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From the Kathmandu Press: Sunday, February 17, 2019

Major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Sunday have given priority to a host of issues from political, sociocultural and economic spheres.

News of an earthquake in Kathmandu has received considerable attention. News of a court case against Thamel’s Chhaya Centre complexalso been highlighted by the newspapers.

Here is a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories from the cover pages of national broadsheets:

Important

Quake jolts Kathmandu

Republica, The Himalayan Times and Kantipur report that a magnitude 4 quake rattled Kathmandu on Saturday evening. According to Lok Bijaya Adhikari, chief of National Seismological Center (NSC), the epicenter of the earthquake was in Kirtipur.

As many as 511 aftershocks with magnitudes above 4 have been recorded since the 2015 earthquake. The number of aftershocks are even higher but the NSC does not record quakes below 4 magnitude, added Adhikari.

Controversial Chhaya Centre’s future in the hands of SC

Nagarik and Republica report that over 12 ropanis of land belonging earlier to the well-known heritage site of Kamalpokhari in Thamel, where the 15-storey Chhaya Centre complex has been built, now awaits a major ruling from the Supreme Court.

The case is being closely watched by the public as it is being heard by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, who has been passing ‘bold’ verdicts in the past few weeks. Whether the land returns to Kamalpokhari or the Chhaya Centre complex commercial tower becomes a permanent fixture in the prime tourist site of Thabahal, Thamel depends on the apex court now.

The major shareholders at Chhaya Centre are Prithivi Bahadur Pandé, his wife Pratima Pandé and his son Shivanth Pandé. The project brought together 43 investors and four major banks: Rastriya Banijya Bank, Everest Bank, NIDC Bikas Bank, and Nepal Bank.

Officials from Social Welfare Council fired

Rajdhani reports that the government has sacked all officials from the Social Welfare Council. The Cabinet meeting on Friday took the step after they found irregularities in the finances of the council. Vice-chairman Nilmani Baral, Treasurer Bir Bahadur Thagunna, Member Secretary Dilli Prasad Bhatta and members Indra Kumar Jha and Gokarna Prasad Bhattarai have been sacked by the government. Before taking the measure, the government had sought clarifications from the council twice, but on both occasions, the government didn’t buy the clarifications presented by the members of the council.

Ignored

Bad weather expected for few more days

Nepal Samacharpatra and The Himalayan Times report that the Meteorological Forecasting Division has predicted overcast skies with chances of rain in many parts of the country for three days. The current weather pattern has been attributed to the western disturbance, an extra-tropical disturbance originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain. The forecast also states that there are chances of snow in many parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday.

Shortage of study material to affect students again

Rajdhani reports that for another year students at government schools will face a problem as around 4 million books are yet to be printed. Even though the new academic session has already started in mountainous areas, the students there still haven’t received new text-books. The same will the fate of student in hilly and Terai regions, when they start their new session in two months.

PMO stops appointment

Karobar reports that the recruitment of officials at Electricity Regulation Commission has been in limbo due to lack of coordination between the Prime Ministers’ Office and the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. Stakeholders have expressed concerns that politics is hampering the operation of the commission.

Interesting

Oli never on time

Republica reports that when it comes to time management, PM KP Oli has earned a reputation of never showing up on time. PM Oli is invariably late for all party meetings and various other programs. He is often late even for his flights. On December 8, 2018, four senior leaders of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) boycotted a secretariat meeting after Oli failed to turn up even half an hour after the scheduled time.

Medical council makes professional training mandatory for doctors

The Kathmandu Post reports that the Nepal Medical Council has introduced a new rule that requires all medical practitioners to take regular professional development training. The council has announced that doctors who do not participate in the training will not have their license renewed.

Nepalis stuck in Malaysia jails

The Kathmandu Post reports that as many as 206 Nepalis are languishing in different jails of Malaysia. According to the Nepal Embassy, Nepalis have been arrested for violating immigration rules, criminal activities, and drug abuse, among other illegal activities in the southeast Asian country. Out of the total 82 Nepalis convicted, 40 were related to drug abuse cases. Besides, a total of 170 Nepali citizens are in various detention centres of Malaysia.

The embassy regularly rescues them and repatriates them back to Nepal, providing required documents and air tickets. For those without a passport, the embassy facilitates their repatriation by issuing a one-way travel document. A total of 77 Nepalis have been sent home from various detention centres in Malaysia in the last two months.

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