After the devastating earthquake in 2015, the Nepali classical musical band Sukarma travelled to Switzerland to perform concerts to raise money for reconstruction back home. This time, the folk-classical musical trio went back to southern Switzerland to raise money for relief and reconstruction for the damage caused by massive storms and floods there in June — possibly the first time Nepalis have reciprocated for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-years-of-helvetas-in-nepal" target="_blank">Swiss assistance </a>over the past six decades. “It was truly an honour, and a proud moment for us as Nepalis that we could give back to the Swiss people in their own time of need,” said Dhrubesh Chandra Regmi, the renowned Nepali sitarist and founder of Sukarma, on return to Kathmandu after his concert tour.&nbsp; As the name of the band itself implies, it is all about earning good karma points, and proof that help does not always have to be one-sided. Sukarmal's renowned tabla maestro <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1424" target="_blank">Atul Gautam died in 2005</a> of brain hemorrhage. Flutist and Grammy award nominee <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/king-of-music-for-kindness" target="_blank">Manose Newa</a> was also a part of Sukarma at one time. Sukarma was founded in 1997, has <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18354" target="_blank">performed often in Europe</a> and several times in the southern part of Switzerland on behalf of <a href="https://kamforsud.org/en/" target="_blank">Kam For Sud</a>, the Swiss non-profit working on education, health and ecology projects in Nepal, especially after the 2015 earthquake.&nbsp; This time, Sukarma’s Europe tour included two concerts on 6-7 September in Maggia and Mesocco in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland that was devastated by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-storms-flooding-landslide-bridge-c439ed5a966f94775082b8c70369666c" target="_blank">storms and landslides in late June</a>. Four people were killed when rivers burst their banks on the southern side of the Alps.&nbsp; The concerts were held at the church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Maggia and S. Maria del Castello in Mesocco, and Sukarma performed together with the four-member choir Vocalia known for its &nbsp;Romanesque diphonic singing.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024092214098_1f209513a175f60311c200d0d6186f7ebf7c3af210b6baabc555627ec5be1542.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024092214098_1f209513a175f60311c200d0d6186f7ebf7c3af210b6baabc555627ec5be1542" data-rendition-name="original" width="1174" height="1514" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali classical musical band Sukarma NT 2"> </figure>  “Sukarma has always stood for using music as a source of harmony, compassion and togetherness,” Regmi told Nepali Times. “So it was natural for us to return the generosity the Swiss people showed Nepal after the earthquake. The concerts were a symbol of solidarity and mutual help.” The concerts were organized by Kam For Sud, which had invited Sukarma several times to Switzerland to raise money for its activities in Nepal. But after hearing about the storms that ravaged Ticino, Regmi expressed the desire to perform for Switzerland in return. “All three of us in the band felt a strong urge to share our music in solidarity with the Swiss people who had in the past shown tremendous support for Nepal during our disaster,” Regmi noted. Sukarma is made up of Regmi on sitar, Yati Raj Adhikari on violin and Jagannath Dhaugoda on tabla and madal (pictured). The band has performed in Nepal and around the world to spread its message of harmony and peace through music.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240922140912_9dd1452e995f682953007bb720e044f3d4421cfe1ed23def3b04d83b439dda12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240922140912_9dd1452e995f682953007bb720e044f3d4421cfe1ed23def3b04d83b439dda12" data-rendition-name="original" width="4320" height="3596" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali classical musical band Sukarma NT 3"> </figure>  Both concerts at the Swiss churches served as a moving demonstration of the deep ties between Nepal and Switzerland, with Sukarma’s music symbolising unity and support across borders. The Alps and the Himalayan are both at risk from the impacts of climate breakdown and the extreme weather events as a result. Glaciers are shrinking and receding in both mountain ranges, affecting water supply in the two countries as well as downstream. There have been unseasonal heat waves melting the ice cap on the Alps and unleashing severe storms like the one in June, while the Himalaya have suffered successive winter droughts and record-breaking rainfall. Says Regmi: “Our music is also a call for humanity to live in harmony with nature, so that the ecological balance of Mother Earth can be restored.”

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Nepali band raises money for Swiss charity

Around 7,000 people have now reached the highest point on the planet, the top of Mt Everest since it was first scaled by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. But only one bottle of whisky has ever made it to the top, and that was on 23 May this year. And not just any whisky, but a unique bottle of Royal Salute Coronation of King Charles III Edition, one of only 500 crystal decanters specially created to mark the new British King’s crowning in Westminster Abbey.&nbsp; Priced at a whopping US$25,000, the amber spirit is ‘a luxurious blend of 53 rare malt and grain whiskies’. A limited edition reflecting the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne, the birth of the Royal Salute brand and the year of Everest’s historic first ascent. And not just for any trivial reason, but as a contribution to the 70th anniversary celebration events the flagon number 61 of the precious Scotch donated by Chivas Bros will be auctioned to benefit the people of the Himalaya at a charity fundraising event in London hosted by Bear Grylls, Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay, sons of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230615060636_0e53489e3de477205f41a44e221ae430a97b8d51f751ec0fbaa9fa8e32c02af5.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230615060636_0e53489e3de477205f41a44e221ae430a97b8d51f751ec0fbaa9fa8e32c02af5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1192" height="976" loading="lazy" alt="First Scotch on the summit of Everest"> <figcaption>Representing their parents on the 70th anniversary, Sue Leyden, Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay are received by King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.</figcaption> </figure>  The first ever bottle of Scotch to reach the top has notched up yet another record on Sagarmatha, to be added to the list of wondrous, admirable, astonishing and sometimes frankly bizarre summit successes.&nbsp; To great relief all round, the bottle survived the gruelling ascent, not in its elaborate presentation box but carefully packed in bubble wrap and duct-tape by Adventure Consultants' expedition leader and Khumbu afficionado, Guy Cotter. The expensive content remained intact in the skilled, courageous and capable care of Nepali mountain guide Ang Dorjee Sherpa on his 22nd Everest summit.&nbsp; The story of how the bottle got to the top started 20 years ago at the 50th anniversary when Sir Ed Hillary himself was presented with a 50-year-old bottle of Chivas Regal by brand leader Peter Prentice and the Duke of Argyll in full highland dress. Bearing the bottle aloft in tartan kilts, the music of massed bagpipes stunned the audience in the <a href="http://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/past-everest-anniversaries">Hyatt Ballroom on 29 May 2003</a>.&nbsp; I suggested to Peter Prentice that Royal Salute might like to follow this up by donating a bottle to the Everest70 auction along with an escorted tour of Speyside distilleries. The French owners were reluctant and slow to respond, distracted by the London promotion. Peter and I persisted, and their interest piqued when I rashly proposed added value with an attempted Everest summit.&nbsp; You never know what is going to happen on any expedition, and it was with some trepidation one warm spring afternoon at lunch in a Kathmandu courtyard that I requested Guy Cotter to arrange for this very special bottle to be carried to the summit with one of his Adventure Consultant’s guides.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230615060632_820b9af0353ae9eb0f26d72764fbc0780a82d63111317c9c04f9a995fab5d800.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230615060632_820b9af0353ae9eb0f26d72764fbc0780a82d63111317c9c04f9a995fab5d800" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="First Scotch on the summit of Everest"> <figcaption>With relief and triumph, Guy Cotter and I return to Royal Salute whisky safely back from the summit of Everest to be auctioned by Sir Graham Wrigley, Chair of Himalayan Trust UK Photo: Suze Kelley Adventure Consultants</figcaption> </figure>  A consummate professional mountaineer and Himalayan Trust member, Guy did not hesitate. It would obviously be an additional burden to his team and no unnecessary risks would be taken, but in essence: ‘Yes, but no guarantees.’&nbsp; Peter was jubilant, and a Royal Salute bottle was delivered to me by courier in London in late April. Not daring to mess with the packaging, it reached Kathmandu carefully wedged in my suitcase. Still wrapped, I handed over the Scotch to Iswari Paudel of Himalayan Guides Nepal, Guy’s long-time partner agency.&nbsp; The instructions were to send the package by helicopter directly to Everest Base Camp, but Guy later told me there were some anxious days when the bottle went missing having been despatched by mistake via Lukla. Luckily it turned up at the Adventure Consultants camp with a client who had no idea of its importance.&nbsp; Although a cold and difficult year on Everest, the Adventure Consultants team achieved their goals. Originally from Pangboche, Ang Dorjee’s famous father Nima Tenzing climbed new routes with Chris Bonington in the 1970s. By chance, Sir Chris will be present when the bottle is auctioned by Himalayan Trust in London, with all proceeds <a href="http://www.himalayantrust.co.uk">benefiting health, education and women’s projects</a> throughout the Everest and Kangchenchunga regions.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230615060640_99d9aed63e404d3fc2b09383bc0578a094f3b1f56cb73ec93090965598b03cb5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230615060640_99d9aed63e404d3fc2b09383bc0578a094f3b1f56cb73ec93090965598b03cb5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="First Scotch on the summit of Everest"> <figcaption>Guy Cotter expedition leader and Ang Dorgee Sherpa with the Royal Salute Coronation of King Charles III Edition whisky back from the summit of Everest Photo: Suze Kelly Adventure Consultants</figcaption> </figure>  In a Lazimpat garden, Guy and I returned the Royal Salute bottle with triumph to Sir Graham Wrigley, Chairman of Himalayan Trust UK and former Chair of British International Investment PLC -- still in its summit packaging. It was Graham who had first conceived the <a href="http://www.everest70.com">Everest70 celebration</a> programme, arranging with Tenzing, Hillary and Hunt’s descendants to trace the journey of the original expedition from Khumbu to Kathmandu, Delhi and London. He had co-opted me to help him coordinate in Nepal. Seventieth memorials to honour the anniversary with the families included Khumbu treks, curated films, talk programmes, lauding summiteers, lectures, processions, openings, unveilings, speeches, receptions and parties. Everest70 celebrations culminate this week in London with the fundraising auction, a Nepal Embassy party and program at the Royal Geographical Society with Kenton Cool, Stephen Venables and Hari Budha Magar. The families have had audiences with Nepal President Ram Chandra Poudel in Kathmandu and King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230615060644_7747d60cdd316822189faf66cd7a81eee316f1af90363958d36d930b614434bd.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230615060644_7747d60cdd316822189faf66cd7a81eee316f1af90363958d36d930b614434bd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1538" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="First Scotch on the summit of Everest"> <figcaption>Jamling Norgay speaking at the Royal Geographic Society Everest celebration in London this week Photo: Sir Graham Wrigley</figcaption> </figure>  I was in Khumbu on 29 May this year for events to mark the 70 years. It included the opening of Sir Edmund Hillary Visitor Centre in Khumjung’s refitted ‘schoolhouse in the clouds’ by New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Helen Clark, and the Tenzing Norgay Heritage Centre with Kanchha Sherpa, the only surviving member of the 1953 expedition.&nbsp; Helen Clark used the global media attention for a powerful call to action on climate change and its Himalayan impacts. A new 70 km loop was added to the Everest Marathon as an ultra-extreme option, rhododendrons were planted by distinguished guests, the music of local instruments reverberated around the white peaks, Sherpa dancers stomped and swirled, and a couple of skydivers filled the sky with a huge Nepali flag above Syangboche.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230615060644_df54e2fd22ff654dad30f04a2d254ad058ceeea5162515cb33054d6f54ced6e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230615060644_df54e2fd22ff654dad30f04a2d254ad058ceeea5162515cb33054d6f54ced6e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="First Scotch on the summit of Everest"> <figcaption>Peter Hillary, son of Sir Ed with Rt Hon Helen Clark at the Lukla celebrations.</figcaption> </figure>  The weather was kind and as Everest slipped behind the clouds Sue Leyden, daughter of expedition leader John Hunt, reminded me that Tenzing and Hillary were ‘the right people’ to have made the first ascent, two humble men who both gave so much back to the people of Nepal. She remembered the moment when the news reached London, &nbsp;the day that changed their lives forever. She was 12 years old and sharing a bath with her sisters.&nbsp;

