<figure><img width="3648" height="2736" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3b59c7e80680e08f983jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Lukla used to see up to 35 flights full of tourists daily till March 2020. This year there are only 2-3 flights a day, with mostly locals. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The availability of Covid-19 vaccines, a recent decrease in fatality rates in India and Nepal, and inquiries from travelers seeking to get out into the Himalayan wilderness, have raised hopes of a rebound in Nepal’s tourism industry in 2021.
However, travel trade insiders say the numbers will only pick up if Nepal’s tourism authorities are proactive about promoting Nepal as a safe destination, and if the byzantine <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tourist-visas-now-open-for-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tourist-visas-now-open-for-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDlA8AEMAYlVlvOECkKwh7l6mExA">rules for visas</a> and quarantines are clarified and eased.
However, some of that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFagUqg6akUnoqa2SWdt5o0vkViVw">optimism has been tempered</a> by a new resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as sustained high levels of infection in the United States.  
“We had a German group booked for an Annapurna Base Camp trek in February, but when they found out that they had to spend a week in quarantine in a hotel in Kathmandu, they cancelled,” said one trekking agency owner who has not had a single group for one year now.
Although few question the need for quarantines, there is a feeling that with double PCR tests on arrival and after quarantine, the period can be reduced to four days.
Then there are the confusing rules about visas. Nepal has cancelled on-arrival visas, although in some cases tourists have been allowed in if their tour agent supplies proper documentation beforehand. The rules are neither clear, not consistently applied.
Present rules stipulate that foreigners coming to Nepal have to get visas before they come, have a PCR test 72 hours before the flight, $5,000 insurance, a 7 day reservation at a designated hotel in Kathmandu, and a return ticket. Citizens of countries where there are no Nepal embassies have to send their passports to the nearest capital with one.
However, if a trekking agent with enough connections can organise the papers, some <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkpRlbZxlH01gdAqid7MKkOgzj8w">trekking and climbing groups</a> have got visas on arrival.
“The rules have to be very clear, they should not be confusing, and they should be consistently applied,” said on international airline manager in Kathmandu. “Otherwise, it adds to the uncertainty of travelling in the time of corona, and people end up cancelling their trips.”
The travel trade is putting pressure on the Ministry of Tourism to allow visa on arrival to all foreigners as long as they have insurance and PCR negative reports, and to streamline the entry process before the spring trekking and climbing season <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-all-the-guides-gone/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-all-the-guides-gone/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF8-gpZmvrBi-CF6qJ_MDEMwCAn0A">to revive the industry.</a> More than 1 million people used to be directly employed in the tourism industry, and double that number depended partly on income from the sector.
“I am not very optimistic about 2021, but I believe 2022 is going to explode,” says Birendra Basnet, Managing Director of Nepal’s largest domestic airline Buddha Air, who expects arrivals by road and air to increase once India-Nepal travel is opened.
However, for attracting tourists from Europe and North America, he says Nepal has to publicise the fact that Nepal is a safe destination, and rebrand itself and proactively promote its unspoilt nature, and wilderness adventure for the post-pandemic era.
Buddha Air had started training its staff with safety drills and health protocols training for check-in and on board in July. After domestic flights resumed mid-September, Nepal’s airlines have been carrying even more passengers than pre-Covid on trunk routes because of reduced fares and the risks in long-distance bus travel.
Much of this surge is also due to the expansion in domestic tourism. Although arrivals figures are still lower than pre-Covid levels, destinations like Chitwan, Pokhara, Khumbu have picked up because of Nepali travelers.
Indeed, Dhananjay Regmi of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) says domestic tourism has been able to partially compensate for the loss in business in the hospitality industry that used to be dominated by international visitors.
“Domestic tourism sustained us during the time of crisis, now with the vaccines, we hope foreign tourists will start coming back from the spring season,” Regmi says.
However, airline and hotel executives say that unless the visa process is made easier, and the restrictions relaxed, it is unlikely that the numbers will pick up till September at the earliest.
After regular international flights restarted in October, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-open-for-trekking-from-17-october/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkpRlbZxlH01gdAqid7MKkOgzj8w">trekking resumed in October</a>, there has been some foreigners trickling in, but most have been deterred by safety concerns, as well as entry restrictions. Total tourists dropped from over 1.1 million in 2019 to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unlimited-flights-to-nepal-from-17-october/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unlimited-flights-to-nepal-from-17-october/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611655722794000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHURzSqfYfz_8OMjcbB3QRRL6hcTQ">fewer than 230,000 last year.</a>
Tribhuvan International Airport saw a drop in number of passengers from 4.13 million in 2019 to only 1.03 million last year.

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Nepal hopes for tourism rebound in 2021

