<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02399c7e80680e0a366djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2154" height="1068"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>When the coalition government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba took office in July, many had hoped it would restore stability after a prolonged political feud. But the alliance has not even been able to complete government formation, nor pass the budget and important legislation on stricter punishment for gender-based violence.Turmoil in Parliament this week, including physical confrontations between members that had to be controlled by marshals, has also meant the budget has not budged, and this has led to a government shutdown from Wednesday — affecting hospital care during the pandemic.Continued opposition by the main opposition UML has meant that besides the budget, critical pieces of ordinance, including one to increase <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rape-rulings-in-nepal-follow-letter-not-spirit-of-the-law/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rape-rulings-in-nepal-follow-letter-not-spirit-of-the-law/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631927850058000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE0uJWaELyu9SdhwI_oKEXopsk9zw">punishment for rape</a> and acid attacks against women have lapsed.“This has bolstered the morale of criminals because it will protect them from punishment,” says Tika Dahal of the Nepal Organisation of Handicapped Women.“It is a crime to threaten victims or buy them off, and the inability to pass these ordinances will mean that fewer women will come forward to lodge complaints,” she adds. There has been a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violence-spike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violence-spike/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631927850058000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWmrd7UmCdVcOO4lA4MaauH1-llg">significant increase in the number of reported rape cases </a>during the Covid-19 pandemic.The ordinances had in the past months brought down the number of rape cases where the perpetrator’s family tried to negotiate a settlement with the victim through intimidation or out-of-court offers of compensation, including getting the rapist to marry the victim.The other ordinance to prevent acid and other corrosive chemical attacks has also lapsed. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-acid-attack-survivors-find-a-saviour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-acid-attack-survivors-find-a-saviour/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631927850058000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYcqgMX1pyu7JVUiclIyf5s03nXw">Activist Ujjwal Bikram Thapa</a> who has been helping women victims of acid attacks and lobbying for the legislation says it is a “national shame” that such an important bill has been allowed to lapse.“Preventing acid attacks on women is not a political issue, it was not for or against any political party,” Thapa said. “If the government cannot act on such a sensitive issue, we as a nation have lost our humanity.”The law would have increased the punishment to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-prolonged-trauma-of-acid-attack-survivors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-prolonged-trauma-of-acid-attack-survivors/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631927850058000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFOv0RqIp7iQqmDasfki-F3Q0FUaA">perpetrators of acid attacks</a> to 20 years jail terms, and Rs1 million in fines. If the victim died, the acid assaulter would have to pay compensation to the family. These laws are now not in effect anymore.Nepal’s Constitution mandates that a law or amendment brought by ordinance must be ratified by Parliament within 60 days of being presented to the House, otherwise it is automatically scrapped. The ordinances had been passed on 18 July and expired on Wednesday.“We had actually started seeing a drop in attempts to reach settlements in which the rape accused used power, muscle and money to avoid punishment,” says gender rights activist Sangita Timsina.Menuka Thapa of the group Rakshya Nepal says that after the ordinance stipulating a three-year jail term for those attempting to settle rapes cases out of court, she had seen a drop in such negotiations.Last year, when a 16-year-old was raped by multiple men in Saptari, local elders offered the victim’s family Rs55,000 if they forgave the perpetrator. When the family took a stand saying it wanted justice, not money, influential men in the village threatened them from filing a police case. The young woman committed suicide.But because the ordinance against out-of-court settlement had been passed, the perpetrators Dharma Mandal, Bishnu Mandal, Ranjit Mandal and Ballu Mandal as well as three elders trying to save them from punishment were detained by police.Similarly, at the other end of the country in Bajhang, a 12-year-old Dalit girl was murdered after rape. The alleged rapist Rajendra Bohra had last year been released from jail after this family paid a mere Rs500 to settle an earlier rape case. If the amendment had been in place, the second crime would not have happened.After a series of such rape settlement cases, the government of Prime Minister K P Oli had President Bidya Devi Bhandari sign an ordinance in November last year to amend the laws on rape and other crimes against women.Pressure to settle rape cases by offering money or threats against the victims or their families would be punishable by up to three years in prison and Rs30,000 fine. In fact, the amendment added another 6 months in jail if the one pressuring the victim is an elected official.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d023d9c7e80680e0a366ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2268" height="1390"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The parliamentary stalemate has also affected the budget, and from the first of the Nepali month of Ashwin on Friday, the government cannot spend any money which could lead to a shutdown similar to the one that the United States experienced last year after a filibuster in Congress when Donald Trump was president.But while the US has seen such crises before, this is the first time Nepal has had a government shutdown because the House deadlock has meant that the government’s budget ordinance has lapsed.The reason for this state of affairs is that Prime Minister Deuba suspended Parliament when it looked like he could not pass an amendment to the Constitution allowing political parties to split with signatures of just 20% of their parliamentary parties.This was to facilitate Madhav Kumar Nepal to split from the UML to form the CPN (United Socialist) so that he could join the coalition government. K P Oli and the UML is also using his obstruction of the House to exact revenge on the coalition that ousted him.Five-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba does not seem too perturbed. When asked by reporters this week how the government would function without a budget, he replied: “As it has functioned in the past.”Parmeswar Dhungana of the Finance Ministry says the first option is to have Parliament when it meets Monday to ratify the ordinance to split parties, that will unblock the other ordinances. The second option is to pass an emergency payment bill, but even for that the political deadlock between the coalition and the UML in both chambers of the House must end.The third option is to suspend Parliament again and pass and renew all pending bills, amendments and the budget by ordinance.This has happened before. Exactly ten years ago when then UML Finance Minister Surendra Pandey tried to present the budget, the current Maoist Finance Minister Janardan Sharma led a charge on the floor of the House and broke Pandey’s red-ribboned budget briefcase. After that, the UML coalition passed the budget by ordinance.The other collateral damage of the deadlock in Parliament is the US-supported <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1631927850058000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2KbkdVt5RHXp1wruRR1Tu1HOoVQ">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)</a> project to increase the capacity of Nepal’s electricity transmission lines and improve highways. The project is already signed but needs to be ratified by Parliament in 2019, but has also been a victim of extreme politics.

