Under the October sun, workers rest on boulders by the banks of the Rolwaling Khola. They are building what they already know may not last: a temporary bridge between the villages of Dongang and Thanding directly downstream from the Tso Rolpa glacial lake.&nbsp; Tso Rolpa used to be a debris-covered glacier with a few ponds 30 years ago. Since then it has steadily expanded into a lake 3.2km long and 100m deep dammed by a fragile moraine perched precariously above the Tama Kosi valley. The bridge is just a few long logs lashed together, anchored to giant boulders on both sides of the roaring rapids. Until a more permanent trail bridge is built, the community will have to rely on these makeshift crossings that are swept away every monsoon and have to be rebuilt.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_ac52a73789fa9097f46d1376e7dac9ba671a4c432f21d7570fc788b3b2e05c48.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025111103118_ac52a73789fa9097f46d1376e7dac9ba671a4c432f21d7570fc788b3b2e05c48" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1037" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/a-pre-monsoon-deja-vu" target="_blank">Janmu Sherpa</a>, a grandmother who ran one of Dongang’s only two lodges, was swept away when the Dorji Phungmo glacial lake up the valley burst in June last year. Her body was never found. She had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis" target="_blank">told a Nepali Times reporter</a> in 2020: “No one knows when the lakes will burst, let fate decide.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103110_8502e7de17f6d561038ecc0a9bb718109d20068690980276a3fb8e8802b54715.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025111103110_8502e7de17f6d561038ecc0a9bb718109d20068690980276a3fb8e8802b54715" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="933" loading="lazy" alt="Janmu Sherpa NT"> <figcaption>Janmu Sherpa</figcaption> </figure>  Tanka Raj Rai is a climbing guide and has watched the lake grow over the years. This year he is leading two French trekkers to Yalung Ri Base Camp and over the Tashi Lapcha Pass to the Khumbu.&nbsp; “Tso Rolpa has become much bigger than the first time I saw it,” Rai tells us. “And the pass will be more dangerous in future because of frequent avalanches and rock falls. The mountains, lake and rivers will continue to exist, but human beings may not unless we change course.” &nbsp; Tso Rolpa’s water level was reduced by 3m in in 2000 by building a sluice gate and spillway, but researchers say that as the lake continues to expand, a further drawdown of 11.5m will be needed to lower the risk of it bursting during a future earthquake, or if an avalanche falls into it. If that happens, it would be catastrophic for the settlements, hydropower plants, highways and airports down the Tama Kosi valley.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_eb45429b7fe436295a713197c547252fb698eb2f2b6b7b5146cb097b96ee76e1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025111103118_eb45429b7fe436295a713197c547252fb698eb2f2b6b7b5146cb097b96ee76e1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="1551" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  Just over the Tashi Lapcha Pass on the other side is Thame village, which has been battered repeatedly since 1985 when the Dig Tso glacial lake burst, destroying a hydropower plant and the trekking trail to Everest Base Camp. Two other lakes burst in August last year and the debris flow swept away half the houses in Thame. &nbsp; The National Adaptation Plan (2021–2050) warns that in the next five years most districts in Kosi, Madhes, Bagmati, and Gandaki Provinces will face high to very high climate risk. The Tarai will experience more floods and heatwaves, while mountain regions will see extreme weather and glacial lake outburst floods — the risk compounded by earthquakes.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251111031120_84cf391da04d064bd016785b94a7831655348c8ac878ccc49c4d3e697b58a6da.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251111031120_84cf391da04d064bd016785b94a7831655348c8ac878ccc49c4d3e697b58a6da" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1109" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  Tso Rolpa, which lies directly below Mt Gauri Shankar ((7,181m) in the Rolwaling, is scenic — the lake’s surface simmers in the sunlight and snow-capped peaks tower on all sides. This time of year, the moraine overlooking the lake becomes a popular selfie spot for trekkers. Yet, the raw beauty of the mountains distracts from the fact that the lake is a ticking time bomb as the glacier recedes and shrinks. This presents a clear and present danger for hydropower plants downstream in Dolakha and beyond the confluence of the Tama Kosi with the Sun Kosi.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_8113aa5a7f2829f3f961d435168cb4e5aee6bf64c4f4229051d36c29adee648c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2025111103118_8113aa5a7f2829f3f961d435168cb4e5aee6bf64c4f4229051d36c29adee648c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1087" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  LOOMING THREAT Nepal generates 3,500MW of &nbsp;hydropower, but the country’s energy future is threatened because most of the plants depend on water from melting Himalayan ice. And as the glaciers are replaced by lakes, they face additional risk of them bursting. This looming threat is most real with Tso Rolpa, which feeds the Rolwaling Khola that joins the Tama Kosi just above the power house of the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project that came into operation in 2021 at a cost of $450 million Tso Rolpa is one of Nepal’s largest and most unstable glacial lakes, and if it bursts it could obliterate the plant’s structures. The power house was destroyed in 2023 by a rockfall that killed four engineers, but is now back in operation after expensive repairs.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251111031116_e807dd6ed8f7aa220727878aec2f68ad492948d30bf58f741b843d520a20b41f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20251111031116_e807dd6ed8f7aa220727878aec2f68ad492948d30bf58f741b843d520a20b41f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="1525" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_84d343bcc476b4a7af14ef9df3544426d60c520b4aeda7866d3a2967dc64c12b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025111103118_84d343bcc476b4a7af14ef9df3544426d60c520b4aeda7866d3a2967dc64c12b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1205" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  Dolakha district has prospered from the construction of over a dozen hydropower plants that could generate up to one-fourth of Nepal’s total generation capacity. Even more hydropower schemes are under construction or planned.&nbsp; Nepal's Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan 2025 aims to increase generation capacity to 28,000MW in the next ten years to create potential for economic growth, job creation, and 15,000MW for export. Investments totalling $46.5 billion will be needed to meet the ambitious target, but factoring in climate risk would make it even more challenging to achieve. The sector has also been plagued by corruption and bureaucratic delays caused by outdated Environment Impact Assessments and local opposition.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_67138dacd205955bf3de4f830ee8331f7004d7a3ec8b6044bc8e3f3ebbf66c87.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025111103118_67138dacd205955bf3de4f830ee8331f7004d7a3ec8b6044bc8e3f3ebbf66c87" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="866" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111103118_302310aa3816de798485ea8eacceb1a51d446575a1bde3f468bb42a05da9f0ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025111103118_302310aa3816de798485ea8eacceb1a51d446575a1bde3f468bb42a05da9f0ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="1539" loading="lazy" alt="Hydropower on thin ice NT"> </figure>  For districts like Dolakha, the opportunities come with hazards as demonstrated by almost annual floods and landslides. But these recent disasters could be dwarfed by potential future glacial lake outbursts due to climate breakdown. Here in Dongang, the problem needs a more immediate solution as workers finish hammering together this year’s post-monsoon bridge over the Rolwaling Khola. The budget from the provincial government for a permanent suspension bridge is delayed because of the GenZ unrest, says Ward 9 Chair Imgeli Sherpa. &nbsp; The community is building more than a bridge between two villages — it is suspended between resilience and risk, and the hope that its fragile foundations will hold as the rivers rise and glaciers melt.

