Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana(pictured, below) planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">Pokhara comes alive at night</a> Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha (pictured, below), who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools"> Practicing mindfulness in schools</a>, Basu Gautam Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-other-abc-trek"> the start and end point for treks</a> makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/getting-up-close-and-personal-with-the-mountains">mountains</a> and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland">Lumbini</a>, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal (pictured, below) worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/yoga-unites-the-world">Yoga unites the world</a>, Yugeshwor Koirala Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya was working in Australia, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi (pictured, below).&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp; Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha, of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana (pictured, below) who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha, who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha (pictured, below) who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both the start and end point for treks makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending mountains and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in Lumbini, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya used to be a migrant worker in the Gulf, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi.&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 5"> </figure>  Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha (pictured, below), of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-season-in-the-nepal-himalaya">Peak season in the Nepal Himalaya</a>, Vishad Raj Onta But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.”&nbsp; <h2>Spiritual scams</h2> Katherine is an American yoga teacher and practitioner who signed up for a 300-hour training course at a yoga centre in Pokhara. It was a two-month course specifically tailored for trainers and instructors, and Katherine paid $2,800 after arriving in Nepal.&nbsp; She was deeply disappointed. Nothing was what was promised on the website, and she filed a complaint with the Nepal Tourism Board.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="5184" height="3888" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 2"> </figure>  “The trainer was not qualified and the training lacked &nbsp;international standard. I feel cheated,” said Katherine (name changed). “I &nbsp;wasted the flight cost and course fee, it all went down the drain.” As Pokhara gains popularity as a destination for yoga tourism, there are also reports of others like Katherine being scammed.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-malaysia-nepal-migrant-scam-nexus">The Malaysia-Nepal migrant scam nexus</a>, Ramu Sapkota and S Vinothaa Spiritual ‘wellness’ centres have sprouted like mushroom along Pokhara’s Lakeside. Some promise 200-hour teacher training, others have 300 hours sessions and some are 21 days long. The lack of regulation and strict enforcement of guidelines for instructors and certification of ashrams is the main reason for the increase in fraud in the business.&nbsp; “Some individuals and organisations offer training and classes without understanding the depth and importance of yoga and meditation,” says instructor Maheswar Man Shrestha. “There are instructors in hotels who are responding to demand but lack &nbsp;knowledge and training to teach others.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="810" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 3"> </figure>  It should be up to the Nepal Tourism Board and Gandaki Province Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment to prevent Pokhara from getting a bad name for cheating foreign yoga students. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/embossed-plate-company-involved-in-scam">Embossed plate company involved in scam</a>, Ramesh Kumar Pokhara Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya admits there are some unscrupulous establishments, and says his municipality is coordinating with the Gandaki Province government to crackdown. He adds, “The reason is that the spiritual wellness sector is relatively new and we have not been able to play catchup with regulatory mechanisms.”&nbsp; &nbsp;Nepal Tourism Board’s Nabin Pokharel says he understands the need to standardise yoga and meditation centres with some regulatory guidelines. He admits: “If we don’t do something about it, it can give a negative impression of Pokhara.” If Katherine’s experience is any indication, that is already happening.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="785" height="889" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 4"> </figure>

Medication to Meditation in the Mountains

Bottom

<a href="https://www.buddhaair.com/">Buddha Air</a> has decommissioned the first ATR 42-320 it acquired, after 16 years mainly serving Nepal’s domestic air routes. The plane with call sign 9N-AIN with 47 seat capacity was one of three aircraft of the type bought by Buddha Air in 2008 at which time it only operated the smaller Beechcraft 1900D. The plane with call sign 9N-AIN has ATR serial number 403 and was manufactured in 1995 and flew for Air Caledonia in the French Pacific colony till 2007 before being acquired by Buddha Air, Nepal’s largest domestic airline. “This is a historic moment for Buddha Air and for Nepal’s aviation, since it is the first time that an aircraft has been retired after its full service life,” said Buddha Air’s Birendra Basnet at the farewell ceremony at Kathmandu airport on Tuesday. Most other aircraft in Nepal are either sold or scrapped before they reach the end of their life cycle, which is usually 30 years for pressurised planes. The ATR 42 that was retired on Tuesday was 29 years old and was nearing its maximum stipulated 70,000 cycles of landings and takeoffs. Buddha Air said it would cannibalise some of the cockpit instruments, landing gear and its Pratt and Whitney PW121 engines for its remaining two ATR 42, and the plane’s shell will be used by Kathmandu airport for fire and rescue drills. 9N-AIN made its last trip on Tuesday morning as a Mt Everest sightseeing flight with officials from ATR Singapore, CAAN officials, the airline’s financiers and some staff. After landing, the plane was towed straight to the Buddha Air hangar where it was greeted by two airport fire engines spraying water arches.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910150912_3560edd8422b086f000127fd73b5f906ba57f826253ab42b0a054ca012522bb6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240910150912_3560edd8422b086f000127fd73b5f906ba57f826253ab42b0a054ca012522bb6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1066" loading="lazy" alt="Buddha Air retires oldest ATR 42 NT"> </figure>  In attendance at the ceremony were Pawqan Tanwani of ATR Asia Pacific, Elsa Calley from the French Embassy in Kathmandu, Buddha Air staff including Birendra Basnet. The other two ATR 42-320s that Buddha Air also inducted in 2008, 9N-AIT and 9N-AIM, still have service life left and mostly fly the Bharatpur and Simara sectors. They are also due to be scrapped soon. Buddha Air sold the last two of its Beechcraft 1900Ds to a Canadian company last year. The planes were among four of the carrier’s launch aircraft when it started operations in 1977. Buddha air now has 17 aircraft, 2 ATR 42-320 and 15 ATR 72-500.

Buddha Air retires oldest ATR 42

Turkish Airlines marked its 11th year of route operation to and from Kathmandu on 2 September. The carrier is the only European airline serving Nepal, and has the largest global network of destinations. It started flying to Kathmandu in September 2013, and has been promoting tourism to Nepal through various travel and tourism trade fairs since.&nbsp;
Turkish is also celebrating the 20 millionth member of its Miles&amp;Smiles loyalty program since its inception in 1989. Members earn miles from flights with Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance partners through co-branded credit card expenditures and from Turkish Airlines accommodation, tourism, car rental, and technology partners. Earned miles can be <a href="https://www.shopandmiles.com">redeemed</a> for economy and business class tickets on Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance member flights.&nbsp;
The Turkish flag carrier is also enhancing its TKCONNECT program through a partnership with content aggregators Travelfusion, Verteil, DRCT, Mystifly, Nuua, Nuflights and Theta. This will allow Nepali travel agents to create customised itineraries, offer exclusive deals, and streamline the booking process.

11 years with Turkish

Nabil Bank concluded a special general meeting, passing a proposal to issue 8% Nonconvertible Cumulative Preference Shares worth Rs5 Billion. The shares are being issued to grow the business and manage risk. The proposal was passed and is now pending approval from Nepal Rastra Bank and regulatory bodies.

Nabil shares

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent. -Madeleine Albright  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240906040956_ee01d621b130bfec6f6fbe5bb6144d3cc9e7b8da0e069a5ddcc77fea4fe82a42.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240906040956_ee01d621b130bfec6f6fbe5bb6144d3cc9e7b8da0e069a5ddcc77fea4fe82a42" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="2700" loading="lazy" alt="Miss Moti #1228"> </figure>

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice

Just before Dasain this time last year, two young Nepali women were about to leave for Dubai. They were offered jobs to perform at cultural programs, but did not have proper travel documents.
One of them was a friend of Archana Darji, a journalist with our sister publication <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/">himalkhabar.com</a>. As <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/142859">she writes in her blog</a>, it was clear they were being trafficked by a gang of recruiters who had paid off Kathmandu airport immigration.&nbsp;
The girls had to support their families, and were determined to go despite knowing the risks. One of them soon returned because she fell sick, and could not bring herself to tell Darji what the work was in Dubai.&nbsp;
One year later, she has once more paid a recruiter for a job in Dubai, and is about to fly off again.
Most of the focus on overseas remittances gives credit to male migrant workers sending money home. The question around migrant women is often why they go despite knowing about exploitation and abuse.&nbsp;
That is the wrong question. We know why. Instead, we should be asking what can be done immediately to ensure safe migration for Nepali women — both in Nepal and in destination countries.
In 2017, following high profile cases of abuse of women domestic migrant workers in West Asia, the government imposed a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/two-decades-of-debate-on-female-migration">blanket ban on female migration</a>. This misguided decision drove recruitment underground, forcing women to take unauthorised channels, increasing the risk of trafficking en route.
Many were stranded in Mumbai or Delhi, and being outside the safety net of Nepali embassies and consulates made their rescue and repatriation difficult.
<a href="https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Reducing_Vulnerability_to_Exploitation_of_Nepali_Migrant_Domestic_Workers/26892934?file=48931666">A new study by Brunel University London</a> calls for Nepali women migrants to be given skills-training and language orientation so they can migrate without being trafficked, exploited or abused.&nbsp;
‘The ban overlooks evidence of positive outcomes for Nepali domestic workers and leads to several unintended and damaging consequences,’ the study says, adding there should be ‘concrete reintegration plans for returnee domestic workers at the local level of governance to assure their social, political and economic empowerment’.
The report's author Ayushman Bhagat, lecturer of Political Geography at Brunel, interviewed women including recent returnees in Jhapa. He found them distrustful and angry with the government for making it more difficult for them to migrate.&nbsp;
“Instead of solving structural issues of class, caste, education, these women are having to bear the burden of historical marginalisation,” Bhagat told Nepali Times. “All they want is for their children to not have to lead the same life they did, and migration is the quickest way to their empowerment.”
Many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/homes-away-from-home">women migrating for domestic work</a> are at greater risk of being cheated by recruiters in Nepal, trafficked en route, and abused in destination countries. Even when they do return bearing the scars of abuse, they leave again out of sheer desperation.
Officially, one in every ten Nepali migrant workers is a woman but many more who are undocumented or migrate to India are not counted. Their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/female-migrant-workers-hold-up-half-the-sky">contribution to the economy and family income</a> is rarely acknowledged.&nbsp;
This is hardly surprising, given the marginalisation Nepali women face at home, and the double discrimination women of excluded caste and ethnicities experience in society.
Over the years, the government has flip flopped on women migration, introducing shamefully restrictive and ad hoc gender-insensitive rules. One such regulation (<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepali-women-protest-proposed-travel-restrictions">later revoked after outrage</a>, pictured) even required <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-im-mobility-in-nepal">women under 40 to obtain permission letters</a> from male family members and the local government for travel.
Part of the problem is the media’s doom and gloom portrayal of migration that magnifies the negative.&nbsp;
True, there are harrowing cases of abuse and exploitation, and workers are cheated every step of the way, often by their own relatives and recruiters. But Bhagat says there are many other positive outcomes for women workers.
“We must highlight how the women are contributing to society, not everyone is being exploited and frankly to think otherwise is a very privileged mindset,” adds Bhagat.
Nepal’s graduation to middle income country is almost entirely supported by remittances reducing the poverty rate. Many returnees have improved family living standards, and created jobs for other Nepalis.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/migrating-for-domestic-work">Restrictions and bans never work</a>. Bhagat has some common sense steps to making migration safer for women: &nbsp;
- Invite all women workers to register with Nepali missions regardless of their status with no repercussion.
- Strengthen the capacity of Nepali missions abroad to help workers in need at dedicated service centres.
- Form government-to-government legally binding arrangements for safe migration.
- Thoroughly vet <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-long-way-to-europe">new labour markets</a> and regulate recruitment at the local levels.
Sonia Awale

Safer migration for women

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

Chandra Basnet started walking from Jajarkot and five days later after climbing passes more than 5,300m high, she reached the desolate tent camp of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19381">yarsagumba harvesters in Upper Dolpo</a>. The 21-year-old joined the seasonal migration with 40kg of supplies on her back and a baby daughter wrapped around her front with a shawl. Her husband carried an additional 20kg of supply. “Bringing my baby was the toughest part, it is hard to carry her,” says Chandra, who is on the third week of her stay. “There are no hospitals around here, so if she falls sick we have to pack up everything and walk back.” The Basnet family is among tens of thousands who move to the high mountains on the Tibet border in the pre-monsoon <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/its-yarsa-picking-time">yarsa gold rush every year</a>. Yarsagumba (Cordyceps fungus) is a fungus that grows on caterpillar larvae at between 3,500-5,000m elevation, and is prized in traditional Chinese medicine fetching up to $110,000 per kg in Shanghai.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_212fa6dfb8c231d21a6af7b7e87e0ffe9028c1feeabb22f833a19e7dfa4cc443.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024083018080_212fa6dfb8c231d21a6af7b7e87e0ffe9028c1feeabb22f833a19e7dfa4cc443" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> <figcaption>All photos: Shrijan Pandey</figcaption> </figure>  The Shey-Phoksundo National Park in Dolpo issues harvest permits every year for a month starting mid-May. This year, there were 8,584 entries – double last year’s total. But climate breakdown and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/overharvesting-yarsa-and-income,1546">overharvesting means that yarsa pickings have fallen</a> in quantity and quality. The Basnet family spent Rs500,000 to come here, expecting high returns but were able to make only Rs200,000. Says Chandra, “We went through a lot of hardships, but hoped we could at least make up the cost of coming here to help raise our daughter, but it was not worth it.”&nbsp; Until recently, yarsa was a lucrative albeit risky undertaking in Nepal’s highlands where subsistence farmers depend on it to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18321">supplement their income</a>. But it is a dangerous occupation. Just this season Karnali Province reported the death of 12 harvesters. Conditions are tough. Most pickers cannot afford proper tents and clothing to cope with the harsh weather. Most bring their children along, and they are the first to fall sick. The health post at Dho Tarap was open, but there was no staff.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_dea884b9a059c76cbbecc3cf6cae70d7de5e08b069e87637c0ad297446661546.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024083018080_dea884b9a059c76cbbecc3cf6cae70d7de5e08b069e87637c0ad297446661546" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> <figcaption>Chandra Basnet walked from Jajarkot to Upper Dolpo with 4okg of supplies and a toddler daughter.</figcaption> </figure>  Jamuna Bista, 22, died on her way back down to Rukum because she could not get medical care in time. Her family cremated her by lighting a pile of shrubs and roots gathered from the arid slopes.&nbsp; Apart from the difficult terrain, yarsa harvest is getting riskier because of higher temperatures, winter drought and unseasonal rain caused by climate breakdown. This affects the yarsa which needs a temperature of between -15°C &nbsp;to -5°C during the winter and pre-monsoon rain to grow properly and emerge partially from the ground.&nbsp; “Looking at the declining yarsa harvest and climate change, we are forced to question if yarsa will soon be extinct,” says Bishwo Babu Shrestha, warden of Shey Phoksundo National Park.&nbsp; This means a major source of livelihood for underserved families in the lower valleys of western Nepal will be in jeopardy, exacerbating the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/brain-gain-into-brain-drain">outmigration trend</a>. As more pickers return empty-handed or with losses that have driven them into debt, the families struggle to support their children.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_b6e6cb98c55696a49569229554a59686ec32e39096e1a03c37857e6e2940e34e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2024083018080_b6e6cb98c55696a49569229554a59686ec32e39096e1a03c37857e6e2940e34e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1416" height="877" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> </figure>  Kunsang Dorje Gurung, 38, of Tinje in Upper Dolpo harvested his first yarsagumba when he was 12. “It was like finding a gold nugget,” Dorje recalled. “I felt an intense energy.”&nbsp; However, in 26 years since, he has noticed a steep decline in the pickings, and the few yarsa that are collected are of poor quality. “I used to make up to Rs300,000 a season back in the day but now, I barely earn Rs30,000,” he says. Gurung blames this on a prolonged drought that also sparked wildfires across the mountains. Some families even performed rituals, praying for rain and a good yarsa harvest. “I don’t have any other job,” says Gurung. “The only thing I know is collecting yarsa. If I find enough, it’s a good year. If not, I have nothing.” Researchers have also plotted the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/giving-yarsagumba-a-chance-for-regrowth">decline in yarsa harvests</a> in the past five years. A kilogram of high-quality yarsa would have between 2,500-2,900 pieces, but now even 4,000 yarsa pieces do not make 1kg.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_daa088be0c5fa992dc5bba26be84e9ee89f66b161cdc9134cb7113992f71ddf2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2024083018080_daa088be0c5fa992dc5bba26be84e9ee89f66b161cdc9134cb7113992f71ddf2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1043" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> <figcaption>A local woman prepares cooking fuel at 4,500m in Upper Dolpo.</figcaption> </figure>  “Yarsa has been a huge source of income, but its ecological, economic, and social impacts are far-reaching,” says Suraj Upadhaya, of the School of Agriculture, Communities and the Environment at Kentucky State University.&nbsp; There is also a tax of Rs31,000 for every kg of yarsa, which pickers often avoid paying. Shey Phoksundo National Park also collects a Rs500 yarsa fee from every resident and Rs2,000 from those outside, making it easy to track the number of harvesters. Last year, Rs85,000 was collected in fees, whereas this year the figure jumped to Rs10.86 million, hinting at enormous overharvesting. Trampling is also another cause of low harvests, researchers say, increased human activity on the slopes means the top soil is compacted, preventing the next cycle of growth.&nbsp; All this means that the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19382">poorest Nepalis </a>are losing an extra source of income that was allowing them to survive.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_df7b151ecb439ead56150934aba4b65786b946d46383f4ba542a61008ac6984e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2024083018080_df7b151ecb439ead56150934aba4b65786b946d46383f4ba542a61008ac6984e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> <figcaption>Harvesters look for yarsa in steep slopes of Upper Dolpo.</figcaption> </figure>  Warns Warden Shrestha: “This is going to unleash an economic crisis in the region, families will not have the money to buy food leading to starvation.” &nbsp; The desperation is already apparent in the rise in crime. Robbers loot pickers on their way down from the mountains, stealing their yarsa or money, or both. There are also territorial disputes between locals and pickers from outside. In 2009, seven people were killed in Manang in a fight.&nbsp; Overharvesting of yarsa also impacts on many other species in the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-shey-phoksundo-in-nepal,3596">Shey Phoksundo National Park’s fragile high altitude ecosystem</a> where plants take a lot longer to grow. The endangered animals here like the snow leopard, Tibetan wolf, and blue sheep are also affected by the human impact on their food chain, as well as poaching. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_4a3c0997036eec9fee4cf561f2afdbf8a42a80996d3c7f42b1a92847ce065dda.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2024083018080_4a3c0997036eec9fee4cf561f2afdbf8a42a80996d3c7f42b1a92847ce065dda" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> </figure>  “We have not been able to manage this systematically,” admits Shrestha, adding that despite funding from the government, royalties, and tariff collection from locals, many of the security posts lack staff to enforce regulation. “Dolpo used to be a self-sustaining barter economy, but now everything has to be bought,” says Upadhaya whose research suggests that alternative crops like olives can provide a good source of income in the region. Yarsa’s instant reward, however, means local people cannot wait for returns from such long-term investment.&nbsp; Worryingly, much of the income generated from yarsa hasn’t been diverted to productive sectors either. Most of the locals have spent their money on renovating their houses and on consumer items. &nbsp; As Nepal’s road network expands and snakes up through Dolpo, the remotest corners of the Himalaya are being connected. This <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/dazzling-dolpo">can open up new opportunities </a>including the region’s potential for religious and eco-tourism that can provide an alternative livelihood for yarsa pickers. <h2>Easy pickings</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024083018080_bebf6aaf638cf8ffeed7ac09ae1a3eb93ff4a4f206e39e291c4654d73711ea3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2024083018080_bebf6aaf638cf8ffeed7ac09ae1a3eb93ff4a4f206e39e291c4654d73711ea3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush NT"> </figure>  Pratap Rokaya, 48, is a social studies teacher at Shree Shelri Drugdra School in Saldang in Upper Dolpo, and like his students, started collecting the fungus when he was 17. Despite having a government job, Rokaya says he needs the additional income.&nbsp; Such is the economic significance of yarsa that schools in the region are shut during the harvest season, allowing children to tag along with their parents so that they can also help pick with their keen eye-sight and nimble fingers. &nbsp; “Even though such long breaks are not good for students, their guardians are left with no choice,” Rokaya adds. “We are heavily dependent on yarsa because traditional farming is not enough to support families.”&nbsp; Dhanbir Bista is in Grade 5 but has not been to school for more than a month because he is up here scouring the steep slope on his hands and knees. “I feel bad for leaving school but I have to come here to support my father,” he tells us. Dhanbir’s father, Bhim Bahadur, adds, “It’s very risky to bring young ones, especially after I heard that people from my own village have died. But we need the extra pair of hands.”&nbsp;