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The human cost of Nepal’s political deadlock

<figure><img width="1454" height="889" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b950a9c7e80680e06f235jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>About 250 years ago when King Prithivi Narayan Shah made Kathmandu the capital of unified Nepal, he realised that the city had great potential as a business centre, complementing its role as a trading hub. He allowed in businessmen from Rajasthan in India to set up shop and allow entrepreneurship to ferment, a move expanded later by Prime Minister Chandra Shamshere Rana. One reason entrepreneurship did not have deep roots in Nepal was the concept of जागिर, a 10-5 salaried position with job security. That is why the start-up culture took so long to start up and morph in Nepal. The proliferation of, and exposure to the Internet and the recent advent of international private equity firms, accelerators and incubators have paid a pivotal role in making this happen.Since 2017, successive government budgets have mentioned start-ups and allocated money for their establishment, but without clarity and development. This year’s budget was no different: it also set aside Rs1 billion towards building a start-up ecosystem, including concessional loans.  What the previous governments had missed out on, this one seems to have acknowledged: start with defining a start-up. A voluminous document is doing its rounds through the corridors of our bureaucracy for comments from experts. Until they come up with a definition, let us say a start-up is an innovative idea that uses technology to address unmet demand in the market.In the United States, the start-up sector is a $3 trillion business. In South Asia, India leads the pack with over 20,000 Start-ups in operation, of which 100 are unicorns with a combined market cap of $240 billion. Bangladesh, Pakistan and even Afghanistan have understood the importance of this sector to the economy.  Internationally, some 90% of start-ups fail to take off. Nepal has invested in 400 start-ups, all in Kathmandu, and the risk appetite for new investments is limited partly because of the absence of an enabling environment. The cost factor for starting a tech business in Nepal is lower than anywhere else with a constant flow of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/outdated-laws-limited-ecommerce-hold-back-tech-industry%20,3547" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eligible young graduates well versed in English</a> who are relatively computer literate. The bandwidth for connectivity is getting better. It is an untapped market, an imitation of international successes for local markets can be implemented, and the population is young, and growing.There are challenges with the lack of legal and policy environment posing the greatest risk. Ideas are the premise of any start-up. Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is the most important legal recourse for safeguarding those ideas, which in Nepal remains a draft and has been in discussion for quite some time.The current law was formulated in 1964, and does not address developments that have occurred worldwide since then. A lawyer recently remarked that when he tried to register a trademark for poultry feed, the application was denied because a tobacco company had already registered it. Thankfully, the Supreme Court gave a verdict on the Kansai Nerolac case a few years ago, which protected trademarks. Still, laws need to reflect international best practices for this sector to operate. Financing start-ups is also a great hurdle. Banks are reluctant and risk averse to lend without collateral. If a loan is secured it is not nearly enough to meet the requirement and equity is difficult to come by. The ones who have demonstrated that they have the ability to serve a niche market and can show potential to scale up have been successful to secure equity financing.  The start-up industry is evolving despite the lack of an enabling environment.  The resilience shown by these entrepreneurs has steadily improved, and the appetite to invest in them is gaining traction. Examples are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/three-toots-for-tootle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ride sharing apps</a> that made the government change its policy, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-budding-e-commerce-ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">e-commerce platforms</a> that have engaged with the government to facilitate the sector, and companies that realigned business plans to accommodate government policies. A cloud service provider had to create a hybrid model because government officials could not comprehend what it was, and that data could be secure. They needed to see actual physical infrastructure.  But <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Cross-Cutting/Start-ups-need-staying-power,439" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start-ups are resilient</a>, and they will continue to compel the authorities to accommodate them as they continue to grow. They have adapted to the situation and have introduced internal safeguards to secure their ideas in a lax IPR environment.  Some are ensuring strict non-disclosure agreements, developing in-house products knowing that there will be disrupters in the market six months down the road and, focussing on networks as much as focussing on products. The government’s new regulations will hopefully put it in a facilitating role to create a platform for ideation to grow with the help of mentors from academia and the private sector. Nepal’s start-ups are to stay, and with the right legal and regulatory framework in place, will thrive. One day there will be a Nepali unicorn in the making.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/also-keeping-financially-healthy-in-a-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Siddhant Pandey</a> is Chairman and CEO of <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://bo2.com.np" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd (BO2).</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b950d9c7e80680e06f236jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="90" height="109">

