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The work to construct a temporary road along the BP Highway, which was demanded following the floods and landslides caused by the Roshi river on October 4 and 5, has begun.

As the water flow in the Roshi river subsided after the two-day flood, the diversion work commenced on Sunday.

The Division Road Office, Bhaktapur, in collaboration with Roshi Rural Municipality and Namobuddha Municipality, has initiated the reconstruction of the diversion by redirecting the river to one side.

Last year in October, approximately eight kilometers of road in various affected areas of the region were temporarily diverted and put into operation. The same section of road in the area suffered further damage and was washed away by floods and landslides this time as well.

Engineer Bindhu Adhikari, Information Officer, reported that temporary road construction will begin at one site in Chaukidanda, Kavrepalanchok, and at three or four additional locations towards Sindhuli. He noted that since the road along the banks of the Roshi river must be maintained and no remnants of the road remain, the diversion will be reconstructed above the water level.

Due to the destruction caused by the floods and landslides, efforts to rebuild the diversion from Sindhuli on the BP Highway also commenced on Monday. Superintendent of Police Lal Dhwaj Subedi, head of the Sindhuli District Police Office, shared that a diversion from Nepalthok, Sindhuli is currently under construction. He mentioned that the Division Road Office in Khalsite, Sindhuli has begun constructing a diversion towards Nepalthok on the BP Highway using two excavators.

Various sections of the road from Sindhuli to Namobuddha's Chaukidanda towards Kavrepalanchok were washed away, and after sustaining damage, the highway became completely blocked.

At present, vehicles are using alternative routes via Khurkot–Manthali through the Araniko Highway.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his sorrow over the destruction inflicted by floods and landslides in Nepal.

Today, through the social media platform X, the prime minister paid tribute to those who lost their lives in these tragic events and offered heartfelt condolences to their families.

He stated, 'In this difficult time, the Government of Pakistan and its people stand in solidarity with the Government of Nepal and the Nepali people.'

Gold prices in Nepal surged to an all-time high of Rs 233,100 per tola (11.664 grams) on Monday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 223,200 per tola when markets closed for the Dashain holiday on September 28. When trading resumed on Sunday, prices jumped by Rs 9,900 per tola to reach Rs 230,600, and rose by another Rs 2,500 per tola on Monday.

With this, gold has become dearer by nearly Rs 10,000 per tola since the market closed for Dashain holiday last week. The recent surge follows weeks of steady appreciation in the bullion market. Gold first breached the Rs 200,000-level on August 29, posting an overnight gain of Rs 1,200 per tola. The price then surged past Rs 210,000 on September 5, when it traded at Rs 210,400 per tola, and again crossed Rs 220,000 on September 23, after a steep rise of Rs 3,900 per tola in a single day. The price of silver also climbed after the long festival holiday. It rose by Rs 150 per tola from Rs 2,810 before Dashain to Rs 2,960 per tola on Monday.

The sharp rise in local gold prices mirrors movements in the global market. Gold prices soared past the $3,900-per-ounce mark for the first time in the international market on Monday, driven by renewed safe-haven demand as investors reacted to a fall in the Japanese yen and mounting uncertainty over a US government shutdown, according to Reuters. “Gold has climbed 49 percent so far this year after a 27 percent rise in 2024, helped by strong central bank buying, increased demand for gold-backed exchange-traded funds, a weaker dollar and growing interest from retail investors seeking a hedge amid rising trade and geopolitical tensions,” Reuters added.

Since Nepal meets all its gold demand through imports, domestic prices are directly influenced by international market fluctuations and exchange rate movements. As the festive season continues with Tihar and Chhath ahead, gold traders expect sustained demand despite high prices. However, buyers are likely to remain cautious as record rates make jewelry purchases significantly more expensive.

At least 555 people, who were stranded in various parts of Koshi Province affected by floods and landslides following incessant rainfall, have been rescued safely.

According to SSP Deepak Pokharel, spokesperson at the Koshi Province Police Office, Biratnagar, they were rescued with the joint efforts of the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police personnel and local volunteers.

Among them, Nepal Army rescued 23 people from highly risky areas through choppers while the remaining 532 people were taken to safer places via land routes.

Police said that 16 people were rescued from Jhapa Rural Municipality and are being kept in a safer place.

Similarly, three injured persons were rescued from Mangsebung Rural Municipality-1 in Ilam and have been taken to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan for treatment.

Likewise, four injured people were rescued from Sandakpur Rural Municipality-4 Mabu in Ilam and have been sent to B&C Hospital in Jhapa for treatment, said SSP Pokharel.

So far, 44 people have been confirmed dead in various districts of Koshi Province due to floods and landslides.

As many as 37 people lost their lives in Ilam alone.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 500 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 233, 100 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 230, 6 00 per tola on Sunday.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 30 and is being traded at Rs 2, 960 per tola today.

Two roads connecting Hetauda and Kathmandu have reopened this morning.

The Hetauda-Kulekhani-Phakhel-Pharping road and the Hetauda-Palung-Naubise road had been disrupted earlier by the landslides, according to District Police Office, Makawanpur's police inspector Thakur Sapkota.

He said that another route connecting Heatuda and Kathmandu: Bhimphedi-Kulekhani-Sisneri road and the Kanti Highway that connects Hetauda and Lalitpur Metropolis are yet to be restored for the traffic operation.

The Dodhare river had swept away the parts of the Bhimphedi-Kulekhani-Sisneri road.

Efforts are underway to reopen the roadway. 

Similarly, the landslide has blocked the Kanti Highway.

Efforts are underway to clear the debris and repair the damaged segments, police said.  

Over 1,300 houses have submerged in Sunsari due to incessant rainfall.

Floods, inundations, and landslides triggered by torrential rainfall have thrown life out of gear in the district.

DSP Yograj Khatiwada of the District Police Office, Sunsari, said that floods and landslides have caused damage in various places including Dharan, Itahari, Inaruwa, Barahachhetra, Ramdhuni and Bhokraha Narsingh in Sunsari.

According to him, roads have been obstructed in dozens of places.
Hundreds of locals have been evacuated to safer places.

The Dharan-Bhedetar road section of the Koshi Highway and the Dharan-20 Bishnupaduka-Sagurigadhi road section have been obstructed due to landslides.

Around 120 houses in Inaruwa Municipality-9 and 70 houses in Inaruwa Municipality-10 have been affected by the floods.

At least 300 houses have been submerged in the Jalpapur area alone, while residents of about 60 houses are taking shelter in their relatives’ houses.

Police Inspector Diwas Kunwar of the Area Police Office, Mahendranagar, said that about 160 houses in the Barahachhetra Municipality area have been inundated.

Around 300 houses have been submerged in Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality-5.

Police said that around 20 houses have been submerged in the Panchayan areas of Ramdhuni Municipality-6 and 7.

Likewise, 10 houses in Drum and Sukumbasi Tole of Itahari-5 have been inundated.

Cradled in the arms of digitalization, today's world has undoubtedly made rapid progress in every possible field imaginable. These giant leaps from mankind, however, have left them vulnerable to the consequences of their own creations. The looming threat of nuclear wars, alarming rate of pollution, increasing isolation, and a pandemic. Not the biological epidemic occurring worldwide, no. Instead, a new kind of pandemic has now terrorized the world on a global scale: sleep deprivation. Today’s globally digitalized world with startling data of surge in social media use and screen time, along with its capitalist society that places quantity above quality, has driven people to extreme limits of productivity, rendering them almost chronically deficient in sleep. This disease has universally persecuted the citizens, leaving them at risk of severe repercussions, such as cardiovascular failure, as well as deteriorating mental health.

One prominent cause of lack of sleep in today’s people is their prioritization of productivity. Unlike the ancients, today’s modern people are extremely ambitious, as since the world has been moving at a swift pace, its people feel obligated to keep up with it. Long hours of work with little to no sleep, body functioning on caffeine, no moments of rest for the body: these have become common occurrences. The corporate world itself is like a giant leech that sucks off blood from the people who work for it. Here sleep is associated with laziness and unproductivity. Even extremely influential people such as Bill Gates subtly advocate for working and yielding results, seeming almost proud of their ‘productive’ selves, that in actuality is tormented by insufficient rest. Not only the adults, the students too feel they have miles to go before they sleep. I say so as I write this essay at one  in the morning, anxious of missing the deadline. 

Another indistinct yet important contributing factor to the majority’s sleep-deprivation is stress. Stress impairs one’s sleep, by fragmenting it. As one wakes up lacking adequate sleep, their body swells with more stress hormones, once again disrupting their sleep. This leaves them in a vicious cycle, a battle with one’s own mind. There is a surge in mood disorders among people nowadays, attributed to stress of accumulating enough resources for survival, emotional problems, and substance abuse. Furthermore, there is also a psychological aspect to this issue. Many people today, especially the teens, prefer the solitude of the night time. They feel their body to be more active and productive at night. But this is just an illusion. The number of hours slept isn't the only thing that matters, the time at which one sleeps does too. 

However, the most important cause to this issue still remains to be the excess use of social media and escalating screen time. Companies such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are not our allies: their whole policy revolves on making their apps more addictive. Behind their brand logo, they have thousands of employees lined up working on making social media more appealing to us. Moreover, use of social sites makes our brain release dopamines, the ‘feel-good’ hormones, keeping us hooked. Hence, one must rethink twice on browsing their favorite social site before going to bed. It leaves your mind engaged, tricking it into thinking that it isn’t tired. With the gears of our mind turning so quickly, sleep naturally is impossible. 

As a result of inadequate sleep, our body suffers from numerous consequences, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, rise in blood pressure, depression, and ultimately premature mortality. A research by Kochanek and Murphy on sleep deprivation states “Reduced sleep duration has been linked to seven of the 15 leading causes of death in the US, including cardiovascular disease, malignant neoplasm, cerebrovascular disease, accidents, diabetes, septicemia, and hypertension.” These data displayed are not statistics of insomniacs, but people like you and me. We who neglect a few hours of sleep for less-important tasks. People immerse themselves in their works so deeply, that they eventually forget who they themselves are. 

Literally. Yes, insufficient sleep can increase the possibility of dementia. Besides physical harm to the body mentioned above, sleep deprivation can also ruin our mental sanity. It disrupts the cognitive functioning of one’s body, impairing their creativity, memory, and productivity. It is ironic how people sacrifice sleep in the name of productivity, yet all it results in is an even more reduced scale of productivity. Besides the obsession on overworking, the momentary pleasure received from social media is also an illusion. A person with more than four hours of screen time in social media is exposed to seeds for sowing future problems, such as body dysmorphia, insecurities, and reduced confidence.  

Hence, it is thoroughly not worthwhile to sacrifice sleep for the present milestones, as it is sure to cause trouble for our future selves. This great pandemic emerging in our world, will plague your body with numerous illnesses: both physical and mental. However, despite statistics displaying alarming data, the number of chronically sleep-deprived people is only rising. It is a severe issue requiring immediate attention and mitigation. The most effective one would be people themselves realizing the slow poison they are soaking in, and putting an end to this mad culture of self-destruction.   

Samikshya Bhatta

BA 3rd Year

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar