dropped compared to the last few years. This is because there was less rainfall during the winter this year. The wild animals have been directly hit due to this condition," he added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rare one-horned rhino likes to wallow in the ponds during the summer. Other animals also direly need water. However, the old ponds and wetlands here are not managed accordingly for that purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The CNP Office has stated that they are facing problems in carrying out cleaning up and management works of water sources like removing the debris due to the lack of funds. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"In the fiscal year 2075/76 BS, Rs 14.5 million was earmarked for managing the water sources inside the park. We had carried out work related to managing 60 ponds that year. That fund has reduced to just Rs 2.5 million this fiscal year 2080/81, which means it is not adequate to carry out cleaning and other management works," the Conservation Officer said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, only seven ponds have been managed from the available funds this year. This means there is increased risk of human-wildlife conflict this year as the wild animals are likely to stray into human settlements. -- RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20755', 'image' => '20240520060000_20240519092413_20220915044159_20220613080155_Chitwan 3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 05:59:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21027', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Crashes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Iranian state media said the crash occurred on Sunday near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Raisi was returning from a visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, where he had travelled to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, when the incident took place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had "reached their destination safely," according to Tasnim news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">People who were with the president inside the helicopter managed to make an emergency call, according to the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Search and rescue team were headed to the remote mountain area, state media in the Islamic republic reported, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also aboard the aircraft.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site," state TV said in an on-screen news alert.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">State TV broadcast footage of an Iranian Red Crescent team walking up a slope in thick fog, as well as live footage of crowds of worshippers reciting prayers in the holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the city Mashhad, Raisi's hometown. -- AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20754', 'image' => '20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 22:15:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21024', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' NEPSE Surges 45.69 Points, Life Insurance Sector Leads Gains', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today's trading session, 323 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 74,991 transactions. A total of 12,240,802 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.25 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CEDB Hydropower Development Company Limited (CHDC) led the turnover amount with transactions worth Rs 14 crores. Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SABSL) and Aatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiay Sanstha Limited (ANLB) each saw a 10% gain and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Mandu Hydropower Limited (MANDU) faced the maximum loss of 9.9%, closing at a market price of Rs 869.50 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all indices closed in positive territory. The Life Insurance sector witnessed the highest gain of 4.38%, while the Trading Index saw the least gain at 0.55%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20751', 'image' => '20240519044620_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 16:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21023', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increase in Arrival of Tourists Boosts Profits for Nepal's Hotels and Tourism Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Out of six companies in the hotel and tourism sector listed in the secondary market of securities, five have increased their profits by the third quarter of the current fiscal year. Among them, two companies have nearly achieved a 40 percent increase in profit. Despite one company still facing losses, it has managed to reduce its deficit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the unaudited financial statements for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Taragaon Regency Hotels increased its net profit by 39.54%, Chandragiri Hills by 38.82%, Soaltee Hotel by 11.08%, Oriental Hotels by 9.91%, and Kalinchok Darshan by 6.92%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">By the third quarter, Taragaon Regency Hotels earned a net profit of over Rs 333.2 million, compared to more than Rs 238.8 million during the same period last year. The company attributes its improved profit to a higher occupancy rate due to an increase in international tourists entering Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Looking ahead, Taragaon Regency Hotels aims to boost its income by increasing hotel occupancy through state-of-the-art technology and commercial strategic mechanisms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills' net profit exceeded Rs 107.9 million, up from Rs 77.7 million in the same period last year. Soaltee Hotel's net profit rose to over Rs 412.3 million, compared to Rs 371.1 million last year. Oriental Hotel's net profit increased slightly to over Rs 605.9 million from Rs 600 million last year. Kalinchok Darshan saw its net profit rise to around Rs 247 million from above Rs 203.1 million last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Three of these six companies have consistently distributed dividends to the investors. This year, Taragaon Regency Hotels, Soaltee Hotel, and Oriental Hotels continued this trend, unlike many companies of other sector. Soaltee Hotel distributed 5% bonus shares and 26.57% cash dividend, totaling a 31.58% dividend. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oriental Hotels, which hadn't distributed dividends since 2018/19, offered a 5.26% cash dividend this year. Taragaon Regency Hotels provided 5% bonus shares and 11% cash dividend, totaling a 15% dividend. Chandragiri Hills, Kalinchok Darshan, and City Hotel, which had issued initial public offerings last year, are gradually moving towards dividend distribution.