Three killed in mishap

PALPA: Three persons were killed and 12 injured when a passenger bus heading towards Butwal from Tansen skidded off the road and plunged 200 metres down the hill near Jhumsa in Dovan VDC on Monday morning. Keshavraj Basyal, 19, of Barandi-6 of Palpa and driver Nara Bahadur Gharti Magar, 35, of Makrahar-6 of Rupandehi died on the spot. Putali BK, 60, of Parroha-3 of Rupandehi died while undergoing treatment at the Bhairahawa-based Medical College. — HNS

‘Oldest’ teacher dies

KATHMANDU: Prof Keshab Dev Bhattarai, a renowned teacher, passed away on Sunday at the age of 96. Arguably the oldest teacher, Bhattarai tought for 65 years in different educational institutions. He was one of the first to have Masters degree in Nepal. He was honoured with Gorkha Dakshinbahu, Trishakti Patta and many other honours. He is survived by 92-year old wife, two sons and a daughter. He saw five generations of his own blood in his life time. — HNS

Surya Nepal reopens

BIRGUNJ: The Surya Nepal Private Limited resumed operations on Monday after a closure of 20 days. The Simara-based multinational company was shut because of the strike by workers’ union. The union agreed to withdraw the ongoing strike after talks with the industry management, which began at the initiation of the Labour Ministry. — HNS

Bomb defused

BARA: Security personnel defused a socket bomb left by a gang in a house belonging to Iliyas Ansari in Kalaiya-12 on Monday morning. Nepal Army defused the bomb, Bara District Police Office said. The Tarai Mukti Morcha Bara district platoon commander Agni claimed to have placed the bomb in Ansari’s house because he did not provide financial support to the party. Ansari, the secretary of Thagan VDC, is the chairperson of Bara chapter of VDC Secretary Protection Centre. — HNS

Factory reopens

HETAUDA: The Hetauda Cement Industry resumed operation on Monday after remaining shut for three weeks for lack of raw materials and electricity. The industry was shut down on January 19 after it began incurring losses due to load-shedding, said technical officer at the factory Tej Bahadur Godar. He informed that the Nepal Electricity Authority has agreed to supply power as demanded by the industry. — HNS