Lisa Choegyal

First Scotch on the summit of Everest

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218b89c7e80680e0baa5ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1032" height="720"/><figcaption>Photos: Pedro Queirós</figcaption></figure>On 8 May 2022, <a href="https://pedroqueiros.com/en/homepage-english/">Pedro Queirós</a> gazed up from the South Summit of Mt Everest and spotted the top of the world, a short distance along a wind-swept ridge.For the past 12 days, he had been in Camps 2 and 3, at 6,500-7,500m elevation, to avoid summit traffic and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/">deadly, fragile Khumbu Icefall</a> they would have to cross on their return.Queirós and Mingma Sherpa of 14summit set out with ropes to the top after calculating an optimal 48-hour window. At 9:39AM on 9 May, Queirós became the first non-Nepali climber this season and the sixth Portuguese overall to summit the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-building-a-highway-to-everest/">world’s highest peak</a>.Queirós, 40, grew up near the sea, playing football with his friends and exploring forests. Unlike many climbers, he was not exposed to the mountains, but wanted to explore the world, which ultimately brought him to faraway Nepal.The climb was brutal. Queirós had set out with an unshakable iron will, but the hunger, numbness in hands and legs, the 100mph winds, -40°C, loneliness up in the mountains, and the dead bodies on the slopes took their toll. It made him question his decision to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/um-hong-gils-project-impossible/">climb Everest</a>, and fear for his life.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218ba9c7e80680e0baa5bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="932" height="1344"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218bd9c7e80680e0baa5cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="842" height="720"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Everything stayed the same, and yet, everything changed,” reflects Queirós. “I was reborn with Everest. There, you find out who you really are.”It took them about ten hours from the South Col to reach the Hillary Step. But each new struggle pushed him to continue, recounts Queirós, as the peak ahead was juxtaposed against the harrowing frozen body of an Indian climber who had died there last year. Queirós wanted to live, and he would.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218bf9c7e80680e0baa5djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1216"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Everest was not just to satisfy Queirós’s passion for adventure, but also to fundraise for the education of 25 children in Nepal that he supports.He had previously come to Nepal in 2015 to trek to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letters-from-everest-base-camp-1/">Everest Base Camp</a>, after backpacking through Vietnam, only to experience the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lessons-not-learned-from-2015/">7.8M earthquake</a>. He then spent a year providing food, building houses and running Camp Hope, a refugee camp, for more than 350 people.“It was a life-changing event for me,” he says. “After living through the earthquake, seeing all the destruction, my life was never the same. Since then, I have been helping Nepal, my second home. It has given a lot to me, and I want to give back.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218c29c7e80680e0baa5ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="631" height="489"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This was the beginning of <a href="https://dreamsofkathmandu.blogspot.com/">Dreams of Kathmandu</a> to help children and those in need of education, housing, nutrition and health. Under his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-epidemic-of-hunger/">#nohunger</a> initiative, Queirós has also helped provide food to 100 families in Sindhupalchok and continues to feed 200 meals a day to children and adults in the slum areas of Mulpani.Through Dreams of Kathmandu, Queirós raises funds for building homes, providing meals or scholarships through adventures such as climbing, running and walking.On 10 January 2017, he walked from <a href="https://pedroqueiros.com/en/old-adventures/">Taj Mahal to Kathmandu</a> to raise €17,000 for earthquake victims and in April 2018 climbed Island Peak to raise funds to build the Sharadas orphanage in Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218c49c7e80680e0baa5fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="853"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Further, with the Dwarika’s Foundation, he has built 96 houses in Sindhupalchok and 25 in Chapagaun, provided 100 scholarships, sponsored more than 50,000 meals after the earthquake, and fed over 3,000 families across Nepal.The climber has also been able to raise funds for dental appointments, financially assisted surgeries, ophthalmology appointments, and clothing and blankets for families.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218c69c7e80680e0baa60jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="478"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The 2022 Everest expedition was part of <a href="https://pedroqueiros.com/en/project-x/">Project X</a>, a humanitarian adventure initiative. With them Queirós has climbed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-it-about-ama-dablam/">Ama Dablam</a> and run a marathon to build a house for the family of a young Nepali boy. The team has also raise €10,000 to support the education of 25 children.All of the proceeds go directly to charity. “Every cent,” adds Queirós. “The travelling costs, hotel costs and food expenses come from my own pocket.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111128/637218c89c7e80680e0baa61jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1136" height="1052">Now, after the expedition, Queirós looks forward to some rest to recover from his injuries and spend time with family. “But in the future, perhaps I will swim the English Channel from France to England,” he says “or go to Antarctica to summit Vinson Massif.”It is nevertheless difficult to raise funds these days, he laments, and to convince foreigners to donate for people of another country.“A lot has to be done to get resources,” he says. “But the first time I saw Everest, I thought it would be impossible to climb it. Like every dream, if you believe it, you can do it. I want to continue helping, and I am not stopping.”Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/um-hong-gils-project-impossible/">Um Hong-Gil’s Project Impossible</a>, Sonia Awale