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Here & Now

Hydropower on thin ice

This is the 73rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. I don’t remember playing with dolls as a little girl. There is not much to remember from my childhood.&nbsp; My responsibilities began at a very young age, as I had two younger brothers to take care of. I was born in Sarlahi, but we moved around quite a bit as my father was in the government and got transferred frequently.&nbsp; From Rasuwa to Dang, from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu. I struggled to adjust in Kathmandu because I joined Grade 9 in the middle of the term. The education was different and fellow students also did not support me initially. But over time, I adjusted and made friends. I did not dream of becoming a nurse. It was by accident. I wanted to pursue medicine, but failed the entrance exam by a few marks. I did not want to lose a year, so decided to take up microbiology instead.&nbsp; I got married after my undergraduate, and my husband encouraged me to take up something more technical like nursing or engineering instead of Masters in Microbiology. As my quantitative background was weak, I chose nursing. I felt like I was born to be a nurse. Juggling my married life and studies was difficult. My teachers would often ask me why I am falling behind. It was not easy, but I managed and took up a full-time job as a nurse. There are challenges being a nurse in Nepal. You are overworked, underpaid, there is lack of appreciation. Superiors can be overbearing. These problems persist. But the bright spot is that you get to serve fellow Nepalis, and be close to your family.&nbsp; Just like I had no intention initially of becoming a nurse, I had no intention of migrating overseas. But life had different plans for me. After my baby boy was born, I noticed that something was off. Even at nine months he had not started crawling or sitting. As a nurse I knew something was wrong, and I took him for check-ups. He tested negative for down syndrome, but he had a heart defect.&nbsp; The cardiologist recommended that I take him to India where he was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects 1 in 10,000 people. It delayed his development. I looked for therapy. It was either not effective, or too expensive. Some schools also refused to admit him, and it drove me to tears.&nbsp; My family members overseas in the UK, US told me to emigrate as there were better facilities for differently abled children. So I decided to apply to the UK. Luckily just then there were calls for candidates under the Nepal-UK government-to-government pilot scheme for 100 nurses. Only 40 met the criteria, and I was one of them.&nbsp; I still remember the day I received the news on the day of my puja. There were people around me, and they told me that it was the result of my fasting and devotion on that auspicious day. Perhaps it was. Life was taking a new turn, and I was happy. I made it to the UK in February 2024 without paying a single paisa to any broker. The G2G scheme was unique as we were treated with dignity and valued for our skills: they covered costs for the ticket and visa, reimbursed us for exams we had taken and costs involved in the preparation and testing of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination were also covered.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251106071148_dc5a0d0ea3024b34a4f2735754f8eb67a650bc7f61b98c75d589676c65b02a0c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251106071148_dc5a0d0ea3024b34a4f2735754f8eb67a650bc7f61b98c75d589676c65b02a0c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Nurses NT"> </figure>  It was of course difficult to leave my son behind. But I was doing it for his future. I had the option of taking him from the start, but it was a new place and I wanted to be well-settled and knowledgeable about the options available for him before bringing him along. As I packed, he would ask me to take him with me in my suitcase. It did not seem like he was affected by my departure, and it was only later that his teachers said that he would express his feelings more openly at school. He just did not know how to tell me he missed me, and he would tell teachers he was worried I had forgotten him if we did not speak for a day.&nbsp; He missed me, and that realisation made me emotional. But I had to carry on. Life in the UK was difficult in the beginning. Even so, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. Fortunately I had cooperative staff who patiently answered my questions. I think I would have been irritated if I were in their place. But they did not seem to mind, and their support and guidance made it easy for me to adjust to the new work environment. APPRECIATION I still struggle to understand the accent of my English patients, and have ask the matron for help. They compliment me on my English, but I can speak better than I understand. The good thing about working in the UK is that you are appreciated for your work, which can be motivating. Sometimes, after a long day’s work you get a message from your supervisor acknowledging your work with a thank you. That’s enough to erase your tiredness.&nbsp; So far I have received 32 WOW nominations which are acknowledgements from patients for a job well done. It can be motivating, especially in the beginning. The main difference between the Alpana who first left Kathmandu for the UK and the Alpana now is that I am a much more confident person. What makes a good nurse? Skills, knowledge and qualifications are of course a given. But mostly, you need humanity. A smiling face. The way you communicate. Your empathy. These attributes can already solve many problems that patients are facing. This is my second time back home in the last 20 months. And this time, I have arranged for my son’s visa. I will go back after Tihar with my son and husband.&nbsp; I am happy, but also a little nervous about what awaits us. What kind of school will I put him in? Will it really be different from schools here? Will his needs be addressed? Will it be like here, or will he be able to adjust?&nbsp; But I am determined to make it work. Success for me would be if he adjusted well and there is a change in his condition. He still cannot recognise alphabets and read words like kids in his age group. Hopefully he will get learning support in the UK. He also has a knack for music, and this is common among individuals with Williams Syndrome. His ears perk up when he hears music, and he takes part in musical events at school. He still does not recognise letters &nbsp;but he uses voice commands to search for guitar videos on YouTube. I will enrol him in music classes, and help him develop this gift. For now, I worry how he will behave on his long flight. He has a short attention span and gets restless. He is also very social and will want to speak with everyone around him, and might irritate fellow passengers.&nbsp; I have already started trying to make him understand that he will need to behave on the flight. He nods in agreement. Let’s see how it goes. &nbsp;

“I felt like I was born to be a nurse”

A month after September’s GenZ movement in Nepal, nurses working in private hospitals took to the streets demanding better work conditions, and salaries equal to what government nurses are paid.&nbsp;
The strike started at Pokhara’s Manipal Teaching Hospital before spreading nationwide, and nurses working at government hospitals joined in.&nbsp;
Nurses at private hospitals are forced to work for far less than Nepal’s minimum monthly wage of Rs19,550 — without overtime, breaks, and other benefits and under physically and mentally taxing conditions. This is driving many qualified nurses to emigrate.
For newly-appointed Health Minister Sudha Sharma Gautam in the interim government, the strike became her first order of business. She met representatives of the Nursing Association of Nepal (NAN), the protesting nurses, and others from the health sector.&nbsp;
An agreement was reached under which private hospitals and medical colleges will pay nurses a minimum monthly salary of Rs34,730. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
“It is a shame that nurses have been working under such exploitative conditions all this time” says Radha Adhikari, at the School of Health and Life Sciences of the University of the West of Scotland. “The agreement is basic, and there is a long way to go to improve their working conditions. But it is a start.”
NAN chair Chandrakala Sharma has said the ministry’s task force to look into working conditions will also look into facilities for nurses in government hospitals.&nbsp;
“We are committed to solidifying the wage agreement by amending relevant laws within this month,” Sharma said in a video posted by NAN on Facebook. “Our movement is not over, we are still protesting and &nbsp;following up with the Ministry.”
NAN issued an ultimatum to the government to implement the agreements within 48 hours. That deadline has now lapsed and the nurses are back on strike. Many of those protesting now accuse NAN of betraying them.
Jyoti Ranabhat of the Nurses Struggle Committee was present in the meeting, but refused to sign the agreement. “It did not address what we were demanding, we will now go it alone into Plan B,” she tells Nepali Times.&nbsp;
Previous grievances of the nurses did result in similar agreements, but private hospitals failed to comply with government’s past directives — most recently the minimum salary and benefit determined by the state in December 2024.&nbsp;
The Nepal Nursing Council says there are 126,580 registered nurses, specialists, midwives, and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) professionals in Nepal. Yet, nursing positions at hospitals remain vacant.&nbsp;
The reason for understaffing is a mass emigration of medical professionals, including nurses. Nursing student enrollment is also declining and there is disinterest in a profession that does not afford health workers quality of life, respect, or dignity.
“Our fight is not with the private sector, it is by definition profit-oriented, our grievance is with the state,” says Ranabhat. “The government is responsible to provide us dignity, respect, and fair pay.”&nbsp;
GREENER PASTURES
Poor pay and working conditions are driving doctors and nurses abroad in large numbers in recent years. Many have simply quit the profession, leading to a shortfall in medical professionals. 

The shortage of nurses is a global phenomenon, and countries like the US, UK and Australia have compensated for their own shortage by offering jobs from countries like the Philippines, India and Nepal.&nbsp;
Nepal Nursing Council data shows that outmigration of nurses rose sharply after 2002, and an estimated &nbsp;20,000-45,000 nurses have left since.
“The state’s denial, derision, and disregard of nurses has caused resentment and disillusionment in the community, driving nurses out,” says Ranabhat. “Ultimately, Nepalis will pay the price when there are no nurses left here.”
Many Nepali nurses who have gone abroad are happy with the respect and quality of life in their jobs abroad. But many others face exploitative recruiters in Nepal and employers abroad. Nursing consultancies have mushroomed as nursing colleges struggle to meet demand.&nbsp;
Adhikari herself worked at United Mission Hospital Tansen before moving to the UK 30 years ago, and remembers that working conditions then were much better for nurses.&nbsp;
“Nepal’s health sector has gone downhill since privatisation,” she states. “Medical colleges are only concerned with supplying doctors and nurses internationally, because that is what makes money.”
But once Nepal’s nurses are abroad, there is no guarantee that they will have jobs in the nursing sector. Many find themselves working outside their field of expertise, in hospitality or sales.&nbsp;
“Nepal has become a production hub for nurses, and Nepali nurses have become products for export,” adds Ranabhat. &nbsp;“People might think this will add to remittances, but no one is thinking about what will happen to Nepal’s health sector.”&nbsp;
For many, nursing has become a way out of Nepal rather than a vocation. In 2022, the government signed an agreement with the UK to send Nepali nurses to work there at zero cost, with benefits and protection equal to UK nurses.&nbsp;
The pilot phase was expected to recruit 100 nurses, and applications opened in July 2023, with 45 nurses said to be selected by Britain’s NHF representatives by the end of 2023. Forty-one of them obtained labour permits.&nbsp;
They may be treated well, but the reality of working in the international health sector is not as straightforward.
Radha Adhikari told us from Scotland: “Market saturation, exploitation, discrimination based on race, gender, and foreignness prevent nurses from finding the right, respectful jobs even here. Ultimately, migration cannot be sustainable for Nepal’s nurses.”

