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

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

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

Commemorating the eighth anniversary of the 2015 earthquakes is a time to mourn the loss of lives, and recall the resolve of people and institutions who came together during that national calamity for reconstruction and recovery. But most of all, it is a chance to make Nepal resilient and sustainable against similar future shocks in the coming decade of BS 2080s and beyond. Over the past decade, Nepal has been struck by one disaster after another: the 2015 earthquakes, the Covid-19 pandemic, the biggest dengue outbreak in 2022, unprecedented loss and damage from floods and landslides, fires, avalanches, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, a rare tornado in the Tarai that levelled villages in 2019, locust infestation, highway fatalities, aviation disasters.&nbsp; During the very first week into New Year BS 2080, we topped global charts for the worst air quality due to widespread wildfires across the country. Just in 2021, three climate-related disasters brought heavy rains, floods, landslides, debris-flows and wildfires that claimed hundreds of lives, destroyed thousands of homes including schools, bridges, government buildings and hydropower stations. Other slow-onset disasters such as the aggradation of river bed and ‘flash’ droughts have led to the forced migration of hundreds of settlements. Disasters and climate change-induced loss and damage in the last decade have stretched our idea of what these impacts can do and how we can cope. 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; After 2015, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) set an example of planned and systematic reconstruction within a tight deadline. Local governments in new federal structure performed well in Covid-19 recovery. The fast-paced reconstruction of the Bara-Parsa tornado helped people get shelter before the monsoon.&nbsp; In 2017 Nepal’s Parliament endorsed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, which led to the creation of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). The Act and the establishment of NDRRMA in December 2019 signals a paradigm shift in Nepal's approach to disaster risk management: from being mostly response-centric to prioritisation of understanding risk, improved governance, financing, including preparedness for effective response, early warning system, recovery and reconstruction. The NDRRMA has not only taken on the NRA's remaining task of reconstruction, but also has a responsibility to increase resilience during future disasters. In a short span of three years, it has collated nationwide multi-hazard risk information and made it available through the <a href="https://bipadportal.gov.np/">Bipad Portal</a>. Municipal governments have been trained to enter risk and open space information (below).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023042512044_0ea0235e25f046cfaf8f25617e0dece4b8d5f6185a01f4b1f882169a650570b2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023042512044_0ea0235e25f046cfaf8f25617e0dece4b8d5f6185a01f4b1f882169a650570b2" data-rendition-name="original" width="986" height="531" loading="lazy" alt="Credit: NDRRMA"> <figcaption>Credit: NDRRMA</figcaption> </figure>  All 753 local governments contribute to the disaster risk, hazard, exposure and vulnerability information including the down-to-the-household information on disaggregated information by gender, age and disabilities. The technical teams have been deployed to undertake risk assessment in areas impacted by landslides and floods. The use of satellite imagery and drones including for land displacement to assess complex risks has begun. A <a href="https://vms.ndrrma.gov.np/">national volunteer bureau management information system</a> that houses more than one hundred thousand trained volunteers has been established. The volunteers are mobilised under the municipal leader’s command. Similarly, information of stockpiles and search and rescue equipment are housed in a <a href="https://godam.ndrrma.gov.np/">resource management system</a>. Building on the NRA’s experience of owner driven reconstruction, the Executive Committee led by the Minister of Home Affairs has endorsed a nationwide reconstruction of private households damaged by floods and landslides. &nbsp;Reconstruction of thousands of homes have begun using the World Bank-supported loan. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale But making Nepal’s mountains, hills and plains more resilient to climate-induced disasters will also require investment and increased capacity. Since the 2015 earthquakes, there have been moderate-intensity earthquakes in Lamjung, Bhojpur and Khotang. The recent Doti-Bajura earthquake in November 2022 killed six people and thousands of houses were destroyed or damaged, many of them public buildings. Apart from the immediate response and relief we have not been able to support the reconstruction of houses and infrastructure there. A nationwide assessment of Emergency Preparedness for Response prioritised five key areas for improvement. Nepal requires nearly $200 million just for preparedness and response till 2030. Setting up a nationwide multi-hazard early warning system that considers key service sectors such as disaster management, transport, agriculture, hydropower dam operations and water management will require another $600 million. These priorities are being woven into a National Disaster Resilience Framework that includes the role of all levels of government, financing needs, roles and responsibilities of relevant agencies and means to track progress over time till 2030. In September 2021, Nepal and 17 of its development partners endorsed the Kathmandu Declaration on Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) which involves a fundamental shift in managing risk and development: from a basic reactive response mode to a deliberate proactive risk reduction and recovery strategy for long-term growth, climate action and sustainable development for all. The Finance Ministry, with support from development partners, has started developing a ten-year GRID Strategic Action Plan and identifying new investments and policies for building resilience. The Nepal government and partners like the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and UN, as well as Australia, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, The United Kingdom and the United States have identified up to $4.2 billion in potential future support, in addition to the $3.2 billion already committed to GRID for Nepal. In the Nepali 2080s decade, we will need to learn our lessons from the 2015 earthquakes and climate change impacts to focus on building a green, resilient and inclusive country to minimise loss and damage. 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

