The Kathmandu Post - 20 Nov, 2024 (2024)

KATHMANDU, NOV 19
Over 150 individuals have applied
to the committee tasked with
nominating office bearers for the two transitional justice commissions as the extended deadline ended on Tuesday afternoon.
As many 156 persons including retired judges, legal experts and rights defenders, as well as the victims ofthe decade-long Maoist insurgency, applied for the positions of chairpersons and members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.
Some former officer bearers of the two commissions, whose tenure were not extended for their failure to discharge the assigned duties, have also applied for reappointment.
The initial application deadline that ended on November 14 was extended by five days, until Sunday, following demands by a group of human rights activists.
“We have received applications from very qualified and competent individuals. They either have applied individually or have been nominated by organisations,” Khamma Khati, spokesperson of the recommendation committee, told the Post. “We will publish the list of applicants on Wednesday.”
The selection committee has set three modalities for application. While individual aspirants can directly apply for any of the positions, different human rights and victims’ organisations can also make nominations at the organisational level.
Such institutions, however, need the consent of the individuals they are nominating.
Khati said they will verify whether applicants meet the criteria and the organisational nominations have the consent of the individuals before publishing the names of the aspirants for the 10 positions.
“We will also collect some names on our own before publishing the short list of office bearers,” said Khati.
The provision of organisational nominations and selection by the committee itself was included as renowned figures might hesitate to apply for positions in the commissions.
As per the record at the selection committee’s secretariat at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, 81 individuals presented physical applications and 20 through emails.
While additional 20 individuals have been nominated by various organisations in consent with the individuals, 27 others have been nominated without their consent. Among them, 31 have applied for the two positions of chairpersons.
Officials at the ministry say two former Supreme Court justices, 14 retired high court judges, former members of the National Human Rights Commissions, professors, former bureaucrats, renowned human rights activists and the conflict victims also have applied either for chairpersons or members or both.
This is the first time those victimised either by the state or by the erstwhile Maoist rebels are contesting to lead the commissions formed to investigate the cases of atrocities from the decade-long insurgency.
As per its working procedure, the committee will collect public feedback, ask candidates to make presentations and carry out other necessary tasks before selecting them for appointment.
The stakeholders, however, claim that presentations and public feedback are insufficient. The victims of the 1996-2006 conflict and human rights activists have demandedmandatory public hearings ofshortlisted candidates before making the nominations.
The two commissions have been defunct since July 2022, when the government extended their terms without retaining their chairmen and members. The government claimed the bill to amend the transitional justice law would be endorsed by October 2022, and the appointments would be made based on the revised Act.
However, the federal parliament took more than two years to endorse the bill. The victims and humanrights defenders are now closely watching who will be appointed to the commissions.
The amended Act sets four-year terms for the two transitional justice commissions to investigate the cases and recommend prosecution and reparation. However, if they fail to accomplish their tasks within the given time, they may be granted a term extension.
The truth commission has received 63,718 complaints, while the commission on disappearances is sitting on around 2,400 cases. As the recent amendment to the Act has included a provision to allocate additional three months to collect the applications, the number will further increase.
The commissions, first formed in 2015, have done little beyond collecting complaints and conducting preliminary investigations on some cases. The to-be-formed commissions will be the third to be constituted in a decade.

KATHMANDU, NOV 19
Candidates for mayor in Kirtipur Municipality, where a by-election
is being held on December 1, have started their election campaign. In
the race are a total of 20 candidates—nine from various political parties and 11 independents.
In the 2022 local elections, independent candidates presented a formidable challenge to political party candidates in various local units. Independent candidates won mayorships in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City and the Dhangadhi Municipality. Will the outcome in Kirtipur be different this time, or will the traditional parties prevail?
The by-election comes after the death of Rajkumar Nakarmi, former Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, who died in July due to kidney failure. He had won on a Nepali Congress ticket.
Major political parties including the Congress, the CPN-UML, and the CPN (Maoist Centre), have fielded their candidates. But the fourth largest party in Parliament, the Rastriya Swatantra Party, did not field anyone reportedly after failing to find a suitable candidate.
The candidates include Krishnaman Dangol from the Congress, Surendra Manandhar from the UML, and Shiva Sharan Maharjan from the Maoist Centre. Besides these, seventeen others, including 11 independents, have filed their nominations.
Candidates from other parties include Dil Kumar Maharjan of the Nepal Samajbawadi Party, Shri Krishna Maharjan of the Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party, Dhurba Maharjan of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Keshav Shrestha of the Janamat Party.
Similarly, independent candidates include Navaraj Kumar Baniya, Rajman Manav, Ram Krishna Maharjan, Mim Maharjan, Prem Bahadur Maharjan, Dinesh Kumar Adhikari, Naresh Shrestha, Dharmaratna Manandhar, Ananda Maharjan, Nareshraj Pande, and Kabir Kumar Maharjan.
In the 2022 local elections, the Congress candidate Nakarmi won the mayorship with 9,043 votes, while his closest competitor, Keshav Ratna Bajracharya of the UML, secured 5,507 votes. The Maoist Centre’s Shiva Saran Maharjan, who is contesting for the position in the by-election, had obtained 4,090 votes then.
Of the total 31,112 registered voters, almost 14,000 live in the core area of Kirtipur, and the remaining 17,000 reside in the peripheral regions.
The core area includes the municipality’s wards 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, including Tyanglaphat, whereas the peripheral areas include wards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The core area is predominantly inhabited by the Newar community, while the
peripheral region is more diverse with migrants in big numbers.
Political leaders and analysts say that the peripheral region will be decisive in the election.
But Congress candidate Krishnaman Dangol disputes this claiming that the concept of peripheral region is a misrepresentation. “The area that some people call ‘peripheral’ is in fact the core of Kirtipur,” Dangol told the Post. “From Nagau, Panga, Bhajungle, to Chobhar all are part of Kirtipur’s core area.”
UML candidate Surendra Manandhar agrees with Dangol and says dividing the local unit along community lines is not a good idea.
Dangol, the Congress candidate, considers UML’s Manandhar his close competitor, but some local residents say the true challenge could come from the Maoist Centre’s Shiva Sharan Maharjan, who had a strong showing in the 2022 local election.
“Majarjan already contested and did well. The UML’s Manandhar is new, therefore we believe there will be a tough competition between the Congress and the Maoist Centre,” said a local resident.
The Maoist Centre has also forged an electoral alliance with the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi-Nepal, led by Upendra Yadav, to strengthen its bid.
“I lost the previous election due to a technical mistake, but this time, we are confident of a win,” the Maoist Centre candidate Maharjan told the Post. He said his chances have improved due to the growing public disenchantment towards the current ruling Congress-UML coalition.
But UML’s Manandhar appears unbothered by the competition. He said he is better prepared than others and is confident of a win.
For the Congress, the contest appears more difficult as former Congress party members are running as independents. Kabir Kumar Maharjan and Dinesh Kumar Adhikari, who were previously with the Congress, are among the independent candidates.
“The situation of Congress is different. For other parties, winning adds a seat, but losing doesn’t make much difference because they hadn’t won this seat in the previous election,” Himal Karki, a local Congress leader, told the Post. “But, for Congress, there’s a pressure to win because this is a seat our party earlier won.”
An overwhelming presence of independent candidates makes the contest more complex for Congress, as local figures who have established their own identity in Kirtipur, such as Rajman Manav, are getting considerable voter attention.
Harka Sampang, the independent mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, has also expressed his support for Manav. Sampang is set to join Manav’s election campaign starting from November 23.
“Harka Sampang will be in Kirtipur for my election campaign,” Manav told the Post.
Congress candidate Dangol, meanwhile, does not consider Manav as a competitor. He claimed that Manav is a former UML cadre and quit the party to focus on social activities, especially sanitation campaigns. “So Manav could draw UML votes, not ours,” Dangol said.
Meanwhile, Suresh Maharjan, a Kirtipur resident who identifies himself as a Maoist Centre sympathiser,
says the votes garnered by independent candidates will determine the election’s outcome.

