What we know of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu Valley</a>’s history is mostly through epigraphs, the engraved inscriptions scattered around the Valley that document important events. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-historic-kathmandu-beneath-our-feet">These are mostly found above ground.</a> But underground, there is much more to be discovered about the waves of civilisations that thrived and waned in Kathmandu Valley over the past millennia.&nbsp; The fertile soil of the former lake bed was the source of Kathmandu's agricultural surplus and, along with its <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/putting-dolkha-back-on-the-map,3312">entrepôt status between India and Tibet</a>, a source of its wealth. The same soil also hides clues to the Valley’s past, but many of these archaeological sites are now built over with concrete houses and asphalt roads. &nbsp; The first exploration of Kathmandu Valley’s prehistory was carried out by R V Joshi but it did not yield any palaeolithic or microlithic relics. In 1965, S B Deo carried out an excavation in Manamaneswor near Hadigaon and Lazimpat that showed the earliest habitations were in the ‘early centuries of the Christian era’. But further digs by the Department of Archaeology (DoA) did not show new evidence of habitation. Then the DoA, with an Italian team from Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (IsMEO) jointly organised excavations and surveys in Hadigaon. The excavations at the Satya Narayan temple dated the earliest habitation of Kathmandu to the first century BCE, much earlier than previously thought. Now, the results of the expedition from 1984-1989 have been published in the new book Harigaon Revisited: Chronicle and Outcomes of an Excavation in Kathmandu by Giovanni Verardi with Dániel Balogh, Daniela De Simone and Elio Paparatti.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-historic-kathmandu-beneath-our-feet">The historic Kathmandu beneath our feet</a>, Sahina Shrestha The idea to revisit the 80s excavation and turn it into a book came as IsMEO itself was closed down. Its documentation of excavations, particularly the graphic and photographic materials, were archived at Museo Nazionale di Arte Orientale in Via Merulana, Rome. In 2016, the museum merged with Museo Nazinale Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini in Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, Rome, to form the new Museo delle CiviltàIn Rome where a large part of the documentation is kept, ‘waiting to be rearranged and usable’. While much of the book is technical results of the excavation, the first part provides a narrative of the fieldwork from a personal point of view of Giovanni Verardi, an archaeologist and Professor specialising in the civilisations of central Asia and India who was appointed the Director of the Nepali-Italian Archaeological Mission in 1988.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240301120340_3db207944131f4fef141161c056760bae59f887b0d2337048c88791638422335.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240301120340_3db207944131f4fef141161c056760bae59f887b0d2337048c88791638422335" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="794" loading="lazy" alt="Hadigaon"> <figcaption>The inscribed water conduit donated by Priyavarman in 749 AD.</figcaption> </figure>  Verardi remembers a different Kathmandu from today and says he found Nepali people to be "kind and cooperative" but the Ministry was "strict and severe" about the excavation. The team was obliged to write a daily report about their work and submit it to the DoA every afternoon. &nbsp;“Kathmandu back then was different,” said Verardi over the phone from Italy. “I returned to Nepal after many years in 2007/8 and then again two years ago, and was surprised by the transformation. I did not expect it to change so much.” Verardi spent a few months travelling across the Valley visiting old sites like Gokarna and Thankot with the Director General of DoA. With epigraphical inscriptions and Lain Singh Bangdel, then with the Royal Nepal Academy, identifying images found in Hadigaon to second century CE, the Satya Narayan temple seemed promising. Large areas were limited in number but Hadigaon was large enough for the team to conduct horizontal excavations to see if different kinds of buildings came out and they did get interesting results, like 898kg of ceramic materials. They were mostly broken pieces of pottery but 213 of them were intact vessels.&nbsp; More interesting were a Mathura-type sandstone fragments which were later determined to be a training weight. It depicts a scene of Lord Krishna slaying a horse demon Keshin. A water drain bearing the inscription dated 4 March 749 that says that one of the ancient names of the place was Andigrama, donated by Priyavarman to honour his deceased parents. The team also exposed a nine-pit structure which was named navakunda. Among the scholars who visited the site were Dhanavajra Vajracharya who had published Licchavikalaka Abhilekha and Prayag Raj Sharma, professor of history at Tribhuvan University who had assisted S B Deo during the excavation at Manamaeswor.&nbsp; It was not until Verardi came across a Mahayana silpa text, the Manjushrivastuvidyasastra, that it was established to be a part of a Buddhist stupa. The team found a few antiquities that were recognisable as Buddhist. One was a ‘conical sealing that on the bottom exhibited a stupa and an inscription in Licchavi characters’. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/restoring-a-piece-of-nepal-s-history">Restoring a piece of Nepal's history</a>, Sahina Shrestha &nbsp;Another was the handle of a terracotta lamp showing Aksobhya, one of the five Wisdom Buddhas. The book also dedicates a section to the restoration of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-historic-kathmandu-beneath-our-feet">Jayavarma statue which was found by chance in Maligaon in 1992</a>, near the Hadigaon excavation site. Elio Papparatti of the Nepali-Italian team restored the statue from twenty-three fragments and also made it earthquake proof. The statue is now housed at the National Museum. These and other discoveries clearly put Hadigaon as a place of archaeological and historical significance.&nbsp; But like much of Kathmandu, Hadigaon is also built up. While archeological finds were still being unearthed when digging foundations of new houses until a few years ago, the government has shown little interest in preserving the area for future research. Verardi says not all is yet lost. “There are still small areas where it would be possible to excavate in Hadigaon,” he says. "We already have a sequence so it would be much simpler to excavate compared to the 1980s.” &nbsp; Harigaon Revisited is an important documentation of an excavation that provide historical evidence that pre-date the earliest dates mentioned in known inscriptions. While some may argue that archaeological digs may be unnecessary given other inscriptions found in the Valley, the Hadigaon excavations demonstrated that the history of the Valley was much earlier than those dated by epigraphical evidence.&nbsp; Perhaps the only way for us to actually understand the real sequence of the earliest history of Kathmandu is through excavations. This book, though technical, will be useful for anyone interested in learning the prehistory of Nepal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240301120348_0e24ad7a92ef531466fb81ccd66ced772e6e8bedcdb6b2879d7342e1f71f422c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240301120348_0e24ad7a92ef531466fb81ccd66ced772e6e8bedcdb6b2879d7342e1f71f422c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1218" height="643" loading="lazy" alt="Hadigaon"> </figure>

