The new NC-UML government that was sworn in this week is a rare instance where Nepal’s two largest parties that have taken turns overthrowing each other for four decades, are finally in government together.
Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1990, the NC and UML were bitter rivals and demonstrated their one-upmanship while in the opposition by punishing the Nepali people with national shutdowns at the slightest pretext.
Called ‘hartal’ or ‘banda’, these were acts of enforced compliance that banned street movement, closed schools, and all economic activity. A few vehicles that defied the shutdown would be torched early in the morning at busy intersections for maximum publicity to terrorise the public. The tactic worked brilliantly.&nbsp;
After the end of the conflict in 2006 the Maoists also weaponised the &nbsp;banda, and tried to improve on it with multiple-day hartal. That did not go down too well because desperate people spontaneously spilled out into the streets on urgent errands after the first day.&nbsp;
In that sense, this NC-UML coalition can be called historic. Or it could be history repeating itself as Oli and Deuba, out of sheer habit, start stabbing each other in the back.
Back in the day, banda were central to the Nepali identity, it even became a tourist attraction since trekking expeditions began from Kathmandu airport itself. But can anyone remember the last successful hartal? It sort of went out of fashion, and we miss those good old days.
Let’s see if the jilted Comrade Lotus Flower does not get nostalgic and start calling for national shutdowns against Deuba and Oli for pulling the rug from under him.&nbsp;
We must admit that banda organisers in the past had class, pizzazz, style and gumption. Civil servants, students, workers all rejoiced when a shutdown was announced because it meant an unscheduled holiday. For some reason, street vigilantes banned four-wheelers, but pedal rickshaws were allowed. (Four legs bad, three legs good.)
This was in the prehistoric era before PUBG, TikTok, and Youtube, so youngsters could take full advantage of the empty streets to play football, cricket and water polo, in one curious case involving a healthy-sized pothole in Pulchok.&nbsp;
Taxis were toasted, tyre pyres burned in the streets and the city was overcome with the smell of burning rubber. We tracked down a party faithful who used to be a banda enforcer, now older and wiser, who misses the fun and excitement.
“I was in charge of sourcing tyres,” he recalled. “Truck tyres were the best, but sometimes we had to do with skinny motorcycle ones. But for a real long-lasting bonfire, tractor tyres were much sought after. Sometimes we burnt tyres still attached to cars.”
This comrade got so hooked to tyres that he gave up his Unified Marxist-Leninist ideals and transferred his skills to selling tyres in Melbourne, pursuing his lifelong passion for rubber and tread.
One reason banda were so successful was that with all the holidays for festivals and new years, that another day or two off did not feel at all strange. Somewhere deep in our dharmic souls, fatalistic Nepalis even believed that we deserved shutdowns.&nbsp;
Today the only banda we have are state-sponsored ones during the state visit of a Qatari Prince, or another stopover by Prime Minister Modi or President Xi, when the streets are all cleared and everyone can enjoy a well-deserved break away from work.
Records show that the last banda was called by the Biplav faction of breakaway Maoists some years ago, and enforced by the strategic placement of a couple of ominous looking pressure cookers on traffic junctions. But people had stopped paying heed, and it was a big flop.
Even though the relaxation of an unexpected day off is hard to pass up today, 21st century Nepalis know that each day wasted is another day’s delay in getting a visa to leave the country.
There may be a rationale for reviving the banda culture: to reduce Nepal’s carbon footprint and allow the country to meet its SDG target by 2030. The country’s petroleum import bill would come down, narrowing our trade deficit. There would be enormous health benefits from better air quality, so we can all breathe again. A banda would therefore be better than subsidising EVs. For a re-run of the banda lifestyle, we will have to wait and see if this NC-UML coalition implodes, or if impatient Maoist comrades take to streets again to call for one of their one-week shutdowns. And if there is a re-emergence, we are sure Nepalis will go along saying “के गर्ने” or “यस्तै हो".
Vishad Raj Onta

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के गर्ने, यस्तै हो

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161132/636d19ae9c7e80680e0ac832jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SONAM CHOEKYI LAMA</figcaption></figure>The climate crisis is a water crisis – either too much of it, or too little. Droughts have dried up springs, and when it does rain, it comes down to unleash deadly <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-flash-floods-are-4-decades-in-the-making/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flash floods</a>.
If there was an effective farm irrigation network, reliable and safe drinking water in every village, Nepalis would find it much easier to cope with the impact of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/un-climate-report-declares-planetary-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate emergency</a>.  Historical state failure has provided neither, and blaming climate change now is just a convenient excuse to cover up for past neglect.
There have always been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/first-drought-then-downpour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">droughts in Nepal</a>.  For millennia, Himalayan rivers have unleashed catastrophic floods. The climate crisis has just made them worse, as poorly designed infrastructure and settlements lead to more destructive disasters.  
Melting icecaps get all the media attention as the world deals with climate change, but it is the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> state of our streams, rivers, and ground water</a> that affect more people immediately. 
With outmigration of men from rural areas, it is mostly women who are left to farm, raise livestock, fetch water, and care for the household. Even before the climate crisis hit, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/educating-girls-for-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">work of Nepali women</a> was demanding and undervalued. Global warming has just made their drudgery much worse.   
<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate change is a disaster in the Nepal Himalaya</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama
In Kavre district, women who had to walk a few minutes to fetch water now have to make one hour roundtrips because <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">springs have dried up</a>. With the men-folk gone, women like Namdak Sangmo in our special report from Dolpo struggle to survive after their farms were swept away by a glacial flood. 
You do not need to be a gender activist to see how <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women bear a disproportionate burden from the climate crisis</a>. Across the Himalayan foothills, farm terraces lie dry and fallow. Women are not just heading households now, they also have to make decisions about planting, irrigation, harvesting, grazing, foraging, cooking, and taking care of children. 
While remittance money has helped raise the standard of living, extreme events like the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deadly floods and landslides this monsoon</a> season add to the misery. Three-fourths of Nepal’s farmers are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and the combined impact of weather extremes and the pandemic have added to food insecurity. 
Increased work for women in the household means many daughters drop out of school to help with household chores. Most of these problems predate climate change, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-in-climate-hot-spots-face-challenges-adapting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global warming has added to the challenges women face every day</a>. 
The most low-hanging fruit for climate adaptation in Nepal is to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-waste-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">provide women with enough water</a>,  or protect their families from too much of it. And that is exactly where most of Nepal’s success stories are happening. 
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/himalayan-floods-a-sign-of-worse-to-come/">Himalayan floods a sign of worse to come</a>, Mukesh Pokharel
Faced with dry springs, Mother’s Groups and Forestry User Groups in Kavre have joined forces to harvest monsoon water for household use in the dry season. They have revived traditional network of ponds for groundwater recharge, and nurtured indigenous plant species in community forests.  
In Kailali district in the western plains, farmers who used to suffer from chronic floods are using botanical buffers. Bamboo and napier grass on embankments and sugarcane on riverbanks block floods, while providing cash income. In Kanchanpur district, villagers also grow banana, watermelon, pumpkin, squash and gourd after the floods recede, taking advantage of nutrient-rich soil deposit.
While developmental partners, aid agencies and non-governmental organisations have played a crucial role in introducing climate-specific interventions, theirs is a piecemeal approach. In fact, it often lets the government off the hook. We need to scale up these successful pilot projects nationwide.
With or without the climate crisis, it is the state’s responsibility to ensure access to water for households and irrigation. After all, droughts and floods are nothing new here. 
Nepal’s delegation to the <a href="https://ukcop26.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COP26 Climate Summit</a> next week will be led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. But instead of going to Glasgow, Deuba should head out to his home constituency of Dadeldhura-1 to see for himself how the most marginalised women have coped with this year’s triple whammy – drought, wildfires and floods.  
In Glasgow, the focus is on emissions reduction and compensating countries like Nepal for loss and damage. Nepal’s delegation has little right to hold out the begging bowl when it is doing so little for its own people back home. Climate justice and historical emissions sound good in speeches, but it does not deliver food security today. 
Women and their added vulnerability to the climate emergency should not be limited to sound bites at international fora, but goad real action that prioritise them.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/think-globally-in-glasgow-and-act-locally/">Think globally in Glasgow, and act locally</a>, Raju Pandit Chhetri
Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

Women and water

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfdd29c7e80680e0a0c06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1198" height="1227"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI/ NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>The most tangible collateral damage of Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/they-fail-we-fall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chronic political instability</a> is going to be the effort to streamline Nepal’s electricity grid. Politicians have weaponised the US-supported <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) infrastructure grant</a>, and the much-needed project is stuck.An agreement for the $500 million project was signed by the Nepali Congress (NC) Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki in Washington DC four years ago. But since then, it had become a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/knowing-whats-good-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political football </a>in the great game between prime Minister K P Oli and his nemeses Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal.The first hint that the MCC controversy was carrying over to the new government was that it was not included in the ‘common minimum program’ agreed to between the five coalition partners on 9 August.The Maoists and the Nepal faction have used the MCC so effectively to bludgeon Oli’s government that the rank-and-file are dead against the project. They are convinced it will allow the US military to build missile silos in Nepal aimed at China.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/using-the-delay-in-mcc-to-dissect-it/">Putting the MCC in context</a>, Jeevan R Sharma and David SeddonThe MCC was launched by the US government in 2004 as an innovative way to end poverty in least developed countries. Nepal met the eligibility criteria and was selected as a partner, and planning for the MCC started during the government of Baburam Bhattarai in 2012. Bhattarai is now in the five-party alliance as a part of the JSP.Critics have used ultra-nationalism and populism to portray the MCC as a form of US neo-colonialism and imperialism. The Americans fuelled the fire themselves when a US undersecretary of state admitted in 2019 that the MCC was a part of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy aimed at encircling China.Washington back-pedalled, but the damage was done. There are many who do not need convincing that the MCC in Nepal is America’s geo-strategic response to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> China’s Belt-Road Initiative</a>.But because of this political impasse, work on urgently needed electricity transmission lines and highway upgrading has not started. The cost of not having this infrastructure in place will be much more than the $500 million outlay of the project.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/own-goal/">Own Goal</a>, Kunda DixitThe main objective of the MCC is a 315km transmission line between Hetauda-Damauli-Butwal. This power line is critical for the east-west distribution of the 3,000MW of electricity that will be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/">added to Nepal’s national grid</a> in the next three years, nearly double the current generation capacity. Another 2,500MW worth of projects are awaiting power purchase agreements with the NEA and will depend on the MCC transmission lines being in place.Nepal’s current power need is 1,500MW at peak hours, and despite suppressed demand due to shortage and cost, it is not expected to increase by much in the next three years. Which means Nepal will have a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/generating-electricity-and-cash-for-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monsoon surplus</a> that can be exported to India, and for this, the cross-border 400KV transmission line from Butwal to Gorakhpur will be necessary.At present, Nepal imports electricity from India through the Dhalkebar-Muzzafarpur power corridor that has a capacity of handling only 800MW. The MCC line would increase this to 2,600MW, but if the Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line is not built in the next few years, much of the surplus electricity generated in Nepal is in danger of being wasted, or 'spilled' in technical parlance.Even if the MCC is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-truth-politics-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">never ratified by Parliament because of the political deadlock</a>, Nepal needs to immediately start building these transmission lines by itself. Private power producers in Nepal have signed agreements with NEA on the understanding that the transmission lines will be in place to evacuate the electricity they generate.Because of the nature of the monsoon and Nepal’s east-west territory, there will be surplus electricity in the east while there is a deficit in the west, so the transmission lines are even more critical to balance the national grid.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-damages-nepals-credibility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">This is too serious a subject</a> to be left to politicians, or to geopolitics. The NEA’s new head Kulman Ghising needs to sit down with the MCA’s Khadga Bahadur Bista and resolve this one way or another right away.In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War and despite sensitivities after the India-China war, King Mahendra went ahead with the Kodari Highway linking Kathmandu to Lhasa. That is the kind of leadership we need now, one that will not be terrified about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">what one or the other neighbour will say</a>, but decide what is in the national interest and just do it.Ramesh KumarRead also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-millennium-challenge/">A millennium challenge</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/why-there-is-no-foreign-investment-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Why there is no foreign investment in Nepal</a> , Nepali Times

