<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be3369c7e80680e083eefjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1365" height="2048"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Nepal is facing a rapidly spreading Covid-19 contagion somewhat similar to the surge of HIV/AIDS during the 2000 decade, and the country’s success in reducing the scourge has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-hiv-to-fight-covid-19-in-nepal/">important lessons for fighting the current pandemic.</a>Given the epic dimensions of this emergency, there is a need for the kind of national unity and solidarity for concerted action that we saw 20 years ago to tackle the socio-economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.Just as with HIV, SARS-CoV-2 is having a severe impact on the most vulnerable communities. While one virus is air borne, and the other spreads through the exchange of bodily fluids, getting the message out on prevention and safety measures are important for both diseases.In addition, the current pandemic crisis threatens to undo a lot of the progress that Nepal has achieved in reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS from 0.3% of the adult population in 2007-8 to 0.13% today.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be3389c7e80680e083ef0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="336" height="338">Nepal’s AIDS response worked because of effective partnership with civil society which was crucial to find local solutions while we waited for the anti-retrovirals to become available. The free distribution of this therapy also set an important precedent for Covid-19 in providing Nepalis with access to vaccines and treatments when they are ready.As in HIV/AIDS, Covid-19 response should place affected communities at the centre. More importantly, it should be a rights-based approach grounded on equity and justice. These lessons from the HIV response provide critical insights for governments and development partners to build resilient health system which will be as effective, accountable and inclusive.The first HIV case in Nepal was diagnosed in 1988. After this, the epidemic evolved from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/ending-AIDS-in-Nepal,2707">low prevalence to a concentrated epidemic</a>. Key populations such as sex workers, injecting drug users, migrants, prisoners, transgender people, and gay men and other men who have sex with men are at high risk of acquiring HIV infection. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19020#.X79BKWUzaUk">Discrimination and social exclusion</a>makes them more vulnerable.Despite global progress, millions of people around the world are still at risk of contracting <a href="http://www.unfpa.org/hiv-aids">HIV infection</a>, and AIDS remains a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age and young adolescents.Nepal has made remarkable progress in its HIV response over the past decades. According to National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC), an estimated 29,503 people are currently living with HIV in the country. Despite the reduction in the prevalence rate, much more needs to be done.In order to further reduce the incidence of HIV infection among key populations, a range of development partners and civil society organisations are reaching out to key populations with prevention, treatment and care services across the country. Community-based HIV interventions are largely guided by National HIV Strategic Plan (2016-2021) that focuses on scaling up innovative prevention services to young key populations.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be33a9c7e80680e083ef1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="928">Despite impressive progress, HIV still continues to be a public health challenge because services are still limited in remote districts. People living with HIV still do not have easy access to treatment and care in health facilities.There is a need to reduce disparities in access to treatment and care by addressing human rights, gender-based violence, stigma and discrimination which continue to hinder access to HIV services for key populations. TheUnited Nations General Assembly adopted the 2016 Political Declaration on a fast-track to end AIDS epidemic by 2030. This requires an accelerated expansion of comprehensive HIV services across the country.The global 90–90–90 targets aim for 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90% of people who know their status receiving treatment, and 90% of people on HIV treatment having a suppressed viral load.However, there are significant gaps in Nepal to access treatment services that need robust health sector response. And those targets can only be met with strong political commitment, community engagement and resilient health system. And on top of this challenge, we now have the public health crisis caused by Covid-19.Both epidemics require a sustained multi-sector response to mitigate its adverse socio-economic impacts on individuals, families and communities. Meaningful engagement of people living with HIV and evidence-based actions can significantly reduce the burden of HIV in developing countries.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be33c9c7e80680e083ef2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="834"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The role of civil society networks and media has been instrumental in spreading awareness, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/stigma-ostracisation-for-HIV-patients-remain-in-western-nepal,1724">reducing stigma and ostracisation</a>, and they have shown it is possible to break the silence that surrounds HIV, and practice safe behavior.Over the years, national networks of people living with HIV and other key populations are playing critical role to empower poor and vulnerable populations in accessing essential health services. In Nepal’s remote communities, they have been delivering antiretroviral medicines to the homes of people living with HIV during the coronavirus pandemic.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be33e9c7e80680e083ef3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="692" height="460">Community ownership is cornerstone of the civil society response which is why strengthening civil society response is crucial to reaching out the people living with HIV and other marginalised communities for the services they need. It is also equally important to enhance social accountability of local governments in order to ensure sustained provision of comprehensive HIV services in the communities.Political commitment for universal health coverage is therefore crucial to ensure no one is left behind and the rights of key populations are protected. This is instrumental in enabling legal, social and institutional environments for Nepal to reduce the prevalence rate even further.On <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2020/unaids-data">World AIDS Day on 1 December</a>, we also have to remember that gender inequality and HIV risks are inextricably linked. Adolescent girls and young women face particular challenges that can leave them at high risk of unwanted pregnancy, violence and HIV.Many are still unable to access the sexual and reproductive health services they need. Sexual and gender minorities face even more difficulty in accessing health and other social protection services.Jhabindra Bhandari, a senior doctoral research fellow in global health, is presently national consultant with <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2020/unaids-data">UNAIDS</a>.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be3409c7e80680e083ef4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="138" height="150">

