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  • Home Minister and Home Secretary spent over Rs 14.8 mln on intelligence

    Home Minister and Home Secretary spent over Rs 14.8 mln on intelligence

    KATHMANDU: The Home Minister and the Home Secretary have spent a huge amount of money in the name of intelligence operation, bleeding the sate coffer.

    The expenditure on intelligence from the Ministry of Home Affairs on the topic of peace and security management has gone unabated even though the Office of the Auditor General has given instructions every year to stop such opaque expenses.

    Former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and the outgoing Home Secretary Maheshwar Neupane spent Rs. 14,858,000, according to a report published on Friday. Neupane spent Rs 765.8 million and Thapa Rs 7.2 million. For a decade now, the Auditor General has been instructing the government to make intelligence spending systematic and transparent, but no improvements have taken place, it is also opaque.

    Following the procedure passed by the Council of Ministers 28 years ago, the Home Minister and the Home Secretary have been exploiting the treasury in the name of spying for the party and its cadres every year.

    The Council of Ministers led by Girija Prasad Koirala had made an arrangement on May 26, 1993 for the Home Minister to spend up to Rs 50,000 and the Home Secretary to spend up to Rs 20,000 for peace and security.

  • CPN-UML holding Central Committee meeting today

    CPN-UML holding Central Committee meeting today

    KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli has called a meeting of the party’s central committee (CC) today.

    The CC meeting to be held at 3 pm will dwell on the preparations of the 10th General Convention of the party.

    UML is preparing to pass the draft proposal of the party statute to be presented in the upcoming general convention and send it to all committees for study and suggestions by August 11, saidCentral Office Secretary Sher Bahadur Tamang.

    The UML’s CC meeting scheduled for Sunday had been postponed for Monday. The UML’s general convention is scheduled for September 11 and 12.

    The UML Madhav Kumar Nepal-affiliated CC meeting that concluded on Friday had urged the Oli-faction not to carry out party activities unilaterally until there is unity between the two factions.

    UML Chairman Oli and senior leader Madhav Nepal are at loggerheads over various issues for a long time.

    Earlier, as many as 22 UML lawmakers, including Madhav Nepal, had given a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

    The disgruntled faction has already demanded the exit of party Chairman KP Oli as a precondition for party unification.

    The faction had also decided to continue rendering efforts until Oli announces a breakaway from the mother party.

    The faction is also likely to announce a new party since there is a slim chance for party unification. Source: Khabarhub

  • SC hearing writ against dissolution of Land Commission today

    SC hearing writ against dissolution of Land Commission today

    KATHMANDU:  The Supreme Court (SC) is hearing the writ petition lodged against the dissolution of Land Commission today.

    The writ petition was filed on Sunday by legal practitioner Mahesh Bhattarai on behalf of Chairperson of the dissolved Commission making Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as defendants.

    The writ petition has sought the SC’s order not to implement the cabinet decision taken on August 3, arguing that the decision has pushed the constitutional rights of the landless, squatters and Dalits towards uncertainty.

    Four different writ petitions have already been filed over this issue.

  • Government to support disaster survivors: Maoist Chair Prachanda

    Government to support disaster survivors: Maoist Chair Prachanda

    MANANG: CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said the government would fully support the landslide and flood-affected people.

    While inspecting the natural disaster-hit areas in the hilly district on Saturday, the former Prime Minister Prachanda shared that the incumbent coalition government was with the disaster survivors. He also said Manang and Sindhupalchowk were the worst-affected districts by the floods and landslides, therefore a practical solution would be sought after proper geological survey.

    He further committed to managing food and shelter for the survivors. The inspection team led by Prachanda comprised Minister for Energy and Irrigation, Pampha Bhushal, and other high level officials.

    The team also inspected Pisang, Chame and Naso Rural Municipalities. Floods in different parts of the district had submerged over 100 houses and causing huge damage a month back. CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. (File photo)

  • CPN-UML holding a Standing Committee meeting even today

    CPN-UML holding a Standing Committee meeting even today

    KATHMANDU: CPN-UML is holding a Standing Committee (SC) meeting even today.

    To be held at Tulsi Lal Memorial Foundation in Chyasal, Lalitpur at 3 pm, the meeting will dwell on upcoming general convention of the party, internal disputes and the latest political developments of the country, said UML central party’s secretary Sher Bahadur Tamang.

    The meeting will also form various commissions, give full shape to central departments and endorse Province committees in line with the 10-point agreement sealed by the task-force of the party, according to Tamang.

    The meeting held on Sunday also formed four task-forces to hold general convention on September 12 and 13.

    The SC meeting, which began on July 31, took some decisions related to the upcoming genereal convention of the party yesterday.

    Vice Chairman Bamdev Gautam had taken part in the meeting. However, leaders of Nepal-Khanal faction did not turn up in the meeting.

  • First meeting of reinstated Parliament to begin today

    First meeting of reinstated Parliament to begin today

    KATHMANDU: The first meeting of the reinstated House of Representatives (HoR) is beginning at 3 pm Sunday as per the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict last Monday.

    The SC verdict had on July 12 overturned Prime Minister KP Oli’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

    A five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana had ordered to reinstate the Parliament by annulling the government’s decision to dissolve it.

    The meeting of the reinstated House begins at a time when the CPN-UML party is embroiled in intra-party wrangling.

    The SC had also ordered to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister in line with Article 76 (5) of the Constitution.

    President Bidya Dev Bhandari had dissolved the HoR for the second time upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on May 22.

    Following the dissolution of the HoR, NC President Deuba had filed a writ petition with the signatures of 146 lawmakers at the Supreme Court.

    Earlier on December 20 last year, President Bidya Bhandari had dissolved the HoR on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli.

    The apex court had then annulled the government’s decision to dissolve the HoR on February 23 for the first time.

  • Janakpur-Jayanagar railway track speed to be tested

    Janakpur-Jayanagar railway track speed to be tested

    JANAKPUR: A speed test of the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway track is being carried out today.

    The railway track speed testing and certification is being carried out as part of preparations to run the railway services, said its general manager Guru Bhattarai.

    The track speed test is being carried out by the Diesel Locomotive Rail of India’s east-centre railway.

    Track speed testing is an important process prior to the regular operation of the railway service.

    And since the speed of the railway will be 120 km per hour, security on the railway track will be important, Bhattarai said.

    As a result, sufficient number of police personnel and employees will be mobilized for the testing today.

    A request has also been made to the general public to maintain distance from the railway track, and not leave cattle astray and stop children from wandering around.

    In case of no problem found in course of the testing from Jayanagar to Janakpur and back, the Indian railway company will hand over a certificate to the Nepal Railways Company Limited.

    This will then pave the way for the official opening of the service, after other requirements are fulfilled.

    Two rails purchased by the government at the cost of Rs. 846.5 million from India in a government-to-government process had arrived in Janakpur station in October last year.

    However, it is yet to come into operation and remains idle in the Inarwa station of Janakpur.

  • Nagarik App Update: Vehicle Tax Payment, Info and More

    Nagarik App Update: Vehicle Tax Payment, Info and More

    Nagarik App has recently made an update in its system regarding vehicle tax payment, information. Now the users can update the information of their vehicles for tax purpose.

    This feature was updated on 5th of July, 2021. As you can see, it has added the feature where users can update their vehicle information and tax details. With some performance enhancements and some issues fix, Nagarik app has added this feature so that you won’t need to carry your vehicle documents like driving license and blue book.

    For now, this service is available for Province No. 3 and Bagmati Zone only. This feature will be further expanded for other provinces with time. Here is how you will see the change in the Dashboard.

    Which of the vehicle details can we update?

    With this new feature, we can add the details of our vehicles so that one does not need to carry their vehicle documents each time they go to pay taxes or need to pay fines to the traffic. Simply, the system of Nagarik app forwards the entered details of our vehicles to the respective vehicles tax offices for authorization.

    We can update the details like our vehicle type, lot number, symbol and vehicle number. After that, the system displays a virtual number plate and we can confirm it.

    How to update vehicle details in Nagarik App?

    To update the vehicle details, one should log in to the Nagarik App. Then on the dashboard, click on “Vehicle Tax” option. After that, the following screen appears and you need to add the details like province/zone, vehicle type, lot number, symbol and vehicle number.

  • Govt to purchase 4 million Covid-19 vaccines from China on non-disclosure condition

    Govt to purchase 4 million Covid-19 vaccines from China on non-disclosure condition

    Kathmandu: The government has decided to purchase four million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from the Sinopharm company of China as soon as possible.

    A cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to approve the Health Ministry’s request for the purchase, informs a minister.

    Earlier, the Chinese company had demanded that the purchase be made on a non-disclosure condition–that is the buyer cannot disclose the price elsewhere. Owing to the demand, the Department of Health Services had been unable to forward the process. But, now, without any other alternative, the government has given into the demand, the minister says.

    Existing laws do not allow the non-disclosure agreement. Therefore, the government is working on how this could be sorted out.

    “The prime minister has told the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre meeting on Wednesday that the first lot of the vaccines will arrive within June,” the minister informs.

    Meanwhile, Oli says efforts are underway to purchase vaccines from other countries also.

  • PM Oli directs to remove legal obstacles to save lives of citizens

    PM Oli directs to remove legal obstacles to save lives of citizens

    KATHMANDU: The Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) has directed the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to carry out homework for the formulation of few more laws since new laws were necessary to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

    At a special meeting of the CCMC on Sunday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, directed the ministry and bodies concerned to make necessary preparations since the clauses of the Infectious Disease Act 2020 were not enough to control this pandemic. The meeting took the decision to move ahead by removing exiting legal obstacles for the immediate arrangement of vaccine and oxygen.

    After the meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali shared that the meeting also directed the bodies concerned to work with more enthusiasm for the immediate supply of health supplies, including oxygen and vaccines.

    Saying that the government has made efforts to end the situation of people losing lives for want of oxygen, Minister Gyawali said, “The past two weeks were very difficult for us. It is been believed that such a situation will come down gradually.” The Foreign Minister added that the meeting decided to encourage entrepreneurs to run oxygen industries with full capacity across the nation as the country has been facing shortage of oxygen gas in this hour of pandemic as well as to take diplomatic initiatives and request to bring more liquid oxygen from India.

    Stating that some oxygen cylinders were brought from China and India and some others are being processed, he opined that the government has taken the belief that the problem of oxygen crisis would be removed within few days. The government has analyzed that the figure of the infection rate has reached a peak point, it has been informed.

    On the occasion, PM Oli directed the concerned agencies to do the needful so that people should not lose their lives due to a lack of money and other problems. “Do whatever you need to do to save people’s lives by carrying out work fast and promptly. People’s lives should be saved.”

    The meeting discussed the issue of declaring a health emergency in the country. A study on the matter is underway, said Minister Gyawali. To deal with the crisis effectively, he stressed the need for running hospitals and various health institutions under the Ministry of Health and Population and basic hospitals run by provincial and local levels in an integrated manner.