Kathmandu Valley, once known for its bumper harvests of rice, has seen declining production because urban expansion is devouring once fertile rice fields.&nbsp; There are still some terraces on the outskirts of the city that have rice fields, but even these are threatened by new settlements. The same is true of Pokhara Valley, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/pokhara-tries-to-save-its-famous-paddy" target="_blank">home to Pokhreli, Jetha Buda</a> and other brands of indigenous rice. The middle of Asar is time for rice planting, and 29 June was the supposed to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/not-so-soon-monsoon/" target="_blank">National Paddy Plantation Day</a>. It is a festival not just for transplanting paddy seedlings on water-logged fields, but also for jubiliation and merrymaking. This year, there was not much to celebrate on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-celebrates-paddy-planting-day/" target="_blank">Paddy Planting Day</a>. Only 10% of farms across Nepal have transplanted paddy seedlings, whereas the normal figure for end-June is double that.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630100624_89fa0f1ab01aa249120c080bda65230d98bfd9799adf6f066b16c56cc1bae611.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240630100624_89fa0f1ab01aa249120c080bda65230d98bfd9799adf6f066b16c56cc1bae611" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Rice plantation Nepal"> <figcaption>An excavator makes way for land plotting even as a child prepares to plant rice saplings in Bhaktapur's Sipadol this week. </figcaption> </figure>  The monsoon has been starting weeks later than its usual arrival in Nepal in mid-June, which many experts <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-hits-himalayan-rice" target="_blank">blame on climate breakdown</a>. This year, the rains actually arrived a week early in the aftermath of Cyclone Remal, and unleashed floods and landslides in eastern Nepal in mid-June, while the western half of the country was enduring a prolonged drought. The clouds did advance up to central Nepal, but the rains fizzled out. When the monsoon did arrive in Kathmandu Valley on 27 June, it had been too little too late. Kathmandu Valley usually received 250mm of rain in June, this year the figure so far has been only 125mm. The chronic lack of subsidised fertiliser during the planting season due to an inefficient government procurement and delivery mechanism also meant that many farmers were not ready to transplant paddy even if the rains came. Rice is grown in Kathmandu and other mountaion valleys, in the Tarai and up to 3,200m in Jumla, which is famous for its nutritious <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/himalayan-red-rice-is-red-hot" target="_blank">red Marasi rice</a>.&nbsp; The Tarai is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-rice-economy" target="_blank">Nepal’s rice basket</a>, producing most of its paddy. Although the plains cover 15% of Nepal’s area, 53% of the population lives there. Here too, settlements along highways and major intersections are eating into rice fields.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630100632_051ccb4df85ee10f1f44fc67a32b3d6666bf438c00b9f5a51ef2df5fab5a0b01.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240630100632_051ccb4df85ee10f1f44fc67a32b3d6666bf438c00b9f5a51ef2df5fab5a0b01" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Rice planttion in Nepal"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's unrestrained growth as seen from Halchok in 2020.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630100632_68dff2295cf039e50ad743ece4bb1473fd55e9c36e571f92259a882a073b558e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240630100632_68dff2295cf039e50ad743ece4bb1473fd55e9c36e571f92259a882a073b558e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Rice production in nepal"> <figcaption>In this photo from 2021, hills in the outskits of Kathmandu Valley have been cleared for land development. </figcaption> </figure>  So far this year, rice planting has started in only 3% of the area of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/grain-drain" target="_blank">Madhes Province</a> because of the delayed rains and a prolonged heatwave. The province produces a quarter of Nepal’s rice in a normal year. The western Tarai has been particularly badly hit by a heatwave that lasted into June with daytime temperatures soaring to 45°Celsius and staying there. Rainfed farms have not planted rice, and those that used to pump water from tubewells have not been able to do so because of a falling watertable.&nbsp; Outmigration from rural areas and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/agroecology-nepal-s-answer-to-climate-change" target="_blank">falling rice production</a> has become a chicken-or-egg story: is rice production falling because people are turning away from farming, or is declining paddy production driving people away from agriculture? The annual Rice Day has therefore become not a time for celebration, but a reminder of how much <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/are-nepalis-really-eating-more-rice/" target="_blank">Nepal is more dependent on the import</a> of rice than before. Nepal spent Rs35 billion last year to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-agro-imports-at-all-time-high/" target="_blank">import rice and paddy</a>, which was a slight decline from the previous year, but is still more than all its exports. Nepalis are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/are-nepalis-really-eating-more-rice" target="_blank">eating more rice</a> than ever before as people turn away from traditional grains like millet and buckwheat, and because of a falling poverty rate as well as the spread of the road network.&nbsp; Still, the country’s population growth rate is outpacing increase in rice harvests. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-price-of-rice" target="_blank">Rice productivity</a> has hit an all-time high of 3.8 tons/hectare with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nepal,2378" target="_blank">irrigation and mechanisation</a>, but total production is not increasing as much because of a decrease in area under rice cultivation. Nepal once used to be a rice exporting country. If current trends continue, Nepal will be spending nearly everything it earns from remittances in importing petroleum products and rice.

