Author: Himalaya Post

KATHMANDU– Nirmala Pant’s parents, accompanied by Province 7 lawmakers and rights activists, met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at his residence on Monday, to seek justice for their daughter. In the meeting that lasted an hour, Nirmala’s mother Durga Devi handed over a memorandum to Oli at Baluwatar. She explained why she was compelled to knock on his door, following the failure of government agencies to find the culprits responsible for her daughter’s rape and murder in July. “I came to meet you to seek justice for my daughter,” she repeatedly told Oli. Responding to the concern, Oli admitted that investigation into the incident had been delayed as the government relied on the local police unit for preliminary probe. “Officers may have blundered but we cannot accuse them before the investigation completes,” the prime minister said. “The state will do the needful whether or not there are protests. We cannot even imagine saving the culprits.” Oli also promised that the culprits would not be spared at any cost. He told the bereaved parents that he had directed the Home Ministry to conduct a serious investigation and take stern action against those found guilty. “I’m Nirmala’s guardian too, and I’m shocked as much as you are,” Oli’s press coordinator Chetan Adhikari quoted Oli as saying. “Many probe teams had been deployed earlier. Lately, a high-level team led by a DIG...

Pokhara– The capacity of hotels operating inside the Annapurna area is being expanded to address the increasing flow of domestic as well as foreign tourists to the region. A total of 26 hotels are currently under operation, targeting trekkers heading to the Annapurna base camp. But they have proved insufficient and hence the Annapurna rural municipality has begun work to expand the capacity of the hotels. Accordingly, a task force has been constituted to carry out a study into the need for increasing capacity and number of hotels, also considering the ecological factor of the region, according to Chief of the Rural Municipality Yubaraj Kunwar. Najaraman Gurung leads the task force. Last year alone, 32,000 foreign tourists trekked up to Annapurna base camp, which is six times more than when hotels first began operating in 2049 B.S., says member of the task force Lalit Gurung. Adding domestic tourists as well as tourist and trekking guides takes that number to almost 80,000, adds Gurung. The 26 hotels operate under the standards determined by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Accordingly, every hotel has six rooms each, with a total of 156 rooms available for guests. The hotels are based in Sinuwa, Bambo, Himalayan, Dhobhan, Deurali, Machapuchre base camp and Annapurna base camps. The rural municipality has taken the initiative after revenue collection from the hotels came under its authority. It was...