@The Kathmandu Post:
Here comes the spring. Rainfall on Monday evening coupled with hailstones sounded the bell bidding gloomy winter adieu and welcoming the sunny side of weather.

Weathermen say, the rainfall and hail on Monday in the Capital and thunderstorms in some central parts of the country heralded the pre-monsoon season.

“Heat in the last few days had created vapour in the atmosphere and the condensation resulted in thunderstorm, rainfall and hailstones,” says Mani Ratna Shakya, Division Chief at the Meteorological Forecasting Division.

The westerly disturbance from the Bay of Bengal has also resulted in thunderstorms in neighboring countries.

During the day, which was cloudy since Sunday afternoon, the temperature hovered around 26 degrees Celsius. Due to cloud formation on Sunday afternoon, the minimum temperature of the Capital on Monday morning went up by 2 degrees.

However, a wave of cool breeze followed by rainfall on Monday evening turned the weather pleasant bringing the temperature down. The rainfall and hailstones on Monday are expected to bring the mercury down by a few notches and turn the weather pleasant.

For those staying at home, the cool weather brought cheers, but for pedestrians and commuters, hailstones from the blue slightly played foul.

Traffic in several parts of the city, including in Chandol, Lainachuar and north of the Narayanhiti Museum was disrupted after trees fell due to the sudden thunderstorm, according to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.

A motorcycle in Lainchaur, two in Kapurdhara and a car in Jaya Bageshwori were damaged. However, no serious injuries were reported.

“Rain at this time of year is not unusual,” says Shakya. “And rainfall is expected to continue for a few more days, signifying the end of winter and onset of summer as well.”

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KFC and Pizza Hut Restaurant Opening

KATHMANDU, November 23: Devyani International, under the umbrella of Ravi Kant Jaipuria’s RJ Corp, here today announced the arrival of Pizza Hut & KFC restaurants here, marking the first multinational chain of restaurants coming to Nepal.

RJ Corp is the biggest bottler of Pepsi brands in India and Nepal and also largest franchisee for YUM brands in India namely, Pizza Hut and KFC. Devyani International along with YUM Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company with five dynamic global brands and 35,000 outlets across 105 countries, is excited to make their entry in the Nepalese restaurant circle and has extensive plans for growth and expansion in this market.

With the belief that consumers in Nepal are ready for international eating-out experience they have launched their first two outlets at Durbar Marg. As stated by the officials of R J Corp, Nepal is a promising market for these brands and their entry will give the Nepali economy a boost by creating job opportunities for locals. The opening of these two outlets would give Nepali consumers the first local experience of an international food chain. They have promised an upcoming rush of announcements and product launches that will make this an exciting time for consumers.

NMB Bank Limited is the financial partner of Devyani International for bringing Pizza Hut and KFC to Nepal.

KFC Opening

KFC
Veggie Snacker (Burger) – Rs 69
Chicken Snacker(Burger) - Rs 79
Hot wings (3 pc) - Rs 119
Boneless chicken strips with Salsa - Rs 149
Zinger Burger - Rs 149
Veggie Feast Meal (Burger) – Rs 209
Zinger Meal (Burger) - Rs 259
Chicken Meal (3 pc) - Rs 339
Chicken Large Bucket (12 pc) - Rs 899
Hot Wings Large Bucket (40 pc) - Rs 899

Pizza Hut Opening

Pizzas @ Pizza Hut

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, on Wednesday, decided to ban the export of the food items, according to Secretary of the Ministry Purushottam Ojha.

“We have taken this decision in view of increasing food prices in the world market and their shortages so that we can avert any situation affecting food security in the country,” said Ojha.

From the eastern border point of Kakarbhitta, seven to ten thousand tons of wheat were being exported daily to Bangladesh.

Traders have said that in the last one month LCs have been opened to export 50,000 tons of wheat to Bangladesh.

While India has banned export of rice and wheat, the continuous outflow of food items from Nepal had affected the local market. The price of rice, wheat, flour had increased by 25 to 30 percent.

The government’s decision has come amid calls by the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) to restrict export of food stuffs.

(Source: Nepalnews)