Apples from Himachal Pradesh to boost economy of Nepal

Apples from Himachal Pradesh are set to boost the economy of Nepal and its farmers in Nepal are expected to reap high profits from the high yielding variety of apples that are being imported from Nauni, Solan district of Himachal Pradesh.
Nearly 2000 root stocks of apple plants have been imported by Nepalese farmers and these have the capacity to produce 25 metric tonnes per hectare. The Nepal government had introduced apples in Jumla in the 1970s and they too were procured from Himachal Pradesh.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 18 January 2017.

Right now, apple is grown on 5063 hectare area with a production of around 43,000 metric tonnes per year and the per hectare production at present stands between 5 to 8 metric tonnes.
However, apple growing areas in Nepal are situated in remote places in the mid and high mountains. These areas are not easily accessible to motor roads and, therefore, essential inputs like fertilizers, plant protection chemicals and horticulture tools etc are not regularly available.


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Floods and landslides in Nepal leave at least 77 dead

The toll in floods and landslides in Nepal have reached 77 with hundreds of others forced to flee their homes as torrential monsoon rains wreaked havoc in the country and army had to be deployed for rescue and relief operations. The heavy rains have resulted in massive floods and landslides in many parts of the country, putting thousands of lives at risk.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 29 July 2016.

Incessant rains have swept away many houses and bridges and, apart from the 77 dead, another nine persons are still missing. The worst-hit district was Pyuthan. In this district, at least 36 have died and dozens of houses have been swept away. Moreover, nearly 200 families have been displaced due to floods and landslides.
Floods have also swept away four micro-hydropower projects and majority of the affected people were earthquake victims who were living in quake-damaged houses after repair. Tens of thousands of Nepalese continue to live in tents following last year's devastating earthquakes that killed nearly 9,000 people.


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27th Travel & Tourism Fair takes off in Kolkata - Thailand is the Feature country

The 27th Travel & Tourism Fair, TTF Kolkata, has opened at Netaji Indoor Stadium and the adjacent Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. This kick starts the TTF Series, and the travel marketing season. TTF is India's oldest and largest travel trade show and is held in 9 cities every year and there are over 315 exhibitors from 9 countries and 26 states who have set up colorful pavilions and stalls at the three-day TTF Kolkata.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 July 2016.
First half of the show (i.e. from Friday to Saturday till 2 pm) is reserved for the travel trade. After that it will be opened to the public (i.e. from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening). Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir are the Partner States for the event whereas Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are the Feature States. In addition, Bangladesh and Nepal are participating in a big way as the Partner Countries with Thailand as the Feature Country.
Kolkata is the third wealthiest city in India after Mumbai and Delhi and has a unique tradition of taking domestic and outbound trips in large numbers. This is especially true during Puja holidays in October which is usually an off-peak season for the rest of the country. TTF has been serving as a platform for this huge market in Eastern India, since 1989.


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Prince Harry has come to Nepal on a five-day tour and was given a traditional welcome that featured five virgins - it was a ceremony signifying luck and purity. The young women greeted Prince Harry, their special guest, with gifts of flowers and placed a garland around the prince's neck. The welcome by the Panchakanya - five virgins in Sanskrit - was held at Kathmandu's famous Durbar Square in the heart of the Kathmandu's old town.
This has been reported in sky.news.com dated 20 March 2016.

The Prince accepted their gifts with a smile and headed off for a tour of the area which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. He was the special guest at a reception held by the Nepalese government to mark 200 years since a treaty was signed between the UK and Nepal recognizing the close relationship between the two independent countries.
While addressing the audience, he mentioned about the first anniversary of the earthquakes that took nearly 9000 lives and talked about drawing attention to the help that Nepal still needs to recover after last year's devastating earthquakes. Many people are still languishing in temporary camps.
Incidentally, Prince Harry's trip will also focus on Nepal's tourist trade, particularly conservation and trekking and he will pay tribute to the efforts of Gurkha soldiers, who have fought alongside British troops, including Prince Harry during his tenure in Afghanistan.


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