<figure><img width="900" height="600" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02ed9c7e80680e0a36a8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s air quality</a> has just got considerably worse, not just because of dirtier air, but because the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revised its Global Air Quality Guidelines, halving the recommended value for annual average pollution levels. Safe exposure to concentrations of harmful particles below 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in diameter every year has now been halved, meaning that many Kathmandu residents could be breathing much more <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">polluted air</a> than they throught.On 22 September the WHO updated its Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) such that annual mean concentrations of PM2 should not exceed 5 kg/m3 and NO2 not exceed 10 kg/m3. In addition, peak season mean 8-hr ozone concentration should not exceed 60 kg/m3. The 2005 guideline values for PM2 and NO2 were, 10kg/m3 and 40 kg/m3 respectively, with no recommendation for long-term suspended particles and ozone concentrations.Environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar immediately took to twitter to respond to the new recommended standard for air quality: ‘The WHO just released its new air quality guidelines which have halved the guideline value for annual average PM2.5 in ambient air. This means Kathmandu, which had annual PM2.5 levels that were about five times higher than the WHO guidelines now have pollution levels that are 10 fold higher.’The new standards are ambitious and reflect the large impact of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/polluted-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> on public health, and experts hope that it will influence air quality policy across the globe. They recommend bold action to clean up the air at all levels and across all sectors such as transport, energy, industry, agriculture and residential.“Air pollution is a major global public health threat that causes a range of adverse health effects, even at the lowest observable concentrations. The updated guidelines offer a wake-up call, to reconsider current air quality legislation and regulations,” noted a joint statement released by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) with the European Respiratory Society following the revised guidelines.It adds: “There is ample evidence to strongly support government action to reduce air pollution and address climate change simultaneously. But the most important message is that each reduction in the outdoor concentrations of key air pollutants brings health benefits to the surrounding population, even in places which already have low pollution concentrations.”Additionally, most jurisdictions with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clean air</a> regulations have relied on fixed limit values with little incentive to further reduce air pollution levels once compliance with the limit value is achieved. Given the evidence that health effects occur down to very low concentration levels, future clean air policies must include incentives for progressive lowering of exposures of the entire population, thereby improving health for all.The new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air quality</a> guidelines are not legally binding however but experts believe can represent a turning point in the way we approach air pollution globally, and in particular, South Asia where the air pollution levels are consistently high and the health burden is stark.“The new guidelines offer a benchmark for South Asian cities and countries to plan their air quality agenda. This will bring renewed interest in the topic and create an opportunity to push for stronger action,” says Pallavi Pant of Health Effects Institute based in Boston.She adds: “We know where we’d like to get to, and the real discussion now should be focused on the basket of strategies and sectors we need to address.”Air pollution, indoors and outdoors, accounted for some 12% of all death in 2019. Air pollution currently ranks fourth among major risk factors for global disease and mortality, only behind <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-do-so-many-nepalis-have-high-blood-pressure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hypertension</a>, smoking and dietary factors.In terms of economic burden, the estimated global health-related external costs were $5 trillion in 2013 with an additional $225 billion in lost labour productivity as per the World Bank Group 2016.Here in Nepal, the new guidelines hardly made it to the news. Nepal doesn’t even have a minister for the environment because of a continued political stalemate.Successive governments in the recent past have made commitments to promote <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electric vehicles and transport for clean air</a>, but they have done the opposite. Earlier this year in the budget, it reintroduced tax rebates. But only this week, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s government slashed taxes on the import of 10 or more diesel buses by new luxury hotels to 1%. It also cut by half the duty on petrol motorcycle assembly in Nepal.The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns over the last two years have shown people that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-lockdown-proves-air-quality-can-be-improved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">goal of clean air can be achieved</a>, and it has become even more crucial at this point where the coronavirus cases are going down, vaccinations have picked up and businesses are reopening for the Dasain-Tihar festive season.“There is no shortcut to clean air, we need long-term policies that target major sources including transportation, use of wood/animal dung for cooking and heating, brick kilns, coal power plants, industries and waste burning,” adds Pant ,who is from India.She adds: “Access to clean energy for all is one key policy that can help reduce the burden of air pollution. It is also useful to keep in mind that air pollution is a multi-sectoral problem, and we must engage not just technical experts but also legal and policy experts, economists, healthcare workers and others in developing solutions.In the short term, especially as we approach the winter season, the government should ensure the public that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/open-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">air quality data</a> is accessible and understandable. With this information, the public can avoid outdoor activities during hours when the pollution is at its peak and reduce the prevalence of allergies and immediate respiratory illness.

