For the first time in Nepal’s political history, provincial governments are being formed after the completion of successful provincial elections in November and December last year. In this context, Province 3 Chief Anuradha Koirala on Sunday appointed CPN-UML’s parliamentary party leader Dor Mani Poudel as the Chief Minister of Province 3. Poudel has become the first chief minister of the country; hence all major Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Monday have given the top priority to the event. Other contemporary political issues including the progress made for the proposed unification between CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre and parties’ preparations for the selection of proportional representation lawmakers have also received significant attention.
Important
Nepal’s first Chief Minister to take oath today
Kantipur lead story for the day says the CPN-UML parliamentary party leader in Province 3, Dor Mani Poudel, has been appointed the Chief Minister of Province 3. The Province Chief Anuradha Koirala made the appointment as the UML alone commands a majority in the Provincial Assembly.
Naya Patrika says Poudel is due to take the oath of office and secrecy from Koirala at a special function in Hetaunda, the provincial capital, this morning.
Other newspapers have also carried the story on the front page, along with an introduction to the newly appointed official.
The process to appoint chief ministers has begun in other provinces too, reports Annapurna Post. Nagarik adds that the UML and the Maoist Centre have submitted a letter to Province 5 Chief Bidyadhar Mallik requesting that UML’s Shankar Pokhrel be made the Chief Minister.
UML submits PR list; Congress, Maoist Centre in 11th hour prep
The CPN-UML on Sunday submitted the list of lawmakers elected to the House of Representatives under the proportional representation category. The party’s Standing Committee meeting held yesterday had finalised the llist, according to newspaper reports. The newspapers have also published the list of 41 lawmakers selected by the UML for parliamentary berths. The list includes 37 women and four mean, according to Kantipur.
Gorkhapatra has also published a list of 17 CPN-Maoist Centre leaders who are likely to be elected the lawmakers. The party is planning to submit the list today, according to the report.
Rajdhani says the Nepali Congress is also finalising and submitting the list today.
UML is ready to give premiership to Dahal for 2.5 yrs
The CPN-UML has finally agreed to divide the five-year premiership between incumbent CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal equally, claims The Himalayan Times lead story. The UML top leaders have decided to make the offer to Dahal to facilitate the unification proposed between them, according to them.
Meanwhile, Annapurna Post reports that the UML is committed to finalising the modality of unification before the formation of new federal government. UML Chairman Oli told the party’s Standing Committee meeting yesterday as he was in conversation with the Maoist Centre Chairman Dahal and the discussions were very positive.
Naya Patrika says the parleys between two parties for the unification have reached the decisive stage.
Ignored
Half households in a Dolakha village have at least one disabled
A village in Gaurishankar Rural Municipality of Dolakha district has around 20 households, but 10 of them have at least one disabled member, according to a box story published on the front page of Janata Post. The Babiyodanda village is full of people living with different forms of disability, and locals here complain that the government is not looking after them.
Police offices across country poorly equipped
Annapurna Post lead story for the day claims that hundreds of police offices across the country are poorly equipped with necessary physical infrastructures including office buildings, barracks, and toilets.
There are 2,507 police units in the country, but 612 do not have their own land. Total 1,153 units do not have office buildings. Among the units with office buildings, 1,177 do not have barracks where the personnel could take rest, according to the report.
Interesting
Gorkha locals wed off maize with hope of good cultivation
Nepal is known as a country of diverse cultures and traditions. If you hear this story from Laprak and Gumda villages of Dharche Rural Municipality in Gorkha district, you will get to know why it is called so. Locals in the village conduct a marriage of maize plants on an auspicious day every year with a belief that it will bring them good cultivation and fortunes, reports Janata Post in its anchor story.