Anil Pokhrel

#NepalQuake 8 years later

Nearly 9,000 people were killed and three times as many were injured in the 25 April 2015 earthquake. Over 750,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including 8,000 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-was-a-learning-experience-for-nepal-s-schools">schools</a> and 30,000 classrooms.
Many thousands of lives of children were saved because the quake struck at noon on a Saturday, when schools were closed and many people were not at home.
Eight years later, the physical scars of the 2015 earthquake are still visible in Kathmandu Valley and surrounding district towns. Residential buildings are still being reconstructed, monuments are in scaffolding, and there are abandoned structures.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
Even if many of the buildings and school infrastructure wait to be reinforced, and building codes implemented, one of the best outcomes has been in disaster education.
Nepal’s schools have been involved in training search and rescue (SAR) volunteers, spreading earthquake response awareness in primary school classrooms. Proper disaster education helps everyone: children and older generations alike.
The <a href="https://www.nset.org.np/nset2012/">National Society for Earthquake Technology</a>, Nepal (NSET) creates and distributes earthquake education materials every year as part of its Earthquake Safety Day Campaign on 15 January every year, the day that commemorates the 8.3 magnitude earthquake in 1934 that destroyed much of Kathmandu.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/earthquake-vacates-villages-in-nepal">Earthquake vacates villages in Nepal</a>
Over the past several years NSET has conducted disaster response campaigns around Nepal focusing on strengthening community-based response in subjects like search and rescue, and rapid seismic damage assessment – all with the goal of building capacity at the community-level for disaster response.
In the 2015 Gorkha earthquake alone, of the 22,326 rescued alive, approximately 17,887 were saved at the community and individual level. National <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/miracle-boy-six-years-after-nepal-quake">search and rescue</a> teams as well as international agencies also played their part. The Armed Police Force and other security agencies rescued over 4,420 lives and international SAR teams rescued 19. These rescues were often in situations that were inaccessible to community members – primarily those trapped in the rubble of collapsed concrete structures.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=25092&amp;preview=true" target="_blank">Lessons Unlearnt</a>, Editorial
Disaster education can exist at the grassroots level as well. Most recently, third- and fourth-year civil engineering students from Institute of Engineering (IoE), in Pulchok began conducting training seminars for students and teachers at government secondary schools around Kathmandu.
Young Nepali engineers designed pamphlets and posters which they delivered and explained to students and teachers, even providing tools from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) for Nepal’s hard-of-hearing and deaf communities to improve accessibility since disaster impacts everyone.
The students leveraged their backgrounds in engineering to explain the physics of an earthquake, as well as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/foundations-for-sustainable-buildings-in-nepal">concrete action to mitigating risk</a> and earthquake response. They created interactive games to quiz grade school students on what they had learned – tailoring their speech and lessons to younger audiences.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/preserving-patan-post-earthquake">Preserving Patan post-earthquake</a>
Free training for educators on how to make their classrooms more earthquake-safe were also conducted, as well as providing tips on how to talk to younger generations about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">disaster risk</a>, especially for students who may not remember the 2015 earthquake.
“It is important to educate young people about earthquake preparedness,” says Sagar Khanal, a fourth year engineering student. “There was positive feedback from students and teachers and it showed it was useful. This experience has strengthened our resolve to make a positive impact in our community”.
From the achievements of larger organisations like NSET to a more grassroots approach by the next-generation of engineers and everything in between, the disaster education experience in Nepal has been positive.&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

