The Kathmandu Post - 05 Jun, 2024 (2024)

Kathmandu,
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is gearing up for a Cabinet reshuffle, but the big question is whether he will replace the entire set of ministers from each coalition partner or just add a few new faces.
To reorganise his Cabinet, the prime minister has already started consulting his alliance partners, specifically the CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli, the CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, and others.
According to Maoist Centre leaders, as soon as the process of forming a new government in Madhesh province concludes, the prime minister will start the process of Cabinet reshuffle.
Over the last couple of days, Dahal, Oli and Nepal have held several rounds of talks in order to give full shape to the provincial government in Sudurpaschim, to form a new government in Madhesh, and bring new parties like the Nagarik Unmukti and Janamat Party into the federal government.
Once a new government is formed in Madhesh, the prime minister is likely to add some ministers from the Nagarik Unmukti Party and Janamat Party, said Mahesh Bartaula, chief whip of the UML. This has been the topic of discussion among the top leaders in the past few days, he said.
“I don’t think the entire Cabinet will change,” he said.
However, according to one Maoist Centre leader, the prime minister is in a difficult situation after the chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Nepal sought a package deal on power-sharing.
Jagannath Khatiwada, spokesperson of the Unified Socialist said his party has communicated its demands clearly to both Dahal and Oli.
“During recent meetings with the prime minister and the UML chief, our chairman made it clear that we need an additional minister in the federal government, a fair share in Koshi, Madhesh and Karnali governments, and participation of the UML and Maoist Centre in the Sudurpaschim government before the formation of the government in Koshi,” he said.
Dirgha Bahadur Sodari of the Unified Socialist is the chief minister in Sudurpaschim, but the delay by the UML and Maoist Centre in joining the government has caused frustration within the Unified Socialist.
In order to extend support for forming a new government in the Madhesh province, which will probably be led by the Janamat Party, the Unified Socialist party has withdrawn its two ministers from the current Saroj Kumar Yadav government. Yadav is the chief minister of the Madhesh province and represents the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal.
A section of the Maoist Centre has been calling for the replacement of the entire set of ministers in the Dahal Cabinet. But the UML, the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Unified Socialist are against doing so.
“Some of our ministers have been serving since December 2022, so some leaders in the party want to replace them with new faces,” a central committee member of the Maoist Centre said. With the exception of Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, there is a call within the party to replace all the ministers, the leader said, adding that “this agenda will likely be discussed during the upcoming meeting of the party.” Besides the prime minister, the CPN (Maoist Centre) has one deputy prime minister, and four ministers in the Cabinet.
“There are several issues, but nothing has been discussed,” said Govinda Acharya, press adviser to the Prime Minister Dahal. “First, ministers from the Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party are likely to join the Cabinet as per the understanding among party leaders.”
“Our position is clear,” said Khatiwada, the Unified Socialist spokesperson. “We want a package deal, which we have clearly communicated both to prime minister Dahal and UML chair Oli.”
“From the centre to the provincial level as well as in other major political appointments, we need a fair share,” said Khatiwada.
He complained that the prime minister and the UML chief assured several times in the past to address the grievances of the Unified Socialist, but the promise has not been kept.
To show his frustration, party chief Nepal participated in a meeting of the opposition parties a few days ago.
“We have decided to help the federal coalition install a new government in the Madhesh province. So we need a fair share in provincial governments in Madhesh, Koshi, Karnali and Sudurpaschim. Cabinet reshuffle is solely the prime minister’s prerogative and he might be feeling pressure from within his own party. He may replace his party’s ministers, but this has not been discussed in the meetings of alliance members,” Khatiwada told the Post.

DALLAS (Texas),
Nepal made a disastrous start to their 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World campaign on their return to the cricket’s biggest stage after a decade as they lost their opening match of the Group D to the Netherlands by six wickets in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday.
Nepal, who were invited to bat first after losing the toss, posted a paltry 106 all out from 19.2 overs at the Grand Prairie Stadium after the batters struggled against a disciplined Dutch bowling.
The Rhinos repeated the same mistakes with the bat as openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh failed to give their team a good start again after the play was slightly delayed due to wet outfield.
Netherlands spinner Tim Pringle (3-20) and pacer Logan van Beek (3-18) were the biggest thorns in Nepal’s flesh as their three-wicket hauls put Nepal inside the pressure cooker in an overcast condition throughout the innings.
In between, Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede also bowled excellently in the bowling-friendly surface, finishing 2-19 and 2-22, respectively.
Nepal found themselves in big trouble early on at 15-2 in 3.1 overs when they lost Shiekh to Pringle for four in the second over and Bhurtel to van Beek for seven.
Anil Sah departed next for 11 after Pringle had him caught by van Beek, leaving Nepal at 40-3.
Skipper Rohit Paudel was the only batter who looked comfortable against the Dutch bowling attack that struck regularly.
Paudel played a brisk 35 runs off 37 balls to revive Nepal innings, but he never found support in the middle order as Kushal Malla (9), Dipendra Singh Airee (1) and Sompal Kami (0) all fell in quick succession.
Paudel’s resistance also ended in the 16th over when Pringle had him caught by Max O’Dowd for his third wicket.
Karan KC scored 12-ball 17 and Gulsan Jha played 15-ball 14 to take Nepal to 106 from 84-7, but the final three wickets tumbled swiftly and without adding a run after van Beek struck twice in successive balls in the 20th over.
Paudel conceded they could have stretched their total a little further.
“The conditions while batting were really challenging,” the Nepal skipper said.
“Netherlands bowled really well. We could have stretched it a little more and had more partnerships through the middle.”
The Netherlands captain Scott Edwards credited the bowlers for their match-winning show.
“Our bowlers were awesome,” he said. “We got two or three wickets in the powerplay. All five of our bowlers were brilliant.”
In response, Nepal bowled tightly, but could not stop O’Dowd to take the Dutch past the 107-run target with eight balls to spare.
The Netherlands lost their opener Michael Levitt for a cheap one after Sompal Kami had him caught by Airee in 1.2 overs.
But O’Dowd scored an unbeaten half-century to guide his side to 109-4 in 18.4 overs.
O’Dowd smashed a patient knock of 48-ball 54 that featured four boundaries and one six.
Despite a tenacious bowling attack, Nepal gave the Dutch the edge in the game after Sheikh, Kami and Paudel all dropped catches, which otherwise would have put their opponents under extra pressure.
“We did very well as a bowling unit,” Paudel said after the loss.
“The last catch that I dropped was not well…and we didn’t catch well.”
Levitt and Singh, who played 22 runs off 28 balls, added 40 runs for the second wicket to steady the ship, before Sybrand Engelbrecht played 16-ball 14 to take the Dutch closer to the target.
O’Dowd then smacked Abinash Bohara with two fours and six off the 19th over to wrap things up for the Dutch.
“Ideally, we would have got the runs a little quicker, but it was great the way Max batted, and Bassie finished it off well,” Edwards said.
Nepal next play against Sri Lanka on June 11.

