<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058e39c7e80680e0ce1c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>A lower than usual turnout in Sunday’s elections in Nepal signals <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dejected-voters-reject-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">voter apathy</a>, and could favour non-establishment parties.An Election Official official said he expected the turnout to be about 61% of the nearly 18 million eligible voters. This is lower than the 66% in local polls in May and 68% in the last <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-goes-on-in-nepals-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal elections in 2017.</a><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-goes-on-in-nepals-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a>“We had expected 70% turnout, and although we have not got all the results yet, our preliminary estimate is that only 60% of those in the voter lists cast their ballots,” Ram Prasad Bhandari of the Election Commission told Nepali Times.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058e69c7e80680e0ce1c5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="1600"><figcaption>Residents in Janakpur voted with the sunrise. Photos: SAMEER MANI DIXIT</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058ea9c7e80680e0ce1c6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="1600"><figcaption>Votes in Janakpur line up to cast their vote for federal and provincial elections.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058ed9c7e80680e0ce1c7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption>Voters in Laltipur's Banglamukhi turn up early to cast their ballet. Photos: GOPEN RAI</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058f09c7e80680e0ce1c8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058f49c7e80680e0ce1c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058f79c7e80680e0ce1cajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058fa9c7e80680e0ce1cbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639058fd9c7e80680e0ce1ccjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>A lower than usual turnout would favour the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/depending-on-independents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Independent Party, independent candidates and those who ran for elections as rebel candidates</a> after not getting tickets from their own parties.Experts we spoke to cited various possible reasons for the lower turnout: fewer young males in the country because of outmigration, the requirement that voters have to go to their home districts to vote, apathy towards coalition parties, and the lack of agenda of the established parties.“Voters seem to have thought that these are the same old parties,” says Nilambar Acharya, analyst and former ambassador to India. “Committed voters will cast their ballots anyway, but many others might have felt voting will not make a difference.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059019c7e80680e0ce1cdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><figcaption>A glimpse of the Election Day in Rampur. Photos: RSS and SHRISTI KARKI</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059059c7e80680e0ce1cejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2250"><figcaption>Sunsari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059099c7e80680e0ce1cfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1350"><figcaption>Jajarkot</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390590d9c7e80680e0ce1d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1734" height="1301"><figcaption>Syangja</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059109c7e80680e0ce1d1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1734" height="1301"><figcaption>Syangja</figcaption></figure>While the independent candidates are expected to have a strong showing in urban centres and along highway towns, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/voters-cynical-about-electoral-alliances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the ruling coalition and opposition UML</a> are still expected to do well in rural areas.Political analyst Indra Adhikari who voted in Nuwakot district, said depopulation meant mostly elderly and children are left and this could be the main reason for low turnout.She added: “The other reason was the confusion about the ruling coalition. Many voters were asking why they should vote for the Maoists, who were responsible for killing my relatives in the war.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059149c7e80680e0ce1d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1152"><figcaption>Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Dadeldhura. Photos: RSS</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390591b9c7e80680e0ce1d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536"><figcaption>Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal's Kamal Thapa in Hetauda.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390591e9c7e80680e0ce1d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="2400"><figcaption>UML chair K P Oli in Bhaktapur.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059229c7e80680e0ce1d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption>Nepal Swatantra Party's Rabi Lamichhane.</figcaption></figure>The 5-party ruling coalition is made up of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Maoists among others, and they were enemies during the ten-year insurgency in which 17,000 Nepalis were killed.Confusion created by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/battle-of-ballots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coalition candidates</a> also appears to be the reason behind violation and suspension of voting in certain centres across the country.In the most violent incident in Triveni Municipality of Bajura district in the far-west, one 25-year-old was killed and several severely injured when police had to fire on a crowd attacking the polling station when it was about to be closed. The injured were airlifted to Surkhet by a Nepal Army helicopter.Elsewhere in Tama Kosi Municipality of Dolakha, police opened fire to control a dispute between cadre from the governing coalition and the opposing UML. According to DIG Kiran Bajracharya, the police fired 15 rounds to ensure safety of the polling station and the voters when locals pelted stones at them. One policeman was injured.Similarly, in Siraha’s Karjanha-6, the police fired three rounds after a cadre of JSP Unified Socialists both made a go to capture the ballot boxes. Also in Rautahat, the police had to open fire at a polling station.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059259c7e80680e0ce1d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI, GOPEN RAI and RSS</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059289c7e80680e0ce1d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1010"><figcaption>Ballets ready to be collected in Fuglung.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390592c9c7e80680e0ce1d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1014"><figcaption>Voting in Argakhachi.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390592f9c7e80680e0ce1d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059339c7e80680e0ce1dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Several polling stations saw voting disrupted with at least 44 voting centres out of more than 22,000 affected. By 3:30PM, voting in 15 centres had to be stopped.However, the Elections Commission says voting in most places was peaceful and orderly. Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapalia said ballot counting would start Sunday night itself with results for First Past The Post candidates expected to come in a week by 27 November.Complete election result, however, is expected to come in only in two weeks which once again showed the need for electoral reform including a quicker, more reliable counting system.Nepalis across the country were already lining up in the morning to cast their votes with a total of 11,543 candidates fielding for 825 seats, 275 parliament and 550 provincial assemblies.

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Lower than usual turnout in Nepal polls

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058739c7e80680e0ce1a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Chinimaya lama with her two children. All photos: ANITA BHETWAL</figcaption></figure>Chinimaya Lama, 30, cannot walk up the slope to fetch water for her livestock. Her lower abdomen hurts and she has difficulty sitting down. At home she looks after her husband and five children.She went to a health post six months ago, but the staff there did not even have painkillers. Lama has a uterine problem and cannot afford to go to a city hospital to have it treated.Every few years at election time, political leaders campaigning house-to-house come by to the village of Syaule promising to upgrade its health post. This year, too, the candidates have trooped in, but residents of this scenic village with 52 households have heard it all before.Lama’s neighbours Pemsang, Rammaya, Dilmaya and Kanchi Tamang all have uterine problems like her, caused by multiple pregnancies, hard work in the fields and poor nutrition. None of them have access to diagnosis or treatment.“Candidates asking for votes would have got a much better response if they had also come up with health camps for women and brought medicines for us,” adds Lama, bundling grass for her cows.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058779c7e80680e0ce1a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As in other parts of rural Nepal, there is little excitement about the 20 November elections in Syaule, which is a 4 hour drive northeast of Kathmandu. There is a look of quiet dejection and much grimacing, when residents are asked if they will vote.“From before I was born, we have faced lack of water, proper medical care and joblessness. When these candidates come asking for votes, I just get furious,” says Wakab Tamang, 80, scowling through his wrinkles.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/depending-on-independents/">Depending on independents</a>, Shristi Karki<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/6390587b9c7e80680e0ce1a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="372" height="355"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/6390587d9c7e80680e0ce1a7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058809c7e80680e0ce1a8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Syaule villagers have therefore collectively decided to boycott the 20 November elections. Says Chinimaya Lama: “I would rather go to my daily job and earn a few hundred rupees to buy food for my children instead of wasting my time voting for leaders who do nothing for us.”Residents of the adjacent village of Sanghachok have also decided not to vote. Mishri Lama, too, has faced water scarcity for three generations.“They tell us we will get water but it is only because the election is here and they want our votes,” says Lama. “They act as if we are family at election time, and then abandon us. No, we are not voting.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058849c7e80680e0ce1a9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1122"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Springs going dry due to over-extraction and climate change is a problem across Nepal’s mid-mountains, but is especially acute in ridge-top settlements like Syaule and Sanghachok.Dhan Bahadur Tamang spent thousands of rupees to fit a tap a few years ago, only to find that the spring had gone dry. No politician came to help. “I won’t even open the door for these candidates when they come by, I’m sick of them,” he adds.Last year’s monsoon floods destroyed the main road from Chautara, and there has been an effort to repair the landslides which children have to make a dangerous traverse every day on their way to school and back.“For me the word politician is synonymous with inaction,” says Mishri Lama.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058889c7e80680e0ce1aajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Pema Rinchi Sherpa had actively campaigned in the 2017 election for Mohan Bahadur Basnet who is now contesting from Sindhupalchok-2, but after repeatedly being denied a meeting with the man to discuss road and water issues, he has learned his lesson.“I won’t be voting for these leaders who just want power in Kathmandu,” he says. Basnet is contesting again from the governing coalition against Sher Bahadur Tamang of the opposition UML.In the village of Dumre between Sun Kosi and Indrawati rivers, many residents do not have land ownership rights despite having lived here for generations owing to a random border division three decades ago.People here have homes in Sindhupalchok but many got their citizenship from Kavre. Two brothers from the same family have to go to different constituencies in different districts to cast their votes.“We have been living here from the time of our forefathers but we have fallen between the cracks,” says Khadga Bahadur Pahari (pictured below). “It does not matter how many times we voted in the past, no one has ever heard us. So we won’t vote at all this time.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/6390588b9c7e80680e0ce1abjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="997">Dumre is home to 60 Majhi fisher families who have lost their livelihoods because of an illegal sand and boulder mining operation owned by a businessman with political patronage. They too are not going to bother voting this time.Masali Majhi cannot fish anymore, and has lost her income because of the ‘crusher’ operation. She says: “What is the point of voting for these people who do not care for us?”Ward chair Roshan Giri was elected in the local polls in May, and Sunday’s elections are for federal and provincial assemblies. UML candidate Sher Bahadur Tamang says he will resolve the fishing crisis by building a reservoir on the Sun Kosi and stopping illegal sand mining.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/6390588f9c7e80680e0ce1acjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But these promises do not impress many locals who are boycotting the polls. They may not know all the candidates, but they know they have not performed in the past. They are punishing their inaction by exercising their right not to vote.By doing this, they are also rejecting younger candidates and independent hopefuls. Locals do not seem to be very impressed with the choice of alternative candidates either, or much informed.The governing coalition’s Mohan Basnet says he will amend the law if required if he wins the election. He says: “I will help the fisher people if I am elected. They should give me one more chance.”But at least in these villages of Sindhupalchok it looks like the residents feel they have already given the candidates one too many chances.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/election-climate-in-nepal/">Election climate in Nepal</a>, Shilshila Acharya<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/battle-of-ballots/">Battle of ballots</a>, Shristi Karki

