As Nepalis, we navigate narrow gallis, winding streets, construction work, and traffic jams every day. Due to the unplanned nature of Nepal’s roadways that did not follow ancient city plans, and fast-paced urbanization, digital navigation in Nepal is a major challenge.
The limited mapping data available in Nepal, provided by apps like Google Maps, creates a host of issues for Nepal’s businesses as well as anyone unfamiliar with a certain area. Now a few Nepali companies are creating digital navigation tools catered to Nepali culture and infrastructure.
In countries such as the United States and Colombia, streets are named based on a system of nomenclature that aids navigation. For example, roads in New York City that run north to south are called avenues and those that run east to west are called streets. This system, combined with a grid format for cities or numbered street names, makes navigating through the city simple.
Unlike New York City, a “young” city when compared to Kathmandu, urban planning was not a priority for most of Nepal's recent history. As the population of the urban centers increased exponentially and cities expanded, navigation became more confusing and complex,
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/tech-away/nepal-s-e-conomy-rapidly-goes-digital">Nepal’s e-conomy rapidly goes digital</a>, Saniaa Shah
Unclear street names, unnamed side-streets and alleys, a lack of defined landmarks, and poor infrastructure to aid navigation has led to adoption of a simple yet logical system of navigation. Nepalis show, communicate, and share directions to a desired location with the help of commonly recognizable landmarks and pointed fingers.
This moderately effective system of navigation does not translate well into the digital tools in the market. When using Google Maps, for example, the gaping issues in mapping data regularly lead users to dead-ends, roads inappropriate for their vehicle, or unfamiliar neighborhoods. Since Google relies on street names to show direction, it can be unfamiliar to Nepali users and lead to a confusing experience.
Relying on copy-paste solutions like Google Maps, a square peg for a round hole in Nepal, further accentuates this problem and excludes a significant portion of the population from using navigation tools that may make life better. Contemporary nations like Nicaragua that face the same issues (or even Costa Rica and Japan) show that switching to a system of systematically named streets is not well received by the population, considering residents’ comfort and familiarity with the current layout.
The incompatibility of multinational corporate solutions built for planned urban centers is only the start of the problem. The consequences of an inefficient navigation tool extend beyond individual tribulations.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/wildflower-app-celebrates-nepal-s-flora">Wildflower app celebrates Nepal’s flora</a>
As a pre-emerging market, Nepali businesses require digital tools that support efficiency in operations. Since a simple text-based address is not sufficient to navigate to the desired location, commerce must bear the brunt of the impact.
Delivery drivers travel more than required because they cannot locate the destination and call customers multiple times, if not at least once, just to determine the exact address. This creates inefficiencies for businesses that prevent them from scaling up their operations.
In addition to impacting businesses, the importance of localized information and data cannot be overlooked. In Kathmandu, a local’s knowledge of the city allows for quicker and more efficient travel, considering their first-hand experiences navigating the city’s roads and gallis. Imagine a first-time visitor in Kathmandu exploring the city and its secrets without spending months or years learning how to get from place to place. That is the kind of navigation tool that would be invaluable to users, both residents and tourists.
There are Nepali companies that are creating homegrown apps to address this need and help people across the country get to where they need to go.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-new-age-of-romance">The new age of romance</a>
Baato Maps is a Nepali company that uses popular nearby landmarks to indicate direction. The app has unique features such as nearby recommendations for food and other essential amenities, offline maps, and supports the Nepali language to make the application more convenient for its users. Baato also provides its full suite of location and map data capabilities to budding and established businesses in Nepal to power their products.
Another company, Galli Maps, is collecting local street-view data and using drone mapping to provide localized information of our cities to users. Thegana, another local startup, aims to improve navigation efficiency by providing unique codes to each address so specific house numbers are not necessary when locating an address.
However, Nepal still has a long way to go in terms of development and it is crucial for the government and the private sector to invest in better infrastructure and mapping technology to facilitate movement and attract tourists.