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Dirty Kathmandu air gets dirtier

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151112/636d06f59c7e80680e0a5f92jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The past year-and-half since the Covid-19 outbreak, Nepal’s limited health resources all had a singular focus. But now that the second wave is waning and the lockdown has been eased, hospitals are once again flooded with patients with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/diabetes-in-south-asia,3018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">diabetes</a>, cardiovascular diseases and kidney ailments.Many of these patients had left these conditions untreated, and doctors say nursing them back to health will be more complicated. One of the most common disorders is hypertension or high blood pressure, which has become an epidemic.Hypertension is a silent killer and one of the most common causes of chronic conditions like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/A-mysterious-rash-of-kidney-failures,3639" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kidney damage</a> that are often too costly to treat for the majority of Nepalis. Now, mental stress due to Covid has also added to the problem.“Hypertension makes up for the majority of patients in hospitals these days now that the lockdown has been relaxed,” says cardiologist Prakash Regmi. “Also worrying is that many of these are new patients coming in due to Covid-related stress, a large number of people who had their blood pressure under control previously after treatment are also relapsing.”To be sure, Nepal has been seeing a dramatic rise in hypertension patients even before the pandemic – some of them in their teens and 20s. <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijhy/2021/6610649/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A paper published in March</a> in the International Journal of Hypertension, shows that since 2000, the hypertension rate in Nepal has been increasing at 3.5% per decade, and 44.7% of Nepali men will be suffering from hypertension by 2025.The study also found that high blood pressure is disproportionately affecting men, the elderly, those without formal education, and those who reside in urban areas, and seems to be most common in Gandaki Province.Worldwide, an estimated 1.13 billion people have hypertension, and it is responsible for 9.4 million deaths globally every year. In 2015, 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women had elevated blood pressure.In Nepal, close to one-third of the adult population has some form of hypertension, but in urban centres the figure is as high as 40%, with 25% in rural areas suffering from it.There is no specific cause of hypertension, but its biggest risk factor is high sodium intake. A survey in 2020 revealed that on average, the mean dietary <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jch.13813#:~:text=Overall%2C%20estimated%20mean%20salt%20intake,d%20(SD%20%C2%B1%204.7)." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">salt intake of a Nepali</a> per day is 13.3 mg. Most of the world consumes double the WHO recommended 5g of daily salt intake, increasing the risk of heart disease and strokes, which kills some 3 million people annually worldwide.“Traditionally Nepalis have a preference for salty food, but now with higher consumption of processed and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-binge-on-junk-foods-the-west-rejected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">junk food</a>, our salt intake has grown,” says public health expert Aruna Uprety, adding that the sodium content in packaged foods is often much higher than what companies claim.In May WHO (World Health Organisation) released a new set of <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2021/05/05/default-calendar/launch-event-who-global-sodium-benchmarks-for-different-food-categories" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global benchmarks for sodium levels</a> that will act as a guide for countries and industry to reduce sodium content in more than 60 categories of processed foods, in line with the global target of reducing salt intake by 30% and hypertension by 25%, both by 2025.Another prominent risk factor is mental stress and lack of physical exercise, both of which have been exacerbated with people staying at home for months and under the uncertainty of the pandemic. Family history of hypertension also plays a significant role in an individual developing high blood pressure, as does smoking and drinking alcohol.Undetected hypertension, and non-medication to control it, can lead to other disorders like stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, etc.Despite the huge burden of the disease on public health and the economy, treatment of hypertension is ill-managed. Patients are never diagnosed because often times there are no prior symptoms.And of the 50% who are diagnosed with high blood pressure, half ignore their condition and get no treatment. Of the remaining, 25% do get some kind of treatment but half of them again do not follow-up or take the correct dose of medication.“All in all only about 10% of hypertension patients get proper treatment in Nepal. Lack of proper health monitoring system, as well as misconceptions about life-long medications, hasn’t helped,” says cardiologist Prakash Regmi. “This often leads to a point where treatment is either too expensive, or even unmanageable.”Hypertension is first and foremost a lifestyle disease with strong ties to a possible failure of crucial organs in the human body. Its prevention and control are heavily dependent on an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/junk-food-is-making-nepali-children-shorter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">individual’s choice of diet</a>.A state-sponsored robust awareness campaign to focus on preventive measures and a strong healthcare system are urgently needed to reduce the epidemic of hypertension.Says public health expert Aruna Uprety: “Mandatory blood pressure check-ups for certain age groups at fixed intervals is a good place to start. It goes a long way in reducing the cost of the disease and human lives.”Stages of hypertension<ul style="font-weight: 400;"><li>Normal: Less than 120/80 mm Hg</li> 	<li>Prehypertension (Elevated): Systolic between 120-129 and diastolic less than 80</li> 	<li>Stage 1 (Moderate): Systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89</li> 	<li>Stage 2 (Severe): Systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90 mm Hg</li> 	<li>Hypertensive crisis: Systolic over 180 and/or diastolic over 120</li></ul>Types of hypertension<ul style="font-weight: 400;"><li>Primary or essential: Most common high blood pressure among adults. No specific cause but risk factors include diet, age, physical activity and genetics.</li> 	<li>Secondary: Up to 10% of hypertension is secondary. Most often caused by another medical condition or the use of certain medicines.</li></ul>Risk factors<ul style="font-weight: 400;"><li>High salt/sodium intake</li></ul>WHO recommendation: 5gm/day<ul style="font-weight: 400;"><li>Mental stress</li> 	<li>Lack of physical exercise</li></ul>WHO recommendation: at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity<ul style="font-weight: 400;"><li>Family history of high blood pressure</li></ul>

