Here are some of the big stories from today's The Kathmandu Post.
Winter session of Parliament likely to end without endorsing crucial bills
The ongoing session of federal parliament, also dubbed the bill session, looks like it might be the most unproductive one. With just about two weeks remaining for the prorogation of the current session, dozens of bills, including some crucial ones, are likely to remain pending.
“I don’t think the ongoing session can go beyond mid-Chaitra [end of March],” Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, told the Post.
With Everest expeditions cancelled, guides and porters could carry down trash and dead bodies
As all Everest expeditions for this spring season have officially been cancelled, mountaineers and the mountaineering association have both suggested that the government turn this upset into an opportunity.
As thousands of sherpas have been rendered jobless, the Nepal Mountaineering Association has suggested that they could be deployed to retrieve trash and dead bodies from the world’s highest mountain.
“It’s a golden opportunity for the government,” said Kami Rita Sherpa, the world record holder for climbing Everest 24 times. “The Everest cleanup campaign can employ at least 25 percent, or 3,000 climbing guides and porters, who have now lost their jobs.”
At Covid-19 helpline, thousands of calls from Nepalis looking for accurate information
Shiva Ale Magar answers hundreds of phone calls every day, fielding questions regarding Covid-19, its cause, symptoms, how it spreads and precautions to limit its spread.
Magar, a 28-year-old high school graduate, duly records the name, age and location of the caller before hanging up and immediately answering the phone, which does not cease to ring.
“Covid-19 is a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans,” he explains in response to a query about what the disease is. He then provides a list of symptoms—trouble breathing, dry cough and fever above 100.4, before going to provide precautionary measures.
Bharatpur plans to build temporary treatment facility for Covid-19 patients in three days
The Chitwan Expo Centre in Bharatpur is being converted into a temporary treatment facility for people suffering from suspected coronavirus infection.
A meeting called by Bharatpur Metropolitan City on Tuesday decided to set up the facility within 72 hours. The treatment centre will have a 10-bed intensive care unit, a 10-bed high dependence unit, and a 50-bed general ward.
“The meeting of stakeholders decided to set up the treatment centre keeping in view of the possible outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The Chitwan Expo Centre is a suitable place for the centre,” said Bharatpur Mayor Renu Dahal.
14.24°C Kathmandu