Giving start-ups a head start

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b94279c7e80680e06f1e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2540" height="1426"/><figcaption>Richshaw operator Kancha Lama hardly gets one ride a day. He mostly depends on people distributing free food during the lockdown.</figcaption></figure>After two months in which there were new records of cases and fatalities every day, the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-covid-19-lockdown-relaxed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">appears to be cresting in Nepal</a>, but it has left the economy in ruins with a crisis-ridden government offering no hope to citizens.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">At its peak in mid-May</a>, there were more than 9,000 new infections and up to 250 deaths daily. And that was just the official count, models put the figures at least three times higher. However, the real impact of the pandemic is in the country’s economic meltdown, with more than half the employed losing their jobs.The Covid-induced lockdowns have pushed millions of  Nepalis back below the poverty line, which means they are now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-epidemic-of-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unable to access food and water</a>, basic health care and education. This has completely reversed Nepal’s gains in poverty reduction in the past ten years.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b942a9c7e80680e06f1e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="225">Back in March, at the tail end of the first wave, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covids-collateral-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalmedia’s tv magazine Saglo Samaj interviewed</a> farmers, tourist guides, hotel operators and taxi drivers most affected by the lockdowns.This week, the team revisited each of the same people to find out what had become of them. Their stories are a microcosm of a society ravaged by the pandemic, where the poor have got poorer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yni_6WWbmAo&amp;feature=youtu.beNepalis suffered altogether <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">five months of lockdown in 2020</a>, and another nearly two months this year. The restrictions were eased this week, even though the daily number of fatalities and active cases are higher than when the lockdown was imposed on 29 April.The pandemic and the lockdowns have disabled every sector. Some 1.1 million people in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hospitality industry</a> have been directly impacted by the pandemic and more than half of Nepalis lost their jobs in the past month alone.Yet, the government has no clear plans to provide alternative employment opportunities for those who lost their jobs. In fact, it has been too <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">preoccupied with a political power struggle for most </a>of the pandemic to plan a real exit strategy. Every response to the crisis has been too little, too late.On Tuesday, even though other districts prepared to relax their lockdown just as Kathmandu did, Nepal saw 4,522 new cases and 41 fatalities. There are a total of 52,648 active infections, 762 of them in ICU and 218 in ventilator support in hospitals across the country.Public health experts are already warning of a possible third wave and urging the government to make preparations for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased contact tracing</a> and hospital treatment to avoid much devastation.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b942b9c7e80680e06f1e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2552" height="1428"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>MILKED DRYBuffalo milk is the only source of income for farmers in Kamdi village of Banke district in the western Tarai. But many of the dairy farmers were unable to sell their milk during the lockdowns in 2020. Later, they didn’t get a fair price and the Dairy Development Corporation was slow to pay even what they were owed.“The market is closed, there is barely any feed for the cattle. We are working day and night, but for nothing,” says Malati Prasad Yadav, who has 150 buffalos, but little income since the pandemic.The farmers took loans to buy feed and take care of the buffalos, but the second wave has quashed the little hope they had. They were hoping the government would announce a relief package in this year’s budget. But their hopes were dashed.“We are having to pour the milk into the drains, there are no consumers for ghee or cheese. We are running at a loss and there is no telling how long it will last,” says Saroj Pandey of the SJ Dairy in Nepalganj. “The government should boost the morale of farmers and local businesses, subsidise their electricity or promote Nepali goods by stopping import from the third country.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b942e9c7e80680e06f1e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="844"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>TOURISM AND REALISMOne of the hardest-hit sectors is tourism. And while professionals of most fields have had to cope with the challenges brought on by the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-all-the-guides-gone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tourist guides have been unemployed</a> for more than a year now.Four months ago, tourist guide Shankar Bhattarai had taken up teaching to make a living but was spending all his free time reading up about Nepal’s history and culture to better prepare himself for when the tourists would come back post lockdown. But the second wave killed what was left of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s tourism</a>.He has since given up any hope of normalcy and is constantly worried about debt collectors. Hoping for an alternative for tourists guides like himself, he was further depressed with this year’s budget.“There were provisions only for the big hotels and travel agents, we didn’t find ordinary tour guides like us anywhere in the relief packages,” says Bhattarai, who had been a tourist guide since 2011. “I’ve tried my best to promote Nepal through my work but at our time of need, we have no government support. I now question myself about staying back in Nepal.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b94309c7e80680e06f1e7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2537" height="1425"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>UNSERVICEABLEBig businesses have their own woes. The three-star Airport Hotel in Kathmandu has seen only a handful of guests in more than a year. The hotel’s original staff of 100 is down to 10, and only 10 of its 62 rooms are kept serviceable.“We are doing much worse than last year, we did survive 15 months somehow, there were some domestic tourists, but then the second wave happened and it destroyed what little we had,” says owner Binayak Shah, adding that he has not been able to pay the monthly instalments on its loan for 17 months.He adds: “I have no income, so how can I pay them? This means sooner or later, the bank is going to blacklist me, and put this hotel up for auction.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b94339c7e80680e06f1e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2544" height="1420"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>DOWN AND OUTWhile some worry about paying millions in bank loans, daily wage labourers worry about the next meal. Kancha Lama has been operating a rickshaw in Kathmandu for 38 years, but his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pandemic-puts-brake-on-kathmandus-rickshaws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">business is down and out</a>. He hardly gets one ride a day, and mostly depends on people distributing free food.“It’s easy for the government to tell us to stay home and eat healthy, where is the money? It doesn’t even allow me to beg on the streets. At least they should distribute rations for people like us,” says Lama. “If I get Covid, at least I will be out of this misery.”Bir Bahadur Lama is in Asan every day, and if it is his lucky day he will get a client or two to carry loads for them. Otherwise, he sits on the temple steps passing the day with other jobless porters. Before the pandemic, they used to carry loads for Asan’s many shops. Sometimes, good samaritans offer them food, but that is rare.“I just wish I did not have to sleep hungry and lockdown would end soon, that is all I wish for,” he says.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b94379c7e80680e06f1e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2539" height="1430"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>TAKEN FOR A RIDEDuring the lockdown last year, a bank took possession of Ganesh Tamang’s taxi which he had bought with Rs500,000 out of savings from years of toil in the Gulf.With no other source of income, he is now back to his village and raises livestock. “I often feel like I was born in a wrong country, to a wrong family, and at the wrong time, it wouldn’t have come to this anywhere else,” he says.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b943a9c7e80680e06f1eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="844"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Sagar Bohora has a sickly mother at home, and a family of young children dependent on him. But his taxi has broken down because it has not run much for the past year-and-a-half. He needs at least Rs30,000 for repairs, but he has barely enough after paying off the auto loan.“I only ask banks and financial institutions that they give us a few months until after the lockdown so that we can pay our dues, by then we will be able to get up, with or without government help,” says Bohora.<h2>Pandemic makes the poor poorer</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b943c9c7e80680e06f1ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2538" height="1424"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There is empirical evidence that the second pandemic wave has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-prepares-for-economic-fallout-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">further impoverished Nepal’s poor</a>. Even by modest estimates, some 9 million Nepalis have been pushed back below the poverty line due to Covid-19 induced lockdowns. In this week’s Saglo Samaj tv magazine, Shankar Sharma, former ambassador to the US and vice-chairperson of the National Planning Commission spoke to Kanak Mani Dixit. Excerpts:Kanak Mani Dixit: We went back to people we had interviewed four months ago, and found that their situation had further declined. Do they represent the current Nepali society?Shankar Sharma: They are an accurate representation. There are three categories that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic: the first are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pandemic-offers-chance-to-revive-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">subsistence farmers</a> below the poverty line, this also includes disadvantaged groups. The next are people in the informal sector whose livelihood has been endangered with the extended closure of the market. Then there is the hospitality industry and unlike others, they haven’t been able to pick up after the first wave because the impact of the lockdown on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tourism-that-treads-lightly-on-the-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">travel industry</a> is long-term. These businesses had loans and now their debt has accumulated.These impacts are directly reflected in our macroeconomic numbers. Economic growth rate last year was 2% and this year it won’t be more than 1%. Similarly, the World Bank estimates following the pandemic there are now a total 9 million people in Nepal below the poverty line.Would you say that because it is not monetised rural subsistence living is faring better?Back during the Maoist insurgency, some development partners had conducted a study about people who had migrated to the cities due to the violence. They asked people if they would go back to the village once the peace accord was signed, 93% of the respondents said no.One of the main reasons behind this was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s agriculture</a> couldn’t compete with Indian and Chinese produce. This also led to more people migrating abroad. Experts have suggested the concept of contract farming, which is also included in this year’s budget and will do well for the country.But one of our biggest problems is our <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-fake-poor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inability to identify the poor</a>. The government has developed ID cards for their identification, but 23% of the poor are not on the list but 25% are those who have listed themselves in hopes of getting some relief. As a result, the real poor have been deprived even of their social security fund.What should we do to boost their morale and of the country?The affected people are those in rural Nepal but they also have an advantage of three levels of government. But it is still the responsibility of the central government to provide relief worth at least two months at $1 per day for its people. Unfortunately, there is no mention of this in the budget this year.The Nepal government has also allocated a total of Rs50 billion for training in the last two budgets but hasn’t been able to spend that money. This fund should be used in skill development for Nepalis post lockdown, effective spending of the budget is a must. Similarly, the government should support cottage and small industries so that they don’t close down. If we lack funding, we could use loans and grants we have received from international development partners.Despite the pandemic, there is still talk about Nepal graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status to a middle-income country. What will happen now?Following the pandemic, the United Nations has set a new deadline for the LDCs to graduate to lower-middle-income and middle-income countries. The good news is that we have made some progress in our per capita income, and the fact that our economy is now dependent on multiple factors is a positive sign. But what is worrying is that our economic growth is still lower than the average growth of underdeveloped countries. This means we will have to work more on increasing our living standard.It is said that Nepal is not a poor country, but the government just cannot seem to spend its development budget. If they were held more to account by civil society and media during this pandemic that might help? I think that is an appropriate conclusion to make. The government will always play the lead role, but it is important to highlight the importance of civil society and journalists in creating awareness about various programs at the local level such as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister’s Employment Scheme</a>, which goes a long way in rejuvenating elected representatives in villages and towns.