Shristi Karki

Nepal haemorrhaging nurses

This is the 73rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. Excerpts from conversations with Malaysian-based workers from Jajarkot, hired under a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/fee-free-migration-is-possible" target="_blank">responsible recruitment drive</a> 18 months ago. Some of the candidates were previously interviewed last November 3.&nbsp; Jeevan Shahi As the eldest son, I support 10 family members: my wife and two sons, my parents during illness and festivals, my brother’s family while he prepares for the civil service exam, and my sister who is a student. If one person living abroad helps 10 family members, I am content to be a migrant worker overseas. My sons are now 14 and 12. They are growing up quickly, and I miss them. Mostly, I miss my elderly parents. They tell me they think of me when they are eating good food, especially when my mother cooks meat. My mother also misses me when there are fresh apples or cucumbers from the field. I worry about my parents most.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141128_5f55dcd01a1c236a250fe116e0f869a50b2866cac33cff9bb7ae375293dfef2a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251103141128_5f55dcd01a1c236a250fe116e0f869a50b2866cac33cff9bb7ae375293dfef2a" data-rendition-name="original" width="914" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot"> <figcaption>Jeevan Shahi in Malaysia.</figcaption> </figure>  I recently sent them a smart phone which my father is still trying to learn how to use. Until recently, I could only see their faces when my family members were visiting them. I watched them this Dasain, and it made me homesick. Once my father learns to use the phone we can have more frequent video calls. Before coming to Malaysia, I had only gone to India to work. But when I saw that we did not have to pay any recruitment fees for this job, I thought, why not give it a try. It turned out to be a good decision. Otherwise, I would have gone to India where I could earn Rs20,000 at most. Here, with overtime, I can earn over Rs100,000. With my savings, I have bought land near the market in Kohalpur where I moved a few years back. I plan to build a house and run a small ice cream business there.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141124_76e080f9d75412f596dfd0fb8b4f6628e02028ccef78c3c5234d83442cd0d275.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251103141124_76e080f9d75412f596dfd0fb8b4f6628e02028ccef78c3c5234d83442cd0d275" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="908" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot"> <figcaption>Jeevan Shahi with friends in Malaysia.</figcaption> </figure>  I have to think about a viable business plan because unlike in the mountains, you have to even buy water in the Tarai. My father has suggested we bring down two of our buffalos from Jajarkot to Kohalpur for the ice cream venture. I am not impressed with the watered down milk from the dairy. I will have to invest in ice-cream makers, refrigerators, physical facilities and several pushcarts. I will engage all my family members, and believe that it will be a lucrative business.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025110315118_4da135fcd504e80ae82263cc7b983aab9a43b02702cb5bce6e20f69522ffa021.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025110315118_4da135fcd504e80ae82263cc7b983aab9a43b02702cb5bce6e20f69522ffa021" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Jajarkot earthquake"> <figcaption>3 November 2023 Jajarkot earthquake.</figcaption> </figure>  I vividly remember the earthquake two years ago. It still makes my body tremble. We had gone to Jajarkot to my parents’ house from Kohalpur. We were fast asleep when the earthquake struck at 11PM. When the house started shaking, we thought it was ghosts. We rushed outside. There was no phone signal, and people were blowing whistles. We dared not go back to the house. It was difficult to go to sleep. It was Jajarkot’s black day. Janak Bahadur Singh Within a month of arriving in Malaysia, my mother fell sick. She needed surgery and had to be rushed to Nepalganj and medical costs were more than Rs400,000. We relied on loans, including from colleagues in Malaysia to cover the costs.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141132_019978d723ded0ae568d84f0b3bea41739ae6b128a4b90966ab8b780df93709f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251103141132_019978d723ded0ae568d84f0b3bea41739ae6b128a4b90966ab8b780df93709f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot NT"> <figcaption>Janak Bahadur Singh in Malaysia.</figcaption> </figure>  When there is a family member abroad, it is easier for folks back home to borrow money from local lenders. I have now paid off my loans, and my mother is doing better. I had to postpone plans to rebuild our house, but now I have used my savings to pay an advance to builders. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">Quake survivors migrate for work</a> But just before Dasain, my brother’s two daughters were swept away by a river in Nepalganj and drowned. We are in mourning and have postponed construction for six months, and hopefully the advance will be reimbursed. Since we will not be using my savings immediately for the house, I might invest it for my sister’s plan to migrate to Japan. Srijung B K It has been two years since the earthquake, and 18 months since I came here. We have not &nbsp;received support from the Nepal government other than the Rs50,000 to build a temporary shelter. With my overseas earnings, we have bought land in the market area since the family home is in a remote area. My long-term plan is to start an agro-vet shop and poultry farm, for which the new location is more suitable. I hope to start building a house in the coming year.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141132_e015105d653f019750cb6e364da5188672581167a97ea07f9f4575a8e0b5e5f6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20251103141132_e015105d653f019750cb6e364da5188672581167a97ea07f9f4575a8e0b5e5f6" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot NT"> <figcaption>Srijung B K with his family in Jajarkot.</figcaption> </figure>  This is my first overseas work, and I plan to stay for another six or seven years if all goes well. I miss my family and the village environment back in Jajarkot, but it helps that many of us from my village are also here. Remittances have helped my family cover household expenses. My father used to support the family with his carpentry job but his health is failing as he ages. So I have stepped up.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141132_bbf661fd1d162cd5cad4498bf2c0dab1d9f9b8c9a19e5b668b064645266ec843.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20251103141132_bbf661fd1d162cd5cad4498bf2c0dab1d9f9b8c9a19e5b668b064645266ec843" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot NT"> <figcaption>Srijung B K in Malaysia.</figcaption> </figure>  Khadak Singh After the earthquake I came to Malaysia, and with my earnings have paid off our Rs800,000 loan for my father’s medical expenses. I have also bought land in Kohalpur. Paying off the loans is a big relief to the family, since the debt trap created a lot of tension in the household. Now we are free from that burden. I plan to stay here for another five years or so. Other than the first tranch of the Rs50,000 we received from the Nepal government to build a temporary shelter, there has been no other help. We added some of our own money to make decent temprorary living quarters.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141152_dc34256f7287bd30d6167c20cd252d291bf0d7b6b8d839fec57664bebc329e32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20251103141152_dc34256f7287bd30d6167c20cd252d291bf0d7b6b8d839fec57664bebc329e32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot"> <figcaption>Khadak Singh being interviewed for the Malaysia job.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141152_f65cfd8888d9aec696b89c544985617fa4d58234aff51e0bc9e103bdda1a9d29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20251103141152_f65cfd8888d9aec696b89c544985617fa4d58234aff51e0bc9e103bdda1a9d29" data-rendition-name="original" width="1143" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot"> <figcaption>Khadak Singh in Malaysia.</figcaption> </figure>  Uncertainty about government reconstruction guidelines for more support has delayed our plans to rebuild our house. I don’t have much expectation, but will build a house regardless in Kohalpur and bring my family down. I continue to write <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvM_yAUETg" target="_blank">songs</a> in Malaysia, and when the time and situation allow it, I plan to record them in a studio. When I last migrated to Malaysia, it was just to get out of Nepal and I did not achieve much. This time, I am planning better and working hard to achieve my goals. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cQvM_yAUETg?si=AKM2UNMYBHytckNq" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> Bir Bahadur Karki When I was working in Saudi Arabia, I had once visited a goat farm in the desert. After seeing how 150 goats were raised in such an arid place, it made me think of everything we could do in our village where there is more vegetation. These thoughts kept recurring, and I was so determined to run a farm back home that I resigned from my job and returned to Nepal. Many advised me I could get better returns if I invested elsewhere, but I put all my money into buying land and building sheds for goats, chicken, and fish ponds. I did not have much experience, but started with different goat breeds. But they got sick and I suffered heavy losses. I sought help from the government, but there was no support besides a small grant and recognition as a ‘best farmer’. I struggled to pay my taxes, so I decided to migrate overseas so I could save enough to invest in agriculture in Nepal. My heart is still in it, and my only hope is to one day become the best livestock farmer. So far, I have saved Rs1.5 million and am planning to eventually set up a dairy farm in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251103141156_ce2b2ce11895128c1b66688a16944ae08d7b0f9e8e2118d88d402f0a97ab04af.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20251103141156_ce2b2ce11895128c1b66688a16944ae08d7b0f9e8e2118d88d402f0a97ab04af" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="responsible recruitment Jajarkot"> <figcaption>Bir Bahadur Karki in Malaysia. Right: with his mother in Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  My wife is already doing lemon and orange agriculture back home, with saplings from the government although we don’t have much income from that business yet. I advise her from Malaysia, and we both discuss and make decisions together. I am confident that we will do better in future. My family in Jajarkot is still living in a temporary shelter. There has been no housing grant, and the guidelines are confusing. My wife was expecting when I came to Malaysia, and there is no male member of my family after my father died. I have put in extra effort to build a comfortable, well-insulated shelter. My son was born three months after I came to Malaysia. I was extremely nervous when my wife went into labour. When my sister-in-law called to tell me that the baby was born, I was relieved and shared the good news with my friends. I plan to stay on in Malaysia since I have some debts to pay off. I will be home next Dasain, and that is when I will get to see my son for the first time.

Nepali migrant workers rebuild lives

A little more than one month into its six-month term, Nepal's interim government recalled ambassadors from 11 countries: China, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, Spain, Germany, the UK, the US, and Japan.&nbsp;
Mostly appointed by previous governments, they have to return to Kathmandu by 6 November. The envoys who were retained, even if they were political appointees, tended to be women or from various ethnic minorities.
The recall has met with criticism back home. Prime Minister Sushila Karki is blamed for borrowing a page out of its predecessors’ playbook. Although it was a symbolically inclusive move in a diplomatic corps dominated by established groups, the government may have got its timing wrong.
On Sunday, however, the Supreme Court issued an interim order against government decision to recall the 11 ambassadors. The court questioned the neccesssity and justification of such a move, concerned that it could affect Nepal's relations with the host countries.&nbsp;
Karki has said <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/future-imperfect">her priority is to hold elections in March</a>, and by recalling Nepal’s emissaries from important capitals like Washington, London, Bonn, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur her government has cut channels of communication and support from development partners and with the international community.&nbsp;
Nepal’s anti-corruption GenZ protest and the devolution of the youth movement into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/relocate-reallocate-recover">arson, looting, and violence</a> after the targeted killing of protestors in September put the nation in the international spotlight. And the interest was especially keen in neighbouring New Delhi and Beijing.&nbsp;
The Nepal unrest has sparked similar protests across the world from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-genzs-inspired-filipinos">the Philippines</a> to East Timor, Madagascar and Peru. But there is also worry in India where exposure of #nepokids on social media as well as corruption in high places could instigate copycat youth unrest.
And in China, there is still a lingering memory of the deadly protests in 1989 Tiananmen Square. But the Chinese also suspect that some in the GenZ movement have links to free-Tibet. &nbsp;
Foreign policy experts in Nepal reject conspiracy theories about foreign backing for the GenZ, characterising it as mostly triggered by home-grown outrage over chronic corruption of the governing elite.&nbsp;
Throughout its history Nepal has always had to balance the geo-strategic interests of its neighbours: the British in India and the Chinese Empire, and more recently independent India and Communist China.
When former PM K P Oli resigned, he had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/when-xi-meets-modi-and-oli">just returned from a visit to Beijing</a> and was a week away from making an official visit to India. A new Nepali prime minister typically makes the first visit to India, but Oli broke that tradition last year by going to China to sign the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework agreement.
"Oli was China's trusted partner supporting <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/china-syndrome">Nepal’s participation in BRI</a> and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization)," says geopolitical analyst Sanjay Upadhya. "Now, some in Beijing are apprehensive that there is external support for the youth protests that contributed to Oli’s sudden departure. It is perceived as a strategic setback for China."
Despite an ongoing dispute with India over a 364 sq km border territory, Nepal is heavily dependent economically on India with which it has an open border.&nbsp;
Rulers in Kathmandu have usually leaned over backwards to be closer to China to counterbalance India’s gravitational pull following a strategy of ‘equidistance’ between the two giant neighbours.&nbsp;
Growing American and Western disinterest in the region is making India and China more assertive towards smaller nations. Educator Dovan Rai says, “China is also becoming more aggressive and trying to show its presence in and around South Asia.”
She adds, “Nepal is an important neighbour for China, especially considering issues it regards as sensitive, like the Dalai Lama and Tibet.”
Indeed, the Chinese are said to be suspicious about the links that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-historic-youth-dissensus">GenZ movement</a> was infiltrated by elements linked with Free Tibet or with US-based interests.&nbsp;
What must have especially raised eyebrows at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu was that the Dalai Lama’s office in exile in India congratulated Sushila Karki — the first time in history it has sent such a greeting to a new prime minister of Nepal.&nbsp;
Although Nepal’s two neighbours do not see eye-to-eye, both agree and are worried about instability in Nepal, and if it might trigger a refugee crisis, empower extremist factions, or attract Western interference.&nbsp;
Nepal’s September protests were preceded and succeeded by similar movements in the region and around the world. In light of this global eruption of youth frustration, and desire to lead from the front, the hardline governments of Nepal’s two neighbours are undoubtedly wary of the possibility of similar unrest within their own borders.&nbsp;
‘India advocates democratic legitimacy, while China prioritises control and predictability. Recent upheavals demonstrate that neither democracy nor stability alone suffices for sustainable nationhood,’ Upadhya wrote in a recent blog.
With early elections scheduled for 5 March, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/one-month-later">the main challenge for Karki’s transition government</a> is to maintain dialogue and establish consensus between youth groups, political parties, and other agitating forces to participate in polls — all while ensuring there is no covert external influence.&nbsp;
Indeed, with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-democracy-keeps-doubting-itself">Nepal’s democracy</a> at stake as well as new political forces with competing interests set to battle it out in a new political landscape, experts warn that there could be powers that will want to fish in troubled waters.&nbsp;
Explains Dovan Rai: “Along with soft power, foreign countries including our neighbours could intervene in the online information space to promote their interests in Nepal. Fake narratives and disinformation could be spread &nbsp;through digital platforms. We must be careful and vigilant about our digital space.”