Improving navigation in Nepal is essential for the efficiency of businesses and for the lives of people. Access to accurate and reliable digital maps is a precursor to improving the country and how it operates. This would not only improve the travel experience but also boost the economy, create job opportunities, and support the growth of the nation.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/tap-track-trace-and-test">Tap, Track, Trace and Test</a>, Saniaa Shah
Prithvi Jung Khadka is the Business Development Lead at Baato, a map-service provider and the Chief Performance Marketer at Digital Mercari, a digital marketing agency.

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Finding your way in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d269c7e80680e0b78acjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"/><figcaption>Maps as abstraction of geometry — literal 'land measurement', as in the case of these two paintings that show aerial view of Kathmandu Valley. Krishna Manandhar, "Overlapping Series, 1985" and "Overlapping Series,1972". Oil on canvas. Photo: ASHISH DHAKAL.</figcaption></figure>At one of the five <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/redefining-art-at-kathmandu-triennale-2077/">Kathmandu Triennale 2077</a> venues, artists from all over the world have converged with diverse expressions of cartography.Curated by the team of exhibition curators, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Hit Man Gurung and Cosmin Costinas, this show of map art ranges from the cosmic to the subconscious, literary to abstract, and ties together the themes of roots, kinship, freedom and exploration.On entering the Bahadur Shah Baithak in Patan, the first display is Liu Kuo-Sung’s ink, acrylic and collage on paper, titled The Ring B (pictured below). A section of the world spreads across the bottom half of the frame, over which a rising circle is flanked on both sides by crescent moons. And at the top, like on a banner, is Planet Earth against a black field.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d2a9c7e80680e0b78adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4624" height="3472"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 took <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/blue-marble-image-of-the-earth-from-apollo-17" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the famous Blue Marble image of the Earth</a>, which inspired Liu to create The Ring B a year later. This painting juxtaposes the earth shaped by the millennia of human imagination with a photograph taken from 29,000km away in space. Human traditions, myths and history approach the actual image for a cosmic rendezvous.Meanwhile on the wall opposite sits Untitled by Mary Dhapalany, from Ramingining, Northern Territory in Australia (detail pictured below, left). A weaver and an actress, Dhapalany work is rooted in the Yolŋu’s traditional nganiyal (woven mats) that have deep ritual, ceremonial and practical significance.Untitled is an iridescent pandanus mat with five spiralling circles. On the wall, these look like eyes, or waves, upon which travel knowledge and stories from one generation to another, intricately weaving the complex threads of family, relations, territories and bodies. And as each loop joins and encloses another, nothing and no one is left behind.Then comes Urgen Dorje Sherpa’s 100 Peaceful and Wrathful Mahayoga Deities Mandala (detail pictured below, right), a large thanka on the right that is the visual representation of the Bardo – ‘liminal state of existence between death and rebirth’.The mandala rises laterally instead of the usual circular structure, as seen from above, and depicts the tantra concerning life and death.This is a guide for departed souls to a swift and positive rebirth – another ‘map’ that transcends to show us a geography beyond what is tangible. Together, the three artworks set the tone for the rest of the exhibition, punctuated only by changing landscape and styles.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d2e9c7e80680e0b78aejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2664"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d319c7e80680e0b78afjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2664">We are invited to look beyond the contemporary worldview of maps as the affirmation or rejection of<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/politics-and-history-of-nepals-kalapani-claim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> people’s expansionist ambitions</a>. Cartography is borne of the desire for exploration and discovery – turning the pages of an atlas, poring over the colours, running fingers along lines and the words to travel to previously remote and unknown places.At the exhibition, these places fly out of the pages of books (Youdhistir Maharjan’s Without a Map series) and memories (Uma Shankar Shah’s Railway Station of Janakpur and NJJR) and draw attention to the un- and re-learning to understand one’s own culture and contours of geography.