- Saturday, 30 August 2025
Solukhumbu, May 26: Four regular flights will operate weekly from Phaplu Airport in Salleri, the headquarters of Solukhumbu, to Kathmandu.
Nepal Airlines has started operating weekly four flights in the route. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that Nepal Airlines has run flights services on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
The Phaplu-Kathmandu air services that had been halted for a protracted time due to technical glitches with the aircraft, are now back in operations.
According to senior official of CAAN in Phaplu, Bhanu Bhakta Acharya, the resumption of flights has been made possible after the maintenance of the aircraft.
The flight that was in operation once a week was ‘grounded’, which resulted in suspension of Phaplu-Kathmandu services for a long time.
According to station chief of the Nepal Airlines in Phalpu, Tenzing Sherpa, flight services on this route had remained completely disrupted since mid-December 2024 through mid-April 2025.
Mahesh Adhikari, a local businessperson from Salleri, said, “With the resumption of regular flights, the compulsion to travel the disaster-torn ‘BP Highway’ to get to Kathmandu has ended. Yet, the air service must be regular and reliable, not just temporary”.
In the past, the disruption of flights caused several complications for travel, business, emergency treatment, and essential tasks.
Karma Sherpa, senior vice president of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), mentioned that tourism business operators are elated about the resumption of flights in the tourist district.
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‘Native breed of dwarf lulu cows awaits conservation’
Mustang, May 26: Lulu cow (a native breed of Mustang) is among the species of cow rearing by the farmers in Himalayan districts – Mustang, Manang and Dolpa.
The Himalayan small-sized cows which believably have noticeable contributions to strike balance in the ecosystem, however, now are on the verge of extinction.
The dwarf lulu cow reared in the highlands of the Himalayan region is somewhat smaller than other cows. It is reared at high altitudes above 2,500 meters from sea level.
Dr. Lalmani Aryal, Head of the Veterinary Hospital and Animal Service Expert Center, informed that the lulu cow, traditionally nurtured in Mustang for generations, is currently in a state of decline.
He shared that there were more than 10,000 lulu cows in Mustang around ten years ago, but now the number has declined to six thousand.
Presently lulu cows are being reared across the five municipalities of Mustang. “The native breed of the small cows are decreasing in number every year in Mustang. Local farmers apparently do not care much about its conservation”, Dr. Aryal added.
“Due to low milk production and other alternative income opportunities, no one has paid attention to the conservation of lulu cows in the district.
Farmers in Mustang have been keeping lulu cows for fertilizer for crop production.
Head of the Livestock Branch of the Dhorpajhong Rural Municipality, Aitalal Thakali, stated that farmers have neglected lulu rearing since the cows of the species produce significantly less milk compared to other cows.
“Farmers do not seem sensitive towards conserving lulu cows, which has become a serious concern”, Thakali said.
“Lately the rural municipality has also come up with a policy and programme to encourage farmers to conserve lulu cows”, it is informed.
The lulu cows being raised by the farmers of Mustang are also considered a biological dimension of Himalayan tradition and culture. However, with the impact on local biodiversity and culture, there is an increasing threat to the existence of lulu cows raised in Himalayan regions, according to livestock branch chief Thakali.
Recently, with the expansion of road networks and technology, farmers in Mustang have gradually abandoned raising lulu cows.
Ajit Thakali, a farmer from Gharpajhong, noted that the farmers have also started neglecting lulu cow rearing in Mustang.
“Some farmers have switched off their focus on agricultural production and hotel businesses”, he shared.
Previously, a single household used to keep up to 10-12 lulu cows, but now, as Thakali claims, there are often no lulu cows in a household at all.
He explained that the belief in the need to protect lulu cows has been overlooked with the development of agriculture and tourism.
Lulu cows generally produce up to one liter of milk in the morning and evening. Due to lower milk production and higher labour and costs, the lulu cows in the Himalayas are being neglected.
Additionally, there is a challenge in preserving lulu cows in Mustang with rising threats from dogs and snow leopards.
Climate change has led to the rise in ground temperature, drying up water sources in high pastures and valleys, and loss of grass in grazing areas. It has also appeared as a key threat to the existence of the Himalayan breed.
It has been found that when the cows of special species are unable to manage food on their own, they are compelled to complete their diet by eating papers scattered around the streets and food thrown away by others.
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JICA aids for ‘Trauma & Emergency Centre’ in Dhulikhel
Kavrepalanchowk, May 26: A ‘Trauma & Emergency Centre’ is to be constructed in Dhulikhel municipality-6, Dhulikhel.
In this connection, Dhulikhel Hospital and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a memorandum of understanding on the initiative of the Nepal government.
The Japanese government would provide additional grant of 573 million Yen for the Trauma & Emergency Centre Improvement Project in the hospital.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Japan’s Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ikuina Akiko, signed the grant aid agreement at the Ministry of Finance on May 16. Although a grant assistance of up to 3.29 billion yen from the Government of Japan was signed in 2023 for project implementation, due to inflation and other reasons leading to financial shortages, additional grants have now been made available, as informed by the Japanese embassy in Nepal.
The embassy stated that due to the increase in the number of patients with diseases, including those suffering from strokes and heart diseases, as well as rising use of transportation and expansion of road networks, hospitals in Nepal are facing a shortage of beds and medical equipment, leading to the provision of this assistance.
It has been indicated that such assistance will strengthen Nepal’s medical services by constructing trauma and emergency centers and related equipment in Dhulikhel, improve the quality of health and medical services, and contribute to economic growth.
The final agreement for the construction of a 100-bed trauma center in Dhulikhel has been completed between the government and the Japanese government in the fifth phase.
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Transport Office Bara raises revenue of Rs 82.1 million in 10 months
Birgunj (Parsa), May 26: The Transport Management Office in Bara, Kalaiya has collected revenue of Rs. 82.17 million as of May first week of the current fiscal year.
Office chief, Avinder Das, informed that the office has been collecting revenue enthusiastically over the last 10 months of the current fiscal year.
“The office has been collecting revenue in an average of Rs. 6.1 million per month”, he said.
The office collected the highest revenue of Rs. 3.8 million from vehicle registration in the current fiscal year.
The office has collected revenue of Rs. 1.69 million from new driving license approvals in the current fiscal year.
Additionally, revenue of Rs. 2.84 has been collected under the heading of additional driving license approvals.
Under new driving license registration, revenue of Rs. 8.37 million has been collected.
Furthermore, there has been a collection of Rs. 3.3 million under the title of additional driving license registrations, Rs. 2.7 million from license renewals, and Rs. 8.28,950 from various vehicle-related revenues.
Similarly, Rs. 860,525 has been collected from income tax and Rs. 3.9 million rom other sources.
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