Army, MMC to renew rivalry in Kakadbhitta Gold Cup final

Dec 1, 2017-Domestic giants Tribhuvan Army Club and Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) will renew their rivalry on Friday when they meet in the final of the Kakadbhitta Gold Cup football tournament in Kakadbhitta, Jhapa.

It will be second time in a week that the two teams will be fighting for the title since Army beat MMC 2-1 in the Satashi Gold Cup final in Jhiljhile, Jhapa. While the departmental team will be aiming to continue its domination over their well known rivals, MMC will be eager to avenge the recent defeat.

En route to the final, the departmental team beat Far West XI 3-0 in tiebreaker in the quarter-finals before defeating Nepal Police Club 3-0 in the semifinals. Army team coach Nabin Neupane is upbeat that his side would keep the winning momentum. “We are confident of winning title. We will beat the opponents for second time in a row,” said the former MMC skipper Neupane. 

Army skipper Bharat Khawas, who has not been at his best so far in the tournament, said that they would like to correct the mistakes they made in their previous games. “I feel that I have not performed well and hope to come up with an improved showing in the final,” said Khawas who will spearhead Army attack with George Prince Karki. Santosh Tamang, Padam Tamang, Bivek Basnet and Dinesh Henjan will be deployed as midfielders. Jeetendra Karki, Bimal Pandey, Suman Aryal and Sudip Shrestha will hold the defence ahead of goal stopper Bikesh Kuthu.

Star Army forward Nawayug Shrestha is doubtful for the final after picking up injury in the Satashi Gold Cup title clash. Shrestha played the second half against Far West but was rested for NPC game. “Henjan is in line to replace him,” said Neupane adding his side will take advantage of absence of MMC winger Sujal Shrestha who was sent off in the semi-final match against Kakadbhitta Football Training Centre.

2 Indian men held with explosive materials

Dec 1, 2017-Police have arrested two Indian men along with explosive materials used in preparing improvised explosive device (IED) from Dhading on Friday.

A police team from Khanikhola Police Office arrested the individuals who were traveling by a passenger bus (Na 7 Kha 4976) en route to Kathmandu from Kakarbhitta during a security check. Police swung into action following a tip-off.

Dhading District Police Office Chief Dhruba Raj Raut informed that all the IED paraphernalia and raw materials have been handed over to Gajuri-based Nepal Army for disposal.

Meanwhile, police are interrogating the arrested Indian nationals following their arrest.

The seizure came in the wake of rising incidents of blast targeting election candidates in different parts of the country.

Warning against unauthorised digging of roads, footpaths

Dec 1, 2017-The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has expressed its concern over lack of coordination between government agencies while indulging in road digging in the metropolis  causing a mess and delaying repair works.

In a statement on Thursday, the metropolis has said the government agencies’ indifference towards repairing the dug up roads and footpaths has affected its ‘Clean City’ drive.

“Road cutting is being done without permission and arbitrary digging is hampering our work,” the statement reads.

“We even faced this problem in road widening and some other projects. This is causing a mess and delaying things,” the statement adds.

Urging the government bodies to take its permission before starting any development works in the metropolis, the KMC adds, “Anyone found involved in digging of roads and footpath without KMC’s permission will be subjected to stringent action.” The metropolis has also requested the citizens not to dump construction debris on the roads. 

KMC clean-up drive for dust, dirt and grime free streets

Dec 1, 2017-Workers from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) cleaned the street of Ratnapark area using a broomer machine on Thursday.

Hari Bahadur Kunwar, the KMC Environment Division chief, said the street clean-up process was part of the “Clean the City” drive aimed at minimising dust pollution in the Capital city.

This clean-up campaign will be carried out in other parts of the city as well, he added.

The KMC had borrowed the road broomer machine from the Department of Roads because the one it owns has been put out of commission for maintenance. 

The KMC also water sprayed the street and footpath of Kesharmahal-Jamal stretch on Thursday evening.

Kunwar said the street will be cleaned with the broomer machine on Friday.

To keep the streets of Kathmandu free of dust, dirt and grime, the KMC will be needing more than one functioning broomer machines. 

Its plan to purchase new machines has been postponed for now owing to high cost, said Kunwar.

Earlier in May, the KMC had announced its intent to acquire 10 new broomer machines after the Ministry of Finance agreed to release Rs 90 million for the purpose. Ishowr Poudel, the then KMC chief executive officer, had assured that the machines would arrive within six months.

Nationwide tiger census kicks off from Parsa

Dec 1, 2017-A nationwide tiger census kicked off from the Parsa National Park (PNP) on Thursday.

