<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2023020814028/63e39f2d9c7e80680e0d6fdfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="900"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In Nepal, the new year coincides with a newly elected federal Parliament being installed. And as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-year-challenge-to-new-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new government</a> takes shape, there is a lot at stake.Besides improving governance and service delivery, one of the most urgent tasks is to manage Nepal’s energy policy in 2023 and beyond.Nepal must do this not just to meet its own pledges under the Nationally Determined Commitment to decarbonise that it made to the international community, but to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-crisis-local-solutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">save its economy from collapse</a> and to protect public health.The rate at which Nepal’s petroleum import is growing is economically unsustainable. It is now 20% of total imports, and more than all its exports combined. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Burning fossil fuels</a> is also endangering the lives of Nepalis, reducing the average lifespan of city-dwellers by up to 4 years.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/can-nepal-go-from-hydro-to-hydrogen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Can Nepal go from hydro to hydrogen?</a>, Kunda DixitThe <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-dahal-political-deja-vu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new coalition government</a> has very little excuse for not accelerating the country’s energy transition from petroleum to renewables. Nepal has all the resources, sufficient budget, and a vast array of clean energy possibilities with multi-dimensional benefits.The energy crisis must be placed front and centre in the new government’s agenda because it has implications on so many fronts, including making Nepal more politically dependent on India.Among the alternatives, Nepal’s vast hydroelectric resources can be used to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/potholes-in-the-highway-to-nepals-ev-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">power public transport</a>, domestic cooking, and industries. There are greater value-added benefits if Nepalis can use domestically-produced hydroelectricity rather than exporting it for cheap to India.Every Nepali high school student’s social studies textbook has an entire chapter devoted to the country's hydropower potential from its perennial rivers, and it is presented as the resource that will safeguard the country’s future.Ironically, it is climate-induced disasters like as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glacial lake outburst floods</a> and high runoff that can destroy the very hydropower plants that we need as an alternative to greenhouse gases. We have seen the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">destructive debris flows on the Melamchi </a>and Dordi Khola. Risk assessment prior to construction should now be mandatory for all riverine projects.Even though a switch to renewables is important to save the economy, nearly 70% of Nepalis still depend on biomass for domestic energy — firewood, dried dung and other farm residue. This comes with the dangers of indoor pollution, which means alternatives like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-bullshit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bio-CNG</a> hold much promise.Besides helping energy self-sufficiency, expanding <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bio-CNG and biogas production</a> in all seven provinces can generate side jobs for farmers, help in waste management, and produce organic fertiliser to reduce dependence on imported chemical fertilisers.Another much-delayed policy measure is Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)'s plan to install net metering for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-energy-windfall-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solar power generation</a> which will allow households to feed surplus energy into the national grid, and get paid for it. Not only would this ensure energy security, it would also be an incentive for businesses to switch to clean energy. We have no idea why such a win-win policy has not been implemented yet.It is not that Nepal is moving in the wrong direction with its energy sector. There is increased awareness about the benefits of clean energy and the public, already coping with record high fuel prices, wants alternatives. But the pace at which Nepal is moving is so slow that petroleum imports are growing faster than ever.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ukraine-climate-and-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">war in Ukraine</a> has shown the world that a self-sufficient energy sector is the best thing a country can have at times of geopolitical turmoil. As far back as April 2022, the European Council had already realised the impact of a stoppage of Russian gas supply to Europe.The EU announced economic sanctions on Russia and its oligarchs, but imports of gas continued. A quarter of Europe’s gas imports were from Russia, and it needed time to switch to alternative supply sources.Much of the EU's dependency on Russian gas is fuelled by countries like Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. And Germany imported more than half of its gas from Russia before Putin’s war. Today, despite pressure to stop imports, it still imports a quarter of its gas from Russia.What has happened in Europe in the past year has been replicated across the world, including in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ukraine-crisis-hits-nepal-economy-hard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal with inflated fuel prices</a>. This shock is the right opportunity to spur policy decisions to accelerate the switch to renewable energy.Depending on fuel from abroad means that a country's economy is, to some extent, in the hands of the exporter. The exporter can choose how and when to pressurise and increase prices, as we have seen Russia doing this past year, or with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/autopsy-of-a-blockade%20,2863" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India’s Blockade of Nepal in 2015</a>.But it also means that fossil fuel exporting countries should now start planning for peak oil, and declining petroleum demand worldwide, as Europe is already seeing.Sooner or later, things will change around the world. But for Nepal, there is no sooner or later. Things must change now.

