Prime Minister K P Oli returned from his China visit in December with the freshly re-inked<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/china-syndrome"> Belt and Road Initiative Framework Cooperation Agreement</a>.&nbsp;
Ten infrastructure projects proposed by Nepal were approved by China as part of the BRI deal which will fund projects through ‘aid-assistance’, a wordage used to get around political sensitivity about more loans from China.
One of them is the ambititious <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/which-way-will-the-tibet-nepal-railway-go">Kerung-Kathmandu Railway</a>, with financing, geotechnical and geopolitical challenges. Nepal sought better connectivity with China after the 2015 earthquake-blockade crisis as a way to counterbalance India’s dominance.
China was looking to expand its sphere of influence in South Asia, and got Nepal to already sign the BRI framework in 2017 which included extending its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity">Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network </a>to Kathmandu.&nbsp;
Not to be outdone, India signed a MoU in 2018 with Nepal to survey the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/birganj-waits-for-the-boom">proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu railway</a>, followed by another agreement in 2021 to prepare a Detailed Project Report. Konkan Railway Corporation handed over its Final Location Survey (FLS) to the Nepal government in 2023.
“We have added our comments and feedback to the draft after review and sent it to India, but haven’t got back the final report,” says Kamal Kumar Shah of Nepal’s Department of Railways. The 141km long broad gauge railway will reportedly include 42km of tunnels, 124 bridges, and 13 stations, and will cost more than $3 billion.&nbsp;
More expensive and difficult will be the trans-Himalayan railway that is an extension of China’s Lhasa-Xigatse line. A Chinese pre-feasibility proposed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-light-at-end-of-trans-himalayan-train-tunnel">tunnels between Kerung to Kathmandu below Langtang National Park</a>. The tunnel will have to spiral to offset the gradient drop from 4,000m on the Tibetan Plateau to 1,400m in Kathmandu. More than 98% of the 73km standard gauge railway will burrow under the Himalaya, costing $5.5 billion.
A feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway by Chinese consultants is underway, and is expected to be completed by June 2026. The team is drilling into the mountains for the geotechnical investigation.&nbsp;
The northern rail alignment is expected to face delays because of land compensation and environmental concerns.
For China, the trans-Himalayan railway has strategic connectivity value that goes beyond Nepal to facilitate a future non-maritime trade route with India. China is India’s biggest trade partner and its ocean route could be affected by tension in South China Sea.&nbsp;
Ultimately, the Kerung-Kathmandu railway will have a terminal at Tokha, while the Raxaul-Kathmandu line will approach from the south at Chobhar.&nbsp;
“As far as technical challenges are concerned, there are no limitations as such to connect China and India via railway, should both countries be open to it,” says infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya. "But there have been strong reservations from India, apparently due to geopolitical concerns, as already manifested in its opposition to the BRI.”
Despite a trans-Himalayan rail line also being in India’s interest, the present geopolitical climate is not conducive to cooperation to improve connectivity. &nbsp;New Delhi refuses to buy electricity from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">hydropower</a> project in Nepal with Chinese involvement, and also embargos imports of Nepali goods with Chinese components. New Delhi is also not too happy with Prime Minister Oli after he signed the BRI deal in Beijing last month. &nbsp;
Some analysts say Nepal should stick to building better highway connectivity rather than invest in expensive railway lines, especially with its two neighbours. &nbsp;
“The biggest concern with both projects is that there is zero technical input from our side, which means they have been designed according to Indian and Chinese parameters,” says Paribesh Parajuly, one of Nepal’s few railway engineers who was a consultant at the Department of Railways for the Kerung-Kathmandu project.&nbsp;
He says China and India have their own <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitical interests</a>, but Nepal should be more assertive in what it wants and needs, and stipulate the technical standards it wants followed. One of the hurdles for a China-India train connection through Nepal will be that the northern line is standard gauge, while the southern one is broad gauge. &nbsp;
“It seems that India's proposal for the Raxaul-Kathmandu railway as a broad gauge line is a risk-mitigation exercise to prevent China from getting directly to the Indian border from Kerung through a standard gauge railway,” says Acharya.
Nepal will now have to play the waiting game until India decides on the next step of the project and whether China deems the mega trans-Himalayan project worth undertaking. &nbsp;
But waiting should not mean that Nepal sits on its hands, there is much strategic planning to be done both for the trans-national railways as well as a future domestic network running on Nepal’s surplus electricity, and training railway technicians.&nbsp;

