While the rest of Nepal has gone cynical about federalism, it has <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Federalism-in-the-capital-of-Tarai,3449">opened doors here in Janakpur</a>, the seat of Madhes Province. Its Mithila culture has got new national and global exposure, footfalls have increased and there is a new visible presence of development agencies. Some of this has come at a cost to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/20-years-ago-this-week/birganj-is-the-prize">Birganj 70km away</a>, which was always the commercial hub of the central Tarai and a gateway to Nepal via the land route. In fact Birganj and Janakpur were rivals in the contention of which city would be the capital of Madhes Province. But Birganj also has a new vibrancy in culture, the arts and cuisine. Abhishek Jha is a lawyer and researcher from Madhes Province. JANAKPUR There used to be a time when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-sita-ram-corridor">Janakpur was synonymous with the Janaki Temple</a>, dedicated to the birthplace of Sita. The temple is still a draw, but Janakpur now has a new set of footfalls, and there is a certain order to the chaos of this border city. As the capital of Madhes Province, there are government agencies, new institutions and a heavy presence of the development sector. There are now at least a dozen flights to and from Kathmandu every day, propelling the city’s socio-cultural dynamic. There is a pursuit for ‘uniqueness’ and at the heart of this is an active effort to make <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal">Mithila art</a> more palatable to the pan-Nepali public: with paintings, merchandise, cutlery, apparel, stationery items and other paraphernalia. A pioneer in this revival are the artists of Janakpur Women’s Development Center. The 800 year old Maithali folk-dance form called Jhijhiya has found new platforms and audiences at cultural events like the annual literature and theatre festivals held here. There is an attempt to make it more contemporary and address progressive issues like gender empowerment.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240727060728_ffcab59231faaf3a0ce4e68e7f97e6cb6ed1e76a185e91db1d5d6253136123f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240727060728_ffcab59231faaf3a0ce4e68e7f97e6cb6ed1e76a185e91db1d5d6253136123f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2480" height="1647" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur"> </figure>  The Mithila Thali has found fans, largely due to the culinary curation of Master Chef Santosh Shah and his popular new restaurant at Ramananda Chok. A trip to Janakpur nowadays is perceived as incomplete without a stop here. The choreographed spectacle of offering evening prayers at Gangasagar may not be as impressive as the one in Banaras, but it is quaint with ‘Yah chhai hamar Janakpur…Janak k gaam Janakpur…Sita k Janakpur…’ playing in the background. Janak has rebranded itself as a cultural hub that transcends Mithila and aims to encompass a new, inclusive Nepal. The local media and social media play an important role in disseminating this identity. There are six other federal provinces in Nepal, but only Madhes is a broadly ethnic enclave, and Janakpur stands only second to Kathmandu in the national discourse. Part of the reason for this could be Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi making it a point in 2018 to make a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/janakpur-to-janakpur">special visit to Janakpur</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240727060728_867e16a8ec8f9d9cf8116e6854c1c3a3fe67f7287b2af4d90b15f6f30e4e5df9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240727060728_867e16a8ec8f9d9cf8116e6854c1c3a3fe67f7287b2af4d90b15f6f30e4e5df9" data-rendition-name="original" width="4288" height="2848" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur"> </figure>  Janakpur’s geopolitical status is now higher and many Kathmandu-based ambassadors make it a point to visit, adding to its reputation and importance. Madhes Province can showcase its development since the first federal elections in 2017 with greater women’s empowerment in a traditional patriarchal society. Government offices now have more women faces, there are more women shopkeepers in the market and banks, female participation in schools and colleges are higher. Some of this could be due to male outmigration, but there is no denying that the women of Madhes now have a stronger voice. Janakpur has become more liberal in accepting other languages of the province besides Maithali, like Bhojpuri, Bajjika, Tharu, Urdu and Nepali. Unlike during the Madhes Movement of 2015, there is a new acceptance and assimilation of other communities. There is now a proclivity in the public and government to demonstrate inclusion, both in principle and practice.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024072704078_c960c809d218d58600b35803f5fbe4fd58a42165d8373aa55e01454404fd98c8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2024072704078_c960c809d218d58600b35803f5fbe4fd58a42165d8373aa55e01454404fd98c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="868" loading="lazy" alt="Siwalik"> <figcaption>White lines show the width of the Siwalik range.