<article>Twenty years ago this week, we published in-depth stories about how brick kilns were causing irreversible environmental damage. Today, most of the Valley’s brick kilns have relocated to the outskirts of Bhaktapur while some owners have adapted to cleaner technologies. But kilns are still the major sources of air pollution in winter in Kathmandu. Excerpts of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2508">report</a> published in <a href="https://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_202.pdf">issue #202 25 June – 1 July 2004</a>: The changing land-use pattern in the Valley is evident on the outskirts of Kathmandu and Lalitpur as more and more land is devoured by urban sprawl. The remaining arable land is increasingly turned into clay mines to supply brick kilns. Farmers are leasing land to kilns, and in the process losing the fertility of their topsoil.The 120 brick kilns in the Valley erode the topsoil completely, and what the farmer gets back at the end of the lease is a large pit devoid of any agricultural value. Brick kilns run mostly from December to June, and the farmer is paid the equivalent of a wheat harvest in the area being leased… …The farmer is compensated 160kg of wheat priced at Rs11 per kg for every season his land is leased. What is not factored into the calculation is that in one year, the farmer will have lost 220cm of the irreplaceable topsoil……Gyan Bahadur remembers when his land gave him 480kg of paddy with just organic fertiliser. Today, the same field produces only 180kg, and even this with lots of hard work hauling fertilisers. He has also seen his vegetable crop go down and his profit margin is now nil. It actually makes more sense to lease his land for Rs 3,500 for six months to the brick kiln owner.For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/">nepalitimes.com</a></article>

Twenty years ago this week, we published in-depth stories about how brick kilns were causing irreversible environmental damage. Today, most of the Valley’s brick kilns have relocated to the outskirts of Bhaktapur while some owners have adapted to cleaner technologies. But kilns are still the major sources of air pollution in winter in Kathmandu. Excerpts of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2508">report</a> published in <a href="https://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_202.pdf">issue #202 25 June – 1 July 2004</a>: 
 
The changing land-use pattern in the Valley is evident on the outskirts of Kathmandu and Lalitpur as more and more land is devoured by urban sprawl. The remaining arable land is increasingly turned into clay mines to supply brick kilns. Farmers are leasing land to kilns, and in the process losing the fertility of their topsoil.
The 120 brick kilns in the Valley erode the topsoil completely, and what the farmer gets back at the end of the lease is a large pit devoid of any agricultural value. Brick kilns run mostly from December to June, and the farmer is paid the equivalent of a wheat harvest in the area being leased…&nbsp;
…The farmer is compensated 160kg of wheat priced at Rs11 per kg for every season his land is leased. What is not factored into the calculation is that in one year, the farmer will have lost 220cm of the irreplaceable topsoil…
…Gyan Bahadur remembers when his land gave him 480kg of paddy with just organic fertiliser. Today, the same field produces only 180kg, and even this with lots of hard work hauling fertilisers. He has also seen his vegetable crop go down and his profit margin is now nil. It actually makes more sense to lease his land for Rs 3,500 for six months to the brick kiln owner.
For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">nepalitimes.com</a>

Nepali Times issue #202 25 June – 1 July 2004

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20 Years Ago This Week

Polluting land and air

When Nirmal (Nims) Purja neared the summit of K2 during the first ever winter ascent of the world’s second tallest peak in Pakistan, he waited for the rest of his all-Nepali team to catch up.&nbsp; Then, with arms around each other’s shoulders, they sang Nepal’s national anthem, muffled through their oxygen masks and recorded it on a selfie stick as they walked together to the top with Nepal’s double triangle fluttering in the wind. In the 2021 Netflix documentary hit 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, Nims starred as himself. He provided hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide a glimpse of the Nepali character: of grit, endurance, sacrifice, and a deep love for his mother and motherland. Despite British nationality, Nims identified himself closely as a Nepali. And as a scandal erupted last month over allegations of his sexual misconduct in high places, it was Nepal’s international image that was also dented. Nims Purja is an ex-British Gurkha Special forces commando who saw action in Afghanistan, and shot to global fame in 2019 after climbing all 14 of the world’s eight thousanders in six months and six days. Now 40, Nims set up the mountaineering company Elite Exped with a VIP clientele that includes the likes of Qatar’s princess Sheikha Asma Al Thani. Nims was about setting the history straight by giving Nepali high altitude guides and porters their due in assisting Western mountaineers attain glory. Nims Purja had literally and figuratively reached the peak of his climbing career when it all came crashing down. On 31 May, The New York Times published an exposé titled For Female Climbers, Dangers Go Beyond Avalanches and Storms, in which Finnish mountaineer Lotta Hintsa and American physician April Leonardo accused Nims of sexual harassment.&nbsp; Nims responded with a 24-hour Instagram story stating he ‘unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’, and accused the Times of leaving out his full statement and critical eyewitness accounts.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024062012064_adffc0ffadb01b6da55cd5eccf1bd70e307f48b98c636e5ddb1032a088ed95a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024062012064_adffc0ffadb01b6da55cd5eccf1bd70e307f48b98c636e5ddb1032a088ed95a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1795" loading="lazy" alt="Nims Purja"> </figure>  The article did include testimonies by Nim’s guides who gave an alibi to the mountaineer, but it was countered by a statement and screenshots of text messages with timestamps by Leonardo and Hintsa, as Leonardo, in the article, replied with a statement but no physical evidence. Hintsa was a prospective employee for Elite Exped and Leonardo was his client on K2. Leonardo told the Times, ‘I’m on this crazy climb. He’s my guide. I don’t want to do anything to put myself in jeopardy.’ Both women detail Nims taking advantage of his position during precarious climbs. Many in the mountaineering community have condemned Nims and expressed support for the women. Some say the allegations are just the tip of the iceberg in a male-dominated field where toxic masculinity is often mistaken for athleticism, and celebrityhood provides immunity against misconduct. “Hats off to the women who have come forward with their stories, and I hope they will encourage others to speak up too,” German mountaineer Billi Bierling who is director of the Himalayan Database told Nepali Times. “Let’s join hands to make sure that the beautiful environment of the mountains will become a safe place for women again.” Nims has had other scrapes. He is accused of not paying proper compensation to three people killed in an oxygen cylinder explosion at a storage facility in Kathmandu in 2022. This year, he was hauled over for illegally flying a helicopter to Camp 2 on Everest. There have also been allegations, which Nims has refuted, that he uses his Nepali passport to avoid paying climbing royalties required for a British citizen. Last month, he created a flutter after claiming that someone was trying to sabotage his expedition by slicing the fixed rope on the summit ridge of Everest. The allegation was refuted, and the government issued a stern press statement saying Nims would be investigated for ‘disseminating misinformation with the intention of getting popularity’. Since The New York Times story came out, Nims Purja has lost most of his sponsors and there are questions about the future of his outfitting company.&nbsp; <h2>More scandals</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240620110656_0291669ebe30dc8e56346afc09cd4bfc6d38b197d2756049ffe272f2f334bd2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240620110656_0291669ebe30dc8e56346afc09cd4bfc6d38b197d2756049ffe272f2f334bd2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Paul Shah Sandeep Lamichhane"> <figcaption>Paul Shah (left) and Sandeep Lamichhane (right)</figcaption> </figure>  Nims Purja’s case has raised questions about other fit and famous Nepalis like cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane and actor Paul Shah, both of whom have been accused of raping underage women. The Times article coincided with the Patan High Court acquitting Lamichhane, 23, of rape due to ‘lack of evidence’ a month ahead of the T20 World Cup. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) then promptly lifted its ban on Lamichhane but he tried and failed twice to get a US visa. He could not play in the earlier games of the tournament, but made it to the matches in &nbsp;the West Indies this week.&nbsp; Nepali diaspora fans who flew to St Vincent and the Grenadines gleefully welcomed Lamichhane because most regard him as a key player in Team Nepal. The International Cricket Council (ICC) singled out Lamichhane ahead of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers as a player to look out for, and he became the captain of the national team at only 21. He was taken into judiciary custody in October 2022 for the alleged rape of a minor. He called the accusations defamatory. In January 2023, the Patan High Court let him out on bail on condition he would not leave the country. A month later, the Supreme Court lifted the ban and allowed Lamichanne to participate in the UAE Tri-Nation Series. Meanwhile the identity of the girl was leaked, subjecting her and the family to online harassment and threats from fans. Many accused the girl of extortion while others were convinced it was consensual.&nbsp; In December 2023, the Kathmandu District court found Lamichhane guilty of rape, but not the rape of a minor. It felt that Gaushala-26 (code name) lied about her age. The court dismissed school reports showing she was 17, and took her birth certificate stating she was 18 at the time as authentic. In May 2024, Lamichhane’s lawyers appealed at the Patan High Court which overturned the earlier verdict, clearing the way for him to play in the current World Cup. Lamichanne now stands cleared of all charges. His participation in the team, and Nepal’s better than expected performance at the games has overshadowed the debate about his hasty acquittal.&nbsp; Many cheerleaders on social media platforms support Lamichhane and trolled those who say this is a clear case of justice taking a backseat in favour of national glory. Another celebrity to be charged for molestation of a minor and who served time only to be mysteriously acquitted is actor Paul Shah. Much like Lamichanne's supporters, Shah’s fans trolled his accuser. Shah is now back shooting one film after another while co-stars sing praises of him. &nbsp; While MP Rajendra Bajgain called on banning Puja from the country, for tarnishing Nepal's image and making the Himalayas a safe place for women again, the development of Lamichhane and Shah's case show the bleak reality of the preservation of national image at the face of justice.

The rise and fall of Nims Purja

Since Nepal first opened its doors to the outside world in the 1950s, it has steadily gained goodwill and friends around the globe. The Nepal brand has remained strong despite political instability, a ruinous conflict, corruption, poor infrastructure and air pollution.&nbsp;
First came the high fliers of the sixties to this Shangri La, then the hippies and overlanders seeking Nirvana. Himalayan hikers and development volunteers travelled and worked in the remotest corners of Nepal where even Nepalis had never been. Scientists, academics and experts like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Toni Hagen</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-s-legacy-is-goetz-hagmueller-s-legacy">Götz Hagmüller</a> made Nepal their adopted home, and gave the country a global identity.&nbsp;
They worked in schools, hospitals, conservation or heritage projects, building lifelong connections with Nepal, immersing themselves so much in the Nepali way of life that they felt alien in their own homeland.
Many wanted to spend their last days here, and some did. But in the past year the state has made it more and more difficult for long-staying foreigners to remain, and many in their seventies and eighties have bid tearful farewells to Nepal.&nbsp;
Why is Nepal driving away its best friends? Most of those interviewed for this report did not want their names used, and many teared up when they recounted the humiliation and dead-end they encountered while trying to renew their visas.&nbsp;
Countries like Thailand issue long-term retirement visas to foreigners in return for spending a minimum of $25,000 a year. Nepal had been allowing retired foreigners to stay on long-term residential visas until recently. This has been discontinued, but no one seems to know why. When asked, officials say it is a directive from the Home Ministry.&nbsp;
The website of the Immigration Department, which falls under the Home Ministry, says that a foreigner aged 60 or above can apply for and get a residential visa in Nepal as long as they have $20,000 in their bank account every year, pay an annual visa fee, obtain a no-objection letter from a related embassy, a health certificate issued by Teaching Hospital.
But the Immigration Department has not granted any new residential visa for over a year, forcing many elderly applicants to leave for good after being given the runaround. Expats can extend their tourist visas but only for up to 5 months during a calendar year.
We asked an official at the Immigration Department why no new residential visas had been approved. His reply: “You will have to ask the Home Ministry about it, they stopped it.” Only 3 long-term residential visas have been renewed in the past year.&nbsp;
After agreeing to speak anonymously, an official asked a rhetorical question: “It boils down to two alternatives: are we going to make money from long-term visas for foreigners, or is Nepal going to be an old people’s home?”&nbsp;
Foreigners who have given up knocking on doors at the Immigration Department are used to such cynicism. One 72-year-old applicant who has spent 30 years in Nepal was bluntly told: “Sir, we don’t care if you are here or not.”
An American who has been living in Nepal for over 25 years has been trying to apply for a long-term visa for five years, and has been going in and out on a tourist visa. He was told the only way would be to pay off a broker, or get a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/The-Marston-Menagerie,4084">British couple Wendy and Robin Marston</a> who have lived in Nepal for over 45 years left the country after they were denied a residential visa. Robin was one of the pioneers of trekking in Nepal since 1978, and Wendy was involved in life-saving charities to help burns victims at hospitals in Kathmandu. &nbsp;
Austrian architect Götz Hagmüller died earlier this year in Bhaktapur aged 85 after spending more than half his life in Nepal. He made the preservation of Kathmandu Valley’s cultural heritage <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-guardian-of-the-shadows-%20G%C3%B6tz%20Hagm%C3%BCller,3352">his life’s work</a> and never left, restored<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/style-and-substance"> Kuthu Math</a>, Kaiser Mahal’s Garden of Dreams and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/patans-museum-piece">Patan Museum</a>. He was refused a residential visa, and only got to stay on in a different visa category.&nbsp;
Foreigners have two ways to get long-term visas: by enrolling as students or investing in a business. The government is tightening the student loophole, and requires foreigners to invest Rs10 million or more in Nepal. This group is mainly made up of Chinese and South Koreans who have opened restaurants in Kathmandu or Pokhara.&nbsp;
But there are hassles even in renewing business visas every year, and a hydropower investor says he cannot get his passport stamped without getting his fixer to hand cash under the table.&nbsp;
“If the Nepal government is serious about foreign investment in the country, it must clean up its act,” he told us on condition of anonymity. What puzzles long-time Nepalophiles is that officials are so intent on undermining the country’s international goodwill by being so nasty to its most devoted brand ambassadors.
There are many theories about the tightening of visas: traditional xenophobia from a time Nepal was a hermit kingdom, geopolitics, suspicions about foreigners engaged in proselytisation, corruption and lack of coordination between the tourism promotion and immigration authorities. It could even be immigration officials doing a tit-for-tat for someone they know being refused a Schengen or American visa.
The Visit Nepal Year 2020 sign is still painted on the sides of Nepal Airlines jets, the country’s tourism promotion has lofty slogans like ‘Guest Is God’ or ‘Visit Nepal: Once Is Not Enough’. On the other hand, visitors whose visa fees could be a lucrative source of income are being told they are not welcome.&nbsp;
“Nepal has so much goodwill it can capitalise on, it is a wonder that it doesn’t,” says a long-term resident. “There is a larger xenophobia and suspicions at play here, especially with the relations with the United States and the rise of India and China. But Nepal is losing out on other friends and opportunities.”
Indeed, some see pressure from China on the government to control the activities of Westerners who may be sympathetic to the Tibetan cause, and India is also seen to be wary of the presence of third-country foreigners. &nbsp;
Writing for Nepali Times, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/race-against-time">researcher George van Driem</a> says xenophobic legislation enforces an ethnic bias that seals off Nepal for long-term residents.
‘Even with the written approval of His Majesty King Birendra, it took Lt. Col. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/home-away-from-home">John Philip Cross</a> 32 years, 6 months and 2 days before he was granted citizenship. When his struggle was finally rewarded, the legendary Gurkha figure was already deep into his retirement. Yet he is the lucky exception,’ van Driem wrote. ‘This grudging attitude with respect to Nepali citizenship reflects a mind-set firmly rooted in the racial attitudes of the Mulukī Ain.’
Ironically, while Nepal is pushing away long-staying foreigners, Nepalis themselves are emigrating in droves to their countries.&nbsp;
Says an American academic who first came to Nepal in the early 1990s: “We are definitely not a drain on the economy, we are happy to pay but it is a real shame that Nepal has made it so hard for us to stay. So many have left and gone to Thailand and elsewhere. They had no other choice.”
Another 72-year-old resident who has lived in Nepal for 30 years is emotional when she says in a soft voice and with a faraway look: “Despite everything, I still wanted to live here for the rest of my days.”&nbsp;
Her residential visa application was turned down, and she is leaving Nepal for good this week.