<figure><img width="2839" height="2092" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd3299c7e80680e08f952jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra at a press meet. India has donated 1 million 1 million Covidsheild vaccines to Nepal, which arrived on 21 January. All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The first lot of 1 million Covishield vaccines donated by the Indian government to Nepal as part of its good-neighbourly ‘Vaccine Maitri’ campaign arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday.The challenge now is to get the jabs to high risk groups in remote areas, as well as injecting two doses to the arms of an estimated 18 million Nepalis older than 15 during the year.Nepal will ultimately need 36 million vials of various vaccines during 2021. Fortunately, the country has a good record in maintaining the cold chain for child immunisation programs, and it is also got a stellar reputation for multiple-dose treatment like DOTS for tuberculosis.However, there are still so many uncertainties about the duration of vaccine immunity and transmissibility that Nepalis will have to continue to mask up, keep distance and frequently wash hands even as the inoculation campaign picks up momentum.The vaccines that arrived on 21 January are the Oxford-Astra Zeneca (Covishield) manufactured by <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/serum-institute-of-indias-covid-19-vaccine-not-to-get-nod-till-uk-authorises-astrazeneca-shot-931200.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/serum-institute-of-indias-covid-19-vaccine-not-to-get-nod-till-uk-authorises-astrazeneca-shot-931200.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9_-18QTRwm8m50Y4SJUMINrNnAQ">Serum Institute of India</a> and part of India’s consignments to Bhutan and the Maldives earlier this week. At a time when most rich countries are only focused on their own citizens, India’s gesture is generous. For New Delhi, this is also a public relations exercise to bolster Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.  “This is a gift from the government and people of India to the people of Nepal who are getting the vaccines just one week after India started vaccinating its own citizens,” Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra told a press meet on Wednesday. “This is a symbol of the close ties between India and Nepal and the importance with which India views Nepal.”The vaccine cooperation was discussed between Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar last week, and soon after that Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration granted permission for emergency use of Covishield in the country. Although the daily fatality rate is coming down in Nepal, and there are only 4,000 active cases, the total number of deaths is nearing 2,000.   <img width="3360" height="2240" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd32c9c7e80680e08f953jpeg.jpg" alt="">Covishield is made with the help of an adenovirus, itself one of the common cold viruses. The outer membrane of SARS-CoV-2 is studded with spikes as commonly pictured, and Covishield embeds this spike protein in the adenovirus which is then injected into humans. This triggers the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against Covid-19 infection.Because Covishield is associated with DNA for viral instruction storage and not RNA (which is more fragile) it only needs 3-6oC storage temperature, and not the -70oC that vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer require. Those two vaccines that are being administered now in Europe and North America are expensive, and would have been a logistical nightmare for Nepal.However, because of the gap between the supply of vaccines and demand, and given the history of corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 test kits and equipment in Nepal last year, there is danger of the vaccines getting into the black market, or going to rich and powerful individuals and not frontline workers.  Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi said on Wednesday that the first 500,000 doses of Covishield would start with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFj4gKLJXeWfUO1LG7yVujHhSqIMg">health workers</a>, and then to the elderly, both getting the second dose after three weeks. More vaccines will then have to be purchased to inoculate the target of 6 million people in the first phase of the campaign.The efficacy of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine ranges from 62% to 90% depending on the dose, and there have not been any major reports of side-effects. However, India’s Covaxin made by the state-owned Bharat Biotech is an inactivated virus made in the traditional way which is in Phase 3 trails. But no data is available yet to show the efficacy or side effects of this vaccine.The Chinese candidate vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac are said to have efficacy rates of 79 % and 50 % respectively. The Chinese have an impressive track record of making vaccines, and to combat infectious diseases. But until data is clearly presented, it may be prudent for Nepal not to obtain Covaxin, Sinopharm and Sinovac. The <a href="https://www.who.int/nepal" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.who.int/nepal&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDnbBJ3Yk_M4C1124EiyMibcR6-Q">World Health Organization’s</a> COVAX program in April <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNERvJtzVPnNcxAQzK2yCT53RkOWhw">promised that Nepal would get enough vaccines</a> to inoculate 3% of the population, and provide a further 20% of Nepalis with free shots. But there are doubts about when these vaccines will be available because of high global demand from other developing countries.The Ministry of Health has reportedly drawn up a list of those who will get vaccines first, and has also laid out the logistics so that the 1 million vials that arrived on Thursday will be dispatched to all districts with inoculations starting next week.It would have been a masterstroke <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHZaSE0Y1z6hzl531Ss1Mot6n15A">if Nepal had used ‘vaccine diplomacy’</a> right at the outset by taking part in the initial vaccine trials conducted by universities and other countries. We would then have a stronger claim to vaccines, since the country does not have the financial heft to procure them. This has put Nepal at the mercy of  vaccine producing countries for now.China did such a commendable job in controlling Covid-19 that it was not able to conduct proper vaccine trials in their own country. So they did it in countries like Brazil and Bahrain. If Nepal had agreed to trials, with China, India or the Oxford researchers at the very outset of this pandemic, we would have been ahead in the queue.The oft-used argument that other countries are using us as ‘guinea pigs’ for Covid-19 vaccine studies would not be valid because Covid-19 is a universal problem. But it is too late for that now. The challenge ahead for Nepal is to acquire enough vaccines, administer both doses promptly, efficiently and equitably, and set about reviving the economy.    <img width="2240" height="3360" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111132/636cd32f9c7e80680e08f954jpeg.jpg" alt="">During the course of 2021, there may also be other breakthroughs. The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/serum-institute-of-indias-covid-19-vaccine-not-to-get-nod-till-uk-authorises-astrazeneca-shot-931200.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/serum-institute-of-indias-covid-19-vaccine-not-to-get-nod-till-uk-authorises-astrazeneca-shot-931200.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9_-18QTRwm8m50Y4SJUMINrNnAQ">Serum Institute of India</a>, for example is researching an <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/intra-nasal-covid-19-vaccines-will-be-far-easier-to-deliver-kiran-mazumdar-shaw-11603681291099.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.livemint.com/companies/people/intra-nasal-covid-19-vaccines-will-be-far-easier-to-deliver-kiran-mazumdar-shaw-11603681291099.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDbfoQb80sB_od3N9YsrYuznF80A">intra-nasal vaccine</a>, which is administered with a nasal spray and not an injection, and can be stored at room temperature. If successful, this vaccine would be the real answer for Nepal. The best way to handle the new Covid-19 variants is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-covid-19-exit-strategy-for-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-covid-19-exit-strategy-for-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEKR39Tcv33bGq5IMqj5nUFO9en9Q">continued vigilance</a> about preventive measures, especially since the mutation gives the virus the ability to spread faster. It is best to be over-prepared than under-prepared, even with vaccines.   Nepal’s travel industry and the migration sector see vaccines as a game-changer that can help the economy get back on track. This week, the European Union is discussing the use of ‘vaccine passports’ like the Yellow Card of the 1970s to enable travelers to cross borders—possibly to be standardised by the WHO. Even so, the vaccination rate is only 2% for Europe, and even less for the United States and other countries, which means a revival of Nepal’s tourism may not happen immediately. Which means it may take more time for the jabs to revive jobs. But there are still questions about transmission by vaccinated individuals, how long the immunity lasts, and if ‘vaccine passports’ would actually reduce the risk. However, there are fears that unequal vaccine availability between and within countries will divide populations into ‘jab and jab-nots’. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFJ_dZ8J47Pov3VY8l3kXfwsu13kA">Buddha Basnyat</a> is a physician and clinical researcher at Patan Academy of Health Sciences and writes Dhanvantari, a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/what-is-novel-about-the-novel-coronavirus/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1611301012378000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFJ_dZ8J47Pov3VY8l3kXfwsu13kA">frequent health column</a> for Nepali Times.

Buddha Basnyat

Jabs and jab-nots

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bee254b0ad905ca02ef28jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768"/><figcaption>The crew with their boat as they train for the rowing challenge. Photo courtesy: ASHLEY JONES</figcaption></figure>The four crew members have completed military tours in combat zones, rowed the North Pacific, ran the Marathon De Sable and climbed mountains. Now, they are all set to take on their biggest adventure yet -- the Atlantic Rowing Race.They are joining what has been dubbed the world’s toughest race to raise money to build schools in rural Nepal.Calum Barclay, Ashley Jones, Nick Kempster and Jack Carter will be taking on the ocean rowing race the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which gets under way on 12 December from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 5,000km.“Long before Covid-19 surfaced I took the decision to row the Atlantic with a friend. We soon found two others and in January 2019 registered for a race,” says Jones. “Rowing an ocean is something that has appealed greatly to me for a very long time. Fifteen years ago I signed up to row the Indian Ocean but sadly that journey did not materialise. This time it’s for real.”The team has been planning for the race for two years and has over 100 hours of in-boat training for the annual race founded in 1997. Participants endure rowing in 30ft waves, 1,800km from shore day and night being self-sufficient on 28-foot boat for 35-40 days.Each crew member will have a punishing shift pattern of 2-hours on 2-hours off with real possibility of extreme mental and physical exhaustion and eat re-hydrated food, sleep in tiny cabins in over 30 degrees heat, and toilet will be a bucket at best.On average a person loses 12kgs during the crossing.The crew aim to raise $300,000 for The Human Practice Foundation (HPF) to help build schools to educate 1,300 children every single year. HPF, set up in 2014 has built 59 schools in Nepal and Kenya, helping educate 27,000 children.“The UK branch of HPF has only recently opened and as with all other charities the current climate has adversely affected the ability to raise funds. But with this we are hoping to raise enough money to build two schools in the Taplejung region of North East Nepal,” says Jones. “Good thing is this part of the world is familiar to me as a former member of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.”The team has already left from the UK to begin the race from La Gomerain the Canary Islands on 12 December.Those interested can follow the team on their Facebook and Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hpfatlantic/">hpfatlantic</a>) or visit its  <a href="http://www.hpfatlantic.co.uk/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.hpfatlantic.co.uk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607590988113000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFP9sFR51j7esNwFxmqP91Dws10Ww">website</a> which also accepts donations. Followers can also download the app '<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yellowbrick.raceviewer&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US">YB Races</a>’ (accessible from 12 December) and by adding 'Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge 2020' will get to see exactly where the crew and the other boats are.

