The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.

In with the old in Nepal

Bottom

Sherpa Adventure Gear, represented by Tashi Dong and Dorje Hoazangtsang, won the Ncell Corporate Golf Tournament held on 26 October this week at the Gokarna Golf Club. The team finished 10 under par 62, winning four round-trip tickets to Dubai, a Callaway iron set, and other gifts. Mustang Golf Club and Leon Motors both finished one stroke behind, but the former earned second place with a better score over the back-nine holes.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029121044_89bebf6f97ee859a37b90872b95eeed20139b2eef1726c9d7febc9b80893f431.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241029121044_89bebf6f97ee859a37b90872b95eeed20139b2eef1726c9d7febc9b80893f431" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="853" loading="lazy" alt="Ncell golf"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029121044_67689c135ac58ba8a26b9825901e3831246ea3d74c921f571b84fe32d279c072.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241029121044_67689c135ac58ba8a26b9825901e3831246ea3d74c921f571b84fe32d279c072" data-rendition-name="original" width="852" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Ncell golf"> </figure>  55 teams participated in the tournament, which followed a stroke play, four-ball better ball format where each team's score is recorded as the best score achieved by either player on each hole, adjusted for handicap.&nbsp; Funds raised from registration for the tournament will be matched by Ncell to buy educational kits for students across Nepal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029121048_8953dd4cb3326bd587597615d740cce7832a31c67c09c1048a62bad95a0466bf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241029121048_8953dd4cb3326bd587597615d740cce7832a31c67c09c1048a62bad95a0466bf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="852" loading="lazy" alt="Ncell golf"> </figure>

Sherpa wins Ncell golf

The Cimex BYD Charity Foundation has made a contribution of Rs5,100,005 to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund to aid victims of last month’s floods. NMB also contributed Rs5.1 million to support rehabilitation efforts.&nbsp;
Unilever Nepal has donated Rs5million to the Fund, and is working with the Ministry of Health and Population to provide hygiene products. Aloft held a ‘Road to Give’ walkathon to raise funds to help survivors, and the fund was donated to Pabitra Samaj Sewa, The Orphans Homes, and the Oxsa Nepal Animal Welfare Society.
The Ncell Foundation is also supporting 200 families in Godavari impacted by the recent floods by distributing relief kits with rations, utensils, hygiene products, blankets and floor mats. Global IME Bank and IME Group contributed Rs50 million to help those impacted.

PM’s disaster relief

Cathay Pacific launched their new Business class, named Aria Suite, on its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, running a Hong Kong-Beijing route. They also introduced a new Premium Economy cabin and a refreshed economy class. The airlines plans to invest HK$100 billion into their fleet and services over the next 7 years.

Cathay Aria Suite

Rest is not the absence of activity but the presence of peace. -Jo Saxton  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241024111056_60fcf301be73a4c790fc0f29a58fa8f0d8dcf054fa7d0c69539d212d6effd8b9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241024111056_60fcf301be73a4c790fc0f29a58fa8f0d8dcf054fa7d0c69539d212d6effd8b9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="2700" loading="lazy" alt="Miss Moti"> </figure>

Rest is not the absence of activity

Nearly 750,000 Nepalis went abroad for employment in the past year. Another 112,000 left initially on student visas, many of them also to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">work and emigrate</a>. These figures do not include those who went to India or left through unofficial channels. Back of the envelope, it would mean at least 1 million Nepalis left Nepal last year.&nbsp;
Besides these there are Nepalis settled permanently overseas, spread across North America, Europe, Australia, and East Asia. There are 290,000 documented people of Nepali origin in the US alone – their average yearly household income is more than $100,000.
Nepalis can run into compatriots in just about <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143106">every corner of the globe</a>, and the money they send home annually just through official channels totals $11 billion. The real figure is much higher.&nbsp;
The decentralisation of the passport distribution in the 1990s for the first time made international movement easier for Nepalis. The Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA), was established in 2003 and now has 97,000 members and chapters in 87 countries.
In 2008, the Nepal government introduced the Non-Resident Nepali Act, categorising Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) as either being an individual of Nepali origin who has acquired foreign citizenship, or a Nepali citizen residing abroad for more than two years. It excludes people of Nepali origin and Nepalis residing and working in SAARC member countries.
The 2015 Constitution stipulated that overseas Nepalis <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143037">could ‘enjoy economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with federal law’</a>. However, it took another eight years for Parliament to pass the Nepal Citizenship (First Amendment) Bill under which overseas Nepalis (except those in South Asia) had all the rights of Nepali citizens except the right to vote or run for political office.&nbsp;
The provisions laid down in the Constitution and law are not for dual citizenship, but for second citizenship. &nbsp;
Indeed, those who have gone through the process of obtaining an NRN citizenship have described it as <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143112">needlessly convoluted</a>. District Administration Offices refuse to issue US-based NRNs a second citizenship without their Social Security number despite American laws prohibiting the disclosure of the number outside of the US. If they obtain Nepali citizenship, NRNs have had to pay visa fees even though there is a government directive that they do not have to do so.&nbsp;
The idea was to make it easy for many to invest in Nepal, or retire in their motherland in the hope that this <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/poor-cash-rich-nepal">would boost the economy</a>. Many first and second generation Nepali émigré across the world have children and grandchildren who want to know about their heritage.
Non-Resident Nepalis can acquire property in Nepal through purchase, inheritance, or investment. Those with foreign citizenship can obtain 10 year visa. They are also entitled to run any industry or business in Nepal, to set up bank accounts, and to bring in either Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or make investments just like Nepali citizens. NRNs are exempt from taxes on investment, and may repatriate the investment and profits to their home country.
Despite these stipulations, the country’s investment climate is not conducive even for people of Nepali origin. There is just too much bureaucratic rigmarole, restrictions, kickbacks and payoffs every step of the way.&nbsp;
Inheritance rights <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143037">only exist on paper</a>, NRN citizens are made to jump through too many hoops to purchase property and many have just given up. The word has spread in the NRN community that despite the 2022 Act, Nepal is not for the faint-hearted.
<a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143112">Tara Baral from Jhapa</a> spent 20 years and is a US citizen. After the 2022 NRN Act was passed by Parliament, he decided to move back to the motherland last year. He and his wife got NRN citizenship papers and wanted to buy an apartment in Kathmandu. Even though he was not buying real estate, just a flat, bureaucrats told him foreigners were not allowed to buy property.&nbsp;
Even though NRN citizenship allows people of Nepali origin to get a 10 year visa for free, Baral was asked by bureaucrats at the Immigration Department to pay for his visa renewal. Basudev Ghimire an American with NRN citizenship is asked at Kathmandu Airport to pay a visa fee every time he enters Nepal. He has not been able to buy any property. There are hundreds of examples like Baral and Ghimire.&nbsp;
NRNA founding chair Jiba Lamichhane says that rather than NRN citizenship, Nepalis who have acquired foreign passports should be allowed to have dual citizenship, unless they renounce it voluntarily. Lamichhane has lived overseas for almost four decades but still carries a Nepali passport.
Nepal’s main political parties have maintained strong ties with the diaspora for their dollars. Leading politicians make frequent fund-raising forays abroad. This has ended up <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/143121">politicising the NRN community</a>, reflecting the divisions back home. The power struggle for leadership is so strong that fist fights have broken out during NRNA elections in North America.&nbsp;
Nepal’s parties have been loath to address the issue of NRNs because they feel overseas Nepalis are inherently anti-incumbent. Many who left Nepal say they did so because they got fed up with bad governance, corruption and lack of jobs and a stagnant economy. This is also why parties in Parliament have stalled a bill that would give Nepali passport holders working and studying abroad absentee voting rights.&nbsp;
Heaping blame on just the politicians would be unfair. The bureaucracy has become a den of thieves, and despite acts of Parliament and laws they put hurdles every step of the way for overseas Nepalis to enjoy their constitutionally-given rights.&nbsp;
Based on Diaspora Discussion held by our sister publication Himalkhabar on 13 October. Watch full video in Nepali <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPdgbKAglrE&amp;t=2s">here</a>.

Home is where the heart is

“यहाँ वाग्नर कोदाली खनिरहेछन्, शेक्सपियर हलो जोत्ता हुन्, टिसियन र टर्नर भेडा चराउँदा हुन्, सोक्रेटिज गुफामा घोत्लिरहेका होलान्... यहाँ कति साहित्य छ, जो लेखिएकै छैन, न लेखिनेछ।” Wagners and Shakespeares could be ploughing fields here, Tissiens and Turners may be shepherds, Socrates must be living in a desolate cave ... there is so much literature here that is not written and will never be written. This excerpt from the essay के नेपाल सानो छ? (Is Nepal Small?) by poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota that most Nepali students have to learn in school, alludes to treasures of Nepali literature that remain hidden because people are too busy trying to survive.&nbsp; While Devkota’s dialectic may still be true, Nepali writers like Samyak Shertok are taking their literature to international platforms and giving it global recognition. Samyak Shertok is the recent recipient of the 2024 <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fawpwriter.org%2FAWP%2FAWP%2FContests%2FAWP-Award-Series%2FDonald-Hall-Prize%2FOverview.aspx%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2rtN6pn1xy9O42GhznnQekY96bavYGwHz6pDtNaSGh4qaKXsZKSyvCKDU_aem_bsY7bnUoJoSxEpfxw1UdVQ&amp;h=AT0QnfORyOboQ6xeVZYe-r4CLjYIjtZwIcEsR3r54yeHGbMqiMHTjcoT3CP2CD7VXUn9jytxX4FtFmLhINdF8UwGvLy9urNtzxIeUNLOuwLVhSH6hmbVx3oA8rZIY3WNkMani8g6I1c">Donald Hall Prize for Poetry</a>. His poem collection ‘No Rhododendron’ is being published next year by the University of Pittsburgh Press in the Pitt Poetry Series. His poems have also appeared in top literary journals and publications in the US, such as Best of New Poets, Iowa Review amd Kenyon Review.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241013131056_630058ef31163af4def47cbcc247089ee3df925ff6c1bd2014f1008db515f9c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241013131056_630058ef31163af4def47cbcc247089ee3df925ff6c1bd2014f1008db515f9c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1365" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Samyak Shertok"> <figcaption>Photo: CHANDRA S MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  ‘If poetry is, as has been defined, a species of magic, Samyak Shertok has conjured an elegant and sophisticated collection that is full of hybridity in form and subject…’ writes Donald Hall Prize 2024 jury member Kimiko Hahn, an American poet. ‘We are given a view into the conjuring, his view on how language expresses and depresses, how language as noise can mix into cacophony or clarify home.’ Hahn goes on to add, ‘There is abiding grief and, in that, surviving to tell and retell stories. This debut collection is an absolute marvel.’ Shertok’s poems immerse themselves in the idea of a mother language, of motherhood, home, ongoingness and his relationship with them, leaving behind a part of himself in each poem. His poems have a haunting grief and memories, and leave food for the soul to dwell upon. “Poems are a permanent home that I can always return to,” Shertok told us in a zoom call. He moved to the United States to pursue a psychology major as an undergraduate which he completed in 2011 from Brigham Young University, and has been there since. Samyak was born Shertok Lama, the youngest child in a Tamang family from Yurung village of Sindhupalchok district. He had always thought a poet had to be someone senior with a PhD, or a long white beard like Nepali poet Lekhnath Paudyal or the Bengali Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Samyak’ means the Buddha’s middle way and ‘Shertok’ is the Tamang word for a golden steeple. Nepaliness is a recurring theme in Samyak’s verse, but he has a fraught relationship with his motherland. As someone from an indigenous community, Shertok grew up feeling stereotyped and judged which is why he opted for a surname that would not denote his ethnicity. He was eight when his older brother recited the poem he had written himself while walking to their school, an hour across mountain paths from his home. “The poem my older brother wrote was about love and destiny. I don’t remember the lines now, but the seed was planted sometime there,” Shertok recalls.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241013141012_e562220a7461f09924480bb991319bfc420ba275b672885815382bb526833301.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241013141012_e562220a7461f09924480bb991319bfc420ba275b672885815382bb526833301" data-rendition-name="original" width="1100" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Samyak Shertok"> </figure>  Shertok has frequent references to his mother who played a part in shaping his career as a poet. He explains: “I believe my Ama is a lived poet. She doesn't know about poets, or how to write poems, but she naturally comes up with her own phrases that are poetic and deeply meaningful.” By Grade 11, Shertok was writing poems mostly in Nepali, but also English. He was prolific, penning short stories, essays, ghazals and managed to impress another <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/writing-about-nepal-from-afar">US-based Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay</a> and publisher <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/a-novelist-talks-to-his-translator">Ajit Baral of Fineprint</a> when he won the Writing Nepal competition organised by Lalit. "Samyak Shertok is a poet of great nuance and emotional depth," says Upadhyay who was the judge of the Lalit contest. "Even then I had been wowed by the poetry in Samyak’s prose, and it’s no wonder he’s emerged as a poet of considerable power now." He adds: "The fact that Samyak’s poetry is speaking to a diverse and international audience is evident in his numerous publications and awards. The Donald Hall Prize is a big deal. It boasts of many illustrious poets as its previous winners, such as Angela Ball and Reginald Shepherd. Samyak’s win is a win for Nepalis all over the world." Shertok struggled to adjust to a new culture and milieu. He did not feel like he belonged, and strived to feel appreciated. He finally had a MFA in poetry, but no job. “Poetry as a career is never fully secure, there is a compulsion to financially depend on something else,” says Shertok who now teaches poetry to students in Hendrix College in Arkansas. While he has been reading and writing poetry for most of his life, writing still does not get any easier for Shertok. “With practice, devotion and dedication, one might get better at techniques but writing a poem means starting from nothing,” adds Shertok, who is now working on his second book collection. “Something more challenging is to not repeat what I’ve already done in my previous poem.” While he still likes to explore different literary forms, poetry provides him ample room to explore life, living and longing. Even Shertok’s spoken words, carried over from the other side of the planet over Zoom is versified: “Each poem is a being. A poem begins with a haunting, and ends when you are able to release the haunt.”&nbsp;

Finding a permanent home in poetry

Shyam Lama had just fallen asleep on the early morning of 28 September when he heard a loud bang outside his shop on the side of the highway in Dhading, 15km from Kathmandu. It had been r<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">aining incessantly for two days</a>, landslips and fallen trees had blocked the Kathmandu-Mugling highway. Many buses were stranded, and some of them were parked at a bend on the road in Jhyaple Khola, waiting for the debris to be cleared. The bang that Lama heard was another landslide from the mountain above falling near his shop and covering the highway with 4m of mud and stones. Some of the buses were damaged, and injured passengers were running for safety in the darkness and pouring rain. In the light of dawn, they could see the damaged buses heading to Kathmandu from the west. But it was not till later in the day that Lama and some of the other rescuers saw the top of another bus sticking out of the mud.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241008141044_a0b528829a4230da6b7b26102a42f0a061de6c26a4fb1d1e201dabfcfc647519.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241008141044_a0b528829a4230da6b7b26102a42f0a061de6c26a4fb1d1e201dabfcfc647519" data-rendition-name="original" width="5726" height="3817" loading="lazy" alt="jhyaple khola landslides"> <figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI(Photo: suman)</figcaption> </figure>  They dug through the slush to find 11 bodies. But then they spotted the tyre of another vehicle, then a van. Altogether 35 passengers perished that night in the three buses heading to Kathmandu from Chitwan, Butwal and Gorkha.&nbsp; “The buses were all stuck because the highway was blocked, and the landslide fell and buried them with the passengers sleeping inside,” Lama says. “If the debris up the road had been cleared in time, the buses would have been able to continue on to Kathmandu.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-flood-of-tears-on-the-rosi">A flood of tears on the Rosi</a>, Archana Darji Archana Koirala runs a convenience store nearby, and was also awoken by muffled shouts for help almost drowned out by the sound of the rain on the tin roof. “In the darkness, I saw people escaping from two buses, some of them injured and covered in blood,” recalls Koirala. “I gathered up my little girls and ran for my life.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241008141044_ec79cc7198b54bad77c3f03bc1420ea64cb6776eaaec29581209614194b862fa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241008141044_ec79cc7198b54bad77c3f03bc1420ea64cb6776eaaec29581209614194b862fa" data-rendition-name="original" width="5680" height="3787" loading="lazy" alt="jhyaple khola landslides"> </figure>  Another shop owner Ajita Tamang, heard the landslide coming down and nearly burying her house. She ran with her mother to the nearby woods. Her shop did not survive. Krishna Tamang heard the sound of a bus windshield shattering, and went outside to check. &nbsp;He saw one of the buses half-buried in debris before it disappeared before his eyes, swallowed up by a fresh wave of mud. Unable to do anything to help, he ran up the mountain to save his own life.&nbsp; Shop owners and residents in Jhyaple Khola say that the landslide was so massive and came down so suddenly that the passengers in the vehicles probably did not even know what hit them. A week later, the mangled mass of the three buses are all that remain on the roadside, and excavators were trying to open the road for the expected heavy Dasain traffic on the arterial highway that connects Kathmandu to western Nepal. A visit to the site shows the mountain above scarred by open red wounds of landslides. The biggest slope failure originates in a local road about 100m above the highway and has brought down debris that was just dumped over the edge by bulldozers. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/flood-of-despair">When the record-breaking rain came</a>, the mud turned into paste and raced down the mountain carrying tree trunks and large stones. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241008141044_64f6af7e300ed517f6bd161491a69d85706caed35839cfeee7c87e6671a8fdc3.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241008141044_64f6af7e300ed517f6bd161491a69d85706caed35839cfeee7c87e6671a8fdc3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1320" height="1346" loading="lazy" alt="jhyaple khola landslides"> <figcaption>The bend on the highway where the landslide, triggered by a sub-standard road up the mountain buried three buses, killing 35 people on the night of 28 September. Other buses also blocked by another landslide further up the road were also damaged. Photo: SOCIAL MEDIA(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  Typically, Dasain is the busiest time of year for businesses along the highway in Jhyaple Khola as people leave Kathmandu by busloads to get home for the festival. “We do not stay here for long anymore, we are already home before the sun sets,” says Krishna Tamang. “We fear another landslide will hit us at any time.” In July, a debris flow <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/100-101-102-hh5uvzf9">swept two intercity buses into the Trisuli River</a> along the Mugling-Narayangad Highway 60km west of here. Of the 62 passengers on the two buses, only three were able to swim to safety. Search and rescue teams recovered 27 passengers from the river in the aftermath of the landslide, but neither the buses nor the rest of the passengers have been found.&nbsp; A committee formed by the government to investigate the Simaltal disaster concluded that a new local road constructed farther up the mountain was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon">mainly responsible for the debris flow</a>. The Jhyaple Khola mudslide was a repeat of the July disaster. Locals in Dhading say that the Department of Roads had just completed the retaining wall, and the debris from the excavation done to construct the road had piled up, which the rain swept down to the highway below.&nbsp; Similar unplanned roads constructed further above in Nagdhunga have also clogged up the culverts, which remain uncleared.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241008141044_d46e7f612ce53b0c3133219a36ab81c5ef8f7494dc002452580c086d70028652.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241008141044_d46e7f612ce53b0c3133219a36ab81c5ef8f7494dc002452580c086d70028652" data-rendition-name="original" width="2340" height="1560" loading="lazy" alt="jhyaple khola landslides"> <figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  “This disaster occurred because of the locally elected representatives, the Road Department and the contractors,” says local business owner Shyam Kumar Lama. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">You cannot blame it on a natural disaster</a>." “They keep tearing down the retaining walls to build haphazard roads, and replace them with brick walls,” adds Lama. “How is a barely one-foot-thick wall going to stop a landslide?” Geologist Sri Kamal Dwivedi says that the Department of Roads has not heeded the geological risks in excavations for road expansion across the country. “The soil above Jhyaple Khola was loosened by torrential rain, causing a high-speed debris flow onto the highway below,” &nbsp;explains Dwivedi. “Additionally, the possibility of disasters like landslides increases when slopes are cut to make way for road expansion.” Transport expert Kamal Pandey says that disasters like the ones in Simaltal and Jhyaple Khola happen frequently because environmental risks are ignored during investments in road expansion. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-revenge-of-the-rivers">The revenge of the rivers</a>, Shamshad Ahmad “New roads are dug up like it is some kind of competition,” says Pandey. “But as long as unmanaged excavation continues without plans in place to mitigate landslides, disasters like the one at Jhyaple Khola will continue to happen.” Indeed, this is not the first time a disaster of this scale has struck in Jhyaple Khola. In 2001, a similar debris flow from higher up the hill buried a vehicle on the highway below, killing nine people.&nbsp; Landslides of smaller scales occur in the area every monsoon, but they do not make it to the news. But even as they are used to the frequent landslides, there is now a new kind of fear among residents.&nbsp; “I am overcome with terror every time I look up to the overcast sky,” says Shyam Lama. “We will never be safe in this place as long as the mountains keep falling on top of us.” &nbsp;

