As Nepal is marking the third Constitution Day on Wednesday, major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu today have highlighted what Nepal achieved and could not achieve in past three years after the promulgation of first republican constitution. The coverage of Constitution Day has left little space to regular big issues of broadsheet front pages. However, there are some other political, sociocultural and financial issues too.
As incidents of violence against women and children are more frequently reported these days, some newspapers continue to give the top priority to the issue. Likewise, the death of four Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia, reportedly due to consumption of substandard alcohol, has also received significant attention on the front pages.
Important
Three years on, constitution fails to meet expectations fully
Newspapers have expressed different comments on the first three years of 2015 constitution. Annapurna Post says the constitution has faced a number of challenges, but it is still going on smoothly. Nagarik has published a timeline of major political developments in past three years.
Meanwhile, Rajdhani says the political journey of the country with the constitution seems speedy, but its impacts have not been seen on development works. Reports in Republica and Nepal Samachapatra echo the same message.
Kantipur claims provincial governments have failed to prove their activeness thanks to the ignorance of the central governance. Recently, the Prime Minister has expressed his dissatisfaction with provincial chief ministers. In this context, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in an interview with Gorkhapatra has said provincial and local governments should not be taken as independent governments.
Four Nepalis die after consuming spurious alcohol
Nepal Samacharpatra, Rajdhani, Kantipur, Republica and The Himalayan Times report that four Nepali migrant workers died and 11 others were taken ill after they allegedly consumed spurious liquor. A Malaysian, an Indian and a Bangladeshi also died in the incident whereas five foreigners fell ill, according to the reports.
Meanwhile, ailed Nepalis are undergoing treatments at local hospitals.
Fast track cost may increase
Nagarik and Republica have reported that the Nepal Army, which has been assigned to construct a fast track connecting Kathmandu with Terai, has proposed adding two more tunnels to the road, and it will cost Rs 5 billion more.
The proposal has been sent to the National Development Implementation Committee led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The government is yet to give a nod to the proposal, according to the reports.
Ignored
Transitional justice mechanisms suffer serious cash crunch
The Himalayan Times reports in its lead story for the day that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons have not been able to carry out investigations as they lack budget.
However, the government has claimed it allocated sufficient money to the transitional justice mechanisms. On the other hand, the Home Ministry and the Nepal Rastra Bank have made different claims about the amount available in the peace fund, according to the report.
Finance Minister rules out supplementary budget
Though ruling Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced some days ago that the government was preparing to introduce a supplementary budget, Minister for Finance Yubaraj Khatiwada has ruled out the possibility, according to The Kathmandu Post.
During a press meet yesterday, the Minister said no discussion was held about the issue in the government yet.
Price hike to mar consumers during key festivals
Thanks to the continuous weakening of Nepali currency in comparison with the American dollar and recent increase in the fuel prices, Nepali consumers are likely to face a severe price hike in daily consumables ahead of and during major festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to The Himalayan Times anchor story.
Apparels, food items, electronic equipment and vehicles among others will get dearer now, the report adds.
Meanwhile, public bus entrepreneurs have warned of withdrawing the plan to open advance booking that they announced for the Dashain festival if the government does not roll back the decision to hike prices of petroleum products, according to Karobar.
Interesting
Nepal to host investment summit next year
In its bid to attract more foreign investment to give a momentum to infrastructure development works, the government of Nepal is preparing to host an investment summit in March next year, a snippet in Abhiyan informs.
A meeting of the Investment Board of Nepal made the decision on Tuesday.
