Nowhere is the impact of the abrupt closure of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">USAID in Nepal</a> more symbolic than inside the Chobhar Dry Port. Hundreds of abandoned blue-plated SUVs and two-wheelers are parked like a car dealership in suburban America. Across Kathmandu, an estimated 600 homes, apartments and offices rented by USAID personnel, consultants and contractors are now vacant. It is a similar story in Surkhet, a hub for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">US-funded development projects</a> in far western Nepal. Some domestic airlines have cut daily flights between Kathmandu and Surkhet because there are fewer passengers flying for fieldwork.&nbsp; With so many cars and motorcycles off the roads, Nepal is actually saving an estimated 200,000 litres of petrol and diesel a month, worth nearly Rs30 million. The Dry Port itself is earning Rs100 per vehicle per day in parking fees. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-end-of-aid">impact of the USAID shutdown</a> has therefore reverberated not just across Nepal’s development agencies, but has hit the economy through downstream impact on the private sector. The United States was the second country to establish bilateral relations with Nepal in 1947, even before Nepal forged diplomatic ties with India and China. US development assistance to Nepal began with the Point Four Program in 1951, and early projects through USOM (US Operations Mission) which supported infrastructure, agriculture, and malaria eradication. Early US aid programs in Chitwan cleared the jungles so that once <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-insect-that-changed-nepal-s-history">malaria </a>was eradicated, it facilitated King Mahendra’s strategy of transmigration of entire mountain villages to the Inner Tarai valleys. The American-aided Rapti Project was so wasteful and the benefit to locals was so minimal that researchers and historians concluded in books and journal articles that it planted the seeds of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ghosts-of-war"> the Maoist insurgency</a> in the mid-western mountains. Later, US aid was critical in linking Dadeldhura to the Tarai and connecting Chitwan to Hetauda, and also in the development of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-to-make-nepals-skies-safer">Nepal’s civil aviation </a>with the donation of World War II vintage DC-3s to Royal Nepal Airlines. Early American aid also focussed on higher education with teacher training, production of teaching materials, and scholarships for Nepali students to pursue university degrees in the US. In 2022, USAID and Nepal signed a five-year Development Objective Agreement worth $659 million for Direct Financing projects in four sectors: health, agriculture, education, and inclusive policy. But soon after Donald Trump was sworn in for his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trump-s-second-coming">second term earlier this year</a>, the USAID funding freeze left about 40 projects across the country in limbo. Many Nepali staff lost their jobs, while other partners scrambled to fulfil project goals. Much of the discussion surrounding development aid centred on how much money was actually spent in rural Nepal, and how much was recycled back to America through consultants, or was spent in Kathmandu by contractors.&nbsp; “A significant portion of funds from USAID went to American contractors, and there was a lack of transparency about how much of the budget actually trickled down to<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ex-guerrilla-s-revolution-in-rural-nepal"> rural Nepal</a>,” says economist Sujeev Shakya. While the intended beneficiaries of US development assistance did not gain as much due to tied aid and leakage along the way, the funding cut has left Nepal’s underserved communities without access to basic services, as well as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">opportunities for livelihood and empowerment</a>.&nbsp; A retired Nepali diplomat posted in Washington DC told Nepali Times that although many have reason to be cynical about USAID work in Nepal, the closure of the agency is a “huge loss” for the development sector.&nbsp; America’s withdrawal from the global scene has also prompted other European countries to rethink development aid. Britain’s FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office) has drastically reduced its aid budget, impacting projects in Nepal. Germany has also cut development funding and diverted the money to defence.&nbsp; This has prompted Nepal’s development experts to advise reducing reliance on foreign aid, especially as the nation is also set to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/not-poor-but-not-rich">graduate from LDC status</a> next year. Indeed, total annual foreign aid to Nepal in grants and loans of about $1 billion a year compared to remittances of $12 billion last year. “Nepal has adequate resources, both financial and human, to fill the gap left by donors,” says Min Raj Gyawali, who was Deputy Chief of Party of USAID’s Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) program for Nepal. “What we need to do to implement our development projects successfully is better organisation, management, set achievable goals, have better coordination between local and federal authorities, and use our internal revenue more effectively.”&nbsp; To get out of its dependency syndrome, Nepal needs to look no further than its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/understanding-nepals-underspending">unspent annual development budget</a>. “It is is no use crying over the loss of American aid when we are unable to spend 70% of our own annual budget every year,” says Shakya.