Challenge of the millennium

<img width="1750" height="1034" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d070f9c7e80680e0a5f9bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>So, this is the price Nepalis had to pay for two leaders of the ruling party <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not being able to sort out their personal differences</a>. This is the toll the UML has also had to bear for the intractable ego-clash between its two headstrong leaders.
If any entity wanted to shatter Nepal’s communist parties into smithereens, they could not have done a better job than K P Oli. First, he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/efforts-to-cobble-back-the-uml/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decoupled the NCP from the UML</a>, and then went on to split the UML itself. Along the way, he also detached the ex-Maoist members of the JSP from the main party.
Those who blame this on an outside anti-Communist force are deluding themselves. The Nepal Communist Party, the Maoist Centre or the United Marxists-Leninists are only euphemistically ‘communist’, and they have disintegrated because of the tunnel vision and contradictions of their own comrades.
It may be an indication of just how far off-script K P Oli had drifted while trying to stave off multiple mutinies that he brought two personalities as<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> disparate as Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal together</a>.
To be sure, Deuba and Dahal have shared power before. But this time, the two sworn enemies who tried to physically annihilate each other till 2006 have joined hands to ‘protect democracy’.
Seeing many of the venomous comments on social media, most Nepalis see through this. They are glad the prolonged paralysis of government is over, but aghast that politicians with such chequered pasts have become guardians and defenders of democracy and constitutionalism.
Each of the members of the anti-Oli alliance are now demanding their pound of flesh from Deuba, and the first ministerial appointments are already an indication of the division of the spoils.
Deuba has another 28 days to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">win a confidence test</a> in the House, and he has kept key portfolios as carrots for the JSP faction, and perhaps even UML dissidents.
Licking wounds in his Balkot lair, Oli will also be trying to retain as many of the Nepal faction as possible in the UML, even though he probably will not mind untethering Nepal once and for all.
Oli and Nepal have inflicted too many unkind cuts on each other, and are seething so much with vengeance that even mediators have given up. Oli is banking on enough of Nepal’s supporters valuing party unity for the next elections over their loyalty to Nepal.
While Deuba grapples with trying to appease members of his own NC, Dahal’s MC and the Bhattarai-Yadav JSP, Oli’s sights are already on the next elections.
Governing Nepal is difficult at the best of times, but try grappling with the multiple crises the country faces during the pandemic. Knowing Deuba’s past track record, and the near impossible task of reconciling the ambitions of the Maoists in government in the run-up to elections, Oli must sense that the next vote will be anti-incumbent.
As soon as he became prime minister, Deuba already faced strong pressure from Dahal to give the Maoists the powerful Home Ministry portfolio. Deuba appointed trusted supporter Bal Krishna Khand as Home Minister, but in return had to hand over the finance portfolio to the Dahal-appointee Janardan Sharma.
Dahal himself has to balance expectations and ambitions among his own comrades, and has superseded other aspirants to appoint Sharma to the Finance Ministry which controls budget allocations and money flows — crucial at election time.
The other Maoist in Deuba’s cabinet is Pampha Bhusal with the energy and water resource portfolio, another ministry with access to purse strings.
However much many disliked Oli, most Nepalis are asking if the only alternative was to bring a four-time prime minister back for the fifth time. And Deuba’s first ministerial appointments portend it is politics as usual: a predictable lack of transparency, woeful failure of governance and service delivery.
That is exactly what the UML is hoping for, so that the failure of the past three years will be blamed on the incumbent rather than on Oli.
Deuba could launder his legacy by proving everyone wrong by launching an effective social safety net campaign to help Nepalis whose livelihoods are impacted by the pandemic, and to confront the pandemic by vaccinating 70% of the population by end-2021.
Only that will convince Nepalis that this Deuba avatar is different.

