Bharatpur Metropolitan Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Management; A Case of Reconstruction Works at Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal

Nepal government had established National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) for the Reconstruction of Earthquake Affected Structures. Chitwan is one of the least affected districts where Bharatpur Metropolitan City lies. In Bharatpur, there were 711 total victims whose houses were completely destroyed by Earthquake. According to NRA, the Earthquake victims are the beneficiary of 3 lakhs grants for reconstruction of their houses in three installments. In the case study of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, we had conducted research on effect of COVID-19 on labor management for reconstruction works of those victims from 15th September 2019 till 07 th September 2020. The reconstruction activities were halted completely for two and half months in lockdown periods. The major problem for this was due to lack of labors and materials scarcity in local market. As most of the labors working on Bharatpur were found to be from Country Border areas like Bara, Parsa, Siraha, Saptari, Sarlahi, Sunsari, Morang, etc and from India too; lockdown had stopped them to reach their destiny and other problem was the fear of COVID-19 transmission. Local government shall manage labors effectively by producing local masons of its own area rather than depending upon outsiders and provide the local masons with proper trainings and uplift the reconstruction works by following the health protocols as explained by WHO and Health Offices. The study is limited to assess the impact new provision of labour permit system.

Logistic Value Chain Analysis as an Approach to Modelling Tomato Supply Chain: Structural Market Evidence from Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan, Nepal

Logistics value chain is a complex process where demand uncertainty, price fluctuation, and supply management turn decisive for profitable returns. Tomato supply chain in Chitwan district of Nepal, due to disorganized marketing channel, was in the condition of disruption. Keeping this point in view, a study was undertaken to study about the approaches to understand how supply chain could be modified through improved value chain performance. A total of 180 respondents were interviewed, including farmers, traders, processors, distributors, and the consumers and the data was analyzed using both descriptive and analytical statistics. The results revealed that the B/C ratio and break-even price was 2.07 and NRs. 58235 (1 NRs. =0.0085 US$) respectively, indicating that tomato is a profitable enterprise. Value chain analysis was performed by following the components designed by Porter. The result further revealed that wholesalers were the most benefited actors along the chain. Farmers were observed to add the maximum value to the product. Several constraints were reported to weaken the marketing channel; price fluctuation, lack of marketing information, wholesaler’s dominancy over retailers, and faulty marketing system being the major problems. It is recommended that the government and concerned stakeholders need to focus on formulating the policies regarding marketing channel, determining floor and ceiling price for tomato, and encourage the actors to perform value-addition activities so that consumers can get the maximum utility.

New Record of Civets at Bharatpur, Chitwan and a Review of the Species Diversity in Nepal

Civets are alluring nocturnal carnivores having variant external features with different coat colors, stripes and spots, carpal and metatarsal pads, closed or open peri-anal scent glands in both sexes which have great taxonomic value and make these animals acclimatize in a wide range of geographical landscapes from hilly areas to patchy gardens and thin forests of the low land (Terai) located in or near the human settlement areas. The range of Head Body Length (HBL) and Tail Length (TL) in Paradoxurus spp. and Viverricula spp. distinguishes civets from felids. The study of civets was carried out by direct observation and videos and/or photographs were taken in the sighted places with the record of geological coordinates as evidence. For the record of civets, four wards (i.e. 7, 10, 11 and 12) were selected from Bharatpur Metropolitan City by lottery methods from the purposively selected 15 wards out of 29. These selected wards were visited randomly once or upon call in a month riding on a motorbike at the speed of 10 to 20 kilometer per hour in average speed and was crossed 2400 kilometers during four years beginning from January, 2016 to December, 2019. As a result, 11 civets of three Species, six Subspecies and two genera (i.e. Paradoxurus spp. and Viverricula spp.) were recorded. Among these animals, four subspecies were from Paradoxurinae and two were from Viverrinae subfamilies. Likewise, Paradoxurus jerdoni caniscus were reported, 9.09% (n = 1); Paradoxurus hermaphroditus minor, 9.09% (n = 1); Paradoxurus hermaphtoditus pallasii, 54.55% (n = 6); Paradoxurus hermaphroditus hermaphroditus, 9.09% (n = 1); Viverricula indica baptistae, 9.09% (n = 1); and Viverricula indica mayori, 9.09% (n = 1). Conclusively, the first records of the civet Species and Subspecies from thin gardens of fruiting trees and human houses or settlement areas in the city of Bharatpur, Chitwan, have created a great field to explore ecology and population status. However, human-civet conflicts have been created by the potential harm to poultry and pets as well as possible reservoir hosts of parasitic zoonoses and Covid-19 Viruses. Consequently, the population of civets is declining in an alarming rate due to the threats of vehicle and electric accidents, snaring and random killing by the people.

Production Economics and Determinants of Carrot (Daucus carota L.) production in Chitwan, Nepal

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is an important agricultural commodity in the world. A study was conducted for comparative analysis of demographic, economics assessment, and determinants of carrot production between ward no. 11 and ward no. 15 of the Bharatpur metropolitan of Chitwan district. Altogether 80 carrot growers, 40 from ward no. 11 and 40 from ward no. 15 of Bharatpur metropolitan were randomly selected. Pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary information from randomly selected farmers. Carrot growers were interviewed using face to face method in November 2019. Moreover, Two Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) and two Key Informant Interviews (KII) were performed. All the data were entered in Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Statistics 20) and Microsoft Excel (Ms-2013) and analysis was done by using Microsoft Excel, SPSS, and Stata. In the majority of respondents, Poultry manure cost (37.16%) occupied the major portion of the cost of production followed by seed cost (30.18%). The average gross margin per kattha for carrot production found NRs. 4726.62 and the Benefit-cost ratio (BCR) was 1.50. The probability of cultivation of carrot on large scale was found to be 31.12% higher for the male gender of household head and 27% higher for the schooling of the household head. Farmers use the Nepa Drim, F1 variety which incurred higher cost in the seed. Splitting (26.25%) was identified as the most critical problem followed by cracking (21.15%) in the cultivation of carrot. It is recommended that the farmers involved in carrot farming in the study sites should be provided with Subsidy on seed, proper solution of physiological disorder problems and proper technical knowledge for optimizing the use of resources would help to increase the profit of carrot production in the Chitwan district of Nepal.
 Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 7, Issue-4: 234-241

Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Management; A Case of Reconstruction Works at Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal

Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Management; A Case of Reconstruction Works at Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal

Causative Factor of Accidents in Commercial Buildings of Bharatpur Metropolitan City

Causative Factor of Accidents in Commercial Buildings of Bharatpur Metropolitan City

Gender Inequality: A Case Study of Ward-16 Bharatpur Metropolitan City

The main reason behind inequality is access to less power which is a byproduct of illiteracy and less income. An illiterate female cannot counter for herself neither can she counters for her offspring (mostly girls). To find out the gender inequality, this study has been conducted in Ward-16of Bharatpur metropolitan city. With the use of census method, this study primarily focuses on the primary data taken in whole ward and the secondary data collected from other sources. In the total population of 17546, 9197 are female and remaining 8349 are male. The survey research designwas used whereas purposive and simple random sampling was followed to select the respondents. The study was conducted in Chitwan district. The finding of the research is that there is inequality in male and female population in ward 16 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City. This inequality can only be broken if the sphere of planning is strengthened so as to uproot the root of inequality. Equality measure being one of the most important indicator of development, the only way to achieve the sustainable development goal is to empower all the population present inside nation.

Risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among reproductive aged females residing in Bharatpur Metropolitan City

Overweight and obesity is becoming one of the major public health problems in developing countries like Nepal. A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among reproductive aged females of 15-49 years residing in Bharatpur metropolitan city. Anthropometric measurement was used to determine Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and Waist Hip Ratio (WHR). Data on socio-demographic, physical activity, dietary and behavioral factors was collected using structured questionnaire. Microsoft excel and SPSS version 20 were used to analyze data and chi square test was performed to analyze the factors associated with BMI, WC and WHR cut-offs. The result of this study revealed that 32.3% of females were overweight and 9.7% of females were obese. Similarly, on the basis of waist circumference 69% of females were abdominally obese and on the basis of waist hip ratio 68% of females were abdominally obese. Mean BMI was found to be 24.1c10.01 kg/m2, waist circumference was found to be 86.41±13.091 cm and waist hip ratio was found to be 0.89±0.108. This study shows that age, marital status, parity, stress, sleeping time, calorie intake, carbohydrate intake, physical activity and fruits consumption were found to be significantly associated (P<0.05) with overweight and obesity. Age, marital status, parity, calorie intake, fat intake, physical activity and fruits consumption were found to have significant association (P<0.05) with waist circumference. Similarly, age, marital status, parity, cloth wear, calorie intake, carbohydrate intake and physical activity were found to be significant predictors (P<0.05) of WHR in the study. The findings show a clear evidence of the rising trends of overweight and obesity among reproductive aged female. Overall this study indicate that efforts should be made to address the problem of overweight and obesity, by addressing the factors associated and minimize its consequences

Contributing Factors of Substance Abuse among Secondary Level School Students in Bharatpur Metropolitan

Introduction: Substance abuse is harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substance including alcohol and illicit drugs. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and contributing factors for substance abuse among secondary school level students in Bharatpur Metropolitan.
 Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 495 students of grade 11 and 12 in secondary school setting in Bharatpur metropolitan from June to December, 2019. Data were collected using self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Chi-square test was performed to find out the association between dependent and independent variables and crude odd ratio was obtained to measure the strength of association.
 Results: The result of the study showed that 18.8% participants were currently involving in substance abuse. Alcohol was found to be most commonly abused substance by participants. Substance abuse was significantly associated with male students (OR=11.903, 95% CI: 6.395-22.157), high monthly household income abuse (OR=1.709, 95% CI: 1.085-2.691), time spent on internet more than one hour per day (OR=2.401, 95% CI: 1.388-4.153), no control over internet by others (OR= 2.578, 95% CI: 1.574-4.224), management students (OR= 1.678, 95% CI: 1.011-2.286), absence school more than 4 days in a month (OR= 2.401, 95% CI: 1.338-4.153), students living with others than family members (OR= 2.577, 95% CI: 1.339-4.958), substance abuser in family (OR= 2.701, 95% CI: 1.667-4.377), sibling abuse substances (OR= 4.757, 95% CI:1.467-15.248), substance abuser in close friend circle (OR= 11.204, 95% CI: 6.693-4.18.755), friends insisted/enforced to take substances (OR= 2.978, 95% CI: 1.409-6.294), substance abuser in neighborhood (OR= 2.866, 95% CI:1.777-4.621) and stressful events (OR= 2.434, 95% CI: 1.130-5.243).
 Conclusion: The study concluded that various socio-demographic, socio economic, technological, educational, environmental and psychological factors play significant role in substance abuse among secondary school students. It is recommended to observe and monitor activities of adolescents regularly, provide a suitable and supportive environment to adolescents and provide school, community and health facility based awareness, counselling and problem solving approaches for adolescents to solve the problem of substance abuse.

The Demography, Health Status and Public Attitude of Owned Dog In Bharatpur Metropolitan City

Dog play an important role as companion and guard animal. In Nepal, most dogs are free to roam and only few of household keep the dog as owned-dog. This study was carried out at Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan where 95 dogs owned families who owned 119 dogs were purposively surveyed with well-structured pretested questionnaire to collect baseline data on owned dog demographics, assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of dog owners concerning dogs. In the study, the sex ratio was found 1:1 in the population. Median age of population was found to be 2.5 years and range from 1 month to 12 year. Respondents showed no any specific preference for keeping dogs i.e. 39.5% for male, 23.5% for female and while 37% does not concern about the sex and most animals were kept for companionship (52.9%). Of those surveyed mixed dogs, of no definable cross, were most common, followed by Japanese Spitz (23.5%) and German shepherd (11.8%). Results show that 92.1% of respondent have knowledge on vaccination schedule while 94% of dog were vaccinated and 82.4% dog were routinely de-wormed. Study findings revealed that majority owner reported the dog were not facing any major problem (84.9%) while some are facing ecto-parasite problem ( 7.5 %) followed by dermatological problem (2.5%), endo-parasite problem (2.4%) and viral disease (1.6%). Among the total population only in 15.1% neutering was done Thus, based on the findings of present study, it is concluded that focus should be given to animal birth control program (ABC) while developing health management strategies. Meanwhile, further study covering wider geography and considering the major risk factors is recommended.
 Keywords: Animal Birth Control (ABC); Disease; Dog and Vaccination Schedule

Satellite Image-Based Monitoring of Urban Land Use Change and Assessing the Driving Factors in Pokhara and Bharatpur Metropolitan Cities, Gandaki Basin, Nepal

Urban growth is a key indicator of economic development. At the same time, haphazard urban growth creates serious socioeconomic, environmental and urban land management problems. In this context, understanding the process of urban landscape change is important for guiding the sustainable growth of urban areas. This study analyzes the urban land changes during 1990–2018 in two metropolitan cities of Gandaki basin: Pokhara and Bharatpur. Landsat satellite images were analyzed using supervised classification methods. The results revealed that the built-up area has increased significantly by 300% in Pokhara and by nearly 500% in the Bharatpur during the past 28 years. Population growth, migration from surrounding areas due to urban facilities and the easy lifestyle in cities were found to be major determinants of urban growth within the study area. In addition, the changing urban definition and expansion of municipal boundaries are key factors for rapid urban growth. Both cities are likely to grow in the future as they are both located in areas that encompass the high levels of commercial activity and modern service facilities. The haphazard urban growth should be minimized through planning and policies for sustainable urban development.

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Pubertal Health among Adolescent Girls.

Adolescence is a critical period and is associated with physical and psycho-social changes induced by puberty, which builds personality, behaviour, and future health of the adolescents. Thus, the aim of the study was to find out the knowledge and attitude regarding pubertal health of adolescence girls. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Bharatpur Metropolitan City's secondary level schools. A total of 183 adolescent girls were selected using probability simple random sampling from 5 schools out of total 43 schools which were also selected by simple random sampling technique. Data was collected by using structured self-administered questionnaire for knowledge and likert's scale was used for attitude regarding pubertal health. Study findings revealed that 61.4% of the students belonged to early adolescence (11-14) age group with the mean age 14.27±1.33 years. Majority (80.3%) had moderate level of knowledge and around half (48.6%) had positive attitude. Knowledge and attitude varied with the respondents' level of education (p=0.001), relation to sibling (p=0.013) and source of information by elder sister (p=0.022), teachers/school (p=0.001).Moderately positive correlation was found between knowledge and attitude which was highly significant (r=0.395, p<0.001). Majority of respondents had moderate level of knowledge and half of the respondent had positive attitude regarding pubertal health. Findings of the study emphasizes on improvement in education of adolescent girls which can help uplift health status and minimize vulnerability to health issues of pubertal health.

Home Point Study of Birds and Mammals Diversity Allied to Humans in Lockdown of COVID-19 at Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal

The birds and mammals are nature gifted gene banks which differ greatly with variation in altitudes, climates, landscapes, vegetation and availability of food and water. The altitudinal variation in Nepal is 60 m to 8,848 m which affects climatic conditions and habitat types within short distance that influence species diversity of wild animals. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to reveal species richness, behaviors and luring factors for birds and mammals to attract to an urban area of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, the South-central lowland of Nepal. The methods applied to record species diversity of birds and mammals were made from a home point (a point of study made at the North-west corner of verandah in first floor of my home) located in Bharatpur-9, Saradpur, Sitalpath, in the coordinates of 27˚39'55"N and 84˚26'08"E. The animal species were observed thrice daily (at 7 AM, 10 AM and 2 PM) for 2 months beginning from 24 March to 23 May 2020 during the period of lockdown of COVID-19 and were listed in “Observation Data Sheet”. The photographs and/or videos were taken except one of the species of bats (i.e. Myotis formosus) and six species of birds which were flying swiftly over the sky in 70 m in diameter (i.e. 7,436 square meters or 22 kattha in area) of the home point. The results obtained from my study were; 83 species, 53 genera and 37 families of wild birds; and 6 species, 5 genera and 3 families of wild mammals. Among birds, Dicrurus and Ploceus were recorded the highest 7.54% (4/53); followed by Acridotheres, Megalaima, Merops, Oriolus, Psittacula and Streptopelia with 5.66% (3/53), and remaining twelve genera were found 3.77% (2/53), and thirty three genera were 1.88% (1/53). Similarly, 33.33% (2/6) of Herpestes; and 16.66% (1/6) of each Canis, Vulpes, Pipistrellus and Myotis were recorded among mammals. Conclusively, I found that the species of birds and mammals were lured to human settlement area due to availability of food (i.e. small in/vertebrates, kitchen garbage etc.); crops (i.e. maize, sesame etc.); vegetables (i.e. bean); fruits (litchi, mango, berries etc.); nesting places and healthy environment. However, there is great chance of transmission of viral (rabies, foot-mouth disease etc.), bacterial (tuberculosis) and parasitic zoonoses (echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis, helminthiasis etc.) to humans and domesticated animals through feces and saliva droppings in addition to the poultry raiding, biting to people and damage of fruits, vegetables and crops creating conflicts.

Increasing Trend of Pesticides' Use in Vegetable Farming and Its Impact for Human Health

This study has analyzed the trend of pesticides' use in vegetable farming in third world country like Nepal, and its impact in public health. This study tries to find out the increasing trend of pesticides’ use in vegetable farming and its optimum impact in human health that has also focused for the protection of environmental and human health. Vegetable, a kind of cash crops, is the crops that millions and millions of people use as their meal and it is directly associated with human health, nutrition and daily consumption. Highly use of pesticides in vegetable farming is ultimately the poison for human being because of its maximum uses which is beyond the immunity power of the human beings. This is a sensitive issue that suffers thousands of children and old aged people by bringing acute and chronic diseases. This study moreover tries to juxtapose library and field-based information that directs it in particular way. Both, theory of production and health behavioral theory have been applied in this research because theory of production touches with the producers or farmers and health behavioral theory attaches with consumers. Economic growth model can be attached with the large scale of production. Production approach relates with producers that inspires them to produce large amount of vegetable. This study belongs to not only a field-based research, but it deals with library information, productive concepts and its impact on health too. Applying explorative research design, qualitative and quantitative method with primary and secondary sources of data, this study analyzed significantly statistical information and theoretical concepts. For this study, Bharatpur Metropolitan city (ward number 25 and 27) Nepal was chosen as a research area. In order to study the trend of pesticides use and its health impact, primary data were collected from the vegetable farmers who operate farming at the village area. A purposive sampling method was applied to collect data from 110 farmers who use pesticides in vegetable farming. Sample was drawn in such a way that all kinds of farmers might be included into the sample. Statistical tools such as percentage tables were used to analyze the data, and finding revealed that varieties of pesticides were used by farmers, but awareness associated with pesticides application was not found as we expected among the respondents. Although farmers showed favorable attitudes about the risks of pesticides uses, they did not use protective tools while applying pesticides. Less than half respondents (42.27%) have got primary education whereas only less than one third (30%) respondents have secondary level of education. 77.27% male and rest of the female for this study were selected. This study furthermore deals with the experience of the respondents which begins with 1 year to 30 years while 36.36% respondents have 11 to 15 years experiences in vegetable farming but only 9.09% respondents have 26-30 years experiences. More than two third majority (95.45%) respondents have given their view that pesticides are ultimately harmful for human health although it helps to increase the production. Air pollution, land pollution, and harmful to non-target organisms were also found from the study. Majority of the respondents (vegetable producers 27.27 percent) have opinioned that they were suffering from skin problems but 20.91 % respondents have expressed headache problems whereas 7.27 % had excessive sweating problems. Few of them have reported sneezing, vomiting, muscular difficulties, respiratory difficulties and trembling hands.&#x0D; In order to study the using trend and practice of pesticides, vegetable farmers were using different types of pesticides based on their decision. No proper advices from stakeholders and extension agent were taken, and no safety tools were used at the time of pesticides' application. Some had taken partial training associated with vegetable farming although strong practical knowledge was not found. Educational awareness, pest control, safe work habits, safety tools, policy, innovative method of farming, and organic farming are recommended for the policy maker from the study.

A Study of the Impact location to the attitude of parents on pre-schooling children in Bharatpur Metropolitan ward no. 29 (earlier, Kabilas)

This article discusses about the impact of families on pre-schooling children in Bharatpur Metropolitan ward 29 (Kabila VDC earlier). The convenient sampling method issued collect 92 samples. Face to face questionnaire schedule is used for data collection tools. Cross tab, descriptive as well as analytical research design is used. Pilot survey is also conducted for reliability of the data and Cronbach alpha is used for internal consistency and Eigen value is also tested. Similarly, validity factor analysis is used. To test the locational impact of families on their child, non-parametr·ic chi-square test and p-value are used. Hence, this research paper concluded that there is positivistic impact of location to their children.

Bacterial Assessment of Ready to Eat Sweet (Burfi) Sold in Different Sweet Houses in Narayangadh, Chitwan: A Pilot Study

As a sweet product, burfi is highly esteemed by Nepalese consumer and kept in high priority from the time immemorial. However, the milk and milk products borne outbreaks account for 2 to 6 % of bacterial foodborne outbreaks in several countries. Hence, with an objective to determine the bacterial load of the commercial sweet (burfi) sold in Bharatpur metropolitan city 1, Narayangadh, Chitwan, a cross-sectional study was conducted. Ten sample of ready to eat sweet (Burfi) along with the packaging material were collected purposively from different sweet shops of Bharatpur metropolitan on January 2019. The preparation of samples was done as per Food Microbiology Protocols (2001) and the aerobic colony count (ACC) was determined by spread plate technique using plate count agar. It was found that the aerobic plate count of burfi sample ranges from 9.1×109 to 1.5×1010 CFU/g with an average of 1.2×1010 CFU/g, which is higher than the permissible Standard Plate Count according to Indian Standards Institution (ISI) specification. In conclusion, the high bacterial count in Burfi samples from different sweet shops indicates insufficient hygienic condition duration handling and unhygienic conditions of storage. This may give rise to public health hazard.

Residents' Attitudes towards the Residential Urban Forest in Metropolitan City: A Case Study from Bharatpur City in Nepal

Urban forests are critical element in ameliorating urban habitats and building sustainable cities. Local residents are the key players in maintaining greenery of the city as they collectively own majority of land in most cities. Therefore, they need to engage in planting and retaining trees on their properties in order to reach canopy cover in urban areas. The project surveyed 200 local residents in Bharatpur Metropolitan City to examine their attitude towards trees on their property on the basis of 'Affective', 'Behavioral' and 'Cognitive' ABC model of attitude. Results show that majority of the residents have positive attitude towards trees as they have high cognitive intention towards trees, and showed willingness to retain the existing trees and add more in future. However, very few are cognizant of the environmental values of trees. The most common positive effects of trees on their property are food, shade, and clean and fresh air. The most common negative effects are increase in bushes and weeds, wildlife hazards and risk of fall due to wind. Urban planners interested in influencing residents' decisions about urban trees need to work on public outreach. Residents need to be motivated and made aware of the long term and multifunctional benefits of trees for retaining the existing trees and planting more in their property. They should also, be made aware of the type of trees that are suitable for plantation on residential property in order to avoid the problems that can be created due to trees.

Determinants of awareness of good agricultural practices (GAP) among banana growers in Chitwan, Nepal

Abstract Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a new concept for Nepalese farmers. Most of the farmers are unaware of it and have not adopted the practices. The study aimed to find out the factors that affect the awareness of GAP among banana growers in Chitwan, Nepal. Altogether, 103 households from Khaireni, Kalika and Ratnanagar Municipalities and Bharatpur Metropolitan City were chosen for the study by stratified random sampling technique. The collected data was then analyzed using SPSS and Stata software. The binary logit regression model was used for analyzing the effect of different variables on the awareness of GAP among banana growers. The findings revealed that, education and training had a significant effect (at 1% level of significance) on the awareness of GAP. Based on the findings, training programs related to GAP are suggested to increase the awareness of GAP among banana growers.

Improving Municipal Solid Waste Collection Services in Developing Countries: A Case of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal

Municipal solid waste management is one of the major challenges that cities in developing countries are facing. Although waste collection services are critical to build a smart city, the focus of both scholarship and action/activism has been more on the utilization of waste than on collection. We devised a choice experiment to elicit the preferences of municipal residents with regard to the various attributes of solid waste collection services in the Bharatpur Metropolitan City of Nepal. The study showed that households identify waste collection frequency, timing of door-to-door waste collection services, and cleanliness of the streets as the critical elements of municipal waste collection that affect their welfare and willingness to pay. While almost all households (95%) were participating in the waste collection service in the study area, more than half (53%) expressed dissatisfaction with the existing service. Women were the main actors engaged in waste collection and disposal at household level. The results of the choice analysis suggest that households prefer a designated waste collection time with waste collection bins placed at regular intervals on the streets for use by pedestrians who often throw garbage on the streets in the absence of bins. For these improvements, households were willing to pay an additional service fee of 10–28% on top of what they were already paying. The study also finds that municipal waste collection can be improved through the involvement of Tole Lane Committees in designing the timing and frequency of the service and by introducing a system of progressive tariffs based on the number of storeys per house.

Husband's Involvement in Postnatal Services among Married Women of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan

Husband's Involvement in Postnatal Services among Married Women of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan