<figure><img width="1824" height="1368" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb8e9c7e80680e0802cfjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>After eight months, non-Nepalis were finally allowed to fly to Kathmandu from 17 October, but with two bizarre exceptions: flights from Indian cities are still banned, and only foreign trekkers and mountaineers are allowed into Nepal. While the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has lifted passenger restrictions at Kathmandu airport, and international airlines have added services to meet the Dasain peak, flights to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru are still not permitted.Foreigners can now travel to Nepal, but only if they want to go trekking or climb a Himalayan mountain. Foreign passport holders who want to reunite with families, visit friends, join meditation classes, or just want to chill out in Kathmandu or Pokhara, are mysteriously still banned. Neither CAAN nor the government have given any official explanation about why flights to and from India are still not allowed, although ministers have privately said that it is because of the pandemic peak in India. However, the total new cases in India have started going down, while Covid-19 cases and fatalities are rising in Nepal – Wednesday saw highest daily death tally reach 26. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/trekkers-welcome-in-nepal-but-conditions-apply/">Trekkers welcome in Nepal, but conditions apply</a>, Nepali TimesThe India flight restrictions are all the more absurd because people have been travelling to and fro across the India-Nepal land border without tests or quarantines, whereas air passengers would need a mandatory PCR negative certificate before boarding, and quarantine at home for a week after landing in Kathmandu.The Indian authorities had proposed an ‘air bubble’ with Nepal two months ago to allow nationals of both countries to travel back and forth, but there has been no response from officials in Nepal. Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai and Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra met on 11 October, but not much was disclosed.Bhattarai, who was not wearing a mask during the meeting, tested positive for Covid-19 the very next day. Kwatra was quoted as saying that he raised the issue of resumption of Nepal-India flights, while the Nepali side said the discussions were only about new India-Nepal air routes for the international airport at Bhairawa, as well as two-way flights on the L626 airway corridor via Mahendranagar.There is speculation that the Prime Minister’s Office may be holding back permission for India flights as a bargaining tool to extract Indian concessions on air routes. However, by not allowing flights, it is Nepalis who are affected more. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unlimited-flights-to-nepal-from-17-october/">Unlimited flights to Nepal from 1 October</a>, Nepali Times <figure><img width="1618" height="944" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb929c7e80680e0802d0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: NEPAL TOURISM BOARD</figcaption></figure>There are tens of thousands of Nepalis working in India, students and those who had gone for medical treatment who have been stranded there for months. While Nepalis from North America, Europe and Australia have flown home since July, Nepalis have not been able to travel back from a next-door country. Flights connecting Kathmandu to Chinese cities like Lhasa, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong are operating.Although foreign climbers and trekkers have been allowed to fly to Kathmandu, Nepal’s travel trade is not at all enthused. It is too late in the season for mountaineering expeditions and most treks. Besides, tourists  must have extra $5,000 worth of insurance, and have to spend a week in hotel quarantine in Kathmandu.Although the Everest, Langtang and Rolwaling trails are open, Mustang and Manang districts have decided to seal off their areas till February 2021. For all those reasons, even visitors who were determined to trek in Nepal this autumn have cancelled reservations, agencies say.“Tourists were not about to flood into Nepal. Yet, despite everything, there are still some who want to trek. But instead of making it easier for them, we have made confusing rules and put every possible obstacle in their way,” says travel entrepreneur Rajendra Sapkota.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-in-the-himalaya-during-covid-19/">Hiking in the Himalaya during Covid-19?</a> Nepali Times <figure><img width="1364" height="698" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb959c7e80680e0802d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai and Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra met on 11 October in Kathmandu. Photo: Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism</figcaption></figure>Foreigners visiting Nepal need a letter from a trekking or mountaineering agency, which many say opens up the possibility of visitors being forced to get a trekking permit just to enter Nepal, even though they have no intention of hiking in the Himalaya.“Since trekking and mountaineering are wilderness destinations, there is no point detaining negative tested tourists in Kathmandu, we should make it as easy as possible for them to get an immediate test, and head off to the mountains after landing in Kathmandu,” says the former chair of Nepal Tourism Board, Deepak Raj Joshi. The seven day quarantine is also seen as making no sense, since visitors are required to arrive with PCR negative reports. If they are trekking on the Everest trail, they need another PCR negative report before flying out to Lukla.“On the one hand we are telling the world Nepal is open to tourism, but on the other we are discouraging them with these absurd rules,” says Nabaraj Dahal, former head of the Trekking Agents’ Association of Nepal (TAAN).Instead of sending a positive message, government agencies appear to be working at cross purposes, telling foreigners they will be sent back from Kathmandu airport if they do not have proper papers.“The rule is that only trekking and mountaineering tourists are allowed, and they need a letter from the Nepal Tourism Board or ministry. Anyone else arriving without proper papers will be sent back,” stated Ramesh KC, Director General of the Immigration Department. The result of such irrational deterrence is already evident in the figures for arrivals. Since opening up to foreigners on 17 October, only two trekking groups and 24 non-Nepalis have arrived at Kathmandu airport.After angry complaints from tourism entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Tourism has recommended to the government to ease the restrictions, according to spokesperson Kamal Bhattarai. The delay in deciding about India flights and foreigner arrivals is largely due to the transfer of Ishwar Pokhrel, the defence minister who headed the Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC).There is now no one in government coordinating pandemic-related policy. As it is, the CCMC was at loggerheads with other ministries for the past four months, often issuing contradictory and confusing decisions.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/landing-in-kathmandu-is-only-half-the-story/">Landing in Kathmandu is only half the story</a>, Nepali Times

