Major Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu on Sunday have prioritised a variety of issues, including the build-up to the local level elections in Province 2, where Madesh-based parties are under pressure to perform better than the national parties. Likewise, the decision by transport entrepreneurs to allow passengers to book tickets for Dashain from Monday has also received attention. The bus accident in Nuwakot over the weekend has also made it to the headlines of broadsheet papers.
Important
Counting down to D-day
Only 10 days are left for polling day in Province 2, where voters are electing their local representatives in the third round of local elections. Almost all papers’ front pages have given space to stories and articles on the elections.
Kantipur, in its front page with a screaming headline says ‘motorable roads and embankments’ are what people in Bara, one of the districts going for polls on September 18, are saying. The report says almost all political parties, excluding the UML, have told voters they will push for an amendment to the constitution to address the demands of Madheshis.
Nagarik, in its front page takes a look at the race for mayor in Janakpur sub-metropolis, one of the key cities in Province 2. It profiles the candidates backed by major political parties. Similarly, Annapurna Post, says Madheshi parties are having a tough time connecting with the voters as demands of the Madhesh movement have not been addressed the way the Madheshi parties had promised. It also notes that a negligible number of women are contesting the polls for mayor and Gaunpalika chief. The Himalayan Times has a three-column report on the EC’s move to seek clarification from DPM Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar over alleged breach of the election code of conduct. It also says that the commission has allotted electoral symbols to candidates contesting the September 18 elections.
Republica says the Election Commission has invited international observers for federal and provincial polls. The commission had not issued permits to international parties to observe the local elections. Similarly, The Kathmandu Post says the Election Commision has not published the schedule for the provincial and federal elections after major parties disagreed with the commission’s proposal that they submit the names of candidates under the Proportional Representation system before the names for the first-past-the-post system.
Bus accident in Nuwakot
Almost all papers have given space to reports on the death of at least six people in a bus accident in Thanabhanjyang in Nuwakot on Saturday. According to Republica, 30 people were injured in the accident as the bus fell 350 metres off the road and crashed into a house in Kharanitar.
Ignored
NAC splurges Rs 5m on foreign junkets
Republica and Nagarik, papers published by Nepal Republic Media, say that Nepal Airlines Corporation NAC has spent Rs 5 million on foreign trips for one-and-half dozen members of its staff over a period of one year. While seven NAC officials are in the Netherlands, three are in to visit Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. While the NAC foots all their bills, it also gives each staffer a perdiem of $150 on average.
Govt hospitals’ ICUs face problems
The state-run Gorkhapatra, in its two-column story, says ICUs in government hospitals are faced with a host of problems due to lack of human resources. It says that because the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of General Administration have not given their nod to increase the the number of staffers who can work in ICUs. The report says that an ICU on average needs five nurses to operate.
Waste collection resumes in Kathmandu
Gorkhapatra, in its anchor, says waste collection is resuming in Kathmandu on Sunday after seven days. According to the report, collection of waste had been suspended after locals living near the landfill site in Sisdolel, Nuwakot obstructed vehicles carrying waste to the area. The report says protests were called after after Kathmandu Metropolitan City agreed to provide an ambulance to the Kakani Gaunpalika and to build a road to the village
Interesting
Plight of Rohingya in Nepal
While much has been written about the Rohingya who have been forced out of Myanmar in big numbers in the last few weeks, only a few may know about the Rohingya living in Nepal. The Kathmandu Post, in its box story recounts the life of two members of the community living in Nepal. It says that as Nepal has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, these people are ‘illegal migrants’ and the government does not recognise them as refugees.
Couple lives in US with fake Nepali passports for 15 years
A Nepali couple lived in the US for 15 years with fake passports, it has been revealed. According to Naya Patrika, Lakpa Sherpa and his wife Thokpa allegedly bought Nepali passports with US visas for Rs 1.5 million in 2002. They lived in the US, where their daughter enlisted in the army till 2017, when they decided to return to Nepal. Back home in Nepal, they applied for a new passport and got them from the government. They then applied for a US visa saying that they have never been to the United States. However, they were caught after their biometrics matched scans they gave to immigration authorities in the US. The paper says that the case shows that Nepal still does not have a proper mechanism to monitor the passports it issues.