"The mountain fell on top of us"

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Project Syndicate: Being especially vulnerable to climate change, the Global South is open to receiving financial, technical, and other forms of support from wherever they can get it. Are America and its allies squandering an opportunity here?
Ian Bremmer: At this point, developing economies are open to climate finance support from any quarter. With simultaneous major geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures, and pivotal elections happening this year, America and its allies view climate partnerships with emerging markets as a lower priority. The EU’s top priority is Ukraine, and the US has been consumed with the Gaza conflict.
The Global South will therefore strengthen ties with China and Middle Eastern countries, as we’ve seen happening since the last United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28). Diversifying partnerships makes sense for these governments, since wealthy countries have made it clear they won’t significantly ramp up support anytime soon. Although <a href="https://cop29.az/en/news/letter-to-parties-and-constituencies#:~:text=The%20COP29%20Presidency's%20top%20negotiating,priorities%20of%20developing%20country%20Parties." target="_blank">climate finance</a> will be a major topic at COP29 in Azerbaijan, the $1 trillion target will go unmet, leading to frustration and even more collaboration with non-traditional partners.
The donor pool is becoming a contentious topic in UN climate negotiations, because countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and China are not currently classified as ‘<a href="https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_current/2014wesp_country_classification.pdf" target="_blank">developed economies</a>’. The United States and some EU governments are pushing to expand this list to achieve more ambitious goals, but it won’t happen. Many emerging markets support the current list because they don’t want to antagonise China, which firmly opposes being a donor and criticises developed markets for not delivering on climate finance.
Do strategic and ‘national-security’ considerations surrounding climate policy and green technologies ensure a zero-sum dynamic?
This collaboration has historically set global policy expectations, laying the groundwork for milestones like the Paris climate agreement, COP26 in Glasgow and COP28 in Dubai. The outcome of the US election will be crucial, but under a Democratic administration, robust climate cooperation could continue, particularly with the right climate envoys.
During the first three years of <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/joseph-biden-jr">Joe Biden</a>’s presidency, US Climate Envoy <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/john-kerry">John Kerry</a> and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, demonstrated that meaningful <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00692-7" target="_blank">progress</a> can still be made despite broader tensions. After the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/05/1115878668/china-taiwan-pelosi-climate-military#:~:text=BEIJING%20%E2%80%94%20China%20declared%20Friday%20it,Nancy%20Pelosi's%20visit%20to%20Taiwan." target="_blank">suspension</a> of climate talks following US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022, Kerry and Xie’s teams were among the first to resume discussions in 2023.
Even then, separating climate issues from US-China tensions will pose a challenge. Chinese officials have stressed that climate collaboration requires “overall stable relations”.
What about under a second Trump presidency? How much damage could he do to the net-zero transition, both in the US and globally?
Donald Trump is obviously no fan of climate policies, but he supports US industry. His administration would cut Inflation Reducation Act spending, and could do so significantly with full Republican support. These cuts would then ripple through the economy. But the US would still pursue aggressive industrial policies, challenging economic trade partners. A Trump administration would favour oil and gas, but its impact would be limited.&nbsp;
On the international front, you could expect a US withdrawal from UN climate talks altogether, which could derail progress at COP30 and significantly reduce funding for developing economies. This could weaken new climate commitments from all governments by 2025, eventually pushing global temperatures higher than currently projected.
And following the strong performance by far-right parties in the European Parliament elections, should we expect Europe’s ambitions under the 2020 EU Green Deal to be scaled back?&nbsp;
The EU has temporarily peaked in its adoption of environmental policies. Looking ahead, the bloc will largely focus on implementing existing regulations. Key among these is the <a href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en" target="_blank">Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive</a>, which will require companies to ramp up disclosures starting next year, with France already <a href="https://www.novata.com/resources/blog/csrd-unpacked-enforcement-compliance-and-penalties/#:~:text=France%20is%20the%20only%20country,not%20publishing%20the%20sustainability%20report." target="_blank">imposing</a> strict penalties for noncompliance. 
&nbsp;
Similarly, the <a href="https://green-business.ec.europa.eu/deforestation-regulation-implementation_en#:~:text=It%20will%20start%20to%20apply,Deforestation%20Free%20Products%20(EUDR)." target="_blank">EU Deforestation Regulation</a> will take effect this December, and countries around the world are already preparing for it. Seven key commodities will be barred from the EU market if their sourcing involves any kind of deforestation, legal or illegal.
Meanwhile, the recently adopted <a href="https://www.esginvestor.net/eu-approves-nature-restoration-law/#:~:text=EU%20member%20states%20have%20approved,targets%20in%20the%20bloc's%20history." target="_blank">Nature Restoration Law</a> – the EU’s flagship biodiversity legislation – requires that member states create action plans and set targets to increase their conservation and restoration efforts. The enforcement of these policies will lead to “<a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Guidelines_for_the_Transition_in_Cities_2024.pdf" target="_blank">transition risks</a>.” Multinational corporations and governments that fail to comply with sustainability-related regulations will face legal action.
Another elephant in the room is India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set highly ambitious decarbonisation targets reaching <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59125143" target="_blank">net-zero by 2070</a>, but India has also been hoovering up Russian hydrocarbons at a discount and <a href="https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indias-Coal-Consumption-and-Emissions-Hit-Record-Highs-in-Q1.html" target="_blank">increasing</a> its consumption of coal.&nbsp;
Actually, India’s net-zero target by 2070 is perceived by many as <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-net-zero-emissions-target-by-2070-little-too-long-term-hardeep-singh-puri/article67398684.ece" target="_blank">insufficiently ambitious</a>. But India faces a tough balancing act between long-term decarbonisation and immediate economic priorities. It still relies on coal for domestic security and is being cautious about phasing it out until renewable-energy capacity and alternative revenue sources for coal-producing regions are well established.
Energy-storage limitations, fluctuating LNG prices, and other challenges have prompted a shift toward a combination of LNG and green hydrogen for industry, and a mix of solar and nuclear power for residential areas.
Owing to capital shortages, grid instability, minimal storage solutions, and reliance on emerging technologies, India <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/india-may-miss-2030-renewable-energy-targets-as-up-punjab-haryana-lag-say-experts/articleshow/90964081.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank">will not meet</a> its 2030 targets of 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel power capacity and a 45% reduction in carbon intensity from 2005 levels. It is, however, expected to build its clean-energy supply chains by 2030 (leveraging a second-mover advantage), and this should help to accelerate its energy transition.
EVs are one bright spot. India has implemented <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/india-says-high-tariffs-evs-protect-chinese-imports-2024-06-14/" target="_blank">tariffs</a> to protect its budding domestic EV sector, and earlier this year it introduced a new <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2014858#:~:text=The%20Union%20Government%20has%20approved,by%20reputed%20global%20EV%20manufacturers." target="_blank">policy</a> to encourage EV manufacturing. This could attract investments worth billions of dollars from companies like Tesla or various Japanese firms.
In the past, you’ve proposed new bodies such as a World Carbon Organisation. Where does your thinking stand today in a world increasingly dominated by zero-sum strategic considerations?
Multilateral institutions will continue to face challenges, but they remain essential in an increasingly fragmented world. Their value lies in reaching global consensus and driving coordinated action, as seen with the Paris agreement’s impact on countries, companies, and communities. In that case, there was a clear ‘before and after’.
Yes, progress has been too slow, but to be fair, expectations for these negotiations are often too high, setting them up for failure. International fora should be seen as what they are: annual stocktaking exercises that help the world assess its current position and decide on necessary course corrections.
Unilateral initiatives, such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Deforestation Regulation, face just as much, if not more, pushback. This highlights the need to improve multilateral systems – by creating new structures or overhauling existing ones – rather than abandoning them. Doing so is ultimately in everyone’s interest. <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/">© Project Syndicate</a>
Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and founder of Eurasia Group, a geopolitical risk advisory firm, and GZERO Media.

Climate security and geopolitics

I was a teenager when I was first exposed to the impact of climate breakdown, while staying with a family in Phakding in the aftermath of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> the 2015 earthquake</a>.&nbsp;
The communities living along the river were so scared of the Imja Tso glacial lake bursting that they hiked a few hours up the mountain every night for safety. During the day, they came back down to run their tea houses for volunteers and tourists still up in the Khumbu.
There is a clear correlation between livelihoods and the climate crisis. Seeing first hand, ten years ago, how the impact of climate change deepens poverty profoundly shifted my perspective, and motivated me to take up a career on climate finance.
I learnt everything about the subject, worked on projects to mobilise millions of dollars for climate action so that those most vulnerable would be safe.&nbsp;
Yet, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">this weekend’s floods</a> have shown me that on the ground, absolutely nothing has changed. Those most at risk from climate hazards are at even more risk.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">When it rains it pours</a>, Sonia Awale
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandus-flash-floods-are-4-decades-in-the-making?fbclid=IwY2xjawFrHMtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRth_4qOARkJl9oz8RSAdrfer4ox2p7uQH28wKYa0SOe1ZNXaS-Oa1qj9g_aem_9kYwBCg8maslUNwV0Dn_Uw">Kathmandu's ‘flash floods’ are 4 decades in the making</a>, Tom Robertson
It is dreadful to realise that the worst is yet to come. We in the climate finance sector are lost in words, actions and false promises of organisations purporting to help vulnerable countries, communities and families.&nbsp;
There are lofty climate targets and hopeful speeches on net-zero ambitions prepared by people who have no idea of the ground reality. Young people I used to respect proudly demonstrate their saviour complex and exoticise the poor to advance their brand image on social media to gain brownie points.&nbsp;
This week, early-rising <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-trail-running-champions">trail runners</a>, youth groups, and local communities became first responders on the muddy banks of rivers in Kathmandu Valley for rescue and recovery. From agencies claiming to work on 'disaster risk reduction', we heard only words and media campaigns.
Am I the only one losing hope in us collectively responding to what the future requires us to do? &nbsp;
Disasters are now increasingly normalised as Nepal crosses the tipping point on climate breakdown. Elitism and inequality has never been more apparent.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/act-now-on-climate">Act now on climate</a>, Manjeet Dhakal
This week’s tragedy showed how the high and mighty were safe, and the lowly forced to live along river banks were not. Those who are thinking of moving away from flood-prone areas, buying home insurance and protecting themselves from future impact are perhaps the very people abetting the destruction of the natural environment.
The two rivers that saw the most devastation this week, Rosi Khola and Nakkhu Khola, had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-struggles-to-balance-nature-and-industry">unregulated sand mining and rampant quarrying</a> upstream — all happening in the name of ‘development’.
I spoke with a dairy farmer in Hatiban whose home and 13 cows were swept away by a stream that had turned into a raging mudflow. He is out in the streets now, with just the one cow that survived. He teared up telling me this. So did I.
A carpenter who lives in a small tin hut near the Karmanasa River told me he has had enough and is now headed back to his village. A neighbourhood garbage recycler has spent the past week living inside a stack of large concrete pipes meant to improve Kathmandu's drainage.&nbsp;
A decade after starting to work on climate change, I know nothing about what to actually do to adapt to the impact of the climate crisis like this one. The 800mm of rain in two days was caused by global warming, but the death toll was higher because of corruption and state negligence.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage">Climate damage</a>
There are thousands of tragic stories from this flood, most of them will never be heard. Many are already forgotten.&nbsp;
The guilt coming from the privilege of even being in a position to help in times like these eats me up from the inside. I have spoken to many friends this week working tirelessly, without recognition or organisational support, to help with relief and rescue. Many share the same sentiment: the disaster swept away what little optimism we had.
Yet, there is also hope in the way we have all come together knee-deep in mud, carrying relief supplies and cash to those marooned, destitute and homeless. It is clear that top-down <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/cash-for-climate">response from the government</a> or large relief organisations is always too little, too late and too ineffective. Those who lost everything do not know how to work the system.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-breakdown-magnifies-western-nepal-s-woes">Climate breakdown magnifies western Nepal’s woes</a>, Unnati Chaudhary
In such situations, we must take matters into our own hands. We need to be aware of the impending impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-climate-threat-multiplier">climate change</a>, and make our own decisions to build and rebuild resilience among those forced to live in harm's way. &nbsp;
The passion to tackle the climate crisis will not come if we do not have personal stories of how we ourselves are affected. Almost everyone in Kathmandu Valley, Kavre, Dhading and elsewhere now has a personal experience of this climate-induced calamity. The question is, what are we going to do about it?&nbsp;
As I write this on Thursday morning on 3 October, it is raining heavily again. &nbsp;
Rastra Raj Bhandari is a co-founder and fellow at the Himalayan Water Project, where he leads the research on climate finance opportunities for the Himalaya. He contributes regularly to Nepali Times on climate change. rastrarajbhandari@gmail.com
<h2>HOW TO HELP</h2>
· Civil society action is filling gaps in relief and rehab until bigger players take over. 9858000000
· Sudan Gurung, <a href="https://www.haminepal.org/">Hami Nepal</a>
· Saurav Rimal, <a href="https://karmayogfoundation.org/">Karmayog Foundation</a>, 9851139412&nbsp;