As per the its commitment to the Global Tiger Recovery Plan, which was endorsed during 2010 St Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation, Nepal is working to double its tiger population up to 250 or more by 2022.

“We are hoping to reach the goal earlier than other countries because of our improved tiger conservation. It won’t be a big surprise if Nepal emerges as the only country succeeding in doubling its tiger population by the assigned year,” said Man Bahadur Khadka, director general of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).

According to 2013 census, the number tigers in the country stood at 198, of which 120 were counted in Chitwan National Park (CNP), 50 in Bardiya National Park (BNP), 17 in Shuklaphanta National Park (SNP), seven in PNP, and four in Banke National Park.

Since the last census, separate tiger survey conducted inside the protected areas over the years has indicated that the country’s tiger population has been growing rapidly.

The country has also endorsed the “Tiger Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2016-2020)” for effective conservation of wildcats.

The census, launched by Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) Secretary Yubak Dhoj GC amid a ceremony held at the PNP, will continue in all the protected areas and forest areas known to have tigers.

Last October, Nepal and India for the first time had decided to conduct joint tiger census from the second week of November.

However, the plan was delayed by two weeks due to the elections in the country.

 “This is the first time we have been conducting tiger population survey simultaneously. Such initiation will minimise the duplication of tigers, which roam around the protected areas of the both countries,” said Khadka.

The census will be conducted using camera trapping method. 

According to Khadka, tiger habitat has been divided into three complexes: Chitwan-Parsa Complex; Banke-Bardiya Complex; and Shukla-Laljhadi-Jogbudha Complex.

These areas with tiger population have been further divided into total 1887 grids - each with an area of 4 sq km. For monitoring tiger population, 1,200 high-tech automatic cameras will be installed in these grids of protected areas and forests.

At least one pair of cameras will be set up in each grid to track tiger movement. The camera trapping method, a popular method for studying wild animals, employs automatically operated cameras with infrared sensor that captures any movement that passes in front of them.

NOC president commits to result-oriented Asiad

Dec 1, 2017-Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) president Jeevan Ram Shrestha on Thursday said that NOC would work to make Nepal’s participation in the 18th Asian Games result-oriented rather just a formality and exposure.

The upcoming Asian Games is scheduled for next year in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2. “Nepal’s Asian Games participation in previous editions has never been exciting in terms of results. The NOC has set the aim to make upcoming editions result oriented and qualitative. We have got South Asian Games for the exposure,” said Shrestha at a press conference who is also the CPN-UML candidate for House of Representative from Kathmandu constituency number 8. “We are planning to make special arrangements for Nepali team soon after the completion of the election. We will initiate to bring foreign coaches to Nepal for training and also send potential talents for training abroad. We are in talks with Russia, Qatar, Japan and Korea among others for abroad training,” added Shrestha.

Recalling that only karateka Bimala Tamang was able to win medal (bronze) at the 2014 Inchon Asian Games among 23 disciplines Nepal participated in, Shrestha said that the players selection process must be transparent for the Asian Games and every players need to be informed about selection tournament.

He also assured that sports associations need not knock the door of Ministry (of Youth and Sports) for talented players’ participation for the Games. “I urge sports associations to be active for preparations of the Games,” said Shrestha, also the former member secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC). The Indonesia Asian Game will feature 66 disciplines of 40 games.  Meanwhile, NOC named its vice president Jyoti Rana as the chef de mission for meeting of National Olympic Committees to be held in Indonesia on December 12-15.

4 injured in Itahari blast

Dec 1, 2017-Four persons, including a minor, were injured when an improvised explosive device went off at a rally of the Nepali Congress at Bhaladmi Tole in Itahari Sub-metropolitan City-9 on Thursday.

One-year-old Yuwan Neupane, Samrina Adhikari, 16, Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, 50, and Gita Acharya, 40, were injured in the explosion.

According to police, 13 others, who sustained minor injuries, are receiving care at the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and in Biratnagar.

Incidents of blast and attack on candidates and election rallies continue unchecked across the country. On Wednesday, a temporary police recruit injured in an IED blast died in Dang while an NC candidate was among seven people who were seriously hurt in another blast in Udaypur.

The explosive device was detonated near a corner meeting attended by State Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sumitra Devi Chaudhary at around 11:50 am. Neupane, who was playing near the stage, and Adhikari sustained shrapnel injuries in the temple while Shrestha and Acharya were injured in abdomen and leg, respectively.

Security personnel suspected that a timed IED may have been detonated. Nobody has owned up the incident so far.

Chief District Officer Gopal Prasad Parajuli said that security will be heightened as assailants even targeted small gatherings and corner meetings.