The human cost of Nepal’s yarsa gold rush

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At exactly 9AM on 16 August, a 4.5M earthquake hit Xizang on the Tibetan Plateau. Four hours later, 65km away in Nepal, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">a glacial lake burst</a> unleashing a cascade of destruction downstream. It is not certain if that tremor so nearby caused the lake to burst — either because an avalanche on the south ridge of Mt Tengi Ragi Tau fell into it, or heavy monsoon rain led to the collapse of a moraine. Either way, the snowmelt emptied into another lake below and unleashed a debris flow that roared down the valley to the village of Thame. Fortunately, children at a school had gone home early that Friday and inhabitants had time to climb to safety when they heard the approaching roar. There were no fatalities. Thame was not as lucky on 4 August 1985, when a bigger lake in an adjacent valley, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">Dig Tso, burst after an avalanche fell on it</a>. Twelve people were swept away by the ensuing flood, a newly built hydropower plant was destroyed, and a section of the Everest trekking trail was washed away.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climactic-change">Glaciologist Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa</a> remembers his mother telling him that their home in Namche Bazaar was spared because it was on higher ground. “But she told us that with trails destroyed, food and supplies couldn’t reach us. At one point, her family had to survive on rotten potatoes,” recalls Sherpa, who works at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and uses remote sensing to map climate-induced hazards in the Himalaya. &nbsp; He says the Thame flood this week was a reminder of the inherent risk of living in the mountains which are magnified by climate breakdown. And the region is still very much at risk.&nbsp; “To the south, we have Lumding Tso, a potentially dangerous glacial lake that also empties into the Dudh Kosi, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis">to the west in Rolwaling is Tso Rolpa</a>, a lake that is now 3km long. And to the north is Dig Tsho, which burst in 1985,” says Sherpa.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240823050844_34eedc4fb5b287a3b861a2b2196758c635d011ec5666bac2031a8c6f0bde801b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240823050844_34eedc4fb5b287a3b861a2b2196758c635d011ec5666bac2031a8c6f0bde801b" data-rendition-name="original" width="623" height="695" loading="lazy" alt="Thame flood map"> </figure>  "We are facing one of the worst disasters since the Dig Tso flood. This is a wake-up call, not just for us in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">Khumbu</a>, but for the entire Himalaya to rethink our ways, find alternatives to reduce the risks, and explore measures to protect ourselves," he adds. The Thame flood was a smaller disaster compared to the flood that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">destroyed the Melamchi headworks in 2021</a>, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">massive Sikkim flood last year</a>, or the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-lost-cannot-be-repaid">debris flow that ravaged Kagbeni</a>. All were caused by glacial lake bursts or moraine collapses due to extreme rainfall. Anil Pokhrel of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) flew to Thame on Saturday morning to inspect the glaciers above the village. He confirmed that two of five small glacial lakes below Tashi Lapcha pass had caused the flood. Satellite data shows that till two years ago, there were only four lakes.&nbsp; Across the Himalaya, there are now thousands of new glacial lakes that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Lake,1404">do not even have names</a>. In Nepal most of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/danger-nepal-s-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up">21 most dangerous ones</a> are located in the centre and east of the country, but there are dozens of enlarged lakes in China which drain into tributaries of rivers that flow into Nepal like the two Bhote Kosis, Arun and Tama Kosi.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240823050844_4e2cc8d68aea97f2b8262553ada6d911acf0ff1883b5454b151e85effde1745e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240823050844_4e2cc8d68aea97f2b8262553ada6d911acf0ff1883b5454b151e85effde1745e" data-rendition-name="original" width="920" height="496" loading="lazy" alt="at risk GLOFs in Nepal map"> </figure>  Some of these lakes are infamous because of their volume, the rate at which they are expanding, and the potential danger they pose to populations downstream — like Tso Rolpa, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/walking-the-talk-on-climate">Imja Tso</a> and Thulagi. But the Thame flood, and others like the Nare Lake outburst below <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-it-about-ama-dablam">Ama Dablam</a> in 1977 show that even smaller lakes can cause massive damage. In fact, it does not even take a lake burst to cause destructive debris flows. The Melamchi and Kagbeni floods appear to have been caused by moraines that collapsed in unusually heavy rain because they were no longer cemented by permafrost.&nbsp; Even a relatively small flood like the one in Thame can be damaging far downstream. The debris flow moved swiftly downstream, destroying a Rs80 million bridge on the Dudh Kosi in Okhaldhunga. Most villages downstream had been evacuated, so there were no casualties. If the flood had been bigger, it would have threatened <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">major hydropower projects</a> on the Dudh Kosi. “We cannot ignore smaller lakes anymore,” warns Pokhrel of NDRRMA. “We often think and plan from a hazard perspective, how big a disaster can be. But we must also look at risk, possible cascade damage on downstream communities.”&nbsp; Thame is at 3,840m elevation, but Pokhrel says he was surprised by how warm it was up there this week. “It felt like Kathmandu,” he says. “And satellite imagery shows accelerated melting of the upstream in the past month which could have led to the cascading collapse of the two lakes.”&nbsp; Glacial lake outbursts and debris flows are going to be more destructive and frequent in Nepal in the coming years, making them a fact of life. Seismic risk in the Himalaya adds to the dangers posed by the climate emergency. Local communities and governments have no option but to adapt by installing early warning systems, planning <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-s-cooking-in-nepal-besides-politics">smaller decentralised hydropower schemes</a>, moving settlements and infrastructure higher, and conducting detailed hazard mapping. “Thame showed us we cannot only rely on satellite mapping, and why in-situ observation is so important in a country with such a diverse topography and climate as ours,” says Sherpa. “There are more than 50,000 glaciers in the Himalayan region and we haven’t even studied 1% of them.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024082108084_aa61ab79fcc840b34f0392965affa0dbe6ad7c86f99c8b0205b0ce49c9584c64.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2024082108084_aa61ab79fcc840b34f0392965affa0dbe6ad7c86f99c8b0205b0ce49c9584c64" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="thame flood"> <figcaption>Thame flood this week. Photos: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Despite the scarcity of field data, there have been considerable advances in remote sensing technologies that have helped fill this gap in data and help understand the changing cryosphere. ICIMOD’s recent report shows that glacier mass loss has increased by 65% in recent decades. The report also warns that the risk of flooding could increase much more in the coming century. Because so many of Nepal’s rivers are transboundary, a bilateral early warning mechanism with China is also urgent. Because of the scale of the danger, Nepal needs resources from the international community for adaptation, as well as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/lost-and-damaged">loss and damage reparation</a> to cope with future risk. “Our government needs to get in touch with the Chinese government to conduct a study of glacier lakes located near Tibet, which are the source of glaciers in Nepal. We should collaborate on early warning system and implementing risk reduction measures,” says Anil Pokhrel.&nbsp; Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa co-founded a global advocacy campaign called <a href="https://saveoursnow.earth/">#SaveOurSnow</a> last year to provide local communities with agency to deal with climate induced risk. Supporters of the campaign include former new Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, celebrity mountaineers like Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Kenton Cool and the descendants of Tenzing Norgay. Says Sherpa: “As glaciers melt and lakes expand, disasters like Thame will be more frequent, we have to adapt. We need to tell our stories to the world, even as they continue to debate on the topic, we are already facing the brunt of it without having caused it ourselves. At local levels, we have to get back on our feet and prepare for what's coming.”&nbsp;

Lives on the line in the Himalaya

Himalayan farmers are at the forefront of the climate crisis, having to deal with extreme heat or cold, prolonged droughts or excessive rain, landslides and floods.&nbsp; But they are also the most resilient farmers, who have struggled on their own for generations to grow enough food on terraces meticulously carved into the fragile top soils of the slopes.&nbsp; “The government did not know or care about us farmers up here,” says Surya Adhikari, 70. “We have to adapt to climate change on our own, just like all the other problems we have dealt with in the past.” Indeed, the problems of Himalayan mountain agriculture predate climate change, and for farmers like Adhikari it is just the latest crisis they have to deal with.&nbsp; In his own lifetime, Adhikari has seen the snowline recede up the Annapurna range that towers over his village of Sundari Danda near Pokhara, and once predictable weather patterns have become erratic. Adhikari has responded by diversifying crops, ensuring irrigation, and protecting indigenous seeds.&nbsp; Climate scientists say the Himalayan mountains are warming up to 0.7°C more than the global average due a phenomenon called ‘altitude effect’. In 2023, global average temperature rose by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and this means in these mountains the increase was 2.2°C. &nbsp; Part of the impact is record-breaking heat even at a 1,500m elevation in these villages near Pokhara, and there have been successive years of dry winters. This spring saw record-breaking wildfires that raged for months nationwide, and many of the surrounding slopes around Begnas and Rupa lakes still bear the scars of fires. &nbsp; These changes combined with economic factors have intensified out-migration with some districts like Kaski seeing a 17% drop in population since 2011.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-hits-himalayan-rice">Climate change hits Himalayan rice</a>, Erica Wu Even though rural youth are migrating out, Nepal is still a predominantly agricultural country with two-thirds of the population dependent on farming, and 33% of the GDP coming from agriculture. &nbsp; Thus, when late monsoons delay the planting of rice or when droughts destroy crops, it is not just the agricultural sector that suffers but the country’s economy as a whole. Nepal is already a net importer of food products, and imports have grown most noticeably in the last 10 years. This year’s monsoon so far has been higher than normal, and paddy planting is supposed to be nearly 100% nationwide. But cloudbursts have also set off landslides and flashfloods. This week, 12 more people were killed in landslides in Gulmi and Baglung, bringing the total death toll since June to at least 175. &nbsp;&nbsp; The trend over the past decade has been that monsoon rains start later than usual. There are extended dry spells followed by destructive local downpours. Groundwater levels have fallen due to insufficient recharge and over-extraction, making springs go dry.&nbsp; Without adequate government investment in building and maintaining irrigation systems, farmers in many rural areas are entirely at the mercy of the rains.&nbsp; Delayed planting leaves fields barren and susceptible to erosion of nutritious top soil, while also pushing back the harvest cycle. When the rains do come, intense storms damage or destroy crops.&nbsp; Similarly, pests previously found only in the Tarai or those entirely foreign to Nepal such as the American fall armyworm, which targets maize, are moving up the mountains. Agriculture in Nepal is mostly subsistence to begin with, but the climate crisis has pushed them off the edge, forcing many to abandon their fields and migrate to the cities or abroad. Pokhara-based LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development) works in 23 districts to improve livelihoods of small farmers while conserving biodiversity. It has proven answers to help farmers adapt to the impact climate crisis, and just needs the government to scale up the measures nationwide. &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/agroecology-nepals-answer-to-climate-change/">Agroecology, Nepal’s answer to climate change</a>, Zachary Barton <h2>Focus on farms</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240810030828_c671b6bc493c63b7c4360ee68e5e613e846173e7fcfce9edad7a20f711b5c271.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240810030828_c671b6bc493c63b7c4360ee68e5e613e846173e7fcfce9edad7a20f711b5c271" data-rendition-name="original" width="2250" height="1483" loading="lazy" alt="Helping farmers who help themselves NT"> <figcaption>Local seeds on display at the Pingdanda Community Seed Bank in Sindhupalchok. Photo: LI-BIRD PHOTO BANK</figcaption> </figure>  Indigenous paddy, wheat, millet and buckwheat seeds are hardier than imported hybrids, and better able to adapt to a hotter climate. They have evolved to local soils and the micro-climate, and are genetically better suited to deal with changes. This is what the Pokhara-based action research organisation LI-BIRD is trying to do: preserve indigenous crop varieties through its seed banks, and distribute them through farmer-owned cooperatives. “When working to improve agriculture, we have to keep farmers at the front and centre, particularly their traditional knowledge,” says Bishnu Bhusal of LI-BIRD. “Bringing outside knowledge is not going to work here.” LI-BIRD’s Participatory Plant Breeding initiative gathers a variety of seed samples of local crops from farmers and plants them side-by-side (pictured, right). Those samples deemed most fit by farmers in terms of yield, weather and pest resistance are then distributed across the country by the Community Seed Bank Association.&nbsp; Local seed banks, collections of region-specific seeds made available to farmers, allow for what Bhusal says is “conservation through use”. This ensures that indigenous crops have a chance to evolve, and do not face extinction from natural disasters or climate change. &nbsp; While imported high-yielding seed varieties are tempting, they also require expensive chemical fertiliser and pesticide inputs, which also end up destroying the soil. Indigenous seeds are significantly more resilient and reliable.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240810030828_942defea210563ec5726a55bb704f21aaf31c21167b60e36573e38312a912367.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240810030828_942defea210563ec5726a55bb704f21aaf31c21167b60e36573e38312a912367" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Helping farmers who help themselves NT"> <figcaption>A Farmers Field School in Kanchanpur observing a plot with diverse varieties of rice with help from LI-BIRD. Photo: LI-BIRD PHOTO BANK</figcaption> </figure>  “Even with minimal care and inputs, local varieties survive,” explains Jenny Shrestha of LI-BIRD. “This means less fertiliser, pesticide, and water are needed.” &nbsp; Indigenous seeds are naturally adapted to local environmental conditions and thus are more resistant to pests, droughts, and other disasters, she adds.&nbsp; “When the climate changes, harvest reduction is much greater in imported seed varieties than local indigenous varieties,” Shrestha says, pointing to the performance of Setho Dabdi wheat variety native to Doti which in tests in 2022 gave higher yield than imported wheat despite a winter drought. &nbsp; While crop dependability is important, so is sustainable income. Landscape Branding, whereby agro products are marketed for being endemic to a certain region demanding high market value, has become an incentive for farmers to return to local indigenous crops.&nbsp; Two such crops are Pokhareli Jethobudho, a rice native to Pokhara and admired for its aroma, and Setho Kaguno, the foxtail millet native to the fields near Begnas and Rupa Lakes. Both products are branded and marketed by the social enterprise Annapaat, guaranteeing farmers a set minimum rate. In coordination with local governments, farmers are reimbursed if they are unable to sell their products at or above that rate, which for Setho Kaguno is Rs120 per kg.&nbsp; LI-BIRD’s success with seeds are now being upscaled by the government. The Crop Development and Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture is helping farmers across 30 districts with money to preserve local crops.&nbsp; Government subsidy on organic pesticides is also encouraging sustainable farming methods, although there is skepticism whether it is the government or non-profits driving this initiative. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-sets-ambitious-target-for-food-sufficiency">Nepal sets ambitious target for food sufficiency</a>, Ramesh Kumar <h2>Alternative cash crops</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240810030836_b77279b877b4b5f584c8d4a4b05a0a4e451afc836645e9d781f278ab685e2a6e.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240810030836_b77279b877b4b5f584c8d4a4b05a0a4e451afc836645e9d781f278ab685e2a6e" data-rendition-name="original" width="469" height="295" loading="lazy" alt="Helping farmers who help themselves NT"> <figcaption>Photo: JANA AŠENBRENNEROVÁ</figcaption> </figure>  Resilience to the impact of the climate crisis can also come from diversifying to cash crops that raise household incomes, allowing farmers more breathing space.&nbsp; Surya Adhikari is a well-known plant breeder in Begnas, and has begun noticing troubling environmental changes after more than 40 years working in agriculture.&nbsp; “In the last five years, it has become so hot that it is hard to stay in the village and the crops won’t grow because there are so many bugs and pests,” he says. &nbsp; So, Adhikari has taken to coffee and fruits, which have proven to be more resistant to heat stress compared to traditional crops such as rice, which he used to grow. Coffee takes up minimal space and enriches soil quality, while also allowing other crops to be grown in between.&nbsp; But with pests and erratic rainfall becoming even bigger threats of late, Adhikari is diversifying further to moringa, nicknamed ‘Miracle Tree’ for its myriad medicinal benefits.&nbsp; Moringa leaves are used in dietary supplements, are rich in vitamins, have antioxidant properties and fetch a high market price. &nbsp; Moringa is fast-growing and drought resistant, and Adhikari was a pioneer in introducing the tree to Nepal, but wishes the government was more proactive in helping market this unique product.&nbsp; Government inaction is a given, Adhikari reckons, and this means farmers like him have to find innovative ways to adapt to the climate crisis on their own.&nbsp; He says, “The government makes a policy but it is often short-sighted, and on-the-ground implementation never really happens.” &nbsp; Whether it is seed preservation or climate-change education, rural farmers are therefore on their own. This means climate impact, on top of lack of jobs and opportunities, is driving increased outmigration. &nbsp; “The government is happy to neglect farmers because there is enough money coming from overseas remittances,” says Adhikari, “We have to bring changes on our own.” &nbsp; Which is why Adhikari is organising farmers so there is strength in numbers, and adaptation ideas can be shared more widely. The National Farmers Group Federation is playing this role as an umbrella organisation for advocacy organisations at the village, district, and central levels. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-karnali-s-hunger-emergency">The Karnali’s hunger emergency</a>, Anita Bhetwal <h2>Mighty Millet</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240810030828_7e2dda4ed82e232f62512d54f7d72b0c4457f8df6bbe59187b3ee323606fc3ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240810030828_7e2dda4ed82e232f62512d54f7d72b0c4457f8df6bbe59187b3ee323606fc3ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Helping farmers who help themselves NT"> <figcaption>Farmers harvesting Proso Millet in Humla. Photo: LI-BIRD PHOTO BANK </figcaption> </figure>  Although she may not have an official title, Ambika Bhandari is a leader in her village. Five years ago, she began piloting the Setho Kaguno variety of local millet on her farm, previously having grown maize like many locals.&nbsp; Seeing Bhandari’s strong yield and the higher market value for her millet, neighbouring farmers in the village of Kafalghari in Kaski followed in her footsteps.&nbsp; Changing weather patterns and heat stress convinced farmers to switch from maize to millet. Five years later, Kafalghari today is the biggest Setho Kaguno producing village in the country, harvesting more than 2.56 tonnes last year.&nbsp; Bhandari gets her seeds from LI-BIRD’s seed bank and sells her crop to the non-profit Merit Pokhara, which is run by students also inspired by LI-BIRD’s work with seed preservation.&nbsp; Merit provides farmers like Bhandari with instruction on using phone apps to track rain and temperature patterns so as to ensure planting, harvesting, and drying are carried out at optimal periods.&nbsp; Based on Merit Pokhara’s model, the local government adopted a compensatory scheme to ensure farmers are paid fairly for their produce. Says Bhandari: “This public-private cooperation has been truly helpful. It also proves that we carve out our own destiny even without outside help.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/grain-drain">Grain drain</a>, Chandrakishore 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/20240810030848_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20240810030848_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt=" INPS Japan, Soka Gakkai International, UN ECOSOC"> </figure>

Helping farmers who help themselves

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After I joined the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16458">United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN</a>) in June 2007 as the Language and Admin Assistant, I was assigned to the Arms Monitor section in Nepalganj. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14221">UNMIN</a> was established by the UN Security Council after the end of the Maoist conflict to monitor and implement the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006. Aside from other peacekeeping work, UNMIN maintained and administered <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17163">demobilised Maoist guerrillas</a> in seven main and 21 satellite <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17020">camps across Nepal</a>.
My main role in Nepalganj was to assist the international Sector Commander during meetings with various officials in the Mid-western region, including CDOs of various districts, politicians, security personnel from the police and army.
The first meeting of the Jordanian Sector Commander was at the Nepal Army barrack in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bardia-s-birds">Bardia</a>. Our group consisted of 9 people from the Arms Monitor section from various countries. The Jordanian’s English was easy to understand but the accents of others was harder to comprehend.
Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lost-in-translation"> Lost in translation</a>, Alisha Sijapati
We received a warm welcome from the Nepal Army, and the Battalion Commander explained the situation in the area, and gave us a tour of the base. I was nervous, but thought I had handled the interpretation well enough. Following the meeting, the soldiers served us breakfast.
Inside the personal dining room of the Battalion Commander, I noticed sandwiches, sliced mangoes, Coke, toast, jam, and butter laid out on the table. As we were getting ready to begin, a soldier approached the Commander and whispered something in his ear. The Commander then looked at me and asked, “लोकल कुखुराको मासु र चिउरा खान्छन् कि सोध्नु त?”
I turned to the Jordanian Sector Commander and was relaying the question but got stuck, “Would you like to eat local chicken with...”
Looking back at the Commander I asked: “चिउरालाई के भन्छन् अङ्ग्रेजीमा?” He found it hilarious that I did not know what चिउरा was is in English, and said, “Bitten Rice, हैन त?” He responded as if I had confirmed his unofficial translation. I then finished my sentence to the Sector Commander, asking whether he would like local chicken with “bitten” rice.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/angrezi/mai-commin-sir-qfdjg2uw">"Mai commin, Sir?"</a>, Anbika Giri
Being an interpreter was fun because of gaffes like that that are funny in hindsight. The international staff of the Arms Monitor section were friendly, and were understanding of my difficult sometimes interpreting their English accents. They spoke in brief, simple sentences to make it easy for me.
After the ‘bitten rice’ episode, one day our team was being led by a Swedish military officer for a meeting with the Senior Superintendent of the Nepal Police. We arrived at his station, but he was not there because his force had been busy evicting members of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16873">Maoist Young Communist League (YCL)</a> from a house where they were occupying.
Luckily, both sides resolved the situation through dialogue, and the tension subsided. After meeting the YCL leader, we wanted to get the Police’s side of the story. When the SSP finally arrived, he looked preoccupied and we began promptly once he took his seat.
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19640">"If I were to tell you everything I know about Prachanda ..."</a>
As I was translating his lengthy introduction of himself into a more concise version, I mistakenly referred to him as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rather than an SSP, which seemed to upset him. He asked me to repeat his full introduction correctly, including details about his long and illustrious career.
I quickly apologised and translated his introduction accurately. The Swedish army officer was seated across from him, jotting down notes. The SSP could read his English notes, and instructed me to tell the Swede to write down everything. (“मेरो पुरा परिचय लेख्न भन”)
I told the SSP politely that I was just the interpreter and could not tell the UNMIN officer what to write and not to write in his notebook. The short meeting ended, and the SSP insisted again that I tell the Swedish army officer to add a few more sentences of his introduction to his notes, and not just write ‘SSP’. (“एक दुई वाक्य थप्न भन्नु । ठ्यास्स एसएसपी मात्र त के लेखेको ।”
I held back my laughter because there was no way I could translate “ठ्यास्स” into English. There just is not an equivalent word, and it would need a whole sentence to get the thought across: “Perfunctorily just jot down the bare minimum and get it over with”, or words to that effect.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/angrezi/from-humiliation-to-humility">From humiliation to humility</a>, Anbika Giri
Having a limited English vocabulary, making tons of grammatical errors, and feeling nervous were even more challenging when meeting politicians. It was hard to figure out where politicians put full stops and commas in their sonorous speeches.
Once in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/northwestern-tip-of-nepal-Humla,3430#google_vignette">Simikot of Humla district</a>, I was interpreting speeches at a gathering of over 100 members from various political parties. Everyone spoke passionately as if it was their last chance to be heard. I struggled to understand the local dialect – this was northwestern Nepal, and I am from the southeast.
The subject of the speeches was the rehabilitation of those <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-lingering-trauma-of-war">forced to flee during the Maoist insurgency</a>. A young man, who seemed agitated, was yelling loudly. I stepped in to translate that his family had been forced from home due to the conflict when he was just 16. He was sent to Kathmandu for further education while his parents stayed in a rented house in Nepalganj.
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13684">Youthful rivalry</a>, JOHN NARAYAN PARAJULI
All this was fairly easy to translate, but then he began angrily criticising a leader of the Maoist Party, using rude language. How could I translate such words into English? Besides, I did not even know the English equivalent of those local swearwords.
“मेरो कुरा अङ्ग्रेजीमा भन्दिनु” thundered the man in a menacing voice, asking me not to leave anything out. The Sector Commander asked what the man was going on about, and I told him I did not understand and apologised, while the man kept interrupting and accused me of not translating his tirade, and being biased.
I finally told the man: “तपाईंको गाली मलाई अङ्ग्रेजीमा भन्न आएन। गाली ट्रान्सलेट गर्न आको हो म?” (I cannot translate your curses. Am I here to translate your profanity?)He shouted back (expletives beeped out): “किन जागिर खाको त ? बाउको सोर्स होला... beep... beep... beep..” (Then why were you hired? Your Dad must know someone…)
I moved on to next person in the audience and completely ignored him. However, today as I think back at that day in Humla his angry words still ring in my ears. I wish now I could have told him that I got the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17292">UNMIN</a> interpreter job because a friend had heard about the opening and I filled out the UN’s complicated P11 application form. My Dad had no idea what I was getting into.
Anbika Giri is a novelist and author of children’s books in Nepali. Angrezi is her monthly column in Nepali Times about learning English in Nepal. Read earlier instalments of Angrezi, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/angrezi/from-humiliation-to-humility">here</a>.

Me, the Interpreter

Literature on climate change and its implications tend to use the phrase “impending impacts” to refer to potential or future calamities that may occur. However, the incidences of natural disasters in recent years, and the frequency and intensity with which they are occurring make one wonder if these impacts are still “impending”. 
The devastating calamities India has faced over the past few months certainly seem to suggest that climate change is already manifesting and has come to alter, if not tear asunder, human lives.
The early summer months of 2024 saw the hottest ever heatwaves recorded in India with temperatures rising <a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/delhi-heatwave-residents-coping-heatstroke-high-temperature-dehydration-exhaustion-hospitals-50-degree-celsius/article68225207.ece">above 49</a>°C in its northern regions. As per official figures, 110 people died due to heatwave-related health complications. 
However, public health experts argue that this is gross <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/india-is-likely-undercounting-heat-deaths-affecting-its-response-to-increasingly-harsh-heat-waves/article68366495.ece">undercounting of the actual numbers</a> as heat is often not listed as the cause of death by health practitioners on death certificates. These experts believe that the heat-related deaths in 2024 alone could well be in the thousands.
While a heatwave was searing the northern Indian region, the northeastern states of Assam and Manipur witnessed intense rainfall leading to devastating floods. The state of Manipur, which is already crippled by an ongoing ethnic conflict, faced its third worst floods in 2024 after 1988 and 2015. 
Triggered by cyclone Remal in the last week of May, unprecedented rainfall breached the Nambul and the Imphal river embankments. The floods in the Imphal valley caused three deaths and rendered thousands homeless overnight. There were reports of landslides along the National Highway 37 connecting Manipur to Assam. 
The flood situation in the two states continues as of this writing with the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/assam-manipur-floods-death-toll-rises-to-48-thousands-evacuated-from-rain-related-incidents-10-points-11720070164880.html">combined death toll pegged at 48</a>, while more than a million people have lost their homes and are sheltering in relief camps. The army, the national disaster relief force (NDRF) and their state counterparts have been stretched thin to deal with the disasters and restore infrastructure. 
The economic costs of these calamities, which must be borne by the state funded through taxpayers’ money, are humungous. It is plain to see how these devastations hinder the development agenda, pushing the region years back into poverty and infrastructural and economic decline.
More recently, on 30th July, massive landslides occurred following incessant rainfall in the south Indian state of Kerala’s Wayanad district. The lives of the inhabitants of the picturesque region which usually attracts hordes of tourists and travellers were upended when two massive landslides wiped out their hamlets <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/wayanad-landslides-death-toll-climbs-orange-alert-issued-in-kerala-train-update-schools-colleges-closed-11722386105481.html"> – Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha</a>. 
The <a href="https://www.news18.com/india/wayanad-landslide-focus-on-searching-for-survivors-grows-as-relief-efforts-intensify-top-updates-8988512.html">death toll from this catastrophe</a> as of this writing stands at 308 and thousands injured, many severely, even as rescue operations continue to be underway. The disaster has <a href="https://www.news18.com/india/wayanad-landslide-focus-on-searching-for-survivors-grows-as-relief-efforts-intensify-top-updates-8988512.html">displaced nearly 10,000 people</a> across 91 makeshift relief camps in the state. The tireless rescue efforts of the combined forces of the army, the navy, the NDRF and local volunteers are being strained and delayed due to persisting inclement weather.
In yet another incident of extreme weather-related disaster, on 3rd August, the northern Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh witnessed <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uttarakhand-himachal-pradesh-cloudbursts-landslides-kedarnath-pilgrims-rescued-iaf-choppers-drones-2576166-2024-08-03">cloudbursts causing a combined death of at least 23 people</a> while scores remain still missing. 
In a heart wrenching account of pain and loss, <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/entire-village-washed-away-in-himachal-cloudburst-just-1-house-remains-6252923">Anita Devi of Samej village</a> in Himachal recounted how her entire village was swept away by the rain, bar her house alone. “Only our house survived the devastation, but everything else was swept away before my eyes. Now, I don't know who I should stay with,” Devi said to media persons. 
Bakshi Ram, an elderly resident of the same village was away that fateful night. He told reporters that his family members of “around 15 people, were swept away in the flood”. 
Here too, rescue operations led by the army, the central reserve police force, the NDRF and its state counterparts, and the home-guards are underway in the hope of finding survivors. The rebuilding of infrastructures such as roads, bridges and sanitation are bound to take some time, while hundreds of lives have been altered forever.
The capital city, New Delhi, and the satellite towns of Gurugram and Noida also proved that they were extremely ill-prepared to face heavy rains. 
On 30th of July, the National Capital Region (NCR) <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhi-records-over-100-mm-rainfall-in-an-hour-waterlogging-in-key-areas-6233785">received 100 mm rainfall</a> for approximately an hour. This led to waterlogging in several areas prompting the weatherman to issue a red alert. There were massive traffic jams and blockades, causing immense inconveniences to commuters during the rush hour. 
<a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/delhi-ncr-rain-flights-affected-traffic-jam-waterlogging-deaths-imd-forecast-alerts-flooding-2574772-2024-08-01">Ten people were reported dead</a> in rain-related incidents in the Delhi NCR region. In another bizarre incident related to rain-led waterlogging, three students met an untimely death as they became trapped in the flooded basement library of <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-upsc-centre-flooding-aspirants-death-9480139/">Rau’s</a>, the coaching institute where they were studying for the prestigious India Civil Services examination
These extreme weather events which India has faced in the first half of 2024 alone show how climate change is exerting its effects on the land and its people, while also exposing how ill-prepared the country is to face these calamities. <a href="https://thewire.in/environment/nightmare-in-wayanad-torrential-rains-triggered-landslides-but-climate-change-may-not-be-the-sole-culprit">There are reports</a> which suggest that the devastating impacts of these weather events could have been minimised with better preparation, coordination, and planning. 
Others see fault in the way in which <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/after-landslides-in-wayanad-kill-over-100-questions-over-development/articleshow/112164032.cms">infrastructural development projects</a> have been designed and executed with scant regard for ecological vulnerabilities. A political blame game has ensued over how supposedly available warnings were not heeded in the case of Kerala. The unfortunate fact is that all the above arguments hold some truth to them.
Regardless of who is to be held responsible for the colossal damage and irreparable loss to human lives, the stark truth remains that India is ill prepared to meet the challenges of climate change. Science tells us with increasing confidence that frequent and intense weather-related calamities will occur in the Indian subcontinent. The impact these will have on human lives, infrastructure, and the economy will be several times higher than in regions with better coping capacities. 
Climate change needs to be seen as a threat to the overall security of the people and by extension, that of the nation. With time running out very quickly to abate the global impacts of climate change, India must put all hands-on-deck to bolster adaptation and resilience mechanisms especially in its many fragile ecosystems and regions. 
Climate change must take the political centerstage and become a subject of the political agenda, something which is sorely missing as was witnessed in <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2024/climate-change-the-missing-agenda-in-indias-recent-elections.html">the 2024 general elections</a>. The future of the country is perilous as it stands today. The calamities witnessed over the past few months are writings on the wall in bold.
Robert Mizo is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delhi and holds a PhD in Climate Policy studies. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Toda Peace Institute, Tokyo.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2024/indias-climate-calamities.html">the original</a> with their permission.

India’s climate calamities

On a certain February morning earlier this year, we gathered in the drawing room of a friend, reading through the drafts of a set of four books for children, by Luja Mathema. The books, “Unstoppable Women Series” features four Nepali women who are icons of courage, intelligence and perseverance. It was the first time I was seeing books for children on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/50-outstanding-women-of-nepal">female figures from Nepal</a>. Our friend Prawin Adhikari, who also translated the books from English into Nepali, had made available his space so that Luja, Iva Maharjan, and I could join him to proofread the books, created over a period of 18 months. Across a slow day, punctuated by coffees and teas, we read the stories about these four women: Entrepreneur<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ambica-shrestha-1933-2024-9kaynjv7"> Late Ambica Shrestha</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-singing-nun-is-a-hit-in-china">Ani Choying Drolma</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">Jurist Sapana Pradhan Malla</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Mountaineer Late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</a>. The first book I picked was the one on Ani Choying Drolma, someone I had met through my work as a journalist. The first time I saw her, she was sat on the floor of a raised platform inside a hall at Yak and Yeti, performing to an audience to raise funds for the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18218">Aryatara School for nuns</a>. I was a rookie reporter and it was one of my first stories. But seated on the floor as Ani’s chants filled the room I felt I had been removed to someplace else. I had been taken on an inward journey, not just one of music but one of profound gratitude. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7229#.YVVcFC8w3u0">Pilgrim's progress</a>, Alexandra Alter I went back to the newsroom, holding three DV tapes to edit, not knowing how I would fit the story of such force in a two-minute broadcast. But I did anyway. Between my news editor Binod Bhattarai and I, we came up with the title, “the singing nun”, for the story. A colleague from The Kathmandu Post came over to watch the tapes and write the story-- he would call her the singing nun, too. Anchor story, Page 1. The experience of writing/producing a story can shift something in you. Covering Ani's performance was such an experience for me. I came away feeling braver. It is this change that Luja hopes to inspire in children through the books she has written. Between proofing, I had asked Luja what had drawn her to write the books and she said she had written them for her daughter, because she found that when buying books, she was hardly ever able to find books about female heroes. So, she felt the need to write them herself!&nbsp; “I want my daughter, as well as the children of Nepal and all over to learn about these individuals and their positive impact in our society,” says Luja whoa lso works as a Gender and Communications consultant outside of her writing career. “I want the children to be encouraged, excited, and hopeful. Having access to such stories at a young age is crucial to increase children’s awareness about all the possibilities in the world.” Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Israeli-authors-in-Nepal,4223#google_vignette">Imagining better futures</a>, Duksangh Sherpa A couple of years ago, I was watching an animated film with my nephew, which had a female ship captain as the lead. I recall how fascinated my nephew was while watching the film. He had many questions about the character. One of the things he asked me was how come he had never watched a film with “girl captains” before? So, it is these beginnings that count and it is what excites me about Luja’s books. Spending a day proofing her books is the only time I’ve ever met Luja. But in those few hours, I was fascinated by her drive to get the books done and to put them out on the shelves for children to come find them. “I hope that both children and parents enjoy the stories of these unstoppable women from Nepal,” says Luja. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/for-children-about-children">For children, about children</a>, Ashish Dhakal The second book I picked to proof from the set was the one on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ambica-shrestha-92-442e9mix">Ambica Shrestha</a>, who was still among us when we were reading together that day. When we come to the part where she arrives in Darjeeling and joins Loreto Convent, there’s an illustration of her looking out through the window of the convent with a friend. At that, I teared up and I suppose there was a catch in my voice. I had met Ambica Shrestha for the first time at a Loreto alumni meeting. And every time I met her after that, she said hello. What I really took away from seeing her each time was the way she carried herself-- always so tall in the things she did and never afraid. As a fellow alumna, I hoped I had somehow inherited some of her traits. The common thread that binds the four books is the determination and strength of character of all the four women featured. The text is replete with anecdotes of inner strength that helped them forge unique paths.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70" data-rendition-name="original" width="1426" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Passing the baton on, books on female figures from Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Luja Mathema and her books.</figcaption> </figure>  The books series by Luja reminds one of the <a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/products/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls">Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls</a> series, stories about girls from around the world who went on to do great things. The marvel in doing so is that even when one might only be doing it for oneself sometimes, the drive and the courage eventually serves as inspiration for others. And while Luja’s attempt in bringing these books together was rooted in the intent to gift them to her own daughter, she has gone on to set substantial precedents for others to create books about Nepali women. The books are illustrated by artists <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/365-is-not-just-a-number">Prakash Ranjit</a>, Shaili Malla and Nhuja Shakya. Shaili captures some details of Boudha in the illustrations that you would only notice if you grew up in the vicinity. Nhuja’s illustration on the last page of the book on Pasang Lhamu is steeped in pathos, and yet salvages the book from what might have been a dreary ending. And on a personal note, Prakash’s drawings of LC, makes me want to visit Darjeeling. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/female-foeticide-to-football">Female foeticide to football</a>, Srijana Singh Thakuri What I like most about these books is that they are bilingual. The Nepali and the English text appear alongside each other on each page. From my experience of reading to my nephew at bedtime, I do wish that the font size had been larger and more eye-friendly. Regardless, I can’t wait to bring the books home to my nephew, so I can share with him the stories of the Unstoppable Ambica, Ani, Pasang and Sapana. The books, published by Nepalaya, will be launched in Kathmandu on September 1, 2024. Suburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people (with some names changed) in Pratibha’s life.

The Unstoppables

With the ongoing war, innocent <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396">death and destruction in Palestine by Israel</a>, the recognition of the state of Palestine stands out as the most complicated issue in the history of state recognition.&nbsp; Both Israel and Palestine have their own history and geography as well as their supporters and opponents. Israel's war in the region is escalating, as the air strikes on Lebanon on Sunday shows.&nbsp; It should be acknowledged that Israel and Palestine have equal rights to statehood, to exist, to defend, and to live in peace. Israel and Nepal both applied for <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/5-facts-about-nepals-un-membership/">membership of the UN at the General Assembly</a> in 1949. Israel’s application was proceeded by the Assembly and approved by the Security Council in the same year.&nbsp; Nepal’s membership was blocked until 1955 at the Security Council because of a Soviet veto. In 1960 Nepal was the first South Asian country to recognise Israel by a unilateral government decision and established diplomatic relations. Nepal supported Palestine statehood both at the Non-Aligned forum in the 1980s and the UN General Assembly in recent times. Nepal should now make a formal and unilateral declaration in support of full recognition of the State of Palestine.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-world-s-moral-failure-in-gaza">The world’s moral failure in Gaza</a>, Graça Machel This should be a declaration similar to what Nepal government issued vis-a-vis Israel decades ago, and a new declaration is especially warranted because of the misuse of the veto power by the United States, blocking Palestine’s full membership of the UN. Nepal may emphatically remind itself of being similarly blocked from becoming a UN member for five years because of the Soviet veto. The Palestine question has become a ‘politics of international law’ within and outside the UN. In May 2024, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68983650">the General Assembly referred a proposal to the Security Council</a>, calling for the admission of Palestine as a full member of the UN. The United States used its veto against it. After the US veto Norway, Ireland, Spain and several European countries declared Palestine statehood unilaterally.&nbsp; Informed debate on Palestinian statehood is a rare subject in the Nepali media. Hamas terror on 7 October, 2023 in Israel in which <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepalis-confirmed-killed-in-hamas-attack">10 Nepali students were killed</a> and one Nepali citizen is still being hostage, was rightly condemned by the Nepal government and media.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/hamas-releases-thais-but-where-is-bipin">Hamas releases Thais, but where is Bipin?</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240827110848_99ae0b3f0825f77dbc91027d5084b46e6b44318a11067dfbc967824925ed5656.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240827110848_99ae0b3f0825f77dbc91027d5084b46e6b44318a11067dfbc967824925ed5656" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Damage after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on October 2023 NT 2"> <figcaption>The damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal area in Gaza City on October 9 2023. Photo: NAAMAN OMAR/ WIKIMEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  Anyone who believes in international rule of law must condemn acts of terrorism whether it is by state or non-state actors. But the Nepal government and media seem to be silent on condemning acts of genocide in Gaza. This is despite the<a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react/experts-react-what-the-international-court-of-justice-said-and-didnt-say-in-the-genocide-case-against-israel/"> International Court of Justice acknowledging ‘plausible genocide’</a> by Israel that is not a proportinate response to terrorism.&nbsp; The Nepal government should declare Palestine statehood in the same manner as Prime Minister BP Koirala's government recognised Israel in 1960 -- a bold, unilateral and formal recognition – even though Nepal voted in favour of Palestine in resolutions at the UN General Assembly and Non-Aligned countries' conferences. Of 193 UN member states, 146 have voted for and 94 countries have established formal diplomatic relations with Palestine, yet it is still being <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15670.doc.htm">blocked from full UN membership</a>. The state practice of recognition follows political realities and the process varies from case to case. In the case of Palestine, especially in opposition to the United States veto, Nepal should make an official endorsement with other countries like Norway and Spain to strengthen the de jure status of Palestine. &nbsp; Nepal’s expressed solidarity with Palestine is noteworthy, but voting in UN resolutions is not enough for de jure recognition of Palestine since the Security Council approval is lacking. The<a href="https://press.un.org/en/2024/ga12599.doc.htm"> UN General Assembly only gave de facto recognition of Palestine</a>, which helped to upgrade its non-state observer status to a UN member. However, it is still awaiting recognition of de jure sovereignty as well as full membership of the UN. Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/protests-of-despair"> Protests of despair</a>, Slavoj Žižek Right or wrong, the Security Council has ultimate authority to declare so-called ‘hard law’. Under the UN hierarchy of its five permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have the authority to block any substantive decision. UN records shows that the United States has used its veto 42 times in favour of Israel. All attempts to recognise Palestine’s de jure sovereignty have been blocked by the United States. Contrary to the Security Council, the General Assembly is the global legitimate forum. The Assembly resolutions, however, are only recommendatory, lacking binding force. The weakness of the Assembly resolutions, lamentably, is that they usually form so-called ‘soft law’, but which can still be seen as binding law. The Security Council and supporters of ‘hard law’ do not perceive Assembly resolutions as binding law. Israel is defying not only the International Court of Justice’s rulings but also the orders of Security Council. As a response to a recent request by the General Assembly, the <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176">International Court of Justice on July 19 gave an advisory opinion</a> in which it declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 was unlawful. Israel and the United States did not recognise the Court's opinion on this issue.&nbsp; Palestine has some weaknesses to fulfill statehood, which is also the case of Israel. For example, Palestine does not have full control over its territory since it is under occupation. When it comes to Israel, there is a problem with its democracy, democracy being known as a modern criterion of statehood in addition to territory, control over territory, population and government. In this context, Israeli democracy is not free of criticism, with some even calling it an <a href="https://www.vox.com/23924319/israel-palestine-apartheid-meaning-history-debate">‘apartheid state’</a>.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/the-international-order-is-dying-in-gaza">The International Order Is Dying in Gaza</a>, Mohamed ElBaradei For Palestine to be regarded as a fully sovereign State under international law, it must obtain de jure recognition -- this means legal acknowledgement by the international community. Some are calling for an Israel-Palestine ‘bi-national state’, a homeland for both Jews and Palestinians, but only de jure sovereign Palestine may be helpful for future peace in West Asia.&nbsp; Nepal’s new unilateral declaration will not by itself be enough to make Palestine a sovereign state. It will, nonetheless, make history. Or at least Nepal will be standing courageously on the right side of the history. &nbsp;&nbsp; Katak Malla is a Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Centre for International Law and Justice in Stockholm University.

Nepal should recognise Palestinian sovereignty

Nepal has already received the monthly average of precipitation for August in the first two weeks of the month. This year’s monsoon has so far killed nearly 200 people in landslides and floods across the country. On 16 August, a flash debris flow from a suspected glacial collapse <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">damaged half the village of Thame</a> in the Everest region. All this comes after a full scale national emergency due to record-breaking wildfires in March and April that ravaged the country’s forests. Climate breakdown was partly the culprit in most of these calamities. The impacts of climate change are increasing, both in frequency and magnitude, outpacing slow progress in mitigating its causes, and in building resilience. The conversation around <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/act-now-on-climate">loss and damage due to the climate crisis</a> is becoming ever so important for vulnerable countries like Nepal. However, despite COP28 in Dubai last year seeing a historic agreement on a ‘Loss and Damage Fund’, the idea that climate-induced destruction can in practice be compensated still seems far-fetched.&nbsp; The Fund is still in its early stages and few details are known as its operational elements are being worked on. The World Bank is the interim host of the fund for four years, and as of March $661 million had been pledged. This is negligible compared to what is required, with calculations by the Loss &amp; Damage Collaboration estimating a need for $671bn annually by 2030.&nbsp; It is important that the foundation to operationalise the fund be laid soon with stable funding sources. A resource allocation system with guidance on eligibility needs to be devised, and questions on who, how and for what countries can access funds remains crucial. Within the ‘for what’ conversation, climate-induced loss and damage can have both economic losses such as the loss of infrastructure (which are easy to quantify) and non-economic losses such as loss of biodiversity and cultural heritage (which are difficult to quantify). One must also note that tangible economic assets such as buildings, monuments, archaeological sites can also hold intangible values.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240823120852_923a048b026a9e18e5415056697f38b76528f8358a58fffb6c3bb190cb003192.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240823120852_923a048b026a9e18e5415056697f38b76528f8358a58fffb6c3bb190cb003192" data-rendition-name="original" width="600" height="900" loading="lazy" alt="GLOFs Limi Valley"> <figcaption>Glacial lake outburst flood in Halji of Humla's Limi Valley in 2011 destroyed a monastery.</figcaption> </figure>  After the Thame flood this week, the little coverage the incident has received still focuses on the economic losses and possible fatalities. These are important, but what about non-economic loss of the rich history and heritage of the village that lies on the ancient Khumbu-Tibet trade route across the Nangpa La? Artefacts passed on from generations in families carry indigenous knowledge and wisdom, the memories and spirituality associated with infrastructure have formed the lived experiences of the Sherpa people. These aspects are as important as economic ones, especially because they are rooted in the core ideas and norms that shape our communities and inspire collective aspiration to achieve climate justice. The importance of incorporating cultural and societal aspects when we talk about the non-economic impacts of climate loss and damage is uncontested. However, despite the recognition of the significance of non-economic losses, they have been under-represented in climate negotiations as well as in climate research. How do we quantify these losses and compensate for them? It is true that doing so is not straightforward, but it is a false premise that such losses cannot be quantified. Rather, we must first admit that we have not come up with and agreed on ways to put an economic value to them.&nbsp; Environmental economists have for long devised models and frameworks to put a price on environmental goods such as clean air, water and access to nature. And yet, the global community is far from putting a right price on nature and quantifying nature loss as an economic loss.&nbsp; It is naïve to think we cannot put a price on culture and heritage. There has always been a market for expensive arts and artefacts, and there is enough precedence on pricing non-tangible assets. In an abstract sense, putting a price on any asset is derived from its utility. It is important to build on existing knowledge as well as ideate innovative ways to price non-tangible cultural and heritage loss, and incorporate that in the Loss and Damage Fund. This should be a key agenda item both for its secretariat as well as global climate negotiators, researchers, grassroot organisations, and development partners. The question and challenge, however, is not just to incorporate these things in the Loss and Damage fund. The premise of loss and damage rests on the fact that something has already been lost. After all, flow of finance cannot be the substitute for loss of culture and heritage.&nbsp; The important question is what can we do to prevent such loss, and preserve culture and heritage from the climate crisis before they are lost? This requires integration of culture and heritage components in the design of climate mitigation and adaptation projects and policies. Working with indigenous communities, religious leaders and faith groups, and civil society will be critical in achieving this.&nbsp; In a recent trip to Lahore, I was told that it is almost impossible to elicit behavioural change to climate action in certain areas of Pakistan without working closely with the imams and mosques. Religion plays an important aspect in many of the world’s climate vulnerable communities, and needs to be incorporated in climate action. Needless to say, measuring the climate impact on culture and heritage must go beyond climate loss and damage and be an integral component of any climate intervention. This should also be a priority for Nepal whose culture, history and tradition is closely linked to the lived environment and nature. Forests with cultural significance to local communities, shrines and important pilgrimage are located along the confluence of holy rivers, and the Himalaya holds profound cultural and religious significance to Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon and other faiths. We must act now to ensure that we preserve and are compensated for climate loss and damage of not just physical infrastructure but also the intangible heritage that is often left out of broader financial calculations. &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.&nbsp;

Measuring climate impact on culture and heritage

Nepali Times #1228 (6-12 August 2024)

For the Sherpa people who live below Mt Everest, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/margins/songs-from-chomolungma">Chomolungma </a>means ‘mother god’. And as a young girl growing up below it, Lhakpa Sherpa gazed up at the mountain with awe and reverence.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</a> was the first Nepali woman to reach the summit in 1993, but she died on the way down. Lhakpa remembers the funeral in Kathmandu, and says she sensed Pasang Lhamu’s soul enter her at the cremation.&nbsp; Since then, Lhakpa holds the <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-ascents-of-mt-everest-by-a-woman#:~:text=At%20the%20age%20of%2048,at%206.15%20a.m.%20local%20time.">Guiness World Record</a> for having climbed Mt Everest ten times, the most by any woman anywhere, and breaking her own record several times. Lhakpa Sherpa seeks Chomolungma’s blessings and forgiveness before and after every climb. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">The rise and fall of Nims Purja</a>, Pradnya Pradhan “I respect the mountain like my mom,” she says in the new Netflix documentary Mountain Queen: Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa.&nbsp; The film is as much about Lhakpa’s skill and stamina as a high altitude climber, as about her courage to stand up to an abusive husband and the strength to raise three children as a single mother working in a Whole Foods Market in the US state of Connecticut. &nbsp; Directed by Lucy Walker who excels in documenting real life characters, the 104 minute film provides viewers with an intimate glimpse of Lhakpa’s home, conversations with her daughters, and some spectacular footage of her climbing in Everest’s Death Zone. Walker removes layer upon layer of Lhakpa’s life to introduce us to the real person that she is.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910120952_549f2ebdc425038deb78854480449122da0890957389aa86b6a612bf91d33ec3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240910120952_549f2ebdc425038deb78854480449122da0890957389aa86b6a612bf91d33ec3" data-rendition-name="original" width="450" height="630" loading="lazy" alt="Mountain Queen Lhakpa Sherpa NT2"> </figure>  As a girl Lhakpa was a headstrong girl, and says her mother used to call her “too tough, too tall and very, very bossy” – and that is exactly how she comes across in the film. But behind the toughness and cheerful smile, Lhakpa is a soft-hearted person who has been in search of love and healing all her life. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains">On-screen mountains</a>, Sahina Shrestha Lhakpa was a social misfit, but found her true calling in mountaineering. She started out as a porter carrying up to 100kg on her back -- double her body weight. She had to pretend to be a boy since women did not get jobs with expeditions back then. Then, she was promoted to be a kitchen boy, cooking for the climbers in base camps.&nbsp; She needed money to climb but nobody at the time was sponsoring a woman. A chance meeting with King Birendra and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala got her the sponsorship she needed in 2000 to lead an all-women Nepali Everest expedition. She reached the top for the first time, the only climber from her group to do so. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/streaming-the-himalaya-on-film">Streaming the Himalaya on film</a>, Pinki Sris Rana Her goal achieved, that should have been it. But Lhakpa was hopelessly hooked to the thrill of climbing. She met the Romanian-American mountaineer George Dijmarescu who encouraged her not to just be a porter, and join him in climbing Everest from the Tibet side.&nbsp; For the next several years the two became climbing partners, the ultimate power couple in Himalayan mountaineering. She emigrated to the United States and gave birth to daughters Sunny and Shiny. It was not long before Dijmarescu showed his true self, and Lahkpa was trapped in an abusive marriage in a foreign land. As a girl child in Nepal, she was never sent to school and had no other job except climbing. The fairytale had ended. She was featured in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/sports/lhakpa-sherpa-everest.html">New York Times</a> report, training for her 10th ascent of Mt Everest carrying boxes of vegetables and fruits at Whole Foods. In Mountain Queen, Walker directs a highly personalised profile of Nepal’s &nbsp;almost-forgotten mountaineering legend, digging up her troubles and triumphs with sensitivity and care. Walker does more than tell the story of perseverance and resilience that go hand-in-hand with climbing, she also tells the story of a matriarch who has to be strong for her family. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-we-climb-mountains">Why we climb mountains</a>, Damien Francois After her 10th Everest ascent, sponsors line up to fund an expedition to even more challenging K2, which Lhakpa climbed last year. Pasang Lhamu’s soul burns brightly in Lhakpa Sherpa, and she sums up her own journey: “I’ll give my life to the mountains, keep climbing until the day I die.” Mountain Queen: Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa Directed by Lucy Walker Netflix, 2024 104 minutes&nbsp;

Daughter of Chomolungma

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to climb Mt Everest, but she died on the descent. She is a national icon, but few have heard of Lhakpa Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to scale the world’s highest mountain and get back down alive.
Both Pasang and Lhakpa were enduring, resilient women who defied the patriarchy, struggled, and triumphed. Their compelling stories are the subjects of two international documentaries.
The 2024 Netflix film Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa recounts her career from porter to a mountaineer who scaled Mt Everest for the 10th time in 2022, and then her hard life as an immigrant in the United States.
That film follows the 2022 documentary Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest which breathes life into a celebrated national hero whose climb and tragic death every Nepali knows by heart. The film is available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and the US.
The recent trend of making documentaries about mountaineering for streaming sites was kicked off by 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible featuring Nepal-born Nims Purja, in 2021. 14 Peaks was on Netflix's top ten list for months after its release.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/seeking-identity-in-diversity">Seeking identity in diversity</a>, Sonia Awale
This was followed by another Netflix production, the docuseries Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake about the earthquake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp in 2015 that killed 18 climbers.
Biopics about mountaineers or dramatised adaptations of real-life expeditions have an even longer history with Hollywood’s 1998 IMAX film Everest and the 2015 movie, also titled Everest, about climbers killed by a storm on the mountain in 1996. A biopic on Tenzing Norgay is currently being produced by Apple Original Films starring Tom Hiddleston and William Dafoe.
“The West had always seen Nepal from the set narrative of exotic Shangri La or Shambala, and mountaineering adventure has always pulled them,” explains Ramyata Limbu of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF).
More rare have been films about Nepali mountaineers made by Nepali producers. But as Nepali mountain guides move from being porters for hire to expedition leaders and accomplished mountaineers in their own right, this may be changing.
Says filmmaker Shanta Nepali: “It is only now that the extraordinary stories of Nepali mountaineers are being recognised.” Her 2023 documentary Climbing Temperatures features the Sherpa struggle to adapt to the impact of climate breakdown in the Himalaya.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the film</a>, Tayama Rai
The 2024 documentary Girls Rewriting Destiny by Lawa Pyakurel is another example of Nepali filmmakers telling the story of Nepali mountaineers. Pyakurel’s documentary stars mountaineer Maya Gurung and explores the lives she has touched over the years.&nbsp;
As Nepalis gain fame and respect for their mountaineering feats, this has concurrently opened up opportunities for local filmmakers to chronicle their adventures on streaming channels.
“It is ten times harder for Nepali filmmakers to take equally deserving Nepali stories to a global platform like Netflix,” says Nepali. “It’s not that we cannot come up with good stories, we just cannot afford it.”
Lack of exposure and a talent gap means some Nepali productions have not been of sufficient quality for streaming sites to take interest. Co-production can be a way out for films on mountaineering, and some have opted for this. But it is equally important for international filmmakers to use local expertise where available so the stories ring true.
Says Nepali. “If local filmmakers are hired just as fixers, they don’t have much say. But if it is for creative input in cinematography, production, or their cultural understanding, the production has an authentic voice.”&nbsp;
Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-star-shines-in-locarno"> Nepal’s star shines in Locarno</a>, Pinki Sris Rana

Streaming the Himalaya on film

K V Rajan, India’s ambassador to Nepal from 1995 to 2000, and Atul Thakur, a respected voice in Nepal affairs in India, have jointly published ‘Kathmandu Chronicle: Reclaiming India-Nepal Relations’.&nbsp; The book is an earnest attempt to reproduce Rajan’s personal experience during his tenure in Kathmandu combined with research by Thakur and makes for interesting and meaningful reading.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240828120824_73c2130fef41483d02101d520ad44e20c79797b4f6e365d9091fbb660ff10b91.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240828120824_73c2130fef41483d02101d520ad44e20c79797b4f6e365d9091fbb660ff10b91" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="K V Rajan and Atul Thakur NT 1"> </figure>  The methodology is simple, aligning both formal and informal which projects the right tone to guide people-to-people connect between the two neighbouring countries.&nbsp; The book starts with a first-person account by Rajan, moving on to analyse the complicated political transition in Nepal, and concludes with an elaboration on future challenges. And unlike many other such works penned by former Indian bureaucrats, this one is honest, unbiased and more balanced -- all much needed to move Indo-Nepal relations forward, at least from the Nepali perspective. Rajan cites his personal rapport with King Birendra with whom he built the trust needed to guide bilateral ties. When Rajan landed in Kathmandu, back in Delhi India’s Nepal policy was in the hands of veterans like Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Salman Haider. Their line was to build relations with the palace as well as the political parties.&nbsp; Rajan quotes Prime Minister Rao as advising him, ‘The King seems to have learnt his lessons. So have we. Let him know we take him seriously, we are not taking him for granted … Make all political leaders feel that they are equally important for us, whether they are supposed to be pro or anti-India. I will not give an inch more to the pro-India prime minister, and not an inch less to the anti-India one.’ Then, of course, Birendra was killed in the massacre at the royal palace on 1 June 2001. Pranab Mukherjee apparently warned him after an earlier meeting with Birendra that the king ‘felt a certain threat’ and was ‘very worried’ before the killings.&nbsp; Rajan makes the rather far-fetched connection between Crown Prince Dipendra and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the underworld, thereby hinting at a conspiracy that he does not expound on. We have to remember that these undercurrents followed the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi on 24 December 1999.&nbsp; The plane was forced to fly to Kandahar in Afghanistan and finally released at the turn of the millennium on 31 December. The hijacking itself affected Nepal-India ties for years after. &nbsp; Rajan takes us on a flashback of Nepal’s recent history in which the shadow of King Mahendra loomed large, and Gyanendra’s effort to emulate his father after his coup on 1 Februrary 2005 when he assumed total state power.&nbsp; It is quite clear from the book that India was not in favour of the move by Gyanendra, who ws regarded as being more friendly towards China. Rajan does provide an honest analysis of the dilemma India faced in dealing with Gyanendra and the political forces at a time when Nepal was in the throes of the Maoist conflict.&nbsp; ‘Tactical U-turns and transactional compromises would leave lasting perceptions in Kathmandu of Indian inconsistency, unreliability and insincerity, and in Delhi, of Nepal’s ingratitude, deviousness and how easily it could be led astray,’ Rajan writes, referring to India’s twin-pillar policy of supporting both the constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy post-1990.&nbsp; The authors urge India to fashion a new twin-pillar policy of ‘strengthening democracies as well as civil society engagement for regional good’. The second section of the book retells the long political transition of Nepal from Panchayat system of absolute monarchy right up to turning itself into a secular federal democratic republic, and India’s role in these changes. The authors argue that the aspirations of Nepalis has been thwarted by the power struggle among the ruling elite, which have prevented the peace dividend after the conflict to be fully realised. The authors are also critical of Nepal’s foreign policy as being ‘chaotic and lacking vision’, but also advise Indian policy makers on how to should provide space and support to Nepal. They hark back to the role of statesmen like Prime Minister B P Koirala, a polished and respected leader, whom the Nepali public should follow to revive his glory.&nbsp; The book touches upon the Tarai-Mountain division in Nepal, and controversial bilateral issues like 1950 Treaty, the Limpiyadhura border dispute and the ‘China factor’. The book tries to untangle the political, socio-economic and even psychological factors affecting Nepal’s quest for being a true democratic country. The last section of the book looks at ways to repurpose India-Nepal ties by strengthening cooperation in various fields, especially water resources and trade. A ‘revolutionary resolve’ is needed from both sides, they say, to meet the aspirations of the Nepali people.&nbsp; Structural reforms and an alternate development paradigm are a must for Nepal, they argue, and this can be achieved by strengthening bilateral, regional as well as sub-regional cooperation. The book quotes Nepali authors like Manjushree Thapa, Sanjay Upadhyay, Prashant Jha, Lok Raj Baral, Hari Bansh Jha, Aditya Adhikari, among others, to add a Nepali perspective.&nbsp; The authors are unnecessarily brutal in criticizing Amish Raj Mulmi’s ‘All Roads Lead North’ which is actually a cogent analysis of how China came in to Nepal in a big way post-2015. It would also have been useful if Ambassador Rajan could have elaborated on the relations he built during his posting with members of Nepal’s business community, civil society and media.&nbsp; Rajan was well known at the time for promoting India soft power, the mention of which is limited to just one event in the book. That India is an important player in Nepali politics is a given, what the book falls short on is explaining why India has not been able to show greater magnanimity in its dealings with a much smaller neighbor.&nbsp; Socially and also psychologically, there are changing perceptions among citizens of both Nepal and India regarding each other. The book could have elaborated on how real change can be brought about in an era of social media magnification of opinion.&nbsp; Nevertheless, this can be good reference material for those interested in the recent history of Nepal-India relations as well as those concerned about its future, as told by an insider with a researcher.&nbsp; Akanshya Shah is a Nepali journalist and researcher based in New Delhi. Kathmandu Chronicle: Reclaiming India–Nepal Relations&nbsp; by K V Rajan and Aul K Thakur Penguin, 2024 Paperback, 280 pages INR 499 ISBN-13 : 978-0143463375  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240828120824_7081ca2518c8db6d14e80d41c19cb85ad1f482cdf5cd86e1694c093b49ad6168.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240828120824_7081ca2518c8db6d14e80d41c19cb85ad1f482cdf5cd86e1694c093b49ad6168" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu Chronicle cover page NT 2"> </figure>

How to reboot Nepal-India relations

Nepal’s Supreme Court has summoned the President Chure Terai Madhesh Conservation Development Board and the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) in a public interest litigation case against the amendment of the <a href="https://www.forestaction.org/app/webroot/js/tinymce/editor/plugins/filemanager/files/National_Park_Act_1973_Nepal%20(1).pdf">1973 National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act</a>.
The Constitutional Bench comprising Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, as Justices Prakash Man Singh Raut, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">Sapana Pradhan Malla</a>, Prakash Kumar Dhungana and Kumar Regmi ordered representatives of the two institutions to appear in court for a hearing on the writ petition.
In July, President Ramchandra Paudel authenticated a Bill passed hurriedly and secretively by the new NC-UML coalition in both Houses to amend provisions in the 1973 Act to allow investment in infrastructure and projects inside protected areas.
Read more: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-protected-areas-from-infrastructure">Protecting protected areas from infrastructure</a>, Sonia Awale
Senior advocates Prakash Mani Sharma, Dilraj Khanal and Padam Bahadur Shrestha filed a writ in the Supreme Court demanding that the amendments be declared null and void because the amendments added in Section 5A of the Act were against Nepal’s own conservation commitments, and obligations under international biodiversity pacts of which Nepal is a signatory.
The petitioners argue that the amendments were introduced through an investment bill by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies instead of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, and would throw off the careful balance between environmental protection and development in Nepal.
There is a danger Nepal’s internationally-recognised successes in doubling forest cover in 25 years to 46% of area mainly because of community forestry,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-tigers-trees-and-rivers"> tripling the tiger population</a>, and biodiversity protection will be rolled back, they say. The amendment is reportedly being pushed by politicians and their powerful business cronies with support from some international consultants.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/protecting-nepal-s-parks-by-saving-buffer-zones">Protecting Nepal’s parks by saving buffer zones</a>, Teri D Allendorf
The writ petition also argues that the fragmentation of the authority and integrity of protected areas will directly contribute to irreversible ecological damage, harming local livelihoods and heighten inequity.&nbsp;
The petitioners claim that the amendment poses not only an unfair restriction on the right of Nepali citizens to live in a clean and healthy environment, but directly interferes with human-nature coexistence.
As it is, forest protection is the only climate target pledged by Nepal’s leaders at international conferences that the country has actually met. Another investigation shows that illegal logging and timber smuggling is rampant mainly in three Tarai districts bordering India where forest cover is said to have declined by half in past decades.&nbsp;
In particular, section 5A of the Act, which has provisions related to prohibited activities within national parks and reserves, now includes an added clause which will essentially allow the government to designate 'non-sensitive' areas within these protected zones, enabling private sector investment in resorts, cable cars and other infrastructure.&nbsp;
Some international credit agencies and investors argue that Nepal’s economy and local communities must benefit from the country’s conservation successes, and the best way is to allow carefully calibrated investment in national parks, conservation areas, and community forests.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/conservation-vs-conservatives">Conservation vs Conservatives</a>, Maheshwor Acharya
That may work in countries where politicians are accountable and the rule of law prevails, but with Nepal’s current level of corruption and governance failure, handing over nature to big business is a recipe for disaster.
Examples abound of recent cut-and-paste environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports presented by the government for the proposed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport">international airport in Nijgad </a>and hydropower projects in ecologically and culturally fragile Himalayan valleys.&nbsp;
Nepal was relatively successful in addressing the humans vs nature challenge by balancing the needs of local people with national parks.&nbsp;
Now we have entered a new era of state vs nature. &nbsp;&nbsp;

State vs Nature

There was controlled chaos at the Chhaya Centre on 8 September before the premiere of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2EXOwDgrIg&amp;t=25s">Shambhala</a>, which has made history as the first South Asian film to be selected for the 2023 Berlinale in-competition lineup in three decades. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5336883/">Director Min Bahadur Bham</a> ran around, dreadlocks flailing, to test the DCP in the projection room and welcome an all-star lineup of guests. Even so, he found time to sit down with us for an interview in a quiet corner in the lobby. Despite visible signs of stress, Bham’s passion for his craft shines through. The premiere was the culmination of years of work, but as Bham tells it, the true essence of filmmaking is the journey itself.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912100956_fe4bb576edb2f6ca22d460c425a8b9fdf8d3855dd4e9cac9e13fb56a69094cdd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240912100956_fe4bb576edb2f6ca22d460c425a8b9fdf8d3855dd4e9cac9e13fb56a69094cdd" data-rendition-name="original" width="616" height="585" loading="lazy" alt="Min Bham NT 3 "> </figure>  Min Bahadur Bham, 40, was born in isolated Mugu. As a boy he already knew he wanted to be a film director after his photographer and journalist father bought a cinema hall in his hometown.&nbsp; While watching Bollywood movies there, his friends all wanted to be actors and would imitate the mannerisms of their favourite stars. But Bham craved something more.&nbsp; “Even back then, I wondered who tells the actors what to do. There must be someone guiding and coordinating their performance,” he says. “I didn’t know at the time that it was done by a director, but I instinctively felt that was the person I wanted to be.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-director-from-kathmandu">A director from Kathmandu</a>, Sewa Bhattarai This early fascination set Bham on a journey that would take him far, far away from Mugu. In Grade 8 he was already saving money for film school, and by Grade 10 he had run away from home. He started in theatre in Kathmandu, learning acting, lighting, set design, and costume. This theatre background proved to be formative and influenced his later approach to cinema. “If I had to choose, I’d still give more points to theatre,” he tells us. “It’s a pure art form, it has a poetic and an artistic sense to it, requiring discipline and hard work, unlike the finances and glamour of cinema.” Beyond filmmaking, Bham developed a deep interest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/medication-to-meditation-in-the-mountains">spirituality</a>. “Creating art is a form of meditation,” Bham says, his eyes shimmering with intensity. “Filmmaking, like meditation, requires pouring all of yourself into it.” His debut feature,<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/must-see/Kalo-pothi-review,3101"> Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen)</a> premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2015, earning critical acclaim for its nuanced portrayal of two boys caught in the crossfire of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/all-is-fair-in-war-and-peace">Nepal’s Maoist insurgency</a>. The film’s success, however, left Bham ambivalent.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912110924_b4333fc1aeefc7adc6160a183f0dfc8ca5ee8cd66df6eab085f47436d83c8c4b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240912110924_b4333fc1aeefc7adc6160a183f0dfc8ca5ee8cd66df6eab085f47436d83c8c4b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1442" height="1008" loading="lazy" alt="Movie posters NT"> </figure>  “I felt burdened by the success," he confides. “Looking back, I’m critical about its lack of cinematic language: it felt more like a film essay.”&nbsp; Read more: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Narrating-stories-of-nepal,3082">Narrating Nepal</a>, Smriti Basnet Kalo Pothi was a personal story of Bham’s own memories when his friends in school were joining the Maoists, and he heard of the disappearances. A recurring theme in both Kalo Pothi and Shambhala is childhood. “All the characters in my films are reflections of myself,” Bham confesses. “Of course, they’re manipulated for the sake of the narrative, but their essence is drawn from my own childhood when I was very fragile and introverted.” As a boy, instead of playing with children his age, Bham preferred hanging out with older people, listening to their stories: “I missed out on a normal childhood, but had a wonderful one nonetheless.” These early experiences, the memories and nostalgia, became invaluable storytelling tools for cinema, and his PhD in anthropology was an asset as well. “As a filmmaker, it’s essential to grasp the nuances of human behaviour, culture, and politics,” he explains.&nbsp; Before Kalo Pothi, Bham wanted to study political science to get a &nbsp;deeper, holistic understanding of what was happening in Nepali society at the time.&nbsp; But it is with Shambhala that Bham truly comes into his own as a director. "Kalo Pothi was my love letter to my society, and Shambhala is a love letter to my existence,” he says.&nbsp; Shambhala benefits from Bham’s own spiritual journey. He started meditating at age 12, becoming a more serious practitioner by 15. “Through meditation, I began having vivid recurring dreams of a past life as a lama in a monastery in Dolpo,” he says.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/daughter-of-chomolungma">Daughter of Chomolungma</a>, Pinki Sris Rana He travelled to Dolpo, where the terrain and people matched the dreamscape of the places from his meditation. “It was a surreal moment,” he says. “That’s when I realised I had to make Shambhala, to explore the subconscious and discover what I didn’t know.” When the film was selected for the Berlinale, Bham admits he was not very excited, perhaps because he was confident it was going to go places. In Berlin he did not attend any parties, cancelling all interviews and official meetings.&nbsp; “I wanted to be at peace and simply observe. I didn’t want to get caught up in the networking or the festivities,” he recalls. Though polyandry is a central element of Shambhala, Bham says it only serves as a backdrop to an inner quest into the meaning of existence, femininity and reincarnation. “Dolpo offers such incredible landscape that you can point the camera at anything and it will be stunning,” he says. “But it was not a love story, so I used the mountains as characters themselves.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/streaming-the-himalaya-on-film">Streaming the Himalaya on film</a>, Pinki Sris Rana The film’s protagonist is Pema (played by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-star-shines-in-locarno"> Thinley Lhamo</a> for which she won the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iCvN6jHVMQ&amp;t=973s"> Boccalino d’Oro Prize for Best Acting Performance at Locarno</a> last month) whose power and freedom challenge patriarchal norms.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912110944_491763c06fc1827cd131157b9b3750c9831ee8252fb1d378769dc800170c7f67.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240912110944_491763c06fc1827cd131157b9b3750c9831ee8252fb1d378769dc800170c7f67" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="719" loading="lazy" alt="Berlin film festival NT"> </figure>  “Pema’s character is a reflection of inner strength and independence, transcending gender,” Bham explains. “As a male director, I also wanted to explore my feminine side to understand it more deeply.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/feminity-to-masculinity,1952">From femininity to masculinity</a>, Bernardo Michael and George Varughese He adds that, in Shambhala the male characters reflect aspects of himself, while Pema represents his feminine side: “Developing the characters, I made sure the male side did not overshadow the feminine side in me.” Bham is researching ideas for his next film which might, for a change, be set in Kathmandu or Angkor Wat to discover his artistic sensibility, irrespective of locale.&nbsp; More than a geographical journey, Min Bahadur Bham is on an artistic voyage deep into his inner being to find the meaning of existence itself. &nbsp; Shambhala is set to release on 13 September in cinemas with Nepali and English subtitles.