Flood of despair

A warming atmosphere also warms perennially frozen mountains. The stability of frozen rocks decreases with increasing temperature similar to how butter just taken out of a fridge &nbsp;becomes softer and less resistant to &nbsp;the cutting force of the knife. Thawing frozen mountains means softening them, making them less resistant against gravity, leading to breakage of small to large sections, resulting in rock falls, rock avalanches, and landslides. There is growing concern about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-destruction-ice-is-also-great-and-will-suffice">the impact of global warming</a> on the stability of icy peaks in mountain ranges around the world, which several recent events in the Himalaya well illustrate. Permafrost is a technical short form of ‘permanent frost’ for frozen ground which remains at temperatures below zero degrees throughout the year.&nbsp; Permafrost is below the surface, is not directly visible, and therefore often escapes the attention of scientists and political authorities. Sophisticated methods must be used to explore it, such as drilling, geophysical soundings, or climate-related modelling.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_bbe43b730a10b861f318285a1999a1f6f4d245287618ff49ebfc8e51d154f573.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240907160944_bbe43b730a10b861f318285a1999a1f6f4d245287618ff49ebfc8e51d154f573" data-rendition-name="original" width="4108" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> <figcaption>Even small glacial lakes, such as these currently forming near the terminus of the Kangchenjunga glacier in eastern Nepal, can be dangerous. Photo: ALTON C BYERS(Photo: Shristi Karki)</figcaption> </figure>  Generally, temperatures at surface level and directly below match the temperature of the air immediately above it. Polewards to around 60°N and S latitude, mean annual air and ground temperatures are mostly below 0°C. Permafrost is widespread in Alaska, northern Canada and Siberia. The lower limit of negative mean annual temperatures is at &nbsp;2,000-3,000m at mid-latitudes such as the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-high-places">European Alps</a> or the Southern Alps of New Zealand, to 3,000-4,000m in the Himalaya, and to 5,000m near the equator in the Peruvian Cordilleras. Above these elevations, permafrost affects peaks. In high mountains the permafrost area is often far larger than their glacier-covered regions. In Nepal, the permafrost-affected area is about 2 to 3 times bigger than the glacier area, while in China with the perennially frozen Tibetan Plateau this factor is about 30. Temperatures decrease by 6-7°C for every 1,000m of altitude increase, and the coldest and most deeply frozen rocks are found in the highest parts of the peaks. The frozen zone inside mountains can reach depths of hundreds of metres. It is not just the ice on peaks in the European Alps or the Himalaya that is frozen throughout the year, but so are the rocks.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_b75f78e4ee6d146e797f06536491c445891fbeb578f60105f57247a8dc066bbd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240907160944_b75f78e4ee6d146e797f06536491c445891fbeb578f60105f57247a8dc066bbd" data-rendition-name="original" width="916" height="674" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> <figcaption>Mt Chamlang (7,319m) with creeping frozen debris (rock glaciers, yellow arrows) and Lakes 464 and 465 (blue arrows) from glacier retreat at its foot. Mt Makalu (8,485m) is in the background.(Photo: Shristi Karki)</figcaption> </figure>  The sunny side of mountains are warmer, and the permafrost is thinner there than slopes in mountain shadow. Temperatures are not constant throughout the year, so a thin surface layer up to a few metres on top of permafrost that thaws in summer and freezes in winter. This seasonal freezing and thawing surface layer on permafrost is called the ‘active layer’. Deep, long-term freezing influences geomorphic processes inside mountains, drastically changing their properties. Growth of ice in cracks and fissures within solid rock tends to expand already existing openings, and even create new ones. The related weakening of bedrock, however, is compensated by strong adhesion and increasing strength induced by the ice fillings and related cold temperatures. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga">Tracing past glacial floods in Kangchenjunga</a>, Alton C Byers Not only the ice itself, but also rocks, rock-ice, and rock-rock contacts increase their strength with lower temperatures. Perhaps most important is the effect of freezing and ice filling of cracks between rocks containing water. Deep frozen rocks are essentially impermeable to water as an often-decisive factor of stability inside mountain slopes. In the abundant debris masses at the foot of high mountains, deep, long-term freezing causes even more spectacular changes. Formation of ice inside and beyond the pores can create a mixture of ice and debris with ice lenses, enabling such ice-rich frozen masses to slowly creep down the slopes of mountains. Landforms resulting from permafrost creep over past millennia look like lava streams and are called ‘rock glaciers’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_dc86dc2e254de22afefcd3f6c2df76af6c0aab87555f702dc853992987dcb3fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240907160944_dc86dc2e254de22afefcd3f6c2df76af6c0aab87555f702dc853992987dcb3fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1072" height="625" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> </figure>  Thawing out From long-term temperature measurements in deep boreholes, we know that global temperature increase of the atmosphere during the past about 100-150 years has warmed up mountain slopes down to depths below the surface of about 100m. The effect of this deep warming is the reversal of the freezing and cooling effects. It reduces the strength of rocks or debris with ice and makes them ‘softer’ and more permeable to water. Over the past decades, creep rates of frozen debris in rock glaciers have markedly increased, and the frequency of large rock-ice avalanches from high-mountain permafrost has accelerated. In the Peruvian Andes, two major events from mountain permafrost occurred in 2020 and 2023. Both had volumes of 1-1.5 million m3, reached lakes at the foot of the slope, and produced flood waves. The 2020 Salkantay flood caused loss of lives and heavy damage at Santa Teresa, 35km down valley. The flood wave at Rasac was fortunately retained within the lake at lower altitude. On 5 May 2012, a massive rock, ice, and debris avalanche from Annapurna IV <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-the-seti-disaster">cascaded into the Seti River gorge</a>, plummeting into a rockfall-dammed lake. The impact triggered an air blast that levelled thousands of hectares of forests, a dust cloud covered the countryside in fine white rock powder, and a hyper-concentrated slurry flood that killed 72 people downstream.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_81860cf5896090449c7fd074796f683c164e2bff782a46390cd43eee6202f19b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240907160944_81860cf5896090449c7fd074796f683c164e2bff782a46390cd43eee6202f19b" data-rendition-name="original" width="780" height="539" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> <figcaption>Rock failure from Annapurna IV led to a series of cascading events that resulted in the Seti River flood of 2012 that killed 72 people. Map: J  KARGEL / D REGMI(Photo: Shristi Karki)</figcaption> </figure>  On 20 April 2017, a high altitude breakage of solid rock from the east face of Saldim Peak (6,388m) in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">Barun Valley turned into a 1.1 million m3 debris flow</a> of ice and sediment that plummeted 1,200m down to the Langmale Glacial lake below. Although the lake was less than 0.01km2 in size, the combination of lake water with melting ice from the ice-debris flow triggered a massive hyper-concentrated flood that destroyed forests, pastureland, and trekking lodges for several dozen kilometres to the Barun’s confluence with the Arun. In India’s Uttarakhand state bordering Nepal, the Chamoli event of 7 February 2021 was catalysed by the detachment of 20 to 30 million m3 of rocks and ice from a frozen, ice-clad peak. The ensuing avalanche developed into a rapidly flowing mass of rocks, ice and water, killing 204 people and heavily damaging an under-construction hydropower infrastructure 35km downstream.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_c7284846f8a571d8d1f5596b7731e7c4c2521f764aaf9e5df23ad9d0ad41d986.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240907160944_c7284846f8a571d8d1f5596b7731e7c4c2521f764aaf9e5df23ad9d0ad41d986" data-rendition-name="original" width="798" height="462" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> <figcaption>This massive breakage (below) of solid rock from Saldim Peak in 2017 fell on a lake and unleashed a flood downstream on the Barun River. Top photo is of the peak before the collapse. Photos: ALTON C BYERS(Photo: Shristi Karki)</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_6e686f290b44e89cce8a1b822a74895c8d6a4ac4122572223ba3c4160b88879f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240907160944_6e686f290b44e89cce8a1b822a74895c8d6a4ac4122572223ba3c4160b88879f" data-rendition-name="original" width="799" height="470" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> </figure>  On 3 October 2023, the collapse of about 15 million m3 of debris from a perennially frozen moraine into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">South Lhonak Lake in the Sikkim</a> Himalaya produced a flood wave and debris flow which killed 14 people with over 100 missing, destroyed a hydropower reservoir at Chungthang, 60km downstream, and caused destruction of houses, roads, and agricultural land. Similar processes may have been involved in the Birendra Tal glacial lake flood of 21 April 2024 and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Thame flood of 16 August 2024</a>. Each of the above cases show the potential hazard over long distances related to process chains, especially in connection with impacted mobile water bodies in glacial lakes and artificial reservoirs.&nbsp; <h2>12 TIPS: Awareness and Protective Measures</h2> Changes in high altitude permafrost, and the devastating geomorphic events they cause are still poorly understood by Nepal’s scientific community and government. Earthquakes and heavy rainfall are usually reported by the press to be the primary causes of catastrophic events, both of which are impossible to predict. However, climate change and gravity, the two major forces at work on Himalayan permafrost, are constants. As permafrost continues to destabilise at the highest altitudes in the Nepal Himalaya, more and more devastating events can be expected to occur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_dd2d77fb090fb2f5c836411d61bd6e7bb4e2e40ea2abae3d8eee8a686e9457dc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240907160944_dd2d77fb090fb2f5c836411d61bd6e7bb4e2e40ea2abae3d8eee8a686e9457dc" data-rendition-name="original" width="977" height="733" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> <figcaption>Gabions installed near Chukung in 2015 protected the village from a similar flood from the Lhotse Glacier in 2014. Photo: ALTON BYERS(Photo: Shristi Karki)</figcaption> </figure>  The question is, what can we do about it? Based on our collective experience in the European Alps, Peruvian Andes, and Nepal Himalaya over the past several decades, we offer the following suggestions: 1. Encourage more permafrost and hazard research. Nepal’s scientists and practitioners need to better understand and acknowledge the role of permafrost change in the growing list of climate change-related impacts in the high mountain environment, and more research of an applied nature is indicated. Interdisciplinary approaches that include and involve local people usually yield the most promising and effective results. 2. Standardise glacial lake risk assessment methods. Currently, scientists use various methods to assess a lake’s potential danger of flooding, with predictably mixed and widely differing results. Imja glacial lake in Khumbu, for example, is considered by some scientists to be extremely dangerous, and by others to have a low to moderate risk. The result is confusion among local people, local governments, and scientists alike. 3. Update and revise the current list of potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal. The inventory should incorporate the changing permafrost factor, including smaller lakes less than 0.01km2. Even very small glacial lakes, such as those above Thame and the Langmale glacial lake in the Barun, can be as destructive as large lakes under the right conditions and cascading processes. 4. Develop new feasibility study protocols for large hydropower projects. These guidelines must incorporate the changing permafrost factor as well as the heightened threat of glacier floods. The potentially disastrous impacts of climate change upon major hydropower projects in Nepal have been predicted by scientists for decades, and yet the construction (and destruction) of major, multi-million-dollar installations continues. Hundreds of lives, and millions of dollars of infrastructure, stand to be saved through the use of more detailed, comprehensive evaluations of permafrost and glacier-related risks prior to project implementation. 5. Develop zoning policies. These should discourage the location of farms and infrastructure (homes, tourist lodges) within known and active floodplains. Some scientists believe that most of the deaths from the 2012 Seti flood could have been prevented had settlements not been located directly in the floodplain. 6. Simple is beautiful. Rock-filled wire cages (gabions) can be engineered to effectively divert floods and should continue to be promoted in high mountain regions. In the village of Chukung located directly in the floodplain of the Lhotse Glacier in the Sagarmatha National Park, for instance, the installation of gabions after a glacier flood in 2015 protected the village the following year when a second similar flood from the same glacier occurred.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240907160944_ce975f82275c7936c7948fbf7fd7231b61adecc01d5510760144a8f3d0467859.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240907160944_ce975f82275c7936c7948fbf7fd7231b61adecc01d5510760144a8f3d0467859" data-rendition-name="original" width="1005" height="695" loading="lazy" alt="The not so permanent frost Page 6-7 #1228 NT"> </figure>  7. Build higher bridges. This can effectively address the growing frequency and magnitudes of glacier floods in the high mountains, eliminating the need for continuous rebuilding. 8. Increase awareness. Nepal’s mountains will continue to destabilise and become even more dangerous in future. Exercising extra caution while crossing a landslide, an active torrent, or a debris-covered glacier is a fact of life in today’s high Himalayan regions. Likewise, constructing a lodge, school, or community building beneath a small and seemingly harmless glacial lake should be discouraged. 9. Promote simple and effective early warning systems. In spite of their much-touted role in disaster mitigation, early warning systems installed to date at potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal have proven to be expensive disappointments. They are typically installed by a remote and distant government agency, little training in their use by local villagers is offered, and local people say they have no idea what the warning sirens sound like nor what they should do if one goes off. Thus far the most effective and proven EWS tool has been the cell phone. Hundreds of lives were saved during the Seti River flood of 2012 when upstream witnesses phoned warnings to their downstream family and friends. 10. Improve mechanisms that allow scientists to communicate. The results of their permafrost and glacier hazard research should directly, quickly, and effectively be communicated to decision-makers. This has proven to be easy to recommend but difficult to implement in most of the world but is nevertheless in need of our constant efforts to achieve. 11. Encouraging transboundary permafrost research. Increased cooperation between scientists and researchers in Nepal, China, and India is needed to help identify potentially vulnerable crossborder rockfall, avalanche, and catastrophic flooding risk. 12. Develop and implement adaptation planning. Continue planning and training programs targeted at permafrost-related floods and other highland-lowland hazards. Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) have proven to be an effective tool for increasing local awareness of climate impacts as well as planning for mitigation measures. Dr Wilfried Haeberli is with the University of Zurich and Dr Alton C Byers University of Colorado at Boulder.

The not-so-permanent frost

Frontpage topic

Just as Donald Trump’s overall economic strategy is based on nostalgia for a bygone era, his fossil-fuel-centred energy policies would represent an attempt to reverse history.&nbsp;
He would ultimately fail, but not before doing a great deal of damage to US competitiveness and security, and have an enormous impact on the efforts to combat global climate change.&nbsp;
While Donald Trump lacks a coherent platform, he clearly stands far apart from Vice President Kamala Harris on the issue.<a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/wealth-inequality-billionaires-undue-influence-bad-for-society-by-daron-acemoglu-2024-09#comments" target="_blank"> 
 
</a>Earlier this year, Trump <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom/press/budget-finance-committees-launch-joint-investigation-into-donald-trumps-quid-pro-quo-offer-to-big-oil-" target="_blank">reportedly</a> requested $1 billion in campaign contributions from fossil-fuel industry executives, promising in turn to roll back environmental regulations, hasten permitting and leasing approvals, and preserve or enhance tax benefits that the oil and gas industry enjoys.
Even if Trump is not an outright climate-change denier, he belongs to a broader school of politicians and commentators who do not think that we need to worry about it.&nbsp;
His vision for ‘Making America Great Again’ is to make the United States an even larger polluter, an even larger producer of fossil fuels, and an even bigger laggard behind Europe and much of the rest of the world.
Both science and technology are working against the fossil-fuel industry. The cost of renewables has plummeted, and under normal circumstances, this would have driven down the price of fossil fuels. But because Russia is such a large supplier of petrochemicals, the war in Ukraine has distorted the market.
If elected, Trump would probably sell out Ukraine, or at least arrange a temporary ceasefire, thus facilitating a greater flow of oil and gas. He also wants to reverse the US Inflation Reduction Act and increase hostilities with China, which produces many of the world’s solar panels and other critical inputs for decarbonisation.&nbsp;
A major slowdown of the green transition in the US is thus a real risk, even before considering the possibility that Trump would further increase the already massive US subsidies for fossil fuels.
Trump’s first term already offered a preview of what an overtly fossil fuel-friendly America would mean for the rest of the world. He endorsed climate-change deniers in Brazil and a host of other countries, and the US withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. In the years thereafter, progress on global climate cooperation clearly slowed.
But eight years after he first assumed office, the economic and security implications of climate change have become much clearer. Europe and Japan seem resolute in their commitments to tax imports from major carbon polluters, and though Trump would probably retaliate for these policies, US allies can take some comfort in the fact that he would have imposed tariffs on them in any case.
Ironically, often-vilified multinationals might play a crucial role in sustaining the green transition. The leaders of these companies recognise the realities of climate change, and they know that they must operate in multiple jurisdictions. If they do not join in the broader green transition, they will lose out now, and even more so in the future.
Even within America, the largest and most important states have already passed legislation pushing firms to decarbonise their operations and reduce carbon footprints. That means large companies operating in multiple states are already pursuing and adopting green technologies and business practices – and for the same reasons that multinationals will.
Yes, there will be aggressive attempts by some fossil-fuel companies to roll back these regulations. But there will also be stronger civil-society efforts, including <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/juliana-vs-us-extraordinary-tactics-to-block-federal-climate-lawsuit-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-2024-03" target="_blank">through the courts</a>, to hold companies accountable for the damage they have wrought.&nbsp;
Smart business leaders will recognise the folly of resisting the inevitable. Even in the oil and gas industry, some companies are already changing their business model to phase down fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.
Thus, global politics, science, technology, sound corporate management, and the climate itself all weigh against Trump’s love of fossil fuels. Four decades ago, many assumed that tropical countries would bear the brunt of the costs, owing to their already high temperatures.&nbsp;
They indeed are affected, with some facing desertification and others poised to become uninhabitable. But they are hardly alone. The US has already suffered enormous damage, and by the end of the century those losses are estimated to be between <a href="https://epic.uchicago.edu/area-of-focus/climate-change-and-the-us-economic-future/" target="_blank">1-4% of GDP</a> annually.
It makes far more sense to do what we can now to limit this damage than to make the same kinds of repairs year after year. Four decades ago, we thought the cost of combating climate change would be very high. But low-cost renewables and the emergence of other new technologies have changed everything.&nbsp;
The cost of renewable energy is low and falling, and it would be even lower and falling faster with a greater public commitment to the green transition and the investments it requires.
There will be a green transition, the only questions are how fast it will proceed, and how much damage we will incur if it is delayed. Trump will attempt to throw a wrench in the process. He wants the fossil-fuel industry’s support, and the industry will view its campaign contributions as a high-return investment. A Republican-controlled Congress would, of course, do whatever Trump says.
The resulting pro-fossil-fuel environment would facilitate fossil-fuel investments, but since these have long time horizons, many would become stranded assets. American taxpayers thus may wind up paying thrice for the blunder.
In addition to the direct and hidden subsidies during the Trump administration and the direct and hidden compensation for stranded assets sometime in the future, they also will have to deal with the resulting lack of energy and climate security.
Elections always matter, but this one matters more than most. © Project Syndicate
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, is a former chief economist of the World Bank. He is the author, most recently, of The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society (<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324074373/about-the-book/product-details" target="_blank">W. W. Norton &amp; Company</a>, <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/461399/the-road-to-freedom-by-stiglitz-joseph-e/9780241687888" target="_blank">Allen Lane</a>, 2024)

