Kathmandu:

This is the most coveted title in the country and 25 beautiful, ambitious and intelligent girls have been shortlisted to vie for the crown. Yes, people we are talking about nothing else but the Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2007. The names of the selected 25 were announced at a press meet held at the Hyatt Regency on February 18.

Over 300 girls had sent in their applications to be the next Miss Nepal, and a panel of six judges had selected 75 from among them in the preliminary selection round. The dreams of 50 girls were shattered, however, the remaining 25 now move ahead to the training round.

The girls were selected on the basis of their personality, confidence, general knowledge and intelligence quotient. Out of these, 20 contestants will be finalised in the second week during their training session on the basis of their commitment, dedication and capability.

As theme for this year’s Miss Nepal pageant is ‘New face for new Nepal’, organisers aim to prove that the contest not only focuses on the outer beauty, but also on the girls’ intelligence and personality. Hence, this year’s training session will be given higher priority so that there is a marked improvement in the participants’ overall personality and confidence. The responsibility of this daunting task has been handed over to the New Era institute.

The winner of Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2007 will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and an attractive scooter form Kinetic Nova, while the first runner up will receive Rs 60,000 and the second runner up gets Rs 40,000. Winners of sub titles like Miss Photogenic, Miss Talent, Miss Best Hair, Miss Best Complexion, Miss Best Personality, Miss Beautiful Smile and Miss Best Dress will each receive a cash prize of Rs 10,000.

In addition to these titles, a special award ‘Dabur Vatika My Choice’ contest has also been introduced in which the general public will get the opportunity to vote for their favourite contestant. Voting has to be done through SMS on 2722 on THT live.

The pageant is managed by Hidden Treasure in association with JCI (Junior Chamber International, Kathmandu), which was previously known as Kathmandu Jaycees. Suman Shrestha, president of JCI said, “A certain amount of the proceeds from Miss Nepal pageant is given to the JCI, which we use for social causes. The JCI has been involved in forest development programmes near Thankot area, upgrading of sanitation facilities in schools and villages. We have adopted a village at Bal Bhanjyang and a school at Gokarna.”

Dabur Vatika is the event’s main sponsor with Annapurna Post as the official print media.

Former Miss Nepals Sugarika KC, Ruby Rana (who is also the official make up artist of the pageant), Shavona Shrestha and Ayushma Pokharel were also present at the press conference.

Miss Nepal will be crowned at a grand ceremony on April 7.