<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd9989c7e80680e080220jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2036" height="1180"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure><a href="http://campuspress.yale.edu/rpande/">Rohini Pande</a>is Professor of Economics and Director of the <a href="https://egcenter.economics.yale.edu/">Economic Growth Center (EGC) at Yale University</a>. She was Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Director of Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD).  A respected economist, she is interested in the role of public policy in providing the poor and disadvantaged greater political and economic power, and has been involved in Nepal-based research work since 2017. Pande spoke to Nepali Times about EGC/Nepal Administrative Staff College’s recently released <a href="https://egc.yale.edu/preparing-nepals-upcoming-flood-season-and-covid-19">Covid-19 and Nepal’s Health Financing study</a> aimed at understanding health activity financing during pandemic, along with her research in other policy areas including employment and federalism. Nepali Times: Could you give us a quick overview of your work in Nepal?  Rohini Pande: For the last few years, I have been working with my US-based colleagues as well as the Kathmandu-based Governance Lab and Daayitwa on trying to understand how federalism is working. A particular area of interest to us is to understand how the move to federalism has enabled inclusion in the three spheres of government; recognizing that the demand for inclusion was an important reason underlying the prior conflict and that the Constitution gave this goal priority.Once Covid-19 hit, a question that naturally came to the fore is how well the three spheres of government are coordinating in their response. This is especially important given that local governments are in the frontline but don’t directly have access to additional resources beyond their local budget. So we have been conducting a series of phone surveys with officials in both local and provincial governments to better understand the coordination challenges and financing issues that have come up during the pandemic.Could you talk about the results, and the policy lessons?Covid-19 has brought to the fore the absolute importance of ensuring that adequate resources are being dedicated to frontline health activities. There is only so far you can go with across-the-board policies like lockdowns, and you have to move to policies such as quarantining a smaller number of people, contact tracing and testing activities. Many of these activities remain split across the three spheres of Government. Quarantine facilities, for example, are managed by local governments but funded from higher-level governments.  We were interested in understanding exactly how well the financing for different activities under Covid-19 match up with where the responsibilities are.We had two main findings. First, in the short run, during the lockdown, local governments typically said that lack of resources was a big issue. This was particularly true for municipalities in the Tarai and those bordering India where they saw more returnees requiring quarantine facilities. The Tarai also has fewer remaining disaster relief funds, as much of it was spent on flood relief efforts earlier in the financial year. So essentially, local government budgets did not reflect their caseload. We argue that this creates a case for needs-based financing.This brought us to the next question: if we wanted to move towards a need-based financing approach, how well would this work? This requires flow of data across spheres of government – which currently occurs through then CMIS data system. We observe that CMIS data entry is patchy for several local governments pointing to a need to complement rollout of new software with providing local governments the personnel and hardware necessary for data entry. This is an area where we want to see more investments to make evidence-based financing systems viable, and the government officials we have been talking to have been responsive.I also want to flag a recent World Bank report on health financing that suggests very low overall health spending by Nepal. So, it is not just about how to allocate the small set of resources better as we discussed, but the total amount of resources allocated on health needs to be increased as well.With festivals around the corner, how do we prepare for the upcoming months?Ensuring ongoing public health awareness campaigns and requiring social distancing is, of course, important. The extent to which local governments can actually limit indoor events and implement crowd-size control measures will be important, as more and more studies show that super-spreading events are a key factor. The harder task is to continue to intensify the levels of both testing and contact tracing.Given your work with MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in India what have been the lessons, and how can data and evidence help with implementation?The value of a program like MGNREGA becomes clear especially during times like this, as it is the largest social safety net available to individuals