Anita Bhetwal

Dejected voters reject polls

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058669c7e80680e0ce19ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1504" height="1000"/>As Nepal enters the last lap in federal and provincial races, candidates and their cadres seem more excited than voters. Across the Inner Tarai here and in the plains bordering India, voters are disillusioned and indifferent about the polls.First off, most people we talked to said they did not want to vote for the same old candidates they elected five years ago, and have been around for the past two decades. Moreover, there is confusion about which candidate is representing which party, and who is loyal to whom, because the coalition is made up of parties with diametrically opposing ideologies.With such unholy alliances, Hetuada’s UML voters are now being asked to cast ballots in favour of a candidate batting for a return of the Hindu monarchy. Nepali Congress (NC) supporters have been told to vote for Maoist candidates, some of whom tortured and killed people during the conflict.Voters have given up trying to fathom why political parties and candidates who fought and suffered for the establishment of a secular, federal Nepal now cross over to those want to scrap those provisions. Individuals contesting the elections as independents because they did not get party tickets have muddied the waters even more.Except for die-hard party supporters, the electorate understands that the elections are not about principles or resolving everyday problems any more, but propelling the same old leaders back to power.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/election-climate-in-nepal/">Election climate in Nepal</a>, Shilshila Acharya“The NC is likely to get a good number of seats in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-politics-of-province-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Madhes Province</a>, but independents have a strong chance in some constituencies,” predicts Govinda Devkota of Narayani Samudayik FM in Birganj, who thinks the JSP partnership with the NC could garner 10-12 seats with the UML-LSP alliance and Unified Socialists trailing.The dominant trend is that Madhes-based parties like the JSP and LSP have lost their lustre, and the established national parties like the NC, UML and Maoists now hold sway over the Madhes vote through their alliances. Still, among younger voters there is visible discontent against both Madhes-based parties and the national parties, and they are fed up of electing the same underperforming and corrupt leaders again and again.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058699c7e80680e0ce19fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="372" height="355">“During the Madhes Movement (of 2015) many people here were killed but their sacrifice got us nothing. Only the leaders and political parties are reaping the benefits all in the name of Madhes,” says Munna Saraaf, a youth activist and actor in Birganj.Saraaf has been travelling to Ilam, Kohalpur and several other places performing on stage to raise awareness about voting the right candidates to power, and is also vocal about extravagant campaign spending which could make the Madhes a hotbed for corruption.“There are no new educational organisations, employment opportunities, projects or industries where the youth can be involved productively. It was better during the king’s time. But we must change that and cast our votes for competent candidates,” he adds.The coveted Parsa constituency has Pradeep Yadav, the former minister from JSP contesting against the governing coalition’s Laxman Lal Karna of LSP, and the rebel independent candidate who defected from the NC, Ajay Dwivedi.“Pradeep Yadav won five years ago but his voters are not happy with his performance. Karna, does not have the leadership qualities. Therefore voters may end up supporting the independent Dwivedi,” says Gobinda Devkota.The participation of women candidates is even less in the Tarai than the already low national average. In Parsa district, only Karima Begum who is contesting as an independent and the JSP’s Salma Khatun have a significant presence. “The others are neither heard nor seen,” says Sushma Sharma a reporter with Prateek Daily in Birganj.But the 2022 Nepal election is defined by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coalition-collision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electoral coalitions</a> regardless of party ideology or dogma. Anjali Thapa, president of Press Center Makwanpur in Hetauda says: “The campaigning methods and the agenda in this year’s election are very different. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition have formed alliances to win.”For example, Kamal Thapa of the RPP-N is contesting under the UML’s ‘Sun’ symbol. Pitted against him is Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya (Dina) from the governing coalition who is expected to gather votes from both the Maoists, NC and the US. Even so, some NC supporters who do not agree with the alliance with the Maoists could go over to Kamal Thapa’s side, while other UML dissidents may not support a candidate they regard as an oppressor of the people.All this points to a mixed outcome which could lead to further instability and horse-trading post elections. At the end of the day, all most voters want are competent and honest leaders who provide jobs, better infrastructure and affordable education and medical facilities. They could not care less about alliances.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/battle-of-ballots/">Battle of ballots</a>, Shristi Karki

Voters cynical about electoral alliances

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710124/639057499c7e80680e0ce14djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="870" height="580"/>In July, a new Facebook page uploaded a poster of six of Nepal’s top political leaders — Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former Prime Ministers K P Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Jhalanath Khanal — with an accompanying text that said in English, NO, NOT AGAIN.Since then, #NoNotAgain has taken off on social media with Nepalis urging other Nepalis to vote out the older leaders in elections to federal and provincial assemblies on 20 November. Collectively, they have been prime minister 13 times, with Deuba of the Nepali Congress (NC) alone holding the post five times.The UML’s Oli has been PM thrice, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal twice, former Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai and former UML leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalnath Khanal having assumed the role once each. Although the president cannot hold more than two consecutive terms in office, Nepal has no term limits for prime ministers.The No Not Again Facebook page has amassed 39,000 followers and 32,000 likes since its inception. With open campaigning allowed from Thursday, the leaders have been on the counterattack on social media as well, some with slick videos.The collective was formed after voters in local elections in May shunned the established parties and voted for independent candidates like Balen Shah and Harka Sampang as mayors of Kathmandu and Dharan.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/house-of-cards-2/">House of cards</a>, Sonia AwaleThis reflected the disenchantment of especially urban voters with mainstream politics and career politicians, which has prompted more independent candidates to stand in November as well.The online campaign has been putting the spotlight not only on the top leaders but other political figures as well: from pandemic-era health ministers who mishandled the Covid-19 crisis, MPs who have misused state resources, or those who have been photographed dozing off in Parliament. Also being crossed out are businessmen and high profile politicians who have been included in the list of proportional representation (PR) candidates supposed to be reserved for women and minority communities.But as the campaign’s online pages amassed more following in the past week, public discourse around the movement grew, and so did attention from Nepal’s political leadership as well as the Election Commission (EC).On 25 October, the Election Commission put out a statement accusing ‘false Facebook groups’ such as No, Not Again of ‘spreading negative propaganda and hate speech — defamatory expressions and misleading and hateful audio-visual content— about politicalparties, leaders, and election candidates.’ The statement said that the page had violated Nepal’s Electronic Transaction Act 2008, Election Act 2017, and the Election Code of Conduct.The Commission stated that continued operation of such pages to put out audiovisual material would result in a fine of Rs100,000, or imprisonment for up to five years or both. Reaction in the public sphere and even from political leaders was savage and swift.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/3-party-dictatorship/">3-party dictatorship</a>, EditorialUML dissident leader Bhim Rawal, who did not receive a ticket from his party to contest the election, called the Election Commission’s move contrary to the right to freedom of thought and expression and violated the Constitution.“If one is not allowed to express who to vote for, or who not vote for, why doesn’t the Election Commission already declare Nepal’s top leaders as winners,” Rawal wrote on Twitter.The NC’s Minendra Rijal, who likewise was not given a ticket by his party, said: “The idea behind No, Not Again is completely in line with our democratic values. The Election Commission’s decision, in this case, is irrational, and must be reconsidered.”Former Election Commissioner Ila Sharma also weighed in on social media, saying that although it was valid to disagree with the movement, it did not violate any election code of conduct. “This is standard campaign messaging to which the election commission should not have given this much weight,” she said. “Liberal values are central to a democracy.”Advocate Dinesh Tripathi then filed a writ petition against the Election Commission’s decision, saying it infringed upon the integrity and sanctity of democracy, and Nepal’s Constitution.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/swing-votes/">Swing votes</a>, Shristi KarkiFor its part, the EC warned that the election could be challenged by ‘organised misinformation, disinformation and hate speech spread with an underlying political motive’.Political parties, candidates, and party workers began open campaigning from Thursday, and they will be allowed to do so till 17 November. The main parties have released their election manifestos, and these too have been lampooned on social media and by cartoonists as being full of tall promises.In their own speeches at the hustings, some mainstream candidates appear to be taking the challenge of the independents and rebel candidates from their own parties seriously.  Others in both coalition collectives appear sanguine that they control the block votes of their traditional bases.What is different this time compared to previous elections is that the ruling coalition and the opposition alliance have swapped seats to bolster their chances of winning. This has also meant that many NC supporters will be voting for Maoist candidates and vice-versa.Such electoral alliances ultimately undermine democracy, political observers say, because coalitions are supposed to be formed after polls results are out, not before voting.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/gambling-with-our-future/">Gambling with our future</a>, Editorial

Shristi Karki

Many Nepalis say no, not again

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c649c7e80680e0c9619jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2266" height="1536"/><figcaption>ALL PHOTOS: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>Manushi Yami Bhattarai, daughter of Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-maoist-revolution-from-the-inside/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hisila Yami</a>, followed her family’s footsteps into politics as a student at Tribhuvan University, where she was secretary of the All Nepal National Independent Student Union. She has an MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and has been nominated by the Maoist Centre to contest the November election from Kathmandu-7. Excerpts of interview with Manushi Yami Bhattarai: Nepali Times: How is your campaign going so far?Manushi Yami Bhattarai: We have been discussing our platform and plan to improve and strengthen our collapsing public institutions, which have been taken over by a handful of people within the political parties. They have fallen prey to the much stronger party structures. Constitutionally-guaranteed rights have not been upheld. Our health and educational institutions are near collapse. The corruption watchdog has been rendered ineffective by political interference.  We need to restructure and empower these institutions from the policy-making level, for which we need effective legislature.Once our health, education, and employment sectors are strengthened, the economy will run these institutions, and I am aware of the role we need to play to strengthen the economy in the first place. Also on my agenda is environment-conscious development at a time when we have been unsustainably exploiting our natural resources to advance development. The next generation will have to pay for it with frequent and catastrophic natural disasters.We want to introduce laws that address conflicts of interest. Nepal’s political leaders are in business with interest groups who want to commercialise and privatise the education and health sectors, which is why they do not talk about strengthening public schools and hospitals. There is no one in Parliament to stand for universal healthcare and education, and there will be no one unless we stop people with connections in private healthcare and education.I attended public school in Delhi from elementary to high school and was able to become a gold medalist at Tribhuvan University on the strength of my academic background. I want to send my child to a public school, and take them to Kanti Hospital when they are sick.Why don't we trust or take ownership of public institutions? When we choose to employ services of public institutions, we will be able to identify problems within those institutions first-hand, and look at issues regarding manpower and infrastructure with more sensitivity because they directly affect our well-being and of people around us.What are your priorities on infrastructure?It is a given for leaders to promise what sells. But political leadership means being ten steps ahead of the public in terms of ideas and strategies, and should not just pander to the masses. Populism can be a problem. I am determined to address the basic needs Nepalis face. But what we have been unable to do until now is make Nepalis aware of the roles and responsibilities each level of government has, from the local to the federal.But while it is important to address the immediate needs and the infrastructural development of Kathmandu-7, it is also important to discuss the country’s economic, foreign, health and education policies which have wider-reaching and long-term importance. It will be my responsibility to solve problems at the local level as well as speak to policies that have far-reaching consequences.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c689c7e80680e0c961ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2304" height="1536">There is speculation that Baburam Bhattarai swapped his Gorkha constituency with Pushpa Kamal Dahal to secure Maoist support for your election candidacy? That has nothing to do with my candidacy. If I was looking for an advantage, it would have been much easier and safer for me to run from Gorkha. Kathmandu is a challenging constituency even with support from the coalition.But the announcement of your candidacy came out of the blue. How long have you been thinking about running?This process has not been sudden. I have been in politics for a long time, having been involved in organisation and social movements since I was 15 years old. I worked for student welfare when I was at All Nepal National Independent Student Union. I have the experience and knowledge of the responsibilities that come with being both a representative and the opposition. This is the right time to put my academic, social and political experiences to the test and take it to Parliament.There is a challenge in that most Nepali voters align themselves with their political beliefs and ideology and vote along party lines. However, there are now large numbers of voters disillusioned with Nepal’s political mechanism, who are frustrated with the lack of delivery, and will vote for candidates and issues over ideology. Similarly, a larger number of Nepalis are not affiliated with any party and are aware of the need to vote for competent and qualified candidates regardless of party. That is why I am optimistic about my chances.The number of women candidates in the direct ballot is less than 10%. Yes, no matter which political party, it is difficult for women to even get selected as candidates. And when women are given tickets, they are given constituencies where they have little chance of winning. It is also more challenging for women to secure election funding. Our social structure also makes it difficult for women to stand in elections while raising children and juggling family responsibilities.A large part of the public is concerned with image rather than agenda, choosing to pay attention to how female candidates present themselves over what their election platform is. Women are thought of in relation to their husbands and families rather than as individuals.Has having parents who are involved in politics worked for or against you? On the one hand, it has been easier for me to get recognised and have a platform because of who my parents are. On the other hand, I am seen as an extension of my parents before people are willing to consider that I am a separate existence with my own abilities and agenda. In that sense, it has been both an advantage and a disadvantage.My parents received a good education and chose to enter politics because they always believed it was a way to pure service. Had they chosen a different profession, they would probably have had different financial circumstances.My parents never imposed their opinions or demands on me. They never expected me to follow a set path. I was never pressured to join politics -- in fact, they were always clear that politics would not get me financial benefits, and that I should pursue other interests if that was my goal. But seeing them inspired me to take this up.I have learned from my family that one must never exploit or take advantage of their platform. They have always been aware of the responsibilities, and have always been connected to everyday Nepalis. I have also learned from them not to let victory feed my ego and not let defeat discourage or scare me.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-maoist-revolution-from-the-inside/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's Maoist revolution from the inside</a>, Sahina Shrestha<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c6b9c7e80680e0c961bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2304" height="1536">Does that mean that considering the criticism, especially on social media, for being the daughter of political leaders you have considered another like of work? I am not very active on social media. Outrage-filled discourse on social media has become a global culture. I see discourse on social media as transient — they can lionise an individual one day and vilify the same person the next. So I don't take it too seriously and have chosen not to engage with it. I prefer to meet and interact with people directly. Throughout such interactions, whether people choose to engage with me in anger or frustration, or love, I will accept it.How will your leadership be different from the previous generation?The previous generation of political leadership had to replace an autocratic, undemocratic, and centralised political system with a federal democratic republic. It is now up to our generation to stand on the shoulders of past leadership and focus on people and issues that affect them directly: education, healthcare, and employment. We must strengthen our economic foundations so that we can sustain our still-nascent political institutions and protect what we have achieved over the years.Things have not turned out as I hoped. In the beginning, building a Constitution took precedence over representing the people, and while we focused on policy, we did not address issues that Nepalis faced in their daily lives. Now we have learned our lesson. As party cadres, we relied too much on our leaders to solve the problems, but we now want those leadership positions ourselves so that we can help people directly. You cannot win elections if you are unable to challenge the existing leadership.What are the challenges of being a full-time politician?I came into politics at a time when the 'power' of the leadership of our party was declining. I came into politics while we were under siege.It is challenging to manage a household, both financially and logistically, when one is involved in politics full-time. It is especially challenging now that I have a two-year-old child who will have to start school soon and will have healthcare and childcare needs. So, I have started teaching. My husband was also in politics, but now he is looking for a job. I wonder how other people involved in mainstream politics run their households, and what their sources of income are.What will your campaign message be to voters in your constituency?My life and work have always been transparent. It's time to find solutions to problems that we have felt have not been addressed all our lives. And if we make it to Parliament, we will address those problems, in a way that people feel its impact immediately. But we will also need to address issues that will affect Nepalis in the long run and to make those changes we will need some time.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-parties-forge-new-pre-poll-alliances/">Nepal’s parties forge new pre-poll alliances</a>, Shristi Karki