From the fire into the frying pan

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b939a9c7e80680e06f1b3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>For centuries, Nepalis have been migrating to seek their fortune. Poverty, indebtedness, discrimination and disasters drove them out in droves. Even while young men lined up to be enlisted in the British military in India, some trekked down to Gorakhpur to be shipped out as indentured labour to colonial sugarcane fields in Fiji and Trinidad. Others went to Assam, Bhutan and Burma.Not much has changed. Lack of opportunity is still pushing Nepalis out to India, Malaysia, the Gulf states, or further afield. The money they send home is the backbone of the economy. Migration and disasters are interlinked.But what will really lift Nepal into a golden age will be our vast hydroelectric potential — or so we were told. Over and over again, the mantra has been repeated that we sit on 73,000MW of energy that will propel Nepal into  prosperity. That figure was a myth, and persistent political failure means that Nepal today is importing half its electricity needs from India. School textbooks try to instil pride among Nepalis that we have the highest mountain in the world, but gloss over the fact that we share Mt Everest with China. We are also not taught just how fragile and disaster-prone these mountains are. Our forebears knew they could farm floodplains, but not live on them. They settled on higher slopes, set up towns along ridgelines to be safe from landslides, and left the fertile flats below to farm. Today, educated Nepalis can read and write, but this traditional wisdom that protected us from disasters is forgotten. The Himalaya is the world’s youngest mountain range, and its geology makes the terrain inherently prone to slope failure. The Kosi has some of the highest sediment loads of any river in the world because of the constant weathering of the mountains. Himalayan topography <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEa3Wxke58YsYrVen-S3IvzhUAJwQ">blocks the southwest monsoon</a>, forcing it to dump 80% of annual precipitation on its southern slopes in three months.All this means that landslides and avalanches, earthquakes and cloudbursts, flash floods and cataclysmic bursting of dammed rivers are all natural phenomena. These events have been happening for millions of years. But just as a tree falling in a jungle has not really fallen if no one is there to record it, they became ‘disasters’ only when humans started settling along the foothills.We may be tempted to conclude after last year’s deadly landslide season and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFA4tGBiVBI0iqNx6A5gDsVQ5QHUw">last week’s devastating floods</a> that these disasters are getting worse. But are they? It may just be that more people are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dont-just-blame-god-for-floods-and-landslides/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dont-just-blame-god-for-floods-and-landslides/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGb9gSCKHcKumnTlsrE9MW2THUx1Q">settling in high-risk areas</a>, and visuals of the destruction can be immediately disseminated because of the spread of media. There are just more of us now to post videos of the tree falling in the jungle.At least 12 hydropower projects that were either under construction or already feeding electricity to the grid, were knocked out of action in Central Nepal on 12-14 June. One of them was the 44MW Super Madi project in Kaski. The damage runs into billions of rupees, and it will take at least a year for many of them to be rebuilt.The much-delayed $500 million <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFA4tGBiVBI0iqNx6A5gDsVQ5QHUw">Melamchi</a> water supply project has been badly damaged at its headworks, and although it was officially inaugurated in April, its real operation may now be pushed back by six months.On 18 June, China sent word that the Rongsi River had been dammed by a landslide and it could affect the Tama Kosi valley downstream in Nepal. Dolakha authorities alerted the population. Luckily, the landslide was cleared and the danger passed. But for a time, the Rs 70 billion <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/upper-tamakosi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/upper-tamakosi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPqm4IkbYel2PaYeoA-P-CAh_FoQ">456MW Upper Tama Kosi</a> project that was slated for opening next month, was at high risk.The only good thing we can say about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGsGlVGKv063omFQikq_0QrYpFiDg">the destruction so far this rainy season</a> is that it could have been much worse. It has warned us to be more careful about where and what <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFFnN0_XYycEB2StHc-QtU9EugHbw">kind of infrastructure we build</a>, ensuring proper engineering, construction that does not cut corners. It is a wake-up call that we ignore these moving mountains are our own peril. Just as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-fatalistic-ke-garne-culture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-fatalistic-ke-garne-culture/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDNYL-SoRD4N0EYQCG5d04l1EqUg">poorly-designed roads</a> are being constructed haphazardly, hydropower licenses have been issued in geologically fragile sites without vetting, and with little risk assessment of future maximum flood intensity. Allowing river beds, slopes and the Chure to be plundered will mean worse disasters in future. The climate crisis has added <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEhF44CjXoQd_6d0feD-VB3K8kH5Q">the threat of glacial lake outburst floods</a> to an already high-risk region. Hydropower plants have to be spread out so that if one is washed away, it will not have a serious impact on national power supply. If Upper Tama Kosi was already operational and had been damaged by the flash flood from China, it would have taken out nearly one-third of Nepal’s present power capacity.The other lesson is not to put all our energy eggs in the hydropower basket. Nepal now needs a more flexible energy mix with cheaper and quicker to install on-grid solar farms generating power for daytime use. This will reduce over-dependence on hydro-energy, and also lessen the pressure to ruin more rivers by disturbing their natural flow and endanger biodiversity.Nepalis must be aware of what we are up against when we live in the Himalaya. An apocalyptic flood like the one <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/anatomy-of-a-himalayan-tsunami" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/anatomy-of-a-himalayan-tsunami&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624344744457000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2tYG7JACfqyu-hMyV4ZDzpjul9g">800 years ago that buried Pokhara Valley</a> in sand and boulders 100m thick can happen again. Geologists say it was caused by the bursting of a lake on the Seti River upstream that was blocked by a landslide in the 1255 mega earthquake. If that had happened today, the death and destruction would be unimaginable. They may not occur on the same scale as Pokhara, but other smaller disasters are waiting to happen. The climate crisis will make them more probable. The last two monsoons created disaster refugees — people were forced out of their villages because they have become unliveable, adding to the push factor for migration. Times like these call for a political leadership that understands the threats that Nepal faces, how they are being exacerbated by human intervention, and prepares to minimise the impact.

Manpower and hydropower

<img width="2638" height="900" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1ac9c7e80680e083e60jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>For a government with a hefty majority that loftily promised voters prosperity and stability, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been able to ensure neither. As far the mirage of prosperity goes, there had been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stalls-in-prosperity-index/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-stalls-in-prosperity-index/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1GyaX6OO8ejV_4htSzFzF8">no signs of improvement</a> even before the Covid-19 crisis hit this year. The ambitious forecast of a 8% annual economic growth had to be scaled back because of policy uncertainty and underperformance. Foreign and Nepali investors were spooked by high risk, and endemic corruption. Development activities did not pick up as expected, and then the pandemic killed any hope that was left. The prospect for prosperity in the run-up to the next election in 2022 looks dim.The NCP can try to use the coronavirus as an excuse for the economic breakdown, but there is no justification for this chronic instability. The country has been made to suffer because the two most powerful people in the party want more power.This <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/k-p-oli-rams-it-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/k-p-oli-rams-it-home/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3DLm147bw69B17J7HyhFRX">never-ending battle for supremacy</a> within the NCP has affected the management of state affairs, sidetracked its executive, legislative and even judicial functions, and stymied the government’s ability to respond to the health and economic challenges of the pandemic.Going by the reaction of Nepalis on the internet, the public’s response has been to let off a big yawn. Most have tuned off, or if they do react, it is with scathing ridicule of politicians in social media posts. In Season 4 Episode 1 of this epic teleserial, relations between <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bow-out/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bow-out/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0CiCCl3OSVaGIx2c-tlN_j">Prime Minister K P Oli</a> and NCP co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal deteriorated further during the Dasain break. Oli shuffled some Cabinet portfolios and appointed new ambassadors, and the Dahal faction accused Oli of trying to go it alone without consulting the party.The duel of the supremos then turned into an artillery barrage of written statements. Dahal fired off a 12-page salvo against Oli’s various transgressions, and the prime minister retaliated with his own list of the co-chair’s misdemeanours. All the while, Oli tried to tarry Dahal’s insistence on calling a NCP Secretariat meeting to sort things out, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-communists-on-verge-of-split-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-communists-on-verge-of-split-again/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1IrF7KR-iSVsweJ7U1zmF0">threatening to split the party</a>.On the surface, this looks like a philosophical disagreement about whether the government or the party should call the shots. At a practical level, it translates into how the former UML and ex-Maoist members of the party should be accommodated in government. But it has by now become a clash of personality cults between Dahal and Oli.In the interest of the country, these differences should be quite easy to resolve. But the level of mutual mistrust is now so high, so many promises have been broken so often, that neither faction will take any new agreement at face value. It is into this scenario that we now have the larger geopolitical rivalry involving Nepal’s northern and southern neighbours. For the past decades, trans-Himalayan tensions between India and China had been stored in deep freeze as both countries had their hands full to ensure domestic growth.But China is now emerging as a global economic and technological power challenging <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0UuUQF1DX7jmfl54BR1OwN">American supremacy</a>, especially in the Asia-Pacific. After signing the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0q0O8NnOfcg1b-L_Yj_DtK">BECA pact</a> with the US and taking part in the Quad naval exercises in the Indian Ocean earlier this month, New Delhi is now firmly in the ‘Indo’ part of America’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-yam-between-3-boulders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-yam-between-3-boulders/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Kk6FiszCr8ypIfAI3Gebz">Indo-Pacific strategy</a>.Looking at all this from Beijing, Chinese military leaders feel encircled. Which is why the Himalaya that once formed a natural border wall between empires for centuries is now on the frontlines of this eyeball-to-eyeball contest. Greater connectivity and infrastructure means the mountains are no more a barrier. Formed by the geo-tectonic clash of continents, the Himalaya is now a stage for geo-strategic confrontation, and Nepal is smack in the middle of it all. Whether the infighting within the NCP is a proxy war between regional powers, or whether Nepal’s inability to put its own house in order has prompted India and China to extend their influence, is a chicken-or-egg question. The reality is that when a house catches fire, neighbours will not just stand around and watch.The internecine clash within the NCP coincides with greater regional involvement in our politics. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/new-delhis-new-dealings-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/new-delhis-new-dealings-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw30VW5IN0yEFlS7wBH04xTF">India has sent its spy chief </a>and army chief to Kathmandu, and its foreign secretary is visiting next week. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2wxw3q-Z39QopZKMG0XXRy">Chinese Ambassador</a> in Kathmandu <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605843372863000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2-nGvn21hThTs-sXNTcUDv">has once more had to step in</a> to prevent the NCP from splitting. As Nepalis, this self-destructive power struggle is embarrassing and is difficult to watch. As far as the opposition Nepali Congress is concerned, the less said the better. But for its own sake, and with an eye on the 2022 elections, the ruling party must get its act together to reassure the people that even if they cannot deliver prosperity, they can at least not hold the country hostage because its two leaders cannot get along.