Shristi Karki

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India-China rail race

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217bd9c7e80680e0baa03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1802" height="1160"/><figcaption>On 25 June 2021, China inaugurated a 435km section of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Electrified High-speed Rail. The ‘bullet train’ will have a top speed of 160 km/h and bring Chengdu closer to the Nepal border when completed in 2025. Photo: Xinhuanet</figcaption></figure>Nearly a decade since China adopted the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and five years after Nepal signed it, the connectivity project is trying to rebrand itself.The $1 trillion program focused on trade, development and connectivity is financed largely by Chinese banks and SOEs.The Green Finance and Development Center of Fudan University says a total of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016252100740X#bib0154">$755 billion has been spent</a> on BRI projects of which more than 65% has gone into energy and transportation.In 2013, President Xi envisioned the BRI as<a href="https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9514/pdf/book.pdf"> an aspirational world</a> of peaceful connectivity and friendship — one that is free from conflict. Yet, over the years, its success has also drawn widespread criticism questioning its sustainability.Chinese infrastructure projects in BRI include energy, transportation and real estate require construction inputs — like steel, cement and glass that remain oversupplied in China.For example, the utilisation capacity of the total production of steel and oil refining in China had gone down by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1758-5899.12439">10% from 80 to 70</a>% between 2008 to 2015, signaling bad loans for the banks due to overproduction and negative effects on its overall economy.BRI projects allowed the Chinese government to take steps to ensure that the vast majority of the <a href="http://www.axel-dreher.de/Dreher%20et%20al._Aid_China_Growth.pdf">construction inputs will be sourced</a> from China to offset its industrial overproduction. This allows a large volume of trade to be in China’s favour while creating a huge trade imbalance between China and recipient countries.In 2021, China’s <a href="http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=250850808">trade surplus with BRI countries</a> had reached $199.2 billion. For some countries like Italy which saw a rise of exports by 63% in 2021, others like Nepal <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/money/2022/02/05/nepal-s-trade-with-china-going-through-rough-patch">had a trade deficit of Rs232.9 billion</a>, when total exports was only Rs1 billion.One thing has remained clear: while Chinese exports will continue to grow until the BRI projects are completed, countries at the receiving end must bet on export competitive projects that can reduce the trade deficit and ensure sustainability.Secondly, the Chinese <a href="https://madeinchinajournal.com/2021/12/01/builders-from-china-from-third-world-solidarity-to-globalised-state-capitalism/">consider themselves</a> ‘builders’ rather than ‘financers’ projecting their capacity to build projects under the BRI. It is no surprise that China dominates international project contracting. By 2018, <a href="https://www.enr.com/toplists/2019-Top-250-International-Contractors-1">75</a> of the world’s top 250 international contracting firms were Chinese.Most BRI projects have been funded by large state-owned banks of China and implemented by Chinese international contractors and SOEs, at times they have been subject to reproach due to poor labour relations including a lack of awareness of local rules and regulations, and especially on the hiring of Chinese labourers in large numbers instead of locals.Maria Carrai, Professor of China Studies at NYU Shanghai argues in favour of  <a href="https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/65743046/WD_1_s2.0_S0305750X20305167_main-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1651327708&amp;Signature=OG1O4XNvHSblwIsYUfrb5blQwbiy0b~SuXiq9aKfw-STjlYGahGVTKHwgN7DXOm3WDAerWqfKY0iHspunM2n9IAGOfzYkuZCryKq8eq0PPgvLwdQG6Ufl3HoizzJTEQAHgj3x627V3359aWAyCxLSa-H6SYYTD2VxbkPQpV2vpOrNQ2YzX886Y0NK0t-s9WCt6Lf7ZlMy2evz54aewwDQJvS3Ki-P2ybBibKxQ5mNtJBd1xZYEe19UvN15ZLL3rmNXTCus2QW6mO6BflTSeGGcPbMsOiD-e-977Qh7KUg46GKxIvGJ8houVVqpvyq7-OoDY3nVJVjAgi3NPhOU0yVQ__&amp;Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA">local adaptive governance</a> because the success of BRI projects relies on effective communication of its social responsibilities to recipient countries with their local governments and making sure that working with the contractors or SOEs can enhance good governance.The Addis - Djibouti SGR railway operation and maintenance <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1634659/ethiopia-kenya-struggle-with-chinese-debt-over-sgr-railways/">were awarded to construction contractors with no actual railway operation experience</a> resulting in a lack of adequate technical capabilities to complete the project.Yet, the major challenge is still that Chinese BRI projects are heavily invested in countries that have historically demonstrated poor and weak governance, lack of transparency and are vulnerable to political shocks and instabilities.Since the start of the BRI in 2013, more than 80% of total Chinese foreign assistance <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/blog/three-key-shifts-development-cooperation-chinas-2021-white-paper">has gone to low-income countries</a>, and for some like Angola, and Montenegro the BRI loans continue to risk having an <a href="https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/examining-debt-implications-belt-and-road-initiative-policy-perspective.pdf">unfavorable degree of dependency</a> on China as its prime creditor.Despite this, BRI in itself has gradually undergone reform over the years. From its lofty and vague ambition in early 2016 that did not indicate its focus, we now know its priority areas.President Xi during the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in 2019 <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/de/blog/chinas-white-paper-and-the-bri-can-we-expect-china-to-deliver-on-the-sdgs/">called for cleaner, greener, high-quality infrastructure projects</a> that are “sustainable, affordable, inclusive and accessible”.Chinese-backed projects have previously been under heavy scrutiny due to a lack of transparency and growing debt burden. A 2021 white paper on Belt and Road highlights the need for high-quality sustainable projects and the 2022 MOFCOM’s ‘Guidelines for ecological environment protection of foreign investment cooperation’ stresses the need for Chinese investments to meet international standards of environmentally sustainable projects.In 2021 China declared to <a href="https://greenfdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/21_07_22_BRI-Investment-Report-H1-2021.pdf">not to invest in coal-power plants</a> and also to cut funding for loss-making projects. Regulatory scrutiny has forced Chinese contractors under BRI to significantly up their game, which means we will see it focusing on smaller and fewer projects of higher quality, particularly in areas of the green and sustainable energy sector.It has been five years since Nepal signed the MoU but has so far seen little in terms of the impact. The BRI projects use the <a href="http://www.edcnepal.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DAY-4-LECTURE-5-NHDP_Hydropower-Financing-Traditional-Project-Finance-EPC-and-EPC-F_2018-11-29_FINAL.pdf">Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC-F)</a> used in infrastructure projects and are particularly preferred in developing countries where debt markets are less mature and there may be wide variations in the availability and cost of debt financing.The EPC contractor will be responsible to finance a large portion of the project and the government has to provide a sovereign guarantee to safeguard lenders’ interests and provide payment security guarantees on behalf of off-taker, usually government-owned entities.This has generated controversy for the huge risk involved to the host country. The selection process tends to be restrictive to a particular country or set of manufacturers, in this case only to Chinese contractors.For example, only a few weeks back the government of Nepal <a href="https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/china-miffed-with-deuba-govt-s-decision-to-deny-chinese-company-to-develop-budhi-gandaki-hydro-project/">revoked the license</a> issued to the Chinese state-owned China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) for the development of the Budi Gandaki Hydropower Project under the EPCF modality with a total cost of around <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/nepal-refuses-china-s-offer-to-fund-multi-billion-dollar-power-project/story-cfRJPHSKJkn2gqyon7anUL.html">$2.73 billion.</a>After the 2017 BRI agreement, for the first time, Nepal developed a project under the EPC financing modality of $88 million financed by China and with MoU between Nepal’s People’s Energy and China’s Chongqing Water Turbine Works Co. Ltd.The agreement was to develop a 48.8 MW Khimti-2 hydropower project on the border of the Ramechhap and Dolakha districts in Province 3. However, the project suffered a major setback: 500 Chinese workers were prevented from coming back to Nepal due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Similarly, the EPCF model requires the contractors to be present in the project while the main construction takes place.The high-interest rates associated with BRI loans with a relatively short payback period is another drawback for Nepal which prefers grants. Furthermore, in BRI projects there is a right to bid reserved exclusively for Chinese firms, but the Nepali side demands to be open to all.Back then the BRI used to run projects on an ad-hoc basis but by 2022 it has undertaken various reforms to properly guide sustainable infrastructure development.Because the BRI is enshrined into the CCP’s constitution, there is no question regarding its sustainability, but as BRI puts its focus on environmentally friendly infrastructures, countries like Nepal should prioritise projects that can yield better results and help strengthen Sino-Nepal relations.Abiral Khatri is with the NIFRA bank and is a research scholar based previously at Erasmus University Rotterdam, IIM Bangalore and Renmin University of China. Raunab Singh Khatri is the co-founder of The Araniko Project and is a Yenching Scholar in Chinese studies at Peking University.

