Now it is not possible to bring expensive mobiles, import of expensive phones including iPhone has stopped

 

Kathmandu. The government has banned the import of mobile sets above Rs 73,000 ($600). The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies published a notice in the Gazette on Tuesday banning the import of mobile phones. The government has banned the import of some items due to pressure on Nepal's foreign exchange reserves due to excessive imports. Accordingly, the import of expensive mobiles has also been banned.

As per the information published in the Gazette, such ban will be effective only till mid-July. Mobile imports below the stipulated price will not be stopped.

Banks will not be allowed to open letters of credit for mobile imports worth more than $600 as the rule will take effect on Tuesday. According to the statistics of the Customs Department, Nepal has imported more than Rs. 34 billion worth of mobile phones in the first nine months of the current Fiscal Year 2078/79. Mobile is the fifth most imported commodity in Nepal.

201 TB patients detected in Tanahun in eight months

Two hundred one tuberculosis patients have been recorded in Tanahun district. Out of the TB patients recorded until mid-March of the current fiscal year, 2021\22, 130 are noninfectious, according to the district health office.

The infectious disease is curable by regularly taking medicines for six months while the recovery rate in the district was 82.1 percent, said chief of the health office, Shankar Babu Adhikari. Treatment for the disease is available at 50 centers and nine laboratories in the district. Many infected people in the district have been out of treatment due to lack of education, awareness and geographically difficulties, he said. "Challenges are that the infected people should be identified and treated. In some cases, they are forced to hide their infection due to societal taboo attached to the infection." The government has aimed to eliminate the infection by 2050. Arrangements have been made to reach out to the house of infected people for identification and treatment. Similarly, contact tracing has also been carried out two times every six months, he said. At present, there are 80,000 TV patients in Nepal, according to available data. The age-group of the patients is 15-49. Globally, 5,000 to 6,500 people have died from the infection every year.

Ruling alliance holding meeting today

A meeting of the top leaders of the five-party ruling coalition is being held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar this morning.

The meeting will be held at the secretariat of CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

The meeting will make the final decision on the distribution of posts, especially in municipalities and villages. As today is the last day to register candidates for the upcoming local elections, the meeting will make the final decision on the distribution of seats.

Disputes arising at the local level in the remaining municipalities and villages will also be decided, sources said.

Seventh Gorkha earthquake memorial day being observed today

The seventh memorial day of the Gorkha earthquake is being observed across the country with various programmes. On 25 April, 2015, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the country with its epicenter in Gorkha's Barpak. The disaster killed approximately 9,000 people and injured over 22,000 others. It damaged over 800,000 private houses and 1500 cultural heritages. Districts including Gorkha, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kavrepalanchok, Sindhupalchok, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Nuwakot, Dhading, Rasuwa, Makawanpur, Sindhuli and Okhaldhunga—were affected the most by the quake.

Observation of the quake memorial day aims to make people aware about earthquake safety, it has been said.

Sthapith to stand again for KTM Mayor

 

The CPN (UML) has finalized the candidates for the post of mayor and deputy mayor of various metropolis and sub-metropolis. A meeting of the UML Central Secretariat held at the residence of party Chair KP Sharma Oli in Balkot on Saturday finalized the names of candidates for six metropolitan cities and 11 sub-metropolitan cities, said UML Deputy General Secretary and Chief of Publicity Department Prithvi Subba Gurung.

Accordingly, Keshav Sthapith has been chosen to contest for the post of Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City while Sunita Dangol will be the deputy mayor candidate. Likewise, Harikrishna Byanjankar has been nominated as the UML candidate for the post of Mayor in Lalitpur, Manjali Shakya Bajracharya as the deputy Mayor, Deepak Poudel as the Mayor and Manju Devi Gurung as the deputy mayor of Pokhara, Bijay Subedi as the Mayor of Bharatpur and Bijay Sarawagi as the Mayor in Birgunj. The UML candidates for the sub-metropolitan cities have been decided in other places except Janakpur and Jitpur Simara. Accordingly, Rana Bahadur Chand will stand for the post of Mayor and Chandrakala Rana Tharu for the post of deputy mayor of of Dhangadhi, Pashupati Dayal Mishra as the mayor Shantidevi Dhakal as the deputy mayor of of Nepalgunj, Tikaram Khadka as the mayor and Sani Chaudhary as the deputy mayor of of Tulsipur. Furthermore, Narulal Chaudhary has been nominated to contest for the post of Mayor and Mankumari DC as the deputy mayor of Ghorahi, Chief of the Publicity Department Gurung said that some of the candidates have not been finalized considering the possibility of alliance with other political parties.

Ruling alliance agree on sharing of seats

 

The ruling alliance has decided to divide the post of candidacy for various municipalities in the upcoming May 13 local elections.

According to the agreement six candidates will be from the Nepali Congress, two from the CPN (Maoist Center) and two from the CPN (Unified Socialist). The Congress will field mayoral candidates in Rampur and Tansen municipalities, Nisdi, Mathagadhi, Baganaskali and Rainadevi Chhahra rural municipalities, the UCPN-M in Tinau and Ribdikot municipalities and the Unified Socialists in Purbakhola and Rambha municipalities, according to Congress Palpa District President Himal Dutta Shrestha. Likewise, for the post of deputy Mayor and Vice-chair, the Congress has got Rampur Municipality, Purbakhola, Rambha, Mathagadhi, Tinau and Ribdikot rural municipalities. Furthermore, Nisdi, Rainadevi Chhahra and Tansen municipalities will go to the Maoist center while Baganaskali rural municipality will have a joint candidate representing the three parties from CPN-Unified Socialist for the position of deputy mayor/vice-chair.

Month-long art exhibition to be held

 

The Bikalpa Art Center Lalitpur is going to organize a month-long art exhibition titled 'Revisiting the Roots in a Modern Nuance'.

The art exhibition will be held at four different places in the Kathmandu Valley from April 27 to May 24, said program coordinator Saroj Mahato. The landscape of art developed in Nepal since 1950 and its features using various art mediums will be on display during the exhibition. The exhibition will feature works by 45 artists on contemporary Nepali issues based on history and tradition, western and eastern artistic culture, local and global traditions and modern themes. Discussions, workshops and various presentations on art culture and related topics will also be held during the exhibition.