&nbsp; After shutting down USAID, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/trump-s-first-month">Trump administration</a> transferred the work of overseas development assistance to the State Department, and this could mean that it may rethink a scaled down and more selective aid program in future that aligns with strategic US foreign policy goals. The US is not unique in this. Australia’s foreign aid program AUSAID was integrated to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 2014, while DFID, the UK department responsible for administering overseas aid until 2020, was merged with the foreign office to form the FCDO. “The US still needs to maintain and protect its strategic interests across the world,” says Shakya. “This means that the closure of USAID might not be permanent, and it may be integrated with other development programs in future.” Adds Gyawali: “One lesson to be learnt from the USAID closure is that we might be faced with a similar situation anytime in future, so we must always have a back-up plan in the event that any donor pulls out of ongoing development projects. We now need to focus on funding diversity rather than relying on any one donor, and we need multi-sectoral strategies to meet and manage funding for ongoing and future development programs.” <h2>USAID cut affects access to safe sex</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250904090924_61f40fb3e850ccc8a403a42283da74cd668bbd52a7c3f24966cb27ac2cdde4c8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250904090924_61f40fb3e850ccc8a403a42283da74cd668bbd52a7c3f24966cb27ac2cdde4c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="5184" height="3456" loading="lazy" alt="USNOAID"> <figcaption>Photo: USAID / FLICKR</figcaption> </figure>  The absence of USAID funds in the 10 months since its shutdown has hit Nepal’s health sector the most. The resource gap has affected crucial programs supporting nutrition, reproductive health, and tuberculosis prevention. As much as 60% of USAID funds were said to support health-related projects. &nbsp; Programs aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality, especially for neonatal care, have been seriously undermined. The impact on nutrition programs for schools could mean that childhood malnutrition in Nepal could see a surge. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump shock wave hits Nepal</a>, Sudiksha Tuladhar One of the programs affected was USAID-funded five-year Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) project led by CARE Nepal in partnership with the government and other non-profits to empower Nepalis aged 10-19 through behaviour change efforts, group-based interventions, and girl-led activism for reproductive health and social norms change.&nbsp; “All our plans had been made around the guarantee of external support, so training, exposure, and capacity enhancement programs were stopped,” explains Min Raj Gyawali, who was Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) for the ARH program. “The short-term, accelerated learning course to send out-of-school girls back to school was continued after reorganisation of funds from other partners, but the community adolescent forums made to facilitate discussions about their health have largely come to an end.”&nbsp; But among the hardest hit health programs in Nepal are ones aimed at<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12340"> HIV prevention</a>. Nepal’s progress over the past decades in addressing HIV and AIDS is now at serious risk since USAID involvement in HIV screening, preventative medication, and condom distribution has discontinued.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250905170924_9770df4ba9e7da64b118504833afc3726b7dce50d05f2bf2b8f6d26b29773e00.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250905170924_9770df4ba9e7da64b118504833afc3726b7dce50d05f2bf2b8f6d26b29773e00" data-rendition-name="original" width="1368" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="USNOAID NT"> </figure>  Key populations at risk of HIV including sex workers, their clients, women whose husbands and partners are living with HIV were supported with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Data from the NCASC shows there are 30,300 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nepal as of 2024. Meanwhile, up to 86,809 cisgender female, 25,955 cisgender men who have sex with men, and 14,250 transgender women are involved in sex work across the country.&nbsp; HIV screening also came to a standstill following the funding freeze, but the government has restarted it with help from other development partners, says Lok Raj Pandey of the National Centre for AIDS and STI Control.&nbsp; Antiretroviral therapy services, which are provided for free for people with HIV by the government, have not been impacted, say officials. A total of 25, 728 infected people are currently on antiretroviral therapy.&nbsp; “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4128">HIV testing and counselling services</a> have resumed at the 96 antiretroviral therapy treatment centres across Nepal,” adds Pandey, “But a shortage of PreP medication and condoms persists." Government officials say that they can not definitively say if HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases have increased in the last 10 months. But civil society organisations that support sex workers disagree. “We have have already begun to note a rise in sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea, and a rise in HIV infections in the last 10 months,” says Tulsi Gandhari, chair of the Janahit Mahila Mahasang, Nepal’s national federation of female sex workers. “The situation for people engaged is sex work has become increasingly dire, and a sustained lack of condoms is only going to make things worse.” “The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target">shortage of condoms</a> has also meant that female sex workers have to use emergency contraceptives like pills after the fact, continued usage of which will have lasting damage on their general and reproductive health in the long run,” Gandhari adds.&nbsp; Experts are concerned about the rise of not just HIV, but other life-threatening sexually-transmitted diseases like cervical cancer and Hepatitis B.&nbsp; 95-95-95 Despite government assurance that testing for HIV and sexually-transmitted infections have resumed, non-profits point to the unavailability of large-scale, free-of-cost screening. Meanwhile, condoms have been distributed by organisations that support family planning and HIV prevention, but it is not nearly enough to meet daily needs for the sex worker community.&nbsp; “Sex workers face daily risks to their health and physical safety, and the funding gap has left them without essential services,” adds Rajan KC of Janahit Mahila Mahasang. “The lack of timely testing, contraceptives, outreach, and peer educators for moral support increases this risk.” The UNAIDS ’95-95-95’ target aims to ensure that 95% of people living with HIV are aware of their status, 95% of those diagnosed receive antiretroviral therapy, and 95% of those on treatment achieve viral suppression by 2030. Nepal’s National HIV Strategic Plan 2021-2026 outlines a fast track approach towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health by achieving the 95-95-95 targets by 2026.&nbsp; But with the lack of preventative support and robust screening services, experts are not so optimistic about Nepal’s HIV outcomes.&nbsp; The risk of exposure to HIV among sex workers and their clients brought about by the absence of essential services also increases the chances of exposure to pregnant women and the wider community. “If we continue on the same trajectory for another few months, we run the risk of rolling back our progress with HIV prevention,” cautions KC. “The government has not been serious enough to address this possibility.” The lack of counselling and peer support has also led to a rise in violence and social stigmatisation in vulnerable communities, note experts. The absence of free treatment centres and clinics mean that sex workers have to seek sexual and reproductive healthcare at public and private institutions, where they are often subject to hostile and discriminatory rhetoric from service providers and fellow patients. Trans sex workers are subject to even more scrutiny, ridicule, vitriol, and bigotry.&nbsp; This stigmatisation, in addition to the costs associated with repeated visits for HIV and STI-related health concerns, prevents sex workers from accessing essential healthcare. “We urgently need free clinics so that sex workers are not met with an unfriendly environment whenever they seek healthcare,” says Gandhari.&nbsp; Pandey of the NCASC says officials are looking into how they can resume the free-of-cost sexual health services that have stopped, noting that USAID was not Nepal’s only partner in HIV and STI preventative support. America has also not completely pulled out of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-lagging-in-safe-motherhood">sexual and reproductive health support</a>, he adds. Last week, the US embassy in Nepal met with partners in the health sector to maintain America’s commitment to health projects in Nepal, saying that regional officials would helm USAID’s legacy health programs.&nbsp; ‘Together, we will continue lifesaving work in HIV/AIDS, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">maternal &amp; child health</a>, and global health security,’ the embassy wrote in a statement on social media. ‘Working closely with the Government of Nepal and donors, the United States is committed to strengthening health systems and promoting Nepal’s self-reliance in delivering quality services.’

Shristi Karki

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This text has been updated. Ten days after being nominated caretaker, Prime Minister Sushila Karki has added four more members to her Council of Ministers: Magsaysay winner Mahabir Pun, tv anchor Jagadish Kharel, former Justice Anil Kumar Sinha and Samata Foundation chair Madan Pariyar. Karki was under pressure to complete her compact Cabinet quickly. But it appears that her attempt to find professionals with non-political background, integrity, a record of professionalism while making the selection inclusive has not been easy.&nbsp; Several candidates that Prime Minister Karki had approached is said to have refused to join the interim government. Some have political ambitions and were worried that they would not be able to campaign ahead of early elections called for 5 March 2026.&nbsp; Among those who opted out for various reasons include famed ophthalmologist Sanduk Ruit who said his main responsibility was running his Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology. Also considered for the role of the Health Minister was cardiologist Bhagwan Koirala who is thought to have declined because of his association with Min Bahadur Gurung, owner of Bhat-Bhateni supermarket chain who had pledged Rs410 million to his Kathmandu Institute of Child Health. Twelve Bhat-Bhateni stores across the country were looted and set on fire during the GenZ protests on 9 September.&nbsp; The Prime Minister had finalised public health expert Sangita Kaushal Mishra for Health Minister, sending her name to the President's office along with the other Cabinet picks on Sunday evening. But the PM withdrew Mishra's name from the list on Monday after it emerged she was under a corruption investigation.&nbsp; Mahabir Pun of the National Innovation Center is the new Minister of Education, Science and Technology. Tv talk show host Jagadish Kharel who runs a popular current affairs program will lead the Ministry of Communication, while Anil Kumar Sinha seems set to be named Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Sinha and Mishra are from the Madhes. The new ministers will be sworn in on Monday. The names of the new ministers were finalised in consultation with the representatives of the GenZ protesters. Appointments of new ministers last week, especially of advocate Om Prakash Aryal as Home Minister, was rejected by Sudan Gurung of Hami Nepal, one of the GenZ campaigners, who even demanded resignation of the newly appointed Prime Minister Sushila Karki because his group was not consulted. Last week, advocate Om Prakash Aryal was appointed Home Minister as well as Minister of Law, while former CEO of NEA Kulman Ghising as Energy Minister Urban Development Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure, and former finance Secretary Rameshwore Khanal as Finance Minister last week and were sworn in on 15 September. The new ministers have their work cut out as Prime Minister Sushila Karki has set elections for the House of Representatives for 5 March 2026. Electoral reform such that Nepalis outside the country could vote remains a challenge due to time limitation and because of the dissolution of Parliament. The interim government could ask for two more months beyond the initial six to prepare for voting.&nbsp; KNOW THE MINISTERS Names of possible ministers and their portfolios: Mahabir Pun, Minister of Education, Science and Technology  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_5e04418c4d79e283ac66932fbe9cffa8bfdccb8973c7ba867b3a241d0a5c19a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250921150956_5e04418c4d79e283ac66932fbe9cffa8bfdccb8973c7ba867b3a241d0a5c19a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2365" height="3143" loading="lazy" alt="Mahabir Pun"> </figure>  He is the founding chair of the National Innovation Center which was set up in 2012 and most recently restored 484 medical devices including ventilators, dialysis machines, X-rays and autoclaves worth Rs243 million in government hospitals.&nbsp; Pun, 70, is the recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 2007 for his effort in connecting rural Nepal with wireless internet. Jagadish Kharel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_25b90f5febc65782a3e74a288212175d075b4078802cdd1c0fe16767cf9dd95c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250921150956_25b90f5febc65782a3e74a288212175d075b4078802cdd1c0fe16767cf9dd95c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Jagadish Kharel"> </figure>  He is a tv journalist with nearly 20 years of experience. He is currently the news head of Image Channel as well as the host of the show Hot Seat, and is known for in-depth political and government policy analysis and commentary. Kharel was previously thought to have been invited to join Rabi Lamichhane’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) after it emerged as the fourth biggest party in Parliament after the last elections. Anil Kumar Sinha, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply; Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Land Reforms, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_ba224a8c2d4c4434ed6e08e858d798b382a06c8606583841c935f927acb5d2f4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250921150956_ba224a8c2d4c4434ed6e08e858d798b382a06c8606583841c935f927acb5d2f4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="710" loading="lazy" alt="Anil Kumar Sinha"> </figure>  Anil Kumar Sinha was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in 2016, and retired in 2023, after reaching the age limit of 65. Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal was formerly also given the responsibility of leading the Ministry of Law. Sinha specialises in tax and corporate law. Most recently, Sinha was a member of the Supreme Court bench that issued a verdict allowing an investigation into misappropriation of government land at Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar. Sinha played a significant role in the eventual impeachment of the then chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lokman Singh Karki ion 2016 over legality of his appointment. He also resolved the dispute concerning the first dissolution of the House of Representatives by then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on 20 December 2020. Madan Pariyar, Minister of Agriculture&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921180928_83a9a885704826f04b439cf5096063a0596544a750f78b5ff02ee82df43ca0cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250921180928_83a9a885704826f04b439cf5096063a0596544a750f78b5ff02ee82df43ca0cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Madan Pariyar"> </figure>  Madan Pariyar is a scholar with notable research contribution in several fields including poverty alleviation, inclusion, good governance, agriculture, industry resource management. He obtained his doctorate and master'sin enginerring from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok and Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the Allahabad Agricultural Institute in India. Bcck in 2011, the government appointed Pariyar the chair of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) which was tasked with advising the Constitutional Assembly on the best possible model of federalism to be adopted for Nepal. Pariyar is also the chair of Samata Foundation that advocates for the rights of the Dalit people and their capacity building.&nbsp; OTHER NAMES Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, research director of the thinktank Center for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF Nepal) is likely to be appointed the chief adviser to the Prime Minister. GenZ campaigners have also suggested the name of veteran Nepal Airlines aptain Vijay Lama for the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Rights activist Mohna Ansari, heritage conservationist Ganapati Lal Shrestha and Mansi Bhattarai, daughter of former Maoist prime minister Babauram Bhattarai have also been floated for various ministries. PM Karki has said she will limit her cabinet to 11 members for 22 ministries. Karki is likely to handle two or more ministries herself. At present, Kulman Ghising is leading three ministries while Om Prakash Aryal has two.&nbsp;

Nepal PM expands her Cabinet

Robert Redford was an A-list megastar who had dominated Hollywood throughout the 1970s, generally considered the high water mark of American cinema.&nbsp; In those days Nepal was a fashionably remote destination, so it was not unusual for us to be looking after celebrity visitors. But Robert Redford was huge by any standards.&nbsp; “Call me Bob,” was the first thing he said to me, with that wonderful embracing smile that had lit up screens and quickened heartbeats around the world throughout the previous decade.&nbsp; We met over a cosy Mountain Travel dinner in Al Read’s brick and stucco house in Dhobighat. The floors were traditional terracotta tiles, the low beams darkly varnished and a cheerful fire warmed the October chill.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921110940_32dd66ba4b578a843bbbf6a74bca7d47f9ac7083c3bf50f8213ac3e5322974fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250921110940_32dd66ba4b578a843bbbf6a74bca7d47f9ac7083c3bf50f8213ac3e5322974fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1396" height="920" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in 1982 at Meghauli airfield in Chitwan with young Kirsten Annapurna Read, the daughter of Al Read, managing director of Mountain Travel Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  Our heroes often seem diminished in real life and Redford was shorter than expected, though taller than his friends and co-stars Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman. But most striking was his pock-marked skin which must have challenged makeup artists over the years.&nbsp; I was disappointed he was not wearing his trademark cowboy boots, but Bob’s fame infused the room with his gentle politeness and low-key glamour. Next morning I picked him up from the Malla Hotel for some light sightseeing around the Valley. Under strict instruction from ‘his people’ that any fuss from fans was to be minimised, I was surprised to see him wearing a Sundance tee-shirt – just in case no one recognised him.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921040916_1674398340a9501127e9f8b6b775f41b35703253f772ee05c6ab064819cd0abb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250921040916_1674398340a9501127e9f8b6b775f41b35703253f772ee05c6ab064819cd0abb" data-rendition-name="original" width="840" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford exploring the Kathmandu Valley in 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL </figcaption> </figure>  Unmolested, we walked the ancient streets of Bhaktapur, and Bob was duly entranced by the visual impact of Malla Newar’s enduring culture. Robert Redford’s main purpose in Nepal was to trek in the Khumbu with his friend Galen Rowell, an adventure photographer, conservationist and mountaineer who met a premature death in 2002 in a small plane crash in Bishop, California.&nbsp; There may have been some talk of a film about Everest, but nothing came of it. After the trek, Bob and Galen explored the grasslands and forests of Chitwan, staying with us at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge to view wildlife from the back of a well-trained elephant.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921110948_7c2339d73cedfcc9e659169d1d1bc2239d3d9973f6c4b1a945bfeb74b9b74d19.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250921110948_7c2339d73cedfcc9e659169d1d1bc2239d3d9973f6c4b1a945bfeb74b9b74d19" data-rendition-name="original" width="723" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in Chitwan, with Tiger Tops Manager KK Gurung on 9 December 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL</figcaption> </figure>  Confiding that he was not much of a traveller, Bob told us Nepal was one of his first trips outside the USA. Bob preferred his homes in Malibu on the Pacific coast and the wide open spaces of Utah, which he named Sundance after his favourite role.&nbsp; SOARING GRANDEUR With his strong affinity for the outdoors, Redford’s horizons must have been significantly expanded by the soaring grandeur of Nepal's sublime mountains, untamed rivers, and tiger and rhino infested lowlands. Galen’s knowledge and enthusiasm for all things Himalayan made him the perfect person to introduce this prominent novice tourist to Nepal’s wild places. Framed photographs of Bob taken by Galen’s skilled camera still grace tourist lodges on the Everest trail, and I confess to having one hanging in our downstairs loo.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921070932_7bff2986293742e6e97c91c879f2549f2a99095f1f4a98c50e3b74c7f91f7b84.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250921070932_7bff2986293742e6e97c91c879f2549f2a99095f1f4a98c50e3b74c7f91f7b84" data-rendition-name="original" width="1076" height="1624" loading="lazy" alt="Rovert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in snowbound Namche Bazar in 1982.</figcaption> </figure>  His movie classics that defined our youth included the iconic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All The President’s Men and The Way We Were. With many Oscar nominations, his personal best was Ordinary People, his directing debut which swept the award board in 1980, shortly before his Nepal trip. But Robert Redford was more than just an all American action man actor and successful film director. He chose roles that highlighted his political and social outlook. He was admired as an active environmental campaigner, using his fame to fight for clean air and pure water, serving as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defence Council.&nbsp; Redford once said: “The danger of success is that it forces you into a mould. I prefer independence.” Choosing the wilds of Utah over the jungles of Hollywood, in 1981 he started the Sundance Institute to cultivate controversial and independent movie talent.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921040916_081aa6b2c1f9f82f3ea6a550c6887d9a991f2983a0a976456d627d711ae8a2e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250921040916_081aa6b2c1f9f82f3ea6a550c6887d9a991f2983a0a976456d627d711ae8a2e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2448" height="3264" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford being shown around Bhaktapur by Lisa Choegyal on 21 Nov 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL</figcaption> </figure>  Festival screenings and workshops gave thousands of film people a chance of artistic freedom, nurturing a galaxy of filmmaker greats. At the end of his long life, Redford’s Sundance is widely recognised as having profoundly influenced American cinema.&nbsp; I like to think that Robert Redford’s rare overseas holiday amidst the stunning natural beauty of Nepal’s high mountains, Sherpa villages, living heritage and endangered animals might have opened his eyes and perhaps even sparked his lifelong concern for social and environmental issues.&nbsp;

The Sundance Kid in Nepal

A security guard with <a href="https://www.bbsm.com.np/" target="_blank">Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket </a>pleads with attackers not to destroy the store. In the widely-shared YouTube video, the mob can be seen surging ahead to ransack and set fire to the store anyway. Twenty-one of the 28 Bhat-Bhateni outlets nationwide were vandalised and looted, 12 of them were completely gutted. The one at Boudha was smouldering for three days till 12 September. Nepal’s biggest supermarket chain is a target in just about every political upheaval in Nepal. The Koteswor branch was looted in the royalist protest in March. This time, the destruction was much more complete and widespread. What began as a youth-led protest against corrupt leaders turned escalated into widespread looting and arson last week, and Bhati-Bhateni’s prominent blue highrise stores became prime targets.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918110952_d60fbd65ee7fc18d2d0deb74ede8eb5b5f133f32eca13c9281b869e0bd479761.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250918110952_d60fbd65ee7fc18d2d0deb74ede8eb5b5f133f32eca13c9281b869e0bd479761" data-rendition-name="original" width="1319" height="783" loading="lazy" alt="Bhatbhateni burning"> </figure>  Min Bahadur Gurung toured the ruins of his stores over the weekend, and said: “Watching the buildings burn felt painful to the core of my heart. But we will rebuild, we will rise again.” Born in Khotang, Gurung came to Kathmandu in the 1980s to open a small grocery. Gifted with a strong business sense, he expanded this into Nepal’s biggest retail empire, employing 20,000 people which became essential for consumer goods all over Nepal. Gurung was also admired as a symbol of success. A homegrown businessman who has invested in Nepal, creating jobs so people do not have to migrate, Gurung has also donated generously to many charities. He built a 72-bed emergency ward at the Teaching Hospital, funded scholarships for students from remote areas, and recently pledged Rs410 million to Bhagwan Koirala’s project to establish the Kathmandu nstitute of Child Health. But in Nepal, high profile success breeds envy, attracts threats and demands of extortion. To his loyal supporters, he’s a self-made visionary, but protester last week did not see it that way.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918110948_1ec60e598ed202a4c4d68025707029bed12452121183433ad512d06fcb90964f.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250918110948_1ec60e598ed202a4c4d68025707029bed12452121183433ad512d06fcb90964f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1583" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Min Bahadur Gurung"> <figcaption>Min Bahadur Gurung</figcaption> </figure>  By the evening of 9 September, Bhat-Bhateni stores were in flames inKathmandu and cities across the country. Whatever Gurung’s faults, it is his 20,000 employees, customers, and small vendors who paid the price. At least six bodies charred beyond recognition have been pulled out of the the Boudha outlet and three in Dharan. Some are said to be employees, others could have been looters trapped in the upper floors. But why does Bhat-Bhateni always end up being in the crosshairs? Some in online discourses say it is a symbol of elite privilege and unchecked corporate power. Others say the arson and looting spree was propelled by envy and greed.&nbsp; No matter the motive, the fallout is real: cashiers, stock handlers, managers, delivery staff have lost their income. Suppliers, transporters and small vendors lose sales, the national economy is dragged down, and the attacks could also drive more Nepalis to migrate for work.&nbsp; WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION On-site, many Bhat-Bhateni staff cleaning up the debris and ash were reluctant to speak to us. It has been too much of a shock. But online, workers have been puring out their distress.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918110956_749cb4ae348a15cfe5f11e4b821e7aeee06d7270e6b634065da3c1e42f2f186c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250918110956_749cb4ae348a15cfe5f11e4b821e7aeee06d7270e6b634065da3c1e42f2f186c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Bhatbhateni burning "> <figcaption>Photos: SANGYA LAMSAL</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918110956_90930fa1218b07aa8e4043cd229ca7907c074bfd152559ad2b9799b8d83e2d12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250918110956_90930fa1218b07aa8e4043cd229ca7907c074bfd152559ad2b9799b8d83e2d12" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Bhatbhateni burning"> </figure>  From Biratnagar, store employee Smritee Joshi shared a haunting video of the outlet still burning the morning after, writing: ‘This was just a supermarket for some of you, but it was more than home for every employee out there. It sears &nbsp;me to see tears on our team members.’ A user wrote in the subreddit r/Nepal on Reddit: ‘This is going to lead to a major crisis. Yes, Bhat-Bhateni might have insurance and might take care of employees for some time, but this is massive damage. It’s not just one branch, 12 branches have been have been looted and destroyed. Most employees will lose their jobs just before Dasain, and businesses are ruined, all at the time of Dashain.’ TikTok creator SpeakUp with Sandesh rushed to Bhat-Bhateni Kalanki as it reopened, posting a video saying: ‘You managed to burn down Min Bahadur Gurung’s store, but not his fighting spirit. Bhat-Bhateni is back in business!’ In Pokhara, employee Ansu Aana posted a tearful video saying, ‘Bhat-Bhateni gives so many young people jobs. Min Bahadur Gurung gave us a chance to earn for our studies and expenses. I don’t believe Gen Z did this – just before, many were urging not to vandalise. So how could the same people set it on fire? We don’t know who infiltrated the protests.’ Aana added: ‘Ministers and politics created no opportunities for youth in this country, and the one who did give us opportunities had his spirit burnt.’ In another video, she warned looters that CCTV and online evidence were being collected, urging them to return stolen goods before facing legal action. A TikTok page called ‘BhatBhateni Chor’ has nearly 400 followers, which has since exposed those who misused the protests to rob stores.&nbsp; Ironically, some protestors chanting against corruption just hours before were also caught stealing, a hypocrisy viewers and fellow demonstrators have sharply condemned online. Hundreds have taken to Facebook and other platforms to share their feelings. Noted conservationist Shailendra Thakali recalled the supermarket’s humble beginnings, posting: ‘Nearly 30 years ago, when my family lived in Naxal, we shopped at a small kirana pasal near the Bhatbhateni temple. None of us imagined that modest shop would oneday become Nepal’s largest retail chain.’ He adds: “Many of us still see the story, the struggle, and the incredible success behind it all. And we believe it deserves respect.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025091812090_d07cb4b5681f752235727500bdd20759bc2fa6b0f8785db21f906188298bdaea.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025091812090_d07cb4b5681f752235727500bdd20759bc2fa6b0f8785db21f906188298bdaea" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Bhatbhateni burning"> </figure>  The Gurung community has rallied around Bhatbhateni. The Tamu (Gurung) Bouddha Sewa Samit stated: ‘Even after repeated attacks, the supermarket has continued its services uninterrupted. We strongly urge an immediate investigation.’ Likewise, Ekaa Kombucha, Nepal’s first GMP-certified Kombucha brand, declared support: “For countless small and medium businesses like ours, Bhat-Bhateni has been a vital platform, offering space, visibility, and the chance to reach millions across Nepal.’ ‘Amid rising unemployment and capital flight, Bhat-Bhateni has been providing employment to 22,000 youths, not only employment generation, it also significantly continues to contribute to the local economy,’ the Tamu (Gurung) Educational and Career Advancement Network (TECANET) wrote in a statement this week, urging immediate investigation into the destruction of Bhatbhateni and other public and private institutions.&nbsp; Meanwhile, newly appointed Finance Minister Rameshore Khanal visited the heavily damaged Koteswor Bhat-Bhateni on Tuesday, with Min Bahadur Gurung seen walking him through the destruction.

Bhat-Bhateni burning

A week after Nepal’s deadly protests, the country’s three main political parties whose offices were torched have been coming out in public pledging to reform themselves.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist-Centre visited his gutted party headquarters on Tuesday and said it would be rebuilt “on an even grander scale”.&nbsp;
Five-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress (NC) and his wife are still being treated for the wounds they suffered while being attacked at their home on 9 September.&nbsp;
In both parties, younger members have said it is time for their seniors to step down as leaders.&nbsp;
K P Oli who was ousted as prime minister last week after the GenZ protests turned violent with a loss of 74 lives, is also under Nepal Army protection in a base inside Shivapuri National Park outside Kathmandu. But his UML party has said it is not looking at a change in leadership at present.
All the main parties have offered sympathies for the lives lost in last week’s violence, and some members said it was time for a generational change within their parties as well. But all sides tip-toed around one crucial point: the GenZ demand for a change in leadership and political culture.
Former prime ministers Deuba, Dahal and Oli have been playing musical chairs taking turns to be prime ministers in 12 coalition governments in the past 10 years — despite their differing political ideologies.
What stands out in the recent statements of political leaders is not what was said, but what was left unsaid: none have raised the issue of transferring leadership to younger figures, let alone democratising their parties internally.&nbsp;
“Parties that do not appeal to the people, especially young people, will stop being relevant,” says Uddhab Pyakurel, a professor of political sociology at Kathmandu University (KU). “However, political &nbsp;parties are an integral component of our democracy.”&nbsp;
The youth wings of the main three parties do not shy away from criticising the impunity of their seniors, but have not been able to bring internal reform within their organisations.&nbsp;
Activists in the GenZ movement that toppled the regime last week say they do not follow any -isms, but Roshan Thapa Magar of the &nbsp;ANNISU (Revolutionary) that is affiliated to the Maoists says: “Ideologies still matter, the sacrifices of the parties in Nepal’s democratic struggles, and what they continue to represent, remain indispensable.”&nbsp;
He admits being taken aback by the way Maoist leaders and their relatives were portrayed in the #NepoBaby social media campaign: “It was disheartening and disappointing to see how power and position misused by our leaders in a party made up of ordinary people. It is now up to us to reform and restructure our parties to gain this trust again.”
Nawaraj Tripathee, a former Nepal Student Union (NSU) member and now the NC’s Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources says: “Only our party embodies the spirit of democracy etched into its core. But we have lost touch with democracy from within, therefore people are frustrated with us and a leadership that has acted with impunity and a tight grip on power.”
But he adds: “But this public disillusionment with us does not mean that we give up on the values of our party, it means we restructure the leadership and renew at all levels so that a new generation can lift the party up again.”&nbsp;
SHOCK THERAPY
Yet both acknowledge frustrations with their own leadership and say that the voices they raised against corruption were not loud enough to be heard. The deadly protests last week should be shock therapy to the leadership — especially if they want to recoup before early elections that have been called for 5 March 2026.
Thapa Magar says student politics has been important for the bottom-up voice of youth to be brought to the leadership level. He says, “If the GenZ organised the protests better, then we would perhaps not see the kind of looting and destruction on 9 September. We in the student wings of political parties know how to mobilise protests better.”
Over at the CPN-UML student wing ANNFSU, chair Sujan Kadariya and Abdus Miya quit their parties in dramatic fashion via Facebook following the bloodbath on 8 September, only to stage equally dramatic returns.&nbsp;
Miya justified it thus: ‘When Nepali youths fell to bullets, I believed the Prime Minister must resign. Even by 2pm the next day, he still hadn’t stepped down, and at 2:01 I declared I was quitting the party.’ KP Oli resigned shortly after that post, putting Miya in a dilemma.&nbsp;
Kadariya also deleted his post: ‘Feeling that the student politics of our entire generation has failed, I resign as President of the ANNISU Central Committee.” Later, he admitted he had posted out of fear for his life and felt ashamed for betraying the party. His final clarification: he had not officially resigned and remains committed to the party.
Miya and Kadariya expose the thin ideological fabric of student politics in Nepal. Their resignations were seen by many less as statements of principle than opportunism, and precisely what is wrong with the mainstream parties.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which was the fourth largest in Parliament, also faced criticism for lacking a clear ideological foundation. The RSP’s former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha at first denied rumours she was leaving the party, but resigned anyway the next day declaring: ‘I QUIT’ on social media. &nbsp;She has also said she is not joining the interim government, it remains to be seen if she goes back on that too.
The RSP’s rapid rise is closely tied to its founder Rabi Lamichhane, whose citizenship and cooperatives scandals and his attacks on media continue to test the party’s credibility. Lamichhane’s jailbreak on the second day of the protests was on his 50th birthday, and on Monday he voluntarily went back behind bars.&nbsp;
LEADERSHIP TRAPS
In the last two decades, Nepal’s revolving door politics has seen only three protagonists: Deuba, Dahal and Oli. Earlier this month, Oli changed the UML rulebook to make way for his third term as party chief. Deuba has headed the NC since 2016. Dahal has been a permanent fixture as the Maoists’ great helmsman for the past 30 years.&nbsp;
With the exception of Youth Congress Nepal, the student bodies of UML and the Maoists have not explicitly called for a change in party leadership. ANNISU (Revolutionary)’s Thapa Magar admitted his Maoist party has not held a central committee meeting to discuss succession, but hoped that a democratic route to new leadership could secure the party’s future relevance.
Some within the NC see Gagan Thapa as a natural heir apparent to Deuba. Both rose up the ranks through the party’s student wings and were jailed during the Panchayat. Nawaraj Tripathee of the NC says: “Gagan Thapa is best suited to lead the party at this time. But leaders cannot save parties unless they have institutional frameworks in place for dissenting voices to democratically replace leaders.”
This issue extends beyond the NC. Absolute power within political parties seems to undermine intra-party institutions absolutely. Unchecked leaders have consolidated power in ways that even impact the functioning of Parliament, and hence governance.&nbsp;
Pyakurel says: “It is evident in last week’s protests and its aftermath that political literacy is not strong in the new generation. Calling politics a dirty game does not encourage meaningful participation. Corruption is corruption, it is not politics. Equating corruption with politics implies that corruption is inherent to politics, but it doesn't have to be so.”
Thapa Magar says: “A party is not just its leader, it is an ideology that its members are committed to. Political parties need to democratise their systems and allow meaningful participation of their members, as some are not in the party to climb up the ranks, but to serve a bigger purpose collectively.”
In the case of Rabi Lamichhane, repeated controversies followed by his victimhood narrative and deflections of accountability have gone unchallenged by his own party leaders, enabling him to act with impunity.
RSP founding member Bipin Acharya says criticism about the party’s ideology is unfounded since democratic governance, inclusion and equity are enshrined in the party doctrine.
“It is not fair to compare Rabi Lamichhane to other party leaders, he has not even completed one term. He is innocent until proven guilty and we trust due process in the new judiciary under the GenZ interim government,” he added about Lamichhane.
Nepal’s political parties have deep roots embedded in Nepali society through a network of institutional bodies and sister organisations,” explains Uddhab Pyakurel. “Yet their relevance now depends on whether they can adapt. To regain public trust, they will need to mobilise these structures in ways that genuinely reflect citizens’ concerns, rather than operate as brokers of political power.”&nbsp;
Ayusha Chalise is a communication and development researcher specialising in how politics is experienced in the digital space.

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