MUSTANG,
Nisha Tulachan, an 18-year-old woman from Mustang’s Naurikot, died in her sleep. Her house made up of mud collapsed on her on the night of July 26, 2020 and she died on the spot. Her 70-year-old grandfather was seriously injured. Tulachan’s uncle Shukra Gauchan said that it had been raining for two days before the night of the incident, and their traditional house made of wood, hay, stones, and mud gave in.
“There are 28 houses in Naurikot, all built in the traditional style as ours. Rains are unusual in the mountains, so the whole village was shocked,” said Gauchan. Residents of Naurikot who were living in houses with traditional mud roofs, started demolishing and building concrete houses after the incident. Naurikot village lies at an altitude of 2,740 metres in ward 2 of Thasang Rural Municipality, in Mustang.
“In the mountain region, traditional mud houses are the best for staying warm, but when rains started becoming more frequent, everybody got scared. People from several other wards of the rural municipality also started building new houses by demolishing the old ones,” Gauchan added.
Lo Manthang, which lies at an altitude of 3,840 meters above sea level, is the northernmost settlement in Mustang. The residents of Lo Manthang are also building concrete houses by demolishing traditional mud houses.
Prem Hinjing Gurung, a 66-year-old man from Lo Manthang in ward 5 of Lo Manthang Rural Municipality, said that more than 25 houses in the village have been built with concrete now. “Those who could afford, built new concrete houses, and a few families migrated elsewhere,” said Gurung.
The statistics of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) also show that heavy rains in Mustang district have started causing extensive damage.
According to the NDRRMA website, two houses were completely destroyed due to the heavy rains in the fiscal year 2017-2018, and property worth Rs15.6 million was lost.
In 2005, climate change and environment expert Ngamindra Dahal wrote in the Tiempo magazine of the University of East Anglia in the UK that the livelihoods of the locals were being affected when abnormal rains started in the high Himalayan regions like Mustang.
Later in 2011, Dahal started further research on climate change in the mountain region. The residents of Mustang and Manang districts told him that their areas were seeing abnormal climate patterns—unexpected rains in summer and less snow in winter.
Some locals told Dahal that losing traditional houses also meant losing culture and tradition.
Dahal said that due to climate change, monsoon rain, which is generally limited from 2,500-3,000 meters above sea level, is now affecting Mustang and Manang, which are above 3,500 meters.
“South Asian monsoons do not go higher than 2,500 to 3,000 meters, but the monsoon has moved up to 4,000 meters in just the last two or three decades,” said Dahal.
The geography of Mustang and Manang are very different and sensitive. In the mountain region, where there would be no rainfall, people grew crops using the melted snow. The mountain districts across the Himalayas, which had different seasonal cycles, have now become a monsoon region, Dahal further added.
According to a journal article published by Dahal in 2022, the average annual temperature in lower Mustang has increased by 0.021 degrees Celsius per year, and the average annual rainfall has increased by 1.83 millimeters per year in the last 45 years.
The data provided in the journal was similar to the temperature and rainfall data recorded at meteorological stations in the lower Mustang region from 1973 to 2018.
According to the NDRRMA, there have been five instances of heavy rains and avalanches in Mustang and Manang since the fiscal year 2014-2015. Similarly, the two districts saw 32 landslides and 19 incidents of flooding since then.
In Mustang alone, 31 houses were completely destroyed by floods in four places in the last monsoon season. Similarly, 16 houses were partially damaged, and more than 35 families were affected.
The floods on May 28, 2021, and June 15, 2021, damaged property worth Rs3 billion, destroying houses, bridges, schools, and roads, among other infrastructures, in Nason, Chame, and Manang Nesyang rural municipalities of Manang district.
According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the rainfall measurement station at Humde in Manang recorded 82.2 mm of rain on June 15, 2021.
In Humde, the average rainfall in June 2015 was 42 mm, but in June 2021, the area saw 197 mm of rainfall in a period of 15 days. This was 469 percent more than that of June 2015 average. In May 2021, the area recorded 693 percent more rain compared to the same period in 2015.
The change in the timing of seasonal rainfall has also impacted agriculture in mountain districts.
Farmers in high altitude areas are facing challenges in protecting their crops—they grow mainly potato, wheat, barley and buckwheat—as the temperature increases and the pattern of rain changes.
Aaita Bahadur Thakali, a local farmer from ward 5 of Gharapjhong Rural Municipality, Mustang, reported a decline in crop yields.
According to Karma Gurung from Dhumba in Gharpajhong Rural Municipality, Mustang, who has been involved in commercial cultivation of apples for decades, the district produced 5,464 metric tons of apples on 520 hectares in the fiscal year 2021-2022. Although the apple growing area has expanded to 1,400 hectares, the total production was only 6,250 metric tons in the fiscal year 2023-24.
Madan Regmi, head of the Agriculture Knowledge Centre in Manang, said that on April 26, it snowed in upper Manang damaging the apple flowers. Also, the activity of helpful insects in pollination (bees and bumblebees) was subdued as the temperature was below the freezing point.
“Unexpected weather events, which have become more frequent, during the main season, have hit crop yields badly,” said Regmi.
“Not just apples, but vegetable production has also been affected—by the cold. The lower areas of Manang that used to receive monsoon rains, have been seeing dry monsoons for the past few years. The earlier rain shadow region in the highlands, have been seeing heavy rainfall during the monsoon for the past few years. These unexpected shifts in rain patterns have hit farmers the most,” Regmi added.
Locals say a pine species locally called Sang tree found in the upper Mustang region and used for worship and other rituals, are also disappearing due to climate change.
According to a report published by the National Statistics Office, 47.1 percent of the families in the Himalayan region of Gandaki Province participating in the survey said that they have felt the effects of climate change in the last 25 years.
In the Gandaki province, 39.5 percent of families said that new diseases and insects have appeared in crops over the past 25 years.
Similarly, 97.4 percent families in Gandaki are not aware of the early warning of climate disasters, according to the office’s survey.
The chief district officer of Mustang, Janakraj Panta, who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee, said that the local governments are working on climate adaptation and risk reduction to the best of their abilities, but these efforts are not enough.
“The situation has gone beyond the control of the local government and the district authorities. The provincial and federal governments are also aware of the climate-induced disasters, but have not been taking mitigation measures,” said Pant. “The more the delay in implementing long-term programmes, the more the likelihood of further damage,” Pant added.
Environment expert Dahal said the federal and provincial governments should take the initiative to implement long-term climate adaptation and disaster mitigation measures.