</figcaption> </figure>  BIRGANJ As a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/birganj-waits-for-the-boom">commercial hub and the road gateway to Nepal, Birganj</a> is brash. Its people seem to be in a perpetual hurry to get somewhere, and as a city through which 80% of Nepal ’s exports and imports pass through, it also has a strategic importance. Proof of that were the many road blockages during the 2015 Madhes Movement here.&nbsp; Unlike Janakpur, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Birganj-mero-saharko-katha,2920">Birganj</a> seems quite content not to have too much to do with politics. In fact, some of the statues of Bhanubhakta and G P Koirala have been reinstated, along with the Maithili poet Vidyapati. Along with Bhojpuri, the city is equally fluent in Nepali, Maithili, Nepal Bhasa, Bajjika, Bangla, Punjabi, Marwari and Hindi. Inclusion, it seems, is good for business. But it also means by trying to be everything for everyone, it lacks a cultural identity of its own. Birganj is astride the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-s-soft-power-is-its-heritage">ancient kingdom of Simraungad</a> which one time ruled over Kathmandu Valley before it was razed and pillaged by the Tughlaq ruler of Delhi in 1326. Today it is better known as the ‘Land of Astavakra’ and ‘Gateway to Nepal’. The faux-Newari Sankracharya Pravesh Dwar gate at the border across from Raxaul marks this attempt to straddle both cultures.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240727060728_b292c88080303b1a56efada9fe07c1096e90bb8867b91189501530a2045aeb8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240727060728_b292c88080303b1a56efada9fe07c1096e90bb8867b91189501530a2045aeb8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2480" height="1660" loading="lazy" alt="Birganj"> </figure>  Birganj was a hub of political dissidence during the Rana regime and late in the pro-democracy movement because of the culture of questioning in public and private discussions.&nbsp; As befitting a city that serves as a connector and the gateway to the industrial corridor to the north, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/holi-in-birganj">Birganj</a> has a new cosmopolitan ambience. The people of Birganj are now better travelled, and interested in eating out with family and are in search for diverse cuisines.&nbsp; Although the city has a variety of restaurants, new age cafes, pizza and burger eateries offer a variety in Adarshnagar, Gawaha Mai and Ranighat. Mouth-watering chaats, bhuja-pakora, dahi-chiura, sattu, lassi, kachori-tarkari-jilebi can be found here. Chiya pasal are the public sphere, with vibrant places for socio-political discussions and hangout spots for college goers.&nbsp; Try the Bhojpuria Thali. Starters (Mahi, bel sarbat, anandi-chawal bhuja, litti-chokha, pakora), Main Course (Manshuli/basmati bhaat, rahri daal, danauri-tilauri, sukhwat, chokha, tarkari, papad, machhari, dahi, mitha), Desserts (Dudh-puwa, bagiya, haluwa).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240727060728_9691e252b5ce723b6922f88418caa3eda43e02fba1a65c19043b1fd6ea10c7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240727060728_9691e252b5ce723b6922f88418caa3eda43e02fba1a65c19043b1fd6ea10c7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2480" height="1715" loading="lazy" alt="Birganj"> </figure>  The art scene has been made vibrant by the likes of local artists like Azmat Ali and Mukesh Mahato. Bhojpuri art is at a stage where Mithila art was probably five-six years ago. Further there is lack of synchrony in blaring horns, whistles and DJs. There is no single sound to identify with the city.&nbsp; ‘Lollipop laagelu’ has transcended national boundaries and seeped into Nepali pop-culture. But this has created a limited understanding of Bhojpuri music. A large music space, besides few good attempts, awaits virtuous artists to build a different image of Nepali Bhojpuri Music. The music and art has to struggle and evolve in its ideation, identity and commerce. The Maha Aarati at Sano Pashupatinath Temple in Pipara tries to do what Janakpur has done with Gangasagar Arati. Indian Bhojpuri music still dominates over Chaiti, Sohar and Purbi of literary giants like Bhikhari Thakur and Mahendar Misir.&nbsp; Cities have a persona of their own, they have character, visual traits, distinct taste buds and utility. They get embroiled in symbolism derived from primary activities or major significance it holds. There is also history in Birganj with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nalapani-to-kalapani">Sugauli</a>, where the 1815 treaty with the East India Company was signed, 30km from here. Today, most people from north India, west and east Nepal have been travelling by train to pass Sugauli station. The route became so prominent that India constructed the Raxaul Junction adjacent to Birganj border. On our side, we had Raxaul-Amlekhganj railway, Nepal's first, as early as 1927. Birganj was where Nepal’s first university, Nepal Rashtriya Vidyapeeth, was established with Ganesh Man Singh as Chancellor and Laxmi Prasad Devkota as Vice-Chancellor at one point. Furthermore, Thakur Ram Multiple Campus in Adarshnagar is a six decade old college and alma mater of many of Nepal’s who’s who. Littérateurs like Pandit Deep Narayan Mishra, Gopal Ask, Uma Shankar Dwiwedi, Dinesh Gupta, Mukund Acharya, Purshottam Sharma and Anita Shah are Birganj's literary torch-bearers.&nbsp;

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Tales of 2 cities

The chief ministers of all seven provinces met last week in Hetauda to discuss their next step to pressure the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary">federal government</a> to devolve political power to their provinces.&nbsp;
In a unique cross-party show of strength, the provincial leadership presented a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Kathmandu. Some of their demands were to transfer control of the police force, pass the long pending federal civil service law, hand over ownership of provincial infrastructure and natural resources, and last but not least, allow them to collect their own revenue. &nbsp;
This is not the first time the provinces have expressed their collective grievance. But Kathmandu, under various governments since the first elections under the new Constitution in 2017, has just been making empty promises.&nbsp;
Indeed, Nepal’s main political leaders who were themselves the architects of the federal constitution are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/feudal-federalism">loath to devolve political power</a> that they have decentralised to local governments. Even their own party structure is wholly centralised not just in the central committee in Kathmandu, but in just one elderly alpha male in each party.
That Nepal’s leadership is lukewarm towards federalism is no big secret, they are unwilling to loosen their grip on power even to their own party leaders in the provinces and municipalities.
Eight years after the establishment of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/feudalism-to-federalism">three-tiered system of government</a> following a prolonged deadlock over the style of federalism that delayed the passage of the post-conflict 2015 Constitution, Nepal’s provinces are largely functionless.&nbsp;
For many Nepalis, the perception is that federalism is a corrupt and costly experiment that has failed miserably. Indeed, they have spent a fortune building luxurious lodgings for the provincial leadership in the upscale Bhaisepati neighbourhood. &nbsp;
In Nepal, federalism did not just signify devolution of power, but also the people’s sense of identity and belonging, and the participation of those historically excluded from the political process. This fact was reflected in the opposition of the people to the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/kosi-now-kathmandu-next"> naming of Province 1 as Kosi</a>, and their demand for it to be renamed Kirat Limbuwan.
This is not a new struggle. The Madhes movement for federal restructuring after the decade-long armed conflict actually served as a catalyst for the establishment of the provincial system. The Maoists insisted on an ethnicity-based provincial model and the Nepali Congress was for a geographical delineation. The UML backed a hybrid model.&nbsp;
The Maoists have historically taken credit for the transformation of the governance system that allowed for the reflection of identity, while the UML and the NC have sought to maintain the status quo even after the establishment of federalism.&nbsp;
Prime Minister Dahal has directly interfered in provincial governance, which in this year’s case served to further inflame <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/east-is-east">social unrest in Kosi</a>.&nbsp;
For outsiders looking in who are removed from the nuances in Kosi, Madhes, and Sudar Paschim, and are only involved in Kathmandu-centred discourse, provincial governance and federalism have thus just become a burdensome extension of central politics.&nbsp;
Federalism will once more become an election issue in the 2027 polls as political parties succumb to the temptation to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/long-leave-the-king">adopt regressive, conservative</a>, and populist rhetoric to appeal to disenfranchised voters. &nbsp;
Bad mouthing federalism has become a favourite pastime for parties like the royal right RPP, which has simultaneously fed and fed off the public’s disenchantment with governance to call for the abolishment of federalism and the reestablishment of a Hindu monarchy.&nbsp;
Ironically, the party fielded the second-highest number of FPTP candidates to contest provincial elections in 2022.
Meanwhile, the new and independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which did not field candidates for provincial elections in 2022, may not say it is against federalism in so many words, but has called it “useless” and “enabling corruption”. They have proposed to make the provincial assembly and parliament smaller.
The provinces today are indeed proxies of Kathmandu —seven mirrors which reflect the political incompetence of the central government instead of being fully functioning autonomous units.&nbsp;
Nepalis have been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/year-of-reckoning">quick to blame federalism</a> when it is the politicians who have refused to let go of their control. The system of governance is not flawed, politicians that keep provinces on a tight leash are.&nbsp;
Nepal’s provinces are not incapable of fulfilling their function, they have not been allowed to explore their roles and responsibilities. Throwing out federalism is not the answer.&nbsp;
To dismantle federalism is to undo the years of work it took to promulgate the Constitution and to overlook the struggle, sacrifice and hard-earned achievements of countless people during the conflict that preceded the Constitution.&nbsp;
In order for Nepal’s democracy to truly function, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/un-centralising-the-federal-structure">federalism must be given a chance</a>.
Shristi Karki

The F word

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058939c7e80680e0ce1adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1947"/><figcaption>TIME FOR CHANGE: A rickshaw drives past Birganj's iconic clock tower on Thursday morning, as the plains districts bordering India prepare for a lacklustre elections. PHOTO: JIYA LAL</figcaption></figure>An election is a political process that allows citizens to select the most honest and efficient candidates to manage the country for a given period. It is also a public process that affects a nation’s social psychology.With days to go before the 20 November elections, party strategists, media pundits, and even strangers in buses are obsessed with the arithmetic of elections. This win-lose analysis distracts us from the social polarisation, communal friction and competition for natural resources that underlie the polls.Elections alone do not ensure democracy. Social media now provides unprecedented immediacy and amplification to manipulate public opinion.This election is a battle of two coalitions at the federal and provincial levels. Amidst the cacophony, young independents are trying to find a voice. The slogans have added a new vocabulary to the Nepali language and the country’s social ecosystem in an election devoid of ideology or agenda.Voter apathy is high because unholy alliances have turned yesterday’s foes into friends, and few candidates talk about their everyday concerns like jobs, inflation, education and health. Unlike previous elections, very few Nepalis working in India have returned home to vote.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dejected-voters-reject-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dejected voters reject polls</a>, Anita BhetwalMore than half of Nepal’s population now lives in the Tarai. And across the plains, there is little mention of the Madhes Movement for autonomy. The past five years have given the people of Madhes Province little to celebrate, as their leaders sway with the political wind to switch allegiances to Made-in-Kathmandu coalitions.The JSP and the LSP cannot rely on block votes from traditional loyalists in the plains anymore. So, the ballots could go to those who dole out cash, spread lavish feasts, or appeal to caste allegiance.Even though candidates are not directly using caste as a basis for votes, it is an unspoken strategy at the hustings. Even more than in previous elections, and just like in Bihar across the border, political parties are falling back on caste vote banks because of the absence of party ideology. Political analysts have to factor in caste in poll forecasts.Because the coalitions are not fighting about principles and livelihoods, the real competition is more about caste and cash than in previous elections in the Tarai. Raising the caste issue allows candidates to mask their incompetence and duplicity.Even though traditional politicians are relying on caste, feasts of rice and raksi, or handouts for votes, there is an undercurrent of deep disillusionment – especially among younger voters here.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/voters-cynical-about-electoral-alliances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Voters cynical about electoral alliances</a>, Namrata SharmaI ran into 80-year-old Digambar Chaudhari in Rautahat who has seen many elections in his time. He told me: “The caste vote banks are not as solid as before, not everyone can be bought with cash.”At a tea shop in Siraha, I heard a catchy election slogan: “जातपर न भातपर ,मोहर लगाऊ विकासके बातपर” (Vote for development, not for caste or rice curry). In another roadside stall, we heard “पैसा, सेकुआ आउर दारू, इसबके मारी झाड” (Let’s sweep away all cash, roast meat, and booze).Manju Bhattarai, 36, sees the election as an opportunity to reject candidates who are buying votes: “We can change things by being responsible voters.”We do not know if these four vignettes represent the larger Tarai picture, but conscious voters are determined to make their ballots count. Politics usually impacts the social structure of a society, but we may be seeing a changed social milieu affecting politics this time.Watching door-to-door campaigning in these borderland towns, I noticed voters were not as passive as before. They engaged directly with candidates, cross-questioning them. Some were Dalits who earlier would have assured a party middleman of their community’s votes in return for cash or food.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/depending-on-independents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Depending on independents</a>, Shristi KarkiMany voters, especially from poor and marginalised communities, are not just listening anymore. They are asking candidates how they plan to fulfill their promises to improve their lives in the coming five years.Chandra Kishore is a Birganj-based political commentator. This is the first of his monthly column BODERLINES in Nepali Times. @kishore_chandra