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The rise in income for these tourism sector companies is attributed to the increase in arrival of foreign tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 416,069 foreign tourists visited Nepal by April 2024, a 27.42% increase from the same period in 2023. In 2023, over one million foreign tourists entered Nepal, marking the first time since the pandemic that this number was surpassed. The National Statistics Office estimates a 21.84% growth rate in accommodation and food service this year due to improvement in arrival of tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Despite the overall improvement, City Hotel remains in a loss, though it has reduced its deficit. By the third quarter, City Hotel reported a net loss of over Rs 150.37 million, down from more than Rs 216.1 million in the same period last year. The company had projected a net profit of Rs 9.849 million for the current year before issuing its IPO in May 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Director Tilak Koirala stated that the company is focused on reducing expenses and improving its financial situation. City Hotel has started generating income by renting out spaces for casino operations. The expansion of the banquet hall, which can accommodate 200 people, is near completion, and Koirala expects this to further increase income next year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, City Hotel has reached an agreement with Hyatt International South West Asia to upgrade its current Hyatt Place brand to the Hyatt Centric brand, with the target to complete this upgrade by the first quarter of next year. The hotel is also prioritizing infrastructure changes to reflect the cultural heritage of the valley. Despite having a debt of over Rs 3 billion, Koirala is optimistic that the company will provide returns to investors within the next 2 to 3 years.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20750', 'image' => '20240519032706_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:25:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21022', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of Phukot-Karnali Hydropower Project Uncertain', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Indian company NHPC Limited is reconsidering the agreement to provide a certain percentage of the electricity produced to Nepal for free. Additionally, a petition filed in the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to allow the Indian company to develop the project has cast further doubt on the project's immediate implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India in May last year, an agreement was signed to build the project in Kalikot district through a joint venture between Nepal’s Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited and NHPC Limited. According to this agreement, the Indian company would hold a 51 percent share in the joint venture, with the Nepali company holding the remaining share. The agreement also stipulated that 21.9 percent of the energy produced would be available to Nepal free of charge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, Nepali officials reported that around a month ago, the Indian company demanded an amendment to the free electricity provision in the contract.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Bakhat Bahadur Shahi, Chief Executive Officer of the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, stated that NHPC has sent a letter requesting a reconsideration of this provision, claiming that the project is not financially feasible with the free electricity clause.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, it is not clear to what extent NHPC seeks flexibility from Nepal regarding the free electricity provision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi mentioned that they the issue will be resolve through mutual agreement. "Since a writ has been filed against the agreement, bilateral discussions have not been possible," Shahi explained.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In December, Yashuda Kumari Baral and Ajay Bahadur Shahi from Raskot Municipality-8 of Kalikot filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding the agreement be canceled, arguing that the 51 percent share given to the Indian company was not in the nation's interest. Baral criticized the decision, stating that projects that could be managed by the Government of Nepal should not be handed to foreign companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The writ lists 10 government offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, the Department of Electricity Development, the Nepal Electricity Authority, the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, and the office of the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project, as opponents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi noted that further discussions between the parties have been stalled due to the Supreme Court case concerning the share distribution to NHPC. The issue will only be resolved after the court's decision, after which formal negotiations on the concerns raised by the Indian company will proceed. "For now, we have informally replied that we should proceed according to the agreement," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">One year after the agreement, the joint venture has still not been registered with the government agency, casting doubt on the project's immediate implementation. Shahi indicated that the Indian company will be registered in the joint venture following the Supreme Court's decision and contract amendments.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Previously, Nepal had proposed that China build this project on the Karnali River under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, no solid agreement was reached between Nepal and China, leading to the Indian company's involvement. NHPC has also been tasked with constructing the 750 MW West Seti and 450 MW Setinadi-6 projects.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20749', 'image' => '20240519031249_9b8ea9d4.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:12:21', '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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The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21035', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Iran's President Raisi, FM die in Helicopter Crash: State TV ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash, state-run IRIB TV reported Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The helicopter carrying Raisi and other senior officials was forced into a hard landing in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan due to the bad weather on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of Raisi's accompanying team, including East Azarbaijan's Governor Malek Rahmati, and the Friday prayers leader Tabriz Mohammad Ali Ale-Hasehem, as well as the flight crew also lost their lives, the report said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The tragedy occurred while Raisi was on his way from Khoda Afarin County, where he had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam, to the provincial capital Tabriz for the inauguration of a petrochemical complex. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Media reports said images show the helicopter crashed into a mountain peak. State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Fog and rain had hampered the search operation before rescuers spotted the helicopter earlier in the day. – Xinhua/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20762', 'image' => '20240520040139_20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:01:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21032', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Muktinath Bikas Bank Distributes School Uniforms', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: Muktinath Biaks Bank has distributed school uniforms to students in Nawalpur. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank distributed school uniforms to 76 students from nursery to grade 5 at Rambhadevi Basic School in Bulingtar.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The bank provided uniforms as part of its corporate social responsibility, according to a press release issued by the bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bank employees, school teachers, officials, and students were present at the uniform handover program. The bank believes that this program will encourage students to pursue their education.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20758', 'image' => '20240520083154_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 08:30:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21030', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘BRI Implementation Plan in Final Stage’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan was in the final stage. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at a seminar organized by the Embassy of China in Kathmandu on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister said, "Nepal is ready to sign it at a mutually convenient time. I am confident that the implementation of this plan will bring visible results on the ground." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The seminar on "Review of the Friendship since the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Nepal and China, and Moving Forward Together for a Better Future" witnessed the participation from all major political parties, scholars and professionals as well as the chiefs and representatives from the friendship organizations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha also shared that Nepal has decided to join the Group of Friends of Global Development Initiatives (GDI), which was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping and formed at the United Nations to engage further in common development endeavours, including the fight against climate change impacts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Shrestha added that Nepal-China ties is built on commonalities of culture, and geography, as well as people-to-people relations. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Over the years, we have built strong relations based on mutual respect, trust, goodwill, and understanding. Our relations are founded solidly on the bedrock of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence called Panchsheel, age-old legacy of friendship, close and good neighbourliness, mutual cooperation and understanding, appreciation of each other’s sensitivities, and trusted partnership," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Deputy Prime Minister said Nepal and China have discussed some key issues including enhancing support for socio-economic development and prosperity of Nepal, agriculture, connectivity, infrastructure, trade and investment, education, technology and innovation, sustainable development, and people-to-people relations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that discussions were held with the Chinese side on matters relating to the opening of 14 traditional border trading points between Nepal and China, swift implementation of the ongoing development projects in Nepal, and further activating the established bilateral mechanisms. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is committed to widening and deepening its cooperation with China in vital sectors such as connectivity, infrastructure development, agriculture, trade, tourism, investment, ICT, and people-to-people relations, among others, he added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song shared that the two countries have respected each other's interests and developed confidence. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ambassador Chen made commitment to China's support to Nepal's development endeavors. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20757', 'image' => '20240520061520_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:14:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21029', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will There Be No Shortage of Chemical Fertilizer this Year?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. ', 'content' => '<p>KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday assured that there will be no shortage of chemical fertilizer for paddy plantation this year. </p> <p>It may be noted that farmers of Nepal facing extreme shortage of chemical fertilizers every year during the main planting season has become a perennial problem.</p> <p>According to government authorities, they often fail to import fertilizer on time due to lack of adequate budget for fertilizer procurement, failure of procurement process and lack of provision for back-up tenders.</p> <p>With the planting season just around the corner, the promise made by the ministry seems unlikely to materialize as the government does not have sufficient stock of fertilizers and the quantity it intends to import seems to be too less than the requirement.</p> <p>According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 700,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers are required per year for a total of 3.391 million hectares of land.</p> <p>Information Officer of the Ministry, Mahananda Joshi, told RSS that the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has a stock of 52,000 metric tonnes of urea while the Salt Trading Corporation has 26,050 metric tones of urea. Similarly, the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited has 5,434 metric tonnes of DAP in stock and the Salt Trading Company has 4,092 metric tonnes of DAP. Furthermore, the two state-owned companies have a stock of more than 11,800 metric tonnes of potash.</p> <p>The ministry said that both the companies are importing an additional 242,119 metric tonnes of urea and almost 98,000 metric tonnes of DAP. Information Officer Joshi shared that the remaining quantity of fertilizers will be imported within a month. </p> <p>The adverse effect of fertilizer shortage has also started to be seen in Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years. During the last decade, the contribution of agriculture sector in GDP decreased from 32.7 percent to 23.9 percent.</p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20756', 'image' => '20240520060139_20240519100436_20210105121301_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:00:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21028', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Water Sources in CNP Drying up due to Drought, Putting Wild Animals in Trouble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">CHITWAN: Wild animals of Chitwan National Park (CNP) are facing problems as the water sources have started drying up due to the ongoing drought. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said that the water level in the 134 big and small lakes and ponds inside the park has started to recede fast due to the dry spell, putting the wild animals in trouble.