- Friday, 29 August 2025
Nepalgunj, May 24: The Agriculture Knowledge Centre, Banke has distributed agricultural tools and seeds to the freed kamaiyas for free of cost. Before freedom, Kamaiyas were the boded labourers.
A total of 32 families of freed kamaiyas from Baijanath rural municipality-5 in Banke district were provided with tray, spray, pesticides, rice seeds and vegetables under the Special Income Generation Programme launched by Lumbini Province government.
Chief of the Centre, Binod Ghimire, said Lumbini government launched the programme to uplift the living standard of marginalized community. Agricultural tools and other products worth Rs 12,000 were distributed to each family.
The Office also held a discussion with the people who have no access to government services and such support was distributed to them as per their demand, added Ghimire.
A total of 50 poor families would be benefitted from this programme this year. Earlier, the farmers from poor financial background of Duduwa rural municipality, Raptisonari rural municipality and Narainapur rural municipality were provided with such support.
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Nagdhunga-Naubise road to remain closed for over four hours daily from today
Kathmandu, May 24: The Nagdhunga-Naubise road, one of the major entry points to the Kathmandu Valley, will remain closed for vehicular movements for four and half hours daily starting today.
The road section will remain shut from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm. It is effective till June 8, according to the officials at the Narayangadh-Muglin Road Project (eastern section).
The project authority decided to close down the road section for certain hours a day to facilitate the construction of a road along the Nagdhunga-Pipalamod section.
Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Rishiram Tiwari confirmed that the road would be closed for traffic movements to ease construction under Narayangadh-Muglin road section.
During the closure of the road-section, vehicles travelling out of Kathmandu will be temporarily stopped at Nagdhunga and while those entering Kathmandu from Naubise will be halted at Khanikhola, it was shared.
Traffic police has urged the travelers on this road to consider alternative routes such as Dharke-Sitapaila and Tokha-Chahare-Trishuli-Galchi during the closure.
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17 Dalit people lose lives due to discriminatory practices in 14 years
Kathmandu, May 24: Irrespective of the inclusive and just system, and society we have been advocating for long, the Dalit people are bearing the brunt of social discrimination. Even the constitution and related acts have provided rights to the Dalit, but justice to them elusive.
In this connection, it has been 14 years the Ethnic Discrimination and Untouchability (Crime and Punishment Act, 2068) came into effect. But, the incidents of ethnic discrimination and untouchability have not declined.
During this period, 17 Dalit people lost lives due to inter-caste marriage and other social discriminations like untouchability issues. They were killed, while many Dalits were socially excluded, according to Samata Foundation.
Those killed in such incidents were Rajesh Nepali (Parbat), Rupmati Kumari Das (Morang), Nawaraj BK (Jajarkot), Manbire Sunar (Kalikot), Shiva Shankar Das (Saptari), Sete Damai (Dailekh), Jhuma BK (Taplejung), Sangita Pariyar (Tanahu), and Ashmita Sarki (Jhapa), Laxmi Pariyar (Kavre), Ajit Mijar (Kavre), Shreya Sunar (Kaski), Mana Sarki (Kalikot), Ditiya Reshma Rasaili (Dhanusha), Maya BK (Kailali), Tikaram Nepali (Rukum) and Angira Pasi (Rupandehi), added Foundation Chairman Dr Madan Pariyar.
As per the Act, the offender is subjected to fine and jail term, but many incidents are not forwarded for legal action.
Chariman Pariyar shared that police were showing sheer ignorance to the existing Act and facilitating reconciliation rather than forwarding complaints and investigation.
Numerous inter-caste couples have been displaced. Leader of CPN (Maoist Centre), Parshuram Ramtel, said the State needs to be serious in effectively enforcing the Act. “Country is practicing the federal democratic republic, but social justice is not achieved,” he observed, adding that Dalit community, which comprises 14 percent of total population, is bound to live in sheer injustice.
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Village Tourism Mart to foster rural-urban connection
Gandaki, May 24: The Village Tourism Mart kicked off in Pokhara on Friday.
Gandaki Province Office of the Nepal Tourism Board organized the mart where Village Tourism Promotion Forum (VITOF), Gandaki Province, is the co-organiser.
