According to the Police Chief for the Lumbini Province, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kuber Kathayat, the victims have been identified as Dujaman Pariyar, 45, Om Pariyar, 31, Subitra Pariyar, 40, Aaiti Pariyar, 27, and Debiram Pariyar, 66.  The incident occurred at Sunchhahari rural municipality-3.

The workers were buried under the collapsed wall while working on the bridge construction. The bridge connects Maulabang and Bahirigam. Two other workers managed to escape the disaster.

The jeep with no registered number in it hit 48-year-old Laxman Prasad Yadav while he was patrolling in the inner road of Kachanari of Badiyarpatti-1 in the district.

The incident took place at around 3 am in the place bordering India, according to the District Police Office, Siraha.

Injured in the accident, DSP Yadav was rushed to Ram Kumar Umaprasad Memorial Provincial Hospital at Lahan where doctors declared him dead upon the admission, police said.

DSP Yadav was deployed in Badahari Base Camp of the APF, according to DSP and Spokesperson at the District Police Office, Siraha, Birendra Paswan.

The Scorpio jeep is said to whizz off towards India after hitting the police officer while search is underway for the vehicle, DSP Paswan informed.

Chief of APF’s Battalion no 7’s Chief and SP Naresh Bhandari shared that they have received the information that the jeep hit the police officer after seeing the joint team of Nepal Police and APF patrolling.

The jeep was allegedly carrying alcohol which police could not verify the information since the fleeing jeep has not been confiscated yet, added SP Bhandari.

Jite Dyula of Dyula settlement in Bhaktapur Municipality-5 was critically injured and his spouse Nabina died in the accident.

The accident took place when a truck heading towards Kathmandu hit a scooter where the Dyula couple was travelling to.

The injured is undergoing treatment at the Citizen Community Hospital. Police have impounded the truck and arrested its driver Buddha Bahadur Ghalan of Makawanpurgadhi rural municipality-4.

A police squad deputed from the Area Police Office, Karmaiya had seized a truck (Province 1-01-001 Kha 4190) with Chinese garlic. The items exceed the invoice by Rs 2 million 75 thousand 527.

Similarly, a container (Na 7 Kha 9465) en route to Birtamode in Jhapa from Birgunj carrying illegally imported motor parts was also impounded, police said.

Police recovered motorcycle parts, tyre and other items such as utensils and ready-made clothes that were not mentioned in the invoice were recovered.

Spokesperson of the District Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Shrestha, said that the goods were worth Rs 8.66 million. The recovered illegally-imported goods were sent to the Revenue Investigation Office in Pathlaiya. (RSS)

The bridge has been placed at Ripahaghat in a way to connect Nisdi Rural Municipality-4, Ripaha and Madhyabindu Municipality-14 of Nawapur.

The 175-metre long suspension bridge connecting Lumbini and Gandaki provinces has been constructed through the federal government at a cost of Rs 13.76 million.

Inaugurating the bridge, Lumbini Province Assembly member and President of the Finance, Industry and Tourism Committee Raju Prasad Shrestha said the federal and provincial governments have placed priority to development works.

Nisdi rural municipality chair Mukta Bahadur Saru said the people’s mobility would be easier with the installation of the bridge.

Apart from Nisdi rural municipality, locals of Ripaha, Lamedmar, Mudhabas, Dhakredamar and Nawalpur (Nawalparasi Susta East) will be directly benefited from the bridge.

Most of those YouTube channels are unregistered.

Similarly, it has recommended the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police for investigating against social media users found violating the code of conduct.

Lately, the Council is monitoring fabricated, one-sided, and unverified contents capable of promoting hate and revenge through YouTube channels and the Facebook page.  

It has been actively monitoring objectionable content on social media as part of its effort to combat misinformation and raise public awareness, according to Council Joint Spokesperson and information officer Ramsharan Bohara.

Earlier on November 19, it took actions against nine YouTube channels for disseminating inaccurate and fabricated content, accusing them of promoting anarchy.

” The full implementation of the freedom of Press guaranteed by the Constitution is warranted to systematise communications sector, making it more credible, decent and prestigious,” the Council said in the statement.

In the disaster Ram Bahadur Majhi lost his 51-year-old mother while his house too collapsed. Jit Bahadur Majhi is also not an exception. His house was destroyed in the landslide.

The impoverished and marginalized Majhi families were earning their lives from daily wages.   

