New loadshedding schedule effective from Baishak 22, 2070 ( May 6, 2013)

Nepal Electricity Authority has announced the load shedding hours to be reduced by 2 hour to 8 hours a day. The new load shedding schedule is said to be effective from Sunday- Baishak 22, 2070 (May 6, 2013). As more electricity is produced from the hydropower plants and additional import of electricity from India, NEA is able to reduce the power cut hours, which is already reduced unofficially from few days. Here is the new load shedding schedule to be effective from Baishak 22, 2070. Click the picture to download the latest loadshedding schedule.

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Badhshala movie review.

Finally, after more than a month of wait and some dialogues of the movie makers with Nepal Army and Censor board, Badhshala got released in Nepali cinemas from Baishak 6 as the release date of Falgun 25 gone in vain due to censor board's indecision and Nepal Army's objection. The movie was already released uncensored in Australia and some other countries and I too had written the first review based on what my friends from Australia conversed to me. Here is what I felt about the movie after watching.

Badhshala is a story of torture inside an army barrack (Bhairab Nath Gand) during the emergency period due to maoists insurgency. The story being based on the books like Adhyara 258 dinharu by Jitman Basnet, Manav Badhshala by Krishna KC and an anonymous article written by an anonymous Army shows an innocent teacher who is taken to Badshala -(meaning slaughter house in english) for accused of being a maoists, face the humiliation and his hope to go alive from the barrack dies eventually. The army batallion is shown to contain many detainees both innocent civilians and maoists cadres, who are forced to commit themselves of being maoists by signing a paper written by the army and are ultimately killed in a jungle.
Movie also depicts stubborness of a maoist cadre who refuse to give information about their shelter, the whereabouts of their party leaders and who does not even get afraid of being shot when he was taken to a jungle to show some demo live gun shots killing.

Though Director Manoj Pandit told me in a candid converstaion that he is against the whole idea of blaming a movie to take sides, the movie written and directed by him manages to keep the balance

for not taking either sides. The movie shows how the detainees are humiliated, tortured and disappeared from an army batallion and portrays the cruelness of a national army towards maoist rebel without supporting the maoists agendas for the war against the state. 
Movie even shows how Royal Nepal Army officers developes some relation with the detainees where in a scene the army major invites discussion with the maoist in a tea sitting and an army even makes tobacco for the innocent teacher. There is a conversation between the army major and the maoist where they point each other for violating human rights, with army treating people like animal inside the barrack and maoists threatening people for donation. The argument is truely a neutral depiction of what people feel about the both sides and it also shows how the both sides feel right for their work, one for the achievement of people's right through revolution and another for the security of the state and its people.

The torture story takes turn when a letter from one of the detainees gets leaked to the outside world, and to know more what follows suit you should visit theatres near you.
Though some cutting of the torture sequences by the censor board and silencing of Maoist leaders name make the movie somewhat feeble, the acting/performance, background score, plot and the

cinematrography puts the movie at a superior position and I see it as a landmark in the Nepali Movie history. Some moments like the fast dialogue from angry Arpan Thapa's character that is hard to catch and repetition of the same torture again and again comes to me as the downsides. Lastly with such superb movie made on our native story and without much remarkable budget, I feel like its a big slap to all those movie makers who mixes story from bollywood to reshow it in Nepali and to all who allege the movie budget to be the major hurdle for excellent movies.

Rabi Lamichane breaks the record of World's longest Television talk show.

Rabi Lamichane- a popular TV host/RJ before, breaks a record in Nepal for the worlds longest television talk show after 60 hours of continuous interviewing with various personalities. More than 100 well known personalities from different walks of life like politicians, actors, singers, business persons, and many others were interviewed in the talk show from Thursday 10:30 am to Saturday 10:30 pm that is being aired on News24 television channel. In a bid to promote Nepal to be recognized as the land where Lord Buddha was born, he breaks the Ukranian record of 52 hours. 

News24 TV also stopped its regular news update and other programs to air this 60 hours television live show, without any advertisement which is a very big thing to do. Rabi Lamichane sounded so confident and energetic performance even in the wee hours make him win this record to promote our country. News24 TV and other organizing event manager congratulated Rabi in a program outside the TV office at Lazimpat. His brother and prominent Radio prensenter Hari Sharan Lamichane saluted his courage to be success in this venture to promote our country and told his work even signified the need of unity for building country- like the way people are united to wish Rabi a success. News24 TV is now celebrating this World record achievement and welcome of Nepali New Year 2070 BS together. Rabi Lamichane- a bold personality who did what he wanted to do for the country, for himself, for all his endeavors and an audacious effort to break a world record is very much inspiring to similar people like me. Wish I could do something like him. Guinness officials are yet to announce the result officially.

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Sajha bus launches in Kathmandu (with video and pictures).

Sajha Yatayat co-operative has again launched the bus service in Kathmandu in an event in Sajha office at Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk today. Chief Secretary Lila Mani Paudel inaugurated the bus service by riding on the bus from Sajha to Lagankhel and back. Popular Actors Hari Bansha Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha sold Rs 15 ticket to Chief secretary and other invitees in a bus packed with media persons. Earlier Sajha head Kanak Mani Dixit expressed his commitment to run good service to all and even assured to come up with a disabled friendly bus service in Kathmandu soon. Earlier Chief secretary, Ma-Ha (Madan Krishna + HariBansha) voiced their gratitude to the noble restart of Sajha bus service in Kathmandu. Kanak Mani Dixit    even opined that the addition of this big vehicles along the routes from North to South and East to West of Kathmandu will be a significant step in promoting people to use public transportation.

While riding the demo Sajha bus, Kanak Mani Dixit, Maha sang the popular Sajha bus song as "Sajha bus ma jo pani chaddacha, Kilindar le pandhra rupaiya ko ticket katdacha". People inside the bus including the camera-persons, reporters were very excited to catch them and Maha even sold/checked the tickets of the passengers in a jolly mood. Here is a video of the song in Youtube. 

After the event, Sajha Yatayat gave free ride to the people in the two routes: one from Kalanki through Teku, Tripureshor, New Baneshwor, Sinamangal to Airport and back, whereas the other one from Satdobato through Jawalakhel, Tripureshor, Ratnapark, Jamal, Lainchaur, Lazimpat, Maharajganj to Gongabu Bus park and back. 16 Green Colored Euro III emission standard buses with 54 seats and 15 standing points is running in Kathmandu road from the early morning of first day of the year 2070. With two doors, one for entrance in the rear and other for exit in the front end (both controllable by Driver), the bus will have conductor near the rear door to sell paper tickets worth Rs. 15. Two CCTV cameras and one entertainer/informative TV screen is also fitted in the bus.  They will be launching the regular bus service in Kathmandu and Lalitpur from 5 am to 11 pm in the two routes from tomorrow, Baishak 1, 2070.

 For Other information about Sajha Bus, Click here.
Here are some pictures from the event.

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