Exactly 90 years ago this week, Nepal was struck by the Great Earthquake of 1934 killing over 8,500 people across the country. In Kathmandu, 70% of the houses collapsed in the 8.3 magnitude disaster.&nbsp; To commemorate the event, 16 January is observed every year as National Earthquake Safety Day.&nbsp; Nepal has gone through many transitions in the past 90 years. From the Rana era to the 1950s interim years, to the Panchayat, the conflict and federal republic. Nepal has also experienced many other smaller seismic events, including the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake which ended up killing nearly 9,000 people and damaging some 800,000 buildings. And as the 3 November 2023 earthquake in Jajarkot showed, Nepal is still not prepared for these disasters. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/jajarkot-survivors-show-collective-resilience">Jajarkot survivors show collective resilience</a>, Durga Rana magar ‘There was a movement in the land similar to that of the waves in the water … the land seemed to twist and most of the buildings toppled. The movement was so strong … the trees bent down as during a hurricane,’ narrates Brahma Shumsher Rana in his book Nepal ko Mahabhukampa which came out later that year. Bramha Shumsher was the son of Major General Baber Shumsher and describes how the ground split sending fountains of hot water and sand shoot up. The Bagmati and the Vishnumati rivers turned black with dirty water.&nbsp; ‘Some sought support to keep themselves on their feet, while others ran like animals with their hands on the ground. Some mothers having come out into the open ground went back for the love of their children and were crushed to death… But even those men who ran away were not saved. The narrow streets and lanes in the towns became traps,’ the book says. Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/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/20240111100112_8f1bf4ab9e23ba750d2fab64f2c9140940f0c3d2b4796bb8f9e649c722cfd69d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240111100112_8f1bf4ab9e23ba750d2fab64f2c9140940f0c3d2b4796bb8f9e649c722cfd69d" data-rendition-name="original" width="812" height="380" loading="lazy" alt="Page 1 inset NT"> <figcaption>SHAKEN: Patan Darbar Square after the 1994 quake (inset), and the overlapping restoration following 2015. 1934 was 1990 in the Bikram Sambat calendar.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal is a seismically active zone and is struck by such earthquakes every 70-80 years. The 7.8M Gorkha quake in central Nepal in 2015 is often mistaken for one of those megaquakes. Himalayan seismologist Roger Bilham told Nepali Times then that it was not the big one which scientists had feared. In fact the faults in Central Nepal are still collecting energy and could be let off at any time. But even more imminent is the long seismic gap in western Nepal which did not dissipate all its energy in the November quake, says engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha of the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) - Nepal. The last big quake in western Nepal in 1505 is estimated to be 8.9M and killed one-third of Kathmandu Valley’s population including the king, devastated north India, and created the debris flow where Pokhara city is situated today. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/back-to-classroom-for-earthquake-preparedness">Back to classroom for earthquake preparedness</a>, Rachael Lau “Energy accumulated in western Nepal is big enough to cause an earthquake bigger than 8M, the Jajarkot earthquake released very minimal stress,” Shrestha explains. “This means there is still the possibility of a 1934 type event in Kathmandu, which could be deadlier because of the larger population.”&nbsp; The Himalayan Thrust fault system means a mega quake can happen anywhere in western Nepal from the Mahakali or Palpa. Either way, an 8M earthquake in western Nepal would immediately destroy 1.5 million buildings across the country and kill 100,000 people, if it struck at night. Hospitals would have collapsed too. Few still standing would be overwhelmed with some 200,000 individuals estimated to be seriously injured. Substandard schools and public buildings would go down like a house of cards. Electricity, highways, telecommunication and drinking water systems would be disrupted. The 2015 earthquake should have been a lesson to Nepalis to be prepared for a mega-quake, especially in terms of building safer structures. To be sure, 90% of the rebuilt structures do follow the government building code, but many in Kathmandu have blatantly flouted rules.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/be-prepared">Be prepared</a>, Editorial  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240111100120_3ba19345a7f38b98c58a30c0bdbcde099f254179a10c60c43a1ac954636853ee.