Min Bahadur Bham’s cinematic quest

In July, less than a month after it was first introduced in parliament, Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel authenticated a Bill to amend some laws to spur investment. Among the bill’s provisions is the amendment of the <a href="https://www.forestaction.org/app/webroot/js/tinymce/editor/plugins/filemanager/files/National_Park_Act_1973_Nepal%20(1).pdf">1973 National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act</a>.&nbsp; Section 5A of the Act, which has provisions related to prohibited activities within national parks and reserves, now includes an added clause: ‘The Government of Nepal may designate highly-sensitive areas within protected areas including National Parks, Reserves or Conservation Areas through a notice in the Nepal Gazette if it deems it necessary.’ This could mean that the government is now trying to disingenuously classify areas within <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/does-nepal-need-the-army-to-guard-parks">protected wildlife habitats</a> also as ‘non-sensitive’ to allow private sector investment in resorts, cable cars and other infrastructure. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/More-trouble-in-Chitwan-National-Park,2956">Restoring resorts</a>, Smriti Basnet The 1973 Act lays out definitions of National Park, Strict Nature Reserve, Wildlife Reserve, and Hunting Reserve, and stipulates that those areas are set aside for conservation and management of the natural environment in areas of ecological importance. By designating some parts of these reserves as ‘sensitive’, activists say, the government is trying to defuse criticism of investment by the private sector. &nbsp; The 1973 Act has been critical in Nepal’s conservation success story, ensuring that nearly a quarter of the country’s area is protected, the tripling of Nepal’s tiger population and protection of its habitat, and the doubling of forest cover to 46% in the past 25 years. &nbsp; “Conservation areas are created for biodiversity-sensitive regions, and as such, only a minimal part of such areas can be categorised as not being highly sensitive,” says Rajesh Rai, professor at Tribhuvan University's Institute of Forestry. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/economic-benefits-of-saving-the-ecology">Economic benefits of saving the ecology</a> The amendment also states: ‘Apart from the areas specified under section 5A, the Government of Nepal can approve specified projects of national priority, projects approved by the Investment Board or national pride projects in any intermediate zone within national parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas while maintaining the co-existence of nature and human beings.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910080928_8f1ae1e1c7acd2f0ebd5ca946a173c492f040844a79dfdb4af75081b0e2d169a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240910080928_8f1ae1e1c7acd2f0ebd5ca946a173c492f040844a79dfdb4af75081b0e2d169a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="600" loading="lazy" alt="Tiger conservation in Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Photo: WWF</figcaption> </figure>  This conservationists say, would mean disturbance of protected wilderness areas, and open them up to construction and disturbance by all three levels of government which are not known for transparency and rule of law. In fact, there is such an unhealthy alliance between politicians and their business cronies that it is becoming difficult to tell them apart. Projects under consideration that directly impact protected areas include the Kori cable car proposal in Sikles of Kaski, the 80km Pokhara-Jomsom gondola cable car, new resorts inside Rara, Chitwan and Bardia National Parks.&nbsp; Constitutional experts assert that the Act goes against Nepal’s Constitution, the <a href="https://dnpwc.gov.np/media/publication/convention-on-biological-diversity-e.pdf">1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity,</a> the<a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/"> 1972 World Heritage Convention</a> and the <a href="https://dnpwc.gov.np/media/publication/Convention_ramsar.pdf">1971 Convention on Wetlands</a>. “This Act will destroy wildlife habitats, undermining gains in Nepal’s biodiversity protection,” adds Rai, explaining that ensuing habitat fragmentation will lead to wildlife relocating beyond protected areas, thereby increasing human-wildlife conflict. Even though laws and governance related to conservation areas and wildlife protection fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, it is significant that the bill was tabled by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/gambling-on-the-future">Gambling on the future</a>, Sikuma Rai And while it typically takes years for Parliament to pass any law, this bill was passed by both the lower and upper Houses within 26 days, and verified by the President’s office on the same day that it was passed by the National Assembly. All this has given credence to critics who smell a rat.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910080928_17b880e02db74bbea29bc27e215a80c17aa379d29aa5a63ef0de0e1e29ae27ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240910080928_17b880e02db74bbea29bc27e215a80c17aa379d29aa5a63ef0de0e1e29ae27ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="933" loading="lazy" alt="elephant conservation NT "> <figcaption>Photo: WWF</figcaption> </figure>  This is not the first time that corporate groups have eyed development inside nature conservation areas, and have lobbied repeatedly for ordinances, procedures and regulations. This amendment comes at a time when major corruption scandals and have rocked the highest echelons of government. In fact, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-government-changes-again">coalition reshuffle in June</a> after which the NC-UML government came to power has been attributed to the two parties protecting their top leaders from investigations by the previous RSP home minister into scandals. &nbsp; But even the previous coalition led by Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal amended the National Parks Act in April by issuing the Ordinance Amending Some Nepal Acts Related to Investment Facilitation 2024. Before that, the government published the Construction of Physical Infrastructure Inside Protected Areas in January, which allows hydropower and other infrastructure within protected areas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">Rivers be dammed</a>, Pinki Sris Rana In 2018, businesses bypassed laws to prepare for infrastructure construction including ropeways, hotels, resorts and campsites in conservation areas and buffer zones after the Ministry of Forests published a draft outlining procedures to operate and regulate tourist services within protected areas. Conservationists and analysts have called for the immediate repeal of this Act that puts commercial interests over the protection of Nepal’s wildlife and biodiversity. They say the law is unjust and hypocritical because it punishes villagers for foraging fodder inside protected areas, while giving politically-connected businesses the freedom to build whatever they want inside wilderness areas.&nbsp; “Businesses must not be allowed to operate anywhere in our protected areas, not just biodiversity-sensitive regions,” says Rai. “In the event that such commercial activities are allowed, priority must be given to the indigenous communities and locals who have been historically displaced in the process of creating these conservation areas.”

Not out of the woods yet in Nepal

Manoj Kumar Mahara grew up in a Dalit settlement near Janakpur in a family that could not even afford to send its children to school.&nbsp; Still, he was one of only two students from the community that went to school. But he had to drop out in Grade 10 because his father went overseas to work. His mother worked as a farmhand in a landlord’s field.&nbsp; The family borrowed money to pay for Mahara’s high school, and as he prepared for the Public Service Commission exam. Because of the government quota for Madhesis, he got a job in the civil service in 2016. &nbsp; Now 32, Mahara is a senior officer at the Land Management and Revenue Office of Siraha district, one of few from his community to have a government job. Because of his earnings, his father no longer has to toil in Saudi Arabia and he has paid off the Rs100,000 loan his family owed to a microfinance company. “It would have been tough for me to get this job had it not been for the reservation system,” he says. “This government job is not just my livelihood, it also gives my family dignity and respect in the community.”&nbsp; Many Nepalis in the Tarai face double the discrimination because of being both Madhesi and Dalit – both the communities have faced historical ostracisation and economic deprivation.&nbsp; Even within the Dalit community there are sub-castes: nineteen in the Tarai and seven in the mountains. The discrimination against Dalits in the Madhes is said to be worse. &nbsp; Nepal’s civil service reservation policy, introduced after the post-conflict 2007 Interim Constitution, gave Nepalis from excluded and underserved communities an opportunity to participate in the state mechanism, changing its structure in the process.&nbsp; In the 17 years since, Dalits and others have had a more proportional representation in the state structure than before, although there is still a long way to go. And even though the laws are there, societal and cultural discrimination is slower to change. &nbsp; Discussions about affirmative action to redress discrimination began in fact after the 1990 People’s Movement. Before that, discourse on gender, indigenous rights and exclusion of Dalits were considered ‘development’ issues rather than violations of human rights.&nbsp; The 1990 Constitution acknowledged diversity and inclusion for the first time, and while the Constitution Drafting Committee had arranged for a 5% reservation for women and 3% for Dalits, the interim government removed the quota for Dalits before the Constitution was promulgated.&nbsp; Under the post-conflict Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006, the inclusion of Dalits and minorities was explicitly mentioned as a part of the state restructuring process. Article 21 of Nepal’s Interim Constitution 2007 guaranteed social justice, stipulating: ‘Women, Dalits, indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesi communities, oppressed groups, poor farmers and labourers, who are economically, socially or educationally backward, shall have the right to participate in state structure on the basis of principles of proportional inclusion.’ Tula Narayan Shah, chairman of the Nepal Madhesh Foundation, concedes that the reservation policy has brought communities previously excluded from the state mechanism to the mainstream, helping bridge the inequality gap. “Previously, Nepal’s civil service was almost entirely made up of Brahmin and Chhetri men, reservation has ensured the presence of different communities,” Shah told us. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-uncivil-servants">Nepal's uncivil servants</a>, Bimala Rai Paudyal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024090619094_6f1bbb1002b8b02533ecc6cdea92250667d34b2f0647ffd94a64921397f70a12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024090619094_6f1bbb1002b8b02533ecc6cdea92250667d34b2f0647ffd94a64921397f70a12" data-rendition-name="original" width="1357" height="819" loading="lazy" alt="reservation graph NT"> </figure>  Hill Dalits have benefited more from reservation, while Madhesi Dalits remain on the sidelines. Indeed, while reservation has played a significant role in ensuring the representation of different communities in government service, the Public Service Commission’s data from the last seven years shows that access to reservation itself has not percolated past those who are on the top of the hierarchy of reserved groups to reach socio-economically marginalised communities.&nbsp; For instance, while 97 of Nepal’s caste groups have entered government service, 45 other groups remain excluded. The presence of underserved caste and ethnic groups within the indigenous community is still small, and in many cases disproportionate to the population of those communities.&nbsp; “Even within the Dalit community, hill Dalits have benefited more than those from the Madhes,” says Umesh Prasad Mainali of the Public Service Commission. “While reservation has brought positive change, its benefits have fallen to only selected castes within the cluster groups.” &nbsp; Meanwhile, the Tarai’s Brahmin community makes up most of the Madhesi category in the civil service, which means Dalits get left out even though they can compete under two cluster groups. Journalist and human rights activist Bhola Paswan says that the double discrimination, poverty, lack of access to education, and language barriers have contributed to the continued underrepresentation of Madhesi Dalits in Nepal’s civil service.&nbsp; “Madhesi Dalits with a literacy rate of 48% can compete within Dalits, but how can they compete with higher caste Madhesis who have a 100% literacy rate?” asks Paswan, who says caste reservation is in urgent need of review. Other experts say that the 45% civil service seats set aside to ensure inclusion is not effective because even though women are allocated 33% of reservation seats, it has not translated into reality, especially since women make up 51% of Nepal’s population. There are also complications when an individual is part of more than one group allocated for reservation. For instance, a Dalit woman can apply under the women category, Dalit category, or through open competition.&nbsp; “Since the Dalit quota is not categorised by gender, her competition will ultimately be with women and Dalits as a whole,” explains researcher Kailash Rai, who says a separate provision for women under different reserved categories would be more fair.&nbsp; Muslims have also been at a disadvantage because they are placed in the Madhesi category for the civil service, although the proportional representation criteria applies for them in politics. In 2021, the Madheshi Commission included the Tharu and Muslims as part of the Madhesi community, which was widely disputed, since there are separate Tharu and Muslim commissions. Mohammad Zakir Hussain, former State Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare, argues that there are also Muslims from Nepal’s mountain districts, and his community cannot compete with Madhesi Brahmins who are better educated and connected.&nbsp; In 2020, medical student Binay Kumar Panjiyar sought a Supreme Court intervention to demand a government scholarship for a postgraduate in medicine. The court ruled that reservation should be interpreted as a class issue, which was itself criticised for undermining reservation for representation by gender, caste, ethnic, and geography. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/including-the-excluded-in-the-bureaucracy">Including the excluded in the bureaucracy</a>, Nepali Times  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024090619094_d9c0e04a921e5a7b331f30dd521e307563c2bb413ac13765d24930d311cbaa55.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024090619094_d9c0e04a921e5a7b331f30dd521e307563c2bb413ac13765d24930d311cbaa55" data-rendition-name="original" width="870" height="828" loading="lazy" alt="Reservation graph NT"> </figure>  Lack of access to education is deemed to be the main reason communities have not been able to benefit from representation quotas.&nbsp; “Reservation allocation must look into marginalised groups within underserved communities and take into account education and economic conditions across cluster groups themselves,” says researcher Bhaskar Gautam. Indeed, Magar, Rai and Gurung communities have not been represented in the civil service in proportion to their population, and Ram Bahadur Thapa Magar, of the Indigenous Nationalities Commission explains the main reasons: “They prefer to join the military, go for foreign employment, and lack access to education.”&nbsp; However, anthropologist Mukta Singh Lama blames underrepresentation of these communities to historic state exclusion. “Although they are a large part of Nepal’s population, these communities have been historically oppressed, and have not had access to education and information, which means they have had minimum participation in the state mechanism.” Lama suggests reducing the quota for caste groups who have already been represented in civil service in proportion to their population and reallocating those seats to other communities. Devraj Bishwokarma, chair of the National Dalit Commission, agrees seats for those communities under the cluster groups whose reserved quota has been completed, must be reduced so that hitherto excluded communities are represented in civil service in proportion to their population.&nbsp; Umesh Prasad Mainali, former chair of the Public Service Commission, says that some of Nepal’s indigenous communities have reached economic, social and educational advancement through reservation so they no longer need to be included. “This problem should be addressed by the upcoming Federal Civil Service Act.”&nbsp; Mainali adds,“We might not be able to represent all of Nepal because of the scale of our diversity, but groups with a larger demographic presence must be included.”&nbsp; Some activists say the current reservation system has elevated privileged groups and it would be more prudent to set aside quotas on the basis of class rather than on caste or ethnicity.&nbsp; “People representing only a select few caste groups have entered civil service,” says Vijay Kumar Datta of the Madheshi Commission. “At this rate it will take another 200 years for less privileged Madhesi communities to be represented in the civil service.” In a report titled The Impact of Reservation on Existing Government Services published in 2021, the National Inclusion Commission recommended that reservation should be abolished altogether by 2034. ‘The goal of the six allocated groups making up 45% of the civil service seems to be achievable within the next 14 years … it is not desirable to maintain the reservation system beyond that time,’ the report says.&nbsp; The report also drew a backlash for not taking into account the benefits of reservation to the target communities — as did the six-member commission that prepared the report, all of whom belonged to privileged caste groups. &nbsp; The discussion was reignited earlier this month as commentators drew parallels between Nepal’s reservation system with the Bangladesh student protests against their quota system even though, there, it was anger over the increased job quotas for cadres of the Awami League.&nbsp; The debate between affirmative action and meritocracy is a long one, and has been going on in every country. Although Nepal’s inclusion policy aimed to represent historically excluded communities and state bodies, it did not consider the shortcomings. &nbsp; Says Bhaskar Gautam: “If the state had properly committed to the policy during the Constitution-making process, reservation quotas could have been allocated to those who have been sidelined even within the marginalised communities.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/whose-country-is-it-anyway">Whose country is it anyway?</a>, Editorial <h2>By the numbers</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024090619090_922a5c8cb8c1ef05b866f693cfef94fb33251f607aef29788f6b35b297435c04.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024090619090_922a5c8cb8c1ef05b866f693cfef94fb33251f607aef29788f6b35b297435c04" data-rendition-name="original" width="1202" height="690" loading="lazy" alt="10-11 graph"> <figcaption>Current distribution of civil service jobs by cluster groups.</figcaption> </figure>  The Civil Service Reservation Policy was introduced in Nepal through the Second Amendment in 2007 to the 1993 Civil Service Act, which stated that in order to make the civil service inclusive, 45% of the total posts shall be set aside and be filled up by having separate competition between six groups based on gender, ethnic and caste background, as well as geography. This ‘positive discrimination’ policy allocates 33% of civil service jobs for women, 27% to indigenous groups, 22% to Madhesi people, 9% to Dalits and 5% to people with disabilities, and 4% to people from ‘backward areas’ (which include six districts of Karnali Province and three from Sudurpaschim Province). Nepalis from poorer Brahmin and Chhetri communities are also eligible for reservation.&nbsp; Since the introduction of the reservation system 17 years ago, the percentage of Dalits in the civil service has increased from 0.13% to 1.76%, while the percentage of Muslims has gone up from 0.13% to 1.92%. Only 11 caste groups were present in government jobs in 2007, compared to 97 today. There are currently 85,520 civil service employees, of which 68.6% entered through direct competition, 7.4% of civil service workers are women, 5.4% are from indigenous communities, 4.1% are Madhesi, 1.6% are Dalit, 0.8% are people with disabilities, and 0.7% are from backward areas.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the percentage of Khas Arya Nepalis in the civil service has gone down from 80.6% before the implementation of reservation to 70% at present – still the largest share in the civil service.&nbsp; According to the National Census, Brahmins, constitute 11.3% of the population but make up 34.18% of the civil service, while Chhetris who make up 16.45% of the population hold 19.15% of government jobs. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/quality-of-equality-for-women">Quality of equality for women</a>, Editorial

Reaffirming affirmative action

Nepal has seen a dramatic recent growth in its Information Technology (IT) sector with tech companies and freelancers building software products, as well as providing digital services for clients all over the world. Nepal’s IT service export industry in just the first half of 2023 is estimated at $800 million, although some say this is an underestimation. In 2022, an Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) report valued IT exports at $515 million, a whopping 64.2% growth over the previous year. Annual IT exports now surpasses Nepal’s direct earnings from the tourism industry. Besides assisting in bridging the balance of trade deficit, it also provides jobs to thousands of young engineers who may otherwise have emigrated. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are already impacting programming and software, however this can also allow Nepal to leapfrog into a new age of innovation by building on its young talent pool. “Nepal slept through the last tech revolution,” says Kiran Bhakta Joshi of <a href="https://www.incessantrain.com">Incessant Rain Studios</a>, referring to the dot-com boom of the internet bubble between the mid 1990s to the early 2000s as everything started going digital and online. “AI provides us the chance to harness cutting-edge technology and shape our future.” The growth of Nepal’s tech industry is happening in parallel with the boom in the global AI market with dozens of new apps coming up every day. Nepal should take advantage of both trends and go all in on AI. The IT sector in Nepal directly and indirectly employs an estimated 1.5 million people already, and by declaring the next 10 years the Decade of Information Technology could give tech exports a boost. Joshi is the founder of Incessant Rain Studios and has worked on some of the most iconic animated movies of all time like The Lion King and Beauty and The Beast. He recalls how, while working at Disney, digital animation replaced traditional drawing methods really rapidly. Learning from this, Nepal’s planners and government should be taking proactive steps to help tech companies here succeed in the AI game. Nepal needs the infrastructure, human resources and foreign investment to take maximum advantage. But, says AI scientist Suresh Manandhar: “Nepal is going to miss the AI surge. It is a policy issue. As long as there are policies strictly regulating what foreign investors can do with their profits, overseas funds in the tech sector will be low.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/it-is-it">IT is it</a>, Sahina Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024090519090_1bbad3bb319c0989b10419512f828afd27d0b3f6a15cf5b58dd888861363875b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024090519090_1bbad3bb319c0989b10419512f828afd27d0b3f6a15cf5b58dd888861363875b" data-rendition-name="original" width="674" height="893" loading="lazy" alt="IT revenue Nepal NT"> </figure>  Besides barriers to more foreign investment in Nepal’s IT sector, there is also a skills gap. The 2022 IIDS report talked to Nepal-based IT companies about problems regarding outsourcing work, and 67% of them cited the lack of skill and competence, and 53% noted a lack of professionalism. And that is an area in which Nepalis cannot get away with blaming politicians. A large part of the appeal of tech careers is the ability to self-learn, and courses, videos and books are free all over the internet. The IIDS report stated that a fifth of all IT sector workers did not have any degree. This means Nepalis must first concentrate on self-learning before they can master machine learning and AI. Tech promoters say that there is not much we can expect from computer institutes or the government.&nbsp; Suresh Manandhar is an AI scientist with over 30 years of experience in research, teaching and startups. Manandhar taught at the University of York for 23 years, heading its Artificial Intelligence Research Group.&nbsp; He is currently head of Artificial Intelligence Research at <a href="https://fusemachines.com">Fusemachines</a> and Honorary Chair in Artificial Intelligence at the Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST) in Chitlang near Kathmandu.&nbsp; Manandhar’s priority for now is with his startup software company, <a href="https://wiseyak.com">Wiseyak</a>, a healthcare initiative that uses AI and machine learning to enhance medical care and treatment. It also provides intelligent chatbots for the Nepalese and International market, and is working on large language models of its own that are more bilingual in Nepali and English, with transcription and conversational capabilities.&nbsp; “We are one of few companies in Nepal working with our own AI models, most companies are using APIs,” Manandhar told us. While Wiseyak trains its own AI models, most other Nepali software companies simply integrate advanced AI tools like ChatGPT into the programs they build.&nbsp; Manandhar says that as long as Nepal’s foreign investment policies are restrictive with strict rules on what investors can do with their profits, the flow of overseas funds will be low. “Running Wiseyak has been very difficult, much more than I thought,” he admits. With AI applications getting better at generating deep fake videos, Kiran Joshi at Incessant Rain Studios is aware of its impending impact on animation and his business. After all, his company has done well because Nepali animators are less expensive to hire than ones in Japan or the West. Joshi reckons that given the rapid advances in AI capabilities, the entertainment industry has about two years before AI is able to produce content close to the quality Hollywood requires.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bringing-silicon-valley-to-kathmandu-valley">Bringing Silicon Valley to Kathmandu Valley</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024090519090_7a3f29eb41d6279075d4310ea35738f78a5c111cae22520f93be35f089faefb0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024090519090_7a3f29eb41d6279075d4310ea35738f78a5c111cae22520f93be35f089faefb0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="IT company Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA/NT ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  But Hollywood is already panicking, with both writers and actors going on strike in 2023 demanding safeguards against losing their jobs to AI. “The landscape is incredibly volatile. You have to lead, and you have to stay very agile,” says Joshi, who is taking as many steps as possible at Incessant Rain in Kathmandu to stay ahead of the curve – to tame AI as a tool, instead of being devoured by it. Joshi’s studio has introduced AI tools into its workflow, and is working with a Hollywood startup to carry out the manual, repetitive parts of animation post-production. Incessant Rain’s artists and animators all dedicate some of their time to learn about AI tools in their departments, and share findings with the large staff. Two years ago, Joshi established an academy to teach the fundamentals of animation and storytelling. Starting October, his team is adding a course that goes over the basics of programming AI. Another successful Nepal-based company that focuses on AI is Fusemachines, founded in 2013 by Sameer Maskey, who has a PhD in AI and Machine Learning from Columbia University, where he now also teaches. Maskey had a prolific research career while also building a startup that is now headquartered in New York, and became the first Nepali company to be listed on the NASDAQ to go public. Fusemachines makes several AI products, including Xtract, which understands and extracts important information from documents. Another is Fraud Detection AI, which identifies and investigates scamming patterns. Yet another application forecasts demand and inventory, promising high precision. The company also runs a fellowship program as part of its pledge to ‘Democratise AI’, which involves a scholarship for a six-month course that aims at ‘producing high-quality AI and data science talent’. For Manandhar and others in Nepal’s IT sector, finding venture capital and other investors to keep their companies running is a major hurdle, and the government so far has not only been no help, but has proven to be a hindrance.&nbsp; Kathmandu University has an AI course, COMP 472, and the syllabus is outdated with vague course objectives promising students will ‘get the full picture of AI easily’ and even adds that if interested they ‘may go on to graduate school for further study’. The government recently released a ‘Concept Paper’ about AI in which it mentioned Alan Turing and the ‘Lmitation Game’ (sic, typo in the report) in its executive summary. The document does identify problems such as a lack of skill and infrastructure and data security concerns. But the government’s foremost priority seems to be to regulate AI, and the second seems to be to make sure developers know the rules and follow them. Increasing research comes third, but with no pathway to reach it. AI is now designed for quality control at factories or used in spotting cancerous tissue, but even before scientists have decided how it will affect jobs and technology, the Nepal government already wants to regulate it. Those resources would be better spent in making computers and the internet more accessible to citizens in underserved schools. “Forget dealing with the bureaucracy, we use redundancy to get around the challenges we face in Nepal,” says Joshi, who has taught himself accounting-for-risk and do-it-yourself lessons running his business in Nepal. The IT business already deals with prolonged power and Internet outages, and as more and more young Nepali engineers leave the country, or are planning to leave, technical staff needs to be replaced with year-round training to deal with the turnover. “People migrate mainly for two reasons. They need money, or their job bores them. So I give my team projects that are interesting to work on,” says Joshi, who saw a lull in business during the Hollywood strike. More successful tech companies means more jobs for Nepalis who prefer to stay home, more revenue for the government, hence more reinvestment in the sector, and a way to break the overwhelming dependence on remittance. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/natural-intelligence">Natural Intelligence</a>, Nepali Times

Self-learning comes before machine learning

Shakti (शक्ति) in Hinduism is the all-powerful feminine goddess without whom the masculine form is just a shadow. The mother goddess is also प्रकृति (nature), signifying the intimate link of all life forms with the female creator being. &nbsp;
This week, women across Nepal have been celebrating the runup to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/women-celebrate-tij">nationwide carnival of Tij,</a> and the main day this year falls on 6 September.&nbsp;
Tij has traditionally been a symbol of entrenched patriarchy in Nepali society and a festival to put women in their place. They are required to fast all day to ensure longevity of their husbands, reinforcing the idea that a woman’s worth is tied to a man.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/parodying-patriarchy-at-tij">Parodying patriarchy at Tij</a>, Sewa Bhattarai
However, Nepali womanhood has coopted Tij and turned it into a festival of emancipation, independence and even defiance. Leading up to the festival, artists and singers have released music videos on social media platforms with scathing satire, commentary, and protest. Tij has become the stage on which to highlight continued discrimination, abuse, even rapes and murders of women which have gone largely unpunished.&nbsp;
The way Nepalis celebrate our myriad post-monsoon festivals has changed with increased disposable income, and in the process become more commercialised and consumerist. But just to show who is in charge, the Kathmandu District Administration on Tuesday issued a notice saying any ‘unnecessarily extravagant celebration’ of Tij would result in legal action.Why does Kathmandu’s moral police feel it is necessary to control merry-making on the one day that Nepali women have reclaimed for themselves? Don’t they have bigger fish to fry? Like arresting convicted rapists? &nbsp;
The 2015 Constitution has ensured better representation of hitherto excluded groups like women across all sectors. In theory. &nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16252">Re-inventing Tij</a>, Mallika Aryal
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/songs-of-rebellion,3249">Songs of rebellion</a>, Smriti Basnet
Even though the amendment to Nepal’s Civil Service Act has reserved 33% of civil service seats for women, they make up just 7.41% of the total jobs. Women from underserved communities suffer double discrimination.&nbsp;
Women and minorities in politics tend to be token nominations just to fulfil quota requirements. Women were elected to every local council as either a mayor or deputy mayor in 2017, but electoral alliances between political parties in the 2022 elections at all three levels of government gave politicians loopholes to bypass this requirement.
Indeed, while the number of female mayors and chairpersons rose slightly from 18 in 2017 to 25 in 2022, the number of deputy chiefs in 761 local governments fell steeply from 718 women to 564 at the same time.&nbsp;
Similarly, the 2015 Constitution mandated that 33% of MPs had to be women. Most female parliamentarians were never given a ticket for direct elections by their parties, they had to get into Parliament via the Proportional Representation (PR) system and are therefore not taken seriously by their male peers.&nbsp;
The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/more-things-change-more-they-remain-the-same">current coalition government of the NC and UML</a> came to power two months ago on the purported agenda of scrapping the PR system with a constitutional amendment, arguing it has brought political instability.&nbsp;
Forget for a moment that it is serial septuagenarian prime ministers of the three main parties who are more responsible for decades of instability, but women and other excluded communities are in real danger of losing guarantees of political representation.&nbsp;
The 2021 census shows the female population over the age of 10 who are economically active has increased from 29.2% to 60.4%. Women manage nearly 30% of all small and medium businesses.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-enterprising-women-in-politics">Nepal’s enterprising women in politics</a>, Samjhana BK
Female land and property ownership has increased since women were guaranteed inheritance rights. But while businesses registered by women are on the rise, this is largely so that male family members can use up subsidies for female-owned enterprises.&nbsp;
However progressive the laws, that is only the first step. True equality cannot be achieved until women are socio-culturally empowered to make their own decisions: whether or not to get married, when and to whom, to join the workforce after marriage or be a homemaker, have children (and how many) or not have them, get divorced, or remarry.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/50-outstanding-women-of-nepal">50 outstanding women of Nepal</a>, Pratibha Tuladhar
There is no right or wrong in all this, it is a woman’s choice. Family, society and community have no right to critique their decision. Patriarchy has contributed to gender inequality, but internalised misogyny lurks deep within society.
This is reflected in how Nepali families (including some matriarchs) continue to treat their daughters-in-law as slaves. Socialisation is so entrenched that in many cases, it is female family members who banish daughters to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/women-speaking-out-against-chaupadi,3518">chhau huts</a> during their periods because of fears of divine retribution.
Recently, it was women who defended a self-proclaimed ‘godwoman’ who sermonised that women must endure abuse and exploitation at the hands of the husband and his family because divorce is “unnatural”. &nbsp;
Nepali society has a lot to learn and unlearn so that the next generation can finally break free of the shackles of discrimination, exploitation, abuse, and inequality.
Shristi Karki

Quality of equality for women

Bidya Prasad Pant was a junior ophthalmic assistant at <a href="https://getaeyehospital.org.np/">Geta Eye Hospital</a> in Dhangadi when a 70-year-old man, blinded by cataract, was brought in by a relative who carried him for a week in a bamboo basket from Bajhang.&nbsp; Back then in 1984, the charity-funded hospital only performed cataract operations when its Nordic surgeons were visiting. So the man had to be turned away. &nbsp; “It made me feel helpless, my inability to help the man touched me deeply. I made up my mind to be an eye surgeon myself,” Pant told us just before flying to Copenhagen to receive this year’s Boberg-Ans Award from the Danish Ophthalmological Society on 27 September for 'significant contribution to the dissemination and advancement of cataract surgery in the developing world'. In the past 40 years, Pant has done over 200,000 eye surgeries in Nepal, Burma, and around the world. He possibly holds the record for most eye surgeries: 312 in one day and 16,005 in one year. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/myopia">MYOPIA</a>, Yugeshwor Koirala Pant shuns publicity, and agreed to this interview after repeated requests. His is an extraordinary journey of determination, perseverance -- and vision. The cheapest and fastest way to become a doctor those days was to go to Russia. Pant left his wife with three children at home and went to Russia in 1992 and graduated in 1999 from Rostov-on-Don, specialising in eye surgery. He was then invited by his surgeon colleague from Geta, Dag Riise, to Hamar in Norway to get further training in ocular operations. The conflict was raging in Nepal, and Riise offered Pant a job in Hamar, but he refused. Pant did not just return to Nepal, but came back to Dhangadi to rejoin Geta.&nbsp; Riise regarded Pant as his “Nepali son” and the family invited him for his funeral in 2013 after he drowned at age 81 during a skiing accident. Back in Nepal, Pant devoted his life to expanding Geta, which offered free surgeries to patients from Nepal and India.&nbsp; Bidya Pant was trained as his surgical assistant by Albert Kolstad who founded Geta Eye Hospital in 1982 as a WHO and Norwegian government project. Kolstad’s wife Sissel Halden remembers Pant as a “gifted young man”. She adds: “My husband noticed his potential immediately. Bidya was smart, a fast learner and he started doing cataract surgery under supervision. His work as a surgeon was outstanding.” Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/dhanvantari-miracle-men-sanduk-ruit-cataract-surgery,751"> The miracle men</a>, Buddha Basnyat  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240905100948_59cd6d0dbb32d14d337909ac270880f223547bc7a112271a2a4e4c1cd1fc4cb2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240905100948_59cd6d0dbb32d14d337909ac270880f223547bc7a112271a2a4e4c1cd1fc4cb2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Bidya Prasad Pant eye surgeon NT 2"> <figcaption>Bidya Prasad Pant has performed over 200,000 ocular surgeries in the last 40 years, including in Burma, Ethiopia, Nepal and with Orbis Flying Eye Hospital.</figcaption> </figure>  When an Indian diplomat visiting Dhangadi noticed that 85% of the patients at Geta were from India, the embassy helped build an annexe to the hospital. More surgeons were trained, and at one point the hospital was performing 45,000 surgeries a year. <a href="https://helpmesee.org/meet-dr-bidya-pant-from-nepal/">Pant worked with HelpMeSee </a>to perform free surgeries in Nepal, and also on board<a href="https://www.orbis.org/en/news/2020/10-facts-flying-eye-hospital"> DC-10s of Orbis</a>, the flying eye hospital hopping to airports all over Africa, Asia and Latin America.&nbsp; Since 2014, Pant has been doing free eye surgeries for<a href="https://dak.org.au/"> Australia's DAK Foundation</a> in developing countries, and he and his team have performed 300,000 operations just in Burma. &nbsp; The need is still great because of the backlog of ageing patients, and greater ultraviolet solar radiation risk at higher altitudes due to the thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer. Cataract is the cause of more than half the blindness worldwide, and this will increase by 70% in the next 25 years.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/sanduk-%C2%ADruit-%C2%ADtil-ganga,2574">New vision for Nepal</a>, Stéphane Huët One of the neediest places is the Burmese hinterland near Mandalay where Pant leads a team of surgeons at Tipitaka Chalupala Eye Hospital and Monastery. “When I first went to Yangon in 2013 there were people waiting up to six months in queue for eye surgery,” recalls Pant. Burmese Nepalis were excited a doctor from Nepal was doing the operations. When his father died last year in Dhangadi, Pant’s Burmese patients collected more than $4,500 as donation, which he promptly handed over to the monastery.&nbsp; Pant was not just operating, but also helping Burmese surgeons to be trained at Kathmandu’s <a href="https://tilganga.org/">Tilganga </a>and other hospitals.&nbsp; For his work in Burma, Pant was recognised by the British Medical Journal with the Surgical Team of the Year award, and the International Association of Preventive Blindness (IAPB) Eye Health Hero Award in 2017. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-far-sighted-eye-care">Nepal's far-sighted eye care</a>, Sonia Awale

Nepali surgeon with a vision for the world

Top news

In 2019, India released a reformatted political map that included disputed territories of Kalapani which Nepal also claims to be within its boundary. It unleashed a public uproar in the country and a crossparty consensus in Parliament passed a new map of Nepal including Kalapani from Parliament.
Kalapani has been a contentious topic ever since British India days, and Kathmandu’s seeming disinterest about this remote tip of the country. Twenty years ago this week, our reporter Sharad KC found out for himself when he was stopped and questioned by Indian authorities at a border checkpoint along the east bank of the Mahakali well within Nepali territory.
Excerpt of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2049">report </a>published in <a href="https://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_213.pdf">issue #213 10 – 16 September 2004</a>:
"Where are you going?" they asked angrily in Hindi … Didn't you see the flag? Why did you cross the checkpoint? Why are you really here? How many Maoists are there on that side? What kind of weapons do they have?"
A uniformed official then accused us of being Maoists and tried to scare us by telling his runner to have blindfolds and red hot iron rods ready at their camp.
Just then another senior-looking fellow in civvies from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police approached and asked us who we were and why we were there. We told him. He pointed to a barren mountain to the east and explained that was the border. He finally let us go, but not before one of his assistants had exposed the film in our camera.Later after comparing maps and talking to officials in Darchula, it was clear that now the Indians don't just regard the east bank of the Mahakali as their territory. They don't even regard the smaller tributary that comes down from Lipu Lekh as the border, and nor even the small stream that feeds into it. What is the de facto 'line of control' where we were stopped is now 600m southeast of the stream on a bluff overlooking the river, which is supposed to be right inside Nepal.
For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/">nepalitimes.com</a>.