Rowing across the Atlantic to help Nepal schools

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be71f9c7e80680e0877dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768"/><figcaption>The crew with their boat as they train for the rowing challenge. Photo courtesy: ASHLEY JONES</figcaption></figure>The four crew members have completed military tours in combat zones, rowed the North Pacific, ran the Marathon De Sable and climbed mountains. Now, they are all set to take on their biggest adventure yet -- the Atlantic Rowing Race.They are joining what has been dubbed the world’s toughest race to raise money to build schools in rural Nepal.Calum Barclay, Ashley Jones, Nick Kempster and Jack Carter will be taking on the ocean rowing race the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which gets under way on 12 December from the Canary Islands to the West Indies, a distance of approximately 5,000km.“Long before Covid-19 surfaced I took the decision to row the Atlantic with a friend. We soon found two others and in January 2019 registered for a race,” says Jones. “Rowing an ocean is something that has appealed greatly to me for a very long time. Fifteen years ago I signed up to row the Indian Ocean but sadly that journey did not materialise. This time it’s for real.”The team has been planning for the race for two years and has over 100 hours of in-boat training for the annual race founded in 1997. Participants endure rowing in 30ft waves, 1,800km from shore day and night being self-sufficient on 28-foot boat for 35-40 days.Each crew member will have a punishing shift pattern of 2-hours on 2-hours off with real possibility of extreme mental and physical exhaustion and eat re-hydrated food, sleep in tiny cabins in over 30 degrees heat, and toilet will be a bucket at best.On average a person loses 12kgs during the crossing.The crew aim to raise $300,000 for The Human Practice Foundation (HPF) to help build schools to educate 1,300 children every single year. HPF, set up in 2014 has built 59 schools in Nepal and Kenya, helping educate 27,000 children.“The UK branch of HPF has only recently opened and as with all other charities the current climate has adversely affected the ability to raise funds. But with this we are hoping to raise enough money to build two schools in the Taplejung region of North East Nepal,” says Jones. “Good thing is this part of the world is familiar to me as a former member of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.”The team has already left from the UK to begin the race from La Gomerain the Canary Islands on 12 December.Those interested can follow the team on their Facebook and Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hpfatlantic/">hpfatlantic</a>) or visit its  <a href="http://www.hpfatlantic.co.uk/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.hpfatlantic.co.uk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607590988113000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFP9sFR51j7esNwFxmqP91Dws10Ww">website</a> which also accepts donations. Followers can also download the app '<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yellowbrick.raceviewer&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US">YB Races</a>’ (accessible from 12 December) and by adding 'Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge 2020' will get to see exactly where the crew and the other boats are.

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1b99c7e80680e083e65jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/>The Covid-19 infection rate in Nepal is much higher in younger age groups but most fatalities are of people in their sixties and above. However, a new UNICEF report warns that an entire generation of young people are at risk because of the pandemic’s impact on health, education and nutrition.In Nepal, younger people are now taking home the SARS-CoV-2 virus and making their parents and grandparents seriously sick.The Covid-19 crisis has also disrupted vaccination campaigns for other diseases in Nepal, and threatens to undo decades of progress in child survival.Critical health services, lack of medicines and restrictions on mobility has lead to dramatic rise in maternal and child mortality as well as outbreaks of infectious diseases such as of measles in Nepal’s Dhading and Gorkha districts.Children and adolescents are thought to be the least affected by the coronavirus disease. But as the pandemic lurches towards a second year, an entire generation of young people is at the risk of facing life-altering impact on health, education and nutrition.A UNICEF report launched on World Children’s Day on Friday lists the serious and growing consequences for children as the pandemic drags on.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-impact-on-food-and-school-in-nepali-children/">Covid-19 impact on food and school in Nepali children</a>, Nepali TimesAverting a Lost COVID Generation points out that while symptoms among children remain mild, infection rates are rising and the coronavirus crisis threatens to cause longer-term and irreversible impact on their education, nutrition and well-being.“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a persistent myth that children are barely affected by the disease. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “Disruptions to key services and soaring poverty rates pose the biggest threat to children. The longer the crisis persists, the deeper its impact on children’s education, health, nutrition and well-being. The future of an entire generation is at risk.”The UNICEF report has compiled age-aggregated data from 87 countries and found that children and adolescents under 20 years account for 1 in 9 reported Covid-19 infection or at least 11% of the 25.7 million cases. More importantly, they transmit the virus to the larger population more at the risk.The report has estimated that 2 million additional child deaths and 200,000 additional stillbirths could occur over a 12-month period worldwide with severe interruptions to services and rising malnutrition.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rise-in-poverty-due-to-covid-19-to-affect-children/">Rise in poverty due to Covid-19 to affect children</a>, Nepali TimesRestrictions imposed to contain the pandemic has meant that the number of children living in multi-dimensional poverty. As a result 6 to 7 million children under the age of 5 are likely to suffer from wasting or acute malnutrition in 2020, a 14% rise that will translate into more than 10,000 additional child deaths per month – mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.There is a 40% decline in the coverage of nutrition services for women and children across 135 countries. As of October 2020, 265 million children were still missing out on school meals globally. More than 250 million children under 5 could miss the life-protecting benefits of Vitamin A supplementation programs.While a more reliable, age-disaggregated data on infection, deaths and testing is needed to better understand how the crisis impacts the most vulnerable children, there is strong evidence that the net benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them.But schools have been closed for almost a year in Nepal and ad hoc online classes has only exposed the country’s digital divide more than ever. This has experts worried that past achievements in school enrollment will undermined.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/">Children are collateral damage in lockdown</a>, Sonia AwaleA school in Humla that had opened after eight months last week saw 32 students and teachers testing positive to Covid-19, and this is likely to make local government’s in areas with low infection rates rethink resumption of classes.A survey by the Room To Read literacy group in August showed that 53% of female students may not go back to schools when they reopen.As of November 2020, 572 million students are affected by country-wide school closures across the world, and this is 33% of the total enrolled students worldwide.“This World Children’s Day, we are asking governments, partners and the private sector to listen to children and prioritise their needs,” added Fore. “As we all reimagine the future and look ahead toward a post-pandemic world, children must come first.”On Friday UNICEF Nepal is also hosting a virtual children’s parliamentary session and is launching a mental health campaign ‘म छु नि’ (Here for You) for children and adolescents.Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions have had added to mental health problems of young people and can have a lasting impact on their long-term development.In Nepal, 1 in 12 children aged 10-14 years and 1 in 10 aged 15-17 years experience anxiety, and 2% of 10-17 year olds suffer from depression.