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240111100120_3ba19345a7f38b98c58a30c0bdbcde099f254179a10c60c43a1ac954636853ee" data-rendition-name="original" width="524" height="451" loading="lazy" alt="1934 earthquake NT"> </figure>  “We have policies and legal frameworks in place but our preparedness is still negligible,” warns Shrestha. “The existing structures are already vulnerable but newer buildings even more so.”&nbsp; Following the 1934 earthquake, a geologist and engineer identified only as Mr Eden made some observations and gave a series of instructions regarding safe building in Nepal, which was published in Gorkhapatra at the time. He notes: ‘Bhaktapur, Harisiddhi, Khokana and Bungamati areas are liable to greatest destruction in an earthquake while Pashupatinath, Baudha and Gokarna are to be least feared. Syambhu and Kirtipur are similarly free from danger. In the Nepalese Terai, it is not advisable to build houses close to streams, rivers and tanks.’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/lessons-still-not-learnt">Lessons still not learnt</a>, Sonia Awale Eden also pushed for earthquake-proof buildings with details about what kind of buildings to construct and where. ‘The type of the soil is not the only factor that causes destruction in an earthquake. It also depends upon the structural design, the materials used and the skills of the builders,’ he is quoted as writing. Nearly a century ago, we already knew what to do. Concrete buildings are not necessarily stronger. In fact, substandard concrete buildings are even more of a death trap, especially given that Nepal does not have the search and rescue teams and equipment for such collapsed structures. Warns Shrestha: “A 8M earthquake will happen one day, and all these substandard buildings will come crashing down. It will be a calamity of epic proportions.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/past-disasters-foretold/" target="_blank">Past disasters foretold</a>, Om Astha Rai

Sonia Awale

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90 years after ’90

Shanta Bahadur Budha takes a step out of his tarp. The sun is still not out yet, and his hands are quivering from the cold. Ever since his house in Barekot was destroyed by the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck at 11.23pm on the night of 3 November, he like many others has been living in a tent. Barekot is near the epicentre of the quake, and although there were no casualties the earthquake damaged nearly every house in the village. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/jajarkot-one-month-after-the-earthquake">Jajarkot: One month after the earthquake</a>, Ramu Kharel and Maggie Doyne  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231225131212_309c5b2236916946dc6a360e47c733f81fbbfcfdb45a0291cd780395aedf352c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231225131212_309c5b2236916946dc6a360e47c733f81fbbfcfdb45a0291cd780395aedf352c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Below zero at Ground Zero NT"> </figure>  "That night it felt like the entire village would collapse,” Budha recalls. “After that, every night in the tent it has been getting colder and colder. It will soon start snowing, how will we survive?" Asked what is their main concern, everyone here says surviving the winter is the biggest challenge as the temperature drops below zero at night 2,400m in the mountains of western Nepal. From a distance, the houses clinging to the flanks of the picturesque rolling hills look fine. But on closer inspection, the impact of the earthquake is starkly visible — houses that have not collapsed all have cracks on walls or missing roofs.&nbsp; 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  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231225131212_5c59d59444b7e7ac3ec631fdbc471a79d9c779bebe3c431f039e60bcf27411a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231225131212_5c59d59444b7e7ac3ec631fdbc471a79d9c779bebe3c431f039e60bcf27411a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Below zero at Ground Zero NT"> </figure>  Municipality data shows that most houses in the nine wards have been affected, and there are 5,586 applications for temporary housing. "All the houses are affected, no house is habitable," says Dinayat Gharti of the Municipality "Every family has been living in tents for two months now.”&nbsp; Barekot lies about 30km from the Jajarkot district capital of Khalanga, but construction of temporary housing has not even started. Because of the area’s remoteness, assistance has not reached the locals on time and the lack of workers has delayed construction.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231225131212_3803f5921c6f432baf876a36b50e69f32eacd645b5f88490389fe80538de7f82.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231225131212_3803f5921c6f432baf876a36b50e69f32eacd645b5f88490389fe80538de7f82" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Below zero at Ground Zero NT"> </figure>  Slow disbursement of the first instalment of compensation from the government has also affected progress. According to Gharti, only 583 families have received the first instalment of Rs25,000, and 5,300 families are yet to receive even that.&nbsp; All this means that Barekot’s 22,000 people are forced to live in courtyards, fields and open spaces in freezing temperatures. The most common sound here is of children and the elderly coughing. Health care workers report that most children suffer from exposure-related diseases, while the elderly are experiencing respiratory problems and fever. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/demographics-of-disaster-in-nepal-quake">Demographics of disaster in Nepal quake</a>, Nepali Times  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231225131212_c05df258d1a366788cee06255d135f6d9e79a39a0be7151637da92f67c5c1cce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231225131212_c05df258d1a366788cee06255d135f6d9e79a39a0be7151637da92f67c5c1cce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Below zero at Ground Zero NT"> </figure>  Charities organisations have distributed tarps and blankets which has made things a bit easier for the residents. Dhan Bahadur Budha, principal of the Himalaya Devi Basic School says problems are bound to get worse once the temperature starts dropping further. All 53 schools in Barekot Rural Municipality collapsed on 3 November, which is also a stark reminder of what would have happened if the earthquake had struck during school hours when classrooms would have been full.&nbsp; Schools would have been ideal shelters for survivors, but even those are in no condition to be used. Himalaya Devi Basic School has been conducting classes from under a tent since the earthquake.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokharel  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231225131212_22f51ad08da69a8376154578e42c6d046ade9e84b10cd2b9b5e7688ac65f62f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20231225131212_22f51ad08da69a8376154578e42c6d046ade9e84b10cd2b9b5e7688ac65f62f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1707" height="1058" loading="lazy" alt="Below zero at Ground Zero NT"> </figure>  "All school buildings have been damaged, it is impossible to run classes inside the building," laments Budha. Although classes have resumed, things are yet to go back to normal. &nbsp;Most students have not been able to attend school. "Initially students did not show up at all," says Budha, "then the teachers went house-to-house and parents started sending their kids back." But conducting classes regularly is a challenge. Classes are held in the open when the sun is out, otherwise, it is too cold.&nbsp; Now that most families have warm clothes, blankets and tents, the most urgent need is for the temporary shelter construction to be expedited. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale

Below zero at Ground Zero

A rapid assessment of the epicentre of the earthquake that hit just before midnight on 3 November shows that lack of accurate information about the status of survivors and their needs continues to be a challenge. Our trip to the hardest hit areas from Khalanga to Nalgad in this remote district in the mountains of western Nepal involved the rescue of a month-old infant whose mother was reported to have died from the cold.&nbsp; There has been inaccurate and sensationalised reporting in the media after people died from the cold. While it is true that winter has set in the mountains and the long term illnesses can be exacerbated by the cold, stress or unhygienic conditions, many of the deaths have been due to acute illnesses and existing preconditions. There have also been reports of relief items being stuck in bureaucratic bottlenecks and piling up in municipal offices instead of being distributed to those in need. While that may have happened in the early days of the earthquake, on this week’s trip that was not what we saw.&nbsp; In any natural disaster, it is important to recognise that the scenario for relief can rapidly change from day to day, thus making a rapid response and clear communication channels vitally important.&nbsp; We are concerned that inaccurate journalism based on hearsay without fact checking can foster an environment of cynicism and criticism, discouraging collaborative efforts. It can also affect the morale amongst first responders, spreading distrust.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231201131252_0b36cd97d9d54136ebbc601ca2170c1402ec22944d1f8c5d837ba1e3dfc8ef13.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231201131252_0b36cd97d9d54136ebbc601ca2170c1402ec22944d1f8c5d837ba1e3dfc8ef13" data-rendition-name="original" width="1368" height="1058" loading="lazy" alt="Jajarkot earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231201131252_9f96af647fb9e343ef22159c2191e7aaac8574f6cce70891237a91d24747fcc2.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231201131252_9f96af647fb9e343ef22159c2191e7aaac8574f6cce70891237a91d24747fcc2" data-rendition-name="original" width="748" height="1142" loading="lazy" alt="Jajarkot earthquake NT"> </figure>  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 Relief must be survivor-centred and not be sensationalised or politicised with fake news. A centralised database that can foster collaboration is being put up with accurate and up to date information on the <a href="https://jajarkot.himalayandisaster.org/">Jajarkot Earthquake Response website</a>. Partners on the ground can also fact-check and debunk false reports, and we urge reporters to seek out these primary sources instead of relying on sensationalised clickbait. Rubble and destruction&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023120112124_66e5ce77ae433644dabf10e3391e39021e92857248896af39bf19ad128e05e8b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023120112124_66e5ce77ae433644dabf10e3391e39021e92857248896af39bf19ad128e05e8b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Jajarkot after earthquake NT"> </figure>  As we approached the epicentre with three vehicles filled with jackets, sanitation kits, blankets, the destruction was shocking. Even in the relatively accessible areas like the district headquarter of Khalanga the houses are still in ruins. A month after the earthquake the rubble still has not been cleared. Things get worse the deeper we go into the mountains. On the way to Nalgad, there are rows upon rows of destroyed houses. Most people are living under tarp and bamboo tents, in one of them there were seven members of a family huddled inside. One man in Kalanga had broken his arm, and was sifting through the rubble of his home with his other hand. He was sheltering in a nearby school with many other neighbours.&nbsp; A school in Nalgad was still functioning, and students were attending classes in tents. Their school was damaged and there was fear of aftershocks.&nbsp; Multiple political groups and nonprofits are helping clear the rubble in places, but no active rebuilding has started yet.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/grief-stricken-survivors-are-cold-and-hungry">Grief-stricken survivors are cold and hungry</a>, Sagar Budathoki CGI-based temporary homes might be better than tents for this winter. But rapid, affordable, earthquake resistant and sustainable rebuilding must start as soon as possible using the experience and plans developed after the 2015 earthquake. Rural municipalities must be key partners in all rebuilding efforts. Relief organisations can divide up their efforts to avoid duplication. There are prototypes for <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/11/prototype-bamboo-shelter-nepal-earthquake-victims-built-by-unskilledworkers-three-days/amp/">winterised temporary shelters</a> and <a href="https://habitatnepal.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Bamboo-Temp-Shelter-Nepali-web.pdf">long term solutions</a> for reconstruction: Immediate Relief and Humanitarian Aid&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023120112124_fa55e5f5c7e0c08e34679ea94f7eee9d393899fe41c45d32ca0d8b3b52d00ee6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2023120112124_fa55e5f5c7e0c08e34679ea94f7eee9d393899fe41c45d32ca0d8b3b52d00ee6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Jajarkot after earthquake NT"> </figure>  Nepal has a one-door policy currently to manage aid coming into disaster zones. Each district’s disaster relief committee is led by the Chief District Officer (CDO), who is in charge of relief items coming to the region. Jajarkot district has received tons of relief material, and local distribution was initially the bottleneck. There are still reports of items not getting to those that live in remote and roadless areas.&nbsp; We saw this week that the distribution management appeared to have improved. Items lying in municipality offices and district offices were in the process of being delivered. The municipal system makes it easy to coordinate with local ward chairs to find the areas of acute need.&nbsp; Our trucks had to be registered with the CDO with an itemised list and approved for further transport deeper into the district. The process seemed seamless. In Nalgad municipality, where few relief organisations are present, the mayor’s office and the Nepal Army have coordinated with NGOs to distribute blankets, clothes to more remote regions.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/earthquake-vacates-villages-in-nepal"> Earthquake vacates villages in Nepal</a>, Anita Bhetwal The municipalities are coordinating better, and working closely with relief aid partners. But there is still a need for logistics management and strategic distribution of relief material to difficult to reach villages. Special care must be given to villages at higher altitudes where it will soon start snowing. Relief organisations must respect the one-door policy, and not bypass this effort to coordinate relief and avoid waste and overlap. The Ward chairs have their feet on the ground and are the best source for exact need. They should be made partners in all aid distribution locally.&nbsp; Healthcare&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023120112124_b094ac6d0dfcdc924f571e1308307ebaa4b6b1d2b7d5c0ebcfe290466cd3abf0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2023120112124_b094ac6d0dfcdc924f571e1308307ebaa4b6b1d2b7d5c0ebcfe290466cd3abf0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Jajarkot after earthquake NT"> </figure>  Jajarkot has a well-equipped district hospital, and each municipality has a &nbsp;health centre. There are smaller health posts in wards within the municipality. The nearest high level facility with ICU capacity is in Surkhet.&nbsp; Jajarkot district hospital had a large number of traumas during the first weeks after the earthquake. The hospital has five medical officers, and one MDGP (consultant) physician, and can provide basic emergency care, maternal and child care including caesarean section and vaginal delivery, and has a robust pharmacy. The hospital’s patient census was not impressive during our visit.&nbsp; The Nalgad municipality health centre was busy with only one medical officer available. Large tents from UNICEF had been erected outside for additional inpatient ward and emergency space. There seems to be a gap from the district to support the local municipality's needs.&nbsp; We came across many groups coming to Jajarkot to conduct health camps. Though increased engagement has benefits, it is not so useful to have camps near the health centres or the district hospital as there are already facilities there. &nbsp;Doctors told us that they had extreme excess of certain supplies and not enough of others.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale Groups organising health camps should focus on two areas: 1) bring specialist care that otherwise does not exist in this region, 2) reaching areas away from local health infrastructure. They must also coordinate with the district hospital and municipality health centre to assess their utility. Funds used for health camps could instead help strengthen local health facilities. The districts should divert some of their resources (doctors, nurses, etc) to some of these busy health centres in local municipalities like Nalgad. It does not make sense for one doctor to see a large number of patients in Nalgad, while the district hospital is not busy.&nbsp; Safeguarding Women and Children  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023120112124_2e48aaab35412bd26e577239a96e036781290ce1391da4a9b5d90d44410d9a63.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2023120112124_2e48aaab35412bd26e577239a96e036781290ce1391da4a9b5d90d44410d9a63" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Jajarkot after earthquake NT"> <figcaption>Ramu Kharel (left) and Maggie Doyne with locals in Jajarkot. The infant whose mother died was brought down and is recovering in ICU in Surkhet.</figcaption> </figure>  There are a large number of pregnant and postpartum women in the most affected areas in Nalgad, Rukum and Kuse. Recent news items have used false narratives to gain viewership, but there is a real need for access to appropriate ante-natal and postnatal care, which was an issue that existed before the earthquake in underserved areas of western Nepal. Jajarkot hospital, the municipal health centres are both equipped to care for most of these women. Various groups are providing warm clothes for the most vulnerable and prioritising these women for safe winterised shelters is a must.&nbsp; There are child protection units and National Child Rights Council (NCRC) offices at each municipal office. When a child, adolescent, pregnant or postpartum woman is in potential or imminent danger, it is critically important that officers be notified immediately.&nbsp; The NCRC works directly with government bodies, police, licensed shelters, and relief agencies to ensure that the woman or child is taken out of danger. NCRC and Kopila Valley are able to work together directly to safeguard the children in distress. The involvement of NCRC also prevents child smuggling and safeguards against family separation, exploitation, and human trafficking. The use of trained trauma informed social workers and child protection officers is critically important when discerning information and keeps the child’s rights and protection at the centre.&nbsp; Available health centres must be equipped with in-facility and outreach programs to identify and care for the most vulnerable in the region. This disaster could be used as an opportunity to equip and build a system around the municipal health centre and district hospitals to create innovative models like <a href="https://www.nyayahealthnepal.org/">Nyaya Health Nepal’s</a> community health care model in Achham, where community health workers are trained and equipped to provide care at home. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokharel When someone is really ill, taking the patient to Surkhet might be the only way but the road is long and hard. A streamlined approach to access government services like helicopter rescue must be available in this post-disaster setting.&nbsp; A robust ambulance and EMS service from either the municipal health centre and/or Jajarkot district hospital must be made.&nbsp; Water and Sanitation&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023120112124_186d4e99aa2c91f173de7e0e430b03a24c1099075fdbfeae8ead9b770cee9ca6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2023120112124_186d4e99aa2c91f173de7e0e430b03a24c1099075fdbfeae8ead9b770cee9ca6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Jajarkot after earthquake NT"> </figure>  Even before the earthquake, Jajarkot and surrounding districts were hit by a cholera epidemic in 2009 that killed over 300 people, many of them children. Running water and sanitation has always been a major concern and this danger has been exacerbated with the earthquake aftermath in the dry season.&nbsp; None of the temporary tents and shelters we saw had appropriate water access and hand washing stations. Donor agency temporary toilets were dirty with no hand washing. Water and hygiene must be a priority for development groups going forward. Relief groups must put WASH in their priority.&nbsp; After meeting survivors, relief workers and local elected officials we saw a resilience and a determination to bounce back. The items we took to Nalgad are being strategically distributed in coordination with municipality offices to reach those in most need.&nbsp; We were able to locate the one-month-old infant in Nalgad municipality’s Ward 8. The infant is now getting safe ICU level care now in Surkhet, and is doing better.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial Resources for aid information and reporting can be found <a href="https://aidpulse.org/aidboard">here</a>. Important phone numbers:&nbsp; National Child Rights Council: 01-5550121&nbsp; Chief Minister Karnali: 985804444&nbsp; Chief District Officer Jajarkot: 9858047777&nbsp; Mayor Nalgad: 9842236335&nbsp; Mayor Kuse: 9858937755&nbsp; District Hospital Khalanga: 089-430188&nbsp; Ambulance: 102&nbsp; AIN (Federation for NGOs): 01-4468128&nbsp; Poison information center: 01-450-2011&nbsp; Suicide Hotline: 1166&nbsp; Police: 100 Ramu Kharel (ramu_kharel@brown.edu) is an emergency medicine physician with global health and public health expertise, and decade long experience in disaster response within Nepal. He is an assistant professor at Brown University, and is founder of <a href="http://www.hapsaglobe.org/">HAPSA Nepal</a>. Maggie Doyne is the co-founder of the <a href="https://blinknow.org/">BlinkNow Foundation</a> and, and has worked for 18 years in the Karnali region caring for at-risk children through community development efforts. She is a CNN Hero and author based in Surkhet.

Jajarkot: One month after the earthquake

The deadly midnight earthquake last Friday in Karnali Province occurred in an area where seismologists had long predicted the next Big One. 
This was the ‘seismic gap’ that this newspaper first wrote about in its <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5065">9-15 January 2004 edition</a> commemorating National Earthquake Safety Day and the 70th anniversary of the 8.5 magnitude 1934 disaster.
The subduction of the Indian plate into and below the Eurasian landmass leads to accumulated stress in the rock strata deep beneath the Himalaya. This tectonic tension builds up over time, and if it is not released periodically the result could be a megaquake that could result in a rupture leading to 6m or more of horizontal surface displacement.
Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deadly-earthquake-hits-w-nepal">Deadly earthquake hits W Nepal</a>, Nepali Times 
Seismic experts now say that the 3 November event was not the massive one that was expected. At 6.4 it was a moderate quake with a shallow epicenter, which is why the destruction was limited to a relatively small radius although the shaking was felt as far away as Delhi and Kathmandu.
The disaster also exposed Nepal’s demographic shift. Of the 157 confirmed dead so far, many were women because most men have migrated abroad for work. There was also a class and caste element, as the flimsiest homes belonged to the poorest families. 
Disaster management experts like to say that it is not earthquakes that kill people but buildings. Indeed, quakes are not ‘natural disasters’ but mostly man made. Proof of this was the 25 April 2105 earthquake which killed nearly 9,000 people in central Nepal as substandard buildings collapsed. 
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/grief-stricken-survivors-are-cold-and-hungry">Grief-stricken survivors are cold and hungry</a>, Sagar Budhathoki
Tragically, this also was proven in last week’s disaster when fragile stone and mud plaster homes collapsed with the very first jolt. Newer buildings with reinforced concrete columns withstood the shaking, but had the intensity and duration of the quake been longer they would have also crumbled.
Seismologists say the Jajarkot quake was not strong enough to release all the tectonic stress -- which could mean it was either a precursor to a bigger one to come, or it has made the region safe for another decade or so.
There is no way to predict it either way. What we know for sure is that the next one is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’. It is better to invest now in preparedness than in counting bodies and the number of collapsed buildings after a disaster.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mass-cremations-for-nepal-quake-victims">Mass cremations for Nepal quake victims</a>, Sagar Budhathoki and Gopen Rai
For this, we already have lessons from the 2015 earthquake. Nearly 7,500 school buildings with 35,000 classrooms collapsed eight years ago and even if we make a conservative estimate of only 10 students per class, the loss of young lives would have been catastrophic. What saved them was that the quake happened on a Saturday.
In Jajarkot and Rukum West last week, many families were crushed by their falling homes while they slept. But given the number of schools that have collapsed, the casualty rate may have been higher if the quake had happened in the daytime on a weekday.
The first order of business for prevention would therefore be to retrofit school buildings all over Nepal, but especially in Gandaki, Karnali and Far Western Provinces. Earthquake safety instruction and drills should also be mandatory in schools. Digging tools, tents, first aid kits and go bags must be pre-positioned in school premises which can serve as shelters. Hospitals and public buildings also need to be retrofitted, and private home owners encouraged to make safety inspections.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-quake-survivors-wait-for-kin-to-return">Nepal quake survivors wait for kin to return</a>, Sagar Budhathoki
There are now earthquake early alert systems available that give up to 30 second warnings by analysing earthquake P waves waves and estimating its location and intensity to send alerts either through alarm devices installed in schools, or now on Android phones.
In fact, in the last 5.7 magnitude earthquake on 3 October in Bajhang, many people with Android phones got alerts in Kathmandu even while the earthquake was happening 500km away. Personal phones therefore became seismometers and could even give prior warning of quakes if Nepal becomes part of the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/science/earthquake-early-warning-overview">US Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert</a> system. The awkwardly acronymed NDRRMA (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority) was given a back seat in the aftermath of the Jajarkot quake. Its chief was travelling, and the government put in place a ‘one window’ coordination unit in Karnali that, instead of facilitating a more efficient mechanism for relief delivery, has become a bottleneck.
The 3 November disaster was a dress rehearsal for a bigger catastrophe to come, and sadly, we did not come off with flying colours this time.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/demographics-of-disaster-in-nepal-quake">Demographics of disaster in Nepal quake</a>, Nepali Times

Shaking things up

It is a brilliantly bright autumn day by the banks of the Bheri River. Along the cold green waters, the whole village of Chiuri is gathered for a mass cremation of those who died in the earthquake just before midnight on 3 November. Two tractors follow the mourners filled with logs, and the bodies of 13 who were killed are laid out. One of them is Deputy Mayor of Malaga Municipality Sarita Singh, and there are five smaller shrouds covering the bodies of children below 14. Sabitri B K, 21, is inconsolable. “Oh god,” she says looking up at the sky, “you should have taken me instead, why did you take my son?” Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deadly-earthquake-hits-w-nepal">Deadly earthquake hits W Nepal</a>, Nepali Times&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_ebf5a6f555083baa2d5c3da45fe93203b3edf703524232982a68a6ffdfeaabf2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023110514110_ebf5a6f555083baa2d5c3da45fe93203b3edf703524232982a68a6ffdfeaabf2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_95cdda0701d84b756f2165a28e0cf7787bc15aa84dfd147938b4d7bdb41913fb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023110514110_95cdda0701d84b756f2165a28e0cf7787bc15aa84dfd147938b4d7bdb41913fb" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_8ed1f9d517639c8aa515f6f3289ef5b5adf82cc57841d262d150044db3e4b84e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023110514110_8ed1f9d517639c8aa515f6f3289ef5b5adf82cc57841d262d150044db3e4b84e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>  Sabitri’s husband is haunched near the body of their five year old son who was crushed in his sleep by falling beams when their house collapsed. Sabitri and her husband were also buried under the rubble, but were rescued alive. Hire Kami, 55, along with his wife and two sons aged 12 and 14 were also killed in the earthquake. His eight-year-old daughter Premkali is the only surviving member of the family, so the collective funeral rituals are being performed by their neighbour Lal Bahadur Kami. “There is no one else, so I am doing it,” Lal Bahadur says simply. Lal Bahadur Kami recalls the moment at 11:49 when the ground started to shake, the screams of people were drowned by a deep underground growl and the road of houses coming down. Family members clawed through the bricks and dirt with their bare hands trying to save their relatives. As the dust settled, and in the light of mobile phone torchlights, he noticed that not a single house on his street was standing. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/demographics-of-disaster-in-nepal-quake">Demographics of disaster in Nepal quake</a>, Nepali Times  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_1dab9f89bcfdb2812a75d1d084decade9cd73bdb75f23c3dbc5cbed92abb2374.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023110514110_1dab9f89bcfdb2812a75d1d084decade9cd73bdb75f23c3dbc5cbed92abb2374" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_9aac984e53a3f3b7bb49ecb91aa2f6e5dcbf4d1839aa224adf57b1172a2311c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023110514110_9aac984e53a3f3b7bb49ecb91aa2f6e5dcbf4d1839aa224adf57b1172a2311c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_90502f8251679cbae4dfa35c7c9d84b8392404086ce702cef81c12b09a868502.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2023110514110_90502f8251679cbae4dfa35c7c9d84b8392404086ce702cef81c12b09a868502" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>  Rescuers reached people whose muffled cries could be heard from below the debris, but others could not be saved because there was not enough digging equipment. Most of the mud and stone houses collapsed. One old house collapsed, but its new reinforced concrete annex was intact. On the other side of the Bheri River, villagers from Chapaghat had gathered to perform the final rites of three siblings who were killed, buried under their house on Friday, two daughters 16 and 26, and an 18 month old son. Their father was not at home and their mother was injured. Their relative Bindu Rokaya and her nine-year-old daughter were also killed. “Oh god, why did you save me and kill them?" their grandmother Dipa Pariyar said, weeping as villagers prepared the collective pyre. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/lessons-still-not-learnt">Lessons still not learnt</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_f2e996cc50e668616ae7c5f68dd22ad9c3393f24df388b43098833a23c7a8213.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2023110514110_f2e996cc50e668616ae7c5f68dd22ad9c3393f24df388b43098833a23c7a8213" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110514110_aabd59d3f2fef52914c47f249312c4193fa137081b238ea6224b1488101ca9fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2023110514110_aabd59d3f2fef52914c47f249312c4193fa137081b238ea6224b1488101ca9fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 western Nepal earthquake NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;All of the 80 houses in Chiuri village, some 30 km from the district headquarters Khalanga, were severely damaged. On Saturday, the villagers busied themselves trying to salvage clothes, beddings and kitchenware from the rubble. Even two days after the disaster, the many here have not received any relief. Says Dilbahadur BK, a local, "We cannot build our houses immediately. In the meantime if we could get tents and beddings, it would help us in the cold." At least 157 people were killed in Rukum West and Jajarkot districts of Nepal's remote mountains, 102 of them were women, and 32 were children.Many in the affected villages are still in shock and have not yet come to terms with the nightmare. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal">Epicentre of two disasters in West Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale

Mass cremations for Nepal quake victims

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.

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