The climate stakes of the US election

Following the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/more-than-29000-palestinians-have-been-killed-in-gaza-since-wars-start-health-ministry-says#:~:text=RAFAH%2C%20Gaza%20Strip%20(AP),of%20the%20Israeli%2DPalestinian%20conflict." target="_blank">Hamas-led militants</a>, Israel’s response has led to unprecedented high mortality levels in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll over the 12 month period is among the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2023/israel-war-destruction-gaza-record-pace/" target="_blank">highest</a> civilian casualty rates in the 21st century. During the first seven months of the war, Israel is estimated to have dropped more than <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/amount-of-israeli-bombs-dropped-on-gaza-surpasses-that-of-world-war-ii/3239665" target="_blank">70,000 tons</a> of bombs on Gaza, far <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/amount-of-israeli-bombs-dropped-on-gaza-surpasses-that-of-world-war-ii-18169607" target="_blank">surpassing</a> that of Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II, that includes <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/legal-questions-answered-and-unanswered-in-israel-s-air-war-in-gaza" target="_blank">bombing</a> with 900 kg <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796" target="_blank">bunker-busters</a>, which is one of the most intense civilian <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-bombs-destruction-death-toll-scope-419488c511f83c85baea22458472a796" target="_blank">punishment campaign</a>s in history. Despite US President Joe Biden’s declarations of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/05/29/nx-s1-4983786/where-is-the-biden-administrations-red-line-when-it-comes-palestinian-deaths-in-gaza" target="_blank">red lines</a>, calls for restraint and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-ultimatum-netanyahu-protect-gaza-civilians-or-else-2024-04-05/" target="_blank">ultimatum</a> for Israel to limit Palestinian civilian deaths, the president has experienced a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/opinion/bidens-moral-failure-in-israel.html" target="_blank">moral failure</a> with his unwavering backing of Israel with unequal treatment and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/opinion/bidens-moral-failure-in-israel.html" target="_blank">oppression</a> of Palestinians. While seeking peace, the president has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/05/opinion/biden-israel-war.html" target="_blank">facilitated</a> the Israel-Gaza war. Dozens of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/30/two-more-us-officials-resign-over-biden-administrations-position-on-gaza-war" target="_blank">U.S. officials</a> have resigned over the Biden administration’s position in the conflict, accusing their own government of not telling the truth about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/30/two-more-us-officials-resign-over-biden-administrations-position-on-gaza-war" target="_blank">Israel’s obstruction</a> of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The reported levels of mortality provide a stark picture of the war’s lethal consequences on human life in Gaza and Israel. In addition to the mortality based on official reported deaths by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, higher levels of mortality have been estimated by health experts. According to Israeli officials, the number of Israeli deaths resulting from the attack in southern Israel on 7 October was <a href="https://www.inss.org.il/publication/all-fronts/" target="_blank">1,163,</a> with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/world/middleeast/israel-death-toll-hamas-attack.html" target="_blank">70 percent</a> of the victims identified as civilians. The attack is considered to be Israel’s worst <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-opens-probe-into-reports-oct-7-friendly-fire-deaths-2024-02-06/#:~:text=Around%201%2C200%20Israelis%20and%20foreigners,240%20people%20were%20taken%20hostage." target="_blank">loss of life</a> in a single day since its founding in 1948.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241104061144_c20df646c520d048f8892ec4f0c060e13a43663da3f31d98167faa8b836a1e24.png" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20241104061144_c20df646c520d048f8892ec4f0c060e13a43663da3f31d98167faa8b836a1e24" data-rendition-name="original" width="1254" height="1180" loading="lazy" alt="Israel-Gaza war"> <figcaption>Source: Reported mortality from Israel Shin Bet, Gaza Ministry of Health and United Nations.</figcaption> </figure>  In addition to those deaths on 7 October, at least <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-year-of-war-idf-data-shows-726-troops-killed-over-26000-rockets-fired-at-israel/#:~:text=A%20total%20of%20728%20soldiers,the%20ground%20offensive%20in%20Gaza." target="_blank">728 Israeli soldiers</a> have been killed in combat since the Gaza ground invasion began, and <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2023/2024/Costs%20of%20War_Human%20Toll%20Since%20Oct%207.pdf" target="_blank">33 Israeli deaths</a> occurred in the West Bank. Given Israel’s total population of nearly <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-26/ty-article/.premium/israels-population-approaches-10-million-according-to-annual-census/00000192-2a51-d1f6-a596-6b594fac0000" target="_blank">10 million</a>, the number of Israeli deaths on 7 October and the subsequent twelve months represents about 0.02% of the country’s &nbsp;population, or 20 deaths per 100,000 population. The death toll in Gaza from Israeli military operations after one year following 7 October is <a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/10/07/health-ministry-gaza-says-war-death-toll-at-41-909-" target="_blank">41,909 Palestinians</a>. That number of deaths represents about 2% of the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel says the proportion of Hamas fighters among the Palestinian deaths is approximately <a href="https://www.inss.org.il/publication/all-fronts/" target="_blank">40 percent</a>. While the Gaza Ministry of Health does not identify whether the deaths are civilian or combatant, approximately <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/7/one-year-of-israels-war-on-gaza-a-simple-guide" target="_blank">two-thirds</a> are reported to be women and children. According to Oxfam, the war in Gaza killed more <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/more-women-and-children-killed-gaza-israeli-military-any-other-recent-conflict" target="_blank">women and children</a> than any other war in the last two decades. The reported number deaths of Palestinians are deemed generally accurate and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02713-7/fulltext" target="_blank">widely accepted</a> by international monitoring organisations, including Israeli and US intelligence agencies. Independent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02713-7/fulltext#:~:text=The%20Gaza%20MoH%20has%20historically,an%208%C2%B70%25%20discrepancy." target="_blank">studies</a> of the deaths reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health show no evidence of inflated mortality figures. In addition to the nearly 42 thousand Palestinian deaths, Israel’s military action in Gaza has left many more <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/israel-has-killed-wounded-or-rendered-missing-10-percent-of-gaza-population/" target="_blank">wounded</a>, exposed to <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/gaza-impacts-famine-will-last-generations" target="_blank">famine</a> and disease and most of Gaza’s population <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-families-flee-again-shrinking-overcrowded-pocket-land-2023-12-05/" target="_blank">homeless</a>. With an estimated total population of approximately <a href="https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gaza-strip/#people-and-society" target="_blank">2.1 million </a>in Gaza, the Palestinian death rate from the war after one year is 1,957 deaths per 100,000 population. That Palestinian death rate in Gaza is 100 times greater than the Israeli death rate. Applying the Israeli and Palestinian death rates to the United States, illustrates the striking differences in the mortality levels and their demographic impacts. When the death rate in Gaza is applied to America’s population, the resulting mortality would be nearly 6.6 million deaths. Similarly, applying the Israeli death rate to the US population yields close to 66 thousand deaths.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241104061144_93228568c2789f9034f3dac2ff7fd864a18c1cb844757dc104a9cdabfe687094.png" data-media-id="editor_31" data-image-id="20241104061144_93228568c2789f9034f3dac2ff7fd864a18c1cb844757dc104a9cdabfe687094" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="884" loading="lazy" alt="Isreal-Gaza war mortality"> <figcaption>Source: Reported mortality for Israelis from Israel Shin Bet and for Palestinians from Gaza Ministry of Health, and the estimates of U.S. mortality levels calculated by author.</figcaption> </figure>  The true death toll in Gaza is likely to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/gaza-rising-death-toll-civilians/" target="_blank">higher</a> than being reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health because of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza with more than <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/war-in-israel/oct-7-how-many-dead-israel-hamas-war/" target="_blank">10,000 missing</a>, untold numbers buried under rubble and many experiencing disease and malnutrition, as <a href="https://time.com/6549715/history-israel-hamas-war-end/" target="_blank">humanitarian assistance</a> is limited by Israel’s <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/in-gaza-city-death-and-famine-take-hold-amid-israels-war#:~:text=About%20half%20the%20population%20of,As%20are%20meat%20and%20dairy." target="_blank">blockade</a>. <a href="https://www.gazahealthcareletters.org/usa-letter-oct-2-2024" target="_blank">One group</a> of 99 American health care workers returning from Gaza estimated that the true death toll there is at least <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/us-health-workers-back-from-gaza-estimate-death-toll-is-at-least-119000/#:~:text=As%20the%20anniversary%20of%20the,count%2C%20if%20not%20far%20higher." target="_blank">four times higher</a> than the official reported count, or approximately 119,000.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241104061148_c2c1bb65e66cd23d09b0e07dd5fedc6c9762c34e5c94c7630c7b8beb28a6d0a5.png" data-media-id="editor_38" data-image-id="20241104061148_c2c1bb65e66cd23d09b0e07dd5fedc6c9762c34e5c94c7630c7b8beb28a6d0a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="912" loading="lazy" alt="Israel-Gaza war mortality"> <figcaption>Source: Reported: Gaza Ministry of Health; Estimated (1): Sidhwa; Estimated (2): Khatib, McKee &amp; Yusuf; Estimated (3): Sridhar.</figcaption> </figure>  A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext" target="_blank">second analysis</a> by a team of three researchers published in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext" target="_blank">The Lancet,</a> estimated that the number of deaths in Gaza by mid-year was about 186,000. The researchers estimated that the actual death toll could conservatively be about four times the reporting figure and that &nbsp;includes direct deaths due to bombings as well as indirect deaths due to the destruction of the health, food and sanitation systems in Gaza. A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/05/scientists-death-disease-gaza-polio-vaccinations-israel" target="_blank">third analysis</a> of the deaths in Gaza by the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh estimated the death toll to be even higher. The number of deaths in Gaza twelve months after the 7 October attack is estimated at approximately 336,000, and that mortality level also took into account indirect deaths due to widespread disease and starvation. The mortality levels of the Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza are both high and strikingly dissimilar. Over the past year, the reported number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza is about 20 times greater than the number of Israeli deaths. Also, the mortality rate of the Palestinians is 100 times greater than the Israeli mortality rate. In addition to direct reporting of deaths due to bombing and military operations, the crisis in Gaza has led to high levels of indirect deaths. Those deaths are mainly due to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/gaza-israel-palestinians-starvation.html?campaign_id=2&amp;emc=edit_th_20240229&amp;instance_id=116455&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;regi_id=26794078&amp;segment_id=159553&amp;user_id=238d32f2dc633f67c3b731d28b9421f3" target="_blank">malnutrition</a>, wasting, stunting and trauma reaching famine thresholds largely due to the <a href="https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/september/israels-siege-now-blocks-83-of-food-aid-reaching-gaza-new-data-reveals/" target="_blank">Israeli blockade</a>. UNICEF has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/29/health-organisations-disease-gaza-population-outbreaks-conflict" target="_blank">warned</a> that the lack of water, food, medicine, sanitation, road and electricity infrastructures is a bigger threat than bombs to the lives of thousands in Gaza. The true death toll in Gaza may not be known for many years, especially as indirect deaths are expected to exceed the direct death toll. However, based on reported and estimated mortality, it appears clear that the Palestinian death toll in Gaza is among the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2023/israel-war-destruction-gaza-record-pace/" target="_blank">highest</a> civilian mortality rates of the 21st century. Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on population issues, including his recent book, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-22479-9?source=shoppingads&amp;locale=en-jp#toc" target="_blank">“Population Levels, Trends, and Differentials”</a>.

Mortality in the Gaza-Israel War

As of late October, the presidential election in the United States is on a knife’s edge. The only reasonably certain scenario in the immediate future is that the outcome on election day will be bitterly contested, and that some level of violence is highly likely if Harris is declared the winner.
I leave it to others to try to read the tea leaves about how the events of the next few months will unfold, and I will not attempt to elaborate on the formidable threats to human rights, international stability, and US democracy that will be unleashed if Trump gains the presidency. &nbsp;
These threats have been widely discussed. But there is surprisingly little discussion about the implications of a Harris presidency. To be sure, by bringing a woman – and a second person of colour – into the Oval Office, Harris’s victory would mark an historic step forward. &nbsp;
Preventing a second Trump term would, in itself, be of paramount importance. &nbsp;But what would President Harris actually be able to do? &nbsp;It might be useful to speculate about what we might realistically expect from a Harris administration.
To begin with, we should bear in mind that the implementation of President Harris’s domestic agenda will be severely constrained by a divided Congress (at least for her first two years) and by a conservative Supreme Court. This means she will not be able to pass most of the ‘big ticket’ items she has proposed in her campaign – more progressive taxation, extensive family-oriented programs, expanded access to home-ownership, etc.
She might be able to deploy her regulatory authority in some policy areas (health and environment) and – not insignificantly – she will also undoubtedly try to push ahead incrementally in areas of racial justice, gender equality, and public safety.&nbsp;
However, she will face serious pushback on many of these efforts from the Court. What she will be able to do is to defend and continue the dramatic achievements of the Biden &nbsp;administration in infrastructure and environment, achievements that have already been encoded in law.&nbsp;
The historic significance of the Biden legislative legacy has been obscured in the heat of the current campaign by the diffuse demand for ‘change’. But we should not allow unrealistic expectations about further advances to blind us to the importance of defending the major progress made during his presidency.
President Harris will have more political leeway in defining US foreign policy. &nbsp;Here, however, she will inherit daunting international crises – not only the terrible wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, but the ongoing threats to international stability caused by the rise of China, continuing threats from Russia and Iran, and challenges to international cooperation posed by climate change, cybersecurity, and global migration, among other things.&nbsp;
Again, however, we should not underestimate the enormous importance of the fact that she is not Trump. She might not be able to work miracles, but in contrast to Trump, we can count on her to place a high priority on US alliances, and international cooperation in security and the global economy – essential preconditions for managing the problems we face abroad.
The profound cultural, racial, and economic divisions that currently imperil American democracy preceded the rise of Trump and can be expected to persist beyond a Harris presidency. &nbsp;Moreover, many of the more immediate steps necessary to reduce these divisions are beyond her control.&nbsp;
We cannot move forward without bringing Trump and his associates to legal account. This will be a deeply controversial, but necessary step. But it is one that Harris should not attempt to influence. &nbsp;Beyond that, American democracy cannot fully rebound without either the re-democratisation of the Republican party or the emergence of a new conservative party that would replace it. &nbsp;
What we can realistically hope for is that President Harris will be able to build on Biden’s achievements, maintain sound economic policies, and prevent international crises from spiraling out of control. &nbsp;If she does that, she will also have played an important part in healing American democracy. &nbsp;
Robert R. Kaufman is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University. He is co-author of Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2024/prospects-for-a-kamala-harris-administration.html">the original</a> with their permission.

Prospects for a Kamala Harris administration

The corridor between Simara and Birganj is Nepal’s prominent industrial area. Proximity to the Indian border, and location astride the main highway to Kathmandu also makes it an important trade route. However, these very attributes also bring out many problems, including health risk. Pollution of the waterways by factories is one hazard, the toxic effluents leaching into the soil contaminating groundwater.&nbsp; The other less visible but insidious health hazard on both sides of the border is from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/impact-of-lead-on-intellectual-development%20,3820" target="_blank">lead poisoning</a>. Neither in India nor in Nepal is there much awareness in government or the public about the long term impact of lead in the environment. &nbsp; The solution to this problem should also be crossborder, but like with every other transboundary issue there is very little discussion between the two governments about it. International Lead Prevention Week (21-26 October) is as good a time as any to look into the issue. <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(23)00166-3/fulltext#:~:text=The%20global%20cost%20of%20lead,income%20losses%20from%20IQ%20loss." target="_blank">Worldwide, lead exposure risk</a> has reduced after leaded gasoline phase-out because it was discovered that lead in the environment caused a reduction of IQ and cardiovascular disease in people. In Nepal, however, research by the group <a href="http://cephed.org.np/" target="_blank">CEPHED (Center for Public Health and Environmental Development)</a> in Kathmandu has shown that lead is still present in paint, lead chromate used in colour dyes specially during Tihar, and in cooking utensils. Nepal is already at the bottom in terms of average intelligence of the population, according to the <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country" target="_blank">World Population Review.</a>&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241025161024_45dd6cad017d1c1387d238213bb2cbfcadae2e0b17bedb839c44ca47bfd8655f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241025161024_45dd6cad017d1c1387d238213bb2cbfcadae2e0b17bedb839c44ca47bfd8655f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1674" height="1360" loading="lazy" alt="lead poisoning in Nepal"> </figure>  Another <a href="https://a70774f5.streaklinks.com/CK_WIdlTE-cobDnhCwv4l9MA/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41598-024-59519-0" target="_blank">Rapid Market Survey</a> by the group Pure Earth that analysed hundreds of household items in Nepal found that 14 types of ceramic, aluminium or plastic kitchen ware had levels of lead above safe limits. Recycled aluminium cookware that leach lead is said to be the best-known of the three sources. Here in the Tarai, there is evidence that lead content in the <a href="https://journal.com.ph/lead-loaded-eyeliner-tested-in-malaysia-also-sold-in-the-philippines/" target="_blank">kajal traditional eye-liners </a>used daily by women is high enough to be a health hazard. The frightening thing is that despite the known risk, there have been no studies in the borderlands between India and Nepal about the lead content in the bloodstream of the population, especially of women and children. There are some extrapolated global statistics that suggest one third of urban Nepalis have blood lead levels that are higher than the safe threshold. Even Amarnath Thakur of the Mangalam Diagnostic Centre in Birganj says there are no reliable figures on lead contamination. There was a paper published in the Journal of Pathology of Nepal in 2016 that said the blood lead level among school-going children was ‘alarmingly high’. “There has not been enough definitive research, but the condition is probably not very good, especially among children,” says paediatrician Sailash Thakur, who thinks it is largely because of the proximity of the industrial corridor. In Kathmandu, two out of every three children could grow into adults with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/impact-of-lead-on-intellectual-development%20,3820" target="_blank">limited mental and intellectual capacity</a> because of high blood lead content. “Imagine what this will do to our country,” said paediatrician Imran Ansari at Patan Hospital told <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/impact-of-lead-on-intellectual-development%20,3820" target="_blank">Nepali Times in 2018</a>. A 2013 survey of school children in Kathmandu Valley calculated that every extra 10 µg/dl concentration of lead in the blood resulted in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/jiom.com.np/index.php/jiomjournal/article/download/744/686" target="_blank">a drop in IQ of 2.35 points</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241025161024_ad9df4419d7a7e9adcc77393dca9aab8680bb514797e66f940efcafbb8acc75a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20241025161024_ad9df4419d7a7e9adcc77393dca9aab8680bb514797e66f940efcafbb8acc75a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1118" loading="lazy" alt="lead poisoning in Nepal"> </figure>  Here in Birganj, children and pregnant women are exposed to high lead content, but there is little awareness, no strategy to tackle it, and no action on the part of local, provincial or federal governments. Awareness is especially necessary just before festivals like Diwali, Chhath, or Holi when spices, vermilion and other colour powders are used with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/toxic-tihar" target="_blank">high lead chromate content</a>, as well as heavy metals like cadmium and strontium that are highly toxic. The paint industry uses lead to make the products shinier, to reduce rust and to make paint dry faster. Even though the companies say that they voluntarily no longer use lead, there is little monitoring whether they do or not. One research in the Tarai found groundwater contaminated with lead and arsenic, but municipalities here have never heard of either. It has been ten years since the Ministry of Forests and Environment issued a gazette notice fixing the maximum lead concentration in paint to 90 ppm (parts per million). But that regulation seems to exist only on paper, and the government has abandoned its primary responsibility of safeguarding the health of people. Lead poisoning is not like other types of toxic ingestion, children and adults can be exposed to it through the ambient air and once it enters the bloodstream the lead then affects the brain and other organs over the long term. Children have been found to be especially vulnerable. Lead poisoning can even expose the foetus if the mother is exposed to it, and the damage it does is much more serious than what it would do to an adult. There are many sources of contamination: carelessly disposed lead acid batteries, inverter batteries, e-waste, leaded paint, water coming out of older leader pipes. But the general public is mostly unaware of these risks.&nbsp; Lead poisoning is a hidden danger, and if the federal government does not care, it should be the Madhes Province that does by spreading public awareness, monitoring sources of lead, and providing safe alternatives. &nbsp;Cooperation with local governments across the open porous border in India would also be essential.

