According to Nepal Public Service Commission (PSC), a total of 24,129 joined the civil service under the open category and nearly 16, 939 under the reservation quota in the last eight years.

Section-wise, entries under reservation quota included 5,728 women, 4,538 indigenous nationalities, 3,719 from Madhesi group, 1,541 Dalits, 789 differently-abled and 624 of marginalized groups.

The new reservation rule added post promulgation of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 mandates 45 percent civil service seats to aforementioned social groups under the reservation category.

In his opinion on the trend, a PSC member Ashok Jha said the reservation process has helped the government in shedding light on people from marginalized groups to bring them into the mainstream.

“The inclusion system has encouraged people from marginalized communities and groups to appear for the most competitive PSC exams, which itself is an achievement because in the past, people from these communities did not even think of appearing for the exam,” says Ashok Jha.

Jha further informed that the reservation process has motivated many aspiring candidates as evident in their excelling performance in the open category exams.

“Now, it is hard to see any reserved seat not being filled,” adds Jha, pitching for the continuation of reservation policy in the country at least for another 10 years period.

Meanwhile, a former chief secretary said the time has arrived for review of the reservation policy that should be reviewed once in every 10 years.

In this regard, he urged the government to review the inclusion policies and ensure that they benefit the needy.

“There should be only one-time inclusion quota for intended groups,” said the former chief secretary, urging the government to also check the quality of the selected applicants.

“The irony of the reservation policy is that a candidate can get selected by merely securing 40 marks, whereas a candidate competing under the open category may not be lucky even if she/he scores 65 marks,” the ex-government official added.

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Devotees worship the God Bhimsen as the ‘God of Commerce, Industry & Fortunes’.

Public celebrate the Bhimsen Jatra with a strong belief of gaining prosperity in business, and the business community has high regard for the festival.

The festival is held with high reverence across the country and the one at Patan stands out as a special highlight.

As part of this annual festival, the devotees carry palanquins with the Lord Bhimsen’s idol.

The worship on the day of ‘Bhimsen Jatra’ begins with the priest bringing down the idol of the Lord from the third floor of the three-storeyed temple in Mangal Bazaar in Patan and then fixes it in the chariot set ready for the outing of the main deity.

Then the devotees carry the deity on the chariot on shoulder poles across the town with musical bands playing traditional Newari devotional music and some sing devotional songs all through the journey till the chariot is brought back to the temple.

As part of the celebrations, devotees also carry palanquin along with incense as a worship to the Lord as they pass through the iconic Patan Durbar Square.

Devotees from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur & surrounding villages gather at Mangal Bazaar for festival celebrations.

The Mangal bazaar Lord Bhimsena temple was a one-storey temple built in 1547, which was later made a three-storeyed in 1601 by the then King Srinivas Malla.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) validated this in its recent announcement calling this as a milestone achievement for the country. Nepal “becomes the first in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness”.

WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva, Switzerland handed over an acknowledgment letter of validation to the Nepali Minister of State for Health and Population Padma Kumari Aryal as part of the World Health Assembly.

Applause for Governance

Officials had a round of applause on Nepal for this ground-breaking achievement of dealing out with the disease of concern.

The Government of Nepal involving the Minister of State for Health and Population, the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation and the Ministry of Education, supported by the strong commitment of local health workers and volunteers drew deserved focus for their efforts on this achievement.

Nepal’s Years of Efforts: An Example of Public-Govt Commitment

Nepal has really come a long way for finally dealing out with the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. The struggle dates back to the 1980s when Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal.

Stepping up the efforts, the Government of Nepal took a serious initiative in 2002 by establishing the national trachoma program for the complete elimination of the disease. As part of this effort supported by sustained control activities, the country could see the prevalence of active (inflammatory) trachoma fall by 40 percent during 2002-05.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education also proved its significant role in taking the program to the next level by spreading awareness across the nation while also proposing the inclusion of a module on trachoma in the school curriculum.

As part of control activities, the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation played crucial by supporting the local communities and districts with the necessary incentives required for building basic infrastructure facilities that improve sanitation and control disease-carrying flies.

The mission to fight trachoma also involved activities across the country.