The real cost of Nepal’s second wave

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b914f9c7e80680e06f0dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1333" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: THE STAR/THE PANGOLIN REPORTS</figcaption></figure>Over 172 million infections and nearly 4 million lives later, the exact origin of the Covid-19 pandemic is still a matter of debate. But scientists have a pretty good guess.Early studies pointed to bats as the source of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepal-must-watch-about-coronavirus-but-not-panic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepal-must-watch-about-coronavirus-but-not-panic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622851284763000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEHJ6TOsHS0_g69zkioRcZxJDNFig">2019 novel coronavirus</a> and epidemiologists say the virus could have jumped to an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-in-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">intermediary species like the pangolin</a>, which is a delicacy in certain parts of China, and on to humans.There is now a better understanding of how the rise of zoonotic diseases is associated with the destruction of nature and the flourishing illegal wildlife trade. This could be how the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 took place in late 2019, but there is little political will to stop the destruction of nature.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91529c7e80680e06f0dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="535" height="279">“There will always be a risk of pandemics as long as there is demand for bush meat and the destruction of biodiversity,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-day-of-pangolins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tulshi Laxmi Suwal</a> of Nepal’s Small Mammal Conservation and Research Foundation who has been involved in pangolin research.Scientists are still debating the natural origin hypothesis for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 in Wuhan, but the absence of an intermediary host and lack of a chain of mutations in the SARS-2 is shifting attention to the lab-leak theory once again.Whatever the root cause, this is not the first pandemic and it will not be the last if the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">planet’s current rate of biodiversity loss</a> continues. The link between the destruction of nature and the rise of new infectious diseases is now recognised, a trend exacerbated by the climate crisis.“The coronavirus pandemic is a much-needed wake-up call but people have short-term memory, they will soon forget the connection to habitat destruction,” says environmentalist Kumar Paudel of the Greenhood Nepal. “Politicians can’t keep destroying the ecology for the sake of economic growth.”Indeed, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-budget-sparks-electric-comeback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new budget</a> announced this week places emphasis on infrastructure and development at the expense of nature preservation. It will allow further plunder of the fragile Chure Hills for quarrying to reduce the $10 billion trade deficit with India.This tendency has seeped down to local governments which are building poorly-designed roads, view towers and concrete monuments at breakneck speed.New highways, irrigation canals, transmission lines and now new rail tracks are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slicing through national parks</a>.The most serious destruction is of the last tract of native forests in the eastern Tarai for the construction of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mammoth Nijgad project</a> for which Paudel set allocated money for infrastructure, international investor selection, land acquisition and site clearing.On the occasion of World Environment Day on 5 June, nine of Nepal’s development partners <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/importance-of-ecosystems-for-people-and-the-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued a statement cautioning the government</a> about the project.‘It is important to ensure that decisions ... for large projects such as Nijgad Airport, are based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s established economic, environmental and social regulations, as well as climate and other commitments,’ the statement reads.It is signed by the embassies of Australia, Britain, EU, Finland, France, Germany in Nepal as well as the Kathmandu offices of the Asian Development Bank, United Nations and World Bank in Nepal.With the monsoon approaching, there is the threat of a repeat of last year’s deadly flash floods and landslides triggered by haphazard construction of roads and embankments. These are not ‘natural disasters’ but the result of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dont-just-blame-god-for-floods-and-landslides/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bad engineering and unsustainable exploitation of nature</a>.“Covering everything with concrete is not development, and our development model is suicidal, the coronavirus pandemic is just the latest example of this,” explains naturalist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. “Even urban life needs to be integrated with natural elements like water bodies, trees, groundwater recharge.”Conservation need not be anti-development. Green policies actually boost the economy: in Nepal protecting charismatic big mammals promoted ecotourism and created jobs, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">community forests</a> yielded ecosystem services by augmenting ground water recharge, a shift to renewable energy can reduce petroleum import.Switching to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electric public transport and battery vehicles</a> to reduce the petroleum import bill by just 10% would save Nepal Rs21 billion a year – besides promoting domestic clean energy from hydropower, and improving air quality.“We need to link conservation with economy to drive the change, nature-friendly policies and conservation education must be at the forefront,” adds Shrestha.Yet, Nepal’s current economic model threatens the conservation successes that have earned the country international praise. By allowing logging in community forests, building dams in national parks, clearing vast tracts of forests to build <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nijgad airport</a>, and destroying rivers through sand mining will undo decades of achievement.The theme of this World Environment Day on 5 June is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, and despite lip service Nepal’s government is too distracted by politics to act on this motto.Warns Kumar Paudel: “If we do not change our ways, many more health and environmental crises await us in the near future.”