Rachael Lau

Back to classroom for earthquake preparedness

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e249c7e80680e0bd52bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="946" height="1261"/><figcaption>SCENIC, BUT ALSO SEISMIC: Kyanjin in Langtang Valley has resurrected after the 2015 earthquake, but even in this remote area, most of the rebuilt hotels are multistorey concrete structures. Cement and steel rods were lifted there by helicopter. The new buildings have also changed the cultural landscape of this ancient monastery village. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The reconstruction of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/building-back-unsafe,3674" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">private and public buildings damaged in the 2015 earthquake</a> is nearly complete. Now it is time to also focus on being prepared for the next big disaster.Himalayan seismologists have long warned that a megaquake is overdue in western Nepal. The last big earthquake to hit the region was in 1205, and it was so powerful that it killed a king in Kathmandu, and set off a cataclysmic avalanche to create Pokhara and its lakes.So much tectonic tension has accumulated below <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">western Nepal</a> since that it is ready to snap. A 8+ magnitude earthquake there will also shake up the rest of the country as well as northern India. It is not a matter of if, but when.“We have done a commendable job with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/restoring-a-piece-of-nepals-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reconstruction</a> given the scale of the disaster in 2015, but outside of those 14 districts we are not prepared at all for the next big quake,” warns Surya Narayan Shrestha of the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET).The importance of preparedness was highlighted by the fact that schools retrofitted by NSET all survived the 2015 earthquake. They even served as shelters as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/concrete-planning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aftershocks</a> rocked the region.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/falling-through-the-cracks/">Falling through the cracks</a>, Sahina Shrestha<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e289c7e80680e0bd52cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1750" height="645">Adds Shrestha: “Retrofitting public buildings should be the topmost priority now, it is the best cost-effective solution for a seismically active and resource limited country like ours. So in the next 10-15 years, we must take up a campaign to continually retrofit schools across Nepal.”The fact that most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/concrete-planning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reinforced concrete</a> structures survived the 2015 earthquake convinced Nepalis that cement houses are stronger. As the road network expands, cement has now reached the remotest parts of Nepal – but experts warn that if the raw materials do not meet quality standards and proper construction methods are not followed, concrete structures can be even more dangerous in an earthquake.“Cement and concrete have given people a false sense of security after 2015,” says Anil Pokhrel of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). “We have to enforce building codes through the municipalities by giving them clear roles, technical know-how, and financial and human resources.”Indeed, the Authority is getting ready for the next big earthquake by spending Rs350 million to buy rescue equipment for collapsed concrete structures, and training Armed Police Force (APF) and Nepal Army on how to use them.Public misconception about concrete, coupled with people forgetting the horror of 25 April 2015, has led to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> haphazard growth and construction</a> in Kathmandu Valley. It is not earthquakes that kill people, but poorly built houses.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e2b9c7e80680e0bd52djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="198">The Gongabu neighbourhood of Kathmandu saw <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/05/01/deceived-and-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hundreds of casualties</a> when concrete structures with weak foundations and illegally added floors flattened like pancakes seven years ago. In Dhapakhel, an eight-storey engineering college collapsed into a heap of rubble.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/concrete-planning/">Concrete planning</a>, EditorialIf it was not a Saturday, the death toll of 8,890 in the 2015 earthquake would have been several times higher. More than 7,000 schools were either destroyed or severely damaged in the quake.“Public memory of a disaster usually lasts four years, and people now are a lot less careful about raw material and construction methods,” adds Pokhrel.Increasing urban pressure has meant that people in Kathmandu and other cities have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lessons-not-learned-from-2015/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forgotten the lessons learned</a>, and have gone back to constructing substandard structures flouting building codes.Warns NSET’s Shrestha: “We are haphazardly building concrete structures again. The next earthquake above 8 magnitude probable in western Nepal could be a catastrophe."In Kathmandu Valley, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/khokana-and-bungamati-strive-to-save-heritage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rebuilding of ancient towns</a> like Sankhu, Bungamati, Harisiddhi and Tokha that were destroyed in 2015 has been slower than that of the Darbar Squares of Patan or Bhaktapur. And here the challenge is to maintain the original architectural heritage of the historic towns.Harisiddhi was the first town to come up with a technical proposal to retain its traditional Newa skyline, but without much success, admits engineer Bijay Maharjan.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later/">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e2c9c7e80680e0bd52ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“A lot of people are now aware that they have to build safer houses and they also use higher quality construction materials, but we largely failed to maintain traditional architecture which are more costly,” he adds.Harisiddhi Ward 29 chair Ganesh Kumar Maharjan is planning to recontest in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-local-election-gives-power-back-to-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">May local elections</a>, and when asked if his town is prepared for the next big earthquake, he says, “In Nepal, we are always waiting for the next big one, and we can never be fully prepared. Our preparedness should not just be awareness but real work on the ground.”Nearby, the chair of Harisiddhi’s Ward 28 Rajesh Maharjan wants to provide alternative income generation sources to prevent local communities from selling their ancestral land to developers.Seven years after 2015, and despite successes in reconstruction, building standards are poor. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lessons-still-not-learnt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Much more needs to be done</a> to enforce seismic resistant structures, and invest in preparedness.Says Surya Narayan Shrestha: “We are in the business of saving lives. All municipalities across Nepal need to mandatorily enforce building codes with strict monitoring. That is the only way we can prevent buildings from killing people in the next earthquake.”Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The history of heritage</a>, Ashish Dhakal

Concrete lessons of 2015

<figure><img width="2067" height="1494" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e209c7e80680e0bd529jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepali Times editorial #740 9-15 January 2015</figcaption></figure>On 25 April 2015 at exactly 11:56, the ground beneath Kathmandu Valley started shaking. Houses built on the soft alluvium of the former lakebed bobbed and swayed like boats in the sea.Brick and clay <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Monumental-loss,2215" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monuments and homes collapsed</a> in clouds of dust. Had the duration, intensity and frequency of the earthquake been more severe, reinforced concrete buildings would have also come down. Because cement houses were spared, the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Search-locate-%20rescue-in-collapsed-concrete-houses,3676" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">public perception</a> is that reinforced concrete buildings can withstand severe earthquakes.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later/">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil PokhrelWhile that is partly true, if the shaking had gone on for more than 1 minute, if it was 8 magnitude or more, or if the frequency of the shock waves was different, many of Kathmandu’s <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/building-back-unsafe,3674" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">concrete structures would have also come down</a>. Much of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/restoring-a-piece-of-nepals-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reconstruction</a> after the 2015 earthquake is now complete, although there are still families waiting for money to rebuild. But we still have to be prepared for the next one. And the way to be ready is to retrofit schools and hospitals, ensure open spaces for shelters, and preposition rescue equipment, water and other essentials. Teams need training in Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue. Compared to older buildings,<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/mind-the-gap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> search and rescue</a> inside the pancaked ruin of a reinforced concrete high-rise is a whole different exercise.Most of the concrete structures that collapsed in 2015 were illegally built high-rise blocks in Gongabu. Ironically, an eight storey engineering college in Dhapasi was also reduced to rubble. Its building permit was only for three floors. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/falling-through-the-cracks/">Falling through the cracks</a>, Sahina Shrestha <img width="412" height="198" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e239c7e80680e0bd52ajpeg.jpg" alt="">Had the earthquake struck on a weekday, hundreds of students and staff would have been inside the college. Tens of thousands of students across central Nepal were saved because the disaster happened on a weekend.  Concrete structure rescue needs specialised robo-worm cameras, snake-eye acoustic, thermal and motion sensors, and human life detector tools like continuous wave Doppler radar and equipment to measure carbon dioxide levels from survivors. Fortunately, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) is putting together a wish list of Rs350 million for such specialised equipment, and has already started training search and rescue teams from the Armed Police Force and Nepal Army. Their role will be vital in finding and extricating survivors.  This is not panic mongering. We look back at 2015 in this issue of Nepali Times in order to ensure that state agencies and the public start <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lessons-still-not-learnt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">preparing to be prepared</a>. What happened in Gongabu is a microcosm of what the aftermath of a future mega quake in Nepal will look like.  In January 2015, four months before the earthquake, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/earthquakes-dont-kill-people-weak-houses-and-bad-planning-do,1930" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we reported in this space</a> that earthquakes are not 'natural' disasters, they kill people because of weak buildings. An 8+ magnitude earthquake could occur in western Nepal at any time.  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The history of heritage</a>, Ashish Dhakal Concrete is good if quality standards are met, the steel rods are properly installed, and building codes are adhered to. But many pre- and post-2015 structures in Kathmandu do not meet these criteria. Things are far worse in western Nepal. If new reinforced concrete houses are not properly made, you do not even need a 7 magnitude earthquake to bring them down. In the 2015 earthquake, nearly 4,000 emergency crew from 19 countries arrived in Kathmandu with Concrete Structure Search and Rescue equipment. Much of it was not needed. It was local first responders, Nepal Police and Army that rescued 5,000 survivors with simple shovels and spades. Next time, it may not be so easy.  The 7th anniversary of the 2015 disaster is also a time to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">turn our attention to western Nepal</a>, and start with retrofitting schools and hospitals, and enforcing building codes. Although 7,000 schools were damaged in 2015, most of those that had been retrofitted survived intact.  We know what to do. We just need to do it before the next one. Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs/">Nepal’s traditional seismic resistant designs</a>, Sheilin Teo

Concrete planning

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02439c7e80680e0a3670jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="960"/><figcaption>Photo: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY NEPAL</figcaption></figure>Bamboo, the perennial and plentiful plant, is the next big thing in sustainable construction.For centuries, bamboo had been used for traditional ceremonies and as the primary material for building homes in local communities, especially in Eastern Nepal.So, why has bamboo not been taken more seriously as a mainstream construction material? Public perception and awareness have a part to play.It starts with the perception that bamboo is the ‘poor man’s timber’. This means not many people are aware that bamboo is one of the most robust materials for construction if the right species is used together with the appropriate techniques.According to a 2019 report by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, treated bamboo wall panels can last up to 20 years. Bamboo treatment ranges from traditional practices such as river washing and smoking to using chemical preservatives made with boron salts or Solignum.Apart from high tensile and compressive strength, bamboo is known for its shrinkage, resistibility, elasticity, and its low weight, making it <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">suitable building material</a> for seismically active zones like Nepal.When the earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, nearly ten thousand Nepalis lost their lives and many more were injured, trapped under collapsed homes. Some 600,000 buildings were partially or completely damaged by the tremors.Well other factors played a part, construction and structural deficiencies caused much damage to unreinforced masonry, stone and asobe buildings in central and eastern Nepal.In addition to being a superior construction material, bamboo is also ecologically sound. The fast-growing bamboo generates 35% more oxygen than trees. As bamboo products used to build a house can be recycled, hazardous construction waste can also be reduced.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02479c7e80680e0a3671jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d024b9c7e80680e0a3672jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Photos: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY NEPALThe Global Status Report by the United Nations in 2019 stated that buildings and construction account for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. The shift to environmentally-friendly building technology to reduce carbon footprints is another bonus of bamboo.For some time,  groups such as India's National Bamboo Mission and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan based in China’s Beijing have promoted the sustainable use of bamboo.World Bamboo Day falls on Saturday, 18 September and has been used to highlight the ecological and economic benefits of this versatile plant.Here in Nepal, we are not ignorant of bamboo’s enormous potential. At construction firms like Adobe and Bamboo Research Institute (ABARI) and non-profit Habitat for Humanity Nepal, bamboo is promoted as a sustainable building material. Besides construction, the versatile bamboo has diversified uses, ranging from bridges and scaffolding to its application in furniture, handicrafts and even bicycles.But, promoting bamboo as a sustainable resource a collective effort, not an individual mission. Therefore, the proponents of bamboo need to have a unified voice, actively coordinating and engaging with myriad actors to achieve scalable partnerships.Although there is no lack of research papers on harvesting, types, and uses of bamboo, studies typically don't tell delve into factors such as market demand, supply chains, and opportunities for scaled impact.When it comes to the use of bamboo in home construction, we also need to address people’s perception that it is an inferior material. We can tap into strong advocates that have demonstrated innovative ways of building with bamboo. Madan Puraskar Library in Patan Dhoka is one that was rebuilt after the earthquake with bamboo and rammed-earth.Would we rather build a bamboo home that lasts longer or a concrete block that might not survive the next big earthquake? The choice should be obvious.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d024e9c7e80680e0a3673jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Tripti Mahaseth is an architect and urban planner who leads the bamboo housing project at Habitat for Humanity Nepal providing safe, durable, and affordable treated bamboo solutions in the Eastern Tarai.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02509c7e80680e0a3674jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="87" height="109"><h2>Wild about bamboo</h2><h2>Nepali bamboo is good enough to eat</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02519c7e80680e0a3675jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1280">It is said Nepali culture demands bamboo from birth to death and everything in between. We use bamboo as scaffolding material, as food, for music, to carry things and to write with.Nepal has over 80 species of bamboo. In fact, for just 0.1% of the planet’s land area, Nepal has 5% of the world’s bamboo, further signifying the Himalayan nation’s rich biodiversity.Most Nepali bamboo types are found in the wetter middle and eastern regions of the country from 50m-4,000m, with Ilam, Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Taplejung having the sturdiest stems.Global bamboo market is worth $72.10 billion and Nepal can be a key player in the international bamboo and cane trade. Bamboo also has a huge potential for rural enterprise and poverty alleviation.Bamboo promotes sustainable, integrated farming systems and is also an excellent resource for income and employment generation. One hectare of bamboo can earn a farmer at least Rs400,000 per year.The beauty of bamboo is that it is fast-growing, needs little maintenance, can grow on forest margins and requires only modest investment.Some communities in Nepal, like the Dom Dalits in the Tarai, are completely dependant on the bamboo, making their living from weaving mats from nigalo. Many Rai and Limbu communities in the east also rely on bamboo, and are expert weavers of doko and dalo for the local market.Bamboo has been recognised as an 'international commodity' and the plant has been used widely to build