The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the legislative parliament directed the Ministry of Energy to present the details of estimated costs for the Paschim Seti hydroelectricity project within a week.

A meeting of the PAC held at Singhadurbar earlier today gave the directive to the Ministry.

Efforts are underway to bring into operation the copper mine situated along the border between Okharbot and Rum VDCs in Myagdi district.

The copper quarry, found during the 19th Century, had remained closed since 1984. It faced closure after copper dug out here couldn't compete with copper imported from foreign countries.

The climate change could directly threaten the water and food security of over 1.6 billion people of South Asia, preliminary findings of a new study financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has shown.

Lalitpur sub-metropolis has allocated five million rupees this year for the conservation of water sources in the area to minimise the shortage of drinking water.

Due to excessive use of underground water in Lalitpur, most of the stone taps, ponds and other sources of water have dried up. The office has plans to harvest rainwater underground in its bid to conserve water sources.

At a time when the water level of Ranipokhari is decreasing due to increasing settlements in the area and the fish in it have started dying because of insufficient water, the Youth Red-Cross Circle (YRC) at Tri-Chandra College on Wednesday installed two more rainwater harvesting systems.

The system was installed with support from World Wildlife Fund and with technical support from NGO Forum for

About 82 families in Bajura district have become homeless due to floods and subsequent landslide.

In Kuldevmandau VDC, 6o families have been displaced and other 22 in Kailashmandau-6 VDC.

The VDC office informed that some seven families of Bane village have been taking shelter in a local school while other 27 families of Kavra village have been taking refuge in a nearby forest.

The government will launch special programmes

Five more persons died from the epidemic of diarrhoea in the district on Wednesday, taking the death toll from the epidemic since its first outbreak in April to 189.

The deceased have been identified as Bahadur Rokaya, 55, and Bhanmati Tiluwa, 57, of Thalaraika VDC-9, Bhim Bahadur BK, 21, of Nayakbada VDC-8, and Subi BK, 55, of Laha VDC-1.

The Valley

About 70 cattle died and dozens others fell ill due to an unknown disease in various VDCs of Dailekh district within the past three weeks.

Kiran Chaulagain, a local veterinarian, said three dozens goats, a dozen cows and 11 buffalos died of the unknown disease at Layanti and Bindrasaini VDCs.

The cattle start drooling and their bodies tremble once they catch the disease, he said.

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