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Articles by Arjun Shah
Geta medical institute set to start classes before its teaching hospital is fully equipped
Dhangadhi, Nov. 3 -- Martyr Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences at Geta in Kailali, plans to begin academic programmes in February 2027. The move is being touted as a milestone for medical education and healthcare in Nepal's far-western region. The Medical Education Commission has approved 90 seats under four programmes: 50 in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), 20 in BSc Nursing, 10 in BSc Medical Laboratory Technology (BMLT) and 10 in Bachelor of Optometry.
Geta medical institute set to start classes before its teaching hospital is fully equipped
Martyr Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences at Geta in Kailali, plans to begin academic programmes in February 2027. The move is being touted as a milestone for medical education and healthcare in Nepal’s far-western region. The Medical Education Commission has approved 90 seats under four programmes: 50 in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), 20 in BSc Nursing, 10 in BSc Medical Laboratory Technology (BMLT) and 10 in Bachelor of Optometry.
Sudurpaschim showers state funds on temples, skimps on free medicines
Dhangadhi, Nov. 2 -- The Sudurpaschim provincial government has allocated just Rs30.1 million to buy free medicines for public health facilities this fiscal year and more than Rs1.15 billion for 921 temples across the province. The meagre allocation has raised concerns about medicine shortages at the province's health facilities, which need an estimated Rs100 million to Rs120 million annually to provide basic healthcare services, which are provided free of charge.
Sudurpaschim showers state funds on temples, skimps on free medicines
The Sudurpaschim provincial government has allocated just Rs30.1 million to buy free medicines for public health facilities this fiscal year and more than Rs1.15 billion for 921 temples across the province. The meagre allocation has raised concerns about medicine shortages at the province’s health facilities, which need an estimated Rs100 million to Rs120 million annually to provide basic healthcare services, which are provided free of charge.
Young trekker found dead near Badimalika
Prem Raule & Arjun Shah A 20-year-old man who went missing while visiting the Badimalika religious site in Bajura has been found dead. Manish Bohara, a resident of Daiji in Bedkot Municipality, Kanchanpur, had gone missing while visiting the pilgrimage site. Chief District Officer of Bajura Muktiram Rijal confirmed to Kantipur that Bohara was found dead near Triveni Patan in Badimalika. A security team was deployed by helicopter from the district headquarters on Sunday morning to search for him.
UML lawmaker resigns over Sudurpaschim budget
Bir Bahadur Thapa, a lawmaker from the CPN-UML, resigned in protest against the budget passed by the Sudurpaschim provincial assembly, deepening divisions within the ruling coalition led by the Nepali Communist Party Khagraj Bhatta. Thapa, a former minister for land management, agriculture and cooperatives, submitted his resignation to provincial Speaker Bhim Bahadur Bhandari, according to leaders close to him.
UML lawmaker resigns over Sudurpaschim budget
Dhangadhi, Oct. 14 -- Bir Bahadur Thapa, a lawmaker from the CPN-UML, resigned in protest against the budget passed by the Sudurpaschim provincial assembly, deepening divisions within the ruling coalition led by the Nepali Communist Party Khagraj Bhatta. Thapa, a former minister for land management, agriculture and cooperatives, submitted his resignation to provincial Speaker Bhim Bahadur Bhandari, according to leaders close to him.
How Nepal's provinces have become 'factories' for ministers
Nepal, Oct. 13 -- Disloyalty does not always go unrewarded. Santosh Kumar Pandey, Lumbini Province's minister for urban development, knows this as well as anyone. Having defied his party to keep a CPN-UML-led government afloat in the province, Pandey was appointed to his fourth ministerial portfolio on August 25. Ten days later, the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal expelled him. Pandey, elected from Rupandehi-3(1), offers a more flattering explanation.
How Nepal’s provinces have become ‘factories’ for ministers
Disloyalty does not always go unrewarded. Santosh Kumar Pandey, Lumbini Province’s minister for urban development, knows this as well as anyone. Having defied his party to keep a CPN-UML-led government afloat in the province, Pandey was appointed to his fourth ministerial portfolio on August 25. Ten days later, the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal expelled him. Pandey, elected from Rupandehi-3(1), offers a more flattering explanation.