Outside, looking in

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7a79c7e80680e073796jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>It has become a cliché to say that every crisis comes with opportunities. But that does not mean it is not true. It is up to us to grab that chance.The 2015 earthquake gave Nepal the opening to build back better, and the reconstruction of monuments did revive traditional building practices. The five-month blockade forced Nepal to look for alternative trade routes, even though the trans-Himalayan corridor is mostly confined to rhetoric so far.The COVID-19 crisis is also an opportunity for a ‘new normal’ in agriculture, food self-reliance, more sustainable tourism, and reduction of urban air pollution. But the temptation is to go back to business as usual -- and we probably will. But this crisis is a wakeup call.As dark monsoon clouds gather over Kathmandu this week, we are reminded of another cliché – that behind them there is a silver lining.Nepal’s imports have fallen by 15.6% this year compared to the same period last year. The import bill went down to Rs1.12 trillion, saving the country some Rs120 billion. Most of this was because of a reduction in petroleum imports, which made up 15% of all imports last year.Nepal imported Rs160 billion worth of petroleum products in 2020, a Rs52 billion drop from the previous year. Imports of steel, textiles, machinery and other commodities have also dropped sharply.The lockdown has also resulted in 41% in savings for the treasury from Nepalis not travelling abroad, either for holidays or education. Nepalis spent Rs89 billion for travel abroad last year, and this year this figure has dropped to Rs53 billion. The amount of hard currency Nepalis exchanged to pay for school and university fees abroad also dropped from Rs46 billion last year to Rs26 billion in 2020 – a reduction of 44%.Earlier this year, amidst uncertainty about the pandemic, there were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/high-risk-remittance/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/high-risk-remittance/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598527146223000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHf0lFzIi_PySYU9UWCe8o3TsjhBg">dire predictions about a drastic drop in remittances</a> that Nepal gets from its workers in India and overseas. The World Bank projected a 14% decline in remittances this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had a worst case scenario of a 28.7% drop, and Nepal’s own Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics forecast an 18% decline.There was indeed a drop in March and April when banks and money transfer agencies closed down. But there has been a rebound, and remittances so far this year have already hit Rs875 billion, which is only 0.5% less than the preceding year.The drop in outflow of hard currency and a rebound in remittances has had a positive impact on Nepal’s balance of payments which improved from minus Rs67 billion last year to plus Rs2.8 trillion this year. Nepal’s hard currency reserves now stand at $2.15 billion – enough to pay for 14 months of imports.To be sure, we have to wait and see if the remittances remain steady August onwards. The record high Rs101 billion for July was largely due to a backlog from previous months, workers bailing out families back home whose incomes had declined, as well as US dollar appreciation.The global economic downturn is expected to hit the economies of destination countries hard, and this will inevitably affect their <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/cash-flow-crisis-for-migrants-and-families/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/cash-flow-crisis-for-migrants-and-families/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598527146223000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExCIbZRo4zeFdlYSyi0IOE22Uibg">migrant workers</a>. However, there are positive signs. China’s petroleum imports have almost hit pre-pandemic levels, and this will shore up the economies of oil and gas exports from the Gulf and Southeast Asia. In addition, employers hit by economic slowdown will want to also scrimp on salary costs by hiring cheaper essential workers from abroadEconomists like former finance secretary Rameshore Khanal are not so pessimistic. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598527146223000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHU4tyv8beehTVc-SGjNiL7ZweFOQ">He says in our analysis</a> that Nepal may be shielded from the full impact of the crisis because ours is still largely a subsistence economy, and people have traditional coping mechanisms.All this is not to discount the seriousness of the health and economic emergencies we face. The most serious is the looming crisis in the banking sector, as lenders put up collateral assets of defaulters up for auction. What will happen if there are no buyers?About 500,000 young Nepalis enter the labour market every year, and nearly that number is expected to return to Nepal in the coming months from abroad. Where are the jobs for them? Even if the macro-economic indicators are good, there is a real socio-economic and political crisis on the horizon.