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Nepal’s baffling ban on India flights

<figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb4f89c7e80680e07bbd6jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: BALRAM MISHRA/NEPAL RAILWAYS</figcaption></figure>Nearly 100 years after Nepal’s first railway line was constructed to join Raxual with Amlekhganj, the country has finally taken a new stride by test driving two brand new Indian-built trains on the 45km Jayanagar-Janakpur line on Friday.The gleaming new trains will be operated by Nepal Railways, and will be extended 61km to Bardibas to connect in future to the East-Way railway line. The railway project is being undertaken with Indian government assistance, and the broad gauge tracks are being laid till Bijalpura. <img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb4fb9c7e80680e07bbd7jpeg.jpg" alt="">The Jayanagar-Bijalpura narrow gauge line is not new, and had been built during British India in 1937 and used steam locomotives till it went out of service in 2001 after bridges were washed away in a flood. In the beginning, both the Amelkhganj and Bijalpura railways were used by the British to transport logs from Nepal’s Tarai forests for railway sleepers in India.The Raxaul-Amlekhganj tracks were built by the British in 1927 and transported dignitaries who could take jeeps to Bhimphedi for the three-day trek to Kathmandu. The seven Garratt steam locomotives were in use till 1965, when they were replaced by the highway to Kathmandu. <img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb4fd9c7e80680e07bbd8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="363" height="242" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb4ff9c7e80680e07bbd9jpeg.jpg" alt="">Besides the Janakpur train, the only other railway line in Nepal at present is the 6km broad gauge from Raxual to the Sirsiya Inland Container Port that connects landlocked Nepal to sea ports in India. It was inaugurated in 2005, and serves as an important link for Nepal’s trade with the outside world. <img width="960" height="700" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb5029c7e80680e07bbdajpeg.jpg" alt="">Nepal’s East-West Railway project will be nearly 1,000km long when it is completed, and cost $3 billion. However, like all other projects in Nepal this one is also mired in controversy, the most recent of which concerned land acquisition for the 106km eastern section of the railway from Inaruwa to Kakarvitta.Senior politicians were reportedly working with parliamentarians, and even the anti-graft agency to embezzle Rs10 billion from the land acquisition deal. The Railway Department has now cancelled the tender.  Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/the-tibet-train">The Tibet train</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-china-nepal-rail-corridor/">New China-Nepal rail corridor</a>, Ramesh Kumar <img width="800" height="533" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915118/636bb5059c7e80680e07bbdbjpeg.jpg" alt="">