NAWALPARASI/HETAUDA: Two people died after being struck by fallen trees in Nawalparasi East and Makawanpur districts on Tuesday. An elderly man died in ward 12 of Madhyabindu Municipality of Nawalparasi East district. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bed Bahadur Paudel of Nawalparasi East District Police Office, the man, a 69-year-old, died when a tree fell on him while he was grazing goats in the Thulopokhara Community Forest. The body was recovered by security personnel and sent to the district hospital for postmortem, said Paudel. Similarly, another man, aged 22, was killed in Makawanpur in a similar fashion. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Laxmi Bhandari, spokesperson for the Makawanpur District Police Office, the man was cutting grass near his residence when he was hit by a falling tree.

BAJHANG: Five members of the same family were killed in an incident triggered by cooking gas leakage in the Indian metropolis of Bengaluru. On May 29, Bajhang resident Madan Bohara, 32, his 30-year-old wife Premjala, and their three children had sustained burn injuries in the tragic accident that occurred in Yelankha at around 11 pm. Bohara’s four-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter died in the course of treatment at the Victoria Hospital on May 30 and in the morning of May 31 respectively. Premjala, who had suffered 72 percent burns to her body, breathed her last on Saturday evening. Likewise, Bohara and his eldest daughter, aged 11, also succumbed to injuries at the same hospital on Sunday night and Monday morning respectively. The incident occurred due to a gas leak in a closed room, the victims had said. Bohara had migrated to India with his family some six years ago in pursuit of a better life. The 32-year-old had been working as a security guard at an apartment while his wife worked as domestic help.

JANAKPUR: The CPN (Unified Socialist) quit the Madhesh government on Tuesday, a day before Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav faces a floor test in the provincial assembly. The party’s two ministers in the Janata Samajbadi Party-led government, Govinda Neupane and Bechi Lungeli, are preparing to submit their resignations to the chief minister. “I am waiting for the chief minister to submit my resignation,” Lungeli told the Post. “We will also withdraw our support to the government.” The chief minister is preparing to undergo a floor test on Wednesday.

Nepal’s dairy farmers are facing renewed hardships with the government repeatedly failing to heed them. These farmers have asked for nothing more than the amount (around Rs5 billion) owed to them by private dairy companies since last August. For the same reason, the dairy farmers were compelled to spill milk in a March protest before reaching an agreement with three private dairy companies, the state-owned Dairy Development Cooperation (DDC) and the Ministry of Agriculture, to clear the payments by April 3. But all their effort went in vain, prompting them to plan yet another protest if their dues were not settled in the next two weeks.
The plight of dairy farmers suggests utter neglect of this vital sector. Be it vegetable producers, sugarcane growers or dairy farmers, inadequate plans and policies to address their demands have left the farmers struggling. Reduced income has hit all aspects of the economy, and consumers are unable to buy dairy products. Even the sweltering heat, which would usually boost the demand for dairy products, has failed to do so. The government’s failure to address the core problem of the economy has had a significant impact on consumers and has spilled over to farmers.
Market insiders have noted that the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government, without conducting proper market study, hiked the price of milk in March last year: Rs9.1 per litre in the minimum purchase price of raw milk paid to farmers, bringing the price up to Rs65.5. Following that, in the same month, DDC also set the price of half-litre milk at Rs48.50, by raising Rs5.50. However, this price is still high in Nepali market, leading many to import from the southern neighbour India. As a result, while Nepal produces over six million litres of milk a day with roughly 300,000 homes contributing, between 500,000 and 600,000 million litres go unsold due to the lack of market, as per the government’s economic survey (2023-24). The dairy farmers thus got no benefit from the price hike.
The dairy companies, citing the economic crisis, don’t appear to have taken significant steps to solve this problem. They claim that their capacity to store butter is already exhausted, and they haven’t been able to buy milk and pay the farmers. During vital periods like these, the companies should have adequate storage systems to retain dairy products for high-demand times like Dashain and Tihar, explore international markets, and find new ways to attract consumers at home through quality dairy products. Additionally, the Central Dairy Cooperative Association—a key player in knocking the doors of the government to pay the rightful amount to the farmers—is yet to finalise measures to clear outstanding dues. It is not known why the government and private dairy companies haven’t settled the issue.
Farmers who end up throwing milk on roads but fail to understand the demand-supply fluctuation are also to blame. Cooperatives and government authorities should work together to educate and encourage farmers to adopt agricultural insurance schemes, which cover 80 percent of the government subsidy. As an immediate measure, it is the state’s prime duty to pay attention to the farmers’ woes. Clearing the outstanding dues of Rs5 billion shouldn’t be much of a hassle considering that the sector contributes around five percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

KATHMANDU,
Severe heat in the Tarai region has affected ongoing polio vaccination programmes.
Officials at the Immunisation Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services say the immunisation campaign has been affected by school closures due to scorching heat.
“The immunisation campaign will resume once schools resume their regular classes,” said Dr Abhiyan Gautam, chief of the Immunisation Section. “It will take more time for the campaign to complete due to the severe heat in Tarai districts.”
Several districts’ maximum temperatures have either reached close to or crossed 40 degrees Celsius in the last few days. On Tuesday, Dhangadhi recorded 40.4 degrees Celsius, Nepalgunj 40.2 degrees Celsius and Birendranagar 37.3 degrees Celsius, the Met office’s data shows.
Met officials anticipate monsoon will start at the end of next week and bring respite from scorching heat.
Over 1.46 million children born between April 2016 and October 2018 are being inoculated with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in a nationwide immunisation drive started on May 26.
Officials said that children who missed the IPV vaccine during the routine immunisation programme will be administered the vaccine, as they are at risk of getting infected with Type-2 polio.
Gautam said that vaccination programmes are being carried out smoothly in the rest of the places. The vaccine is being administered in schools, booths and health posts.
Nepal has been polio-free since 2010, but the World Health Organisation officially declared it polio-free on March 27, 2014 after maintaining zero polio cases for three consecutive years.
After introducing the IPV vaccine in September 2014, the country switched to the bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV0) from the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV).
The trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine contains all three types of poliovirus: Type-1, Type-2, and Type-3. The current oral poliovirus vaccine is made up of live, attenuated poliovirus.
The trivalent poliovirus vaccine was effective against all three types of poliovirus.
However, the Type -2 component of this vaccine can lead to the circulation of vaccine-derived viruses. Its use was linked to a vaccine associated with paralytic polio, a condition in which children develop paralysis.
Nepal became the first country in the South Asia region to incorporate the IPV vaccine in its routine immunisation programme in line with the UN Health body’s endgame strategic plan to eliminate the risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus and phase out all oral polio vaccines in the routine immunisation programme.
IPV consists of inactivated poliovirus strains of all three poliovirus types.
Gautam said that due to global shortages of the IPV vaccine, children born between April 13, 2016, and October 18, 2018 were inoculated only with the bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine.
“Children who missed the IPV vaccine will be at high risk of poliovirus infection,” Gautam said. “So we are launching a campaign to inoculate them.”
Health officials say that children should continuously receive the bivalent poliovirus vaccine, even if they are administered the IPV vaccine, as the bivalent poliovirus vaccine is also necessary for intestinal immunity, while IPV provides mucosal immunity.
Childhood immunisation is the number one priority of the government, under which 13 types of vaccines are given against a range of diseases, including measles-rubella, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis and typhoid under the regular immunisation programme, free of cost.
Regular immunisation is one of the most successful programmes in Nepal, with a high coverage rate. The country has demonstrated remarkable progress in reducing the under-five mortality rate and the regular immunisation programme is credited with that.
The Nepal Demographic and Health Survey-2022, carried out by the Ministry of Health and Population, however, showed that at least four percent of the children aged between 12 and 23 months received no vaccine at all.
This figure was one percent in 2016.
The Ministry of Health and Population said that the vaccine coverage rate for polio is 95 throughout the country.