BRI enters the tenth year

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc2f9c7e80680e080301jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="998"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Pradumna B Rana is Visiting Associate Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He has authored or edited 20 books, and his latest is China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Impacts on Asia and Policy Agenda co-authored with Xianbai Ji. Nepali Times: Why the BRI, and what is the value-added of your book?Pradumna B. Rana: As you know, the BRI is President Xi Jinping’s foreign and economic policy initiative to connect and develop the Euro-Asian super-continent. Over 165 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America have signed up for the BRI. It was launched in 2013, in the usual top-down campaign style manner, with few details. Issues are only now becoming clearer. We wanted to document these details.Also, existing analyses and commentaries are based on narrow samples and case studies. We wanted to capture the views of opinion leaders (defined as policymakers, academics, and representatives of businesses and media) from a broad range of stakeholder countries, 26 Asian countries that have signed the BRI MOU with China.Hence, Japan, Australia, and India were excluded from our survey. China was also excluded for obvious reasons. To the best of our knowledge, our survey is the first of its kind.  In addition, our book also presents the simulation results of a computable general equilibrium model of the world economy. This is another value-added.Will the BRI lead to a win-win situation for both China and the BRI stakeholder country as claimed by China, or will it benefit only China as alleged by Western countries?The answer is: it depends. The 1,200 plus opinion leaders from 26 countries who responded to our perception survey felt that the present version of the BRI or BRI 1.0 has a number of problems like lack of transparency and openness, China’s lack of sensitivity to local conditions, and its unwillingness to allow local contractors to bid for BRI projects. Despite this, most respondents felt that if China reformed the BRI along the lines suggested in the survey, then ultimately BRI 2.0 could lead to a win-win situation.The BRI is frequently portrayed as a geopolitical strategy that ensnares countries in unsustainable debt or the so-called debt trap diplomacy. Is this true?Although 27% of our respondents had yet to decide, 40% felt that the debt-trap argument was not true. Only 30% supported the debt-trap diplomacy theory. Some respondents felt that domestic factors (such as corruption and reckless borrowing) were responsible for the rising levels of debt in several BRI countries like Malaysia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Yet others felt that China’s financial system was too fragmented and poorly coordinated for it to pursue detailed strategic objectives such as snaring countries in debt traps. So, the debt-trap argument is probably more a myth rather than a reality.How can Nepal itself benefit from the BRI?The simulation results of econometric models show that landlocked countries are the largest beneficiaries of the BRI. Mongolia is fast-becoming a land-link between China and Russia. Countries in Central Asia (such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) are also becoming land-links between China and Europe. Nepal could similarly benefit by becoming a land-bridge between China and India, but at the present time the proposed Trans-Himalayan Economic Corridor is not feasible because of the strong opposition to the BRI from India.Our simulation results, however, show that even without India, the Nepal-India Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network agreed when President Xi visited Kathmandu in October 2019, could have sizeable, although much reduced, economic benefits. Nepal should, therefore, take actions to diversify its trade by making the Protocol to the Agreement on trade and transit signed in April 2019 effective as soon as possible and also by seeking financing for viable infrastructure projects from China.How has the BRI been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, will it ultimately fizzle out?The BRI has been adversely affected by the pandemic because with massive lockdowns and border restrictions, the physical dimension of the BRI ground to a halt. China, therefore, started to focus instead on building the Health Silk Road (manufacturing and distributing PPEs and ventilators) and the Digital Silk Road (mainly for contact tracing and e-commerce). As the pandemic situation improves, China will surely restart the Physical BRI.Exports of many BRI countries also suffered because of the pandemic, and they are facing difficulties in servicing their debt to China. Beijing is helping these countries restructure their debt including forgiving of part their debt obligations. So, the BRI is not about to collapse.China will not let that happen because this project, labelled as the ‘project of the century’ by many, marks China’s re-emergence in the global scene and its eventual ascent to be the number one economy in the world.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc329c7e80680e080302jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="602">