The lost ‘Covid Generation’

<figure><img width="2048" height="1282" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1af9c7e80680e083e61jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>With the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/double-whammy-air-pollution-and-covid-19/">pre-winter resurgence of Covid-19</a> around the world and in Nepal, pressure is mounting on governments to procure vaccines to protect their populations.
Last week, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal government set up a committee</a> of secretaries of the Finance, Home, Health and Foreign Affairs ministries to study vaccines under development as well as procedures to procure them. But Nepal is far behind other countries, which have already ‘booked’ their future supplies.
On Wednesday President Bidya Devi Bhandari signed an ordinance empowering the government to import Covid-19 vaccines from international pharmaceutical companies, and to use them even if they are authorised only for emergency use.
<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vax-populi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">VAX POPULI</a>, Sonia Awale
However, there is no effective strategy to ensure vaccines for all as distribution in Nepal comes with the challenge of taking it to poor and remote corners of the country. Experts fear that even when the vaccines become available, the campaign will be plagued by the same socio-economic inequities that afflict the medical sector.
“We need to immediately start identifying vulnerable groups like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frontline health workers</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/spared-at-first-elderly-hit-hard-by-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the elderly</a> or those with comorbidities to prioritise for immunisation,” says Bikash Gauchan, a physician at Bayalpata Hospital in the under-served western district of Achham.
“We also need to set up proper cold chain facilities across the country as soon as possible and have a well thought out distribution plan so that when the vaccine does arrive, we can hit the ground running,” he adds.
The silver lining is that Nepal already has a successful <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/polio-hunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">childhood immunisation</a> network that has successfully mobilised <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/enlisting-female-health-volunteers-to-fight-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Female Community Health Volunteers</a>, and they can deliver vaccines to the homes of the elderly who cannot make it to clinics. Monitoring the follow-up second dose for some of the vaccines will be crucial, although Nepal’s health system has experience with maintaining a cold chain for other campaigns.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-diaspora-hit-by-covid-surge/">Nepali diaspora hit by Covid surge</a>, Nepali Times
Despite recent breakthroughs in trials (see box) public health experts stress the importance of exploring vaccine supply options closer to home. As of now, 11 vaccines developed in several parts of the world are in the third phase of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/countries-cooperating-to-find-covid-19-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clinical trials</a> with many of them expected to be as effective.
Neighbouring China and India are at the forefront. And Nepal should have begun its ‘vaccine diplomacy’ much before this to secure its supply of shots.
There is also the uncertainty of vaccine efficacy depending on the strain: the same vaccine could be highly effective against people in the West but not as much in South Asia where people suffer from chronic malnutrition and multiple infections.
“For a working vaccine to be made within a year is an amazing victory for science but we also need to know that these vaccines are designed for their population. So I’d want to know more about the vaccines in India and China,” says Sameer Mani Dixit of the Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal. “Particularly China, as it was where the pandemic started but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-nepal-can-learn-from-china-about-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has since controlled it effectively</a> unlike rest of the world.”
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-truth-about-the-chloroquine-scam/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Buddha Basnyat</a> of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences agrees. He says: “China looks at the reality in our backyard. So a more suitable vaccine for us could come from the Chinese, particularly because they have a track record of having developed better vaccine for this part of the world.”
Indeed, the JEVAX made by the researchers in Chengdu is now the most widely used jab against Japanese Encephalitis because it’s more cost effective compared to its western vaccines.
Nepal Health Research Council is once again considering conducting Phase III clinical trial of Coronavac by China’s Sinovac Biotech after an initial divided opinion over its safety. The vaccine has shown quick immune response in mid-stage trials in South America and parts of Asia.
In India, The Serum Institute has anticipated demand by already manufacturing 40 million doses of AstraZeneca’s potential Covid-19 vaccine. It will also soon manufacture Novavax.
Similarly, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have designed a protein-based heat-tolerant vaccine that can stay stable for a month at 37°C, and could endure temperatures as high as 100°C if freeze dried, a feature that could be a game changer for mass vaccination campaigns in lower and middle income countries in Asia and Africa.
The other factor to consider will be the duration of the immunity after each vaccine shot, as well reinfection groups and if antibodies developed in the first episode helps fight the mutated forms of the virus.
With Covid-19 crisis continuing to spread rapidly across Nepal and at 10 fatalities per million population (same as Pakistan and much higher than China’s 3), it is not too early to start dialogue with Gavi, the vaccine alliance, COVAX and agencies like the World Bank and World Health Organisation to help procure the most cost effective approach to vaccines most suitable to Nepal’s conditions.
Alternatively, many pharmaceutical companies will want to play the field in order to boost their profile. In fact, embassies and foreign donors are already hard at work pushing for trails and deals.
“There is bound to be vaccine politics and it will mostly likely be ugly,” predicts Sher Bahadur Pun of the Health Ministry. “But we should not lose track of two things: efficacy of the vaccine against our population and its economic viability. If we do that we should be on the right path, more or less.”
In all this excitement, Nepal’s health authorities must also keep an eye on the plight of infected people and many more to come as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">they wait for a vaccine</a>. The results of current treatment regimens ranging from plasma therapy to administering Remdesivir have been patchy. And as scientists study the long-term impact of Covid-19 on patients even after they recover, making an optimal use of resources becomes even more significant.
So far, the government has been faulted for squandering months of lockdown, not carrying out sufficient tests and contact tracing, not increasing hospital capacity and equipment, and letting the people fend for themselves.  
The result is that Nepal is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/heat-map-of-nepals-covid-19-hotspots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">suffering a sustained surge</a>, with more than 1,400 new cases a day, over 60% of them in Kathmandu Valley alone and a quarter of those tested coming out positive. There is also a surge in symptomatic patients, even among those without pre-existing conditions, and those sick enough to require ICU and ventilator.
Even when the government does act, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coronavirus-coordination-committee-doesnt-coordinate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">priorities seem to be misplaced</a>. For instance, health experts say the emphasis in the past months should have been on high flow oxygen therapy or High Dependency Units rather than Intensive Care Units in hospitals.
“It would have been cheaper, it does not require highly trained staff or sophisticated equipment, and it would have freed up the ICUs for the really critical patients,” adds Pun, who himself is at the Health Ministry, and this possibly means his advice is not being taken.
Insiders say it will likely take upwards of six months for the first vaccines to arrive in Nepal, and there will be a rush by the rich, the powerful and those with political connections to get their shots. The marginalised, poor, those in remote areas will be the last to get their injections, unless the government has fair and effective rules in place and implements them.
Till then, there is little else to do than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/silver-linings-in-the-covid-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">keep masking up this winter, avoid large gatherings, keep distance and wash hands regularly</a>.
Says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-covid-19-exit-strategy-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Buddha Basnyat</a>: “The mask is the best vaccine we have at the moment. These safety measures have largely reduced hospitalisation due to other infections in 2020, masks in particular will also protect us from winter pollution in the coming months.”<h2>The Vaccine Race</h2>The global resurgence of Covid-19 in the northern winter has coincided with breaking news every day of successful new vaccine trials.First the Russians announced a vaccine in September that is 92% potent against SARS-CoV-2.  Last week Pfizer unveiled a 90% effective vaccine, which on Wednesday was upgraded to 95% efficacy without side effects. Moderna was next with an efficacy of 95%, and not needing extreme refrigeration. More companies in China, India and Europe are conducting their own trials.Public health experts have hailed the developments, but warn that vaccines will not be universally available till late 2021 and even so will not provide full protection. They suggest continuing with masking up, keeping distance and avoiding crowded indoor places.Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine came out declaring over 90% effectiveness but only at -70°C ultra cold chain which will be a challenge even for countries with the best health facilities in the world.Massachusetts-based Moderna’s RNA shot has 94.5% efficacy, seems to also prevent severe infections and remains stable in medical and home refrigerators for up to 30 days, in freezers (-20°C) for up to six months, and at room temperature for up to 12 hours.Even so, poorer countries are unlikely to get coronavirus vaccine any time soon. Even the biggest pharmaceutical multinationals can only manufacture a limited quantity of the vaccine over the next year.Pfizer has capped its production at 1.4 billion for 2021, 80% of which has already been booked through advance purchase agreement by the US, UK, EU, Canada and Japan. Moderna expects to manufacture 20 million doses this year and up to one billion in 2021.On the other hand, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/sputnik-v-vaccine-mystery-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russian’s Sputnik V</a> has been overshadowed by new developments, and due to lack of sufficient data to back up its claim of 92% efficacy. Although geopolitical rivalry with the West has given it negative publicity, some health agencies have not ruled it out.

