Major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Sunday have given priority to a host of issues from political, sociocultural and financial spheres. Almost all newspapers have covered the mental illness that father of Nirmala Pant developed as he continued his sit-in demanding action against the murderers of her daughter. Likewise, the newspapers have given significant coverage to the statement of main opposition Nepali Congress over the government’s participation in a function to be organised by a controversial international non-government agency.
Meanwhile, the Secretariat meeting of ruling Nepal Communist Party has also been covered on the front pages of some newspapers.
Important
Nirmala Pant’s dad in Kathmandu for treatment
Nepal Samacharpatra, Naya Patrika and The Himalayan Times report that Yagya Raj Pant has been sent to Kathmandu on a bus on Saturday late afternoon to provide treatment for his mental problem. Nagarik and Republica inform that he has begun showing abnormal behaviours, shouting at people around him, and threatening to kill himself for past few days.
Earlier, Buddha Air, which is operating regular flights between Dhangadhi and Kathmandu, had refused to take him onboard, according to Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post.
NC protests govt involvement in UPF function
The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times and Kantipur report on their front pages that the main opposition party has objected to the government’s involvement in hosting the Asia Pacific Summit being organised by the Universal Peace Federation.
The Federation is apparently involved in promoting Christianity in the country; hence the party has argued that it is against the constitutional provision of secularism, according to the reports.
Ignored
NRA not to agree on India’s conditions
The Indian government has put three conditions to release a loan assistance of Rs 75 billion for Nepal’s reconstruction works. However, the National Reconstruction Authority has said it will not agree on any of the conditions, hinting the commitment would not be executed, according to Naya Patrika lead story.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has assured facilitating the halted process.
80 per cent school reconstruction over
The government has claimed to have completed the reconstruction of 80 per cent of schools destroyed by the 2015 earthquake, according to Karobar anchor story.
The government, however, says funds are not available for the pending reconstruction of other 1,400 schools.
The Post Disaster Recovery Framework of the National Reconstruction Authority had estimated that the reconstruction of all affected schools in 31 districts would cost Rs 130 billion.
PM forces TU to breach Cabinet decision
In the last week of July, the Cabinet made a decision to direct the Tribhuvan University for putting on hold applications of private colleges for affiliation. However, around 10 days after the meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli directed the biggest university of the country to grant affiliation to 116 private colleges to run BBM and BCA programmes, according to a brief story in Kantipur.
Officials against forming new transitional justice mechanism
Officials of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons have said some activists’ and conflict victims’ proposal to replace the two bodies with a new political mechanisms could further complicate the situation and derail the ongoing progress in settling the conflict era issues, according to a four column story in Republica.
Currently, over 65,000 cases are pending at these two commissions.
Interesting
Bajhang’s theft-free villages
Villages in five wards of Saipal Rural Municipality in Bajhang district in far-western Nepal are theft-free, Kantipur reports in its anchor story. Locals in these villages do not lock their houses when they go outside while precious things are left in the open.
Likewise, the villages keep their crops in the fields and take them to houses whenever necessary.
