<figure><img width="1400" height="1050" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921a09c7e80680e03a0e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>At a recent breakfast meeting in a hotel he owns, Dhawal Shumsher Rana peels a hard-boiled egg while his mobile rings incessantly.A Muslim elder is inviting him for an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2016/07/07/celebrating-eid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eid feast</a>, and Rana answers in chaste Awadhi. An activist for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10314#.W5ENbM4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeda suruwal</a> as national dress wants the mayor’s support, he deals with that. There is a call from a hospital where a student wounded in police firing on the anti-<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/four-fold-increase-in-reported-rape-in-10-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rape </a>protests in Mahendranagar is in critical condition, and may need to be helicoptered to Kathmandu. Finally, Dhawal Rana turns his phone face down for an interview with a newspaper for which he was a regular columnist in 2002-2003.Back then, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/experience-of%20Deepak-Thapa-as-former-desk-editor-at-Nepali-Times,2426" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the war</a> was raging in the mountains of Western Nepal, the army had entered the conflict and casualties were mounting. Local elections had been cancelled, and Rana had just stepped down after his first tenure as mayor when he wrote a seminal op-ed in the 18 April 2003 issue of Nepali Times titled ‘In a federated state’.‘Nepal must move towards <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Analysis/how-decentralised-is-federalism,776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federalism</a> for the sake of inclusive democracy, social justice, greater responsibility, a responsive and streamlined administration, decentralisation and greater peoples’ participation in governance. But this does not mean fragmentation and carving out the country along caste, racial, tribal, religious and linguistic lines.The answer for Nepal lies in true devolution of power to elected local bodies, with the phasing out of central interference. The local bodies will best accommodate the regional, racial, cultural and social aspirations of the people at the grassroots, and political trickle-up effect will bring this inclusive representation to the national level.’This was way ahead of the times, because King Gyanendra was consolidating power in a creeping coup to take the country back to absolute monarchy. <img width="935" height="521" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921a39c7e80680e03a0e3jpeg.jpg" alt="">“If we had truly devolved power then by decentralising decision-making to north-south states, we would not have polarised the country between hills and plains, between castes and ethnicities,” says Rana, who is fluent in English because of his royal pedigree and education in boarding schools in India. Dhawal’s great grandfather was Dev Shumsher who was banished to India in a purge. His grandfather, Mussorie Shumsher, was allowed to come back to Nepal, but not to Kathmandu, and owned rice mills in Nepalganj. His father was an agriculturist, who worked for a US aid agency, and established a farm where Dhawal Rana now lives.After studies, Rana returned to Nepal and worked for the Cotton Development Board, but resigned after he found corruption too engrained. He joined the RPP after the 1990 changes, but was thrown out. He fought and lost elections after running as an independent, then joined the UML and was elected mayor in the 1994 elections.He worked to restore social harmony between Muslims, who form 25% of Nepalganj’s 100,000 population, and the Hindus. He started to improve infrastructure, but the war undid much of it. Soon, local governments were dissolved elections put off, and Dhawal Rana used the time to finish his PhD thesis titled (what else?) ‘Nepali Municipalities: A Mayor’s Dilemma’. Last year he was elected again.“Nepalganj voted for me because people wanted me to continue what I had started in my first tenure as mayor, they remembered,” Rana tells us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXCHqhRHVA0&amp;feature=youtu.beDetractors say Dhawal Rana is not corrupt because he does not need to be. However, there are not too many other Ranas with old money who have gone into politics to bring change. In these cynical times, he is rare proof that honesty does pay.Dhawal Rana says wryly: “In my first tenure, the contractors did not believe I was not corrupt. This time, no one believes I am corrupt.” As Rana drives his Safari SUV through Nepalganj’s main street, locals recognise him and wave or walk over to chat. When powerful local businessmen refused to allow road-widening, he took them to court, won, and bulldozed their shopfronts. His 90km road upgrade is an ADB-supported project, and already Nepalganj’s streets are much better than those in Kathmandu. Rana says his biggest challenge is that people are impatient, and want overnight improvement. There is no dearth of money, he says, but Kathmandu still controls the purse-strings and that delays projects.Rana wants to retire after mayorship, but does not rule out joining national politics if the triangular tussle within the RPP leadership is resolved. Asked what he wants most of all, Mayor Rana replies simply: “Less interference from Kathmandu.”

Kunda Dixit

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Rana regime restored in Nepalganj

<figure><img width="1400" height="952" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921a69c7e80680e03a0e4jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley has 11 mayors, and the public's perception of most of them one year after they were elected is not very inspiring. Yet, here in Madhyapur Thimi, situated halfway between Bhaktapur and Kathmandu, Madan Sundar Shrestha is a breath of fresh air. He talks more like a technocrat than some of the populist colleagues from his Communist party. In a refreshing interview this week, he talked about <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18714#.W5EPZ84zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bicycle lanes</a>, footpaths for pedestrians, and turning his town into a health and education hub. He believes <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/school-mismanagement-committee,3123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">governments and private schools</a> should improve each other’s quality.Mayor Shrestha has got private schools in his city to grant scholarships to 10% of their students, and the municipality has been working to pay tuition fees for another 5% of children from underprivileged families. For government schools, the mayor has taken personal charge of trying to upgrade their quality. The mayor got Madhyapur Thimi Municipality to take over the Korea Nepal Friendship Hospital by investing Rs80 million a year to run it, and he also wants all residents of Thimi to have health insurance. Thimi is where the Janak Teaching Material Centre and the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/helping-migrants-make-the-grade-nepali-framework,3723" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training</a> (CTEVT) were set up decades ago. The city also has the SAARC TB research centre.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzOyhDvIciU&amp;feature=youtu.be“We want at least 80% of the people here to have comprehensive health insurance, and if we can achieve that within a decade, people here won’t have to pay for medical treatment ever again,” Shrestha told Nepali Times.Thimi was recently hit by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bhaktapur-inundated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unprecedented floods</a> after the Hanumante River burst its banks and inundated residences and shops. Unlike other politicians in Nepal, Mayor Shrestha was quick off the mark, personally accompanying rescue teams with heavy equipment to take people to safety. “This is the best mayor we have ever had,” local resident Sudin Bajracharya said. When the mayor found out that the real reason for the floods was not heavy rain but poor draining and haphazard construction along the floodplain of the river, he allocated Rs80 million to unblock and maintain the drainage system and Rs70 million to fix the roads.Shrestha says he is a firm believer that development does not mean destroying the tangible and intangible heritage of his historic town. Thimi had many ponds that used to recharge ground water, and served as the focal point for many festivals. Many had been converted into basketball courts or parking lots. Under Mayor Shrestha, the Bishnu Kundal, Bhulakhel and Kamal Pokhari are ponds again, and this week, children were diving into the water to swim. The Municipality is also helping revive dance rituals like the Mahakali Nach, Mayur Nach, Salancha Nach.Shrestha is working to streamline the taxation system, making it more scientific and practical than before. Property tax is now included with land and housing tax so people do not have to pay separately, and end up paying less. Other Municipality fees are nominal, and the Mayor is strict about not allowing middlemen to cheat earthquake survivors on their registrations.Shrestha’s popularity was already high, but it has become higher as they see their mayor among them, trying to make the city more convenient for its citizens. In fact, when some assailants attacked him on the Araniko Highway last year, people spontaneously came to his aid and put the attackers behind bars. Currently, Mayor Shrestha is working with engineers to develop a plan on ‘tactical urbanism’ in Thimi. This involves many low-cost interventions to the infrastructure to make the roads safer, including making roads more bicycle friendly and adding sidewalks. Only if the mayor of Kathmandu and Lalitpur would take a few tips from Thimi.

