- Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Kathmandu, July 8: The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has launched a special campaign to minimize electricity tripping and ensure a more reliable power supply during the monsoon season.
The Ministry said it has given high priority to maintaining uninterrupted electricity service as monsoon-related disruptions increase.
According to the Secretariat of Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has deployed technical teams and kept the necessary equipment on standby round the clock to respond promptly to any power supply disruptions.
The Ministry has also stepped up efforts to identify and address potential faults caused by adverse weather, with the aim of keeping electricity services regular and dependable throughout the rainy season.
Furthermore, consumers facing power supply problems or wishing to report outages have been requested to contact the Ministry’s toll-free numbers 1150 or 115.
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02- Five new industries registered at Dharan Industrial Estate
Dharan (Sunsari), July 8: As the current fiscal year 2082/83 BS draws to a close, five new manufacturing industries have been approved to set up operations at the Dharan Industrial Estate.
The approvals follow the cancellation of leases held by long-idle factories, paving the way for fresh domestic investment worth around Rs 350 million, according to Jeev Narayan Banjade, Chief of the Dharan Industrial Estate Office.
The new industries are expected to create direct employment for around 350 people once they come into full operation, Banjade said.
The newly approved industries are Preeti Valve and Fitting Industries, GD Steel Industries, Siddi Vinayak Cottage Industry, JR Ventures and Surya Diamond Industries.
However, the lease agreement for Surya Diamond Industries is still awaiting final approval from the central office.
The industries will manufacture a range of products, including water meters and fittings, construction materials, food products, animal feed and household utensils.
Banjade said the leases of five inactive industries were cancelled after all legal procedures, including public bidding and lease transfers, had been completed.
He said the Industrial Estate had prioritized production-oriented industries to help substitute imports, boost government revenue, strengthen the local economy and explore export potential.
Some of the products also have export potential, he added.
Established in 2032 BS, the Dharan Industrial Estate currently houses 35 industries. Of these, 30 are in operation while five are in the process of being established. Together, these industries provide employment to around 1,000 workers.
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03- Bird flu contained in most districts, risk persists in Kathmandu Valley
Lalitpur, July 8: Bird flu has been brought under control in most parts of the country, but the risk of infection remains in the Kathmandu Valley and is worsening in Kavrepalanchok, according to the Department of Livestock Services.
The Department said outbreaks have been fully contained in districts including Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Mahottari, Bara and Chitwan.
However, the disease continues to pose a threat in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley, while Kavrepalanchok is witnessing a rapid spread of the infection.
Senior Veterinary Officer Dr Mukul Upadhyay said authorities have intensified surveillance in high-risk areas and are working with federal and local governments to contain the outbreak.
As part of the nationwide response, authorities have culled 754,500 birds, destroyed 1,091,303 eggs and disposed of 243,635 kg of poultry feed, according to department data.
The Kathmandu Valley and Kavrepalanchok account for a significant share of the losses, with 286,277 birds, 179,064 eggs and 74,000 kg of poultry feed destroyed in those areas alone.
Dr Upadhyay informed that field inspections have been completed in high-risk locations, and reports prepared jointly by federal and local authorities have guided the implementation of disease-control measures.
These include culling infected birds and other interventions aimed at preventing further transmission of the virus.
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04- Neupane appointed Gandaki Academy Chancellor
Gandaki, July 8: The Gandaki Provincial Government has appointed a new leadership team to the Gandaki Academy, filling positions that had remained vacant for the past 14 months.
Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey on Tuesday appointed noted folklorist Prof. Dr. Kusumakar Neupane as Chancellor for a four-year term.
A native of Parbat district, Neupane recently retired as Head of the Nepali Department at Prithvi Narayan Campus in Pokhara.
The government also appointed Shankar Birahi Gurung of Syangja district as Vice-Chancellor and Man Kumar Shrestha of Tanahun district as Member Secretary, the Ministry of Social Development, Youth and Sports said.
Furthermore, 21 members from districts across Gandaki Province have been nominated to the Academy Assembly.
The appointments end a prolonged leadership vacuity that followed the expiry of the previous office-bearers’ four-year tenure in April this year.
The Academy had received 95 applications for the it’s key posts.
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05- Cambodia lauds Nepal’s eye care expertise
Kathmandu, July 8: Cambodia has commended Nepal’s expertise in eye care after a two-day free eye camp in Kampong Cham Province benefited more than 1,000 people.
The appreciation was expressed by Cambodia’s Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Adviser to the Prime Minister, Eat Sophea to Nepal’s Ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia, Dhan Bahadur Oli during a recent bilateral meeting held at her office.
According to the Embassy of Nepal in Thailand, Sophea commended Nepal for successfully organizing the eye camp on July 4-5.
The camp was jointly organized by the Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangha and the Lumbini Eye Institute and Research Centre (Rana-Ambika Eye Hospital) in coordination with the Nepali Embassy in Thailand and implemented in collaboration with Cambodian partners.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed expanding cooperation in eye care and public health, as well as in education, agriculture, tourism, trade and other areas of mutual interest.
Ambassador Oli reaffirmed Nepal’s readiness to support Cambodia by providing technical assistance and training to strengthen its eye care services.
He also expressed Nepal’s willingness to organize another advanced eye camp in the near future in response to growing demand, according to the embassy.
The two dignitaries also emphasized promoting Buddhist and cultural tourism by strengthening links between Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and Cambodia’s cultural and religious heritage site-Angkor Wat.
During the camp, 373 patients received free medicines, 407 were provided eyeglasses and 192 received both. Cataracts were detected in 93 patients, who were referred to the provincial hospital for further treatment, according to the organizers.
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06- Over 2,000 vehicles fine for violating traffic rules in 24 hours
Kathmandu, July 8: In the last 24 hours, 2,076 vehicles were fined for violating traffic rules in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Naresh Prasad Subedi, among them, 68 cases were related to drunk driving, 129 were fined for illegally sharing rides, 126 for violating traffic lights and 189 for speeding.
Likewise, 139 vehicles were fined for breaching lane discipline, 124 for honking 85 prohibited areas and 85 for parking on pavements in prohibited areas.
Similarly, action was taken against 59 unruly drivers and riders for violating one-way traffic rules while 1,157 were booked for violating other traffic rules.
The traffic police collected Rs 1.97 million in revenue from them.
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07- Weather forecast: Flash flood risk in several districts
Kathmandu, July 8: The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) has warned of a moderate risk of flash floods in several districts across the country today.
The DHM also urged residents, particularly those living near small rivers and streams, to remain alert.
The weather service has forecast heavy rainfall at some places in the hilly and southern plains of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces today.
There is a likelihood of heavy rainfall in one or two places in Madhesh Province, it added.
Presently, the country is under the influence of monsoon winds. The monsoon trough lies south of its normal position over eastern Nepal and around its average location in the western part of the country, thereby creating favourable conditions for widespread rainfall, stated the DHM.
DHM flood expert Binod Parajuli said that water level in small rivers and streams flowing through Ilam, Jhapa, Tehrathum, Panchthar, Dhankuta, Saptari, Sunsari, Morang, Doti and Dadeldhura districts and surrounding areas, are likely to rise significantly, increasing the risk of flash floods.
Most parts of the country received light to moderate rainfall over the past 24 hours, according to the DHM.
Yanjakot of Kaski district recorded the highest rainfall at 98.6 mm during this period.
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08- Twenty-two thousand kilogrammes trash collected from Mustang
Mustang, July 8: The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Jomsom have made waste management a high priority in their bid to reduce the impact of climate change.
In this connection, ACAP Jomsom has been collecting and managing the waste collected from Gharapajhong, Baragung Muktikshetra area, and Thasang rural municipality of the district since last year.
According to ACAP Jomsom chief Rajesh Gupta, a total of 22,189 kg of non-biodegradable waste was collected from the three rural municipalities in the district from Shrawan 2082 (mid- July, 2025) till date and transported by truck to a waste processing centre to Pokhara.
He said that the waste collected in Mustang over the twelve months of this fiscal year was packed into 2,581 bags and sent towards Pokhara.
According to the ACAP Jomsom office, 644 kg waste was collected in Bhadra, 860 kg in Kartik, 1,556 kg in Mangsir, 1,351 kg in Poush, 1,888 kg in Falgun, 2,462 kg in Chaitra, 2,230 kg in Baishakh, and six times in Asar, totaling 10,659 kg of waste, in the current year and exported to the Green Road West Management Pvt. Ltd. processing center in Pokhara.
ACAP has built infrastructure for four waste collection centers this year in three municipalities of Mustang, which is known for tourism.
Last year, ACAP built eight waste collection centers in the main tourism areas of Mustang.
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09- Rural women taste economic benefits of ‘gundruk’
Anjali Thapa/RSS
Hetauda, July 8: Until a few years ago, the daily life of 38-year-old Shriya Gurung from Ghalegaun, Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-12, was much like that of most rural Nepali women. Her days were spent from early morning on household chores, taking care of the family, livestock, and farm work. Even after working all day, she didn’t have any income in her own name.
Her family was solely dependent on her husband’s farming income to meet the family expenses. Shriya was always worried about how to manage the education expenses for their daughter, extra household costs, and growing financial responsibilities.
“I didn’t earn even a single rupee. I was really worried about the future, but I saw no other means for earning. I wanted to do something in the village, but I had no idea how to start,” Shriya says, recalling her past situation.
For her, ‘gundruk’ (the fermented and dried leafy vegetable) made every year in the village was just an ordinary homemade dish. No one had thought that it could be turned into a business, going beyond the traditional way of preserving vegetables for consumption in winter. Shriya had never imagined that this very gundruk could actually change her life.
“We never thought we could become entrepreneurs just by selling gundruk, the fermented and dried leafy greens,” she said. “
According to her, it was Green Foundation Nepal that inspired this dream, and Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City created the environment to turn that dream into reality.
The skill-based training, initial financial support, and business operation advice provided by Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City through the enterprise that Green Foundation Nepal started with training and material handover changed Shriya’s mind.
After that, she teamed up with other women from the village and established the Kanchanjangha Agriculture Cooperative and Micro Enterprise. This venture had a humble beginning. The women involved in this enterprise rented 15 katthas of land at a rate of 1,500 rupees per kattha per year.
“We grew mustard greens and from that, started producing organic gundruk. But as challenging as starting production was, finding a market turned out to be even harder. In the first year, there was no shortage of effort in the fields. The yield was good. But the market didn’t open its doors,” Shriya shared about their initial struggle.
Their enterprise could not get license from the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control Office, so their production couldn’t reach the market. Millions of rupees worth of dried leafy vegetables stayed dumped in the warehouse. With no sales, worries about losing the investment and uncertainty about the future caused many sleepless nights.
“We worked so hard to produce the gundruk, but not being able to sell it was really disheartening. I was afraid all our effort would go to waste. But we didn’t give up,” Shriya recalls.
That same patience eventually paid off. With the facilitation of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, the product got a government license from the Food Technology and Quality Control Office. Once it got government recognition, people started trusting the product more in the market. Businesspeople began reaching out on their own. Orders started increasing, and the path to sales opened up.
“Before, we were worried that nothing would sell. Now, the concern is whether production will meet the demand,” Shriya said with exuberance. Right now, the group is super busy not just fulfilling this year’s production but also keeping up with the demand for the coming year.
The group which had 11 members in the beginning has now 20 members. The cultivation of mustard greens has been expanded to 30 katthas of land now. A plan has been set to expand this cultivation to 50 khattas of land in near future.
The group has also set a target of to provide direct employment to more than 50 local women in coming days following the increase in production. Gundruk produced here is exported to Makawanpur, Sindhuli and Kathmandu for sale.
Shreya shared that they have now been working hard to fulfill the demand of gundruk. The group produces organic gundruk for six months and different types of pickles in the remaining six months.
