The festival holidays for this year have begun. Millions of Nepalis living in Kathmandu Valley and other major towns have left for their home districts and others are preparing to do so.

Multiple delays, multiple deadline extensions, multiple irregularities and negligence are perhaps what characterize our multi-billion rupees development projects—including the national pride ones on which Nepal exclusively relies to achieve its development goals. This laxity and non-action on national pride projects will cost us dearly—both in terms of economy and the benefits people are supposed to derive from their completion. As Republica has found out, only seven out of 21 national pride projects have achieved 50 percent or more progress although their completion deadlines are inching closer.

Apart from being visibly apathetic toward the woes of sugarcane farmers, the government authorities responsible for handling sugar supplies and market monitoring are found to have committed serious negligence in fixing the price of sugar in the local market, at the cost of financial burden to the customers just ahead of Dashain,

Three-time Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam of ruling Nepal Communist Party is desperate to get elected as member of federal parliament one more time.

The traffic management of Kathmandu, it has long been felt, has remained chaotic. Yes, our roads are narrow and the number of vehicles plying on these narrow streets is increasing.

The report of the high-level investigation committee formed to look into the rape and murder of Nirmala Panta actually states the obvious. And there is where the big problem lies.

When a girl or a woman is sexually assaulted, raped, or acid-attacked, apart from great physical harm, it ravages her psychology forever. The trauma they have to cope with and the stigma they have to bear with are indescribable.

As festival season approaches, government agencies meant for market monitoring wake up. They take media with them, close down few shops and proclaim that the market is all in shape.

The Balance of Payment (BoP) position has slipped into a deficit of Rs 24.77 billion in the very first month of the current fiscal year 2018/19.

Here is a serious reason to worry. The price of timber in the local market is going all time high.  If one has to purchase timber for constructing houses, one has to pay as much as Rs 6,000 per cubic meter.