Jhuma Limbu used to wake up at 3AM every morning to queue up for water from a municipal tank in her neighbourhood of Patan. In the dry season, she got home three hours later carrying a jar of water. But this spring, Limbu and her neighbours have been pleasantly surprised that a 700-year-old water spout across the road is gushing water even in the dry season. Usually, the hiti water spout used to have water only during the monsoon months from July to September. “It was so amazing to see the sparkling clean water flowing continuously,” an elated Limbu told us as she filled her plastic jar at the spout with the alligator-like मकर mythical animal carved on it. “I don’t know why there is water this season, but it has made my life a lot easier,” she added.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_b589e897fc0e54fbff99556629fdc59dfc4bd31f744c080ba8c8a014752293f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230512040524_b589e897fc0e54fbff99556629fdc59dfc4bd31f744c080ba8c8a014752293f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="3500" height="2219" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  The Misa and Kwanti Hiti spouts at Baglamukhi Temple in Patan have religious and cultural significance. A ritual is performed for the spout and it attendant monks every July when the फूद्योः (supreme being) is transported to the temple amidst much fanfare. Devotees then bathe in the sacred waters of the sunken spout. Elsewhere in Patan, water spouts like Mang Hiti, Chhayabaha Hiti, Chyasa Hiti and Narayan Hiti are now better maintained and fully-functional even in the dry season. Experts are not sure why these centuries-old spouts suddenly have water flowing again, when the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/multimedia/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel">$700 million Melamchi water supply scheme</a> that brings glacial melt through a 26.5km tunnel from Langtang National Park is not providing regular supply.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_faeead1564e0774d60c64de4d41f2fcad93eeaca29e1b3f6779e893231ae6486.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230512040524_faeead1564e0774d60c64de4d41f2fcad93eeaca29e1b3f6779e893231ae6486" data-rendition-name="original" width="3500" height="2333" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_8b5e9487adad9f824f9497f4f584ceae9d17f6fd1ac283299161b280b85331f1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230512040524_8b5e9487adad9f824f9497f4f584ceae9d17f6fd1ac283299161b280b85331f1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1167" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  But urban development expert Padma Sundar Joshi thinks there may actually be a link to the Melamchi project. Even though water from Melamchi is supplied through the mains on a rotational basis, it has meant that families are not using traditional wells to draw water as much, allowing the water table to rise and make the spouts flow again.&nbsp; “If the Valley’s population continues to increase and extraction of well water resumes, the water table will fall again and the spouts will go dry,” explains Joshi. “It is crucial that we come up with a plan to ensure perennial water supply at the hiti.”&nbsp; <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/saving-nepal-s-hiti-heritage">Ancient water spouts </a>are considered great technological achievements of the Kathmandu Valley Civilisation. The Malla-era spouts are outlets for underground conduit basins that allow drinking water filtered by the soil to flow non-stop.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_02d01e05c3f8aa3cde1f5af1569e8e09bf84dee88ebda76bb68ee0e0df669c80.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230512040524_02d01e05c3f8aa3cde1f5af1569e8e09bf84dee88ebda76bb68ee0e0df669c80" data-rendition-name="original" width="1339" height="634" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  In the 6th century CE Kathmandu was the only city in the world to have mastered the technology to provide drinking water to its inhabitants deep in core residential areas. Centuries after they were built, these systems still support the growing urban population of Kathmandu Valley because modern water mains are so unreliable. But unplanned urbanisation of Kathmandu in recent decades has threatened this historic network of sunken spouts. Many water sources have been buried by construction, ponds that used to recharge ground water have been built over. The underground channel that used to bring water to spouts have been destroyed, like the one supplying Sundhara in Patan which was damaged during the construction of the nearby Employees Provident Fund building. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-ancient-water-spouts-still-functioning">Kathmandu’s ancient water spouts still functioning</a>, Alok Siddhi Tuladhar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_f4a4bed38c355cb748c4f2ab708beac612d8364ab9065f81edbeeaec070e1531.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230512040524_f4a4bed38c355cb748c4f2ab708beac612d8364ab9065f81edbeeaec070e1531" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1167" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  “The main reason these spouts have gone dry is because of the rapid growth of Kathmandu Valley’s population,” says Joshi, who urges the municipal governments to invest in the surviving hiti so neighbourhoods have water 24/7 all year-round.&nbsp; Storing monsoon rain in recharge ponds is the most effective solution to augment wells and spouts. Says Joshi: “Because 80% of rain falls in three months, we can store monsoon runoff in recharge pits and make use of existing wells for storage as well.” A new system of channels is being built to amplify the water flow to Patan’s water spouts from a distribution centre in Khumaltar, and it is set to come into operation in a few months. Says Chandra Kumar Shrestha of the municipality’s Project Implementation Directorate: “If water supply from Melamchi is more regular, it will help recharge ground water and revive our dry hiti and benefit more people.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_ae12c7503ea6717c4a727a1c14a500f964e0e86668f9f923950cfb8a6c907d81.png" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230512040524_ae12c7503ea6717c4a727a1c14a500f964e0e86668f9f923950cfb8a6c907d81" data-rendition-name="original" width="890" height="677" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  <h2>“Respect our ancestors by saving the hiti they built.”</h2> Padma Sundar Joshi In the last 30 years, many hiti in Patan and elsewhere in the Valley have gone from being perennial sources of water to becoming completely dry. First, the flow of water decreased. Then the water began to flow only during the monsoon, before stopping altogether. Unregulated construction because of the Valley’s population density destroyed both the sources of water as well as the underground channels connecting water sources to the ancient hitis.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_e4682485318176545ed0a48df78f49d3b3290deacf0b4e9d4825042d76f5de49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230512040524_e4682485318176545ed0a48df78f49d3b3290deacf0b4e9d4825042d76f5de49" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="1563" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  People in the valley began drilling tube wells to ensure water supply, but this lowered the water table and dried up the hiti. Now, with the Melamchi water supply, many of those wells are not used as much. This, in turn, has meant that the water table has risen, reviving the flow in the ancient spouts even in the dry season. However, if Kathmandu Valley’s population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, it won’t matter how much water is supplied from Melamchi, Yangri, or Larke. There simply will not be enough water. Managing urban growth must be the priority. A hiti’s age is often cited as the reason for it going dry, but that is not the case. The Mangal Hiti in Patan has been providing water continuously for 1,500 years. How long a hiti has existed is immaterial as long as it is managed and protected. And that means not only making the sunken spouts more attractive, but to strengthen its functionality.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_f53c479374835cbe2814c4b6fafcde48073208c6cceab23446761f2f61755529.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230512040524_f53c479374835cbe2814c4b6fafcde48073208c6cceab23446761f2f61755529" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  A key to making water flow again in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/water-of-the-ages">Valley’s hiti </a>is to bring back the recharge ponds and lakes which have been built over. But conservation of our ancient water supply system has been neglected because it is deemed too expensive. In fact, water should be an election agenda, and elected leaders must fulfil their promises.&nbsp; The good news is that many of our hiti have been flowing again, even in the dry season. This reminds us that heritage and nature conservation go hand in hand, both must be protected.&nbsp; Kathmandu’s hiti define our civilisation and our place in history. To disregard them is to disrespect our ancestors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230512040524_a3ec0282678bac759867bea4fc35e76ac302cc43c4598c677d496295b37f86fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20230512040524_a3ec0282678bac759867bea4fc35e76ac302cc43c4598c677d496295b37f86fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Water for the ages NT"> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-kathmandu-s-water-crisis">Solution to Kathmandu’s water crisis</a> Padma Sundar Joshi is an urban development expert and the author of Hiti Pranali, a book on his research into the ancient hiti system.