Returning home for Dashain, only to face trouble at the border
When Bhim Prasad Khatri of Chaurjahari, Rukum West, crossed the Jamunaha border into Nepalgunj on Friday morning, it felt as though Dashain had arrived. Returning home after four years away, he had savings from his labouring job in India’s Himachal Pradesh and was eager to celebrate the festival with his family. “Spending time with my family matters more than money,” he said.
I ported my coding-agent benchmark to Kaggle, and the first bugs I found were mine
This is a submission for the Kaggle Benchmarking Challenge What I Benchmarked I maintain cli-bench, an open benchmark for coding agents that work in a terminal. Each task is a small repository with a bug to fix, a feature to build, or a function to speed up, plus a verifier script that decides pass or fail. Nothing is graded by another model. Either the tests pass and the extra checks hold, or the run fails.
From chief minister to shopkeeper, Trilochan Bhatta embraces ordinary life
Dhangadhi, Sept. 26 -- A broad commercial junction stretches in front of the Cottage and Small Industries Office in ward 4 of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City. A busy hospital, a shopping complex and a supermarket are nearby, while the provincial head's office stands directly across the road. The area comes alive early each morning. On the ground floor of a building at the heart of the junction is a small grocery store called New Prasthan Kirana Pasal. Customers begin arriving early.
From chief minister to shopkeeper, Trilochan Bhatta embraces ordinary life
A broad commercial junction stretches in front of the Cottage and Small Industries Office in ward 4 of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City. A busy hospital, a shopping complex and a supermarket are nearby, while the provincial head’s office stands directly across the road. The area comes alive early each morning. On the ground floor of a building at the heart of the junction is a small grocery store called New Prasthan Kirana Pasal. Customers begin arriving early.
Sudurpaschim set to get cable car in its largest private-sector project
Dhangadhi, Sept. 16 -- The striking design of the Karnali Bridge has long given Chisapani in far-western Nepal a distinctive identity. Located at the meeting point of Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, the scenic area is now set to gain another attraction. Construction of the first cable car in the Sudurpaschim and Karnali regions is nearing completion, with the operator planning to bring it into operation by November.
Sudurpaschim set to get cable car in its largest private-sector project
National The Rs7 billion Jalpa Devi Cable Car is expected to begin operations in November, linking Chisapani with Rajkanda in the Chure hills and opening up a new tourism destination in far-western Nepal. The cable car will stretch 3.1 kilometres from Chisapani in Lamkichuha Municipality-3, Kailali, to Rajkanda in Mohanyal Rural Municipality-7. Post Photo bookmark Arjun Shah The striking design of the Karnali Bridge has long given Chisapani in far-western Nepal a distinctive identity.
Equipment Qualification in Pharma: How DQ, IQ, OQ and PQ Fit Into the Project Lifecycle
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, equipment qualification is often associated with a familiar sequence: DQ, IQ, OQ and PQ. On paper, the process looks straightforward. In practice, however, qualification is closely tied to engineering decisions made much earlier in a project. A machine cannot be “qualified into suitability” if the original design does not meet the process requirement.
What Should You Know About Pharma EPC Project Pricing Models?
Pharma EPC project pricing models can vary with project scope, engineering requirements, procurement, installation, compliance, and commissioning. This resource offers useful context for understanding how these factors influence project planning and costs. It is a practical reference for anyone assessing pharmaceutical infrastructure projects and wanting a clearer view of EPC considerations.
Too many aspirants leave Sudurpaschim chief minister struggling to fill cabinet
Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Khagaraj Bhatta is struggling to complete his cabinet as more lawmakers from his party, the Nepali Communist Party, seek ministerial posts than there are positions available. The CPN’s Sudurpaschim provincial committee has recommended 12 lawmakers to the party’s central leadership, which will select three ministers and two ministers of state. Bhatta was appointed chief minister on August 14 with the support of the CPN-UML.
Karnali, Sudurpaschim chief ministers face confidence votes amid coalition tensions
Karnali Chief Minister Mangal Bahadur Shahi and Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Khagaraj Bhatta are set to seek a vote of confidence in their respective provincial assemblies on Tuesday. Today marks 22 days since Shahi was appointed Chief Minister of Karnali, while Bhatta became Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim five days ago. A motion for the confidence vote was already registered at the Karnali Provincial Assembly Secretariat on Monday.