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Pouring concrete on rice fields

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5fc9c7e80680e07bc36jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>It is nothing new that Nepal’s farmers this year faced an acute fertiliser shortage. That there were kickbacks involved is also not a revelation. This will not be the first time there is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-rise-of-rice-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paddy production shortfall</a> because of the lack of fertiliser.More importantly, it is bound to happen again next year because there is no political will to tackle the root of the problem --  collusion between government officials and their cronies to siphon the allocated budget and profit from payoffs.This year, the companies hired to import fertiliser, Shailung Enterprises and Honiko Multiple, defaulted on their contracts, citing the lockdown as an excuse. That the powerful owner of one of these companies is the landlord of NCP chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has not gone unnoticed.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-rise-of-rice-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rise of rice in Nepal</a>, Krishna Dev Joshi and Santosh Upadhyay<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-agro-imports-at-all-time-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal agro imports all time high</a>, Ramesh KumarLast week, the Patan High Court stayed an order by the government’s Agriculture Inputs Company Limited (AICL) to confiscate the Rs50 million deposit of Shailung and Honiko for failing to supply imported urea in time.Despite a healthy monsoon this year, Nepal’s rice production is not expected to rise because the consignment of chemical fertiliser did not arrive at the start of the paddy season. India has frozen export of fertiliser, and Prime Minister K P Oli made an SOS call to Bangladesh Presient Sheikh Hasina on 1 September to “loan” Nepal 50,000 tons of fertiliser.By the time the fertiliser arrives, the rice will be ready for harvest. Besides, Nepal’s annual fertiliser demand is up to 800,000 tons. Failure to apply urea layering on time worried farmers across the country as the transplanted paddy fields did not receive required nutrients.Critics say the lockdown is not an excuse. Because after March, the government made no visible effort to have the consignment released from Kolkata’s customs warehouse, did not have adequate buffer stock, and failed to line up alternative sources in time for paddy transplanting in late June. Farmers therefore crowded fertiliser distribution centres for the limited supplies available, risking Covid-19 infection.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Back to the future of farming</a>, EditorialDespite lofty promises made by the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) to aim for agriculture self-sufficiency, the fertiliser scandal tells a different story. Nepal’s chemical fertiliser output is negligible, leaving it completely reliant on imports, mostly from India.The government’s singular focus on chemical fertiliser also means that alternatives with organic nutrients have been side-lined (see box, below). Farmers are trapped because they have abandoned traditional seeds for imported hybrids which require chemical inputs to yield optimum harvest.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pandemic-offers-chance-to-revive-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Covid-19 crisis</a> has exposed this alarming reliance on imported chemical fertiliser, and Nepal’s inability to manufacture its own. This week, a Parliament committee instructed the government to set up plants to make Nepal self-sufficient in urea.However, feasibility studies carried out by the Investment Board Nepal with Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka (IDECK) show that Nepal’s domestic demand does not have the economy of scale to produce fertiliser.  A third-party evaluation of the IDECK report led by Dil Bahadur Gurung calculated that it would cost upwards of Rs72 billion to set up even a small fertiliser factory.“The reliance on natural gas piped from India or Bangladesh to these factories would add to the cost, and it would be viable only if it could produce up to 2 million tons of fertiliser a year,” says Gurung. However, talks with Bangladesh and China regarding natural gas pipelines broke down, while a proposed pipeline from Gorakhpur in India has been sidelined due to frosty bilateral relations.Using electricity to fix nitrogen from the air will be even costlier, with estimates to set up such factories tagged at upwards of Rs144 billion. It would need a new hydropower plant dedicated just to supply the fertiliser factory.“Such electricity-powered fertiliser factories are only found in some countries and are not understood to be cost-effective,” Gurung explained.The small amount of domestically-produced chemical fertiliser is 25% costlier than the imported product, and India’s planned construction of a urea plant at Gorakhpur with an annual output of 800,000 tons would not make it viable for Nepal to even export its surplus fertiliser.The chronic shortage of fertiliser in Nepal is due to a government duopoly controlled by the parastatals Salt Trading Limited and Agricultural Inputs Company Limited (AICL) with an import ratio of 30:70 of the total stock. With the freeze in Indian imports, AICL is now inviting bids for the transport of the chemical fertiliser on loan from Bangladesh. Nepal’s market is also diluted by smuggled fertiliser and informal imports through the open border.Former secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Uttam Kumar Bhattarai says the surest way to prevent a fertiliser crisis in the coming years is to stockpile it so that it can meet demand during times of shortage and until Nepal become self-sufficient.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&amp;v=yOc1AmgWreM&amp;feature=emb_logoWhy not go organic?The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) government has often proclaimed its commitment to organic agriculture. But it is just rhetoric, the government has made no policies to favour organic fertiliser and regulation of pesticides. In fact, it continues to subsidise imported chemical fertiliser to the tune of Rs11 billion this fiscal year.Farmers who use high-yield hybrid seeds are dependent on chemical fertiliser for higher yield and the subsidy. Many say organic fertiliser would not give the same yield.This is disputed by organic fertiliser manufacturers like Gandaki Urja in Pokhara, which say the right kind of organic fertiliser and nitrogen-fixation intercropping can improve paddy yield.With its daily production of up to 5 tons, Gandaki Urja is the largest producer of organic fertiliser in the country. Its founder Kushal Gurung says the government subsidy has made organic fertiliser less attractive to farmers.“Even when the market faces a severe shortage, demand for our fertiliser has not changed,” says Gurung. “Organic fertiliser remains limited to rooftop farming and gardening because the government has made agro-chemicals cheaper.”Despite the subsidies, cartelling, middlemen and customs charges cause a sharp markup in price to Rs1,500 per kg of chemical urea. Gandaki Urja sells directly to farmers at a uniform price of Rs30 per kg, yet it struggles for a foothold in the market.Gurung says government subsidy has “ruined the habit” of farmers, driving them away from organic products even during this crisis. Meanwhile, Gandaki Urja’s stockpile has grown to 200 tons after failing to find buyers, and has even been forced to scale down on production despite the fertiliser demand.Another entrepreneur Sitaram Pahadi has invested Rs5 million to set up a plant to make organic fertiliser from animal waste in Sindhuli district. The raw waste is collected from many Tarai districts and goes to collection pits where it stays for 30 days until ready. All of Sitaram's activities have been people-run, with no real assistance from any governing body.Kushal Gurung says the government could have easily bought up the stock of organic fertiliser and distributed it to farmers to meet the shortfall. That would have cost only Rs300 million – a fraction of what the government is spending on chemical fertiliser import this year.He adds: “Organic fertiliser has long-term environmental benefits as it increases the fertility and productivity of soil, while harvests are healthy and safe to consume. Organic fertiliser also encourages local production and consumption.”Pahadi agrees that organic fertiliser would be cheaper, reduce Nepal’s import bill and bring financial and ecological benefits to farmers. He adds: “There are no specialized skills to learn when making organic fertiliser, so realistically anyone can work”.

Corruption and Nepal’s chronic fertiliser crisis

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21c19c7e80680e041756jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Ratna Rani Newar does not know how much longer she can keep her vegetable farm in Thimi. Photos: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption></figure>Ratna Rani Newar grew up helping her grandparents grow vegetables in the fertile farms <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8688#.XC8OkdIza70">around Thimi</a>. Today, she is afraid her livelihood passed down through generations will be taken away.Kathmandu Valley civilisation was built on the agriculture that thrived in the alluvium of the former lakebed. But as the city expanded, the farms were steadily taken over by houses. Now, the last remaining tracts of what were once Thimi’s famous vegetable farms are also being filled over with concrete.“I have been growing vegetables in Thimi ever since I learnt to walk, but these days people don’t care about farming, they just want property to build houses,” said Newar, who is a single mother of four daughters. Her husband left her because she didn’t have a son.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21c49c7e80680e041757jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="999" height="1500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Newar’s daughters, like most of the educated younger generation of Kathmandu’s agricultural families, do not want to work in farm. But they do visit their mother every Saturday, and help sell her cauliflowers and spinach in the local market.