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A tale of two viruses

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6a99c7e80680e073737jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1365" height="2048"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>When Lalbahadur Shah of Birganj died last week, none of his relatives showed up for his funeral even though he tested negative for Covid-19. With no family, friends and neighbours attending, the Muslim community members took it upon themselves to perform his final rites as per the Hindu faith.Shah had hypertension and diabetes, although he had tested positive for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dont-take-covid-19-lightly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SARS-CoV-2</a>, he had recovered from the infection. He succumbed to other health complications.Across Nepal, people infected with the virus, even those who have recovered, have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/covid-19-sharpens-caste-discrimination-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shunned by neighbours and society</a>. Migrant returnees and their families have been singled out and humiliated. Doctors and health workers have been harassed by landlords.This is nothing new in Nepal. Tuberculosis and leprosy patients have been traditionally shunned. And the stigma associated with Covid-19 is very reminiscent of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/stigma-ostracisation-for-HIV-patients-remain-in-western-nepal,1724" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">how people with HIV/AIDS used to be treated in Nepal</a> in the past, and may have lessons for dealing with SARS-CoV-2, since the virus (like HIV) is here to stay.“Physical distancing doesn’t mean discrimination and we should make people understand this,” says public health expert Aruna Uprety. “There is widespread panic about Covid-19 and this is turning people against those infected with it, exactly like it was with HIV/AIDS. This in turn is adding to the mental stress of the patients, undermining their recovery.”Says Anjana Rajbhandary, a counsellor and columnist: "Social stigma is attached to lack of knowledge and when people know less, they feel the need to blame someone else because they are afraid of the unknown. Fear and anxiety about death and disease can lead to gossip, which results in stereotyping and discrimination."Constant focus in the mass media on new infections and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-deaths-cross-100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fatalities</a> over those who have recovered has reinforced the misconception that Covid-19 is highly lethal, adding to the fear about it.On Tuesday, Nepal reported a total of 1,016 new cases, its highest daily rise with 205 in Kathmandu Valley alone, forcing the local governments in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-valley-back-to-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to reimpose lockdown for a week</a> starting Wednesday midnight. So far, 17,580 people have recovered while 114 have passed away.The number of new infections was down to 671 on Wednesday, 151 of them in Kathmandu Valley.The similarities between HIV/AIDS and Covid-19 goes beyond <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19019" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stigma</a>. Just like HIV/AIDS  spread like wildfire in western Nepal among families with husbands working in India, most of the Covid-19 cases were imported from India and spread among the poorest sections of Nepal’s most underserved region. And just like with HIV, Covid-19 is felling people with compromised immune systems.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ad9c7e80680e073738jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="400"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6ae9c7e80680e073739jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="400"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Long-time HIV/AIDS activist Rajiv Kafle also sees parallels between the current Covid-19 crisis and the HIV epidemic of the 1990s in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/ending-AIDS-in-Nepal,2707" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">turning public awareness into behavioural change for prevention</a>  Both diseases are caused by viral infections and attack the immune-compromised – only the method of transmission is different. While HIV is spread through unprotected sex, sharing needles or blood transfusions, SARS-CoV-2 spreads human-to-human through aerosol particles.“As with HIV, I see a lot of denial about coronavirus. Back in the day, peer-pressure led people to partake in highly risky behaviour like sharing syringes. Peer-pressure today can be seen in the form of people pulling down their masks in presence of friends,” says Kafle.Mass media was a crucial tool in the battle against HIV/AIDS in the days before social media. In particular, tv serials and docudramas featuring popular faces like comedian duo Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansa Acharya were highly effective in creating awareness about preventive measures such as safe sex and clean needles as well as in lessening the stigma for some 50,000 people living with HIV in Nepal.Nearly 30 years later, Shrestha and Acharya are once more doing skits for public service announcements via social media and tv to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-may-be-over-but-pandemic-is-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spread awareness about Covid-19 preventive measures</a>. The message is similar: while it was condoms and safe needles for HIV/AIDs, it is masks and distancing for Covid-19.“If we were able to change peoples’ behaviour in something as sensitive as sex, then we should be able to do it much more effectively for Covid-19,” says Rita Thapa of Nepal Public Health Foundation, who was formerly with the WHO. “We still have time to work together with local authorities, civil society and the government to run mass awareness campaign that reaches down to the grassroots.”Since this August, the government has started providing free TLD (once-a-day generic fixed-dose combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, and dolutegravir), new antiretroviral drug considered the best regimen in the world for 17,000 people living with HIV in Nepal. Activists like Kafle credit this milestone to treatment literacy, community mobilisation and continued activism.“Only a similar kind of dedication will guarantee accountability and transparency in terms of testing and treating coronavirus in Nepal when the vaccine and therapies aren’t available,” he adds.Aruna Uprety recalls a recent field visit to Makwanpur district where she found Chepang nomads living without toilets or clean drinking water, who were not <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wearing masks</a> and maintaining distance.“It is now pretty clear we will have to learn to live with Covid-19 just as we did with HIV. What would help is strengthening our immune system to fight against the infection, be it by applying traditional medicinal or by eating nutritious indigenous food,” says Uprety. “But to prevent infection for now our first line of defence are masks, distancing and hand-washing.”

