National
In Case You Missed It: Here are the top five stories from today's paper
Take a quick look at some of the important news you may have missed from today’s paper.Take a quick look at some of the important news you may have missed from today’s paper.
Caesarean section rate is alarmingly high in Nepal, but officials say they can’t control it
“I told the doctors that my first son was delivered normally. So I wanted a normal delivery for the second baby,” Prem Kala Gharti of Pyuthan told the Post. “But the doctor would not listen; she insisted that I undergo a caesarean section.”
Gharti represents pregnant women who are often pressed into going for the caesarean section even when there is no medical need for it. The practice is so rampant that the C-section rate in Nepal is increasing, which experts say is alarming.
Highway contractor to be responsible for road repair, maintenance for five years
Contractor of the Narayagadh-Butwal road widening project will be responsible for repair and maintenance of the road section under the East-West Highway for five years, according to the Department of Roads.
This is the first time that the Department of Roads has implemented the provision making contractor responsible for road repair and maintenance for five years, according to officials at the department.
Power to prime minister to deploy Army causes unease in national defence force
The government’s bid to further empower the prime minister by giving him the “sole authority” to mobilise the Army has not gone down well with the national defence force.
Multiple sources claimed that Nepal Army officials have expressed discontent at the government’s attempt to vest power to deploy the force without holding a meeting of the National Security Council.
Eight months into the fiscal year, local governments have yet to present budget
Less than four months before the end of the fiscal year, Bhagwanpur Rural Municipality in Siraha is yet to present its annual budget for the current fiscal due to the differences between the local political parties.
While the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal are partners at the Centre, differences between them at the local level have resulted in the rural municipality failing to present its budget.
As a result, development activities have been halted while staff at the rural municipality had to wait for six months to get the salary of the first month of the year.
Rs36.37 billion irrigation scheme to bring water to parched Tarai farms
Years after it was conceived, the government will finally launch the Rs36.37 billion Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project in the next fiscal year, beginning mid-July. The mega project will irrigate the perennially parched farmlands in the central Tarai region and produce electricity.
The five-year project, once completed, will provide round-the-year irrigation facility to five drought-prone districts—Rautahat, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Bara. Insufficient rainfalls have become a recurrent problem in these Tarai districts for a long time. The problem has been further compounded by massive outflow of youths to foreign lands, creating shortage of labourers to carry out agricultural activities, according to experts.