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Why do so many Nepalis have high blood pressure?

<figure><img width="1500" height="814" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccad79c7e80680e08bb8ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Dogs huddle for warmth at a fireplace in Janakpur.</figcaption></figure>Just as it has every winter, the cold wave in Nepal’s Tarai has had a devastating impact on the livelihood of its people, but local governments have provided little to no support to the neediest. As a result, even in this day and age, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/is-the-nepal-tarai-prepared-for-winter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepalis still die from the cold</a>.There are indications that the ground fog that covers the Indo-Gengetic plains that includes the Tarai is getting thicker and lasts longer because of a combination of moisture in the air due to the spread of irrigation and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/breathing-is-hazardous-to-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pollution</a>. Water droplets stick to soot particles, and even the sun cannot burn the smog off during the day. “Only those who can afford it wear warm clothes here. Our children run around in hand me downs, and sometimes without one, even in winter,” says Lalmati Devi of Birganj. “We have had no income because of the lockdown, so we couldn’t buy warm clothes.” <img width="1500" height="843" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccad99c7e80680e08bb8fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="1500" height="812" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccadc9c7e80680e08bb90jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Fog-bound Birganj, where the sun did not shine for days during the cold wave this month.</figcaption></figure>In Nepalganj 500km away to the west, passengers at the airport wait for days on end for flights, which are cancelled or delayed due to poor visibility. It is the same story in Dhangadi, Simra, Biratnagar and Bhadrapur.“We have visibility of only 10-20 metres right now, it is too low to operate flights. This has been the case here for the past few days,” says Prem Nath Thakur, head of the Nepalganj Airport.  Even a decade ago, the winter fog used to clear by afternoon. But in recent years it stays for days on end, sometimes for a week or more. People are trying to cope, but cannot seem to stay warm.“When humidity is over 95% and visibility is below 1km, water droplets are suspended in the atmosphere or near the earth’s surface, like a thick cloud that touches the ground,” explains Archana Shrestha of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. “It is only at ground level, but it is persistent and doesn’t allow the sun to warm the ground, leading to a cold wave.” <figure><img width="1500" height="776" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccadf9c7e80680e08bb91jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Planes grounded at Nepalganj airport due to poor visibility this week.</figcaption></figure>The cold kills people. Either because of hypothermia, or indirectly through smoke inhalation inside the home as people try to keep warm. The problem lies in the lack of awareness about indoor air pollution, ventilation, insulation and as well as inappropriate architecture. Winter fog is getting thicker and lasts longer every passing year because of open agricultural burning, industrial emissions, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-transboundary-haze-affects-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">transboundary pollution</a>, wildfires and smog.The cold wave on 21 January reduced the maximum temperature in Nepalganj to 14°C whereas it was 19.3°C in Jumla, which is at an altitude of 2,500m in the mountains.The first recorded cold wave in the Tarai occurred in 1998. At that time, the difference between the minimum and maximum temperature was a mere 1.3°C, meaning the temperature was constant throughout the day. The longest cold wave recorded was in 2002/03 when it continued from 26 December to 27 January without any sunshine. Prior to this, a cold wave in the plains lasted from 15 December 1997 to 15 January 1998.This year, the cold wave has