Lines on the map

Bhogendra Kathayat successfully defended his PhD thesis at Tribhuvan University, and the very next night he was at Tribhuvan International Airport.&nbsp; No, not to emigrate, but to captain a Nepal Airlines Airbus A330 on a 7-hour flight to Narita. Capt Kathayat, 41, is now the only PhD airline pilot in Nepal, and one of a handful actively flying internationally. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/women-standing-above-the-ground">Standing above the crowd</a>, Ayesha Shakya Born in the village of Sanischare in Morang to a farming family, it was a hard life. Money was always short, and the four siblings went to a village school with mud floors.&nbsp; Kathayat excelled in his studies, earning a scholarship after topping the entrance exam out of 1,000 students for admission into<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tri-chandras-run-down-state-is-a-microcosm-of-nepal"> Tri Chandra College in Kathmandu</a>. Always good in maths, he passed his MSc in Physics with flying colours – which may be why he took up flying next.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024082213088_f1f4ffbfff44f8701cf6808495375afecc6f978632e5c1090af614ed5ccf2b45.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024082213088_f1f4ffbfff44f8701cf6808495375afecc6f978632e5c1090af614ed5ccf2b45" data-rendition-name="original" width="1298" height="1316" loading="lazy" alt="doctor-pilot Capt Kathayat NT1"> </figure>  This was 2006, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10616#.YV7B7tVBypp">the conflict</a> had just ended, and Nepal Airlines announced a scheme for pilot training. His parents did not have the collateral to afford the Rs3.4 million loan to pay for flight school. But Kathayat managed to borrow from relatives, and was off to Kota Bahru in Malaysia.&nbsp; When he returned after a year to join Nepal Airlines, Kathayat was flying Twin Otters but did not even have a driving license because he could not afford a car or motorcycle. He was a Himalayan bush pilot for the next seven years, flying in challenging weather and terrain to remote airfields carved out of mountainsides.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously">60 years of living dangerously</a>, Kunda Dixit In 2015, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/jet-closure-benefits-nepal-airlines">Nepal Airlines</a> bought two Airbus A320s, and Capt Kathayat was off to Toulouse – leaping straight from Twin Otters to twin jets. But it was easier for him than for colleagues who had been flying 757s, because Boeing and Airbus have different philosophies of flying. After being on 320s for three years, Kathayat upgraded to the bigger Airbus A330s, but still does not have a car license and arrived for this interview in a Honda Unicorn. “Although I felt like aviation was in my blood, there was this nagging sense that my education was incomplete,” Capt Kathayat recalls. Meeting Nepal’s foremost atmospheric scientist Arnico Panday on a flight, he was convinced that Nepal needed more scientific research into<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking"> air pollution</a>. Since Panday is an aviation buff himself, they devised a way to use decades of visibility data from Nepal’s airports to come up with policy-level solutions to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/making-monsoon-flying-safer-in-nepal">improve aviation safety</a> as well as public health.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240822120848_523fef9cb91959c2b39f2798fbbd066d9d55f4c9778ff692dd957cb58cdd827e.png" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240822120848_523fef9cb91959c2b39f2798fbbd066d9d55f4c9778ff692dd957cb58cdd827e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1922" height="1062" loading="lazy" alt="doctor-pilot Capt Kathayat NT3"> <figcaption>Capt Kathayat(right) and Arnico Panday(left)</figcaption> </figure>  Capt Kathayat used long layovers in Dubai, Doha and Tokyo to pore over historical airport data from Bhairawa and Kathmandu to look into how domestic and crossborder pollution sources, humidity, or aerosols affected the optical property of suspended particulates. He also analysed seasonal and time of day variations. The results were predictable: the number of days with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/good-cop-bad-cop">heavy smog in Kathmandu</a> increased steeply after 2000. The days when planes could land under visual flight rules (VFR) had gone down in Bhairawa, especially as winter fog had become thicker, more frequent and long-lasting.&nbsp; Kathayat’s PhD thesis also carries recommendations. Bhairawa may not always be useful as an alternate airport for big jets in winter because it is fogged up when Kathmandu visibility is also below minima. Bhairawa will need a Cat II Instrument Landing System (ILS).&nbsp; The long-term solutions are to control pollution at source, and in Kathmandu that means vehicular emission, open garbage fires, cross residue burning, and in Bhairawa reducing industrial and crop burning. But for both airports, visibility will remain marginal unless pollution is controlled in north India. Capt Kathayat’s PhD adviser,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/arnico-panday-the-political-scientist"> Arnico Panday who is also a member of the opposition RSP</a>, is a proud mentor. He says: “Capt Bhogendra is the hardest working student I have ever supervised, and his topic is very relevant for aviation safety and efficient flight operations.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240822120856_f455cfac962eada84c53b588575b80051845107ab83371509d9eab6648fe03e8.png" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240822120856_f455cfac962eada84c53b588575b80051845107ab83371509d9eab6648fe03e8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1636" height="1302" loading="lazy" alt="doctor-pilot CaptKathayat NT 4"> <figcaption>Arnico Panday, Capt Kathayat, and his Phd supervisor Narayan Chapagain after his Phd thesis defence </figcaption> </figure>  At a time when most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/brain-gain-into-brain-drain">young Nepalis are cynical about the country’s future</a>, this doctor-pilot is an example of how, given the opportunity, even Nepalis from the humblest beginnings can rise up. Says Capt Kathayat: “It is fashionable nowadays to be negative about the government, but I keep reminding myself that I would not be where I am today without government subsidies, government scholarships and the opportunity that a government-owned airline provided me.” Yes, and plus a lot of hard work and perseverance.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024082306084_adf00d94a8d7229ab1ef05fe5862dfc3203e7f9a9a36b4df30ae328005c2368b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2024082306084_adf00d94a8d7229ab1ef05fe5862dfc3203e7f9a9a36b4df30ae328005c2368b" data-rendition-name="original" width="996" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's flying doctor"> </figure>

Nepal’s flying doctor

More than 2.5 million Nepalis left the country just in the last three years to study and work abroad. In the past year alone, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/push-factors-driving-nepalis-out">nearly 900,000 students and migrant workers flew out of Kathmandu airport</a>. These figures do not include those who crossed over to India.&nbsp;
There were, of course, returnees in that period, but it is estimated that up to 16% of Nepal’s population at any given time is outside the country. Most of them are 20-35 years old, which means an estimated q<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-demographic-window-is-closing">uarter of all Nepalis in that age group are abroad</a>.&nbsp;
It is mandatory for students going overseas to get a certificate from the Ministry of Education, and last year alone 112,593 were issued -- nearly double the pre-Covid figure (graph, below).
Before leaving, Nepali students officially exchanged Rs117 billion last year into hard currency to pay for their education costs. The actual figure through unregulated channels is probably higher.
<div class="embed-block"><iframe title="MORE NO OBJECTIONS" aria-label="Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-OBL1y" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/OBL1y/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="600" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script>All graphs: RAMESH KUMAR</div>
<div class="embed-block"><iframe title="$ in, $ out" aria-label="Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-gUPnY" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/gUPnY/4/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="600" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}(); </script></div>
Meanwhile, the 4 million <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/the-migration-myth">Nepali migrant workers</a> in Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Korea, Europe and elsewhere sent back through banking channels Rs1.47 trillion in remittances ($11 billion) last year. Actual figures are higher.
“The great irony is that while poorer Nepalis toil in the Gulf and Malaysia to increase our foreign exchange reserves, middle and upper class families are exchanging a part of that money to pay for college fees, travel and medical care abroad,” points out migration researcher Ganesh Gurung.
The numbers going to Australia and Canada dropped last year because of visa restrictions. But that has been more than made up by a 30% uptick in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-hard-working-students-overseas">Nepali students</a> going to the US (11,261) and UK (13,339) compared to last year.
But by far the largest number of students are going to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepalis-are-flocking-to-okinawa">Japan</a> (34,731) which is also an increase of 30% over the previous year (map, below). Numbers going to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/yo-man-ta-mero-nepali-ho">South Korea</a> doubled in one year to 6,889.&nbsp;
Nepalis go to 66 countries for higher studies, with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/looking-for-the-nepali-dream">Denmark</a>, Finland and France becoming more popular, although the numbers are still much lower than the top six.
Till recently, Nepalis were the third largest number of foreign students in Australia. They were number three also in Canada. Nepalis were among the top ten in the US.
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It is no secret that many young Nepalis leaving on student visas <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-certificate">intend to emigrate permanently</a>.&nbsp;
Countries in the Global North experiencing declining populations know this, but find it a convenient way to allow controlled entry for much-needed workers in the service or tech sectors.
“Many young Nepalis plan to settle in first-world countries eventually, or to return only after 10-20 years,” affirms migration expert Ganesh Gurung.&nbsp;
“Destination countries benefit too, they are getting a new generation of cheap labour without having spent anything on raising or educating them. What’s more, they also earn university fees. It’s a way for them to allow calibrated migration,” he adds.
Nearly half the students coming out of 10+2 schools opt to go <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/More-Nepali-students-settle-overseas,528">abroad for higher education</a>, leading to a significant drop in college enrolment across Nepal.&nbsp;
Just like migrant workers are a safety valve that lets the government off the hook from providing jobs at home, students going abroad allows the state to dodge its responsibility to improve higher education quality here.&nbsp;
Indeed, some argue that better universities and colleges in Nepal would not lessen the exodus of young Nepalis, because many of them intend to emigrate for good.&nbsp;
“Yes, student visas have become a means to an end, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/hardworking-students">the goal is to work and settle</a>,” says Narottam Aryal of King’s College in Kathmandu. “But more alarming than the figures of students leaving is that we are taking it so casually, calling it normal."&nbsp;
He adds: “Let us not worry about people who will leave anyway, but focus on the students who will stay if Nepal’s higher education is system is redesigned, repurposed and reformed to foster an entrepreneurial mindset so they benefit the country.”&nbsp;
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The method of education in state-run colleges and universities are still stuck in the era of rote learning taught by under-motivated teachers using outdated curricula, regurgitating memorised answers at exam time. The university environment is politicised and there are frequent disruptions with delayed exam results.
One way to change this is twinning with international universities, but for this there has to be a less xenophobic and transparent government machinery that is open to new methods.
“Accreditations, partnerships and exchanges with institutions around the world will open up opportunities for students,” says Aryal. “The government should welcome foreign universities, they will force us to raise the standard of our education.”
Information technology and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/grass-is-greener-overseas-for-nepals-doctors">medicine</a> are among the most lucrative options for Nepali students abroad. Institutions of higher learning in Nepal itself could specialise in inter-disciplinary liberal arts, social studies, agriculture and the environment, public health, hospitality, or heritage studies.&nbsp;
Youth are also leaving because there is no guarantee of jobs even when they get a higher degree here. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/brain-drain-into-brain-gain">The informal sector</a> is still the biggest employer, and job options in private companies and civil service are limited.&nbsp;
Ganesh Gurung says the education sector must adapt to the changing labour market such that Nepal produces skilled human resources in the areas with high demand like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nursing-grievances-against-the-state">nursing</a>.
He adds, “The focus must be on our strengths. The economy can be revived by making the best use of Nepal’s natural beauty to generate jobs in the hospitality industry, and turn it into a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/go-away">destination for international retirees</a>.”&nbsp;

Brain gain into brain drain

A flash debris flow just after noon on 16 August had damaged half the village of Thame in the Everest region, but no human casualties have been reported.&nbsp; Experts and residents have said <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">rapid melting of the Himalaya</a> due to climate breakdown was the cause of this and more frequent flash floods on Nepal glacier-fed rivers in the past years. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">Nepal’s mountains are melting</a>, Alton C Byers  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817040812_b5c90a2ec0cdf7aede204f3912c646f2a30b8fbb668548f8f6ba832c47e6a608.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240817040812_b5c90a2ec0cdf7aede204f3912c646f2a30b8fbb668548f8f6ba832c47e6a608" data-rendition-name="original" width="1050" height="535" loading="lazy" alt="Thame flash flood NT 2"> <figcaption>Friday afternoon after the flood hit Thame.</figcaption> </figure>  Early reports said five lodges, a school, a health clinic and 12 homes were damaged in Thame, which usually has a population of 300 Sherpa people who depend mostly on trekking and mountaineering for their livelihood. One person who was trapped in one of the buildings is said to be missing.&nbsp; Thame was hit by an even more devastating <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Dig-Tsho-4-400-m-as1-the-pear-shaped-glacial-lake-lies-embedded-in-the-uppermost_fig12_271811212" target="_blank">glacial lake outburst flood on 4 August 1985</a> when the Dig Tso lake burst after an avalanche from the east face of the 6,940m high Tengi Rau fell into the lake. Twelve people were killed then, a hydropower plant was destroyed and part of the Everest trekking trail was washed away. Thame also suffered extensive damage in the 2015 earthquake.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817030856_ab024c339325d46527245315cdf1682da699499c8b2532388f4d8d93e76d0c72.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240817030856_ab024c339325d46527245315cdf1682da699499c8b2532388f4d8d93e76d0c72" data-rendition-name="original" width="1182" height="774" loading="lazy" alt="4 August 1985 Dig Tso lake glacial lake outburst flood NT"> <figcaption>The glacial lake outburst flood in 1985. </figcaption> </figure>  Dig Tso has again filled up in the past decades due to glacial melt and could have burst again, experts say. There was heavy rain in the catchment area of the Bhote Kosi this week, and this could have also swept down melted glacial moraine from further up the mountain.&nbsp; “Unfortunately, those of us who have done the least to contribute to this man-made climate change are the ones facing the worst consequences,” said Dawa Steven Sherpa, mountaineer and tourism entrepreneur. “When will we learn that for many of us, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya">the threats of climate change</a> are not in some distant future but are already happening?” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/living-with-climate-anxiety">Living with climate anxiety</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari <div class="embed-block"><div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FkYJ95MCRpWY%3Fsi%3DEuyCEbZPK8Eew368&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> Thame is on the former trade route between Nepal’s Khumbu region and Tibet across the 5,806m high Nangpa La pass. After The Chinese annexation of Tibet, the trade route was closed and the Sherpa people turned from being traders to mountaineering guides. There are several other smaller glacial lakes upstream from Thame, and a team from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) flew to the valley on Saturday morning to find the actual cause. “We weren’t aware that the lakes were at the risk of bursting but we suspect it might have been Dig Tso again, or one of them,” Ward chair Pasang Galzen Sherpa. Dig is a highland yak pasture below the lakes, and it is not known if any livestock of herders were affected.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817040812_08b1a13e9e5cff070775f7b91aa46e1c57298a26e56f7ddf8e75586020fff596.png" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240817040812_08b1a13e9e5cff070775f7b91aa46e1c57298a26e56f7ddf8e75586020fff596" data-rendition-name="original" width="1070" height="1610" loading="lazy" alt="Glacial outburst Thame flash flood NT 3"> </figure>  The sudden flood in Thame Khola at about 1:30PM on Friday gave locals just enough time to flee to safer higher ground. The trekking off-season meant this Sherpa village of 45 families at about 3,800m in Khumbu Valley was relatively empty. Thame is also the staging point for the Renzo La traverse from Thame to Gokyo Valley. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga">Tracing past glacial floods in Kangchenjunga</a>, Alton C Byers  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817040816_72a0727d11706de3e845caf759a3356f47c5751f72535d4d2bd7ecc3baa31a42.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240817040816_72a0727d11706de3e845caf759a3356f47c5751f72535d4d2bd7ecc3baa31a42" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Thame flash flood NT 4"> </figure>  The District Administration Office of Khotang issued an alert about a flash flood downstream on the Dudh Kosi into which the Bhote Kosi flows. The District Police Office, Halesi Tuwachung Municipality, Aiselukharka Rural Municipality and Rawabensi Rural Municipality have asked people to move to higher ground, but no casualties or major damage was reported overnight. Nepal Police in Thambuche and Namche and a team from the Nepal Army have been deployed in the flood-damaged areas. Helicopter flights were prevented from reaching the site on Friday due to bad weather.

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