Nepal, April 18 -- The Karnali Province Government has decided to continue distributing government advertisements to private media outlets, directly challenging the federal government's recent move to restrict such allocations.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers informed that it has already sent letters to local media houses, asking them to sign agreements by April 23 under the Karnali Province Advertisement Distribution Procedure, 2081 BS.

The province has invited 113 media outlets for agreements on public welfare advertisements. This includes 59 online portals, 22 newspapers, 30 FM radio stations, and two television channels.

According to the statement, applications were called...