KATHMANDU: Economic Digest, a daily morning email digest, is basically a relatable summation of important business news from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries.
Nepal stalls Visit Nepal Year 2020 over COVID19
The government has decided to stall Visit Nepal Year 2020 in view of coronavirus that has spread across the world. According to sources, Prime Minister KP Oil floated a proposal to stall the VNY 2020 in the cabinet meeting.
Meanwhile, the government has also stalled Sagarmatha Sambad over coronavirus which the government was organizing for the first time.
Similarly, the government is also putting a halt on-arrival visas from next week. With the WHO announcing that Nepal is at high risk of coronavirus, the Nepal government is making preparations to save its citizens from the new virus.
Tourists’ arrival dismal at Banke National Park
At a time when the government has been marking the Visit Nepal Year 2020, the youngest national park, Banke National Park (BNP), is yet to see the number of tourists as expected earlier.
For tourism promotion, necessary infrastructures and facilities have been readied — view tower to see wild animals, jeep safari, trekking route, elephant safari, etc.
Inaugurating the VNY 2020, Chief Minister of State-5, Shankar Pokharel had said the elephant safari would help bring in more foreign and domestic tourists. From the viewpoint of biodiversity, eight ecosystems are found in the BNP, it is said.
Home to 124 wild plants, 32 reptiles, birds of over 300 species, 48 species of fish, 32 species of mammals, 6 species of amphibians, it has also 11 species of endangered mammals. Similarly, 50 species of birds found here are internationally endangered ones.
Lawmakers demand government maintain autonomy of NRB
The lawmakers of Nepal on Sunday urged the government to eliminate the clause in the proposed bill of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Act that will adversely affect the autonomy of the central bank.
The bill has maintained the clause that the government holds discretionary power to sack the Governor and Deputy-governor of the central bank.
Similarly, the bill has maintained that the central bank will have to invite an outsider in its internal audit system. Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada on Sunday said that the government has targeted to make the central bank more accountable along with empowering it as an autonomous body.
“The autonomy without assuming accountability will give rise to anarchism,” Khatiwada said.
‘It is becoming difficult to keep business running’
Local entrepreneurs have been suffering because of the coronavirus.
The coronavirus has not only affected the tourism industry but also affected other transportation, agriculture, livestock and many more.
Local entrepreneurs say that the government was aware of their problem but is not taking any action to help them.
NSU demonstrates over tax on books
Nepal Student Union (NSU), affiliated to Nepali Congress, demonstrated across the country on Sunday, putting forth various demands including withdrawal of price hike on petroleum products and cancellation of 10 percent tax imposed on books, among others.
Action against those involved in corruption and guarantee of election to free student union (FSU) are other demands of the NSU.
The NSU demonstrated at the gate of different campuses across the nation including Tri-Chandra, Shankar Dev, Saraswoti, Patan Multiple, Pashupati Multiple of Kathmandu Valley, said NSU’s general secretary Deepak Bhattarai.
He further said the incumbent government was not able to carry out activities in favor of the people.
Arsenic test on drinking water begins in Sarlahi
Three settlements at Ghurkauli of Hariwan municipality-5 in Sarlahi district have witnessed the deaths of 26 people due to cancer in the past two and half years.
In recent years, cancer has been a leading cause of death in Dhanapati, Siddhartha, and Gole villages in the municipality. Eight people are currently under medication for cancer.
The cause of the disease might have been associated with arsenic from the underground drinking water, according to ward chair Nagendra Sah. Dr Sabin Adhikari of BP Koirala Cancer Hospital, Chitwan said that most of the victims including the dead from Hariwan municipality-5 were diagnosed with lung and throat cancer.
Dr Adhikari cited unsafe drinking water as the main cause of cancer in the municipality.
(Compiled and prepared by Swastik Aryal and Nitish Lal Shrestha)
Nepal Economic Digest is a daily morning email digest, basically relatable summations of the most important business news, happenings from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries. The Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR), Nepal’s independent think tank, and Khabarhub — Nepal popular news portal — have joined hands to disseminate news from Nepal in the form of Economic Digest.
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