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What lies below Hadigaon

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204489c7e80680e0b2853jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3072" height="2048"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMSI</figcaption></figure>In late December 2021, social and mainstream media in Nepal was abuzz with news of the discovery of a stone slab in Patan Darbar Square area that contained ancient inscriptions.Labourers working on the sewage system in front of the Bhimsen Temple came across the 1.5m high shilalekh in a layer of clay below cement pipes.At the top of the inscription were two deer facing a Dharma Chakra, indicating it to be a Buddhist engraving. A team led by epigraphists Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi and archeologist Prakash Darnal studied the inscription and the area, and have determined it to be around 1,400 years old. Rajbanshi says, the inscription mentions the date Licchavi Sambat 536, which corresponds to 613 CE.“It talks about a bihar built by Brish Dev and renovated by Amshuvarma,” explains Rajbanshi, taking the names of the Lichhavi-era kings. “Normally, inscriptions are kept in the periphery of the monuments, so it is probable that the structure was in that area.”When the inscription was unearthed, the glaze over it was gone and parts of the inscriptions were damaged by mud and cement, rendering it difficult to read. What is surprising is that it was installed using cement, meaning that there must have been an intervention in recent years.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/6372044c9c7e80680e0b2854jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Whoever did it must have known about its existence and yet chose to bury it under the ground. This is also an important part of our history, and it was buried for so long because of past carelessness,” says Rajbanshi.While studying the area, Darnal also found a wall that may be of archeological interest just 1.4m below the recently dug site. “Whether it is of the bihar or not is difficult to say without proper study but we have noted that it is of interest,” he says.Over the centuries, successive dynasties that ruled Kathmandu Valley left behind a legacy of palace complexes and temples, of which many from the Malla era are still standing. But very little is known about the earlier phases of Kathmandu’s history, especially subsurface archeological heritage.Recent <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/buddhas-birthday-in-his-birthplace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">excavations in Lumbini</a> have uncovered pre-brick structures below standing remains, which suggest that before the development of non-durable buildings there were already structures with non-fired bricks present.Experts say that is also likely in Kathmandu Valley with its historical settlements and the presence of inscriptions dating back to the 4th century CE. Historical chronicles also state that sites like Pashupati were built as far back as the 3rd century, suggesting that there may be more to uncover below these ancient sites. But unplanned and haphazard urbanisation in Kathmandu, and the lack of political and community will are destroying our past.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/buddhas-birthday-in-his-birthplace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Buddha's birthday in his birthplace</a>, Nepali TimesIn his travelogue,<a href="https://books.google.fr/books?id=EzIDSAdG-wgC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;hl=fr&amp;source=gbs_ge_summary_r&amp;cad=0#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> An Account of Tibet The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S.J. 1712- 1727</a>, Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri who visited Kathmandu in 1721, mentions a plain stretching two miles (believed to be Tundikhel) near a pond. He writes, ‘There are many pyramids, or towers … dedicated to their Gods.’If it is indeed Tundikhel that Desideri describes, there are only two of the ‘many’ temples remaining in the vicinity, the Bhadrakali temple in the eastern side and the Mahankal temple on the western edge. Others may have been destroyed or buried over the years,  the remains of which may still be around.“Ground levels in cities rise overtime as new structures are built over the rubble of older ones that have collapsed or been abandoned  due to various reasons like fire or in case of Kathmandu Valley, earthquakes,” explains Rohit Ranjitkar of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), who did his PhD in heritage restoration.The Pantheon in Rome was built on the site of another structure built around 27 BCE, but was destroyed in a fire. It was restored around 80 CE, but was again burnt to the ground after being struck by lightning 30 years later. It was later restored in 128 CE. Much of this information is found through painstaking archaeological work and historical records.The centres of other European cities like Athens and Pompeii also have carefully preserved sites for archaeological digs.In Kathmandu, the dabali across the Nautale Darbar, Basantapur has two chaitya more than 1m below current ground level. In front of the Kumari Ghar in Kathmandu Darbar Square, workers came across the finial of a <a href="https://youtu.be/w6oor-FChfs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chiba</a> while building a road 15 years ago. This finial is still visible and the area has been encased in metal bars. These sites have also shown how the ground level has risen in Kathmandu over the centuries after being built over.Ranjitkar says the dabali was actually a part of the palace before the 1934 earthquake. The houses there were damaged, but instead of repairing them, the palace complex was restructured, leaving the area open to make it easier for Prime Minister Judda Shamsher to manoeuvre his car. There were other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandus-temple-restoration-after-1934-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">subtle and not-so-subtle changes to the Darbar Squares</a> after the 1934 earthquake.