Furthermore, the Majhi families have no option for fishing, a traditional occupation of the Majhi community, for lack of fishing sites as the local government issues tenders for extracting stones, pebbles and sands from the rivers.

Chairperson of Bhumlu Rural Municipality-8, Motilal Tamang, said the limited land they own is insufficient even to produce food for four months a year. “The landslide caused after the construction of the Mid Hill Highway has now displaced us and taken the life of a person,” Tamang said.

The landslide that occurred this September caused the highest number of human toll in Roshi Rural Municipality in the district, leaving 14 persons dead from a ward including five persons from a single family.

Chairperson of Roshi Rural Municipality-4 Tej Bahadur Magar said four members of Chandra Bahadur Tamang died while three members of the family were lucky to survive the disaster.

In such incidents of disasters, economically poor families have suffered the worst.

Likewise, 15 houses of Sherpa community were destroyed in the disaster that happened in August after the glacial lake burst in Thame village in Solukhumbu district. Despite limited relief from the government, the displaced families are yet to resettle as their property worth millions was damaged.

The above three cases shed a clear picture of how the indigenous nationalities were affected physically and on humanitarian level by the natural disasters this year.

The indigenous communities are always at high risk of natural disasters and this year’s monsoon-induced disasters too support this claim.

Indigenous communities make up 41.54% of fatalities in monsoon-induced disasters.

In the disasters that took place from Baisakh to Asoj (May-June to September-October) this year, there were 443 fatalities, with 184 casualties (41.54%) from indigenous communities. According to data from the National Emergency Operation Centre, four victims remain unidentified, and 66 people are still missing.

Among the total fatalities, 228 were women and girls, making up 51.47% of the deaths. Of these, 60 were children—35 boys and 25 girls—accounting for 13.55% of the total fatalities.

The province-wise distribution of deaths shows that Bagmati Province recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 267 deaths, followed by Gandaki (55), Koshi (43), Lumbini (29), Karnali and Sudurpaschim (16 each), and Madhes Province (13).

Experts on climate change have suggested that the monsoon-induced disasters, particularly the unseasonal rains between Asoj 11-17 (September 27 to October 2), are a consequence of climate change. In September-October alone, 303 lives were lost due to these disasters.

Kavrepalanchowk District suffered the highest loss, with 79 deaths, 78 injuries, and six people missing. However, the comprehensive report on the damages is still awaited, according to Assistant Chief District Officer Subash Paudel.

Among the 79 deaths in Kavre, 38 were from indigenous communities, accounting for 48.11% of the fatalities. Of these, three were from the Majhi community, two from the Magar community, one from the Shrestha community, and 32 from the Tamang community.

As per the 2021 national census (2078 BS), the total population of indigenous communities is 10,218,570, or 35.04% of the country’s population.

The data indicates that indigenous communities are more vulnerable to natural disasters and their devastating consequences.

Paudel shared that the traditional skills and practices of the indigenous communities are closely linked with the nature; thereby making them the first communities to bear the brunt of adverse effects of climate change or natural disasters.

According to him, the tribal communities still like to employ traditional skills and knowledge rather than science and technology in their daily lives’ activities.

Indigenous rights’ defenders rue although Nepal has reaffirmed its commitment to promote rights of indigenous communities in paper by signing in many international conventions on indigenous communities, but the State has been indifferent towards indigenous communities in practice.

Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities’ (NEFIN) President Gelje Sherpa shared that the indigenous communities across the world chanted slogans and staged demonstrations throughout the global climate conference in the COP-29 recently held in Baku of Azerbaijan.

It may be noted that the world gathering of some 50,000 people ranging from Head of the States and Head of the Governments from 197 countries ratifying the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change had convened in the global climate conference to deliberate on the most pressing issues-climate change- and to take collective climate actions.

NEFIN President Sherpa lamented the apathy of the States worldwide over the indigenous communities’. “Although the native communities are hardest hit by climate change impacts, they are far from climate compensation,” he decried, stating that they have been continuously striving against that prejudice-laden treatment.

Furthermore, he denounced the lack of consideration towards the indigenous communities while allocating the budget the State receives for reducing carbon emission.

He foresees several challenges facing the effective implementation of the National Climate Change Policy 2076 BS. (RSS)

Nathuram Tharu, 65, of Bhandara of Madhyabindu municipality-6, was mauled by the pachyderm this morning while he was working in his farmland.

Injured in the assault, Tharu succumbed to the injury, according to DSP JC Shah at the District Police Office, Nawalpur.

Police confiscated 56 sacks of marijuana covered in sand and concrete loaded on a tipper which was heading towards Jhutaki from Patthargadha. Police impounded the tipper and took the driver, 33-year-old Yamjit Rai of Sahid Bhumi Rural Municipality-3, Dhankuta district under control on Monday night. 

Police will seek permission from the court today to keep Rai in police custody for further investigation.

“Be serious and adopt measures to reduce road accidents. Concerned sides including road department, drivers, transport entrepreneurs and security persons need more seriousness so that traffic rules would be enforced well, action taken stringently and accidents reduced,” he underlined during a discussion at Home Ministry in Singha Durbar on Sunday.

According to him, the buses must not be allowed to carry passengers beyond capacity; over speed warrants immediate action; distribution of driving license on time is essential and road repair given continuity.

In response to the queries made by journalists following the discussion, Spokesperson at Home Ministry, Rishiram Tiwari, said Home Minister Lekhak held a thorough discussion with concerned sides. “Minister has strongly urged the passenger buses not to carry goods along with passengers. The transport entrepreneurs were urged for management of two drivers for long route transport, and compulsory ticketing,” he added.

Similarly, the officials from the concerned ministries were directed to ensure smooth condition of roads with timely maintenance. The transport entrepreneurs should also assist in taking action against the drivers violating traffic rule.

Adoption of technology in traffic management also featured significantly during the discussion.

The event was attended by chiefs of the Nepal Police, of the Armed Police Force, a major general of Nepali Army, Director General at Department of Transport Management, and Chairman and Senior Vice Chairman of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs Federation. (RSS)

Taking to social site account today, the Prime Minister extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

“I am deeply saddened by the news of the demise of the Speaker of the first House of Representatives after the restoration of democracy in 1990 and my friend Damannath Dhungana. I am remembering his contribution to the movement for the protection of human rights and the advancement of parliamentary practices,” the PM wrote on the social site.

Dhungana breathed his last this afternoon in the course of the treatment for liver-related complications at Baneshwor-based Frontline Hospital at 1:30 pm, according to Dhungana’s private secretary Dr Rudra Sharma.  He was 83.

As many as 29 passengers were injured when two buses collided each other at Nayapul Gorechautara of Bandipur rural municipality in Tanahu district. It occurred along the Prithvi Highway Sunday afternoon.

Among the injured ones, two are in critical condition, according to the District Police Office, Tanahu.

DSP Ashok Thapa shared that the incident took place when a bus with registration no GAA 0070 accidently met head-on with another bus with the registration no Bhe 1 Kha 3487.

The passengers trapped in the collided buses have been rescued with the help of a dozer. The injured ones are receiving treatment at Laxmi Hospital of Dumre in the district, police added.

The meeting to continue till Monday is holding discussions on cross-border crime control and is expected to draw a conclusion on controlling illegal entry of third countries’ nationals, the Inspector General of Armed Police Force (APF) Raju Aryal told the RSS.

The discussions are ongoing on the border security issues tabled by APF Inspector General Aryal. 

Proposals have been tabled from the Nepali side on crime control in the border areas and exchange of information for this, control of revenue leakage and human trafficking as well as the control of illegal entry of citizens of third countries.

The Nepali delegation in the meeting comprises high-level security officials including APF Chief Aryal, officials from the Home Ministry, National Investigation Department, Survey Department and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Likewise, Director General of India’s SSB Amrit Mohan Prasad has led a six-member Indian delegation. (RSS)

The free eye camp organized by the Diaspora community of Dana village was held on Friday and Saturday at the premises of Gyan Prakash Secondary School. 

Chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality-3 Ramesh Purja said a total of 483 people received different services including eye checkups, counselling, surgeries for cataracts and others. The patients were also given glasses and medicines for free, Purja added.

The people from Dana, Narchayang, Bhurung-Tatopani, Shikha, Ghar and Doba in Myagdi and Thasang in Mustang received eye care services in the camp, it is said.

Dr Salma KC and Dr Sumindra Pun led the eye camp, the organizer said.

Chief of District Forest Office Meghraj Rai said that Bhandari was attacked by the elephant as he was trying to chase away the elephant that was demolishing the house of Bhandari’s neighbour Subin Bhattarai.