The Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, remarked at the bank's two-day country portfolio review meeting last week that improved portfolio performance is key for timely delivery of development results and securing higher and sustained concessional resource allocations.&nbsp;
“Nepal needs to achieve at least $350 million to $450 million disbursement per year to be considered for higher concessional resource allocations based on ADB’s performance-based allocation system,” said Yokoyama.
The Government of Nepal was joint-organiser of the meeting and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat added, “We appreciate ADB’s support to Nepal’s development over the years. The government is committed to overcome the challenges related to project implementation and disbursements and improve capital expenditure for development impact on the ground for Nepali people.”&nbsp;
Similarly, ADB-supported projects – Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project, Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project-Additional Financing, SASEC Highway Improvement Project, Rural Enterprise Financing Project, and Power Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Enhancement Project – were awarded at a special ceremony for their excellence in effective project management, gender equality, and social inclusion, environmental and social safeguards monitoring at a special ceremony.&nbsp;
Since the start of its operations in Nepal in 1969, ADB has provided about $7.6 billion in financial and technical assistance to the country. As of 31 December 2022, ADB’s active portfolio in Nepal stands at around $3.2 billion, supporting a broad range of key sectors: energy, transport, agriculture, water and urban infrastructure and services, rural development and natural resources, health, and education.&nbsp;
While this number is lower than expected, caused mainly by insufficient project staff and high turnover, challenges in contract management, delays in environmental and land clearances, and disruption of construction supply chain, ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois added: “Following the review, MOF and ADB will agree on specific actions to overcome the challenges and we are hopeful that project implementation and disbursement will pick up pace.”

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

ADB Country Portfolio Meeting

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/63720a149c7e80680e0b557fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>There is intense international diplomatic pressure for and against a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/missing-links-in-nepals-mcc-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$500 million American project</a>, as Nepal’s main political players try to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/maoists-backpedal-on-mcc-letter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> strike backroom deals</a> ahead of the 28 February deadline for ratification of the compact by Parliament.This being Nepal, lawmakers will be expected to go late into the night to vote. And if they still need more time at the stroke of the midnight hour on Monday, 28 February, they might argue that there is another 12 hours before it is midnight in Washington DC.Whatever happens in the coming days, by playing political ping-pong with the MCC Nepal’s leaders have damaged <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-in-political-and-geopolitical-jam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s international reputation</a> and have come across to both the Americans and the Chinese as being untrustworthy, prone to playing petty party politics to undermine the country’s own national interest.The MCC is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by Congress in 2004 to help improve the economies of under-developed countries that have democratic safeguards. Nepal was the only other South Asian country besides Sri Lanka to be offered the grant to ‘maintain road quality, increase the availability and reliability of electricity, and facilitate cross-border electricity trade between Nepal and India’.All agree that those things are needed. The problem has been that rivals of former prime minister K P Oli used his support for the MCC to bring him down, accusing him of selling out the country. It is no secret that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/china-lobbying-against-mcc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Beijing overtly opposed the American project </a>in Nepal, and has used the two Communist parties in the coalition government to reject it.The history of US aid to Nepal begins in the 1950s, and since then it has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into development projects, infrastructure and training. The MCC grant is a continuation of this involvement, and the reason it has become a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-deal-breaker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political hot potato</a> now is because the compact needs Parliament ratification. Ironically, that clause was added because of chronic political instability in Nepal.With growing Sino-US polarity on the global stage, the MCC grant has brought Washington and Beijing on a collision course in Nepal. China is a geopolitical influencer in Kathmandu, and has always been wary of Western support for Tibetan nationalism. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has maintained fraternal relations with Nepal’s Communist parties, and wants them united to reject the MCC.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/high-tension-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">High tension in Nepal</a>, Rabin GiriA fierce power struggle since the 2017 election resulted in a three-way split last year in the once-powerful Nepal Communist Party. Oli’s UML is now in the opposition, while the Maoist Centre led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal’s Unified Socialists are members of a five-party governing coalition led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the centre-right Nepali Congress (NC).Deuba has been a vocal supporter of the MCC. So was his predecessor Oli who now sees the project as a wedge to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-risks-split-in-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split the coalition</a> ahead of polls. It is an indication of just how high the stakes are that American Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry met Oli on Tuesday, just weeks after the Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi also met him. The UML’s stance will be key to having the MCC passed, although the NC and smaller parties will have enough members for a simple majority if the Communist parties stay away.Democratic disarray in the US since 2016 and the rise of China have made Beijing more assertive in Nepal. China has been the largest source of foreign investment in Nepal for six consecutive years, it has provided large loans for Pokhara airport, and is negotiating another one for the Budi Gandaki dam. The Tibet Railway will arrive at Nepal’s northern border in Kerung by 2025, offering easier overland connectivity to the mainland.The MCC is seen by the Chinese as a direct challenge to its own <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/china-builds-digital-and-medical-silk-roads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Belt and Road Initiative</a> of which Nepal is a signatory. But many have warned that Nepal might fall into a ‘Chinese debt trap’ similar to the one that has now bankrupted Sri Lanka after it rejected the MCC in 2019.Nepal’s two Communist parties in the coalition contend that the compact is anti-national, allows American law to prevail over Nepal’s law, and lawmakers will have insufficient oversight over the MCC board. They have successfully mobilised the social web to spread fear among Nepalis of American imperialist ambitions to counter China. Following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and past American misadventures in the Gulf, many on Nepal’s cybersphere say the country could face similar instability with greater American engagement.If Parliament fails to ratify the MCC by the deadline, it could impact not just US-Nepal relations, but also undermine the country’s international credibility, dependence on multilateral agencies, and even Nepal’s peacekeeping operations for which the Americans pick up the tabs.US Assistant Secretary Donald Lu is said to have pointedly warned Nepali politicians in a call this month that Washington would "review its ties with Nepal" if an agreement is not reached, although the US Embassy later clarified that it was up to Nepal to take the grant or not.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/to-be-or-not-to-be-on-the-mcc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">To be or not to be on the MCC</a>, Anil ShahThe most direct consequence of the project being cancelled will be in building a crucial 400kVa transmission line along the Kathmandu-Butwal corridor to evacuate the estimated 3,500MW of electricity that the country will be generating by 2025. Nepal will have to build the transmission line possibly with Chinese loans, which will mean greater cost and further delays.The elephant in the room in all this is India, which has kept out of the debate so far. But it is watching warily since New Delhi and Washington are allies, and yet Nepal's prevarication is a signal of bending towards Beijing. India is Nepal’s biggest trading partner by far, and it will be watching out for Chinese inroads into Nepal’s infrastructure if the MCC is rejected.On the other hand, if the MCC goes ahead it risks China's ire. On 23 February, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Beijing opposes "coercive diplomacy" by the United States in Nepal.Hua added: "How can a gift be sent by an ultimatum? Is it a gift or a Pandora's Box?"In MCC-related posts on the Sina Weibo platform's comments call the MCC a ‘US trap’ and ‘a form of occupation’. Some comments go even further, calling the US a ‘colonist power’. Another post said: ‘Nepal is close to China, that's why the US wants to come here."With geopolitics heating up, Nepal now finds itself caught between two powers like Vietnam vis-à-vis the East China Sea, or the Ukraine crisis. However, Mongolia is an example of a country that has successfully negotiated the MCC despite being squeezed between Washington, Beijing and Moscow. Mongolia is using its $350 million MCC grant for a water supply project in Ulaanbaatar.Whichever way it goes, the MCC will be a tipping point in Nepal’s domestic politics and will have a direct impact on three levels of elections this year.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The message is the medium</a>, EditorialHoang Chu is a student at Pitzer in Nepal in Claremont, the United States.

It’s decision time

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02bb9c7e80680e0a3698jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1668"/>The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact was signed in September 2017 between the US aid agency and the government of Nepal promising $500 million worth of funding, with Nepal matching another $130 million.Its stated objective is to ‘increase the availability of electricity and lower transportation costs —helping to spur investments, accelerate economic growth, and reduce poverty’. Over the last four years of contentious debate and polarising ideological arguments, it continues to await endorsement by Parliament.If endorsed, it will be the biggest grant aid Nepal has ever received and the MCC’s first such ‘compact’ in South Asia. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mcc-ball-in-nepals-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mcc-ball-in-nepals-court/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEn9pZ2ftNIdRYkKF4uVeDFtcX2tg">MCC vice-president Fatema Z Sumar</a> and deputy vice-president Johnathon Brooks made a much photographed visit to Kathmandu, meeting senior political leaders from both ruling and opposition parties.What are the two sides to the debate?As in earlier debates on foreign aid, political and public arguments for and against the MCC have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHCP2aK4ngIh6ls7tdgbqhTCLRHpw">polarised</a> between those who see it as a valuable investment in Nepal’s development, and those who view it as an expression of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sino-nepal-ties-in-the-post-afghan-era/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sino-nepal-ties-in-the-post-afghan-era/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHKeftS2HWq64fyZRKW769ovm4MJg">US geopolitical interest</a> in the region.It is difficult to ignore the fact that the MCC Compact coincides with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stuck-between-rock-and-hard-place/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stuck-between-rock-and-hard-place/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFczIUC71Eb-Lo4-YdAkRlE_xuqQw">China’s global rise</a>, and its own massive programme for infrastructural investment through the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE537hynIdQB3W7k9FSrlePGF4bFg">Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)</a>.In Nepal, some view the MCC as a magic bullet to reduce poverty through economic growth and investment in infrastructural development. This view, whilst largely held by Nepal’s notable economists and policy advisors, ignores the wider political-economic context of the MCC.It also overlooks the fact that investments like MCC often produce unequal benefits and contribute to growing inequality. It tends to ignore the seven decade long history of foreign aid funded development in Nepal, which has not only failed to reduce inequality, but has further widened it — arguably contributing to increased corruption, as aid is often implicated in political patronage, benefitting some while excluding others.On the other hand, there are those who oppose the MCC as an expression of US hegemony and imperialism, and as effectively undermining Nepal’s sovereignty. In a country once described by Prithivi Narayan Shah as ‘a yam between two boulders’ (India and China), nationalistic sentiment and appeals to the need to defend sovereignty often triumph.This view considers the dangers of accepting this Compact as self-evident, and fails to even consider any possibility of positive change through aid funded development.Given the impasse, the Nepal government sent a letter signed by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma to the MCC on 3 September 2021 that contained <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/just-do-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8carBnFEfGpAbc7CrtEB2L673wQ">17 clarificatory questions</a>.Within five days, the MCC’s Vice President Sumar <a href="https://np.usembassy.gov/response-to-the-goverment-of-nepals-september-3-2021-letter-requesting-clarifications-on-the-mcc-nepal-compact/?fbclid=IwAR0spr_QApmzFFoBDNP3QLxzJ8MNfhdwsrXtyDwMBVXwSbjz09gNlgBLgJ4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://np.usembassy.gov/response-to-the-goverment-of-nepals-september-3-2021-letter-requesting-clarifications-on-the-mcc-nepal-compact/?fbclid%3DIwAR0spr_QApmzFFoBDNP3QLxzJ8MNfhdwsrXtyDwMBVXwSbjz09gNlgBLgJ4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHD1ck0ZPXsZFxHdZGwZzG9Aq4EmQ">sent