The silent danger of lead

‘Malaysia NPR 400,000. Dubai, Qatar NPR 200,000-250,000.’ These are prevailing under-the-table market rates listed for Nepalis to secure overseas jobs.&nbsp;
Low paid workers pay <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-theory-and-practice-of-zero-cost-migration">high recruitment fees</a> equivalent to months of wages, while higher paid professionals get relocation and other benefits.&nbsp;
Yet, ongoing research by Migration Lab and International Manpower Recruitment (IMR) with ethically hired workers shows that aspirants and their communities still regard the employer-pays recruitment model with deep skepticism and disbelief.&nbsp;
And why would they believe it? Even when workers pay hefty fees, it is never guaranteed that they will land the promised job, or not be stranded abroad. Jobs that require zero payment are even considered scams, with concerns about the quality of the job, wage deductions or about being duped.&nbsp;
Some workers do not apply for jobs at all, or are dissuaded by their families. The good news is that perceptions change.&nbsp;
And all it takes is one successful migrant worker in a village to change perceptions. One worker who did not have to pay recruitment fees told us: “People from my village do not believe me.” Another said: “Four or five from my village have already migrated for free, so people believe it.”
Some workers passed up job offers requiring fees, waiting instead for ethical employers from whom close friends or family members had benefited.
Because not all aspirants know about workers who did not have to pay recruitment fees, social media <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@migrationlab/video/7418580695485795617">messaging</a> is critical. Online <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@migrationlab/video/7421150186598190369">testimonies</a> from workers who got jobs through ethical channels are helpful, but are also met with skepticism because it is widely known that workers are frequently coerced by fraudulent recruiters into speaking on camera about not paying fees despite having paid significant amounts.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/a-few-good-agents">Ethical recruiters like IMR</a> conduct village campaigns to screen workers. This reduces the reliance on middlemen, and broadens the understanding of how ethical recruitment drives work.
Prior to departure, IMR wins the trust of workers and creates a safe space to admit if they have paid anyone fees. Middlemen can often mislead workers to believe that they have a say in influencing interview outcomes and charge workers.&nbsp;
The biggest obstacle is to assure workers that admitting they have paid will not cost them their job and that the recruiter will work with concerned authorities to ensure the agent returns the money and does not harass them or their families. Although Nepal’s laws consider such subagents illegal, ‘agents’ are often family members, villagers and friends.&nbsp;
These practical home-grown innovations in recruitment are products of testing to address years of exploitation and distrust in the system and the labour mobility industry. They also bring a nuanced understanding of the often complex aspects of the employer-pays principle.
<a href="https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@ipec/documents/publication/wcms_727143.pdf">Research</a> shows that when workers do not have to pay recruitment fees, it has positive impact on their productivity and well-being. Responsible recruitment also allows innovation to make migration a transformational development tool to uplift the poorest.&nbsp;
Ethical Examples
IMR and Migration Lab recently connected 70 youth from the Musahar community in Mahottari and survivors of the Jajarkot earthquake last year with factory jobs in Malaysia for which they did not have to pay anything.&nbsp;
Accessing overseas jobs, including those with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/why-has-zero-cost-migration-not-happened">high fees</a>, is a challenge in these communities. Finding responsible recruitment opportunities is even more difficult. Good migration has the power to push families out of intergenerational poverty and discrimination as seen in the case of many migrant workers in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times">Diaspora Diaries series</a>.&nbsp;
For <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&amp;v=-mh1uk3fvQc">Jajarkot earthquake survivors</a>, fee-free recruitment can also complement patchy post-disaster recovery efforts by the government. Even without an earthquake, emigration from far-flung areas like Jajarkot is complex because of financial, information and network access issues.&nbsp;
It takes at least two days to travel to Kathmandu, costs are high, and workers may not even pass employer interviews after all the time and money invested.
The earthquake made overseas migration even more difficult in Jajarkot, further affecting access to informal loans, yet increasing the desire to migrate. Many were ready to borrow at 60% interest, while others said they would have migrated to <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099439009302442870/pdf/IDU1bade747310f41144991a576183a9a3eb57d4.pdf">India</a>, a cheaper, less-risky alternative with lower returns.
The Musahar community also faced multiple challenges including passport confiscation by middlemen for months without any job placement. Moneylenders also do not trust them to pay back, and are wary of recent restrictions on meter interest lending.
Labour middlemen are strategic about snaring the vulnerable to manipulate and cheat. There are anecdotes about them identifying the most desperate women, including those that are victims of domestic violence or extreme poverty, to send them as domestic workers through irregular channels.&nbsp;
New York University Professor Natasha Iskander’s <a href="https://www.ias.edu/ideas/forging-closed-loop">research</a> documents how companies in Qatar reported targeting candidates from regions experiencing climate breakdown because the educated but newly poor make ideal recruits as they are now willing to accept lower wages.
This narrative can be flipped by good actors through ethical interventions. Sourcing areas can be redefined: not as preying grounds for fraudulent middlemen but where responsible recruiters can reach that last mile with transformative overseas opportunities.
The Musahar and Jajarkot candidates have modest goals: paying for their children’s education, household and medical expenses, buying land, rebuilding houses, and saving to start a small business.&nbsp;
To be sure, migration outcomes are determined by more than just recruitment fees and it will take time to see how they fare. But the likelihood of achieving any goal is certainly higher under debt-free responsible recruitment schemes.&nbsp;
Beyond no costs, workers hired under ethical drives know exactly what jobs they have signed up for and employment terms from the onset, unlike traditional recruitment that is often characterised by false promises and exaggerated benefits.&nbsp;
Workers paying exorbitant fees for jobs will hopefully be an outdated concept one day, but for now the number of ethical recruitment drives is insignificant.&nbsp;
Workers interviewed said their peers paid up to Rs400,000 for comparable jobs, and they too would have been compelled to take the same route if the ethical option was not available. Repeat workers had paid up to $2,259 in fees in earlier migrations.&nbsp;
Highly marginalised communities need even more support to overcome information, finance and networking barriers to connect them with rewarding and safe overseas opportunities.&nbsp;
Systemic disadvantages in education or skills training also limit their ability to secure worthwhile jobs abroad that have wages and better labour protection but higher barriers to entry such as language or skills.&nbsp;
Making ethical migration accessible to the most marginalised Nepalis would have the best impact. Perhaps these issues would come to the fore if we also saw emigration as people chasing their dreams and aspirations, and not just as a compulsion “बाध्यता” that is entrenched in Nepal’s public narrative.
But forced immobility also merits attention. It is an unfulfilled dream for many to also take social media photos at Kathmandu airport with teary-eyed relatives before departing. &nbsp;&nbsp;
<div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GHAOkqHoa7A?si=QtGrL0W8Ffkh4eiy" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Upasana Khadka heads <a href="https://migration-lab.com/">Migration Lab</a>, a social enterprise aimed at making migration outcomes better for workers and their families. Labour Mobility is her fortnightly column in Nepali Times.

Fee-free migration is possible

Nepali Times #1233 25 - 31 October 2024

At the age of five, Dorjee Karmarong fell sick and his local healer-slash-thangka painter cut him a deal: in exchange for treatment, the young patient had to promise to become a painter. The shaman may have been joking, but 38 years later, Karmarong is a successful international artist, and now has a solo exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery. ‘Karmarong: Hidden Valley in the Himalayas’ is a collection of 27 paintings spread across two floors that give the viewer a comprehensive feel for life among the Karmarong community in the remote Mugu district of Karnali. Karmarong has a distinctive style featuring clean outlines, vibrant colours and detailed natural landscapes. Animals, mountains, trees, and the sun and the moon appear constantly. It is a style that took 20 years to perfect, as the painter practised teaching in monasteries of Bangladesh, India, Singapore, and most recently in Vietnam. Mugu is one of the remotest districts in Nepal, but the Karmarong community of about 3,000 people live in about a dozen small villages in the remotest northern corner of the district near the Chinese border. They speak their own dialect. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-present-meets-the-past">The present meets the past</a>, Pinki Sris Rana  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004111032_46339bbefd7b9007dedde289f8c4db9980a60e19ab5a7e0c11c5f1ba4817ba68.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241004111032_46339bbefd7b9007dedde289f8c4db9980a60e19ab5a7e0c11c5f1ba4817ba68" data-rendition-name="original" width="3600" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="Dorjee Karmarong NT 1"></figure>  Some of the paintings show general goings-on in Karmarong, such as harvest time. ‘The Hospitality of Karmarong’ shows residents gathering to formally welcome an important guest. “In front is someone who is still lucky to have both parents,” explains the painter. ‘Magic of Milarepa’ is a closeup of a grey, cracked yak horn on the floor. There is water on the ground next to the horn, and inside is a green-skinned monk, meditating in robes. “Milarepa was travelling with one of his students in Tibet, who was starting to act a little arrogant. They were suddenly caught up in a storm, and the saint shrank himself and sheltered in the horn, humbling his disciple,” Karmarong explains. Yaks are a constant feature in the exhibition, and the painter Karmarong has given them sentient eyes, with emotions like anger, introspection, suspicion, and even wide-eyed and crazed. “I was once told to study as voraciously as a yak grazes,” says Karmarong. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/human-spiritual-existence-in-a-digital-ecosystem">Human spiritual existence in a digital ecosystem</a>, Kashish Das Shrestha  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004111032_271aba25a6f1eb642433ef504880407a9b36fea72a85e793a6d70e12299d9274.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241004111032_271aba25a6f1eb642433ef504880407a9b36fea72a85e793a6d70e12299d9274" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="3600" loading="lazy" alt="Dorjee Karmarong NT 1"></figure>  In the middle of ‘The Dance of the Elements’ is a face that is half yellow and half black holding a cigarette around which is coiled a multi-headed serpent. “Thia represents our animal impulses,” Karmarong explains. “It is about how nature makes beautiful things. But when humans tamper with it, something usually goes wrong.” Other pieces are even more abstract. ‘Mandala Fragment’ shows geometric shapes in vibrant colours. Says Karmarong: “It may seem chaotic to a viewer, but I can step back and see something different.” Behind Karmarong’s extraordinary skill and output is a rare life lived in harmony with fate. Even his birth was auspicious: Karmarong was born in a cave to parents returning from working in Himachal Pradesh in India on the eve of Buddha Purnima and Thursday. By age seven Karmarong’s father took him to a cave to learn Tibetan. At 13, the boy was sent to a monastery in Kathmandu and after six years he decided to pursue painting and became an apprentice to master thangka artist Palden. Karmarong trained intensively under the rigid rules of thangka painting. He then met Tenzin Norbu from Dolpo, who helped develop his spiritual connection to art. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/turning-legends-into-games">Turning legends into games</a>, Vishad Raj Onta  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004111032_3f2d5f809a4230bbee885a2832c2e6872b743343581a96d177fae87885759d76.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241004111032_3f2d5f809a4230bbee885a2832c2e6872b743343581a96d177fae87885759d76" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1412" loading="lazy" alt="Dorjee Karmarong NT"></figure>  As Karmarong developed artistically and spiritually, he saw art as a fulfilment of his karma. “I started feeling that, in a past life, I had been a yogi who had wanted to build a monastery but couldn’t find an artist,” he says. The yogi committed to a life of dharma to be reborn as an artist. Indeed, there are records of a yogi from Karmarong region named Jimpa Therchan, who struggled with building a monastery and was also a renowned poet and singer. Karmarong also sings, and has written ‘Turquoise Mountain: A Folktale of the Karmarong.’ The titles of the paintings are evocative: ‘Yak’s Reprieve’, ‘Echoes of the Sacred Route’, ‘The Black Yak’s Grace’, or 'The Yak and His Young Keeper.' He is also a YouTuber and his channel has singing performances, rap songs and travel vlogs. Karmarong has depicted his village as a religious, harmonious Shangri-La, although it leaves the viewer a little curious about the darker realities of the place like Milarepa’s own murky past. Karmarong has perhaps consciously or unconsciously woven his own life into the paintings: stories and destinies that translate into the real world. They show travellers leaving from or returning to Karmarong the place, or going on a pilgrimage, reflecting the artist’s own artistic, spiritual and religious journey that has taken him back to his roots. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/mask">MASK</a>, Sonia Awale ‘Karmarong: Hidden Valley in the Himalayas’ Dorjee Karmarong Siddhartha Art Gallery