hit the Tarai in short spells but they were no less menacing, particularly in central Nepal where they were longer and denser. In Mahottari, the fog was so thick people could hardly see a metre away. Families huddle inside their homes, and do not venture out unless there is an emergency. But like all other disasters, the poor are disproportionately affected by the cold wave. <img width="1500" height="983" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccae29c7e80680e08bb92jpeg.jpg" alt="">"People with means have homes, warm clothes and heaters, they can even employ others if they are unable to work because of the cold," says Tula Narayan Shah (pictured right) of Nepal Madhes Foundation. "But even among the poor, women and Dalit in the Tarai are hit the hardest." The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unsung-heroes-of-nepals-tiger-recovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Musahar community</a> in this Province 2 district have homes built with public housing programs but with no roofs. Families do not have warm clothing or electricity. “It has been two years since we paid for the roof but we are still waiting, government does not listen to us,” says a local resident, Biraj Majhi.Oftentimes, people burn straw in order to warm themselves from the cold. There are fatalities every year from fires. Nine people have died in house fires this winter alone. But these aren’t listed as deaths caused by the cold wave. Open burning to keep warm also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-air-pollution-hits-record-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">degrades air quality</a> further.Bheri hospital in Nepalganj is often crowded with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/diabetes-in-south-asia,3018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hypertension patients</a> and those having difficulty breathing in the winter season.“Generally, blood pressure increases during winter, even of those who have it under control, other chronic illnesses are also more pronounced and people need a higher doses of their medications,” explains cardiologist Krishna Prasad Adhikari. “There is also an increased risk of heart attacks as morning chill leads to spasms and narrowing of blood vessels. Covid has added to the risk.”The cold wave also affects agriculture. Crops wilt without the sun, and insects infest the vegetable patches. Moreover, due to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/crushing-tale-of-Chure" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased deforestation in the Chure</a>, wild animals have moved down the plains, destroying crops as they search for food. But farmers are unable to stand guard during a cold wave and are forced to send their produce to the market before they have fully ripened.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4CUcKlj3XU&amp;feature=youtu.beEven by moderate estimates, cold spells affect at least 125,000 households in the Tarai every year and these numbers are increasing. The Cold Wave Contingency Action Plan has estimated that 50,000 people from 5,000 households in Saptari (where 19 people died of cold three years ago) would be affected this year. Another 30,000 and 6,500 households in Dang and Bardia.Cold waves are listed as a disaster in Nepal now, and the District Disaster Management Committee has a plan to reduce its impact. Says Krishna Bahadur Katuwal, former Chief District Officer of Mahottarai: “No citizen should suffer from the cold wave or die from it. We are ready to respond and we have made arrangements through municipalities to distribute warm clothes, blankets and bedding.”But in most places, such support is yet to reach the neediest of the bunch. “The CDO came for inspection a month ago, the help hasn’t reached us yet,” says Ramprit Sada of Kaira in Mahottari.Adds Lalmati Devi of Birganj: “We haven’t received anything from the municipality, this is a Dalit neighbourhood. Our children just burn the cow dung to keep warm.”Based on Episode 7 of Saglo Samaj, a tv magazine program produced by Himalmedia which is broadcast every Monday, at 8:30 pm on Dish Home Channel 130.

Nepalis still dying of cold

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

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum