- Monday, 23 February 2026
Bagamati, Feb 22: Twenty-two passengers were injured when a bus met with an accident on the road under the East-West Highway in Bijauna, Manahari Rural Municipality-7, Makwanpur, this morning.
According to Pushkar Bogati, Deputy Superintendent of Police and spokesperson of Makwanpur District Police Office, a passenger bus with the registration number Ba 06–001 Kh 0054, travelling from Birgunj to Chitwan, went out of control and crashed into an electric pole on the left side of the road, injuring 22 passengers on the bus.
Deputy Superintendent Bogati said that the injured were rescued and sent to Chitwan Hospital for treatment.
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09 – Former PM Nepal urges Hindu and Muslim communities for restraint
Kathmandu, Feb 22: Former Prime Minister and Joint Coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Madhav Kumar Nepal, has expressed concern over the recent incident at Sapgada of Gaur Municipality-6, Rautahat.
Issuing an appeal today, the Joint Coordinator Nepal urged both communities to exercise restraint in order to end the dispute between Hindus and Muslims.
Stressing on the importance of embracing religious tolerance and respecting each other’s religion, culture, and festivals to live together with cooperation and collaboration, he made it clear that communal violence is unacceptable under any circumstances.
He said that both Hindus and Muslims complement each other. Former PM Nepal urged the government to ensure the protection of life along with the safety arrangements for the local people.
Leader Nepal, who has long represented his home district Rautahat in the federal parliament for long, appealed to both communities to exercise restraint, considering that the current problems can only be resolved through mutual dialogue.
Nepal, the NCP Joint Coordinator who is a candidate for the March 5 House of Representatives member election from Rautahat-1, stated that he is discussing with the Home Minister at the centre to normalise the ‘curfew’ imposed by the administration following the increase in incidents of arson, vandalism and pelting of stones by one community against the other.
A curfew has been imposed to control the situation after a dispute that began as a minor argument between the two communities in Gaur three days ago escalated into communal riots.
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10- Tightened restrictions on sales and distribution of alcoholic beverages inBaitadi
Dasarathchand (Baitadi), Feb 22: The local administration in Baitadi district has exercised stricter measures on the sales, distribution and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the district in view of the March 5 election to House of Representatives.
The restrictions are enforced in the district to ensure that the upcoming election is conducted in a free, fair and fear-free environment.
According to Bhoj Lal Tharu, Administrative Officer at the District Administration Office, Baitadi, the sale and distribution of alcohol have been prohibited after 7:00 PM starting from February 21 until the election is over.
He stated that the decision to tighten regulations on the sale, distribution and transportation of alcoholic beverages was made after holding discussions with business operators to manage and regulate their sale and consumption.
Administrative Officer Tharu further informed that during the silence period, the sale and distribution of alcoholic products will be completely banned.
Furthermore, the local administration decided to prohibit transportation of alcohol from February 23 to March 8.
He shared, “After discussions with business operators, we have decided to regulate the sale, distribution, and transportation of alcoholic products.”
He warned of action against those violating this provision in accordance with the prevailing law.Altogether 11 candidates are contesting from Baitadi for the upcoming election.
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11- Hospitals urged to provide details of injured ones during Gen-Z movement by Feb 27
Kathmandu, Feb 22: The government has instructed all health institutions (hospitals) to provide details of those injured during the Gen-Z movement last September.
Dr Prakash Budhathoki, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), shared that all health institutions involved in treating those injured during the protest have been instructed to provide complete details to the Ministry by February 27.
According to Spokesperson Dr Budhathoki, the instruction was issued in line with a coordination committee formed to make treatment and relief efforts of injured ones more effective.
The MoHA asked all the health institutions to submit the details by February 27 for timely completion of listing, classification and reclassification of the injured ones.
Dr Budhathoki informed that the applications received by February 27 will be reviewed after which the final list of the injured persons will be published.
So far, classification details of 200 injured persons have been received, it was shared.