a reply</a> just before her arrival in Nepal. A few issues stand out: Nepal seems to seek assurance that MCC is ‘selfless’ and has no hidden objective, whether and how it is based on Nepal’s priorities, whether it contracts Nepal’s law and constitution, whether it undermines Nepal’s sovereignty, and assurance that it is not a part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.There is a question on tax exemption, international remuneration and benefits, intellectual property, terms of withdrawal, audit, and whether and how it might impact Nepal’s relationship with other countries.To an observer, Nepal’s direct questions are more telling than the diplomatically toned answers offered by MCC. Yet, it is disappointing to see that this Q/A and the wider debate on MCC fail to engage with some of the most pertinent questions.What is missing?Very few of those involved in the debate over the MCC look at the political-economic context of Nepal in the contemporary world, or at the political economy of aid and development.Firstly, it would be naïve to think that MCC is a selfless investment by the United States. It is very much part of the developing contest between the US (possibly ‘the West’) and China. But this is an inevitable component of the dynamic of global capitalism, and not specific to the MCC. Nepal cannot avoid this.While the instrumental use of foreign assistance in the service of political, economic or military agenda is nothing new, it is increasingly met with domestic resistance in the form of nationalistic and sovereignty based discourses in countries like Sudan, Sri Lanka, Burma — even in Nepal that has been relying heavily on foreign aid since the United States made its debut in 1951.‘Donors’ have not only been criticised for promoting their interests, but also for undermining state sovereignty. One particular implication of such discourse, however limited it may be, is that although the aid is generally welcomed, ‘donors’ can no longer work without considering how their work is perceived locally.The declaration ‘we are here to help’ is no longer enough, as donor activities have important political consequences as well as a political rationale. Given the history of foreign aid and an overwhelming presence of donors as well as emerging systematic criticisms against donors, Nepal offers some insights on how aid is perceived locally and resisted on sovereignty grounds.Secondly, Nepal’s history of foreign aid shows that aid funded development has tended to benefit a minority of people in Nepal and has failed to reduce inequalities – arguably it has deepened them.The implied linear relationship between investment in infrastructural development on the one hand, and economic growth and poverty alleviation on the other, is misleading. Infrastructure is not neutral, it does not benefit all equally.Ever since the 1970s, studies made it clear that roads were not enough to promote development, and that transport infrastructure brought change that was more beneficial to some than others, deepened inequality and even disadvantaged some directly.The debate and critical scrutiny of the MCC should focus on who will benefit in Nepal and, more specifically, whether investment in the proposed infrastructure will benefit the poor. This is a fundamental question given that both vertical and horizontal inequalities have been key concerns in Nepal, and the questions of equality, dignity and rights have been central to the country’s progressive socio-political movements and transition since the 1990s.It is positive that the implications of agreeing to accept the MCC has been so widely debated. But the existing public debate has been largely misplaced, and misses the critical questions. While one side appears adamant to resist it on sovereignty grounds, the other seems complicit in ignoring the most important aspects of any development investment.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDV78GJJzzNLNZFV0Jn7PyAED0rw">Dr Jeevan R Sharma</a> is at the University of Edinburgh, and is author of many publications on migration, development and social change in Nepal.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1632275354128000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDV78GJJzzNLNZFV0Jn7PyAED0rw">Dr David Seddon</a> is Director of Critical Faculty, author and co-author of many publications on Nepal. Both are currently working on a book on the political economy of aid and intervention in Nepal.

Missing links in Nepal’s MCC debate

<figure><img width="1050" height="655" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4659c7e80680e073666jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Prime Minister K P Oli launching the sale of shares for the Trisuli B hydroelectric project in March 2019, the first in the government’s Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative. Energy Minister Barshaman Pun is on the right. Photo: PMO</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s hydropower sector, already stymied <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-hydroelectricity-sector-gets-covid-19-shock/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAEegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0B_tYwmRm1tHBUVUnLifjc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-hydroelectricity-sector-gets-covid-19-shock/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAEegQIAxAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw0B_tYwmRm1tHBUVUnLifjc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMkbfjV65U5ipi9fjYZ4myWul1Bg">by decades of construction delays </a>and budget constraints, is seeing its flagship Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative pushed back further due to this year’s destructive monsoon rains and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.The initiative was part of the government’s ambitious masterplan to generate 15,000MW in ten years from 21 hydroelectric projects, and raise the income of Nepali shareholders in the process.“Nepal will have an energy surplus and see its economy grow, while the projects will bring the public quick rewards and allow them to prosper as well,” said the Energy Minister while launching the initiative in March last year.  <figure><img width="1500" height="839" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4689c7e80680e073667jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Some of the proposed projects under the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment which will offer shares to the public to invest in: 1st row, left-right: Ghunsa Khola (72MW), Simbuwa Khola (70MW), Tamakosi-5 (96MW) Upper Trisuli 3-B (27MW). 2nd Row: Kimathangka Arun (482MW), Upper Arun (725MW), Ikhuwa (30MW), Arun 4 (372MW) 3rd row: Budi Gandaki Gwar Khola (60MW), Budi Gandaki Prok 1 (100MW), Budi Gandaki Prok 2 (240MW) Budi Gandaki A (75MW)</figcaption></figure>It was a bold target and a challenging task to sell shares to the public, but it was an attempt to make up for lost time on power projects delayed by the 2015 earthquake and the Indian Blockade. However, no one could have predicted that the country would face an even more serious crisis this year with the global pandemic.While landslides and flash floods this monsoon as well as the COVID-19 lockdown have taken a year off construction schedules, the global economic downturn is also expected to reduce the public's ability to invest in shares and attract foreign joint ventures in the hydropower projects. Even so, CEO Chhabiraj Pokharel of the Hydropower Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) says the plan is to start construction on all 21 projects in the next four years so as to meet the intrim target of generating 3,500MW in five years.Despite his optimism, only one of the projects, the Upper Trisuli-3 (60MW), which went into operation in November, has been commissioned in the past year-and-half since the initiative was launched amidst much fanfare by Prime Minister Oli.The 111MW Rasuwagadi and 57MW Upper Sanjen are nearing completion, and have released shares to employees. Another project is halfway, but the other 14 have not gotten off the ground.  <figure><img width="1631" height="550" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba46b9c7e80680e073668jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Rasuwagadhi Project site (111MW) on the Trisuli River, where construction has begun. </figcaption></figure>Even though many of these projects were delayed due to existing bureaucratic and technical hurdles, the government is blaming the COVID-19 crisis. Says Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, convenor of the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative: “All the projects had been pushed back by six months already due to the COVID-19 crisis, and another six months because of the rainy season.”Nevertheless, the government’s plan is to begin construction on Upper Arun (725MW), Kimathangka Arun (482MW), Phukot Karnali (492MW), Tamakosi-5 (96MW), Chainpur Seti (201MW), and Jagadulla (157MW) as soon as the monsoon is over. Of these, Tamakosi-5 is putting shares up for sale to the public, now that its engineering and design work is complete. The modalities for the Rs33 billion Bheri-Babai Diversion Multipurpose Program are also complete. This project will irrigate 51,000ha in the eastern Tarai, while also generating 48.6MW of electricity. Five percent of the shares of this project will be open to local people, Karnali provincial government will have 20%, the project itself will have 26%, and the central government will have majority shares of 49%.  <figure><img width="1500" height="834" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba46e9c7e80680e073669jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Bheri-Babai tunnel that will irrigate 51,000ha in the western Tarai, and generate 48MW of electricity.</figcaption></figure>The government’s plan is that 51% of the Nepal’s Water, Nepalis’ Investment initiative will be funded by the government, while 49% will have the public’s investment. Of this, 70% will be loan financed, while 30% will be paid for by investment in equities. Of that 30%, a little more than half will be bought up by the government while 49% will be public.Government agencies are also being directed to allocate funds for the initiative. The Employees’ Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Fund, HIDCL, Nepal Telecom, National Insurance Institute, Nepal Police, Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force have all been directed to invest Rs1-6 billion per year in the initiative. The total cost of the 21 projects is estimated to exceed Rs700 billion -- which is equal to more than half the annual national budget of Nepal. Banks and financial institutions have a 10% ceiling on hydropower investment in their total portfolio, and this is enough to only fund 50MW production every year. This means the most serious obstacle to the initiative will now be the funding crunch. This has been exacerbated by the fall in government revenue due to the pandemic, as seen in this<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-unveils-covid-19-budget/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAFegQIARAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0IyIrqaRrWGvlcvL74WQUS" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-unveils-covid-19-budget/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjFu_bFg__qAhUF_XMBHfAqAvUQFjAFegQIARAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw0IyIrqaRrWGvlcvL74WQUS&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF97_uq5VhqvzbTa4EA79zdsQsuyQ"> fiscal year’s budget.</a> The government could rely on foreign loans and multilateral creditors, but they are also affected by the global recession.Normal hydropower regulations only allow for shares to be released once construction is half-complete. Under the provisions of the initiative, shares and IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) can be released once 10% of project funding is used.  <figure><img width="600" height="677" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4759c7e80680e07366ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Construction site of the Upper Trisuli 3B (37MW), one of the projects delayed by the COVID-19 lockdown.</figcaption></figure>Convenor Bhetuwal says construction of the 21 hydropower projects were deliberately staggered, keeping in mind the rise in nationwide energy demand. He adds: “Generating 3,500MW at once will lead to a glut in the market, may overwhelm consumers and waste energy, that is why projects are going into production in a phase-wise manner.” This is a legitimate concern, because national demand for electricity has dropped during he lockdown, prompting Nepal Electricity Authority Director Kul Man Ghising to call out the government on its U-turn on encouraging demand for electricity consumption, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjm3tT5g__qAhWd8HMBHRiHBzkQFjAAegQIBRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1WVWH_378BaBmM7FzPie46" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-3-steps-back-on-e-cars/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwjm3tT5g__qAhWd8HMBHRiHBzkQFjAAegQIBRAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw1WVWH_378BaBmM7FzPie46&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1596609376589000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHFj7LD-yfyCCJ0ZeVWqLFX6NH2zw">including a hike on e-vehicle taxes. </a>

Generating electricity (and cash) for Nepalis

<img width="1050" height="603" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141136/636bad529c7e80680e077f89jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Already affected by years of construction delays, the expected increase in Nepal’s<a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiPyeSb5M7qAhWfzzgGHXb1CbYQFjAAegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AmUvu1OVzkySyzObKdjlg" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiPyeSb5M7qAhWfzzgGHXb1CbYQFjAAegQIAhAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw0AmUvu1OVzkySyzObKdjlg&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1594890800618000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFkN7M3P6PBVCV3_VD2lzpQJO8zxw"> hydroelectricity generation capacity</a> is now going to be delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis as well as heavy flooding. The lockdown has also lowered demand for electricity because of the closure of factories, reducing revenue for power producers. Completion of 24 hydropower projects with a net output of 1,200MW is expected to be pushed back at least two years because of the lockdown. In addition, the half-complete Middle Bhotekosi (102MW) project site was seriously damaged by the 5 July flash flood in Jhambu of Sindhupalchok. The high flood waters and sediment load also forced the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and private operators to shut turbines this week. The Kali Gandaki A (144MW) was closed on 10 July, and generation was reduced by 500MW, forcing NEA to import electricity from India.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/">The cost of light</a>, Om Astha Rai“Aside from the bureaucratic and other delays in project initiation, the lockdown and floods have delayed projects that would have started within the coming year,” says Shailendra Guragain of the Independent Power Producers Nepal (IPPAN).The Ministry of Energy says the losses from delays due to the lockdown to new projects in the past six months alone will amount to Rs13 billion, and even existing hydropower plants have not been able to operate because of the lack of maintenance, spare parts and transport of materials.Longer term projects worth 300MW are also stuck at the financial closure stage because of the pandemic. Then there are other private sector projects totalling 18,000 megawatts which are awaiting a Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) that are entangled in bureaucracy.  