After Month-long Ban, Nepal Starts Telecasting All Indian News Channels Now

Alleging that the Indian channels were running news against the sovereignty the country, Nepal had on July 10 banned some of the news channels except for DD News.

New Delhi: Nearly a month after putting a ban on it, the Nepal government on Sunday started airing all Indian news channels in the country. The channels that are being telecast now include Zee News, Aaj Tak, India TV and ABP News.

Issuing a statement, Sudeep Acharya, Managing Director, Dish Home, Nepal, said that Nepal has started airing all Indian news channels which were banned earlier.

Alleging that the Indian channels were running news against the sovereignty the country, Nepal had on July 10 banned some of the news channels except for DD News.

We have started airing all Indian news channels including those banned earlier – Zee News, Aaj Tak, India TV and ABP News, in Nepal: Sudeep Acharya, Managing Director, Dish Home, Nepal

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2020

In a statement, Nepal government spokesperson Yuvaraj Khatiwada had urged all not to disseminate news that infringes sovereignty and self-respect of Nepalis.

However, three days later, Nepal’s cable television operators partially lifted the ban imposed on Indian private news channels.

A meeting of the cable operators decided to lift the ban on the Indian news channels with only a few news channels still banned in Nepal, Vice president of television operators’ association Dhurba Sharma had told reporters.

Last month, Nepal had sent a ‘diplomatic note’ to India, urging New Delhi to take steps against the broadcast of materials which it called “fake, baseless and insensitive as well as abusive” to the country and its leadership by a section of the Indian media.

The development comes as the India-Nepal bilateral ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.