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Water for the ages

<figure><img width="640" height="296" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202e49c7e80680e0b27dajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The Bhemthang sediment field this week after the snowstorm, and in July after the flashflood (pictured below). Photos: SONAM LAMA and SHIVA BASKOTA</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="857" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202e79c7e80680e0b27dbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>A scientific team that had gone to assess a monsoon disaster that damaged <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s most expensive infrastructure project</a> northeast of Kathmandu itself had a narrow escape in a snowstorm this week.The nearly completed $700 million Melamchi Water Supply Project designed to bring water from a glacier in Langtang National Park to Kathmandu through a 26.5km tunnel was badly damaged in a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/still-chasing-the-melamchi-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">freak flash-flood in July</a>.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) that is the main funder of the scheme sent a research group to the headwaters of the Melamchi River to investigate the cause of the floods and assess future risk.However, the 16-member team composed of geologists, glaciologists, support staff and porters which had helicoptered to the Bhemthang region of the valley two weeks ago to investigate <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the monsoon flood</a> was itself trapped for 27 hours by a winter blizzard.  <img width="640" height="296" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202ea9c7e80680e0b27dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="288" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202ec9c7e80680e0b27ddjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202ef9c7e80680e0b27dex-m4v" title="" alt=""/>“It snowed continuously all day on Tuesday and till midnight, and there was more than 1m of snow,” said Sonam Lama, a mountaineering guide with 16 years of experience who knows the region well.Heavy snowfall and small avalanches from above buried the team’s tents and equipment, and members were forced to spend the night under a rock overhang. The next morning the visibility was too poor for a rescue flight, and the helicopter finally arrived on the afternoon of 30 December. The team had just finished carrying out a topographical scan and a geophysical survey of the depth of the fluvial deposits at Bhemthang from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the July floods</a>. The data will be processed to see if there is danger of more floods from the debris field, or the glaciers further up the Pemdang and Melamchi rivers.  “We scanned the sediment deposits up to a depth of 100m to see if there is a risk of it being washed down in future,” said Hari Ghimire, leader of the research team. “We measured the depth and volume of debris, but the data will take some time to be processed.” <figure><img width="2360" height="1562" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202f09c7e80680e0b27dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The terrain upstream from the headworks after the flood on the Melamchi River in July. Photo: NDRRMA</figcaption></figure>Six international project staff lost their lives in the debris flow on 15 July, and 20 people downstream are still missing. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-weather-stations-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The flood</a> destroyed the headwork channel, sedimentation pond and other structures, causing Rs2 billion worth of damage. However, engineers managed to close the main gate to the tunnel just before the flood waters rose, saving the scheme from much more serious destruction. Results of the current investigation will determine what new structures need to be designed to protect the headworks from future floods. A study of the glaciers upstream will also be undertaken to see if there is any vulnerability.Scientists say <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/think-globally-in-glasgow-and-act-locally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the July floods</a> could have been caused by a combination of destabilised slopes after the 2015 earthquake, being exposed to record rainfall of 200mm in 24 hours on 15 July, and climate change.  <figure><img width="853" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202f49c7e80680e0b27e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The Melamchi headworks damaged in the July floods. Photo: SHIVA BASKOTA</figcaption></figure>The rain fell on fragile moraines and slopes which used to get snow earlier. Global warming has also melted the glaciers upstream creating numerous supraglacial ponds.“This geophysical survey of the Melamchi watershed and other studies of the condition of the glaciers will provide us the information necessary to assess the nature of the catchment area so we can plan future action,” said Tajendra Pant, an engineer with the Melamchi project.  <figure><img width="815" height="410" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202f79c7e80680e0b27e1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="907" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637202f99c7e80680e0b27e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Melamchi Water Supply Project</a> was damaged after its soft opening last year, even before it came into full operation to supply Kathmandu Valley with 170 million litres of water a day. A proposed extension of the project to bring water from Yangri and Larke Khola with another 12km tunnel will increase the supply to 510 million litres a day. The tunnel is the second longest water supply tunnel in Asia.