Aria Shree Parasai

Scaling the mountain of humanity

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121116/636b8cd89c7e80680e06b31bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="958" height="1280"/><figcaption>Workers at Kavach who usually produce motorcycle clothing prepare personal protective gears as part of their COVID-19 fundraising. Photo: KAVACH</figcaption></figure><ul><li>  Raj Kumar Mahato launched the Covid-19 relief campaign of BHORE with Rs200,000 from his own pocket, but doesn’t know where the charity will find money to continue providing essential items for the ultra-poor.</li> <li> Nita Raut has spent all but Rs4,500 of the Rs78,000 she raised and says she will donate her own salary if necessary to provide food to Kathmandu’s poorest.</li> <li>Sano Paila, an NGO, is dipping into its savings to continue relief work in the eastern Terai.</li></ul>Budgets of small organisations providing relief to Nepal’s needy are being squeezed dry as the lockdown continues, but all of them say they are determined to keep working.Kathmandu-based <a href="https://give2asia.secure.force.com/pmtx/dn8n__SiteDonation?id=a1L16000007OETA" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://give2asia.secure.force.com/pmtx/dn8n__SiteDonation?id%3Da1L16000007OETA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNxo9qvQDwDYZqET7S7yzpaumfjQ">Sano Paila</a> has raised only US$1,000 of its $10,000-15,000 fundraising goal, Head of Operations Jai Sah says via email. “But we are getting immense support from our board members and the local community in continuing the activities,” Sah writes.With its team of 25-30, Sano Paila is responding mainly in Birganj, Janakpur and Parsa district: serving cooked meals to daily wage earners and other vulnerable people, running an integrated Help Desk in Parsa with Nepal Police, disinfecting hospitals, police stations and other public areas, and supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and Covid-19 testing booths.<a href="https://www.hiteri.org/donation-options/?c=%26%232310%3B%26%232313%3B%26%232344%3B%26%232369%3B%26%232361%3B%26%232379%3B%26%232360%3B%26%232381%3B-%26%232360%3B%26%232348%3B%26%232376%3B-%26%232350%3B%26%232367%3B%26%232354%3B%26%232375%3B%26%232352%3B-%26%232332%3B%26%232381%3B%26%232351%3B%26%232366%3B%26%232354%3B&amp;i=2750" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hiteri.org/donation-options/?c%3D%2526%25232310%253B%2526%25232313%253B%2526%25232344%253B%2526%25232369%253B%2526%25232361%253B%2526%25232379%253B%2526%25232360%253B%2526%25232381%253B-%2526%25232360%253B%2526%25232348%253B%2526%25232376%253B-%2526%25232350%253B%2526%25232367%253B%2526%25232354%253B%2526%25232375%253B%2526%25232352%253B-%2526%25232332%253B%2526%25232381%253B%2526%25232351%253B%2526%25232366%253B%2526%25232354%253B%26i%3D2750&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPDjUFhQooABJXSGg5gj44sBvFFw">Hiteri Foundation’s</a> team of three has been providing hot meals and family food packs to daily wage workers and people living on the streets in Lalitpur in the Kathmandu Valley, Project Head Kusun Tamang explains. “This week we have started running out of funds, but there may be donors. As long as we have the resources we will keep going,” he says on the phone. “What we are doing is not even fulfilling a fraction of the need. The first week we thought ‘Ok, people don’t look desperate.’ But from this week more and more stories are coming out of people going hungry.”Mahato from Hetauda-based <a href="https://www.notion.so/BHORE-04e1afbb0ac649f8b7f44d28b599e833" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.notion.so/BHORE-04e1afbb0ac649f8b7f44d28b599e833&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGEEXDlkc2J9gO4qhX4kW5VOm7SHw">BHORE</a> says demand has been growing since 21 March, the day the agency started providing essentials to over 400 ultra-poor families in Province 1, 2 and 3.It also raises awareness on Covid-19, providing technical support, and advocating with governments to provide services and technical support.“I am not blaming government but ultimately it is supposed to protect If it started to do very effective and transparent distribution of relief then there would be no need for organisations like ours,” Tamang says.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121116/636b8cdc9c7e80680e06b31cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Deepak Chapagain from <a href="https://www.notion.so/Volunteer-Corps-Nepal-VCN-e6cec9c5e1f046238b99de4ed251b1b3" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.notion.so/Volunteer-Corps-Nepal-VCN-e6cec9c5e1f046238b99de4ed251b1b3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEBHnkY8Pl6POByYKIH_sYOUbj_0g">Volunteer Corps Nepal</a> points out that many average Nepalis he encounters do not trust any level of government. They feel that those who lack access to political parties will be shut out of official relief distribution.VCN includes more than 3,000 trained local volunteers and a wider network of 8,000-plus people in 77 districts. It was on the ground in pre-lockdown days in Kathmandu, mooting the idea for traffic police to hold up small signs displaying Covid-19 information. Since then VCN has provided food to more than 5,000 people in Kathmandu Valley and to others leaving on foot.The organisation raised more than $2,000 from online sales of the recent release from UK-based singer Yuval Gurung, who was in Nepal when the lockdown started, but it is not enough, Chapagain says. “Things will get worse in the days ahead and even government and international organisations are not responding on the ground, so we volunteer organisations have to be more active.”<a href="https://www.notion.so/Nita-Raut-Foundation-cb1789fa3a134736b32e4a503ffa37c4" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.notion.so/Nita-Raut-Foundation-cb1789fa3a134736b32e4a503ffa37c4&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNECFgZUJoyG7bVymBi5E2dj8tEZwg">Nita Raut</a> had been providing food for daily wage workers, the homeless and others in Kathmandu even before this crisis. Usually Nepalis here and abroad learn about her work from the media or the foundation’s Facebook page, she notes via phone.“I will help I have funds. If that is not enough I can use my own money,” says Raut, adding that she normally diverts 20% of her salary to run the foundation.It’s not only individual NGOs that are filling the gap. Some private businesses are also playing a role, including <a href="https://www.notion.so/Kavach-9f7d42ca48514e5aa74212e576850740" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.notion.so/Kavach-9f7d42ca48514e5aa74212e576850740&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF1aL-ua4Mvk8sP3TjodyhGPWPUXg">KAVACH</a>, which designs and manufactures motorcycle riding gear. Co-founder Arabinda Subedi says he and his partner began brainstorming on how to help soon after Covid-19 arrived. They decided to repurpose the company’s production to make PPEs, which are in short supply for medical staff and other frontline workers.So far the company has made 2,500 PPEs, and has plans to scale up if necessary by using facilities at nearby factories. “Yes, as we are repurposing our production unit to PPEs although we are not yet clear how long we can afford to do this,” Subedi says.One positive point made by most of these organisations is that they are working closely with local authorities, including police. Initially, officials in some places were resistant but all are now cooperating with the relief efforts.<a href="https://www.notion.so/a42785487fa74e8bacf283785949008b?v=6e93c867ff6c43a48f399c72e64918d6" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.notion.so/a42785487fa74e8bacf283785949008b?v%3D6e93c867ff6c43a48f399c72e64918d6&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587805291620000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEOw3__zc2PYFjmCNAQIogKKFWl2g">List of organisations providing support during lockdown, by Nepal Coronavirus Response Group </a>

Marty Logan

Helping the helpless during lockdown

<img width="1400" height="661" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922e39c7e80680e03a152jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Shrinkhala Khatiwada is on a whirlwind tour: to the remote village of Bharta in Makwanpur (pictured) where she is building a health post, on to London for a fundraising dinner, and stopping over in Kathmandu en route to China.Nepali Times caught up with her to find out what Miss Nepal 2018 has been up to since her coronation in April.The reason Khatiwada is into post-earthquake reconstruction is because she is also an award-winning architecture student. She wants to complete a health post in the Chepang village of Bharta before the Miss World pageant in November as her entry for the subtitle ‘Beauty with a Purpose’.“I have always been passionate about architecture, and the earthquake opened up a huge need for architects. While we rebuild, we have to take care to preserve our traditional architecture and make sure the cities are well planned,” says Khatiwada.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9224#.W6zDhnszbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Palung story</a>, Gaurab Raj Upadhyaya<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Chepang-living-edge,3136" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living on the edge</a>, Riwaj Rai in Makwanpur She expands on the concept of healing by design: how a well ventilated hospital room makes a patient feels better. The Makwanpur health post is a learning experience, as she finds out the nitty-gritty of transforming this concept into reality. She had initially hoped to finish construction for Dasain, but the cost has doubled because the site is so remote that it is expensive to transport construction materials there. <figure><img width="1400" height="932" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922e79c7e80680e03a153jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>So, she is busy with fundraising dinners and approaching corporates, while the costs keep going up. Now, she is helping build a road to the village which had none. The village is now accessible, but the monsoon has delayed work. The foundation for building has finally being laid, and Khatiwada hopes to complete it soon and hold a health camp before the Miss World pageant.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/stuck-in-grade-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stuck in Grade 5</a>, Binita Dahal<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9489#.W6zD8HszbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chepangi schools</a>, Mallika Aryal<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/First-Chepang-nurse,3143" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Chepang nurse</a>, Sajana Baral“A health post is for treatment, but prevention of diseases is just as important,” explains Khatiwada, who herself spoke to villagers about basic hygiene like hand washing, showering, and building latrines. The village has a high level of malnutrition among children, complications from early marriages and rampant superstition.At present, villagers have to walk for two hours to reach the nearest health post, and Khatiwada knows there are many villages which are as much in need as this one. “This is just the beginning of my work in philanthropy and architecture. Eventually I want to use my fame to build more of what Nepal needs, whether it is health posts in remote areas, or schools and homes in disaster zones,” she adds.Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/reconstruction-in-ruins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reconstruction in ruins</a>, Om Astha Rai and Sahina Shrestha<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-homes-on-a-deadline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building homes on a deadline</a>, Om Astha raiAfter her year as Miss Nepal ends, Khatiwada plans to focus on philanthropic architecture through her One Home Foundation. This is actually what attracted her to Miss Nepal, to use the celebrityhood for a good cause, not necessarily its glamour.“This is a platform where you get famous overnight, and then it is up to you how you use that fame,” she explains. “I want to use it to become a change maker. In fact, the whole reason I am excited about participating in the Miss World pageant is so I can make global contacts to help me continue my work in architecture.”Nepal has never won the Miss World title, though Ishani Shrestha bagged the Beauty with a Purpose title in 2013. This year, all eyes are on the competent and confident Shrinkhala Khatiwada, and Nepal will be cheering her on.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/06/12/charismatic-nikita/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charismatic Nikita</a>, Sabita Shrestha<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12450#.W6zFbHszbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mud, glorious mud</a>, Nripal Adhikary

Miss Nepal's mission

https://youtu.be/o86akJuUBR8Industrial fire today in Chabahil saw locals using their bare hands to fill buckets with muddy water. It took 27 minutes for the first fire engine to arrive.It all began in 2008 after a visit to Mt Everest Base Camp. My fear of heights and general unfitness meant that I never climbed a mountain and had no intention of ever doing so. So I was naturally quite proud of myself when I reached Base Camp.Back in America, a commanding officer of the U S Navy SEALs belittled my accomplishment by saying Base Camp was “not even close to the summit”. The other SEALs in attendance laughed heartily.Even <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/05/26/timely-climb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watchmakers</a> have egos, and so I did something foolish - I vowed to return to Nepal to climb to the summit of Mt Everest to raise $250,000 for the SEAL Foundation and to plant the SEAL flag on the top.  Subsequently, the SEALs invited me to train on their base in Coronado, California. The rigours of endless hours of physical training made me pass out almost daily. I put up with the various challenges my amphibious friends threw at me.The Everest expedition was a not a complete failure. I reached the summit, and that SEAL flag now hangs framed on a wall in the entrance of the headquarters in Coronado. Still, the expedition failed to reach its fundraising goal. Multiple TV and radio appearances designed to encourage the audience to donate directly to the SEAL Foundation had not produced the desired effect. <img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714114/636903109c7e80680e037c9ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714114/636903129c7e80680e037c9fjpeg.jpg" alt="">However, by then it was too late to cancel the project. My SEAL friends gave me every encouragement to continue on. We had in the meantime received a commitment letter for two one-hour-long television episodes to be broadcast on PBS in America, and the expedition had attracted many high-profile supporters. Even Johnny Depp expressed a desire to drive a fire truck.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Connecting-dots/who-needs-fire-trucks-book-kathmandu,1099" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who needs  fire trucks?</a>, Dinkar NepalThis country needs positive PR, especially with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/next-kim-trump-summit-in-lumbini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a> just around the corner. If we can show a worldwide audience that world-famous actors and rock stars can fall in love with Nepal, we stand a chance of actually reaching the lofty goal of 2 million tourists.  <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8604#.W2gmmFUzbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal needs the fire engines</a> at least as much as the influx of tourists. The country is woefully unprepared to handle fire disasters. This was best illustrated when during a major incident at a gas bottling plant that claimed the lives of three firemen. This us to add more international firefighting instructors to the expedition.Six seasoned firefighters are now part of our project. One of the concerns expressed most frequently is that since these vehicles are from America, that they are too big for Nepal’s narrow streets. There are plenty of cities in the northeastern United States with narrow streets. When a fire breaks out there, firemen simply lay interconnecting hoses right up to the burning building.We will continue to pursue this project. By we, I mean the several dozen celebrities, the four diplomats, six firemen and eight U S Navy SEALs who have been part of this project since Day One. We owe it to the people of Nepal and to those three firemen and their families.Just last week, a friend of mine who is the co-founder and past treasurer of the SEAL Fund, as it is now called, said to me: “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you, Mike.” I respectfully disagreed and said: “It’s us!”

