<figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc079c7e80680e0a0b64jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Summit Hotel rooms and verandah overlook verdant gardens that will give way to the new hotel complex. Photos: ANNE GOLDIE</figcaption></figure>All around is green and lush, with beautiful jacaranda and laburnum trees, bushes of gardenia and jasmine, petals of rose and marigold, seats in the shade, the blue of a pool, the sounds of birds and the wings of butterflies, a mongoose in the undergrowth.  Where am I? Take a deep breath. Relax. In a city of crowds and houses, green spaces are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-loses-its-open-spaces/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shrinking fast</a>. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-kathmandus-historic-roofscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Temple roofs </a> re lost amidst concrete high rises of apartments and hotels. The air is becoming difficult to breathe, and the remaining trees are crying out for help as yet another is taken down to be replaced by a pillar of steel. I am in Kathmandu, but for a moment I am transported into the old magic: the most wonderful hotel in the Valley. The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7740#.YQsVNC1w3OQ" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D7740%23.YQsVNC1w3OQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1628217739384000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGaxArXWLEXuI5F0jJJGumRxg_tvA">Summit Hotel in Sanepa</a> has always been a haven of beauty and tradition, a place representing all that is magical about this land, a combination of old and new, of history and culture, of beautiful bedrooms overlooking gardens tended with loving care that soften the hearts of all who spend restful nights there.  <img width="1125" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc099c7e80680e0a0b65jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1125" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc0c9c7e80680e0a0b66jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2016" height="1512" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc0f9c7e80680e0a0b67jpeg.jpg" alt="">I lived at the Summit in the 1980’s as a Scottish VSO volunteer and then again a decade later when my family was young, and we would come to Kathmandu from the mountains and stay in the annexe of what used to be Holland House. We enjoyed spending time in the gardens and restaurant. I also brought tours to Nepal from the UK, and their time at the Summit Hotel was cherished, remembered, and never forgotten.Since my 20s, I have loved this country, lived mainly in eastern Nepal, and later in Pokhara and Kathmandu. Things change continually, and they should of course, but hearing about the Summit Hotel being replaced by a new high-rise ‘boutique five-star hotel’ broke my heart. It will have three 11-storey (perhaps 15, if approved) apartment buildings on what used to be its beautiful gardens. The jacaranda will be dust, and Kathmandu will be deprived of yet another serene oasis, another <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-green-city-is-a-smart-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">green space</a> erased. Why is this happening? Where is the thought for the environment at this critically sensitive time for the planet and for Nepal? Are the city’s planners and the hotel promoters in total denial of the most urgent issue of our times: the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tourism-that-treads-lightly-on-the-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">preservation of as much of the natural environment as possible</a> within an over-built urban setting so as to make it liveable. There are many other high-rise hotels in Kathmandu. They are all empty. Do we need another? CG Hospitality has hotels in Dubai, Maldives, India and other properties in Nepal, including another one up the road in Jhamsikhel. Why cannot the Summit be similar to Meghauli Serai, its other hotel in the Tarai that accents nature and cultural preservation?Can the Summit not be upgraded and the ambience made even more tranquil, preserving the traditional style and craftsmanship, and the gardens left to grow even more beautiful each year? A high-end property like that can attract a premium market. <img width="1243" height="652" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc129c7e80680e0a0b68jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="1515" height="603" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc159c7e80680e0a0b69jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>What of the generations of dedicated staff who have cared for and loved the hotel over the past decades? What is the motivation behind this? Who will come to visit and stay here? Why buy a hotel with such history and beauty only to destroy it? It is indeed sad to see what is left of the beauty and greenery of Kathmandu being replaced by an ersatz culture that makes it indistinguishable from any other place in the world. This is not just a ‘colonial’ or ‘bideshi’ speaking, I am now in my 60s and have lived most of my adult life in Kathmandu. I had my first child here in Patan Hospital in 1986. I have witnessed many of the changes and troubles this amazing country has faced, and the way in which each crisis has brought out the best in the Nepali people. It has always humbled me, and my attachment is strong. Despite all that has happened here, I have always felt optimistic about Nepal’s future, and this is because of my admiration and trust for the Nepali people, especially the youth: their enthusiasm, creativity, and intelligence. The skilful <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rebuilding of some of Kathmandu Valley’s iconic landmarks</a> has taken my breath away.   Still, many of the old buildings have been torn down, the remaining open spaces are being built over, but the planned destruction of the Summit Hotel has spurred me to speak out. It is a place of memories for me for sure, and it is where the footsteps of many like me have fallen. Nepal has always welcomed its tourists, and over the decades the Summit Hotel has had many repeat visitors. Guests just kept coming back. What a huge loss for Lalitpur, and the Valley’s communities.  It may not be too late for the promoters to rethink their ‘development’, stop the bulldozers and preserve the quiet beauty of the Summit Hotel for posterity. Anne Goldie has lived in Nepal since the 1980s. She has started a petition to save Summit. <a href="https://www.change.org/p/people-the-world-over-losing-the-summit-is-not-just-losing-a-hotel?recruiter=1058179948&amp;recruited_by_id=03bff550-6b7c-11ea-aebe-3d63adcc79aa&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard" target="_blank" style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign it here</a> at change.org.

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Losing the Summit is not just the loss of a hotel

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

hospitali-industry

Losing the Summit is not just the loss of a hotel

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

How to win friends and influence nations

Nepal’s new government springs into action