across rural India when overall private sector employment is falling.From the very start, MGNREGA placed a lot of emphasis on transparency, so there are clear websites where you see data, down to the level of local government, on how employment is progressing. My one suggestion would be that as PMEP is being rolled out, it would be valuable to have a strong Management Information System from the beginning as a backing. When MGNREGA started, there were concerns about a significant amount of corruption. To the extent that researchers and the policy community were able to triangulate data across different sources including the MIS, we have strong reasons to believe that corruption levels over time has decreased significantly over the 15 years. So, for evidence such as that, a strong MIS is valuable.The other aspect that Indian states are also wrestling with is knowing how much demand for employment in MGREGA there actually is on the part of local citizens. The reality is programs like MGNREGA and PMEP tend to be more supply-driven rather than demand-driven, when in theory, these projects are meant to be demand-driven. Thinking upfront how you plan to register local demand is going to be crucial.In terms of my research, we have looked at the digital architecture of MGNREGA and the extent to which the transition to electronic payment systems has improved the funds flow. We just published some work arguing that with digital payments, it is possible to have greater transparency on who is getting paid and that can reduce corruption.We have also been doing work on how the programs can be strengthened to reach women. This is also important in the Nepal context today because COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on women worldwide. So, the extent to which programs like PMEP can be used not just to provide households with employment but to also ensure its equal access to men and women is important. This would also involve combining PMEP-style programs with financial inclusion efforts because ensuring women’s wages are directly deposited into their individually controlled bank accounts that are secure will be valuable.Your other area of work is economic empowerment of women. Women’s participation in paid jobs is low whether within Nepal or overseas. What is the available evidence on policy interventions to increase women’s labour force participation? Raising overall labour force is important but right now, with decline in economic opportunities globally, a bigger question is what can be done to keep those in the labour force employed, and to bring those who lose the jobs back to it. These are the groups closely tied to the labour market and currently threatened.  Carefully tracking the rates at which women are losing jobs compared to men, ensuring employers face incentives to equally employ men and women, and that women also have access to information on employment opportunities is important.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd99b9c7e80680e080221jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="796" height="545"><figcaption>Select Findings from the COVID-19 and Nepal's Health Financing Survey</figcaption></figure>As a parting question, what is your overall experience working in Nepal been like as you try to inculcate a wider appreciation for evidence-based work? What could media’s role be?We have been lucky as we are working with colleagues in the Government who are genuinely interested in understanding what is in the data. Our survey work is being done in collaboration with the Nepal Administrative Staff College and our previous work was also jointly done with Government officials. Since there is already interest in what is in the data, the main issue really is to create the infrastructure.The extent to which media can also start investing in more data-based stories, which may require recruiting individuals who can conduct such data analyses or partnering with organizations with strong databases to write more columns involving data can be valuable.

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Local governments lack resources to tackle Covid-19

<figure><img width="1368" height="562" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3069c7e80680e07bb16jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Seven noted public health experts have described an Oxford University study three months ago that projected 50,000 Covid-19 deaths in Nepal by October as dangerously alarmist, and which could have led to flawed policy decisions.  The study was commissioned by the British aid agency DFID and predicted a peak of the pandemic in Nepal from June to September with an astounding 846,000 new cases a day in the worst-case scenario. Titled <a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Nepal_COVID-19_modelling_-_final_published.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Nepal_COVID-19_modelling_-_final_published.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599273893445000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEINOvQjYDEsS6CfYBXhCSMpz7NIQ">Modeling of COVID-19 Strategies in Nepal,</a> the report was recently made public by UKaid, Oxford Policy Management and University of Oxford, and spread alarm when it was carried by the media.  ‘Nepal is fighting against Covid-19 pandemic within its capacity, and so far it is doing well compared to global average,’ read a statement by the public health experts. ‘Projections such as this are the basis for further planning to mitigate the risk and hence should be based on available data and rational assumptions close to reality. A wrong prediction will lead to misguided policies and strategies, resulting in failure to address the actual problem.’ Issued by Mahesh Maskey, Sharad Onta, Badri Raj Pande, Aruna Uprety, Sameer Dixit, Abhinav Baidhya and Rajendra BC, the statement questioned the validity of the study, calling it misleading and one that could have created widespread panic among the general public. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 has gained tempo in the past month in Nepal with a record 1,228 new confirmed cases on Thursday, with 481 of them in Kathmandu Valley alone. There were 6 additional deaths, bringing the total to 257. However, there were also 768 recoveries, highest in a single day and the total recoveries now stands at 24,207.Despite these figures, the projections in the study even for the best-case scenario seem to be way off. The model predicted:<ul><li>In case of low disruption strategy, the peak of the epidemic will extend from early June to early September, reaching a maximum of nearly 846,000 new COVID-19 cases per day with less than 10% of cases (75,000) reported to the health system and 49,200 cumulative deaths due to COVID19 by the end of the year.</li><li>In case of medium disruption strategy, the peak of the epidemic will extend from mid-July to early October, reaching a maximum of nearly 548,000 new COVID-19 cases per day with less than 10% (50,000) of cases being reported to the health system and around 5,000 less deaths compared to low disruption strategy.</li><li>In case of high disruption strategy, peak of the epidemic will extend from mid-June to late October, reaching a maximum of nearly 531,000 new cases per day with less than 10% of cases (46,800) reported to the health system and 11,300 less deaths compared to medium disruption strategy.</li></ul><figure><img width="1010" height="1312" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3089c7e80680e07bb17jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Completed in May the modelling does not have monthly figures for new cases and deaths, but includes complicated graphs that indicate only daily case peaks. For example, as per the medium disruption scenario, there should be a total new 548,000 cases a day in the last week of August. And if we are to assume that less than 10% of these were actually reported per day, as suggested by the study, there should have been some 50,000 new cases a day, except this is 50 times higher than the actual cases reported per day last week.The Nepali experts say that instead of helping Nepal mitigate the Covid-19 crisis, the study added to the burgeoning challenge of testing, tracing and treating coronavirus patients. They added: ‘The scale of panic aside, what if government had accepted this report and spent its scarce resources on preparing hospital beds and ventilators at a massive level? Would it be a proper use of resources or misuse?’The experts also questioned the basis for assuming such a high incidence and mortality in Nepal, and for assuming that less than 10% of the total cases would be reported to the health system. ‘Given that the predictions are widely off the mark so far, why should Nepal trust the projections for rest of the year?’ they ask, adding that the authors of the study should clarify the assumption before they cause further damage.

Nepal experts reject Covid-19 model

The monsoon has got bad press because Nepal’s tourism operators actively told visitors to avoid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon?%2F">the rainy season</a>. It is time to change that. The reason can be found right here in the vast alpine meadows of Central Nepal where this time of year you can walk on velvet grass of pastures abloom with delicate pink, red and yellow flowers as the mist rolls up the valley. There is no sound except the hum of bumble bees. &nbsp;&nbsp; There are dozens of places across high Nepal called Chaurikharka, which means yak pasture. But this particular Chaurikharka in Rukum East located at an altitude of 4,000m stands out for its serene beauty, rustic charm and bucolic setting. There is just the occasional chime of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">yak bells</a> in the distance, and the sharp whistle of herders corralling sheep. &nbsp;&nbsp; The grass shoots are so fragile that one hesitates to step on them, the rounded ridges appear and quickly vanish in waves of mist. With the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon"> arrival of monsoon</a>, these meadows are a soothing shade of green dotted with millions of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower?%2F=">multi-coloured flowers</a>. Until very recently, it took a week or so to hike up to places like Chaurikharka, but with the expansion of the road network even to these far-flung mountains in the lap of Dhaulagiri, they are much more accessible. It is just a three-hour uphill from the Mid-Hill Highway on the border between Baglung and Rukum East.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Purists would say that such easy access devalues the sanctity of these remote high meadows, but it also means more people will be moved to treasure the experience, appreciate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>so they can take steps to protect it.&nbsp; To be sure, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier">monsoon season can be challenging for road travel</a>. The roads are rough even at the best of times, and in the monsoon they become muddy and treacherous, often blocked by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/monsoon-deluge-in-nepal"> landslides</a>. But that could be precisely the kind of adventure that the more intrepid visitors crave. Improved road connectivity has already made Chaurikharka and places like Badimallika &nbsp;and other sacred lakes in the mountains of western Nepal popular with domestic tourists. What is driving this traffic is the urge to go to exotic new places and share videos and selfies on social media. Several of Nepal’s travel vloggers have visited Chaurikharka and popularised the place, enticing followers on TikTok or YouTube to retrace their footsteps. But even as they become more popular, these fragile and once-remote places should be protected from over-tourism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446" data-rendition-name="original" width="1083" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon NT"> </figure>  <h2>INCREASING FOOTFALL</h2> Chaurikharka is located in Bhume Rural Municipality of East Rukum, near the scenic valley of Dhorpatan in Baglung district. Even in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-culture">middle of the monsoon</a>, there is a steady stream of Nepali hikers trooping to these high pastures – especially during festival days like Saune Sankranti which this year was on 17 July and actually marks the auspicious beginning of the monsoon here. “This year the rains have not been as heavy and there have been some clear mornings when we could see everything from Dhaulagiri to Machapuchre,” says Khageswar Bhandari, who trekked up here from the road. “The flowers, the greenery and the snowy mountain views make this an incredibly unique place.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Chaurikharka is worthwhile to get to in any season, but it has a different charm during the monsoon. Word has spread and because it is now easy to get to from Baglung or even Pokhara, people have been flocking here.&nbsp; “Holidays and Saturdays see the largest crowds, with up to 500 visitors every day,” says ward chair Mankaji Pun of Bhume.&nbsp; There was a time not too long ago when local herders brought sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, horses, and mules to graze here during the monsoon. Although there are still livestock around, animals have been replaced by visitors taking selfies. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">The monsoon, and nature’s arithmetic</a>, Tom Robertson Ward Chair Pun says infrastructure development is his main priority. A foot trail to Chaurikharka was built last year by the Tourism Division Office in Kohalpur, but access via the Raniwas-Koipa road section still remains challenging.&nbsp; “If we get more budget, we can improve the road and facilities to make Chaurikharka the main tourist attraction of this region,” says Bhume Municipality Chair Hom Prakash Shrestha. “After that, we hope to promote Chaurikharka as a top tourist spot.”&nbsp; Economic activity is also picking up with the arrival of visitors, but there seems to be a need to manage the makeshift sheds made of corrugated sheets that spoil the beauty of the place. Tea shops and lodges are also available but facilities are basic. Kuldeep Neupane took a three-day trip from Ghorahi in Dang to visit Chaurikharka recently, and says: “This is an ideal trip to make a quick getaway and let nature recharge your mind and body. And it is much more fun with a tent, to watch the sunrise over the Himalaya or the mist blowing in.”

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

The final investigation report on the crash of a Saurya Airlines jet on 24 July 2024 at Kathmandu airport has revealed flaws in the carrier’s technical operation procedures, poor monitoring by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and gaps in the airport’s emergency response. Eighteen people including a child were killed, and only the captain survived as the plane plunged seconds after takeoff, crashing within the airport perimeter. This was the latest in a series of aircraft accidents in previous years, and further tarnished Nepal’s already poor aviation safety record and contributed to the country being retained in the EU’s air safety list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The circumstances in the Saurya crash were different from the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara in January 2022 that killed all 72 on board, and two Tara Air crashes in February 2016 and May 2022 on approach to Jomsom