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandus-temple-restoration-after-1934-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu's temple restoration after 1934 quake</a>, Sahina ShresthaKathmandu Valley has a history of earthquakes every 60-70 years. Early history of the Valley has been known from textual sources like inscriptions from 4th century CE onwards, manuscript colophons after 8th century CE, and archives like the <a href="https://archive.org/details/GopalarajaVamsavaliDhanavajraVajracaryaAndKamalP..Malla/page/n7/mode/2up">Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī</a>.  These chronicles provide a regular recording of earthquakes including those in 1224, 1255, 1260, 1344, 1408, 1618, 1767, 1823, 1833, 1834, 1869, 1916 and 1934 – and prove the contention of seismologists about the Himalayan tectonics. While the accounts of earlier earthquakes are generalised, there are more details available for the earthquakes of 1833 and 1934.After the 1934 earthquake, the Bhandarkhal garden in the backyard of Patan Darbar was used to deposit debris from the palace complex and nearby areas. For years, no one cared to clean up the rubble and the garden lay dilapidated as the palace itself was used for government offices.When <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2011/04/05/797/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">KVPT was working to restore the Bhandarkhal pond</a> in Patan Darbar Square in 2009, it discovered that the ground level of the area before the 1934 earthquake was much lower. The pond was in a dilapidated condition. There was a brick wall on the upper level that was built after the 1934 earthquake to contain the debris deposited in the garden. While working on the pond the team discovered the original base of the outer wall of the pond.“This gave us an idea of the historic pre-1934 ground level, so we cleared up the entire garden to preserve that,” says Ranjitkar. One can see how high the ground was after the 1934 earthquake by looking at the trees. The team built a substructure to support and preserve the trees that had grown over the raised area. While clearing up the debris, they also discovered ancient stone artefacts currently kept in the Patan Museum garden.Even after the restoration of pre-1934 level, one can see more layers underneath which could contain relics of debris from previous earthquakes. Says Ranjitkar: “When we excavated in Bhandarkhal garden, we found pockets of structure made of stone that were bigger than the ones that were in use at the time. This shows that there is a lot to learn about Kathmandu’s subsurface heritage.”After the 2015 earthquake, a team from Durham University in coordination with UNESCO and the Nepal government, conducted Ground Penetrating Radar Survey and geo-archaeological analysis of the three Darbar Square areas of Kathmandu Valley. It was determined that Kasthamandap which was thought to be a 12th century structure was actually built in the 7th century. The team also found that in all three palaces the subsurface level had been intruded by modern utilities like water, sewage and electric cables.The team has produced a provisional risk map of all three palace complexes highlighting possible archeological sites. The report has highlighted some areas in red as High Risk where there should be no intrusive development whatsoever.  Yellow areas are Moderate Risk where construction  should be avoided if possible, and Low Risk where development can take place but should be as non-intrusive as possible and fully reversible (see box).After the 2015 earthquake, UNESCO and the Department of Archaeology (DoA) also made an <a href="https://youtu.be/PstfEuTJmUA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">emergency intervention at the Tashi Gomang Stupa (Mangal Bahudwar Chaitya) in Swayambhu</a>, where they found that inside the stucco stupa was another stupa with sculptures and terracotta closely resembling those found at Mahabouddha in Patan. This could indicate that the inner stupa could be from a similar timeframe.The discovery of the hidden chaitya could also prove that the practice of adding layers, creating a multi-shell structure – something characteristic of the larger mahachaitya – also occurred in smaller stupas.Kathmandu’s Handigaon is perhaps the best known site related to the Lichhavi era, and is considered to be the capital of the dynasty. The area has been studied a few times since the 1960s and many 1,300 year old terracotta figures and pottery have been found here, including an inscription dating back to King Amshuvarma.In 1989, an Italian team from ISMEO conducted an excavation at Satya Narayan temple in Handigaun which indicated that the earliest habitation activity in Kathmandu was in the 1st century BCE. Along with other archeological artefacts, a stone conduit dating back to 726 CE in the time of King Priya Varman was also discovered. A life-size stone statue of Jaya Varma was also discovered with an inscription dating back to the 2nd century CE from nearby Maligaun.Many scholars including conservation architect Sudarshan Raj Tiwari believe that the fabled Kailashkut Bhawan was in this area. This was Lichhavi King Amshuverma’s palace built in 598 CE, and so big that Chinese monk Xuanzang who visited Kathmandu at the time chronicled that its upper chamber could hold 1,000 people.“When we were looking for Kailashkut Bhawan, we found traces of archeological deposits inside the Balmandir complex. We are not sure if it is indeed the historical structure, but we also do not know if it is not,” says Tiwari. "Archeologists think that small traces aren't enough proof of anything, they need an entire wall to say that a building was there. But that is not the case because a lot of these places have been disturbed."However, Handigaun is being rapidly built up with residential houses and office blocks. The DoA has said there are traces of the ancient palace in Handigaun but has not moved to protect the site.Adds Tiwari: “The first thing that needs to be done is building restrictions in archaeological sites. We have been telling the government to control construction in Handigaun for years but nothing has happened. When we did the ground radar survey recently, we had to do it on the road.”Even there, the team discovered that the areas under the ground had been disturbed with water pipes and other cable conduits.