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Nepal’s energy policy in 2023 and beyond

<figure><img width="1000" height="1333" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a572f9c7e80680e0547c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>There is a tendency on the part of governments to blame everything on climate change. It lets them off the hook. In Nepal, a politician once even said Kathmandu’s garbage problem was caused by global warming.Many of Nepal’s chronic crises, like food insecurity, under-development, inequality and poor governance, pre-date the climate emergency. Government neglect, apathy and the failure of past authoritarian and democratically-elected leaders to address these structural problems are why Nepal is in the state it is in today.The climate emergency is just the latest crisis to hit Nepal, making all our pre-existing problems worse. Climate change crowds out the other crises because it is treated as a standalone problem.  <img width="200" height="200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57329c7e80680e0547c9jpeg.jpg" alt="">Many of the measures the government says it plans to take in response to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global climate crisis</a> should be carried out anyway, regardless of whether the earth is warming or not. For example, we should switch from a fossil fuel-based economy to renewable energy, we must promote solar and take local adaptation measures because our economy demands the efficiency — not only because Greenland is thawing.  Read also: <a style="letter-spacing: 0.15px; background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32856&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Summit leads packed UN agenda,</a> Thalif Deen Let’s face it: what we do or do not do in Nepal is not going to save the planet. With an annual carbon footprint of 0.12 tons per capita (Qatar’s footprint is 40 tons) Nepal’s contribution to atmospheric carbon is negligible.But, for the past three years, Nepal has imported Rs20 billion worth of electricity annually from India, generated by coal-fired thermal plants in Bihar, doubling the average Nepali’s carbon footprint.This is on top of the Rs100 billion worth of diesel, LPG and petrol that Nepal will import from India this fiscal year. The growth in Nepal’s petroleum use is the fastest among South Asia countries, and has more than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubled in the last two years</a>. Since it is all imported, this has increased our trade imbalance with India.Read Also: <a style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32892&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tree-mendous</a><a style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.01em; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32892&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">,</a> Peter Gill<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32849&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tourism, aviation, and carbon,</a> Sanghamitra Subba Yes, there is a need to address historical emissions by industrialised nations that have brought about global heating, and Nepal’s demand in international fora for resources for climate adaptation is fair. But India, China and Indonesia now exceed the total carbon emissions in Europe and North America combined. The Asia-Pacific is now responsible for half of global carbon dioxide emissions. For Nepal, adaptation and mitigation must now go hand in hand. We need to adapt to erratic weather, extreme rainfall events, and be prepared for future glacial lake outbursts. But Nepal also needs to cut emissions -- not just to save its glaciers from disappearing, but to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/cash-for-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">save our economy from collapse.</a>Read Also: <a style="font-weight: bold; background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32877&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px; font-weight: bold;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32805&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate-health emergency,</a> Sonia Awale We could do with budgetary support to implement national strategies to build up <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/going-green-environment-day,3064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carbon stock</a> and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/a-fossil-economy,1411">reduce dependence on fossil fuels</a>, but ultimately it is about planning smart and being energy efficient.It is not that Nepal is not moving in the right direction. It is just that it is not moving fast enough. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/more-than-half-of-nepals-electricity-imported-from-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Electricity Authority</a> (NEA) under Kul Man Ghising got a lot of credit for doing away with power cuts by scrapping the black market in electricity through dedicated circuits and importing the shortfall from India. This monsoon, Nepal actually managed to bank power in India for the first time.In anticipation of a surge in electric vehicles, NEA plans to install 30 fast-charging stations along highways. Ghising has called on consumers to switch to induction stoves and rice cookers in the kitchen to replace LPG use. It will be cheaper for families, reduce Nepal’s import bill and slash carbon emissions. Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32887&amp;preview_nonce=fd922bf38d&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trees, politics and greed,</a> Mukesh Pokharel<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32864&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Third Pole is warming faster than expected</a>, Kunda Dixit Much more needs to be done to invest in solar power, including installing more large-scale generators with storage capacity and household-level rooftop panels. With reverse metering NEA can buy back electricity in the daytime, and one recent calculation showed that Kathmandu Valley alone could generate 100MW using solar even if only south-facing rooftops were used. The beauty of it is that there will be minimum system loss in transmission. To even out demand, NEA needs to be freed of the stranglehold of its political unions so it can introduce seasonal and time-of-day tariffs.The spread of community electricity bodes well for reducing pilferage and other losses. There has been a surge in new private <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investment in hydropower plants</a> in the 5-20MW range all over the country. This gives villages the power to adapt to climate change -- water can be pumped up from rivers for year-round irrigation in the Karnali and elsewhere.It is time Nepali officials stopped using climate change as an excuse, and started upscaling measures that we know work to reduce our petroleum import, salvage the economy and help save the planet.This story is part of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-joins-to-cover-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covering Climate Now</a>, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.  Read Also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32872&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Protecting Kathmandu’s historic roofscape,</a> Anne Feenstra<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32868&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mosquitoes move up mountains as the earth warms,</a> Sonia Awale <h2><h2 data-elementor-setting-key="title" data-pen-placeholder="Type Here..." style="letter-spacing: 0.15px;">10 years ago this week</h2></h2> Reading <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16300#.XXoU4y4zbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this State of the State column</a> by CK Lal from Nepali Times edition #468 of 11-18 September shows us how far we have come, and how things are no different from 10 years ago:'Despite a concerted disinformation campaign against the Maoists, it is Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's hubris that lies at the centre of the parliamentary deadlock in the Constituent Assembly. Under Nepal's leadership, the UML boycotted the entire winter session of Parliament in 2001, so he must know the difficulty of extricating an opposition party from a self-destructive, confrontational course. Koirala and Nepal need to accept that there is no place for their old antagonism in the present scheme of things. <img width="323" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57349c7e80680e0547cajpeg.jpg" alt="">They need to make peace with Pushpa Kamal Dahal for their own good and for the future of peace and democracy in the country.'

MUSTN’T BLAME EVERYTHING ON CLIMATE CHANGE

<img width="1000" height="717" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a53fa9c7e80680e05237cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><img width="550" height="393" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a53fc9c7e80680e05237djpeg.jpg" alt="">With increasing awareness about the climate emergency and air pollution, many around the world have taken steps to reduce their own carbon footprints by flying less, being more energy efficient and switching to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Be-smart-go-electric,3062" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric cars.</a>Till now, the cost of battery-powered vehicles meant that only the most committed bought them to make a green statement. But <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2018/01/24/electric-cars-shock-fossil-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lithium-ion battery prices have come down</a> from $1,160/kWh in 2010 to $171/kWh today, and are expected to be half that in the next five years. This has prompted big auto manufacturers to launch plug-in vehicles. The number of electric cars has doubled in the past two years – there are now <a href="https://www.iea.org/gevo2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five million electric cars in circulation worldwide.</a>Nepal’s dependence on imported petroleum is increasing every year, and with the completion of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">69km Motihari-Amlekhganj</a> fuel pipeline it is clear the government expects fossil fuel use to grow. However, Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/electri-city-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slashed taxes on electric vehicles</a> five years ago, and since the duty on imported cars is more than 260%, it has put the cost of electric cars at par with similar petrol or diesel vehicles.The batteries are now not just cheaper but have more energy density, meaning the newest electric SUVs give a range of 400-450km, enough to drive from Kathmandu to Biratnagar and still have lots of juice left.Six new battery-powered car models and eight two-wheeler brands are making their debut at this year’s NADA Auto Show 27 August–1 September. Says NADA President Sambhu Dahal: “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Be-smart-go-electric,3062" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The future of electric vehicles is very bright in Nepal</a> and the response has been outstanding. With the world going electric, Nepal will soon follow.”Indeed, Kia, Hyundai and Mahindra have seen a surge in customer demand and cannot keep up. Some are taking orders for delivery in December. Says Suhrid Ghimire from Kia Motors in Nepal: “We are being flooded with inquiries for our Niro electric SUV and are rerouting vehicles made for the UK market here to keep up with demand. Because diesel SUVs are taxed so high, electric vehicles are now competitive.”And where customer preference goes, banks follow. Laxmi Bank is unveiling its electric vehicle auto loan scheme at NADA. “Electric vehicles are becoming more appealing to consumers as tax on petroleum products increase. We hope our auto loan will make it feasible for consumers to go electric,” says Bharati Pandey of Laxmi Bank.Read Also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=31918&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More e-scooties for cleaner Kathmandu air</a>, Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=31851&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fully Charged</a>, Nepali TimesEven luxury car manufacturers like Audi are coming to the market with the high-end eTron model which at Rs17.5 million will cost more than double the Hyundai Kona or Kia Niro. Mahindra’s much smaller and affordable e2o Plus, with a price tag of Rs2.2 million, has dominated the Nepal electric car market for years, selling over 200 units.Even if private car owners switch to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-electric-transport-future-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battery-powered cars</a> it will not make much of a dent on air reducing air pollution and the petrol import bill. “Only switching to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric public transport</a> can Nepal  hope to reduce its carbon footprint,” says Bhushan Tuladhar of Sajha Yatayat, which is inducting 30 electric buses this year.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Electricity Authority</a> says it had surplus power this monsoon, and Nepal can stop import of electricity from India by 2021. If that is the case, the spread of electric vehicles will use locally available renewable energy instead of depending on imports. And the beauty of it is that the vehicles will charge at night when demand for power is lowest.     <img width="1000" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a53fe9c7e80680e05237ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="590" height="431" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54019c7e80680e05237fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="557" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54039c7e80680e052380jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="622" height="455" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54059c7e80680e052381jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="660" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54079c7e80680e052382jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="578" height="391" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a540a9c7e80680e052383jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="571" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a540c9c7e80680e052384jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="641" height="338" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a540e9c7e80680e052385jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="638" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a540f9c7e80680e052386jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="564" height="389" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54129c7e80680e052387jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="534" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54149c7e80680e052388jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="727" height="396" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54169c7e80680e052389jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="989" height="484" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54189c7e80680e05238ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="568" height="337" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a541b9c7e80680e05238bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="586" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a541c9c7e80680e05238cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="603" height="333" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a541f9c7e80680e05238djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1000" height="664" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54219c7e80680e05238ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="610" height="425" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54239c7e80680e05238fjpeg.jpg" alt="">Read Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/electri-city-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electri-city Cars</a>, Bhrikuti Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-electric-transport-future-is-here/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's electric transport future is here</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/20-electric-by-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20% electric by 2020</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/implementation-on-ev-friendly-policy-nil,2689" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electrified transportation</a>, Sahina Shrestha

Plug-ins

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

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum