Nepal Moves to Enforce Two-Day Weekend to Counter Fuel Supply Crisis

(MENAFN) Nepal's government acted swiftly on Sunday, announcing an immediate shift to a two-day weekly holiday for all government offices and academic institutions nationwide, as the Himalayan nation scrambles to manage deepening disruptions in petroleum supplies.

Sasmit Pokharel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, publicly disclosed the cabinet's decisions, confirming that the newly mandated Saturday-Sunday break "will be enforced with immediate effect." The ruling marks a sweeping policy departure from Nepal's decades-long tradition of observing only Saturday as a weekly day off — a change that affects millions of students and civil servants across the country.

In a concurrent push to reduce the nation's heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, the cabinet also greenlit the drafting of comprehensive legislation designed to streamline and legally facilitate the conversion of conventional petroleum-powered vehicles into electric alternatives — a reform that energy experts say could significantly ease long-term fuel import pressures on Nepal's strained economy.

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