KATHMANDU,
After the change in coalition at the centre began to affect provincial governments, voices for reforming the electoral system through constitutional amendment are growing louder.
The subnational governments are still feeling the effects of the change in coalition partners in Kathmandu on March 4. During the readjustment in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led coalition, the second-largest party in the House of Representatives, CPN-UML, joined the government while the largest force, the Nepali Congress, was ousted from power.
Meanwhile, after the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, led by Upendra Yadav, withdrew its support for the Dahal government, ruling partners UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) also withdrew their support for the Madhesh provincial government, led by Yadav’s party. Following that, Saroj Kumar Yadav, the chief minister of Madhesh, is set to take a vote of confidence on Wednesday.
Speaking at the House of Representatives during ‘special hour’ on Tuesday, Nepali Congress lawmaker Sanjay Kumar Gautam called for the formation of a national consensus government and constitutional amendments, stating that political instability and inefficient governance have frustrated the people.
Gautam has made a fervent appeal to all political parties, urging them to put aside their partisan agendas and unite under a common national goal.
Over the past eight years since the promulgation of the constitution and 16 years after the establishment of the republican order in the country, Nepalis have become disillusioned with politicians’ actions. Gautam observed that they are deeply dissatisfied with the political parties, perceiving a lack of accountability and the failure to address key issues.
Questioning the current form of governance, lawmaker Gautam predicted that the present political system would not last long. “We are wasting time while the country is on a downward trajectory,” Gautam added. “To give the people hope, let us envision a broader democratic alliance and let us form a national consensus government to amend the constitution.”
With a fractured election mandate resulting in political instability from the federal to provincial governments, there is growing sentiment in favour of amending the constitution to change the electoral system.
The electoral system is the reason behind political instability, as some political leaders argue. They also point to the need for a constitutional amendment to address the issue. For instance, the mixed electoral system is often blamed for unstable governments, says Gautam.
“The electoral system we are practising has been giving us fractured mandates, resulting in no single party winning a majority in Parliament,” Gautam told the Post.
“Therefore, public sentiment is building in favour of amending the constitution to reform the electoral system. I tried to give voice to that sentiment in Parliament.”
Gautam warned that if the present form of governance continues, the country will inevitably plunge into a crisis. “These are my personal opinions and have nothing to do with the party I am affiliated with,” he clarified.
Parliamentarians discuss constitutional amendments for electoral reform, but no party owns the agenda, says UML lawmaker Raghuji Pant.
“Informally, many parliamentarians agree on the issue, but the topic is yet to gain momentum,” Pant told the Post.
However, leaders of the prime minister’s Maoist Centre party claim that a consensus government and constitutional amendment are not possible without the Congress participating.
“Amending the constitution is not possible immediately as it needs a two-thirds majority,” Devendra Paudel, a Maoist lawmaker, told the Post. At least 182 lawmakers are needed in the 275-strong House to effect a constitutional amendment. For that, the Nepali Congress, with 88 seats, and the CPN-UML, the second largest with 78 seats, must come together. Even then, the support of 16 more lawmakers is necessary to amend the charter.
CK Lal, a political analyst, sees a slim chance for constitutional amendments amid deep polarisation in Nepali society.
“Nonetheless, a national consensus government can be formed to cover up the wrongdoings of the political parties while they were in government,” Lal told the Post.

SANKHUWASABHA,
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday triggered the last blast to mark the breakthrough of the 11.8 km-long headrace tunnel of the 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Project in Sankhuwasabha.
The largest hydroelectric plant to date is being constructed by India and is Nepal’s first export-oriented project.
Construction of the $1.4 billion run-of-the-river type project on the Arun River began in May 2018.
The government awarded this project to SJVN, an Indian government-owned entity, through international competitive bidding in March 2008.
The Investment Board Nepal and SJVN signed an agreement for the development of the Arun III project in November 2014.
Speaking at the breakthrough event on Tuesday, Dahal said that the budget for the next fiscal year has announced many measures to attract private sector investment.
He said that the government would allow the private sector to participate in building and operating transmission lines and that necessary laws would be formulated. Nepal plans to add 900 MW of electricity to the national grid in the upcoming fiscal year, bringing the total energy to 4,500MW.
The prime minister also said that the government would facilitate the export of electricity to Bangladesh in the next fiscal year beginning mid-July.
He said the construction of the Dudh Koshi and Nalsingad reservoir project and the Naumure multipurpose project would be completed to meet the dry season’s energy demand.
The construction of the Ghunsha and Simbuwaj hydropower projects would also move forward, which is being done by mobilising investment from migrant workers, Dahal said.
Dahal said that this breakthrough brings Nepal and India closer to their goal of providing clean, renewable energy and contributing to the sustainable development of the region. He expressed his appreciation for the ongoing efforts and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to facilitating the timely completion of the Arun III project.
Indian ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava recalled in his address that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and his Nepali counterpart, Dahal had agreed to a long-term power trade agreement for the import of electricity from Nepal last year, for which completion of the export-oriented 900 MW Arun III would be a major milestone.
Sushil Sharma, chairman and managing director of SJVN, said that the breakthrough of the headrace tunnel marks a crucial step in the progress of Arun III.
Sharma said more than 74 percent of the project work has already been completed, and the remaining work is progressing in full swing. He said work on the 217 km-long associated transmission line is also in progress.
“The successful completion of the headrace tunnel is a monumental achievement in our journey to harness the hydropower potential of the Arun River,” said Sharma.
Sharma further added that the Arun III project will start generation by next year and has the potential to generate 3,924 million units of electricity every year.
“This project symbolises the strong partnership between India and Nepal in the energy sector and our collective efforts to achieve energy security and environmental sustainability.”
Currently, SJVN is executing 2,200 MW of three hydroelectric projects in the Arun River basin, including a 679MW Lower Arun Hydropower Project.
In July 2021, Nepal signed a $1.3 billion deal with SJVN to develop the 679MW Lower Arun, the second mega project undertaken by the southern neighbour after the $1.04 billion 900MW Arun III.
The Lower Arun project will not have a reservoir or dam and will be a tailrace development of the Arun III project, which means water will re-enter the river for the Lower Arun project.
The Arun III was slated to start producing energy by 2020, but it didn’t happen as the financial closure deadline was pushed back by a year and a half.
According to the agreement, SJVN will provide 21.9 percent of the monthly generated energy free of cost, which is expected to be equivalent to Rs155 billion, and pay another Rs107 billion in royalties over the next 25 years of its commercial operation.
The project is expected to provide direct economic benefits amounting to Rs348 billion in the form of dividends, income tax, VAT, and customs including the 21.9 energy and royalty over the 25 years of commercial operation after which the project’s ownership will be handed over to the Nepal government.
Arun III was conceptualised in the mid-1980s and redesigned in the nineties as a two-stage project of 201 MW each, planned for funding by a consortium of international donors led by the IDA of the World Bank. However, severe criticism of multiple aspects of the project—its project design, implementation plan, and negative environmental impacts—led to the demise of the project after the World Bank withdrew from the project.
More than a decade later, the project was revived with its installed capacity more than doubled from 402 MW to 900 MW.