Chandra Kishore

Caste Vote

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058669c7e80680e0ce19ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1504" height="1000"/>As Nepal enters the last lap in federal and provincial races, candidates and their cadres seem more excited than voters. Across the Inner Tarai here and in the plains bordering India, voters are disillusioned and indifferent about the polls.First off, most people we talked to said they did not want to vote for the same old candidates they elected five years ago, and have been around for the past two decades. Moreover, there is confusion about which candidate is representing which party, and who is loyal to whom, because the coalition is made up of parties with diametrically opposing ideologies.With such unholy alliances, Hetuada’s UML voters are now being asked to cast ballots in favour of a candidate batting for a return of the Hindu monarchy. Nepali Congress (NC) supporters have been told to vote for Maoist candidates, some of whom tortured and killed people during the conflict.Voters have given up trying to fathom why political parties and candidates who fought and suffered for the establishment of a secular, federal Nepal now cross over to those want to scrap those provisions. Individuals contesting the elections as independents because they did not get party tickets have muddied the waters even more.Except for die-hard party supporters, the electorate understands that the elections are not about principles or resolving everyday problems any more, but propelling the same old leaders back to power.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/election-climate-in-nepal/">Election climate in Nepal</a>, Shilshila Acharya“The NC is likely to get a good number of seats in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-politics-of-province-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Madhes Province</a>, but independents have a strong chance in some constituencies,” predicts Govinda Devkota of Narayani Samudayik FM in Birganj, who thinks the JSP partnership with the NC could garner 10-12 seats with the UML-LSP alliance and Unified Socialists trailing.The dominant trend is that Madhes-based parties like the JSP and LSP have lost their lustre, and the established national parties like the NC, UML and Maoists now hold sway over the Madhes vote through their alliances. Still, among younger voters there is visible discontent against both Madhes-based parties and the national parties, and they are fed up of electing the same underperforming and corrupt leaders again and again.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058699c7e80680e0ce19fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="372" height="355">“During the Madhes Movement (of 2015) many people here were killed but their sacrifice got us nothing. Only the leaders and political parties are reaping the benefits all in the name of Madhes,” says Munna Saraaf, a youth activist and actor in Birganj.Saraaf has been travelling to Ilam, Kohalpur and several other places performing on stage to raise awareness about voting the right candidates to power, and is also vocal about extravagant campaign spending which could make the Madhes a hotbed for corruption.“There are no new educational organisations, employment opportunities, projects or industries where the youth can be involved productively. It was better during the king’s time. But we must change that and cast our votes for competent candidates,” he adds.The coveted Parsa constituency has Pradeep Yadav, the former minister from JSP contesting against the governing coalition’s Laxman Lal Karna of LSP, and the rebel independent candidate who defected from the NC, Ajay Dwivedi.“Pradeep Yadav won five years ago but his voters are not happy with his performance. Karna, does not have the leadership qualities. Therefore voters may end up supporting the independent Dwivedi,” says Gobinda Devkota.The participation of women candidates is even less in the Tarai than the already low national average. In Parsa district, only Karima Begum who is contesting as an independent and the JSP’s Salma Khatun have a significant presence. “The others are neither heard nor seen,” says Sushma Sharma a reporter with Prateek Daily in Birganj.But the 2022 Nepal election is defined by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coalition-collision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electoral coalitions</a> regardless of party ideology or dogma. Anjali Thapa, president of Press Center Makwanpur in Hetauda says: “The campaigning methods and the agenda in this year’s election are very different. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition have formed alliances to win.”For example, Kamal Thapa of the RPP-N is contesting under the UML’s ‘Sun’ symbol. Pitted against him is Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya (Dina) from the governing coalition who is expected to gather votes from both the Maoists, NC and the US. Even so, some NC supporters who do not agree with the alliance with the Maoists could go over to Kamal Thapa’s side, while other UML dissidents may not support a candidate they regard as an oppressor of the people.All this points to a mixed outcome which could lead to further instability and horse-trading post elections. At the end of the day, all most voters want are competent and honest leaders who provide jobs, better infrastructure and affordable education and medical facilities. They could not care less about alliances.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/battle-of-ballots/">Battle of ballots</a>, Shristi Karki

Voters cynical about electoral alliances

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/637230879c7e80680e0c256fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/><figcaption>EDUCATION FOR ALL: A Community Learning Centre for Musahar children built by the Mithila Wildlife Trust in Dhanusha.</figcaption></figure>Last week, as I was enjoying lunch with my soft-spoken colleague Dev Narayan Mandal, he said something in passing that caused me to down my cutlery. It was one of those run-that-past-me-again moments.In the two-and-a-half years that I have known Dev he had never shared this remarkable story from six years ago.In 2012, Dev returned to his home in Dhanusha district after working on animal rescue for ten years in Delhi. Coincidentally, this was soon after I myself returned home to live in the UK after eight years in Nepal.We never met then, but it is easy to see how our paths could have crossed in India. I was heading up operations to rescue Nepali child slaves who had been trafficked to perform in Indian circuses. The last operation was to free little girls from the dangerous Great Apollo Circus in Dehradun. Dev himself had been involved at that time in a raid on the same circus to free some bears.After returning to Nepal, Dev set up the Mithila Wildlife Trust (MWT) to try to reverse the environmental damage in the beloved local woodlands from his childhood. Forests that were supposed to be protected were being illegally logged.He got retired forestry workers to volunteer, and with the collaboration of 13 villages set out to protect the Dhanushadham Forest. Today, the rewilding program is a success and is being replicated elsewhere in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372308a9c7e80680e0c2570jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The forest had another problem, the poaching of wildlife by the local Musahar community that traditionally hunted for game meat on behalf of higher castes, and because they were not allowed to eat what they killed, they were only permitted to eat rat meat, hence their name.Times have changed, yet this centuries-old tradition survived in another form – illegal hunting of wildlife. Dev was convinced that the way to tackle this might be to set up a Community Learning Centre (CLC) for the education of Musahar children, and those from other excluded communities.Dev's rationale was that, aside from the edifying impact of education on young minds, at least if the children were in class they would not be poaching in the forests.He made a start by supporting extra tuition for the first batch of 28 Musahar children at the home of a college student, Jit Narayan Sada, who was paid a small allowance by the MWT so he himself could complete college studies. The response from the Musahar community was cool, but three years later a boost was to come from the unlikeliest quarter.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372308d9c7e80680e0c2571jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">One day in 2016, a 12-year-old Musahar boy named Bishnu Sada was charged and gored by a wild boar. He was knocked off his feet, partially disemboweled, and lost consciousness. The group chased off the boar and carried Bishnu back to the village, traumatised and fearing the worst.Dev sprang into action, and took Bishnu to Janakpur Hospital, about 45 minutes away, where surgeons said Bishnu was beyond saving. To attempt to do so would be a total waste of money.Undeterred, Dev contacted Biratnagar Hospital, 200km to the east, sending surgeons their pictures of the gaping wound and exposed intestines. They agreed to attempt to save Bishnu's life. Against the odds, they were successful.Using his persuasive skills, Dev encouraged the impoverished Musahar community to contribute Rs400,000 to meet Bishnu’s medical bills and then sat down with the community leaders and asked them to quantify the annual financial return from their hunting activities, illicit or otherwise.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230909c7e80680e0c2572jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After a great deal of discussion and number-crunching, they concluded that these were worth Rs300,000. Dev then pointed out that for this past year, they had effectively been in deficit. He suggested to the village elders that they would have been better off investing in their children's education rather than poaching wildlife.They agreed, and each household made a contribution at the very least of a piece of timber towards the set-up of the first Community Learning Centre—a simple construction of wood, clay and thatch.Since then, the CLC has grown from strength to strength, the original centre replaced by a brick house through a grant provided by the McGough Foundation (UK).This year, the number of students has increased to 286, with extra tutors being provided by the non-profit, SAATH. The teaching model is innovative. Jit Narayan Sada himself has left and enlisted in the Nepal Army, the first from the Musahar community. Funds permitting, better qualified new CLCs will be set up for other communities.I met Bishnu this week, he is a shy, slightly built lad, with a ready grin. He has every reason to smile having passed his 10th Grade SEE test, a rare achievement in his under-served community, and is  now enrolled in his first year of a Diploma in Engineering course.I will follow Bishnu’s academic progress with admiration for him, and for the man who saved his life.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230949c7e80680e0c2573jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lt Col (retd) Philip Holmes is founder and CEO of Pipal Tree Foundationwww.pipaltree.org.ukTo support Dev Narayan Mandal’s Community Learning Centres, visit the ‘Big Give’ summer appeal. Donations until the 4th August are automatically doubled in value: https://pipaltree.info/summerRead more: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14394#.YuOWKuxBz0s">Learning all about the birds and the trees</a>, Priya Joshi