'GO AWAY'

At the stroke of the midnight hour, and with the stroke of a pen, Nepal’s government has changed for the third time in a year.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre is out of a job after his coalition partner the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) joined hands with the Nepali Congress (NC) to form a new government.&nbsp;
The NC had previously ditched the UML to join up with the Maoists, and the UML had again defected to join the Maoist-led coalition earlier this year.
According to the deal that will be endorsed by both parties on Tuesday, K P Oli of the UML and Sher Bahadur Deuba of the NC will take turns being prime minister for 18 months each till the next election in 2027.
This will be 73-year-old Oli’s fourth time as prime minister, while Deuba, 78, who first became prime minister 30 years ago, will head the government for the sixth time.
Although Oli and Deuba say they want to form a national consensus government, it is not clear if Dahal will agree to bring his Maoist party into the new coalition. The NC is the largest party in Parliament, while the UML is second strongest, and the Maoists are a distant third.
Prime Minister Dahal will now have to prove his majority in Parliament within a month, but he could also resign after which President Ram Chandra Poudel will officially ask the biggest two parties to form a government.
Oli will then become prime minister for the fourth time, although the third time he was prime minister in 2021, he was in office for just one week when the Supreme Court overturned his decision to dissolve Parliament.
NC and UML leaders have said a new national government is necessary because of the need for a majority in the House to pass amendments to the constitutions to possibly dilute provisions for proportional representation in the legislature, which they say has led to instability and frequent changes in government.
However, the UML, NC and to a lesser extent the Maoists appear to be worried about the rise of populist parties and leaders in the last elections cashing in on the popular disillusionment among Nepalis with the three established parties who have ruled Nepal continuously for nearly two decades.
But the two leaders seem not to have realised that it is precisely this kind of political promiscuity that has led to frequent reshuffling of coalitions between the three main parties.
The NC and UML could also be acting to preempt possible investigations into scandals that their leaderships have been implicated in. Top NC leaders have been named in the fake refugee scandal, and the UML has been tainted by allegations of huge land grab of a former government-owned tea estate in Jhapa district.
By being in government, both parties could sideline investigations into scams that their top leaders are allegedly involved in. As per details of the Deuba-Oli nocturnal deal leaked to the press, the NC will get 10 ministries including the powerful Home Ministry and the UML will have nine including the finance portfolio.&nbsp;
The fate of the fourth party in Parliament, the RSP, and its controversial Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is also unclear at this stage. The RSP is in the present Dahal-led coalition and Lamichhane had bargained as a party with swing votes to insist on having the home minister’s post which he has used in the past year to deflect investigations into his citizenship and cooperatives scandals.
Dahal appears to have had wind of the Deuba-Oli rapprochement and had tried to convince the two leaders that they could join the coalition he led as prime minister. Till Monday, Dahal was trying to prevent a possible NC-UML alliance, giving speeches calling for a unity of left parties.
There could be a geopolitical angle to this, since the Chinese have openly said they favour Nepal’s Communist parties to unite. And because of this, India and the West have worked behind the scenes to prevent left-wing unity.
The UML-NC ‘coup’ would prevent the UML and the Maoists from being in the same government.
There is uncertainty about the abrupt recall of eight NC-appointed ambassadors last month by the UML-Maoist coalition. Now that the NC is back in power, will some of them be reinstated?
Another uncertainty surrounds the seven provincial governments which have risen and fallen in the past year, mostly in relation to which coalition is in power in Kathmandu. The NC-UML deal is also said to include a proportional distribution of provincial governments, even though that goes completely against the spirit of federalism and political devolution as enshrined in the Constitution.

Polluting land and air

The rise and fall of Nims Purja

'GO AWAY'

Nepal government changes again

A long way to Europe