Representatives of 27 homestays operated in Gandaki Province as well as representatives associated with tourism of Koshi Province and Bandipur have been participating in the mart.
The homestay owners are briefing about service they are providing in the mart as well as in different discussion sessions related to village tourism.
Inaugurating the Mart, Minister for Industry and Tourism of Gandaki Province, Mitra Lal Basyal, said development of village tourism is in government’s priority. He also expressed commitment to allocate necessary budget for the same.
Similarly, Chief of Nepal Tourism Board, Gandaki Province, Mani Raj Lamichhane, stressed that people from urban areas could visit villages and enjoy homestay service
The mart has been organized to foster rural-urban connection through tourism. People associated with media, industries and tourism would hold separate discussions and consultation during the event, it is said.
VITOF Chair Shova Sapkota expressed the belief that the mart would be useful to make homestay business effective along with development of village tourism. Stating that every villages have tourism possibilities, Chairperson of Pokhara Tourism Council, Tara Nath Pahari, said tourism potentials of the villages could be explored through development of village tourism.
The mart will run till Sunday.
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12- Health camp with specialized services benefit over 400 people
Baglung, May 24: Bhagirathi Luhar, 82, of Batakachaur of Bareng rural municipality-3 in Baglung district visited a specialist doctor at her own village last Thursday.
She reached a health camp complaining of stomach pain and the doctor, after examining her, prescribed medicines.
The elderly woman, who had visited the doctor with the help of her family members, returned home exuding happiness.
Similarly, Bishnu Thapa of same place also queued up for some time to consult physician Dr Sandeep Sakpota at the health camp at Batakachaur. The 70-year-old walked out of the facility with prescribed medicines and cheerful face.
Luhar and Thapa alike, the health camp set up at a local Health Post also brought cheers to over 400 beneficiaries, mostly the residents of Batakachaur, as they could avail healthcare services at their convenience, thanks to the initiatives of Bareng rural municipality.
Under this initiative, a health camp was set up by the team of specialized doctors from the Dhaulagiri Provincial Hospital, Baglung and the Provincial Hospital, Parbat.
Dr Hemanta Bastola, Dr Sandeep Sapkota, Dr Sandeep KC and Dr Ashish Sapkota among others examined the patients, most of whom were senior citizens, women and children.
Dr Bastola said that a majority of the patients had visited with health issues such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Patients also availed the services such as orthopedics and neurology, general medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, video x-ray, laboratory services and free medicines, added Dr Subedi.
The camp was organized by the local government in coordination of the Gandaki Province Hospital with the objective of identifying the health issues of rural municipality residents, diagnose the cases of communicable and non-communicable diseases among the villagers and provide medical intervention, said Krishna Prasad Sharma, Chairperson of the Barang rural municipality.
The specialized services were offered at this health camp after the villagers had demanded it at a camp recently organized in one of the wards of the municipality, he explained.
Inaugurating the health camp last Thursday, Krishna Prasad Pathak, Minister for Health in Gandaki Province, reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to ensure healthcare services to its citizens. He added that the provincial government was working to enhance people’s access to specialized healthcare services.
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13- Helipad at remote village of Mugu
Mugu, May 24: The Nepali Army has constructed a helipad at Pulu, the administrative centre of Mugum Karmarong rural municipality in the district.
The NA handed over the helipad to the rural municipality on Friday. Division Chief Major General Anup Jung Thapa handed over the helipad to Chairperson of the rural municipality, Tshering Kyapne Lama.
On the occasion, Chairperson Lama said, “People of Mugu were not rescued and nor got relief on time during disaster. Pregnant women and patients had to lose their lives in lack of timely treatment. Even those able to manage finance could not have access to treatment in well-equipped hospital.”
However, with the establishment of helipad, emergency services would be provided on time, he hoped.
Thousands of people in and out of the district reach patan (highland pastures) of Karmarong to collect yarsagumba, a valuable medicinal herb, every year. Unfortunately, dozens of people fall sick due to altitude sickness, climate change and excessive cold.
The service was set up at a cost of Rs 844,173.
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Discussion on forthcoming policies, programmes in Sudurpaschim Province
Kailali, May 24: In the wake of annual schedule for budget, Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province, Kamal Bahadur Shah, held an all-party meeting today.
The meeting held at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers dwelt on issues to be focused in government’s policies, programmes and budget for the coming fiscal year. Sudurpaschim Province Assembly meeting is commencing tomorrow.
Saying the government was committed to increasing development expenses, Chief Minister Shah requested the opposition parties to play constructive roles in the Assembly.
Province Assembly members from the ruling and opposition parties present in the meeting suggested CM Shah priorities of policies, programmes and budget.
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15- Students excelling SEE awarded
Khotang, May 24: Kopilasgadhi rural municipality of Khotang district has awarded the students who came up with highest GPA in the last secondary education exam (SEE).
The rural municipality provided cash prize to two highest scoring students from the local level.
Shiva Kumar Rai and Kyalsi Rai, both the students of the Tharpudanda Secondary School, Sapteshwor had secured highest GPA. Each of them was awarded Rs 100 thousand in cash prize.
Shiva Kumar had secured 3.45 GPA, while Kyasi 3.39 GPA. The guardians of these students were handed over the cheques at a programme organized by the local level with the partnership of the Shrijanshil Bhariya Samaj and the G-Foundation.
Even a fair on education and agriculture was held on the occasion. During the event, rural municipality Mayor Samir Rai said they provided cash prize to the students achieving highest GPA in order to improve education quality at community schools and inspire for higher enrolment. The local level had launched the scheme two years back.
It has also launched a programme focusing on education to daughter-in-law since last fiscal year. The daughter-in-laws deprived of higher education would be provided Grade 12 education for free of cost under the programme.
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Summiting the Sagarmatha: Recollecting indelible feat
Rosha Basnet/RSS
Kathmandu, May 24: Seven years have passed since a formidable group of Nepali women made history by summiting the world’s highest peak Sagarmatha, in a single climbing season.
Among the 19 women from diverse backgrounds who scaled the Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), 17 set their feet on the summit, thereby making Guinness World Records.
On May 23 in 2018, this scribe herself was one of those 17 Nepali women who made it to the top of the mountain also called the ‘Top of the World’.
Had I not survived a fatal fall in the Hillary Step (a 12-metre-tall rocky outcrop on the south-east-ridge of the mountain on the way back from summit, I would not have been able to reflect the expedition after all these years.
As I write this recollection I, along with our team, was descending to lower camps from the Camp IV (at 8,000 metres) from where begins the Death Zone. Death Zone due to low oxygen saturation level (or low atmospheric pressure)
As I share the summit’s saga, here’s the low-down on what propelled me to the summit of Mt Everest, I still vividly remember the sky looked so close as if I could touch it!
What started as a personal resolution to make 2018 a standout year with a meaningful challenge turned out to be a bold statement in many ways.
Leap from newsroom to the death zone
With routine translation and editing at the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), I found myself yearning for something more than words, meaning, headlines and datelines.
I wanted to take up a challenge that would test my limits, redefine my identity, and speak louder than words—something that could prove not just to myself, but to the world, that the women are capable of undertaking challenging, a break of the stereotype.
What could be a more fitting choice other than climbing the Sagarmatha for a person born in the lap of the Himalayas, for a person whose country is also known as the ‘Himalayan nation’. Despite living so close to these natural towers, climbing Everest had never seemed like a realistic goal—until it became one on May 23, 2018.
The idea of climbing the tallest peak also has a bearing with the demise Junko Tabei, the first woman to dare feat. While going through the news of the demise Tabei in 2016 at my news agency, it evidently gave a painful twinge.. The pain, however, empowered me- instilling whetting yearning to trace her footsteps in the Everest as a journalist.
I began to dream—not just climbing the Everest alone but together with fellow women journalists of my country. I believed in the power of unified voice. Later we chose -‘Unified Voice for Equity’ to be our expedition’s slogan.
Ascent starts
The arduous journey to the summit started long before we put on our down suit and tied crampons on the boots.
The journey started with conversations, brainstorming with the fellow women media persons, seeking to challenge societal norms and highlighting the strength of Nepali women and collecting suggestions from senior women media persons on the viability of the expedition’s idea.
I approached more than three dozen female journalists from different age groups, geography and working in different capacities, hoping to find those who shared my vision and fire. The initial enthusiasm was promising.