Some silver linings

Sahina Shrestha, Digital Products Strategist<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e29c7e80680e064662jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2208" height="1562"/>As the results of the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Sharecast Initiative Nepal Survey 2020</a> featured in this issue show, Nepal is going digital in a big way. There is a dramatic increase in ownership of mobile devices, a vast amount of video content is being uploaded on YouTube and Facebook, and internet use is set to grow further with demand for smartphones and data plans.Following this trend, Nepal’s media companies are also opening up to the use of digital tools in storytelling. There has been an explosion of news and entertainment portals and YouTube channels. It is fair to say that the Nepali Times was one of the pioneers of online journalism in Nepal. It was ahead of the pack in 2000 when it started a digital edition even before making a splash with its first print copy. Over the years, even as the hardcopy version took precedence, we made sure to experiment with data visualisation, audio-visual content and interactive graphics. After the 2015 earthquake, Nepali Times adopted a digital-first policy, uploading content online before a version appeared on Friday in print. Today, as more of our audience meet us online, we are rethinking not only our product but also our business model. Journalism worldwide is increasingly dependent on and being influenced by the likes of Facebook, Google and Twitter. These are no longer ‘just platforms’ for our content. On the one hand we compete with them for audience and ad revenue, and on the other we rely on them for technologies and dissemination.With shrinking budgets and revenue pressures, ‘legacy’ newsrooms like that of Nepali Times are being forced to think innovatively with the resources we have. As a traditional news organisation seeking innovation, growth opportunities and sustainability, we will continue to explore new platforms to distribute content and grow audiences. We will continue to work around the algorithms and experiment with social- and mobile-optimised formats that are shareable and quick to ingest.I am glad to be back at Nepali Times in this new position just as the paper marks its millennial milestone and am looking forward to streamlining a new media strategy for the future.Sonia Awale, Associate Editor<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e69c7e80680e064663jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2032" height="1480">Welcome to this 1000th print edition of the Nepali Times weekly that also celebrates the 8 March International Women’s Day. It has been a two-decade long journey, during which my predecessors who have transitioned through this newsroom have witnessed history first-hand: the war, the 2001 palace massacre, the royal-military coup of 2005, restoration of democracy, a prolonged political transition, the earthquake, the Blockade and finally federal elections in 2017.The earthquake struck on my first week as an intern at the Nepali Times five years ago. Reporting on the aftermath of the disaster was like being thrown off the deep end. In 2017, after completing my master’s in digital journalism, I returned to the paper with a focus on covering health, environment and the climate crisis.Unlike other newsrooms, the Nepali Times does not have much hierarchy, and we are not rigid about beats. I was involved in the team that redesigned the online edition of the Nepali Times, which has seen a three-fold increase in reader numbers in the last three years. We have tried to bring the newsroom and the audience closer, refined our multimedia content and come up with original, in-depth coverage of a Nepal outside Kathmandu.    For the past two decades, the Nepali Times newsroom has pursued context and process, rather than simply covering events. This gives the hard copy edition a longer shelf-life, and the archives impart research value to Nepal-related topics that will be useful into the future.Every week,<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> www.nepalitimes.com</a> has more than 100,000 unique visitors, most of whom have bookmarked the homepage and begin browsing there, instead of clicking on story links on social media. The average reader spends five minutes per page, which is remarkable in an age of short attention spans.  Nearly half of the Nepali Times’ readership online is women, mostly in the 25-34 age group. Contrary to common perception, more than 80% of readers are Nepali, and 35% reside in Nepal. Most diaspora readers work and study in the United States, India, the UK, Australia and the Gulf, in that order.Thank you, readers for being with us the past 1,000 times. We in the Nepali Times  newsroom look forward to the next 20 years of making sense of the three-pronged crises of democracy, media and climate that Nepal and the world face today – and trying to find solutions.Alisha Sijapati, CorrespondentStarting when I was six years old, my grandmother had me read the headlines from the Nepali newspapers out loud to her every morning. She enjoyed hearing me read the news and as I became a better reader, I read whole articles to her. My interest in journalism developed from this morning practice that we still share.My career as a journalist started with internships first at The Himalayan Times and then at Himal Southasian. The journey of a trainee journalist is not always rosy, but these experiences taught me a lot. Later, as a full-time reporter at The Kathmandu Post, I was on the culture beat, but also had the opportunity to do business reporting and some investigative stories.Leaving a large daily for the smaller newsroom of the Nepali Times has been a big change for me. This place is a breath of fresh air. There is a calmness here even during frantic deadline pressure, and as media becomes faster paced the way our newsroom operates has lessons for everyone.In preparation for this 1000th issue of the Nepali Times, my colleagues and I flipped through the archives of the paper, and I got a glimpse of its underlying philosophy of 'solution journalism'.This means not limiting ourselves to a description of the problem, but looking beyond the current difficulty and searching for answers. It may take the form of analysis or profiles of people who have overcome obstacles despite tremendous odds. The Nepali Times has consistently and doggedly pursued issues that matter, always holding out for a better future and suggesting how we might get there.After seven years in journalism, there are some important understandings that I take with me from one newsroom to another. I believe that we journalists work for our readers and viewers and that we must be accountable to and sensitive towards those we write about even as we strive to uncover wrongdoings through honest and unbiased reporting.Monika Deupala, Photojournalist<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e99c7e80680e064664jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1985" height="1330">Two years ago, during my internship at the Nepali Times, my editor told me: “You have the eye to see things others don’t.” That was the first time anyone had recognised my passion for photography.Soon, I was a Nepali Times staffer, but while shooting events I saw how few of us women were out there taking pictures. This is a problem. In a competitive field, the gender gap manifests in people not taking women as seriously. I am still not very confident in crowds.There are advantages, too: being women gives us access that many male colleagues would find difficult. But it will take time to make people understand that female photographers are good on their own merit, and not because of their gender.Back in high school, I was part of a class group that monitored the daily newspapers. We had to arrange them in rows before morning assembly. I was not much of a reader, but was intrigued by the photographs. I told my teacher I wanted to be a photojournalist, and he frowned, asking if I thought it was a profession for a woman. But I pursued my goal. I took a media course in college, bought my first DSLR, and honed my camera skills during class assignments.The last two years at the Nepali Times have been a journey of self-exploration for me. I understand my abilities now beyond limitations, and have more confidence travelling alone to new places and talking to strangers I am photographing. This paper has shown me what true professionalism is.Sanghamitra Subba, Reporter<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77ec9c7e80680e064665jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2376" height="1493">Fresh into my first job, I entered the welcoming, sunny and dog-filled newsroom of the Nepali Times. I came in as an intern, bright-eyed and ready to learn from the editors and reporters whose work I had admired as a student rifling through the colourful newspaper every Friday in the library.Into my first week, I was invited to join a journalism dialogue between graduate students from India, Pakistan and Nepal. Those three days provided a crash-course in crossborder journalism, and fired my interest in reporting. This was the first of many amazing opportunities that I have had working at Nepali Times.With the freedom to pursue the topics that I wanted to and the generous encouragement of newsroom colleagues, I covered everything from community homestays in Panauti to multiethnic marriages. At every step, I received the generous guidance of seniors, who taught me everything they knew about being an effective interviewer, editing videos and most importantly, maintaining composure during even the most challenging assignments.This women-dominated newsroom has been both a source of inspiration and a reliable support system. While my peers struggle to find their footing in other jobs, I have a positive work environment that has helped me grow as a multimedia reporter, and as a woman finding my way in the world.

Newswomen

<figure><img width="1000" height="1281" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54799c7e80680e0523afjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: SUBHAS RAI</figcaption></figure>Ever since <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3167#.XWeXZuMzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Great Trigonometrical Survey</a> of India determined that the world’s tallest mountain was Peak XV located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, Everest has brought out the best and the worst in us. Nepalis have conveniently forgotten that the summit is on the border, and only the southwest face of Everest is in Nepal — the east and west faces are wholly in China. While the Tibetans had a name for the mountain (Chomolungma), the Nepali Sagarmatha was bequeathed to the peak only after it was determined to be the highest in the world.  When <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3247#.XWeXquMzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tenzing Norgay</a> and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2018/01/13/commemorating-edmund-hillary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Edmund Hillary</a> returned from Everest in 1953, Nepalis claimed Tenzing as our own, garlanding him profusely while ignoring Hillary. Dharma Raj Thapa composed a folk song that implied Tenzing had to drag Hillary to the summit. The 1996 disaster, when 15 climbers died on the mountain (eight of them on a single day, 11 May), made ‘<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/overkill-on-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overcrowding’ synonymous with ‘Everest’</a>. The bestseller Into Thin Air and the IMAX movie Everest created the hyper-reality of Everest being trampled by climbers and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/cleaning-up-everest,1408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">buried in trash</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/overkill-on-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Overkill on Everest</a>, Damien Francois<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/adventures-in-robert-macfarlanes-aboveworld-and-underland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adventures in Robert Macfarlane's Aboveworld and underland</a>, Kunda DixitThe truth, as usual, is much more complicated. As a report in this issue concludes, while the number of climbers on 22 May this year might have been a factor in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/06/13/10221/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some of the fatalities on Everest, inexperience, altitude sickness and lack of oxygen were more significant</a>. There were 642 climbers, porters and guides from 43 countries on the summit this spring. Of them, 223 stepped on the top on 22 May alone. Nine of the climbers died on the south side this season, but news about the 10 more who died on other 8,000m peaks, where there were no significant crowds, was buried in the avalanche of news about Everest.Reacting to the media spotlight, the government on 7 June set up an expert committee to recommend reforms in the management of expeditions. Last week, the committee issued its report, which should address many of the problems.The committee carried out a post-mortem of Everest 2019, and found the main cause of the nine fatalities was the narrow weather window, inexperience and lack of fitness, altitude and medical conditions. One could argue that long queues contributed to altitude sickness and exhaustion, so crowding was a contributing factor. Summiteers say lack of experience at altitude and limited climbing skills were also causes for delays on the summit ridge on 22 and 23 May. Even though <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Silly-season-on-Sagarmatha,460" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘traffic jams’</a> may not have been the main cause of fatalities this year, publicity about them did prompt the government to act.The committee’s recommendations, if enacted into law and enforced, could change Himalayan climbing. For example, only those who have been on a peak higher than 6,500m in Nepal will be allowed to climb a mountain above 8,000m, and mountaineers must have climbed at least one peak below 6,500m before they can climb a peak higher than that. This will not only ensure diversification away from Everest and benefit other parts of Nepal, but also guarantee that only experienced climbers get to scale mountains like Everest, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18869#.XWeWQuMzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kangchenjunga</a>, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=190#.XWeWZ-MzbIU">Makalu</a> or Manaslu.However, the committee appears to only have taken altitude into account and not the technical climbing grade of mountains. There is a vast difference between climbing the relatively easy Cho Oyu (8,021m) and the technically difficult Kusum Kangru (6,367m).The committee has also proposed that Everest climbers must show proof they have paid a Nepali agency at least $35,000. While this may lessen crowds, it will not be much of a deterrent against rich but inexperienced trophy hunters.The committee found that cheap expeditions did not stock up on enough oxygen, and that guides with little experience were a danger to clients. The solution to this could be a payment threshold and minimum experience for support crews. The criteria for liaison officers are also being changed, requiring them to stay at Base Camp till the end of expeditions, to thwart fake climbers and to do a trash inventory.As with everything else in Nepal, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Given endemic corruption and the likelihood of forged documents, it remains to be seen if these rules will be followed. But if implemented honestly, these reforms should clean up the mountain’s tainted image.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Most days, it's not so crowded in Everest</a>, Nepali Times<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/expeditions-brings-down-11-tons-of-mt-everest-trash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Expedition brings down 11 tons of Mt Everest trash</a>, Bharat Bandhu Thapa<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/crowd-funding-from-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crowd-funding from Mt Everest,</a> Ivan G Somlai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-restore-the-lure-of-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to restore the lure of Everest,</a> Doug Scott <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> Nepali Times <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue #466 of 28 August-3 September 2009</a> drew attention to climate change, and warned that the Himalaya was warming faster than previously thought. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16255#.XWe4qOMzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Editorial</a> 10 years ago titled ‘Climate Climax’ looked ahead at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit:'Nothing we do (or don’t do) in Nepal will affect global temperatures. But whether or not we switch to renewable energy as the mainstay of our economy will determine whether we survive economically as a nation. Nepal needs to reduce its carbon footprint not to save the planet, but to save itself. As the world approaches Peak Oil and our petroleum import bill widens, our huge trade deficit with India, continued dependence on fossil fuel, and climate change will exacerbate all the economic, development and social challenges we already face. Our elected representatives, think-tanks and the climate experts in the bureaucracy must exert pressure on the politicians and persuade them to begin the switch to a hydro-economy. It’s not the ecology, stupid, it’s the economy.'<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/466"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a547c9c7e80680e0523b0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="771"></a>

Everest Postmortem

<figure><img width="1400" height="1050" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a524a9c7e80680e0522e7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic: SHANKAR DAHAL</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s politicians are prone to hyperbole, and every decade or so they have a habit of declaring that no Nepali will have to go abroad to work. A more realistic goal would be to make migration as safe as possible, eliminate exploitation and abuse by fellow Nepalis and unscrupulous employers in destination countries, and upgrade migrants’ skills so they earn more. Migrant workers need to be treated with respect at the departure and arrival desks at the airport, as befitting their vital role in propping up this country’s economy.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30850&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His last journey home to Nepal</a>, Shankar DahalOnly after we do that, and start generating infrastructure and manufacturing-driven employment through investment-friendly policies back home, can we start boasting that Nepalis don’t have to leave the country anymore to find work. Alas, we don’t see signs of that happening any time soon.   We are stuck with labour migration for the foreseeable future, and we have to make the best of it. There are signs that under Labour Minister Gokarna Bista, economic diplomacy has moved into high gear. Nepal has been playing a leading role on migration matters in South Asia, starting with the declaration at the 2015 SAARC Summit in Kathmandu of Article 21, which enjoins regional countries to collaborate for the welfare of migrant labour in destination countries.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30809&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The heat is killing us</a>, Sonia AwaleThe SAARC Plan of Action on Labour Migration was adopted in May 2016, and a ministerial declaration of the ‘Colombo Process’ was made in November of that year. South Asian countries also started working together under the umbrella of the ‘Abu Dhabi Dialogue among the Asian Labour Sending and Receiving Countries’. Nepali diplomats and activists have also been active in the Global Compact on Migration, adopted last year, which seeks to ensure ‘safe, orderly and regular migration’.Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/home-they-bring-the-workers-dead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Home they bring the workers dead</a>, Upasana KhadkaExperts at a recent roundtable organised in Kathmandu by SARTUC (South Asian Regional Trade Union Council) and the Hri Institute, and attended by advocacy and labour policy gurus, reaffirmed the natural weakness of sending countries because of competition and lack of political will to coordinate. Destination countries therefore shop for the cheapest labour, for example playing off Bangladeshis against Nepalis.To a greater or lesser degree, all South Asian labour exporting countries face the same problems of exploitation by middlemen, cheating by employers – as in the recent case of 44 Nepali women tricked into sewing jobs in China, and others rescued from a night club in Mombasa.  Although Nepali workers seem to be disproportionately affected by Sudden Death Syndrome because of heat stress, all South Asian workers have higher fatality rates for young men in that age group.Despite the hardships, Nepalis have a good reputation for hard work. Perhaps because of this, they are assigned to dangerous work on high-rise scaffoldings. Increasingly, Nepalis are also moving into the service sector and managerial positions, taking over from Filipinos.Yet, the challenges for countries heavily dependent on migrant labour, like Nepal, are growing. They include trafficking of women, and men, as in recent cases in Kenya and Libya. Tensions are brewing between Qatar and the UAE/Saudis, as well as the Saudi-Iranian conflict, an ‘Emeritisation’ happening in the UAE, and East and West African labour are displacing traditional Nepali jobs in construction and security in the Gulf. (The Kenyans come across as smarter, better-dressed and with English competence.) All these events serve to remind us that dependence on remittances is fragile, and we must have a Plan B.The idea of developing skills for Nepalis before they go overseas has been limited to rhetoric, despite tens of millions of dollars spent by donors and the government.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-malaysia-labour-pact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal-Malaysia Labour pact</a>, Ramu SapkotaMedia coverage of issues related to overseas migrant labour tends to obscure the millions of Nepalis, the poorest among the migrants, who go to India. Exact figures are lacking, with Indian diplomats pointing at a high figure of 7 million. But during the Eminent Persons’ Group negotiations a more realistic 3 million figure was presented. The Pew Research Institute has placed Nepal as the seventh largest country sending remittances to India, thanks to migrant workers from Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha.In this issue, we examine Sudden Death Syndrome, and how the climate crisis will make heat stress a matter of life or death for Nepali workers in the Gulf (page 14-15). Sudden death is classified as ‘natural’ and not ‘workplace related’, preventing workers’ families from collecting insurance. The Nepal government must insist on autopsies of dead workers to pinpoint cause of death, or perform them on bodies when they arrive in Kathmandu. The coffins are also not handled with respect when they arrive via the regular baggage channel at Kathmandu Airport.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kleptocrats of Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur</a>, Ramu Sapkota  and Alyaa AlhadjriThe group Paurakhi has won a writ petition at the Supreme Court ordering the government to create special facilities at the airport for arriving coffins. But there has been no move to implement this.The Foreign employment Board has now upgraded its curriculum on pre-departure training to make it more relevant and country-specific. That is a welcome step to making migration safer. Let us also make it more worthwhile. 10 Year Ago This WeekIn Nepali Times 10 years ago (issue #462 of 31 July - August 6) we are reminded that there is nothing new about the annual emergency Nepal faces during the monsoon. The only difference is that it is getting worse. Excerpt from the page 1 report:‘When it rains it pours. As if the political crisis wasn’t bad enough, Nepal is going through a multi-layered economic and development emergency.But roaming the corridors of power in Singha Darbar, you wouldn’t know it. There is a cholera epidemic in western Nepal, the winter drought that destroyed the wheat crops was followed by a delayed monsoon that decimated maize and rice.This is bound to make inflation of essential food commodities even worse. It is already running between 20 and 50%, defying all economic theories, and despite the open border with India where inflation is single digit.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a524e9c7e80680e0522e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1225">

LABOUR PAINS

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.