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From the Kathmandu Press: Monday, November 20, 2017

File: CoAS Rajendra Chhetri

The first phase of provincial and federal parliamentary elections is just six days away; but incidents of attacks on candidates are also on the rise. In this context, most of major Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Monday have prioritised concerns raised by the Nepali Army over poll security in their front pages. The death of Prakash Dahal, the 36-year-old son of CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has also received prominence in the Kathmandu press today.

Other contemporary political and socio-economic issues have also bee significantly prioritised.

Important

Army ready to do whatever it takes for poll security

In the wake of minor explosions targeting candidates of major parties and alliances in the various parts of the country, the Nepali Army has expressed its concerns over the polls security on Sunday, clarifying that it is ready to do whatever it takes. Many newspapers have covered the press meet organised by the Nepali Army at the Ministry of Defence yesterday in their front page.

Chief of Army Staff Rajendra Chhetri has said the Army now will launch land and aerial patrols to identify and combat threats to security, reports The Kathmandu Post in its lead story for the day. “The army mobilisation for the first phase of elections has already begun,” Rajdhani quotes Chhetri as saying, “The Army will be active if there is any clash, attack or any untoward incident at political assemblies and mass meetings.”

Chhetri cites that the Army has been kept at the third layer of security plan and hence it is not focused on security of candidates. “But, the Army will go to any place with arms if both the police forces fail to take the situation under control,” quotes Annapurna Post.

Left alliance poll campaign to continue despite uncertainty over Dahal’s participation

Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal greets before lighting the funeral pyre of his son Prakash, Sunday, November 19, 2017.

The early morning news that CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman’s Prakash Dahal died of sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 36 received the attention of the entire country yesterday. Most of major newspapers have carried news about the incident with a photograph in the front page.

Consequently, the parties, who were busy soliciting votes for them for upcoming elections, also postponed their campaigns. But, now, the leftist alliance, which the Maoist Centre is also a part of, says it will continue the poll campaign though the participation of Dahal in scheduled mass meetings is still uncertain, reports The Kathmandu Post.

Leaders of both CPN-UML and Maoist Centre have told the newspaper that the loss is irreparable, but the unforeseen event will not impact the campaign schedule.

MBBS entrance exam cancelled after cheating complaint

File image: Tribhuvan University Central Office, Kirtipur

The Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine (TU-IoM) on Sunday has decided to cancel the MBBS entrance examination it had conducted on October 14 after some candidates were found to be copying answers from various electric devices, report Kantipur, Republica and The Kathmandu Post in the front page.

The decision was made after police and Nepal Medical Council concluded that the questions were also leaked before exam, according to Kantipur.

Total 8,827 students had taken the test for 625 student positions. The next date for the exam has not been announced yet. IoM Dean JP Agrawal has told Republica that the new date will be announced soon.

Ignored

Nepal’s trade deficit marked at Rs 3 billion a day

File image: Nepal Rastra Bank

The central bank of the country says Nepal’s foreign trade deficit stands at around Rs 3 billion a day, reports Karobar in its lead story for the day. Influence of the consumer culture on society and people; and failure to increase export have been blamed for the imbalance.

The data are based on the transactions carried out in the first three months of current fiscal.

Voter education programmes unlikely to decrease the number of invalid votes

Nepal Samacharpatra reports, quoting poll observers, that voter education programmes launched by the Election Commission in the run-up to provincial and federal parliamentary polls have become ineffective.

As voters of 32 mountainous and high hilly districts have just six days before the voting, many people residing in headquarters of these districts do not know how to cast ballots, the report claims.

Interesting

Tamakoshi power generation to begin next year

Upper Tamakoshi Hydro Project Dam site. The work at the dam site could not continue even after one year as the road to dam site was destroyed by the last year earthquake. Dolakha, Nepal

After the Sunday breakthrough in the construction of a tunnel for the Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, it has been expected that power generation will begin around this time next year, reports Republica in the anchor story.

The project’s manager Bigyan Shrestha has told the paper that they aim to complete all construction works and launch the power generation from the 456-megawatt project, the biggest power plant in the country so far, by November 2018.

The report informs that the remaining tunnel work includes concrete lining of a 900-metre stretch of the waterway and fitting steel pipes in a stretch of 800 metres besides minor concrete works.

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