Some of the main stories from today's The Kathmandu Post.
Tourism Ministry cancels Visit Nepal promotions for March but experts say it is too little, too late
Two weeks ago, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai announced that Nepal was a “coronavirus free zone” and exhorted foreign travellers to come to Nepal without hesitation. But on Saturday, Bhattarai appeared to realise the risk of the Covid-19 outbreak.
An emergency meeting was held at the Tourism Ministry on Sunday, which issued a slew of directives to control the spread of the virus. One of its decisions was to cancel promotional events in the overseas markets for the month of March.
Oli remains undecided on Gautam as he goes under the knife
Despite the fact that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will be undergoing a kidney transplant on Wednesday, Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, which was expected to decide on the officiating prime minister in Oli’s absence and the Bamdev Gautam affair, ended with no clear conclusion on either.
Oli will be admitted to the hospital on Monday but unlike in the past, when Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel took over the prime minister’s duties, there was no clarity on who will be overseeing day-to-day governance.
PM Oli to undergo second kidney transplant on Wednesday
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, after undergoing regular dialysis eight times a month since September, will now be undergoing a second kidney transplant on Wednesday.
Oli underwent his first kidney transplant in 2007 at the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi after both his kidneys failed. He has been operating on a single kidney since then.
Doctors attending to Oli had been mulling a second kidney transplant for quite some time after symptoms of dysfunction started to show in September last year. Oli had then flown to Singapore twice in as many weeks for check-ups and treatment last year.
Water insecurity looms large over Himalayan towns, a new study says
Himalayan towns are running dry due to inadequate urban planning coupled with a rapidly changing climate, which has prompted fears of water insecurity, according to a study.
The study conducted in 13 towns across four countries—Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region—has concluded that these Himalayan towns are increasingly becoming water insecure because of poor urban planning and climate change.
9.7°C Kathmandu