that together claimed 45 lives. However, all four tragedies were a result of negligence of carriers and crew, failure to follow procedures, regulatory slackness, and overconfidence. The Saurya crash, especially, was a glaring example of how an ailing airline broke its own rules to allow passengers, including non-employees, a joy ride to Pokhara on a maintenance ferry flight. CRASH REPORT The Final Investigation Report prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission and released on the first anniversary of the crash last week carried a long list of rules that were ignored or broken, and of regulatory failure. The first mistake was to cram spares, tools and inflammable chemicals needed for the aircraft’s C-Check in Pokhara into the cargo hold flouting its own ground handling procedures.&nbsp; There was no check-in of passengers, some of whom were not even employees – even though regulations say only flight and maintenance crew should be on board a maintenance positioning flight. Many brought their own luggage into the plane and stored it unsecured in the cabin. There was no flight attendant to give a safety briefing to passengers. The load and trim charts given to the flight crew were rough estimates, and the total takeoff weight of the plane was 18,300kg plus or minus 200 kg. That would still have been all right, but there was a glaring mistake in the speedchart Saurya pilots were using to calculate the minimum takeoff speed (known as VR), and it had been wrong ever since the 21-year-old aircraft entered service with the airline in 2017. FAULTY DATA&nbsp; The Commission probed Flight Data Recorder inputs from previous takeoffs of the Canadian-built CRJ200-LR in 2023-2024 and found that the undetected error in the speedchart had caused the plane to pitch up at an abnormal rotation rate at least 18 times on previous takeoffs.&nbsp; Any rotation rate more than 3°/sec is regarded as unusual. But on at least two occasions, this aircraft with tail number 9N-AME had rotation rates of 5.8°/sec and 5.5°/sec, the second one was when the pilot who survived was flying in March 2024.&nbsp; On this particular day, the plane’s rotation rate was 6.5°/sec, causing it to go into a deep stall soon after takeoff, the Commission report said. Essentially, the plane was not flying fast enough down the runway to take off safely.&nbsp; It is not yet clear whether excess weight, unsecured luggage, wrong centre of gravity were also factors, but relying on a faulty speedchart for the given takeoff weight, the captain flying pulled back on the yoke before the plane had reached takeoff speed and at a pitch angle that was too steep. The investigation report says the plane then went into a deep stall and started banking right with the stick shaking. At this point, the flight officer on the right hand seat is heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sir, Sir, Sir…” It then banked left before the pilot flying turned the plane sharply to the right again in an evasive action to avoid the parking aprons of the international and domestic terminals. Had he not done so, there would have been a disaster of a much greater magnitude at Kathmandu airport that day. The plane scraped the runway with its right wingtip, collided with a container having helicopter spare parts, and plunged into a gully east of the runway, exploding in a fireball. The investigation also noted that the impact forces seemed to be survivable for some occupants. The fire trucks took unnecessarily long to reach the site even though it was inside the airport perimeter. The absence of an ICAO-standard runway strip, inadequate rescue drills, lack of training, and a blocked emergency service gate leading to the crash site were cited as other factors. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Timestamp of a Disaster</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:10:34 - The Saurya Airlines CRJ200 on the takeoff roll from runway 02. It had a takeoff weight of about 18,300kg, but the pilot’s speedcard had a previously undetected mistake about the minimum takeoff speed. 11:10:55 -The plane with tail number 9N-AME goes into deep stall soon after takeoff because it does not have enough speed to lift its weight. The plane also has an abnormally steep nose-up attitude.&nbsp; 11:11:03 - Without enough speed to generate lift, the plane banks right, then left and right again in CCTV photos taken from the domestic apron (below). If it had not banked right, it could have hit the aprons and terminal buildings. Seen parked is Saurya’s other CRJ200 with tail number 9N-ANM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd" data-rendition-name="original" width="770" height="555" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:11:08 - The plane scrapes the runway with its right wingtip, and falls into the gully. The captain is thrown off the left side of the cockpit and survives. 11:11:15: Plane explodes in a fireball inside the airport perimeter. Firefighters take time to reach the site because of lack of access road and a blocked gate. Read the full investigation report <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.np/files/9N-AME%20AIC%20Final%20Report.pdf">here</a>.