Narrow escape for Melamchi fact-finding team

<figure><img width="800" height="438" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d133b9c7e80680e0a9911jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The avalanche that came off Mt Tukuche in Nepal’s Mustang District on 14 November illustrates the kinds of multi-hazards present in the Himalaya. A dozen students fleeing a school below were injured while escaping, and there were reports of widespread livestock loss. Excessive post-monsoon snowfall could have contributed to the avalanche, which also resulted in flooding on a tributary of the Kali Gandaki.</figcaption></figure>Hazards in the Himalaya do not queue up politely to occur one at a time. More often, they occur together and, when they do, their cumulative effect is greater than the sum of their parts. When floods and landslides happen at once, for instance, the impact of each is intensified by the other. Still, it remains common to approach risk reduction for each hazard individually. In Nepal, and the wider Himalayan region, the coincidence of multiple hazards necessitates a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction.At best, considering one hazard at a time is wishful thinking. At worst, single-hazard approaches reduce the risk of one hazard only to increase the risk from others. To avoid these tradeoffs, a multi-hazard approach manages the connections between hazards to reduce overall risk. Shifting perspective from single- to multi-hazard risk may appear subtle, but our recent research shows the stakes are high. Our team studied three dominant hazards — floods, landslides, and wildfires — and found that many Himalayan residents live in areas highly susceptible to more than one of them. If other hazards (like drought, heat stress, or earthquakes) were added to our study, it is likely that the population exposed to multi-hazards would be even higher. The predictions made by hazard models can vary considerably and their results depend especially on which set of previous hazards they consider, but the message emerging from this research is clear: Since many people in the Himalaya live in multi-hazard environments, managing one hazard at a time could have disastrous consequences. <figure><img width="2501" height="1332" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d133e9c7e80680e0a9912jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Importantly, adopting a multi-hazard approach does not mean making things more complicated. Instead, it can identify synergies to address them together, while providing a basis for collaboration for aligning single hazard management and governance practices that could otherwise conflict. A multi-hazard approach is relatively new, but multi-hazards themselves are already here. They can take many forms. Sometimes, one hazard causes another: In 2015, the Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake caused thousands of landslides and claimed thousands of lives. Or, in February of this year, a <a href="https://www.icimod.org/article/understanding-the-chamoli-flood-cause-process-impacts-and-context-of-rapid-infrastructure-development/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icimod.org/article/understanding-the-chamoli-flood-cause-process-impacts-and-context-of-rapid-infrastructure-development/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1TMfOVKuNvXo6wVNvXAAsm">rockslide triggered massive flooding</a> in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, claiming over 70 lives and damaging multiple hydropower projects. Other times, hazards happen together. For example, this year’s monsoon season caused <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0GCEQeMHKILrZSwBGgTR4n">destructive flooding and landslides</a> in many districts in Nepal (the effects of which were exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic). Without causing another hazard directly, one hazard can worsen the effects of another, such as last year’s widespread forest fires in Nepal that denuded hillsides, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jHHk_D84gbE7XCdXxb9ld">making the slopes more prone to landslides, mudflows, and flooding</a>. Other threats loom on the horizon. The latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes it clear that climate-related multi-hazards will become more common and more intense in the future. Glacial lakes at risk of outburst flooding are growing due to climate change, while changing precipitation patterns could make both seasonal flooding and forest fires more frequent and destructive. These changes interact in complex ways, raising the overall threat from multi-hazards. As climate change intensifies multi-hazards, current patterns of urbanisation will continue to put more people in harm’s way. Our research shows a high level of settlement in areas also prone to multi-hazards; people may be unaware of multi-hazard risk, or immediate concerns for their livelihood overrule potential future risk from catastrophic multi-hazards. In either case, people settle in multi-hazard-prone areas to access economic, healthcare, or educational opportunities. Thus, an important component of reducing risk is in providing sustainable livelihoods in less risky areas. Impoverished people in multi-hazard areas may not have the resources necessary to recover from disaster or to settle in safer areas if those areas have lower levels of access.  <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d13419c7e80680e0a9913jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Gender disparities increase risks to women, and religious minorities may not have equal access to disaster preparedness resources in some places. Multi-hazards are natural events with human effects. Thus, beside technical and governance issues, a multi-hazard approach should consider how multi-hazards multiply the risks faced by already vulnerable populations.With a multi-hazard approach, synergies are possible. For instance, <a href="https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/bioengineering_brochure_hr.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/bioengineering_brochure_hr.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Lq1Jfzk5Xb_CeV6qBLNbk">soil bioengineering</a> is an established set of techniques in Nepal that focuses on conditions — vegetation, drainage, and sediment — that contribute to multiple hazards. By focusing on the conditions where hazards intersect, practices like bioengineering could be more suitable for a multi-hazard environment than those that focus on reducing the risk of a specific hazard alone.Without a multi-hazard approach, reducing the risk from one hazard could increase the risk of another. In the wake of this year’s fire season, for example, unvegetated buffers around developed areas may seem like a good option for preventing fire damage to structures. But these areas more easily erode, potentially contributing to landslides or mudflows. Similarly, slope stabilisation to prevent landslides, especially around road cuts, can increase surface runoff and exacerbate flooding. Engineering approaches are important, but multi-hazard risk reduction is not just a technical problem. Governance issues are at the root of both major opportunities and challenges for mitigating multi-hazard risk. A significant obstacle to adopting a multi-hazard approach is existing mandates for governing bodies to manage single hazards in isolation. For example, federalisation in Nepal gave the Ministry of Home Affairs the mandate to manage forest fire risk, but the mitigation of floods and landslides, which interact with forest fires, often remains at the municipal level. These divisions can lead to conflicts between agencies, while a multi-hazard approach can align mandates otherwise focused on single hazards. Nepal’s Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic Action Plan is already taking steps in this direction.  <figure><img width="4940" height="3965" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016114/636d13449c7e80680e0a9914jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In addition to managing connections between hazards, governance practices aimed at reducing multi-hazard risk can facilitate two other forms of collaboration: across borders, and between people, residents and otherwise, with different forms of expertise.First, current collaboration across borders in the Himalaya should be expanded and strengthened. Both hazards and people cross borders, so multi-hazard mitigation must do the same. This last summer, for instance, a landslide-dammed lake in the Rongxer basin in China <a href="https://www.icimod.org/article/the-melamchi-flood-disaster/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icimod.org/article/the-melamchi-flood-disaster/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2EsX51_SbSWuFjpxRyRC6D">threatened Nepali settlements downstream</a> along the Tama Kosi River with flooding. Further along the same river, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-kosis-sorrow-and-scope/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-kosis-sorrow-and-scope/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0D5xTZ_9lCZdd17ab60kVm">sedimentation in Nepal is one of many factors</a> contributing to downstream flooding in Bihar, India. The establishment of cross-border early warning agreements is an important way to reduce these risks and is a first step toward connecting upstream and downstream risk reduction through a multi-hazard approach.Second, the collaboration between people with different types of knowledge about hazard risk — including technical, development, and local experts — is essential for ensuring the success of risk reduction programs. An inspiring precedent for this kind of collaboration is the development of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0m8l5RSFN5WSy2wB1oMXhv">jholmal</a> natural fertiliser and pesticide. The development of jholmal required combining local practices with the work of technical specialists and efforts to reduce chemical runoff and farming costs to create a cost-effective formula easily communicated to and replicated by the region’s residents and other local experts. This collaborative and multi-pronged approach can serve as model for mitigating multi-hazard risk. A focus on multi-hazards does not contradict the need to reduce the risk associated with individual hazards; instead, a multi-hazard approach is an opportunity to align risk reduction measures to avoid tradeoffs and find synergies. Adopting a multi-hazard approach may present technical or governance challenges but the opportunity is clear: in the face of ongoing climate change and urbanisation, effective disaster risk reduction in environments such as Nepal, the Himalaya, and other mountainous regions necessitates a multi-hazard approach.Jack Rusk is a member of the <a href="https://urbanhimalaya.yale.edu/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urbanhimalaya.yale.edu/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1cdFH8tcfgFtKCY-vVpPAE">Urban Himalaya</a> research team. Urban Himalaya is an international, interdisciplinary, collaborative research partnership that seeks to understand urbanization and vulnerability in the Himalaya. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721051147" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721051147&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1637032361315000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3MqefP8QtVEj91d-Qi1u3b">recent research</a> on multi-hazards was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Multipronged response to Nepal’s multi-hazards

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02a69c7e80680e0a3690jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="857" height="500"/><figcaption>Two scientists are drawfed by the thick loose sediment field brought down by the flood and deposited on the 2.5km long flat valley floor. The sediment field is crumbling and adds more debris into the Melmchi. Photos: SHIVA BASKOTA</figcaption></figure>Two months after a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi/">massive debris flow</a> on the Melamchi River knocked out Nepal’s most expensive water project, geologists investigating the disaster say the danger will remain for decades to come.Torrents of boulders and mud paste buried the headwork of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu">Melamchi Water Supply Project</a> under 20m of debris on 15 and 30 July. Waves of mud washed away the highway and bridges connecting the site, submerged settlements, and killed at least 30 people.The much-delayed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/">$800 million project</a> had started test distribution of water from the Langtang National Park through <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu">a 26.5km tunnel to Kathmandu</a> residents. Fortunately, the tunnel had been sealed for inspection a few hours before the flood hit that day, and was saved.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02a99c7e80680e0a3691jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1013" height="562"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Geologists and experts are now trying to study the upper reaches of the Melamchi watershed to determine what caused the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi/">disastrous debris flow</a>, and to see if anything can be done to mitigate future floods. What they found does not bode well.Project engineers say that the two big floods in July caused damage worth more than Rs2 billion, including a 22km link road, 6 bridges, warehouses and offices. Six project staff from Nepal, India and China were killed.“Melamchi is now uncertain, we do not know when we can restart the project,” says senior divisional engineer Rajendra Prasad Pant. “We need to make a much more extensive study of the watershed upstream to determine if we can control future floods, and if so how long it will take.”Indeed, aerial inspection and satellite imagery of the Melamchi Valley upstream shows a massive sediment field that is constantly collapsing and being washed down by heavy monsoon downpours.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02ab9c7e80680e0a3692jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="815" height="410"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02ad9c7e80680e0a3693jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="907" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Engineers say they are trying to mobilise heavy earthmovers to clear the debris and send water into the tunnel again through a temporary channel by the end of the year to resume water supply to Kathmandu. Just this part of the job will add another Rs1 billion to the cost of the project.But there remains the enormous challenge of dealing with the 2.5km long crumbling sediment field upriver, which they say will pose a danger for decades to come. No one has an estimate of how much any mitigation measures will cost, or if it is even possible.But besides immediate repairs at the headworks, the disaster has also put on hold the second and third phase of the project, which was to extend the tunnel to Yangri and Larke, two parallel valleys to the east to augment the tunnel capacity by another 340 million litres per day.Although engineers had studied the upper reaches of the Melamchi to scope out any glacial lake or unstable slopes, they had never expected the sediment field to be so fragile and unstable.“So far, we think the disaster was caused by record rainfall in the catchment area which had been destabilised by the 2015 earthquakes,” says Shiva Baskota of the Department of Mines and Geology, who recently flew over Bhemthang region, and said he saw extensive slope failure on the Melamchi and its tributary stream, the Pemdang.<figure><figcaption>Aerial photo of the confluence of the Melamchi and Pemdang Rivers taken after the 30 July flood.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02b29c7e80680e0a3695jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Baskota estimates that some 150 cubic metres of fluvial, glacial or lacustrine deposits still sit on the river upstream at an elevation of 3,500m, and this is constantly being washed down by the river because of continuing heavy rains. On 11 July, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-weather-stations-in-the-himalaya/">a weather station</a> in nearby Sermathang recorded <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/">110mm of rain in 24 hours.</a>Some scientists blame the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves/">extreme weather events</a> on climate change, and say that heavy downpours are now falling on higher altitudes where there used to be snowfall. Other researchers believe that in addition to heavy rainfall, a glacial lake higher up could have burst, adding material to the debris flow.“It looks like there has not been an adequate disaster risk assessment of the catchment area,” Baskota says. “This means we have to study the glaciers above Yangri and Larke before starting the next phase of the Melamchi water project.”There is a way to reduce the danger from future flooding along the Melamchi by building check dams along the river to slow the flow of the debris. But engineers admit it is a huge and expensive undertaking which has to start as soon as the monsoon ends to be prepared for next year’s rains.Climate scientist Raju Pandit Chhetri says that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-hotter-himalaya/">impact of global warming</a> in the Himalaya is only going to increase, so current and future infrastructure along the mountains have to take the risk into account.“Bridges, highways, water supply all have to be designed to withstand extreme events,” says Chhetri. “It may drive up the cost of the project, but it will prevent greater loss. Planning for a disaster like this would not have affected the Melamchi project as badly as it did.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02b59c7e80680e0a3696jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="853" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Some water experts say that an expensive project like Melamchi should never have been built in the first place, when cheaper alternatives to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-needs-to-plan-for-plenty-and-scarcity-of-water/">supply water</a> to Kathmandu through reservoirs on the Valley rim to store monsoon water was possible.“Even back then, some of us had warned that Melamchi was not suitable,” says water scientist Ajaya Dixit. “We had not foreseen a disaster like the one this year, but we knew that Sindhupalchok’s rugged terrain made it a risky place to invest in expensive infrastructure.”Government officials, however, say that although the Norwegian consultants of the Melamchi project had assessed seismic and environmental risk and designed it for a lifespan of 100 years, nothing like the flood in July was ever expected.“What was perhaps not factored in was the new risk added by accelerated global warming,” says Pant.A British consultant had conducted a study in 1988 of rivers in and around Kathmandu Valley to select the most suitable river for a project to augment the Valley’s water supply, and Melamchi was chosen as the most appropriate on the basis of flow, natural gradient and proximity.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02b89c7e80680e0a3697jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="853" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Melamchi project was thus launched with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), but it was delayed due to political interference, local opposition, earthquakes, blockades, pandemic and other upheavals.The project therefore took three times longer than it should have and was inaugurated only on 4 April 202`1 by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Households and businesses in Kathmandu felt a great sense of relief that the water had finally arrived, but within three months the flood damaged the project and taps went dry again.In the Ministry of Water Supply, there is already talk of finding alternative sources of water for the Valley even if Melamchi is restored – because of the continued flood risk on the river, and the fact that the project will not be able to satisfy the thirst of an expanding capital.At present the water utility for Kathmandu supplies between 90-170 million litres to consumers every day from existing reservoirs, streams and groundwater. Melamchi had doubled that supply, but it still did not meet demand. Pumping groundwater has also lowered Kathmandu’s water table, and that supply is dwindling.Adapted from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/125894?fbclid=IwAR2I5UufeaISdu2Osxb8Yp0FpurIImwHwavx02htF_C_HPokMEICh3TV3Rw">Nepali original</a> in the September-October edition of Himal Khabarpatrika.

