Dr Khatiwada’s stand

MAKWANPUR: National Planning Commission vice-chairman Dr Yubraj Khatiwada on Sunday said that the state should honour regular bank-loan payers. Speaking in Manahari-3 of Makwanpur district at a programme organized by Small Farmers’ Agricultural Cooperative Organization, he said the policy of waiving the loans of debtors has had negative impact on country’s financial sector. The organization operates cooperatives for since two years in Hadikhola and Basamadi VDCs. Chairman Ek Raj Upreti said over 1,000 women are involved in the cooperatives. On the occasion, Agriculture and Cooperative Ministry secretary Bajra Kishor Prasad Shah and Finance Ministry secretary Rameshwor Khanal distributed prizes and certificates to farmers and organization officials.

Tourists arrivals

KAKARVITTA: The number of tourists entering through the eastern border town Kakarvitta has dropped. Thousands of Bangladeshi tourists used to come through this border point. The arrival of European and American tourists through this border point, too, has gone down, said customs office chief Khem Raj Khanal. India has tightened rules for Bangladeshi tourists after the Mumbai attack last year. They have to get permission from the Indian government to reach Nepal as their lies through Indian land. Around 200 Bangladeshi tourists used to enter Nepal in the past through this border point daily, said Khanal. Though around 7,000 visitors got entry permits for Nepal from the Nepali Embassy in Dhaka since mid April last year only 1,000 have been estimated to have come through this point.

Pig farming

BANKE: Farmers in Banke district have started commercial pig farming after the demand for pork heightened in the district. Residents of Manikapur Village Development Committee (VDC) have started commercial pig farming forming Sirjanshil Pig Farming Group. Some 22 farmers joined hands for the development and expansion of the profession. Each of the members in the group collects Rs 50 per month and distributes the money to interested new members to start pig farming, said group chairman Prakash Shrestha. The group also provides training for the farming in coordination with the District Livestock Service Office.

Timber thieves held

BANKE: Three men were arrested while they were chopping trees illegally. Consumers of Jana Ekata and Muyur Community Forest supported the Kohalpur Area Forest Office in catching the wood smugglers in the forest. Khadke Vishwakarma, Kalpa-na Vishwakarma and Ram Kali Bam of Rajhena-5 were held while they were hacking trees, said forest official Ram Hari Sedai. There were 20-30 wood smugglers hacking trees. However, they managed to escape when they saw the forest officials.

Phone service hit

BHADRAPUR: Telephone contact has been broken in Mechi Zone and eastern part of Morang district after optical fiber cable lines of Nepal Telecom were cut. The landline and mobile phone services were disrupted as the cables got cut on Friday morning at Gothgaun of Morang while work to link a land-plot with Mahendra

Highway was on. Some 100,000 telephone lines are affected, Nepal Telecom’s Biratnagar regional office said. Repair work was not completed till mid-day on Sunday. The office said action will be taken against the owner of the land-plot for causing to public property.