• Nearly 30 000 operations were conducted to manage trichiasis
• More than 15 million doses of azithromycin were distributed with the help of NNJS supported by the United States Agency for International Development-funded ENVISION project implemented by RTI International under the International Trachoma Initiative
• Overall, the country saw the establishment of eye hospitals and dozens of eye centers and clinics with trained staff between 2002 and 2014

As a result, a series of health surveys conducted progressively during 2005-15 proved the falling rate of active trachoma in children below the elimination prevalence threshold. Low prevalence after the discontinuity of mass antibiotic treatment was also observed.

Global Efforts

The efforts to fight trachoma took a serious turn in 1998 when the World Health Assembly resolved to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem globally.

Since then, the world nations began striving for significant progress in this path and an increasing number of endemic countries eventu

ally started meeting targets for national elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.

WHO has been in the forefront in taking ahead the initiative on a global scale. As part of its efforts, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020).

Under this initiative, WHO stepped up efforts to support country-wise implementation of the SAFE (Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear infection, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to limit transmission) strategy and strengthening of national capacity through epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization.

Significant Events in Nepal’s Fight Against Trachoma from 1978 to 2018

Source: WHO South-East Asia

In 2014, Dr. Khetrapal Singh identified the elimination of neglected tropical diseases as one of the flagship priority programmes across the globe. As a result, the countries in the region including Nepal continued their concerted efforts and Nepal eventually emerged as the first one in the region to fully eliminate the disease nationwide.

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You do not have to think much because life’s most beautiful lies in the daily, ordinary and in the simplest of things that exist around us and so is the case with Nepal!

Nepal finds pride in its rich heritage and culture brought down through years which is represented through art and every piece of handicraft it creates.

Nepali market streets present a wide variety of handicrafts that speak volumes of Nepali artisans’ craftsmanship, thus attracting tourists, art enthusiasts and people who’d love to adorn their homes with these handicrafts. With a wide range of specialization using different elements, Nepalese handicrafts are sure to catch your eyes.

With allo products, dhaka, pashmina, paubha, silver jewelry, wood carving, metal utensil, paper, macrame’ metal statues, and many more Nepal’s arts caters to the interests of a diverse population.

Allo

In a world that buys what it gets and has hardly any time to keep up with traditional old times and at the least, stay connected with nature. Nepal makes it a reality as evident in its wide range of eco-friendly products such as fiber-made Allo. Found in the forests of Nepal, the Allo or Sisnu grows at an altitude of 1200 to 3000m. The fibres of this plant are spun to produce jackets, porter’s headbands or straps, fishing nets, ropes, bags, sacks, mats and blankets in the remote villages, especially in Kulung Rai of Nepal. These items are marketed in Kathmandu and are also exported to countries like USA and Japan.

Dhaka

Originated in Bengal, the art of Dhaka weaving is actively practised in the Palpa region of Kathmandu and in Tehrathum, in the eastern hills of the Himalayas. Since many years, Dhaka craftsmen from the eastern and western development regions from Nepal weave pure cotton with specifically created wooden handloom to produce a vibrant variety of saris, shirts, shawls, handkerchiefs and more.

Dhaka clothing is outlined by geometrical print and vibrant coloring. Men from the Chhetri community mostly wear clothing with Dhaka print (Daura Surwal) on their wedding day. The usage of Dhaka has become very significant in recent times, for example, the Dhaka caps or topis are worn for religious ceremonies with regards to births and deaths. The traditional Dhaka Daura Surwal is also donned by the Newars while performing funeral rites.

Pashmina

So, what is Pashmina? Now, we’ve heard this word in a song, in poetry and in some literature too. Well, Pashmina is the fur of the Himalayan goats known as Chyangras. Nepal is famous for Chyangra Pashmina manufacturing and is recognized and registered among the 47 countries with a Trade Mark of Pashminas of Nepal. As per 2000-2001 statistics, Pashmina contributed to 18.4% of the total overseas exports.

Paubha 

Kathmandu is known as the land of temples and is home to one of the most talented artisans and craftsmen of Nepal.

The natives of Kathmandu, the Newars have strong religious beliefs which are reflected in their paintings called Paubha/Thangka. Paubha is a painting done on cloth using paint that includes gold, lapis-lazuly or mercury-oxide.

The entire history and the lives of deities are depicted on this piece of cloth. This tradition dates to 1365 AD when the Vasudhara Mandala was first discovered.