TAIPEI,
US chip titan Intel on Tuesday struck a defiant tone in the face of strong challenges from rivals Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, unveiling technologies it said would lead the artificial intelligence revolution.
For decades, Intel has dominated the market for the chips that run everything from laptops to data centres. But in recent years, its competitors, especially Nvidia, have soared ahead on specialised AI processors.
During a keynote speech at Taiwan’s Computex expo, CEO Pat Gelsinger introduced Intel’s latest Xeon 6 processors for servers, and shared more details about its next-gen Lunar Lake chips for AI PCs.
“AI is driving one of the most consequential eras of innovation the industry has ever seen,” Gelsinger said.
“The magic of silicon is once again enabling exponential advancements in computing that will push the boundaries of human potential and power the global economy for years to come.”
Gelsinger said Intel’s latest equipment provides the best available mix of performance, energy efficiency and affordability.
Intel’s Gaudi systems — used for advanced AI work such as training models — come at a third of the cost of what competitors offer, he claimed.
Gelsinger’s presentation followed earlier keynote speeches by Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon — and they were replete with claims and counterclaims about which firm’s products were best for AI.
Su and Amon gave detailed presentations on the chips their companies have developed for AI-enhanced personal computers.
Microsoft this month unveiled its Copilot+ AI PCs, which will have artificial intelligence features built into its Windows operating system.
Along with Microsoft, these will be offered by some of the world’s biggest manufacturers, including Dell, HP, Samsung and Lenovo, and will have AI features on the device and not just through the internet.
Gelsinger in particular rejected Qualcomm’s claim that its AI PC chips were better than Intel’s.
“I just want to put that to bed right now,” he said. “Ain’t true!”
AI computers are expected to be 80 percent of the PC market by 2028, Intel said, citing the Boston Consulting Group.
Computex is the top annual tech showcase in Taiwan, whose semiconductor industry is crucial to the production of everything from iPhones to the servers that run ChatGPT.
With the world’s leading tech firms betting big on AI, Taiwanese manufacturers have emerged as central players in those plans.
The island produces the bulk of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, including those needed for the most powerful AI applications and research.
Taiwan’s government wants to use these capabilities to accelerate the widespread use of AI.
“We have a lot to do to build Taiwan into an AI smart island,” President Lai Ching-te, who took office last month, said during a visit to Computex on Tuesday.
However, Taiwan’s central position in the supply chain for semiconductors — the lifeblood of the modern economy — has become a source of concern in capitals and boardrooms around the world. Taiwan is self-ruled, but China claims the island as its territory and has said it would never renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
In recent years, the relationship between Beijing and Taipei has deteriorated and the Chinese military has staged multiple large-scale exercises around the island.

LONDON,
The dollar bounced on Tuesday after falling to its lowest against the euro, sterling and Swiss franc since mid-March overnight as signs of a softening US economy boosted the case for earlier Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Yet the yen powered 0.6 percent higher for a second day of solid gains as Bank of Japan officials warned they are keeping a close eye on the currency, and a report said the BOJ could soon discuss reducing bond purchases.
The euro was last down 0.4 percent at $1.0863 on Tuesday after rising as high as $1.0916 for the first time since March 21 in the Asian trading session. It climbed 0.5 percent as the dollar dropped on Monday.
As the US currency found a footing, the dollar index was up 0.27 percent at 104.32, having fallen to its lowest since mid-April overnight at 103.99.
Data on Monday showed a second straight month of slowdown in manufacturing activity and an unexpected decline in construction spending, causing the dollar index to fall around 0.6 percent.
“Today’s US JOLTS job openings data could determine whether recent dollar losses are... the start of an important new trend,” said Chris Turner, global head of markets at lender ING.
The US job openings and labour turnover survey (JOLTS) is due out at 1400 GMT, or 10 a.m. ET, and will show the number of vacancies in May. It will also report on the number of people voluntarily quitting their job.
Japan’s yen bucked the trend on Tuesday and continued to rise against the dollar after climbing on Monday, with the US currency down 0.6 percent at 155.105, around its weakest in two weeks.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said on Tuesday the central bank must be “very vigilant” to the impact the yen’s fluctuations could have on inflation in guiding monetary policy.
Bloomberg reported that the BOJ will discuss slowing its bond purchases at its two-day policy meeting next week. That could push up yields in the coming weeks and may come before an interest-rate hike in July, something analysts at TD Securities said they now expect on Tuesday.
“We are inclined to see these stories as a test of the market’s reaction rather than anything more concrete, not least given the BOJ’s revealed preference for slow... adjustment,” said Nicholas Rees, FX market analyst at Monex Europe.

DUBAI,
Back-slapping over record passenger figures is tinged with frustration at the airline trade body’s annual meeting as carriers lament years-long delays to deliveries of new Boeing aircraft.
Headline projections of nearly five billion passengers and close to $1 trillion in revenues this year, both records, were reasons for celebration at the IATA annual general meeting in Dubai.
But the figures would have been stronger without the problems facing Boeing, one of the two major aircraft suppliers along with Airbus, whose safety and manufacturing standards are under the spotlight.
“It is suppressing growth at the moment, without question,” said International Air Transport Association director general Willie Walsh, explaining that delivery delays had been “factored in” to the annual estimates. Last week, Boeing, at the centre of a number of safety incidents, announced more inspectors and improved benchmarks under a “roadmap” demanded by US regulators.
The US aeronautics giant has faced intense scrutiny following manufacturing problems and damning testimony from whistleblowers.
On January 5, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight. The jet was only delivered in October.
The same model had been grounded after two accidents linked to design defects in 2018 and 2019 which left a total of 346 people dead.
Boeing also suffered production problems last year on the 737 and the long-haul 787 Dreamliner, while deliveries of the 777X are expected in 2025 — six years behind schedule.
Dubai’s state-owned Emirates airline, which placed a massive order of 205 777Xs for tens of billions of dollars, has been particularly hard-hit by the delays. “For me, this will be a five-year hiatus (for Boeing) starting from now... to get the production levels back,” Emirates president Tim Clark told Bloomberg.
Walsh said delivery delays were also being seen from Airbus, Boeing’s European rival, at a time when many carriers are eager to renew or expand their fleets as the industry roars back post-pandemic.
“I think it’s the cause of quite a lot of frustration,” he said. “Many airlines see opportunities to expand their network, want to provide services to new destinations that can’t, because they can’t get the new aircraft.”
Boeing is at a crossroads after the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun was announced in March. His successor has not been announced.
“Whoever runs Boeing needs to restabilise the pride of engineering which Boeing is known for,” said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr.
“The industry needs Boeing... nobody wants less competition,” he added.
Scott Kirby, who heads United Airlines, agreed that Boeing needs to get back to its strengths.
“They are one of the best technology, engineering, quality companies in the world,” he said. “But they, I think, let the short-term financials take primacy.”
Vik Krishnan, an aeronautics specialist with consultancy McKinsey, testified to “exasperation” among airlines.
It “ultimately shows that there is an unmet demand (for travel) and that there is no easy solution,” he told AFP.
As Airbus shares many suppliers with Boeing, and some of their problems, it’s a major bottleneck for an industry during a period of major expansion.
“It’s not good news that Boeing is in the situation it is in, including for Airbus,” said Jerome Bouchard, partner at management consultancy Oliver Wyman.

KATHMANDU: Vidushi Rana has been appointed the new Honorary Consul of the Republic of Iceland in Nepal. The event also marked the inauguration of the new Consulate premises in Kathmandu. Dignitaries from various sectors graced the welcome event, reflecting the importance of this diplomatic milestone. Gudni Bragason, ambassador of the Republic of Iceland, as a special guest underscored the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Nepal and Iceland. Rana expressed her gratitude and commitment to fostering stronger relations between Nepal and Iceland. She highlighted the mutual benefits of enhanced diplomatic and economic ties and looked forward to her role in promoting cultural and commercial exchanges between the two nations.

NEW YORK: US stock ticked lower in early trading Tuesday, as investors reacted to underwhelming recent economic data and prepared for the release of key payroll data later this week. Monday’s US manufacturing data for April came in below expectations and indicated that a recent contraction is deepening, albeit slightly. These figures follow other data that suggests the world’s largest economy is slowing down in the face of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing campaign of high interest rates as it battles to bring down elevated inflation. (AFP)

VIENNA: A privacy campaign group in Austria filed two complaints Tuesday against Microsoft, saying its education software that is widely used in schools violates data protection rights for children. Youths across Europe are exposed to the alleged violations, according to Vienna-based European Center for Digital Rights, also known as Noyb (“None of Your Business”), which said they were increasing in step with the greater use of online learning. (AFP)

JOHANNESBURG: The South African economy shrank by 0.1 percent in the first quarter, figures showed Tuesday, days after the ruling ANC lost its parliamentary majority in a landmark election. The January-to-March contraction follows a revised 0.3 percent expansion in the last three months of 2023, which, coming after another period of negative growth, narrowly avoided a recession, the national statistics agency StatsSA said. (AFP)