Sonia Awale

Learning from HIV to fight Covid-19 in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121116/636b8c4d9c7e80680e06b2efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>With no proven <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=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFhARSUb8HMQP_ZJgsaTmPoQDLWvA">cure or vaccine available yet for COVID-19</a>, various treatments with no proven benefits and potential deadly side-effects are being tried out on patients.One example of a desperate treatment measure is a New York City doctor carelessly declaring on primetime tv recently that COVID-19 pneumonia was similar to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/high-alert/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/high-alert/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGuDq-Ti_uWGlw-rY-q1PpyQQO54g">high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)</a>, and he recommended high altitude drugs like Diamox for the treatment of Covid-19.Trekkers in Nepal are familiar with <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19693#.Xp-oJy8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19693%23.Xp-oJy8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGSLnJg3LMR2gIcZz9LMdKOvruqJA">Diamox</a>, a pill they take to acclimatise better when hiking at higher altitudes. There is no scientific basis that the drug will work, but this idea of very low oxygen (hypoxia) and pneumonia in both afflictions was appealing.To counter this some of us in Nepal and other countries have a forthcoming Opinion in the British Medical Journalcautioning against this rash treatment strategy using high altitude medicines. In medicine, doctors have to remember the maxim, Primum non nocere (‘above all do no harm’).But there are some silver linings <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGtTkAInA3D5xIkzd65kTSfDvYESg">if Nepal escapes the worst of COVID-19</a>. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tb/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tb/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGbOqrkOzN3uP_va7u0F-uhlxipaQ">Tuberculosis</a> rates, which are very high in South Asia (more than 400 per 100,000) could go down if people continue to use the masks since it will also mean that a tuberculosis patient will not spread the bacteria, not to mention other respiratory infections.Similarly, as more people get into the habit of washing hands with soap and water where available, the rates of diseases like typhoid and hepatitis A and E, caused by fecal oral transmission, will certainly be reduced.An average of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-deadly-roads-take-their-toll/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-deadly-roads-take-their-toll/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHn0HGje-Tq3pDeekYbQAbhZxJOwg">230 people used to be killed every month</a> on Nepal’s highways and streets. The lockdown has now lasted a month, and that is approximately the number of lives saved due to vehicles being off the roads.The importance of public health for both the rich and poor countries has been highlighted by the pandemic. Industrialised countries had thought they had been done with infectious diseases, except perhaps the odd HIV patient. This pandemic has given great pause to that argument. Developing countries which having tried to come to grips with pre-existing epidemics have used lessons learnt in dealing with coronavirus in prevention.The Indian state of Kerala for example, has done relatively better in dealing with COVID-19 partly because it utilised prior lessons from the Nipah outbreak a year ago. Other South Asian countries with robust public health infrastructure like Sri Lanka also have a better handle on the disease.They strengthened their public health system, and it has paid rich dividends. South Korea too had an outbreak of MERS Coronavirus in 2015 which was brought by a South Korean returning from Kuwait, but they were able to effectively control the spread, and have been dealing successfully (so far) with the novel coronavirus. Singapore had been doing well, but discovered last week that it had a blind spot in the migrant workers’ dormitories. It has now announced a ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown till 1 June.South Asian countries have had more time in preparing for the contagion, while they wait for a vaccine or drugs to treat COVID-19. Treatment trials are happening all over the world even as the patients and doctors await with bated breath (pardon the pun). In all likelihood, we will soon know if chloroquin works or not before we have a vaccine.Vaccines will be a game-changer against Covid-19, and competition is heating up because whoever makes this vaccine first will be the knight-in-shining armour. China, USA, UK are probably a few of the countries engaged in developing a vaccine, and among them are researchers at Oxford University Clinical Research Unit who <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-shot-in-the-arm-for-vaccines-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-shot-in-the-arm-for-vaccines-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHKJgZ_d-vQIhZ5sdehQmMT7iWvHQ">collaborated closely with Patan Academy of Health Science</a> in a recent successful typhoid vaccine study.This Oxford University group lead by Professors Sarah Gilbert and Andrew Pollard are optimistic about producing a million doses of the vaccine by autumn. The vaccine will be eventually required not in the millions, but in billions of dosages. It also has to be affordable for countries like ours.For making vaccines promptly for neglected tropical illnesses, it is hard to beat the Chinese. When <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19220#.Xp-nMS8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19220%23.Xp-nMS8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEw-YGKhD3XomMEP736r5ileoWJ3g">Japanese Encephalitis (JE)</a> was raging in China and South Asia, it was the Chinese who tested, developed and made available the ‘Chengdu vaccine’ that revolutionised the prevention of the mosquito-borne disease. The earlier vaccine was expensive and only tourists in Nepal could afford it.Similarly, when <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18079#.Xp-m3S8w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D18079%23.Xp-m3S8w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEndZvjwlu6D0uMBXFMGO9OgvSoXg">hepatitis E</a> was a scourge in China, the Xiamen Innovax Biotech came up with a vaccine in 2012 to protect vulnerable populations. Because there is no other commercial vaccine available against hepatitis E, it will be valuable in South Asia if the virus is rampant again and affect pregnant women with a fatal outcome.Nepal clearly needs to have a strong public health infrastructure in collaboration with a prestigious institute abroad to be able to tackle COVID-19 and other infections. Just like earthquakes, there will be more pandemics in future. Humanity needs to up its game in the control of emergent infectious diseases, and Nepal can make a small contribution by helping itself, especially by strengthening public health.Buddha Basnyat is a clinical researcher at Patan Academy of Health Sciences and 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=1587612692665000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFhARSUb8HMQP_ZJgsaTmPoQDLWvA">frequent health columnist</a> for Nepali Times.Prevention while searching for a cur