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, the water level of the wetland, rivers and streams as well as of the natural water bodies and those of the man-made ponds inside the CNP has drastically decreased compared to the same period of last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">CNP Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said the water level in the lakes and ponds has fallen since there is no precipitation for a long time. There is high water evaporation from the water bodies due to the scorching heat and there is no rain to replenish it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It is estimated that the water level has dropped compared to the last few years. This is because there was less rainfall during the winter this year. The wild animals have been directly hit due to this condition," he added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rare one-horned rhino likes to wallow in the ponds during the summer. Other animals also direly need water. However, the old ponds and wetlands here are not managed accordingly for that purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The CNP Office has stated that they are facing problems in carrying out cleaning up and management works of water sources like removing the debris due to the lack of funds. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"In the fiscal year 2075/76 BS, Rs 14.5 million was earmarked for managing the water sources inside the park. We had carried out work related to managing 60 ponds that year. That fund has reduced to just Rs 2.5 million this fiscal year 2080/81, which means it is not adequate to carry out cleaning and other management works," the Conservation Officer said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to him, only seven ponds have been managed from the available funds this year. This means there is increased risk of human-wildlife conflict this year as the wild animals are likely to stray into human settlements. -- RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20755', 'image' => '20240520060000_20240519092413_20220915044159_20220613080155_Chitwan 3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 05:59:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21027', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Helicopter Carrying Iran’s President Crashes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in "an accident" in poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Iranian state media said the crash occurred on Sunday near Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Raisi was returning from a visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, where he had travelled to inaugurate a dam alongside the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, when the incident took place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">His convoy included three helicopters, and the other two had "reached their destination safely," according to Tasnim news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">People who were with the president inside the helicopter managed to make an emergency call, according to the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Search and rescue team were headed to the remote mountain area, state media in the Islamic republic reported, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also aboard the aircraft.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The harsh weather conditions and heavy fog have made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the accident site," state TV said in an on-screen news alert.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">State TV broadcast footage of an Iranian Red Crescent team walking up a slope in thick fog, as well as live footage of crowds of worshippers reciting prayers in the holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the city Mashhad, Raisi's hometown. -- AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20754', 'image' => '20240519101630_ebrahim-raisi-1-6850811-1713371489836.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 22:15:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21024', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' NEPSE Surges 45.69 Points, Life Insurance Sector Leads Gains', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a massive surge of 45.69 points, or 2.26%, closing at 2064.45 on the first trading day of the week, Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today's trading session, 323 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 74,991 transactions. A total of 12,240,802 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.25 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CEDB Hydropower Development Company Limited (CHDC) led the turnover amount with transactions worth Rs 14 crores. Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SABSL) and Aatmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiay Sanstha Limited (ANLB) each saw a 10% gain and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Mandu Hydropower Limited (MANDU) faced the maximum loss of 9.9%, closing at a market price of Rs 869.50 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all indices closed in positive territory. The Life Insurance sector witnessed the highest gain of 4.38%, while the Trading Index saw the least gain at 0.55%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20751', 'image' => '20240519044620_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 16:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21023', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increase in Arrival of Tourists Boosts Profits for Nepal's Hotels and Tourism Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With the recovery in the tourism sector following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's hotels and tourism-related companies have made significant profits.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Out of six companies in the hotel and tourism sector listed in the secondary market of securities, five have increased their profits by the third quarter of the current fiscal year. Among them, two companies have nearly achieved a 40 percent increase in profit. Despite one company still facing losses, it has managed to reduce its deficit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the unaudited financial statements for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Taragaon Regency Hotels increased its net profit by 39.54%, Chandragiri Hills by 38.82%, Soaltee Hotel by 11.08%, Oriental Hotels by 9.91%, and Kalinchok Darshan by 6.92%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">By the third quarter, Taragaon Regency Hotels earned a net profit of over Rs 333.2 million, compared to more than Rs 238.8 million during the same period last year. The company attributes its improved profit to a higher occupancy rate due to an increase in international tourists entering Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Looking ahead, Taragaon Regency Hotels aims to boost its income by increasing hotel occupancy through state-of-the-art technology and commercial strategic mechanisms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills' net profit exceeded Rs 107.9 million, up from Rs 77.7 million in the same period last year. Soaltee Hotel's net profit rose to over Rs 412.3 million, compared to Rs 371.1 million last year. Oriental Hotel's net profit increased slightly to over Rs 605.9 million from Rs 600 million last year. Kalinchok Darshan saw its net profit rise to around Rs 247 million from above Rs 203.1 million last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Three of these six companies have consistently distributed dividends to the investors. This year, Taragaon Regency Hotels, Soaltee Hotel, and Oriental Hotels continued this trend, unlike many companies of other sector. Soaltee Hotel distributed 5% bonus shares and 26.57% cash dividend, totaling a 31.58% dividend. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oriental Hotels, which hadn't distributed dividends since 2018/19, offered a 5.26% cash dividend this year. Taragaon Regency Hotels provided 5% bonus shares and 11% cash dividend, totaling a 15% dividend. Chandragiri Hills, Kalinchok Darshan, and City Hotel, which had issued initial public offerings last year, are gradually moving towards dividend distribution.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The rise in income for these tourism sector companies is attributed to the increase in arrival of foreign tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 416,069 foreign tourists visited Nepal by April 2024, a 27.42% increase from the same period in 2023. In 2023, over one million foreign tourists entered Nepal, marking the first time since the pandemic that this number was surpassed. The National Statistics Office estimates a 21.84% growth rate in accommodation and food service this year due to improvement in arrival of tourists.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Despite the overall improvement, City Hotel remains in a loss, though it has reduced its deficit. By the third quarter, City Hotel reported a net loss of over Rs 150.37 million, down from more than Rs 216.1 million in the same period last year. The company had projected a net profit of Rs 9.849 million for the current year before issuing its IPO in May 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Director Tilak Koirala stated that the company is focused on reducing expenses and improving its financial situation. City Hotel has started generating income by renting out spaces for casino operations. The expansion of the banquet hall, which can accommodate 200 people, is near completion, and Koirala expects this to further increase income next year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, City Hotel has reached an agreement with Hyatt International South West Asia to upgrade its current Hyatt Place brand to the Hyatt Centric brand, with the target to complete this upgrade by the first quarter of next year. The hotel is also prioritizing infrastructure changes to reflect the cultural heritage of the valley. Despite having a debt of over Rs 3 billion, Koirala is optimistic that the company will provide returns to investors within the next 2 to 3 years.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20750', 'image' => '20240519032706_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:25:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21022', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of Phukot-Karnali Hydropower Project Uncertain', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The implementation of the proposed 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali semi-reservoir hydropower project, which is being developed with joint investment of Nepal and India, has become uncertain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Indian company NHPC Limited is reconsidering the agreement to provide a certain percentage of the electricity produced to Nepal for free. Additionally, a petition filed in the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to allow the Indian company to develop the project has cast further doubt on the project's immediate implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India in May last year, an agreement was signed to build the project in Kalikot district through a joint venture between Nepal’s Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited and NHPC Limited. According to this agreement, the Indian company would hold a 51 percent share in the joint venture, with the Nepali company holding the remaining share. The agreement also stipulated that 21.9 percent of the energy produced would be available to Nepal free of charge.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, Nepali officials reported that around a month ago, the Indian company demanded an amendment to the free electricity provision in the contract.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Bakhat Bahadur Shahi, Chief Executive Officer of the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, stated that NHPC has sent a letter requesting a reconsideration of this provision, claiming that the project is not financially feasible with the free electricity clause.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, it is not clear to what extent NHPC seeks flexibility from Nepal regarding the free electricity provision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi mentioned that they the issue will be resolve through mutual agreement. "Since a writ has been filed against the agreement, bilateral discussions have not been possible," Shahi explained.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In December, Yashuda Kumari Baral and Ajay Bahadur Shahi from Raskot Municipality-8 of Kalikot filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding the agreement be canceled, arguing that the 51 percent share given to the Indian company was not in the nation's interest. Baral criticized the decision, stating that projects that could be managed by the Government of Nepal should not be handed to foreign companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The writ lists 10 government offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, the Department of Electricity Development, the Nepal Electricity Authority, the Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited, and the office of the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project, as opponents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shahi noted that further discussions between the parties have been stalled due to the Supreme Court case concerning the share distribution to NHPC. The issue will only be resolved after the court's decision, after which formal negotiations on the concerns raised by the Indian company will proceed. "For now, we have informally replied that we should proceed according to the agreement," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">One year after the agreement, the joint venture has still not been registered with the government agency, casting doubt on the project's immediate implementation. Shahi indicated that the Indian company will be registered in the joint venture following the Supreme Court's decision and contract amendments.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Previously, Nepal had proposed that China build this project on the Karnali River under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, no solid agreement was reached between Nepal and China, leading to the Indian company's involvement. NHPC has also been tasked with constructing the 750 MW West Seti and 450 MW Setinadi-6 projects.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-19', 'modified' => '2024-05-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20749', 'image' => '20240519031249_9b8ea9d4.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-19 15:12:21', '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
