Conservationists, heritage lovers and members of the civil society will hold a demonstration on Saturday and form a human chain to put pressure on the government to reclaim Tundikhel, one of Kathmandu Valley’s largest open spaces for public gatherings, which has been heavily encroached upon in recent years.

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Pollution from India unlikely to reach Kathmandu, but Nepal needs to deal with its own toxic air

Since the festival of Diwali ended last week, the air quality in New Delhi has drastically deteriorated, resulting in air pollution levels reaching nearly 10 times healthy limits. The government has declared a public health emergency, asking schools to shut down and residents to avoid outdoor physical activities, especially during morning and late evening.

There is now growing fear that the toxic air of India, which had 22 of the world’s most polluted cities in 2018, will reach Nepal and cause a similar health panic, especially as the country itself has been struggling to check its air pollution levels.

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US State Department report pokes holes in security at country’s only international airport

A new report by the United States describing lapses in security at Tribhuvan International Airport and tying them to claims that Nepal is a staging point for foreign terrorists has, once again, buttressed India’s continuing deployment of its security personnel at the country’s only international airport.

“The airport security controls are weak, inadequate and rudimentary,” says the report, released by the US Department of State on November 1. “Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal’s only international airport, does not pre-screen passengers and landing data are not entered into any database.”

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Tarai farmers face crop failure due to fake paddy seeds

Farmer Mina Bhandari of Kanchanpur is deeply worried. It has been 160 days since she transplanted her paddy plants, and they have only started flowering when they should have reached maturity and been ready for harvesting in 125 days.

The rice grain is slender and consumers like it, leading to growing demand in the market. But this year, Garima was a massive letdown. In many districts, the rice plants only produced empty grains, according to Yubak Dhoj GC, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

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Authorities discover new changes to old ways of illegally transferring money

Last month, two Indian nationals were arrested by police for walking into Nepali territory with Rs3.89 million in Nepali currency. The police, suspecting revenue evasion or misappropriation of foreign exchange, handed over the duo—Ritesh Kumar Madhesia and Niraj Agrahari—to the Department of Revenue Investigation, which duly filed a case at the Rupandehi District Court.

During investigation, the department found that the two individuals had been carrying the Nepali currency in order to deposit the money in the name of Nepalis in Nepali banks.

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