<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/6372095e9c7e80680e0b5539jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1576" height="786"/>On 28 February, we will come either to the finish line or the starting line of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-row-rocks-nepals-ruling-coalition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project</a> to upgrade Nepal’s infrastructure.The $500 million that the MCC is offering Nepal as a grant for the development of transmission lines and upgrading the road network needs to be ratified by that date.There has been a lot of debate in Nepal’s cybersphere and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-deal-breaker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the political arena that is spilling out into the streets with rallies</a>. The points of view are highly polarised, and we left logic behind a long time ago — we are now debating on emotion and rhetoric.When King Mahendra wanted the Chinese to build the Arniko Highway connecting Kathmandu to Lhasa in the 1960s, there was a similar debate about whether or not it was a good idea. India and China had just fought a war, and the Cold War was at its height.Many worried that the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/chinese-ink-wash-paintings-in-Nepal,2622" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trans-Himalayan highway </a>would give direct access to our northern neighbour to the heart of Nepal and down to the plains, while others felt that this would be the route to open trade and commerce between Nepal and China.King Mahendra pushed ahead and built the Arniko Highway, and six decades later, it is a major artery for bilateral trade and cultural relations.Similarly in the early 1980s there was intense domestic and international debate on the development of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dam-it-its-all-about-the-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arun 3 hydropower project</a> that would have not only met all of Nepal’s energy demand at the time, but also allowed export of surplus energy to India.After much acrimonious debate, the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=11083#.Ygiu_ShBzOQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Bank pulled out of financing</a> this project. This pretty much put an end to the development of major projects in Nepal for many decades, even while Bhutan took advantage of harnessing its water resources.By negotiating with India, it used revenue from electricity exports to enhance the quality of life of its people, and raised per capita income. Decades later, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we in Nepal are still trying to catch up</a> in harnessing our own water resources, and develop <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-precious-electricity-going-waste/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our hydropower potential</a>.Once again, we as a nation and people, stand at the point of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deciding whether to accept</a> the $500 million MCC grant for the development of transmission lines and the enhancement of our road network or not.The people who need to examine the facts and make this decision are political leaders who we have trusted with our vote and put into Parliament. The decision they make must be for the wellbeing of all Nepalis, and Nepal as a nation, now and into the future.I am a banker and I can tell you that as per the guidance and direction of Nepal Rastra Bank and the government of Nepal, the banking industry as by mid-December 2021, had invested Rs215 billion in energy projects across Nepal.We need to increase this to 7% of the total loan portfolio by April, then to 9% by 2023 and 10% by 2024. This translates to 1,920MW of installed capacity, with construction licenses for 7,870MW. Of these, 214 projects are by private producers for 6,970MW, and foreign investment for 900 MW.In addition, another 37 projects for 2,576MW and 1,200MW of Investment Board Nepal (IBN) projects have applied for construction licenses. By the end of this fiscal year alone, we anticipate installed capacity to grow to 3,300MW.The nation’s focus on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">harnessing our river resources and generating energy</a> is working, we are well on the way to being a major energy producing nation. This means that currently, Rs215 billion of the bank deposits of the citizens of Nepal are already invested into these projects through loans, and the amount will increase exponentially in the years ahead.The hard-earned deposits of millions of Nepalis are the main source of funding for the development of these projects. We stand at a point where we have to firstly stimulate domestic demand and consumption of electricity, and secondly facilitate the export of electricity to our neighbours.The common and critical factor for both these goals is the need for transmission lines across Nepal, that can effectively and efficiently evacuate the electricity from these projects, and get the power to the internal or external markets to spur the economy.If we do not start to put <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the needed transmission infrastructure</a> in place to do this, then the turbines will spin uselessly, wasting the electricity generated with phenomenal losses. Nepal’s entire financial sector will be in peril if the hydropower sector faces such loss from spilled energy.I do not know if Nepal should ratify the MCC and take the $500 million grant, that is for our elected leaders to decide. But I do know that if we do not get the needed transmission lines in place at the earliest then the savings of millions of Nepalis that the banking sector has been directed to lend to the hydropower sector will be in troubled waters.Many thousands of Nepalis who have invested in shares of hydro projects may also stand to lose if the transmission lines are not built. Politicians who have directed the banking sector to invest such a large quantum of the Nepali peoples savings in the energy sector must have a plan on how to get the power we generate to market.As a banker, all I can say is whether we take this $500 million grant from the MCC or take loans from somewhere else, we need to get the funds to build these transmission lines.February 28 is only two weeks away. Nepal’s leaders need foresight and courage to make the correct decision for the future. It is a choice between darkness and light, deprivation and prosperity.Anil Shah is a concerned Nepali, and a banker. Excerpts from NNSD post.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-deal-breaker/">The deal-breaker</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/maoists-backpedal-on-mcc-letter/">Maoists backpedal on MCC letter</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-house-speaker-embroiled-in-mcc-row/">Nepal House speaker embroiled in MCC row</a>