Karmarong in Karmarong

The Imadol neighbourhood of Kathmandu Valley was among the worst hit by last weekend’s devastating floods. The Manohara River, swollen by incessant rainfall, overflowed into the settlements along its banks. A photograph taken by French anthropologist Corneille Jest in monsoon 1972 shows the Manohara meandering across a wide plain, its banks lush with ripening paddy. Two farmers cross the field carrying a kharpan, a sturdy traditional bamboo basket carried on shoulders, that has almost vanished from the Valley today. It is a tranquil view of a once-emerald Valley and its unique civilisation that blended urban living with intense agriculture on the fertile topsoil. Gazing at these images shows us the life and times of Old Nepal. This and other photographs taken by Jest during his research in Nepal’s Dolpo and Kathmandu 60 years ago are a reminder of how much in Nepal has changed, and what remains the same. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-passage-of-time-in-photos">Kathmandu’s passage of time in photos</a>, Ashish Dhakal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024100505108_e5eae5b7745301134e49b009d519326ea826f2e11c76b33aa63ea13734fa9d2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024100505108_e5eae5b7745301134e49b009d519326ea826f2e11c76b33aa63ea13734fa9d2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="An anthropologist's perspective of Nepal"> <figcaption>Offering a prayer flag at a pass above Tukuche in 1963.</figcaption> </figure>  Jest visited Nepal every other year since 1960, and the exhibition itself shows us the passage of time -- it is aesthetic and evocative, a lament and sometimes deeply nostalgic.&nbsp; The exhibition is organised by Mémoires de l’Himalaya, a French association that works to preserve works on the trans-Himalayan region. Jest was a prolific photographer and out of the 45,000 negatives in his collection, &nbsp;almost 100 black and white and colour prints were selected for this exhibition at the Patan Museum. “The data researchers collect rarely helps the community being studied.. So, it was Jest's idea and ours as an organisation to give back, what we can, to the local community,” says Rémi Chaix of Mémoires de l’Himalaya, who is also one of the curators. “The field notes taken by Jest can also be accessed.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-nepal-s-history-colourful">Making Nepal’s history colourful</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004091020_eb98695b6253e9dde6f051b24596bc09060834bdba1219b9cff2ac080540c63c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241004091020_eb98695b6253e9dde6f051b24596bc09060834bdba1219b9cff2ac080540c63c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="An Anthropologist's Early Glimpses of Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Members of the Tarap community at Dolpo's Drolma Pass during their pilgrimage to the Buddha-ri sacred mountain in 1960.Corneille Jest - Mémoires de l'Himalaya</figcaption> </figure>  Curated by Fernand Meyer, Kunsang Namgyal-Lama and Chaix, the first floor of the museum showcases photographs of Kathmandu Valley and the second floor is dedicated to Dolpo, especially Tarap Valley where Jest spent most of his time. This curatorial choice of placing the photographs of a place in a specific floor is important, allowing viewers to keep the two worlds separate. The photographs on the first floor are exclusive and published for the first time. There is also an 11 minute documentary on loop that captures the 1968 Seto Machhindranath festival. One does not just get to see this era but even hear its sounds. Photos of Dolpo on the second floor show how little the landscape and dwellings of this remote region has changed in the past decades, although with the road now reaching the district it will inevitably undergo rapid transformation. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/memories-of-an-archivist">Memories of an archivist</a>, Anita Bhetwal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004091020_ae632fde3aac88ac90bad7e348904446b10b793d650d7bfc4a2f7a977f6f84cc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241004091020_ae632fde3aac88ac90bad7e348904446b10b793d650d7bfc4a2f7a977f6f84cc" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="884" loading="lazy" alt="An Anthropologist's Early Glimpses of Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Attendees at a Buddhist ritual, Tarap, 1963.Corneille Jest - Mémoires de l'Himalaya</figcaption> </figure>  Some of the Dolpo photographs have already been published in Jest’s books like ‘Tales of The Turquoise: A Pilgrimage in Dolpo’. “Jest had a habit of clicking the same image twice. One would be in black and white and the other would be in colour,” explains Chaix who along with other two curators had to decide which would be a better fit for the exhibit. Jest’s photos of Dolpo are intimate and let the audience peek into the Himalayan lifestyle at the time. Researching about the Himalayan people and the culture while living in Tarap Valley, Jest developed a particular affinity for Dolpo, shares Guillaume Jest, one of Corneille’s sons, who was here at the inauguration of the exhibition.&nbsp; “I think that my father’s fondness for the population of Dolpo and their religion and culture comes from the fact that they build their way of life in a very harsh but breathtaking world of the high valleys of the Himalayas,” says Guillaume. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/adventures-of-a-lone-archivist">Adventures of a lone archivist</a>, Alisha Sijapati  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004091020_6cba26cf4cd2c38db65a4b00966f58ed87d46de3e01c8927f6ac1d8d3f5cadc3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20241004091020_6cba26cf4cd2c38db65a4b00966f58ed87d46de3e01c8927f6ac1d8d3f5cadc3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1666" loading="lazy" alt="An Anthropologist's Early Glimpses of Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Terraced maize and paddy fields during the 1972 monsoon at Imadol, which has been built over and was submerged on 28 September.Corneille Jest - Mémoires de l'Himalaya</figcaption> </figure>  Being an anthropologist, Jest’s focus is always on the people he encounters and the landscape or architecture being props. This is a rich visual documentation of what people wore, what they ate, what the houses looked like, their daily work in the fields, the harvest process, cultural rituals and celebrations. “Corneille Jest’s photographs give us a rare insight into the everyday life, culture, and landscapes of Nepal during a pivotal period in the country’s history, just after its opening to the rest of the world. They reveal the depth and diversity of Nepali culture,” says Virginie Corteval, French Ambassador to Nepal, who opened the exhibition last week. She adds: “These represent a testimony of the important work by pioneer French researchers such as Corneille Jest or Sylvain Lévi, in studying the diversity of the Nepali civilisation.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-archive-of-nepali-heritage">An archive of Nepali heritage</a>, Ashish Dhakal <h2>Lalita Niwas 60 years ago</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241004091020_72859aaf3e5f323bfce71e7adb8ba84fe1016e7e7323b4b3458570be22572146.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241004091020_72859aaf3e5f323bfce71e7adb8ba84fe1016e7e7323b4b3458570be22572146" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="An Anthropologist's Early Glimpses of Nepal NT"> </figure>  The Lalita Niwas Land grab scandal is making headlines today, and has implicated the high and mighty of the land. But few know what the original palace of Subarna Shumsher Rana looked like. Corneille Jest’s aerial photograph in 1963 of the neoclassical palace gives us an idea of the grandeur and size of the complex that spread over a 7 hectare plot in Baluwatar. After the property was nationalised during the Panchayat, it has been fragmented, bought and sold numerous times. The scandal has put 18 of the 310 individuals charged behind bars. The building now houses the Nepal Rastra Bank.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19789#.YX-e4S8w3u0">The first photographs of us</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit An Anthropologist’s Early Glimpses of Nepal 10AM-6PM Till 18 October Patan Museum

The present meets the past

Nepali activist Radha Paudel who works on dignified menstruation through her foundation shows in her new book just how pervasive menstrual discrimination is around the world.&nbsp;
Menstrual Stories: An Anthology from Global South is replete with tales of stigma, taboo, mockery, disrespect, shame, teasing, bullying by boys that persists.&nbsp;
Radha Paudel is a nurse who has worked in government hospitals across Nepal, and wrote an harrowing account about being caught up in the Maoist attack on Jumla in 2002. She turned into a dignified menstruation activist because of the discrimination and ostracisation she herself faced while growing up in Chitwan.
She established the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation and Radha Paudel Foundation which hosted a six-month virtual fellowship in 2023 with participants from Austria, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Malawai, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and the UK.&nbsp;
The book is an outcome of those interactions where campaigners across the world spoke about their own experiences of having their first periods, the reaction of their families, school mates and peers.
A thread running through all the stories is that no matter where in the world women are, rich countries or poor, North or South, educated or uneducated, menstrual taboos persist to a greater or lesser degree.
There are stories of girls not telling their parents because the first bleeding was “too sensitive”, the restrictions on the freedom of young women by family members, schools not teaching reproductive health with accuracy and the right values.
In one school in Dhaka, biology text books had the chapter on sexual reproduction stapled shut. Many young men in Colombia’s conservative Catholic families even refused to answer questions in a survey about menstruation, and some confused menstruation with masturbation.
In Nepal, the lack of separate restrooms for girls in schools and shame about menstruation has contributed to the high female dropout rate after Grade 5. The practice of chhaupadi in western Nepal is an extreme form of menstrual banishment.&nbsp;
Paudel does not like the word chhaupadi because it is “too neutral”, and does not convey the discrimination.
The books also has examples of women across the world resisting the stigma and taboos, and spreading awareness.&nbsp;
A marathon runner in the UK recently ran without pads and ‘let the blood flow freely’. A Chinese athlete who won a medal at an international sports event was frank in her answer to a question from the media about her performance: she said she was having her periods.
Writes Laura Contreras-Aristizabal from Colombia: “It is ironic that despite the fact that more than half of the world’s population is made up of women and menstruating individuals, menstruation is still stigmatized and a taboo subject.”
We know there are even more serious problems of female genital mutilation in some parts of the world. But for the more pervasive and persistent occurrence of menstural discrmination, this slim volume offers practical solutions in schools and society to ensure a more dignified approach to accepting the monthly biological cycle in women without stigma.&nbsp;

Menstruation is normal, period

The shock wave of the return of Donald Trump to the White House, as well as the Republican control of the Senate and possibly the House, will impact not just America but people across the world.
In South Asia, it will mainly change the way Washington views and deals with China and India, and in more unpredictable ways. The impact on Nepal will be governed by how US relations with the country’s two giant neighbours develop in the next five years.
“Compared to Harris who has been focused more on multilateralism and maintaining allies, Trump is more confrontational and unilateral,” says National Assembly member and former Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyel. “There is fear that Trump’s policies will push the world to become even more polarised than it is now.”
India and China will both be able to fill the gap left by Trump America’s retreat from global and regional leadership. They will be able to take advantage of Trump diluting relations with or abandoning traditional allies in Europe and Asia.
Although India is in the western camp, New Delhi has wanted to call its own shots. It is using its growing economic clout to thumb its nose at the EU and the US. For example, India has got away with importing oil from Russia despite western sanctions.
Says Akhilesh Upadhyay, Senior Fellow at the Strategic Affairs Center, IIDS: “From a traditional security perspective, Nepal is bang in the middle of China and India. China and America have a great power rivalry, and it is unclear which way Indian axis will go.”
India can also benefit if Trump follows through on threats on more tariffs on Chinese imports. Even though the Biden-Harris administration has been punishing China with tariffs and other barriers, Trump has in the past been more belligerent on Beijing.
“On the one hand, India is close to US in Quad, on the other hand, it takes part in BRICS where it works with Russia and China, and the Shanghai Cooperation. It remains to be seen how the US relationship plays out with our two big neighbours,” adds Upadhyay.
Since the enemy of an enemy is a friend, Washington has regarded India as its bulwark against increased Chinese economic and military clout. But New Delhi has not always gone along with US strategic interests, and does not really like the Americans being too involved with India’s smaller neighbours.
On the downside, A Trump administration could curb the influx of Indian IT workers in US, and the easy access Nepali students have to those jobs in the US could also be scaled back.
Some experts say which party is in the White House will not affect policy South Asia, and Nepal even less. But a Trump win could mean less development assistance to Nepal, particularly in reproductive health, human tights, and social safety.
Nischal Pandey at the Centre for South Asian Studies in Kathmandu says that the few state-level visits between the US and Nepal — from King Mahendra’s address to the joint session of US Congress during President Eisenhower tenure in 1960 to Ganesh Man Singh being received at the White House by President Bush Sr after 1990, to US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit in 2002 during George HW Bush’s term — have all been during Republican administrations.
He adds, “Historically, Republican presidents and administrations have been &nbsp;interested in Nepal than Democratic ones.”
More directly, Nepalis aspiring to migrate to the United States could find it more difficult. There are currently about 300 Nepalis waiting for human traffickers to smuggle them into the United States, and that border is going to be tightened even more.
Earlier this year, Sao Paolo airport in Brazil had 150 Nepalis stranded after arriving to take the Darien Gap backdoor to the US. Another 200 headed out to Brazil were stuck at Addis Ababa airport, forcing Ethiopia to ban visas to Nepalis.&nbsp;
Trump has threatened a 20% tariff on Mexican imports if it does not stop migrants. He plans to deport 11 million undocumented people, he may not be able to carry it through but the threat is there for Nepalis in the US without papers.
Trump’s strong rhetoric on China could be bargaining brinkmanship, and it will be interesting to see how he balances this with Sino-Russian alignment. Biden did not roll back bans on Huawei and restrictions on TikTok, and US security concerns about China’s rise is a bipartisan issue, just as Gaza is. Harris would not have done things differently in those sectors.&nbsp;
Says MP Bimala Rai Paudyal: “Trump’s win could cause economic tensions with China, which will affect trade here as well, this is something we will need to prepare for.”
America’s moral authority to lecture countires like Nepal on transitional justice, human rights, democracy, and press freedom will be diminished during the second Trump term.&nbsp;
Reproductive rights, support for family planning projects in Nepal through the UN system may also fall like it did during his earlier presidency. Foreign aid through USAID could also be cut.
But perhaps the more indirect impact on Nepal of the Trump presidency will be his rollback on America’s commitment to curb climate change which will accelerate melting of the Himalayan icecap with major impact on water supply downstream in Asia.&nbsp;
“America’s climate commitments and goals will be impacted by Trump who doesn’t believe in climate change,” says Paudyal. “The current work on loss and damage, and carbon trading depends significantly on US funding, and the world looks to the US to be proactive.”
If Trump can bring the Ukraine war to a close by cosying up to Putin, a peace deal may improve fuel and food situation globally. There are throusands of Nepalis in the Russian Army, at least 50 have died, and they could finally come home.&nbsp;
Concludes Upadhyay:“As for Nepal, the Trump administration should see Nepal as a soverign nation on its own right rather than through the prism of great power rivalry either between US and China.”

Trumpet Call

Quake survivors migrate for work

I was born in Mumbai where my father worked as a watchman. When I was just four years old, my parents decided that it would be best if my mother went back to our home district of Achham in Nepal to take care of our house and farm. And off she went with my one-year-old brother. In her absence, we lived close to his workplace. He worked shifts, and was not always home when I returned from school. I learnt to cook for both of us at a young age, even though I do not consider myself a good cook.&nbsp; From childhood, I had this innate sense of responsibility and completed my homework or rote-learned for exams even when I was not under parental watch.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241101221140_2a8ae15dc440b94aff7a6146e7ce457bb21376cbd206d1ff503e9f83ea2a4334.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241101221140_2a8ae15dc440b94aff7a6146e7ce457bb21376cbd206d1ff503e9f83ea2a4334" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 51 NT"> <figcaption>Bishwokarma was married at 15 to a 13-year-old girl also from Achham who, like him, was also born and raised in Mumbai.</figcaption> </figure>  Growing up around Nepali families in the neighbourhood, I picked up Nepali. Not having a mother figure around, I did not really know what I missed as it had always been that way. My mother and I communicated in letters that were about a paragraph-long without much substance other than basic pleasantries and updates from school. I was more accustomed to my father, with whom I shared a special bond. I married young at 15 to a 13-year old girl who was also born in Mumbai to migrants from Achham. My mother came to my wedding and it was the first time we met after she had left over a decade ago. My mother returned with my wife to Achham where my city grown wife learnt how to do village household chores. Unsurprisingly, she did not like it, but she stayed on for two years. While she was trained by my mother in Achham, I was continuing my school in Mumbai.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241101221140_dbb23b8a76397c7cd7b9b640455a6d0b274d7411e91032a34d118a33d1ac0069.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241101221140_dbb23b8a76397c7cd7b9b640455a6d0b274d7411e91032a34d118a33d1ac0069" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 51 NT"> </figure>  After my wedding, I went to Achham for the first time ever. With no mental image of what it would look like, I did not know what to expect. Life in Nepal took some getting used to but with the visits I grew attached to Nepal and I got familiar with Nepali songs and movies via YouTube. My father eventually moved back to Nepal. My mother needed more help around the house to tend the fields. By then, I had settled down in Mumbai with my wife and four children and worked as a watchman, just like my father. My now-jobless father now depended on me. This put more financial pressure on me. I used to enjoy playing cricket growing up. But when household responsibilities start weighing on you from a young age, there is no space in life for hobbies and passions. By the time I was of age to discover and nurture my interests, I was already worrying about raising my children well.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241101221140_0ccd2cd0e243a5124f13047a2d7caad5df462b2e396745b0381393e385b76301.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241101221140_0ccd2cd0e243a5124f13047a2d7caad5df462b2e396745b0381393e385b76301" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="900" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 51 NT"> </figure>  Life in Mumbai is fast-paced. Everyone is running around. My company closed down, and I lost my job. I then bought an autorickshaw, and my daily income varies between INR 700-1,500. I prefer this more than being a watchman, as there is more freedom. It is self-paced, and there is time to rest. There is no boss to order me around. My three sons work as a vegetable vendor, a real estate agent and a cinematographer, and my daughter is a nurse. They also take care of some of the household expenses. What I earn is just for my pocket money and to keep myself occupied. What would I do sitting around idly? If I had a traditional job, I would be retiring in three years after turning 60. But as an autorickshaw driver, there is no end at sight. I will retire when my body demands it.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241101221140_2f370b6e52af5460cfd7b4a4761a557baef3a3b2158cfdaa5ac3bb0bdcd0065b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241101221140_2f370b6e52af5460cfd7b4a4761a557baef3a3b2158cfdaa5ac3bb0bdcd0065b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 51 NT"> </figure>  I don’t interact much with my customers as I have to keep my eye on the road at all times. Mumbai traffic is bad. Sometimes, customers hail three-wheelers like mine when the cars they have booked online do not arrive on time because of traffic. They have meetings to attend or flights to catch, and they are thankful when I stop to pick them up.&nbsp; Other than that, the interactions are quite limited. Most customers are glued to their phones. Some even bring out their laptops. My job is to ensure they reach their destinations. Three years ago, I received a call from Achham about my father’s heart attack. I was arranging my travel to Nepal, but he passed away that night. I still went to Achham for his last rites, and I cannot describe how difficult it was to make that long journey alone while grieving my father’s loss. As I changed buses and trains across India, all I could think about was my father.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024110203118_3da6e8d233ba52600ae4902d65ba754436340d577e6fce5e3c91f39a507866c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024110203118_3da6e8d233ba52600ae4902d65ba754436340d577e6fce5e3c91f39a507866c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 51"> </figure>  We moved my mother to Gujarat where my brother works as a watchman as we did not want to leave her alone in Achham. Our house there is now empty.&nbsp; Just like I was close to my father who raised me, my brother is close to our mother. My brother and I have never spent more than a few days together because we were separated as children. I visit them in Gujarat once in a while. I have lived a simple and perhaps even a boring life. There have been enough hardships, but nothing that I have not been able to sort out on my own. I have not had to depend on others. God has been restrained in the way he sends me problems. We are all entangled in our own झमेला troubles. Translated from a conversation with the author. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times">Diaspora Diaries</a> is a regular column in Nepali Times in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, studying abroad. The previous 50 columns can be accessed in this <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uR6pzwfR91KAezRODgDIz2FWI6m2xjPL/view">ebook</a>. Watch video of Harka Lal Bishwokarma <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rusYgB9B3rs">here</a>. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rusYgB9B3rs?si=-E3SnyAv00I3ZUm1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

“I have lived a simple, boring life”