Sonia Awale

When will Nepal’s Covid vaccine turn come?

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc099c7e80680e0802f6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1872" height="1249"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>The coronavirus used to be imported, from Europe, China or India. No more. It is now here among us, and this Dasain it could be a relative who could bring it home.Dasain is said to mark the victory of good over evil, but this year we may want it to represent the triumph of health over disease. The festival, with its family get-together and close contact, however, may itself be the reason for an even more serious surge in the pandemic.Dasain was expected to be toned down this year owing to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGIi2p7yOud4nVl18BiWhuzcPtNag">exponential rise in Covid</a>-19, but many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dasain-crowds-disregard-covid-19-warnings/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dasain-crowds-disregard-covid-19-warnings/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLpk4ksBuL3U4iQYOCI285vj-Nfg">Nepalis seem to be in a festive mood</a> and determined to celebrate after long months being cooped up at home.Already, city dwellers are travelling to Chitwan or Pokhara, embarking on treks, or travelling back to their home districts to meet members of the extended family. Dasain is also a time for shopping, and the markets are crowded with people, many not wearing masks properly."Dasain holds too much cultural importance for Nepalis to skip it,” explains Mahesh Kumar Maskey of the Nepal Public Health Foundation. “This year, it comes after months of sporadic lockdowns. People are experiencing mask and lockdown fatigue, and can only have so much self-discipline. So, the chances of people being less careful during Dasain is high.”Maskey says people have to make compromises, even if we have to meet and greet family or travel to home districts we should take great precautions – not just for ourselves but for elderly relatives we are seeking blessings from.Every year, around 2 million people leave Kathmandu to go to their hometowns for Dasain, according to the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs that operates inter-district buses. However, this year, there are reported to be fewer people travelling out even though Kathmandu Valley is<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/hotspots-within-kathmandus-covid-19-hotbed/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/hotspots-within-kathmandus-covid-19-hotbed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF-LI4pDFuOoqAzq57d4lgErbWaGA"> Nepal's Covid hotbed</a>.On Friday, the country recorded 4,499 new infections, taking the total confirmed cases to 153,008. Of these, 2,720 were in Kathmandu Valley. With 17 more deaths, the total fatalities now stands at 829. There are nearly 50,000 active cases, and the numbers needing ICU treatment and ventilators continue to rise.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc0c9c7e80680e0802f7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1334">"This is a very high-risk situation. Infected people from Kathmandu will become a source of transmission in their hometowns,” says Krishna Man Shakya of the Nepal Public Health Foundation. “Because of Dasain, Covid will spread to every corner of Nepal."He says the festival will bring people in close proximity in buses, and those using long-distance transport will be much more vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 than people travelling with friends and families in private vehicles.The Department of Transport Management has ordered that public vehicles can only carry half the passengers, conductors and drivers must wear masks, and seats should be disinfected. But the rule is not being enforced."People travel from Kathmandu to their hometowns to spend time with their parents and relatives, if they become a source of transmission, they not only cause health problems for their near and dear ones, but also take on the emotional burden and responsibility of being patient zero. The mental toll this takes is dangerous," Maskey explains.Indeed, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFR_tIqsICNG_-nFXy8cemGt9NyOQ">Nepal's already dire and stigmatised mental health problem is being exacerbated by the pandemic.</a> Before the crisis, 37% of Nepalis surveyed indicated that they suffered from some form of  psychological disorder. Now, 42% of Nepalis surveyed indicate suffering from at least one kind of mental health issue, and 25% of Nepalis surveyed said Covid-19 has negatively affected their mental well-being."The responsibility to fight the virus has now fallen on the citizens -- we can no longer depend on the government. Celebrating Dasain with precautions is one way we can protect ourselves as well as control Covid," Maskey adds.Experts highlight the role of information technology in celebrating a safe Dasain, suggesting a more virtual approach -- <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/sanima-daraz-dasain-dhamaka/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/sanima-daraz-dasain-dhamaka/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHRl8ROmCx3fMbrdKc4qH_U75LWCQ">online shopping</a>, online card games, physically distanced kite-flying, and calling/video calling during tika.Says Shakya, "When people shop for Dasain, they are in crowds where everyone is not wearing a mask. This increases the risk of transmission. The products people buy could be contaminated -- a source of infection if not disinfected properly. Similarly,  the tika itself, the jamara, and the dakshina could all be carrying the virus. This is risky."<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc0f9c7e80680e0802f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365">A Covid-adapted Dasain isn't as radical as it seems. In fact, Dasain have in the pst been rescheduled, says Poonam RL Rana at Tribhuvan University's Department of Nepali History, Culture, and Architecture."Originally, Dasain was in the summer, referred to as Chaite Dasain. However, people would get sick because of summer diseases and from overeating during festivities. So, it was moved to autumn," she says.In fact, historically Dasains have been affected by recurring <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFNgvimNG1Xxm3HRuxLp9j90uFMDg">small pox</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-in-the-time-of-cholera/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-in-the-time-of-cholera/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGS72fJtreeHINMaDTigUNVVTg-iA">cholera</a> epidemics in Kathmandu Valley. Those infected were quarantined till they were cured of or succumbed to the epidemic, those uninfected would go about with their festivities.Perhaps the problem is not the pandemic, but cultural orthodoxy and religious fear. Surveys have shown that many people believe that scaling down festivals such as Dasain could invite divine wrath.An unfortunate example was the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/police-stop-patan-chariot-pulling-citing-covid-19/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/police-stop-patan-chariot-pulling-citing-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603602521821000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFZ3vXdGiXKqYDXaxFaKHDSRVWvrg">Rato Machindranath chariot fiasco</a>. Devotees violently clashed with riot police insisting that the festival go ahead despite prohibitory orders, many believed that pulling the chariot would miraculously end the pandemic. Ironically, the festival was a spreader event. And Dasain could be an even bigger transmitter of the disease.