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d359c7e80680e0b78b0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3472" height="4624">One such piece is Silata (pictured above), an instrument for divination used in Himalayan <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-future-written-in-the-stars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">astrological practices</a>. The various quadrants are examined to read and calculate an individual’s past, present and future.The practice may now feel obsolete, yet it is strikingly familiar to many Nepalis who most likely had a cheena drawn at birth depicting the dimensions of the universe and their place in it.Silata is among the several pieces in the exhibition that remind us that maps are not limited to the ground beneath our feet. Untitled (WTEIA2) by Daniel Boyd references to the stick-charts of the Marshall Islands used by indigenous communities for seafaring.These depicted the positions of islands, but were never taken on voyages. Instead, they were memorised, creating a vastly different form of knowledge transmission.The pieces by Nikau Hindin represent Māori skymaps based on the positions of celestial bodies. On a more abstract side, Wing Poso’s Interior is a powdered herbs, Styrofoam and steel installation depicting the interconnectedness of the microscopic and macroscopic world, of physics and philosophy, individual lives and the universe.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d389c7e80680e0b78b1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2664">Nepali Power by Köken Ergun and Tashi Lama (pictured above) is a collaboration between Istanbul, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, inspired by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bri-and-trans-himalayan-connectivity/">Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)</a> set forth by China in 2013 to build global connectivity. The vibrant triptych hangs gloriously in the middle of the room, depicting rich possibilities and precautions.On one panel, water flows from the Himalaya, replenishing South- and Southeast Asia, as electricity travels along transmission lines. Others reference the environmental and political consequences, with scales running along in loops like snares. In the middle hangs ‘Nepali Power’: whether an authentic slogan or heavy propaganda, it is left to interpretation.On the floor below in a room that feels like a railway carriage or a caravan (pictured below), is Nyima Dorjee Bhotia’s Where the Fox Settles. The collection of photographs, archival materials, travel documents, a transistor and an abacus, and other artefacts create a real cabinet of collective history.Based in the village of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19241#.YinfCjhByJA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Walung</a> in north-eastern Nepal, this archaeological exploration recounts <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalayan stories</a> in a global context – set next to the figurative map of the French Army’s losses in the Russian campaign 1812-13, 1869, and The Man of Commerce by AF McKay. The latter quite literally transposes the human anatomy as a ‘cartographic metaphor’ to describe railway lines and economic exchange across America and to Europe.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d3c9c7e80680e0b78b2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3280" height="2464">The theme of decolonisation and anti-imperialism runs deep in the exhibition, re-evaluating the misinterpreted evolutionary principle of the ‘survival of the fittest’ that justifies genocides throughout history.The European worldview that led to enslavement and exploitation, erasing traditions, generations of history and practices is carefully dissected rather than mechanically reiterated. It mirrors Nepal’s own exclusion of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/how-art-empowers-nepals-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">indigenous communities</a>.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d3f9c7e80680e0b78b3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d439c7e80680e0b78b4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="3024"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The language of map-making has seen many transformations throughout history, moving from a limited, flat point of view to spherical and colour-coded, with mathematical and imaginary lines criss-crossing.But what is a map, really? How can the limitless expanse of our imagination and experience be bound? And how can fences and walls supersede nature’s rivers and mountains?This exhibition is an expression of a borderless globe, where unique and diverse ideas find companions. Visitors are made startlingly aware that Nepal is no longer isolated, no longer insular. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/thamels-new-art-street/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">artistic voices</a> here are part of the true Theatrum Orbis Terrarum – ‘Theatre of the Orb of the World.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720d479c7e80680e0b78b5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1688">Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-art-debut-in-venice/"> Nepal art debut in Venice</a>Kathmandu Triennale 207711 February - 31 March 2022All venues open 7 days a week except Sundari Chok in Patan (closes at 2:30PM on Monday, closed on Tuesday)Bahadur Shah Baithak, 10AM - 6 PMPatan Museum, 10:30AM - 4:30PM Nepal Art Council, 10AM - 6PMSiddhartha Art Gallery, 11AM - 5PMTaragaon Museum, 10 AM - 6PMPlease wear masks.