Sonia Awale

The nature of pandemics

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf22b9c7e80680e09d8edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1333" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: THE STAR/THE PANGOLIN REPORTS</figcaption></figure>Over 172 million infections and nearly 4 million lives later, the exact origin of the Covid-19 pandemic is still a matter of debate. But scientists have a pretty good guess.Early studies pointed to bats as the source of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepal-must-watch-about-coronavirus-but-not-panic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepal-must-watch-about-coronavirus-but-not-panic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622851284763000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEHJ6TOsHS0_g69zkioRcZxJDNFig">2019 novel coronavirus</a> and epidemiologists say the virus could have jumped to an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-in-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">intermediary species like the pangolin</a>, which is a delicacy in certain parts of China, and on to humans.There is now a better understanding of how the rise of zoonotic diseases is associated with the destruction of nature and the flourishing illegal wildlife trade. This could be how the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 took place in late 2019, but there is little political will to stop the destruction of nature.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf22e9c7e80680e09d8eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="535" height="279">“There will always be a risk of pandemics as long as there is demand for bush meat and the destruction of biodiversity,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-day-of-pangolins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tulshi Laxmi Suwal</a> of Nepal’s Small Mammal Conservation and Research Foundation who has been involved in pangolin research.Scientists are still debating the natural origin hypothesis for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 in Wuhan, but the absence of an intermediary host and lack of a chain of mutations in the SARS-2 is shifting attention to the lab-leak theory once again.Whatever the root cause, this is not the first pandemic and it will not be the last if the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">planet’s current rate of biodiversity loss</a> continues. The link between the destruction of nature and the rise of new infectious diseases is now recognised, a trend exacerbated by the climate crisis.“The coronavirus pandemic is a much-needed wake-up call but people have short-term memory, they will soon forget the connection to habitat destruction,” says environmentalist Kumar Paudel of the Greenhood Nepal. “Politicians can’t keep destroying the ecology for the sake of economic growth.”Indeed, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-budget-sparks-electric-comeback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new budget</a> announced this week places emphasis on infrastructure and development at the expense of nature preservation. It will allow further plunder of the fragile Chure Hills for quarrying to reduce the $10 billion trade deficit with India.This tendency has seeped down to local governments which are building poorly-designed roads, view towers and concrete monuments at breakneck speed.New highways, irrigation canals, transmission lines and now new rail tracks are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slicing through national parks</a>.The most serious destruction is of the last tract of native forests in the eastern Tarai for the construction of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mammoth Nijgad project</a> for which Paudel set allocated money for infrastructure, international investor selection, land acquisition and site clearing.On the occasion of World Environment Day on 5 June, nine of Nepal’s development partners <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/importance-of-ecosystems-for-people-and-the-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued a statement cautioning the government</a> about the project.‘It is important to ensure that decisions ... for large projects such as Nijgad Airport, are based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s established economic, environmental and social regulations, as well as climate and other commitments,’ the statement reads.It is signed by the embassies of Australia, Britain, EU, Finland, France, Germany in Nepal as well as the Kathmandu offices of the Asian Development Bank, United Nations and World Bank in Nepal.With the monsoon approaching, there is the threat of a repeat of last year’s deadly flash floods and landslides triggered by haphazard construction of roads and embankments. These are not ‘natural disasters’ but the result of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dont-just-blame-god-for-floods-and-landslides/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bad engineering and unsustainable exploitation of nature</a>.“Covering everything with concrete is not development, and our development model is suicidal, the coronavirus pandemic is just the latest example of this,” explains naturalist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. “Even urban life needs to be integrated with natural elements like water bodies, trees, groundwater recharge.”Conservation need not be anti-development. Green policies actually boost the economy: in Nepal protecting charismatic big mammals promoted ecotourism and created jobs, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">community forests</a> yielded ecosystem services by augmenting ground water recharge, a shift to renewable energy can reduce petroleum import.Switching to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electric public transport and battery vehicles</a> to reduce the petroleum import bill by just 10% would save Nepal Rs21 billion a year – besides promoting domestic clean energy from hydropower, and improving air quality.“We need to link conservation with economy to drive the change, nature-friendly policies and conservation education must be at the forefront,” adds Shrestha.Yet, Nepal’s current economic model threatens the conservation successes that have earned the country international praise. By allowing logging in community forests, building dams in national parks, clearing vast tracts of forests to build <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nijgad airport</a>, and destroying rivers through sand mining will undo decades of achievement.The theme of this World Environment Day on 5 June is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, and despite lip service Nepal’s government is too distracted by politics to act on this motto.Warns Kumar Paudel: “If we do not change our ways, many more health and environmental crises await us in the near future.”

<img width="640" height="371" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86e29c7e80680e06787bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Widely criticised for its hefty tax on battery-powered vehicles in last year’s budget, Prime Minister Oli’s government under a new finance minister has backtracked to scrap the controversial tax hikes on e-vehicle imports.Last year, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada slapped excise duties on e-vehicles of 30-80% depending on their capacity, and levied customs duty of 60%. He justified it saying electric SUVs were luxury items, and the government needed to augment revenue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.The move priced e-vehicles out of the market at a time when sales had just started to pick up, and various brands of electric vehicles were gaining popularity because of their expanded range. But Khatiwada’s move  spiked prices of electric vehicles by 120-140%, making them less competitive vis-a-vis fossil-fuel alternatives.  The government’s move appears to be geared to reducing the import of petroleum import bill, and also to increase electricity consumption as Nepal’s new hydropower plants come online this year, giving an energy surplus. Saturday’s new budget presented by Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel has completely repealed excise duties on e-vehicle imports while cutting customs duties down to the earlier 10%. This takes the tax formula back to 2016 when cuts in excise and customs duty had made battery-operated vehicles gain popularity.Paudel also announced that renewal and road taxes will be waived for five years if an existing petroleum vehicles switches to battery power.The new policies are based on Nepal’s ambitious plan to phase out petrol-diesel vehicles with e-vehicles by 2031, especially as lockdowns increase public consciousness on Nepal’s growing air pollution problem caused mainly by vehicular emissions.Analysts say that the government had no choice because most countries that Nepal imports cars from, including India and China have announced phaseouts of new petroleum vehicles in the next decade. Following the budget announcement, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) signed a contract with Chinese firm Wanwang Digital Energy Corporation for the installation and maintenance of 50 e-vehicle charging ports across Nepal. The finance minister’s budget speech also announces tax cuts on electric consumer goods and home appliances, including induction stoves, rice cookers and electric kettles. The excise on those items have been removed and the customs duty has been slashed to only 1%.With the Upper Tamakosi’s 456MW soon being hooked to the grid, and another 800MW are expected to be added from new hydropower plants on the Bhote Kosi and other rivers. The NEA has already made Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) to buy about 6,000MW of electricity from private operators, but a lot of this will depend on the commissioning of transmission lines under the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622449784871000&amp;usg=AFQjCNER1b-E4jV_wM6LmsXEHmhipEELsQ">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project</a>.The budget also had other environment-friendly policies like a ban on the manufacture, distribution and use of plastic bags thinner than 40 microns. The government will also subsidise plastic industries to upgrade machinery so they do not have to produce thin plastic bags that cannot be recycled.The budget has slashed taxes on agricultural equipment to promote farm mechanisation. It also announced tax breaks for those donating for Covid-19 charities, as well as reduced taxes on medical equipment used for treatment during the pandemic. Industries investing in new oxygen plants will get a 50% subsidy from the government, while existing factories will get a 50% discount on their electricity bills.In order to boost post-Covid tourism revival, the government has decided to scrap visa fees for visitors to Nepal. Chinese and SAARC nationals already had free visas, now visitors from other countries will also not have to pay $30 for 15 day visas. The budget has also slashed the tax that hotels, travel agencies and other tourism-related service industries have to pay.Buoyed by remittances from Nepalis abroad which has defied predictions by actually increasing by 16.5% this year, Finance Minister Paudel predicted a 6.5% economic growth in the coming fiscal year despite the pandemic.

New Nepal budget sparks electric comeback

<img width="640" height="371" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceee89c7e80680e09ae58jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Widely criticised for its hefty tax on battery-powered vehicles in last year’s budget, Prime Minister Oli’s government under a new finance minister has backtracked to scrap the controversial tax hikes on e-vehicle imports.Last year, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada slapped excise duties on e-vehicles of 30-80% depending on their capacity, and levied customs duty of 60%. He justified it saying electric SUVs were luxury items, and the government needed to augment revenue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.The move priced e-vehicles out of the market at a time when sales had just started to pick up, and various brands of electric vehicles were gaining popularity because of their expanded range. But Khatiwada’s move  spiked prices of electric vehicles by 120-140%, making them less competitive vis-a-vis fossil-fuel alternatives.  The government’s move appears to be geared to reducing the import of petroleum import bill, and also to increase electricity consumption as Nepal’s new hydropower plants come online this year, giving an energy surplus. Saturday’s new budget presented by Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel has completely repealed excise duties on e-vehicle imports while cutting customs duties down to the earlier 10%. This takes the tax formula back to 2016 when cuts in excise and customs duty had made battery-operated vehicles gain popularity.Paudel also announced that renewal and road taxes will be waived for five years if an existing petroleum vehicles switches to battery power.The new policies are based on Nepal’s ambitious plan to phase out petrol-diesel vehicles with e-vehicles by 2031, especially as lockdowns increase public consciousness on Nepal’s growing air pollution problem caused mainly by vehicular emissions.Analysts say that the government had no choice because most countries that Nepal imports cars from, including India and China have announced phaseouts of new petroleum vehicles in the next decade. Following the budget announcement, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) signed a contract with Chinese firm Wanwang Digital Energy Corporation for the installation and maintenance of 50 e-vehicle charging ports across Nepal. The finance minister’s budget speech also announces tax cuts on electric consumer goods and home appliances, including induction stoves, rice cookers and electric kettles. The excise on those items have been removed and the customs duty has been slashed to only 1%.With the Upper Tamakosi’s 456MW soon being hooked to the grid, and another 800MW are expected to be added from new hydropower plants on the Bhote Kosi and other rivers. The NEA has already made Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) to buy about 6,000MW of electricity from private operators, but a lot of this will depend on the commissioning of transmission lines under the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622449784871000&amp;usg=AFQjCNER1b-E4jV_wM6LmsXEHmhipEELsQ">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project</a>.The budget also had other environment-friendly policies like a ban on the manufacture, distribution and use of plastic bags thinner than 40 microns. The government will also subsidise plastic industries to upgrade machinery so they do not have to produce thin plastic bags that cannot be recycled.The budget has slashed taxes on agricultural equipment to promote farm mechanisation. It also announced tax breaks for those donating for Covid-19 charities, as well as reduced taxes on medical equipment used for treatment during the pandemic. Industries investing in new oxygen plants will get a 50% subsidy from the government, while existing factories will get a 50% discount on their electricity bills.In order to boost post-Covid tourism revival, the government has decided to scrap visa fees for visitors to Nepal. Chinese and SAARC nationals already had free visas, now visitors from other countries will also not have to pay $30 for 15 day visas. The budget has also slashed the tax that hotels, travel agencies and other tourism-related service industries have to pay.Buoyed by remittances from Nepalis abroad which has defied predictions by actually increasing by 16.5% this year, Finance Minister Paudel predicted a 6.5% economic growth in the coming fiscal year despite the pandemic.