Neighbourhood watch on Nepal

Nepal’s cricket team first beat powerhouse West Indies in two out of three matches in September, the first time it won a match and then a series against a test-playing nation.&nbsp; Then the Rhinos played six qualifiers in Oman for the 2026 T20 World Cup which is being held in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March next year. The national team qualified comfortably with two games to spare, and won all six matches anyway. In the three months before the World Cup, cricketers will play the second season of the Nepal Premier League from 17 November to 13 December.&nbsp; After a hugely successful first season, steady upgrades have been made. The flood-lit Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground has been fitted with 15,000 seats, even though this takes away from the festival-like atmosphere of fans on their feet on the grassy slope.&nbsp; Last season, matches began at noon and three in the afternoon. Late-evening matches in winter under flood lights will increase attendance and viewership.&nbsp; There is also now technology that will display how far a six was hit and how fast a ball was bowled. Foreign players who will play in the league include Chris Lynn, D’arcy Short, Ravi Bopara, and Sohail Tanvir, all good ex-international players that people have heard of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_9db0830fb65d0743e3d36cc4b4473e61d750789028a130f5dff8a619307b0215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251101031128_9db0830fb65d0743e3d36cc4b4473e61d750789028a130f5dff8a619307b0215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1365" height="1803" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Aasif Sheikh drives through the covers on his way to 69 off 41 vs Samoa.</figcaption> </figure>  But the most important point of the Nepal Premier League will be to prepare and experiment for the World Cup, which starts less than two months after the NPL ends. Team Nepal will be extra eager to play well, given that the matches are happening in South Asia and Nepali fans can make the trip.&nbsp; Head coach Stuart Law will be watching each NPL match keenly, to gain more insight into how to best use his current starters.&nbsp; As each of the eight teams are only allowed a maximum of four foreign players in their starting eleven, Law and Nepali fans will also be scouting new talent who will be hungry to emerge and prove themselves to earn a place in the World Cup Squad.&nbsp; ALL-ROUNDERS One of the most unusual features of the current Nepali squad is how many all-rounders there are. Kushal Bhurtel, Rohit Paudel, Kushal Malla, Gulshan Jha, and Dipendra Singh Airee are all regular starters, and they all bat and bowl. Opener Aasif Sheikh is also the wicketkeeper.&nbsp; Airee, of course, is also an excellent fielder. In the first five games of the qualifiers, he got a record five runouts with direct hits, and was on a roll with a run in every single game. This depth means that almost always seven players bowl for Nepal, and the wealth of options keeps the opponent batting order guessing, but it may create hesitancy within the team in tough situations against stronger teams.&nbsp; Countries at the top level of the sport tend to have more specialists. Perhaps Stuart Law might want to tell Bhurtel to really focus on his batting, or Airee to hone his bowling, which seems to be their strengths. The team would be better off with them performing one aspect consistently well than being hit or miss with both. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_c30fdbab65736ea728f2f94fa121d2169e4d3627194ce1fe9de26eebdb3fc5b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251101031128_c30fdbab65736ea728f2f94fa121d2169e4d3627194ce1fe9de26eebdb3fc5b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="957" height="1269" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Lalit Rajbhansi with tricky left arm spin, 3/13 vs Samoa.</figcaption> </figure>  POWERPLAYS The Nepali team likes batting first. It chased only against Japan, but they struggle to put up really competitive scores of say, above 170 unless two batsmen do really well.&nbsp; In the second match against the West Indies, Aasif Sheikh’s 68 and Sundeep Jora’s 63 set up Nepal at 173/6. Against Samoa, Aasif Sheikh had 69 and Airee had 53, before Lokesh Bam’s fierce 39 off 12 featuring 4 sixes set up 211/4.&nbsp; Besides these games, Nepal tends to score up to 150 batting first. To the experienced teams that Nepal will face at the world cup, this is not at all an intimidating score. One reason is that Nepal just cannot seem to get going in the first six powerplay overs, when there are limited fielders on the boundaries.&nbsp; A solution to this might be to promote Gulshan Jha up the order. Although Jha has also been an excellent batter in the end overs, using him at three or four might help set up a more productive powerplay and bigger scores. He should try it out with the Karnali Yaks.&nbsp; Despite all the controversy that comes with Sandip Lamichhane, and his strange decision to sit out the West Indies series minutes before the first match started, his output with the ball is undeniable.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_453d54ce627367c537d459c38d260d8aca1d56949c49c8023de582f3e72bb678.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251101031128_453d54ce627367c537d459c38d260d8aca1d56949c49c8023de582f3e72bb678" data-rendition-name="original" width="1499" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Nepalis turn out to support the team vs Samoa at Al Ameret Stadium in Oman.</figcaption> </figure>  He took wickets in each of the six qualifiers, most notably five vital ones in the match against Qatar that Nepal won by five runs. Lamichhane also gives away very few runs, which cuts some of the more part-time bowlers some slack.&nbsp; Airee is also economical, and his 3/22 was vital in the one-run win against the UAE. Together with Lamichhane the duo constricted the opposition in the middle overs. Veteran Sompal Kami has not been as productive with the ball, and gave away a lot of runs in the series against the West Indies.&nbsp; This is a weakness, because Kami does not contribute with the bat much. While his experience is valuable to ground the young Nepali team, Stuart Law should look out for fast bowlers during the NPL to help balance out quality spinners.&nbsp; One of the most impressive and professional parts of Nepal’s winning streak has been the attention to detail. The players have been generally excellent in the field, giving away very few runs due to wides or no balls. They had three run outs against the UAE and two against Qatar and Japan and in the first game against the West Indies.&nbsp; The fielders seem much calmer and focused when executing difficult catches, a welcome change from past complacency. This attention to detail makes the difference in narrow games and keeps morale high.&nbsp; The Nepali team has performed well, but besides the narrowly-beaten UAE, all the matches were against teams ranked lower in the world T20 rankings. And the series against the West Indies was against a weakened team. In the world cup, Nepal will be facing much stronger teams and will lack the element of surprise it had in the 2024 World Cup.&nbsp; If Nepal wants to keep improving, it now has to be able to dominate teams like Kuwait and Oman. It also should set up more series with associate nations like Scotland, Ireland, Namibia and The Netherlands. This will help accurately gauge the team’s progress and expose its weaknesses.

Vishad Raj Onta

Nepal’s prospects at World Cup 2026

This year, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/quo-vadis-un-80-9vthn7mg">United Nations is marking its 80th anniversary</a> and it is being celebrated with special events across the world to commemorate its establishment on 24 October 1945. It has also been 75 years since the first UN adviser, the Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, was sent to Nepal to explore development opportunities. In 1950, there were no roads and Hagen walked on foot across the length and breadth of Nepal’s mountains, valleys and plains. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Nepal, and much of Hagen’s work laid the basis for the UN’s involvement in education, health, and connectivity in Nepal’s future development. Despite frequent changes in government and political system, Nepal has made remarkable progress. The poverty rate has gone down by half in the past 30 years to 20.27% of the population. Much of it has to do with remittances from Nepalis working overseas, but it is also a result of the Nepal government’s investment in education, health care and social welfare.&nbsp; There have been special initiatives like the Prime Minister’s Employment Program that have provided jobs to nearly 800,000 people in the country’s 743 municipalities — especially in those areas with lower Human Development Index (HDI) like the far-west and the Tarai.&nbsp; This year’s HDI report by UNDP shows that Nepal’s score had risen to 0.622, whereas it was only 0.404 in 1990. In the past 33 years, the average lifespan of Nepalis has risen by 15.6 years to 70.4 years, whereas it was only 54.8 in 1990. However, the country’s HDI ranking is still 145 among the world’s 193 countries. “Yes, there has been significant improvement in living standards in the past 60 years, road connectivity has improved, the maternal mortality rate has gone down dramatically, almost everyone has phones, there are schools,” says Saru Joshi of the thinktank Nepal Policy Institute. But, she adds: “It is still difficult to get citizenship papers, especially in the name of the mother, and this has excluded many women from banking services, inheritance. After all our progress in physical infrastructure, Nepal now needs to prioritise inclusive social development.”&nbsp; Some of this is also happening. Eighteen years ago, Nabaraj Subedi, 49, of a village in Baglung decided not to join his peers &nbsp;fleeing the Maoist conflict to find work overseas. He invested Rs500,000 to buy a diesel generator and start a small furniture business.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nawaraj Subedi"> <figcaption>Nawaraj Subedi, 49, proprietor of Tarakhola Furniture Factory. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, with the installation of the 380 kilowatt small hydroelectric plant, he does not need to depend on his unreliable generator to power his equipment anymore. There is now a road connecting his village, and Subedi has generated local jobs, opened a sales branch in the city, and gets orders from as far away as Pokhara and Chitwan. “My costs have gone down drastically because of the electricity, and sales have gone up because of the road connecting my furniture to markets. My business has expanded,” Subedi says. Back in 1960 in a report he prepared for the Nepal government on behalf of the United Nations, Toni Hagen had emphasised just this: investing in electricity generation and connectivity to uplift the remote rural areas of Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Tarakhola Furniture Factory"> <figcaption>Subedi's staff at the Tarakhola Furniture Factory.</figcaption> </figure>  Subedi’s furniture factory gets its electricity from the nearby Tarakhola Hydropower, a company set up eight years ago with financial and technical support from UNDP’s Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL) project. &nbsp; “The project completely transformed living standards in this village,” says municipality chair Dhan Bahadur BK. “It has helped create jobs locally, there is now money to invest in education and healthcare. Households can pay their electricity fees electronically through smart billing.”&nbsp; After working with the government on rural electrification, UNDP is focussed on using that power for local employment creation. A women’s group, for example, has bought an electric-powered potato processing machine that can produce chips.&nbsp; “We are 12 of us mothers, daughters, daughters-in-law who process, package and market the potato that we grow ourselves, and it has raised our income,” says Sukmaya Roka, 57, who chairs the group.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Sukamaya Roka"> <figcaption>Sukamaya Roka, 57, chair of Sipa Aalu Chips Utpadan Samuha from Tarakhola Rural Municipality, Baglung. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, 6.1 million households in Nepal (92.2% of total) have electricity in their homes, up from 17.9% 30 years ago. Access to electricity has not just brought lights to homes, but improved everything from productivity, quality of education, healthcare and phone connectivity.&nbsp; “To see what electricity and roads can do, just look at our municipality,” says chair Dhan Bahadur BK, “citizens have become more self-reliant, more aware of the outside world.”&nbsp; NETTLES INTO CASH&nbsp; Just a little bit of training, resource backup and local empowerment can uplift the living standards of Nepalis. The progress made in harvesting abundantly-available allo (nettles) and turning it into household products is an example. When a landslide swept away his home and farm in a flood 40 years ago, Buddhi Purja of Parbat became destitute. But he took part in a government training program supported by UNDP and Australia to harvest the wild nettles that grew on mountain slopes and turn the fabric into bags.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rhitu Saugat Handicraft"> <figcaption>A worker at Rhitu Saugat Handicraft making a bag out of nettles.</figcaption> </figure>  “After the landslide, we had to go hungry if we did not get a day job,” Purja recalls, “but after this training we have found that we can turn nettles into cash.” His allo bags are now hanging in tourist shops in Pokhara Lakeside and Thamel.&nbsp; The idea that nettles can be processed into useful fabric has not spread across the country, and new ecologically conscious consumers in Europe and elsewhere now import Made in Nepal nettle products.&nbsp; Purja started out with an investment of Rs500,000, and had a Rs20 million business that employed 25 workers. The Covid crisis in 2020 affected the sales, but Purja has recovered from it, sent his daughter off to study abroad, and is thinking of diversifying his product range.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Buddi Purja"> <figcaption>Buddi Purja, proprietor of Rhitu Saugat Handicraft in Pokhara.</figcaption> </figure>  While UNDP’s project has made successful businessmen out of people like Purja, nationwide it has created 187,000 jobs in rural medium-scale industries. Much of what has worked in Nepal has been at the community level with decentralised projects like these that use the entrepreneurship of people like Buddhi Purja, Navaraj Subedi, and Sukmaya Roka. It is tantalising to imagine how much more progress Nepal would have made if their work could be replicated nationside and upscaled to the state-level.

Think locally, invest locally

Nepal needs to enact and enforce animal law

Three out of every four cars Nepalis buy is now an electric one, a huge step in reducing air pollution and the country’s dependence on imported petroleum.&nbsp; However, 80% of existing vehicles are still two-wheelers, scooters or bikes, and these still overwhelmingly run on petrol. All that may also soon be changing.&nbsp; There are an estimated 1.3 million two-wheelers in Kathmandu Valley, which has a population of 3.5 million. They are the preferred mode of transport because of affordability, mobility, ease of repair with spare parts and mechanics readily available.&nbsp; And in the past two years, two-wheelers have also transformed transportation with &nbsp;ride-sharing companies, food delivery, and e-commerce companies.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251017051052_6eb22dda0470f32f72e8947eb6876b40c02b8be3229ffe2473f711ca2f9d09dc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251017051052_6eb22dda0470f32f72e8947eb6876b40c02b8be3229ffe2473f711ca2f9d09dc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1491" height="976" loading="lazy" alt="electric scooters in Nepal"> </figure>  Motorcycles even played a big part in the 8-9 September protests, when demonstrators tore through streets looking for targets. The controversial TOB biker’s group was noisily patrolling the Mandala-Baneswar stretch, exhorting the GenZ rally. Many bikes were parked inside the Parliament compound, and social media posts show motorbikes revving hard right up to the steps of the Parliament building.&nbsp; While dirty exhaust from diesel trucks and buses are readily visible, the emissions from two-wheelers are unseen and odourless with carbon monoxide, ozone and other toxic gases adding to the Valley’s hazardous air quality.&nbsp; The next big step to clean up the air and make personal mobility more sustainable would be a switch to e-scooters and e-bikes and bump up their sale rates to EV levels. “The public mentality about electric two-wheelers is flipping,” says Bijen Koirala, at <a href="https://yadea.com.np/" target="_blank">Yadea</a> e-scooters Nepal. “People were sceptical about them but now trusted brands are involved. Over the next several years, expect a majority of scooters will be electric.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251017051048_3c1856eba1eba17337dfd5d99ed477e9dbbb3b52c8a347d91f1a95b65033c551.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251017051048_3c1856eba1eba17337dfd5d99ed477e9dbbb3b52c8a347d91f1a95b65033c551" data-rendition-name="original" width="1097" height="892" loading="lazy" alt="electric scooters in Nepal"> </figure>  Yadea is a Chinese manufacturer of electric bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters, and has a large and expanding presence across Asia, and in Nepal it sells five e-scooter models ranging in price from Rs175,000 to Rs370,000.&nbsp; This range is exactly competitive with brand new petrol scooters from Honda, Yamaha, or Vespa. However, scooters can be bought second hand for under Rs100k. Koirala says an e-scooter would save customers close to Rs1.1 million over six years based on riders doing 90km a day using Rs500 worth of petrol. The same distance would only cost Rs27 worth of electricity.&nbsp; However, while 90kms might be a reasonable estimate for individuals who drive for ride-share or delivery serviced for a living, most Kathmandu commuters do not need that range and that is why Yadea is aiming for that market segment. “One of the main concerns customers have about electric vehicles is range,” Koirala explains. “But most commuters travel a maximum of 60km a day, which e-scooters can do easily.” Notably, the Yadea E8S Pro is billed at 150km, and according to Koirala, is consistently getting at least 110km on Kathmandu roads.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251017051048_594fe45b3e74741784ca0b2af68f17684ce448c12db50ccfd919171b41448891.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251017051048_594fe45b3e74741784ca0b2af68f17684ce448c12db50ccfd919171b41448891" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="997" loading="lazy" alt="electric scooters in Nepal"> </figure>  Another concern is after-sales service, battery life, resale value, availability of parts. It could be a matter of time. He points to the electric four-wheelers, and how markets for their resell and maintenance have grown over the last years as they became so prevalent.&nbsp; Petrol bikes will retain their popularity, at least in the near future, because many people use them for inter-city travel to Chitwan or Pokhara, and the 100cc bikes are still primary vehicles for most families. A recent boost in interest in e-scooters can be explained by two consecutive auto shows, NADA and NAIMA in August. A new player in the e-scooter market is Bajaj which launched its Chetak model after NAIMA, and is conducting trial sales only inside the Valley. Chetak hopes to win buyers over with its design. Says Rameshwor Ghimire at Bajaj: “We surveyed customers and found out that to to 80% of them were turned off with e-scooters because of how they &nbsp;looked and how they were built like toys.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251017051048_f6bd23d0719bcf0b6cca998d949936754f335b30dae44e3691b6d10b10c14621.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251017051048_f6bd23d0719bcf0b6cca998d949936754f335b30dae44e3691b6d10b10c14621" data-rendition-name="original" width="1468" height="1008" loading="lazy" alt="electric scooters in Nepal"> </figure>  The Chetak has a fully metal body and looks no different from a petrol scooter, although there is a slight learning curve -- especially with the abrupt braking. For the average Kathmandu user riding 20-25km a day, using an e-scooter saves Rs70,000 in fuel every year. Ghimire says the other plus point is that the Chetak is about Rs60,000 cheaper than other Indian e-scooters with similar real range.&nbsp; At NAIMA, another e-scooter import, <a href="https://atherenergy.com.np/" target="_blank">Ather</a>, launched the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ather_Rizta" target="_blank">Rizta</a>. Suryansh Vaidya, CEO of Ather’s parent company Vaidya Energy, was pleasantly surprised by how well the model did at the autoshows, given that it was a ‘family’ scooter close to Rs400k, optimised for storage space rather than performance.&nbsp; “We’re having some trouble understanding the Nepali market,” admits Vaidya, “it isn’t clear why the most expensive variant would be the best selling, perhaps people are just willing to stretch their budgets when they buy.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251017051052_0a769e559c2e22228b2513a5404bacd7da50ec8e9d5b15f7a29dcee0aa0e9b15.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20251017051052_0a769e559c2e22228b2513a5404bacd7da50ec8e9d5b15f7a29dcee0aa0e9b15" data-rendition-name="original" width="1653" height="988" loading="lazy" alt="electric scooters in Nepal"> </figure>  Generally, the scooters that do well in Nepal are more energy-efficient, ‘performance’ scooters. But Vaidya points to four factors holding back e-scooter adoption: charging infrastructure, resale value, servicing, and less trust in the battery. Ather, he says, is trying to improve on all fronts.&nbsp; Ather open sources its plug points to encourage more uniform chargers like it is with four-wheel EVs. At the moment, manufacturers use different charges. For servicing, Ather looks to establish service centres across the nation.&nbsp; An obstacle there is that mechanics have to usually be trained from scratch. “We hire technicians right out of college, and start them on a 1-2 month long training,” says Vaidya. He points out that for EVs, mechanics must know both the hardware and the software of the vehicle.&nbsp; But e-bikes need a lot more engineering to give them more effective range at affordable prices to make them popular. At the moment, electric motorcycles are expensive and are sold mostly as sports bikes.&nbsp; But there is hope. Says Vaidya: “That is the strategy Tesla went with early in their life as a company, and look at them now. With the state of new battery research and development, it may happen sooner than later.”

Two wheels good, electric even better

In front of the ashes of what used to be Ward 8 of Harion village, a crowd gathers. Two men are talking in Maithili: “They say they want to get rid of the provinces.’&nbsp; The men were not part of the protests on 8-9 September, and have followed the news about some GenZ protesters wanting to abolish the 2015 federal republican Constitution that led to the establishment of Madhes Province.&nbsp; Barely three weeks later, communal clashes broke out 70km away in Janakpur during a Durga immersion festival over Dasain, and a curfew had to be imposed. The Tarai districts along the Indian border with Hindu and Muslim communities have become chronic flashpoints for tension.&nbsp; Between these two towns connected by the East–West Highway, the communal tension sits uneasily alongside earlier unfulfilled demands for provincial autonomy and at a deeper level the very idea of what it means to be a Nepali. It is notable that many Madhesi political leaders who have been quick to protest against Kathmandu for greater decision-making powers under federalism have been more hesitant to address the religious tension within their constituencies.&nbsp; This has led to criticism that the Madhes Movement’s promise of inclusion faltered when it came to protecting caste, ethnic and religious minorities. Muslims of the plains had supported the broader call for autonomy and Muslim activists were among those killed in various Madhes Movements. Yet, they now find themselves caught up in rising Hindu majoritarian sentiments. Political analyst C K Lal has warned in his writings that continued ‘othering’ of the largest minority group in the Madhes could tear apart the province’s social fabric unless deliberate efforts are made to foster dialogue and trust. The Tarai plains are home to 53% of Nepal’s population, and Madhes Province is the most densely populated region of Nepal. It holds a mosaic of identities, ethnic and caste groups. Muslims make up 12% of the province's little over 6.3 million population. Many of these groups share cultural and family ties with communities across the border.&nbsp; Then there are the indigenous Tharu and Rajbanshi, and Pahadi communities who do not identify as Madhesi. There is a distinction about who is ‘Madhesi’ and who is a mere ‘Madhesbasi’. &nbsp;There are those who were moved down in state-sponsored trans-location from the mountains to the plains in the past century, settlers from India, and those who have moved south to the plains for an easier life. The Madhes has hosted a rich tapestry of identities that have mostly coexisted peacefully. There are temples and mosques on the same streets, their calls for prayer often overlapping. The Malangbaba temple in the headquarter in Sarlahi was built to honour a Sufi figure and is revered equally by Hindus and Muslims in an annual fair in March.&nbsp; This diversity in Madhes Province and the Tarai in general also means competing political interests, and occasional friction. Caste divisions add to the complexity: with entrenched hierarchy within Hindu communities. Dalits form 15% of the Madhesh Province population and feel excluded despite the movement for political autonomy. The Madhesi identity is therefore pluralistic, and the Madhes Movement tried to encapsulate different groups for one political cause, although not quite successfully. The layers of othering that excludes Madhes from mainstream politics of Nepal is replicated inside the politics of Madhes as it fails to proportionally represent Muslims and other secluded groups. MADHES GENZ Despite the lingering effects of exclusion by the Nepali state, young Madhesis also joined the GenZ protests last month in a renewed attempt to make their voice heard.&nbsp; “In essence the GenZ protest had resonance because it captured the frustrations of &nbsp;Madhes and dissatisfaction against a corrupt system,” says GenZ activist Nancy Yadav.&nbsp; The protests on 8-9 September led to widespread destruction across the province, with 90 police posts, 207 government offices and dozens of vehicles set ablaze or vandalised. &nbsp; Imran Khan, 23, drives a rickshaw in Harion and says the Madhesi people are used to protests, but this is the first time he found his own peers also engaged in a political rally.&nbsp; “We talk more about politics now than before,” he says. “The GenZ wanted their rally to be peaceful, but somehow old political players caused more damage than good.”&nbsp; Aayush Karna in Janakpur concurs: “The youth here also marched alongside all of Nepal to demand for corruption free and a more just Nepal. But we were shocked on the second day to see how much damage was done so rapidly. Like the GenZ in Kathmandu the movement was hijacked, and that was not what the GenZ wanted.” SAME PAGE&nbsp; Nepal adopted its federal Constitution in 2015 to address decades of exclusion by Kathmandu, decentralise political power and give the Madhes and its minorities a political home.&nbsp; A decade later, the promise feels thin. In mainstream media in Kathmandu the Madhes is still peripheral, and often appears in the news lineup only in moments of crisis, floods, protests, or communal violence.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025101411108_9691e252b5ce723b6922f88418caa3eda43e02fba1a65c19043b1fd6ea10c7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025101411108_9691e252b5ce723b6922f88418caa3eda43e02fba1a65c19043b1fd6ea10c7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2480" height="1715" loading="lazy" alt="Birjang"> <figcaption>A commercial hub and the road gateway to Nepal, Birganj though which 80% of the country's exports and imports pass through.</figcaption> </figure>  When the interim Constitution of Nepal was promulgated with no mention of federal restructuring in January 2007, Madhesi leader Upendra Yadav and his Madhesi Janadhikar Forum burnt copies of the charter and launched an indefinite strike across the southern Tarai in protest, blocking the East-West Highway and organising mass rallies for weeks. After several people were killed in Siraha and other districts, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala agreed to an amendment of the Constitution to commit to a federal state structure. In early 2008, another uprising under the leadership of Mahanta Thakur was underway demanding concessions on electoral representation and to keep the push for federal restructuring on the forefront of the agenda. The loudest of all dissent from the Madhes towards the state was after the Constitution was promulgated in 2015. Rajendra Mahato set it alight in front of a crowd of supporters, declaring the document illegitimate and anti-Madhes. At least 45 people were killed between August and September as protests spread across the Tarai.&nbsp; The protesters demanded fair and inclusive representation of Madhes in state institutions, security forces, and the bureaucracy, reflecting their population share. They demanded the redrawing of&nbsp; Provincial boundaries to create a contiguous Madhes province stretching the full length of the Tarai from east to west, and electoral constituency delimitation based primarily on population rather than geography, ensuring densely populated plains weren’t underrepresented.&nbsp; They sought reform of citizenship laws, especially those restricting children of Nepali women married to foreigners, and formal recognition of Madhesi identity and cultural rights within the Constitution. Protesters stopped fuel tankers and cargo trucks at key border crossings like Birganj-Raxaul, cutting off the lifeline of a country still reeling from the earthquake. What began as a political dispute soon became a national crisis, and the unofficial blockade left hospitals without medicines and cities without fuel. India was accused of tacitly &nbsp;supporting the border blockade, deepening Kathmandu’s resentment.&nbsp; As shortages grew and international pressure mounted, the government finally yielded in January 2016, passing constitutional amendments on inclusion and representation. Only then, after nearly five months of paralysis was the blockade lifted.&nbsp; The Madhes Movemets of 1007, 2008 and 2015 is often flattened into ‘ethnic unrest’. The state’s lens rarely distinguishes between demands for dignity and threats to stability. When the state securitises dissent instead of understanding it, frustrations can mutate into sectarian anger. Communal tension becomes the grammar through which deeper political discontent expresses itself. “Inclusion is not a favour to the people of the Madhes, it is a right,” says GenZ activist Prerana Paswan. “When people speak of dismantling federalism are we being asked to step back from the GenZ movement?” There are various political parties calling for federalism to be scrapped because it is too costly, decentralised corruption, and that provinces are just proxies for the central parties. “But the need for federalism and provincial structures is more about addressing the country’s diversity and devolving power from Kathmandu,” says GenZ activist Bikashkumar Gupta. The Constitution acknowledges that Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural state. . Provinces like the Madhes can promote their regional languages (Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi) and cultural traditions alongside Nepali.&nbsp; Federalism has given symbolic and constitutional legitimacy to Nepal’s plural identity and represents a psychological and political acknowledgment that Nepal is not a single homogeneous state. For the Madhes, in particular, federalism represents a shift at least on paper in looking at the people of the region. “The Madhesi people will yet again be forced to take to the street if federalism is dismantled,” said a member of the Janata Samajwadi Party in Sarlahi who did not want to be identified. “We will not go back to being unseen by the Nepali state again.” Federal structures needs to be given more power over decision-making and revenue collection. Whether the next generation of Madhesis inherit mistrust or solidarity depends on whether their aspirations are met. The GenZ chants in Kathmandu and the curfew in Janakpur are not separate stories. They are different dialects of the same question: who gets to belong in Nepal’s democracy?

Unfinished federalism in Madhes Province

Climber, expedition leader and later a supplier of bottled oxygen to Himalayan mountaineers, Henry Barclay Todd died on 3 November 2025 in his favourite place on earth, Kathmandu.&nbsp;
Todd was larger than life, a metaphor often used, yet it could not be more fitting. Standing nearly 2m tall, and possessing an unshakeable will, he lived life on a grand scale, both in body and spirit.&nbsp;
Todd was a pillar in the Himalayan climbing community, supporting many mountaineers across Nepal and Pakistan, making it possible for them to fulfil the dream of standing on the world’s highest peaks. He believed deeply in the strength, skill, and potential of the Sherpa people, and offered them opportunities that might otherwise have remained out of reach.&nbsp;
“Thank you, Henry. Your trust changed my life. Rest in peace, my leader, my teacher, my friend,” said Dorjee Gyelzen Sherpa in his tribute.
Born in 1945 to Royal Air Force officer Henry Todd and May Todd of the Women’s Royal Air Force, Henry spent his early years in Singapore. He led a lively childhood with his two brothers, far removed from the mountains that would later define his path.&nbsp;
A gifted swimmer like his father, Henry never pursued the sport professionally. Instead, after returning to Dundee as a teenager and attending seven different schools, he set off for London, where he began working for an insurance company before finding his true calling in adventure.
Henry Todd first came to Nepal in the mid-1980s and made his first attempt on Ama Dablam in 1987, an expedition that marked the beginning of an extraordinary and colourful climbing career. <a href="https://www.himalayandatabase.com/" target="_blank">The Himalayan Database</a> lists 61 expeditions that he led in Nepal alone — there were more in the Karakoram, Argentina and the Alps.&nbsp;
But Todd would joyfully say that a few hard Scottish ascents held a more personal meaning to him than even the greatest Himalayan summits.
Over the decades, he crossed paths with many legendary climbers like Anatoli Boukreev, Jerzy Kukuczka, Doug Scott and Chris Bonington as well as celebrities including members of Pink Floyd and Nobel Prize laureates whom he befriended.&nbsp;
He had a gift to never name-drop, but would simply mention that he had had lunch with Minnie Driver (niece of his long-time friend Andra) or that he had bought his first car from Donald Sutherland. For Todd, these were not bragging rights, they were simply part of the colourful tapestry of his life.
Todd’s life was filled with extraordinary experiences from surviving plane crashes, avalanches and earthquakes to quietly solving countless problems, which was one of his favourite past-times. His hands, famously large and steady, were always ready to help whether in the chaos of the mountains or the calm of a base camp.&nbsp;
With his sharp sense of humour and the beloved exclamation “Whoopie!”,he could bring lightness even to the toughest moments. He never tired of taking on challenges or helping when someone was in need, and he enriched so many people’s lives with his endless stories.
His legacy is immense. He helped build the human backbone of Himalayan climbing, enabling generations of climbers to test themselves in the world’s highest places. With his passing, an era of bold, spirited Himalayan guiding has come to a close.
Todd survived by a loving family, many close friends and a global community of climbers and Sherpas who will never forget him and his endless tales.&nbsp;
His family said in a statement: ‘Henry’s strength, warmth and unyielding belief in others will live on far above the clouds. He was indestructible in our eyes and in our hearts, he always will be.’
There will be a memorial service at Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu on 8 November 2025 around lunchtime.

Henry Barclay Todd, 80

The autumn mountaineering season is not over yet, and already there have been 12 fatalities on Himalayan peaks in Nepal.
Of the 1,450 climbing permits issued, 436 were for Mt Ama Dablam (6,812m), 374 for Mt Manaslu (8,163m) and 186 for Himlung Himal (7,126m). There were deaths on all three mountains.
The death of two French climbers on Ama Dablam happened before unseasonal blizzards hit the mountains. But Cyclone Montha from the Bay of Bengal brought on high winds and up to 1m of snow in the peak trekking and mountaineering season.
This increased avalanche conditions, and made helicopter evacuation of stranded and injured climbers difficult. Lower down the mountains, more than 1,000 trekkers from Nepal and around the world were stuck in the Annapurnas, Manaslu circuit and the Khumbu.
However, there have also been allegations that it was not just the weather that delayed rescues. Multiple levels of bureaucracy and the need for flight permits to restricted areas like Manang and Manaslu critically delayed evacuation flights.
Italian climbers Farronato Stefano and Caputo Alessandro were found dead in their tent at Panbari Himal Camp I (6,887m) in the Manaslu area. They had been trapped by heavy snowfall since 28 October, and their bodies were found on 4 November by a team from the expedition organisers, Sherpa Alpine Trekking Service. The team was made up of high level mountain guides and expedition leader Valter Perlino.
The team had been climbing to Camp 3 but decided to descend to base camp because of thrombosis in Perlino’s left foot. The two climbers who would eventually get trapped decided to break at Camp I, a decision that would prove fatal after the projected six-day snowfall arrived two days early.
“They were sleeping in a tent and were buried under 2.5 metres of compacted snow. It happened during the night between Thursday and Friday. While they were sleeping, absurd,” said Perlino.
A deadly incident took place the morning of 3 November, when five foreigners and two Nepalis died in an avalanche on Yalung Ri at 5,630m in the Rolwaling. They were part of a larger group of 15 that were acclimatising for an attempt on the nearby Dolma Khang (6,332m).
Local authorities in Gauri Shankar Conservation Area say calls were immediately made to helicopter companies as well as various ministries in Kathmandu that have to issue permits to fly to the region bordering China.
But the permits for rescue flights to Rolwaling Valley were delayed by eight hours. Rescue flights in these areas require permission from the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Ministry, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
Experts say this should be exempted in times of emergency when time is of the essence. CAAN spokesperson Pratap Babu Tiwari claimed to not know of the avalanche on Yalung Ri and deflected questions to the permission department.&nbsp;
There was a similar tragedy on Himlung Himal in Manang as well. Australian Chin-Tark Chan, 49, was climbing with 8K Expeditions and fell ill on 27 October at about 6,800m, developing snow blindness and loss of mobility. The guides immediately called the US insurance company Global Rescue for authorisation of a longline rescue.
Global Rescue refused, saying a rescue at that height would violate Nepal’s aviation rules and put the pilot at unacceptable risk. They asked the guides to transport Chan to Camp 3 at 6,400m to a permitted altitude. Seeing it was a life-or-death situation for its client, 8K called in an aerial rescue anyway, but the helicopter could not land due to bad weather. Chan died slightly below Camp 3 on 29 October.
Global Rescue said in a statement that it was ready to send in a helicopter after Chan had been transported to Camp 3, but several hours were lost for that attempt, and the weather did not get better in the next few days.
To underscore just how dangerous helicopter rescues in the Himalaya can be in bad weather, a chopper from Altitude Air skidded off the helipad at Lobuche below Mt Everest while trying to rescue trekkers in whiteout conditions.&nbsp;
CAAN announced a ban on flights during blizzards or dense fog. While rescue missions are often heroic and courageous, they should not be foolhardy if conditions are unsafe and the risk to pilots and rescuers too high. This autumn was a lesson for future expeditions and for the Nepal government.&nbsp;
The Italian duo on Panbari were caught out by snow that arrived two days ahead of schedule, but the group on Yalung Ri should have postponed their ascent after multiple warnings from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to avoid high altitudes.

Hydropower on thin ice

“I felt like I was born to be a nurse”

Nepal haemorrhaging nurses

Nepali migrant workers rebuild lives

Neighbourhood watch on Nepal

Nepal’s prospects at World Cup 2026

Think locally, invest locally

Nepal needs to enact and enforce animal law

Two wheels good, electric even better

Unfinished federalism in Madhes Province

Henry Barclay Todd, 80

Deadly autumn in Himalayan climbing

“I felt like I was born to be a nurse”

Nepal haemorrhaging nurses