Ashish Dhakal

Atlas of art in a world in motion

The monsoon has got bad press because Nepal’s tourism operators actively told visitors to avoid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon?%2F">the rainy season</a>. It is time to change that. The reason can be found right here in the vast alpine meadows of Central Nepal where this time of year you can walk on velvet grass of pastures abloom with delicate pink, red and yellow flowers as the mist rolls up the valley. There is no sound except the hum of bumble bees. &nbsp;&nbsp; There are dozens of places across high Nepal called Chaurikharka, which means yak pasture. But this particular Chaurikharka in Rukum East located at an altitude of 4,000m stands out for its serene beauty, rustic charm and bucolic setting. There is just the occasional chime of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">yak bells</a> in the distance, and the sharp whistle of herders corralling sheep. &nbsp;&nbsp; The grass shoots are so fragile that one hesitates to step on them, the rounded ridges appear and quickly vanish in waves of mist. With the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon"> arrival of monsoon</a>, these meadows are a soothing shade of green dotted with millions of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower?%2F=">multi-coloured flowers</a>. Until very recently, it took a week or so to hike up to places like Chaurikharka, but with the expansion of the road network even to these far-flung mountains in the lap of Dhaulagiri, they are much more accessible. It is just a three-hour uphill from the Mid-Hill Highway on the border between Baglung and Rukum East.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Purists would say that such easy access devalues the sanctity of these remote high meadows, but it also means more people will be moved to treasure the experience, appreciate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>so they can take steps to protect it.&nbsp; To be sure, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier">monsoon season can be challenging for road travel</a>. The roads are rough even at the best of times, and in the monsoon they become muddy and treacherous, often blocked by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/monsoon-deluge-in-nepal"> landslides</a>. But that could be precisely the kind of adventure that the more intrepid visitors crave. Improved road connectivity has already made Chaurikharka and places like Badimallika &nbsp;and other sacred lakes in the mountains of western Nepal popular with domestic tourists. What is driving this traffic is the urge to go to exotic new places and share videos and selfies on social media. Several of Nepal’s travel vloggers have visited Chaurikharka and popularised the place, enticing followers on TikTok or YouTube to retrace their footsteps. But even as they become more popular, these fragile and once-remote places should be protected from over-tourism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446" data-rendition-name="original" width="1083" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon NT"> </figure>  <h2>INCREASING FOOTFALL</h2> Chaurikharka is located in Bhume Rural Municipality of East Rukum, near the scenic valley of Dhorpatan in Baglung district. Even in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-culture">middle of the monsoon</a>, there is a steady stream of Nepali hikers trooping to these high pastures – especially during festival days like Saune Sankranti which this year was on 17 July and actually marks the auspicious beginning of the monsoon here. “This year the rains have not been as heavy and there have been some clear mornings when we could see everything from Dhaulagiri to Machapuchre,” says Khageswar Bhandari, who trekked up here from the road. “The flowers, the greenery and the snowy mountain views make this an incredibly unique place.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Chaurikharka is worthwhile to get to in any season, but it has a different charm during the monsoon. Word has spread and because it is now easy to get to from Baglung or even Pokhara, people have been flocking here.&nbsp; “Holidays and Saturdays see the largest crowds, with up to 500 visitors every day,” says ward chair Mankaji Pun of Bhume.&nbsp; There was a time not too long ago when local herders brought sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, horses, and mules to graze here during the monsoon. Although there are still livestock around, animals have been replaced by visitors taking selfies. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">The monsoon, and nature’s arithmetic</a>, Tom Robertson Ward Chair Pun says infrastructure development is his main priority. A foot trail to Chaurikharka was built last year by the Tourism Division Office in Kohalpur, but access via the Raniwas-Koipa road section still remains challenging.&nbsp; “If we get more budget, we can improve the road and facilities to make Chaurikharka the main tourist attraction of this region,” says Bhume Municipality Chair Hom Prakash Shrestha. “After that, we hope to promote Chaurikharka as a top tourist spot.”&nbsp; Economic activity is also picking up with the arrival of visitors, but there seems to be a need to manage the makeshift sheds made of corrugated sheets that spoil the beauty of the place. Tea shops and lodges are also available but facilities are basic. Kuldeep Neupane took a three-day trip from Ghorahi in Dang to visit Chaurikharka recently, and says: “This is an ideal trip to make a quick getaway and let nature recharge your mind and body. And it is much more fun with a tent, to watch the sunrise over the Himalaya or the mist blowing in.”

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced jubilantly on social media that Nepal had achieved a historic annual growth of 81.8% in exports. He was right. Nepal’s trade did take a great leap forward compared to last year. But the dramatic rise was mainly due to processed soya bean oil.&nbsp; However, Nepal does not produce the edible oil it exports. In fact, the soya and palm oil that make up 44% of total exports are imported from Southeast Asia and South America, and simply re-exported, mostly to India.&nbsp; Under the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) Agreement, Nepal can export products to India duty-free if it has at least 30% value-added. Nepal’s traders have taken advantage of SAFTA even though the edible oils they export do not reach that value addition threshold. “The 30% value addition requirement is often only on paper,” says former commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha. “It is clear that simply packaging edible oils in Nepal does not fulfil the terms of the trade agreement.” Prime Minister Oli is aware of this, and even called Nepal’s export figures “fake” at an earlier event. The government is relying on other iffy figures to suggest that Nepal’s economy is strong and getting stronger. For example, the value of imports rose by 13.25% in 2024-25 compared to the previous fiscal year.&nbsp; Some of it was due to a jump in electric vehicle imports worth Rs 31.76 billion, but mostly it was because more wholesale soya oil was imported to be re-packaged and sold in India. The very fact that the government boasts about increased imports is an indication of how much it relies on taxing them for revenue. Touting such trade figures cannot be the basis to claim an economic rebound.&nbsp; “A jump in the value of imports can be interpreted as an increase in purchasing power, but it is not evidence of a stronger economy,” says economist Keshav Acharya. “Even though imports have increased, Nepal's domestic production and productive capacity have not improved.” Nepal Rastra Bank's semi-annual economic activity study report shows that industrial production was down in the first six months of the last fiscal year. This despite an increase in the number of new industries registered and investment commitments. Out of the Rs70.2 billion proposed foreign investment, Nepal received only Rs17.9 billion last year.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the rate of capital formation was limited to 24% last year, which is lower than the year before, suggesting that new investment, job creation and economic expansion all declined. If domestic production does not improve in relation to this year’s inflated trade figures, the outflow will put pressure on foreign exchange reserves like it did three years ago. At that time, Nepal borrowed from the IMF under its Extended Credit Facility Program to kickstart the economy.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1633" height="723" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's bubble economy NT"> <figcaption>Source: NEPAL RASTRA BANK</figcaption> </figure>  The macroeconomy is on firm footing with foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable Rs2,520 billion in May, up 23% from last year. This was largely due to remittances, and partly due to a falling NPR exchange rate. Real estate transactions and the stock market index have also been climbing as a result of government policies to revive the sector.&nbsp; However, former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank Nar Bahadur Thapa cautions: “This is not organic growth, it is the result of deliberate policy decisions to relax rules on real estate and stock markets transactions.” In reality, the sharp rise in land prices have increased the cost of production, and excessive monetisation of the real estate has become the main source of Nepal’s economic woes. The central bank has announced a slew of new policies, shifting the terms of loan repayment for industrialists and entrepreneurs, reducing interest rates, and injecting more working capital — all designed to inject adrenaline into the real estate and stock market sectors.&nbsp; When he was governor, Mahaprasad Adhikari made several financial reforms during the latter half of his tenure to stimulate the economy, including tightening credit flow.&nbsp; By the last fiscal year, additional financial reforms had resulted in a credit expansion rate of around 8%. As the pace of credit expansion slows, real estate prices have started to fall. This is actually beneficial to the economy, because it lays the foundation for improvements in land-related entrepreneurship, production, and the construction sector. Just because real estate and the stock market transactions increase, it does not indicate an economic turnaround — especially when manufacturing and productive sector continues to languish.&nbsp; “It is foolish to believe that real estate and the stock market have magically revived our economy. Agriculture employs more than half of the population, but it is in decline. Investment in the productive sector has not increased, and job creation has not increased.” Two years ago, Nepal’s industrialists, business leaders, and political leadership predicted a recession amidst a sluggish business, declining market demand, large-scale job loss, and a shrinking real estate and share market.&nbsp; Still, the economy grew by 3.36% in fiscal year 2023/24. In fact, Nepal’s economy has grown nominally over the last two decades even when all sectors of the economy are in decline.&nbsp; Says Keshav Acharya: “The growth in trade, real estate, and the stock market are bubbles. The real economy remains stagnant.”