KYIV, Nov 19
Ukraine fired six American-supplied longer-range missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, Moscow said on Tuesday, in what would be Kyiv’s first use of the weapons inside Russia in 1,000 days of war.
The reported use of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formally lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, opening the door to a potential
nuclear response by Moscow to even
a conventional attack by any nation supported by a nuclear power. That could include Ukrainian attacks backed by the US.
A Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military posted a video on Tuesday that it says shows US-supplied ATACMS missiles being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The Associated Press could not independently verify the date and location the video was filmed.
The developments marked a worrying new escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions. US officials recently expressed dismay at Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to help it fight Ukraine, while Moscow seethed when Washington eased restrictions on the ATACMS in recent days.
The 1,000-day mark has magnified scrutiny of how the war is unfolding and how it might end, amid signs that a turning point may be coming with US President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House in about two months’ time.
Trump has pledged to swiftly end the war and has criticised the amount the US has spent on supporting Ukraine. Neither Russia nor Ukraine can sustain the war for a long time, analysts say, though Russia is able to keep going for longer due to its vaster resources.
Ukraine’s forces are under severe Russian pressure on the battlefield at places on the about 1,000-kilometre front line where its army is stretched thin. Ukrainian civilians, meanwhile, have repeatedly been clobbered by Russian drones and missiles.
On Tuesday, Ukraine claimed it hit a military weapons depot in Russia’s Bryansk region in the middle of the night, though it didn’t specify what weapons it used. The Ukrainian General Staff said that multiple explosions and detonations were heard in the targeted area, around Karachev.
Asked at a news conference if Ukraine had struck the Bryansk region ammunition depot with ATACMS, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined to provide any details. However, he said, “Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced long-range drones… and now we have ATACMS as well”.
In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the Russian Defense Ministry said the military shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged one more. The fragments fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility, the ministry said. The falling debris sparked a fire, but didn’t cause any damage or casualties, it said.
Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.
Karachev is roughly 115 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border. Ukraine in the course of the war has been able to reach much deeper into the vast country—but with drones rather than missiles. For instance, Russian officials have reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is about 500 kilometres from the border and most recently Izhevsk, a city about 1,450 kilometres from the frontier.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials reported a third Russian strike in as many days on a residential area in Ukraine killed at least 12 people, including a child.
The strike by a Shahed drone in the northern Sumy region late Monday hit a dormitory of an educational facility in the town of Hlukhiv and wounded 11 others, including two children, authorities said, adding that more people could be trapped under the rubble.
On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and
wounding 84 others. On Monday, a Russian missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 43.
Zelenskyy said that the series of aerial strikes proved that Putin wasn’t interested in ending the war.
“Each new attack by Russia only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue. Talks about peace are not interesting to him. We must force Russia to a just peace by force,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy told European Union lawmakers in a speech via video link that Russia has deployed about 11,000 North Korean troops along Ukraine’s borders and that the number could swell to 100,000.
He appeared in person at the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented what he called a “resilience plan” to dig in against the relentless Russian onslaught. He said he expects pivotal moments to occur in the war next year.
The plan outlines new approaches to army management, including the creation of a military ombudsman position and a new system of handling military contracts. There are no plans to lower the mobilisation age from the current 25, even though Ukraine is short-handed on the front line, especially in infantry.
Ukraine urgently needs to tackle its manpower difficulties on the front, but it can use the longer-range missiles in the meantime to slow the tempo of Russia’s recent advances, said Jack Watling, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.
“Ukraine’s partners can do little to change the character of the fighting on the line of contact, but by targeting capabilities that are currently giving Russia a battlefield advantage, time can be bought,” Watling wrote Tuesday. Next year, Zelenskyy said, Ukraine plans to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones and aims to manufacture 3,000 long-range missiles, reducing its dependence on Western military support.
A fuller version of the plan will be presented next month, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Western countries are debating further help for Ukraine—“more aid, more money we have to make available to them, particularly now that the North Koreans have come on board,” he said in Brussels.
Meanwhile, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola led a special plenary session on Ukraine marking “one thousand days of terror, suffering and unimaginable loss. One thousand days of courage, resilience and unbreakable spirits.”
“Your people are an inspiration to all who value freedom around the world,” she told Zelenskyy.