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To be or not to be on the MCC

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d138d9c7e80680e0a992ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="2000"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>While almost 10% of the Nepali population continues to live without power, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has begun to export surplus electricity to India citing the absence of transmission lines to transport power to load centres.Nepal reached a deal with the Indian Energy Exchange (IEE) on 1 November and from the following day began exporting up to 39MW of surplus electricity to India as part of the first phase of the agreement. However, even while the country sold excess electricity across the border, many parts of the far western districts of Bajhang, Dolpa, Bajura, Jumla and Mugu are not yet connected to the national grid.Three major transmission lines are in various stages of construction: the Butwal-Bhairawa double circuit which was started two years ago, the Biratnagar-Inaruwa 132KV line that began five years ago, and the Inaruwa-Dhalkewar-Hetauda 400KV transmission line which was started a decade ago.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/india-nepal-sign-power-exchange-deal/">India, Nepal sign power exchange deal</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d13909c7e80680e0a992bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1960" height="1204">The market for electricity expands beyond the border, but industries at home, particularly cement and steel, are still unable to operate at full capacity due to the unavailability of required electricity.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/insider-trading-taints-nepal-capital-market/">Sarvottam Cement factory</a> in Sunwal of West Nawalparasi has been forced to reduce working hours and run on generators, as the NEA only supplies 8MW of electricity from the 20MW required for the factory to run at full capacity. Of that, only 6MW of the electricity is actually usable because of circuitry and voltage issues.To make up for the shortage, Sarvottam Cement set up its own diesel-powered plant, but this only adds to the cost. NEA supplies electricity at Rs10 per unit, while a unit of electricity from a diesel-powered plant costs Rs27.“The country and industry both would have prospered had the government prioritised transmission lines and increased electricity consumption within the country," says Surendra Mahaseth, manager of the electricity department at the factory. The government made a policy-level decision last year to extend the national grid, prioritising cement and agro-based industries. But delays in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/generating-electricity-and-cash-for-nepalis/">construction of transmission</a> lines have stymied progress.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d13939c7e80680e0a992cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1198" height="1227"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It is not just industries that are worried. Private power producers which have already started construction are worried that their power will have limited distribution because of the lack of adequate transmission lines. Adding to their doom and gloom is the protracted delay in ratifying the US-supported $500 million <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-politics-delays-mcc-in-nepal/">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project</a> to build a 400kVA transmission line in Central Nepal to distribute power westwards as well as to India through the Butwal corridor.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/missing-links-in-nepals-mcc-debate/">Missing links in Nepal’s MCC debate</a>, Jeevan R Sharma and David Seddon<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/mcc-damned-if-we-do-damned-if-we-dont/">MCC: damned if we do, damned if we don’t</a>Meanwhile, the Argakhanchi Cement Industry requires a transformer with a capacity of 20 mega-volt ampere (MVA) for its operation, but is only supplied with one for 10 MVA. Like Sarvottam cement, it has set up its own diesel power plant that produces 2.5MVA current.“We have been asking for as much electricity as we can get, and have been promised that it will be available soon,” says Uddhav Karki, manager of Argakhanchi Cement industry. “We will have to see if that happens.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d13959c7e80680e0a992djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="352">Meanwhile, NEA has started supplying electricity this week through its 132kV Bardaghat-Sari transmission line to supply 30MW of power to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/going-is-tough-for-chinese-investor-in-nepal/">Hongshi Cement Nepal-China joint venture in Nawalparasi</a>. There is hope that more will follow, but so far Hongshi looks like the exception.The NEA has cited delays in building substations and transmission lines as the reason why it cannot distribute surplus electricity during the monsoon, leading to its wasteful ‘spill’. It has blamed private landowners haggling over compensation for transmission lines over their property and lengthy legal battles for the delays."All planned transmission lines under construction across the country should have been completed within two years, but there is a lot of local opposition,” says NEA spokesperson Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai. “If only these pylons could be laid, we could reach customers and not have to waste a single watt.”However, others blame the scarcity of electricity on policymakers who prefer to export electricity rather than expand and expedite transmission lines and substations to increase access within Nepal.“It is like selling food to a neighbour while your own family goes hungry,” says water resource expert Ratna Sansar Shrestha. “We would have earned much more by increasing electricity consumption in the country and reducing the use of fossil fuels. This is the result of a three-decade-long ‘grand design’ by the Nepal government to earn profit by exporting electricity instead of building infrastructure within the country.”NEA could actually earn more from selling power domestically instead of exporting it. Nepal’s private industries are paying up to Rs11 per unit in electrical bills, while the average price of electricity sold to India is just Rs4.33 per unit.Environmental campaigner <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/">Bhushan Tuladhar</a> agrees that successive governments have failed to increase domestic electricity consumption by either not having the transmission lines to take it to load centres, or pricing it too high. He asks: “Why has the government not taken any steps to operate trolleybuses and electric public transportation despite having included it in multiple five-year plans?”He adds that the government has failed to form an environment protection and climate change management committee even though it made a promise to do so years ago.Adds Tuladhar: “When the government fails to build proper infrastructure and a strategic plan to increase electricity consumption for Nepali industries, transportation and households, it is left with no choice but to export it.”Translated from <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/126589">the original</a> by Shristi Karki.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages/">How they kept Nepal in the dark ages</a>, Ramesh Kumar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-1st-hydroelectric-plant-is-a-museum-piece/">Nepal’s 1st hydroelectric plant is a museum piece,</a> Ramesh Bhushal

Anita Bhetwal

Nepal’s precious electricity going waste

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84239c7e80680e06777ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1037"/><figcaption>A view of the project from across the Langtang Valley showing the receding Langtang Lirung Glacier, and the location of the intake, penstock and powerhouse. There is a drop of 300m, and the turbines generate 100kW of electricity. Photos: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>From the edge of the terminal moraine of the Langtang Lirung Glacier, there is a 360 degree view of icy peaks, and below is the monastery town of Kyanjin blanketed in overnight snow.Towering above is Langtang Lirung with snow being blown off its 7,227m summit, with the jagged peaks of Kimshun standing like bodyguards with Tserko Ri, Yala Peak and Gang Chhenpo. And to the south is the rampart of the Naya Kanga ridge.“When I was a boy we brought the yaks up here to graze, and they could cross the ice from one side of the glacier to the other,” says Gyalbu Tamang. “This lake was formed only in the last 20 years.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84269c7e80680e06777bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As climate change thaws the mountains, right across the eastern Himalaya in Nepal, Bhutan and southern Tibet, hundreds of new lakes have formed at the snouts of glaciers. Some have found outlets and emptied themselves, while others, like this one, swelled up dangerously.In the past 40 years, there have been 26 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/">glacial lake outburst floods on Nepal’s rivers</a>, and with newer and bigger lakes forming, they pose a serious risk to new roads, settlements and hydropower plants downstream.However, glacial lakes do not just need to be a threat, as has been shown by a unique project on the Langtang Lirung Glacier. This glacial lake at 4,100m is being drained to lower its level, and the water is used to generate electricity.The Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation. The $534,000 scheme has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity, providing 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.The project is a first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village, and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated, while at the same time providing electricity to tourism-dependent families.“It can be a plus-plus, you need to simply drive a glacial lake to turn a turbine while simultaneously lowering the water level and reducing the pressure on the moraine dam,” says energy economist and former Water Resource Minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/finding-the-nexus-between-water-food-and-energy/">Dipak Gyawali.</a>The only downside would be that most glacial lakes are at very high elevations where there are few settlements, and also the greater cost of transporting equipment by helicopter. But if the risk-reduction from glacial lake outburst floods is factored in, these multi-purpose projects would be cost-effective.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b842a9c7e80680e06777cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1125" height="1500"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b842d9c7e80680e06777djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="938"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84309c7e80680e06777ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There are other dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal like <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Diverting-danger,3172">Imja</a> in the Everest region and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/">Tso Rolpa</a> in Rolwaling Valley, where the water level has been lowered at enormous cost, but the schemes have not added the hydropower component. Tso Rolpa had a small power unit to supply electricity to the project, but it is not in use. Imja was financed by the UNDP with funding from the Global Environment Facility, while Tso Rolpa was funded by the Dutch government.Glacial lakes have been used to generate power in the Peruvian Andes, and in the Swiss Alps existing reservoirs filled with glacial melt have been generating 4% more electricity because of accelerated melting. The Swiss are even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/17/climate/switzerland-glaciers-climate-change.html">mapping future hydropower plants</a> on glaciers for a time when all the ice will be gone. In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2185.pdf?origin=ppub">Bhutan, a pilot scheme</a> on a glacial lake at 4,200m is trying to lower the water level using siphons, and plans to also see if it is feasible to generate electricity.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b84349c7e80680e06777fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="689"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Experts say that with a little more investment, the moraine dams on glacial lakes can be strengthened for a fraction of a cost of building a new artificial dam for electricity generation. For this, the Langtang Microhydro Project presents a working model for other glacial lakes in Nepal where there are plans to lower the water level."In previous decades it used to be expensive to build power plants on glacial lakes because they were so remote, but now that roads have reached many valleys, they are more feasible," says glaciologist Pradeep Mool.Gyalbu Tamang lost his parents and many relatives in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/langtang-copes-with-quake-and-covid/">catastrophic earthquake-avalanche in 2015</a> that killed as many as 300 people in Langtang. But for him and other trekking lodge owners who used to depend on solar panels, the 24-hour electricity has transformed the quality of life.He says: “We can charge our phones, use appliances, the children can read at night, it is like living in a city.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">DANGER: Nepal’s glacial lakes are filling up</a>, Nepali Times