homes, resorts and galleries. The 12th World Bamboo Congress to be held in Taiwan this September has been postponed once again due to the on-going global Covid-19 pandemic. But events like the World Bamboo Day on 18 September every year highlights the economic and ecological significance of the plant.In terms of quality, Nepali bamboo is as good as, if not better than most. And we are still finding new uses for this versatile plant. For instance, bamboo is the best 'carbon sink' for greenhouse gases putting out 35% more oxygen than other trees and every hectare of bamboo soaks up 12 tons of carbon dioxide every year.Food For the Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Thai, and Nepalis, bamboo shoots are a staple diet. Nepal produces at least 102 tons of tama and each household consumes about 46 stems a year. It is a good source of fibre, carbohydrate, vegetable fat, protein and vitamin B.Timber Strong but flexible and incredibly versatile, bamboo is an excellent alternative to wood. With a tensile strength of 28,000 per square inch, it's even a stronger building material than steel. Bamboo homes only need an eighth of the energy concrete requires to create building material with the same capacity. To top it off, it is also the quickest growing plant in the world and can be harvested in three years for building. This capacity to regenerate and its yields, which can be up to 25 times more than timber when well managed, makes bamboo an environmentally sound choice. Bamboo homes, light and elastic, are also earthquake resistant.Green In a country as vertical as Nepal, bamboo is also great for soil conservation. Growing in mixed cultures, it is naturally less likely to cause soil erosion than monocultural farming. Bamboo creates a mat-like structure underground, effectively stitching the soil together, it is perfect for fragile river banks, deforested areas, earthquake zones and preventing mud slides.Paper Bamboo has been used for making paper since the second century. At one point, this renewable resource was used to make 70% of India's paper.Medicine Ancient Ayurvedic and Chinese healing traditions have used the medicinal properties of bamboo. In acupuncture, bamboo secretion is powdered and hardened and used internally to treat asthma, coughs and as an aphrodisiac. Black bamboo root is used to treat kidney disease. In Ayurveda, bamboo manna is a rejuvenating herb for sore throats.Based on an<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4149#.YUSG6S2B2t9"> original article</a> in Nepali Times by Sraddha Basnyat. _________________<h2>Sustainable and spectacular</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02549c7e80680e0a3676jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Bamboo is no longer a poor man's construction material, architects have used the versatile plant to design some prime properties around the world ranging from quaint and beautiful resorts, hotels and restaurants to green schools, art galleries, and residential apartment buildings.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02589c7e80680e0a3677jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2288" height="2144"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Some prime examples are: Bangkok Tree House resort, Naman Retreat and Kontum Indochine Café in Vietnam, architect Edouard François’ 10-storey residential Flower Tower in Paris and IBUKU designed forest getaway Sharma Springs in Bali.Bamboo is making waves and is very much in demand, in particular for its environmentally-friendly features.<h2>IKUBU</h2>IBUKU is a team of designers, architects and engineers based in Bali, pioneering in building Bamboo-based structures. It was founded by Canadian designer Elora Hardy, who is known for designing a community of bamboo homes near Denpasar in Bali.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d025b9c7e80680e0a3678jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1503" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In April, John Hardy partnered with  Elora Hardy and Arief Rabik to further the efforts of bamboo reforestation through their continued Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo program.Elora’s father John Hardy has planted over 1.3 million bamboo in Indonesia since 2007 in partnership with the Environmental Bamboo Foundation. For every handcrafted bamboo piece sold, bamboo seedlings are planted in Indonesia under the foundation’s Bamboo Village Initiative.<h2>The Arc at Green School, Bali</h2>It is only fitting that the Arc in Bali has a bamboo building that employs the latest construction technologies. It is the newest structure on campus and is a community wellness space and gymnasium for the school. The Arc, a collaboration between Jorg Stamm and Atelier One, is built from a series of intersecting 14m bamboo arches spanning 19m, interconnected by anticlastic gridshells  that derive their strengths from curving in two opposite directions.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d025f9c7e80680e0a3679jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="854"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The highlight of the new building is that it creates large spaces with minimal structure, for which it draws its inspiration from a human ribcage. At the Arc, arches working in compression are held in place by tensioned anticlastic gridshells. These appear to drape across the spaces between impossibly thin arches soaring overhead, giving an intimacy and beauty to the space. Although the gridshells appear to hang from the arches, they actually hold them up.This project has been longlisted in the Sustainable Building Category of Dezeen Awards 2021.<h2>Bocas Treehouse, Bocas Del Toro, Panama</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02629c7e80680e0a367ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="756"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On the remote Frangipani Island in Bocas Del Toro, Panama lies a self-sustaining eco-resort, 100% off the grid, soon growing to incorporate IBUKU-designed tree houses for a customised experience of luxury nature for locals and tourists alike, with the spectacular views of the ocean through the canopy on the mangrove island.The will feature a fusion of local bamboo and greenheart timber, with an interior from Bamboo Pure Workshop in Bali. IBUKU is in the schematic design phase of this project collaborating with Mar Azul, Summer House and Jose Agustín Almario.

Building back better (and stronger) with bamboo

<figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdc59c7e80680e0a0c02jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Suman Thapa conducting an eye examination on a patient at Chaurjhari Hospital in Rukum, where EK Ek Paila is working with the local government. Photos: EK EK PAILA</figcaption></figure>It is the aftermath of disasters that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lockdown-brings-out-the-best-in-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bring out the best among Nepalis</a>. And so it was after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/reviewing-lessons-of-the-2015-nepal-earthquake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2015 earthquake</a>, volunteer groups sprang up spontaneously and organised relief through social media.Among them was a loosely structured group of like-minded Nepalis who used their medical expertise to provide emergency help to areas destroyed by the earthquakes. But while many such volunteer groups faded away, the volunteers continued to expand their work — calling themselves Ek Ek Paila (one step at a time).“After seeing the devastation in 2015, I thought it’d be best to use my expertise to provide medical help and do more rather than just provide relief,” says <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=11828#.YSRhqS8w3u0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Suman Thapa</a>, an ophthalmologist who helped set up Ek Ek Paila.  Now, with the pandemic, Ek Ek Paila has been trying to bring health services to parts of Nepal which have rudimentary medical care even at the best of times. “After hearing about infected people having virtually no access to Covid-19 treatment in rural areas where we had previously held health camps, we created a Covid Health Package and took it to them,” Thapa adds.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rural-nepal-fights-back-covid-19/">Rural Nepal fights back Covid-19</a>, Masta KC <figure><img width="1000" height="745" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdc89c7e80680e0a0c03jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The package consists of medication, relevant information, and a direct hotline to volunteer doctors to answer any questions they might have about symptoms, tests and vaccines. The demand for the packages has now snowballed, with local governments in more districts approaching for help. Ek Ek Paila raised Rs7 million for the distribution of the Covid Health Packages — all from local donations. In fact, that is what makes the non-profit different from most other charities in Nepal, it relies almost completely on donations from Nepalis. “If foreigners and international organisations want to donate to Ek Ek Paila, we do not say no,” Thapa explains. “But 99% of the funding for Ek Ek Paila comes from local donors.” The fact that Thapa is also an accomplished musician, and a lead guitarist in the band ‘The Blue Fret’ helps with fund-raising concerts. “I had always wanted to be a musician, and being a doctor was actually the next best thing for me,” admits Thapa, grinning through his mask during a recent interview at Ek Ek Paila’s new Community Health Centre in Kathmandu.Ek Ek Paila had a humble start after the earthquake six years ago. Thapa contacted some friends and found fellow doctors who committed to spending one weekend a month for a year to provide medical care to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/18/survivors-help-survivors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survivors</a> in remote villages <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">badly hit by the earthquakes</a>. In the first year alone, Ek Ek Paila organised 12 health camps in Sindhupalcok, Dolakha, and other districts. <figure><img width="1000" height="707" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdcb9c7e80680e0a0c04jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s mountainous terrain has posed a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/environmental-destruction-is-a-medical-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">significant challenge in health care delivery</a>, made worse by government neglect and poor governance, and exacerbated during crises like the earthquake and pandemic.   All medical professionals who volunteered at health camps paid for their own trips, equipment, and even for the medicine that they prescribed. But after the 12 health camps, the regular volunteers decided to officially register Ek Ek Paila, creating a Nepali-driven and funded organisation to expand its services. Today, volunteer doctors and medical personnel also perform surgeries, including <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-far-sighted-eye-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">complex eye operations</a>, in rural health camps and carry more equipment with them, increasing diagnostic accuracy. Ek Ek Paila’s camps have become mobile primary health care centres.   <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health/">This is how to upgrade Nepal’s rural health</a>, Sewa Bhattarai “What has made our work easier despite the political paralysis in Kathmandu is that with federalism, local governments are empowered and collaborate in holding health camps,” says Thapa, who has experience with rural health camps organised by <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times%20Buzz/sanduk%C2%ADruit%C2%ADtilganga,2574" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanduk Ruit</a> of the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology.  Local governments top up the donations from the Ek Ek Paila members themselves and other local funding to run the camps. They provide Ek Ek Paila teams of 30 or so people with accommodation and two meals a day. They also help organise the space in which the health program is conducted and help disseminate information.  <figure><img width="1000" height="705" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdcf9c7e80680e0a0c05jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ek Ek Paila also collaborates with other non-profits like Sparsha Nepal and the ear-nose-throat surgery specialists, Impact Nepal. Ek Ek Paila’s new non-profit Community Health Centre in Thapathali provides affordable health care to those who cannot afford hospital fees. With the flow of patients increasing, and the challenge of making the centre sustainable a tier system for small consultation fees subsidises free treatment for those who cannot afford it.The Community Health Centre was funded through private donations, including the building itself which belongs to one of the founding members. Overhead costs are low because medical personnel all volunteer their services. Besides the vital service it provides, Ek Ek Paila has also led by example to foster <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/youth-led-feeding-campaign-spreads-across-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">volunteerism and philanthropy among Nepali </a>individuals and companies. Foreseeing the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vaccines-variants-and-a-third-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> third wave</a>, Ek Ek Paila is expanding its Covid Health Packages to reach more people in hard-to-reach places. The non-profit also is in talks to manage primary health centres in Jajarkot and Sindhupalchok districts. Says Thapa: “Ek Ek Paila has brought Nepalis together from all walks of life, it has helped people in need of affordable health care and given donors and volunteers a sense of satisfaction for having contributed. As for me, this is the most fulfilling thing I have done in my life.”To donate to <a href="https://www.ekekpaila.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ek Ek Paila</a>: <a href="https://www.ekekpaila.org/page/5/donate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.ekekpaila.org/page/5/donate</a>

Step by step for rural health care in Nepal

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

2015-nepal-earthquake