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd149c7e80680e08bc58jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Prime Minister K P Oli visited Singha Darbar in nearly a year when he inaugurated the earthquake-damaged secretariat building on 15 February. Most of his Cabinet colleagues are also AWOL, and busy planning pro-Oli political rallies.</figcaption></figure>When Prime Minister K P Oli set foot in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepals-rana-dynasty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Singha Darbar</a> on 15 February to inaugurate the Cabinet office rebuilt after the earthquake, it had been nearly a year since he had been to the seat of government.In the courtyard of the palace first <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepals-rana-dynasty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">built by Chandra Shumshere Rana 100 years ago</a>, he gave a two-hour speech highlighting his government’s achievements. Then he quickly drove back to his residence in Baluwatar.Ostensibly, the prime minister stopped working out of his secretariat at Singha Darbar because his second <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/prime-ministers-health-condition-under-wraps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kidney transplant</a> in March 2020 made him vulnerable to coronavirus infection.He did visit Singha Darbar briefly in April last year when he addressed the Non-Aligned Movement Conference from the Action Room of his office.But ever since he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolved the Lower House</a> on 20 December and announced snap polls for April and May, Prime Minister Oli has been behaving as if he is on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/a-kathmandu-spring/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">election campaign trail</a>. His public appearances have been limited to addressing street rallies, where he has lashed out at estranged Nepali Communist Party (NCP) co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.It is not just the prime minister who is AWOL from Singha Darbar. His Cabinet ministers also seem busy moonlighting. Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Minister of Industry Lekhraj Bhatta, Energy Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha, and Law Minister Lilanath Shrestha have all been busy with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">firefighting within the NCP</a>’s instead of attending to the country’s problems.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd189c7e80680e08bc59jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="875"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>A secretary at Singha Darbar admitted to Nepali Times that ministers are rarely available for meetings at their ministries because they are too busy defending Oli from his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rivals in the NCP</a>.“Prioritising internal party matters and a lack of government accountability poses a serious challenge to effective and impactful governance,” says former government secretary Khemraj Nepal.The half-yearly review of the current budget released by the Ministry of Finance last week shows that only 14% of the capital expenditure allocated by the government for development (Rs50.8 billion out of Rs353 billion) had been spent as of December. This is less than what was spent during the first six months of the previous year.Most development projects have also not met their spending targets. Figures show only Rs14 billion out of the Rs92 billion allocated to speed up the construction of 25 infrastructure projects had been utilised. Indeed, the Action Room set up at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Darbar to accelerate national pride projects has not seen much action in Oli’s absence.This means an economy already stagnant due to the pandemic is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/instability-to-cost-nepal-dear-in-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lagging behind in recovery</a> because development projects are languishing due to government indifference.Oli had pledged Rs300 million from government coffers to add a golden सुनको जलहरी pendant at Pashupatinath during his controversial visit to the temple in January. His decision, an impulsive response to the request by the Pashupati Area Development Fund, was made without prior discussion with advisers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd1c9c7e80680e08bc5ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This is perhaps one of the few activities of the government that is actually being fast-tracked so the inner sanctum of the temple has the expensive gold pendant in time for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/maha-shivaratri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shivaratri</a> on 11 March.Pashupati was not the first time Oli dropped a surprise. A former secretary says the prime minister’s habit of making ad hoc spur of the moment decisions from Baluwatar without consulting experts is wasteful. Only Oli’s adviser and confidante Bishnu Rimal is said to have the prime minister’s ear on most matters.Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, a former minister in the Oli administration, recalls many such impulsive decisions at Cabinet meetings that went against the government’s own strategy.Even former Finance Minister Yuvraj Khatiwada, a workaholic who prefers to keep strict office hours, has criticised the ‘out-of-office’ culture of the prime minister and his Cabinet colleagues.Another senior government official told Nepali Times said the state machinery was in complete disarray due to the prime minister’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/zero-sum-game-for-nepals-ruling-communists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lackadaisical attitude towards governance</a>. Not only has Oli been out of touch with his ministers, but the ministers are also not discussing important issues with their secretaries, thus disrupting the entire chain of communication within Singha Darbar."Because the PMO in Baluwatar functions as a parallel seat of government, morale is very low in Singha Darbar,” the official says.Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi says ministers have the responsibility of carrying through the government’s programs, managing the budget and making policy decisions. "If the minister does not show up, and does not take his work seriously, there will be no result,” Subedi says.Most ministers these days do not even bother to come to Singha Darbar. They either work from their residences, or are attending <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/back-in-the-streets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political rallies</a> in support of the prime minister, or planning them with their cronies.

Nepal's empty corridors of power

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022112911110/6385d8539c7e80680e0cc75djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1336" height="806"/><figcaption>Illustration: Bhanu Bhattarai</figcaption></figure>Albert Einstein is attributed for defining insanity as repeating the same process again and again, but expecting a different result. By this logic, we human beings are stark raving bonkers. But excelling even more on Einstein’s madness scale would be us Nepalis.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-electric-transport-future-is-here/">President Bidya Devi Bhandari</a> recently recited a two-and-half hour long speech about the government’s plans and policies. In parliamentary systems, this is just a formality. But Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada proceeded to deliver his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-unveils-covid-19-budget/">budget speech</a> from the same podium that completely contradicted what she had laid out a few days previously.As usual, the budget speech is a cut-and-paste job that repeated ad nauseum a wish list that has been repeated ad nauseum before.  Wonder if the same person has been writing the speech for decades, with minor edits to suit the political masters of the day.The budget cannot just be a menu followed by ad-hoc allocations and some vague source of revenue. It needs to give the people a clear direction – especially at time when it is clearly headed to the edge of the coronavirus precipice.Traditional wisdom says that if you want to make God laugh, tell him/her/it that you have A Plan. Nepal always seems to have a plan for every situation. The only problem with these plans is that they never get implemented.Some donor-funded projects do get some work done because the agencies doling out the money are accountable to tax payers back home. But even here, Nepalis have to watch from the sidelines because the way contracts are awarded and the method with which the government, its development partners and lenders procure services, is opaque and restricted.One of the goals is ‘capacity building’. It always has been. The hidden costs of doing business in Nepal is on the rise, and unless you have an inside track nothing moves. No wonder the poor always end up paying more for almost everything.So, chocolate is going to be cheaper and electric <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/">vehicles are going to be more expensive.</a> That is what the average person on the street has concluded about the budget. Nepal will generate 1,300MW more power this year, doubling its generation capacity.But the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-electric-shock-to-nepals-energy-future/">Finance Minister does not want to create a market for surplus power</a> by encouraging electric vehicles. Everyone gets it. A senior government official says  government drivers, administrators, and accountants will never allow us to replace diesel and petrol vehicles because they still have not figured out how to pilfer from electric vehicles. Once this problem is solved, you can be sure electric vehicles will become a normal part of our life.So we will have plenty of cheap chocolate, a lush new carpet at the presidential palace, and cabinet ministers who look really fit because they are getting a new gym. Now that foreign hospitals and treatment are not an option due to the lockdown, it makes perfect sense. Someone has also figured out that Nepal’s donors will pay for almost anything in the wish list, but a carpet and gym maybe a bit of a push. We know how to work these systems.Many thinkers and writers have taught us that the problem with the present application of capitalism is that all the profit goes into private pockets or bank accounts, but all the costs and risks are ultimately socialised. No one can tell us where and how our politicians became so good at condemning capitalism, but they do not quite seem to get the idea for the need to replace imported fossil fuels, which are paid for by precious foreign currency earned by our young migrant workers.They do not seem to get the link between the cost of imported vehicles, imported fossil fuel, declining jobs in foreign lands, numerous Indian blockades and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/">air pollution that makes all of us vulnerable to COVID-19</a> which seems to prefer to attack the respiratory system. Then there is climate change, but that was dealt with on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/build-back-greener/">World Environment D</a>ay. The budget should be the platform that establishes these linkages.COVID-19 has demonstrated that our vulnerability depends on our health and also our wealth. Many rich people do not work in the essentials services sector, have health insurance and access to the best services. The poor, who should be more concerned, demand an end to the lockdown and the need to go back to the old normal that was, all said and done, working in their favour. Change is easy to demand but very difficult to implement.The poor, who have neither health nor wealth, get sick, die and leave their families poorer than before. Breaking this vicious cycle is what the budget needed to address. It is this systemic poverty that keeps many politicians in power.The poor become the vote bank, and the poverty card is played every four to five years to get into positions of power. The budget making process forgets who and how they got into power in the first place.Anil Chitrakar is President of <a href="http://www.siddharthinc.com/">Siddhartinc</a> and this is his fortnightly column ½ Full in Nepali Times.

Anil Chitrakar

Nepal at the edge of the COVID-19 precipice

<figure><img width="800" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53759c7e80680e052351jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>If this is the state of the streets in the capital, imagine what it is like in the rest of the country.Exactly a year ago this week, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa assured Parliament’s Good Governance Committee that the government would “coordinate with stakeholders” to fix <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Sinkhole-politics-in-Nepal,3837" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roads in the capital</a>. “Due to the negligence of contractors, development projects have not moved ahead and efforts have been made to get them going in coordination with concerned ministries to improve the conditions of roads in Kathmandu,” Thapa was quoted as saying by state news agency RSS on 14 August 2018.A year has passed. And like most government promises, it was never kept. Kathmandu’s roads this monsoon are in an even worse state than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/political-quagmire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last year</a>. Streets dug up for laying water mains or sewers are abandoned like booby traps, like this pit in Sanepa (above). After locals along the Boudha-Jorpati stretch blocked the street earlier this year in protest, the government hurriedly started repairs. But the monsoon turned the road into a quagmire again.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53779c7e80680e052352jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a537a9c7e80680e052353jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a537d9c7e80680e052354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53819c7e80680e052355jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"> <figure><img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53849c7e80680e052356jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A scene at Teku bridge this week.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2000" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53899c7e80680e052357jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A landslide this week on Sanfe-Martadi road is preventing big four wheel vehicles from travelling in and out of Martadi. The road is the main connection to the remote mountain district of Bajura. Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a538c9c7e80680e052358jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53909c7e80680e052359jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53949c7e80680e05235ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53989c7e80680e05235bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1500">It is worse in the hinterland, where not only are the roads never repaired but new ones are being dug through the mountains <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-fatalistic-ke-garne-culture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just to spend budgets</a>, unleashing rockfalls on farms and settlements below.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=31532&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Driving Nepal deeper into debt</a>, Ramesh KumarGovernment SUVs drive along roads that are in poor shape because the budgets to repair them have been spent on expensive cars. Our investigation shows that in the past three years, federal and provincial governments spent a massive Rs250 million on buying SUVs. This may be an absolute majority government, but it has been an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/own-worst-enemy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absolute failure in service delivery</a>. Meanwhile, the federal government this fiscal year spent 2.45% of its total budget on buying vehicles even though most infrastructure is abandoned or half complete after private contractors with political protection absconded with money.

Disrepair

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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