The Ministry observed that although many people were hurt during the protests, some individuals with minor injuries may not have come forward as they are not entitled to any benefits.
The government has decided to provide a monthly financial assistance of Rs 9,000 to those classified as critically injured and seriously injured and Rs 4,000 to those with moderate injuries.
According to the Ministry’s data, a total of 2,599 people had sustained injuries during the Gen-Z movement that took place on September 8 and 9 in 2025.
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12- Home Minister Aryal visits RSS Media Museum
Kathmandu, Feb 22: Minister for Home Affairs, Om Prakash Aryal, today visited the RSS Media Museum and News Bulletin Room.
During his visit to the ‘s central office at Bhadrakali, Kathmandu, Minister Aryal observed the museum and the news bulletin room featuring various materials used by the state-run news agency for news production and dissemination since its establishment in 1961.
After observing the museum, the Minister noted in the Visitor’s Book that he had gained in-depth knowledge about various materials preserved in the museum including press, newspaper, bulletin archive, telephone and typewriters.
Minister Aryal was received by RSS’s Executive Chairperson Dharmendra Jha, General Manager Sandip Rai and the Heads of various departments.
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13- Preparations on to implement policy of mixing 10 percent ethanol in petrol
Kathmandu, Feb 22: Preparations are underway to immediately implement the policy of mixing 10 percent ethanol in petrol in Nepal.
In the programme on ‘Ethanol Blending Policy in Nepal: Opportunities, Challenges and Implementation Strategy’ organised here today by the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal (SEJON), representatives from the government and the private sector have emphasised the need to quickly implement the policy of ethanol blending in petrol.
Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Anil Kumar Sinha stated that the decision to mix ethanol in petrol has reached the implementation phase after extensive study and discussions.
“Study and discussion on this matter had been ongoing for almost 20 years. All studies have now been completed and the Order to Mix Ethanol in Petrol-2082 has been approved. The policy will soon be published in the Gazette and will be implemented,” he said.
Minister Sinha said that mixing ethanol with petrol is an important step towards clean energy and claimed that mixing 10 percent ethanol could reduce petrol imports from Nepal by about Rs six billion annually. He argued that implementation of this measure will help reduce the trade deficit.
The Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies expressed his belief that ethanol production would increase agricultural products like sugarcane, expand the use of agricultural land, and help stimulate the domestic economy.
He however acknowledged that there are challenges in areas such as establishing new industries, industrial environment, safety, employment, and raw material production.
Minister Sinha mentioned that there is potential for foreign investment in this area and emphasised that while competition is necessary, unhealthy competition should not occur. He suggested that for ethanol to be competitive, its price should be lower than petrol and for that, the procedure on this will be brought soon.
Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Govinda Bahadur Karki, said that many commissions and recommendation committees had been formed in the past for ethanol blending in petrol. He shared on the occasion that an order regarding ethanol blending had come from the government based on the recommendations of those commissions and committees.
Secretary Karki stated that the idea of blending ethanol with petrol is in the country’s interest after analysing the positive and negative aspects of all types of fuels. He expressed the confidence that the government formed after the House of Representatives elections will also continue with this policy.
Executive Director of Nepal Oil Corporation, Chandika Prasad Bhatta, said the programme of blending ethanol with petrol, which has been prepared for a long time, has now reached the implementation stage and clarified that they will not back down from implementing the decision.
According to Executive Director Bhatta, it may take one to one and a half years for the programme to be fully implemented. He said preparations are underway as standards for ethanol quality need to be established.
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Shivaram Pokharel, said that the Council of Ministers had decided last December on the policy to blend 10 percent ethanol in petrol, stating that so far there has been no commercial production of ethanol in Nepal.
He added that however this order has opened the way for production. He informed the interaction that the government would soon recommend the minimum price of ethanol, set quality standards, and initiate the process of inviting bids for production.
According to him, after the ethanol blending order is published in the Gazette, a pricing committee will be formed and companies will be selected based on production capacity. “Since this is a new subject, it takes time to implement, but we have moved forward by studying the practices of various countries,” he said.
