Almost all newspapers published in Kathmandu on Friday have given priority to reports related to the Supreme Court’s decision on razing of unauthorised infrastructure on the banks of the Fewa lake in Pokhara. According to the newspapers, the Supreme Court has not made the text of the final verdict of the case, paving the way for authorities to take action. Here’s a summary of important, ignored and interesting stories that made it to the front pages on Friday.
Important
16 dead in Dadeldhura bus accident
At least 16 people have died in bus accident in Dadelhdura on Thursday night. According to Annapurna Post, more than 30 people have also been injured. The report says that the bus belonging Peace Zone School in Doti was returning to Doti after passengers, most of them schoolchildren, after observing the local Ugra Tara fair. The report says that the bus, fell off the road near Raduwa, along the KI Singh Highway in far-western Nepal.
Ignored
Apex court orders Fewa banks cleared within six months
The Supreme Court has ordered the government to remove within six months all structure build within 65m from the banks of the Fewa in Pokhara. The Himalayan Times says that the court has also ordered the government to build check dam within three years on the Harpan river and other rivers that flow into the lake. Republica reports that with the publication of the full text of the apex court ruling over a writ petition filed by advocated Khagendra Subedi on January 24, 2011, the government must also acquire private land outside the 65 m radius of the lake if it is deemed necessary to conserve the lake. Kantipur, meanwhile, reports that the Supreme Court verdict closes the lid on a proposed project to build a cable car system on the lake.
Ignored
Hospital illegally brought migrant workers in coma in Qatar in Kathmand
Kantipur reports that a Nepali hospital illegally brought a Nepali migrant worker, who was in a coma in Qatar, to Kathmandu without the consent of the family concerned. The paper alleges that the Om Samaj Hospital in Kathmandu arranged the transportation of Lalit Bahadur Budha, who was admitted to the Hamad Hospital in Qatar after being injured in a workplace accident, for monetary gains. The paper says that a team of doctors from Hamad brought Budha to Kathmandu recently. The report also says that Qatar had been pressing Nepal’s embassy in Doha to make arrangements to send Budha home.
Interesting
Chinese-Nepali consortium to build Upper Marshyangdi
The Kathmandu Post reports that a consortium of Chinese and Nepali companies has bought shares of the 600 MW Upper Marsyangdi hydropower project. Indian company GMR had been holding the license of the project for the last 11 years. The paper reports that the Chinese firms SCIG International, Xingcheng International Investment and QYEC International and Nepali firm Butwal Power Company have bought the shares of the company from GMR for around Rs 3 billion. The Indian firm has applied to the central bank to repatriate the amount.