The Boy and the Boar

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205179c7e80680e0b2899jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="451"/><figcaption>Photo: MITHILA DAINIK</figcaption></figure>A group of activists has strongly condemned Infrastructure and Transport Minister Renu Yadav’s incendiary remarks at a recent political event in Rautahat where she openly threatened opponents with targeted killing.During her 19 January speech, in video clips available publicly, Yadav warned a repeat of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13404#.YeutGS2B2CQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the 2007 Gaur Massacre</a> targeting Chandra Kant Raut Chair of the Janamat Party, which has launched a Farmers’ Movement in Tarai and declared to boycott federal and provincial ministers. It also tried to obstruct her entry into Gaur on Wednesday.‘We are clear that a person who cannot hold the dignity of a minister’s position, demonstrates criminal mindset, and publicly concedes to acts of murder, is ineligible to retain any position of public responsibility,’ says the appeal released on Friday.During the same speech, Minister Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi also publicly acknowledged her party’s involvement in the massacre even as the perpetrators who <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13377#.YeutFS2B2CQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brutally killed 28 Maoist cadres</a> and injured 40 more remain outside the purview of law, and impunity rages on in the country.The 2007 mass killing was conducted by the then Madheshi People’s Rights Forum who at the time was organising simultaneous rallies at the same site in Gaur as Maoists. The resulting clash escalated and led to the mass killings, concluded the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal report.Signatories of the appeal include Kedar Narsingh KC, Charan Prasai, Ganesh Kumar Mandal, Sushil Pyakurel, Taranath Dahal, Indra Prasad Aryal, Mahamunishwar Acharya and Kanak Mani Dixit and have demanded that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/polls-in-the-time-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Deuba</a> immediately relieve Minister Yadav of her post and start legal proceedings against her.‘The fact that a sitting minister can threaten target killings, and also proudly take ownership of a massacre, is the result of the unchecked lack of accountability in the country,’ further adds the appeal, which also laments the government’s failure to show interest or concern three full days after the incident.Former tourism minister and now the UML secretary <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/unusual-appointment-extraordinary-tasks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yogesh Bhattarai</a> has also come out strongly against Yadav via his Twitter and has demanded action against her remarks.He wrote: “Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba should either relieve Renu Yadav who has instigated violence and delivered a scathing speech against the Constitution or declare that Nepali Congress justifies violence in polities. There is no other way.”Even Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma has also recommended removal of Yadav to PM Deuba.

Nepal minister threatens targeted killings

New Delhi’s new dealings in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46ea9c7e80680e04d403jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Pic: SEWA BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>The memory of the catastrophic flood of 2017 is still fresh in the minds of the people of Rautahat district. But even though they are better prepared now, there have been no moves to address the cause: floodplains of rivers blocked by embankments.Rautahat is now in Province 2 under Nepal’s federal structure, disaster management is the responsibility of local governments. But even with the arrival of the monsoon, Kathmandu and the other provinces are still wrangling over power devolution. Ironically, the Bagmati that burst its banks here two years ago, originates in the Kathmandu Valley.The 2017 Disaster Risk and Management Act farmed out responsibilities of preparedness, rescue and relief to central, provincial, and local governments. Province 2 has passed its own Disaster Management law, but it exists only in paper. By the time it is ready, the central Tarai could drown in another flood. Experts say that the rampant construction of road embankments, levees and settlements along the floodplains on both sides of the India-Nepal border will make future floods much worse.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29068&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29099&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa Bhattarai“We have a total of Rs150 million in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and in the ministry’s own disaster fund,” says Arun Jha at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of Province 2. “But we have not been able to procure rafts, tents, and food stockpiles in time. But when the flood comes, we will find a way to deal with it.”The lack of civil servants has prevented the provincial government in Janakpur from functioning at full capacity, and so, it depends on Kathmandu for everything. First responders like the Nepal Army and Police, for instance, are deployed by the central government. As the tornado disaster in Bara in April showed, the role of the Province 2 government is limited to coordination.It will take a few more years before all three levels of government start functioning smoothly to prevent and cope with disasters. Till then, Lalita Kumari Ram (pictured above), who survived the 2017 flood by fleeing to a road embankment with her family, will be on her own.Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-and-food,3916" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food and flood</a>, Sunir Pandey<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/preparing-for-the-big-flood,3190" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Preparing for the big flood</a>, Om Astha Rai