Monika Deupala

A breath of fresh air in Thimi

When Nepali Times decided last month to profile a dozen model mayors, we had no idea how difficult the job was going to be. There were not that many inspiring mayors who had set standards for integrity and vision.Most are good-for-nothing puppets of their political masters, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Elected-contractors,4182" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many are corrupt construction contractors</a> behaving like foxes guarding the chicken coop, while a few who want to improve their cities or villages have no idea how to do it.Still, we managed to find six mayors and one deputy mayor for special mention in this edition. They have struggled against all odds to perform, deliver and achieve. Collectively, they have to fight every inch of the way to force a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/confusion-relief-distribution-earthquake,2315" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">status quoist bureaucracy</a> in Kathmandu to devolve decision-making and yield more revenue-raising powers. The ruling Nepal Communist Party is not much help because its whole philosophy rests on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/illiberal-ills/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">centralising power</a>, not in devolution.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921809c7e80680e03a0d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="310"/><figcaption>Lok Narayan Yadav, mayor of Parsagadhi</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921819c7e80680e03a0d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="279"><figcaption>Dilip Pratap Khand, mayor of Waling</figcaption></figure>Yet, despite being in Nepal's culturally conservative western mountains, the people of Jumla last year elected women to be both mayor and deputy. Mayor Kantika Sejuwal is not letting traditional politicians block her efforts to raise living standards and give women more say.In Pokhariya Muncipality of Parsa district, Deputy Mayor Salma Khatun has had to overcome double discrimination for being a woman and a Muslim. Both Sejuwal and Khatun harbour a deep sense of commitment to improve services, and a determination to make things better for the most vulnerable.In Kathmandu Valley Madan Sundar Shrestha in Madhyapur Thimi stands out for thinking ahead to upgrade infrastructure, improve drainage, build sidewalks and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/no-city-for-cyclists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bicycle lanes</a> to enhance traffic safety. The only mayor to be re-elected in last year’s local election, and the only one with a PhD, is Dhawal Shumsher Rana in Nepalganj. He is now picking up where he left off in 2002, improving roads and urban management in the western Tarai city as it is poised for growth.In Waling Municipality, we catch up with Mayor Dilip Pratap Khand, a descendant of former kings, who is inviting talented professionals from the diaspora back home to train the youth. For Mayor Khand, turning Waling into a ‘Smart City’ is not just a slogan.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921839c7e80680e03a0d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="303"><figcaption>Madan Sundar Shrestha, mayor of Madhyapur Thimi</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921859c7e80680e03a0d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="291"><figcaption>Man Bahadur GC, mayor of Pokhara</figcaption></figure>The one thing common for all the mayors profiled, and the vital ingredient that makes them good performers, is that they put the people ahead of personal or party interests.And non-performing mayors? There are too many to count. The man who is possibly the most inept of them all is Kathmandu’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Kathmandu-mayor-100-days,3927" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bidya Sundar Shakya</a>. Just like fellow-communist Prime Minister KP Oli, who is Shakya’s godfather, Kathmandu’s mayor has a major sense of entitlement and arrogance that comes from commanding an absolute majority in the municipal council.A hilarious meme on the Nepali social sphere portrayed the mayor dozing off on a heap of garbage, but none of this criticism seems to affect Shakya, who is often flying off on junkets. In fact, whenever Mayor Shakya does something, it turns out to be the wrong thing. He ruined Rani Pokhari and Kasthamandap, and has shown appalling indifference to the need for better roads, drainage and clean air.Outside Kathmandu, mayors have been fighting it out with female deputies over petty things like who gets to ride the official car more often. One mayor took inaction to extremes when he just looked on as a woman was thrashed for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16636#.W5EJtM4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">practicing witchcraft</a>, and then prevented the victim from filing a complaint.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921879c7e80680e03a0d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="321"><figcaption>Kantika Sejuwal, mayor of Chandannath, Jumla</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/636921899c7e80680e03a0d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="292"><figcaption>Dhawal Shumsher Rana, mayor of Nepalgunj</figcaption></figure>We used to blame the absence of locally-elected representatives for the lack of accountability at the grassroots. It seems elected officials are no better because of flaws in the election system that makes them too expensive and discourages honest politicians from contesting. Candidates forced to accept unethical ‘donations’ from businesses need to pay back in contracts after assuming office. Mayors know they can ride their party’s structure for an election victory and do not need to perform. Also, they cannot be recalled for incompetence, which makes them complacent.Mayors have their own complaints, some of which are genuine. A conference of mayors and deputy mayors issued the Kathmandu Declaration last week, urging the Centre to not intervene in their local affairs. They want Kathmandu to transfer authority regarding education, agriculture and land revenue.Kathmandu’s myopic leaders must realise that Nepal is now a federal country, and they must devolve power. Also, if local representatives fail to deliver, they will lose the moral authority to fight for more autonomy. The Municipality Association of Nepal can take the lead to make every council follow a code of conduct.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZq9PMPzTrg&amp;feature=youtu.be

Model mayors

This is the first instalment in a new limited series in Nepali Times on the historic transportation infrastructures of Nepal. Nepal’s Forest Railways As<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-border-trains-that-connected-nepal"> India’s railway network </a>expanded in the 1890s and 1900s, the demand for wooden railway sleepers, called ‘ties’ in America, likewise increased. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-rana-reign-a-recap-of-history,3751">Rana regime</a> realised that western Nepal’s dense forests, from which sal trees could be extracted and sold, represented a valuable source of revenue. There was a problem of accessing large tracts of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">Tarai forests</a>. However, once Indian railway lines are extended to Nepal’s border in several places, this issue could be resolved by constructing logging railways, also known as ‘tramways’ or ‘light railways’. The Nepal Government awarded a contract to Punjabi timber contractors to supply 15,000 sal sleepers to Chandan Chauki station of India’s Oudh &amp; Rohilkhand State Railway in 1908. The contractors also received a concession to construct a steam tramway to run 48km into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/reviving-nepals-community-forestry-success-story">Nepal’s forests</a> for cutting and transporting trees. The author found no records, however, indicating that such an ambitious tramway was built in 1908. The hewn logs were probably carried into India by bullock carts or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/elephants-become-white-elephants">elephants</a>. The earliest known forest railway in Nepal was built in 1914 in the southwestern corner of the present-day Parsa district. A British engineer went to the Indian border town of Bikna Thori to plan a 4-mile portable light railway for the transport of timber from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/on-the-tri-junction-of-wildlife-conservation-conflict-and-co-existence">the forest of Chitwan </a>to the Thori depot on the Bengal &amp; Northwestern Railway. This short line was laid upon wooden sleepers, and its rails could be taken up and repositioned when logging in one section of the forest was completed. This forest railway was in operation at least through 1917.&nbsp; A few year down the line in 1923, J V Collier of the Indian Forest Service built a narrow-gauge railway in Kailali district also to export of timber to India. This line, the Nepal Government Forest Railway, departed Chandan Chauki in Uttar Pradesh and ran 48km northwest into Nepal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250824150820_84ddef57433c2f847b2c7e56c2d9c924084b6e6a504bbca905d2c593fac8eabd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250824150820_84ddef57433c2f847b2c7e56c2d9c924084b6e6a504bbca905d2c593fac8eabd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1130" height="689" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's little railways"> <figcaption>A Nepal Government Forest train in Kailali District hauling sal sleepers in 1925. Photo: DAVID CHURCHILL </figcaption> </figure>  It was a 2-foot railway supported by 11kg rails. The line was ‘temporary’ in that as sal trees were thinned out in one area, railway tracks were shifted to uncut areas of the forest. The railway crossed seven small <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">rivers</a>, but the bridges were taken down during the summer and monsoon. Trains ran only from November to April. This forest railway purchased four 4-6-0T ‘tank’ engines built in Leeds, England. Each bogie could carry 100 broad-gauge sleepers, and two engines were needed to haul a 21-car train loaded with 2,100 sleepers. This huge commercial forest operation once employed about 14,000 men, most of them Indians. During one season, nearly 800,000 broad and metre-gauge sleepers were exported to India. When India suffered a depression in 1930, large scale operations came to an end. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rust-in-peace?fbclid=IwAR1_eg88TCOS6RGRW1af7WvaWx5mzh_rY8-vT1MnJxSs41QtCpaA988oXk8">Rust in peace</a>, Daniel W Edwards  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250824150828_13a0b894b9ea0c478904d358028f0c976d84f284432ee25106787366598d38e5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250824150828_13a0b894b9ea0c478904d358028f0c976d84f284432ee25106787366598d38e5" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's railways"> <figcaption>Rails extended north from this spot into the virgin sal forests of Bardia in western Nepal 100 years ago.  DANIEL W EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  A third railway was built in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-big-bulls-of-bardia">Bardia </a>where some scattered rails and signs of an old roadbed were seen in the 1960s. It ran from Nishangada in India to Khairbhatti in Nepal. From there, stations heading south were Ranipur, Karmak, Taratal and Madhuwan. Collier likely <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-train-project-struggles-to-stay-on-track">built this railway </a>as well in the 1920s. An elderly man in Bardia in 2022, whose father had worked on this forest railway, was interviewed for this account. Kathmandu Valley’s Motor (Trolley) Railway Merchants importing goods from India via the<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/ropeways-connecting-nepal,1749"> ropeway</a> Chandra Shamsher built in 1927 had to go to the ropeway’s terminus at Matatirtha near Thankot to claim their goods and then haul them 6km to the customs house Bhansar Adda at Teku for clearance and payment of customs duties. The Motor Railway was built to carry goods from the<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16839"> ropeway station </a>directly to the customs office, making it cheaper and more convenient for merchants to receive their shipments. In December 1931, Prime Minister Bhim Shamsher issued an order (sanad) putting Lt Gen Singha Shamsher Rana in charge of building this rail line to Teku and on to ‘Nabalak Khana’ in Tripureswar, a distance of 10km. The project was subdivided into four sections or ‘phant’, and for each, budgets and timelines were established. There was bato phant (constructing the roadbed), lik sleeper and jordne phant (laying sleepers and joining the rails), culvert phant (installing culverts) and pul phant (building bridges). Colonel Kishore Narsingh Rana was put in charge of the sleeper and rail section, while Colonel Dilli Jung Thapa, an engineer at Ghar Kaj Adda, also was involved. The Motor Railway was completed by the end of 1933. In the beginning, the railway’s small wagons may have been pulled and pushed by men and bullocks. However, in 1938 a British railway manufacturer sent Nepal a four-wheel, 5½ ton, 2-foot narrow-gauge diesel-powered locomotive with mechanical transmission, hence the name motor railway. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-railways-janakpur-test-drive?fb_comment_id=3554227181262227_4263866616964943">Nepal Railways Janakpur test drive</a> Leaving Matatirtha, the trains passed Satungal, Naikap, the Bishnudevi Temple, crossed an iron bridge over Balkhu Khola, then to Ghattepakha, Sunagau, through what is now a section of Kuleshwor (‘Lik Marg’) to the Customs Office at Teku.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250825020852_033f0cee9775d7dadde7811132f84da876f614c386e3677e560ba7aed79909d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250825020852_033f0cee9775d7dadde7811132f84da876f614c386e3677e560ba7aed79909d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="railways in Nepal"> <figcaption>Lik Marg in Kuleswor, the former route of the Motor Trolley Railway. Photo: DANIEL W EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  In 1945, Motor Trolley had four engines, but spare parts was badly needed. The charge for transporting one maund (about 40kg) of cargo from Matatirtha to Teku was 50 paisa. Even though the trains ran slowly and only for a short distance, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/fatalism-and-fatalities">accidents were not unknown</a>. A train loaded with rice, salt and cotton derailed on a curve in July 1946, and two railway employees were crushed under the cars and killed, five others were injured. Besides the driver and a brakeman, guards rode the trains to prevent theft of goods.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250824150836_63a327d4db3b067a23dd5c6cf17a31ffe811ffd4a8429bc31011d62298a90060.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250824150836_63a327d4db3b067a23dd5c6cf17a31ffe811ffd4a8429bc31011d62298a90060" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's railways"> <figcaption>The author by the remains of the Balkhu Khola bridge built in 1932 with American steel. Photo: JEEVAN NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  By 1953, government budget estimates indicated the Motor Railway would break even with an income of Rs70,000 against Rs71,000 in expenditure. It appears the railway stopped service around 1957 with the opening of the Raj Path and the extension of the ropeway from Matatirtha to Bhansar Adda. Bent steel beams of the bridge across Balkhu Khola and two plaques recovered from the river a few years ago are the only remains of this railway today. Photos of the Motor Trolley Railway in operation are hard to come by.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250825020848_3a7cd17d0ffc36bbf5fdad404f5f6e91c7aa0e4f4ed729ed2c7e9c186f32ca9b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20250825020848_3a7cd17d0ffc36bbf5fdad404f5f6e91c7aa0e4f4ed729ed2c7e9c186f32ca9b" data-rendition-name="original" width="5189" height="1979" loading="lazy" alt="railways in Nepal"> <figcaption>Steel plaque commemorating the construction of a Motor Trolley bridge across the Balkhu Khola. Photo: DANIEL W EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  The Kosi Project Railway (KPR) As early as 1941, India and Nepal considered building a dam on<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kosi-s-sorrow-and-scope"> the Kosi River</a> to prevent destructive floods caused by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">monsoon rains</a>. Floods in 1950 inundated 500 villages in Bihar and left 500,000 people homeless. The two governments signed an agreement in 1954 to build a barrage on the Kosi, and King Mahendra and Prime Minister Nehru laid the foundation stone in April 1959. To transport stones from a quarry near Dharan to use in mixing concrete at the construction site, the Indian government, in charge of building the barrage, made plans to build a narrow-gauge railway linking Bihar and its border town of Bhimnagar with Nepal’s settlements at Chakraghatti, Chatra and Ghopa, the outskirts of Dharan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250824150816_fc5e13b01022c63c64f1e83589da0015eee7ecd002bdd3d97b88c98c1f3d45b7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="20250824150816_fc5e13b01022c63c64f1e83589da0015eee7ecd002bdd3d97b88c98c1f3d45b7" data-rendition-name="original" width="4011" height="2645" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's railways"> <figcaption>Steel plaque commemorating the construction of a Motor Trolley bridge across the Balkhu Khola. Photo: DANIEL W EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  The section of the KPR in Nepal totaled 66km — the country’s longest railway to date. The stations south of Chakraghatti were Rajabas, Maduhuwan, Kushaha, Haripur and Bhantabari. The line built, operated and owned by the Indian Government, was opened in 1958 and known locally as Dhunge (stone) Rail. Procuring locomotives, wagons and other materials was a challenge. India’s Railway Board searched the country for old 41 lb rails, and located steam engines, most built around 1910, in poor condition, and stored in ‘retirement’. These decrepit locomotives were later cannibalised for parts to keep the remaining engines running, and six newer locomotives built in Yugoslavia were sent to the KPR in 1960 to prevent the railway from shutting down and halting construction of the barrage.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250824150832_fd644f9e2674c5047a531de5dfeb2c8860b0f93dddc7a2df3db867bf31b2c94b.bmp" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="20250824150832_fd644f9e2674c5047a531de5dfeb2c8860b0f93dddc7a2df3db867bf31b2c94b" data-rendition-name="original" width="3171" height="2069" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's railways"> <figcaption>KPR locomotives, water tank and staff at Chakraghatti in Nepal. Photo: JOHN BENSON</figcaption> </figure>  Used bogie-wagons (gondolas) came from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-nepal-rail-diplomacy">Indian railways</a> that had been converted to metre-gauge, others were manufactured in Muzaffarpur without couplers due to the non-availability of steel. A hundred new wagons arrived from Japan, but only half could be put in service, as couplers from the other 50 were removed and attached to the Muzaffarpur wagons. This smorgasbord of equipment kept shop mechanics and work crews busy, but now-abandoned railways in Nepal always operated under less-than-ideal conditions. Although the purpose of the KPR was to transport gravel, stones and boulders to the site of the barrage, photographs show people riding in loaded wagons. Excluding Dharan, there was no bus service through the wild animal infested jungle between Dharan and Chakraghatti or along the dusty paths linking other small villages on the KPR, so patient locals sat in wagons at Dharan, waiting perhaps for hours for trains to depart.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250825020852_7d011dcc8e9b8cb0fe745b352486ebc4a84dac99419eadb35875333db20837c6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_24" data-image-id="20250825020852_7d011dcc8e9b8cb0fe745b352486ebc4a84dac99419eadb35875333db20837c6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3965" height="2659" loading="lazy" alt="railways in Nepal"> <figcaption>Ticketless riders on a train of gravel and stones in the forest between Dharan and Chakragatti in 1966. Photo: JOHN BENSON</figcaption> </figure>  Sons of former railway workers in Chakraghatti say that there were no fixed schedules, three or four trains ran both ways daily in the early 1960s. Southbound trains carried gravel, stones and boulders, while northbound trains would carry coal, cement and provisions, including sacks of coins to pay the workers. Trains even ran at night, and the crews worked long hours. Workers received free housing in project-built tenements but had to buy food supplies and items for personal use. The Babu Saheb or the superintendent lived at Chakraghatti, and at one time supervised more than 1,000 employees, nearly all of them from India. The barrage was completed in 1964, but by 1970, the Kosi Project Railway had passed into history. Daniel W Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal.

Nepal’s five little railways

· &nbsp;At least 400 people are dead or missing after heavy rainfall lashed arid regions of northwestern Pakistan. Walls of mud and boulders engulfed entire villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. More than 700 people have been killed in floods in Pakistan since June.&nbsp; · &nbsp;Over in India’s Jammu and Kashmir at the same time, multiple slurry floods on 17-18 August killed more than 80 people · A mudslide possibly caused by a glacial collapse upstream in Uttarakhand on 5 August nearly wiped the village of Dharali off the map. At least 70 people, 23 of them Nepalis are dead or missing. · On the night of 8 July, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rasuwa-flood-likely-a-glof">glacial lakes in Tibet overflowed</a>. By dawn the mudflow had demolished the Nepal-China border bridge killing at least 11 people, destroyed hydropower plants, swept away bridges, roads, over 100 cargo trucks and newly imported electric vehicles. All these disasters have a common thread: a cascade of hazards caused by record-breaking rainfall on fragile Himalayan slopes destabilised by melting glaciers and permafrost, seismicity and poorly engineered infrastructure. They are called ‘rain bombs’ — a heavy localised downpour measuring more than 100mm/h on a steep mountainside. As global warming heats the atmosphere, warmer air can hold more water vapour. The heavy rain then falls where there should be snowfall: on moraines and slopes that have lost the permafrost adhesive that held the debris together. “Increasingly, there is now more rainfall at higher altitudes where there used to be snowfall previously, and this directly impacts loose material in that fragile landscape which moves down,” explains Mohan B Chand, a Himalayan Glaciologist at Kathmandu University. “Moreover, the rains these days are heavy and fall within a few hours. So even a small burst has bigger impact.” The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi">2021 Melamchi flood</a> and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Sikkim disaster in 2023</a> have been attributed to record-breaking torrential rain on a glacial moraine that collapsed, unleashing a catastrophic debris flow.&nbsp; The Bhote Kosi flood this year happened even without torrential rain, and originated at rapidly expanding supraglacial lakes that overflowed, similar to what happened on the Mendenhall Galcier in Alaska last week. In Uttarakhand, the trigger could be in the upper catchment cryosphere, or a landslide dammed lake. Basanta Raj Adhikari of the Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering also calls them ‘sediment bombs’. He clarifies: “There is lots of sediment up there from landslides or glacial activity, and when there is heavy rainfall and hotter temperature, they are unleashed downstream. One thing is for sure, these extreme events are getting more frequent and more destructive.” Researcher Alton C Byers who has studied melting glaciers in the Himalaya and Andes names the eight most potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal: Lower Barun, Chamlang North Tso, Chamlang South Tso, Dig Tso which burst in 1984, Lumding Tso, Thulagi, Tso Rolpa and Imja Tso (see map).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250822030844_70b3bf6a1ad9b9f9481c9af860629b2a05ac1338a3b89a831506f1c6bdddf5ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250822030844_70b3bf6a1ad9b9f9481c9af860629b2a05ac1338a3b89a831506f1c6bdddf5ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="522" height="557" loading="lazy" alt="high risk glacial lakes in Nepal"> </figure>  Of these, Tso Rolpa and Imja have been lowered by 3m each, while Thulagi, Lower Barun, Lumding Tsho, and Hongu 2 glacial lakes have been targeted for lowering by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology as part of the recent Green Climate Fund grant of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/meltpools-in-the-himalaya" target="_blank">$36.1 million awarded to Nepal</a>. “These lakes have changed over the years as their debris-covered glaciers continue to recede,” Byers told Nepali Times. “When water volume in the lake basin increases, they become more vulnerable to flood triggers such as overhanging ice as glaciers recede further to their headwalls, and permafrost on their moraines continues to melt.” <h2>These are not ‘natural disasters’</h2> Scientists have given the current planetary epoch a name: the Anthropocene. And anthropogenic causes in this era heighten the risk of disasters. Indeed, an analysis of recent Himalayan calamities (page 1) shows that there is much more at play here than climate breakdown. Haphazard encroachment of floodplains, quarrying and crusher activity exacerbated the effect of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">extreme rainfall on 28 September around Kathmandu Valley</a> that killed 200 people. The human cost of the 5 August catastrophe in Uttarakhand would have been high in any case, but the fact that the tiny village had expanded across a vulnerable alluvial fan to cater to a tourism boom meant more death and destruction. There are similar alluvial fans across Nepal, where small towns have expanded because new highways follow rivers, like Beni located at the confluence of the Myagdi Khola and Kali Gandaki. Other towns like Kagbeni or Damauli are located on the banks of rivers and tributaries that are directly downstream from rapidly expanding glacial lakes or unstable mountains. “In Butwal, people are building houses on the floodplain of the Tinau River, and yet people blame climate change or rainfall when there is a disaster,” says Basanta Raj Adhikari at the Institute of Engineering. “This is happening all over the country. Imagine the kind of devastation Beni would suffer if there was a big flood.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250822030848_ed411f8618c7a411ed4c165e91f3b880abb085a8a511405710dd8220f657da84.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250822030848_ed411f8618c7a411ed4c165e91f3b880abb085a8a511405710dd8220f657da84" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="Beni Bazar"> <figcaption>RISKY CONFLUENCE: Beni has expanded rapidly after the highway to Mustang was built. But the town is situated on the alluvial fan of past flash floods on both the Kali Gandaki and Myagdi Khola which have dangerous glacial lakes in their upper catchment. Photo: BENI TOURISM</figcaption> </figure>  Traditionally, Nepal’s villages and settlements were located high above rivers because our forebears learnt lessons from recurring flash floods. Now, the road network follows rivers, and towns have sprung up along these highways. Even when roads are not on river banks, many gouge out slopes above, unleashing massive landslides that block rivers. Experts say Nepal’s hazard map should now be updated for glacial outbursts so municipalities can plan risk-sensitive land use zoning. This &nbsp;must go hand-in-hand with measures to reduce the risk by structural mitigation, such as engineering and construction, and then with risk awareness and early-warning systems. Says Himalayan researcher Alton C Byers: “Sooner or later, communities will realise that certain sites are simply no longer safe for a village or city, especially because of climate change in the mountains. The Himalaya has always been high-risk with its steep slopes, thin soil, monsoon rainfall regime, and frequent seismic activity. So, some places are no longer safe to live in.” Mohan B Chand of Kathmandu University adds that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">hazard mapping is especially crucial for expensive hydropower plants</a>: “Most of these are on snow-fed rivers, but environmental risk assessment is not taken seriously.” He says that because Nepal is set to generate 28,500MW by 2035 to meet its carbon neutral target, the government must work to minimise upstream risk by integrating disaster mitigation components in new energy investments. Few know that Nepal’s first hazard mapping was done 40 years ago in the Khumbu with a United Nations University study titled ‘Highland Lowland Interactive Systems’. It is hard to find that document anywhere. Today, hazard mapping technologies, satellite remote sensing, drones, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and modelling with AI have made it much easier to integrate multi-hazard risk assessment. That data needs to be made available to local governments so they can plan. Cell phones and new apps that monitor real-time glacial lake levels, live precipitation and hydrological data, and local weather forecasts can make early warning systems more effective. Recent disasters have shown that even the smallest of glacial lakes that are rarely considered in risk assessments can cause much damage. Langmale Lake in the Barun Valley was less than 0.1 km2 in size, but <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting" target="_blank">the flood in 2017</a> caused extensive downstream damage. The 2012 Seti flood in Pokhara, the Chamoli disaster in Uttarakhand in 2021, the South Lhonak proglacial lake burst in Sikkim in 2023 that washed away the $1.7 billion Chungthang Teesta III Project, and the August 2024 floods above Thame in Khumbu are other recent examples.&nbsp; Byers thinks some of these floods may have been initially triggered by massive rockfall or moraine collapse related to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-not-so-permanent-frost" target="_blank">melting permafrost</a>. The size of a glacial lake alone does not determine the severity of destruction. What makes all the difference is downstream development, and if there pre-warning. Dig Tso in Khumbu which burst in 1984, was much larger than the lake that caused the Bhote Kosi flood in July, but the economic cost to the country of the trans-boundary disaster this year was much higher. Says glaciologist Chand: “We have to monitor the lakes, not just via remote sensing but with field visits. These may be costly, but mitigating the risk is less expensive than the disasters themselves.” Nepal has the technology and trained personnel to do hazard mapping, monitoring, and to design early warning apps. That data and information now needs to be available to all three levels of government to improve preparedness and risk reduction. “The cascading and compounding hazards are increasing in the Himalaya, this must be the subject of our research now,” says Adhikari at the Centre for Disaster Studies. “Recent events are a wake-up call, if we do not take this seriously things may be more dangerous in future.”

Rain bombs

The cost of preserving Nepal’s past

Turkish Airlines is official airline partner for the second edition of the Vatsalya Everest Women’s Volleyball League (EWV). The league, scheduled for 5-13 September, will take place in Pokhara and feature 18 international players alongside elite Nepali volleyball talent. The agreement was signed by Turkish General Manager Serkan Başar, and EWV CEO Snevy Chapagain. “Turkish Airlines’ support ensures a seamless journey and adds immense prestige to the league’s goal of women’s empowerment through sports as well as the agenda of sports tourism,” said Chapagain. “We are thrilled to partner with Vatsalya Everest Women’s Volleyball League as the official airline. With this association, we aim to support women role models in sports. We believe this association will connect countries to Nepali volleyball,” remarked Basar.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250825030844_36df66612152abbea71f15579358a2bb0fe797f21cbe7e7c7f28e3fe91655ae4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250825030844_36df66612152abbea71f15579358a2bb0fe797f21cbe7e7c7f28e3fe91655ae4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Turkish"> </figure>