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/6372044e9c7e80680e0b2855jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="574"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Handigaun is not an isolated case. In 1984, while constructing the subway at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/water-of-the-ages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bhotahiti</a>, an ancient system with four water conduits was discovered. One of the conduits which was facing east had an inscription dating back to 596 CE saying it was constructed by Bibhu Varman during the rule of King Amshuvarma. The other three facing west and north were from the Malla era. Water was still flowing from the spouts when they were unearthed.But instead of preserving them, the municipality extracted the stone water spouts and stored them in the National Museum in Chhauni. The area was build over with an underpass that no one uses, but water is still seeping out through the concrete from this ancient system.Bhotahiti was among the seven water spouts in the area, and locals say it was first buried during the expansion of Tundikhel by the Ranas in the 1880s.Some 80m north from Bhotahiti towards Jamal is another sunken water spout called Jhanga Hiti which was covered over in 1981 after a local football team got permission to build its clubhouse over the historic site. The lower levels of the building now have shops while the football club has offices and meeting halls on the upper floors.Locals also say that another sunken water spout lies buried under the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) building east of Ratna Park.“History is layered, both metaphorically and literally,” says heritage documentarian and activist Alok Siddhi Tuladhar. “While it is understandable that things were destroyed during the Rana regime, it is sad that the same happened and continues to happen when we have people’s representatives running the government.”Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/water-of-the-ages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Water of the ages</a>, Alok Siddhi TuladharWhen it comes to conservation of these sites, ownership also plays an important role. Ancient pottery and terracotta have been found when digging foundations of buildings in Handigaun. Tiwari says that because people do not want to be bothered with delays in construction, they never report the finds.In 1989, an inscription dating 536 of the Licchavi era was discovered in Baluwagaun near Gokarna which mentioned the presence of a Rajbihar as well as a village, making the area of archeological significance.Archaeologist Prakash Darnal remembers that a house was being built over the find, and when the Village Development Committee was asked to stop construction, officials said nothing could be done because it was private property. A stone water conduit was found while digging the foundation of a private house in Hattisar, and that construction also could not be stopped.Heritage experts say public awareness as well as political will is necessary to save Kathmandu’s historical sites both beneath the ground as much as above the ground.“We explore and excavate to see if there is anything in the subsurface. But once it is done, it doesn’t mean the job is finished,” says Sudarshan Tiwari. “The reports have to be accessible, and in a language that is understandable by general public. This way people will become more aware about the value of protection.“The government then has to implement the recommendations and specify the limitations. Everyone needs to take the conservation of these sites seriously,” he adds.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/where-siddhartha-gautam-walked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Where Siddhartha Gautam walked</a>, Robin Coningham<h2>What is beneath Kathmandu's Darbar Squares?</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204519c7e80680e0b2856jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="458"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204549c7e80680e0b2857jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="476">Provisional risk map for Kathmandu Darbar Square (left) and Bhaktapur Darbar Square (right). Source: POST-DISASTER URBAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION, EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTYArchaeological investigation of the Kathmandu Darbar Square area by UNESCO, Durham University and the Nepal government after the 2015 earthquake classified the World Heritage Site into three zones for protection of subsurface relics of archaeological significance. It recommended:Red ‘High Risk’ areas contain the most important archaeological remains at the site and are of significance not only to understand the development of a specific Darbar Square, but also the wider Kathmandu Valley and beyond. There should be no further development in these areas, and any existing modern structures should wherever possible be removed.Yellow ‘Moderate Risk’ areas contain (or may contain) archaeological remains that can inform us about the development of a specific Darbar Square. Development in these areas should be kept to a minimum, in accordance with an Archaeological Watching Brief.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204569c7e80680e0b2858jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="609" height="860"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Green ‘Low Risk’ areas contain minor or no archaeological remains, which may be able to inform us about the development of a specific Darbar Square. Development in these areas is possible, but should be undertaken in accordance with an Archaeological Watching Brief.

The historic Kathmandu beneath our feet

Nepal’s September protests and regime change created two major unexpected costs that Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s interim government is scrambling to deal with: reconstruction of destroyed government buildings, and holding elections on 5 March.
The buck stops at the desk of economist and former bureaucrat Minister of Finance Rameshore Khanal about where and how to spend limited resources.
“Rameshore-ji is a fresh face and the right person for the role. He is capable and interested, and he knows the system,” says Kalpana Khanal of the Policy Research Institute (PRI).
But Minister Khanal has to grapple not just with the immediate budgeting needs for elections and reconstruction, but also initiate longer term measures to restore investor confidence badly dented by arson and vandalism of 9 September, and mend the economy.
Immediately after taking office, he had set up a three-member task force to cut programs and free up budget to meet immediate expenses.
“We have to hold elections and we have to reconstruct. Both need money, and they are equal priorities for us,” said Ministry of Finance spokesperson Tanka Prasad Pandey. “It is important to find these funds internally, and not look to aid from abroad.”
But Minister Khanal flew into heavy flak last week for his decision to restore investor confidence by giving a strategic capital gains tax break to Nepal’s only foreign private equity fund.
The Mauritius-based Dolma Impact Fund has invested venture capital into Nepal’s hydropower, construction and biotech sectors as well as solar farms and hospitals. It said in a statement that its capital gains are only taxable in Mauritius as per its double-taxation avoidance agreement with Nepal, which predates and overrides the Income Tax Act of 2002 subsequent to the Treaty Act 1990.
“When you have investors from all over the world, you have to choose a domicile and Mauritius is probably the most popular for development finance institutions due to strong governance, AML, and treaties with developing countries like Nepal,” Tim Dolma Investment told Nepali Times on the phone from London.
He added: “Last June we applied for the government to uphold its treaty with Mauritius which under all country laws including Nepal treaty act supersedes any disagreement with domestic laws. But there were delays. It was when the new government decided to uphold the treaty that the whole hoo-hah started.”
Leaks to the media possibly by bureaucrats fearful of being hauled over the coals by the CIAA has set financial circles abuzz for the past week. The Internal Revenue Office refused to grant the exemption, citing the 2002 Act.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki asked Chief Secretary Eaknarayan Aryal for clarification, and learnt that the Cabinet’s decision was not official since it was not recorded in the minutes.
“We were raising a fund that could have brought $1 billion in for energy and we had to stop it due to the reputational damage to Nepal by not upholding an international treaty,” said Gocher.
Gocher added: “Under Nepal’s Treaty Act, if there is ever disagreement between an international treaty and domestic law, then international treaty takes precedence so it is crystal clear and the way international treaties are dealt with all over the world.”
Some experts worry that gifting the fund such perks can set a dangerous precedent and a loss in tax revenue. Professor and economist Pushkar Bajracharya says: “The most important thing is to have a consistent policy about tax cuts and not do it piece-by-piece. Besides, the evidence just isn’t strong that tax cuts lead to higher investment, or more jobs.”
Others hark back to the capital gains dispute of the sale of Ncell ownership, which went to the Supreme Court and all the way to the international tribunal in The Hague.
Khanal has said privately that he is responding to the damage to Nepal’s investment climate from the dramatic visuals beamed worldwide of an international hotel chain and government buildings set ablaze in September. Western embassies are also said to be lobbying to allow Dolma tax exemption and smooth profit repatriation.
There are tradeoffs. Private equity funds like Dolma could funnel foreign funds more efficiently towards successful Nepali companies than the government, which is slowed down by many layers of bureaucracy. The downstream multiplier effect of such investments would outweigh taxes to the government since much of it is misused and wasted.
For example, the government is not taxing income in FY 25/26 generated by the US-funded $697 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) projects to build transmission lines and upgrade highways.
Strategic tax exemptions do provide incentives to investors, to make sure these projects are carried out effectively, which in turn helps Nepal’s development which has been affected by corruption and mismanagement.
The main demand of the GenZ protests that led to the downfall of the government coalition two months ago was to control corruption and make government more efficient so there is investment and job creation. The interim government seems to be responding to that sentiment.
The Dolma issue has distracted from the larger and longer-term need to reform the country’s financial systems and streamline public expenditure. How to reduce corruption and spur development is going to be the main agenda for elections, and the criteria by which voters will select candidates and parties.
TASKED FORCE
Shortly after Rameshore Khanal was appointed he set up a three member task force made up of the heads of Budget and Program, Foreign Aid, and Revenue Management Divisions. The team sent through the budget culling items DOGE-style — projects deemed ‘inadequately prepared,’ ‘fragmented,’ or ‘included through political pressure.’
Khanal hoped to save up to Rs100 billion by cutting all projects less than Rs30 million. However, such a slash and burn method would hurt rural and remote area projects for health and education more, and much bigger corruption-ridden infrastructure projects would be unscathed.&nbsp;
Says Bajracharya, “There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of low-return programs in the budget that are there because of political or personal influence. But the criteria for cutting them needs to be properly defined. Doing it arbitrarily is unacceptable.”&nbsp;
Kalpana Khanal of the Policy Research Institute was involved in the taskforce, and explains: “The decision to mobilise internal funds is a pragmatic move to fund elections and reconstruction.”
However, she also singles out the massively-funded Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport as being particularly problematic: “Time and cost overruns are historically the norm, and many are ‘vote bank’ projects that are politically motivated rather than done for return on investment.”
For example, politicians use their influence to build roads to their home districts to secure popularity even if the funds would have been better spent elsewhere.
“Another problem is the amount of funds that are transferred randomly for things that outside the budget,” continues Khanal.
Bajracharya adds, “While reconstruction and elections are big financial commitments, Nepal could easily find the funds. Cancelling low impact programs is a good move by the ministry of finance, and another option could have been to raise customs or taxes by a few percent. The main problem is that a huge amount of funds are lost to corruption.”
Kalpana Khanal and Dilli Raj Khanal co-authored a technical report last year titled Improving Public Expenditure System in Nepal: Critical Areas of Reform which did a forensic examination of such wasteful projects.
The conclusion: recommendation to have stricter accountability measures in place to check the actual use of funds and merit-based appointments in the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, and the CIAA.
The technocrats in Prime Minister Karki’s cabinet resonate with the latter point. Nepal is so entrenched in the ‘afno manche’ culture of nepotism and connections that it has become the norm.
The report also refers to the well-known off-budget ‘re-allocations’ of big outlays during the seventh and first months of the fiscal year that undermine in-built check and balance. Almost a quarter of the budget is spent in the last month, which results in low quality and low impact work.
The authors call for reward and punishment systems to prevent these practices. The CIAA could also be supercharged to build transparency into the digital Line Ministry Budget Information System, instead of being an agency for political vendetta.

Nepal needs to use its money better

At the opening plenary of COP30, which stands for the convolutedly named 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Belém on Tuesday, Nepal brought up the threats to the Himalayan watershed. Nepal’s delegate Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also spoke on behalf of Bhutan and Bangladesh after the three countries formally called for tripling grant-based adaptation financing from 2015 levels to at least $120 billion per year by 2030, and to ensure a more simplified, scaled-up access to finance their National Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts. “Bhutan has already graduated from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, while Bangladesh and Nepal are in the process of graduation,” said Mishra. “Graduation reflects development progress, but does not reduce our climate vulnerability nor the scale of support required to safeguard development gains.” The Loss &amp; Damage Fund is also finally coming into effect, so countries can now apply for $5-20 million to make up for damage from climate impact. But claiming damage and linking disasters to climate breakdown has not been an easy process. “When a 200MW hydropower plant is destroyed by a glacial flood, it is a big loss for Nepal’s GDP. Every megawatt costs us $20 million to build,” says energy entrepreneur Kushal Gurung. “Our lobbying should be top-notch, and hydropower can make a good case for us.” Belém marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement that brought the world together to pledge to keep global average temperature to ‘well below’ 2°C above pre-industrial levels and limit it to 1.5°C.&nbsp; COP has also returned to Brazil after 30 years of the Rio Conference in 1995. Since then there have been numerous summits, which have been criticised for being just hot air and being hosted by fossil-fuel exporting countries like UAE and Uzbekistan. Belém was selected because it is a gateway to the Amazon, but Brazil has now also become a major oil producer after new offshore finds. A recent report shows that compared to 2019, the world is set to reduce its emissions by 12% in 2035 if countries are to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions even though the figure needs to go up to 40% to meet temperature targets. There has been progress. Before the Paris Agreement the world was on a path for 4°C increase during this century, and this has now come down to 2.5°C because of the clean energy transition. But a lot more needs to be done to meet the Paris 1.5°C target. “This progress is proof that multilateralism is working, it is delivering,” Manjeet Dhakal of the Climate Analytics South Asia told us from Belém. “Having said that, it is simply not enough. Emissions need to go down much further, and a lot of it is tied to developed countries providing climate finance to do so.” Many developing countries have adopted ‘conditional NDCs’ which means their emission reduction targets cannot be met without international climate finance. In its third NDC, Nepal set a target of a 17.1% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions and 26.8% by 2035. But achieving that has a price tag of &nbsp;$73.74 billion, with much of it from international climate finance. UNDERFINANCED However, the climate for climate finance is getting worse. The United States has exited from the Paris Agreement for the second time under President Trump, and there are cutbacks in foreign aid by European funders. Even so, the EU has committed to reducing its emissions by 90% in the next 15 years, 85% of which will be domestic emission cuts. The silver lining in all this is that the leadership in climate action is increasingly being taken by Nepal’s neighbours China and India with both investing heavily in renewable energy. China is the world leader in solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles, and Nepal has already taken strategic advantage of this.&nbsp; With expensive hydropower plants increasingly at risk from glacial lake outburst floods, experts say Nepal must diversify its energy mix and invest in solar power which has 10 times more potential than hydropower at 432 gigawatts with over 300 days of sunshine a year. Solar farms can also power pump storage, which are cheaper and quicker to build.&nbsp; China has drastically reduced the cost of photovoltaic cells, making such schemes more feasible. Nepal just needs to ease up its restrictive domestic energy policies, boost investment and resist geopolitical pressure on electricity generation. “First, we need to increase the cap on solar energy from 10% to 30%, and next, the bidding process should be made easier, or just have the first past the post system like that for hydropower,” says Kushal Gurung. The disadvantage of solar power is that it generates only daytime energy, but this can be solved with grid-scale battery storage or pump storage. But first, the government needs to fix the rate for solar purchase so that entrepreneurs are incentivised. “This is not happening because our government officials and engineers are comfortable dealing with hydropower, and are not just updated about the latest advances,” says Gurung. “As a result, we have no clear policies when it comes to solar.” Hydropower has become one of the biggest industries in Nepal with an installed capacity of over 3,400MW and the government’s target is to produce 28,500MW in the next ten years. But the recent climate disasters have made it clear that relying only on hydropower alone is too risky. The Nepal-Tibet glacial flood in July destroyed and damaged four hydropower plants and substations along the Bhote Kosi, and last September’s floods slashed the country’s total generation by half. Nepal now needs to build on the widespread adoption of battery-powered vehicles by extending it to electric public transport and for household appliances like stoves, rice cookers and refrigerators. Not only would this reduce Nepal’s per capita carbon footprint, but it would also reduce the country’s annual Rs300 billion petroleum import bill. At global platforms like UNFCCC, it is easy even for individual developed countries to get lost without an alliance. Now that Nepal is graduating from LDC status, it needs to have strong partners with a common goal to move forward in international negotiations. Says Kushal Gurung: “We won’t have privilege that came with LDC status anymore, which means climate finance will be even more limited. But there are a few things we can urgently do on our own like regulating the carbon credit market.”&nbsp; This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251118101116_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251118101116_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali Times SDG"> </figure>

Global warning bell in Belém

Youth protestors who sustained injuries at the hands of state security forces during the September protest staged a sit-in at Maitighar Mandala on Friday, protesting what they have called the interim government’s inadequate efforts to address the demands of the GenZ movements. The demonstrators also sought to bar the UML from gathering at Maitighar, where party chair K P Oli was expected to announce its Youth Volunteer Force on Friday. The organisers consequently relocated the event. Friday’s demonstration at Maitighar comes as UML and GenZ representatives agreed to sit down for talks in Simara, where a curfew was imposed this week after youth protestors and party cadres clashed near the airport as demonstrators sought to stop UML leaders from flying in for a political event to Simara from Kathmandu.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251121131148_c0b3bfb861f73bee456efbd12f523af55ce3c258742c39e1dea7dbf768774ea5.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251121131148_c0b3bfb861f73bee456efbd12f523af55ce3c258742c39e1dea7dbf768774ea5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2160" height="1440" loading="lazy" alt="GenZ Maitighar"> <figcaption>Youth protestors who sustained injuries at the hands of state security forces during the September protest staged a sit-in at Maitighar Mandala on Friday. Photos: SUBASH SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251121131152_85f3606728d137b334d782ac1b5d1ed6383544493f96ebcc0398fcd9f0c5add7.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251121131152_85f3606728d137b334d782ac1b5d1ed6383544493f96ebcc0398fcd9f0c5add7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2160" height="1439" loading="lazy" alt="GenZ Maitighar"> </figure>  &nbsp;Nepal’s interim government is increasingly cautious about the nation’s sensitive security situation in the lead-up to the 5 March election, as evidenced by pro-monarchy businessman Durga Prasai’s midnight arrest earlier this week over his inflammatory remarks as he called for protests this month. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to present Prasai before the court within 24 hours.&nbsp; As it stands, the UML’s inauguration of a youth collective amidst its disregard for the demands of Nepalis for party reforms and a change in leadership highlights party chair and former PM K P Oli’s continued lack of remorse for the excesses of 8 September.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251121131144_aaa296e2e812ef5f6473064bc4b679bf605e14e06ac0ec9be1d6d047b56f96f9.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251121131144_aaa296e2e812ef5f6473064bc4b679bf605e14e06ac0ec9be1d6d047b56f96f9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2560" height="1707" loading="lazy" alt="UML Youth Volunteer Force NT"> <figcaption>The UML launched its Youth Volunteer Force on Friday. Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251121131148_bfa8df3fc382195b4cdb9c4804cd67e169d2d9c0b8d218e61bbef0c4c9dbdaad.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251121131148_bfa8df3fc382195b4cdb9c4804cd67e169d2d9c0b8d218e61bbef0c4c9dbdaad" data-rendition-name="original" width="2560" height="1706" loading="lazy" alt="UML Youth Volunteer Force"> </figure>  Families of those killed and injured on 8 September have demanded that the ousted PM and home minister be held accountable for state brutality.&nbsp; This week, Human Rights Watch published a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/11/19/nepal-unlawful-use-of-force-during-gen-z-protest" target="_blank">comprehensive report</a> concluding that security forces fired indiscriminately on youth-led protestors on 8 September.&nbsp; The human rights watchdog urged the Sushila Karki-led interim government to investigate the excessive use of force as well as arson, vandalism and mob attacks on individuals on 9 September. The government has created a judicial commission to inquire into the deaths of 76 people over two days of protests.&nbsp; “The recent violence in Nepal included serious human rights violations, and those responsible should be held accountable, whether they are security forces or political actors,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.&nbsp; She added: “The government should ensure that the investigations are independent, time-bound, and transparent, and that no one found responsible for breaking the law is unfairly protected from proper prosecution.” HRW’s investigation was based on testimony from 52 witnesses, victims, journalists, healthcare workers, politicians, and sources close to security forces. Researchers also verified photos and video footage shared on social media and with researchers; and visited the scenes of protests, properties subjected to arson and vandalism, and hospitals.&nbsp; A police officer said that officers opened fire with lethal force five minutes after the District Administration Office declared an emergency curfew around Parliament. Witness accounts and analysed footage did not show grave and imminent danger to life that would justify the intentional use of lethal force, stated the human rights watchdog in the report.&nbsp; The protestors and witnesses identified security forces who fired live ammunition at the protestors by their uniforms as members of the Armed Police Force (APF) and Nepal Police’s Special Task Force (STF). &nbsp; “They literally aimed at us and started shooting,” said one witness who sheltered behind a barricade as police continued shooting.&nbsp; A retired senior police official said police had failed to follow procedures for dispersing protests and using lethal force.&nbsp; Pathologists at a Kathmandu morgue told HRW that they determined 35 cases of death caused by “high velocity gunshot wounds” to the head, neck, chest, or abdomen.&nbsp; The witness recounted being taken into custody along with 33 other protestors by STF officers in riot gear, and said that police police personnel beat him with batons. Detainees were threatened and their IDs destroyed. Several witnesses said that the mob attacks on businesses, politicians, media companies, and educational institutions were very targeted, noting the absence of security personnel on 9 September as arson and violence raged across the capital.&nbsp; Some suggested that the violence may have been instigated by infiltrators associated with various political movements.&nbsp; On Discord, the platform where a significant number of demonstrators organised, participants noted that while there were calls for peaceful movement in the days leading up to the protest, some on the platform advocated for violence.&nbsp; Human Rights Watch has said that any credible allegations of criminal acts contributing to the violence must be investigated.&nbsp; Said Ganguly: “The authorities should recognise that widespread impunity for human rights violations in the past helped enable the violence that occurred this time in Nepal. It is crucial to reverse the decades-long tendency by successive governments in Nepal to bury investigations and stall prosecutions, and to bring about accountability and security sector reform.”