Buddha Basnyat

Prevention while searching for a cure

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

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

As soon as she milks her cow, 52-year-old Punam B K is off, pedaling her bicycle furiously along the highway with a blue milk can in the front basket.&nbsp; By the time she arrives at the Jaya Shiva Ganesh Dairy Producers Cooperative in Gopalganj village, others are already there, their bicycles parked on the roadside. The farmers are all holding on to their blue milk cans, and are chatting away.&nbsp; “We keep what is needed for the family, and sell whatever remains here at the cooperative,” says B K, as the volume, fat and non-fat solid content of her milk is measured. It is then poured into a bigger vat to be mixed with milk from other farmers. B K collects her receipt with the value of her milk, and prepares to head home. The farmers are reimbursed on a quarterly basis.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-family-that-works-together-stays-together">A family that works together stays together</a>, Sahina Shrestha “Everyone around here has at least a cow or buffalo to provide milk for the family, the cowdung is used for fertiliser, and we can bring whatever is left over to the cooperative,” says B K who, like the others, brings her milk by bicycle twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_0df32c0f6a572aef83eca02dc7a86f75ea5dbc88dc6c2390d42a44ab3cc93395.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241210081232_0df32c0f6a572aef83eca02dc7a86f75ea5dbc88dc6c2390d42a44ab3cc93395" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  All this may seem like nothing special, just an ordinary farmer selling her milk. But it has to be seen in the context of dairy farmers overcoming subsistence and increasing household income. Nearly 200,000 dairy farmers from over 1,200 cooperatives have not been paid by the government-run DDC for their milk for a year or more.&nbsp; The DDC has fixed a quota for buying milk from cooperatives that limits production even during the peak winter months. Farmers in Chitwan are so fed up, they have staged demonstrations in Kathmandu and even poured milk on the East-West Highway in protest.&nbsp; Punam B K’s milk ends up in Bhawani Dairy, a milk processing plant in Chitwan that buys milk from various cooperatives in the district. It was established six years ago by three entrepreneur cousins Devrath Baral, Drishya Baral and Subash Paudel and is now being supported by the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) project.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_4e3c65390b9c5345f807b10cbb8c36b006ef6d3cb972e07b5067f4b2db2be32e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241210081232_4e3c65390b9c5345f807b10cbb8c36b006ef6d3cb972e07b5067f4b2db2be32e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1102" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  This UK-funded project implemented by Swisscontact in Nepal has been supporting agro-businesses in 23 countries in Asia and Africa. They focus on improving the capacity of private dairy and vegetable farmers to find markets and build a sustainable supply chain for their produce. It helps dairies like the one in Chitwan with branding and marketing, as well to track business through a Dairy Management System (DMS) digital database.&nbsp; Bhawani Dairy also got support to conduct orientation for cooperative farmers to learn about new ways to boost productivity with breeding, cowshed management and hygiene maintenance. Many commercial farmers in Chitwan, some with up to 60 cows and buffaloes, have benefited.&nbsp; B K says she only has six cows, so not everything she hears at the orientation about increasing cowshed area is applicable. “We are just happy our milk is not wasted, and we can earn some cash from the surplus,” she says.&nbsp; Bhawani Dairy’s clientele is based entirely in Chitwan and in towns along the East-West Highway. But building on its success here, the company is looking to expand nationwide and target the Kathmandu market. Being a perishable product, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/nepal-s-milk-heartland-rebounds">diary business is challenging</a>. Businesses also need investment and technical support to diversify into value-added milk products like cheese, yoghurt, ice cream or powdered milk.&nbsp; “For now, the best thing we as a dairy business can do for farmers is to buy their milk at a decent price and pay them in time,” says Drishya Baral of Bhawani Dairy.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_6c06efb5674dbcd8679015af543bfda87030755383a13c9269e272af28e85953.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241210081232_6c06efb5674dbcd8679015af543bfda87030755383a13c9269e272af28e85953" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  Another agro-industry supported by CASA since 2018 is Himalayan Supervores, a venture that sources farm produce to supply vegetables and other foods to restaurants and hotels in the city, and even export Halal-certified produce to Gulf countries.&nbsp; CASA helped with cold chain management system to keep vegetable produce fresh so that the products earn trust about quality in the national and international market. Himalayan Supervores is already exporting to UAE and Qatar, and is targeting other Gulf countries next. “The guidance provided by the international expert was invaluable, we could not have bought that knowledge even with money,” says Nelson Shrestha of Himalayan Supervores. “It was not about fancy hardware, but how to minimise wastage, increase productivity, save time and money.”&nbsp; Though Himalayan Supervores collects vegetables from vegetable cooperatives, it indirectly works with a network of thousands of cooperative farmers. Its catchment area therefore is enormous, and it has enhanced their knowledge about organic farming methods, bio-pesticides, and the right way to handle and package vegetables. CASA’s most recent tie-up is with Pokhara-based Poshilo Foods, which specialises in increasing the shelf-life of local nutritional food items. During the Covid lockdown <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p3bparajuli/">Prithwi Kallyan Parajuli</a> saw an opportunity to supply nutritional foods that stayed longer, and set up Poshilo.&nbsp; It took traditional satu flour made from dry-roasted pulse, added more nutrients, and packaged it. Four flavours of satu with nutrient values differentiated for various age groups now line the shelves of supermarket chains like KK Mart, Saleways. Poshilo is now exploring the export market in India.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241210081232_a8dbea8c8d45ac4eff6c37fb47da7ff461989c662ba86d207a008381101acdcf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241210081232_a8dbea8c8d45ac4eff6c37fb47da7ff461989c662ba86d207a008381101acdcf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1700" height="1275" loading="lazy" alt="dairy farmers in Chitwan"> </figure>  In the five years of helping Nepali agribusinesses, CASA has already teamed up with 35 established companies. Parajuli heaps fulsome praise on the catalytic support and guidance he got early on, not just for product design, but to explore market viability, branding and marketing.&nbsp; He has participated in government-led programs before, but says those are one-off and focus only on technical solutions and do not pay much attention to the important back-end work with management and sales.&nbsp; Says Devrath Baral of Bhawani Dairy in Chitwan: “We would probably have eventually got to where we are now, but it would have taken years longer without CASA. And now we can share our experience with other agribusinesses in Nepal.”