“China’s BRI will ride out the pandemic”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5639c7e80680e0736c1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="765" height="576"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>When Chinese social media posted photographs last month of engineers surveying the extension of the Tibet Railway, one of the images showed Mt Everest to the south looming over the plateau from the proposed route of the tracks.Suddenly, a promise that Mao Zedong had made to King Birendra back in 1973 to build a railway from Lhasa to Kathmandu looked like it was finally going to happen.Reports suggest the Chinese want to finish the Xiagtse Gyirong (Kerung) extension of the Tibet Railway by 2025 -- although its further extension across the Himalaya to Kathmandu is going to be a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/which-way-will-the-tibet-nepal-railway-go/">much more technically and financially challenging prospect</a>.The railway project was brought up again in 2008, and got a push after the Indian Blockade of 2015 forced the Nepal government to plan alternative trade routes. The trans-Himalayan train was discussed between Prime Minister K P Oli and President Xi Jinping in two meetings in Beijing and Kathmandu last year.In 2017, Nepal also signed a framework agreement on the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) of which the railway project is a part. A feasibility study for the train link from Kerung via Rasuwa to Kathmandu and onward to Pokhara and Lumbini was completed in 2018. But not much else has happened since – largely because of the COVID-19 crisis and political uncertainty in Kathmandu.Most observers agree that despite the lackadaisical attitude on the Nepal side, the Chinese are forging ahead with their BRI strategy in general, and the plan to extend the railway line from Xigatse to Gyirong with the survey of the route.When the first Belt and Road Forum was held in Beijing in May 2017 amidst much fanfare, the much-anticipated conference attracted more than 60 countries which wanted to partner with China on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5669c7e80680e0736c2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Trucks carrying imported Chinese goods cross over from Kerung to Rasuwagadi, the proposed route for the trans-Himalayan railway under China's Belt Road Initiative. Photo: NABIN BARAL</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5699c7e80680e0736c3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="826" height="680"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Three years later, more than $70 billion worth of project have been completed, while other projects to the tune of $100 billion are ongoing across the world. Despite criticism about lack of transparency, environmental impact and a Chinese ‘debt trap’, for Nepal the attraction is that projects like the trans-Himalayan railway could be an economic and geopolitical game-changer.Initiated by President Xi in 2013 and enshrined in China Constitution in 2017, the BRI is seen as a strategy to diversify China’s infrastructure investment abroad, and to expand its geostrategic space.The focus of the BRI has itself changed over the past four years to encompass not just infrastructure but also a ‘Digital Silk Road’ of connectivity. As more and more Chinese investors and tourists travel abroad, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/china-builds-digital-and-medical-silk-roads/">Digital Silk Road</a> is already functioning as a new payment gateway involving Chinese digital giants like WeChat and Alipay. By not making grand promotions and sticking to its domestic consumers, these companies have simply followed <a href="https://beltandroad.ventures/beltandroadblog/2018/7/8/where-the-chinese-go-alipay-and-wechat-pay-go">Chinese travelers wherever they go</a> (see map).Nepal initially banned Chinese digital payment giants WeChat and Alipay after loss of revenue from the increasing influx of Chinese visitors into the country.But the government decision to legalise both payment systems to benefit entrepreneurs and facilitate remittances from Nepalis shows China’s growing financial clout. As Nepal aims to lure more Chinese tourists in future, it is clear that Digital Silk Road will become an important artery for e-commerce.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba56b9c7e80680e0736c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="645" height="427"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The ‘<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/china-builds-digital-and-medical-silk-roads/">Health Silk Road</a>’ is another <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/mapping-chinas-health-silk-road">rhetorical extension</a> of the BRI, and a response to the COVID-19 crisis to also boost China’s leadership in bio-technology and medicine. China has used this concept to rebrand the existing BRI by becoming a frontier in health technologies like using <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/5G-networks/Coronavirus-helps-China-pull-ahead-in-the-5G-race">5G drones to deliver medical assistance</a> in Beijing, and emergency COVID-19 assistance all over the world.China <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-07-27/China-to-enhance-cooperation-with-neighboring-countries-over-COVID-19-Stv2SvH9RK/index.html">recently held a joint conference</a> between Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan to combat COVID-19 together by building a new health network involving advanced digital connectivity and promoting it under the umbrella of the overall BRI mandate.Although in 2017, there was a flurry of activities in Chinese universities and think-tanks to discuss BRI initiatives, interest in it appears to have become somewhat subdued of late. Partly, it is the fallout of the pandemic, but even before the crisis hit BRI faced criticism in partner countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka about risky, expensive projects that could be a ‘debt trap’. Large state-owned enterprises and banks started reconsidering how they viewed risks overseas, and advised a slowdown in investment promotion.In China itself, many <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fb7436d6-b006-11e8-8d14-6f049d06439c?mc_cid=060a04b9b2&amp;mc_eid=f877bd4bdd">netizens were not happy</a> with their country’s eagerness to lend billions of dollars overseas when China itself has not fully lifted its own people from poverty. Managing public opinion in China is a sensitive topic for the leadership, and this could be another reason for large BRI projects not getting as much public exposure as before.However, even though within China the government may be keeping BRI in low profile for now, its activities and projects are up and running, though delayed somewhat this year by the global pandemic. The ongoing survey of the Xigatse-Gyirong railway is an example.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba56d9c7e80680e0736c5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="773" height="309"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In Nepal, the public discourse on BRI has largely been associated with its geo-political risk, particularly because the MCC is seen as a countervailing American initiative in the global great game between the two world powers.China uses the BRI brand to project not just its strategic need for connectivity, but also as an extension of its soft power. However, in Nepal, the public perception of the BRI will be determined largely by its geopolitical content. For now, the BRI is equated almost solely as being synonymous with a future Gyirong-Kathmandu railway, and there is widespread public support for what many see as a catalyst for Nepal’s future development.But Nepalis may soon realise that the trans-Himalayan train may take decades to materialise, and in the meantime the BRI and its other initiatives are here to stay.Raunab Singh Khatri is a graduate student in Economics at the Yenching Academy of Peking University, Beijing.

BRI and trans-Himalayan connectivity

<figure><img width="1750" height="1110" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b73d49c7e80680e06235ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: PMO</figcaption></figure>When the CPN (UML) unified with the CPN (Maoist) two years ago, most hoped that it would lead to the UML-isation of the Maoists, steering them towards democratic norms and values. Instead, we seem to be witnessing the Mao-fication of the Nepal Communist Party.Evident proof of this was the first Central Committee meeting of the unified party last week — nearly two years after it was formed. The meeting of the 445-member jumbo Committee at the City Hall happened even as divisions sharpened between the party's two top leaders: Prime Minister K P Oli and his co-chair, former Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=40191&amp;preview_nonce=4843c358ff&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Own goal,</a> Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/which-way-nepali-politics-in-2020/">Which way Nepali politics in 2020?,</a> Saindra RaiDahal and Oli have tried to hide their power struggle, but their one-upmanship is on full public display in just about every noteworthy issue these days, from the selection of Parliament Speaker to the controversy over the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-damages-nepals-credibility/">Millennium Challenge Corporation</a> (MCC). The Central Committee gathering itself was structured like an NGO annual general meeting, complete with a review paper and 15 thematic breakout sessions from which hand-picked spokespersons reported on conclusions to the plenary. This allowed the leaders to keep a tight lid on dissent. The merits of issues and problems of internal party decision-making were therefore sidestepped, and the discussion reflected the party’s deep polarisation.The other tactic that Oli and Dahal effectively employed was of scathing self-criticism on issues on which they expected to be censured by members. Oli’s more than two-hour-long review was a mea culpa, admitting to delays in reorganising the unified party, failure in delivery of services by the government, and unconstitutional behaviour by the same. This is a trick often employed by communist parties elsewhere when faced with severe criticism for failures. And it worked. There was no real debate on issues, and Oli managed to deflate and defuse most of the criticism of his leadership.However, the prime minister is getting physically weaker and politically more isolated. At a three-hour tête-à-tête with editors at his residence on Tuesday, Oli said he was going to get another kidney transplant soon, and exuded confidence about serving out the next three years in office. But a transplant would keep him away for at least two months, and Dahal is waiting in the wings, becoming increasingly impatient.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-millennium-challenge/">A millenium challenge</a>, EditorialOli and Dahal had agreed to rotate two-and-half years each as prime minister, but Dahal agreed to let Oli to serve the full term — probably gambling on Oli’s health preventing him from doing so. Now, Dahal is stepping up the ante. He has wooed away former UML leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal, Bam Dev Gautam and Jhalnath Khanal who are disgruntled with Oli, to his side. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-millennium-challenge/">This block vote was seen most clearly in the MCC controversy</a>. Dahal himself did not even mention the $500 million American grant aid project in his 32-page report, although he praised the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), criticised the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/between-two-oceans/">US Indo-Pacific strategy</a>, and took the populist stance on the Lipu Lekh territorial dispute with India. However, he got his faction to oppose the MCC tooth and nail, accusing it of being a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/">US military plan</a>. The MCC became the focus of much of the discussion at the Central Committee because Dahal remained silent on it and Oli spent so much time defending it.This exposed the rift at the top of the party, and allowed former UML leaders like Bhim Rawal make a scathing attack on the grant. In the end, the Committee decided to form a Taskforce that has to present an evaluation of the MCC by next week.Signs of the former Maoist leader Dahal starting to wield an upper hand can be seen in the revival of the proposal that Nepal's Constitution be amended to allow for the abandonment of the parliamentary system to be replaced by one with a directly-elected executive president. This has been Dahal’s long-standing wish for himself ever since the end of the conflict.There are other signs of the NCP accumulating Maoist traits. The drift towards a personality cult were clearly visible at City Hall with Oli and Dahal’s portraits on prominent display on the stage.And despite all the rhetoric about inclusion, the party made a mockery of the Constitution because the nine senior leaders on stage were all men, and mostly from a dominant caste group. <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> In a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16774#.Xjv8rTIzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report aptly titled ‘Snailport’</a> by Dewan Rai and Suvayu Dev Pant (<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/488" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue #488 5-11 February 2010</a>), Nepali Times looked at the congestion in Kathmandu airport on the occasion of Visit Nepal 2010. 10 years later and as we mark another Visit Nepal Year, unsurprisingly, the state of the country’s only international gateway remains the same. Excerpt:International aircraft arrivals increased by 8.41 per cent and domestic aircraft arrivals by 19.72 per cent in the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Yet there have been no major additions to infrastructure. “Our airport doesn’t meet the requirements for an international airport, so it is very difficult to accommodate all the tourists,” says Amar Bahadur Shakya of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).Although the airport was designed for only 1000 passengers daily, the actual turnover today is close to 2000. Likewise, the departure lounge was designed for 350 but sees up to 1000 passengers daily. Congestion at the air terminal may even have contributed to the death of a Korean woman, of a heart attack, three weeks ago.Such problems were anticipated long ago, but officials have been slow to respond.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/488"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b73d79c7e80680e06235fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="502" height="799"></a>

Awesome party

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67779c7e80680e0599dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1668"/><figcaption>Illustration: BHANU BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>Legend has it that the real reason Nepal stayed an independent nation state while all around us were colonised was that our powerful neighbours took one look at the terrain and people here and concluded that the country was ungovernable.In the three decades after 1990, Nepal’s elected leaders have shown even fewer smarts than past feudal dynasties. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/another-decade-to-get-it-right/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biggest let-down has been in the last two years</a>, after the unified Nepal Communist Party swept the country’s first three-tier federal elections. The strongest government in Nepal’s democratic history is showing itself to be more feckless than those fragile do-nothing coalitions.Perhaps the latest example of shooting ourselves in the feet has been the wrangling within the NCP over the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). If there was one vivid example of how not to look a gift horse in the mouth, this is it.The awkwardly-named MCC was launched by President George W Bush in 2004 after the 9/11 attacks to reorient American aid towards the kind of infrastructure projects that USAID or the World Bank would not touch. At first, with an ongoing war Nepal was deemed ineligible for the MCC.But by 2012, with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-will-nepal-develop-in-the-next-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">progress in health and education and economic</a>, political and press freedom, as well as prospects for the rule of law, Nepal qualified for membership. A threshold program in Kathmandu went about shortlisting investments in infrastructure that could jumpstart development.Nepali planners, working with their American counterparts, singled out transmission lines and highways as main economic bottlenecks. But they worried that Nepal did not have a governance track record, transparency or policy continuity to guarantee that the MCC’s $500 million could be effectively spent in five years.Finally in 2017, the Nepal government committed $130 million as counterpart funds, and the Hetauda-Damauli-Butwal 400kVA transmission line, as well as rehabilitation of 305km of highways from Itahari-Kakarvitta and Pokhara-Butwal, were selected for the MCC.These were not chosen arbitrarily — serious homework was done to find catalytic projects that could transform economic growth through quick returns on investment. This was a departure from the way planning is normally done in Nepal: ad hoc, whimsical, wasteful. The MCC also made provisions to ensure transparency and minimise the kind of delays in large infrastructure projects that Nepal has become notorious for.Any other government worth its salt, and one that knows what is good for its people, would have jumped at a deal like this. But not Nepal under the NCP. Members of the party’s central committee have objected that the MCC is part of the US <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/between-two-oceans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indo-Pacific Strategy</a>, objecting to a clause that would require Indian go-ahead on the transmission line, and at provisions for independent outside auditing.It is true that there is rarely a free lunch in official development assistance — even a grant is somehow tied to the strategic interest of the donor. But the MCC predates both China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Yes, there is a new cold war between Beijing and Washington, the two compete globally for political, economic and military domination, and both superpowers have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strategic concerns in Nepal</a>.But it would be in Nepal’s own strategic interest to take maximum advantage and get both the BRI and the MCC to contribute to Nepal’s infrastructure development. Instead, some sections of the NCP are doing their best to wreck both initiatives so Nepal is left with neither.The reason the MCC needs to be cleared with Delhi is because Nepal’s planners decided to upgrade the transmission line to 400kVA so it can also export electricity to India through Gorakhpur. And having Parliament ratify the compact would ensure political continuity and commitment.Last week in this newspaper we projected an optimistic scenario of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-in-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what Nepal may look like by 2030</a>. Infrastructure-led development is necessary because jobs will be created during construction, and improved connectivity will have downstream benefits into the future.However, there are good, bad and ugly infrastructure projects. The ‘excavator roads’ that maul our mountains are not just ugly, they are an environmental disaster.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara’s new international airport</a> is too costly for its capacity, but at least it is being built and may help diversify tourism while decongesting Kathmandu.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed airport in Nijgad</a> is an example of ill-advised megalomania. In fact, it is not an airport project but a timber concession. Yes, it is a game changer but only in the sense that it will <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wreck both our economy and environment</a>.Decisions on large, expensive projects must be taken by technocrats and planners who know what they are doing, not by ignorant, populist politicians with edifice complexes who want to commit <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">colossal blunders like Nijgad</a> and sabotage a worthy initiative like the MCC.<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>Go back 10 years to read <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times #482</a>, 25-31 December 2009, and its front page news roundup titled ‘<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16624#.XgRialUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End on a high</a>’. It shows us that the more things change in Nepal, the more they remain the same. An excerpt:‘A rollercoaster week of recriminations and reconciliations began with a three-day Maoist bandh marked by violence and intimidation across the country. It peaked with a massive Maoist assembly in New Baneswor. Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal then delivered a fiery anti-Indian tirade during which he labelled the rest of the political leadership ‘remote-controlled robots,’ who he would bypass to hold direct talks with Delhi.Amidst widespread condemnation, the Maoist supremo weakly argued the following day that his comments were meant to be a ‘satire’ on the shape of things in Nepali politics.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a677a9c7e80680e0599ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="506" height="807"></a>