A daughter also rises

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237dc9c7e80680e0c7353jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Nepal often <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">ranks high on international reports</a> for all the wrong reasons. The latest one puts Nepal in ‘first’ position (which means worst) in a study on Global Burden of Disease which showed this country having the highest death due to lung disease in the world. A quarter of those deaths were caused by breathing dirty air.Another report last month, the latest State of Global Air 2022 on Air Quality and the Health of Cities, showed that more than 5,000 deaths in 2019 in Kathmandu alone were due to air pollution. This added up to 42,100 additional deaths in 2019 due to poor air quality.Yale University’s Environment Performance Index ranked Nepal as the third most polluted country in terms of air quality, with only India and Pakistan performing worse. Put together these recent reports show that air pollution is a clear and present danger, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">a question of life or death for Nepalis</a>.Besides health damage, dirty air also comes with high cost of health care. Air pollution contributes to seven of the ten most common causes of death worldwide: COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), ischemic heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, stroke, lower respiratory infections, and neo- natal death. It is responsible for 12% of all deaths worldwide, and 20% of deaths in Nepal.A World Bank estimate puts the cost of air pollution to Nepal at $3.1 billion, 10.2% of the country’s  GDP. Of this, $1.7 billion was caused by smoky indoor fires, and the rest was due to ambient air pollution. Another study showed that the health damage suffered by Nepalis from brick kiln smoke alone amounted to $46 million per year.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-still-mixing-garbage-with-politics/">Nepal still mixing garbage with politics</a>, Shristi KarkiThe level of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Kathmandu</a> is three times higher than the standard set by WHO – mainly due to vehicular emission. The number of two-wheelers in Kathmandu Valley now exceeds 1.2 million, and Nepal imported fuel worth Rs383.92 billion in the last fiscal year, a dramatic increase of 79% from the previous year.Fossil fuel imports now constitute 22% of Nepal’s total imports – and its value is more than all exports combined. This has led to a sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves to pay for only 6 months of imports.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-clean-up-kathmandus-air/">Kathmandu’s notoriety as a polluted valley</a> has also affected tourism, with many visitors cancelling plans as word spreads of the bad air. Even the pristine trekking areas are now affected by trans-border pollution from the Subcontinent, or wildfires within Nepal.It is clear that spending money on cleaning up the air will have a high return on investment. And it is not that Nepal does not have the resources to do so. The law allows the government to levy a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/polluted-politics/">pollution tax of Rs 1.50 per litre</a> on petrol and diesel sold in Nepal. Since 2008, when this provision was implemented, the government has collected Rs12.81 billion in pollution control fees.Nearly Rs3.4 billion of that amount was collected in fiscal year 2020-21 alone, but none of this money has been invested in pollution control.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237df9c7e80680e0c7354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="772">The Office of the Auditor General urged the government to spend some of the accumulated fee to address air pollution, and also in July the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling. But the government appears to be unable to spend this money, even as it tries to tap into international mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund to adapt to the climate crisis.As the government prepares for the 27th Conference of Parties (COP 27) being held 6-18 November in Egypt, it will once again by lobbying for increased international funding for climate action.Sure, international funding for both mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis is urgently needed, but how about Nepal first spending the money it has at its disposal to clean up the air – especially since there is such a guaranteed return on investment.The private sector can also jump in. Despite the see-sawing tax policy on electric vehicles, the market for battery-operated cars has jumped five-fold just in the past one year. With the increased import of EV, we will soon see an increased demand for infrastructure such as charging stations, repair and maintenance, and hopefully, even <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-journey-to-electric-public-transport/">electric public transport.</a>This is where the investment from the private sector may be crucial. While individual consumers are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-budget-sparks-electric-comeback/">buying EVs in droves</a> without proper infrastructure, the industry will struggle.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/agroecology-nepals-answer-to-climate-change/">Agroecology, Nepal’s answer to climate change</a>, Zachary BartonSimilarly, investment in green construction material can help reduce pollution from the brick kiln sector and enforcing proper waste management can reduce toxic smoke from open waste burning all over Nepal.If the last election cycle has taught us anything, it is that Nepali voters are willing to bet on change. So, it is time to once again <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">make our voices heard on the ballot</a> – for clean politics and clean air. Let us vote for candidates who will prioritise environmental issues and show commitment to change. Elections may be a slow process that comes around only every five years, but each vote is an opportunity to create lasting change.As consumers, we can also make ourselves heard through our purchases of smarter, cleaner and greener  alternatives. The simplest and most profitable switch, can be to abandon LPG for the electric cook stove. In the past year, after my family bought an induction stove and rice cooker, we have saved on not having to buy LPG at Rs1,800 per cylinder. One induction cooker costs the same as two LPG cylinders, and the money is easily recouped.Another clean alternative is an electric vehicle. For shorter distances, walk. If you are building a home, buy  <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15376#.WmmU9q6WbIU">Compressed Stabilised Earth Bricks</a>, instead of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/earth-bricks-for-cleaner-and-healthier-kathmandu,4161">traditional fired bricks</a> that pollute the Valley’s air.Every little effort counts, and on International Day of Clean Air on 7 September, let us work for change simply by becoming more conscious consumers.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/mustnt-blame-everything-on-climate-change/">Mustn't blame everything on climate change</a>, EditorialShreesha Nankhwa is an environmentalist currently engaged with FHI 360 as a Social and Behaviour Change Communication Officer.