Heads swinging in the air. Shoulders jiggling. Hands and feet taping in time with the rhythm. People humming along. This was a common sight throughout this week’s Surya Nepal Jazzmandu. The guitar, drums, piano, flute, sarangi (even tapping feet) and other musical instruments fused on stage every evening, producing soulful melodies to keep the audience warm through Kathmandu’s autumn chill. This was the 20th edition of the jazz festival which started on 24 October featuring international and national artists including the likes of Swiss-French trumpeter Erik Trufazz, Aussie Owen James Newcomb, jazz saxophonist, flamenco singer and composer Antonio Lizana, our very own Cadenza Collective and artists from the Dhrupad Gurukul in Kathmandu.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024110104114_e35518cd86adafbd72e0bec4936baad9e81b14ebc911f71aff1d13fe2a2d5b7b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024110104114_e35518cd86adafbd72e0bec4936baad9e81b14ebc911f71aff1d13fe2a2d5b7b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1656" height="1370" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu 2024 NT"> </figure>  “I really like it here in Nepal, people are friendly, there is virtually no road rage,” Erik Trufazz told nepali Times during one of the parties ahead of their performances. “I have known about Jazzmandu for a while, my sound technician has been with the festival for a quite some time but only this year did everything align for me to be here too. The audience has been warm and receptive.” The annual event (except for the Covid years) first started in 2002 at the height of the Maoist insurgency with the intention of uniting people through music and simultaneously prioritising cultural interaction, music education and promoting tourism in Nepal. “The first edition was rather easy. Everything fell into place. It was as if destiny was leading the way,” says Navin Chettri, one of the founding members of Surya Nepal Jazzmandu who is also the vocalist and drummer of Nepali folk Jazz band Cadenza Collective. “What is harder is to maintain the legacy.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024110104114_79936cc630c834b1d4ff1dd16d23c748ea7e3e6f6bc4e69a567b0a7de9bfa391.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024110104114_79936cc630c834b1d4ff1dd16d23c748ea7e3e6f6bc4e69a567b0a7de9bfa391" data-rendition-name="original" width="1261" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu 2024 NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;The jazz scene is ever-evolving and so is the festival but in the recent editions, it is clear that cultural interaction has been more prominent with the collaboration that have taken place between national and international artists. “Jazzmandu has stayed true to the essence of what it was,” says Owen James Newcomb of Australian Jazz band Afro Dizzi Act who was here for the first edition in 2002 and was back this year. Nick Aggs of the same band has been performing in Jazzmandu for the past six years, and agrees: “Kathmandu has become a fertile land for music to flourish. The cross-pollination of music that is happening here says it all.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241101011124_58251b3af8fcca39887a1a772f9a59f12d9afd789bd0af8459089661dfafa6bf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241101011124_58251b3af8fcca39887a1a772f9a59f12d9afd789bd0af8459089661dfafa6bf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu 2024 NT"> <figcaption>Photo: PINKI RANA</figcaption> </figure>  Jazz has often been credited for embracing culture and diversity, and is known for collaborating with different genres of music. Here in Kathmandu, the festival has taken a step further to blend jazz with eastern music genres. For example this year a Spanish flamenco performer tap dances to the beat of classical Nepali tabla. “We’ve been performing jazz all over the world and the perception of jazz can be sectioned. The open mindedness people here in Kathmandu when it comes to jazz is the most exciting,” said Shannon Sol Carroll of Afro Dizzi Act speaking to Nepali Times before their &nbsp;finale at the Malla Hotel on Wednesday. The demographic of the audience is also changing. While expats and tourists still make up the majority of the audience, younger Nepalis are now a significant presence. There are others like Zoe Meister, 20, who is in Kathmandu as part of her exchange programme. The first experience has already left her wanting for more.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024110104114_d052567ac67050ef3024b8e02e7171ba1ba480fe8df8a279ef358908d6b7dd17.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024110104114_d052567ac67050ef3024b8e02e7171ba1ba480fe8df8a279ef358908d6b7dd17" data-rendition-name="original" width="1486" height="966" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu 2024 NT"> </figure>  Women still remain a minority in the Jazz scene globally. But this edition of Jazz Festival featured an all female band Sheroes from the US and highlighted singer Alma Naidu and her quartet from Germany and classical singer Jonisha Paudel from Nepal.&nbsp; Paudel’s high notes (shall we call it ‘ragajazz’?) underlined the amalgamation of eastern and western music. On initial hearing, the music did come off as Hindustani Classical but as the gig progressed, the sound of tabla, sitar fused with trombone and bass guitar to enhance the symbiosis. Her performance at Yalamaya Kendra on 29 October brought the house down.&nbsp; On the same day, Sheroes sang its own version of My Favourite Things from the 1965 musical The Sound of Music. Seeing the majority of women perform on the same stage made the performance even more inspiring. As the 20th edition of the jazz feast comes to an end, Chettri says, “When the younger musicians come up to me and tell me they are inspired seeing artists in our festivals, I believe we have been successful in setting up jazz culture in Kathmandu and our legacy.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024110104114_4510825ab497a488fd46a9d0c0b76f76ed7e6d0772002d9d0e8f698ed988cb8f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024110104114_4510825ab497a488fd46a9d0c0b76f76ed7e6d0772002d9d0e8f698ed988cb8f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1194" height="832" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu 2024 NT"> </figure>  <h2>Jazzing up Gokarna</h2> The third day of Jazzmandu, dubbed Jazz Bazaar, took place at Gokarna Forest Resort. This was the longest day, starting at 3PM and running until 10 at night unlike most days of the jazz festival that happened exclusively in the evenings. The stage and the stands for food and drinks were set up in an open meadow at the expansive Gokarna Forest Resort. The stage was the first thing on the left, and the bars were set up opposite that a bit further away. Further in the area there were food stalls presumably set up by the hotel selling food like chowmein, chicken wings, and paneer pakodas. There were bonfires set up which provided quick bursts of much needed warmth in the chilly October evening. Perhaps owing to the location, the crowd seemed much younger than at most of the other days of the festival. There were many children and young adults, both Nepali and foreign. Many seemed to be tourists from South Asia, Europe, the USA, or Australia. The audience either sat in chairs or benches set up opposite the stage, or on mats on the floor right in front of the musicians.&nbsp; One of the main acts of the night was Swiss-French trumpeter Erik Trufazz and his band, a quartet also including keyboard, bass and drums. Trufazz and the band were exceptional with a strong rock element to their act and soon the audience were bobbing their heads or tapping their feet to the music. They were followed by the Antonio Lizana Quintet, spearheaded by jazz saxophonist, flamenco singer and composer Antonio Lizana. The quintet was made up of Lizana on saxophone, a guitar, a bass, drums, and a flamenco dancer. The dancing, done by a member of the five called El Mawi, provided a strong performance aspect to their set and was visually drawing. The tapping nature of the dance also added a quick rhythm on top of the drums. There was also a performance by artists from the Dhrupad Gurukul in Kathmandu. Dhrupad is an ancient Hindustani classical musical tradition characterised by ragas and swaras. The group had sitar and flute players as well as percussion, on a big two-sided Indian drum called the pakhavaj. Their music was accompanied by trippy visuals. Vishad Raj Onta

East meets West at Kathmandu jazz

&nbsp;Nepal showed great fight against Bangladesh in the final of the SAFF Women’s Football Championship, but ultimately the Bengal Tigresses were just a little better than the Nepalis at in Kathmandu on Wednesday evening. &nbsp; &nbsp;Following the chaotic <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ruckus-at-the-rangasala">semi-final victory three days previously against India</a>, where play was halted for more than an hour as fans and players protested repeated refereeing mistakes, Nepal wanted to see its women’s team to carry on the momentum against Bangladesh, even though it had beaten Nepal &nbsp;twice before. &nbsp;&nbsp; All tickets for the game were to be sold physically in three locations and thousands were already lining up at 4 am. Ticket sales started at 8 am, and were already sold out in two hours. &nbsp; As the two national anthems rang throughout the Rangasala, the Nepali women lined up in a blue kits against the Bangladeshi team in jerseys that had a red-to-green gradient. Prime Minister KP Oli was in attendance and would hand out trophies, medals and awards at the end of the game.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141012_af065ae79f5612c8de0caf9219ba44f7e0e3a13541875669f812936503b3c6d1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241031141012_af065ae79f5612c8de0caf9219ba44f7e0e3a13541875669f812936503b3c6d1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1954" height="1302" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024103114108_ac06c088fb5431bd6f86049a2e33e623f3a3fdde4713c4f83c5727d7642d2e87.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024103114108_ac06c088fb5431bd6f86049a2e33e623f3a3fdde4713c4f83c5727d7642d2e87" data-rendition-name="original" width="1779" height="1185" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>  There was intense support from the home crowd on a pitch that looked quite good, in contrast to the state it was in during the monsoon when Japanese Veteran, ex-AC Milan Keisuke Honda, who was playing for Bhutan team Paro FC, called it the worst footballing pitch he had ever seen. Bangladesh had a higher level of quality throughout its squad, and this shone through as they dominated the opening ten minutes with accurate passes through the midfield. Nepal was playing a defensive, counter attacking strategy, with nine outfield players behind the ball and ‘Samba’ Bhandari playing as a lone forward. Nepal’s plan for the game was to be solid at the back and then hoof it forward to Samba, and hope that she could come up with a moment of magic.&nbsp; She almost did in the 10th minute, rattling a shot against the crossbar. Her play was excellent throughout: she held up the ball, hardly lost it, and sprayed accurate passes to her teammates. Unfortunately due to the style Nepal was playing, she often seemed to not get enough support and lacked options to continue play.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141012_4e654f608e218746a54dfd5679da3bf0bfe02439cc21d5045508f5f09481889e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241031141012_4e654f608e218746a54dfd5679da3bf0bfe02439cc21d5045508f5f09481889e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1362" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>  Nepal grew into the game as the first half carried on and 19-year old midfielder Preeti Rai stood out in midfield. Rai seemed to understand exactly what to do in order to not lose the ball, through finding the correct pass or through taking an intelligent touch to get away momentarily from a Bangla defender trying to win the ball back. Although both teams had a number of chances, neither had scored when they went in for halftime. Nepal was holding its own against a difficult opponent, who had trounced Bhutan 7-1 in the championship’s other semi-final. &nbsp; While Samba provided a threatening presence up top and Rai calmed things down in midfield, Nepal’s defense was looking worrying. The backs &nbsp;seemed nervous and were often unable to properly deal with Bangladeshi attacks. &nbsp;&nbsp; Sure enough, seven minutes into the second half defensive confusion caused the football to pinball around the Nepali penalty area before falling to Bangladesh midfielder Monika Chakma who calmly scored against Nepali keeper and captain Anjila Tumbapo Subba.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141012_284b757e7f6be854fd8a01175347ec744bc97e5a1cc432092bcce3dca0e3e5e5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241031141012_284b757e7f6be854fd8a01175347ec744bc97e5a1cc432092bcce3dca0e3e5e5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1743" height="1161" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024103114108_e6218ab04f9be5f9b14b096dca90f2cc8632e87e4441c5df10a4830c1e19e2d5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024103114108_e6218ab04f9be5f9b14b096dca90f2cc8632e87e4441c5df10a4830c1e19e2d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;Subba may have had a better chance if she had dived at Chakma’s feet, but she slid in like a defender towards the ball and Nepal found itself &nbsp;one goal behind. &nbsp; But just four minutes later, Preeti Rai threaded a through ball through three Bangla defenders. Forward Amisha Karki ran onto the pass and had plenty of time to ready herself before finishing past the goalkeeper.&nbsp; Just like after the restart in the semifinal against India, Nepal acted quickly to get themselves back in the game. The stadium had only been in panic mode for a short while and was now back loud and supporting the Nepali team. &nbsp; Video panned to an employee of the seemingly ubiquitous and monopolistic Garud Security, enjoying the action, wearing a high visibility neon vest with ‘Karate Black Belt’ emblazoned on the back. Besides the approximately 20,000 strong Rangasala audience, there were a record one million concurrent viewers to the livestream of the match on YouTube.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141012_e78ec325925a2e6dd9e6ab3a21df85e04ddf2b245d8ff26e7818b338bd13408b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241031141012_e78ec325925a2e6dd9e6ab3a21df85e04ddf2b245d8ff26e7818b338bd13408b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1367" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>  The game grew more open as both teams looked for a winner. There were chances for both: Bangladesh midfielder shot well from distance in the 67th minute, but keeper Subba was able to catch the ball. Then in the 72st minute Samba ran onto a lofted through pass and was almost through on goal. She opened her body up and shot for the far corner of the Bangla goal, but the angle was against her and the ball rolled across. In the 81st minute, following several scary scrambles in the Nepali defense, Ritu Chakma found herself on the ball on the left flank for Bangladesh. Chakma unleashed a wicked cross into the Nepali box with her left foot. It swerved and dipped, wrong-footing Subba, who was still able to get a hand to the ball but was unable to keep it from entering the net. The crowd was stunned. Nepal had not gotten a clear cut chance after equalizing, and now had only three minutes to find another goal to send the final to penalties.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141012_1191ccfd7072a0e8b056a9e7bbeae1c6b2731792662e065fb573e8d92f22da88.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20241031141012_1191ccfd7072a0e8b056a9e7bbeae1c6b2731792662e065fb573e8d92f22da88" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1416" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241031141020_23edb5db34d1d4388b2768be7ab3cf1b6e25d5204e00cc7500d0ee16e79358a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241031141020_23edb5db34d1d4388b2768be7ab3cf1b6e25d5204e00cc7500d0ee16e79358a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1728" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="SAFF Women's Championship 2024 NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;Despite their efforts and several substitutions, Nepal could not find a way back again. The Bangladesh team were overjoyed at the final whistle, and took laps around the field and celebrated near a group of Bangla supporters. An exhausted, disappointed Nepali team fell to the ground, having lost another final. The Nepali players should be proud of the performance they put in throughout the tournament and especially in the semis and the final. They pushed a much better Bangla team right to the limit. What was most evident was the gulf in quality between Samba and Preeti Rai and everyone else in the Nepali team: while Samba and Rai almost always displayed correct play, the rest of the squad made mistakes at crucial times. The home crowd showed out to support Nepal’s female athletes, taking matters into their own hands to protest inept, helpless officiating. They didn’t repeat this behavior when we were beaten fair and square in the final, which would have diminished the protests in the game against India. An excellent drone shot at the end of the match showed the floodlit Rangasala and a gridlocked Tripuresqor roundabout as Nepalis streamed out of the stadium: disappointed, but not dejected.

Nepal defeated but not dejected

A 2018 Nepali romcom Intu Mintu Londonma introduced a new talent, Dhiraj Magar. Since then, he has starred in a string of films as protagonist, establishing himself among contemporaries of a new generation in Nepali cinema. For Nepal’s outbound youth leaving the country in droves, Magar travelled in the opposite direction to his motherland. But he is not alone, there has been a recent spurt in Nepalis returning to work in the country's film industry. “Acting is both my passion and skill, which is why I want to keep working in Nepal,” says Dhiraj, who used to be a YouTube vlogger based in the UK.&nbsp; Adds Nawal Khadka, a film director who also chairs the Film Director’s Guild of Nepal (FDGN): “Returnees do not just bring filmmaking skills and craftsmanship but also investment.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241030131032_0f1ba570be6b2fb25a53da225ba585db64b87a886b74cf0e2d904922f727a257.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241030131032_0f1ba570be6b2fb25a53da225ba585db64b87a886b74cf0e2d904922f727a257" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="550" loading="lazy" alt="Miruna Magar"> <figcaption>Miruna Magar in Jaari (2023).</figcaption> </figure>  Three commercial films released this year starred actress Miruna Magar, who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the UK. She has acted in hit films like Jaari, Gharjwai, Kabbadi 4, Mansaara and Nango Gaun over the past six years. “I intentionally came back to hone my acting skills and explore different characters,” Miruna said. “I want to continue working here for the rest of my life.” Filmmakers Suyog Gurung and Milan Chams have also returned to direct films in Nepal. Gurung's latest Pharkipharki starred another returnee actress Jassita Gurung. Chams, based in the UK, has directed several movies including Bir Bikram, Lily Bili, Bobby and Gorkha Warrior, most of them targeted at the Nepali-speaking diaspora. “Chams has taken his films to the global audience. And Nepali films going beyond our borders to other countries is a good thing for the whole of the industry,” says Khadka of FDGN.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241030131036_1776110c7437d80ffbef5b8a329c85722551dfa94f6a25021ae3aaee83e5a30b.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241030131036_1776110c7437d80ffbef5b8a329c85722551dfa94f6a25021ae3aaee83e5a30b" data-rendition-name="original" width="997" height="563" loading="lazy" alt="Dhiraj Magar and Upasana Singh Thakuri"> <figcaption>Dhiraj Magar and Upasana Singh Thakuri in Khusma (2024).</figcaption> </figure>  As for musicians, Bartika Eam Rai, Sajjan Raj Baidya, Bikki Gurung and Jay Author are all based abroad but primarily make Nepali-language songs and music videos that have gained quite a following among global Nepalis.&nbsp; It was not always like this. Many established and emerging actors, musicians and directors, uncertain of the future of the industry, left Nepal and moved to completely unrelated fields. “Back then, it seemed impossible to financially sustain oneself doing music. We spent more out of our pockets to play in a band,” recalls Bhim Poon, one of the founding members of the folk rock group Nepathya. Poon played percussion, but left for Hong Kong. He says now: “If the scope in Nepal had been what it is today, I don’t think I would have ever left.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241030131036_e8ed7ff04c094a01738d3438c26bed984a4ee8ba4ba482bd34f83b07adcfc3af.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241030131036_e8ed7ff04c094a01738d3438c26bed984a4ee8ba4ba482bd34f83b07adcfc3af" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Deeya Pun"> <figcaption>Deeya Pun in Dayarani (2024)</figcaption> </figure>  Stage and film actor Saroj Khanal left for America in 1997 despite being a household name, shocking many fans. Khanal had played lead roles in more than a dozen movies, including classics like Prem Pinda, Janmajanma, Dushman, and Mankamana. Khanal was equally successful as his contemporaries Rajesh Hamal and Bhuwan KC. But he explains his decision: “The country's situation was really bad due to the Maoist conflict. I didn't want my children to grow up in that environment. Furthermore, the earnings then were not as good.”&nbsp; But now, in addition to young diaspora talent coming back to Nepal, older artists are also heading home at last. Khanal has made his move to return, as have actors like Reecha Ghimire, Dilip Rayamajhi and Ramesh Upreti. “Regardless of circumstances that made me leave, if I get a role that suits me, I will do it. Acting is what I know best,” said actress Jal Shah in an online interview during a visit to Nepal last year. Once an acclaimed actress, Shah too had moved to the United States.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241030131036_afbac07c0d31c89d267c59b1664c6b87d95a99c21541d2cb5e8e619784d4c751.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241030131036_afbac07c0d31c89d267c59b1664c6b87d95a99c21541d2cb5e8e619784d4c751" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="550" loading="lazy" alt="The Red Suitcase"> <figcaption>Screenshot from The Red Suitcase (2023).</figcaption> </figure>  But both older and new artists who have come back to work in Nepal’s film industry say it is for one reason only: it is finally financially viable to do so. Veteran actress Basundhara Bhusal who was featured in Nepal’s first movie Aama, says: “You can now actually make a living by acting.”&nbsp; Director Renasha Bantawa Rai agrees that it is relatively easier now for Nepali-origin artists to have a meaningful career in Nepali films. She says: “They are financially secure which means they can come and contribute to the industry and establish themselves, rather than having a second job.”&nbsp; It is too early to tell if the new crop of diaspora talent returning to Nepal are in it for the long haul, but it has elevated the industry and the quality of Nepali mainstream cinema. Says Fidel Devkota, director of The Red Suitcase who is based in Berlin and Nepal: “Seeing these artists return is a reminder that sooner or later everyone returns home. This will broaden the talent pool in Nepal’s entertainment industry and make it more competitive.”

