Nepal

Kathmandu, September 12

Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepali Army and Ministry of Forest and Environment have jointly started tree plantation drive along the Tripureshwor-Durbar Marg road segment, in a bid to increase urban greenery in the capital.

As many as 500 tree saplings, above five feet tall, are planned to be planted.

Tree plantation programme was jointly inaugurated by MoFE Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet, KMC Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya and high level NA officials.

In a brief conversation with media Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya said, &The programme aims to develop Kathmandu into a habitable green city.& He also claimed that tree plantation was under way in all 32 wards and on premises of public schools of KMC.

Mayor Shakya directed Environment Management Department of KMC to complete plantation programme targeting Visit Nepal-2020. Shakyaone of the major election agendas during 2017 local level election was to maintain greenery in the city. Against this backdrop, KMC, on February, had decided to provide Rs 10 million to promote greenery, park construction and protection of public spaces, to some neighbouring local governments.

Ministry of Forest has also declared the period between 2015 to 2025 as Forest Decade with the theme ‘One house, one tree; one village, one forest; one city, one park&. At present, there are around 15 parks in Kathmandu. The local governance framework, required each local government to protect, public spaces and maintain greenery in the area.

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KATHMANDU: Lawmakers from opposition parties Nepali Congress and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal on Thursday criticised the governmentmove to control the Federal Public Service Commission.

The Federal Public Service Commission Bill tabled by the government stated that the FPSC should seek permission of the government for financial and administrative management of its office.

The FPSC is a constitutional body which should not be controlled by the government, argued the lawmakers.

NC Lawmaker Dilendra Badu said though the government came up with the bill to control the FPSC, but we need to amend some of its provisions.

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KATHMANDU: Indra Jatra, one of the highly celebrated festivals of Kathmandu Valley, is being marked with much enthusiasm today.

The festival, known as Yenya in Nepal Bhasa, is celebrated to honour Indra, the king of heaven and god of rain and harvest, as per the Hindu mythology. Indra Jatra represents the culture, history and legends of Kathmandu Valley.

The eight-day festival began on September 10 by erecting a ceremonial pole — Indradhoj Linga or Ya-Sin — at Hanuman Dhoka in Basantapur Durbar Square.

Today is Kwaneyā, the first day of the chariot procession of the Living Goddess Kumari. Regarded as the main day of the festival, chariots carrying Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav are pulled through the southern part of the town. A large crowd gathers at Basantapur today to pay their reverence to the living goddess and to cheer in the festivities.

Heads of the state also visit Hanuman Dhoka to pay their respect to the gods and goddesses. Similarly, today, family members of the deceased who passed away in the last one year light small butter lamps and incense along the processional route. In the night, after Kumari returns back from the procession, another procession called Dāgin beings.

Likewise, tomorrowchariot procession is called Thaneyā while the day after that is known as Nānichāyā.

The final day of the festival falls on September 17 this year when the Ya-Sin pole erected at Hanuman Dhoka will be taken down in a ceremony known as Ya-Sin Kwathalegu.

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