Minister’s emergency airlift lays bare healthcare gaps in Sudurpashim
Federal Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal was in Baitadi on Sunday during a field inspection of the province’s hill districts when he fell ill. Dr Pabin Upadhyay, who examined him at his hotel, said he had symptoms of a viral respiratory infection. Lamsal was given medication in Baitadi but was later evacuated by army helicopter to Dhangadhi. After examination by military doctors, he was flown to Kathmandu aboard an army Skytruck and taken to Chhauni Hospital.
Minister's emergency airlift lays bare healthcare gaps in Sudurpashim
Dhangadhi, Aug. 18 -- Federal Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal was in Baitadi on Sunday during a field inspection of the province's hill districts when he fell ill. Dr Pabin Upadhyay, who examined him at his hotel, said he had symptoms of a viral respiratory infection. Lamsal was given medication in Baitadi but was later evacuated by army helicopter to Dhangadhi.
Minister Lamsal to return to Kathmandu by helicopter after falling ill in Baitadi
Physical Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal is returning to Kathmandu by helicopter after falling ill during a field visit to Baitadi, officials said. Meena Aryal, chief district officer of Baitadi, said arrangements had been made for a helicopter to take Lamsal to Kathmandu. “The coordination for the helicopter has been completed. It may have already taken off,” Aryal said.
Minister Lamsal to return to Kathmandu after falling ill in Baitadi
Dhangadhi, Aug. 16 -- Physical Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal is returning to Kathmandu by helicopter after falling ill during a field visit to Baitadi, officials said. Meena Aryal, chief district officer of Baitadi, said arrangements had been made for a helicopter to take Lamsal to Kathmandu. "The coordination for the helicopter has been completed. It may have already taken off," Aryal said.
Sudurpaschim assembly spends Rs140 million but passes no bills and budget
The Sudurpashchim Provincial Assembly spent Rs140.2 million in the fiscal year 2025-26 but failed to pass a single bill. It also failed to approve the annual budget for the current fiscal year, pushing the province into a financial vacuum. The assembly secretariat said the provincial government registered two full and three amendment bills in 2025-26. Only two amendment bills were passed.
Sudurpaschim assembly spends Rs140 million but passes no bills and budget
Dhangadhi, Aug. 9 -- The Sudurpashchim Provincial Assembly spent Rs140.2 million in the fiscal year 2025-26 but failed to pass a single bill. It also failed to approve the annual budget for the current fiscal year, pushing the province into a financial vacuum. The assembly secretariat said the provincial government registered two full and three amendment bills in 2025-26. Only two amendment bills were passed.
How We Cut PyFlink Pipeline p99 Latency from 3-5 Seconds to ~500ms
The Problem: Our p99 Was 3-5 Seconds Our PyFlink pipeline was missing its latency SLO by seconds. The pipeline itself was straightforward: consume events from Kafka, transform them, serialize them as Protobuf, and write the results to downstream systems. Yet under production load, p99 end-to-end latency was consistently in the 3-5 second range.
Provinces struggle to spend development budgets as billions remain idle
Nepal’s seven provincial governments spent only an average of 61.33 percent of their capital budgets last fiscal year, continuing a long-running struggle to turn development allocations into actual projects. Although provinces performed better than the federal government, which spent only 46.79 per cent of its capital budget during the same period, economists say the figures reflect a broader failure across all levels of government to translate public spending into economic activity.
Provinces struggle to spend development budgets as billions remain idle
Nepal, Aug. 4 -- Nepal's seven provincial governments spent only an average of 61.33 percent of their capital budgets last fiscal year, continuing a long-running struggle to turn development allocations into actual projects.
In Sudurpaschim, tourists are coming. Infrastructure isn’t
On a fine morning last month, a jeep carrying domestic tourists from Bajhang, Dhangadhi and Dadeldhura climbed a dirt road towards Jadalek in Saipal Rural Municipality, Bajhang. Lured by breathtaking photographs and videos shared on social media, the group had travelled hundreds of kilometres to visit the southern base camp of Mount Saipal (7031 metres), the western base camp at Raidughi and the secluded Maza valley, surrounded by towering snow-covered peaks.
