It is perhaps only when they become a part of the story they are reporting that journalists realise just what a narrow segment of reality they depict in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/journalists-reflect-on-a-year-of-crisis-coverage">coverage of a crisis</a>. This is especially true when foreign correspondents report on a disaster like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April 2015</a>.&nbsp; For the first seven days, as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/photos-nepal-earthquake-2015,2207">videos and photographs of a devastated city</a> were broadcast around the world on TV and the internet, my family got frantic calls from friends and relatives. They seemed surprised that we were still alive, that our house was intact, we had food and water, or that they could even make that phone call. &nbsp; Like everyone else, they had seen images of Kathmandu Valley’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">historic monuments</a> reduced to rubble, piles of bricks where people’s homes used to be, and photographs taken from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Insurance,361">rescue helicopters </a>of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/earthquake-vacates-villages-in-nepal">destroyed villages</a> clinging precariously to steep mountainsides. These apocalyptic scenes had convinced them that nothing was left. Yet 80% of the houses in Kathmandu Valley were intact. Even in the historic heart of the city, the main temples and palaces were still there. The only thing different in most neighbourhoods after the earthquake was that there weren’t the usual traffic jams. In fact the first foreign correspondents to parachute in the next morning were surprised on the drive into the city that they didn’t spot a single ruined building. Had they flown into the wrong hotspot by mistake? Many of us in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/media-matters">the media</a> are accused of distortion by being selective in what we choose to report. Some foreign correspondents are careful not to fall into that trap -- trying instead to break away from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-does-the-nepali-media-cover-rape?fb_comment_id=2170690649622056_2288366001187853">stereotypical coverage</a> and catch a deeper understanding of what is really happening beneath the surface, or away from the spotlight. Still, there is a formula for news and it’s hard to file a story that doesn’t fit it. Which is why after every disaster it is, quite literally, t<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/deadly-Jure-landslide-presaged-earthquake-delayed-rehabilitation,2486">he same old story</a>. The international media arrives in herds and hunts in packs. Everything has to conform to a preordained script: you parachute in and immediately find good visuals of ‘utter devastation’; recruit an English-speaking local who does not need subtitling; trail <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-better-be-better-next-time">the rescue teams </a>with sniffer dogs you flew in with. Then it’s back to the hotel bar to swap stories of derring-do, before calling the desk to plan tomorrow’s story of slow government response, and the day after tomorrow’s account of yet another survivor pulled out alive. After that, get a ride in a rescue helicopter for the out-of-town visual of utter devastation in a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere">remote mountain village</a>. To my knowledge no foreign correspondent went around shooting streets in which all the buildings were still standing. They did not have time to look at farmers <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10241">harvesting potatoes</a> by the roadside as they rushed to pan across more historic ruins. Few ever reported that only 14 of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected.&nbsp; No-one found it extraordinary or newsworthy that the phones were working, that they could tweet even from the hinterland, or that Kathmandu got back electricity in three days. Such bits of information didn’t fit the script.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250425040416_33825cb2cbfd900de54a5df2188747755745c613c67c29968ca8f4093bfc6a33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250425040416_33825cb2cbfd900de54a5df2188747755745c613c67c29968ca8f4093bfc6a33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1058" height="528" loading="lazy" alt="Disaster journalism"> </figure>  TV crews from the BBC, Al-Jazeera and others had pitched their tents (with their own Honda generators) next to each other in Kathmandu’s Darbar Square, to frame the ruins of the Hanuman Dhoka palace as the backdrop to invited talking heads. No wonder TV news programs are called ‘shows’. One interviewee was asked if he could dim the lights for a Skype interview to make it look like things were really dark in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rebuilding-better-than-before">post-earthquake Kathmandu</a>. A scheduled live stand-up with a local journalist by CNN’s Anderson Cooper was cancelled at 4am local time because they were rioting in Baltimore. Such <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/nepali-journalists-reported-on-disaster-with-compassion,500">disaster reporting</a> distorts the scale of destruction, either exaggerating the damage or not highlighting the areas where things are much worse. Because competing TV channels are in the same helicopter, there is a temptation to over-dramatise, embellish and overstate. And countries like Nepal better have their disasters on a slow news day in North America. Soon, it was time to leave and travel to another <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/past-disasters-foretold">disaster zone</a>. Many international reporters had left by the time the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/after-the-aftershocks-the-survivors,3006">aftershock hit on 12 May</a>, destroying homes already weakened by the main quake. The media distorts reality by disproportionate coverage. Facts do not add up to the truth when we are selective in choosing what to report. Facts, in fact, can lie. Similarly, when the scale of the disaster is too big to comprehend the screen is just not wide enough to show the immensity of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/five-years-after-avalanche-langtang-is-locked-down">an avalanche</a> that obliterates a village of 500 inhabitants, like it did in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-after-10-years">Langtang</a>.&nbsp; The challenge now is to keep the international spotlight on Nepal as the country rebuilds. But the media pack has left, and with it the headlines that keep the crisis alive. Already, donations for relief and rehabilitation have started tapering off. Kunda Dixit Reprinted from BBC Academy on 26 May 2015. For a longer version of this piece, go to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fcollegeofjournalism%2Fentries%2Fae5fd09c-c333-48b5-9b35-06238d7f9e71">BBC Academy Blogs</a>.

