<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6589c7e80680e08779ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu’s tourist neighbourhood of Thamel has been a ghost town for most of 2020, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-tourism-lifted-by-nepali-footfalls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">just like Pokhara</a> and Chitwan it is now bustling with Nepalis who are going out with a vengeance.Cooped up at home for the best part of the year, and despite a surge in coronavirus cases in Kathmandu Valley, young Nepalis are thronging to nightclubs and resto-bars in Thamel and Darbar Marg.Public health experts have warned that the nightspots could become coronavirus hotspots, but that does not seem to deter Nepalis determined to have a good time.After Pokhara, Thamel, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-by-night/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s prime nightlife</a> destination and popular pre-base camp for trekkers and mountaineers is now opening up to local visitors as they await international tourists to return.Streets in Thamel, Pokhara’s lakeside and Sauraha that for months were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deserted</a> had started filling up again with rowdy revellers since Dasain, and the footfalls have been increasing ever since.Taxis and rickshaws are once more waiting for passengers, souvenir shops are crowded with Nepalis, and bars are thrumming with live rock music.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be65c9c7e80680e08779fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be65f9c7e80680e0877a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6639c7e80680e0877a1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6669c7e80680e0877a2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6699c7e80680e0877a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be66d9c7e80680e0877a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Low air fares have also made it possible for young people to visit Pokhara, people from Biratnagar and Dharan to visit Kathmandu, and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-trail-reopens-but-cautiously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trekking trails in the mountains are full of Nepali hikers</a>.Most bars and pubs in Thamel are now open for business, catering to Nepali customers from 7 to 9:30PM every night. Bartenders and waiters with face visors, masks and gloves is a common site.But although maintaining social distance is a norm, some of the nightspots were filled to the rafters on Friday night with youngsters on the dance floor.In its first Friday after reopening, the popular bar in the heart of Thamel LOD (Lord of the Drinks) was brimming with youth enjoying a night out following nine months of imposed lockdowns and restrictions to contain the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spread of Covid-19</a>.But even as nightlife and small business are on track, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepals-covid-19-figures-are-deceptive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu is still on the grips of coronavirus crisis</a>. While much fewer daily new infections (mostly owing to reduced tests and no official contact tracing), the capital city with Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts still make up for over 50% of all new positives with close to 8,000 active cases.Says CEO of LOD Rabin Shrestha:“We make sure all customers have normal body temperatures and once in, people are not allowed on the dance floor. And despite our occupancy of 2000+, we are letting in less than 200 at a time.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6709c7e80680e0877a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6749c7e80680e0877a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6779c7e80680e0877a7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be67a9c7e80680e0877a8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Towards the end of 2019 and in the beginning of 2020, many new businesses catering to tourists had opened up in Thamel with high hopes of turnout as the country was gearing up <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a>.But following first few months of lockdown, hundreds of businesses shutdown unable to pay rents, which ranged from Rs50,000 to half a million depending on the space. Soon, Thamel, which thrives on international tourists, was on the brink of collapse.Many small businesses were eventually granted 50% discount on their rents and utility bills. But with no international visitors on sight, shopkeepers and businesses have set their targets on local consumers to make up for the loss by adjusting their services more suited to Nepalis and with special discounts and packages.

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Covid fatigue drives Nepalis to nightspots