Security forces targeted protestors disproportionately: HRW

As people move out of Nepal’s trans-Himalayan districts, their faiths migrate with them to the cities and all over the world. The ancient animist faith of Bon Po predates the advent of Buddhism in Tibet, and its last remaining priests and devotees are found in villages like Lubra in Mustang and Samling in Dolpo. But as those villages empty out, Bon centres can now be found as far afield as Kathmandu, New York and Tokyo. The first Triten Norbutse Monastery was founded in Tibet in the 14th century by the Bon Master Shen Nyima Gyaltsen. Its monastery in Nepal is below the forested hills of Ichangu on the western outskirts of Kathmandu.&nbsp; Many are surprised to hear that there is a Bon centre in Kathmandu, and that it is located so close to Swayambhu. This Triten monastery was established by Yongzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche only 40 years ago to cater to adherents of the faith who lived in the capital. True to its reverence for nature, the shrine is verdant, with plants and flowers amidst a contrasting backdrop of Kathmandu’s ugly urban sprawl below. The monastery practices Bon culture and passes on teachings to students as well, who after completing 15 years of study graduate to become ‘Gese’.&nbsp; It is believed that Bon Po was brought to Nepal from Tibet by Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. Over the centuries, Bon and Buddhism have become syncretic in Dolpo and Mustang, despite the differences in their belief systems. Followers worship nature and consider the human body, speech and mind as jewels. The human body is said to be composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and the cosmos.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111148_ce5d50db6757c4f5a7259c10d2879ee5f5b7b990e987bf3734378ba464afc9d5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251113111148_ce5d50db6757c4f5a7259c10d2879ee5f5b7b990e987bf3734378ba464afc9d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="5712" height="4284" loading="lazy" alt="The Bon Po way of life NT"> </figure>  The Bon faith was much more widespread during the reigns of Nyathi Chenpo, the first king of Tibet to Namri Srongchen, the 32nd king. But it was after King Srongchen Gompo that Buddhism started making inroads on the plateau, and spread also in the Himalayan rimlands. There are also Bon followers in Humla, Jumla, Baglung, Mugu, Kaski and Chitwan, as well as in the United States and 50 other countries, indicating the movement of people within Nepal and outside.&nbsp; The Bon religion believes in reincarnation and that everything, including positive and negative thoughts are a result of past life karma. Buddhism focuses more on attaining Nirvana, a state of no suffering, where the subject is released from all his/her karmas. Bon has also inducted some Tantric practices and rituals, some of which are in parts similar, yet still different from Buddhism.&nbsp; “In Buddhist culture, circumambulation of shrines is clockwise, but in Bon culture, circumambulation is in an anticlockwise direction,” explains Chhiring Lama of Triten Norbutse Monastery. “The main Bon mantra is Om Ma Tri Mu Ye Sa Le Du, while followers of Buddhism chant Om Mani Padme Hum. Buddhism emphasises enlightenment by meditation and moral behaviour, while Bon beliefs centre on nature and ancestor worship, and placating the spirits. In religious texts, it is mentioned that there were 1,008 Buddhas throughout time. Tonpa Shenrab is believed to be the 8th Buddha, and Bon practitioners are guided by his teachings contained in 140 sacred writings known as Kangyur and 300 more scriptures known as Katen.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111152_9813ce72805941af4b3bfb3c80c7e45ffc8aca4f2612eb967e84204f3a28bc07.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251113111152_9813ce72805941af4b3bfb3c80c7e45ffc8aca4f2612eb967e84204f3a28bc07" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="The Bon Po way of life NT"> </figure>  “We worship nature and its elements and the prayer flags contain religious texts and when the wind blows through it we consider it a prayer,” says Chhiring Lama. “We also worship ponds for the water and consider fire as a sacred element as well. We also consider snakes sacred, therefore worship ponds, considering them as the place of residence.” The interdependence between human beings and nature is clearly depicted through such traditions and practices which carry relevance today as the planet faces the crisis of climate breakdown.&nbsp; Important gods worshiped include Satrig Ersang, Shenlha Okar, Sangpo Bumtri, and Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche. But what is similar to Buddhism is an offering known as ‘torma’, a cone shaped ritual offering made from flour dough. Many Bon faithful are vegetarian, or abstain from meat during festivals.&nbsp; Over time, the rise of Buddhism in Tibet and beyond overshadowed Bon, pushing many of its practices to the margins. Yet, the tradition continues to live on, carried by those who see in it a deep connection to nature, the spirit world, and the roots of Tibetan culture.&nbsp; In many ways, the endurance of Bon is a reminder that even the quietest faiths hold timeless truths, waiting to be remembered and valued. Followers of Bon today are far fewer, and the knowledge about its traditions is not as widespread.&nbsp; “As time goes on, people adopt rituals and cultures that are more convenient to their daily lives,” says Chhiring Lama. “But that means forgetting or leaving behind one’s indigenous and ancestral roots.”

archaeological-heritage

What lies below Hadigaon

The historic Kathmandu beneath our feet

Nepal needs to use its money better

Global warning bell in Belém

Security forces targeted protestors disproportionately: HRW

The Bon Po way of life