In Mugu, an IED was recovered at the house of NC federal parliament candidate

Hasta Bahadur Malla in Chhayanath Rara Municipality-1. A Nepal Army team defused the device later.

Meanwhile, an unidentified group torched a vehicle belonging to Ratan Thapa, the left alliance candidate for Kailali Constituency 2 ‘A’. The vehicle, parked at Thapa’s house in Lamkichuha Municipality, was vandalised and torched on Wednesday night, said police.

Re-election begins at two polling stations in Rukum

Dec 1, 2017-Voting has begun in two election centres in Rukum district on Friday, where the Election Commission had decided conduct re-election after acid was poured in ballot boxes.

Re-election is underway at one each polling stations of Bafikot Rural Municipality and Aathbiskot Municipality from 7 am.

The elections were cancelled after acid was poured into the ballot boxes during the elections held on November 26 at Ratna Basic School, Kada (A) in Bafikot Rural Municipality-5 and Nepal Rastriya Secondary School, Gatasaina (B) in Aathbiskot Municipality-11.

The re-election is being held at the Ratna Basic School polling centre to choose the candidate for federal parliament, while it is being held at the Nepal Rastriya Secondary School  centre only for selecting proportional representation (PR) candidate.

Police have suspected that voters might have put acid into the ballot boxes along with their ballot, causing a fire in the box. The fire was doused later on.

Two hundred and forty-six votes had been cast in the ballot box in question at the Ratna Basic School centre when the incident occured whereas 303 votes were cast in the ballot box at the Nepal Rastriya Secondary School polling centre.

White Sun continues to impress on the int’l circuit

Dec 1, 2017-Nepali feature film White Sun has been nominated for the 22nd Satellite Awards. The film, which has won widespread acclaim at the international film circuits this year, received a nod under the Best Foreign Langauge Film category, the organisers announced on Wednesday.

White Sun has been pitted against seven other films for the honour: Beats Per Minute (France), The Square (Sweden), Loveless (Russia), The Divine Order (Switzerland), In the Fade (Germany), First They Killed My Father (Cambodia), and Foxtrot (Israel).

Organised by International Press Academy, the umbrella body of entertainment journalists around the world, Satellite Awards recognises and awards notable achievements in the fields of cinema, television, and new media.

The 2018 iteration of Satellite Awards will take place at InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, on February 10.

A surprise name among the nominees, White Sun, tells the story of two brothers (played by Dayahang Rai and Rabindra Singh Baniya), who fought on opposing sides during the ten-year long Maoist insurgency and find themselves in a moral battle of sorts in the aftermath of the war. In doing so, White Sun, as one reviewer put it, “manages the difficult balance of blending the individual with the universal—intensely intimate in focus, but ultimately going beyond the specific circumstances of its depiction to reveal broader truths and insight.”

Speaking to the Post about the inspiration behind the film, director Rauniyar has said, “I was 17 when the Maoist-led war started. 22 years later, for good or bad, the country is still going through a political process as a result of the same war. How could I ignore it? Still, one thing I did not want to do is make another sad, hopeless film about a bloody war... The situation and arguments in White Sun represent our mindset. The characters in the film were designed to represent the past, present, and future generations and how children, even before understanding the complexities of caste and class, suffer from archaic beliefs thrust upon them.”

After premiering in Nepal at the KIMFF 2016, the film has been received with positive reviews at home and abroad, making it the most venerated film of the year. Rauniyar also received the Best Director Award at the recently-held Critics’ Film Awards, which is presented annually by Film Critics’ Society of Nepal, the umbrella organisation of Nepali film critics. Internationally, the film has won accolades over platforms such as the Inter-film Award at the Venice Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Singapore International Film Festival, among others. White Sun will also be representing Nepal in the upcoming Academy Awards, where it will compete for the Best Foreign Language Film. White Sun is slated for a second theatrical release in Kathmandu on December 8.

Kathmandu: The third most polluted city in the world

Mar 19, 2016-In a latest finding which may not surprise many, Kathmandu has been ranked the third most polluted city in the world, according to Pollution Index 2016.

According to latest pollution index published by Serbia-based research website Numbeo.com, Nepal’s Capital city sits in the third position of the pollution ranking with a pollution index of 96.66. The last pollution ranking published in the middle of 2015 had also placed Kathmandu in the third position while in the beginning of 2015 Kathmandu was in the fifth position.

The rankings are are based on perceptions of visitors to the website and includes some relevant data from World Health Organisation and other institutions, Numbeo.com says about the pollution index. The index is an estimation of the overall pollution in the city with the biggest weight given to air pollution and then to water pollution.

The dismal performance in pollution index was expected as a 2014 report of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shows that Kathmandu air contains 400 micrograms of particulate matter up to 10 micrometres in size per cubic metre or the PM10 is 400µg/m3. However, the maximum limit for PM10 set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards is 120µg/m3. Likewise, another 2014 report by Clean Energy Nepal shows that Kathmandu air contains 260 micrograms of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in size per cubic metre or the PM2.5 is 260µg/m3 against maximum limit of 40µg/m3. The air quality samples for both results were taken from Putali Sadak.



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Emission test begins from Singha Durbar

Nov 30, 2017-A joint team of Department of Environment (DoE), Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) and Department of Transport Management (DoTM) conducted emission tests of vehicles owned by various government agencies based inside Singha Durbar on Wednesday, as per the decision of the Quick Action Team that was formed earlier this month to tackle the problem of air pollution in major cities of the country including the Kathmandu Valley.

Out of 30 vehicles that underwent the emission test on the Singha Durbar premises, most met the emission standards, said Govinda Lamichhane, environment inspector at the DoE. “We started from one of the inner streets of the Singh Durbar and ran random test of passing vehicles. Most of the vehicles that we tested were found to be complying with the pollution standards,” he added. While all petrol-run vehicles passed the test, two diesel-run vehicles failed to meet the emission standards.  According to the existing emission standards, petrol vehicles manufactured before and after 1980 should not emit carbon monoxide (CO) more than 4.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively in its total smoke density, said Prem Singh, acting director general with the DoTM. For older and newer diesel-run vehicles, the CO should not cross more than 75 per cent and 65 per cent under Hartridge Smoke Unit (HSU).
In a bid to minimise air pollution, a multi-stakeholder meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) on November 17 had formed the Quick Action Team consisting of officials from different ministries and departments.The first meeting of the team had decided to start emission monitoring fro

Treading the path to paradise on earth

Nov 30, 2017-I have to admit that some good incidents happen in life without planning. A friend of mine called me and asked if I would be interested to join a group of friends for a trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) when I had least expected it though it was definitely a high priority on my bucket list.  The next day, seven of us made it to Pokhara, the gateway to Annapurna region.

ABC trek is one of the most popular trekking destinations not only in Nepal, but also in the entire world. Mount Annapurna is tenth highest peak of world and stands toweringly at an altitude of 4130 m. As we didn’t have enough time, we decided to start our trek from Syauli Bazaar which is one of the routes to reach Annapurna.  We can also reach the ABC from Nayapul or Dhampusphedi. As we set off and walked through well-trodden trails, we moved passed villages of different ethnic groups, precisely Gurungs and Magar. On the way, we crossed our path with foreign trekkers, who greeted us with a series of Namastes.   After around five hours of walk, we reached Jhinu Danda, the first station of our jaunt.  We were welcomed with amazing food which tantalized our tongue.

The next day, we started our walk early in the morning and stopped at Chomrong for breakfast. The hike became even more fascinating after reaching Chemrong as we got an opportunity to enjoy the breathtaking vista of the sunrise, with beautiful mountain views. Once we crossed Sinwa, the forest became dense. For the time being, the forest was immediate sunburn relief for us.

Nagarkoti goes six clear at top

Nov 29, 2017-Bhuwan Nagarkoti extended his lead to six strokes in the second round of the Surya Nepal Challenge at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Tuesday.

Nagarkoti shot four-under 64 on the second day for a total card of nine-under 127. Deepak Magar, who shot two-under 66 for a total of three-under 133, was six shots behind the leader in second. Nagarkoti shot three-under 31 on the front nine and one-under 33 on the back nine. He started the second round with birdies on the first two holes before adding two more shots on the fifth and sixth against a bogey on the seventh. On the back nine, Nagarkoti sank a birdie on the 10th and parred all the other eight holes.

Surya Prasad Sharma was in third at one-under 136 after carding two-under 66. Rabi Khadka was next in fourth at even-par 136 after shooting one-under 67 on Tuesday. Yelamber Singh Adhikari (70) and Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (66) were tied for fifth at one-over 137. Ramesh Nagarkoti, who carded a 68, was alone in seventh at 138. Dhana Bahadur Thapa (72) and Jayaram Shrestha (67) shared the eighth place at 139, while Suman Rai was in 10th at 143 after shooting one-over 69.

Top-ranked pro Shivaram Shrestha was languishing in 11th after carding four-over 72 for a total 36-hole total of seven-over 143. Chuda Bahadur Bhandari, Kamal Tamang, Sanjay Lama, Sanjeev Bahadur Nepali, Bikash Adhikari, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, Sachin Prasad Bhattarai, Ram Krishna Shrestha and Krishna Man Rajbahak survived the cut which was applied at 14-over 150.

Deepak Magar shot four-under 30 on the front nine and two-over 36 on the back nine. He sank birdies on the first, second, fourth and fifth holes but dropped shots on the 10th, 14th and 18th against a birdie on the penultimate hole. Sharma carded one-under 33 on both the front and back nine holes. On the front nine, Sharma sank birdies on the fifth and sixth but dropped a shot on the seventh. On the back nine, he made birdies on the 10th and 12th against a bogey on the 11th hole.

Tanka Bahadur Karki was on top of the amateur category with a total card of three-over 139. Karki shot one-under 67 on Tuesday to leave overnight leader Phuntsok Norbu Lama five strokes behind. Lama shot five-over 73 in the second round on Tuesday. Subash Ghising shot a 71 and was third at 145. Mithun Rai, Bharat Bastakoti and Dhruba Thapa also survived the cut.

In all, 40 golfers—30 pros and 10 amateurs—are took part in the first two rounds of the tournament organised by Nepal Professional Golfers Association. The event offers Rs 420,000 in prize money with top three pros to receive Rs 80,000, Rs 50,000 and

MMC edge KFTC in sudden death

The match was decided directly through spotkick after 80 minutes of regulation time ended in a 0-0 draw and the penalty shootout also ended in a 4-4 deadlock. MMC converted all four attempts in the sudden death but Kakadbhitta’s Florence smashed their fourth shot from the spot in the bar. Both teams played with a man down.

Nepali international players Bimal Gharti Magar, Biraj Maharjan, Bishal Rai and Ananta Tamang all converted from spots in the sudden death. Bhusan Limbu, Suraj Sunar and Bishnu Sunar converted from the spot.

The result meant MMC, who overcame Rupandehi XI in the sudden death penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, will renew rivalry will Tribhuvan Army Club in the final on Friday. A week earlier MMC had clinched the Satashi Gold Cup title in Jhilljhile by defeating Army in the final.

Kakadbhitta squandered a chance as early as in the fourth minute after Anil Gurung failed to score in a Bhusan Limbu pass. In the 12th, Nepali international Sujal Shrestha hit off target in a Gharti Magar pass. Prakash Budathoki wasted another opportunity in the 20th minute before his curling freekick sailed just over the bar.

In the 47th Bishal Rai of MMC headed wide and his teammate Gharti Magar struck wayward from the edge of box moments later. In the 58th Kakadbhitta skipper Kandangwa was sent off for misbehaving with referee Nabindra Maharjan. Kandangwa got the marching order after he snatched and hurled the yellow card shown to him for a foul on Sujal Shrestha.

Political stability will be the top election agenda of the left allianc

Cornered, the Nepali Congress is looking to strike a similar  alliance of ‘democratic forces’ for the upcoming provincial and federal parliamentary elections.

Mukul Humagain and Sanjeev Giri spoke to UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel, who is also head of the taskforce formed to select  candidates for the upcoming elections.  

What spurred the recent electoral alliance between the CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre) and Naya Shakti Party Nepal?

This was not something that occurred out of the blue. Talks to this end had been taking place between the UML and the Maoist Centre for a while.

However, these discussions had, up until now, faced numerous roadblocks, and the spirit of unification in the past was not strong enough to overcome these dissimilarities.

The UML and in particular the UML Chairman KP Oli were particularly determined that the dialogue on unification bear concrete results this time around, and so it has.

The Nepali public is under the impression that this happened unexpectedly, but it did not. 

Talks of unification have failed numerous times before, so what factors have changed to make them successful at this juncture?

The spaces and differences between the parties who have formed this alliance has been steadily narrowing over the years.

There have been a number of leftist forces in Nepal till date, and the public have been vocal about their desire for a broad understanding between these forces.

Now the leftist forces realise the need for unification and a strong alliance to fuel stability and prosperity in the nation.

Nepal needs a strong party that can fully address the sentiments of nationalism, independence and autonomy, and the rights of citizens. 

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Bomb found at NC candidate's house

Nov 30, 2017-A pressure cooker bomb was found at the house of Nepali Congress parliamentary election candidate Hasta Bahadur Malla.

The recovery was made by a kid at Malla's house at Chalyalbada in Shreenagar of Rara municipality-1 in the district.

A Nepal Army team has been mobilised to dispose the bomb, District Administration Office said.

Malla is party's parliamentary candidate from Mugu-1.