ACHHAM, NOV 19
The District Hospital Achham, the largest hospital in the district and built five decades ago, is now in a dilapidated condition. Health services have been severely affected due to old infrastructures of this major hospital in Achham, a hill district of Sudurpaschim Province.
According to Shiva Bogati, chairman of the district hospital management committee, rainwater leaks through the tin room into the operation theatre, emergency unit, and outpatient department (OPD) whenever it rains. “Among the district hospitals in the seven hill districts of Sudurpaschim, only Achham’s hospital lacks proper infrastructure. We have repeatedly urged the government to construct a new building or repair the existing one, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Rainwater leaks into the operation theatre, and doctors lack adequate space to examine patients in the OPD. But our problem has been completely ignored by the authorities,” said Bogati.
Although it was originally a 15-bed hospital, it now operates 35 beds to accommodate the growing
number of patients, despite its poor infrastructure.
“We had no choice but to add more beds to handle the patient flow, even though the facilities are in bad shape,” said Bogati, adding that the extra beds are in a sorry state.
The corrugated zinc sheets on the hospital roof installed several decades ago have not been changed yet. “When it rains, it’s hard to enter the gynecological ward, OPD, or the emergency unit. Even the infant ward is not in a good shape,” said Bogati, admitting that both patients and their attendants have been hugely affected due to the poor infrastrcutre.
The Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, under the Ministry of Urban Development, had decided to invite tenders for constructing a 50-bed hospital building in the fiscal year of 2021-22. But the tender bidding process stalled due to a lack of budget assurance.
“The Project Office of Urban Development and Building Construction in Doti had pledged to allocate Rs490 million budget for the construction of a hospital building. However, they later withheld the funds, citing a lack of budget assurance,” said Bogati. “I have heard that they are now planning to reduce the budget to Rs120 million. For the current fiscal year 2024-25, only Rs20 million has been allocated for the hospital building construction. Given the fund situation, the chances of constructing the hospital building are very slim,” said Bogati.
According to the Project Office of Urban Development and Building Construction in Doti, a project agreement worth Rs450 million was signed last year to construct a new building for the district hospital. But the project was cancelled last month due to the lack of budget assurance. A new project agreement may be initiated if the government approves a multi-year contract for the project,” said Ram Aashish Das, chief at the Project Office of Urban Development and Building Construction in Doti.
People’s representatives have also expressed their dissatisfaction over the government’s neglect of the district hospital.
“The hospital building is old and crumbling. When new and better hospital buildings have been constructed in other districts of the province, Achham has been ignored. I raised this issue time and again in the federal parliament (House of Representatives) but nothing has been done,” Pushpa Bahadur Shah, who was elected to the federal parliament from Achham constituency 2 said.
Local residents complain that the hospital is gradually turning into a referral centre sometimes due to lack of human resources, equipment and sometimes due shortage of medicines.

KATHMANDU: A delegation of 26 officers from ten ministries and departments of the government of Nepal is set to visit India from November 20 to November 30 to attend the first special training for Nepali diplomats and officers. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement on Tuesday that the programme will be held at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service under India’s Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. The training will cover modules on global political and economic issues, trade and connectivity, climate change, development partnerships, and shared culture and heritage. On Tuesday, ahead of their departure, Prasanna Shrivastava, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, interacted with the officers and wished them a
productive and enjoyable
experience. The embassy said the visit underscores the close bilateral ties between Nepal and India and aims to foster deeper institutional collaboration between the two nations.

Kathmandu, Nov 19
The Ministry of Finance, Nepal and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany have signed a grant agreement for the implementation of the Power Distribution Strengthening Programme (PoDiSP) in Nepal.
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to extend 10 million Euros (approximately Rs1.46 billion) as grant assistance to Nepal, the Ministry of Finance said in a press statement on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed and exchanged at the ministry in Kathmandu. German Ambassador Thomas Prinzand Dhani Ram Sharma, joint-secretary, International Economic Coordination Cooperation Division of the ministry, signed and exchanged the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.
The PoDiSP aims to strengthen Nepal’s electricity distribution infrastructure and introduce climate-friendly technologies to ensure a more reliable and efficient power supply. The focus areas for development will be key regions in Nepal, including Bharatpur (Bagmati Province), Butwal Bhairahawa (Lumbini), and Pokhara (Gandaki).
The programme will support the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in preparing a detailed feasibility study and in upgrading the existing power distribution systems with modern, climate smart technologies. The initiative is designed to improve energy efficiency and power reliability, ensuring sustainable access to electricity for the targeted areas.
The project will be implemented as a German Financial Cooperation through KfW, Germany’s development bank, and will be integrated into Nepal’s budgetary system, being reflected in the red book for its official execution. The programme will commence in 2025.
During the signing ceremony,
Joint-secretary Sharma emphasised that the support would greatly enhance the reliability of power supply across the targeted regions. He thanked Germany for its continued commitment to strengthening Nepal’s energy sector.
Ambassador Prinz said the support to enhancing the electricity distribution system would use climate-friendly technologies. The signing was witnessed by senior officials from the ministry, the Nepal Electricity Authority, the German Embassy in Kathmandu and KfW Nepal.

KATHMANDU, NOV 19
The Ministry of Health and Population says it requires an additional Rs400 million to continue the ‘safe motherhood programme’, which is credited with reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the country.
Officials say they plan to arrange Rs200 million through an internal loan within the ministry and ask the Ministry of Finance for anotherRs200 million to continue the
programme.
“Around Rs2.5 billion a year is required to conduct the safe motherhood programme throughout the country,” said Nisha Joshi, a public health official at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. “We have informed the health ministry about thebudget crunch.”
The government’s Safe Motherhood programme is credited with saving hundreds of maternal and neonatal lives every year. In addition to free delivery services, the programme provides mothers and babies with free medical treatment, a transportation allowance, and cash incentives for antenatal checkups.
Women in the mountainous, hilly and Tarai districts receive Rs3,000, Rs2,000 and Rs1,000, respectively. Additionally, a cash bonus of Rs800 is provided to mothers who complete all eight antenatal checkups.
The institutional delivery rate, which was around 18 percent before 2009, when the government declared free institutional delivery services, has increased to 80 percent.
“We have been collecting bills from hospitals providing safe motherhood services,” said Joshi. “As it is a national priority programme, we cannot discontinue the services. We will send invoices to the Health Ministry for reimbursement.”
Nepal reduced the maternal mortality rate from 239 per 100,000 births in 2016 to 151 per 100,000 in 2021, according to the national census carried out by the National Statistics Office.
Earlier, the country had cut the maternal mortality rate from 539 per 100,000 births in 1996 to 239 per 100,000 births in 2016—for which the country even received a Millennium Development Goals award.
The health target under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce the maternal mortality rate to 75 per 100,000 births by 2030.
Fatality due to poor access to medical services during childbirth remains a leading cause of women’s death in Nepal.
Data provided by the division show that at least 50 women from 51 districts succumbed due to complications during childbirth since the start of the current fiscal year.
Division’s data show that at least 190 women from 51 districts died from complications during childbirth in the fiscal year 2023-024. In the fiscal year 2022-023, 191 maternal deaths were recorded across 49 districts.
Health officials concede that the actual number of maternal deaths due to birth-related complications could be much higher, as maternal and perinatal death surveillance is being
carried out in only 51 districts of 77 districts.
According to the latest census report, 622 maternal deaths were recorded in a year. Officials at the health ministry concede that the deaths reported from 51 districts
represent only around 30 percent of the total maternal deaths across
the country.
Lack of maternal and perinatal death surveillance programmes in all districts is the main reason for the underreporting of maternal deaths, and the budget shortfall is to blame for the inability to carry out maternal and perinatal death surveillance,
officials say.
Maternal and perinatal death surveillance is a key intervention to improve maternal, perinatal, and neonatal survival rates. Experts say such surveillance provides an understanding of the number and causes of deaths, enabling more targeted and effective interventions.
The World Health Organisationsaid maternal and perinatal deathsurveillance and response (MPDSR) is an essential quality improvement intervention, which permits the identification, notification, quantification and determination of causes and avoidability of maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirth to orient the measures necessary for theirprevention.
According to the UN health body, systematic analyses of overallmortality trends and events andcontributing factors leading to individual deaths can identify barriers in health systems and inspire local solutions to prevent such deaths in the future.
Every year, over 600,000 women deliver babies in Nepal.