A millennium challenge

<figure><img width="1400" height="920" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4e509c7e80680e04fcabjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: BHANU BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>The trans-Himalayan railroad has been in the news lately. And like everything else in Nepal, it is difficult to separate hot air from a cool breeze. The Chinese cannot hide their irritation anymore about Nepal’s politicians day-dreaming. Ambassador Hou Yanqi was as blunt as a diplomat can be at a recent interaction in which she said (we paraphrase): “Not so fast.”Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29461&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which way will the Tibet-Nepal railway go?</a>, Ramesh Bhushal<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29395&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dream Train</a>, Ramesh BhushalThe extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to Nyalam and Kerung, then onwards to Kathmandu, Lumbini and the Indian border constitutes a part of Beijing’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15892#.XRsdKz8za70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medium and Long-term Railway Network Plan</a>. But laying train tracks on the rugged terrain of the Tibetan Plateau has been a daunting challenge even for the Chinese.After the Lhasa line was connected to Xigatse and beyond, it was expected to reach <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/the-tibet-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kerung</a> on the Nepal border by the next year, but now it looks like it will be pushed back five more years. Yet Nepal’s hyperbolic politicians talk about it as if the locomotives will be chugging in by next Dasain.The railway to Nepal was listed as one of the 64 Belt Road Initiative (BRI) projects at the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April. The ambitious BRI aims to improve China’s overland connectivity to countries across its western border in Central Asia and beyond to even Europe. The Nepal link is not directly on the main line, but part of a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/05/12/nepal-joins-new-silk-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sub-Silk Road</a> that could, in the future, offer an alternative to two-way trade between China and India, which today follows a maritime route through the Strait of Malacca.China is India’s largest source of imports, and it is in Beijing’s geostrategic interest to find land alternatives to choke points on its sea routes to the Indian Ocean. Two-way trade between India and China is now nearly $100 billion a year and a stable land corridor would be in both the countries’ interest. Besides that, China wants to integrate its southwestern regions of Tibet and Xinjiang with central and southern Asia.  But what does Nepal get out of the proposed rail link? First of all, theoretically, we can have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/yam-between-3-boulders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cheap and reliable alternative access</a> to sea ports. That Nepal needs this trade bypass is a no-brainer considering the five-month Indian Blockade of our southern border in 2015. Despite its initial cost, train travel is cheaper and environmentally much cleaner. A railway track through the mountains could interlink trade and tourist travel between the two countries, and be a catalyst for other train lines within Nepal. Nepal’s politicians, including Prime Minister K P Oli, came to power riding the nationalist wave after the Blockade, and promised better access to the north. But one just has to see the slow progress of the road on our side of the Rasuwa border today to realise that it was all talk. Whatever progress there has been in upgrading the checkpoints in Rasuwa and <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/bordering-on-helplessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kodari</a>, or the dry port in Larcha, are being built by China in our territory.The biggest uncertainty about the trans-Himalayan railroad is who is going to pay for it, and if it will pay for itself. The 170km stretch from Kerung to Kathmandu will cost at least $5.5 billion. It is unlikely the Chinese will just gift the railroad, and a loan could be a debt trap. Unless Nepal’s exports to China rise dramatically, this railway will not make much economic sense.Nepal’s trade deficit with China is expected to grow to $15 billion this year, as imports rose by 40% and exports fell by 30%. A cargo train makes sense if we can use the wagons to send goods back to China, not just to buy more.China used its comparative advantage in the past to produce labour-intensive goods which it exported worldwide to buy knowhow. Now, China has attained an income level where some of those goods can be produced more cheaply elsewhere: like Nepal. In the 1990s, tax rebates attracted multinationals to set up manufacturing bases in Nepal for export to India. We do not have to reinvent the wheel.Greater connectivity between India and China through Nepal, however, could open a new trans-Himalayan trade corridor which can offer Nepal another chance to be a manufacturing base for specialised products to be sold to both our giant neighbours. But for that, we need a strategic vision and pragmatic policies. Nepal’s strategy should be to serve as a land bridge between India and China and get these two giant locomotives to pull in the same direction.10 years ago this weekNepali Times <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/458" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#458 of 3-9 July 2009</a> dealt with the Constitution deadline being only 11 months away, and the political parties paralysed by wrangling. Our<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16083#.XR7YWeszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> editorial</a> blamed the fecklessness of the democratic parties and the Maoists wanting to go it alone:‘D Day for the completion of the new Constitution is now only 11 months away. The Constituent Assembly’s self-imposed deadline has been pushed back over and over again. Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said after his Politburo meeting this week that his party will lead a national government. How that will be possible considering the non-Maoist parties are on the other side is difficult to imagine. Maybe the strategy is to split the big parties, but then domestic and international geo-politics are both against them. What the Maoists couldn’t achieve with armed struggle and elections, they will now try to do by mobilising a mass movement on the streets.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/458"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4e539c7e80680e04fcacjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1242"></a>

TRILATERAL TRAINS

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial 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.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