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Disaster Journalism

Shristi Karki

Towering monument to 2015

This is the 63rd 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. <h2>Mani Prasad Gurung&nbsp;</h2> When <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the earthquake </a>hit, I was in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bhaktapur-2-0-d8m66qhb">Bhaktapur</a> for work. My friend who had driven us from Kathmandu was so scared after the earthquake that he was shaking and was unable to drive as his arms were too weak. So I took the driver’s seat as we headed back to Kathmandu. Perhaps <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-must-be-having-so-much-fun-there">living in Japan </a>for almost a decade meant that I was more used to the shaking. Many around me were panicking. Thankfully, I managed to call my family immediately after the earthquake and found out they were safe before the phones got disconnected. After reaching Kathmandu through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere">damaged roads</a>, everyone was outside their houses and scared because of the frequent <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/seismological-Centre-2015-earthquake,2230">aftershocks</a>. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_cf8b3dd9420c9a36528eb8ed93de4275b6b3ebc702de51bab6f63635294fdb66.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025041905048_cf8b3dd9420c9a36528eb8ed93de4275b6b3ebc702de51bab6f63635294fdb66" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  I am originally from Bahundanda in Lamjung. It was difficult to reach people on the phone, but we did what we could to stay updated. Recently, we took it upon ourselves to rebuild one of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">historic temples</a> that had been destroyed by the earthquake. It will be inaugurated this week on 19 April, ten years after it collapsed. Over 320 people from Lamjung now living in the US, Australia, Japan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as various parts of Nepal contributed. It is a collective effort of hundreds of individuals attached to our village.&nbsp; <h2>Sitaram Giri&nbsp;</h2> I worked in Dubai for seven years, starting out as a construction helper before my boss hired me as his personal driver since he liked my work and trusted me. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/speaking-the-language-of-overseas-work">Life was all right overseas</a>, I suppose. But coming home for a two-month break after five years abroad and spending time with my children, I just did not want to be away again. I wanted to come home to Nepal. I am not sure what changed, but my heart just was not in Dubai. I dragged myself to stay on for 2.5 more years before finally deciding to call it quits in 2015. I had driving skills, so I could use that to find a job in Nepal. &nbsp; I stayed in Kathmandu for a few days and headed to my village in<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal"> Sindhupalchok </a>to help out on the farm. I was having my morning meal one day exactly ten years ago, when everything started shaking. I ran outside just as my home collapsed in a cloud of dust.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_75d4425924ced5f17656e62ffcec00ba5f76c790871adb3186b70edd84256106.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025041905048_75d4425924ced5f17656e62ffcec00ba5f76c790871adb3186b70edd84256106" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  People were screaming that there were children buried <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/miracle-boy-six-years-after-nepal-quake">under the rubble</a>. I lost my grandmother, but could rescue my nephew from a collapsed building. We tried to dig out as many people as we could while consoling those who lost family members and helping with the funerals. Many survivors lost their livestock. The earthquake struck just a few days after my return to Nepal. It was God who brought me back to be with my family. If I was abroad, I would be in so much stress. As it is, my children were in Kathmandu, and it was difficult for me to reach them. But they were safe.&nbsp; Being in my village also meant I could help my neighbours. Friends from abroad sent us support for reconstruction. With that, some of my own savings, a government grant and some loans, I eventually rebuilt my house for Rs700,000. It did cross my mind that I might have to migrate for work again, but I also had this जति गरेनी एस्तै हो feeling that it would not make a difference. After years of hard work overseas to build my home, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/born-again-after-the-earthquake">the earthquake</a> destroyed it in seconds – as if the house never even existed. I lost my phone in the quake. In it were all my photos from Dubai. <h2>Subhash Acharya</h2> I worked in Iraq for 32 months, and again in Saudi Arabia for 44 months before heading back to Nepal where I now run an electronic shop. My economic situation made me decide to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">migrate</a>, but I chose Iraq because my brother was there. I was in Saudi Arabia when the earthquake struck Nepal in 2015. I saw images of destruction online, Dharara had collapsed and there was death and devastation everywhere.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_b3bdafb2128e7fe3c7fca28e08ed2881fcb4b87f8ceb6958b7e2893c930e22b0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2025041905048_b3bdafb2128e7fe3c7fca28e08ed2881fcb4b87f8ceb6958b7e2893c930e22b0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  I worried because if that was what happened to Kathmandu, my home village in Sindhupalchok would also have been affected. Indeed, when I got in touch with my family four hours later, I learnt that there was nothing left of my home but the first floor. Thankfully, everyone was alive. I already had a return ticket for Nepal for my vacation after a week so I decided to come home as planned. If I did not have a ticket, I would have bought one for the very next day. My family was safe, so I decided to stay in a tent for two months. Everyone around us was affected. My friends and company in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/saudi-labour-reforms-to-benefit-nepalis">Saudi Arabia </a>helped me and my colleagues who bore losses. When overseas, we help each other during times of trouble like medical or family emergencies. We pool funds and chip in however much we can, whatever we can manage. This time I was at the receiving end. In addition to the SAR2,000 ($540) from my company, I received about $1,000 from my fellow workers from India, Bangladesh, and Philippines. I was really very touched by their generosity. <h2>Gopal Theeng Tamang</h2> I was an undocumented security guard in Malaysia when I heard about the earthquake that shook Nepal in 2015. My mind immediately went to my brother and sister-in-law in Sindhupalchok which was badly affected. The rest of my family was in Kathmandu, and were safe. But I could not reach my brother and his wife. Calls were not going through the first few days. When I finally made contact, I learnt that their house had collapsed completely.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_3fffd2700ba545e7b462bd77f2f91e252c364e81c2b9bfbe59c88ea7e132a754.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025041905048_3fffd2700ba545e7b462bd77f2f91e252c364e81c2b9bfbe59c88ea7e132a754" data-rendition-name="original" width="540" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  They had built this home with their lifetime of earnings. My sister-in-law would cry on the phone, and I tried to help my brother in whatever small way I could. A group of us in Malaysia also organised a small campaign to raise funds to buy rice for families in our village. As security guards in Malaysia, we had to work long hours. I had 12 hour night shifts, and even though a disaster had struck my home country, duty called. &nbsp; My brother has rebuilt a smaller tin-roofed house. I left Malaysia and emigrated to Iraq for five years where I worked as a housekeeper, waiter and then barista. I moved back to Nepal for good two years ago.