KATHMANDU, NOV 19
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested controversial medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai from his residence in Bhaktapur on Tuesday. Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati, spokesperson for CIB confirmed Prasai’s arrest on cybercrime charges. He is accused of spreading rumours on social media involving Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Additional Inspector General of Police Deepak Thapa, CIB chief, said, “The investigation into cybercrime against Prasai is underway. Further charges of forgery and organised crime could also bepursued.”
On September 18, the Kathmandu District Court allowed police to arrest Prasai, Jeevan Pandey, and Prakash Chandra Dahal for alleged violations of the Electronic Transactions Act.

A drop in temperature has brought with it a sharp decline in air quality. Smog shrouds the skies, obscuring the hills and mountains surrounding Kathmandu Valley. While this is concerning, visuals of air pollution in the neighbouring countries have alarmed the world. Last week, images of the nearly invisible Taj Mahal and India Gate went viral. Further, the smog in parts of Pakistan and northern India was so dense that it was visible from space. According to the WHO, air with AQI values above 300 is labelled hazardous. It is only a matter of time before Kathmandu Valley and other parts of Nepal face a fate similar to India’s New Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore, where AQI values have surpassed 1,000.
Nepal is the third most polluted country in the world, according to a 2024 report by Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). Particulate pollution is the leading threat to human health in Nepal measured in life expectancy, reducing it by 3.4 years. By comparison, tobacco use cuts life expectancy by 1.9 years, while dietary risks and high blood pressure reduce it by 1.5 years each. What’s more, Nepal’s 30.7 million people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the WHO guideline. Pretty much the same story repeats every year.
On Thursday, Lalitpur’s air quality index reached 238 at 12:45 pm, getting closer to hazardous levels. Experts warned that air quality would go downhill in the coming days as farmers both in India and Pakistan clear fields after the autumn harvest. According to a recent report by Reuters, the burning of stubble left after harvesting rice has contributed to 40 percent of the pollution in Delhi. Such a dangerous practice in the Indo-Gangetic plains is bound to affect Nepal.
We cannot solely blame our neighbours when we also indulge in harmful practices. A previous study shows that around three million tonnes of agricultural residue are burnt in the Tarai region. Besides these, emissions from vehicles, brick kilns, and open burning are among the country’s significant sources of pollution. If consumed for long, these pollutants are detrimental to our health. According to a 2024 report by the State of Global Air (SOGA), 75 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 39 percent of lung cancer deaths were attributed to air pollution.
Even as our leaders inhale the same toxic air, their response to tackling air pollution has been woefully inadequate. While actions like banning open burning and monitoring brick kiln emissions have been introduced, they are limited to some local units. Even if vehicles pass emission testing from the Department of Transport Management and get green stickers, they still emit black smoke, as many only service them before the annual pollution tests. In response, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has purchased a smoke metre to test emissions from such automobiles.
Although these actions are commendable, the federal government must do more. Exhaust from public vehicles is a major problem. Even as nearly 12,000 battery-powered vehicles were imported last year, these were primarily private ones. The government should open avenues for people to switch to eco-friendly ways of cooking and travelling. If we act seriously to reduce particulate pollution to WHO guidelines, countless lives could be saved. Additionally, residents of Tarai and Kathmandu could gain 4.8 and 2.6 years of life expectancy, respectively. While tackling domestic sources of air pollution is essential, it is as important to acknowledge its transboundary nature. Only a coordinated, collective, multinational effort can help clean up the air we breathe.

WHO would have thought that the medicine that was developed to cure disease would one day be overpowered by the very microorganisms it was supposed to target? Medical science may have progressed with lightning speed over the decades, but has now hit a significant roadblock in the form of antimicrobial resistance. From November 18 to November 24—World Antimicrobial Awareness Week—countries will be reminded of this grim reality, as thousands of people worldwide continue to die because their sickness is not responding to antibiotic treatment.
This should be especially alarming for a country like Pakistan, where the consumption of antibiotics is the third highest in the world. There are no checks on the intake of these drugs, thanks to a general lack of awareness and a lax attitude on the part of doctors, pharmacies and patients. Doctors often recommend antibiotics to patients without even diagnosing their illness; pharmacies readily sell them over the counter, and those consuming them resort to their improper use. Under these and other circumstances, pathogens develop resistance. Indeed, when in a country like the US, with its high-quality healthcare, almost one-third of antibiotic prescriptions are not needed, one can expect worse in Pakistan, where regulations and international best practices are routinely overlooked.
The situation is nothing less than a medical emergency: between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40 million people worldwide. A disproportionate number is likely to be from the developing countries where healthcare is poor and disease-rife—a situation that is compounded by high levels of illiteracy and lack of education. Against this backdrop, it would indeed be a miracle if this year’s theme for WAAW—‘Educate. Advocate. Act now’ is taken seriously by our authorities—not simply for health reasons but also to reduce the huge economic burden caused by longer hospital stays, more expensive, often inaccessible, therapy, and loss of work hours.
A coordinated strategy is needed at a national scale to reduce the microbial danger. But, in the meantime, health authorities can step up disease-reducing measures such as carrying out frequent vaccination campaigns, ensuring cleanliness in neighbourhoods and public places, and keeping a vigilant eye on hospitals—the hotbeds of infection.
As recommended by the WHO, they would do well to promote antimicrobial stewardship to train doctors in judiciously prescribing and administering antibiotics. Besides, affordable lab tests can lead to more accurate diagnoses for patients who are otherwise deterred by high costs. Nothing, of course, can take the place of greater awareness among the public itself. But the state has to lead the way by recognising the health challenge and taking steps where it can.
— Dawn (Pakistan)/ANN

KATHMANDU, NOV 19
The state-owned Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) and private dairies have been able to settle only half of the dues in the past one year as dairy demand remained subdued even during the festival season.
Both private and state-run dairies were optimistic that the festivals in October and November would push up sales.
Surya Prasad Paudel, general manager of the DDC, said there has been no improvement in sales even during festivals, which ended recently. “We gave festive sales targets to super markets like Bhatbhateni and Big Mart but those targets were not met.”
Dairy farmers say out of anestimated Rs6 billion due to bepaid by dairies, they are yet to receive Rs3 billion.
“We had Rs1.58 billions in arrears to be paid to dairy farmers as of July. In the past four months, we cleared Rs1 billion in dues,” said Paudel. “We will gradually settle the remaining dues.”
“We are focusing on product marketisation so that we can clear the remaining dues,” he said, adding that the DDC is planning to outsource private company to market and sell the stocks piling up.
As sales did not improve, on September 27, the Public Debt Management Office loaned Rs600 million to the DDC.
DDC exported 1,000 kilos of ghee to Japan last month.
“We are expecting a monthly export of 5,000 kilos of ghee to Japan and making necessary preparations for that,” said Paudel.
“A company has approached us to buy dairy products made from 10,000 litres of milk. We are in the agreement phase and discussing specifically on pricing.”
Paudel did not reveal more but said the company exports goods to the US and other markets.
DDC is planning to reduce theprice of ghee targeting the consumer segment.
“The decision on reviewing the price on ghee will be taken on Tuesday or Wednesday,” said Paudel.
DDC buys milk worth around Rs200 million from farmers monthly.
According to the corporation, it has 400 tonnes of skimmed powder milk and 400 tonnes of butter in stock.
Since the corporation has to pay back the loan and clear the dues to dairy farmers and different parties, Paudel said it will take some measures to cut unnecessary expenditures.
A committee was formed to
recommend reforms and cost-cutting measures. “We have received the report and we are planning to
implement it.”
Private dairies claim to have settled all outstanding dues of the farmers.
“We have cleared all the dues of farmers by taking loans from the bank. The festive demand increased the consumption of dairy products which also helped in clearing arrears of farmers,” said Prahlad Dahal, president of the Nepal Dairy Association.
Earlier, the private dairies asked the government for loans by putting butter and powder milk stocks as collateral, but the government did not respond.
The association had said that the private dairies had around Rs2 billion dues to be paid to the farmers a month and a half ago.
According to the association, the private sector has 2,000 tonnes of unsold butter in stock.
The sale of dairy products improved in the festive season sales but the off-season of dairy products has
started, the private dairy
entrepreneurs said.
“We normally convert liquid milk into powder milk during March-April when the sales decline,” said Dahal.
The association said that 3.2 million litres of milk arrives in the market daily, of which around 25 percent is held by the DDC and the remaining is purchased by private dairies.
The daily milk purchases of the private dairies amount to around Rs100 million.
“Out of the around Rs6 billion in arrears, both the government-owned DDC and private dairies have cleared around Rs3 billion till now,” said Amar Bahadur Kunwar, president of the Central Dairy Cooperative Association. The DDC has sent the dues amount to dairy farmers’ accounts.
As the sales will decline from December to February, dairy farmers might not get their payment on time again.
The output of dairy products like curd and ice cream declines in winter, increasing the stock of milk, which adds to the arrears, said Kunwar.
The total arrears, including the old, may reach Rs5 billion in these three months, said Kunwar.
Both state-owned and private
dairies say that the ongoing economic slowdown has dampened the dairy demand, resulting in stopped cash flow and rising liabilities to farmers as products remained unsold for
nearly a year.
Most of the farmers in eastern Tarai faced even more hardships as it has been nearly a year since they received any payments.

LONDON, Nov 19
European stock markets slid Tuesday on fears of escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war after President Vladimir Putin broadened rules on his country’s use of nuclear arms, analysts said.
On the 1,000th day of Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, Moscow said it will consider using the weapons against a non-nuclear state if they are supported by nuclear powers.
Russia vowed also to defeat its neighbour.
“Investors are once again turning cautious on fears of further escalation,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG.
The Paris and Frankfurt stock markets were down nearly 1.5 percent in midday deals. London fared better, with a drop of 0.4 percent.
The dollar was mixed against main rivals, while there were gains for other investments seen as havens, notably gold and the yen.
Russia’s move comes days after the United States granted permission for Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American-supplied long-range missiles.
In Asia on Tuesday, Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets closed higher on hopes China will unveil more stimulus aimed at kickstarting its economy and property sector in particular.
On the corporate front, shares in German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp rose about six percent after the group said it expected a return to profit in its next fiscal year.
It comes after the group reported a massive annual loss for 2023-2024.

MOSCOW, Nov 19
Moscow is battling to avoid the “disease” of “chronic” inflation throughout the Russian economy, the head of the central bank said Tuesday in a stark warning over the dangers of rising prices.
Prices have accelerated rapidly since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine—a negative spillover into the domestic economy of the huge sums Moscow is spending on the campaign.
Inflation was running at 8.5 percent on an annual basis in October, more
than double the state’s official
4.0 percent target.
Central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina told lawmakers that high price rises were “forcing us to act
decisively, so the disease does not become chronic”.
The bank has raised interest rates to 21 percent, their highest in more than two decades, in a bid to bring down the pace of price increases.
Nabiullina rejected calls from lawmakers to take a softer approach, saying that this would backfire and that a “timely monetary policy” was needed to remove the risks of stagflation—a scenario where there is little growth but fast inflation.
She said if there were no further shocks to the economy, rates could start to come down some time next year.
The rate rises have caused concerns over the damage they could do to private businesses and consumers, particularly given increased volumes of short-term loans and credit card debt that have been taken out in recent years.
Nabiullina has previously acknowledged that her options to bring down inflation are limited in the face of heavy government spending on the Ukraine offensive.
The Kremlin’s outlays on the military are not swayed by higher borrowing costs and the country faces widespread labour shortages across civilian parts of the economy.
Nabiullina said central bank surveys showed that three-quarters of businesses were having trouble finding enough workers.
Hundreds of thousands of young men have been called up to fight in Ukraine, fled into exile or been recruited by the country’s booming weapons industry.