Still chasing the Melamchi mirage

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc549c7e80680e0a0b81jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: NATIONAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (NDRRMA)</figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">debris flood on the Melamchi River</a> has been continuous since the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start of the monsoon on 15 June</a>. Since then, more than 20 people have been killed, more than 100 homes washed away and 400 households displaced. Six highway bridges, and 12 suspension footbridges have been swept away. The $700 million Melamchi Water Supply Project has been damaged even before it came into full operation, and will need expensive and extensive repairs. Basanta Adhikari, Associate Professor of Engineering Geology has just returned from an inspection visit, and spoke to Nepali Times.Nepali Times: From your trip, what appears to be the main cause of this continuing flood?Basanta Adhikari: Due to the weather we could not fly to the headwaters, but looking at videos, it seems that there was always a large amount of glacial and fluvial debris accumulated at a place called Bhremathang. Since the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> muddy flood</a> is continuous, I am certain it cannot only be attributed to the landslide on 15 June that blocked the river. All that debris that had accumulated is being constantly washed down.  How much debris are we talking about? And what is it made of? That calls for more study. But there seems to be a multiple thick layer of sand, mud and boulders that have been brought down from the mountains and collected in a relatively flat area. It is also possible that thousands of years ago, a landslide blocked the Melamchi, leading to an accumulation of sediment in what is now a dried up lake bed. Besides this, this could also be part of a glacier that has receded. These are all just possibilities, nothing can be said for sure until further research is done. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/a-hotter-himalaya/">A hotter Himalaya</a>, Editorial <figure><img width="233" height="277" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141124/636cfc569c7e80680e0a0b82jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Basanta Adhikari</figcaption></figure>How long will there be a risk of more floods threatening the Melamchi project headworks and downstream valleys?  Looking at the debris field there, it is likely that the effect will be quite long-term. Every time there is heavy rain, the loose boulders and sand will keep being washed down. The debris accumulation has to be thoroughly studied before we can say anything about its long-term effects. Only after studying the volume of the debris field can we predict how long it will affect downstream areas. Research Is also needed to design mitigation efforts.Is there a way to stop the flood upstream so it does not threaten the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-needs-to-plan-for-plenty-and-scarcity-of-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Melamchi project</a>?We cannot top the flow where the debris field is currently located. However, if we build  a series of check dams, the danger from floods can be reduced. There is sufficient technology and manpower to do so, but it all depends on whether the government has the political will and the funding to carry it out. If preventive measures are taken in time, threats of future catastrophes can be minimised.What lessons can we learn from the Melamchi flood? We must thoroughly analyse what lies upstream before we design any infrastructure or settlements. What are the potential dangers? What can be done to safeguard against future disasters? When planning  large-scale projects like Melamchi, we should model the potential for natural disasters, and engineer them accordingly. The Melamchi flood has reminded us of the importance of researching that an expensive project like that must The extensive damage caused by the natural disasters is a reminder that we should not take Himalayan geology for granted, and formulate policies accordingly. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/">Drones to the rescue in Melamchi</a>, Nepali Times

The monsoon mess in Melamchi

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

Turkish Basketball

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

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

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

The Everest Industry

That winter day in January 1664 marked an exceptional event in the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu. It was 15 Paush 784 of the Nepal Sambat and for the first time, a historical event was being immortalised on canvas for generations to come.&nbsp; The occasion was the grand Tuladaan ceremony of the King’s youngest son Chakrabartendra Malla from his wife Anantapriya, an Indian princess from Cooch Behar in present-day Assam.&nbsp; During the ritual, the prince was weighed against gold, silver, pearls, and other precious stones, which were then offered to Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the guardian deity of the Malla dynasty.&nbsp; The 170 x120cm painting captures the time of King Pratap Malla in all its splendour and is more than a personal tribute to his son: it is a significant visual historical document. It was evidently completed five years later in 1669, and could be considered a photographic record, with retrospective recreation of the event by the unknown artist. A Tuladaan ceremony is performed to purify one’s karma, quell impending bad luck, or as an act of charity and devotion. Chakrabartendra Malla was not well, and the ritual was performed in hopes of restoring his health. King Pratap Malla had arranged for each of his sons to take turns ruling Kathmandu so they got administrative experience. But Chakrabartendra died just two days after assuming power in 1670 (790 NS). This painting is considered the earliest known example in which the composition is dominated by an architectural landscape: the Taleju Temple. Given the stylistic features such as side-profile facial depictions and the rendering of human forms, it is believed that the Nepali artist was trained by a Rajput master.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051" data-rendition-name="original" width="3248" height="4395" loading="lazy" alt="Tuladaan NT"> </figure>  During that era, there were regular exchanges of artists between Northern India and Kathmandu Valley. The painting is also a melding of Nepali, Tibetan, Mughal, and Rajput art styles of the time. Pratap Malla could have been inspired by a painting of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s Tuladaan ceremony for his son Khurram in 1607. The Mallas and Mughals shared cordial relations, which is reflected in the cultural influences seen in the art and attire of the period.&nbsp; The clothing of the Malla ruling class, in particular, features colourful tunics, turbans, and jewelry that display strong Rajput and Mughal stylistic elements. The musicians in the upper tier are also dressed in Indian-style clothing, while the ensemble on the lower steps wear local attire, notably without turbans. Their hairstyles also differ, with the lower group wearing their hair tied in a bun at the front. This national treasure is currently in storage at the Collège de France in Paris, and has never been publicly displayed. Nepal’s art scholars like Gautam Vajracharya, Pratap Aditya Pal and Anne Vergati have written about this iconic paubha in the past, but the only detailed study is from the perspective of music history by researcher Richard Widdess who had access to high resolution copies of the original.&nbsp; Widdess from the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London describes the paubha as the most significant and richly detailed documentation of music in Nepali art. He identifies distinct musical ensembles on the terraces of the temple, and remarkably most of them are actively used today. One of them reflects the Mughal naqqārakhāna model — a loud outdoor ensemble typically composed of kettledrums, trumpets, and cymbals, traditionally performed from the gateway of the emperor’s palace to announce his entrances and exits. The depiction of such an ensemble in the tulādāna painting is likely the earliest known representation of a complete naqqārakhāna in Nepal — considered the forerunner of the panche baja, the traditional Nepali ensemble. On the stepped pyramid base of the temple are two groups of musicians playing local instruments: dhimey, bhushya, and dha. They are unmistakably Newar musicians, wearing short skirts and short-sleeved tops, with bare heads and legs—clearly distinguished as local performers.&nbsp; Higher still on the temple pyramid are musicians of apparently higher status, positioned close to the king, and his courtiers, possibly professional court musicians from India, well-versed in rāga and tāla. A dāphā group is also clearly depicted, identifiable by their characteristic instruments.&nbsp; Dāphā bhajan is likely the oldest surviving tradition of Newar devotional singing, and this paubha is the oldest visual record of it. Pratap Malla himself is believed to have composed songs that continue to be performed by dāphā groups throughout Kathmandu till today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="596" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="Priceless paubha in Paris NT"> </figure>  The artist’s thorough attention to musical detail may be attributed to King Pratap Malla’s own deep interest in music. His inscriptions on this painting and elsewhere proclaim his mastery of all branches of knowledge, including music. He is also known as the author of dance dramas and poems, penning his name as Kavindra (king of poets). Some noteworthy elements of new art techniques stand out: for example, the roof of the temple is filled with realistically rendered white doves, pigeons, and crows. This is a rare feature in paubha, where animals and birds are stylised, mythological forms. This remarkably talented unknown artist has managed to also render an orthographic projection: the front and side view of Nepal’s first architectural paubha. The Taleju Temple, with its staggering multi-tiered structure and numerous steps and platforms, is masterfully translated into layers within the painting. This represents a significant artistic achievement of the time, especially considering that dimensional perspectives had not started in deity-based paubha.&nbsp; The artist has also made a meticulous effort to capture architectural details such as the toran (ornamental arch) and temple struts with impressive precision. There are flickering lamps along the steps and some people carrying what appear to be oil pots.&nbsp; It is a full moon night and the dark sky is adorned with all the gods and goddesses, who are depicted as blessing the ceremony while seated on stylised thangka clouds. There is a lot happening in this painting, with people engaged in various activities. The artist has also rendered a forest backdrop behind the temple, complete with deer, trees, and flowers. Could there have once been a royal garden behind the Taleju Temple?&nbsp; More details and clarity can only be achieved if we are able to view the original or a high-resolution scanned version of the artwork. Many countries proudly display art depicting historical events in their national museums with great reverence. France, for example, has The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine by Jacques-Louis David (1808–1822), along with numerous paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Many were commissioned by Napoleon himself for future generations to remember.&nbsp; For Nepal, the equivalent is the Tuladaan paubha which is a visual record capturing a historic moment involving one of Kathmandu’s greatest kings, on the very day the event took place. Sadly, we await the day when this masterpiece is displayed, shared in high resolution for detailed study, or more rightfully — repatriated to its homeland, where it truly belongs. &nbsp; Shaguni Singh Sakya is the Director of the Museum of Nepali Arts (MoNA) at Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel. <h2>Gods homeward bound</h2> The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Nepal’s Department of Archaeology are convening the first international conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage from 16-18 June in Patan. The conference will address urgent issues of theft, illicit trafficking, the campaign to repatriate looted cultural artifacts, and explore how the return of sacred antiquities contributes to justice, healing, and reconciliation for communities and nations affected by cultural loss. American art crime professor Erin L Thompson and Saubhagya Pradhananga of the Department of Archaeology will deliver the keynote. Meanwhile, author and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit will lead a conversation on Illicit Trafficking: Public Opinion and Role of Media with Erin Thompson, Amr Al Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, as well as Bradley J Gordon, a lawyer based in Phnom Penh. There will be sessions looking at repatriation perspectives from Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Poland, international frameworks for repatriation, emerging digital technologies in the repatriation of cultural heritage, cultural property agreements, museums as well as trends in the art market, and heritage diplomacy and the role of media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Heritage recovery NT"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Some of the other highlights include James K. Reap, a professor in the Master of Historic Preservation Program at the University of Georgia who has a session on the US response to illicit trafficking. Art historian Lea Saint-Raymond is taking on “Gods at Auction: The Market for Himalayan Artefacts”, while lecturer of criminology at the University of Glasgow Emiline Smith is delving into transformative approaches to heritage ownership and repatriation. Helena Arose of Antiquities Coalition and Melina Antoniadis of NOSTOS Strategies that specialise on the return home of cultural heritage as well as Hao Liu of International Cultural Heritage Law at the School of Law at Shandong University are some of the others attending. The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign was set up in 2020 to develop a coordinated movement to reclaim Nepal’s stolen gods and goddesses, with an aim to ensure that recovered items are returned to their original shrines, niches or sanctums. Ahead of the conference opening organisers have arranged for a film screening of Loot &amp; Return: 4 Documentaries at YalaMaya Kendra in Patan Dhoka between 14-15 June. Following the conference is a multimedia exhibition titled Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage from 31 July to 4 August at Patan Museum.

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