Kathmandu:

A total of 19 contestants will grapple for the crown of Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2005. The pageant will be organized by Hidden Treasure in association with Kathmandu Jaycees, will be the fourth consecutive year for Dabur Nepal to host the event.

The grand finale which is scheduled to take place at the BICC hall on September 10 will be telecast live on Nepal Television. The winner of the title will also have the opportunity to represent Nepal at the Miss World 2005 (China). The first runner up will be representing Nepal in Miss Earth pageant (the Philippines) while the second runner up will compete in the Miss Asia Pacific International. The prize money for the titleholders has been increased this year and the winner will be entitled to an award money of Rs 1,00,000 and a Kinetic Nova scooter while the first and second runner up will bag Rs 60,000 and Rs 40,000 respectively.

Besides their regular visits to different places of import around town the next on the cards is their visit to APCA house. The Pageant will also have a number of title awards - Vatika Miss Beautiful Hair, Vatika Soap Miss Beautiful Complexion, Dabur Red Gel Miss Beautiful Smile, Real Miss Natural Talent, Kodak Miss Photogenic, The New Era Miss Personality, and Imagine Boutique Miss Best Dress. In addition to the titles a special award, Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal My Choice, is also arranged which will be decided on the basis of public votes.

The contestants selected to compete for Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2005: Baby Subba, Sunita Sapkota, Hema Shrestha, Pratiksha Moktan, Mohini Rana, Manju Lama, Chandra Gurung, Samita Subba, Nirja Ranjit, Sushila Rana, Soniya Giri, Bilena Malla, Pooja Shah, Anita Gurung, Shavona Shrestha, Ayushma Pokharel, Sweta Khadka, Sugarika KC and Cherie Sherchan.