<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/back-to-the-land">This type of farming</a> is one of the last of its kind in Kathmandu Valley: traditional, organic and hand-grown with no help from machinery. In a couple of years farmers carrying fresh vegetables in woven baskets down the streets of Bhaktapur, calling out to customers will be a rare sight.Agronomist Bhola Man Singh Basnet who used to be a scientist at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council says Kathmandu’s farmers had developed a very successful cycle using <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/organic-basnet-gundu-kheti-bazaar,2520">crop rotation</a> to replenish the nutrients in the  soil, and keep the land fertile.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21c79c7e80680e041758jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="999"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“People from all over the world noticed our techniques and productivity,” he says, “but farming is becoming obsolete.”Nepali farmers used a special technique to grow vegetables in tiny parcels of land to sustain their families. It fertilised the soil with organic black soil and cow manure, giving the Valley’s vegetables an amazing taste full on nutrients.But, Basnet says, “Land for farming is decreasing as the population increases, so new techniques are needed to meet food needs. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/heavy-pesticide-use-and-low-consumer-awareness-affecting-public-health,1394">Chemical fertilisers</a> and green houses are being used, but the quality of these vegetables is not the same ... quality is not even considered important.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21cc9c7e80680e041759jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="999"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Basnet says the trend of building on prime agricultural land that started in Kathmandu is now spreading to other urban areas of Nepal, and younger educated people from farming families would rather work in salaried jobs.Babu Krishna is another Thimi farmer, whose children live in Australia. He says: “Farming has been in my family for generations, I have farmed all my life, but now the fields are replaced by houses. I think my generation is the last in my family that will farm.”<h2>The smart people of Piple</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21cf9c7e80680e04175ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125">A Chitwan village has banned new construction in agricultural land Mukesh Pokhrel in ChitwanTwo years ago Mong Tamang sold 1.5 hectares of his farm. When the new owner built a road along the land to turn it into a new housing colony, local farmers were up in arms, and prevented it.Dhab Thapaliya sold half a hectare of his land to Kathmandu-based businessmen three years ago. But villagers again prevented houses being constructed, and Thapaliya had to return the advance he was paid.Today, 2,000 out of 3,500 households in Piple raise cattle and grow vegetables, and much of the credit goes to Nabaraj Onta, who returned from Korea after 25 years and put into practice what he learnt there working in a farm. He brought back seeds, and distributed it free among his fellow-villagers.“He has a vital role in encouraging us to take up farming and protect our land,” says Rameshwar Oli of the dairy cooperative in Piple which has a farmers’ savings and loans scheme providing low interest loans to farmers to buy seeds and buffaloes. All loans are paid in time, and the cooperative also has a livestock insurance scheme.Farmers in Piple village of Chitwan say their farms are much more valuable to grow vegetables and and raise livestock than to be converted into real estate, and have united to preserve cultivable land from being bought by developers for housing and factories.Unlike anywhere else in Nepal, they have enforced zoning criteria to classify farmlands and residential areas, and have prohibited buildings anywhere other than in areas along the road."Legally we can't interfere in decisions about private property, but there is an understanding among us to not sell cultivable land," explains Danda Raj Pandey one of the farmers who started the movement.It has been ten years since Piple people have turned to vegetable farming and animal husbandry, and turned their village into a model agricultural settlement.Pandey himself used to buy oranges wholesale in Dhading and Gorkha and sell it at the Kalimati market in Kathmandu. Today he sells vegetables and 15 litres of milk every day from his own village, and does not have to travel away from home for livelihood. He now makes Rs600,000 a year, and with his savings has expanded his farm so he can grow more.Moti Rijal was a daily wage worker until he started farming a small plot of his ancestral property. The farmer made more than Rs100,000 by selling just cabbages, and decided to expand into commercial farming. He has now leased more land from neighbours to grow other vegetable cash crops.Rama Dalakoti also grew beans in her small plot, and her farming is so intensive that in the last season she made Rs400,000 just from selling it in the market. Piple has now overtaken Gitanagar as the dairy capital of Chitwan, and local farmers sold Rs12 million worth of milk and supplied Rs10 million in vegetables to Kathmandu last year.

