Lalitpur, May 8, 2006

Renovation of the partially functional Rajkulo of Lalitpur will commence next week.

The first phase of the renovation of the approximately eight km long Rajkulo  a canal of the Lele River  will help revive historical ponds, irrigate farmlands on the outskirts of Lalitpur, and supply water to aquifers and stone spouts in core city areas.

The Environment and Heritage Conservation Nepal (EHCN) and Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City are jointly implementing the first phase of the project with the support of Rs 29.9 million from the Indian Embassy.

The first phase will see the renovation of the feeder canal, extension of the main canal up to Sunakothi and the improvement of the state of the existing ponds on the outskirts of the district.

Prayag Raj Joshi, a water expert and secretary of EHCN, who conducted the study of the Rajkulo, said, “The first phase that is scheduled for completion in February will supply water for the irrigation of 350 hectares of land, revive five ponds on the outskirts, feed water to two shallow aquifers and aid water flow in 12 stone spouts.” No donor has come forward to finance the second stage of renovation project, Joshi said.

“The second phase is estimated to cost Rs 140 million.

The renovation works during the second stage will ensure regular supply of water to five other aquifers and benefit around 40,000 people with easy access to water from stone spouts.”

Yeti Airlines spreads its wings

Yeti Airlines has a major expansion plan on board. As a part of the plan, the leading domestic airlines has already acquired a new Jetstream 41 (J41) aircraft from a British aircraft manufacturer  British Aerospace Systems Plc UK.

The 29-seater J41 landed at Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday. The airlines plans to lease three more J41 aircrafts by the first week of July, says Sharad Pradhan, director  marketing at the Yeti Airlines.

The airlines has already inked a lease agreement with BAE Systems Plc to acquire four J41 aircrafts. “In addition to these four aircrafts, we could lease two more J41s, according to our future requirements and growth trend of aviation sector in the domestic market,” revealed Pradhan.

The J41 has a cabin height of over 1.78 metre. It has a seating capacity of 29 at 30-inch pitch (leg room) and can fly at an altitude of more than 25,000 feet.

The five bladed propellers also ensure less cabin noise and a smooth flight. These features along with a state of the art cockpit make the J41 a comfortable and reliable aircraft to travel inside Nepal.

The lavatory facility available is yet another feature of the J41, claims the Airlines.

Yeti plans to operate the J41 aircrafts in the major domestic routes of Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Pokhara and Nepalgunj.