Private sector hydropower projects were expected to increase generation capacity by 12% this year, and that is unlikely to happen. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on bank interests for loan repayment even as work has stopped in many of the projects.  Private sector projects have borrowed Rs750 billion for ongoing construction of plants to generate up to 3,000MW all over Nepal. There is commitment from banks for another R300 billion worth of hydroprojects in the pipeline. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-energy-windfall-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">An energy windfall for Nepal?</a>, Kushal Gurung“These costs of construction will now rise by an additional 15-20%, so there will likely be no profit margin for private producers,” says Guragain.All the projects under construction are run-of-river schemes, meaning they are not dams that store water in reservoirs. Energy Secretary Dinesh Ghimire says Nepal will soon face a shortage of power in winter when there is peak demand and low supply, and there will have to be a switch to storage projects.   In theory, a two-way system exists between the government and private sector under the PPA: the private sector receives compensation for any project delays on the government’s side and vice versa. Citing the unusual and urgent circumstances brought on by COVID-19, the private sector has been demanding compensation and relief from the government for project delays. Private power producers also want a two-year deadline extension for projects stalled by financial reasons, inspection and environmental impact assessment. Another demand is a 1% customs tariff on construction material instead of the current 5%.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/mustering-the-energy-to-save/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mustering the energy to save</a>, Anil ChitrakarGuragain is critical of the government’s “neglect” of private producers who have been taking all the risks, but facing delays and obstacles at every step from government agencies. Now, on top of all that there is the lockdown and floods.“The private sector is indispensable to development activities and contributes significantly to the government’s kitty,” says IPPAN’s Kumar Pande. “The private sector also has a major role in the government’s ambitious target to generate 3,000MW in the next ten years.”There are now 90 private hydropower projects producing 618MW of electricity, while the NEA’s plants produce 572MW. On average about 110MW used to be imported from India to meet the shortfall before the lockdown reduced demand.  The pandemic has <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-power-glut-with-covid-19-shutdown/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi2wIfj487qAhUezjgGHSiMBMcQFjAEegQIBBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw29hDOy7uc7x8pneM8LmbKX" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-power-glut-with-covid-19-shutdown/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwi2wIfj487qAhUezjgGHSiMBMcQFjAEegQIBBAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw29hDOy7uc7x8pneM8LmbKX&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1594890800618000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGAglpPhq2pBii5M9DjcDPe4p0UCg">slashed demand for electricity</a> across the country, representing steep losses for the private sector and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Appeals to the government to introduce electricity-intensive policies, such as <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-electric-shock-to-nepals-energy-future/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi2wIfj487qAhUezjgGHSiMBMcQFjAIegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3IUIaT_rn7x22GGahsO_D1" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-electric-shock-to-nepals-energy-future/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwi2wIfj487qAhUezjgGHSiMBMcQFjAIegQICBAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw3IUIaT_rn7x22GGahsO_D1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1594890800618000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFeRaKsHVRtfh7llW7XImymK7s1ug">increased e-car usage</a>, have so far gone unanswered.Predicting a rise in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/saving-energy-to-survive-post-pandemic-nepal/&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj_roqM487qAhUZyjgGHcb8Bb8QFjAEegQIAxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3iGubm1ayv_x6sS1rs4VwO" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?client%3Dinternal-element-cse%26cx%3D011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4%26q%3Dhttps://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/saving-energy-to-survive-post-pandemic-nepal/%26sa%3DU%26ved%3D2ahUKEwj_roqM487qAhUZyjgGHcb8Bb8QFjAEegQIAxAC%26usg%3DAOvVaw3iGubm1ayv_x6sS1rs4VwO&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1594890800618000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwAapxl2GKa4DTMCp6VSXJTS6qig">consumption</a>, the government set aside Rs20 billion to purchase electricity from the private sector. However, figures from the Electricity Regulatory Commission show a decline in demand for private-produced electricity by 344 million units. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">From a fossil past to an electric future</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-nepal-needs-to-restore-ev-tax-subsidy/">Why Nepal needs to restore EV tax subsidy,</a> Raunab Singh Khatri

Nepal hydroelectricity sector gets COVID-19 shock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIdbmBlnVZI&amp;feature=youtu.beNearly 25 years after it was first mooted, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Melamchi, Nepal’s biggest and most expensive infrastructure project that will pipe glacier water from Langtang National Park to Kathmandu Valley.The $800 million undertaking has been near completion several times, but government interference, corruption and extortion have taken their toll. The headworks construction is now half finished here at Ambathan 70km by road north of Kathmandu where the roar of the Melamchi River drowns out the sound of excavators that will allow the water into the tunnel.On Sunday, the project sent water 800m down the tunnel to its first adit tunnel as a test from the overflow reservoir at Ambathan. At this rate, project officials say the first Melamchi water could flow down to Melamchi by September.  They say 99% of the 26.5km long tunnel and the treatment plants at Sundarijal in Kathmandu Valley are complete.  Kathmandu <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Melamchi-flows-to-Kathmandu,3397">roads have been dug up</a> and used to be <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/page/every-breath-you-take-air-pollution">shrouded in a perpetual pall of dust</a> as new water mains were laid to distribute the water when it arrives. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu">Melamchi not a mirage anymore</a>, Sonia Awale <figure><img width="1580" height="908" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636bac6f9c7e80680e077f30jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>With 99% of the tunnel and the treatment plants at Sundarijal now complete it may be possible to send water to Kathmandu by September. All photos: SURENDRA PHUYAL</figcaption></figure>The new target date for consumers to actually get Melamchi water flowing through their pipes is late 2020, but even that could be delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The Melamchi Water Supply Project is the largest infrastructure scheme in Nepal today, and with a $800 million price tag, including the future extension, the costliest as well. Its 26.5 km long and 3.7m wide tunnel in Phase 1 is the second longest tunnel for water supply in Asia.It is being built with a soft loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and will bring 170 million litres a day to Kathmandu. A proposed Phase 2 of the project could also connect the Yangri and Larke Khola through two more tunnels and nearly triple the daily water flow (see map).The project has been plagued by chronic delays due to <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/issue/350/Nation/13560#.WMEfpPInLK8">political meddling</a>, the 2015 earthquake, the Indian blockade and most recently by the COVID-19 lockdown.  It was 2010 when a Chinese contractor finally started digging the tunnel but could only finish 6.4km in three years. It was  replaced by the Italian CMC di Ravenna company which took over where the Chinese had left off. The earthquake and blockade led to more delays. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dont-wait-for-melamchi-nepal,3765">Don't wait for Melamchi</a>, Tyler McMahon <figure><img width="1641" height="920" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636bac729c7e80680e077f31jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But the project could not meet its completion date of March 2018 because the government cancelled CMC di Ravenna’s contract, reportedly because it refused to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/melamchi-delayed-by-government-extortion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pay extortion</a> to bureaucrats in Singha Darbar. China’s SinoHydro then took over, and had been rushing to catch up with the schedule when the COVID-19 lockdown hit.  Contrary to popular belief, the water will not be gushing through the tunnel. In fact, it has a gradient of only 8m between the intake in Melamchi and the outlet in Sundarijal giving it a water velocity of only 0.5m/second which means it will take 45 hours for the water to complete its underground journey.  This is the monsoon, and the water flow in the Melamchi makes it a raging torrent. However, in the dry season flow goes down to 2.4 cubic meters per second (cumec) of which only 2 cumec of water will be diverted into the tunnel. There are 1.5 km of access tunnels located near the intake in Ambathan, in Gyalthum and Sindhu.  On 5 July, the first water was let into the tunnel amidst a religious ceremony. Tiresh Khatri of the Melamchi project said: "This is a milestone, we will be doing more tests and hopefully water will reach Kathmandu by September."However, engineer Shekhar Khanal said there still a lot of unfinished work that will take months. His estimate for water to reach Kathmandu: early 2021. <p style="letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 15.693333625793457px;">Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/renew-commitment-to-preserve-ancient-water-spouts,2931">Going with the flow</a>, Liew Yu Wei

Light at the end of the Melamchi tunnel

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

development-projects