Fire in the belly

Between the 1980s and 2000s, over 5,000 <a href="https://download.ssrn.com/11/01/06/ssrn_id1736064_code1383023.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&amp;X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBkaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQCiYUc7BuJ7zaDn%2BOTCFOWBgNKqYarnapqY%2FWZbamFVsgIhAOC%2FPFXHR9Dx6xTicWMj5%2BJXdIEGZ7LxKRyjrCe61Ng9KsYFCPL%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQBBoMMzA4NDc1MzAxMjU3IgzWD1Y1XNz2kaOS3jEqmgX0TbxyBTTrZrpd%2B5N72pFzJAwc%2BxTF8Dc0GnVG2tUGUYyxBt1YmfEqAw5cdOuRCZV23SSKkJwndg9IwI3yrjZGBp9XKxg4lK4Vq0Qy9RMmma5hNCVnA2T0MwGghlnmkgWPZA5ouZPiKFAecf4PE5qml2fu1wj72LEAig5R77cN6nC6%2BxTcygMiuiHrR9yZB4RyvTD9s58avGqUcn9hcIUdku3ydvAGVEgczzgEMCesRMtSgqzHz3E9bju9QLR5RpcDRp0wptfQ89uGXgyBGLCX%2BAl6uareSxQCSaDOthP4PmswWI7y7kBJbQp1pZq8r56Yoa3Qf5WVtmxbsWmDtbOsaSBa0yB6EIS8RKFGeQ%2Bcz%2BnEsOoPHIS%2BqO1k1%2BQuihjN0T66SnWFo8rl8Cv2g4GghY9p9DR3wopBJ6cE%2FtDJMY%2BZ03LkUwS%2Fc7ckyaRpfPX5g6Bb9J56a%2BNA5lnIV5o%2Fpjp%2BZJaVIvEzciyzzTwP58wznmcy3xppvK%2BwXBzBR96cPMXKTdNv9%2FqJ5jlnsgSRJpHWE3UyHbFucwQYXi19i7mCglFSuSkkL5Tg9nQWvXpuP9Z9VmMlQfQ%2F%2FpsfA6KlL81K3UK%2Bp%2FJB2mxQD9SYexZvAf1g21NUSF%2F8I19orsNrT6LutAnoJU%2FOTgO3qMbdgnR%2FuBytI3POnQAEIfbG0Za%2FrEDJ9j8CEbasNXsBMqkx8JKGRG2PUHMRC2xl5Z%2BNIbpsqGB8t%2BvAt40osDpgZStiyeiGdC1nMakUzZtBjWlttzoirCdemwPKJ8M%2BEohj2%2BLEN92yaOKdFewns0gjh%2BUxcotGvBo%2F7QZFappBNjLlR0PyanjcuB4MndEQjeIrd67ntscTKiLDI%2FfzwCHulsl6nbMpewpWFAYwg67guwY6sAGb3VJ2q%2F36hWhrVa8igP2hswnnLlcIU2uhOZa5ge2hCXkUYhL1BcSJfoWy2LwrWCXtdFo%2BT7KMU3p6O3jySdxSop8F4iO%2BJBiXVjSiXm%2FqZo3ri8sVwUgo4ksJI%2BT4AbfK3D3VGYapBgU5LdX%2FjkNwSVoR1vz4vMIyF56i7MKeYG1nFLgc0l9cIjrQI6eY869uIbgZ1XKqqBsuavCbYjSbSy7dMP0QSym%2FgmoWILGE0Q%3D%3D&amp;X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&amp;X-Amz-Date=20250103T172339Z&amp;X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&amp;X-Amz-Expires=300&amp;X-Amz-Credential=ASIAUPUUPRWE65YAH56X%2F20250103%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&amp;X-Amz-Signature=9b654b526e0779da4fa9f54e2fcde04ac9f7e91fb50d4f8094b1039ebb19e21b&amp;abstractId=1736064">Nepali children were adopted abroad</a>, primarily to the United States, France, and Spain. While international adoption was intended to provide vulnerable children with better opportunities, child trafficking and irregular practices prompted Nepal to suspend adoptions in 2007, and overhaul its policies. By 2010, stricter regulations aligned with the <a href="https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/specialised-sections/intercountry-adoption">Hague Adoption Convention</a> drastically reduced adoption numbers. Today, many of these children, now adults, are returning to Nepal in search of their roots, only to encounter a society that no longer recognises them, legally or socially. Behind the statistics lie the <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01GRNPPXAC1Z3AETV9HARNCG5Q">deeply personal and emotional journey</a> of adoptees returning to reconnect with their past, seek family, and rediscover a sense of belonging. These stories reflect a broader struggle for identity and the complexities of bridging two worlds. Maya Adopted at 9 by a family in Barcelona, Maya carried fragmented memories of her early life in Nepal including the painful recollection of the day her mother and sister vanished, leaving her and her younger siblings behind. She had faint images of her mother, elder sister, and the village where she once lived. In June 2017, Maya came to Nepal accompanied by Chandra Kala and two friends, Jay and Vikram. With only a few photographs of her mother Tulsi, her elder sister Pargati, and her brother-in-law Kamal, along with a street name, Maya arrived in Birendranagar after a 20-hour bus ride from Kathmandu. “Now that we’re close, I feel like I can’t face them,” she confessed to Chandra Kala, wrestling with anxiety about what she might uncover. “I’m nervous. I don’t know if I’ll recognise them or if they’ll recognise me. I don’t know how they’ll react or what they’ll say. And then there’s him [Kamal]. I have such bad memories of him. I don’t know if I can handle this.” Chandra Kala reassured her, reminding her of her courage and the importance of this moment. Maya and her companions asked around the town with little success until a shopkeeper recognised Kamal and directed them to a nearby village. Jay went to confirm and returned excitedly, shouting, “It’s her! It’s your sister!” Maya froze, paralysed by fear and anticipation but she pushed ahead. At the village, Maya’s sister Pargati initially struggled to recognise her. Jay introduced Maya: “Do you recognise her? This is your younger sister. She’s come all the way from Spain to find you.” Slowly, realisation dawned, and the two women embraced, bridging the decades of separation with tears and disbelief. The next day, Maya met her mother Tulsi in an emotionally overwhelming reunion. Tulsi rushed into the room and embraced Maya tightly, sobbing uncontrollably: “Mero chhora-chhori, gaye, gaye… my children they went, they went …” Once the tears subsided, Tulsi and Pargati began recounting the heartbreaking circumstances of their separation. After the death of her husband, Tulsi faced relentless judgment in their village when Kamal stayed with the family before his marriage to Pargati. The villagers accused Tulsi of impropriety, calling her पापी (sinful) and demanded that the family leave. “We didn’t want to leave, but the village didn’t want us here,” explained Pargati. “We left intending to bring you and your siblings later. But when we returned, you were gone.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250103120140_da7482d222e0a03b783c5e1df25536ed416d7b7475442e7fd40e54451572142e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250103120140_da7482d222e0a03b783c5e1df25536ed416d7b7475442e7fd40e54451572142e" data-rendition-name="original" width="384" height="512" loading="lazy" alt="Searching for a homeland away from home NT"> <figcaption>An adoptee and companion return to Bal Mandir in Kathmandu after 19 years. Photo: CHANDRA KALA CLEMENTE-MARTINEZ</figcaption> </figure>  Tulsi recalled how she had entrusted Maya and her siblings to relatives, hoping they would be cared for temporarily. However, when she returned, the children had been sent away without her knowledge. “I only trusted them because I had no other choice,” Tulsi said through tears. “I didn’t know they would send my children away. What kind of mother does that make me? They called me a bad mother, but what else could I have done?” The reunion brought healing and answers but it also exposed the societal pressures that had fractured Maya’s family. Despite the challenges, Maya spent the rest of her visit bonding with her sister, nieces, and younger half-sister, Sunita, slowly bridging the gaps created by time and distance. Maya’s journey was a testament to the courage required to confront the past, the pain of uncovering difficult truths, and the hope of rebuilding connections once lost. Her story highlights the enduring emotional complexity faced by adoptees navigating their history and identity. Ashmita Unlike some adoptees whose main focus is reuniting with their biological family, 26-year-old Ashmita’s priority has been to uncover the institutional details surrounding her adoption. She wanted to understand what the orphanage and the government knew about her background and why so much information seemed concealed. “I just want to know where I come from,” she said. “Even if I never find my biological family, having a better sense of the places and people connected to my story would mean so much.” For many adoptees, returning to Nepal is not just about reconnecting emotionally, it is about seeking formal recognition as members of the Nepali community. However, the legal framework in Nepal often fails to acknowledge their unique status.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250103120144_bf0158b7829cf5db44382d7386d3b123032adad3f9e10e28096b80cd09170ba6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250103120144_bf0158b7829cf5db44382d7386d3b123032adad3f9e10e28096b80cd09170ba6" data-rendition-name="original" width="384" height="512" loading="lazy" alt="Searching for a homeland away from home NT"> <figcaption>A mother reunites with her don after 18 years. Photo: CHANDRA KALA CLEMENTE-MARTINEZ</figcaption> </figure>  In Nepali law, adoptees are left in limbo: their birth parents are not considered legal parents, and their ties to the country are effectively erased upon adoption. This lack of recognition creates significant hurdles, particularly in two key areas: accessing pre-adoption records and obtaining Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) status. Despite international norms like the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees the right to know one’s origins, institutions often refuse to cooperate. Orphanages and non-profits in Nepal, which hold critical pre-adoption records such as birth certificates and citizenship documents, frequently withhold this information, reflecting the systemic reluctance to provide transparency. In numerous cases, records that should include family names, addresses, or relinquishment agreements were either incomplete or falsified. These practices not only prevent adoptees from reclaiming their histories but also perpetuate their disconnection from their heritage. Ashmita’s initial requests for information from her adoption agency were met with delays and incomplete responses. When she turned to the orphanage where she spent her early years, she encountered even greater resistance. At one point, the director of the orphanage issued veiled threats. Nevertheless, Ashmita persisted and managed to find the name of the individual who had brought her to the orphanage. However, the person had disappeared, leaving yet another gap in her story. A breakthrough came when Ashmita accessed a police report that suggested she might have been born in a different municipality than the one in her adoption records, prompting her to seek help from local authorities. The police took an interest in her case and began investigating possible connections to her birth family. While progress was slow, they meticulously followed leads to help her trace her origins. “It’s not easy,” Ashmita said of the process. “But every small step feels like I’m piecing something back together.” She also noted that societal perceptions could add to the difficulty. At times, she felt questioned about her identity and her right to seek answers. “People have asked me why I care so much or even suggested that I’m not Nepali anymore because I was adopted abroad,” she reflected. Ashmita’s story is a complex account of persistence in the face of institutional and personal challenges. While her search has not yet provided all the answers she seeks, it continues to offer her insights into her early life and the systems that shaped her adoption journey. &nbsp;“These records are sealed for a reason. They are not meant to be reopened,” said a government official. Even an NGO representative said: “It’s better for everyone if the past remains in the past.” An orphanage director asked: “Why are you asking these questions? This is not your place anymore.” Hari Prasad Sacré The Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) card is a lifeline for Nepali diaspora members, granting them residency and property rights in Nepal. Yet, adoptees are notably excluded from this framework. While the law stipulates eligibility for individuals whose parents or grandparents were Nepali citizens, it makes no provision for adoptees whose legal ties to their Nepali parents were severed by adoption. When Hari Prasad Sacré, a Nepali adoptee, sought to obtain an NRN card at the Nepal Embassy in Belgium, he encountered officials unfamiliar with processing an NRN request from an adoptee. His case was the first of its kind, setting a precedent but also highlighting the systemic barriers adoptees face. "You are not eligible; your surname is Sacré, it is not a Nepali name," an embassy staff said.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250103120140_9bdc24b7e34930059f895048ab7dc0ad3ca23b16907c572f01a8d5404a5feac5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250103120140_9bdc24b7e34930059f895048ab7dc0ad3ca23b16907c572f01a8d5404a5feac5" data-rendition-name="original" width="446" height="512" loading="lazy" alt="Searching for a homeland away from home NT"> <figcaption>Hari Prasad Sacré receives tika from his father Khul Prasad Adhikari during Dasain, a few weeks after receiving his NRN card. Photo: HARI PRASAD SACRÉ</figcaption> </figure>  Sacré’s situation was legally ambiguous. Although his biological parents, including his father, Khul Prasad Adhikari, are alive and he maintains contact with them, he no longer had “legal” ties to Nepal due to the adoption process. Carrying a Belgian surname the embassy staff was initially convinced the adoptee couldn’t claim Nepali origin. Nepali law, which does not recognise biological parents as legal guardians once a child is adopted, created complications for the NRN application. To navigate this complexity, Sacré relied on a testimony from his father. Issued by a local government body in Kaski, the testimony affirmed that Hari had been put up for adoption and was of Nepali origin. While this enabled the embassy to approve his NRN card, the process was unnecessarily protracted and emotionally charged, highlighting the inadequacy of current policies to accommodate the unique situations of adoptees. Sacré’s case represents a rare instance where biological parents were alive and willing to provide testimony, but many adoptees are not as fortunate. A large number of adoptees were declared “orphans” during the adoption process, even when their parents were alive. This severed their legal ties to Nepal, stripping them of documentation that could later prove their origin. For others, the absence of living biological relatives or access to their original adoption records creates insurmountable barriers. Without clear documentation or a family member to vouch for their Nepali heritage, adoptees are excluded from the NRN framework. This denies them the rights and privileges afforded by the card, including property rights, legal recognition, and a formal connection to their homeland. Current laws fail to account for the complexities of adoptees’ legal status, leaving them disconnected from their cultural and legal heritage. Adoption papers, as evidence of Nepali descent, should be accepted as proof, granting adoptees rightful access to the NRN card and ensuring their inclusion in Nepal’s diaspora. Such reforms are crucial to ensure that all adoptees, regardless of their circumstances, can reclaim their heritage and establish a sense of belonging in Nepali society. Without these changes, the systemic exclusion of adoptees will persist, perpetuating inequities and denying them the opportunity to step up as active members of the Nepali diaspora. Sacré’s case serves as both a precedent and a call to action. It exemplifies the challenges and triumphs of adoptees navigating complex bureaucracies and advocates for a more inclusive and equitable approach to reconnecting adoptees with their homeland. Nepal can draw inspiration from South Korea, where the government has actively supported the reintegration of adoptees into their society. The F4 visa, established through efforts by organisations like the Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link (GOA'L), grants adoptees the right to live and work in Korea, while dual citizenship acknowledges their dual identity as members of the diaspora and their country of origin. GOA’L further fosters reconnection by offering language classes and cultural exchange programs, creating opportunities for meaningful reintegration and belonging. As Nepal refines its NRN citizenship framework, explicitly including adoptees could address the severance of legal and cultural ties caused by international adoption. Such inclusion would provide adoptees a pathway to residency, citizenship, and rights, enabling them to reconnect with their heritage. Complementing this with programs for language acquisition, cultural immersion, and historical education would honour Nepal’s responsibility to the approximately 5,000 children sent abroad. Nepal could establish a dedicated organisation similar to South Korea’s GOA’L and help adoptees access pre-adoption records, navigate legal processes, and engage in cultural exchange initiatives. It would also serve as a bridge between adoptees and Nepali society, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration. This article is based on doctoral studies by <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01H4Z85GPS63ZWDJ3WB2E6KS70">Hari Prasad Sacré</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357823.2022.2142932">Chandra Kala Clemente-Martínez</a>. Hari Prasad Sacré, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium, specialising in cultural translation, multilingualism, and identity in education. His PhD, Reading Illiteracy, explored fractured multilingualism and illiteracy in displaced identities such as adoptees, with work published in leading journals like Critical Arts and the European Journal for Cultural Studies. Chandra Kala Clemente-Martínez, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at the AFIN Research Group, Autonomous University of Barcelona, with a PhD in Social Anthropology. Her research focuses on family strategies, reproductive decisions, and adoption, with extensive fieldwork in Spain and Nepal examining adoptee reunions and related governance and rights.

