Pushpa Chaudhary appointed Health Secy

Dec 28, 2017-The government on Thursday appointed Dr Pushpa Chaudhary as the secretary at Ministry of Health.

Health Minister Dipak Bohora informed Chaudhary was appointed to the post by a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Chaudhary was acting secretary at the ministry following retirement of her predecessor Dr Kiran Regmi. Dr Binod Man Shrestha and Dr Sushilnath Pyakurel were also in the fray for the post. Chaudhay had previously worked as Director General of Department of Health Services, Director of Paropakar Maternity Hospital, Thapathali, and Director of Family Health Division of Department of Health Services.


Published: 28-12-2017 14:45



source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Gladiators in Qualifier

Dec 27, 2017-Bhairahawa Gladiators set the Everest Premier League (EPL) Qualifier clash with Paras Khadka’s Biratnagar Warriors following a four-wicket victory over bottom side Chitwan Tigers in their last league game at the TU Stadium on Tuesday.

Gladiators finished second in the six-team event with eight points from four wins in five matches set re-set the clash against Warriors, who beat them by 35 runs at the league stage. The winners of the Qualifier will reach the final and the losing side will have another shot at earning a berth to the final as they play the victors of the Eliminator match, also scheduled for Wednesday. In what turned out to be a rehearsal for the Eliminator game, Lalitpur Patriots edged Pokhara Rhinos by six wickets to officially qualify for the playoffs. With both sides all but making it to the playoffs, Rhinos rode on a half century from Sunil Dhamala to reach 132-5 in 20 overs. Patriots almost threw away a solid start before their skipper Gyanendra Malla held nerves to hand the team a victory in the last ball of the match. Following the result Patriots finished the league in third after they were tied on points with Rhinos. Patriots had a solid start when their openers Jaykishan Kolsawala and Shankar Rana began with an 84-run partnership inside 13 overs. But Rhinos hit back picking up four wickets and took the match to the last over where Patriots needed seven runs for victory. But Malla settled the nerves hitting a six off the last ball from Sushan Bhari as Patriots reached 138-4 in 20 overs.

 Malla made 27 off 17 with a six and a four. Man-of-the-match Kolsawala top scored with 56 off 45 with four boundaries and three sixes while Rana chipped in 35 off 39 ball with five boundaries. Malla’s side began the tournament as one of the favourites but are left with a big task when they meet Rhinos on Wednesday. “We are not faring well in terms for finishing the game. Today was pretty close and its good to end up on the winning side. But we have to make sure that we don’t waste such a good start in matches ahead,” said Malla. Rhinos were reduced to 26-2 in the sixth over before Dhamala and Rajesh Pulami Magar pushed the team to a respectable total with a 66-run third wicket stand. Magar was out for a run-a-ball 32 after hitting two fours and a six, while Dhamala carried the bat with a 62-ball 70. He hit five sixes and two fours. Warriors are the only unbeaten side in the tournament having beaten Gladiators by 35 runs in the league game. Gladiators skipper Sharad Vesawkar was hardly concerned after his team replied with 88-6 from 18.3 overs in chase of Tigers’ 87-9. “We did lose some wickets but we were always comfortable,” said Vesawkar without putting much thought on Wednesday’s Qualifier. “We just need to play well. We don’t want to think much about our game against Warriors because over-thinking will give us nothing,” added the captain who gave chance to his untested lower middle order against Rhinos.

Gladiators were 22-3 and their Indian recruit Puneet Mehra along with Rohit Kumar Paudel took the team close with a 46-run stand. Gladiators did lose both the set batsmen but the match was already within their grasp. Mehra scored 30 off 29 balls with three boundaries and Paudel scored 20 off 40 with two fours. Earlier, it was Vesawkar who began the attack with the new ball and kept Tigers under pressure. The man-of-the-match took 3-12 from four overs. Dipendra Singh Airee and Yogendra Singh Karki were their top scorers with 15 runs each.


Published: 27-12-2017 10:33

source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

EC asks parties to register nomination for NA election

Dec 28, 2017-The Election Commission (EC) has called on political parties to file registration for the election to the National Assembly (NA) members within 15 days.

A meeting of the EC presided over by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav has made the decision to this effect, EC spokesperson Dinesh Kumar Ghimire informed.

According to article 269 of the constitution, political parties registered at the EC should file nomination as per article 271 of the constitution and clause 48, 49 of the Act related to Political Parties-2017 for the election purpose.

With the successful conduction of election to the House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies, the EC called on political parties to file registration for the election of the NA members for the formation of federal parliament.




Published: 28-12-2017 19:56

source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

KMC warns litterbugs with arrest

Dec 28, 2017-Throwing waste in public places can lead to a jail term or a fine up to Rs 100,000, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has announced.

A Tuesday’s meeting among KMC’s Environment Division’s chief Hari Bahadur Kunwar, Chief District Officer Kedarnath Sharma, and SSP Rabindra Bahadur Dhanuk , chief at Metropolitan Police Range, decided to curb public place littering through arrests and fines. Kunwar said the metropolis will run a month-long awareness campaign against public place littering before the city starts arresting those caught in the act. Such persons, Kunwar said, will be held in KMC detention for up to 24 hours before they are submitted to police. The KMC is planning to take action against litterbugs as per the Soild Waste Management Act, 2068 (2011) that specifies a punishment of jail sentence up to three months or up to Rs 100,000 fine against those who are found guilty of polluting public places.

Kunwar said they had to take a strict measure to discourage people from befouling the city surroundings. Since the KMC alone was unable to control public place littering, it had to rally Kathmandu police and local administration for the cause, he added. 


Published: 28-12-2017 08:31



source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Narayangadh–Muglin road section to be closed during night from Jan 2

Dec 28, 2017-In an effort to expedite expansion works, the Narayangadh–Muglin road section will be closed during night time from January 2. A meeting of all the stake holders and concerned authorities held on Wednesday decided to ban vehicular movement during the night from 10pm till 4am. Narayangadh–Muglin road project engineer Shiva Khanal said, “We are closing the roads for vehicular movement during the night as we are planning to complete the expansion works of the road section as soon as possible.”

According to Khanal, during the curfew period, passenger bus coming from Kathmandu will be stopped at Muglin while cargo trucks will be held off at Labortar. Likewise, passenger vehicles coming from Pokhara will stay at Benitar and trucks will stay in Abukhaireni. “We will hold passenger vehicles and trucks coming from Narayangadh as per the work situation,” said Khanal adding that 800 meters of the roadside cliff is yet to be cut for expansion. Engineer Khanal further informed that grade cutting in certain parts of the road section will take place during the night. “We will black top the road during the day,” said Khanal, “We will have to stop the traffic from half-and-hour to hour long duration and only one-way vehicular movement will be allowed during that time.”
Similarly, Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhatta said that the night travel ban has been opted to complete the works in the road section as soon as possible. “We will have a trail period of 15 days and if the works move ahead as expected then we will continue it,” said Bhatta, “14 kms of the road section has been blacktopped and 67 percent of the expansion works have been completed.”

The deadline to complete the construction works at the 33.2 km Narayangadh-Muglin section was extended for the third time on July 7. As per the new deadline the construction works at the road section must be completed by February 2018.


Published: 28-12-2017 10:31



source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

KMC halts Rani Pokhari reconstruction works

Dec 28, 2017-The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has stopped the reconstruction works of Rani Pokhari after a series of controversy surrounded the restoration process of the Malla-era monument.A meeting held at the KMC on Thursday, where KMC Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya, Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi, National Reconstruction Authority secretary and Director General of Department of Archaeology were present, decided to stop the reconstruction of the historical monument.
The meeting also formed an 11-member study committee under the coordination of Former Director General of the Department of Archaeology Bishnu Raj Karki. The committee will conduct a study regarding the reconstruction of Rani Pokhari, which had sustained severe damage during the 2015 earthquake, and present its report within 15 days. Today’s meeting has also decided to halt the ongoing construction until the committee submits its report. Earlier, on Tuesday, dramatic events unfolded as KMC Mayor Shakya had reached the Rani Pokhari reconstruction site and opened the padlock put earlier in the morning by KMC Ward no 28 Chairman Bhairam Khadgi along with locals and several heritage conservationists in the presence of KMC Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi. Locals and several heritage conservationists had padlocked the reconstruction site as a protest against insensitive decision on part of the metropolis to use concrete to build a 10-foot boundary wall on the southeastern side of the historic pond, drawing criticism from heritage conservationists and locals.

They also barred some three dozen workers, who were employed by the metropolis to carry out reconstruction works, from entering the ancient heritage site. As per the Ancient Monument Preservation Act, any historic buildings and heritage sites that are over a hundred years old have to be preserved in their original form.  Rani Pokhari, or Nhu Pukhu (new pond) in Nepal Bhasa, was built in 1670 AD by King Pratap Malla in memory of his son, to appease his wife.


Published: 28-12-2017 13:17



source; kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Workplace robots could increase inequality, warns IPPR

The government must intervene to stop automation driving up wage inequality, a think tank has warned. The Institute for Public Policy Research said robots would not necessarily be bad for the economy. However, it warned lower-skilled jobs were much more likely to be phased out in the coming decades, and only higher-skilled workers would be able to command better wages.

The government said it was committed to making automation work for everyone. According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) - a centre-left think tank - automation could raise UK productivity growth by between 0.8 to 1.4% annually, and boost GDP by 10% by 2030. However, it said these gains might not be shared evenly, as on average, low-wage jobs had five times more "technical potential" to be automated than highly-paid jobs. The sectors most at risk include: transportation (where 63% of jobs could be automated. manufacturing (58%) wholesale and retail trade (65%). At the same time, the IPPR said workers capable of using advanced machines would see their incomes rise, extending the earnings gap. "Our analysis shows that jobs with the potential to be automated are associated with £290bn of wages each year," said research fellow Carys Roberts. "Much of this will be replaced through increased wages due to higher productivity and new jobs created, but a substantial portion could also be transferred from wages to profits." She added: "Within that, some people will get a pay rise, while others are trapped in low pay, low productivity sectors." 'Resilient and diverse' She said the jobs most at risk of automation were disproportionately based in poorer areas of the country, and held by women and those from ethnic minorities. "To avoid inequality rising, the government should look at ways to spread capital ownership, and make sure everyone benefits from increased automation," she said. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the UK's labour market was "resilient and diverse" and that advances in technology were helping to "bring new jobs".

"The government is committed to ensuring that the UK is to able to seize the opportunities and overcome the obstacles that exist in this area," he said. "Government is working closely with industry to ensure the benefits of new technologies are felt across different sectors of the economy up and down the country, while creating new high-skill, well-paid jobs."
 
source; www.bbc.com