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb6679c7e80680e07bc5djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1221" height="742"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) announced on Sunday that it will allow international carriers to resume an unlimited number of flights from 1 October.Since some flights were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-allows-limited-international-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">allowed to resume on 1 September</a>, there was a cap of only 1,600 passengers allowed to land in Kathmandu every day because of the need to avoid over-crowding, and for physical separation at the arrival and departure terminals.The decision to lift restrictions appears to follow a rise in demand from Nepali families coming home for the Dasain-Tihar-Chhat festivals, as well bookings from tourists who want to take advantage of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reopening of trekking and mountaineering after 17 October</a>.“We have been able to cope with the present volume of passengers, and although it will be challenging, we are confident that we can handle the greater numbers at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-airport-gets-facelift-during-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu airport</a>,” said Devendra KC of Tribhuvan International Airport.Normally 30 airlines used to fly 53 international flights daily from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/landing-in-kathmandu-is-only-half-the-story/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu airport</a> to 32 destinations in the region and beyond. Since 1 September 14 airlines had been allowed to operate only 14 flights a day.“We want to send the message that Nepal is returning to normal,” CAAN’s Rajan Pokhrel said.However, the move comes even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/covid-19-lessons-for-kathmandu-from-the-tarai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Valley has been seeing a surge</a> with 802 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, and three deaths. The number of cases in Nepal has crossed 73,000 with 477 deaths due to the novel coronavirus.In addition, there is still confusion about the conditions in which foreign nationals will be allowed from 17 October. Travel trade executives say the two-week quarantine requirement on arrival is impractical if the visitors arrive with RT PCR negative reports, and they also want visa on arrival to resume.“We have been asking the government to reduce the hotel quarantine time for visitors to three days,” said Achyut Guragain of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA). “After all, returning Nepalis are allowed to go home immediately if they have PCR negative reports.”There is still no word on whether flights to and from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/india-and-nepal-in-covid-19-crisis-together/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India</a> will also be allowed from 1 October.  Tens of thousands of Nepali students, families and patients who had gone to India for treatment have been stuck there for six months. Thai International has also not announced a resumption of its daily flights to Bangkok.Turkish Airlines has already opened online reservations for three flights a week Istanbul-Kathmandu from 3 October, while Korean Air, Dragon Air, Etihad Airways, Fly Dubai, Oman Air and Malaysia Airlines are going back to their normal frequency from 1 October. Qatar Airways has already started twice daily flights Doha-Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151116/636bb66a9c7e80680e07bc5ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s domestic airlines have also reported high suppressed demand from travellers since they <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-domestic-flights-resume/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">resumed flights last week</a>.Meanwhile, CAAN has been embroiled in a controversy after it allowed Himalaya Airlines ‘self-ground handling’ facilities at Kathmandu airport. At present Nepal Airlines does most ground-handling including check-in, baggage and ramp transport. Air India and Thai International are the only two carriers allowed to have their own ground services.Himalaya Airlines is a joint venture between Yeti Airlines and China’s Tibet Airlines, and CAAN’s announcement was denounced by a Nepal Airlines union as being “anti-national”.After political pressure, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Sunday summoned CAAN’s Pokhrel and instructed him not to implement the decision. In addition, he also ordered the cancellation of the special privilege given to Air India and Thai.

Unlimited flights to Nepal from 1 October

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30b9c7e80680e07bb18jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: ROBIC UPADHYAY</figcaption></figure>The complete ban on the sale of alcohol in India’s Bihar state had fostered a booming business in bars and entertainment on the Nepal side of the border. The pandemic lockdown has reduced business, but some of the clandestine trade still persists.These photographs were taken before the lockdown, and show bhattis and fancy restaurants packed with Indian customers of various socio-economic strata. Taking advantage of the open border, the flow of tipplers is open and unregulated.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30e9c7e80680e07bb19jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Responding to this overwhelming demand, Nepal’s border cities are crammed with liquor shops, and their shelves are overflowing with wine, beer and spirits. Anyone caught selling alcohol in Bihar gets a five year jail term, so Nepal is an easy outlet.A whole range of liquors is available; from branded spirits to cheaper alternatives like locally brewed raxi, depending on the budget and preferences.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3119c7e80680e07bb1ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1022" height="666"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3139c7e80680e07bb1bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">It is evening and a bunch of young men have already arrived from the other side. They are talking loudly about ex-lovers, older men talking about the difficulties at work, and there are older men in a corner reminiscing about the time they were young.There are even Indian government officials and policemen who come in from time to time, and try to keep a low profile in the corner. They can lose their jobs back home if caught drinking.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/getting-over-the-influence,1134">Getting over the influence</a>, Hariz Baharudin and Sunir PandeyThe noise level is high, there is boisterous laughter, punctuated by someone yelling: “Saauni, arko ek bottle!” (One more bottle, please!). A full bottle is a delivered immediately to the table.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3169c7e80680e07bb1cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Even after they have had enough and are unsteady in their feet, some customers hire locals as human mules to smuggle over a few more bottles of alcohol across less-guarded border points.Some shops in Nepal can have bottles home-delivered to doorsteps in Bihar, but there is a hefty markup. For some festivals, weddings or celebrations the entire party swarms across the border and whole restaurants or banquet halls are booked. Some Indian weddings have moved to Nepal so guests can be served alcohol with their buffets.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31a9c7e80680e07bb1djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31c9c7e80680e07bb1ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Before the lockdown, it was the alcohol tourism that was helping the economy of Province 2. But it comes with social impact – there are frequent drunken brawls, deaths related to alcohol poisoning, and constant scuffles with police.But this does not dampen the spirits of the visitors from across the border. The Bihari revelers even have a song now: ‘Surya Asta toh Nepal Masta‘ (When the sun sets, the fun starts in Nepal).<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31f9c7e80680e07bb1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3229c7e80680e07bb20jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">This photo story was made during the International Storytelling Workshop 2020, hosted by photo.circle (Nepal) in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), and VII Academy (USA).

When the sun sets, it is fun time in Nepal

<figure><img width="691" height="782" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb27b9c7e80680e07bae5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Comparisons of satellite images show that the Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in a reduction in the number of wildfires in Nepal in the spring of 2020 compared to the previous year.Air pollution data for Kathmandu and other cities in Nepal also indicate an average of 38% improvement in air quality because of restrictions in vehicular movement since the first lockdown went into effect on 24 March.However, there was a sharp deterioration in air quality mid April this year in Kathmandu Valley despite vehicles being off the roads. This has been linked directly to several wildfires burning simultaneously in the districts around Kathmandu which caused an increase in outdoor air borne particles.In fact, NASA satellite measurements show a significant increase in gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the wildfires in that period compared to the previous year.The air quality satellite image (see map) shows that the number of molecules of NO2 per cm2 was much higher in Kathmandu Valley in 9-14 April 2020 when compared to the same days in 2019.But the fires in mid-April were an exception. The number of forest fires in Nepal, in fact, dropped drastically as the lockdown continued. A published <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">study</a> has found that restrictions on movement of people across districts in response to the pandemic likely caused a 5% decrease in the number of forest fire events and a 11% reduction in fire radiative power associated with the fires compared to the previous year. <figure><img width="1402" height="780" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb27e9c7e80680e07bae6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="637" height="760" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2819c7e80680e07bae7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These positive changes were more pronounced in districts with smaller areas of community-managed forests per capita. The difference across different areas of the country suggests that some districts are much better equipped in controlling fire incidence and its <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23659797/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23659797/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGaomVD4EFoyBUfENYKIWfW3ukJ8g">spread</a>.Districts including Arghakhanchi, Rupandehi, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Kapilvaustu, Bara, Parsa and Dailekh implemented <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473#!" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473%23!&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwnxyGisYlc6bIPKj_9zihH2w3xQ">stricter control on movement of people </a>during the lockdown. Other than the absence of humans in the forests, high pre-monsoon rainfall this spring may have also dampened the number of fires.Among developing countries, Nepal faces the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/its-a-jungle-out-there-2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/its-a-jungle-out-there-2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYaQw2M2X73qPjaF9RyNbvNpVrXQ">recurring threat of forest fires</a> that damage around 200,000 hectares every year. A majority of these fires are human-induced and occur during the dry season, mostly between March and May.Between 2000 and 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data shows that Nepal faced 47,000 unique wildfires averaging fire radiative power (FRP) of 29.88 megawatts.These fires have been linked to deliberate burning by grazers and collectors of non-timber forest products, human negligence and accidents. Wildfires cause massive degradation and damage of physical infrastructure every year, affecting livelihoods of people all over Nepal.Empirical estimates suggest that forest fires result in an annual economic loss of Rs5,000 per household, equivalent to 7.32% of the annual per capita GDP in Nepal.This year has been different. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic led the government to enforce a week-long lockdown on 24 March, which was partially lifted for a month before being re-imposed in 44 of Nepal’s 77 districts.A significant focus on precautionary measures over coronavirus during the nationwide lockdown raised questions about limited enforcement mechanisms among <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">forest managers </a>and a potential increase in illegal forest activities. This motivated researchers to periodically study fire data in the Himalayan region via the Aqua and Terra satellites available from NASA’s <a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCG-eOkm_5HkT6GfIci4R8FSx_jw">Fire Information for Resource Management System</a> (FIRMS).India also saw a similar trend this year: high annual rainfall this year exceeding the 15-year average coincided with the reduced number of forest fires in <a href="https://eos.org/articles/covid-19-lockdown-reduces-forest-fires-in-the-western-himalayas" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://eos.org/articles/covid-19-lockdown-reduces-forest-fires-in-the-western-himalayas&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEXu8aN1uJwBq-0hBgmcU6niw1SNA">Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh</a> in the western Himalaya during the lockdown. This despite the fact that even in cases of high rainfall, the amount of moisture retained by the soil may still be the same compared to previous years.Although the Nepali <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20302473&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFIFdMmNTPDMWurp4TjEWvgT05IJw">study</a> takes fluctuations in rainfall and temperature into account, satellite data on real-time active fire locations have their set of limitations as well.First, it is possible that multiple fire incidences within one-pixel area are reported as a single incidence. This problem occurs because the location of the fire is <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Bushfire" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Bushfire&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599031679244000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFSgV1zcKUKU1bUyOV5825pEAhXQQ">usually reported</a> as the center of the pixel. Second, several factors such as land surface temperature, cloud cover and wind direction determine the minimum size of the fire a satellite detects.Finally, it is possible that fires may have started and ended between satellite observations, implying that actual forest fire events may have occurred but not observed in the data.These caveats aside, my findings indicate that the pandemic led to a strong positive effect on the environment in the short-run. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the reduction in the number of forest fire events in the aftermath of the lockdown resulted in a short-term weekly economic gain of Rs360 per household in Nepal. This, however, does not imply that pandemic, in general, has been beneficial.Rather, environmental benefits from reduced incidences of wildfires and improved air quality during the lockdown may partially offset the socioeconomic cost of pandemics across different parts of the globe.The virus outbreak has direct short-term and long-term repercussions on health and labour market outcomes. It would be interesting to see if the lessons learnt in reducing forest fires, air pollution and fossil fuel consumption can be adopted in planning for a ‘better normal’ for Nepal. <figure><img width="1168" height="790" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2839c7e80680e07bae8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Jayash Paudel is an Economics Professor at Boise State University in the United States. @JayashPaudel<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2869c7e80680e07bae9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="141" height="171">

Nepal sees drop in wildfires during lockdown

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b59c7e80680e07373djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"/><figcaption>All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>The first day of the second lockdown in Kathmandu Valley saw major intersections mostly deserted with main roads heavily patrolled by the police. Very few vehicles were out and about and handful number of people on the streets were compulsorily wearing masks and mindful of maintaining physical distance.Previously, Nepal had been under strict nationwide lockdown from 24 March, but it was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eased on 21 June</a> allowing limited local public transport, opening of shops and restaurants. However, the announcement also saw a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/heightened-covid-19-risk-at-india-nepal-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surge of people entering Nepal from India</a>. After the Tarai cities started reporting spikes, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-spreads-closer-to-nepals-ruling-circle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infection also spread to Kathmandu</a>.After Nepal registered 1,016 new cases of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dont-take-covid-19-lightly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 on Tuesday,</a> its biggest daily rise so far, the authorities decided to re-impose lockdown for a week in Kathmandu Valley starting midnight Wednesday.The restrictions in Kathmandu Valley means that no government, private or public transport will be allowed on the streets. However, food distribution, health services and security vehicles will be allowed. Pedestrians will also not be allowed into the streets except at specified times in the morning to buy provisions.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b89c7e80680e07373ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ba9c7e80680e07373fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6bd9c7e80680e073740jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6bf9c7e80680e073741jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c29c7e80680e073742jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c59c7e80680e073743jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c79c7e80680e073744jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6c99c7e80680e073745jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6cb9c7e80680e073746jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ce9c7e80680e073747jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6d09c7e80680e073748jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6d39c7e80680e073749jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Photos: Bikram Rai