Only half prepared for floods in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a47149c7e80680e04d412jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>At Saraswati Primary School in Bhalohiya village in the central Tarai last week, children in Class 5 sweat in the humid heat, waiting attentively for a signal. A sharp clap from Disaster Focal Person Mukesh Jha, and they are down on the floor, covering their heads with their hands. Then they walk out single file from class, form a circle in the playground and start counting aloud their pre-assigned numbers.The students are practising a drill on disaster response in these flood-prone plains bordering India.  Two years after <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/08/13/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a devastating flood</a> that displaced more than 400,000 people, destroyed 65,000 homes and killed 143 people, parts of the Tarai are beginning to incorporate disaster management activities.Eighteen lives were lost and 325 schools were submerged here in Rautahat alone, including Saraswati School. It was repaired under the Flood Response Project funded by theBritish agency, VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and implemented by local partner Mandvi, and supported by Be Capable Project funded by EU Aid Volunteers .Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29069&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Only half prepared</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29068&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination</a>, EditorialYet while disaster management is starting to attract the attention it deserves, rampant construction in the district, and across the country, is increasing vulnerability to disasters, say experts. Much of the new infrastructure actually blocks the natural drainage of rivers, resulting in flooding, especially along Nepal’s southern border.“Disruption by roads, low capacity bridges, urban expansion and embankments along the border in India constrain water flow,” says climate expert Ajaya Dixit.Inundation in the Tarai has got worse after roads were built on the Indian side, which act like dams. The damage is more severe because river basins in Nepal are already encroached by roads and human settlements where there used to be only fields or sandy riverbanks. As a result, floods that could have passed by in a few hours with minimal damage now submerge farms and towns.In 2017, heavy rainfall in the Chure catchment of the Tarai caused damage worth more than Rs60 billion, according to estimates. But such cost is set to increase, especially as rainfall patterns have become more unpredictable with the climate crisis. Higher intensity storms that drop more rain in shorter periods are becoming more common, raising the risk of sudden inundation.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dancing-with-the-river/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dancing with the river</a>, Ramesh Bhushal<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From nowhere to nowhere</a>, Basanta Pratap SinghAmong the 49 disasters monitored by the Disaster Risk Reduction Portal under the Home Ministry, flooding is among the mostly minutely monitored. Water levels of major rivers are watched in real time, and if they cross the danger mark, the government sends out text messages to all at-risk residents or informs local disaster management committees. This early warning system was instrumental in evacuating residents and minimising the loss of lives in 2017.The Disaster Risk and Management Act 2017 prioritises the role of local governments in disaster management. “After these policies came into effect, we have prepared for floods by stocking boats, tents and other emergency materials,” says Arun Kumar Yadav, mayor of Durga Bhagwati rural municipality in Rautahat. Security forces at local levels have been trained for rescue and relief and are alerted when disaster is imminent.Though Nepal has improved its performance in rescue and relief, many parts of the Act are yet to be implemented. The government is still working on a comprehensive Disaster Information Management System, which is supposed to include information about areas at risk of hazards and the resources available nearby.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/07/07/bhotekosi-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhotekoshi flood</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/08/17/disastrous-unpreparedness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disastrous unpreparedness</a>, Ajaya Dixit“We have asked local level governments to start sending us this information, but they must conduct a hazard mapping in their area first for us to create a nation-wide risk atlas,” says Bed Nidhi Khanal, the under-secretary at the Home Ministry who oversees the Disaster Risk Reduction Portal. The law also requires the government to conduct drills for disasters, but until now it has only held sporadic simulations along five river basins, and has no immediate plans for systematic, nation-wide drills.Many other aspects of disaster management are missing from the law, especially prevention activities.“With increasing human encroachment on rivers, the natural drainage systems of rivers are being blocked. The reasons for the increasing severity of floods are manmade and not natural,” says watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyaya. “But there is little understanding of these processes. If we continue to ignore it, we will continue to face heavy economic loss and have to start over every year.”India must also do its part, Upadhyaya notes: “We need to take not just national but also diplomatic steps to get India to address such construction on their side of the border as well.”Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/60-years-after-1954-devastating-flood-same-failings-of-government-today-post-quake,2433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disaster geopolitics</a>, Sharad Ghimire and Tom Robertson<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In deep water</a>, Editorial <h2>Gaur gears up for another deluge</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a47179c7e80680e04d413jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">Most of Nepal’s southern plains were already vulnerable to floods from snow-fed rivers and streams from the Chure hills swelling during the monsoon. Rautahat is surrounded by rivers on three sides: Jhaajh in the west and Bagmati in the north and east. The district capital of Gaur is often inundated.In 2017, floodwaters blocked by boundary walls and embankments rose 1.5m in a matter of minutes and entire settlements of mud house were washed away, leaving residents with nothing.The Flood Response Project has built a safe house in Badharba village as an immediate relief structure. The ground floor is an open space, which can be used as a local market during normal times, and the first floor has separate rooms for men and women.Three schools in the district have been repaired (see main story), and raised hand pumps have been built at every location for drinking water during floods.Says principal Tripurari Yadav, “Drinking water is a big problem during floods because the hand pumps are submerged too.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2016/07/10/bhotekosi-flash-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fleeing flash food</a>, Gopen Rai<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a471b9c7e80680e04d414jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="938">At Badharba, villagers were gathered around a local pond under a sweltering sun for a drill. Rescuers staged a simulated rescue of a drowning man, and trained locals to make temporary life jackets from plastic bottles. Drills are compulsory under Nepal’s Disaster Risk and Management Act passed in 2017, but until now the focus has been on early warning, rescue and relief.“The Tarai does not just have flood risk, there are multiple hazards. Wild animals and snakes pose a great threat, and so do earthquakes. We identify these and plan for them,” says Anjoo Jha of Mandvi.After the risk assessment, residents who panicked in 2017 and ran to road embankments, say they feel better prepared to face future floods. Lalita Kumari Ram says the drills are reassuring: “Now these exercises have made us better prepared for future floods that are sure to come.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/07/11/chure-denudation-and-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chure denudation and floods</a><h2>In the driver’s seat</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a471e9c7e80680e04d415jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In many communities in the Tarai, women are still semi-veiled in public and hesitate to speak to strangers. But Geeta Devi is quite a sight, driving her e-rickshaw around town with a big smile on her face, waving at passersby.The 32-year-old mother of four was trained to drive an e-rickshaw by Mandvi, an NGO that works on flood management in Rautahat. Geeta Devi lost her farm and livestock in the 2017 flood, so she has joined her driver husband behind the wheel.Her teenage son and daughter are studying in Kathmandu, and their mother is determined to earn enough to give them the education she never had. Mandvi, which is supported by British volunteer agency VSO, trained six other women and helped them get loans to buy e-rickshaws.Geeta Devi earns an average of Rs500 per day ferrying people around Gaur for up to three hours after her husband comes home. She does not take fares outside the municipality because the roads are bad.“When they see a woman driving, some are surprised,” she says, “and some laugh out loud. But that is their problem. They can laugh all they want. I like what I do.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/untold-stories-of-unsung-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Untold stories of untold grit</a>, Sara Parker

Nepal Tarai learns from past floods

<figure><img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46e59c7e80680e04d401jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>With the advent of the monsoon, we will be flooded with stories of floods, landslides and other water-induced ‘natural disasters’ as they ‘wreak havoc’ throughout the land. Floods are natural, disasters are not.Nepal has nine dry months and three months in which we have too much water. In the rainy season, rivers used to spread along the floodplains, dissipating the force of the water. Nepalis traditionally knew better than to locate settlements on river banks. In the agrarian Tarai, farmers had learnt to live with floods and welcomed the annual replenishment of farms with vital, water-borne nutrients.To be sure, there were years when natural buffers would be overwhelmed and rivers burst their banks, eroding valuable farmlands as they changed course. But bad planning means that we have turned a predictable annual occurrence into a regular calamity.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29099&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29069&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Only half prepared</a>, Sewa BhattaraiMore than half of Nepal’s population now lives in the Tarai, and human settlements have encroached on what used to be floodplains.Deforestation of the fragile Chure hills has increased sediment loads of seasonal rivers, causing them to flow through villages and farms. A river will find its own way to the sea no matter what we do to block its path.It is true that floods are getting more destructive, but not because there is more rain. Our attempts to control floods are making them worse.Levees built to ‘train’ rivers end up constricting their flows, embankments often act as dams blocking the natural course and submerging huge tracts of farmlands. Roads have been built on elevated land to prevent them from flooding, but they just make the floods worse.Many roads just on the other side of the border in India have inadequate drainage and create vast reservoirs on the Nepal side every year. Meanwhile, tv news in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh blames Nepal for releasing water from its dams — not bothering to explain that Nepal has only one reservoir and the sluice gates of the three border barrages are under Indian management.After every disaster like Sunsari (2008), Bardia and Surkhet (2014), Saptari and Rautahat (2017) and Bhaktapur last year, there is a flood of recrimination, blaming nature and bemoaning our lack of preparedness. Rescue agencies are usually at the scene quickly, but are overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the disaster. Relief and rehabilitation is mired in bureaucracy and corruption, with villagers still waiting for help decades later. Poverty-stricken farmers are impoverished even more, and floods force many to migrate.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/07/11/chure-denudation-and-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chure denudation and floods</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2016/07/10/bhotekosi-flash-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fleeing flash food</a>, Gopen RaiOnce the monsoon tapers off in September, we will forget about floods for another year. Instead of taking preventive measures to improve drainage and poorly designed infrastructure that block the natural flow of rivers, it will be back to business as usual.Most of the flood damage in the Tarai is not caused by Nepal’s four big rivers, but by Chure streams that are dry most of the year and become raging muddy torrents during the monsoon. The paradox is that boulder and sand mining in the Chure hills to feed the infrastructure boom in Nepal and India actually make these floods more destructive in the Tarai and downstream in India.As we learn from a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">field report from Rautahat this week</a> most flood victims are poor, and neglecting them comes naturally to the state. Because not enough is being done to prevent destructive floods, relief agencies are turning their attention to early-warning systems and the management of disasters after they happen.Making all these problems more difficult is the climate crisis, which is leading to more extreme weather events. Monsoon cloudbursts are said to be more frequent and intense, and cause localised flooding. And then there are disasters like the Sunsari flood, which have nothing to do with heavy rainfall or global warming, but are caused by contractors stealing boulders from the Kosi’s eastern levee, thus weakening the embankment.Sunsari was just a rehearsal for a future Kosi mega-flood that is waiting to happen, and will hit millions in Nepal and India. It is a given that floods elsewhere will also get more destructive in the years to come. Preventing them requires understanding nature’s ways, and letting rivers flow free again.With federalism, flood prevention, management and emergency relief is no longer just the responsibility of the Kathmandu apparatus. In fact, first responders by definition have to be local governments, and the state needs to enhance their flood prevention and management capacity.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In deep water</a>, Editorial<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/60-years-after-1954-devastating-flood-same-failings-of-government-today-post-quake,2433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disaster geopolitics</a>, Sharad Ghimire and Tom Robertson10 years ago this weekTen years ago this week, in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue #457</a> of 19-25 June 2009, Everest summiteer Billi Bierling wrote a story titled ‘The Bright Side of Everest’. Her words could as valid today:‘Mount Everest often gets bad press for commercialisation and the lack of morality of its climbers. But I saw a different side this spring. On 22 May, two mountaineers from Austria and the Netherlands found an American climber sitting at the Balcony, just above Camp 4 ,at about 8,400m. He was clearly confused, and he had taken off his gloves and parts of his down suit. Had these two climbers not helped, the man would have died.Several doctors saved the life of a Sherpa, who nearly died after he had consumed a bottle of whiskey adulterated with methanol. There are gruesome books about Mt Everest: the commercialisation, greed, selfishness and crime. This season, I saw none of that, only humanity, generosity and courage. If I were to write a book about Everest (which I promise I will never do) I’d probably call it 'The Bright Side of Everest.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/457"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46e89c7e80680e04d402jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1249"></a>

Flood of recrimination in the Nepal Tarai

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.

madhes