Shreesha Nankhwa

Nepalis do not have to breathe dirty air

<figure><img width="828" height="621" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217589c7e80680e0ba9e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure> The Himal Media Mela 2022 continued on Saturday following the keynote address of Ravish Kumar, group editor of NDTV India.The day-long conference of Nepali media professors, researchers, and other stakeholders involved four panels in which speakers which included members of the press, had wide-ranging conversation about the media industry and its changing narrative.The first panel on Election, Fake News and Media Literacy included Ramkrishna Regmi, Sama Thapa, and Salokya in a discussion about how fake news and disinformation can influence elections as Nepal counts down to the local polls next week.“The mainstream is getting driven by social media, which operates with non-processed content,” said Ramkrishna Regmi. “This has led to the omission of important issues around events including elections, in turn devaluing the significance of local polls.”Added Sama Thapa of AP1: "Misinformation is not just fabricated news, it is also wilful ignorance and disproportionate coverage, even half-news that centres only on certain people, communities, and ethnicities.”During the second panel on Ethical and Responsible Journalism, editors and reporters from the print, online and broadcast medium discussed the responsibilities and roles of journalism in the age of unfiltered digital and social media.“Democracy is a behaviour as well as a way of life,” said Yuvraj Ghimire of Desh Sanchar. “But Nepali politics lacks accountability and our media reflects it.”“Unless political parties are responsible, how can we expect the media to be?” continued Prateek Pradhan of Setopati. “But that is not an excuse for those of us in this profession.”“As a profession that informs others, the media has to be informed itself. And for that, we need character and courage,” Ghimire noted.“Credible and truthful information must be celebrated and supported by the public,” said Pradhan.Prateek Pradhan delivered a rebuke of those he described were in the profession to eventually obtain political, diplomatic and other prestige positions.He said: “Journalism requires passion, and a belief that the work and the stories will have an impact on those who see it.”Meanwhile, journalist Sona Khatik, station manager of Radio Kapilvastu where she has worked for more than a decade, talked about the sustainability of radio in Nepal as media transitions to the digital.“Radio is not and has never been for those in the upper echelons of Nepali society. It is for the people who still do not have access to proper networks to have conversations, data connectivity for mobile internet, money to buy and watch television and channels that represent their communities,” she says. “It is for those who are unable to read and understand newspapers or access it on time. Radio is going to sustain.”If the media itself does not make space for Dalit, Madhesi, and marginalised people, how are they then going to represent those communities, asked Khatik. “Even then, there needs to be an understanding that it requires work to comprehend somebody’s story, not an hour-long phone conversation for a news story.”On the third panel of the day, Tomorrow’s Journalism, panelists Madhu Acharya, Arun Karki, and Sahina Shrestha spoke about how journalism at present is dominated by the reader’s trust in social media, and the need to integrate data in news.Madhu Acharya of the ShareCast Initiative shared results of the Nepal Media Survey 2022 that reflects the growing prominence of digital platforms in Nepal as the country becomes more connected through mobile networks and internet data. Indeed, the survey revealed that 41% of more than 5,000 respondents got their local news via Facebook, while the percentage of people who got their news from radio, tv, and newspapers stood at 25%, 4%, and 2% respectively.“Social media dominates news as well as  opinion formation,” said Acharya, “Traditional media needs to catch up.”“What does it mean when we say readers trust Facebook? It means they trust their friends and families, in short readers believe readers, and our newsrooms need to reflect that,” added Sahina Shrestha, Editor Online of Nepali Times. “This is why we need to involve the audience in content curation.” Arun Karki of the Centre for Data Journalism slliated the challenges to data storytelling, data’s role in debunking misleading information, and the need for data literacy in Nepal, which he emphasised should be a basic requirement in newsrooms.“It takes time to produce quality journalism, and we overlook such time-consuming stories in favour of speedy news,” Karki explained. “Nepal’s newsrooms need to be prepared to create data journalism in real-time.”Shrestha also spoke about the responsibility of the Nepali press to fact-check themselves. “Fact-checking should not be limited to fact-checking institutions, they should be brought into the newsroom,” she said. “We should be fact-checking our own stuff.”During the fourth panel, on the political economy of media, Ameet Dhakal, Aarti Chataut, Sudheer Sharma—prominent editors from Nepal’s traditional and digital media spaces—discussed how Nepal’s media grapples with the digital transition.Sudheer Sharma, editor of e-Kantipur, said that although digital media has reached the mass, print still sets the agenda when it comes to bureaucracy and policymaking.“Amid the changing media landscape, Nepal is on the path to an integrated media.” said Sharma."There is an ongoing paradigm shift in media, the means are changing, not the content or format," continued Aarti Chataut. "The medium is the message."“Digital media is a two-way traffic between content creators and readers,” said Ameet Dhakal of Setopati, adding that it had democratised the process of content creation.“Now, one media institution no longer controls the narrative, which has also kept the press in check,” Dhakal added. “Our mistakes are amplified, but that also means that our corrections are quick.”

Paradigm shift in Nepali media

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217279c7e80680e0ba9d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"/><figcaption>Keynote speaker Ravish Kumar, senior editor of NDTV India. All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Ravish Kumar, group editor of NDTV India, opened the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/himal-media-mela-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himal Media Mela</a> with his keynote speech on the Connectivity in the Age of Disinformation, commenting on the state of media in South Asia, and across the world.Journalist Chandra Kishore, Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, introduced the Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning television journalist, describing him as a beacon of journalism for people at the margins dominated by political and corporate interests.Kumar commented on the state of Indian media, describing it as a ‘militia without a gun’ that is in a class of its own even among the bad examples that litter the history of global media.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372172c9c7e80680e0ba9d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Kumar with Chandra Kishor, chair of Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372172f9c7e80680e0ba9d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Welcome speech by co-publisher of Himalmedia, organiser of the Himal Media Mela 2022.</figcaption></figure>The journalist noted how the development of media technology had informed traditional and social media, and led to the evolution of a ‘WhatsApp University’ which spreads disinformation.“There is a myth that the information revolution went on to aid democracy around the world, and that might have been the case in the beginning,” he said, adding that the internet soon came to be dominated by the same corporate interests as traditional media.Kumar warned Nepal must be on constant alert for any contradictions and compromises that the press needs to make that will eventually take away the essence of the press and the meaning for the profession.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217339c7e80680e0ba9d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Panel 1: Election, Fake News and Media Literacy</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217379c7e80680e0ba9d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Sama Thapa</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372173b9c7e80680e0ba9d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Umesh Shrestha</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372173e9c7e80680e0ba9d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption>Ramkrishna Regmi</figcaption></figure>“Across the world, the press is being weakened in countries led by those who are called ‘global leaders’, and those who pride themselves on being a free press,” says Kumar."Nepali media is one of the freer media today, and that comes with a responsibility to find methods to educate ourselves on how to be citizens,” said the award-winning journalist, urging the public to read, question, and fact-check every information that they come across.“Make the effort to find multiple sources of information.”"Just because some democracies are powerful does not mean they always deliver the truth it is the socio-political climate determines what the mainstream press and digital media platform choose to amplify.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217429c7e80680e0ba9dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Panel 2: Ethical and Responsible Journalism</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217469c7e80680e0ba9dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Sona Khatik</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217499c7e80680e0ba9dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Prateek Pradhan</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372174c9c7e80680e0ba9ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Yubaraj Ghimire</figcaption></figure>“Those who own media are not involved in the struggle for press freedom,” said Kumar, “ The responsibility for media content lies not on corporations, but squarely on the citizens who bear the most consequences from it.”Said Kumar: “The self cannot be enslaved in the name of freedom,  which has its own pace. Sometimes freedom may seem absent or lost, but it always comes back.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217509c7e80680e0ba9dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217549c7e80680e0ba9dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Kumar’s keynote speech was followed by a signing of his book (pictured above) The Free Voice: On Democracy, Culture and the Nation in English and its Nepali translation.

Media as the custodian of people

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e8b9c7e80680e0bd550jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1336"/>A loudspeaker cut through the early morning silence in Chandragiri Municipality on Wednesday as a pickup bounced along an alley, blaring election slogans. With less than a fortnight to go, there is sound and fury as campaigning gets into high gear for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-local-election-gives-power-back-to-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">13 May local elections</a>.But there is also consternation in the ruling 5-party coalition because many local cadre are dissatisfied with the way the party brass has chosen common candidates. Some 40% of candidates from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress (NC), for example, are defying the party edict and standing as rebels.An electoral alliance between the NC, Maoists, the Unified Socialists and JSP have running mates for mayors and deputy mayors, as well as municipality chairs and vice-chairs from a combination of parties. This has left many local politicians disgruntled, with some even threatening to break away and run as independents.Matters have come to a head in the all-important Pokhara and Bharatpur Municpalities. The former president of NC Pokhara, Bimal Bahadur Karki is contesting as an independent candidate after his party’s decision to give the mayoral ticket to Dhanraj Acharya of the Unified Socialists.Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/periphery-within-the-periphery-in-nepal/">Periphery within the periphery in Nepal</a>, Kunda Dixit“I will not be withdrawing my candidacy under any circumstance,” says Karki who has accused Prime Minister Deuba of offering Pokhara on a platter to the Communists. The coalition members are also facing public wrath for giving tickets to family or close cronies with money, and not to capable and popular local leaders.In the 2017 local polls, the Maoists <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/coalition-calculation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tore up ballot papers</a> and forced the NC to withdraw its mayor candidate in favour of Renu Dahal, the daughter of Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The NC’s powerful leaders in Chitwan are determined not to let that happen again, even though Renu Dahal has once more been given the ticket in a NC-Maoist deal.Other candidates with insider connections include Srijana Singh who is up for mayor of Kathmandu. She is the wife of NC leader Prakashman Singh. Elsewhere, Biratnagar’s deputy mayoral candidate Amarendra Kumar Yadav is the son of JSP chair Upendra Yadav.The expediency of the electoral alliance has meant that the coalition is circumventing the Local Government Election Act 2017, which requires at least one female candidate from a party for mayor and deputy mayor, as well as chairs and deputy chairs of rural municipalities.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/reward-performance/"> Reward performance</a>, Editorial<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e8d9c7e80680e0bd551jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="698">Many tickets have gone entirely to male candidates because they are from different parties. This has incensed the NC’s Pramila Subedi Acharya, who is running as an independent for deputy mayor of Madhyapur Thimi.“The top party leadership never discussed our candidacies, they are forcing voters and the party to support the Maoists, and making a mockery of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deputies-drive-development-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inclusion</a> by selecting both male candidates,” rues Acharya.It is Deuba’s NC that is bearing the brunt of the brewing dissent. Coalition leaders met on Wednesday and took a tough line, saying that if their rebels did not withdraw their candidacies, they would be subject to disciplinary action. A statement after the meeting read: ‘Concerned Parties will take necessary action to withdraw the candidature registered by the party members within the alliance as independents.’Even in Deuba’s home district of Dadeldhura, the party has ousted its local leader Karna Bahadur Malla for forming an alliance with the opposition UML. Senior NC leader Shekhar Koirala and others who have all along been against the 5-party electoral alliance are livid about Deuba appeasing the Communists in the coalition, in ticket distribution, and eliminating opponents in his own party.“This is a conspiracy to commit political assassination of loyal members of the Congress,” Koirala said in a statement.For Deuba, the foremost priority is to keep the governing alliance intact, even it means sacrificing constituencies like Pokhara, Bharatpur or Dadeldhura.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-politics-is-local/">All politics is local</a>, Sahina Shrestha

Coalition collision

Hiding their head in the sand

The daily 10-hour curfew at Tribhuvan International Airport from 8 November that will last five months has affected tourism during Nepal’s peak season, with some hotels and trekking agencies here reporting cancellations into spring next year. The reduced hours at Nepal’s main aviation gateway till 31 March means that a third of all flights have been cut. This has also caused ticket prices to surge by up to eight times of normal fares. For example a Kathmandu-Delhi ticket that used to cost Rs12,000 is now listed at Rs50,000, and even then seats are not available.&nbsp; “Especially if they are here to trek, change in flight dates can cause tourists to miss their connections,” says Jagan Timilsina, who runs a trail running and outdoor education business. &nbsp; Pokhara is feeling the brunt as hotels report last-minute cancellations for November because of flight disorders. Some hoteliers also say although there have been some cancelled trips, most itineraries have been rescheduled.&nbsp; Hari Prasad Sharma Gaire of the local chapter of the Hotel Association of Nepal says the Kathmandu airport closure should have been timed for the off-season. He told us: “Starting construction during the peak tourist season was a mistake and will cause the tourism industry to lose a lot of business. The upgrade could have been spread out over a longer time but closed for fewer hours at night so that disruption was minimal.”&nbsp; Nearly a third of the 1.2 million tourists who visit Nepal annually come to Pokhara, which is also the gateway to Mustang, the Annapurna treks and pilgrimage tourism to Muktinath. Located by scenic lakes with a range of adventure sports like hot air ballooning, paragliding, canyoning, bungee and ziplines, Pokhara is also popular among diaspora Nepalis. “Besides its own attractions, Pokhara is really the hub for central Nepal, and we have been trying to get visitors to extend their stay here,” says Timilsina, who started out as a trekking porter and rose up the ranks to be an expedition guide and entrepreneur. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024111603114_0e071ce63ea9b0a9a7ee76f8c3cea0ff08c6767c41dd09f6bc4413d2db067a60.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024111603114_0e071ce63ea9b0a9a7ee76f8c3cea0ff08c6767c41dd09f6bc4413d2db067a60" data-rendition-name="original" width="3500" height="2333" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara's tourism woes NT"> <figcaption>Tourist arrivals in Pokhara have slumped since the disruptions at Kathmandu airport due to upgrading work. Photo: KRISHNA MANI BARAL/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Even without the Kathmandu airport closure affecting tourist arrivals, Pokhara was already suffering from a decline due to many factors like the poor state of the Prithvi Highway, the shortage of luxury accommodation for high-end tourists, and the reluctance of international airlines to start direct flights to Pokhara despite an expensive new airport that was inaugurated two years ago.&nbsp; “There was a lot of initial excitement on the construction of the international airport,” says Timilsina, “but it hasn’t delivered as expected due to politics. People have invested in nearby businesses, and have faced losses.” India has blocked direct flights from its cities to Pokhara because the facility was built by a Chinese company. Although tourists and pilgrims from India hit record levels this year, the poor state of the highways and the Indian bus accident on the highway to Kathmandu in July that killed 27 pilgrims from Maharashtra state dampened arrival figures. Gaire says, “While tourist arrivals to Pokhara are now approaching pre-Covid levels, we haven’t seen the improvement we were expecting. We need a better marketing strategy. What are our embassies abroad doing?”&nbsp; Indeed, Pokhara used to be a favourite destination for Chinese tourists. There was a boom in arrivals from China before Covid, especially after a popular Chinese tv serial was shot on location here. But arrivals from China have not really recovered since the pandemic because of the economic slowdown there. Promoting Pokhara airport to handle direct flights from Chengdu or Kunming could revive Chinese arrivals.&nbsp; Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) has used the Kathmandu airport closure as an excuse to arm-twist international airlines to start flying to Bhairawa, which has barely been in operation for two years since it was inaugurated. So far, Fly Dubai, Thai AirAsia, Jazeera and Qatar are flying to Bhairawa, but most use it as a hop before flying on to Kathmandu, which does not reduce congestion at Kathmandu.&nbsp; An ideal situation could have been to get Pokhara to run to full capacity while Kathmandu is partially out of action. Pokhara entrepreneurs are puzzled why the CAAN and the national government have not taken more interest in promoting Pokhara as an alternative to reduce the congestion in Kathmandu. Nepal’s football team that was flying to Dushanbe this week couldn’t get tickets via Delhi, and took a domestic flight to Bhadrapur, crossed over to Bagdogra and flew on to Delhi to catch their flight to Tajikistan.

Pokhara’s tourism woes

An excerpt of a conversation between an anthropologist and linguist Mark Turin, PhD and Lava Deo Awasthi, PhD, the first Chairperson of the Language Commission of Nepal. Nepali Times: What is the role of Nepal’s Language Commission and when was it formed? Lava Deo Awasthi: The Constitution of Nepal (2015) created a Language Commission (LC) with the following four core mandates: (a) to develop eligibility criteria for gaining status as an official language and offer recommendations to the Government of Nepal about the official language(s) in each province; (b) to offer recommendations to the Government about measures to be taken for the conservation, promotion, and development of languages; (c) to suggest possible ways of using mother tongues in education by assessing their stage of development; and, (d) to conduct studies, carry out research and perform monitoring functions about the response to the constitutional provisions for the federalisation of languages in Nepal. The Commission was founded in 2016 and I was appointed as the Chairperson of the Commission in September of the same year by the Cabinet of Ministers. What in your own professional and educational background helped to prepare you for the role? I have worked with the Government of Nepal for about 30 years, alongside holding teaching appointments at universities in Nepal. Prior to assuming the role of the Chairperson of the Commission, I served as permanent Secretary to the Government of Nepal and worked as the Chief Administrator of the Central Development Region. I was appointed as Director General of the Department of Education and completed my assignments as Joint Secretary at the Planning, Monitoring and Educational Administration Divisions of the Ministry of Education.&nbsp; In addition, I have taught courses as a visiting professor at Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University for more than three decades. Later, I also started supervising MPhil and PhD students at the Far Western University in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur. My PhD project from the Danish University of Education was dedicated to making sense of Nepal’s social construct and commitment to multilingualism, exploring the persistence of monolingual school practices in the face of constitutional promises and state commitments to multilingualism. I conducted a survey of Nepal’s languages and carried out a qualitative study of the Tharu language in the district of Bardia. I analysed language policy statements and explored classroom pedagogies in schools. I documented how teachers showed a tendency to resist change and maintain the status quo because they were not consulted when new educational language policies were introduced. Teachers also exhibited a deeply-held adherence to the Gurukul education system which appears to have been harnessed as a way to resist newer pedagogical ideologies imported from the West. Recognising how engrained these rich traditions of knowledge transmission are, I wanted to know how students’ engagement in the learning process appeared to have dwindled, creating a gap between children’s home languages and the language(s) of the school. Whilst statutory provisions for education in the mother tongue were oriented towards promotion, classroom pedagogies remained resolutely monolingual and exclusionary. The result was that multilingual education policies that had been introduced in Nepal did not result in meaningful changes in classroom practices. My research was also a reflection of childhood traumas I had experienced at the earliest stage of formal education. My home language, Baitadeli, has a strong oral tradition and no written literature. English is my fifth language in terms of exposure and competence, and my home district of Baitadi is well-known for its loyalty to the local language. I had to drop out of school after completing my sixth grade. Staying at home, I received much attention from my family and had much greater exposure to my native language, culture and environment. My overall impression is that dropping out of school had a surprisingly positive impact on my life. The opportunity offered a surprising dividend for me as I gained mastery in my mother tongue and received extensive exposure to folk literature and Indigenous knowledge and survival skills, cultivating my interest in language, culture, literature and local cosmologies.&nbsp; Now that I reflect on it, I appreciate how language has always played a key role in my life. I grew up in a multilingual environment: brought up with Baitadeli, Hindi, Sanskrit, Nepali and English. Language played a major part in my decision to leave school and my later success is closely linked to my competence in several languages. It was rewarding to be at home with my family as I deepened my understanding of native language and culture, which in turn helped me to harness and refine my art of living. Languages matter so much to me because they are both software and hardware. Later, when I was in secondary school, I realised that my command of my home language contributed significantly to enhancing my Nepali and English. I used my mother tongue as a form of linguistic capital to strengthen my competence in both English and Nepali.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024111811110_5400ba54792bf9e4854e1c1effde8bf09804e99647f23513700b450cc49adc4a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024111811110_5400ba54792bf9e4854e1c1effde8bf09804e99647f23513700b450cc49adc4a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Dr Lava Deo Awasthi"> </figure>  In your term as the Commission’s first Chairperson, what were your strategic goals and objectives? My first strategic goal was to create an environment conducive to implementing the provisions of the Constitution of Nepal in relation to language. My priority was to prepare a detailed action plan for my six-year tenure in consultation with language stakeholders, including language experts, professionals, activists, Indigenous community members and representatives of relevant national and local-level institutions. The Commission formed a body of high-level advisors to ensure that the Chairperson’s work was well-informed and credible. The advisors to the committee had highly visible professional and social reputations in Nepal and had much experience in the field of language conservation, promotion, research and development. Another strategy we adopted was to establish close institutional linkages with federal, provincial, and local level governments for collecting opinions and disseminating information widely.&nbsp; What critical issues did you have to consider while discharging your duty? When Nepal’s new Constitution was drafted, a number of concerns could not be adequately addressed. These related to the conservation of languages, the recognition of official languages at the provincial level, and the use of mother tongues at federal, provincial, and local levels. These unresolved issues and matters pertaining to the federalizsation of Nepal’s languages were passed on to the Language Commission to address and resolve.&nbsp; Regarding the recommendations for official languages, a five-year timeline had been set by the Constitution. With great effort, we succeeded in having all provinces agree to recognise their official languages as per the recommendations of the Commission.&nbsp; What were your greatest achievements during your term? One of the greatest achievements was that we succeeded in setting a language agenda at all levels. Nepal’s language communities and other stakeholders expressed the view that this was the first time their languages were recognised and their voices heard by the state. People participated in debates and discussed issues relating to language that in all likelihood had never before happened in their lifetimes, at least not in ways that were supported by the state. We encouraged people to speak in their own language(s) and provided translators during plenary sessions and group discussions. Another major achievement was developing criteria for the status planning of languages at federal, provincial, and local levels, and to recommend 11 province-level official languages, in addition to the Nepali language. Similarly, a notable achievement was recognising Indigenous languages spoken by smaller communities, all of whom faced ongoing marginalisation and high levels of endangerment. The Commission identified 9 new languages that had not been reported in the 2011 census, and provided a framework for recognising official languages within a municipality. The commission emphasised the need for documentation and digitisation of languages for developing corpora and archives at national and sub-national levels.&nbsp; Languages of historical importance as well as classical languages were given recognition for their protection, growth, and development. Recommendations were made for the conservation, promotion and development of Nepal’s marginalised languages that are threatened by majority languages and for those languages that hold particular power at local and global levels. Recommendations were also made for how best to safeguard Nepal’s languages from the ever-growing spread of English and other powerful, globalising languages.&nbsp; A further important aspect of the Commission’s work was to emphasise mother tongue medium instruction in schools across the nation. Recognising the role of language in children’s cognitive, socio-emotional and academic development, the Commission suggested strategies for linking schools with ward-level language clusters for use in the classroom. The importance of nurturing and respecting a child’s first language was reiterated in the Commission’s recommendations for children’s learning and all-round development. By the end of my term, a remarkable change could be observed in terms of building trust within and across Nepal’s diverse language communities. A network of language groups and stakeholders across the country proved to be a powerful way of bringing all language communities under one roof for a collective review of and response to the process of federalising language policy. The many language stakeholders across Nepal appreciated the opportunity to work within a coordinated framework, and—feeling empowered by this—seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the initiatives taken by the Commission.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024111811114_b45297fdd2fedf17bdb6313e495a1062c0d87f1a19fa5349f871f220b75f93ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024111811114_b45297fdd2fedf17bdb6313e495a1062c0d87f1a19fa5349f871f220b75f93ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dr Lava Deo Awasthi NT"> </figure>  What were the most significant challenges for you as Chairperson? One of the major challenges was winning people’s trust in advocating for the mission of the Language Commission. I faced considerable resistance as I sought to emphasise the use of native languages in families and communities. While the Commission advocated for multilingualism and promoted linguistic diversity, the prevailing policy circles and central level institutions had been deeply influenced by a one-language discourse and ideology of Nepali only. The spread of English also poses a huge threat to Nepal’s languages. However, people in power do not seem to see this as a problem. They tend to abandon their own languages in preference for English. The way that Nepal’s municipalities are increasingly introducing English as a medium of instruction at the earliest stage of a child’s school-based education has proven to be detrimental to their cognitive development, socio-emotional wellbeing and academic success. Most of Nepal’s elites have been heavily influenced by the spread of English and remain unaware about its impact on their home languages as well as on the inter-generational transmission of Indigenous languages in the country. I wish that we could have produced more compelling evidence to show the consequences of making poor policy choices for our children’s education. Demystification calls for a collective response. To make change happen across this entire, complex and federalising country was daunting work and left like a race against time. I feel that I could have done more to offer concrete examples in favour of using the mother tongue as a medium of children’s education at the earliest stages of a child’s education. What do you see the Language Commission achieving in the next 5-10 years? The Language Commission will have to ensure that all of its key recommendations are implemented at all levels of government. In 10 years’ time, all seven of Nepal’s provinces will have their official languages in place. These languages will also be recognised as languages of federal business, alongside Nepali. I anticipate that all official languages in the federal and provincial systems will have a national portal for inter-language corpora using machine translation to fulfil their federal, provincial and local level language functions, and that all languages spoken in Nepal will be represented through a digital database in the national archive. The Office of Statistics will monitor the status of Nepal’s languages over time. By the end of the next decade, each municipality in the country will have recognised one or two official languages at the local level, based on speech populations. Other local languages will have received community-level legal recognition and official status to fulfil their functional roles. Languages that are highly endangered or at risk will be entitled to receive state grants for enhancing local level capabilities to encourage families and young learners to speak the language. Incentive schemes will be introduced in municipalities that promote language within the family and at home. Inter-generational transmission of languages will have received welcome and timely attention across Nepal. It is my hope that all schools—public and private—will have introduced mother tongue medium instruction at the earliest stage of school education, at least up to class five. Nepali, English and other national as well as classical and foreign languages will be taught as subjects. The existing policy of English medium education at the early stage of education will be abolished. The Government of Nepal will be held accountable if the number of speakers of any language decreases or if local communities face language loss and greater endangerment. Under the aegis of the Language Commission, a Centre for Language Research and Innovation will be created with world-class facilities for language documentation and archiving in collaboration with Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of Linguistics and other relevant institutions. Harnessing the vastness of Nepal’s linguistic diversity, the Language Commission will morph into a centre of excellence for national and international communities to engage in collaborative language research, to share experiences and document best practices at in service of global linguistic diversity and Nepal’s many Indigenous languages.

Languages are both software and hardware

Nearly 750,000 Nepalis went abroad for employment in the past year, and more than 100,000 left on student visas. Most of them were young Nepali men and women, and the number has been increasing every year. As with other sections of society, Nepal’s security agencies also face a recruitment crisis. Nepal Police opened recruitment for 64 inspectors in September, and received 2,239 applications, compared to 2,718 candidates last year. Police also invited candidates for 256 assistant sub-inspectors this year for which it received 17,756 applications – down from 19,932 last year. It is the same story in the Nepal Army, the number of applicants for the post of Officer Cadet (Second Lieutenant) went down from 6,144 for 400 open seats in 2019 to 4,390 in 2020. Meanwhile, applicants in the paramilitary Armed Police Force went down from 857 applications for 75 posts in 2021 to 536 applicants for 99 posts last year. While the number of applicants appears higher than the demand, the data shows a significant decrease in applications for vacancies in Nepal’s law enforcement agencies. Security personnel are recruited on the basis of rank and age in Nepal, and the age cutoff for entry into Nepal’s security agencies is typically 25 years. Sociologist and migration expert Ganesh Gurung says that the demographic of young, physically fit Nepalis emigrating abroad in search of better opportunities has impacted recruitment into law enforcement and the military here at home. “The returns from working in Nepal’s police and army are minimal, whereas overseas job opportunities are more attractive,” Gurung says. “The work may be physically demanding abroad, but the pay is a lot higher.”  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241116041148_a7e477e0ee2f56acf16c2559fdb24d8f0377f7bc1f9e56138bc40108fc4fa33f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241116041148_a7e477e0ee2f56acf16c2559fdb24d8f0377f7bc1f9e56138bc40108fc4fa33f" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="534" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal Police"><figcaption>Nepal Police</figcaption></figure>  Nepal Police spokesperson DIG Dan Bahadur Karki agrees that the physical and mental demands of a law enforcement job is incomparable to the income that security personnel earn. “A young Nepali who works in Dubai earns enough to build a home in the village within four years, while a Nepali with the same qualifications and physical ability in a security agency here barely makes enough to survive,” says Karki. “Obviously the youth prefer foreign employment.” Security agencies are now worried about the quality of inducted manpower. “There is a difference in work ethic between an applicant chosen from a competitive pool of 50 candidates versus one chosen from a pool of three candidates,” explains Gurung. “Unmotivated employees hamper the overall performance of the state apparatus.” Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Gaurab Kumar KC says recruitment has not been hampered by outmigration: “We have still been getting more than three times the applicants than there are open posts, so we are not yet worried.” Even so, the passing rates of aspirants have gone down for security forces after the Public Service Commission began examinations for military recruitment in 2015. In fact, the Nepal Army complained about the Commission’s involvement in recruitment. Still, the number of vacant military posts tends to exceed the number of passing candidates. Nepal Army’s KC says that the military will not compromise on intake criteria even if there are fewer passing applicants. “Unqualified persons will not be admitted even if there are less-than-required passing candidates. We will re-advertise if that is the case.” But Nepal’s security forces now also have to worry about retention of existing personnel. About 900 Nepal Army, 600 Nepal Police, and 300 Armed police personnel resign every year before the completion of their tenure.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241116041148_b8cd62f70eea3aac7d3d3778615a5b70b1e20550c9bd76321f051f9c766fd2a9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241116041148_b8cd62f70eea3aac7d3d3778615a5b70b1e20550c9bd76321f051f9c766fd2a9" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="378" loading="lazy" alt="Armed police forces"><figcaption>Armed Police Force</figcaption></figure>  In 2020, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa recalled almost 1,000 police personnel who had been deployed for the security of VIPs after long-standing criticism that security forces were being misused to cater to political and bureaucratic leadership. However, security personnel have continued to be assigned to high-ranking officials as glorified housekeepers. In December 2022, Rabi Lamichhane’s Home Ministry had instructed its offices to recall unauthorised security personnel assigned to high-ranking officials, following which 500 officers from Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were withdrawn from their details. But the Nepal Army does not have to follow such rules, and the practice of army personnel serving high-ranking active-duty and retired military personnel remains. Conditions here are dire enough that many active duty officers in Nepal’s military and police forces have chosen to leave their jobs to serve in the Russian Army to fight in the Ukraine war. The hierarchical culture and chain of command of politics, bureaucracy, law enforcement and military has also meant that abuse and mistreatment of subordinates is rife in Nepal’s security forces. “Feudalism is alive and well within our security institutions,” says Gurung. “When soldiers and security forces who swore to protect and serve the nation are made to be at the beck and call of politicians and bureaucrats, it is easy to understand why they are disillusioned with their jobs and why they choose to quit and find jobs abroad.”

Job insecurity in security forces

Earlier this month, Nepal received Rs1.6 billion from the World Bank as part of its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/will-nepal-ever-be-paid-for-saving-trees">Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)</a>, rewarding the country for increasing its carbon sink capacity. Nepal is the first in South Asia to benefit from this facility, and it is specifically to recompense the country for increasing forest cover in 13 Tarai districts between 2018-2024. “We are also trying to get another Rs13 billion from the facility while also preparing for free market-based carbon trading in the international market,” says Nabaraj Pudasaini of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) Implementation Centre. Big emitters of greenhouse gases are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, and many have signed agreements to do so by investing in decarbonisation projects in developing countries. Countries that emit more than a specified amount of carbon would be able to buy emission rights from countries that emit less. Nepal is internationally known for its community forestry program which has been largely credited for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">increasing tree cover to over 45%</a> in less than three decades. But this achievement had not been adequately recognised or rewarded internationally before. Forests, especially in the tropics, absorb and store large amounts of carbon while releasing oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. <a href="https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/">Preventing deforestation</a> and increasing canopy cover is considered a much more achievable goal than reducing emission in the scale necessary to limit global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. COP11 in Montreal in 2005 first proposed reducing carbon emissions by improving forest quality by halting degradation. By 2015, a new mechanism of financial assistance was created to help less developed countries with sustainable management of forests <a href="https://www.un-redd.org/">(called REDD+)</a>. Under this new mechanism, countries receive aid based on their efforts to prevent forest degradation and increase carbon sink, and in 2021 the World Bank was entrusted with implementing it. Nepal’s FCPF receipt this month was calculated on the basis of 2.4 million tons of carbon stored at a rate of $5 per ton. In the second phase, Nepal will receive more than Rs4 billion within the next year for storing an additional 7 million tons of carbon. Eighty per cent of this amount obtained from carbon trading needs to be spent on local beneficiaries and indigenous communities.&nbsp; But carbon trading is not easy, Nepal needs to prove that protected forests will not be destroyed in future.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="Greenbacks for greenery NT "> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Explains carbon trading expert Yugan Manandhar. “Forests should be handed over to the community and shown that they are managed sustainably. Proving this will be particularly challenging; forest encroachment and degradation is rife in the Tarai.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke">Deliberate forest fires</a> have also added to the challenge because they increase carbon emissions and reduce the sink capacity of forests. The basis for the amount that Nepal received was set five years ago by calculating the carbon reserves of forests in the 13 Tarai districts. In the meantime, sustainable forest management, tree plantation, forest destruction and erosion control were prioritised to increase carbon reserves in those forests. Nepal is signing another carbon trading agreement during the ongoing Baku climate conference. The <a href="https://www.leafcoalition.org/">Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF Coalition) </a>proposes to sell the carbon stored in the forests of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. For this, Nepal signed the letter of intent three years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. The target is to store 70 million tons of carbon in 32 million hectares of forest in the three provinces per which Nepal will receive Rs13 billion in four years at $10 per ton with provisions to increase the rate if various conditions are met. However, the agreement in itself doesn’t guarantee the amount. According to the targets set by Nepal, forest degradation should be stopped and carbon reserves increased by protecting tree cover. Preparations are also underway for clean air carbon trade because it has offset fossil fuel use by introducing 30,000 electric vehicles. Nepal has been selected for the first round to receive $40 million within one and a half years through the Clean Air System of the World Bank. Given that most of Nepal’s energy mix is from biomass, replacing them with electric stoves can significantly improve health by reducing indoor pollution as well as strengthen the country’s capacity for carbon trade. “Nepal's goal now is to sell carbon in the free market where carbon credits are bought and sold based on supply and demand in an open and transparent manner,” adds Pudasaini of the REDD Implementation Centre. “Nepal can now set its own price and bargain with interested buyer countries and organisations.” Lately, India has been discussing setting up a carbon market. Nepal has exported Rs12.72 billion worth of electricity to India so far this fiscal year, which can be traded under Nepal’s carbon market. “Carbon trading can create significant economic benefits for Nepal, which will help reinvest in development and environmental protection projects,” says Manandhar. “But we must prioritise sustainable management of forests, cutting older trees and allowing regrowth as well as promoting electric stoves and electric vehicles.”