When disaster strikes home

On the morning of 25 April 2015, as shocked residents of Kathmandu were sifting through the rubble of collapsed homes and temples, there was thunder in the air. Many thought it was another earthquake. A formation of six Indian Air Force MI17 helicopters were flying low over the Lalitpur to land at the airport. Soon after, the Chinese Air Force dispatched its own MI17s, flying over the Himalaya. In the week that followed, the US Marines flew in V-22 Ospreys from Okinawa with mid-air refueling along the way. Then C-17s landed in Kathmandu with UH-1L helicopters in their bellies. Singapore, Israel, Japan, Thailand sent military aircraft with relief and also evacuated their nationals. The Nepal Army only had three small helicopters at the time. So, the most urgent need after 25 April was air support to lift injured people out of remote areas, fly in relief supplies, and conduct aerial surveys of the most affected regions.&nbsp; “The international response was commendable. It was immediate and overwhelming,” recalls &nbsp;Sagar Shrestha of the Nepal Red Cross Society. Indeed, it may have been too overwhelming: the airport soon ran out of apron space as heavy jets started coming in one after another.&nbsp; Despite the intensity of the shaking, there was no damage to the runway and terminal building and the airport was immediately operational. This meant that within 16 hours of the earthquake, a Turkish Red Cross emergency response team had already landed in Kathmandu. The Nepal Army set up a command and control centre at its hangar at the Airport to coordinate relief and conduct medevacs from affected areas. Army personnel accompanied the helicopters to navigate in high terrain. But in the immediate aftermath, it was local communities that sprang into action to dig survivors out of the rubble. Since most of the collapsed buildings in Kathmandu were not concrete high rises, it did not need specialised equipment.&nbsp; Before long, the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force (APF) and the Nepal Police came together in the search efforts, carrying out most of the rescues, pulling babies out alive after 22 hours. “The APF was responsible for search and rescue and the army had the job of transporting wounded people,” recalls Govinda Raj Pokhrel, vice-chair of the Nepal Planning Commission at the time.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250412150420_444da7500f04cad6cb37e728d5dbc09d358e0a08e35ede82b6900dfe416cc41c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250412150420_444da7500f04cad6cb37e728d5dbc09d358e0a08e35ede82b6900dfe416cc41c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="It better be better next time NT"> <figcaption>A Turkish seach and rescue team arrived the very next day after the earthquake because Kathmandu airport was not damaged. Photo: WIKIPEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  The government declared a state of emergency and requested international help within 3–4 hours of the earthquake, and relief flights started arriving immediately. In parts of Kathmandu where concrete structures had collapsed like Gonga Bu, their carbon dioxide life detectors and listening equipment helped locate buried survivors.&nbsp; But it was old fashioned pick and shovel and sniffer dogs that sufficed in most collapsed structures in Bungamati, Bhaktapur, Sankhu and other badly-affected towns. Local first responders and the APF and Army were responsible for most of the rescues. Lack of information to international relief agencies meant that most arrived with equipment that was not really needed. There was also duplication with foreign search and rescue teams stepping on each other’s toes in ruined neighbourhoods. “The government launched coordinated rescue efforts, assigning specific responsibilities to each ministry. For instance, the Ministry of Forests was tasked with managing helicopters arriving from foreign countries to ensure smooth logistics,” adds Pokhrel.&nbsp; Sushil Koirala who was the prime minister at the time, coordinated with the ministers and assigned them responsibilities. The government was slow to coordinate international assistance, and when it finally took charge, it insisted aid go through a ‘one-door policy’ to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.&nbsp; This was heavily criticised on social media by Nepalis and foreigners alike, and actually dissuaded many wishing to help to either withdraw or delay providing monetary and in-kind support. The other government decision that was ridiculed was an over-enthusiastic Customs Department that wanted to tax relief material. Although some of the clothing, food and home repair supplies were low quality or inappropriate, obstructing help during an emergency was not a good idea.&nbsp; “There were issues at the airport as large numbers of foreign aircraft were flying in. And the one-door policy for donations to be through the prime minister’s fund became a problem,” admits Pokhrel, adding, “the government was in full control though, which is required during such large-scale disasters.” Pokhrel helped organise an international pledging conference within two months after the earthquake. Even while aftershocks rocked Kathmandu, international donors from 34 countries responded generously with promises of $4.4 billion. However, some of that money was calculated in the help already sent, and much of the pledges never materialised.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250412150420_9d9cde1aad5ed3233702719394f1ca01c99d7c6e4dd8fb12d4bed97bb14b7183.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250412150420_9d9cde1aad5ed3233702719394f1ca01c99d7c6e4dd8fb12d4bed97bb14b7183" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="It better be better next time NT"> <figcaption>Most of the rescue of survivors was carried out by Nepal Army and APF. Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;“Some foreign assistance did come in, but there was no clarity to mobilise and coordinate the relief, which should have come from the government,” says Sagar Shrestha of the Red Cross. The earthquake struck just as Nepal was preparing to promulgate a new Constitution with controversy about its provisions. Unhappy with it, India blockaded border checkpoints for six months, relief supplies was stuck, and there were shortages of food, fuel and medicines. “Nepal was in political transition, so some lack of coordination was understandable, but given the circumstances we did as much as we could,” says Pokhrel of the post-disaster period. Nepal also could not say no to international offers to rebuild monuments which it could have done itself. Large flags of American, Chinese and other countries were painted at reconstruction sites of destroyed monuments.&nbsp; Help comes with strings attached, and it was obvious some countries were deriving propaganda value from it. Because of Nepal’s strategic location, the presence of so many aircraft from India, China and US gave the impression that this was more of a military exercise — especially near sensitive northern border regions. Ten years later, there are lessons to be learnt that will be useful when the next disaster strikes, as it surely will in future. Foreign assistance was robust and rapid, but coordination struggled with logistical, political, and capacity constraints. There was also a glaring need to upgrade urban search and rescue capacity of the security forces — especially for collapsed multi-storey concrete structures because next time we may not be so lucky. &nbsp;Pneumatic drills, rotary rescue saws, concrete cutters, chipping hammers, hydraulic shoring, and life detectors like thermal, CO2 and snake-eyes have to be prepositioned in various parts of the country. Nepal Army also needs more heavy helicopters and station them in bases in Surkhet, Pokhara and Dharan for rapid deployment. The rescue of people from a fire on a high-rise in Itahari earlier this month needed a helicopter to fly all the way from Kathmandu, and that may have been too late if the fire was more serious. Raging forest fires in the past two weeks all over Nepal has also exposed a woeful lack of aerial firefighting capacity, a gap which the Nepal Army could fill with water dropping equipment. This is important because the next earthquake could also be followed by uncontrolled urban fires. Says Sagar Shrestha of Nepal Red Cross Society: “The biggest lesson is that there needs to be better communication about what is needed after a disaster and coordination between Nepal’s agencies and the internationals to make relief flow smooth.”&nbsp;

It better be better next time

Every earthquake, even a minor one, shakes <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur">Bhaktapur</a> more severely than other parts of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu Valley</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs">seismologists</a> attribute this to its soil structure. It was no different<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> in 2015 when a 7.8M earthquake rocked central Nepal</a>. Brown dust from collapsed buildings blanketed the town like a sand storm. Even 10 years later, the scars of that disaster are all around, even though most of the monuments have been rebuilt.&nbsp; At the entrance to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur">Bhaktapur Darbar Square</a> is the Rameswar temple, where workers are lifting bricks to repair the damage. The Vatsala Durga temple inside the palace complex collapsed, but the all-stone structure has been masterfully restored.&nbsp; The Yaksheswar Mahadev temple is encased in a bamboo scaffold. Piles of bricks and tiles &nbsp;are stacked below it. Some workers are on top of the temple, while others work on the ground mixing mortar. To the north of the Darbar Square is the Fasi Dega temple which has been rebuilt. The 55-window palace and the art museum which were damaged have also been repaired.&nbsp; The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nyatapola-alight">five-storey Nyatapola</a>, which survived both the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes, just underwent a $6.3 million renovation. In Taumadhi Square below, the Biska Jatra chariot is under construction for upcoming festivities. Some tourists are on it, posing for pictures.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090432_8da447f3cf32a67ba22eedda74af74a6636cd001b544a303eb8e5f8adf3115e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250407090432_8da447f3cf32a67ba22eedda74af74a6636cd001b544a303eb8e5f8adf3115e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1284" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> <figcaption>All photos: AJAY HAKAJU</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Monumental-loss,2215">Monumental loss</a> At Pottery Square, three workers sit atop an under-construction structure whittling away with chisels. Nearby houses are still supported by wooden beams. Dattatreya Square was also damaged during the earthquake, but has been renovated.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/born-again-after-the-earthquake">After the earthquake</a>, the international community rushed in with offers of help. Kathmandu’s Hanuman Dhoka was restored by the Chinese, Gaddi Baithak by the Americans and various countries ‘adopted’ other monuments. But Bhaktapur declined assistance. UNESCO wanted to be involved since Bhaktapur had been a World Heritage Site since 1979. Germany wanted to help with a €10 million grant, since it had spearheaded the Bhaktapur Development Project 40 years ago.&nbsp; “We believed that we should be able to reconstruct our monuments ourselves,” says Ram Govinda Shrestha, an architect with the municipality. Indeed, Kathmandu Valley has historically rebuilt after every major earthquake with its own resources. Architect and conservationist Rabindra Puri says, “It is shameful to let someone else come in and do the reconstruction for us, especially since the manpower and material would be ours anyway. Why use money from elsewhere?”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090436_7f19bc8a185c9f71404db44fba086438d6c29a3acb63a63d027cbdd4053e1b4f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250407090436_7f19bc8a185c9f71404db44fba086438d6c29a3acb63a63d027cbdd4053e1b4f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> </figure>  The budget for reconstruction came from the government, town entry fees, taxes, and donations. That was the easy part. But this was followed by multiple discussions between the municipality, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), the Department of Archaeology, and multiple stages of proposals, designs, estimations, and building. New committees had to be formed at every step. “Part of the reason why there were so many steps is because we have to let the government know that we were working as frugally as possible,” recalls Shrestha. It cost more than $200 million to rebuild the 116 heritage structures that were destroyed and damaged.&nbsp; Nevertheless, Bhaktapur stands as a model of locally sourced reconstruction in every way. Community people themselves got their hands dirty along with domestic workers and learned various aspects of reconstruction. “We showed what is possible when locals feel a strong sense of responsibility,” adds Shrestha. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/tourists-trickle-back-to-Bhaktapur">Bhaktapur is waiting for you</a>, Peregrine Frissell But while the monuments were rebuilt, it was not the same with residential buildings. Many of them still have cracks running down their brick façades, and some neighbourhoods are still in ruins with small trees and bushes growing from the rubble.&nbsp; More than 300 people were killed and over 2,000 wounded in house collapses in Bhaktapur. There were some dramatic rescues, including of a baby Sonish Awal who was rescued by an APF team 24 hours after being buried under the rubble.&nbsp; Sonish is now 10 years old, and his house has been rebuilt. The government vowed to ‘Build Back Better’ as fast as possible, by removing bureaucratic hurdles and grant Rs300,000 in three instalments, as well as access to loans at low interest. But things did not go smoothly.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090436_d503e5c966f33978abf99a0fa8307369d81bcc6a6e5d768cf88b7dee273cb6cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250407090436_d503e5c966f33978abf99a0fa8307369d81bcc6a6e5d768cf88b7dee273cb6cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> </figure>  “Bhaktapur is very dense, so there was a lot of confusion about where property lines ended, and where walls were,” says Biswanath Sujakhu, a municipality engineer. There were also disputes in families with multiple sons who had stakes in the house, as the act treated them as a single household.&nbsp; Many of the disputes have not been resolved yet, which is why there are so many ruins. &nbsp;Homeowners who chose to remake their houses to look traditional were promised further subsidies of up to Rs300,000, but even that was not enough to pay for the Rs5 million or so needed to build a multi-storey cement structure.&nbsp; Banks weren’t giving loans easily, and multiple changes to the NRA chief meant the grants were not easy to access. Many residents took high-interest loans from local cooperatives. Or they were forced to undersell their land plots. “Bhaktapur also had restrictions about the styles and height of buildings, but many houses didn’t comply as people could only work with the money they had at the time,” adds Sujakhu. Nepal Vocational Academy, established by Rabindra Puri two years before the earthquake in 2013, played a crucial role. The academy produced enough masons, woodcarvers, and stone carvers so that there wasn’t a shortage. The students were also involved in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/guest-editorial-better-late-than-never,891">reconstruction efforts</a> across the country. Puri has just one gripe: “A lot of old houses that were perfectly fine were torn down for no reason. Those houses are 200-300 years old and could have been restored instead of being reconstructed.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">In with the old in Nepal</a>, Shriluna Shrestha

Vishad Raj Onta

Bhaktapur 2.0

This is the 62nd 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. On 25 April 2015, I was on a video call with my friend in Nepal from the UAE when she suddenly panicked. Her house had started shaking. My instinct told me it was an <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deadly-earthquake-hits-w-nepal">earthquake</a> so I told her to get out of the house as soon as possible.&nbsp; As she ran outside, the line got disconnected. It was my turn to panic. A few moments later, she called again to tell me she was safe, but got disconnected again. Since then, I have not heard from her and all my efforts to reach her have been in vain.&nbsp; Even after a decade, I do not even know if she is alive. After her call, I was worried about my family as news of the mega earthquake had already started spreading. I could not get in touch with my father in Rasuwa, but was relieved to know my brother and other family members were okay and camping outdoors. &nbsp; My father, who had gone to the market, was missing and I was worried. My brother finally called to say he was all right. I was somewhat relieved that my family back home had survived the earthquake, unlike thousands of others. That our house was destroyed mattered less, but I was concerned about the frequent <a href="about:blank">aftershocks</a>.&nbsp; Being away at such a time is difficult. I am sure most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times">Nepalis in the diaspora</a> were in a similar situation: restless, sleepless and desperate to be back home as we refreshed our phones for updates or tried to call relatives. Some replied, others did not. My heart was in a constant state of worry: about my family, my village and my country.&nbsp; I was desperate to come home. My family was safe and alive, but maybe I could at least save one person from under the rubble if I went back to Nepal. But I was in the middle of my employment contract in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/uae-warning-to-send-back-workers-including-nepalis">the UAE </a>and could not just leave. After around two weeks, the desperate urge to return started subsiding and I became more practical. If I returned to Nepal, I would once again be unemployed and hard up. My family was living in a temporary shelter, and the best thing I could do was to earn as much as possible so we could <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">rebuild our house</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080412_80b55004bc3a3fd19b9c95339a24f5f22d2a74b4fc61ba07deb46955d1df2674.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250405080412_80b55004bc3a3fd19b9c95339a24f5f22d2a74b4fc61ba07deb46955d1df2674" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="DD 62"> <figcaption>Aman Eakal back in Kathmandu, showing a photo of his home destoryed in the earthquake, and trying to build a singing career. </figcaption> </figure>  My heart was aching not just for my family but also for my country. I transferred my first month’s salary of Rs80,000 to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. As my family was safe, I thought it was more important to contribute to the nation.&nbsp; I had served seven years in the Armed Police Force (APF), and perhaps that is why I felt a sense of responsibility. I also started remitting as much as I could to my family. Even before the earthquake, I was most careful about my spending habits, some might even consider me a कन्जुस miser.&nbsp; We value every paisa because we are aware of the pain of our families <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bringing-korea-s-prosperity-to-nepal">back home</a>, and our own sacrifices: eating the previous day’s rice with cold veggies or dal in a plastic bag on the roadside during lunch breaks.&nbsp; The earthquake made me even more cautious. I wanted to send home every extra Dirham I could. I took on more overtime hours and even stopped spending on fruit and meat in the market on my days off.&nbsp; I was in the APF’s communication department, so I knew people in the Nepal government and I stayed in touch with them for earthquake updates. Nepalis in Dubai also asked me about the latest from home.&nbsp; Even today, when I think of that time during the earthquake, my heart feels heavy. It was poverty that kept me far from my family and country. I had migrated to work so I could invest my savings in my younger brother and children.&nbsp; My childhood memories are of scarcity and challenges. I did not even know what it meant to eat खाजा snacks in school. Till Grade 5, all I had was a pair of shorts, we could not even afford trousers. My family could buy me a school uniform only after Grade 7, and I wore it right through my school life. It was only after my father went to work in Kathmandu that we stopped worrying about eating two meals a day. But poverty is relative. There were fellow students who got to eat lunch in school and focus on homework, whereas I had to finish household chores that left no time for assignments. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080412_21b47d56f3941ca53b9faa933de900b8eb0c7564f687d0f18d16a800bc58522b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250405080412_21b47d56f3941ca53b9faa933de900b8eb0c7564f687d0f18d16a800bc58522b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1287" loading="lazy" alt="DD 62"> <figcaption>A page of lyrics Aman Eakal wrote during the earthquake that evokaes longing for the motherland, worry about home and family, and a commitment to rebuild the country.</figcaption> </figure>  And there were those who were even worse off, and did not go to school at all, or dropped out. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal">The Maoist conflict</a> made it impossible for me to stay in the village because the guerrillas tried to force me to join their militia.&nbsp; My older brother was in the Army and refused. To avoid them, I even used to ask my mother to lock my room from the outside. But one day, they dragged me out and warned that my brother or I had to join the Maoists within one month. They even fired shots to scare me. My brother was posted in Itahari and told me to run away to Kathmandu. I quit my studies and joined the APF but the salary was low and my mentor from the force, a deputy inspector who treated me like a son, died in an accident.&nbsp; I lost interest and decided to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas</a>. My APF salary was Rs10,200 a month at the time, and in the UAE I would earn over Rs72,000. I had loans of over Rs850,000 mainly because of my mother’s health expenses. With my Nepal salary, it would take me a lifetime to pay off these loans so I had to migrate.&nbsp; I worked as a security guard and later refilled cash in ATM machines in the UAE, and it was all to support my family. I focused a lot on my younger brother and parents as I was unmarried for the first few years. My own studies had been affected by poverty, but I could not let my brother face the same fate.&nbsp; I enrolled him in a private school and asked him to focus on his studies. I would fulfil all my personal dreams through him. He is now doing a PhD in China and this could not make me prouder. I think it is my life’s biggest achievement. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">Quake survivors migrate for work</a> My father sacrificed his life for us. I was told that he used to bleed from his mouth from overwork as he crushed stones or cut wood. I wanted to make sure my parents would not have to worry about work or money anymore.&nbsp; I gave up all my dreams and passions in life except one — a deep desire to one day record my own songs. After returning to Nepal, I recorded three songs, including one that I had written some 20 years ago.&nbsp; I do not know what the future holds. I do not have the money to start my own business in Nepal, although it is constantly on my mind. I am a new father and my responsibilities are growing. If I am unable to start a business soon, I may very well have to migrate again to the UAE or to Europe. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <video controls src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080416_306fcaa9702389af66c5c9476c6cffb792ebcc298a544e5c080e3e220faed8ec.mp4" alt="" width="100%" height="100%"></video> <figcaption>Away from home when Nepal shook | Aman Ekal (Diaspora Diaries 62)</figcaption> </figure>

Away from home when Nepal shook

The 7.2M Taiwan earthquake on 3 April was a reminder for us here in Nepal about the importance of preparation with up to code infrastructure, earthquake early warning sensors hooked to mobile &nbsp;networks, seismic risk education in schools, and swift emergency response.&nbsp;
Although 13 people were killed, readiness saved lives. Skyscrapers shook and swayed but did not fall, high-rises tilted but did not collapse. A similar intensity earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 had killed 2,400 people. &nbsp;
This week marks nine years since Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes that killed nearly 9,000 people. It has been four months since a 6.4M quake <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">struck Jajarkot and West Rukum</a> near midnight on 3 November, claiming 153 lives.&nbsp;
In the immediate aftermath of 2015, building codes, earthquake-resistant designs and retrofitting became high priority. But as memories fade, so does the fear. Nine years on, buildings <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-of-high-rises">including high-rises that flout zoning and building codes</a> have come up in Kathmandu while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-occupation-of-tundikhel">open spaces have further shrunk</a>.&nbsp;
Himalayan seismologists have warned that 2015 was not the Big One, the kind of quake that hits central Nepal every 80 or so years. Neither was Jajarkot the megaquake scientists had expected in western Nepal’s seismic gap. As we have been saying in this paper for the last 24 years, the next big earthquake is ‘not a matter of if, but when’.
While the 14 districts affected by the 2015 disaster have now mostly been rebuilt, and are better prepared, the rest of the country is not. A &gt;8M megaquake in Western Nepal would be a trans-boundary disaster of unthinkable proportions.
In Jajarkot and West Rukum, many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/jajarkot-survivors-show-collective-resilience">survivors spent the winter </a>without a roof over their heads, and they still await relief to rebuild. The National &nbsp;Reconstruction Authority (NRA) might have taken nine months to set up after the 2015 earthquake, but that disaster should have been a lesson for timely assessment for earthquake relief at the very least.
Nepal is a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/lost-and-damaged">landmine of disasters</a>. Nearly 350 people have died just in the past year in floods, landslides, lightning, and forest fires, and not including Jajarkot. We are now in the thick of wildfire season. Hundreds of forest fires are burning across the country, some for weeks. Three fire-fighting soldiers and three children picking mushrooms were killed by wind-fanned flames just in the past week.&nbsp;
The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-suffers-another-winter-drought">prolonged winter drought</a> should have warned us that this year, the fires would be much worse. But adding fuel to the fires, as it were, is the new trend of burning wheat straw after harvest by farmers.&nbsp;
Fire is always followed by flood, and this year, weather models predict above-normal monsoon precipitation. As it is, monsoons have become erratic with extreme downpours followed by weeks without rain. Mohan Mainali’s ongoing series in Nepali Times <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/people-and-mountains-are-thirsty-in-eastern-nepal">analysing meteorological, hydrological and demographic data from eastern Nepal </a>shows that Nepal has always suffered from either too little or too much water, and this has contributed to outmigration.
Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall along Nepal’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">poorly designed roads</a> in never-ending states of construction magnify the risk. Landslides can also frequently block rivers, which raises the need for early warning systems.
And if all this was not bad enough, we have the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">threat of GLOFs </a>from glacial lakes swollen with ice melted by climate breakdown. The water level in the Tso Rolpa glacial lake in Rolwaling was reduced by 3m in 2002, and the water level of Imja Lake was lowered after the 2015 earthquake to mitigate the risk of GLOFs. But these lakes continue to expand as the Himalaya warms 0.7oC faster than the global average.&nbsp;
Thulagi glacial lake below Himalchuli is another one in danger of bursting, and would wash away four hydropower projects downstream on the Marsyangdi River. A GLOF from the precariously situated Lake 464 in the Hinku Valley would race down the Dudh Kosi Valley, into the Sun Kosi and right down to the Tarai.&nbsp;
While these lakes are all dangerous by themselves, they could burst simultaneously during a major earthquake. Which means Nepal must be prepared not just for earthquakes, but the co-seismic risk of catastrophic debris flows along its rivers.&nbsp;
Disaster preparedness means knowing and acknowledging potential without spreading panic and crying wolf. And:&nbsp;
<ul>
 <li>Stockpiling and pre-positioning food and other relief materials</li>
 <li>Investing in search and rescue equipment and training</li>
 <li>Safety drills and earthquake education in schools</li>
 <li>Decentralised first responders with aerial medevac</li>
</ul>
Shristi Karki