MADRID,
Kylian Mbappe is finally a Real Madrid player.
Madrid said on Monday they reached a deal with the France star for the next five seasons, bringing together one of football’s top talents and the most successful club.
Madrid did not release any financial details. They also didn’t immediately say when they will officially introduce Mbappe, who is with France preparing for the European Championship.
The announcement came after years of flirtation by Madrid with
the player who inherited the status of the best in the game from Lionel Messi.
“A dream come true,” Mbappe said on X. “So happy and proud to join the club of my dream. Nobody can understand how excited I am right now. Can’t wait to see you, Madridistas (Madrid fans), and thanks for your unbelievable support. ¡Hala Madrid!”
The post, with the message written in English, Spanish and French, was accompanied by photos of a young Mbappe wearing a Madrid jacket while visiting the club. One photo was with Madrid great Cristiano Ronaldo.
The club also posted a video on their website showing Mbappe highlights. At the beginning, a voiceover says, “Are you watching closely?”
The 25-year-old World Cup winner joins a Madrid team who are already loaded with talent and still celebrating their latest European triumph—and sixth in 10 seasons.
Just two days ago, Madrid won a record-extending 15th European Cup title when they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League final in London.
Mbappe joins a team that already features young stars in Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.
His signing could revive Madrid’s “galatico” squads, when they had some of the world’s top players including Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Brazil’s Ronaldo, David Beckham, Luis Figo and Karim Benzema, among others.
The current Madrid players were quick to welcome their newest teammate.
“Welcome to the best club in the world,” forward Brahim Diaz said.
“I don’t know if we won the Champion League on Saturday or if we won it today with Mbappe’s signing,” former Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas said.
Until now, Mbappe has played club football only for French teams—first at Monaco and for the past seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, who he left as a free agent after they failed to persuade him to renew his contract. Mbappe didn’t take the option for an extra year on the deal he signed two years ago.
Monaco wished Mbappe success and posted a photo of the player as a youngster holding Monaco’s jersey in front of several posters of Madrid players, including Ronaldo.
The Spanish league said “a new star in the universe of Real Madrid.”
In 2021, Madrid were rejected after offering PSG a bid of 180 million euros, the same amount PSG paid Monaco for a teenage Mbappe years earlier.
Madrid president Florentino Perez made signing Mbappe a strategic club priority since the powerhouse failed to lock him up when Mbappe visited the club’s facilities at age 14.
He, instead, opted to join Monaco’s youth academy, and became a teenage sensation when he helped lead the Principality club to the Champions League semi-finals in 2017.
The Qatar-backed PSG turned down Madrid’s 2021 bid, but with Mbappe’s contract expiring the next year, Madrid took it for granted that Mbappe, who had never hid his desire to one day play for the Spanish club, would come south of the Pyrenees in 2022.
But French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged him to stay, and Mbappe stunned Perez and most of the football world by signing a contract extension to “continue his adventure” in Paris.
Madrid won the 2022 Champions League after beating Mbappe’s PSG in the knockout rounds.
Perez said after Mbappe turned down his club two years ago that perhaps it was best he didn’t come after all, but there were no bridges burned and Madrid are getting a once-in-a-generation player as a free agent.
Mbappe studied Spanish while he was with Monaco and speaks it well, which should help him blend well into a team that also features French players Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy.
Mbappe’s resume features winning the World Cup at 19, a World Cup final hat-trick at 23, seven French leagues, four French Cups, and a proven prowess for dominating games with his scoring ability.
Mbappe captains France. When they won the World Cup in 2018, he was the second teenager after Pele to score in a World Cup final. Four years later, he was one of only two players in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when France fell to Messi’s Argentina.
Mbappe was unable to lead PSG to the ultimate goal of a Champions League crown, losing the only final he played in 2020. He also failed to score in both semi-final legs against Dortmund this season.
Mbappe left PSG as their all-time leading scorer with 256 goals, including a club record 175 in the French league. His highest scoring season with PSG was 44, and he was the top scorer of the French league for the sixth consecutive season (27).

PARIS,
Novak Djokovic pulled out of the French Open on Tuesday ahead of his quarter-final against Casper Ruud because of a knee injury suffered in the previous round.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic wrote on social media. “I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.”
Tournament organisers had initially announced his withdrawal, saying an MRI scan earlier on Tuesday had revealed the full extent of the injury.
World number one and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic was due to play Ruud on Wednesday for a place in the last four. Djokovic defeated Ruud in straight sets in last year’s final at Roland Garros.
As a result Ruud will go on to face fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals on Friday.
The 37-year-old Djokovic had cast doubt over his fitness following Monday’s five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo, admitting he needed anti-inflammatory drugs to get through the match.
Djokovic blamed the “slippery” Philippe Chatrier court for the injury he sustained early in the second set of his 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Cerundolo.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or after tomorrow if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play. You know, I hope so. Let’s see what happens,” Djokovic said after his record 370th win at a Grand Slam.
Djokovic had already been tested to the limit physically by a gruelling four-hour, 29-minute slog against Lorenzo Musetti in the third round that concluded at 3:07 am Sunday morning, the latest finish in French Open history.
His withdrawal from the French Open means that Jannik Sinner will become Italy’s first world number one next week. “It’s every player’s dream to become number one in the world. On the other hand, seeing Novak retiring (from the tournament) is disappointing, so I wish him a speedy recovery,” said Sinner.
Sinner advanced to his first Roland Garros semi-final shortly after Djokovic’s exit from the competition, defeating Bulgarian 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.
The Australian Open champion eased to a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory.
Sinner’s achievement of becoming Italy’s first number one in the sport was confirmed during his match, as the injury-enforced withdrawal of Djokovic was announced.
“What can I say?” said the 22-year-old. “It’s every player’s dream to become number one in the world. On the other hand, seeing Novak retiring (from the tournament) is disappointing, so I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Sinner already knew that he could take the number-one berth by reaching the final at Roland Garros.
He has enjoyed a fine season, also winning the Rotterdam and Miami Opens in addition to his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne.