- Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Kanchanpur, May 19: The herbs processing plants established in the buffer zone of Shuklaphanta National Park in a bid to elevate livelihood of locals have been left unused.
The plants were set up with the support of donor agencies, but lack of market hit the business to the extent that these facilities went derelict.
Even the farmers in buzzer zone quit farming of medicinal plants. It caused utter neglect to the processing plants of millions of rupees.
The facilities set up at Kasaraul, Ward No 6; Juda, Ward No 7; and Beldandi, Ward No 8 of Shuklaphanta Municipality are derelict. The plants were installed by aiming promotion of cultivation of medicinal plants, thereby ensuring alternative income to buffer zone people and reducing human-wildlife conflict.
The donor agencies had helped in setting up shed houses to dry up the herbs in addition to the plants. But, the shade houses are now in a rundown state.
According to Bharat Bahadur Bista, chairman of the Sundevi Consumer Group in the buffer zone, the residents were encouraged to cultivate herbal plants including chamomile and mint arguing that these herbs would not harm wildlife. “The locals had begun the processing and producing oil and securing rewarding income too,” he said.
According to him, farmers sold the chamomile and mint oils they produced for Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per litre in the initial phase. The farmers were excited once the traders approached them at doorsteps to buy herbal products. They were also planning expansion of the herbal farming.
But the farmers’ engagement and encouragement could not continue long, as the products badly lost the market. The market prices witnessed continuous decline. The farmers were bound to sell the oil for Rs 10,000 per litre and later for Rs 5,000 per litre. “In the third year, no traders visited us to buy herbal oil,” said a local farmer Janak Saud. “It led us to give up herbal farming. We could not even recover the investment,” he shared the plight.
The farmers further shared that they had to store the refined oil at home for a year. “Once we reached Nepalgunj, we could not secure fair price and return empty handed,” said farmer Jaya Bahadur Air.
In his observation, it is all because of failure in market management that processing plants installed at a cost of millions of rupees dilapidated and farmers gave up cultivating medicinal plants.
It might have cost over Rs 70 million to set up a single processing plant, the farmers mentioned.
However, once reliable marketing is revived and fair prices ensured, the farmers in the buffer zone are still hopeful of launching again the herbal cultivation.
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05- HoR, National Assembly meeting today
Kathmandu, May 19: The House of Representatives (HoR) is meeting at 11:00am today.
The parliament secretariat has proposed the schedule of discussion on principles and priorities (except tax) of the forthcoming budget.
Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle had presented the principles and priorities of the upcoming budget in the HoR meeting on May 14. Finance Minister Wagle will be responding to the lawmakers once the discussion is over.
Similarly, the upper house of the federal parliament, National Assembly, is scheduled at 1:15pm.
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06- Camera trapping to identify condition of endangered red panda in Dhaulagiri
Myagdi, May 19: Camera trappings have been installed at various places of Jaljala and Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in Dhaulgiri Rural Municipality in order to ascertain the condition of the endangered red panda.
The Biodiversity Conservation Society Nepal set up the devices with the assistance of a donor agency. The devices are set up at Jaljala, Muna, Mareni and Dhorpatan of ward no 2 and 3 in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality. The camera trapping method is adopted to know about red panda’s behaviour and habitat.
Society chairman Paban Rai informed that the trapping devices were installed at a dozen of places where the red panda pass by and on the spots their droppings were found. The camera trappings are automated devices recording mobility and behaviour of the species facing extinction. “It helps ascertain the number of red the tree-living animals,” he said, adding that even the study of parasites afflicting the animals was underway.
A technical team has been mobilized to collect and examine red panda’s scat, which would help know about health condition of the endangered wildlife and forward conservation activities accordingly.
The red panda is a wild animal found in the hilly forests of 2,200 to 4,500 metre altitude.
In the last record, 6 to 25 red pandas were found in the Jaljala area, according to officer Rai. Red panda takes rest on trees at night and eats bamboo shoots during day.
The National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2029 has listed this mammal as a protected wildlife. Anyone found poaching this mammal faces jail terms of 1 to 10 years and fine ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000 or both as per existing law.
The latest study has estimated the number of red panda from 500 to 1,000 in Nepal. In addition to Nepal, the tree-living animal is found in China, India, Bhutan and Myanmar.
Nepal’s red panda is of Ailurus fulgens species.
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07- Intensify extraction of petroleum products: Chief whip Thapa
Bhaktapur, May 19: Chief whip of the Nepali Congress, Bashana Thapa, has urged the government to speed up the project on excavation of petroleum products in Dailekh district in Karnali Province.
At a programme organized by Raphat Sanchar Club here today, chief whip Thapa informed that the extraction of petroleum products was obstructed because the Surkhet-Dailekh roadway was not upgraded in time.
The initiative is expected to bring a sweeping change in national economy by availing the petroleum products for 50 years to Nepali consumers. But it is not given priority by the government, she worried. The lawmaker urged the government to give pace to the project.
The Nepali Congress leader elected from Dailekh district informed that NC would extend support to the government in its positive interventions.
She refuted the rumour that NC was on the verge of split. She argued internal debate in the party is the beauty of democracy.
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08- Kathmandu to host Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women
Kathmandu, May 19: The Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women is taking place in Kathmandu from May 26 to 29.
This conference is one of the first major global events under the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, said the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the main organizer of the Gathering.
The Global Gathering of Pastoralist Women (Mera +16) will bring together pastoralist and ranching women from 40 countries around the world to celebrate and support their initiatives, strengthen solidarity and networks across regions, identify shared priorities, and amplify pastoralist women’s voices in international discussions about rangelands and pastoralism.
The Gathering aims to ensure pastoralist women’s voices and perspectives are included in all decisions that affect them, from the local to the global.
The event will celebrate pastoralist women, their contributions to pastoralism, and their knowledge, skills and cultures. Pastoralist women will have an opportunity to share their experiences, challenges, innovations, successes and solutions, and to make global connections that endure beyond the event, increasing global solidarity, mutual support, and sense of worth. Participants will collaborate in revising/developing a shared policy agenda and prepare to carry forward.
It is stated that the main theme of this gathering is to review the ‘Mera Declaration’. This declaration is an important political document prepared by pastoralist women at the World Forum held in the Mera region of India in 2010.
This declaration raises its voice for gender equality, livestock rights, and environmental protection. Even today, this document is considered important for the global campaign of women livestock farmers.
It is stated that pastoralist women and girls make up half of all pastoralists, who collectively steward global rangelands that account for nearly half of Earth’s land surface, two thirds of global biodiversity hotspots, and 16% of the world’s food supply.
Pastoralist women’s contributions are critical to the future of pastoralist communities and food systems, which in turn are essential to safeguarding the world’s biodiversity, food security and climate resilience. By supporting pastoralist women and strengthening their networks and voices across the globe, we are helping secure the future of our planet and its cultural and biological diversity.
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09- New IT curriculum being developed to produce industry-ready professionals
Kathmandu, May 19: The Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies (NAS-IT), the apex body representing Nepal’s IT and software companies, is developing a new bachelor-level IT curriculum aimed at producing industry-ready professionals aligned with market demands.
The initiative is being implemented with financial and technical support from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Swisscontact, NAS-IT stated in a press release.
According to NAS-IT President Gaurav Pandey, this could become Nepal’s first higher education curriculum developed under direct industry leadership.
It is said around 10,000 IT graduates enter Nepal’s workforce every year. However, many university graduates still lack the practical skills and industry-ready competencies required by employers.
This disconnection between academia and industry has widened the “skills gap” in Nepal’s IT sector. Despite earning degrees, many young graduates are often required to undergo additional training before becoming employable in the industry, and this initiative is aimed at addressing this gap.
“Graduates often do not possess the skills the industry is looking for,” Pandey said. “That is why we are now building a curriculum based on market needs. This is possibly the first time the industry itself is taking the lead in designing an academic course,” Pandey said.
Focus on AI and Future-Ready Skills
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms the global IT industry, NAS-IT says the new programme will go beyond traditional coding education. The curriculum will focus on problem-solving abilities, data literacy, critical thinking, and the capacity to work effectively with AI technologies to prepare students for the future job market.