HENNIKER, NH, NOV 19
When Hector Xu was learning to fly a helicopter in college, he recalled having a few “nasty experiences” while trying to navigate at night.
The heart-stopping flights led to his research of unmanned aircraft systems while getting his doctorate degree in aerospace engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Then, he formed Rotor Technologies in 2021 to develop unmanned helicopters.
Rotor has built two autonomous Sprayhawks and aims to have as many as 20 ready for market next year. The company also is developing helicopters that would carry cargo in disaster zones and to offshore oil rigs. The helicopter could also be used to fight wildfires.
For now, Rotor is focused on the agriculture sector, which has embraced automation with drones but sees unmanned helicopters as a better way to spray larger areas with pesticides and fertilizers.
On Wednesday, Rotor plans to conduct a public flight test with its Sprayhawk at an agriculture aviation trade show in Texas.
“People would call us up and say, ‘hey, I want to use this for crop dusting, can I?’ We’d say, OK maybe,” Xu said, adding that they got enough calls to realize it was a huge untapped market. The Associated Press reporters were the first people outside the company to witness a test flight of the Sprayhawk. It hovered, flew
forward and sprayed the tarmac before landing.
Rotor’s nearly $1 million Sprayhawk helicopter is a Robinson R44, but the four seats have been replaced with flight computers and communications systems allowing it be operated remotely. It has five cameras as well as laser-sensing technology and a radar altimeter that make terrain reading more accurate along with GPS and motion sensors.
At the company’s hangar in Nashua, New Hampshire, Xu said this technology means there is better visibility of terrain at night.
One of the big draws of automation in agriculture aviation is safety.
Because crop dusters fly at around 150 mph (240 kph) and only about 10 feet (3 meters) off the ground, there are dozens of accidents each year when planes collide with power lines, cell towers and other planes. Older, poorly maintained planes and pilot fatigue contribute to accidents.
A 2014 report from the National Transportation Safety Board found there were more than 800 agriculture operation accidents between 2001 and 2010 including 81 that were fatal. A separate report from the National Agriculture Aviation Association found nearly 640 accidents from 2014 until this month with 109 fatalities.
“It is a very, very dangerous, profession and there are multiple fatalities every year,” said Dan Martin, a research engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service. “They make all their money in those short few months so sometimes it may mean that they fly 10 to 12 hours a day or more.” Job hazards also include exposure to chemicals.
In recent years, safety concerns and the cheaper cost has led to a proliferation of drones flying above farmers’ fields, Martin said, adding that
some 10,000 will likely be sold this year alone.
“It’s growing exponentially as a market, super fast,” Martin said.
But the size of the drones and their limited battery power means they only can cover a fraction of the area of a plane and helicopters. That is providing an opening for companies building bigger unmanned aircraft like Rotor and another company Pyka.
California-based Pyka announced in August that it had sold its first autonomous electric aircraft for crop protection to a customer in the United States. Pyka’s Pelican Spray, a fixed-wing aircraft, received FAA approval last year to fly commercially for crop protection. The company also sold its Pelican Spray to Dole for use in Honduras and to the Brazilian
company, SLC Agrícola.
Lukas Koch, chief technology officer at Heinen Brothers Agra Services, the company which bought the Pelican Spray in August, has called unmanned aircraft part of a coming “revolution,” that will save farmers money and improve safety.
The Kansas-based company operates out of airports from Texas to Illinois. Koch doesn’t envision the unmanned aircraft replacing all the the company’s dozens of pilots but rather taking over the riskiest jobs.
“The biggest draw is taking the pilot out of the aircraft inside of those most dangerous situations,” Koch said. “There’s still fields that are surrounded by trees on all borders, or you’ve got big, large power lines or other just dangers, wind turbines, things like that. It can be tough to fly around.”
But Koch acknowledges autonomous aviation systems could introduce new dangers to an already chaotic airspace—though that is less of a concern in rural areas with plenty of open space and fewer people.
“Putting more systems into the air that don’t have a pilot inside could introduce new dangers to our current existing pilots and make their life even more dangerous,” he said. “If you’ve got this full size helicopter flying beyond the line of sight, how is it going to react when it sees you? What is it going to do? ... That’s a giant
question mark, one that we take very seriously.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 19
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for Beijing and Berlin to develop ties with a “strategic” and “long-term” perspective Tuesday as he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Rio de Janeiro, state media said.
“China and Germany are both major countries with significant influence,” Xi told Scholz on the sidelines of the G20 summit, according to Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua.
“The two countries need to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective,” Xi said.
Scholz last met Xi in April in Beijing, where he pressed China’s president to use his influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
A German government source in Berlin last week told AFP the two leaders would discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, China-Germany relations and conditions for global fair trade.
Chinese state media said Xi had expressed a desire to
“consolidate the China-Germany comprehensive strategic partnership.”
And he said Beijing was “willing to continue writing the story of mutual cooperation, and make our world a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous family,” Xinhua reported.
China was the largest trading partner last year for Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, which is expected to shrink for a second year in a row.
German industry has been hit by elevated energy prices in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and by rising competition from Chinese manufacturers.
The challenges have been particularly acute for Germany’s car manufacturers, who have made huge profits in China but now face local competition, particularly in the growing market for electric vehicles.
On Tuesday, Xi told Scholz that China would “continue to provide broad market opportunities for German companies,” state media said.
“China regards Germany as an important partner in
advancing Chinese modernization,” he said.
The importance of China for the German economy has led Scholz to try and chart a middle course during his time in office.
The German leader has not matched the harsh trade
rhetoric coming out of Washington and some European capitals, instead seeking to be a critical partner to Beijing.
The meeting could be Scholz’s last with Xi, as Germany heads towards new elections in February.
Scholz’s Social Democrats currently trail in the polls, well behind the conservative CDU-CSU bloc. If confirmed on
election day, such a result would likely see Scholz depart aschancellor.

GENEVA, Nov 19
The UN said on Tuesday that over 200 children have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated attacks targeting Hezbollah in September.
“Despite more than 200 children killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a disconcerting pattern has emerged: their deaths are met with inertia from those able to stop this violence,” James Elder, spokesman for the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, told reporters.
“Over the last two months in Lebanon, an average of three children have been killed every single day,” he said.
“Many, many more have been injured and traumatised,” he added, highlighting that in the past two months, more than 1,100 children had been hurt.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in October last year in support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Since September, Israel has conducted bombing campaigns in Lebanon primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds, though some strikes have hit areas outside the Iran-backed group’s control.
Since the clashes began with Hezbollah attacks on Israel, more than 3,510 people in Lebanon have been killed, according to authorities in the country, with most fatalities recorded since late September.
Elder said that since the Gaza war erupted after the Hamas attacks of October 7 last year, at least 231 children had been killed in Lebanon.
“We must hope humanity never again witnesses the ongoing level of carnage of children in Gaza, though there are chilling similarities for
children in Lebanon,” he said.
He pointed to the hundreds of thousands of children made homeless in Lebanon, and “disproportionate attacks, of which many frequently hit infrastructure children rely on”.
“Medical facilities are being attacked and health workers are being killed at an increasing speed,” he said.