Private sector call for favourable environment
Representatives of the private sector have said that while there is enough raw materials to produce ethanol, a favourable environment is needed to establish the ethanol industry.
Chairman of Kian Chemical Industries Limited, Bed Prasad Kharel, emphasised the need to strengthen government mechanisms, noting that investors have to face administrative hassles.
Shashikanta Agrawal, the President of Nepal Sugar Manufacturers’ Association, said that although about 240 thousand metric tonnes of sugar is consumed annually in Nepal, only about 200 thousand metric tonnes is produced domestically.
He stated that there is a possibility of becoming self-reliant within two years and that even though there is a decision on ethanol blending, the procedure and implementation plan are not clear.
Consumer rights activist Madhav Timalsina emphasised that when implementing the ethanol blending programme, price, quality and market regulation should be clear.
“We need to assess what we require and whether the existing mechanisms can handle it or not,” he said.He stated that clear arrangements for ethanol price fluctuations, regulation and supervision are necessary.
“Without quality production and effective market regulation, the goal of import substitution will not be achieved,” Timalsina said and stressed on clear policies related to the price, quality and measurement of ethanol.
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14 – Minister Aryal pledges utmost support for RSS’s strengthening
Kathmandu, Feb 22: Minister for Home Affairs, Om Prakash Aryal, pledged full support from the government to make the more effective.
During his visit to RSS’s central office at Bhadrakali, Kathmandu today, Minister Aryal took cognizance of the RSS’s strategic plans to make it self-reliant and thereby expressed the commitment that the government would extend all possible assistance for its successful implementation. Aryal also received information about the RSS’s overall functions including news collection and photo and news editing process.
RSS’s Executive Chairman Dharmendra Jha briefed the Minister on the state-run news agency’s current status, news collection and dissemination process, revenue generation and available resources among others.
On the occasion, Minister Aryal, who is also Spokesperson of the government, visited the RSS Media Museum featuring various materials used by the RSS for news production and distribution since its establishment.
Appraising the visiting Minister about the expanded services of the 65-year-old news agency, RSS’s General Manager Sandip Rai, Chief Editor Uttam Silwal, Deputy Chief of News Division Yekraj Pathak and Coordinator of the Mother Language News Service Sharachchandra Bhandary, among other RSS officials, urged continued government support to further enhance its services.
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15- Chhayanath Rara Municipality approves Procedures on Labour Bank
Mugu, Feb 22: The Chhayanath Rara Municipality has passed a procedure to open a labour bank with the concept that prosperity is possible through labour.
Mayor Bishnu Kumar Bham has made the said procedure public through the Municipality Gazette. Bham, who has been participating in voluntary work at various places in the municipality area every Saturday since being elected as Mayor, stated that the procedure has been introduced to give continuity to voluntary work, preserve the voluntary work culture, and address minor low-cost issues through voluntary work.
According to Mayor Bham, previously, although locals, employees, security personnel and businesspersons spontaneously participated in labour contribution, no records were kept of who came, how many hours they worked, or how many times they participated in voluntary labour contribution.
“Now, the Municipality will keep a record of all those who contribute labour. The Employment Branch will be responsible for this work, and a Labour Bank will be established under the branch,” he added.
Work hours to be deposited in Labour Bank
Generally one thinks of a bank as a place for depositing, withdrawing, borrowing and lending money. But at the Municipality’s Labour Bank, the hours of labour contributed by participants in the labour service led by the mayor every Saturday will be recorded and considered as deposit.
As per the procedure, to open a bank account and deposit hours into the account, at least two hours of work per day of labour contribution are required. An account will be opened for all labourers in that bank. The hours of labour contributed by everyone will be recorded in the account. The duration of participation and work in the labour contribution will be deposited into the account.
The employer is provided with a system under which services and facilities from the Municipality are granted based on the hours deposited by the account holder according to the service provisions. The hours accumulated will be deducted based on the services utilised by the person providing the labour, and additional hours will be accumulated if extra labour is provided.