By the first quarter of 2017, a determined team of 12 female media persons had been formed. We named our initiative the ‘First Women Journalists Everest Expedition – 2018’, and we carried a two-fold mission: reach the summit, and use that summit as a platform to elevate and amplify the voices of women across Nepal’s newsrooms and beyond.
Unfortunately, the closer the date for expedition inched, the higher the number of drop outs seen in the team owing to contingencies on their part, lack of commitment and among others.
It was less than six months left to set out for expedition, the team was reduced to five to whom the then Head of the State Bidya Devi Bhandari had dubbed the ‘Pancha Kanya’.
The group had called on the First Female President of the country to seek her best wishes and moral support before making the expedition public.
The ‘final five’ certainly had irreconcilable differences but they were unified by similar purpose and passion for the mountain they had long eyed to surmount.
The planning phase followed by team building was electric. Meticulous discussions on logistics, rigorous trainings, fundraising, media campaigning and post-expedition initiatives were full of optimism.
We dreamed of not just reaching atop the summit, but using our achievements to give back—to the media, to aspiring women, and to the society that too often overlooks women’s contributions.
Atop Sagarmatha: A transformation
The actual climb, of course, was overcoming the shortcomings within and shortfall of logistical and fund for the expedition.
Worryingly, it was unfortunate to be cash-strapped in the very beginning. But, the team worked hard and smart to raise the fund and subsequently received encouraging supports- both in cash and in-kind as climbing season inched closer.
Supports poured in from international agencies to government and local levels. It was all because of the collective effort of five determined women journalists.
The physical strain during the expedition was immense and the mental pressure was equally relentless. Every step in the Everest tested our will. Yet we persevered. And when we stood on the top of the world in few minutes apart, the feeling wasn’t just triumph—it was transformation in deed.
But the hardest part of the journey, as it turned out, came after the descent.
Fame came swiftly. But unity to summit gradually faded.
Women able to break barriers
Looking back, the real summit wasn’t the snow-covered peak. It was overcoming the Everest within—self-doubts, societal expectations, gender bias, and personal limitations.
For me, Everest was beyond altitude. It was about telling gravity
It soul-stirring journey for this scribe who came from a humble back group and rose above the circumstances and reached the highest point on earth by the dent of unwavering perseverance, excellent team work, supportive Sherpa team, meticulous planning, thorough execution and not to mentioned, and the providence!
The journey was a powerful reminder that every girl, every woman, every professional stuck behind barriers can climb the mountain with purpose, passion, and persistence. Together,
Extraordinary feats are within reach of ordinary women.
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Minister Gurung stresses investigative journalism
Kaski, May 24: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, has laid emphasis on investigative journalism.
During a discussion on women’s participation and development in journalism organized by the Ministry and the Sancharika Samuha Gandaki Province in Pokhara today, Minister Gurung argued, “The content cannot be factual if there is no investigative journalism. So, all should pay heed to it.”
The people have been getting misinformation about the issues related to promotion of national welfare due to misuse information technology, he added. Minister Gurung opined that the Ministry has been working on how it could ensure right to information, make it systematic and dignified as RTI is the first priority of the citizens.
Stating that they were in a plan to move ahead in a new way for the development of state-owned media, he stressed the need of regulating the contents disseminating from social networking sites.
The Cabinet had passed cyber security bill in order to control cybercrime and the bill would be presented in the House soon, added the Communications Minister. He mentioned, “Media Council Bill will be passed soon and activities carried out against the code of conduct will be regulated.”
Also the Spokesperson of the government, Minister Gurung pointed out that all sides should be sensitive to end the wrong publicity of ‘nothing has happened in the country’. The initiatives and activities carried out for overall development of the country by the government were taken before the Nepali audience and readers.
He highlighted the government’s efforts to leverage the country’s abundant water resources for electricity generation, thereby making the country economically strong. The Minister shared that 98 per cent of the households across the country had access of electricity over the past 35 years.
Likewise, Secretary Radhika Aryal noted the challenges facing the traditional media due to the wider use of ICT in journalism.
On the occasion, Minister Gurung awarded Commissioner at the National Information Commission, Durga Bhandari, with ‘Sancharika Patrakarita Puraskar-2079 BS’ and Rastriya Samachar Samiti’s journalist Januma Sharma with ‘Sancharika Patrakarita Puraskar-2080 BS’.
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