KATHMANDU, Nov 19
Kathmandu Gurkhas, a leading franchise of Kathmandu Sports Development Ventures, on Tuesday signed English leg-spinner Nathan Sowter for the upcoming Nepal Premier League (NPL) T20 cricket tournament.
The 32-year-old Sowter is the Gurkhas’ fifth international recruitment. The dynamic white-ball specialist will join his compatriots Dan Douthwaite and Stevie Sean Eskinazi, the Netherlands opener Michael Levitt and Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus as other international players in the team.
National men’s cricket team regular Karan KC is the marquee player of the Gurkhas.
The Gurkhas have also secured the services of Shahab Alam, Bhim Sarki, Rashid Khan, Shankar Rana, Krishna Karki, Dipesh Kadel, Sumit Maharjan, Raju Rizal, Vivek KC and Pratik Shrestha through the auction.
On Saturday, the Gurkhas selected Krish Karki as their local iconic player through talent hunt.
Sowter, known for his precision and ability to turn games with his crafty bowling, is set to add strength to the Gurkhas’ bowling arsenal.
Sowter has been a standout performer in English domestic cricket, playing a pivotal role in T20 tournaments, including the T20 Blast. His skill set and match-winning abilities make him a crucial addition to the Gurkhas squad.
“Nathan Sowter brings a wealth of experience and tactical brilliance to our team. His ability to deliver under pressure will be vital to our campaign. We are thrilled to have him as part of the Gurkhas family and are confident he will make a significant impact in NPL 2024,” Sandesh Katwal, chief executive officer of Kathmandu Gurkhas, said while announcing the signing of Sowter.
The Australia-born English cricketer has showcased his skills in The Hundreds, Vitality Blast (T20 Blast), Caribbean Premier League and International League T20, taking 154 wickets in 143 T20 games. He has also scored 245 runs.
“It’s an honour to join Kathmandu Gurkhas for the Nepal Premier League,” Sowter said. “I’m excited to play in front of passionate cricket fans in Nepal and contribute to the team’s success. Let’s make this season memorable!”
The inaugural edition of the NPL is set to take place from November 30 to December 21 at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.
The Gurkhas will open their NPL campaign with a match against Chitwan Rhinos on December 2.

ALAGA, Spain, Nov 19
Rafael Nadal was the “King of Clay” who also reigned on every other
surface as he accumulated 22 Grand Slam titles while his even-keeled and humble demeanour, on and off the court, endeared him to rivals and legions of fans.
One of his defining qualities was the astonishing ability to tough out marathon wins, but he clearly enjoyed playing and competing and showed humility in victory and poise in defeat.
“The important legacy is that all the people I have met during these 20 years have a good human memory of me,” said the 38-year-old Spanish superstar who will retire from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga this week.
“At the end of the day, the personal issue, education, respect and the affection you can treat people with comes before the professional issue, because that is what remains.”
Nadal was born on the island of Mallorca in June 1986. His father Sebastian was a businessman, his mother Ana gave up working to raise her children.
One of his uncles, Miguel Angel Nadal, played professional football for Barcelona, although Rafa grew up to be a Real Madrid fan.
As a child, Nadal played football in the streets of his hometown of Manacor, before focusing on tennis under the coaching of another uncle, Toni Nadal, who guided his career from 2005 to 2017.
Nadal’s ferocious left-hand top-spin forehand was to become his
trademark shot while his uncle’s
focus on attitude shaped the player and the man.
“When I was young my uncle said to me, if you throw your racquet I will stop coaching you,” Nadal said. “If I make a bad shot, it is my fault—not the racquet’s.
Nadal turned professional at
14 and made his Wimbledon debut in 2003 at 17.
At 18, he was part of the Spanish team that won the Davis Cup,
playing, and winning, one singles match in the final.
Nadal won his first major
title in 2005 at his maiden French Open, two days after turning 19. He won his last, a 14th Roland Garros, 17 years later.
Nadal amassed 92 titles and was a two-time Olympic gold medallist despite playing in an era which also boasted Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the two other members of tennis’s dominant “Big Three” for more than a decade.
Federer faced Nadal in 14
Grand Slam finals winning only four, the Swiss player ending his career with 20 majors, two fewer than the Spaniard.
Nadal’s physical playing style took a toll—injury sidelined him from at least 11 Grand Slam events.
But he kept fighting back. After the second half of his 2021 season had been wiped out, he returned to
break Federer’s record at the 2022 Australian Open and added a 22nd major at the French Open just after his 36th birthday.
After that victory, he insisted he was not concerned if Djokovic broke the record.
“It’s something that does not bother me if Novak wins 23 and I stay at 22. I think my happiness will not change at all, not even one percent.”
Djokovic won three titles the following year to take his total to 24.
Nadal faced Djokovic 60 times, the last of which was at the Paris Olympics in July in a clash which proved to be Nadal’s final competitive singles match before he announced his intention to retire.
The pair fought out the longest Grand Slam final of all time—five hours and 53 minutes at the 2012 Australian Open in which the Serb triumphed.

Whenever life felt dull, I’d watch Brahmanandam’s funny South Indian movies to relax. So, as a fan, I couldn’t miss his role in the new Nepali movie ‘Hrashwo Deergha’.
With a substantial ensemble of talented Indian actors, lavish set designs, stunning lighting, and elegant costumes, the movie, directed by Chandra Pant, has become the talk of the town. Falling under the action-comedy-romance genre, the romantic storyline overshadows the other two aspects. While Brahmanandam’s presence adds charm to the movie, his limited screen time underwhelms the comedic element.
In its exposition, the movie attempts to illustrate the two distinct worlds of the lead characters: Narayani (Neeta Dhungana) and Hari (Harihar Adhikari).
Narayani is portrayed as the daughter of renowned Indian actor Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat, who plays the role of Mahamant. She resides in Devadham, which is depicted as a hub of religious and spiritual significance. Growing up in such an environment, Narayani embodies a conformist nature. Her life revolves around discipline, deeply rooted in
traditions, values, and ideals.
In contrast, Hari is the son of the mayor of Bharatpur, played by Bipana Thapa. His upbringing, shaped by the privileges of his position, leads to a more materialistic outlook on life, starkly different from Narayani’s.
The film’s title metaphorically represents their opposite cultural and familial backgrounds and personalities.
The main plot revolves almost entirely around the blossoming romance between Narayani and Hari, and it kicks off in a somewhat serendipitous way. Their first encounter occurs during a ritual at Devadham, where a twist of fate brings them together. A man selling Fevicol accidentally drops his box, sending the glue bottles rolling toward Narayani. Just as one bottle is about to hit her, Hari rushes forward to protect her. In a surprising turn of events, their hands stuck together, glued by the spilt adhesive.
This unexpected mishap forces them into an awkward yet intimate situation—they cannot separate their hands, no matter how hard they try. While Narayani is initially flustered, Hari secretly delights in the situation. He is clearly on cloud nine as he spends time with his crush.
Since it would be inappropriate to be seen together in such a state at Devadham, they leave the temple premises and find refuge in a nearby hotel. However, as they walk, Hari’s eyes remain fixed on Narayani, and he can not stop grinning. I know he is trying his best to woo her. Yet, this unblinking gaze feels unsettling
rather than romantic.
It might be intended to express infatuation, but it borders on making Hari seem more like a creepy stalker than a sincere admirer. This raises the question: is the film intentionally portraying Hari as a
bit of a creep, or does this indicate a missed opportunity for a more profound character development?
From a viewer’s perspective, if a man were genuinely interested in me, I would prefer he court me subtly, considerately, taking the time to understand who and how I am. However, the protagonist in this film seems blindly consumed by his infatuation, declaring a lifelong commitment without understanding her. This one-dimensional portrayal of love feels forced and artificial to me. I feel like filmmakers not being meticulous in these small things make it hard for the audience to connect with the character or believe in the rapid progression of events.
After reaching the hotel, Hari and Narayani began searching for something. Eventually, unable to find it, they are lost in the middle of a jungle in Chitwan at night. While there, they start sharing about their personal lives. It’s not even been twenty-four hours since they met, and they started oversharing! So, again, this felt unnatural to me.
Furthermore, the film’s second half was packed with rapid twists and turns, coming one after another until it became overwhelming. The filmmakers seemed intent on amplifying the drama at every opportunity, which unfortunately led to a sense of exaggeration and felt quite
unnatural.
Another element that contributed to the film’s artificial feel was the excessive use of VFX. Typically, VFX creates scenes or elements that are difficult, costly, or impossible to capture. However, filming river scenes in Nepal, a country with many rivers and stunning landscapes
isn’t particularly challenging. So, every time I saw these river scenes filled with VFX, I couldn’t help but wonder why it was used so excessively.
Let me be upfront: their love story does not survive the light of the day. Both
protagonists tragically drown in water bodies, marking the film’s most emotional moment. But instead of feeling heartbroken, I found myself laughing—and so did the audience sitting by my side. Why? Because the water they drowned in was such an unnaturally bright blue that it looked more like a swimming pool than a natural river. It was hard to take the scene seriously, and what should have been a tear-jerking moment was unintentionally comical to me.
The acting was good, apart from Harihar Adhikari’s. Anmol KC could have done better if he had been cast instead of Adhikari. The grandeur of actors from South India might have overshadowed Adhikari’s performance, making his performance bland. Adarsha Mishra’s entry in the movie was well-received by the audience, whereas Adhikari’s was not.
The film featured characters speaking both Nepali and Hindi. For example, Brahmanandam’s character fully understood Nepali but responded exclusively in Hindi, which felt somewhat jarring. While the film briefly mentions his recent return from India, this explanation seems inadequate. Providing a more detailed backstory—exploring his time in India and the reasons for his stay in Nepal—could have added depth, making his consistent use of Hindi feel more natural and cohesive within the narrative.
Overall, viewers who enjoy Nepali films may find this movie appealing. However, for audiences who are familiar with South Indian cinema and have a more diverse taste in films, this movie might not meet expectations.