Those contributing labour will receive benefits such as exemptions from various recommendation fees, health service concessions, transport concessions, educational concessions and insurance, it is stated.
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16 – Acting CEC Bhandari urges all not to go by rumours over uncertainty of election
Kathmandu, Feb 22: Acting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ram Prasad Bhandari has appealed everyone to ignore the rumours being spread by some individuals that election to the House of Representatives will not be held on March 5.
Addressing the orientation programme on election publicity organized by the Gorkhapattra Corporation here today, Acting CEC Bhandari called on the public not to be misled by such rumours and assured everyone that the election will be conducted on the stipulated time.
He acknowledged that an enabling environment for election was created in the country due to the media professionals shouldering their responsibilities with integrity.
“Elections are essential for good-governance. Election will grant authority to maintain good-governance for five year. Election Code of Conduct is currently in force and many complaints have been received regarding its violation,” mentioned Bhandari, pledging to look into those complaints.
Addressing the journalists, he emphasized that the news dissemination must be carried out complying with the code of conduct put in place to ensure that the election is held in free, fair and free-free environment.
He pointed out that conducting opinion poll is prohibited under the code of conduct.
He stated that publishing and predicting before the election that one candidate will win and another will lose could lead to the opposite result. Hence, he requested everyone to refrain from such activities.
Furthermore, Bhandari cited that some prominent individuals were engaging in opinion polling referring to the rights granted by the Article 19 of the Constitution of Nepal.
Towards this, he called on them to review previous interpretations and analysis by the Supreme Court on the similar matters.
On the occasion, he requested the journalists to run news report and stories on the activities of election observers.Although the upcoming election is considered the ‘most complex election of the century’, he articulated that the Election Commission is preparing to conduct it smoothly and successfully.
He highlighted the importance of the upcoming election to bring the destabilized country back to a stable and functioning state. Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Commission, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, said that all citizens should go to vote and that, as media have been providing voter education to ensure a higher turnout than previous elections, this effort should be intensified in the coming week.
He said that this election can be considered successful if a higher percentage of votes are cast this time than in the 2079 BS election.The EC Spokesperson also emphasised that since the Gorkhapatra publishes news content in 46 languages, voter education materials related to elections should be included in all those languages.
Chairman of Gorkhapatra Corporation, Govinda Prasad Bhandari, emphasised that the Election Commission should not provide information regarding elections and voter education only during elections, but that this subject should be included in school textbooks as course content.
He stated that the work of education, information, messaging and entertainment carried out by the media also includes election and voter education.General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi shared on the occasion that Gorkhapatra started working 100 days ago, prioritising elections, good governance and democracy.
He informed that all editors, reporters, language editors, coordinators and co-coordinators of the language pages, provincial coordinators and others involved in all the publications of the Corporation participated in the orientation.
At the orientation, Secretary of the Commission Rajendra Kumar KC gave a presentation on election campaigning and voter education.He pointed out that in provinces with higher literacy rates, the percentage of valid votes tends to be higher, whereas in provinces with lower literacy rates, the percentage of invalid votes tends to be higher, and agencies concerned should pay attention to this in time.
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17- Nepal Press Institute gets new leadership
Kathmandu, Feb 22: The 20th General Assembly of the Nepal Press Institute (NPI), a pioneering institution that provides journalism training, has elected a new executive committee under the chairmanship of Dr Kapil Kafle.
Neeta Sapkota has been elected as the vice-chairperson of the working committee, Shriman Sharma as the general secretary, and Amika Rajthala as the treasurer.
Similarly, the elected executive committee members include Tapanath Shukla, Montessori Rajbhandari, Mohan Nepali, Gangadevi Gurung, Basant Rupakheti, Pushkar Mathema and Arun Paudel.
Former presidents Tirtha Koirala and Laxman Prasad Upreti have been appointed as invited members on the working committee.
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