Disastrous preparedness

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

Who better than Rohit Ranjitkar, Nepal’s foremost heritage architect, to put together this voluminous documentation of the repair, restoration and rebuilding of Kathmandu Valley’s monuments after the 2015 earthquake. Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley: Before &amp; After the 2015 Earthquake is a sort of post mortem of how the historic temples, shrines, monasteries, stupas, rest houses and Rana palaces were rebuilt from the ground up – with both good and bad examples. But it is a tribute to Ranjitkar and his colleagues that restoration has been sensitively done, reusing salvaged material, and employing modern items only when necessary for structural purposes. Cement was not used, and stainless steel dowels only inserted inside stone columns to make them safe.&nbsp; Ranjitkar is director of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), and within minutes of the earthquake at 11:56 on 25 April 2015, he was out on Patan Darbar Square, helping rescue not just those trapped under the rubble but also mobilising Patan’s community to carry valuable stone carvings, wooden columns and fallen bronze idols for safekeeping in the nearby Patan Museum.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_c3165c450933eb0f523acf1fa726d0e354e68a516d87a91de72829e12b2f27d7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2023072110074_c3165c450933eb0f523acf1fa726d0e354e68a516d87a91de72829e12b2f27d7" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  In the week after the earthquake, he stopped Nepal Army bulldozers from clearing the debris from the 12th century Hari Shankar temple and the 400-year-old Char Narayan temple so items could be retrieved. Many of these were classified and restored to the exact place on the temples. In the store room of &nbsp;Patan Museum were artifacts from the 1934 earthquake which were also put back in their right places.&nbsp; Destructive earthquakes happen every 80 years or so in Nepal and this allows the skills, craft and knowledge of restoration to pass from one generation to the next. This book is a part of that tradition.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_024da2a4ae2ba5c95bb08767a5d4b27b88bcf6a2a2a03ef05a92c8e4a4286d2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023072110074_024da2a4ae2ba5c95bb08767a5d4b27b88bcf6a2a2a03ef05a92c8e4a4286d2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="2015 and present NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_07d8487a9232d6ace1d1a3be01a6a7bc72f8f5b3763c9e09cb744220e187e6e6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023072110078_07d8487a9232d6ace1d1a3be01a6a7bc72f8f5b3763c9e09cb744220e187e6e6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="669" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  Ranjitkar provides numerous examples of damaged wooden struts and tympanum that were replaced, repaired, and missing pieces recarved from scratch. The 625-page volume is lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings of the reconstruction process. This makes the book itself a treasure house of information.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_563614fcf5090e03daf43531a3ece74a2b9be6454cf12b6cd6a173aa9f5e77d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023072110078_563614fcf5090e03daf43531a3ece74a2b9be6454cf12b6cd6a173aa9f5e77d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="951" loading="lazy" alt="Jagannath sketch"> </figure>  High on top of the Taleju in Patan, KVPT did not just rebuild the titled cupola but corrected faulty reconstruction after 1934. The book includes details of the rebuilding of the Machindranath Temple in Bungmati, the Indrayani Temple (below) built in 1792, Kasthamandap, Boudhanath stupa.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_521dc33e26ccee0ab5eff1ff095d101b4c14cbc4a37b78936d1f6077d4814ab5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023072110074_521dc33e26ccee0ab5eff1ff095d101b4c14cbc4a37b78936d1f6077d4814ab5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_3f86551605f5ec6ba2c27c456b804d3554030329649c10c0b68695da49ab77eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023072110074_3f86551605f5ec6ba2c27c456b804d3554030329649c10c0b68695da49ab77eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  In Bhaktapur, Ranjitkar shows &nbsp;how a watercolour painting by Henry Ambrose Oldfield in 1853 was used to restore the west façade of the Malati Chok not only to pre-2015, not even pre-1934 but to its original design in the 19th century.&nbsp; Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley does not just feature the restoration of Malla-era structures, but also former Rana palaces that now serve as government buildings like Singha Darbar, Rastra Bank, Harihar Bhavan or Keshar Mahal. Ranjitkar gives examples of mistakes like the 1832 Lagan Silkhana that was demolished after damage. We are sure there are many other examples of how restoration could have been done better, but this book is mostly about the ones well done. <h2>Restoration of a King</h2> The cover of Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley: Before &amp; After the 2015 Earthquake has the dramatic and hitherto unpublished photograph (right) of Patan Darbar Square while the temple structures were coming down in a cloud of brown dust.&nbsp; The image was taken by James Kirk at exactly 11:56 on 25 April 2015, and shows the 350-year-old bronze statue of King Yognarendra Malla falling from its pedestal as flocks of frightened pigeons circle above the dust cloud.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_0c32b837a1a62ec4a2cfefb67f7885c279f2eeacf249dbc406bbdcfda704fcc9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023072110070_0c32b837a1a62ec4a2cfefb67f7885c279f2eeacf249dbc406bbdcfda704fcc9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_f0e64b42bab652f4c1aab5b7ef343fd49bc42b4ada0424863e12c844514229a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2023072110074_f0e64b42bab652f4c1aab5b7ef343fd49bc42b4ada0424863e12c844514229a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;Kirk took another photo at 12:33. By then the dust has settled, and the statue is lying on its side, with a ‘top-less’ South Taleju in the background. There is already someone trying to dig through the rubble of the Hari Narayan temple to rescue people trapped underneath.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_c4f2745f6da695d72506cbe83550dab02e4b296a683f921fcb40bb2bca52f75a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2023072110070_c4f2745f6da695d72506cbe83550dab02e4b296a683f921fcb40bb2bca52f75a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_624dffc791430e7f6e046a4056a31fff96b325dcb6eebc58a053d54e9f1358b9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2023072110070_624dffc791430e7f6e046a4056a31fff96b325dcb6eebc58a053d54e9f1358b9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721100716_54baebd3651092231970c654d0babf9edaaae6ba59f25089830b133e204fe63d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230721100716_54baebd3651092231970c654d0babf9edaaae6ba59f25089830b133e204fe63d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1465" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>  King Yognarendra Malla’s statue was damaged, but looks as if it is kneeling in prayer. The face did not even have a scratch. The king and his consorts were repaired and consecrated on top of the column in 2017. Even the gilded copper bird finial, which was lost and &nbsp;miraculously found was replaced on top of the serpent. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_f5fbc8754184fbd5a05056ae93d12ae5445f5f214d260563a08811663735ef45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2023072110078_f5fbc8754184fbd5a05056ae93d12ae5445f5f214d260563a08811663735ef45" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_75ef64548c8de35cf4497ba97961e0b1c6650dcb1f90f6f979fb6183d3657cfe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2023072110078_75ef64548c8de35cf4497ba97961e0b1c6650dcb1f90f6f979fb6183d3657cfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="706" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721100728_323655d03a94bdef9e17709caaf547501aac2e6c9c17f5662f258c073cfd4b54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20230721100728_323655d03a94bdef9e17709caaf547501aac2e6c9c17f5662f258c073cfd4b54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Yogendra Malla"> </figure>  <h2>&nbsp;REINCARNATION</h2> The Charnarayan temple built in 1566 in Patan Darbar Square collapsed in a cloud of dust.&nbsp; The first photograph by Suresh Lakhe taken at 12:01 shows the square engulfed in dust. Five minutes later, people are standing at the centre of the square as the ground swayed, and structures collapsed around them. Pigeons wheeled overhead.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_95b7359387aa2bf3456d412f13bdbba39c4ed6da767392572d2e2a1b78f986a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20230721090756_95b7359387aa2bf3456d412f13bdbba39c4ed6da767392572d2e2a1b78f986a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_07d3503758e7152df470bb2a514ccf95e755ab673b056ba984fe4019c1e68c6c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20230721090756_07d3503758e7152df470bb2a514ccf95e755ab673b056ba984fe4019c1e68c6c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_cc75d8468d2eddb167ab15fa7add71802495df6f59572aadc05db2544b46c408.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20230721090756_cc75d8468d2eddb167ab15fa7add71802495df6f59572aadc05db2544b46c408" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;The last photo taken in 2019 shows the temple meticulously restored by KVPT from the foundation up, using local material like yellow mud mortar, and &nbsp;traditional building techniques.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_9436d09379a7ca1258be665ef0a10fef098fcf5245de778bdaf3aac5c07bef6b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20230721090756_9436d09379a7ca1258be665ef0a10fef098fcf5245de778bdaf3aac5c07bef6b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721150736_fd0a53230e6bdc860666fc8cc84bfbb22adc7e1720b573437ababd103ddf3601.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20230721150736_fd0a53230e6bdc860666fc8cc84bfbb22adc7e1720b573437ababd103ddf3601" data-rendition-name="original" width="2194" height="1415" loading="lazy" alt="Book Launch"> <figcaption>The book by Rohit Ranjitkar (extreme right) being launched by the former head of the National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyewali, Director General of the Department of Archaeology Damodar Gautam and American Ambassador Dean R Thompson. Photo: MADAN PURASKAR PUSTAKALAYA </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_b732aa116e67e555e8583b7804b7f874252dc826ddafd32564827e3cce31d974.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2023072110074_b732aa116e67e555e8583b7804b7f874252dc826ddafd32564827e3cce31d974" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before book details NT"> </figure>  The book was launched on 21 July in Yalamaya Kendra, Patan Dhoka.&nbsp;