Dr Namrata Basnet and Dr Arnija Rana, dermatologists of ElaraClinic, explain the benefits of skin microbiomes and ways to balance them forbetter and healthier skin. DrBasnet is a dermatologist with an MD from Hubei University of Medicine in China. Dr Rana hasan MBBS degree from Manipal Pokhara College of MedicalSciences and an MD in Dermatol-ogy from Nepal Medical College under KU.
What is the skin microbiome?
The skin microbiome is a mix of tiny, invisible organisms like bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live on our skin. They’re mostly found on the skin’s outer layer and in hair follicles, sweat glands, and oil glands. These little organisms naturally live all over your skin and help keep it healthy.
What are its uses and importance for skin health?
The skin microbiome acts like a natural shield, protecting against harmful germs and helping the skin stay balanced. It helps keep the skin hydrated, reduces redness and irritation, and even protects against breakouts and other skin issues. Essentially, it keeps your skin firm and healthy.
How does the microbiome keep your skin healthy?
The skin’s microbiome is crucial for maintaining health and balance. It blocks harmful germs by supporting beneficial microbes, calms inflammation by aiding the immune system, and maintains a slightly acidic pH to protect against external threats. Some microbes also help retain moisture, keeping the skin soft and hydrated ensuring overall health and resilience.
What happens when the microbiome is disrupted?
When the microbiome gets out of balance, called “dysbiosis,” it can cause several issues. Sensitive skin can become red, itchy, or easily irritated, and acne and pimples may become more frequent. Moreover, the skin may lose moisture and become rough, resulting in dry or flaky skin. Additionally, skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis can flare up when the microbiome is off-balance.
How can you support a healthy skin microbiome?
To support your skin’s microbiome, use gentle cleansers that don’t sting and avoid harsh soaps or products with excessive alcohol or fragrance, as they can disrupt the balance. Keeping the skin hydrated is essential, as it locks in moisture and fosters a healthy environment for beneficial microbes.
Ingredients like prebiotics (inulin, FOS) nourish good bacteria, while probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifida ferment) restore balance and reduce irritation. Postbiotics, such as lactic acid, repair and hydrate the skin while calming inflammation. Niacinamide strengthens the skin barrier, glycerin provides hydration, and ceramides prevent moisture loss while protecting against harmful microbes. Squalane balances oil production, and plant-based ferments like rice water and green tea enhance microbial diversity. Antioxidants like Vitamin C and resveratrol protect against oxidative stress, while beta-glucans soothe and promote balance, ensuring a healthy, resilient skin barrier.
What lifestyle factors affect your skin microbiome?
A diet rich in whole foods and fermented products supports a thriving microbiome, while processed foods and excess sugar can disrupt it. Gentle hygiene practices with microbiome-friendly products help maintain balance, as over-cleansing or using harsh products can strip away beneficial bacteria. Chronic stress increases inflammation and disrupts microbial harmony, highlighting the importance of stress management. Environmental factors, such as pollution and climate changes, reduce microbial diversity, while poor sleep disrupts skin repair and microbial balance.
Regular exercise improves circulation and microbial diversity, though excessive sweating without proper cleansing may cause bacterial overgrowth. Medications like antibiotics and steroids can disturb the microbiome by eliminating beneficial bacteria.
How can you maintain or restore a healthy skin microbiome?
To keep your microbiome balanced, use a gentle skincare routine, use mild cleansers, and avoid harsh products. Keep your skin hydrated, which helps to keep the skin’s
natural barrier strong, and use products with prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Moreover, avoid overusing exfoliants and acids, as they can strip the skin of good bacteria. Thus, a simple skincare routine often benefits the microbiome.
What are the benefits and risks of microbiome-focused skincare?
Microbiome-focused skincare offers many benefits, such as strengthening the skin barrier, enhancing moisture retention, and protecting against environmental damage. These products help reduce inflammation, making them ideal for sensitive or inflamed skin and conditions like eczema and acne. By supporting the skin’s moisture retention, they improve hydration and help maintain microbial balance, protecting against harmful bacteria and infections. Additionally, they can support anti-ageing efforts by reducing oxidative stress and improving skin elasticity.
However, there are risks. Misuse or overuse can disrupt the microbiome, leading to imbalances. Some ingredients may cause allergic reactions, irritation, or breakouts in specific individuals. Not all products are scientifically validated, and some probiotic-based products may have a short shelf life due to the degradation of live bacteria. Despite these challenges, microbiome-focused skincare can be effective when used carefully and with proper research.