Kunda Dixit

Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933719c7e80680e03df9bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="581"/>The conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/">Global Warming</a> of 1.5ºC could not have been more blunt: human-induced global warming poses an existential threat to the planet. And to Nepal.To avert this, the report has called for pathways that look unachievable. The US government has already indicated it will withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement that agreed on measures to limit worldwide average temperatures rise to 1.5-2ºC by 2100. Developing countries like India and China are now the biggest producers of greenhouse gases.Actions that could help minimise the impact of climate change risk have been slow. Part of the reason is socio-cultural. Citizens in developing countries feel they were not responsible for the problem, the impact may be felt at some point in the future, so why worry? There is a prevalent view that weather extremes have always been with us, people are used to coping with them, and have carried on with their lives. Some feel human ingenuity will prevail, and there will be a technological solution.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/">Climate Climax</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/">From a fossil past to an electric future</a>, Om Astha Rai<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171132/636933739c7e80680e03df9cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="327" height="327">Leaders of developing and least developed countries that suffer the worst consequences of <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/melting-mountains-shake,3073">global warming</a> argue that their priority is economic development, and they can invest in clean energy later when they can afford it.The net global C02 emission pathways in the IPCC Special Report requires the curve to come sharply down after 2020 and reach zero emission by 2040 or 2050 (see graph). How will this happen? To answer this, we have to first ask how we got here in the first place.Climate change is a consequence of the global economic order of the past two centuries that was powered by burning fossil fuels. It has brought benefits, but also given the world inequality, dependence, degradation of nature, and nationalistic populism. In the US that is a partisan divide between climate change believers and deniers. Liberal democracy is faltering in Europe.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/electri-city-cars/">Electri-City Cars</a>, Sikuma Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/">The cost of light</a>, Om Astha Rai<a style="outline: 0px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/">The great Himalayan thaw</a>, Ajaya DixitIn the past six decades, many developing countries including Nepal sought foreign aid to lift living standards, but the strategy did not bring about structural changes that would have helped ensure social welfare and environmental protection. The economic model was western-inspired wasteful consumerism. In Nepal, this saw social and political movements, and country suffered three border blockades, a decade-long war, five constitutions, a palace massacre, and the replacement of a monarchy with a federalised republican order. Nepal’s current socio-politics shows signs of regression, while the economy is built on ecologically-destructive extractive practices.Most solutions are externally imposed, and have only worked when co-produced with communities. Past investments have been piecemeal and have not yielded the desired systemic impact. Similar inertia prevails in almost all countries: the status quo is too comfortable, and the ruling classes benefit from business as usual. Added to that is the populism of deniers.Given the prevailing dogma in both the rich and poor countries, it is unlikely that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/half-full/A-carbon-neutral-Nepal-is-possible-clean-Nepal,1064">carbon</a> curve will become less steep as hoped for in the IPCC Report. Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, while launching the fist electric buses in Kathmandu last week, announced a National Action Plan for Electric Mobility under which <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/20-electric-by-2020/">20% of public transport will be battery operated by 2020</a>.This proposition, theoretically, can offset some emission and fuel cost, but without clear thought-through investment strategy,<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18118#.W9vjX9UzbIU"> petroleum import</a> will not fall. Since 2000, import of petroleum products has increased by more than three times.  Weaning the economy towards renewables needs statesmanship and vision – both of which our rulers lack.Imported electric vehicles will not build backward linkages in the economy, and the trade deficit will continue to grow. Without a fundamental reorientation of its economy towards a more self-reliant clean energy supply, and a stronger commitment to protecting ecosystems, Nepal will not meet decarbonisation targets.Globally, bringing carbon emissions to zero in the next 30 years will need incentives on investments globally and within individual countries which promote social equity, protect nature, improve governance and prioritise a low carbon lifestyle.Ajaya Dixit is Executive Director of Kathmandu based ISET-Nepal. His monthly column Climate for Change in Nepali Times deals with the impact of global warming in Nepal.

Decarbonise now

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

hydro-electricity