Activities for processing, packaging and marketing of pickles is being carried out with technical support of one organization. The group produces around 300 kilogrammes of pickles and has been selling at Rs 1,000 per kg. It makes turnover of around 300,000 within a single production cycle.
Similarly, market of gundruk has also been expanded gradually. Gundruk produced by the group is sold at Rs 800 per kilogramme. The group has also started receiving demands of gundruk from other districts too.
Organic gundruk is not simply the traditional menu of Nepali kitchen, it is rich in nutrition value. It contains fiber, iron and calcium. With the increasing attraction of consumers towards chemical-free and organic food in recent periods, the demand of organic gundruk has also increased. This very change has led to the marketing of traditional foods produces by rural women.
The changes in Shriya’s life are not merely financial, her self-confidence, social identity and decision-making capacity have also boosted. She, who had to depend on her husband’s income for household expenses, has become able to run her family, invest in daughter’s education and lead other women of the group from her income.
The business started from around Rs 100,000 of Hetauda sub-metropolis and Rs 80,000 of cooperatives has now set an example of financial transformation of rural women. The women have created employment in their own villages by transforming gundruk limited within house, as business which has helped increase the price of local agro produces as well as connected women’s labour with direct income.
Many housewives of Hetauda sub-metropolis are becoming self-dependent by running small and cottage enterprises. Some of them have been producing organic gundruk, while others have turned pickle, handicraft, turmeric powder and other local produces into business. This has become successful to increase women’s income generation as well as connect local resources, skill and traditional knowledge with monetary value.
Shriya, who was worried about her family’s future in the past, has now become the source of inspiration for other women.
Her story is not only the success of a gundruk industry, it is an example how, by combining opportunity, skill, support of local governments and women’s self-confidence, is possible to live dignified life and make sustainable income even remaining in villages.
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10- Man killed in knife attack over land dispute
Rautahat, July 8: A person has died from a knife attack in a land-related dispute in Auraiya, Ishanath Municipality-3, Rautahat. The incident took place on Tuesday.
The deceased is 60-year-old Butan Sah of Banjaraha, Ishanath Municipality-1 who had been living at his father-in-law Ram Bahadur Sah’s house at Auraiya. The 80-year-old Ram Bahadur Sah, who was also injured in the head in the knife attack, is being treated at a local hospital, police said.
Butan Sah, who suffered a serious back injury from a knife attack, was taken to the Provincial Hospital in Gaur, where the doctor announced his death on Tuesday night.
The spokesperson of the District Police Office, Rautahat, and Deputy Superintendent of Police, Basant Gautam, said that 26-year-old Ram Maheshwar Sah, who carried out the attacks, and his father, 63-year-old Ramautar Sah, have been taken into custody, and necessary investigation is underway.
According to locals, the long-standing dispute over land ownership escalated, leading to the death of Butan, who had been living in his in-laws’ house for a long time.
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11- CNP to trim short tusks of Dhrube, the rowdy
Chitwan, July 8: The tusks of a notorious wild male elephant, Dhrube, would be trimmed short by taking him under control. He has killed 25 people so far.
Dhrube’s tusks were also trimmed two year ago. A preparation has been made to tranquilize Dhrube and his tusks would be cut short as well as a new radio collar fixed on him, said Chief Conservation Officer of Chitwan National Park, Dil Bahadur Purja Pun.
Dhrube had killed two members of the same family on July 4 night. With this, he had killed 25 people, he added. Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur mentioned that they have been continuously monitoring Dhrube after the recent incident.
“We are in ready position. We will dart him once it is spotted, cut his tusks and fix new radio collar,” he stated.
Preparation has been made to fix new radio collar after radio collar fixed earlier failed to provide information on time. It would be easier to locals to adopt precautions once the information about the entry of ‘Dhrube’ is received after fixing the tool.
Dhrube had killed Ashika Bote, 21, of Bharatpur metropolis-23 and her four-year-old son Bharat Bote on Saturday night (July 4).
Dhrube killed mom and son nine years later after killing Nepal Army Major in 2074. An order was issued in 2068-69 BS to kill this wild tusker after it started taking life of people almost daily.
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