Kathmandu Lockdown 2.0

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109131156/636ba42f9c7e80680e073655jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Although the government had announced that regular domestic and international flights would open from 17 August, the uptick in coronavirus cases in Nepal and around the world may force the government to revise the decision. There is also uncertainty about frequency of flights and destinations that will be allowed. With two weeks to go for lifting flight restrictions, seven international airlines have applied for slots from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), and the number of flights will be determined by the capacity at Kathmandu airport to handle arriving passengers, as well as customer demand. Although the government allowed hotels, restaurants, trekking and mountaineering groups to open two weeks ago, confusion about inbound flights have forced most operators to put bookings for the autumn season on hold. As a result, airlines that rely mostly on expatriate Nepalis and tourists are expected to have limited flights, while those that rely on Nepali migrant workers from the Gulf, Malaysia, Korea, and Japan will have higher bookings. But even here, the government has not yet clarified if Nepali migrant workers leaving on job contracts will be allowed to fly out. So far, 40,000 stranded Nepali workers have flown home since <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-struggles-to-make-repatriation-easier/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-struggles-to-make-repatriation-easier/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFBNcBcINhrTh-wiQHW47W4i2hnog">repatriation flights</a> were allowed from 15 June, but none <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-stranded-tourists-evacuated-from-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/more-stranded-tourists-evacuated-from-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHDQRlwjpiSzpde_fwt-5D2KY6JTQ">have been allowed to join jobs overseas</a>. Till this week, Turkish Airlines to and from Istanbul, Air China, and China Southern have asked for only once-a-week flights from Chengdu and Kunming. Budget carriers like Fly Dubai of the UAE, Salaam Air of Oman, and Indigo of India say they want daily flights. However, the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) has not yet decided about allowing flights from New Delhi. “Because there is still two week’s time for flights to start, we expect more airlines to apply for slots,” said CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri. “Since the pandemic situation is still fluid in many countries, the government will decide which airlines will be allowed to bring passengers from which cities.” However, airline sources say that the real reason more carriers are not yet asking for slots is because of the uncertainties due to the rise in coronavirus cases in Nepal and the region, as well as a lack of clarity from the government itself about the criteria for regular flights. According to the existing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG6MjbXj3P9YWeptwIgLz2pVaAm0Q">CCMC protocol</a> for inbound flights, all passengers are required to have a PCR negative test 72 hours prior to departure, but even if they have that certificate, Nepali passengers and diplomats will have to stay 14 days in home isolation or 7 days in a hotel in Kathmandu after arrival. Tourists and returning overseas Nepalis will have to undergo 7 days in hotel isolation and will be allowed to move about only after another PCR negative test. This is ostensibly to make sure that passengers did not get infected en route. However, many Nepali workers have been allowed to board repatriation flights back to Nepal in the past month even without PCR negative tests. Foreigners will also need valid Nepali visas prior to boarding because visa on arrival has been suspended for now. The contradictions and confusing criteria in the CCMC’s guidelines have frustrated tour operators who had been hoping to open trek and mountaineering bookings for the autumn season after regular flights reopened. <figure><img width="2016" height="1134" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109131156/636ba4329c7e80680e073656jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: RAPKE SHERPA</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, Nepal Airlines has drawn up a timetable for regular flights to five destinations starting 17 August: Dubai, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong. The carrier is still trying to decide about the frequency of flights to these destinations.The other private Nepali international carrier, Himalaya Airlines had been operating repatriation flights from seven cities in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. After 17 August, it will be doing daily regular flights to Damam and five per week to Doha, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur, and one flight per week to Chongqing.Before the lockdown, 30 airlines from 15 countries used to fly in and out of Kathmandu. CAAN says limitations due to health precautions at Kathmandu means Nepal’s only international terminal can only handle 10-15 inbound flights per day.There is also much uncertainty about when domestic flights will restart because of the surge in cases in the main Tarai cities of Biratnagar, Birganj, Janakpur and Nepalganj, which are considered ‘trunk routes’ for domestic airlines.However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHoCOpTF1eoJPdodbRfzXNSgRjYQ">five months after grounding their planes</a> and suffering <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGeccsY-73WhgNfYFgTYQDFBDc9gA">great financial losses</a>, domestic carriers like Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Airlines, Sita Air and Tara Air are preparing for regular flights in two weeks. CAAN has fixed an upper limit of 48 daily domestic flights keeping in mind <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/full-dress-rehearsal-for-flight-resumption/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/full-dress-rehearsal-for-flight-resumption/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596517697718000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFldeVDRWt2ZBhuaXOp3nKh1waSSw">physical distancing and other precautions.</a>Of these, 39 are said to be flights on trunk routes and nine to remote area airfields. Airlines have been given slots according to their pre-pandemic flight volume, which means Buddha Air gets 18 flights a day, while Yeti will conduct 11, and Shree Air will do eight flights. Smaller airlines will get three slots each to mountain airfields. This will only be 15% of pre-COVID traffic volume.The domestic terminal’s size means that although it can normally take 450 passengers an hour, that volume will have to be reduced by half to maintain physical separation. There is also the possibility that airlines may not even get enough passengers to fill their limited flights because of higher air fares and the fear of contagion during travel.“Even though CAAN has stipulated the slots, these could change at any moment if local authorities decide to take lockdown measures to prevent a fresh surge of the virus,” cautioned Anil Manandhar of Shree Airlines, citing the rise in cases in Tarai cities.CAAN says the permission for regular domestic flights has been given for only one week. The flight opening will be reviewed depending on how strictly COVID-19 protocols are followed by airlines, passengers and airport staff, as well as the number of infections.“We might increase flights depending on how the situation develops in terms of safety measures,” said Yograj Sharma Kandel of the Airline Operators Organisation.

Kathmandu airport reopens in 2 weeks

<figure><img width="1500" height="758" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baf689c7e80680e07804cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: Marty Logan</figcaption></figure>Children are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collateral damage in </a>the flight against the COVID-19 pandemic: some 4 million of them in South Asia under the age of five are at the risk of suffering life-threatening malnutrition as a result of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An analysis in The Lancet recently estimates that 6.7 million children globally could suffer from wasting (low weight for age) and over half (58%) would be from South Asia alone. Prevalence of wasting may increase by 14% in low- and middle-income countries this year. Such an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/eu-unicef-support-child-nutrition-during-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase in child malnutrition</a>  combined with disruptions in vitamin A supplementation and breastfeeding, would mean over 10,000 additional child deaths per month worldwide.
“It’s been seven months since the first COVID-19 cases were reported and it is increasingly clear that the repercussions of the pandemic are causing more harm to children than the disease itself,” says UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Household poverty and food insecurity rates have increased. Essential nutrition services and supply chains have been disrupted. Food prices have soared. As a result, the quality of children’s diets has gone down and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pre-existing-diseases-may-kill-more-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">malnutrition rates will go up</a>.”
Wasting makes children too thin and weak, and puts them at greater risk of early childhood death, poor growth, development and learning. In 2019, 47 million children worldwide were already wasted -- over half of them in South Asia. The number of children suffering from wasting could reach 54 million over the course of the year, bringing global wasting to levels not seen in this millennium.
According to Nepal’s own 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wasting among Nepali children under 5</a> still hovers at 10% — a mere 1% decrease from 8 years ago. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require Nepal to reduce wasting to less than 5% by 2030, a target that looks even more daunting in the face of COVID-19 impacts.
But the estimated increase in child wasting is only the tip of the iceberg. Poor diet and the disruption of nutrition services due to the COVID-19 lockdown means other forms of malnutrition in children and women are also on the rise, including stunting, anemia, and problems associated with obesity.
To make matters worse, anaemia among Nepali women has always been very high. Instead of declining, it will now actually increase from 35% to 41% between 2011 and 2016. Anaemia in children below 5 rose dangerously in that period: from 46% to 53%.
UNICEF reports from the early months of the pandemic suggested a 30% overall reduction in the coverage of essential – and often life-saving – nutrition services. In South Asia, these disruptions have been more severe. During the initial weeks of lockdown, the treatment of severe wasting ground to a halt in India and Nepal. 
Fear of infection and lack of protective equipment for health workers led to an estimated 40% and 75% decline in admissions to treat severe wasting in children in Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively.
Most countries in the region had to postpone vitamin A supplementation and other regular immunisation programs against common childhood infectious diseases, while means millions of children under five years are missing life saving shots during a time of the greatest need. Nepal saw an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/meanwhile-a-measles-outbreak-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outbreak of measles in Dhading and Gorkha districts</a> during the prolonged lockdown.
“We are also deeply concerned about the potential impact on breastfeeding practices. It is essential that mothers are encouraged and supported to continue breastfeeding, even if they have COVID-19 infection”, said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia. “Breastmilk provides the best nutrition for babies as well as protection from a range of life-threatening infections.”
Breastfeeding trends in the region has been decreasing over the years. In Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/back-to-the-nipple-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months has declined significantly</a> at 65% against SDG target of greater than 90%. 
Humanitarian agencies immediately need $2.4 billion to protect maternal and child nutrition in the most vulnerable countries from now until the end of the year. The heads of the United Nation agencies have appealed to governments, aid agencies and the private sector to safeguard access to nutrition and to invest on maternal and child health.
Says Jean Gough: “We are encouraged by the efforts being taken across South Asia to resume nutrition services. It is essential that we combine efforts across health and social protection to prevent more children from becoming wasted, and to identify and treat those that do.”

COVID-19 leaves millions of South Asian children hungry

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f2899c7e80680e0cc94djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="695" height="364"/><figcaption>Patan Drbar Square. Photo: TEMPLE TIGER</figcaption></figure>The ancient brick walls of the Patan Darbar absorb the dull afternoon light like spilled claret. A black dog slinks behind a doorway and a woman in a pale sari gazes immobile from a high window, but otherwise the square is empty.Temples are closed, worship is suspended, offerings banned, bells muted and lamps left unlit, monitored by the occasional passing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/clamping-down-on-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">police patrol</a>  Two long wooden benches flank the magnificent nipple-studded gold doorway, usually packed with lounging locals and tired tourists soaking up the sun and watching the world go by.But now the palace door is slammed tight shut, gleaming dully in the overcast afternoon, and the seats, polished by generations of grateful bottoms, are bare and bereft.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/when-the-air-is-clean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">When the air is clean</a>, Abhushan Gautam<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-turns-into-flower-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu turns into flower city</a>, Manish Paudel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f28c9c7e80680e0cc94ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Across the silent Valley, streets deserted, shops shuttered, offices closed, hotels barred and government gates padlocked, the reclining Vishnu at Budhanilkantha lies abandoned and alone. His black stone limbs are strewn with dead flower petals and rotting leaves blown through the concrete fence. Barricaded behind chunky chains wrapped around his metal gates, the normally bustling temple precinct, never without worshippers, pilgrims and prayers, is still and lifeless.A defiant smear of vermillion stains a tree near the entrance. Narayan’s celestial powers protect the Valley swamped by this unnatural quiet, and bolster the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nation’s battle against the invisible coronavirus</a> to be vanquished with a strategy of isolation, closures and lockdown, defeated by a drumbeat of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hand washing, face masks and social distancing</a>.The silence of the airport departure terminal is all pervasive, the car park empty, the doors locked, and inside the dusty check-in desks and rows of untenanted immigration booths stand sentinel to former days. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anzacs-homeward-bound-from-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rare evacuation flights</a> and the occasional cargo plane brings the place alive with masked staff and gloved security personnel. An aircraft overhead causes us to stop and raise our eyes in witness to an unusual event. Every motor engine sounds unnaturally loud in the Valley hush with which we have become habituated.After 50 days of Nepal lockdown, what is utterly extraordinary has come to seem normal, the unimaginable become commonplace. I wake at dawn thinking: ‘Is this for real?’. ‘Unprecedented’, ‘historic’, ‘incredible’ are all overused words, but how else to relate, to express, to process our current situation. We are becoming inured to scenes and situations throughout the world that a scant few weeks ago would have been unthinkable.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anzacs-homeward-bound-from-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aussies and Kiwis homeward bound from Nepal</a>, Lisa Choegyal<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/coronavirus-shutdown-gives-nepals-nature-a-respite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coronavirus shutdown gives Nepal's nature a respite</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129121152/6385f2909c7e80680e0cc94fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Thousands of aircraft are patiently parked along the periphery of unused runways as flights worldwide are grounded by the pandemic, machinery moth-balled and travellers confined to home. The vast skies above South Asia are devoid of air traffic, all borders sealed, domestic flights forbidden, and not even citizens permitted to return home. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-airlines-may-merge-to-survive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The airline industry is suffering</a> its worst ever crisis, and when planes do take off on the other side of this disaster, aviation will never look the same again.Global <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tourism</a> is realising how its tentacles extend far beyond the obvious frontline of hospitality - airlines, transport, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tours and attractions - into less obvious areas of the arts, theatre, design, banking, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/uncertainties-for-nepali-overseas-students-with-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">education</a>  conservation, and of course <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agriculture</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/work-for-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">food production</a>.Businesses that have taken a lifetime to build are crumbling day by day. Touts and beggars are jobless, working horses, donkeys, elephants and camels are having a holiday, wild nature is flourishing in the respite, but the roaming street dogs and stupa monkeys are hungry. The world is at a standstill, the suffering stark.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Back to the future of farming</a>, Editorial<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lockdown-chance-for-self-sufficiency-in-veggies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal lockdown chance for self-sufficiency in veggies</a>, Ramesh KumarSporting events are cancelled, competition abandoned, arenas empty, stadiums forsaken, games aborted, scoreboards blank, ladders and league tables on hold. The massive preparations for race meets, world cups and Olympics evaporate in the face of the most destructive viral onslaught of our lifetimes.Footballers have hung up their boots, racehorses remain in their stables, and the green lawns of Wimbledon see no tennis served with Pimms and strawberries. In bizarre efforts to keep audiences engaged, matches are played in vacant venues, and Formula One and sailing regattas have resorted to virtual events online. There is no fear of missing out, as the sporting world is on ‘pause’.Desperate people queue around the block, snaking for hours through socially distanced circles, for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/feeding-1000-a-day-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">free meals</a> or access to food banks – and not just daily wage earners deprived of employment in emerging nations, but white-collar workers in the world’s major capitals of London, Paris and New York.Public parks are enjoyed only by ducks on the ponds, solitary trees and insects in the flowers, blushing unseen in the deserted gardens. Jobs are being lost, companies collapsing, rents unpaid, loans and mortgages reneged.In Nepal we are familiar with political shutdowns closing the roads and shuttering the shops, strikes that never lasted more than a day or two. The strict curfew that accompanied the king agreeing to lift the ban on political parties in April 1990 was only suffered for three days.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survive-2020-revive-in-2021-and-thrive-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Survive 2020, revive in 2021 and thrive in 2022"</a>, Alisha Sijapati<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/feeding-1000-a-day-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Feeding 1,000 a day in Kathmandu</a>, Lisa ChoegyalWe are exhorted to stay safe and shelter in place, as the walls close in and perimeters shrink, moulded by the relentless confines of our homes. Rooms contract and expand, depending on our state of mind and time of day. Vivid night dreams infiltrate beyond sleep to penetrate the waking hours. Is that a dent on the sofa cushion where I have been sitting glued to my laptop day after day, week after week?Tenzin paces the driveway, wearing out his prayer beads, the tyres of his unused car softening on the flagstones. The cuckoos have arrived and the whistling thrush has nested. The roses have budded, bloomed and died, the extravagant white petals of the magnolia have exploded before wilting waxy brown, and the cherry tree has carpeted the ground with crimson blossom and is now clad in hopeful fresh green.Within the relentless rhythm of the lockdown the formless days unfold, measured in perpetual birdsong and sheets of vitamin pills, all plans in suspension, all projects on hold. In theory, now is the chance to read, watch movies, wallow in Netflix, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/music-is-my-aeroplane-too/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listen to music</a>  sort photos, fix the house, and call friends but in reality I struggle with the focus and motivation to do any of it.I have learned to value every cup of coffee, waste no food, and prize the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lockdown-chance-for-self-sufficiency-in-veggies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fresh vegetables</a> bought from the end of the lane. How sweet is that first mango of the season, and with what difficulties must it have travelled to arrive whole and perfect green and gold on our kitchen table.None of us has seen anything on this scale before and emerging the other side of it will have its own unknown shocks and challenges. But when we do, and when we are asked in some future virus-free era: ‘What was it like during the time of Covid-19, the great pandemic of 2020?’, these are the moments and memories I do not want to forget.