Chief Minister Shah weighs confidence vote as Sudurpashchim sinks deeper into budget crisis
Dhangadhi, July 20 -- Sudurpashchim Province is grappling with twin crises after the provincial government failed to endorse the budget for the new fiscal year, and Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah lost his majority when the CPN-UML withdrew support from the ruling coalition. The political uncertainty has fuelled debate over whether Shah should resign or seek a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly within the 30-day constitutional deadline.
Chief Minister Shah weighs confidence vote as Sudurpashchim sinks deeper into budget crisis
Sudurpashchim Province is grappling with twin crises after the provincial government failed to endorse the budget for the new fiscal year, and Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah lost his majority when the CPN-UML withdrew support from the ruling coalition. The political uncertainty has fuelled debate over whether Shah should resign or seek a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly within the 30-day constitutional deadline.
Sudurpaschim Chief Minister Shah sacks four UML ministers
Sudurpaschim Province Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has dismissed four ministers representing the CPN-UML, amid a deepening dispute over the provincial budget between the ruling coalition partners.
Three prime ministers, 10 premierships. Why is Sudurpaschim still Nepal's poorest province?
Dhangadhi, July 7 -- Sudurpaschim has produced some of Nepal's most influential political leaders. The roster includes prime ministers who shaped national politics for decades. Ironically, however, the province now ranks as the country's poorest. The province's human development indicators remain weak, incomes are low and persistent political disputes keep preventing meaningful progress.
Three prime ministers, 10 premierships. Why is Sudurpaschim still Nepal’s poorest province?
Sudurpaschim has produced some of Nepal’s most influential political leaders. The roster includes prime ministers who shaped national politics for decades. Ironically, however, the province now ranks as the country’s poorest. The province’s human development indicators remain weak, incomes are low and persistent political disputes keep preventing meaningful progress.
Hand pumps are dry, even deep borewells no longer provide enough water
By the time the summer sun rises over Dhangadhi, the search for water has already begun. Across parts of Kailali in Nepal’s farwest, families wake before dawn to queue at the few remaining functional hand pumps (shallow tube wells) or walk to neighbouring villages carrying empty containers. As prolonged drought, extreme heat, and falling groundwater levels dry up wells that once flowed year-round, access to drinking water has become a daily struggle. “The water shortage is beyond words.
SuperCompress is now on PyPI! pip install supercompress in 1 line
I just published SuperCompress to PyPI! 🎉 pip install supercompress — that's all it takes. What is it? A tiny ~5K parameter CPU policy that scores every line of context for relevance before sending to the LLM. It keeps only what matters for the answer.
I Built a Prompt Compressor That Saves 65% on LLM Costs — Here's the Story
I've been working on a side project called SuperCompress — an intelligent prompt compression system for LLMs. The idea is simple: most tokens you send to an LLM never need to be processed. They're padding, boilerplate, irrelevant context. But they still burn GPU cycles. I wanted to fix that. The Problem Working with LLM agents, I noticed something: every agent loop was sending massive context through the GPU. 10K tokens. 50K tokens. Sometimes more. Most of it was irrelevant to the specific task.
How I Built a Prompt Compressor That Saves 65% on LLM Costs
Every time you call an LLM, tokens that never needed to be processed burn GPU cycles, waste money, and strain the grid. The problem gets worse with every agent loop, every long-context RAG query, every multi-turn conversation. I built SuperCompress — a tiny ~5K parameter CPU policy that scores every line of context for relevance before inference, keeping only what the model needs. The results? 65% fewer tokens, 100% oracle recall, ~60ms latency. Open source. MIT licensed.
SuperCompress: Cut LLM Costs by 65% Without Losing Answers
Tweet 1 Every LLM call burns GPU cycles on tokens that never needed to run. Padding. Boilerplate. Irrelevant context. I built SuperCompress — a tiny CPU policy that cuts 65% of tokens before inference. Open source. MIT. Free tier. supercompress.vercel.app Tweet 2 The problem is worse than most people realize. At ~50M agent turns/day: → 100B tokens wasted daily → 24K GPU hours → 1,526 tons CO₂ → 6.5M L cooling water We're burning through resources on tokens that don't matter.
