All major Nepali and English dailies published from Kathmandu on Sunday have highlighted contemporary political issues including parties’ preparations to form provincial governments in all seven provinces of the country. Likewise, a jeep accident in Chitwan which killed a high government official and inauguration of ‘Nepal’s most expensive’ hydropower project’ among other issues have also received priority on the front page of newspapers today. Meanwhile, the government recommended names of three persons to the President for appointment as National Assembly members.
Important
Forum, RJPN seal deal for partnership
Two powerhouses in the Madhesh region have signed an agreement to form a coalition government in Province 2, according to newspaper reports.
Republica says the agreement ends a political stalemate that last for over two months. According to the agreement, the chief minister, the deputy speaker and three ministers will be from the Forum whereas the RJPN will get the speaker and three ministers, informs Rajdhani.
Meanwhile, Forum’s Lal Babu Raut, who has already been elected the party’s provincial parliamentary party leader, is certain to be elected the Chief Minister, according to The Kathmandu Post and Gorkhapatra.
Nepal’s most expensive hydro project begins power generation
Abhiyan lead story for the day says power generated from the Chameliya Hydropower Project has been connected to the national transmission line on Sunday as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the operation. The construction of 30-megawatt hydro project had begun around 11 years ago, according to the report. The Himalayan Times adds, “Its completion was behind schedule by more than six years.”
Meanwhile, Janata Post lead story for the day says the project is the most expensive ever in Nepal’s hydropower economy, informing total Rs 15.6 billion was spent for the project. The amount is three times its initial estimate.
Republica says with the commencement of power production in Chameliya, the country’s total electricity production capacity has reached 956 megawatt.
Top irrigation official killed in Trishuli jeep fall
Secretary at the Ministry of Irrigation, Ramananda Yadav, and his niece died when a jeep they were on fell off the road in the Trishuli River on Saturday, many newspapers have reported on their front page.
Quoting Police Inspector Sanjaya Timalsina, The Himalayan Times informs that Yadav’s 25-year-old Santosh has been missing in the river and the search is on. Yadav and the two youth were heading to Kapilvastu when the jeep fell into the river at around 2:45 am yesterday, according to the report. Meanwhile, it has been learned that Yadav was driving the vehicle himself. Republica quotes Yadav’s driver Niranjan Yadav to say, “I insisted on driving, but the secretary did not let me.”
Govt picks three for Upper House
Gorkhapatra and The Kathmandu Post report that the government has recommended names of three persons to the President for their appointment as National Assembly members. As per the constitutional provision that three members of the 59-member Upper House are appointed by the President, the government recommended Gopal Basnet, Krishna Prasad Poudel and Chandani Joshi, according to reports.
Meanwhile, some of the ministers including Deputy Prime Minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Kamal Thapa have expressed reservations over Joshi’s name. Thapa had wanted to have his party’s share at least in one of the three vacant positions.
Ignored
Karnali witnessing daily 14 hr load shedding
Naya Patrika lead story for the day informs that people living in remote Karnali region of Province 6 have been facing regular power outage though it has been more than one year since the capital and major cities of the country have been free of the problem. There is load shedding for 14 hours every day in Jumla, for 10 hours in Humla and for two hours in Kalikot, according to the report.
Deuba wants to appoint new CIAA chief before stepping down
Nepal Samacharpatra says Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is trying to appoint the new chief at Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority as incumbent Deep Basnyat is retiring on Monday.
Deuba, however, has constitutional hurdles to make the appointment as the chief of constitutional body must be approved by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, but the new Parliament has not begun its operation yet.
It has been learned that the senior-most CIAA commissioner Nabin Kumar Ghimire is lobbying to be made the top official.
Interesting
Melamchi project to blacktop 83 km road in Valley within next five months
The Project Implementation Directorate under the Melamchi Water Supply Project has aimed to blacktop around 83 kilometre road in Kathmandu Valley that it had dug for pipeline works within next five months, according to Abhiyan lead story.
Terming the plan ‘ambitious’, the report informs that total 750 kilometre road will be affected by the project. The Directorate is responsible for the maintenance of 110 kilometre road, but so far only 27 kilometre has been over.