Searching for a homeland away from home

Villages along the proposed alignment of Nepal’s ambitious <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/putting-nepal-on-the-right-track">east-west train project</a> are excited about the connectivity and development it will bring. But here in Hariban village there is only apprehension. While elsewhere, there are environmental concerns about the train track slicing through national parks and protected forests, here along the densely populated Tarai plains there is worry about losing farmlands. “This project will cost me a big chunk of my land,” says Dinesh Mahato, who farms a small plot in the Ghurkauli village near the East-West Highway. “Why should I agree to give it all away when I will only be compensated partially?” Hari Narayan Mahato echoes his brother’s anger. “The map shows that I have to give up nearly 700 sq m of land, but I know the area is going to be three times bigger once construction begins,” he says. “It’s just not worth it.” There is also opposition in the Dhanpati locality, and 10 households from these two villages have refused to accept the government’s compensation rate for land which they say is much less than market value.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050152_41071574c82ba8f9698b8b7fdecb3ebf280dd314b1175262d961f76dc6d6ad5b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250105050152_41071574c82ba8f9698b8b7fdecb3ebf280dd314b1175262d961f76dc6d6ad5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1292" height="821" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  The East-West Electric Railway project will ultimately be <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-journey-to-electric-public-transport">Nepal’s transportation </a>artery stretching from the eastern border with India in Jhapa to Kanchanpur, connecting 24 districts. It will intersect with the proposed Birganj-Kathmandu railway at a junction in Sarlahi district. When completed, Nepal’s 950km long ‘gateway to prosperity’ as it has been dubbed, will have 123 stations, 10 tunnels, 334 bridges, a dam, and a 132kV transmission line to supply electricity to the locomotives. The project will require the acquisition of about 4,520 hectares of land, including 518 plots belonging to 4,000 households. Some of this will be along corridors through Chitwan, Bardia, Banke and Sukla Phanta <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/does-nepal-need-the-army-to-guard-parks">National Parks</a> and other nature reserves. Controversy about land acquisition and compensation as well as environmental impact have stalled the project since 2010. “The biggest issue has been compensation for land,” admits Kamal Kumar Shah of the Department of Railways. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-china-rail-race">India-China rail race</a>, Shristi Karki This means less than half of the work along the 70km Bardibas-Nijgad segment has been completed and 16 bridges built, and this is the first section of the railway where construction started 15 years ago.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050148_9e1de8c104dcbd239a70d4a3abda71579f86502c8b9f4cdd7e184aeef90eb638.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250105050148_9e1de8c104dcbd239a70d4a3abda71579f86502c8b9f4cdd7e184aeef90eb638" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  Says Senior Division Engineer Kiran Karki: “It is difficult to work here, people have built houses in public land, knowing that the railway is coming. How do we ask them to leave?” Part of the delay is also due to lack of budget, and this has increased the initial estimate of the total cost because of the increase in land value. The government has nationalised over 190 hectares for the Kakadbhitta-Inaruwa section of the railway in the eastern Tarai for which it will have to distribute Rs24.41 billion in compensation. But the budget allocated for that is only Rs1.5 billion. This means farmers have lost their land, but have not yet been compensated. The East-West Railway line was initially estimated to cost around Rs1 billion per km, but this has increased to Rs1.5 billion per km. Just the first Bardibas-Nijgad section will need an additional Rs50 billion to complete. The estimate for the entire project was estimated at Rs955 billion, but a revised budget has already surpassed Rs1.5 trillion. A major bridge across the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/kosi-now-kathmandu-next">Kosi</a> north of the barrage on the Indian border is expected to cost more than Rs410 billion. The &nbsp;Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been revised to build an elevated line over towns in the Butwal section, for example, to avoid paying exorbitant compensation. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-railways-janakpur-test-drive">Nepal Railways Janakpur test drive</a> “This project works on multi-year contracts, which have been difficult to award due to a lack of budget,” says Shah. “So the date of completion of the project depends on money being forthcoming.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050148_addd8a08b727efb1bf1f71752dce1a28d6ea2e9d5f76dafe5dbc9a53a223c5e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250105050148_addd8a08b727efb1bf1f71752dce1a28d6ea2e9d5f76dafe5dbc9a53a223c5e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  Meanwhile, activists have raised concern over the project’s environmental cost. The Railway Department has prepared DPRs for four sections of the railway, but <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere">Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)</a> have not been carried out. In Chitwan, the proposed route was realigned to avoid Chitwan National Park following a Supreme Court stay order. However, Chitwan residents have now formed a Railway Victims’ Struggle Committee, saying that the new route would cut through their densely populated communities. “We only found that our land would be part of the railway line when the people from the Railway Department came here last year,” says Hari Thapaliya of Bharatpur Municipality. “The decision to reroute the track was made overnight without any consultation with us.” Angered locals had set fire to a Railway Department vehicle when a survey team reached Krishnapur in July. Bharatpur Deputy Mayor Chitrasen Adhikari says the Railway Department did not even coordinate with the municipality about the new route. “We have proposed an alternate route to the Department,” she adds. “This project affects the livelihoods of people across <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/fogbound-tarai">the Tarai</a>, their concerns must be heard, and they must be included in the decision-making process,” says infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050148_682ed3ef3e398592f098d1ac638faa4d3b7517515e0f1b2014cb9c4383e6d9c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250105050148_682ed3ef3e398592f098d1ac638faa4d3b7517515e0f1b2014cb9c4383e6d9c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  The problem is that 53% of Nepal’s total population now lives along the narrow strip of plains along the Indian border through which the railway line will pass. The Railway Department is squeezed between the need to balance environmental concerns with high compensation demands of locals. Conservationists have maintained that the railway alignment will go through ecologically sensitive areas, disturbing and fragmenting the habitat of endangered species, blocking their migration routes and disrupting water and food sources. All of this could in turn increase <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor">human-wildlife conflict</a>. Experts have suggested measures to invest in ‘ecological offsetting’ programs that help in the creation of new protected areas, restoration projects, and wildlife underpass and overpass corridors. There is also <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-pre-monsoon-forest-fires-in-nepal">concern about the forests </a>that have to be sacrificed. Already, 13,500 trees have been cut down in the Bardibas-Nijgad section alone. The Sagarnath Forest, which stretches from Sarlahi to Mahottari, and areas under the Rautahat Division Forest also lie along the proposed alignment. Surya Raj Acharya blames inadequate monitoring and evaluation during the preparation of the DPR because government agencies lack sufficient technical capacity and experience in the railway sector.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050148_7823653d3f037122441c11f6485c5407acc716811bedf464255aefe3a76d97f8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250105050148_7823653d3f037122441c11f6485c5407acc716811bedf464255aefe3a76d97f8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  He adds, “Transparent financial planning and management are necessary to ensure the project’s sustainability and economic viability. But the contracts have been hurriedly awarded without proper land acquisition. An urgent review is necessary.” All this needs stronger political will and coordination between various agencies which is sorely lacking not just in the east-west railway project, but in other infrastructure schemes as well. When built, the nearly 1,000 km long railway will streamline cargo and passenger traffic, making it cheaper and more convenient for ordinary people. Railway junctions can also facilitate the north-south transshipment of goods and passenger traffic when coordinated with public transport. Transport costs for exports and imports from India will also be slashed. “A high-speed train running at 200 to 250km per hour will mean that trains will get from Kathmandu to Dhangadi faster than planes, and at much cheaper fares,” notes Acharya. Trains will also reduce carbon emissions by up to 30% compared to trucks and buses. Train lines will be the backbone of Nepal’s transportation system, boosting tourism in the Kathmandu, Chitwan and Lumbini triangle.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250105050148_ee137f417c5712be9d2d16f295ba7e30fc207e878214103e387346dfed3a9815.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250105050148_ee137f417c5712be9d2d16f295ba7e30fc207e878214103e387346dfed3a9815" data-rendition-name="original" width="577" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal train project struggles to stay on track NT"> </figure>  Ultimately, the Kerung-Kathmandu trans-Himalayan railway will connect with the Birganj-Kathmandu line and in future be a future non-maritime corridor for India-China trade. Nepal has been trying to get the East-West railway project funded through foreign investment, but so far there has not been much interest. There also needs to be a better viability study for future railway links, otherwise Nepal may be straddled with loans it cannot repay. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-and-china-to-study-trans-himalayan-railway">Nepal and China to study trans-Himalayan railway</a>, Ramesh Bhushal “The border region along the Tarai remains behind in terms of education, health, and the economy,” says economist Bishwo Poudel. “A railway line alone will not do much to improve their quality of life, there have to be other interventions.” Poudel adds that a north-south railway through Kathmandu to connect India and China through Nepal makes much more economic sense. China has been studying the Kerung-Kathmandu track with tunnels under <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/cleaning-up-high-places">Langtang National Park</a>, which would have technological and financial challenges. India is also working on a railway alignment to connect Kathmandu to its border town of Raxaul. At present the only operational passenger railway in Nepal is the 35km cross-border Jaynagar–Janakpur–Bardibas line. The former Department of Railways Director General Rohit Kumar Bisural is a road engineer, and says: “Very few people in Nepal have experience in railways.”