This year's dangerous Dasain

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb0c9c7e80680e08029fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1622" height="1037"/><figcaption>Lalu and her neighbours collectively harvest fodder grass in Udaypur. With menfolk away, women have formed savings and loans cooperatives to help each other become self-reliant and augment family income.</figcaption></figure>Nepal has long relied on foreign remittances to keep its economy afloat. These remittances, sent back by men who work in Malaysia, the Gulf states and other Asian countries, account for about 25% of Nepal’s GDP.Living alone while the husband and other male relartives are abroad can be difficult. There are the emotional elements, and even the remittance money they sent home may have dried up in the past six months because of the Covid-19 crisis.Although the husbands send remittance money and at least there is a regular cash flow, women are overburdened with household chores -- taking care of children and elderly, working in the fields, attending to livestock and more.To cope, many women in rural Nepal have learnt to cope, and even thrive while their men are away. They combine remittance money with loans from savings and credit groups which are  self-managed, community-based groups in which participants contribute small amounts each month.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/zero-sum-game-in-zero-cost-migration/">Zero-sum game in zero-cost migration</a>, Upasana KhadkaThey borrow at nominal interest rates while also learning basic accounting skills. In some countries savings and credit groups have developed into formal bank cooperatives, but in many of Nepal’s villages, loans are used to invest in vegetable farming, livestock raising, and other small businesses. Some are also used to pay childrens’ school fees.The result: a path out of poverty and increased participation in local leadership.Lalu Maya in Udayapur district is an example of a woman who has augmented her income, and become self-reliant despite the fact that her husband left for an overseas job.At 19, Lalu found herself in an arranged marriage. This ended her dream of getting a high school education. Her husband was the single wage earner, and Lalu had to do the house chores, tending the family’s paddy and corn patch, and take care of the goats.To obtain fodder for the goats, Lalu had to walk hours to and from a jungle. Even as she worked from dawn to dusk, the couple had barely enough to live on. With the arrival of two daughters, their economic situation declined further.Lalu’s husband felt he had no option but to leave for an overseas job, like nearly 3.5 million other Nepalis, 10% of the country’s population. This left Lalu at home, two children and a small farm on which the family depended, while her husband first paid back the loans he took to pay the recruiter with the first six months of his salary.Then Lalu heard about monthly meetings held by HANDS Nepal, a local non-profit supported by my organisation, World Neighbors. She was intrigued by the first training she attended about kitchen gardens, vegetable patches using sustainable techniques.The gardens provide a variety of vegetables and fruit that enhances nutrition. When families apply other techniques, including water storage ponds and tunnel greenhouses, kitchen gardens can scale to a commercial level. The surplus is harvested nearly year-round and sold in local markets.Lalu started a kitchen garden, involving her daughters in the work. She next learned how to produce organic fertiliser and natural pesticides, including a traditional liquid made from livestock urine. Using these inputs increased the output of both her kitchen garden and her small corn and rice fields.She also attended agroforestry trainings where she learned how to grow grass and trees that can be used as animal fodder. After three years, Lalu’s fodder farm has grown, and she no longer spends hours walking to and from a jungle to collect feed for her goats. Lalu obtained the capital to expand her fodder farm through participation in a local savings and credit group.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/aid-rarely-aids-agriculture-in-nepal/">Aid rarely aids agriculture in Nepal</a>, Ramesh Kumar<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb0f9c7e80680e0802a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="3000"><figcaption>A plastic pond that Lalu uses for her kitchen garden, improving nutrition for her family and adding income.</figcaption></figure>As important as the time she gains with her children and for more productive farm tasks, the fodder she produces near her home has enabled Lalu to increase her goat herd from 11 to 22.  She now sells them, 4 to 5 goats at a time, producing income of Rs45,000 rupees.Lalu is investing the profit in improving the shed to hold more goats. She and her husband, who recently returned from working overseas, have decided to start a commercial goat farm which would allow Lalu’s husband to end the expat life and remain at home with his family. It even has the chance to further raise the family’s standard of living.Lalu is now not only thriving financially, she is also a respected leader in her village.The need to migrate overseas to help support one’s family is a sign of the deep imbalances of the global economy.Yet necessary sacrifices can also open the door to real opportunities for positive change, as Lalu’s case has shown. In many Nepali villages, women like her have combined remittances with their own hard work and drive to build better lives for themselves and their families.Now, with new challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, it is more important than ever to look to people like Lalu as models of resilience and sustainable development.Srijana Karki is World Neighbors South Asia Regional Director.

Home alone in Dasain

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdadc9c7e80680e08028fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Nepal’s capital has run out of affordable ICU care for Covid-19 patients, but public health experts warn that the worst is yet to come with the onset of the winter season that will see rise in other respiratory illnesses too.With 4,329 new positives on Friday, total Covid-19 cases in Nepal have reached 126,137, of which 37,832 are active infections. Kathmandu Valley alone accounts for 19,827 of them.At present, 315 people are being treated in various hospitals across the country in ICU with 77 on ventilator support. Bagmati province has 170 patients in ICU and 58 on ventilators.Kathmandu has now reached a saturation point for coronavirus patients with exponential growth of positive cases, but the infection rate continue to rise, now at 26.5%.If that sounds bad, the worst is yet to come. Experts are warning of another surge in Covid-19 cases as well as other respiratory illnesses during the winter season, and as such have suggested that the government to take proactive steps to address it.At 40°C, SARS-CoV-2 can survive on cotton for less than 16 hours, and on surfaces of glass, stainless steel, paper and plastic notes for up to 24 hours, a recent Australian study has found. At 20°C, the virus survives less than 14 hours on cotton and up to 7 days on the glass, stainless steel, paper and plastic notes.The findings seem to prove that coronavirus thrives in cold weather, survives longer, thus increasing the risk of infection. But during winter, viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 also become active in the environment for longer period, which then can cause long-term infections.“People tend to stay in less well-ventilated rooms in the winter and do not wash their hands as frequently because of the cold. This helps the virus enter the body, not only Covid-19 but also other influenza,” says Arpana Neupane of Kathmandu Medical College.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdadf9c7e80680e080290jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="593">When people get viral infection in the winter, it affects the body’s immune system and also increases the risk of pneumonia. In addition to added risk of Covid-19, people infected with coronavirus are also more likely to develop severe health complications in the winter.Moreover, infected people might experience symptoms such as coughing for a longer period and even those who have recovered could experience shortness of breath and muscle ache while walking. In some countries including India, lung problems have been detected among recovered populations.“The virus develops in the body within seven to eight days of the onset of symptoms. The antibodies will then start to kill the virus,” explains Neupane. “While trying to remove the virus from the body, it affects other organs and can lead to complications.”For asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients, Neupane suggests administering the antiviral drug Favipiravir in order to prevent possible complications."This antiviral drug plays a role in preventing the growth of coronavirus in the body and resulting complications. It would be better if the government allowed drugs like these produced by Nepali pharmaceuticals to be studied and used,” she says.Patients with other respiratory illnesses, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory illnesses, also have a higher risk of getting infected with Covid-19 in the winter. They are also more likely to develop fatal complications.The prevalence of COPD has been increasing every year in Nepal due to worsening air pollution. According to the Department of Health Services, 211,229 COPD patients were admitted to hospitals for treatment three years ago. This figure has now climbed to 245,768 with Bagmati province having 78,350 of them. Similarly, 948,830 patients were admitted to the outpatient department for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Infection in 2019-20.Chief Consultant of Teku Hospital, Anup Bastola says even before the onset of the winter season, COPD patients with coronavirus infection already have pneumonia and are being treated in hospitals with oxygen.In winter, the human body is also drier, and cells in the body's respiratory system are less active, which in turn helps coronavirus survive longer. "The body's immune system is weaker in winter than at other times. Also, it’s not as sunny, which can cause vitamin D deficiency. These factors increase the risk of Covid-19 and the complications it can cause," he says.This winter, as in other years, cases of influenza (H1N1 and H3N2) and other respiratory infections are certain to increase. Elderly are especially at risk. But because of the explosive rise in Covid-19, patients with other chronic conditions are unlikely to get hospital beds and other essential health services, increasing the risk of fatalities.Says Bastola: "We have difficult days ahead. We need not only additional hospital beds, but also human resources to provide proper care and treatment. Management of oxygen supply will be crucial and we must do everything to prevent and control infection in the hospitals.”

Covid-19 will get worse before it gets better

<figure><img width="2184" height="1378" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171148/636bda969c7e80680e080279jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>The vote of no-confidence this week by former UML leaders of the Nepal Communist Party of (NCP) in Karnali Province against the ex-Maoist Chief Minister of their own party has exposed once more that the two sections of the ruling party never really united.The distrust between the ex-Maoist and ex-UML members of the NCP has now trickled down from the power struggle at the top leadership to six of the seven provincial governments that the UML-Maoist alliance swept the 2017 election. The no-confidence motion fizzled out on Tuesday at the Karnali Province assembly in Surkhet after some former UML members loyal to Madhav Kumar Nepal sided with the ex-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Prime Minister’s K P Oli’s supporters were outnumbered.Even though Oli and Dahal did <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/enough-already/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/enough-already/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602744410594000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNkThSlssr1F5LcPcoLosjk0I6Iw">patch up their differences</a> last month, the saga of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/push-and-pull-of-nepali-politics/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/push-and-pull-of-nepali-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602744410594000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGoYsscC7pfjXxnIJTziUG_kOy0YA">epic struggle for supremacy</a> within the party has dragged on with a deadlock in negotiations on the long-awaited cabinet reshuffle.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-political-tug-o-war-continues/">Nepal political tug-o-war continues</a>, Nepali TimesOver the past two months, there has been a transformation in Kathmandu politics as Dahal’s position has weakened significantly with second tier members breaking ranks for the first time since the Maoists came above ground in 2006.This new dynamic has gone largely unremarked because of the tendency of commentators to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bow-out/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bow-out/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602744410594000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVjwdepZHZXE3Gk2fb97p1UePnug">anti-incumbent</a>, and Dahal is treated as the leader of an opposition party. The Oli administration’s frequent gaffes and governance failure, have provided ample ammunition for Dahal and his supporters.Still, reports of the imminent demise of the Oli government, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ruling-party-on-verge-of-split/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ruling-party-on-verge-of-split/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602744410595000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGC5_uag8DSEQf-Z6LIsuPJpuuMag">seem to be exaggerated. </a>Despite concerns about his health and political longevity, Oli has so far proved all soothsayers wrong.The NCP Secretariat meetings repeatedly demand that the Prime Minister and co-Chair give up one or both of his positions, and yet this just does not happen.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/which-way-nepali-politics-in-2020/">Which way Nepali politics in 2020?</a>, Saindra RaiThe reasons are twofold: Dahal does not have the numbers in the Central Committee, the official topline body of the party. The Secretariat sits above it as a body created by seniors to remain relevant, particularly the likes of Jhala Nath Khanal, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Bam Dev Gautam. Secondly, it was the wily Prime Minister's ability to go behind 'enemy lines' and talk to Dahal's own followers, as well as entice the ever-expectant Gautam with lollipops, including a parliamentary berth and, howsoever unlikely, membership in the cabinet.The more Dahal challenges Oli and fails in the effort, the weaker he becomes politically, and together with him his ally, the former UML Chair and former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal. The Dahal-Nepal duo <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1602744410595000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHnqW2nrmwuxbAUdtD7e1X1QtqWlA">has the numbers to wreck Oli’s plans</a>, which is how the attempted ‘coup’ in the Karnali assembly this week was foiled.During the conflict, the Maoists kept discipline through a strict militarist-ideological code, with extreme punishment for the wayward cadre being imprisonment, indoctrination camps, and even safaya (elimination). After the party came above ground, it was the promise of money, position and perks that kept the Maoists together, as ideological factors frayed.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/declare-a-health-emergency/">Declare a health emergency</a>, Shekhar KharelBut after the conflict, disagreement with Dahal meant former Maoists simply broke away: like Mohan Baidya and Baburam Bhattarai. But the 'mother party' and those under its umbrella remained together. The rank and file relied on Dahal to ensure their political future, and distribute largesse by squeezing state coffers in various ways.Dahal is a leader who has to run in order to remain in place, given that his party now functions without guiding principles, whereas other parties at least have ideological fig leaves. The Dahal-Oli duel at the top is costing the country dearly, diverting attention when all focus should be on the health and economic fallout of the worsening Covid-19 crisis.Truth be told, the UML and Maoist parties look united, but there has never been a meeting of minds. A marriage of convenience was arranged over Dasain of 2016, and the electoral alliance provided Oli with an unassailable majority in general elections the following year. Dahal got a lifeline for a political career that was all set to sink in those polls.In a way, unification was good for the polity because Dahal as leader of a tiny Maoist party could have created insufferable and continuous instability. By having been subsumed into the bigger UML as a senior leader, his ability to constantly rock the boat has been checked to a great extent. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/playing-politics-in-a-pandemic/">Playing politics in a pandemic</a>, EditorialWhat has changed in the last couple of months is that some senior Maoist leaders in the NCP have concluded that their individual medium-to long-term political future now can be guaranteed by the UML stream within the party, rather than the Maoist stream led by Dahal. And as Dahal's ability to provide money and appointments wane, ex-Maoist leaders in the NCP started looking out for themselves. Dahal's troubles create uncertainty about the future general convention of the NCP which is meant to cement the unification in word and deed. He has been given the responsibility to organise the meet, but he knows (and he knows that everyone else knows) that the ex-Maoists really do not have a leadership structure in most parts of the country compared to the former UML, concentrated as they are around the government honeypot in Kathmandu. Dahal may try to push back the general convention indefinitely, so as not to face the day of reckoning. Even as the public watched the Secretariat meetings -- in Bhainsepati where the die was cast, and in Paris Danda and Khumaltar -- as heralding Oli’s imminent ouster, things did not evolve as planned. Firstly, he was confronted by Bamdev the ‘Turncoat’, but even more importantly, there was a whole line of ex-Maoists breaking away as things came to a fever pitch against Oli.Madhav Kumar Nepal seems to have miscalculated by putting all his eggs in Dahal’s basket, while these key Maoist leaders were busy transferring their eggs out of it. Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa called a meeting of 28 of his cabal, and only two of those present spoke against his proposal to stand by Oli: Pampha Bhusal and Deb Gurung. Lekh Raj Bhatta, a Dahal loyalist, had already decided to side with Oli, openly enough that he has been barred entry to Dahal's residence.The other significant leaders to break rank include Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Devendra Poudel, Janardan Sharma and others. When a worried Dahal called his comrades together and asked them to stand by him, one of them is reliably learnt to have replied, "Comrade Chairman, if you had not gone raiding into the UML hierarchy you might not have faced this rebellion among your own ranks. Did you expect the other side to take it lying down?"<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/hotspots-within-kathmandus-covid-19-hotbed/">Hotspots within Kathmandu's Covid-19 hotbed</a>, Nepali TimesAs Dahal’s grip on the reins begins to loosen, will he mellow, or breathe fire through his pliant outlets on all matters from transitional justice to governance? If the weakened Pushpa Kamal Dahal decides to go down fighting, he might take his party and country down with him, and that will mean more years of political instability and socio-economic ruin to a country already ravaged by the pandemic. For his own sake, and for society at large, he should choose the softer route.

