The government has introduced a much-awaited ordinance in an apparent bid to punish acid attackers and discourage such incidents. A Cabinet meeting on Thursday endorsed the ordinance brought forth to amend the Criminal Offence and Criminal Procedures Act. The ordinance now awaits certification from President Bidya Devi Bhandari to become a law.
The ordinance has a provision of a jail term of 20 years and a fine of Rs 1 million against anyone throwing acid on anyone or using others to do so, resulting in the loss of vision due to serious harm to both eyes; or loss of hearing due to burn in both ears; or the face getting disfigured due to severe burns; or both breasts are burnt and completely damaged (in case of females); or burns in the genitals.
Speaking at a premium show #2030 of Nepal Republic Media with Prakriti Bhattarai on Tuesday, Minister Bhattarai said the construction of Nijgadh Airport is a process of preparation for future tourism.
Sept 24: Republica Morning Brief
The Kathmandu Valley alone saw 645 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Issuing a press statement on Friday, the union said that it is clear that the permit is a conspiracy to include Himalaya Airlines in the service and later let it enter the commercial ground handling in February, 2021. “Such a step will put NAC and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal into financial risk as the portion of the earnings will be bagged by a foreign company that has shares in the airline company,” the statement stated. The NAC has been providing the ground handling service at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) as per the criteria set by ICAO and IATA.
Addressing a high-level virtual side event at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, PM Oli said that the government is committed to securing human rights as early as possible to end all forms of poverty in the country.
A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday passed the ordinance amending the Criminal Offenses and Criminal Procedure Act related to acid attack. One of the provisions of the ordinance states that shops selling and distributing acid will have to get a license after receiving permission from the district administration. The license must also be renewed annually.
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Barshaman Pun has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to immediately address the problem in power supply. Of late, frequent power outages have been reported in different places of the country due to bad weather.
Calling NEA’s officiating Managing Director Lekhanath Koirala and other executives for a meeting on Thursday, the minister has asked them to immediately resolve the issue of power outage. He has asked Koirala to do the needful to solve the problem. “The general public is our customers. So, immediately address the concerns of our customers,” he said, “We should not take the complaints negatively and work in a way to address their concern as soon as possible as it is their right to get regular electricity supply.”