Nepal Railways Janakpur test drive

<figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915114/636bb36d9c7e80680e07bb3fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>On 5 September, India tallied a record 90,600 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a single day – more than any other country since the pandemic began. India will soon overtake Brazil to have the second-highest caseload after the United States.India’s National Statistical Office revealed last week that the country’s output between April and June 2020 was 24% lower than in the same period the previous year. This was the first time India had recorded a quarter of negative growth since it began issuing such data publicly in 1996.No other big economy has by shrunk so much during the pandemic. In the same period, the GDP of the United States fell by just over 9%. What had seemed a dismal economic performance by India in 2019, has been overshadowed by what the pandemic has done. And there is little sign of recovery, both in terms of the economy and a slowdown of the Covid-19 spread.India’s lockdown in late March at only four hours’ notice was arguably too soon (although some would regard it as prescient) and too unselective. The ban on commercial activity and movement outside the home was nearly total for two months.India was even less prepared than many. It had fewer than 1 hospital bed per 1,000 people when the epidemic started -- South Korea had more than 16 times as many. Around 140 million people were thrown out of work, and millions of urban workers felt obliged to return home, usually on foot, to their villages where often they were unwelcome.The only silver lining is that the number of recorded deaths in India due to SARS-CoV-2 infections is lower than expected – the country’s 3.8 million detected cases have given rise to ‘only’ 70,679 as of 5 September. This is low rate by global standards. It is possible that many deaths have gone unreported, but the results of blood serum surveys suggest that, in India’s crowded cities at least, a relatively high proportion of people may have now been infected, survived and have immunity. Antibodies were found in 41% of samples collected in Mumbai in July, and nearly 57% in slum areas. They were also found in 23% of tests in Delhi in June and more than 28% in August. <img width="968" height="1070" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915114/636bb3719c7e80680e07bb40jpeg.jpg" alt="">All this has direct bearing on Nepal, as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/as-india-peaks-covid-19-spreads-rapidly-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/as-india-peaks-covid-19-spreads-rapidly-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599455584626000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFJC0orFU_5TiZpPHV4NiwUYjObyA">this paper reported recently</a>. The virus is now spreading in the community in Nepal, and closing the border will not stop transmission.  The rapid spread of the virus in India and the lockdown had a big impact on millions of Nepalis living and working in India. When they lost their jobs, they felt impelled, like so many of their Indian fellow workers, to return to their villages in April-May. Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599455584626000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHiKIHR6apbKK79PXME1_hheaEBiw">imported the virus willy-nilly</a> as the migrants crossed the border and fanned out across the country. As most Nepalis returnees travelled by road or rail, rather than by air, stopping international air travel was largely irrelevant as regards this particular influx. <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915114/636bb3739c7e80680e07bb41jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Attempts to control the border, and quarantine the returnees have proven largely unsuccessful. This is in part because of the lack of resources and/or incompetence of the local authorities (given the very limited federalisation of funds and powers allocated to the new states) and in part because the border between India and Nepal is porous.The virus therefore was carried to many different parts of the country,  evading effective control at an early stage and ‘seeding’ a number of local outbreaks. The limited capacity of public facilities at the local level to respond effectively to such outbreaks, except by lockdown, has delayed or even prevented proper treatment of those infected and becoming seriously ill. It has also adversely affected local economies, and thus <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599455584626000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHdZp06C9oR3pf9T5f4o1IReNNcew">the national economy.</a>Nepal’s economy has, in any case, but hard hit by the restrictions on international and domestic travel and transport, and by relatively unselective and arguably draconian lockdown measures. These have together devastated certain sectors – notably tourism, transport and the hospitality and entertainment business, and led to a serious increase in unemployment.Many returning migrant workers will have brought money back with them, which will have helped those families and local communities to which they have returned. Many who came back from India are now going back there because they have run out of savings, and have no jobs in Nepal.Nearly 80,000 Nepali workers have flown back from the Gulf, Malaysia and other countries. And as those destination countries also try to control the epidemic, the flow of remittances is bound to diminish in the coming months.After the lifting of the lockdown led to a surge of Covid-19 nationwide, and now Kathmandu Valley, the government re-imposed restrictions in 48 districts out of 77 districts.The total 45,277 cases remains relatively low in comparison with many other countries of the same size of population. The number of deaths at 280 is also comparatively small. The UK, which has more than double of Nepal’s population, for example, the total number of cases is now roughly 340,000 and the number of recorded deaths at 46,000.Nepal’s early peak (in April in Nepal) has been followed, first by a decline to a level comparable to the early days of the outbreak (in July in Nepal), and then by a resurgence following a lifting of the lockdown to a point where now the average daily figure for the number of cases tops 1,000.The omens are not good. The epidemic is clearly not under control, and it is not evident that a total or widespread lockdown is likely to provide anything more than another temporary respite.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599455584626000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvT3ucTgMvl01bXjSQdR_hEqs8KA">only strategy that is likely to succeed</a> in the medium term is one in which both the basics of maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and washing hands thoroughly are emphasised in all advice and are duly followed by all the population.A universal test and trace approach also needs to be adopted, combined with a ‘cat and mouse’ (what PM Boris Johnson referred to as ‘whack-a-mole’) strategy of selective lockdown, test and trace in the case of local outbreaks, to ‘hit’ the virus hard when it re-appears.In the long run, the main hopes are:<ol><li>Increasing numbers of those infected will recover and gain immunity, creating a sufficient ‘critical mass’ of immune people, to reduce the ‘R’ rate to a minimum</li><li>The virus will mutate to become less virulent</li><li>Treatments will lead to a significant decline in cases of seriously ill people and numbers dying</li><li>A vaccine or vaccines will be available to a majority of the population to raise immunity and reduce the chances of becoming seriously ill.</li></ol>David Seddon is author of Nepal in Crisis: Growth and Stagnation in the Periphery and The Struggle for Basic Needs in Nepal, Nepal - A State of Poverty, and co-author of The People’s War.

India and Nepal in Covid-19 crisis together

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7ab9c7e80680e073797jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>UPDATE 29 August: Covid-19 fatality in Nepal now stands at 207. A total of 22 people are undergoing treatment with ventilator support: three in Province 1, 17 in Bagmati and two in Province 5.Although the initial wave of coronavirus cases in Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/">were from across the border in India</a>, public health experts now say it makes no sense to blame imported infection because the virus is now spreading in the community.India is now the country with the third largest caseload with over 3.3 million confirmed cases, and up to 70,000 new cases every day– the highest in the world. But compared to its 1.3 billion population, this is still a low figure and India’s fatality rate of 1.87% is one of the lowest.Yet, age-adjusted mortality rate paints an entirely different picture, which looks very similar to that of Nepal – SARS-CoV-2 is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-are-younger-people-in-poor-countries-dying-of-covid-19/">killing far higher percentages of younger people</a> than in the developed countries.Covid-19 similarities between India and Nepal do not end there: already poor health infrastructure in both countries <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-virus-vortex/">are overwhelmed</a>, there is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-hiv-to-fight-covid-19-in-nepal/">societal stigma</a>, health workers are infected, politicians have died, and the movement of migrant workers has affected people on both sides of the border.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7ae9c7e80680e073798jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="707">What happens in India has always impacted Nepal because the two countries share an open border and this pandemic is no different, especially given Indian states bordering Nepal are some of the most affected: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar have 466,725 cases between them.Nepal saw the first surge of Covid-19 cases in late March when hundreds of thousands of Nepalis working in India come back home following lockdowns in both the countries. Between 8 March and 2 July alone, an estimated 500,000 Nepalis <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/workers-return-to-jobless-nepal/">returned from India</a>. While they were quarantined in the first few weeks, later arrivals were allowed to go straight home to their villages for self-isolation.“Nepal will always be at the risk because of the porous open border, even during the lockdown thousands of people managed to sneak in illegally,” says Sher Bahadur Pun of the Health Ministry. “Even if we are able to control the spread of the virus in Nepal and bring the cases down, we will never be safe until the virus spreading is not under control in India.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7b19c7e80680e073799jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The second wave of infections happened after Nepal’s lockdown was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/">relaxed on 21 June</a>, at a time when Covid-19 was raging across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Thousands of Indian workers poured across the border to rejoin jobs in factories along the Tarai industrial corridors.The border district of Parsa, which had brought the virus under control, was suddenly hit by an outbreak that spread like wildlife. From Birganj, the virus travelled easily to Kathmandu, making the Valley the next hotspot.As of 27 August, Nepal has registered 35,529 confirmed cases with 183 fatalities. Ten of Nepal’s 77 districts now have over 1,000 cases, Kathmandu leads with 3,455 cases, and the Valley saw a record 377 new cases on Thursday. Nationwide, the recovery rate has dropped from 73% in July to 56.7% now, since most new cases are symptomatic, or patients are serious enough to need ICU care.It is now clear that the clusters have merged and are spreading in the community, and just like with polio Nepal will not be able to fully defeat SARS-CoV-19 until it is under control in India.Because of this, public health experts say Nepal has no choice but to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/">enforce distancing, mask wearing, hand-washing</a> and other precautions. The current lockdown in Kathmandu has been extended till 2 September.“If we can successfully implement safety measures and control the movement of the people at the border and inside the country, what is happening in India should not affect us so much,” says public health expert Sameer Mani Dixit.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7b59c7e80680e07379ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1509" height="1098"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Despite India’s heavy daily caseload and fatalities, the country has opened limited domestic and international flights, trains, public transport and shops.There are also lessons to be learned from Delhi, which used to be a hotspot. The recovery rate there has surged from 55% in June to 90% this month. Delhi’s aggressive testing and tracing and home isolation are measures Nepal could easily emulate.The ‘<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-did-kerala-beat-covid-19-spread/">Kerala Model</a>’ is also worth noting: public health authorities there prioritised early detection through extensive testing, widespread contact tracing, and 28-day quarantines for everyone infected. Despite being the first state to report a case of Covid-19, Kerala has among the lowest fatality rates in India.“These models are particularly useful because over half of our cases are still asymptomatic, which means we need to keep up active contact tracing, mass testing and surveillance,” says Sher Bahadur Pun. “We also still need to better communicate safety measures, having a figure that the public trusts endorse masks and distancing will be very effective because lockdowns are not a long-term solution. Behavioural change is.”Indeed, lockdowns only seem to provide a false sense of security and would have been unnecessary if the public had adopted the safety measures after 21 July. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/economic-cost-of-5-months-of-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">economic cost of five months of Nepal lockdown</a>, and the lack of treatment of existing diseases threaten to far outweigh benefits of the restrictions.Recently, the Nepal Health Research Council decided to allow international researchers to conduct <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-covid-19-exit-strategy-for-nepal/">Covid-19 vaccine</a>trials in Nepal as part of a global effort to stop the virus. There are at least 30 vaccines in clinical trials across India.Says Sameer Mani Dixit: “It looks like we are very close to peaking in Nepal, which is not to say there won’t be sporadic spikes, it will continue to happen until we have a vaccine. But in the meantime mandatorily wearing masks and not crowding will be the way of life into the future.”

Sonia Awale

As India peaks, Covid-19 spreads rapidly in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a504f9c7e80680e04fd52jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="888"/><figcaption>Pic: ANEK PANDEY</figcaption></figure>When Nepal signed the Sugauli Treaty with British India in 1816, parts of the demarcated border  followed the courses of rivers. Since then, the sediment-heavy rivers flowing down from the mountains have changed course many times. The Kosi itself now flows 120km west of where it was in Bihar when the treaty was signed two centuries ago.Since 1994, India and Nepal have decided to follow the Fixed Boundary Doctrine, meaning the border line does not change even if the river alters course. Though survey teams from the two sides are supposed to work together to keep track of the border, it is a difficult task during the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-2019-deluge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monsoon flood</a> season.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-must-keep-water-on-its-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal must keep water on its land</a>, Anil Chitrakar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination in the Nepal Tarai</a>, EditorialThis year has been no different. Many pillars along the 1,880km Indo-Nepal border have either been washed away or are submerged. Of the 8,554 border pillars, 2,105 are actually located within rivers, and more are along floodplains that are submerged in the monsoon. Among them, 452 pillars have either been removed or lost – half of them because of floods.The big flood of 13 July washed away many of the remaining pillars. Among them were four that were reinstalled just last year in Bijaynagar of Kapilvastu district (one of them, pictured above).Survey Department staff themselves admit that the design of pillars located on riverbeds must be changed from cement to steel structures bolted to concrete foundations to withstand floods.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-on-the-border-Nepal-India,3915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Border wall</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa BhattaraiNepal has deployed 15,000 Armed Police along the Indian border, with outposts every 20-30 km. These bases are supposed to keep track of the state of the pillars and keep the Home Ministry updated on their condition.However, experts say that increased sedimentation in Tarai streams due to deforestation and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/crushing-tale-of-Chure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quarrying in the Chure Range</a>, as well as poorly-designed roads and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-on-the-border-Nepal-India,3915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">embankments</a>, will <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make floods worse</a> in coming years.“The solution is for India and Nepal to work jointly not just to repair border pillars, but also to stop blaming each other for floods every monsoon and forget about it after the rains,” Birganj-based writer Chandra Kishore says. “Nationalism is not going to prevent future disasters.”Meanwhile, all along the India-Nepal border this rainy season the state of the border pillars are a stark reminder of the inability of the two countries to work together to reduce their mutual risk from floods.Ramu Sapkota with Gopal Bhandari in Kapilvastu

Borderline disorder

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121156/636a44b49c7e80680e04d346jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="886"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>Why is it that every time Nepal’s prime minister goes to India, all hell breaks loose back home? In 2016, when Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was being feted in a high-profile visit to New Delhi, the anti-corruption Czar Lokman Singh Karki held a hurriedly summoned press conference to say that he was investigating Dahal’s alleged misappropriation of billions of rupees meant for ex-Maoist guerrillas in UN supervised camps. As soon as he returned, Dahal got other political leaders to start impeachment proceedings against Karki.Prime Minister Oli was in New Delhi for Narendra Modi’s inauguration last week, and it was Dahal’s turn to leak an agreement on the UML-Maoist unification that included a clause that said Oli and Dahal would ‘take turns as necessary and on the basis of equality’ to be prime minister. Many analysts say Dahal had initially shown flexibility on the timing because he thought Oli was in failing health and would have to step down sooner or later.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/one-body-two-heads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One body, two heads</a>, Om Astha RaiHowever, with Oli showing signs of being in the pink of health, Dahal is getting impatient. Siding with him are his own colleagues, as well as disgruntled ex-UML stalwarts like Bam Dev Gautam and Madhav Kumar Nepal, who have not been given plum cabinet posts. On Oli’s side are powerful Defence Minister Ishwar Pokhrel, trusted aide Bishnu Paudel, as well as Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, who has distanced himself from his former Maoist bosses.Gautam has been harping on about the need to have ‘one post, one responsibility’ and wants Oli to at least relinquish his party co-chairmanship. That is not going to happen, Pokhrel has publicly declared. Both Pokhrel and Paudel dismiss the leadership debate as an “artificial diversion”, and privately blame it on Dahal’s eagerness to be prime minister for the third time.Dahal and Oli have met to try to iron out the issue, but both seem to be getting their trusted aides to rattle sabres while denying that there is a behind-the-scenes power struggle going on. The dispute is casting doubts about whether the Maoists and the UML are really united after all, and delaying the formation of a politburo and establishing a joint political structure.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/we-need-answers-from-communists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We need answers from the Communists</a>, Nepali Times

Kunda Dixit

Rift in Nepal's ruling party

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41df9c7e80680e04a69cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="853"/><figcaption>Photos: SANDEEP RANA BJP HEADQUARTER</figcaption></figure>Prime <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/modi-india-politics,872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minister Modi</a> is returning to power in India with more confidence will mean that his government will be more assertive towards smaller countries like Nepal in the neighborhood.As a leader who masterminded the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/autopsy-of-a-blockade%20,2863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five-month economic blockade</a> of Nepal in 2015, Modi’s policy towards its northern neighbour has been hands-off since then.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/indias-new-social-media-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India's new social media politics</a>, Shashi TharoorThe new Modi government can be expected to counter China’s Belt Road Initiative with increasing India’s own investment in highway, railway, energy and telecommunication connectivity to and within Nepal.Nepal’s leaders may also have to adjust their policy of equidistance between Beijing and New Delhi to take into account a more powerful and confident Modi government to the south.Read also: <a style="letter-spacing: 0.01em; background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/at-ground-zero-in-indias-election-heartland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">At ground zero in India's election heartland</a>, Namrata Sharma<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/looking-forward-to-the-foreign-policy-of-the-modi-government,302" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When he won in 2014</a>, Modi had launched a ‘neighbourhood first’ policy with mixed results. This time he may show them red lines while seeking to a much larger say in the region, and offering cooperation in development areas with people-oriented projects as he has done at home.Modi could redefine his Nepal policy in order to seek acceptability and course correction. There are challenges on foreign policy as the problems in India’s periphery are significant. With occasional diplomatic blunders and lack of ground understanding, there are serious limitations to India’s influence in the region vis-a-vis an assertive China.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-modi-fied-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Modi-fied Oli</a>, Om Astha Rai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/campaigning-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Campaigning in Nepal</a>, Editorial<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41e39c7e80680e04a69djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="830" height="1024"><figcaption>Photos: SANDEEP RANA BJP HEADQUARTER</figcaption></figure>The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Narendra Modi has swept India’s 2019 parliamentary elections by winning 300 seats on its own out of the 542 in the Lower House. The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) led by BJP has mustered 349 seats, which is up from 336 in 2014. The opposition Indian National Congress mustered barely 51 seats, with its United Progressive Alliance obtaining 91.The saffron wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It has gained nearly 50% vote share in North and West India and broken its own 2014 record.By pursuing an inward-looking growth, India has also failed to economically integrate the region. But it is more than concerned about the rising footprints of China in Nepal and elsewhere, which were traditionally seen as within its sphere of influence.The results clearly indicate that Modi is and will remain an uncontested leader in India. Voters seem to like his assertive leadership, and think it will secure national interest, deliver on governance and lift the poor. They have voted for Modi despite massive unemployment, rural distress and the highly divisive nature of BJP campaigns.India may now be headed towards a presidential-style of government with every constituency having voted for just one person: Modi. This is unprecedented as no single politician has emerged the centre of an entire election exercise since Indira Gandhi in 1971. Critics say this will concentrate power and centralise decision-making, as the election was fought solely on the issue of national leadership.The results also indicate that ideological battles are different from electoral contests as India has voted as a block despite caste dynamics, regional traditions and social structures embedded in Indian political system.Consensus coalition politics is now a thing of the past with powerful regional satraps holding sway. Except for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the BJP has made huge inroads in states it was weak earlier in like West Bengal and Odisha which were dominated by strong regional leaders. It has managed to even thwart the threats from BSP-SP super-coalition ‘mahagathbandan’ in Uttar Pradesh.How did the juggernaut of Modi and BJP President Amit Shah manage such a victory? The BJP is a well-organised, cadre-based party with deep penetration right to the electoral booth. Over the past five years Amit Shah built an extraordinary party machinery with millions of new members who reached out to voters.During the campaign, BJP deployed enormous financial resources, dominated the media, and did not allow dissenting voice in the party to emerge in public. There has been micro-management from the top thereby maintaining the flow of command and discipline among cadres.The opposition Congress, on the other hand, was disorganised. Although it talked of delivering justice through ‘love and unity’, that did not resonate with the upper class and first-time voters in India. The fact that the President of Congress party Rahul Gandhi lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, which was considered a stronghold of Gandhi family, goes to show that the opposition’s criticism of Modi’s policies on demonetisation and slogans like ‘chowikar chor hai’ did not have support because voters were looking for decisive leadership. The only state that Congress gained in was Punjab under Capt Amarinder Singh.The Modi government’s welfare schemes like building toilets, cooking gas connections, housing and rural electrification benefitted recipients who have in turn rewarded him abundantly. Some 48 million people received Mudra loans totaling crore in last four years. The underprivileged see in Modi a person who can deliver on his promises.The 100 million first time voters seem to be Modi-worshippers: rich or poor, these voters they have known only one name in national politics, someone who believes in digitalising India and is often seen hugging foreign dignitaries. They like Modi’s extrovert style, his oratory and they believe in his dream of a modern India. They felt Rahul Gandhi is no alternative.“India has won, democracy has won, and people have won,” Modi told supporters, calling his victory one of ‘hope and desires for a new India’. Hundreds of millions of Indians now look up to him to resolve national problems and enhance India’s role on the global stage.The author is Nepali journalist and researcher based in New Delhi.

Tsu-namo 2.0 and Nepal

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

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

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

High living below the Himalaya

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

Back to the land in the cities

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

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