The streets of Patan are alive this month with lavender jacaranda trees under rain-washed skies as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-red-god-rises-again-in-patan">the chariot of Rato Matsyendranath</a> is pulled across town. This is the festival of the rain god, and inevitably the heavens opened up and pre-monsoon showers pelted the chariot as it started being pulled in Pulchok last week. Thousands of devotees, onlookers and the chariot procession organisers thronged the streets on the first day last week. The rhythmic cymbals and drums exuded a vibrant energy as the enormous four wheels turned and the chariot lurched.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  The<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Red-rain-god,3141"> red rain god</a> has Hindu and Buddhist antecedents, alternatively called Bungadya and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-gravity-defying-chariot-festival"> Karunamaya</a> — reflecting Kathmandu Valley’s syncretic mixture of the two religions.&nbsp; “Bungadya is a profoundly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/marketing-the-intangible">intangible form of heritage</a>,” explains heritage expert Monalisa Maharjan. “It embodies traditional knowledge,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reviving-nepal-s-craft"> artisanal skills passed down through generations</a>. Local communities and specific families have specified roles in being custodians of the heritage, ensuring their survival over the centuries.” There are many legends and stories about this annual tradition. Lichhavi king Narendra Dev is supposed to have brought Rato Matsyendranath from Assam to Kathmandu Valley to convince Guru Gorakhnath to lift a spell that created a two-year drought in Kathmandu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1503" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Matsyendranath was Gorakhnath’s mentor, and upon seeing him, the serpents were released, unleashing the rains. The chariot festival honours the return of this life-giving rain. The deity is seen as an icon for thriving agriculture, t<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon">he arrival of monsoon</a> showers, and the welfare of the community. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain">The reign of the god of rain</a>, Vidhu Prakash Kayastha Till this day, the Rato Matsyendranath festival is no ordinary celebration. Patan does not sleep for a month as the chariot is pulled through various neighbourhoods. It unfolds at a state level with the president (formerly the king) attending the climax of the Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel later this month.&nbsp; The intergenerational transmission of tradition is unique in the world, and the reason the festival is one of the most vibrant cultural expressions that thrives despite inroads of modernity. The other unique aspect is that it is a transnational festival, binding Patan with Guwahati in the Indian state of Assam.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  “Unlike Nepal, where the deity commands grandeur and devotion, many in Assam are unaware of Rato Matsyendranath,” says Khagen Sharma of Gauhati University, which convened <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-assam-connection-revived">a symposium in February in Guwahati on the rain god</a>. Attending was a delegation led by Lalitpur Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan, organisers of the festival, and builders of the chariot. After the symposium, a committee was formed to explore and revive the tradition in Assam as well. Although the team had planned to visit Nepal this month, logistical challenges delayed the trip. Still, there are plans to build a Guru Matsyendranath statue in Assam to reestablish regular worship practices in the Guwahati shrine.&nbsp; The vines used to build the chariot in Patan are sourced from the jungles of Assam. But Sharma notes that in recent years unclear regulations have blocked the official import of the vines, although they are still brought to Nepal informally. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204">chariot making</a> has also had a taste of modernisation in recent times. In the past, even a single nail or piece of steel was avoided. But over time, the wooden structure, particularly the shaft between the wheels, has been replaced with bronze. When that too proved unstable, metal clamps were introduced, which have become a pragmatic compromise.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="998" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Another welcome change is the focus on safety. Builders climbing the chariot’s tower now wear harnesses and there are efforts in crowd control. The most visible change in recent years has been the involvement of Patan’s enthusiastic youth in the festival — the tradition is now passing to a new generation. Says Matsyendranath expert Vidhu Kayastha: “There is more energy, the young people in red t-shirts this year were very organised, these modern touches aren’t diluting our culture, they’re keeping it alive in new forms.” He adds, “We are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home">reconnecting with our roots</a>, we have more resources, more awareness than ever before. We must not be swept away by western values that may not serve us, and in some ways, cause more harm than good. We must revive our own culture.”&nbsp;