Running to remain in place

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

Four international names in architecture, Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Louis Isadore Kahn, all left their mark in Nepal. But despite their best intentions, the ambitious designs fizzled out. Ban, Koolhaas and Ando won Pritzkers, the best known international award for architecture, and Kahn could have won it had the prize been given in his lifetime. But their designs fell short of transforming Nepali architecture and did not help inspire local architects.&nbsp; Why were these four ‘starchitects’ unable to pull off their Nepal projects and enrich the country with exemplary contemporary designs? The failure, especially the violation of Kahn’s design, also raises larger questions about how much contemporary architecture is valued in Nepal.&nbsp; Whereas Sri Lanka had Geoffrey Bawa and Bangladesh had Mazharul Islam, the pioneers of contemporary architecture in Nepal have had far less public appreciation. One wonders if Nepali architecture only refers to the monuments and heritage of the past. Nepal does have examples of outstanding modern architecture such as the &nbsp;पाङ्रे घर ‘Wheel House’ and खुट्टे घर &nbsp;‘House on Legs’ by Shankar Nath Rimal in the 1960s. These are the best examples of how some Nepali designers successfully tailored modern architecture to the Nepali context.&nbsp; Ten years ago, Nepal had three architecture magazines, SPACES, praXis and Business Architecture, but none of these survived. This newspaper has prominently covered contemporary architecture, and the built environment, but these are exceptions in Nepal’s media. There have been a few encouraging signs. The 2024 exhibition Modern Encounters in Architecture in Kathmandu Valley (1945-1985) at the Taragaon Museum had many visitors and its accompanying book is a seminal document.&nbsp; In 2023, the Mountain Architecture Dialogue (MAD) that focused on examples of good-practice sustainable contemporary architecture for the mountainous terrains of Nepal was a packed event with over 300 young architects, engineers, environmentalists and architecture students. <h2>Shigeru Ban</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  Shigeru Ban had already built a name for himself in post-disaster construction when he came to Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes in which 500,000 people lost their homes. The basic design and its 3D-rendered images were reviewed in upbeat articles on DOMUS, Architectural Review, Dezeen, and Arch Daily.&nbsp; But his signature cardboard tubes could not handle the monsoon and the roof structure had to be re-designed with timber. Only two shelters were completed in Sindupalchok, and only one of them still stands at the Hyatt Regency grounds today, as Ban’s souvenir to Nepal.&nbsp; <h2>Rem Koolhaas</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="722" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  The designs of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas have a specific signature: bold shapes and an intriguing architectural typology that challenges standard building blocks. Some designs even seem to defy gravity, like the CCTV headquarters in Beijing: an angular, continuous geometry of glass and steel.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1168" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Rem Koolhaas' design for Ullen's School in Khumaltar.</figcaption> </figure>  Koolhaas was commissioned by Belgian billionaire Guy Ullens to design a new building for Ullens School in Khumaltar. The most prominent feature is its vertical glass block staircase. Some interior spaces have lowered windowsills, which provide ample views and daylight. But the school building has gone unremarked in Nepal. <h2>Tadao Ando</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675" data-rendition-name="original" width="626" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> </figure>  Doctors providing aid to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 in Japan requested Tadao Ando, who had donated his Pritzker money to the victims, to also make a design for a hospital in Butwal.&nbsp; Ando’s contribution would be pro-bono and the construction was funded by the Hanshin Earthquake victims and by the popular Japanese newspaper Mainichi, as a tribute to Nepali doctors. The first block that Ando designed for the Siddhartha Children and Women’s Hospital (SCWH) was the out-patient department. He quickly realised that he would not be able to pull off structures with his typical style of smooth-finished, high-quality concrete.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579" data-rendition-name="original" width="1594" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Tadao Ando's Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital in Butwal.</figcaption> </figure>  Ando wrote in the online architectural catalog Architectuul, that the two main problems with the project were costs and the availability of local technology. ‘It became a facility that has a slightly different expression from the buildings I have completed so far,’ he wrote. He designed a colonnade for the west façade that would provide shelter from harsh sunlight, and the exposed brick walls were locally manufactured bricks.&nbsp; The hospital is characterised by modernist cuboidal massing, but the outer brick façades now appear unintentionally badly weathered by monsoons. The interiors lack both sufficient natural light and natural ventilation. <h2>Louis I Kahn</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  American architect Louis I Kahn had experience of projects in South Asia, and several were under construction when he died suddenly in 1974. Amongst these were the National Assembly complex in Dhaka, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and the Family Planning and Maternal Child Welfare Centre in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Kahn had started the USAID funded project in Nepal by developing a master plan for the government institutional zone in Kathmandu, which included a building for the Health Ministry. The building’s façade in exposed brick has deeply recessed vertical windows for shading.&nbsp; The balancing of accentuated horizontal lines in the brickwork with the verticality of the larger composition is the work of a master. The brick walls rise up into punctured parapet walls at the roof level. These square apertures ‘frame the sky’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1924" height="1242" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Louis Kahn's plan for the Ministry of Health.</figcaption> </figure>  When Kahn died, only the eastern half of the building was finished. The Western part was never built and Nepal’s bureaucrats decided that without paint, the exposed brick façade was not finished. Then in 1995, citing roof leakage and a space crunch, the Health Ministry added a floor.&nbsp; The frames-to-the-sky in the roof parapet were converted into windows and topped off with a sloping roof of corrugated steel sheets, whose only virtue was that it was cost-effective.&nbsp; Kahn’s orthogonal composition, which clean horizontal and vertical lines, was desecrated despite a public outcry and legal challenges from architects and cultural organisations. A version of this article was first published in HIMAL Southasian. Illustrations by Varun S Bapu.

Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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