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

Every year, up to 15 people are killed by tigers in and around Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, famous for its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal">conservation success story</a>.&nbsp; But this was not always the case — elders say there used to be many more tigers but fewer deaths. What changed? Long before <a href="https://chitwannationalpark.gov.np/index.php">Chitwan National Park</a> was established in 1972, the indigenous Tharu people and tigers coexisted, fostering a centuries-old relationship based on an understanding of each other’s behaviour. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai </a>plains, especially Chitwan, gained fame for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">tiger hunting</a> and proved useful as Nepal’s rulers employed hunting diplomacy by inviting British royals to extravagant hunting parties. Hunting expeditions would descend from Kathmandu in winter months to avoid malarial summers. The Tharu supplied rice, vegetables, goats, and constructed access roads.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250729160752_c9998ffdaa27ff3c251556bd472945bf6e648fdb4016d3b152cbef86f321c7f7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250729160752_c9998ffdaa27ff3c251556bd472945bf6e648fdb4016d3b152cbef86f321c7f7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1146" loading="lazy" alt="Tharu people"> <figcaption>A US-supported DDT spraying campaign against malaria in Chitwan in the 1950s that opened the valley to trans-migration of farmers from the hills. The Tharu people were partially immune to malaria. Photo: USOM RECORDS, US NATIONAL ARCHIVES, COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND</figcaption> </figure>  Rana rulers also relied upon Tharu mahout expertise in handling elephants, navigating the jungle, and tracking wildlife for hunting. The Ranas and their guests killed an astonishing number of tigers. During a hunting expedition in 1850, Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana personally shot dead 31 tigers. In 1876, during two weeks, British King Albert Edward VII shot 23 tigers.&nbsp; In 1911 King George V killed four bears, eight one-horned rhinoceroses, and 39 tigers. Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher is said to have killed 433 tigers from all across the Tarai between 1930 to 1940. At the time, 90% of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/chitwan-s-bote-people-in-a-changing-world">Chitwan’s population </a>were indigenous Tharu, Bote, Musahar, with the Kumal making up the rest. While people were worried about their crops and food sources, they were also mindful of tigers, rhinos, and other forms of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor?%2F">wildlife</a>.&nbsp; The Tharu trapped tiger prey such as wild boar and deer for their survival, also understood that predators like tigers sometimes hunted their buffalos, goats, and cows — especially when they grazed in or near the jungle. To Tharu, this seemed only fair. “In 1973, just before the establishment of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/on-the-tri-junction-of-wildlife-conservation-conflict-and-co-existence"> Chitwan National Park</a>, my family owned between 200 and 300 cows, oxen, and buffaloes,” says Keval Chaudhary, 95. “Tigers killed four to five of my cattle each year, but we never hated tigers and never felt like killing them. It was coexistence — we shared the same land.”&nbsp; Shukhlal Chaudhary of Bachauli once told us there used to be significantly more tigers before malaria eradication in the 1950s, but that did not mean there was more conflict with humans. “We used to go into the forest every day, and were familiar with the routines of the animals that lived there,” he used to say. “The tigers rarely ventured into our village or killed anyone who lived there.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250729160756_e39f7bdb451f752b753b1d8fc4e590196afd5cd21e2456443557c2eafb6c5c82.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250729160756_e39f7bdb451f752b753b1d8fc4e590196afd5cd21e2456443557c2eafb6c5c82" data-rendition-name="original" width="1915" height="1443" loading="lazy" alt="Tigers in Nepal"> </figure>  In the days before the National Park, the tiger population in Chitwan was probably bigger. The Ranas had laws against hurting rhinos and tigers, but more importantly, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">the Tharu also cared for the animals </a>and the jungle. This respect for nature runs deep in our tradition. The Tharu worship through the Gurau spiritual healer and honour the forest deity known as Bandevi. Says Aasha Ram Mahato, an 85-year-old resident of Madi: “हमरा पुजा करइ खुनिय जम्मा देवी देउता जससनेकी सोमेसोरबाणि, कल्की माइ, बिक्रम बाबा सब थारु देवी देउता क नाउ लेके हमरा सन्सारी बर्ना कर्साहु इय जेठवा नत एसार्ह महिनावमा हमरा इअ बाली बिर्ही बचावके, बनवका चिजुवा बिजुवा बचावके कहके हमरा बरसमा ३ चोटी पुजा कर्साहु एसार्ही बर्ना, लेरुवा पैठ हसे चैत पैठ बर्ना।” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/5-myths-about-the-tharu">The Tharu </a>take the names of all the gods they worship — such as Somesor Baani, Kalki Maai, and Bikram Baba, and perform Sansaari Puja, a traditional ritual to protect crops, wild and domestic animals, insects, and everything in nature. This ritual reflects the community’s deep respect and spiritual bond with the natural world and is performed three times a year. Bikram Mahato, 65, recalls an incident six years ago when 10 people entered Chitwan National Park to cut fodder grass. A tiger was 50m away, silently watching them and preparing to attack. The group quickly decided not to run or scatter. Instead, they stayed close together.&nbsp; This smart and immediate decision prevented a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/close-encounters-with-tigers-in-nepal">tiger attack</a>. It also depicts the Tharu indigenous community’s understanding of nature and wildlife, as well as their choice of coexistence and protection. The Nepal government and foreign aid organisations have mostly forgotten the history of Tharu–tiger coexistence and the community’s silent but c<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/conservation-at-the-crossroads">rucial role in tiger conservation</a>. Nevertheless, let us hope that the state will eventually acknowledge and pay tribute to the contributions of the Indigenous Tharu in protecting the forests and wildlife, especially the tigers, that currently make up Chitwan National Park. Birendra Mahato is an elected member of the Ratnanagar Municipality Ward 6 and Founder Chair of the Tharu Culture Museum Research Centre in Sauraha.

Nepal’s Tharu are tiger protectors

American artist Peter Makela was in Nepal in 2022 on a Fulbright scholarship when he experienced the Matya festival in Patan in which devotees made the rounds of the city’s shrines.&nbsp;
He joined the procession, walking through 2,600 stupa and 140 bahal of the town. That immersion left a lasting impression.
As part of Gallery Mcube’s international residency program in Patan, he put his inspiration to canvas in the exhibition Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping. The exhibition also coincides with this month’s Matya festival.&nbsp;
Makela has visited Nepal often in the past 11 years but he mostly stayed in and spent his time around Boudha. “This time I stayed in Patan, put the sites I wanted to visit on my map, and off I went,” he tells us. “Each of my artwork is inspired by the stupas and shrines in Patan that I visited.”
The stupa and Ganesh are recurring motifs in his watercolours, and the elephant gods are located in chaityas — reflecting the interplay and blending of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Kathmandu Valley.&nbsp;
The stupas and Ganesh are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green against abstract backgrounds meant to represent the sky.
“I use the sky as a backdrop because the sky has no border,” says Makela. “The four colours represent the four elements, the different Buddha families and also lights bouncing off of a rainbow.”
The use of just four colours for all the artwork stands out, and combined with the absence of heavy canvases, frames or stands render Makela’s art striking in its simplicity.&nbsp;
The Ganesh is always holding something and the art also portrays the elephant god’s sacred vehicle, the mouse.
While his vibrant stupas and Ganesh reflect the tangibility of Patan’s tradition and heritage, it is as if the backdrops with their shades of grey and red and yellow capture the soul of the city’s shrines.
“If you look closely, there is a sense of form and formlessness at the same time,” he says.&nbsp;
Makela walked 108 kora around the shrines during his exploration of the town, and in the process developed a spiritual connection with Patan’s heritage and traditions.&nbsp;
The exhibition connects with visitors on a deeper, more spiritual, level as well. And with it, they feel a sense of pride as well as the need to urgently preserve Patan’s heritage for future generations.
“Peter’s inclination and approach towards Nepali art and culture is fascinating, and it reflects in his work,” says Mcube curator Manish Lal Shrestha, whose international artist residency program promotes Nepal’s cultural heritage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping
1-5 August&nbsp;
10AM-7PM
Gallery Mcube, Patan

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Walking, working, worshipping in Patan