Divine chariot

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

This is the 67th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, and studying abroad. <h2>Alpana Adhikari, UK</h2> Back in Nepal, I had worked as a nurse for a decade, but I had my heart set to go overseas. My reason for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">wanting to migrate</a>, however, was a bit different as it was for my son. He has a disability, and considering his situation from multiple perspectives—including <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-s-all-in-the-mind">societal attitudes</a>, the preparedness of schools, and the availability of facilities for individuals with his condition—Nepal did not feel safe for my baby.&nbsp; I had to migrate, no matter what, for his sake. The facilities here in the UK for children with his condition are significantly better, and I am glad he and my husband will join me in a few months.&nbsp; I was applying via private routes like everyone else when the Government to Government pilot program between Britain and Nepal was announced. Even though the initial program targeted 100 nurses, only 40 of us were able to meet the criteria.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160536_46f6a3c05fd2d9bdac06a9a478f49079c2c69c783fcf0cc58b75da6128319745.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250511160536_46f6a3c05fd2d9bdac06a9a478f49079c2c69c783fcf0cc58b75da6128319745" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Alpana Adhikari started working as a nurse in a hospital in the UK in March.</figcaption> </figure>  I made it to the UK &nbsp;in February 2024 without paying a single paisa to any broker. The G2G scheme was unique as we were treated with dignity and valued for our skills: they covered costs for the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/free-visa-free-ticket-policy-in-limbo">ticket and visa</a>, reimbursed us for exams we had taken and costs involved in the preparation and testing of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination were also covered.&nbsp; I started work in March last year, and currently am based in the respiratory ward of a hospital. I am enjoying my work a lot. In one year, I have received 26 WOW nominations which are notes of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-healer-of-far-western-nepal"> appreciation from patients </a>we have served. ‘Alpana is one of the kindest nurses I have seen. Awesome and talented … always smiling, never appears tired and helps everyone,’ one patient testimonial said. Another: ‘You can see clearly that she cares about her patients…She was cool amidst great stress and ALWAYS with a smile which gave me confidence.’ I am also the International Educated Nurses Advocate which means I can raise issues with management about issues facing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepali-nurses-now-britain-bound">international nurses</a> here.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160536_87b959c7550bbd1272ebf840d9f24735db008307ad825e4aa15e66c1662a7fd4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250511160536_87b959c7550bbd1272ebf840d9f24735db008307ad825e4aa15e66c1662a7fd4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1590" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>One reason Alpana Adhikari migrated to the UK was so there would be better facilities for her son, who has a disability. </figcaption> </figure>  Recruitment from NHS linked hospitals is free but when we <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/safer-migration-for-women">migrate through private routes</a>, agencies either charge upfront costs or in some cases, there is wage deduction once the nurses start earning.&nbsp; I have met Nepalis who have paid up to Rs 1 million for the same job. These costs can go even as high as Rs3 million for work in caregiving or nursing homes. I am lucky not to have to pay anyone for my posting.&nbsp; But beyond costs, I think there is also a reputational advantage of coming through the government selection process at the hospital. Such programs need to be expanded more because <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-s-nurse-flight">nurses are migrating </a>anyway and it would save people a lot of unnecessary costs and hassles. I will always be protective about Nepal and am grateful for the experience I gained, but it is true that nurses lack dignity in the workplace back home. Nursing is laborious work and completing the education takes a fortune but the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nursing-grievances-against-the-state">pay for nurses in Nepal</a>, other than at a handful of hospitals, is unfairly low.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160540_2a483361070e6e65413cf3bcf3be7af0581044f85c3e6da25a66dc87042af9d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250511160540_2a483361070e6e65413cf3bcf3be7af0581044f85c3e6da25a66dc87042af9d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Alpana Adhikari while working as a nurse in Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  It naturally makes nurses want to migrate. People often ask me what the difference in the UK and Nepal is. Work is similar but in terms of technology, there is less paperwork here as everything is digitised. Treatment is also more nurse-led and we have more say while making recommendations about medicine and discharging decisions which can be empowering. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-nurses-gone-and-going-to-the-uk">Nepali nurses gone and going to the UK</a> I am not sure what it is about nursing but I am always in high spirits and energetic about showing up to work every day. To be a good nurse, you have to have the passion for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/step-by-step-for-rural-health-care-in-nepal">patient care</a>.&nbsp; Sometimes people tell me it is because my family has not yet joined me which has freed up my time to singularly focus on work, but I do not believe that is true. Back home, too, I used to be as passionate about my job.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160540_47851c2c850c936b7bfb23da0f0e8a07620ea213ad929c229b6cca8711adc5d4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20250511160540_47851c2c850c936b7bfb23da0f0e8a07620ea213ad929c229b6cca8711adc5d4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Alpana Adhikari (left) during an International Nurses Day rally in Kathmandu.</figcaption> </figure>  What fuels my passion here is the appreciation we get. It is not just about the income. Sometimes after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-must-be-having-so-much-fun-there?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0OsTusz4rvYDQLvB0bnwhlDvkS3zCQ-UvuoO5manWHC0LGI2c3XY7e6ZY_aem_hR-tZOp4xg1mINPJvwD7Nw">long hours at work</a> when it has been a particularly busy day, a phone message from my manager and colleagues appreciating me for a job well done can go a long way.&nbsp; Likewise, the WOW recommendations from my patients have boosted my confidence. One of my elderly patients who had a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/stigma-and-silence-mental-health-nepal,3486">mental illness </a>and I bonded, and she felt comfortable enough to open up with me. She would then refer to me as her friend with everyone.&nbsp; It is little things like this that can make a big difference. Perhaps that is why my flat mate and colleagues often question why I don’t look tired even after a long shift. <h2>Binu Gurung, Japan</h2> It has been five-and-half years since I came to Japan under the Specified Skilled Workers (SSW) visa in the nursing category. I had previously come to Japan as a language student as well.&nbsp; I grew up in Ghandruk and had just started my Bachelor’s course when a friend suggested we try<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/nepalis-in-japan"> to go to Japan </a>so I just followed the trend and stayed here for three years as a student.&nbsp; Two years after returning to Nepal, I re-migrated to Japan under the SSW scheme which was at its early stages and only open to nursing initially.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160536_305bb5cb5095da6148911dae8b07356ece5b292148e6c8e57a39fd31d811624b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250511160536_305bb5cb5095da6148911dae8b07356ece5b292148e6c8e57a39fd31d811624b" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Binu Gurung on arrival in Japan to work as a nurse three years ago.</figcaption> </figure>  I take care of the elderly Japanese who are mostly above 80 years of age, a few even above 100. I try not to get too attached to patients but it is of course not always easy because of the nature of the job and patients we serve.&nbsp; Patients dying of age is common as it is not a care facility where patients recover to return to their homes. Just recently, an elderly lady who had been here from the day I joined 5.5 years ago passed.&nbsp; These leave you a bit खिन्न and emotionally drained. Most are <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dementia-brings-new-problem-that-families-have-little%20knowledge-of,2151">dementia patients</a> who do not &nbsp;even recognise their family members. Some elderly patients are reserved and do not feel comfortable as the work entails helping with personal care tasks like using the toilet or bathing and they can be irritable.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160536_c840a0b12c20c3d52d9eceec06a0bc8c90208f13e402c50f319583b1c1a93b87.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250511160536_c840a0b12c20c3d52d9eceec06a0bc8c90208f13e402c50f319583b1c1a93b87" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Binu Gurung's work involves taking care of elderly Japanese.</figcaption> </figure>  Building trust and rapport takes time, patience and familiarity. I do not think there is a way to explain how happy I feel when they are happy with the care we provide and thank us in smiles like we are their own family members.&nbsp; My own grandmother back in Nepal was in a similar situation requiring care before she passed and I am able to extend that kind of care to many patients.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250511160536_0f41ad57ae1ac5bd2f406d86cdc5f542b613cef6961d8fdf20c883ee38404b5e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="20250511160536_0f41ad57ae1ac5bd2f406d86cdc5f542b613cef6961d8fdf20c883ee38404b5e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="DD 67"> <figcaption>Binu Gurung in Yokohama.</figcaption> </figure>  I know that this job is not for everyone. That is why some nurses who come to Japan because they want to just<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better"> migrate overseas </a>at any cost without considering the kind of employment realise that caregiving might not be for them.&nbsp; You have to be mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for it. If you are short-tempered by nature, for example, it may not be the best fit. However, for those who are genuinely interested in care work like I am, there are many growth opportunities in nursing which are also financially rewarding.&nbsp; While working under the SSW visa, I was able to take training classes on the side and passed the national exam for nursing. I was then able to change my visa from SSW to nursing caregiver visa. My son joined my husband and I recently in Japan and has started school.

bri