Nepal train project struggles to stay on track

A young non-resident Newa person in Dallas emails a New York Times article to his grandfather in Nepal who cannot read English.
Grandad copies the English text, pastes it into Google Translate to read it in Newari.
This translation feature, available to the world’s major languages, can now also be used by the indigenous people of Kathmandu Valley to translate their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/decoding-diversity?fbclid=IwAR3P0GygTCQ7HE-LaaVOhmKSyUDLlIrR2l9VzXKwCFJ8Em7YFHSAOiiXqQE">mother tongue</a> into English and vice versa.
This involved three-and-a-half years of effort and will impact everyday life in the study and preservation of Newa culture. It also shows a path forward to Nepal’s 123 other languages and dialects.
The World Newah Organisation (WNO) in 2011 invited Newa people from around the world to a convention in London. Software engineer and historian Sanyukta Shrestha was involved, and now leads WNO.
The top priority for discussion was how to conserve the language which was classified as ‘definitely endangered’ by UNESCO, with only 850,000 speakers left.
“The Newa people are diverse: there are different sects, religions. The language and the calendar are what is common,” explains Shrestha. “The strategy was to unite the community behind an existing technology.”
Ujjwal Rajbhandari, an engineer at Google who does not even speak the language, got involved. “I thought why not take advantage of a great tool that already exists,” Rajbhandari, who is co-founder at Qubrid AI in Austin, Texas, told us on the phone.
Work started December 2020, but the prognosis was bleak. Engineers said that the project may take up to 10 years. Translate runs on a ‘transformer’, a machine learning neural network designed to take sequences as input, uses math to understand the context, and outputs a probable output. It uses an ‘attention’ mechanism, which looks at the input text and tries to work out the relationships of each word to each other word.
The more data you feed this statistical monster, the better it gets. But that was the first problem. There was a dire lack of digital material, either in Newari, bilingual Newari-Nepali or Newari-English dictionaries.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/languages-are-both-software-and-hardware">Languages are both software and hardware</a>
“Tens of thousands of digital pages of content were needed, so in 2021 we met with the editors of Newa magazines and asked to scan and digitise their material,” Shrestha recalls. “We hunted down writers, publishers, songwriters, invitation cards - anything that was written in Nepalbhasa.” &nbsp;
Google gave WNO a sheet of 1,200 sentences from random contexts, to be translated. WNO formed a committee to complete this task, and by April 2021, Translate could at least identify the language.
Nepalbhasa can be written in 13 different scripts, the two most popular are the Ranjana and Devanagari. The team chose the latter because there is a lot more material in Nepalbhasa in Devanagari, and many more people who can type in it. “Devanagari is what has allowed any of this work at all,” points out Shrestha. “Translation was the much harder problem to solve, converting output to another face is much easier.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lost-in-translation">Lost in translation</a>, Alisha Sijapati
Now the model needed a large volume of input from the community. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">Every AI model</a> is dependent on the volume of data, even that which is introduced later. User corrections are fed back, which makes the model more robust,” says Rajbhandari.
This happened to be at peak pandemic-time. People knew how to video-chat and had time on their hands. WNO members met for one or two hours in the evening, on a Zoom call that they also broadcast on Facebook. People worked together translating. Which was very effective, because they could get instant input or feedback from others on the call. “It was cool to see was how this brought together elders who knew the language deeply, and the youngsters who have the tech skills,” says Rajbhandari.
By February 2024 there were 500,000 contributions, and Google deemed that this volume of data was sufficient for the model to ‘level up’. Translate added Nepalbhasa to its list of supported languages in June last year. The language had now been intergrated into a tool that can be used for free from anywhere with an internet connection. Accuracy was unusally high, over 90%.
It opens up a whole different world on the internet, for those who only know Nepalbhasa, since any website integrated with Google can be used automatically and instantly converted to that language.
The translations are already being used in East Europe to translate legal documents, Newa songwriters, like Ujan Shakya, use it to convert English lyrics. And when Rajbhandari speaks to WNO over video, his English is instantly translated into Newari subtitles.
“Older people are happy that language will now not die. Younger ones can use it to self-learn the language, now they can’t blame elders for not teaching them,” says Shrestha.
Yet another use is the integration with large language models, like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/chatgpt-news-about-nepal">ChatGPT</a>. LLMs encounter Nepalbhasa in their training data, so they can already generate rudimentary responses.
Says Shrestha, “You can ask questions about a Newa book in English, and the LLM &nbsp;gives you a coherent answer and even cite the page number.” This makes the use of Newa books for research possible and a lot faster.
Leading this mammoth task led Shrestha to a better appreciation for his mother tongue. “I saw the richness of Newari. There are onomatopoeia and proverbs that only elders use, and it is these and the dialects that need to be saved,” he says.
The next step is a text-to-speech, speech-to-text interface, which would open up its use by those who speak and understand Nepalbhasa but may not read, write or type it. Tourists to Nepal would also benefit.
Rajbhandari wants to work on similar projects for other endangered languages of Nepal, and the team has shown that it does not need government to do such work.
Says Rajbhandari: “We have learned many things that would make integration of future languages more efficient so we can solve problems in other projects.”

Nepal Bhasa on Google Translate

When a dozen tiger range countries met in St. Petersburg for a summit in 2010, they committed to doubling the population of their big cats in 12 years. Nepal became the first country to not just achieve the target but nearly triple the figure, from 121 in 2010, to 355 in 2022. But some people in Nepal, including Prime Minister KP Oli, now think Nepal has been too successful and the number of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-counting-its-tigers">wild tigers</a> should be reduced. This was the same prime minister who last year had urged people to help in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-tigers-now-number-235-1iulcaq1">conservation of tigers</a>, calling it “the pride of Nepal”. But last month, in his own pithy language, Oli said <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-tiger-conservation-too-successful">tigers had become as numerous</a> as dogs, and they could not be allowed to breed at the cost of human lives. “The tiger population should be proportionate to our forest area, why not gift the extra tigers to other countries as economic diplomacy?” Oli added at a debriefing on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/bad-cop">COP29</a> last month. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor">Human-wildlife conflict</a> has indeed claimed lives, since tigers are venturing outside crowded parks to find prey. So, the prime minister’s proposal to promote wildlife diplomacy may not be such a bad idea since it would raise Nepal’s international profile and highlight <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal">the country’s conservation success story</a>. “Tigers can be sent to other countries through diplomacy, but the receiving countries must have the right capacity and environment,” says Ghana Gurung of World Wildlife Fund (WWF Nepal), adding that tigers to be sent must also be chosen carefully. “The Prime Minister gave an emotionally charged statement, which probably came after he spoke to affected groups,” Gurung added. “We tripled the tiger population, but if proper steps for management and cooperation are not taken, we can lose them all as easily.” However, member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) would have to follow strict protocols and paperwork to transport the tigers. Previously, Nepal has sent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-many-rhinos-is-enough-rhinos">rhinos</a> to China in two batches through the completion of complicated procedures. Naturalist Sushila Mahatara at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bardia-s-birds">Bardia National Park</a> does not agree that Nepal has too many tigers. She tells us: “Tiger numbers are not excessive according to the areas allocated for them. If there are too many tigers, they fight and kill each other to keep their numbers in control.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025011008010_8cf30b15459a919f1d72d06ca02b3515255460c025a62222a219218787c08bc6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025011008010_8cf30b15459a919f1d72d06ca02b3515255460c025a62222a219218787c08bc6" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="481" loading="lazy" alt="No. of tigers"> <figcaption>Photo: WWF</figcaption> </figure>  Bardia National Park has 125 adult tigers, and Chitwan National Park has 128. There were about 12 fatalities from tiger attacks in the past year, and some of the maneaters are darted and caged. However, many of them soon die in the confined space. Dhan Bahadur Tamang, a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">tiger conservationist </a>with over 50 years of experience explains exactly why tigers venture out when they do: “Those that enter human settlements are usually young tigers which have been separated from their mothers. Some are injured tigers who cannot attack traditional prey.” The other reasons include encroachment as a result of human settlement and infrastructure projects in close proximity or within the protected areas with no wildlife-friendly components such as overpasses. The water shortage made worse by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-who-stay">the climate crisis</a> has added to the challenge. Although an average of 3,000 people in Nepal are killed every year by venomous snakes, tiger kills get far more media attention. This has led to tigers being seen as a threat rather than an important apex species in an ecosystem. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/the-snake-bite-emergency">The snake bite emergency</a>, Chandra Kishore The other threat to tigers is from commercialisation. Last year, then Minister for Forests and Environment Birendra Mahato of Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) &nbsp;proposed auctioning tigers to trophy hunters because Nepal had “too many tigers”. He calculated that the country could earn $25 million through tiger hunting licenses which would underwrite the cost of maintaining national parks. His statement created widespread outrage as well as mockery from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/conservation-vs-conservatives">conservationists</a> and environmentalists, just as Prime Minister Oli’s statement last month did. Tigers are also a major source of revenue for national parks, and a highlight for tourists. “The tigers being in the jungle means that there is the presence of a balanced environment,” says Mahatara at Bardia. “Any <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal">loss of biodiversity</a> in the parks could lead to a decline in the influx of tourists.” Eco-tourism and tiger safaris are a big source of income also for homestays and the local communities in Chitwan and Bardia. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/saving-tigers-to-save-the-economy">Saving tigers to save the economy</a> Says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/conversation-with-mr-conservation">Ghana Gurung</a> at WWF: “Tourists visit national parks in anticipation of viewing tigers. At present the number is 355 and if tourists don’t spot a single tiger during their safari, then how will they see one if the numbers are reduced?” Better management of wildlife is the key, and involves a mix of approaches including the idea of tiger diplomacy. But because many human-wildlife conflict cases take place when locals go to the forest to collect firewood or fodder, they should be aware of safety precautions. “We have worked continuously through skill development and behaviour change campaigns to help the locals live and maintain a livelihood in the buffer zone and protected areas,” adds Gurung. “This has been one of our major goals, to uplift the living standards of the locals so that they can coexist with wildlife in the area.”&nbsp;

fundraising