Health figures high in Nepal’s provincial budgets
Provincial governments have prioritised the health sector in their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27, unveiled on June 15. Most provinces have focused on upgrading provincial hospitals in urban areas to provide modern health services while expanding health infrastructure in rural areas. Budgets also emphasise specialist services in remote regions, maternal and child health, and financial assistance for the poor and chronically ill people.
Forest officials push roadside tempo off cliff in Kailali, video sparks outrage
A video showing forest office staff pushing a roadside tempo, a small three-wheeled vehicle, off a cliff in Godawari Municipality of Kailali has gone viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism from the public and lawmakers. The incident occurred on Saturday. In the footage, employees of the Division Forest Office, Dhangadhi, are seen removing the vehicle before it is shoved off a roadside slope.
Despite court ban on pork-barrel funds, provinces continue billions in allocations to lawmakers
Nepal, June 13 -- Provincial governments across Nepal are preparing to allocate billions of rupees for projects selected by lawmakers in the upcoming fiscal year, continuing a practice that critics say bypasses a Supreme Court ruling that halted the Constituency Development Fund. The apex court ruled against the Fund amid widespread misuse.
Despite court ban on pork-barrel funds, provinces continue billions in allocations to lawmakers
Provincial governments across Nepal are preparing to allocate billions of rupees for projects selected by lawmakers in the upcoming fiscal year, continuing a practice that critics say bypasses a Supreme Court ruling that halted the Constituency Development Fund. The apex court ruled against the Fund amid widespread misuse.
Without Fear or Favour UNWIND IN STYLE
The implementation of Nepal’s federal provincial structure is nearing a decade, while the second term of the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly is in its final year. During this period, the province has seen five changes in chief minister and frequent Cabinet reshuffles. Since Tuesday, efforts to change the chief minister have resumed, but the question of the permanent provincial capital remains unresolved, with no clear timeline for a decision.
Legal hurdles, political rifts stall plan to shift Sudurpaschim capital to Godawari
Dhangadhi, June 4 -- The implementation of Nepal's provincial structure is nearing a decade and the second term of the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly is in its final year, yet the province continues to grapple with an unresolved question: where will its permanent capital be? The province has seen five chief minister changes and frequent Cabinet reshuffles.
Sudurpaschim capital plan stalled for years amid legal, political deadlock
Dhangadhi, June 4 -- The implementation of Nepal's federal provincial structure is nearing a decade, while the second term of the Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly is in its final year. During this period, the province has seen five changes in chief minister and frequent Cabinet reshuffles. Since Tuesday, efforts to change the chief minister have resumed, but the question of the permanent provincial capital remains unresolved, with no clear timeline for a decision.
Implementing Neural SDEs for Data-Driven Dynamics of the Bitcoin Option Surface
You are already at the latest version This paper presents a full implementation of data-driven modelling of the dynamics of the options on Bitcoin, using high-frequency data from the Deribit exchange. To this end, we provide a synthesis of methods established in prior papers, namely the works involving “neural SDE market models,” to build a pipeline to go from raw options quotes to a functioning non-parametric model.
MBBS classes to commence at Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta in new academic year
Dhangadhi, April 9 -- awaited dream of medical education in Sudurpashchim Province is becoming a reality with the Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Kailali, preparing to enroll its first batch of students. Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel announced on Wednesday that MBBS classes will commence in the upcoming academic session "at any cost".
MBBS classes to commence at Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta in new academic year
Dhangadhi, April 9 -- awaited dream of medical education in Sudurpashchim Province is becoming a reality with the Shahid Dasharath Chand University of Health Sciences in Geta, Kailali, preparing to enroll its first batch of students. Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel announced on Wednesday that MBBS classes will commence in the upcoming academic session "at any cost".
Balendra Shah renewed curiosity for Badimalika. But will he make it easily accessible?
Dhangadhi & Achham, April 4 -- The initiative follows a surge of public interest triggered by Shah's remarks during his campaign in Dhangadhi for the March 5 elections. Shah, now the prime minister, said European landscapes pale in comparison to the 'pinnacle of natural perfection' in Bajura and Achham.
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