yarcha

HLPM MEETS
Kathmandu, 2 Aug.: The HLPM is holding discussions Friday on
preparations for the 19 November assembly elections.
The body offour parties behind the overnment is also reviewing talks with oppositionto ceate an election atmpsphere and other issues.
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SUNRISE BANK PROFIT UP
Kathmandu, 2 Aug.: Sunrise Bank Ltd. .Friday recorded increased for the finsal year 2013.14 ending 15 July>
The bank earned a Rs.318.189 million net profit compared to
Rs.111,194. million profit the previous year.
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TURKISH AIRLINES TO BEGIN DIRECT ISTANBUL
KATHMANDU FLIGHTS 2 SEPT.
Kathmandu, 2 Aug.: Turkish Airlines is to begin direct Istanbul Kathmandu
 flights 2 September, the airlines announced Friday.
Nepal will be directly linked with Europe’s gateway with the
Inauguration of the flights.
Nepal is directly linked in the West with Gulf countries until now.
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TARA AIR BEGINS ONCE WEEKLY FLIGHTS BETWEEN KATHMANDU, RUMJATAR
Kathmandu, 2 Aug.: Once weekly flights between Kathmandu and rumjatar started Thursday.
Tara Air began the flights.
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YARCHA BRINGS PROSPERITY
Kathmandu, 2 Aug.:- Dalchan Budha of Hukam VDC-4 earned enough this year collecting Yarchagumba (Cordyceps sinesis) to build a house in Tulsipur, Dang, where he owns a plot of land. Six of his family members had gathered the half-plant-half-worm worth Rs 1.4 million, Krishna Prasad Gautam writes in The Kathmandu Post from Rukum.
According to Budha, his family earned Rs 300,000 last year. The piece of land cost him Rs 1 million that he had saved from the harvests new and old. His family members spent one and a half months in Bukipatan--an upper belt in the district--hunting for the valuable this year. Everyone including his 71-year-old mother and 15-year-old schoolchild, braved harsh weather for the precious fungus.
"The foodgrains we grow don't suffice for the whole year. We'll be starved if we don't pick Yarchagumba," said Budha, who already owns a six-room concrete house at Musikot, the Rukum district headquarters.
Budha is a case in point. Hundreds of people in Hukam, Taksera, Syalkhadi, Gotamkot, Sisne, Jang and Ranmamaikot among the two dozen VDCs in the district depend on Yarchagumba for their livelihood. They have been earning handsome sums from the business.
For the past seven years, Pahal Bahadur Pun, a permanent resident of Taksera-3, has been regular to Bukipatan in the annual hunt. He has a guest house in Kathmandu but frequents the place in the season to make a fortune. Pun said he and his sons earned Rs 1.7 million this year.
Lazim Pun, chairperson of the Maikot-based Natural Resources Conservation Forum, said about 9,000 people collected more than 90 kg Yarchagumba in total. The good harvest caused transactions of over Rs 300 million.
According to Nanda Prasad Pun, an advisor to the Season Management Committee, Yarchagumba has played a key role in raising the quality of life in the villages. Many now own houses in the district headquarters.
Yarcha is trading at Rs 2.8 million this year, up from Rs 2.4 million last year in the Bukipatan area.
The management committee charged locals Rs 1,500 and businessmen Rs 15,000 for entry to the area. As many as 8,200 collectors and 176 businessmen are said to have been licensed to collect Yarchagumba this season.
According to the District Forest Office, the total tax clearance till Friday was for 79 kg Yarchagumba. At Rs 10,000 per kg, the revenue collection was Rs 790,000.
The legal transaction was recorded at Rs 220 million, said Binod Kanu, the acting District Forest Officer. The possibility of illegal transactions remains high as the Forest Office has no surveillance over them, he added.
Local Development Officer Bharat Kumar Adhikari said the District Development Committee had levied Rs 2,000 per kilogram of the precious herb and the collection was Rs 173,000. Taxation on the product began this year and the DDC plans to make it effective from next year by deploying additional staff.
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