By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Feb. 5: Nepal Army Headquarters has reduced the price of explosives (IED) after private sector businesses and various hydro project officials have commented on high rate of the explosives.
According to Brigadier General and spokesperson of Nepali Army Headquarters at the Directorate of Public Relations and Information, Bigyan Dev Pandey, the new rate of the explosive produced from their emulsion plants was fixed at Rs. 188 from Rs. 198 per kilogram.
Pandey said that Rs. 10 per kg had been cut following the concerns from all quarters and the decision has come into effect from Monday.
Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS), General Purna Chandra Thapa, few weeks ago had given direction to seek a way out how the price could be reduced to Directorate of Military Goods Production and Nepali Army Welfare Fund.
The NA has its Sunchari Emulsion Plant established at Sunachari of Makwanpur district for the production of the explosives that are mainly used in development infrastructure including the hydropower projects. NA Welfare Fund had invested the budget to begin the plant.
A board formed to revise the price of the emulsion decided to slash the rate by Rs. 10 per kilo, according to Brigadier General Pandey.
In Makwanpur, NA have their two plants. Very lately, a new and high quality plant was installed after a Chinese technology was installed there. The newly installed plant can produce 2,400 tons of explosives annually. The NA has brought the new plant into operation with an aim of being self-reliant in producing emulsions that ate required for the country.
Nepal has annually been using about five to seven thousand metric tons of explosives. A detonator is used to explode these explosives. NA is, however, purchasing detonator from India.