Lisa Choegyal

Coronavirus Nepal Lockdown Month 2

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d8e9c7e80680e06b354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/><figcaption>Three of the musk deer found dead in traps laid by poachers during the COVID-19 lockdown in Sagarmatha National Park on Sunday. Photo: DAWA NURU SHERPA / FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>Poachers have killed six musk deer in the forests inside <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6140#.Xqb1ly8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D6140%23.Xqb1ly8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWtgTEn-gJBWBHaqI8iuJF44DTyQ">Sagarmatha National Park</a> using the COVID-19 lockdown period in Nepal, in one of the worst cases of wildlife poaching in the reserve below Mt Everest in recent years.Photographs of the dead deer and the wire traps that they were caught in were posted on Facebook by Khumbu resident <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dawanuru.sherpa" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/dawanuru.sherpa&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMjfHdS0y8kjKdio_klu86D_iuqg">Dawa Nuru Sherpa</a>, who also wrote a scathing condemnation of the park authorities for their inability to control wildlife and timber poaching.“It is very disturbing, this is the worst case of wildlife poaching in the history here,” admitted Pemba Sherpa of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH3Ts2hspzPv-1sOm3NHDsbEHOl1g">Sagarmatha National Park</a>. He said the previous case was more than a decade ago when three endangered musk deer had been found killed.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-drives-wildlife-poaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What drives wildlife poaching?</a>, Sonia AwaleOf the six deer, two were decomposed, one was female and three male. The musk pods of only one of the deer had been extracted, and the pouches in the other two were intact. Park officials said the decomposed deer had been dead for at least a month.There were an additional 54 wire traps in a deep gorge of the Imja Khola below Syangboche. A golden eagle was also found dead in one of the traps. It is thought that the poachers could not go to the traps to harvest the musk pods of the other deer because of the lockdown.This has lead conservationists to conclude that there must have been at least five or six poachers, and that this must have been an organised group of criminals with ties to smugglers.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/345/Interview/13450#.Xqb1My8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/345/Interview/13450%23.Xqb1My8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGX-At_vAiBPCxiSEBEAlPJcO_hVg">Himalayan musk deer</a> is in the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13901/61977764" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/13901/61977764&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588086987142000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEcEajLPUihlVKELsevwp9_ckiolg">IUCN Endangered List</a>, and is prized for the musk pouch found in the male of the species which fetch thousands of dollars in China and Korea, where they are used in traditional medicine, perfumery and cosmetics.Locals in Khumbu are outraged by the discovery, and blame the national park and the Nepal Army that guards the park for not being vigilant enough during the lockdown period.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel“We local Sherpas do not killed wildlife for religious reasons, but there are many non-Khumbu residents whose source of tourism income has dried up because of the COVID-19 lockdown, and this is why poaching must have increased,” said one Namche Bazar resident who declined to be named. “If they had an intelligence network, they could easily have been caught.”A suspected poacher from Sankhuwasabha was found near Phortse army post last month by locals and soldiers, and handed over to the national park. However, officials said the musk deer was found to have died of natural causes and the person was released.In the Facebook post, Dawa Nuru Sherpa also accused the official of allowing trees to be cut in the Tengboche area for use to repair a guest house being run by the National Park. “The cries of help from these musk deer and eagles caught in traps must be haunting you,” the letter notes, pointing the finger at the park’s Chief Conservation Officer.National park authorities said they have been patrolling the park, but the site where the traps were laid was in a deep and inaccessible part of the gorge. They said a joint team composed of the army and locals had been formed, and a meeting is scheduled tomorrow with local communities, youth groups and the park and buffer zone to stop further illegal activities.Said Pemba Sherpa from the Sagarmatha National Park: “Because of the lockdown, we think the culprits are still in the area, and we are confident we can find them.”A marked increase in wildlife and timber poaching has been reported from community forests and national parks across Nepal during the monthlong lockdown, which has been extended till 7 May.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In conservation, Nepal is not out of the woods yet</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there</a>, Kunda Dixit

6 musk deer killed by poachers during lockdown

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d319c7e80680e06b337jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari and his son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms on the first day of Ramadan. All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Mohammad Jamshed Ansari, 42, and his 17-year-old son Mohammad Nurani Ansari pray in separate rooms of their house in Kumaripati on the first day of Ramadan while Ansari's 16-year-old daughter Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran in her room.Normally after breaking their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, the Ansaris would go to the Kashmiri mosque at Bagbazar for a communal prayer. But with places of worship closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramadan this year is a bit different for the Ansari family, and for other Muslims around the world.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d359c7e80680e06b338jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d389c7e80680e06b339jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3b9c7e80680e06b33ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Rejwani Khatoon reads the Quran inside her room.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d3e9c7e80680e06b33bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1123" height="748"><figcaption>Food laid out for the breaking of the daily fast. Worshippers fast from dawn until sunset during Ramadan</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d419c7e80680e06b33cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Jamshed Ansari offers prayers as he prepares to break his fast.</figcaption></figure>

Ramadan during the COVID-19 lockdown

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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