Kunda Dixit

Rebuilding better than before

Two adjoininig villages became household names after the 25 April 2015 earthquake: Laprak and Barpak in Gorkha district.&nbsp; The quaintly rhyming names of these two Gurung settlements evoke frightful memories of the destructive power of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The epicentre was just 8km away, and the earthquake levelled most houses in both villages as well as surrounding ones. On the eighth anniversary of the earthquake, Laprak and Barpak hold lessons on how not to design and implement post-disaster reconstruction of homes. Ram Gurung along with most Laprak residents had nowhere to go when his home was destroyed in 2015, so the family lived in tents in a livestock meadow in Gumsipakha up the mountain. “I did not want to go back, there was nothing to go back to,” Gurung recalls. After the earthquake, overseas Nepalis helped the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to build an integrated settlement in the same pasture in Gumsipakha. It was supposed to be finished in two years, but stretched to five with cost overruns to Rs576 million.&nbsp; But today, only 50 of the 573 new uniformly built houses in Gumsipakha are inhabited. Laprak is now an example of how even well-intentioned disaster response can be inappropriate.&nbsp; The houses all look the same, they do not reflect the integrated townscape of traditional Gurung villages, it is a four hour hike away up the mountain from the original village, it is colder, and gets snow in winter. &nbsp; Laprak was hit by a destructive landslide 17 years before the earthquake, and geologists had recommended relocating the village even back then. But it looks like relocating the new settlement in Gumsipakha was not a good idea.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/nepalquake-8-years-later">#NepalQuake 8 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230425110412_471044c43596f287ab6a97d7d4d68864f6fc5a67cfece4bcf198b555defcba5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230425110412_471044c43596f287ab6a97d7d4d68864f6fc5a67cfece4bcf198b555defcba5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="853" height="525" loading="lazy" alt="2015 earthquake map NT"> </figure>  Like the adjoining village of Barpak, most families here have members who have served in the British and Indian armies. The earthquake accelerated the outmigration from Upper Gorkha, so there was also no need to build so many new houses anyway. Most remaining residents are farmers and pastoralists, but the new houses do not have space for livestock like in traditional Gurung homes. If the villagers stay in Gumsipakha, they would have to come down to Laprak every day to take care of the fields and animals. “The houses and the location were just not suited for farming families like ours,” says Kamala Gurung, who has moved back to Laprak. “There is no space for storing our harvest, or to build sheds for animals or even for the children to play in.” The new houses have two floors, and are also not fit for extended families. Locals have found that &nbsp;doors and windows of the houses are not sturdy enough, and they do not feel safe with just a plastic roof. But the biggest problem is that there are no nearby springs at Gumsipakha. The charity CARE Nepal did bring water from 19km away, but the pipes burst due to the freezing cold this winter, and residents had to fetch water from a spring half an hour away. For many, that was the last straw. Marsi Gurung is one of the few people who still Iive in the new settlement, and thinks people will move back if the water problem is solved. “They did not plan this properly at all,” he says. “Many people have moved back to Laprak despite the landslide danger there.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/back-to-classroom-for-earthquake-preparedness">Back to classroom for earthquake preparedness</a>, Rachael Lau&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023042511048_35683ecbdc20d4922f5b83f012f934b9d29ca2971ac9fc5b7e100fa44af27d2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023042511048_35683ecbdc20d4922f5b83f012f934b9d29ca2971ac9fc5b7e100fa44af27d2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1293" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Lapark 2"> </figure>  Same story elsewhere In Yasikai village of Rapti Municipality in Chitwan, villagers were relocated 6km west to Kalitar after the earthquake because of landslide risk. The NRA provided land and Rs6.5 million to construct new houses, but no one lives there.&nbsp; According to Ward Chair Ashok Kumar Praja, the reason people are still living in Yasikai is that “The houses in Kalitar are not suitable for farmers, there is nowhere to keep the animals,” says Praja. Some 56 families of Kapurgaun of Dhading district were also relocated to Bhuwalepani and Ale following the earthquake. The NRA got Rs4.5 million to build new homes, but after living there for a short time people started moving back to their original village. The reason was the same: the new settlement had houses but no arrangements for farming and animals or any employment opportunities. And even though it was only 10km away from the district headquarters, it was four days away from their old village. After the earthquake, the NRA authorised building 64 settlements in 32 districts out of which 20 have been constructed and 44 are still being built. More than Rs1.42 billion has been spent to construct 3,956 houses, but most are small, narrow, and built with little consideration for the climate of the locality or of the lifestyle of residents.&nbsp; Geological conditions, physical and social infrastructure, and the local economy have been used to identify villages to be relocated after the earthquake. Standards for roads, water supply, sewerage, open areas, buildings, waste management, schools, health services, and building construction have also been spelled out.&nbsp; But most of the new settlements do not follow the planned parameters because research was rarely conducted on the social, economic, cultural, and geographical aspects of the inhabitants. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023042511048_9aa0b70acc2841793563e20f10246affe376fde62599a7b5595aead1fb47bdf0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023042511048_9aa0b70acc2841793563e20f10246affe376fde62599a7b5595aead1fb47bdf0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Dang NT 1"> </figure>  Former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission Pitamber Sharma blames the government arbitrarily approving designs without understanding the local needs and social history.&nbsp; Before planning a new integrated settlement, he says, it would have been necessary to study whether it was suitable for the family for whom the house was to be built, how far the farms are from the settlement, and the livelihood of the people. “Not enough homework was done to address the social, cultural, and economic background of the people who have lived there for generations,” explains Sharma. Sociologist Meena Poudel says that villagers do not feel comfortable in an integrated settlement because social and cultural ties are severed in the name of modernity, engineering, and subsidies. “People cannot live in narrow houses that are too far away from where they originally lived,” says Poudel. “People do not like development that disrupts their social, cultural, and religious relations and beliefs.” The former CEO of NRA, Sushil Gyewali says that the houses were made smaller because there was not enough money, and admitted that integrating the livelihood aspects in the new designs were never implemented.&nbsp; Gyewali adds, “If the plan was implemented properly, there would not have been complaints like this.” And that begs the question: why were the new designs not implemented properly by the NRA? The answer could be frequent changes in political appointees to head the NRA after 2015 that broke the continuity in planning. &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/turkey-and-nepal-face-similar-seismic-risks">Turkey and Nepal face similar seismic risks</a>, Surya Narayan Shrestha

Building back (not) better after 2015

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

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