The vanishing land

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

On Saturday, Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar, a region where there are an estimated 2 million Nepalis working to send money home. In addition, thousands of Nepalis were preparing to board flights to Kathmandu from West Asian cities this weekend to vote in the 5 March election. Many are said to be stranded at various aviation hubs. A Qatar Airways flight from Doha took off just before the air space was closed, while Air Arabia and Kuwait Airways have diverted or cancelled flights. Nepalis in the West Asian region said things were relatively calm where they were, although some heard loud explosions at about noon local time. In Dubai, some thought they were Ramadan fireworks.&nbsp; In Kuwait, nearly 2,000 Nepalis working in the US military base as security guards and cleaners were evacuated before the strikes. In Bahrain where the US Fifth Fleet naval base is located and which was hit by two Iranian missiles, workers contacted by Nepali Times said the situation was under control and the authorities had told everyone to stay indoors and not use highways. The conflict also coincided with the beginning of Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering season, and tourists were either on their way or planning to leave European and North American cities for Himalayan hikes. Most of them transit through Doha, Dubai or Kuwait and all three airports are closed. Turkish Airlines flights via Istanbul are still operating.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97" data-rendition-name="original" width="1864" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Qatar and UAE airspace closed"> <figcaption>Qatar and UAE airspace closed. Credit: Flightradar24</figcaption> </figure>  However, the main impact for the world could be a spike in the price of petroleum products if the strategic Strait of Hormuz is blocked. China relies on Iranian oil for their refineries, and Nepal could be affected indirectly if the economies of its neighbours are hit. Nepal imports all its diesel, petrol, LPG and aviation fuel from India which sources it mainly from the Gulf, and until recently from Russia. Petroleum makes up 25% of the value of all imports, and that is more than Nepal earns from all its exports. Saudi Arabia this year overtook the UAE as the main destination for Nepali workers, with the number now totalling 400,000. There are said to be as many in the UAE, and another 350,000 in Qatar. There are another 100,000 mostly women in Kuwait, and 50,000 each in Oman and Bahrain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="West Asia Iran conflict"> <figcaption>Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar on Saturday.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal receives nearly $11 billion a year in remittances from overseas Nepalis (not counting India) through official channels, although the total is said to be much more. &nbsp;This makes up more than a quarter of Nepal’s GDP equivalent — one of the highest proportions in the world. More than half of the overseas remittances to Nepal comes from its workers in the Gulf, and it is the mainstay of the country’s economy. Nepalis in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE alone send home more than $3 billion a year, much of that helping support their families back home. An average Nepali worker in the Gulf sends home nearly $2,500 a year, and this is spent mainly for household supplies, children’s education and healthcare. There are also an estimated 7,000 Nepali caregivers and healthcare workers in Israel, and most of them are women. The Nepal Embassy has asked Nepalis in Israel to take caution and move to bomb shelters.

West Asia war and Nepalis

Of the nearly 19 million eligible voters in next week’s election in Nepal, an estimated 5 million are abroad and cannot cast their ballots. Many others within Nepal must travel to their home districts, and might decide not to because of the cost.
Flights into Kathmandu these days are full of global Nepalis returning just to vote, but almost as many are leaving for overseas jobs. Most of those coming or going are in the 20-40 age group, and a majority want Nepal to see a change in leadership.
Bangladesh held an election this month in which citizens overseas could vote by mail.&nbsp;
“Bangladesh made maximum use of technology not just for campaigning but also for polling itself. We could have also managed this, so people within Nepal did not have to travel to their home districts to vote,” says Mohna Ansari, former head of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission who was an election observer in Bangladesh.
A 3-day holiday has been declared so people can travel to their home constituencies to cast ballots. Even if there was not enough time to manage ballots for overseas Nepalis, it could have been done for Nepalis within Nepal.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel reckons that physical voting in countries with a large Nepali diaspora would have been a logistical nightmare, but in the PR system, using electronic voting machines or paper ballot could have been piloted in some places. It is not possible to manage the entire voting process until we introduce the internet voting system.
“First of all, there needs to be political will to bring the policy and be ready to undertake that level of investment and it is not a one-time cost,” Pokharel says. “A government formed by the GenZ could have atr least issed an ordinance ensuring this right, piloted out-of-country voting where possible, which could have built pressure for the future Parliament and the government. It would have given people hope. It is a lost opportunity.”
All major political parties called for voting rights for global Nepalis in their manifestos, but these very leaders blocked legislation allowing it despite a 2017 Supreme Court ruling out of fear that it would be anti-incumbent.&nbsp;
<h2>Why so late?</h2>
Bangladesh delivered election results in just one day, but the final results of Nepal's last local polls in 2022 including that of Kathmandu constituencies took nearly a month.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said this week that the results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) ballot counting would “likely” be published within 24 hours of the poll closing at 5PM on 5 March. But many are skeptical.
“I wonder if we lack the capacity or know-how to announce results as quickly as possible,” says Mohna Ansari.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Pokharel says manual ballot paper counting in Nepal is inherently slow because of the large numner of political parties and/or candidates on the ballot, the counting mechanism, the political behaviour of the candidates/parties and some managerial issues during counting.
“Our present policy is to count all the ballot papers at the returning officers' officies, located at the district headquarters. It requires collecting ballot boxes safetly first. This takes time, and there have been cases of ballot boxes being damaged or stolen during transport. In a few highly difficult, geographically remote polling centres, we use a helicopter or transport. But sometimes, accommodating the party and candidates' representatives remains challenging,” explains Pokharel. A solution could be counting ballots at the very booths where they are cast.
Another reason for the delay is simply the number of political parties, and the need for each ballot paper to be examined by booth representatives for consensus. In close races, the smallest difference can lead to tense situations, further delaying results, even though counting centres are protected by metal fencing so there is no disruption.
After this, then it is the turn of Proportional Representation (PR) ballots to be counted. Weeks pass by the time the results of candidates and parties are tallied and verified. But the most common delay is because election officers think ballot counting is a nine-to-five job.&nbsp;
“The efficiency of poll station officers is most important, and they are incentivised for this,” says Ansari, adding that counting can even start within an hour after voting closes.
In remote areas, local resources could be mobilised to make counting quicker, but there is a crisis of trust, adds Ansari.&nbsp;
That could be easily solved with electronic voting which the EC implemented in the 2008 polls but discontinued because political parties felt the machines could be hacked or manipulated.

Nepalis Select Who To Elect

This is the 86th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. <h2>Thinking about the country</h2> Pappu Mahara, Malaysia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_b8bbe881acfbe3eda31f8127bfad743cb672f8777ee145be68b60176bfffda45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260223120244_b8bbe881acfbe3eda31f8127bfad743cb672f8777ee145be68b60176bfffda45" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="2278" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I came to Nepal on vacation and managed to time it around election. In Malaysia where I have been working for over two years, it is all about elections. In our rooms. Online. In fact, the discussions around elections felt more heated in Malaysia than back home in the village here in Mahottari.&nbsp; Even when you find out someone is going to Nepal, Nepalis who are unable to come home ask who we are voting for and remind us to tell everyone to vote for Balen. I gave my colleagues a thumbs up and assured them: only Balen. &nbsp;That is the message we come home with. And that is the reason I pasted Balen even in my suitcase as I came home. I wanted to show the world that those of us who are working hard overseas support him.&nbsp; In the past, my family voted for another party but they failed us. Even to get jobs we qualify for we need connections. Where are the jobs? The factories? Development?&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_5fd78fb1c7aae55b75f687d7e34d362854dc0b7167ee0755766401650fa05fb2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260223120244_5fd78fb1c7aae55b75f687d7e34d362854dc0b7167ee0755766401650fa05fb2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1002" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  Unemployment is high. Costs are rising. It is not just jobs in Nepal, even to get access to good overseas jobs, we need connections now. And money. There is corruption everywhere.&nbsp; Our expectation from the new government is to think beyond only their close networks and personal gain, to think about the country. What is the point of repeating mistakes from the past if those who are going to benefit are the sisters, nieces and nephews of those in power? It is good that some of us got to come home, even one vote can make a difference.&nbsp; Each ballot can create a mountain, that is why we have come home to vote.&nbsp; <h2>Coming home to support my son</h2> Rishiram Khanal कोही छन् विदेशमा, कोही यता शहरमा, जीवन उकास्न भोग्दै कहरै कहरमा। शून्य भयो गाउँघर, मान्छे लाखापाखा हुँदा, जुनकीरीको पिल्पिल् हरायो सुनसान डहरमा। Some are abroad, some here in the city,Enduring hardship just to lift life.Villages empty as people scatter far and wide,Fireflies don't flicker anymore over barren paths. I came home to Nawalpur from Bahrain to support my son, Manish Khanal, who is running in the election as an RSP candidate. I migrated to Bahrain 15 years ago where I work as a security guard. It was for my children’s education and future. That is the story of the majority of us, a compulsion.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_6e0cce852d3b0b1c2d3004952569386674fa5d08cbaa9d77effd1af6ad735dee.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260223120244_6e0cce852d3b0b1c2d3004952569386674fa5d08cbaa9d77effd1af6ad735dee" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1778" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  It would have been better if we did not have to leave our families behind. But we migrate to secure a future for our children. Mine have done well for themselves, they are educated and disciplined. This motivated me to stay on overseas. And now my son’s achievement has further motivated me. From childhood, Manish was a hard-working student who did well throughout his school. He got into politics through Bibeksheel and has now made his way to RSP where he is contesting from Nawalpur. Everyone has their reason for joining politics. My son was drawn to it because the country was deteriorating and corruption is rife. Many youth are leaving. The Gen-Z revolution in which many young lives were lost made him even more committed to run for office. I come home every two years on vacation, but this time it was special when I arrived three days ago. I was overjoyed. Even on the plane, people recognised my son on videos. He is from an ordinary Nepali family, but is getting noticed globally. &nbsp;I had never imagined this reality is possible, such a life-changing opportunity has opened up for him at such a young age. He is the second youngest candidate running for office.