Here are some of the stories from The Kathmandu Post (January 21, 2020).

Nepal’s transition to Euro VI fuels not likely to significantly impact air pollution levels

With India transitioning to cleaner Euro VI compliant fuels, Nepal, which imports all of its petroleum products from the southern neighbour, will be following suit. But the new European standard fuels, which are supposed to be cleaner and more eco-friendly, are unlikely to have any major impact on rising pollution levels in the country, say environmentalists.

According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, Euro VI-compliant petrol and diesel will contain less sulphur and consequently, there will be less pollution.

Read the full story here.

Sapkota for House Speaker is a win for the Maoist faction of ruling party

After a month-long negotiation, Nepal Communist Party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday managed to extract a concession from Co-chair KP Sharma Oli—Agni Sapkota for the House Speaker.

Oli had long been trying to install Subas Nembang as the new Speaker but Dahal’s exercise has paid off and Sapkota is now the candidate of choice for both chairs of the ruling party.

Read the full story here.

For those having suicidal thoughts, helplines offer an empathic ear and emotional support

Dr Nabin Lekhak was going about his day at Patan Hospital’s outpatient psychiatry department when he got a phone call. The person on the other end told Lekhak that he didn’t want to live anymore and was about to kill himself. But Lekhak had been trained to handle such situations and he knew that he needed to keep the person talking.

“He told me that he was frustrated since he wasn’t living the life that he had expected,” Lekhak recalled in a conversation with the Post. “I realised that he was severely depressed so I tried to explore options that would orient the conversation towards aborting his suicidal thoughts.”

Read the full story here.

Drinking water users’ committees told to pay income tax on savings, and they are not happy

Itahari Drinking Water Users’ Committee is not paying the government the tax on the amount it saves after its operating expenses. In the last fiscal year, the committee saved around Rs25 million.

In order to renew its registration at the District Water Resources Committee, the committee needs to furnish a tax clearance certificate. The tax office has asked the committee to pay a 25 percent tax on the amount saved after reducing operating costs and other expenses. But the committee, which was formed as a non-profit organisation, is not ready to pay the tax for the saved amount

Read the full story here.

Children in rural Sindhupalchok deprived of government-run vaccination programmes

Whenever the sun is out, Dolma Sherpa gives her daughter, Lhakpa Dolma, an oil massage on the porch of their house. The four-year-old child is physically not as strong as someone her age should be, and Dolma regularly oils her body to make her muscles stronger and her body warm. When asked about her daughter’s health, the 30-year-old mother said, “She is small for her age. She has not been vaccinated yet and is constantly falling sick.”

Ever since Dolma lost her four-year-old son to pneumonia for lack of treatment seven years ago, she’s always worried about the health of her children. Aside from Lhakpa Dolma, she has two daughters—three-year-old Dawa Sangamo and 10-year-old Nima Yangzi. “None of my three children have been vaccinated, and I’m afraid they might catch diseases and I’ll lose them for a lack of timely treatment,” she says.

Read the full story here.