The Government of India has shut down its field office in Biratnagar on Wednesday, bringing to an end its official presence in Nepal’s southern plains after a decade. Though the office has suspended all its operations, field officials say it will take some time for them to vacate the office.

The construction of an 18.1-km cross-border railway linking Morang and Bihar in India has been on hold for the past year following a row over land compensation.

The Biratnagar border point is back in business and Nepal-India trade has resumed after being disrupted last month when a bridge and a railway track linking the Indian customs point at Jogbani were damaged by massive floods.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar has said that the third phase of local level elections will be held in mid-October in the districts where second round of elections cannot be conducted.

The two-day long Gauma Sahitya Kala Utsav, a literary festival organised by Jhoraha Theatre Group, concluded on Saturday in Morang. The literary fest marked the first anniversary of the theatre group’s establishment.

Two Bollywood artists, singer Anuradha Paudwal and actor Prafulla Singh, were honoured amid a ceremony held at Hotel Harrison Palace in Biratnagar on Saturday, March 4.