<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0f34b0ad905ca02f041jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3264" height="2448"/><figcaption>Nepali archer training for the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: NEPAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE</figcaption></figure>As Nepal plunges headfirst into 2021, it is worth reflecting back on a year of cancelled, postponed, or improvised events. Weddings and graduations to cricket tournaments and international conferences, all had to be cancelled or put off.Visit Nepal 2020 was an early casualty to the pandemic, and the lockdown wrecked the tourism industry. But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/2020s-tips-for-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">there is some cautious optimism</a> about numbers picking up in 2021.There were advantages to cancelled events, virtual exhibitions and festivals meant geography was no longer a barrier.Organisers are looking forward to holding these cancelled physical events in 2021:Sustainable SummitsDuring the 4th Sustainable Summits at Chamonix in France, Nepal won the contract to host the 5th edition of the international event in Kathmandu in 2020. It was slated for June and <a href="https://sustainablesummits2020.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had to be postponed</a>. The organisers released a 50-minute video in which leaders and experts spoke about the impact of the climate crisis on the Himalaya.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0f74b0ad905ca02f042jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="933" height="1280"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The Sustainable Summits 2021 will now be held virtually as well as physically from 31 May to 4 June at ICIMOD headquarters in Kathmandu, just ahead of the Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow. The Glasgow Summit was itself postponed and is a vital step to heal the planet.“The situation is getting more urgent with climate change, and the Himalaya is getting more and more focus because we're seeing the effects of glacial retreat and permafrost cracking underneath houses in Khumbu,” says Lisa Choegyal, who is part of the organising committee fo the four-day summit.“The fact that we’ve got COP26 coming up means Sustainable Summits has grown to being something that can make a global statement and achieve lasting change,” Choegyal says. “In a way, we’ve taken a step up to be global leaders as opposed to being a voice on the side.”One of the beneficial side-effects of the global pandemic is that global carbon emissions actually decreased in 2020 despite forest destruction that decreased land sinks for CO2.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0f94b0ad905ca02f043jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption>Kathmandu Triennale 2017. Photos: SHRAJESH TULADHAR, GOPEN RAI and ANUJ ARORA</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0fa4b0ad905ca02f044jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0fc4b0ad905ca02f045jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="425"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Kathmandu TriennaleThe Siddhartha Art Foundation’s second <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/art-on-the-city-kathmandu-triennale,3607" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Triennale</a> was supposed to be in 2020 and was supposed to explore multiple discourses on decolonisation, migration, indigenous knowledge.  It has been pushed to the second half of 2021, and will feature works from over 100 artists and collaborators from more than 40 countries.The Triennale will run for a month at multiple venues including the Nepal Art Council, The Taragaon Museum, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/patans-museum-piece/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patan Museum</a>, The Chhauni Museum, Siddhartha Art Gallery, and the Bahadur Shah Baithak. The exhibitions will be curated by Cosmin Costinas of Para Site in Hong Kong, as well as Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung.“The Triennale format has enabled us to link with all the Biennale and Triennale happening around the world in 2021, and place Nepal on the global art map,” Sangeeta Thapa of the Siddhartha Art Foundation.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0fe4b0ad905ca02f046jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf1024b0ad905ca02f047jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Photo Kathmandu Nepal’s best known <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/photo-kathmandu-in-a-new-avatar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">photography festival</a> was supposed to happen in November, but will stretch out its 4th edition right through 2021 as opposed to previous month-long events. The shows and talks will mostly be virtual, and some of them have already begun. There will be physical exhibitions in 2021 if the pandemic tapers off.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf1044b0ad905ca02f048jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="351"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Film Festivals Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) barely managed to be held February just as the pandemic was spreading. But other events such as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/irena-taskovski-virtually-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pame Film Festival</a>, the National Human Rights International Film Festival (NHRIFF), and KIMFF went virtual during the tail end of 2020, which meant that a large number of viewers including the Nepali diaspora had access to participating Nepali films.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-postpones-international-events-as-fear-of-covid-19-intensifies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara Film Society</a>, however, opted to wait out the pandemic and postponed it from March, well before the Covid lockdown began. Festival Director Santosh Sharma Sapkota says, “We are hoping to have the 5th edition physically in 2021 with virtual options for viewers who prefer it.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf1054b0ad905ca02f049jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1152" height="864"><figcaption>Nepali athletes train for the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: NEPAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE</figcaption></figure>Tokyo Olympics<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-tennis-shines-in-covid-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali athletes</a> were just gearing up for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics when it was  rescheduled for 23 July-8 August 2021. Fifteen Nepali athletes are training for archery, judo, tae kwon do, karate, shooting, weightlifting, swimming, and athletics. Of them, ten are in Kathmandu and three are in Pokhara, while two swimmers have been training in London.Chaturananda Raj Vaidhya of the Nepal Olympics Committee (NOC) told Nepali Times  the committee has constantly been in touch with the athletes virtually to ensure that their training and nutrition needs were being met.  Although training was scaled-back during the lockdown, athletes are now back to full-fledged schedules.2020 saw many sports institutions and teams across the world adopt bio-bubbles to restrict players’ exposure to the coronavirus.  Nepali athletes are also in closed training camps. “The International Olympics Committee has informed us that all participating Olympians will be vaccinated for free in the event that any coronavirus vaccine is approved,” Vaidhya explains. "In the meantime, we are following all safety protocols.”