Nepal’s bubble economy

The final investigation report on the crash of a Saurya Airlines jet on 24 July 2024 at Kathmandu airport has revealed flaws in the carrier’s technical operation procedures, poor monitoring by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and gaps in the airport’s emergency response. Eighteen people including a child were killed, and only the captain survived as the plane plunged seconds after takeoff, crashing within the airport perimeter. This was the latest in a series of aircraft accidents in previous years, and further tarnished Nepal’s already poor aviation safety record and contributed to the country being retained in the EU’s air safety list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The circumstances in the Saurya crash were different from the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara in January 2022 that killed all 72 on board, and two Tara Air crashes in February 2016 and May 2022 on approach to Jomsom that together claimed 45 lives. However, all four tragedies were a result of negligence of carriers and crew, failure to follow procedures, regulatory slackness, and overconfidence. The Saurya crash, especially, was a glaring example of how an ailing airline broke its own rules to allow passengers, including non-employees, a joy ride to Pokhara on a maintenance ferry flight. CRASH REPORT The Final Investigation Report prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission and released on the first anniversary of the crash last week carried a long list of rules that were ignored or broken, and of regulatory failure. The first mistake was to cram spares, tools and inflammable chemicals needed for the aircraft’s C-Check in Pokhara into the cargo hold flouting its own ground handling procedures.&nbsp; There was no check-in of passengers, some of whom were not even employees – even though regulations say only flight and maintenance crew should be on board a maintenance positioning flight. Many brought their own luggage into the plane and stored it unsecured in the cabin. There was no flight attendant to give a safety briefing to passengers. The load and trim charts given to the flight crew were rough estimates, and the total takeoff weight of the plane was 18,300kg plus or minus 200 kg. That would still have been all right, but there was a glaring mistake in the speedchart Saurya pilots were using to calculate the minimum takeoff speed (known as VR), and it had been wrong ever since the 21-year-old aircraft entered service with the airline in 2017. FAULTY DATA&nbsp; The Commission probed Flight Data Recorder inputs from previous takeoffs of the Canadian-built CRJ200-LR in 2023-2024 and found that the undetected error in the speedchart had caused the plane to pitch up at an abnormal rotation rate at least 18 times on previous takeoffs.&nbsp; Any rotation rate more than 3°/sec is regarded as unusual. But on at least two occasions, this aircraft with tail number 9N-AME had rotation rates of 5.8°/sec and 5.5°/sec, the second one was when the pilot who survived was flying in March 2024.&nbsp; On this particular day, the plane’s rotation rate was 6.5°/sec, causing it to go into a deep stall soon after takeoff, the Commission report said. Essentially, the plane was not flying fast enough down the runway to take off safely.&nbsp; It is not yet clear whether excess weight, unsecured luggage, wrong centre of gravity were also factors, but relying on a faulty speedchart for the given takeoff weight, the captain flying pulled back on the yoke before the plane had reached takeoff speed and at a pitch angle that was too steep. The investigation report says the plane then went into a deep stall and started banking right with the stick shaking. At this point, the flight officer on the right hand seat is heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sir, Sir, Sir…” It then banked left before the pilot flying turned the plane sharply to the right again in an evasive action to avoid the parking aprons of the international and domestic terminals. Had he not done so, there would have been a disaster of a much greater magnitude at Kathmandu airport that day. The plane scraped the runway with its right wingtip, collided with a container having helicopter spare parts, and plunged into a gully east of the runway, exploding in a fireball. The investigation also noted that the impact forces seemed to be survivable for some occupants. The fire trucks took unnecessarily long to reach the site even though it was inside the airport perimeter. The absence of an ICAO-standard runway strip, inadequate rescue drills, lack of training, and a blocked emergency service gate leading to the crash site were cited as other factors. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Timestamp of a Disaster</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:10:34 - The Saurya Airlines CRJ200 on the takeoff roll from runway 02. It had a takeoff weight of about 18,300kg, but the pilot’s speedcard had a previously undetected mistake about the minimum takeoff speed. 11:10:55 -The plane with tail number 9N-AME goes into deep stall soon after takeoff because it does not have enough speed to lift its weight. The plane also has an abnormally steep nose-up attitude.&nbsp; 11:11:03 - Without enough speed to generate lift, the plane banks right, then left and right again in CCTV photos taken from the domestic apron (below). If it had not banked right, it could have hit the aprons and terminal buildings. Seen parked is Saurya’s other CRJ200 with tail number 9N-ANM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd" data-rendition-name="original" width="770" height="555" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:11:08 - The plane scrapes the runway with its right wingtip, and falls into the gully. The captain is thrown off the left side of the cockpit and survives. 11:11:15: Plane explodes in a fireball inside the airport perimeter. Firefighters take time to reach the site because of lack of access road and a blocked gate. Read the full investigation report <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.np/files/9N-AME%20AIC%20Final%20Report.pdf">here</a>.

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

American artist Peter Makela was in Nepal in 2022 on a Fulbright scholarship when he experienced the Matya festival in Patan in which devotees made the rounds of the city’s shrines.&nbsp;
He joined the procession, walking through 2,600 stupa and 140 bahal of the town. That immersion left a lasting impression.
As part of Gallery Mcube’s international residency program in Patan, he put his inspiration to canvas in the exhibition Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping. The exhibition also coincides with this month’s Matya festival.&nbsp;
Makela has visited Nepal often in the past 11 years but he mostly stayed in and spent his time around Boudha. “This time I stayed in Patan, put the sites I wanted to visit on my map, and off I went,” he tells us. “Each of my artwork is inspired by the stupas and shrines in Patan that I visited.”
The stupa and Ganesh are recurring motifs in his watercolours, and the elephant gods are located in chaityas — reflecting the interplay and blending of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Kathmandu Valley.&nbsp;
The stupas and Ganesh are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green against abstract backgrounds meant to represent the sky.
“I use the sky as a backdrop because the sky has no border,” says Makela. “The four colours represent the four elements, the different Buddha families and also lights bouncing off of a rainbow.”
The use of just four colours for all the artwork stands out, and combined with the absence of heavy canvases, frames or stands render Makela’s art striking in its simplicity.&nbsp;
The Ganesh is always holding something and the art also portrays the elephant god’s sacred vehicle, the mouse.
While his vibrant stupas and Ganesh reflect the tangibility of Patan’s tradition and heritage, it is as if the backdrops with their shades of grey and red and yellow capture the soul of the city’s shrines.
“If you look closely, there is a sense of form and formlessness at the same time,” he says.&nbsp;
Makela walked 108 kora around the shrines during his exploration of the town, and in the process developed a spiritual connection with Patan’s heritage and traditions.&nbsp;
The exhibition connects with visitors on a deeper, more spiritual, level as well. And with it, they feel a sense of pride as well as the need to urgently preserve Patan’s heritage for future generations.
“Peter’s inclination and approach towards Nepali art and culture is fascinating, and it reflects in his work,” says Mcube curator Manish Lal Shrestha, whose international artist residency program promotes Nepal’s cultural heritage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping
1-5 August&nbsp;
10AM-7PM
Gallery Mcube, Patan

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Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

Walking, working, worshipping in Patan