Nepal

KATHMANDU: Traffic Cop have opened a corridor under the bridge of fresh Bus Park as part of its plan to ease traffic congestion in the Valley.

The Metropolitan Traffic Cop Division (MTPD) on Monday constructed the corridor as an action plan on traffic management and pollution control.

The traffic police have also removed the huts constructed by encroachment upon the road. With the corridor in place, vehicular movement from Tokha to Kalimati via fresh Bus Park and Shovabhagawati would be smooth, said Basanta Kumar Pant, chief of MTPD.

Earlier, the traffic police had brought into operation the corridors under Balkumari bridge, Gopikrishna bridge and Bhatkeko bridge.

Traffic management would be efficient and road accidents would be reduced once big and small vehicles passed through the corridor, Pant added.

The traffic police have started opening corridors under bridges after framing a three-month plan of action in line with the commitment made by IGP Sarbendra Khanal to develop Kathmandu as a model city.

Kathmandu, May 6

The government has decided to observe the upcoming Republic Day for three days, and has formed a committee to facilitate the celebrations.

A assembly held nowadays at the home ministry formed the Republic Day Main Celebrations Committee under the chair of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and decided to observe the Day for three days from May 28 to 30 by organising various programmes at home and Nepali Missions abroad.

Nepal celebrates Republic Day on 15th of Jeshtha in the Nepali calendar every year. This year, the day falls on May 29.

The committee comprises Chief Justice Cgapndra Shumsher JB Rana; Speaker of the Home of Representatives Krishna Bahadur Mahara; National Assembly Chair Ganesh Prasad Timilsina; former president Ram Baran Yadav; sitting ministers and former prime ministers, among others.

Similarly a publicity sub-committee has been constituted under the coordination of Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota. The main celebration committeesub-body comprises chiefs of District Coordination Committee of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur; secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; general manager of Rastriya Samachar Samiti; chairs of Nepal Television and Gorkhapatra Sansthan; and Radio Nepalexecutive director, among others.

Similarly, other various sub-committees have been formed for the celebration.

The main celebrations take place on May 29. The main celebration committee chair and members and people from different walks of life including civil service employees, government employees, security personnel, political party leaders and cadres, athletes, workers and the common people shall be assembled to observe the main celebration scheduled to take place at 7:30am. The president, vice-president, chief justice, speaker and other high-ranking personalities shall be there to grace the moment.

Cleanliness and decorations of public offices from the centre to local levels, publication of related souvenirs, blood donation programmes, and so on are part of the three-day celebrations.

Kathmandu, May 6

The Nepali Congress has amended its circulation in associateion with the upcoming nationwide public awareness drive scheduled to kick off from May 8 and has made degree that every programme under the campaign shall have women participants.

In the latest circulation issued by NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday, instruction has been issued to endegree participation of women in every such programme be it in seat-taking or speech delivery sessions.

The NC has planned a month long nationwide campaign called ‘Himal Pahad Tarai Madhesh, Nepali Congress& in three phases starting from May 8 in a tender to strengthen the party organisation and to educate people about the incumbent governmentwrongdoings.

Earlier, a team of women led by NC Mahasamiti Committee member Nima Giri had submitted a letter to top-ranking leaders and office-bearers of NC to consider an amendment in the circulation.

They had submitted the letter to party president Deuba, General-secretary Sashank Koirala, Treadegreer Sita Devi Yadav and women leaders Dila Shangruala and Shovepa Bhusal among others.

President Deuba had pledged to right the circulation and endegree the mandatory participation of women in the various programmes to be conducted during the campaign.

This move is expected to advance the cause of women cadres and leaders and the agenda of inclusiveness within the party.

Mahasamiti member Nima Giri said that they had also warned of boycotting the programme if there was no participation of women.

She said, &The rightion in circulation ensuring mandatory participation of women cadres and leaders in the awareness programme is a testimony to the fact the NC leadership canmuch deny the principle of inclusiveness.&

Illustration: Ratna Sagar Shrestha/ THT

Kathmandu, May 6

Cases of illegal drug dealings and abuse are increasing at an alarming rate across the country.

In the first four months of the current fiscal, police arrested 2,010 persons on the charge of drug smuggling and drug abuse from various parts of the country.

Final year, police had arrested 4,488 persons on the same charges.

Cop have estimated that by the end of this fiscal, the number might reach 5,000. In 2014, police had arrested 2,918 persons for illegal drug smuggling.

In the year 2015, 2016 and 2017, police had made 2,756, 3,696 and 3,941 arrests respectively.

In the final five years, the country has seen 42 per cent increase in the number of drug peddlers and drug addicts.

A total of 19,809 drug peddlers and substance users have been held by police since 2014.

Of the total arrestees, 14,545 persons were drug peddlers while others were people involved in drug abuse. The Narcotic Drug (Control) Act clearly states that drug abuse is also a punishable crime.

According to police, even measure foreigners are also involved in smuggling illegal drugs. A total of 139 foreigners were arrested for trafficking illicit drugs in 2016 while the number was 159 in 2017, 167 in 2018 and 78 foreigners have already been arrested in the first four months of the current fiscal.

Data show that the number foreigners actively involved in drug peddling is also increasing. Of the total foreigners arrested on charges of drug peddling and drug abuse, 25 per cent are females.

Most of the drug smugglers were arrested with cannabis, cannabis, heroin, opium, cocaine and controlled pharmaceutical drugs.

In the first four months of the current fiscal, police confiscated 5,766 kilogram of cannabis, 2,057 kg cannabis and three kg heroin, which is again the largest quantity of drugs police seized in a year.

Supermeanent of Cop Krishna Prasai at Narcotics Control Bureau said approachly 90 per cent of heinous crimes such as rape and murder have direct link with drug abuse. He also said that drug related offences were increasing at an alarming rate in the country.

SP Prasai also informed that drugs like cannabis and cannabis were largely smuggled to foreign countries, while Nepali youths were found misusing pharmaceutical drugs as these drugs were easily accessible and affordable.