Quake-hit send warm clothes to Capital

Earthquake survivors in Dhading have sent warm clothes to top political leaders in a symbolic protest after the local bodies delayed the distribution of winter relief in the district.

They dispatched woollen caps, gloves and shawls among other materials to the leaders. A group of displaced people in Dhusha VDC handed over the winter items and a piggy bank to Chief District Officer Bishow Prakash Subedi. They requested him to hand over the materials to the political leaders.
Eight months after the Gorkha quake, people are dying due to the chill in their flimsy tents as the government has failed to help them rebuild their homes. The government blames the political deadlock and the ongoing blockade of imports from India for the lack of progress in resettling the displaced people.
More than 8,800 people were killed and over a million displaced in the April 25 earthquake. The Post-Disaster Needs Assessment estimated that $6.7 billion will be needed for reconstruction.
The quake survivors sent woollen shawl to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, a woollen cap printed “I love Nepal” to Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala and woollen gloves to UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The CDO had at first refused to accept the goods.
Although the government sent provisions to the district in the second week of December, they have not been distributed due to the CDO’s transfer, absence of VDC officials and geographical barriers.
The District Disaster Management Committee, however, had decided on December 18 to distribute relief immediately to those whose houses were destroyed in the April earthquake. CDO Subedi said he has directed VDC officials to distribute relief to affected households in 40 VDCs. The district administration has allocated Rs690 million to the local bodies.  Organi-sations including Nepal Red Cross Society distributed winter goods in five VDCs.

  source bye Kathmandu post

Govt waives visa fee for Chinese tourists

Govt waives visa fee for Chinese tourists

Chinese tourists will not have to pay visa fee to enter Nepal henceforth.

In a bid to boost arrivals from the north, the Cabinet on Friday decided to waive the fee for Chinese visitors—a facility enjoyed only by visitors from Saarc countries so far.

The Cabinet decision came immediately after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa announced the new visa policy during bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday.

The Chinese government also lifted travel advisories to its citizens travelling to Nepal with immediate effect. The advisory was issued by the Chinese consular service network in the context of earthquakes in Nepal. “This marks the tour normalization for Chinese citizens in Nepal,” read a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. Foreign visitors have to pay $25 for a 15-day visa and $40 and $100 for 30-day and 90-day visas, respectively.

“It’s a welcome move,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, secretary at the Tourism Ministry. “It will help attract a greater number of Chinese tourists to Nepal.”
He said Nepal has seen a phenomenal growth in the number of Chinese tourists over the past decade and this growth momentum is expected to continue in the years ahead with the new policy.

Over the past decade, Chinese tourist arrivals have jumped more than fivefold, making the northern neighbour Nepal’s second largest source market, attesting to the growing popularity of the Himalayan country among Chinese vacationers.

After becoming the world’s largest bloc of outbound travellers in 2012, Chinese tourists gained a bigger lead in 2013 and 2014. According to China Tourism Research Institute, China has been the world’s largest outbound market since 2012.

By November, 2014, China’s yearly outbound tourists reached 100 million for the first time. In the whole year, the outbound tourists reached 117 million, an increase of 19.16 percent over 2013.

The outbound tourists spent a record $164.8 billion overseas in 2014. China had 61.90 million outbound visitors in the first half of 2015, an increase of 12.1 percent compared with the same period in 2014.  

Nepal witnessed a constant growth in the number of Chinese tourist arrivals since June 2009. Tourism Ministry statistics showed Nepal received 123,805 Chinese visitors in 2014, up 10 percent year-on-year. Ministry officials attributed the rise to increased air connectivity. Currently, four Chinese carriers—Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and Sichuan Airlines—operate flights to Nepal.

The China National Tourism Administration categorized Nepal under the Approved Destination Status (ADS) for the first time in November 2001, after which Chinese citizens came to Nepal officially as tourists. Before 2000, the Chinese were allowed to travel to Nepal only on official visits.

In February last year, Nepal and China signed a revised bilateral air services agreement (ASA), permitting the operation of 56 flights per week. Under the old ASA, Chinese airlines were allowed to operate 14 flights every week to Nepal.
Favourite places in Nepal for the Chinese are Kathmandu, Pokhara, Jomsom and Muktinath. They are also shifting towards soft adventure sports like trekking, paragliding and rafting of late. Source by Kathmandu post 

Six buildings in Koteshwor found to be threatening air safety

Six residential houses adjacent to the southern boundary of Tribhuvan International Airport have been deemed to be too close to the airport for safety reasons while four others are found to be in critical zone, according to a report prepared by Kathmandu Metropolitan City.A technical team under KMC engineer Bir Bahadur Khadka came to the finding after conducting an obstacle survey at Palpakpot, Koteshwor in KMC Ward no 35, which lies on the southern end of TIA.Among the buildings in the area, west of Pespicola-Jadibuti road, six were found to be on obstacle limitation surface, an area beyond the boundary of the aerodrome that must be protected from obstacles so that aircrafts can conduct safe takeoff and landing.

Likewise, four buildings were found to be on the critical zone, meaning that no further physical structure can be added to them. Rest of the buildings have been cleared by the Khadka-led committee. Earlier, people living in the area had filed a complaint at parliamentary development committee after Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal had decided to reacquire 149 ropanis of land eight years after the owners were permitted to build houses on their plots. Caan’s move was aimed at constructing drainage and extending airport perimeter for preventing construction of houses on the southern side of the airport for air safety.KMC has not yet officially decided the fate of the buildings that have found to be threatening air safety but sources say they will most likely be demolished. source by Kathmandu post

 

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Valley witnesses coldest day of this winter

Dec 23, 2015- Kathmandu Valley witnessed the coldest day of this winter on Tuesday, with the mercury dropping to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD).
 Since the start of this week, the minimum day temperatures in the Valley have hovered between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius.
The extreme minimum temperature ever recorded for Kathmandu was -2 degrees Celsius on December 31, 1977. The lowest minimum temperature recorded for December last year was 2.7 degrees Celsius.
“The chilling weather conditions will continue for over two weeks with more severe cold in the coming days,” said Shanta Kandel, a meteorologist at the MFD. “Kathmandu will remain cloudy for the next couple of days, which is likely to bring the temperatures down in the mornings and nights.”
Though the average monthly rainfall in Kathmandu for the month of December is 13.2mm, the Valley has not witnessed rain so far. Winter in the Valley starts from mid-November, with December and January being the coldest months. On Tuesday, except for Dharan, all 19 meteorological stations of the MFD recorded minimum temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. Jumla recorded the lowest temperature at -8.3 degrees Celsius source by Kathmandu post

Trekking & Hiking in Nepal

                          Trekking & Hiking in Nepal

 Whether it be on beaten trails or in virgin areas, Nepal is a trekker’s heaven. The organic pace of foot travel is a wonderful way to explore untouched mountain ranges and make ageless contact with the country.

 Hiking through the Himalayas offers a unique blend of physical challenge, mental relaxation, and religious elation. Retaining its dream-like quality and that indescribable attraction, which has captured the imaginations of the world over trekking through this surreal scenery offers you an unforgettable experience. It is not unusual to cross snowfields in the morning and bathe in subtropical streams in the afternoon. customary trading trails are still used by local, genuine natives, inviting you to their primitive, though comfortable cottages. The purpose of trekking is not a certain destination, but the journey itself our job is to ensure your comfort and safety, while we take you where you want to go, at your own pace, seeking out your own objectives. Trekking in the Himalayas is an escapade in wonderland…

Nepal’s west	Nepal’s Center	Nepal’s East
Dolpo (upper & Lower ) Mustang Annapurna Manaslu Jumla-Rara /Simikot  Similot/Tibet Mount kailash Gorkha/pokhara Khaptad/Ramaroshan	Langtang/ Helambu Gosainkunda Panch pokhari/Gangala pass Ganesh Himal	Kanchenjunga Makalu/Barun valley Mt. Everest /khumbu Arun Valley Rolwaling Valley

Above mention are Nepal’s trekking regions and the kingdom’s National parks. We now provide you with more specified information and itineraries about a selective group out of the areas. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that they give only a small and limited reflection about what is possible trekking, and all our other activities can be designed to your preferences, by adjusting them in duration, route, and combinations. Many more ready-made itineraries are waiting for you.

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