"Sooner or later, everyone comes home"

More than 300,000 tourists visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the past year, more than half of them from Nepal. In total, they injected Rs307 million in revenue to the park which also had income from timber sales and regulated sand mining and fines.&nbsp; The park’s buffer zone spreads across 729km and includes 12 rural municipalities in Chitwan, Parsa, Nawalparasi, and Makwanpur districts. There are 21 Buffer Zone User Committees, and 73 community forest committees.&nbsp; Nepal’s population of tigers has tripled, and most of the wild cats roam inside the Chitwan National Park. The prey density is still adequate, but tigers, rhinos and wild elephants often venture into the buffer zone and nearby settlements.&nbsp; “Despite high prey density within the national park, there are still wildlife attacks,” admits Dil Bahadur Purja Pun of CNP. Last year alone, there were 10 fatalities, mostly from tiger attacks.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/crocodile-chronicle">Crocodile Chronicle</a>, Shristi Karki Although this number is high, it is also an indication of Nepal’s conservation success story. &nbsp;Efforts are now underway among CNP rangers and staff, conservationists, as well as organisations like the WWF’s crossborder Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) program to minimise human casualties.&nbsp; Madi municipality is inside the buffer zone surrounded by Chitwan National Park to the east, west, and north, and India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to the south. Communities here have close and frequent encounters with wildlife. Wounded tigers which cannot hunt usual prey venture out to attack livestock, wild elephants trample through farms that are on their traditional migratory paths, and leopards stalk domestic animals. The village of Pandav Nagar is one of the most impoverished and there is no community forest here. Outmigration is rife, and most youth have moved to Bharatpur and beyond. The young and elderly who are left behind are more vulnerable to predators.&nbsp; Conservation organisations have erected a kilometre-long cement wall with mesh wire that keeps elephants out, but there are still gaps through which the animals can get through. The TAL program facilitates an awareness campaign called Behaviour Change Communication for Conservation.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029091012_f6768dd1f6a3b1a4edc4e79c1f43a0f3f5e9a89cbf4debb813c78178fd2bfa91.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241029091012_f6768dd1f6a3b1a4edc4e79c1f43a0f3f5e9a89cbf4debb813c78178fd2bfa91" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="wildlife and human coexistence"> <figcaption>Fish ponds constructed in Madi as an alternative to crop farming.</figcaption> </figure>  One of the trainees is Poonam Pandey, a teacher from Panch Pandav village, who now instructs children in her community about how to avoid contact with wildlife and help conservation efforts.&nbsp; “In the past, people here used to say that the wild animals have given them nothing but conflict and grief, but there has now been a change in attitude,” says Pandey. “Now, they are actively engaged in conservation.” Some of the older residents who have had close shaves with wildlife are still not convinced that co-existing with wildlife is possible.&nbsp; In Madi’s &nbsp;Chainpur, a group of women supported by conservation institutions plant turmeric as cash crops, which wild elephants do not like to eat. Other buffer zone communities grow other cash crops like lemon, which are less in risk of being destroyed by wildlife.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029091012_05ee644c055d42107b6a45297aae235fc7de76bcd55feaa9f0378683e076a795.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241029091012_05ee644c055d42107b6a45297aae235fc7de76bcd55feaa9f0378683e076a795" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="wildlife and human coexistence"> <figcaption>A predator-proof pens (PPP) goat shed in Chainpur.</figcaption> </figure>  “In the past, we used to have to go into the forest for fodder and firewood,” says one participant of the program. “With these cash crops, we now generate our own income and the elephants leave us alone.”&nbsp; Conservation groups have also helped local communities with predator-proof pens to protect their goats. In June this year, Chainpur village was declared a PPP model village.&nbsp; Over in Meghauli near Bharatpur, there are five community forests in the buffer zone where rhinos, tigers, elephants, and deer roam in abundance. Wetlands have been constructed so the wildlife have watering holes and ample grazing land.&nbsp; With an abundance of prey, there is less likelihood of tigers and leopards venturing out into residential areas. The prey attract tigers which means tourists on safari trips can enjoy sightings. The eco-tourism possibility of Rapti Hariyali Community Forest has gone up just from the increased chances of observing tigers and rhinos in the wild.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241029091012_f765265ed36044a85262ff61ad9399b7ae87e9e696323346cd2f1b03bb205ceb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241029091012_f765265ed36044a85262ff61ad9399b7ae87e9e696323346cd2f1b03bb205ceb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="wildlife and human coexistence"> <figcaption>Sikaribaas corridor that connects CNP, Parsa NP, and Valmiki tiger reserve.</figcaption> </figure>  “Although Sauraha and Kasara are the popular entry points for tourism, we want to spread the visitors out to Meghauli as well,” says Yum Bahadur Thapa of Rapti Hariyali Community Forest. “It is proof that conservation, income generation, and tourism can go hand in hand.” The Nirmal Thori Buffer Zone User Committee is the park’s only buffer zone in Parsa district. It lies on the tri-junction of Chitwan and Parsa National Parks and India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve. Conservation officers here coordinate closely with the Indian reserve to minimise human-wildlife contact. “Our goal here is to minimise wildlife contact and generate income for the communities through ecotourism,” says Bal Kumar Basnet, chair of the Nirmal Thori Buffer Zone User Committee. “That includes jungle safaris, and homestays, and other tourism promoting activities.” However local government must ensure that visitor numbers does not exceed the carrying capacity. Nepal’s conservation success could be in jeopardy if there is a rush to excessively monetise nature. The federal government has amended the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act to allow private sector investment in Nepal’s protected areas. In theory, this is to ensure that local communities benefit more from conservation.&nbsp; But this could kill the goose that lays golden eggs. The feeling here is that while resorts and homestays can be opened in the buffer zones, they should never be allowed inside the national park. One conservation official told us: “Allowing private companies to build inside protected areas will spell disaster.”

Buffering nature in Chitwan

Sloppy refereeing could not stop a 10-woman Nepal football team from snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against India in Kathmandu on Sunday night — a match that will go down in history as the craziest Nepal’s national stadium has ever seen. Nepal will now play Bangladesh on Wednesday in the finals of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) women’s championship at Dasarath Rangasala in Kathmandu. The Sunday match had a lot of lessons: about repeated refereeing inconsistencies, overdone or premature celebrations after goals, wildly partisan home supporters, and a warning for crowd control if things go out of control in future.&nbsp; The stars of the match were striker Sabitra ‘Samba’ Bhandari and substitute goal-keeper Anjana Rana Magar, but there was no doubt who got an F grade: referee Om Choki from Bhutan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102814104_72bf1217e4f5e8509ee2e3ecf5acdcd48d4217285600aaf52455d8f0e1edc59e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024102814104_72bf1217e4f5e8509ee2e3ecf5acdcd48d4217285600aaf52455d8f0e1edc59e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1070" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India women's football SAFF"> </figure>  Choki had already angered the crowd by failing to award a penalty to Nepal despite an Indian defender deflecting a goal shot with her hand. Then she showed a second yellow card to Nepali forward Rekha Paudel in the 51st minute as she competed for a loose ball near the Indian penalty area.&nbsp; Paudel jumped and just poked the ball away with the toe of her boot. Ranjana Chanu hit Paudel’s foot following through as she tried to clear the ball. Paudel fell to the ground, and the lineswoman flagged frantically, indicating bizarrely that Paudel had been at fault.&nbsp; Choki arrived on the scene and brandished a second yellow card at Paudel, sending her off. Paudel sprang up and put a hand on Choki, enraged at this terrible mistake. Nepal then had to play the remaining forty minutes with one less player. Choki could only point at her lineswoman, who in the heat of the game had made a nasty error. Sabitra ‘Samba’ Bhandari approached the lineswoman with her arms out questioningly, but the official gestured that this wasn’t open for discussion.&nbsp; The only other interpretation of the yellow card is that the lineswoman thought Rekha Paudel dived, trying to buy a foul. But Paudel was off balance and Chanu had kicked her foot: there wasn’t much she could do to keep from falling. The game had not seen a goal so far, and tensions were running high. The stadium was packed to the rafters, and the crowd became a frothing, hostile cauldron and stalled the semi-final match in the second half for more than an hour, protesting a series of inexplicable refereeing decisions by Choki.&nbsp; The fans threw plastic bottles from the stands to players and officials on the pitch. Chants of “Nepal! Nepal!” reverberated around the stadium, to the accompaniment of drums and air horns. The crowd calmed down a little after ten minutes. The first half had been fairly equal, and Nepal had started the second half slightly better than India. But now, with the advantage of an extra person, India started taking over the game amidst a jeering crowd.&nbsp; They broke through in the sixty-second minute. From the left wing Chanu sent in a cross that the Nepali defense cleared, straight to the Indian number 8, midfielder Sangita Basfore. About 30 yards from the goal, Basfore took a touch to ready herself before unleashing a perfect shot that curved and dipped straight into the top right corner. It was an excellent goal. The crowd was stunned: this was not part of the script.&nbsp; The overjoyed Indian team frolicked on the touchlines joyously: they had just scored a go-ahead semi-final goal. But there was still half an hour left to play and the celebrations seemed to go on for a touch too long. The Nepali players were already in position to restart and waiting for the Indians to get ready to resume play.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102814104_df6ddfc0812009a6a927e97d7f76870ce537fda18ba1089d3b0b0c1d0e383806.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102814104_df6ddfc0812009a6a927e97d7f76870ce537fda18ba1089d3b0b0c1d0e383806" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India women's football SAFF"> </figure>  Referee Choki seemed to blow her whistle to restart. With the Indians still dancing balle-balle, Samba played a simple ball to 19-year old midfielder Preeti Kulung Rai who had been excellent throughout the game, and in this instance she took a touch and shot low from far out, scoring and sending the crowd into pandemonium.&nbsp; Choki had seemed to follow the play after the restart, it all seemed legal: Nepal were instantly back level. The crowd was overjoyed and were ready to go get the winner. But, wait! The refereeing team decided to rule out the goal.&nbsp; This is unprecedented in football: a referee cannot restart a match, run with the action, and then disallow the goal when it does go in. Perhaps Choki was trying to get the Indians back playing, but she should have either waited for India to get back in position before restarting, or she should have let the goal stand.&nbsp; Compounded with the earlier mistakes, Nepali players, officials, and the entire stadium went ballistic. This was corruption, robbery even, of the highest order, and there was no way the game could be allowed to go on like this.&nbsp; More bottles rained down on the pitch. The crowd, already angry, was now outraged. “Referee Out. Referee Out,” rent the air.&nbsp; The officials seemed spooked by the reaction of the 20,000 strong crowd calling for their heads. Riot police and even bench players begged the crowd to calm down, but to no avail as the Nepali red shirts stayed out of the field in protest and argued intensely with match officials. The Indian team was still on the pitch, warming up.&nbsp; Almost certainly this was just a series of bad calls by a nervous ref who had never worked in such a charged atmosphere before. Some officials also tend to purposely not give decisions for the home team, lest they be accused of reffing to appease the crowd - but if that was the case, this was too much of an overcorrection.&nbsp; After the break in play had gone on for an hour, the crowd grew jaded and restless. The feeling in the stadium was that a decision needed to be made: to either stop the game altogether or to get on with it. The game restarted after Nepal’s one-hour tantrum, with the score still one-nil to India.&nbsp; And that is when things got even more exciting. Choki probably realised by now that her life was now on the line if she made another flub up.&nbsp; Bhandari had been especially animated during the stoppage, and she was egged on by chants of “Samba! Samba!” From the stands. Suddenly Preeti Rai split the Indian defense with a brilliant through ball. Samba ran onto the pass and got there just before a defender, and the rushing goalkeeper.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102814108_184f57bfad928b4d728930347ca08590c6955f9cd6098aee046e4a48f8a419ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024102814108_184f57bfad928b4d728930347ca08590c6955f9cd6098aee046e4a48f8a419ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="1084" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India women's football SAFF"> </figure>  Samba finished deftly, and Gooooooooaaaaaal! She took off her shirt to celebrate. The crowd was vindicated: perhaps Pashupatinath was hurling blessings from across town.&nbsp; Despite the extra player advantage, the Indian team seemed to be shaken up by the frenzied crowd. Both sides traded chances as time ran out. The game would be decided on, penalties. Both teams swapped keepers.&nbsp; India got the first kick, which bodes well in a shootout - but only if the first kick scores. Unfortunately for India, Nepali keeper Anjana Rana Magar dived the right way at Ashalata Devi’s shot, pushing it against the post and out.&nbsp; Samba was first for Nepal, and she made no mistake with an excellent strike right into the bottom right corner of the goal. Advantage Nepal: as long as they didn’t miss, India would be playing catch up. The next two kickers for both teams all scored. Now 3-2 to Nepal. Magar saved the next kick, from Chanu. Nepal forward, number 19 Amisha Karki, stepped up and fired into the bottom right corner. 4-2! The stadium erupted. Not only had Nepal overcome India, but also the crooked circumstances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102814104_f9aaee3c558c6e1fe1bdba926db582b7d4cab2e8034d2bac2532bed82bd8b75b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102814104_f9aaee3c558c6e1fe1bdba926db582b7d4cab2e8034d2bac2532bed82bd8b75b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India women's football SAFF"> <figcaption>Photo: VISHAD RAJ ONTA</figcaption> </figure>  As the players drank in the victory with the placated home crowd, perhaps most relieved were the referees and the security officials. Sabitra Bhandari showed her exceptional ability. Besides the goal and the penalty, Samba had a series of brilliant plays, like a late chip from the top left corner of the pitch that almost went in to win the game.&nbsp; Among those filing out of the stadium was a tourist in a Nepal jersey delirious with joy. As good as the game had been in a pure footballing sense, the reaction from the crowd had been exemplary, giving no respect to the officials where it was not deserved, and letting them know loud and clear that they messed up.&nbsp; The bottle-throwing was accurate, too, and while it may be easy to dismiss it as objectionable, one thing you could not call it was apathetic. Nepalis showed up to support the Ladies and demonstrated just how important crowd support can be.&nbsp; There were murmurs among the crowd wishing the Nepal men’s team showed half the fight the women’s squad had just exhibited. All eyes now are on the finals on Wednesday against Bangladesh. Stay tuned.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102814108_805acf87bc72d3214e9f15bd5c3476f12d10ed2e6f3d119878df578de4255f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024102814108_805acf87bc72d3214e9f15bd5c3476f12d10ed2e6f3d119878df578de4255f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="984" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India women's football SAFF"> </figure>

Ruckus at the Rangasala

Top news

Back in November 2004 ahead of the American presidential race between George W Bush and John Kerry in which the former won in a controversial outcome, we wrote that non-Americans should also be allowed to vote given that foreign, economic, trade and environmental policies of the United States affects the whole world. Twenty years later and as we head into the 2024 race between Trump and Harris, the editorial might as well have been written today given the climate crisis and the US support for Israel's wars.
Excerpts from the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1649">editorial </a>in <a href="http://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_219.pdf">issue #219 29 October – 4 November 2004</a>:
From America's unilateral global war on terror to global warming, we all end up paying for its greed, thirst, self-indulgence and supremacy. Why is it that powers, whether global or regional, are so ham-handed? There is a serious lack of subtlety, a chronic reliance on arm-twisting, to get things done. Bullying is counter-productive, even to ultimately get your own way. Yet they never learn from mistakes and bamboozle their way with petty-minded insensitivity, alienating even friends.
We in Nepal have always felt insulated from the rest of the world. But in a globalised economy, who rules in Washington has a direct impact on our tourism, on how fast our glaciers melt, whether our garments get tariff-free entry into markets, and it becomes a matter of life or death for our citizens when they are slaughtered in Iraq to punish America.
&nbsp;For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com">nepalitimes.com</a>

America Watch

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>