The government’s annual policy and programme President Bidya Devi Bhandari read out before a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly has been the most significant issue on the front pages of major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Tuesday. Likewise, organisational activities of the newly formed Nepal Communist Party also continue to grab attention of newspaper editors and reporters today.
Few newspapers have published reports about some other sociocultural and economic issues on their front page today.
Important
Govt spells out ambitious five-year plan in annual policy
Newspaper reports inform that the government has targeted to achieve a two-digit economic growth in next five years. The government’s annual policy and programme, which President Bidya Devi Bhandari presented at the joint meeting of two houses of Federal Parliament yesterday, also targets to double the per capita income by then, according to the reports.
Summarising the policy and programme in few key points, Gorkhapatra informs that the government has stressed its commitment to protection, strengthening and proper utilisation of democracy, good governance, state accountability to people and fight against corruption in the document. Likewise, it has cited ‘Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepalis’ as its long-term vision.
Republica says the government has also concentrated implementation of the constitution in its policy and programme, stating its state mechanisms and resources will be mobilised for that. The same newspaper publishes another report raising doubts over implementation of its promises. The report says that the country will have to increase the number of jobs a minimum of ninefold from what it is today to retain the youth within the country blocking them from foreign employment as it has promised.
The Himalayan Times and Karobar comment that the document is too ambitious in terms of infrastructure development plans.
Four Rupandehi children drown
Four children have drowned in a pond while they were swimming in a bid to combat the pre-summer heat in Rupandehi of western Nepal, according to newspapers.
Rajdhani says two nine-year-old, one 10-year-old and one 14-year old girls died in Gadyidhiu, Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality-11 of Rupandehi district in Province 5 of the country.
Meanwhile, Naya Patrika claims one of the victims had submerged into water at first and three others had dived into the pond in a bid to save her. However, all four were killed.
Locals and police took the bodies out of the pond yesterday itself.
NCP central committee gets full shape
Gorkhapatra and Naya Patrika report that the newly unified Nepal Communist Party has given the full shape to its 441-member Central Committee, comprising leaders belonging to dissolved CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre.
A meeting of the party’s Central Secretariat held at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s official residence in Baluwatar endorsed the names recommended by top leaders of then UML and Maoist Centre, according to Gorkhapatra.
Meanwhile, the meeting also formed a task force under the leadership of General Secretary Bishnu Paudel to reorganise party’s sister organisations and lower committees, reports Rajdhani in its anchor story for the day.
On the other hand, party’s senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal officially expressed his note of dissent over the ranking of leaders recently finalised claiming he was not consulted about the issue, according to Republica.
Ignored
Bird flu spotted in Chitwan again
Bird flu, a communicable disease transmitted from poultry, has been spotted once again in eastern part of Chitwan district and it has caused a loss of Rs 7 million rupees in the sector, according to Rajdhani.
Recently, authorities had found virus of avian influenza in Surtani, Khairahani Municipality-9 of the district, declared it a crisis zone and destroyed all chickens raised there.
The disease was first spotted in the district in 2010.
Province 5 govt may recognise guerilla health workers
The Province 5 government has taken initiatives to give an official recognition to health workers that then Maoist party trained and mobilised for treatment of its cadres during the decades-long armed conflict, according to the anchor story in Nagarik.
The party used to run different training programmes for three, six and nine months for health workers during the conflict; and now the Social Development Ministry is planning to recognise them, the report says. Meanwhile, the government is also planning to give legality to all land-related transactions executed by then guerilla government.
Interesting
Foundation stone laid for road connecting India and China via Nepal
A road network connecting India and China via western Nepal is being constructed and the foundation stone has been laid for the project on Monday, according to Karobar anchor story.
Karnali Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi laid the foundation stone for the project in Mathillo Dungeshwor of Dailekh district yesterday, the report filed from Surkhet states, adding the road leads to Jamunaha in India and Nagchelagna in China.
