The most highlighted issue on the front pages of Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Wednesday is the visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to China and his possible engagements today. As Oli is scheduled to hold top political meetings with today itself, the newspapers have published reports filed from Beijing with the top priority. Some newspaper reports are focused on the address that PM Oli delivered at a function organised by the Nepali Embassy in Beijing in his honour.
Few other contemporary political, economic and sociocultural issues have also been published on the front pages today.
Important
Oli to see Xi today
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reached the Chinese capital of Beijing on a six-day official visit on Tuesday and he is scheduled to hold meetings with top political leaders of the northern neighbour today, according to newspaper reports.
Gorkhapatra says Oli will pay a courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday whereas a meeting with his counterpart Li Keqiang has also been scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister said China was a reliable neighbour of Nepal and he was for strengthening connectivity between the two countries. Kantipur anchor story reports that Oli spoke the first sentence of his speech at a function organised at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing in Chinese language and said he was there for establishing railways and roadways between the countries.
Rajdhani and Annapurna Post have reflected Oli’s high-level meetings scheduled for today in the headlines of their lead stories.
Sitaula boycotts stage at NC meeting
Rajdhani and Naya Patrika report that Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula did not agree to be a part of the state set for the inauguration of the party’s district presidents’ gathering, a clear indication that some leaders are too disgruntled with Sher Bahadur Deuba’s leadership. The reports have claimed that Sitaula expressed his displeasure after his name was not included in the programme schedule as a speaker.
Kantipur lead story, on the other hand, reports that the district presents have pushed the party leadership for forming lower level committees in line with the federal structure envisaged by the constitution through elections. The leadership, however, wants to form just ad hoc committees to be appointed by the Central Working Committee.
Meanwhile, speaking at the function, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba said the democratic system in the country fell in jeopardy following the beginning of communist rule, according to Republica.
Ignored
NRB pushes commercial banks for merger
The lead story in Abhiyan daily says the central bank of Nepal, Nepal Rastra Bank, is still pushing commercial banks to merge with each other so that the financial institutions get stronger with more capital. Earlier, the NRB had directed commercial banks to increase their paid up capital to Rs 8 billion so that the banks would merge. Even after the implementation of this policy, the central bank is directly or indirectly pushing them for the merger, according to the report. Therefore, banks which have already crossed the mark are also invested in merger these days.
Rs 24 billion insufficient for school reconstruction
Annapurna Post and The Kathmandu Post have published two highlighted snippets about problems surfaced in post-earthquake reconstruction of schools. Annapurna Post says Rs 24 billion has been insufficient for the construction of all damaged school buildings and the government is exploring more sources for the fund.
The Kathmandu Post, on the other hand, says lack of land has also emerged as one of the major problems of reconstruction drive.
Govt not to change +2 curricula this year
The government has withdrawn its plan to implement new curricula for grades XI and XII as a part of reform in the schooling system after stakeholders protested some of the proposals, according to Nepal Samacharpatra.
Among few key changes, the decision to keep mathematics as an optional subject even for students choosing science stream had received a wide criticism from the stakeholders. Therefore, a meeting of the National Curricula and Evaluation Council made the decision, the report reads.
74 per cent jarred water ‘contaminated’
An examination conducted by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology has found that around 74 per cent of drinking water that consumers get in jars are contaminated and unfit for consumption, reports Kantipur in its three-column story.
During the examination, e coli bacterium was found in the jarred water, the report says, adding jars of 50 various branded were selected for the sampling-based study.
Interesting
Home Minister to directly oversee special investigations
A four-column story in The Himalayan Times says that Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa is planning to set up a squad comprising high ranking police personnel which will work directly under him to conduct special investigations and operations.
The task force under the leadership of a deputy inspector general will be formed soon and preparations are currently underway for that, the report quotes Minister Thapa’s political advisor Surya Subedi to say.
Meanwhile, security analyst Geja Sharma Wagle has commented that if the intention of Minister is to put in place a parallel agency, such move cannot be welcomed.
