TajaNews

Elections for National Assembly chair will be hold next week, the House’s senior-most member Taradevi Bhatta, who is currently presiding over the meetings said. According to Bhatta, a meeting of the National Assembly on Tuesday decided to hold the elections at 1 pm on March 14 in accordance with section 6(1) of the interim regulations of the National Assembly. Bhatta has instructed Parliament Secretariat’s Chief Secretary Manohar Prasad Bhatta to prepare a schedule for the electoral process. Tuesday’s meeting has also formed a nine-member committee to frame new regulations to govern the proceedings of the upper House. MPs Ganesh Prasad Timalsina, Parsu Ram Meghi Gurung, Dil Kumari Rawal, Surendra Raj Pandey, Radheshyam Adhikari, Dina Nath Sharma, Jeevan Budha, Brijesh Chandra Lal and Pramil Kumari are members of the new committee.

Nepal’s Energy Ministry has canceled permits issued to Indian power developers who had been ‘occupying’ projects with a total potential of over 750 MW. According to official figures, the government recently scrapped licenses issued to three power developers financed by Indian companies. The projects whose licenses have been canceled are: 130 MW Budhi Gandaki ‘A’ and 260 MW Budhi Gandaki ‘B and 350 MW Dudhkoshi. The first two projects that were to be developed by Naulo Nepal Hydro Electric Pvt Ltd, a company backed by Indian financing. The ministry says Naulo Nepal, backed by Patel Engineering (India), failed to present important documents such as the proof of registration of a company, projects’ financial closure report and a draft of the power purchase agreement. The 350 MW Dudhkoshi was promoted by KBR India Infra Pvt Ltd. According to sources, the ministry, in a letter dispatched on August 21, had demanded that the two companies present their financial closure reports and draft...

Bangladesh’s Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism AKM Kamal, who arrived in Kathmandu to take stock of the situation after the situation following the US Bangla airlines crash in Kathmandu, has met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. During the meeting, Oli expressed grief over the death of Bangladeshi nationals in the disaster and expressed his condolences to the people and government of Bangladesh. He informed the minister that a committee has been formed to probe into the incident and the cause of the crash will be ascertained by the committee’s report. The Bangladeshi minister praised the efforts of the Nepali government to rescue the survivors and provide them treatment. He conveyed the gratitude of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister to her counterpart for his response to the incident. At least 49 people had died when a US-Bangla airline flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed inside the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Bidya Devi Bhandari elected as Nepal president for second term Nepal’s first woman president Bidya Devi Bhandari was on Tuesday re-elected for a second term in office. Incumbent President Bhandari defeated Nepali Congress leader Kumari Laxmi Rai with an overwhelming majority in the presidential election. Bhandari, 56, won since her nomination was backed by the ruling Left alliance of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre), the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal and other fringe parties. She became Nepal’s first woman president in 2015. With 148 lawmakers in the Federal Parliament and 243 in Provincial Assemblies, the CPN-UML commands a total vote of 23,356. CPN (Maoist Centre) has 65 lawmakers in parliament and 108 in provincial assemblies, which account for 10,319 votes. T he Nepali Congress, which has 76 seats in parliament and 113 in provincial assemblies, has a total vote of 11,428. As Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal and other fringe parties also deciding to support Bhandari, she c...

Jimbu Thakali: Homely dal-bhat with traditional twist Food is an essential part of Nepali culture as each part of the country has its own tradition. Kathmandu has its unique Newari delights, Terai has its variety of sweets and the mountain regions have their own unique delicacies. One of such delicacy is the Thakali platter, which originates in the pristine valley of Mustang. Thakali platter basically has dal-bhat, but with an authentic twist from Mustang. There is something oddly pleasing about dal-bhat as our day is not complete without having a plate full of it. Dal-bhat for us is what fish and chips are for the British. And to try the famous Thakali set, I visited one of the most talked-about Thakali restaurants in Kathmandu– Jimbu Thakali by Capital Grill. Capital Grill, formerly based in Bhatbhatini, has been serving a variety of Nepali and continental dishes. Now based in Tangal, near the Ganesh temple, the restaurant has expanded and now has a bakery and also offers a gen...