KATHMANDU: Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology is said to be introducing policies and programmes on planetary observatory and speeding up work on the science museum.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the ninth National School on Astronomy and Astrophysics, Umesh Prasad Mainali, secretary, MoEST, said they were in talks with National Planning Commission to formulate plans related to planetary observatory. He said they had received just Rs 4.5 lakhs for the purpose, stating that a lot needs to be done in the field of science and technology by the state.

Mainali said the government would promote scientific research, emphasising that development needs to be adapted regionally.

Shree Harsha Koirala, executive director, BP Koirala Memorial Planetarium, Observatory and Science Museum Development Board, said astronomy should be incorporated in detail in the school curriculum. Koirala said they were taking up programmes for the development and expansion of planetariums, observatories and science museums nationwide.

Sanat Kumar Sharma, deputy executive director of the Board, said students had got a chance of observing Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and moon from Nagarkot through a telescope. He said they were focussing on wider application of science and technology by making people aware of its utility through extensive dissemination of scientific knowledge among the masses.