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Ring in the old in 2021

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea0f9c7e80680e0878f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3264" height="2448"/><figcaption>Nepali archer training for the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: NEPAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE</figcaption></figure>As Nepal plunges headfirst into 2021, it is worth reflecting back on a year of cancelled, postponed, or improvised events. Weddings and graduations to cricket tournaments and international conferences, all had to be cancelled or put off.Visit Nepal 2020 was an early casualty to the pandemic, and the lockdown wrecked the tourism industry. But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/2020s-tips-for-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">there is some cautious optimism</a> about numbers picking up in 2021.There were advantages to cancelled events, virtual exhibitions and festivals meant geography was no longer a barrier.Organisers are looking forward to holding these cancelled physical events in 2021:Sustainable SummitsDuring the 4th Sustainable Summits at Chamonix in France, Nepal won the contract to host the 5th edition of the international event in Kathmandu in 2020. It was slated for June and <a href="https://sustainablesummits2020.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had to be postponed</a>. The organisers released a 50-minute video in which leaders and experts spoke about the impact of the climate crisis on the Himalaya.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea129c7e80680e0878f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="933" height="1280"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Sustainable Summits 2021 will now be held virtually as well as physically from 31 May to 4 June at ICIMOD headquarters in Kathmandu, just ahead of the Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow. The Glasgow Summit was itself postponed and is a vital step to heal the planet.“The situation is getting more urgent with climate change, and the Himalaya is getting more and more focus because we're seeing the effects of glacial retreat and permafrost cracking underneath houses in Khumbu,” says Lisa Choegyal, who is part of the organising committee fo the four-day summit.“The fact that we’ve got COP26 coming up means Sustainable Summits has grown to being something that can make a global statement and achieve lasting change,” Choegyal says. “In a way, we’ve taken a step up to be global leaders as opposed to being a voice on the side.”One of the beneficial side-effects of the global pandemic is that global carbon emissions actually decreased in 2020 despite forest destruction that decreased land sinks for CO2.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea159c7e80680e0878fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea179c7e80680e0878fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea1a9c7e80680e0878fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="425"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kathmandu TriennaleThe Siddhartha Art Foundation’s second <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/art-on-the-city-kathmandu-triennale,3607" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Triennale</a> was supposed to be in 2020 and was supposed to explore multiple discourses on decolonisation, migration, indigenous knowledge.  It has been pushed to the second half of 2021, and will feature works from over 100 artists and collaborators from more than 40 countries.The Triennale will run for a month at multiple venues including the Nepal Art Council, The Taragaon Museum, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/patans-museum-piece/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Patan Museum</a>, The Chhauni Museum, Siddhartha Art Gallery, and the Bahadur Shah Baithak. The exhibitions will be curated by Cosmin Costinas of Para Site in Hong Kong, as well as Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung.“The Triennale format has enabled us to link with all the Biennale and Triennale happening around the world in 2021, and place Nepal on the global art map,” Sangeeta Thapa of the Siddhartha Art Foundation.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea1c9c7e80680e0878fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea209c7e80680e0878fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Photo Kathmandu Nepal’s best known <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/photo-kathmandu-in-a-new-avatar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">photography festival</a> was supposed to happen in November, but will stretch out its 4th edition right through 2021 as opposed to previous month-long events. The shows and talks will mostly be virtual, and some of them have already begun. There will be physical exhibitions in 2021 if the pandemic tapers off.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea229c7e80680e0878ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="351"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Film Festivals Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) barely managed to be held February just as the pandemic was spreading. But other events such as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/irena-taskovski-virtually-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pame Film Festival</a>, the National Human Rights International Film Festival (NHRIFF), and KIMFF went virtual during the tail end of 2020, which meant that a large number of viewers including the Nepali diaspora had access to participating Nepali films.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-postpones-international-events-as-fear-of-covid-19-intensifies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara Film Society</a>, however, opted to wait out the pandemic and postponed it from March, well before the Covid lockdown began. Festival Director Santosh Sharma Sapkota says, “We are hoping to have the 5th edition physically in 2021 with virtual options for viewers who prefer it.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea249c7e80680e087900jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1152" height="864"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Tokyo Olympics<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-tennis-shines-in-covid-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali athletes</a> were just gearing up for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics when it was  rescheduled for 23 July-8 August 2021. Fifteen Nepali athletes are training for archery, judo, tae kwon do, karate, shooting, weightlifting, swimming, and athletics. Of them, ten are in Kathmandu and three are in Pokhara, while two swimmers have been training in London.Chaturananda Raj Vaidhya of the Nepal Olympics Committee (NOC) told Nepali Times  the committee has constantly been in touch with the athletes virtually to ensure that their training and nutrition needs were being met.  Although training was scaled-back during the lockdown, athletes are now back to full-fledged schedules.2020 saw many sports institutions and teams across the world adopt bio-bubbles to restrict players’ exposure to the coronavirus.  Nepali athletes are also in closed training camps. “The International Olympics Committee has informed us that all participating Olympians will be vaccinated for free in the event that any coronavirus vaccine is approved,” Vaidhya explains. "In the meantime, we are following all safety protocols.”

Shristi Karki

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0774b0ad905ca02f012jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="854"/><figcaption>Thousands of people took to the streets this week to protest prime minister Oli's decision to dissolve the Lower House. Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Even though the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-year-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 disease is still spreading and killing people</a> and there is a new strain that is spreading around the world, people in Kathmandu seem to think <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/2020s-tips-for-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the pandemic</a> is over.At least that is the impression one gets in Nepal's capital these days. The traffic jams and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> are back to 'normal' levels. Shops and malls are open and crowded.Even though the government has not yet lifted the ban on large gatherings, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/covid-fatigue-drives-nepalis-to-nightspots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">night clubs in Thamel</a> are crammed with locals, there are indoor concerts, political rallies and gatherings every day.And not many are keeping a safe distance or wearing masks. It is as if Nepal's famous fatalism is manifesting itself, this time in collective acts of irresponsibility.Although the number of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepals-covid-19-figures-are-deceptive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">active cases nationwide has dropped</a> below 10,000, the recovery rate is now above 95% and the number of people in home isolation has also dropped, public health experts urge caution -- especially if the more contagious strain of virus arrives in Nepal.More than half the 1,810 fatalities in Nepal from Covid-19 so far are in Kathmandu Valley, and there was an average of 10 deaths a day from the disease this week. Some 44% of the total confirmed cases are from the Valley.The incidence of confirmed cases per 100,000 population in Nepal is 831, which is the second-highest after the Maldives. India is at 703, and Thailand is only 6.This week, the Nepal government <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/nepal-blocks-travel-from-uk-over-new-virus-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">banned air passengers from or transitting UK</a> from flying to Kathmandu.The rock band Cobweb held an indoor Christmas concert in the LOD club in Thamel this week attended by hundreds of mainly maskless people.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf07a4b0ad905ca02f013jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="854"><figcaption>Hundreds of people attended Cobweb's Christmas concert where only a rare few wore masks with the club filled to the brim.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf07d4b0ad905ca02f014jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0804b0ad905ca02f015jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">On Friday, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led faction of the Nepal Communist Party that is trying to oust Prime Minister K P Oli after a protracted power struggle <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pm-oli-to-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">organised a rally</a> attended by thousands of supporters at the Mandala intersection and the Election Commission.Although Dahal and other senior leaders wore masks, many of their party cadre jostling behind them did not.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0834b0ad905ca02f016jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="853"><figcaption>Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other top leaders participated in demonstrations with masks but many of party cadre went without one.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0864b0ad905ca02f017jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0894b0ad905ca02f018jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">There were also demonstrations by smaller parties as well as those by independent groups and civil society, most of the participants had forgone masks and there was no concept of physical distancing.At Labim Mall in Lalitpur, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-qfx-cinema-needs-a-happy-ending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">QFX Cinema</a> opened its multiplex on Christmas Day. Although management took all the necessary precautions, the crowds in the mall was almost back to pre-Covid levels. In fact, the queue extended to the parking lot of the mall.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf08c4b0ad905ca02f019jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="1280"><figcaption>Ticket queue outside QFX Cinema at Labim Mall on Friday. Photo: ALISHA SIJAPATI</figcaption></figure>In its periodic update this week, the World Health Organisation said: 'Nationally the second surge began in mid-July and peaked by end October and is currently showing an apparent downward trend which may be influenced partly by the significant decrease in the number of tests being done.'

Concerts, rallies and crowded malls

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9919c7e80680e0878c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="854"/><figcaption>Thousands of people took to the streets this week to protest prime minister Oli's decision to dissolve the Lower House. Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Even though the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-year-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 disease is still spreading and killing people</a> and there is a new strain that is spreading around the world, people in Kathmandu seem to think <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/2020s-tips-for-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the pandemic</a> is over.At least that is the impression one gets in Nepal's capital these days. The traffic jams and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> are back to 'normal' levels. Shops and malls are open and crowded.Even though the government has not yet lifted the ban on large gatherings, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/covid-fatigue-drives-nepalis-to-nightspots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">night clubs in Thamel</a> are crammed with locals, there are indoor concerts, political rallies and gatherings every day.And not many are keeping a safe distance or wearing masks. It is as if Nepal's famous fatalism is manifesting itself, this time in collective acts of irresponsibility.Although the number of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepals-covid-19-figures-are-deceptive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">active cases nationwide has dropped</a> below 10,000, the recovery rate is now above 95% and the number of people in home isolation has also dropped, public health experts urge caution -- especially if the more contagious strain of virus arrives in Nepal.More than half the 1,810 fatalities in Nepal from Covid-19 so far are in Kathmandu Valley, and there was an average of 10 deaths a day from the disease this week. Some 44% of the total confirmed cases are from the Valley.The incidence of confirmed cases per 100,000 population in Nepal is 831, which is the second-highest after the Maldives. India is at 703, and Thailand is only 6.This week, the Nepal government <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/nepal-blocks-travel-from-uk-over-new-virus-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">banned air passengers from or transitting UK</a> from flying to Kathmandu.The rock band Cobweb held an indoor Christmas concert in the LOD club in Thamel this week attended by hundreds of mainly maskless people.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9949c7e80680e0878cajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="854"><figcaption>Hundreds of people attended Cobweb's Christmas concert where only a rare few wore masks with the club filled to the brim.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9979c7e80680e0878cbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be99b9c7e80680e0878ccjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">On Friday, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led faction of the Nepal Communist Party that is trying to oust Prime Minister K P Oli after a protracted power struggle <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pm-oli-to-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">organised a rally</a> attended by thousands of supporters at the Mandala intersection and the Election Commission.Although Dahal and other senior leaders wore masks, many of their party cadre jostling behind them did not.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be99e9c7e80680e0878cdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="853"><figcaption>Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other top leaders participated in demonstrations with masks but many of party cadre went without one.</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9a19c7e80680e0878cejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9a39c7e80680e0878cfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">There were also demonstrations by smaller parties as well as those by independent groups and civil society, most of the participants had forgone masks and there was no concept of physical distancing.At Labim Mall in Lalitpur, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-qfx-cinema-needs-a-happy-ending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">QFX Cinema</a> opened its multiplex on Christmas Day. Although management took all the necessary precautions, the crowds in the mall was almost back to pre-Covid levels. In fact, the queue extended to the parking lot of the mall.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9a59c7e80680e0878d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="1280"><figcaption>Ticket queue outside QFX Cinema at Labim Mall on Friday. Photo: ALISHA SIJAPATI</figcaption></figure>In its periodic update this week, the World Health Organisation said: 'Nationally the second surge began in mid-July and peaked by end October and is currently showing an apparent downward trend which may be influenced partly by the significant decrease in the number of tests being done.'

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be95d9c7e80680e0878b7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"/><figcaption>QFX Cinema at the Labim Mall multiplex is scheduled to reopen on 25 December. The cinema halls will observe strict protocols, including mask, half-capacity halls, disinfection after each show and no food and drinks. Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>It was December 2019, and world was gearing up for a brand new decade. The most worrying things in most people’s minds were the climate crisis and Trumpism.The 2020s were expected to be a harbinger of new hopes and beginnings. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, throwing the world upside down, sowing uncertainty, loss and panic across the world.Nepal recorded its first Covid-19 case on 23 January from a male student who had returned from Wuhan, and was infected ten days previously. Now, almost a year later, the numbers are nearing 260,000 and the death toll has crossed 1,750.The government response has been characterised by flip-flopping policies, contradictory rules and lack of coordination. Political leaders and the bureaucracy were wrapped up in the power struggle in the ruling party that lasted the whole year, and led to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolution of the Lower House</a> this week.The government promptly established the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coronavirus-coordination-committee-doesnt-coordinate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee</a> (CCMC) after the second Covid-19 case was detected, and Nepal was one of the first countries in the region to go into strict nationwide lockdown.“We panicked before time and when it was time to act, the people have given up fighting Covid, when they should be even more vigilant now,” public health expert Sher Bahadur Pun told Nepali Times, warning about the virus variants that could make the pandemic spread even faster.Pun adds: “The government had ample time to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-nepal-can-learn-from-china-about-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">learn from China</a>, Europe and other countries to curb the spread of the virus, but it lacked the commitment and resources. Because of this, things could get worse.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9609c7e80680e0878b8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When the first Covid-19 case was recorded in January, Pun who was an employee at the Sukraraj Hospital saw people returning from China get ostracised. Then the discrimination shifted to people from the plains, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to frontline health workers</a>.In Kathmandu, many doctors, nurses, caregivers were asked to move out from their rented apartments. “Covid unleashed the worst side of people and this will have a long term effect,” Pun adds.Indeed, the impact has gone beyond strictly public health aspects of the disease. The prolonged lockdowns, uncertainty, job loss, and lack of social contact has led to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemics of depression and mental health problems</a>, suicides, exacerbated the condition of those with pre-existing health conditions.Statistic also show a direct correlation between the lockdown period and the incidents of gender-based violence and rape, which also rose dramatically in April-August. (See graphs).<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-Rtggy" style="border: none;" title="Total Covid-19 cases" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Rtggy/1/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe><iframe id="datawrapper-chart-EXDw7" style="border: none;" title="Covid-19 in 2020" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EXDw7/2/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe>Data source: MINISTRY OF HEATH, NEPAL TOURISM BOARD, US EMBASSY, WOREC AND TRAFFIC POLICEThe lockdowns did have some indirect positive impact: the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Kathmandu and the plains <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">improved dramatically in April-July</a> as vehicles went off the roads. The number of highway fatalities went down by half to less than 700 in March-August 2020, compared to the same period the previous year.“Nepalis outside the urban sphere have very little idea about mental health, and the lockdown was not helpful at all. Being cooped up at home for months and being socially distanced is one of the main causes for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/have-suicides-increased-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high number of suicides</a>,” explains psychiatrist Kamal Gautam at Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Nepal.Nepal Police data shows that the monthly total of reported suicides in Nepal shot up to 972 in July from 668 in June, and 352 in January before the lockdowns.“If people do not get treatment in time and still think mental health is a taboo, suicides are bound to happen. Economic hardships and being cooped up at home are the major reasons for the increase in the number of suicides,” Gautam says.A survey by TPO Nepal with over 2,000 participants showed that 50% of those sampled showed some symptoms of psychological disorders such as anxiety and stress.Gautam blames the increasing disorders to the ‘infodemic’ of death and sickness in the mainstream press and social media. “What do you do at home for three months? Get on social media and become experts on every topic possible and perhaps misinform people creating panic,” Gautam warned.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9639c7e80680e0878b9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="737" height="518"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There was also an alarming rise in gender-based violence. In April, the group WOREC Nepal registered 36 cases of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violence-spike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">domestic violence against women</a>, but by July this number had risen to 380. Forms of violence included domestic violence, rape, attempted rape and sexual abuse.“It’s women who have had to bear the brunt of the Covid lockdown. The economic hardship and the increasing mental and sexual frustration in men has led to an increase of such incidents. Those who are weaker in the family get attacked,” says WOREC’S Sulochana Khanal.Statistics show that suicide and violence against women increased steeply during the lockdown and started falling gradually when it was lifted in August. Similarly, as businesses opened and traffic picked up in August, air pollution in Kathmandu Valley and along highways got worse and the number of fatalities on the roads soared. By the Dasain-Tihar festival in November, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/how-covid-19-saves-lives-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">number of deaths on the roads</a> had spiked to 242 after falling to 52 in May.“The lockdown helped bring the AQI level from unhealthy to good, but if you look at the trend in the past, it shows that January always has unhealthy air to breathe while it goes down to breathable air during monsoon,” says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9669c7e80680e0878bajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1263" height="752"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Traffic Police are among those worst affected by the pandemic. Since March, 407 traffic police have tested positive for SARS-Cov-2. And now with the increase in pollution, they are exposed to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) risk.“Everyone is in a rush, where do they have to go?” asks a frustrated Traffic Police spokesperson, Shyam Krishna Adhikari. “People have been driving more recklessly after the lockdown, they are drinking and driving because there is less checking.”Nepal also had high hopes for Visit Nepal 2020 with a target of welcoming 2 million tourists. But the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) was forced to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cancel the campaign</a>. Tourist arrival figures show a dramatic drop after March to zero for three months after, and although the numbers picked up a bit after flights resumed in October, it looks like 2021 will also be a washout.<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-Jr0sh" style="border: none;" title="Tourists by air" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Jr0sh/1/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe>“Despite recent vaccine developments, it will take a few years for people to start travelling as they used to. The tourism sector will likely recover by mid-2022," says Deepak Raj Joshi, former CEO of NTB. "But if we are well equipped for other future crises, communicate to the world about our preparedness and tap into the growing South Asian market, we can recover."<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joshi’s motto</a> is: “Survive 2020, revive in 2021 and thrive in 2022.”

A year of living dangerously

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0484b0ad905ca02f000jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"/><figcaption>QFX Cinema at the Labim Mall multiplex is scheduled to reopen on 25 December. The cinema halls will observe strict protocols, including mask, half-capacity halls, disinfection after each show and no food and drinks. Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>It was December 2019, and world was gearing up for a brand new decade. The most worrying things in most people’s minds were the climate crisis and Trumpism.The 2020s were expected to be a harbinger of new hopes and beginnings. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, throwing the world upside down, sowing uncertainty, loss and panic across the world.Nepal recorded its first Covid-19 case on 23 January from a male student who had returned from Wuhan, and was infected ten days previously. Now, almost a year later, the numbers are nearing 260,000 and the death toll has crossed 1,750.The government response has been characterised by flip-flopping policies, contradictory rules and lack of coordination. Political leaders and the bureaucracy were wrapped up in the power struggle in the ruling party that lasted the whole year, and led to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolution of the Lower House</a> this week.The government promptly established the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coronavirus-coordination-committee-doesnt-coordinate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee</a> (CCMC) after the second Covid-19 case was detected, and Nepal was one of the first countries in the region to go into strict nationwide lockdown.“We panicked before time and when it was time to act, the people have given up fighting Covid, when they should be even more vigilant now,” public health expert Sher Bahadur Pun told Nepali Times, warning about the virus variants that could make the pandemic spread even faster.Pun adds: “The government had ample time to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-nepal-can-learn-from-china-about-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">learn from China</a>, Europe and other countries to curb the spread of the virus, but it lacked the commitment and resources. Because of this, things could get worse.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf04a4b0ad905ca02f001jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When the first Covid-19 case was recorded in January, Pun who was an employee at the Sukraraj Hospital saw people returning from China get ostracised. Then the discrimination shifted to people from the plains, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to frontline health workers</a>.In Kathmandu, many doctors, nurses, caregivers were asked to move out from their rented apartments. “Covid unleashed the worst side of people and this will have a long term effect,” Pun adds.Indeed, the impact has gone beyond strictly public health aspects of the disease. The prolonged lockdowns, uncertainty, job loss, and lack of social contact has led to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemics of depression and mental health problems</a>, suicides, exacerbated the condition of those with pre-existing health conditions.Statistic also show a direct correlation between the lockdown period and the incidents of gender-based violence and rape, which also rose dramatically in April-August. (See graphs).<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-Rtggy" style="border: none;" title="Total Covid-19 cases" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Rtggy/1/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe><iframe id="datawrapper-chart-EXDw7" style="border: none;" title="Covid-19 in 2020" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EXDw7/2/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe>Data source: MINISTRY OF HEATH, NEPAL TOURISM BOARD, US EMBASSY, WOREC AND TRAFFIC POLICEThe lockdowns did have some indirect positive impact: the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Kathmandu and the plains <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">improved dramatically in April-July</a> as vehicles went off the roads. The number of highway fatalities went down by half to less than 700 in March-August 2020, compared to the same period the previous year.“Nepalis outside the urban sphere have very little idea about mental health, and the lockdown was not helpful at all. Being cooped up at home for months and being socially distanced is one of the main causes for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/have-suicides-increased-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high number of suicides</a>,” explains psychiatrist Kamal Gautam at Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Nepal.Nepal Police data shows that the monthly total of reported suicides in Nepal shot up to 972 in July from 668 in June, and 352 in January before the lockdowns.“If people do not get treatment in time and still think mental health is a taboo, suicides are bound to happen. Economic hardships and being cooped up at home are the major reasons for the increase in the number of suicides,” Gautam says.A survey by TPO Nepal with over 2,000 participants showed that 50% of those sampled showed some symptoms of psychological disorders such as anxiety and stress.Gautam blames the increasing disorders to the ‘infodemic’ of death and sickness in the mainstream press and social media. “What do you do at home for three months? Get on social media and become experts on every topic possible and perhaps misinform people creating panic,” Gautam warned.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf04d4b0ad905ca02f002jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="737" height="518"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There was also an alarming rise in gender-based violence. In April, the group WOREC Nepal registered 36 cases of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violence-spike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">domestic violence against women</a>, but by July this number had risen to 380. Forms of violence included domestic violence, rape, attempted rape and sexual abuse.“It’s women who have had to bear the brunt of the Covid lockdown. The economic hardship and the increasing mental and sexual frustration in men has led to an increase of such incidents. Those who are weaker in the family get attacked,” says WOREC’S Sulochana Khanal.Statistics show that suicide and violence against women increased steeply during the lockdown and started falling gradually when it was lifted in August. Similarly, as businesses opened and traffic picked up in August, air pollution in Kathmandu Valley and along highways got worse and the number of fatalities on the roads soared. By the Dasain-Tihar festival in November, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/how-covid-19-saves-lives-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">number of deaths on the roads</a> had spiked to 242 after falling to 52 in May.“The lockdown helped bring the AQI level from unhealthy to good, but if you look at the trend in the past, it shows that January always has unhealthy air to breathe while it goes down to breathable air during monsoon,” says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0504b0ad905ca02f003jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1263" height="752"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Traffic Police are among those worst affected by the pandemic. Since March, 407 traffic police have tested positive for SARS-Cov-2. And now with the increase in pollution, they are exposed to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) risk.“Everyone is in a rush, where do they have to go?” asks a frustrated Traffic Police spokesperson, Shyam Krishna Adhikari. “People have been driving more recklessly after the lockdown, they are drinking and driving because there is less checking.”Nepal also had high hopes for Visit Nepal 2020 with a target of welcoming 2 million tourists. But the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) was forced to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cancel the campaign</a>. Tourist arrival figures show a dramatic drop after March to zero for three months after, and although the numbers picked up a bit after flights resumed in October, it looks like 2021 will also be a washout.<iframe id="datawrapper-chart-Jr0sh" style="border: none;" title="Tourists by air" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Jr0sh/1/" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Interactive line chart"></iframe>“Despite recent vaccine developments, it will take a few years for people to start travelling as they used to. The tourism sector will likely recover by mid-2022," says Deepak Raj Joshi, former CEO of NTB. "But if we are well equipped for other future crises, communicate to the world about our preparedness and tap into the growing South Asian market, we can recover."<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joshi’s motto</a> is: “Survive 2020, revive in 2021 and thrive in 2022.”

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.