Silver Jewelry

The art of silver jewelry making in Nepal dates to the 6 ^th century. Skilled silversmiths from the Shakya, Bajracharya and Sunar families have maintained the art of creating silver jewelry in Nepal. Patan or Lalitpur is among the three historical cities of the Kathmandu valley that have one of the most reputed and fine silversmiths in Nepal. These artisans keep up with changing trends by creating silver jewelry with westernized designs. Nepali silver jewelry is of high demand in the West and has contributed to about 13.25% of Nepali handicraft exports last year.

Wood Carving

Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur are home to the specialists of wood carvings. The Newars, a multi-talented people, have been following the practice since the 12th century. The range of woodwork done by the craftsmen include wooden statues, doors, sculptures and other artistic crafts. The historical carvings in the Kathmandu valley are a visual treat.

Metal Utensil

Nepali holds an expertise in metal crafting. The crafts are produced totally by hand with traditional technologies like hand hammering and hand casting. These metal crafts are produced by household units clustered around the city of Lalitpur (Patan). The art of metal crafts includes statues of popular motifs of Hinduism and Buddhism and utensils for regular use. The metal statues of Nepal are very popular among other metal crafts.

Long Live Traditional Art!

Most of the handicraft practices in Nepal have been passed on from generations to generations. But the younger generations are beginning to shift their focus to other kinds of jobs to sustain family life.

Also, to keep up with the changing trends and bring in innovation, Nepal has put its footsteps into contemporary art and handicraft. Some of its modern art include floor covering, modern painting, patina products, felt crafts, puzzle toys, macramé leather handbags and more.

The Nepali handicrafts industry not only practices and preserves age-old tradition and culture in the country but also is a driving force in eliminating poverty by creating innumerable job opportunities, especially for women. Production associations and groups like the Shree Mahila Utthan Pashmina Udhyog in Kathmandu have a group of about 30 employees out of which 50% are women.

At present, Nepal’s handicrafts are among the largest exported items of the country and more than 20 handicraft products are being exported to about 85 countries across the world.

The largest being the USA which has a hold on about 25% of the handicrafts totally exported. Other major countries include Britain, India, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, Australia, Netherlands, and China. This creative industry is home to about 916,852 citizens of the country, with the country’s capital Kathmandu, recording an employment rate of 89,548 in this sector. With the rise in the sale of handicrafts being sold online these days, the purchase of Nepali handicrafts is seeing a high.

Long live Nepali handicrafts, keep treating your creative eye with some beautifully-crafted pieces of art!

The post Nepali Handicrafts – Tradition Alive! More of Art and Creative Vision appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The policy that is centered towards empowerment of local units or Federal Nepal has climate change on top of its priority list, informed Ishwari Prasad Poudel, Spokesperson for the Department of Forests (DoF).

“Previous policies were not as clear on climate change. They had not covered broader areas related to climate change. The upcoming policy aims to address the issue of climate change by including all international treaties on climate change,” says Poudel.

Poudel went on to say that the new policy, coming as a replacement to the extant National Forest Policy 2015, will guide all levels of government and also local levels in designing action plans and policies to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Besides climate change, the draft policy also covers various sectors related to environment and forest conservation.

The policy includes a provision that requires inclusion of measures on climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience in all forestry-related development programs.

As a special feature, the policy also calls for conducting of technology programmes and arrange needed resources and technology for the convenience of vulnerable communities.

“Based on larger themes, local levels can draft their own programmes and actions for preparing themselves against climate change,” adds Poudel.

The policy also focuses on controlling carbon emissions, discouraging deforestation and addressing the community-level concerns through indigenous methods.

Nepal is one country that is most vulnerable to climate change over the sensitive environment and has been pitching its concerns at various global climate change meetings such as Paris Conference and the Conference of Parties (COP23) among others.

The new policy comes as a hope to Nepal to address the country’s long-standing climate change concerns.

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Through this special program in the New Year 2018, the organization (Sneha Travel Media) is focused on promoting Nepali culture and tourism in around 70 countries.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) are supporting this tourism promotion program.

“We are launching this campaign in Itahari, Sauraha, Janakpur, Pokhara, and Nepalgunj within the country and in 70 different countries of the world including Turkey, Australia, United States and United Kingdom,” says Suresh Chandra Basnet, Program Coordinator.

Basnet further informed that this special program will promote Nepali food and culture, covering various communities ranging from mountainous regions to Tarai and east to west, on a global scale.

This tourism and culture promotional program is expected to boost inflow of tourists to Nepal and is coming at a time when the country has registered a record tourist arrivals of 9 lakh in 2017.

It’s definitely an exciting update for the global Nepali community!

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