Kathmandu, June 5 : The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced load-shedding from nine to five hours a week.

Nepalnews quoted electricity authority as saying that it was able to reduce load-shedding hours also because Khimti Hydropower Project is now back in operation since Saturday after it was shut down for 11 days for maintenance work.

Meanwhile on the occasion of World Environment Day, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Formullah Mansoor appealed to People to start reducing emission of such gases including carbon dioxide.

"Despite our negligible emission, Nepal is suffering from rapid snow-melting, expansion of glacial lake, formation of new glacial lakes, receding snow line, haphazard weather pattern resulting in flash floods and droughts," Mansoor said.

"Nepal has introduced policies and programmes on climate change in the current three year interim plan to create awareness and to promote private-public partnership in this direction," he added.

He said that Nepal has started initiatives such as evaluating national capability, formulating national policy on climate change, and determining process to approve Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). (ANI)