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The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 800 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 195, 500 per tola today.

Similarly, the silver has increased by Rs 35 and is being traded at Rs 2, 230 per tola today.

A total of 4.29 million kilograms of cardamom worth Rs 7.67 billion was exported from the Kakadbhitta customs point in Jhapa district in the Fiscal Year 2024/25, the customs office shared.

This is the highest amount received from among the exported goods from the Kakadbhitta customs point in the year.

Cardamom is a high-value product produced in the districts of the eastern hills Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Tehrathum, Dhankuta, Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur.  

The cardamom produced in the hilly districts of the Koshi Province are exported to India via Kakadbhitta customs point after being processed.

Information Officer of the customs point in Kakadbhitta, Ishwar Kumar Humagain, shared that iron plate, tea, ply wood and Chhuri are the major exports followed by cardamom.

He said that iron plates worth Rs 4.42 billion and tea worth Rs 4.21 billion were exported last fiscal year from Kakadbhitta.

According to Humagain, exports of tea increased by 32.5 percent in the last fiscal year compared to the previous year.

Tea, cardamom and ginger are the key cash crops produced in the hilly districts of the Koshi Province.

Likewise, a large volume of ply wood was exported in the last fiscal making it one of the top exportable goods from Nepal.

Ply wood worth Rs 3.32 billion was exported from Kakadbhitta customs point.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility, has announced plans to construct four high-capacity power transmission lines through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Publishing a notice on Monday, the NEA invited expressions of interest (EOI) from private firms and companies to build the 118-kilometer Tingla–DudhKoshi–Dhalkebar 400 kV line, the 94-kilometer Arun Hub (Shitalpati)–Inaruwa 400 kV line, the 80-kilometer New Khimti–Dhalkebar 400 kV line and the 30-kilometer Lapsiphedi–Tinpiple 220 kV line. 

These lines are part of NEA’s long-term plan to upgrade Nepal’s national grid to support increasing power generation and enhance inter-provincial connectivity.

According to an NEA official, they will select the most suitable companies through a competitive bidding process based on the proposed Annual Required Revenue (ARR) and technical qualifications. The selected companies will develop the projects under a build–own–operate–transfer (BOOT) model, where they will finance, build, operate the transmission lines for a certain period, and then transfer ownership back to the government.

The estimated cost for the Tingla–DudhKoshi–Dhalkebar line stands at approximately $142m (Rs 19.61bn), while the Arun Hub–Inaruwa and New Khimti–Dhalkebar projects are expected to cost $80m each. The estimated cost of the Lapsiphedi–Tinpiple line, the shortest and the cheapest of the four transmission line projects, is $18m (Rs 1.48bn). Interested companies have been given 30 days to submit their EOIs to NEA’s Business Development Directorate.

Earlier, two state-owned entities, National Transmission Grid Company Limited and Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL), joined hands with six private companies to build the 220 kV Tamor–Dhungesanghu transmission line. The length of the transmission line is 32 kilometers. That project, which also includes a 220/132 kV substation, is being developed under a BOT model at an estimated cost of Rs 3.8bn. Simbuwa Remit Hydro Limited, Remit Hydro Limited, Crystal Power Development Pvt Ltd, Union Hydropower Limited and Nepal Hydro Venture Pvt Ltd  and the two state-owned firms signed an agreement to build the transmission line in Kathmandu in December last year.

Meanwhile, the NTGC is also in the process of onboarding private sector companies to build two transmission lines: the 400 kV Hetauda-Shitalpati line of 32 kilometers and the 220 kV Lamabagar–Barhabise line of 43.7 kilometers.

Four companies—White Flower Energy, Api Power Company, Summit Energy Solution and Shangrila Energy - have submitted their EOI to build the application to build the Hetauda–Shitalpati 400 kV transmission line. Similarly, NASA Company Ltd and Sanima Hydropower have submitted an interest to build the 220 kV Lamabagar–Barhabise transmission line.

A long dry spell has pushed the Dhanusha of Madhes Province into a deep farming crisis. The lack of proper rainfall for more than 15 days has left rice fields dry and cracked, putting this year’s rice planting season—and farmers’ livelihoods—at serious risk.

For most farmers in Dhanusha, rice is not just a crop; it is their main source of food and income. The region relies heavily on the monsoon rains that usually arrive in early July. But this year, the rains have been unusually late and weak. In the last 24 hours, Hardinath Meteorological Station in Dhanusha witnessed 12.6 mm of rainfall, which is significantly low. Without them, rice saplings cannot be transplanted into the fields, and without transplanting, there will be no harvest.

The problem is now so serious that the Madhes Province Government has officially declared several districts, including Dhanusha, as drought-hit zones. This declaration is a clear signal that the situation needs urgent attention and support from both the provincial and federal governments.

“We haven’t had proper rain in over two weeks,” said Nanda Kishore Pokhrel, a farmer from Chhireshwarnath Municipality-5. “I’ve tried to water my 9-katha field using a motor connected to a hand pump, but the water level is too low, and the system isn’t working properly. The seeds I want to plant are drying up in the heat. If we don’t get rain soon, everything will be ruined.”

Like Pokhrel, many farmers across the district are struggling to save their crops. Usually, by mid-July, rice transplanting would be in full swing. But this year, the dry soil has stopped the work. Some farmers have given up altogether, while others are holding out hope for rain. But as each day passes without rain, that hope begins to fade.

Sudeep Chaudhary, plant protection officer at the Directorate of Agriculture Development, Madesh Province, warns that if rain does not come within the next week, a large part of the rice crop could fail. This would lead not only to food shortages in local households but also to a drop in income for thousands of families who depend on farming.

In response, provincial officials have started assessing the damage and are planning to support farmers by providing drought-resistant seeds and improving access to water for irrigation. However, many farmers say help is coming too slowly.

“We need immediate help,” said Pokhrel. “We need water, pumps that work, and seeds that can grow even in dry conditions. Without that, we will face huge losses. For some families, this could mean going hungry.”

Local leaders and farming groups are now urging the federal government to take quick action. They are asking for emergency relief packages, funding for irrigation systems, and long-term plans to deal with the growing effects of climate change on farming.

As the sky remains cloudless and the sun continues to beat down, the farming communities of Dhanusha wait, watching the sky, hoping for rain, and fearing what might happen if it doesn’t come.

This crisis in Dhanusha is a reminder of how fragile agriculture can be in the face of changing weather. It also shows the urgent need for better support systems, more reliable irrigation, and stronger disaster response plans to protect the farmers who feed the nation.