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_b5a8fbc1a268445798a573e6f9e837a1ed620d494a2c06492a4a14d790a7a319.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260223120244_b5a8fbc1a268445798a573e6f9e837a1ed620d494a2c06492a4a14d790a7a319" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> <figcaption>Rishiram Khanal (left) with his son Manish Khanal.</figcaption> </figure>  I want to see him run the country. I want him to ensure that the youth can get decent jobs in Nepal itself. I am encouraged by the feedback I have received from fellow workers in Bahrain. They support me and congratulate me for raising a son with such integrity. Here in Nawalpur, the environment is positive and I am also helping campaign for my son. The support for the RSP abroad is high. People are calling up family members back home to tell them to vote for घन्टी. We have long duty hours so don’t travel around much but from what I saw, there is a lot of support for the party. No matter who is running from whichever party, I hope that the priority will be Nepal’s prosperity, they should focus on building the nation. Nepalis should not have to leave in such large numbers.&nbsp; As for my son, I wish him the very best and hope he goes far. I want him win and become Nepal's son, not just mine. I want the world to know of him as an honest, selfless Nepali who will fulfil his duties for the nation earnestly.&nbsp; <h2>If not now, then when?</h2> Narendra baral, Oman  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_f8d421d93e8668b794e606198ee5b29d8e6b1af1640c91577b6f984c93d088f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260223120244_f8d421d93e8668b794e606198ee5b29d8e6b1af1640c91577b6f984c93d088f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="606" height="689" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  Just like elections have taken over Nepal, those of us abroad are equally excited and engaged. After the GenZ movement in particular, we Nepalis abroad have become even more involved. Friends are also keen to return to Nepal to vote. The mentality that no matter who wins it won’t matter and nothing will change has now been replaced by: if not now, when? There is a growing consensus that youth need to lead the nation. In that regard, the leadership change in the Nepali Congress (NC) has encouraged overseas Nepalis because we view Gagan Thapa, with his experience and sacrifices, as the right person to lead the nation. What he did recently to change the face of the NC has rejuvenated hope. For far too long, the musical chairs among the same old people had led to a sense of disgust with the state of the politics.&nbsp; Now, with new parties and new leadership in old parties, we feel emboldened to talk and engage positively and with hope. He has already won people’s confidence by allowing new faces to contest the elections, and even those who had started feeling skeptical or discouraged with Congress are now strongly supporting the party. I first migrated to Dubai in 2006 and returned five years later to start a poultry farm and fresh house in Nepal, but it did not go very far, so I decided to remigrate to Oman in 2016. It is a pity that overseas Nepalis could not vote in this election either. We saw Bangladeshis mail their votes just recently, while Filipino colleagues do so online.&nbsp; We even submitted a petition to the embassy on this issue, and the ambassador was positive given that there are just 25,000 Nepalis in Oman. Let’s hope the next election will be different. I am glad that this issue has been addressed in recent manifestos shared by the parties. Other than allowing diaspora voting, the government should also create a platform for those of us abroad so we can channel our investment and skills back home. We are investing in Oman and would like to do the same back home and create jobs for youth. Those of us who can manage are coming to Nepal to vote. Some of us have timed our vacations that way. Others have taken a week’s leave. <h2>Every vote counts&nbsp;</h2> Prajwal Poudel, Saudi Arabia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260224130228_0b2e9f6cbfc40a4fbd90ee93ede9bfe66dfb7011785376e6d290ce12578f69a6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260224130228_0b2e9f6cbfc40a4fbd90ee93ede9bfe66dfb7011785376e6d290ce12578f69a6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="878" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I was not sure if I would come to Nepal from Saudi Arabia for this election. But as election came close I really wanted to come home, I thought every vote matters. It is a basic right of every Nepali citizen and this is the right time now in Nepal where things are building up for change.&nbsp; All five of us roommates are returning. We all came together to Saudi Arabia to work and are going back together to vote for RSP. Our contract was about to end a couple of weeks after the elections so my roommates decided to forfeit a few weeks of salary to come home to vote. My situation was a bit different because I had made up my mind to stay on. I can always migrate overseas, if I have to go again, I can arrange it but the GenZ movement is a once in a lifetime event and this positive environment for change might not come again. I have resigned from my job with the slogan: each vote counts. I also am hopeful that the same employer will bring me back if needed as I have built a good rapport with them and worked hard throughout my contract. I am supporting Ghanti this time but if they do not deliver I will again choose another party next time.&nbsp; For me it is about choosing the right leaders. Some of my colleagues are telling me I should not have made this decision to return. My father was telling me to remain overseas so I have not told him properly that I am coming home with no return plans. My mother knows the reality and seems excited and she brought my citizenship card to Jhapa.&nbsp; If things don’t pan out as I have planned and the same old faces win, I will again migrate. Perhaps that is why I am coming home to avoid that possibility. The stakes are high this time. <h2>I am coming home to vote</h2> Bimal Subedi, Qatar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_8c0597047c2aa87a1dc8d3c062f46071107c16a3d8331df12627db9b14ce2756.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260223120244_8c0597047c2aa87a1dc8d3c062f46071107c16a3d8331df12627db9b14ce2756" data-rendition-name="original" width="924" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  The political ups and downs in Nepal brought me to Qatar 21 years ago, but even from the diaspora, I have continued my engagement with the NC in various capacities. The democratic change of 1990, led by the NC opened Nepal to the world. &nbsp; From a country that did not even allow ordinary people to have passports, the government took steps to provide unemployed youth access to overseas jobs and the international market. This outmigration intensified after the Maoist conflict, and now there is a significant population overseas. Foreign employment has helped us send money back home, which has improved our living standards and helped us come out of poverty. Foreign employment can be beneficial if we make good use of it to maximise our skills and capabilities. I have been able to establish myself as a senior accountant in an international travel company and have also improved my family’s living standards. In the past two decades, I have come home 70 times, in fact, it is easier for me to travel to Kathmandu from Qatar than for someone from Dolpo.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_1f89301a33ee6ed0858d7047aeb7ad4c73289c7be58a451c6d1c98d6930d2bc2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260223120244_1f89301a33ee6ed0858d7047aeb7ad4c73289c7be58a451c6d1c98d6930d2bc2" data-rendition-name="original" width="924" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  The recent GenZ movement was a fight for equal access to education and basic services. Someone in Dolpo should have access to the same opportunities as someone in Kathmandu. But inequality transcends borders. Someone working in the same five star hotel overseas versus in Nepal sees a large salary difference. Only the one abroad can make meaningful savings. How do we create a labour market in Nepal that provides quality jobs so people can afford a decent living? The narrative being painted, especially on social media, that only the new is good is misleading. We have long advocated for change that touches the grassroots level and provides equal access to opportunities and services. The latest changes within NC leadership and the manifesto have made it evident that reform is coming, and we are coming home to show our support. Some are returning just to vote, while others have arranged their vacations during election time. This time I am coming home with the hope that the new government will ensure everyone has equal access to healthcare and education. That Nepali diaspora overseas will be provided a platform to invest in Nepal and help create world class jobs.&nbsp; I am coming to vote for a Nepal that we can all be proud of. <h2>Possibility of real change&nbsp;</h2> Sachin Thakur, Malaysia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120248_40a23a8aa46cc22999de1bfafe6e77a30c88253ea280473c7213d40d35d3acd5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223120248_40a23a8aa46cc22999de1bfafe6e77a30c88253ea280473c7213d40d35d3acd5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I am coming home for the first time after working 40 months in Malaysia. I came to vote for Balen. I went overseas looking for jobs, just like my father who had spent five years in Qatar as a construction worker and who returned prematurely from the UAE after a failed migration experience.&nbsp; Malaysia is filled with Balen supporters. We have a company canteen where ten of us met constantly to discuss politics. We talked about corruption and the need for better jobs back home. The non-RSP supporters are in the minority at our workplace and perhaps across Malaysia. I came home to vote. I was lucky to be able to time my vacation that way. I look forward to spending time with family but also have plans to get together with the boys to campaign for RSP.&nbsp; For those of us who are overseas, the expectation is that the government will negotiate better terms of employment including higher pay. And that we can eventually come home. I want to resume my business making gold jewelery.&nbsp; What Nepal needs is leaders who focus on improving the basics: education and health, and everything else would work out on its own. We are betting on Balen because he has made a difference in Kathmandu as mayor, and now it is time to think about the whole country. It is not guaranteed how much he will be able to accomplish, but there is an actual possibility for real change this time and that is what matters.&nbsp;