Swisscontact believes the course will help bridge the gap between academia and industry while contributing to the development of a skilled workforce.
With AI driving rapid technological change, industries increasingly require professionals who can adapt quickly and think innovatively. NAS-IT says this need is one of the key reasons behind its leadership in the initiative.
Industry and Academia Collaboration
The curriculum development process has already begun. The programme is being designed in accordance with Nepal’s National Qualification Framework (NQF), with active involvement from IT experts, educators, and other stakeholders.
According to NAS-IT, the course is being developed as a future-oriented programme targeting emerging technologies and evolving labor market demands.
For the joint development and operation of the programme, NAS-IT has partnered with Nepal Open University. The four-year IT degree, expected to launch in the near future, will feature a strong work-integrated learning model as one of its core components.
Dr Bhoj Raj Ghimire said the curriculum will include emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, and Cybersecurity.
One of the programme’s major highlights is that students will have opportunities to work directly in the IT industry from the very beginning of their studies. By the time they graduate, students are expected to possess not only academic qualifications but also practical skills and real-world industry experience.
NAS-IT believes the initiative will help reduce the gap between universities and industry while supporting the development of globally competitive IT professionals within Nepal itself.
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10- Technical committee task force formed to deal with human-wildlife conflict
Kathmandu, May 19: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment has formed a task force of the technical committee to manage human-wildlife conflict.
The 15-member task force includes human-wildlife conflict management experts.
This task force has been formed to prevent damage caused by wildlife, improve policies and programmes, and ensure effective implementation of these policies and programmes at the local level.
It will carry out studies and research the damage caused by wildlife, review the current situation, and make recommendations for necessary policies and legal amendments.
Based on the indicators, the task force has also been assigned the responsibility to select model projects in 20 wards, implement them, provide technical support, and monitor them.
The programmes will be implemented in coordination with the federal, provincial and local levels and the task force will provide suggestions to make the relief system for damaged crops simple, effective and timely.
The ministry has stated that human–wildlife conflict management will be carried out based on the suggestions provided by the task force.
In view of the growing incidences of wild animals entering residential areas, attacking people and damaging crops in several areas of the country, recently, the associated sectors and stakeholders had suggested on forming a technical and expert-inclusive task force to study the affected areas and provide suggestions for resolving the human–wildlife conflict.
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11- Changunarayan to become country’s first ‘Yoga Municipality’
Bhaktapur, May 19: The historic town of Changunarayan, perched atop a small hill to the east of Kathmandu in Bhaktapur district, is set to become Nepal’s first officially declared ‘Yoga Municipality’.
Organizing a press meet recently, Jeevan Khatri, Mayor of Changunarayan Municipality, shared that preparations are underway to announce the Municipality as the first ‘Yoga Municipality’ amid a three-day event to be held on May 22, 23 and 24.
The event will mark the declaration of the Municipality, informed Mayor Khatri.
According to him, a grand ‘yoga science camp’ will be organized at the Nepal Electricity Authority Training Center in Kharipati at 5:00am each day during this event.
He shared that on the final day of the event, a special ceremony will be held where the ‘Changu Yoga Jyoti Sandesh’ souvenir will be unveiled and the Chief Minister of Bagmati Province will declare Changunarayan Municipality a ‘Yoga Municipality’.
Following the declaration, yoga camps will be organized in every ward and school besides providing yoga instructor training to aspiring yoga teachers, said the Mayor.
As a part of the campaign, the Municipality is also planning to incorporate yoga into the school curriculum and implement yoga education mandatorily in every school.
Furthermore, dedicated yoga parks and meditation centres will be established within the Municipality, said Mayor Khatri, adding that initiative will also be taken forward in coordination with the Ayurveda and natural healing practices to further promote yoga and expand its reach within the community.
During the press meet, Mohan Kumar Shrestha, Chief Administrator of the Municipality, said that the campaign to declare the municipality as the country’s first ‘Yoga Municipality’ has sparked strong enthusiasm among the local residents.
Likewise, Nawaraj Kafle, member of the provincial yoga committee, shared that plans are afoot to expand such campaign across the country in future.
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