<img width="1394" height="958" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ebe9c7e80680e0c24dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Three days after the Supreme Court released the full text of its verdict ordering the government to halt all plans to build a new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-nijgad-come-what-may/">international airport at Nijgad Forest</a>, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba flew down to the site in an Army helicopter. His Communist coalition partners Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal went along for the ride.In defiance of the Supreme Court, Deuba vowed to challenge the ruling. Sitting in a semicircle of sofas with other Cabinet ministers, he declared: “The government is committed to completing the construction of both the Nijgad airport and the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway linking it to the capital.”Deuba interpreted the 3-2 ruling by the justices to mean that the high court had not actually rejected building the airport, just to ensure adherence to environmental safeguards. Why such a show of force and thumbing of noses on the part of the executive against the judiciary? Tagging along with Deuba on the Nijgad flyby were the entire cabinet and coalition partners. Not only is the unity of the coalition hanging by a thread as individual members weigh their chances in November's federal and provincial elections, but member parties are also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-mixed-report-card/">rife with internal tension.</a>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">real estate mafia</a> with close ties to the leadership of all political parties has reportedly invested heavily in land surrounding the proposed $3.6 billion airport. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">Contractors will also benefit</a> from political patronage and are rubbing their palms at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">felling an entire forest</a> of hardwood timber.But the more immediate reason for government partners and the entire cabinet to airlift itself to Nijgad on Saturday was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/planting-seeds-of-democracy/">to show that the coalition is strong </a>and united. <img width="1738" height="832" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec29c7e80680e0c24ddjpeg.jpg" alt="">The trip also came the day after the dissident Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala accused Deuba of no longer being the president of his own party, but president of the coalition. Koirala’s faction includes deputy president Dhanaraj Gurung and general secretary Gagan Thapa, and threatened to launch a “constructive opposition” against its own party leadership. It also accused Deuba of tolerating lack of transparency in the Finance Ministry, and of his inability to take action to protect the economy from further shock.Bagmati Province Chief Minister Rajendra Pandey was also in the group. Nijgad falls within Madhes Province, and its Chief Minister Lal Babu Raut also wants the airport project to go ahead to spur economic growth.Rajendra Pandey’s inclusion in the trip taken win added significance because he has refused to step down as chief minister of Bagmati Province as agreed earlier with the coalition partners. In fact, Nepali Congress leaders in Hetauda had started a signature campaign against Pandey and a decision was to be taken at a parliamentary party meeting of the Unified Socialists on Saturday itself.The other reason for the trip was for Deuba to send an indirect message of defiance to the Supreme Court that it had no business interfering with decisions of the government.  It was a signal that the executive does not feel compelled to follow word for word any decision of the judiciary. <img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec59c7e80680e0c24dejpeg.jpg" alt="">In fact, the Supreme Court’s decision has taken the proposal to build an international report in Nijgad to its pre-1995 date. From now on, we should no longer refer to Nijgad as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">a proposed international airport</a>, but as the last remaining native tropical forest in the eastern Tarai that it is. The Court's final text says: ‘We do not see any logical argument to prove that there is no other alternative to building an airport at Nijgad.’An exhaustive and lengthy sentence in the verdict goes on to state: ‘In addition to the economic and technical feasibility of the airport, there needs to be an objective, neutral and competent assessment by economists, social scientists, administration experts, of the impact on the environment, forest ecosystem, wildlife of the region, and an investigation into alternative sites where actual and realistic ways to minimise the environment impact are examined so that a legally acceptable environmental risk assessment report can be made that takes into account expert advice, to conclude what capacity airport should be built, where, and in what area, and the court orders that these factors are then taken into account to decide on the location of an airport that has the smallest ecological footprint.’Translated, these 119 pages of legalese means that the Supreme Court has decided that destroying the Nijgad Forest to build an airport <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/zurich-airport-international-opts-out-of-nepal-project/">is not worth the damage</a>. The issue now is: will the government dare to go against this verdict?Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nijgads-green-runway/">Nijgad’s green runway</a>, Kashish Das Shrestha

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Flight of fancy

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14219c7e80680e0a9961jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000"/><figcaption>The terminal building of Pokhara’s new airport with its sweeping steel roof nears completion amidst a dramatic backdrop of the Annapurnas.</figcaption></figure><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19515#.YZ22olVByJC">Forty years after it was first proposed</a>, Pokhara’s new airport is finally nearing completion to connect the scenic tourism hub to regional capitals by July 2022.With an investment of Rs22 billion, China’s CAMC Engineering has now finished the runway, apron, taxiway and terminal work and all that remains to be done is to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cabinet-indecision-delays-pokhara-airport/"> slice off the top of a hill on the eastern approach</a> to the airport, which will be able to accommodate Airbus 320s and Boeing 757s.Nepal’s third international airport after Kathmandu and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-buddha-was-born-in-lumbini/">Lumbini</a>, the project was <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Pokhara-waits-for-take-off,4136">delayed</a> by decades of turf battles, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/pokhara-airport-takesoff,2965">bureaucratic hurdles, local opposition, corruption in high places,</a> and finally the pandemic last year.The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is planning a soft opening in mid-2022 for domestic flights and then allow international flights from China, India, Malaysia and the Gulf countries.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c32WjMV3InYHowever, there are now questions about current airport, with the Pokhara Airport Office, CAAN and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation undecided about what to do with the prime real estate.The chief of Pokhara Airport, Bikram Raj Gautam, who is also coordinating the task force to prepare for the transfer of operations, says there are no firm decisions yet."We have sent appropriate suggestions to the higher authorities," he said evasively, "ultimately, we follow what they decide. It could continue to be used for other aviation-related work."Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/">Pokhara: Nepal’s new aviation gateway</a>, Kunda Dixit<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14249c7e80680e0a9962jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="475"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/">Pokhara airport</a> is the second busiest airport in the country after Kathmandu, with an average of 31 flights a day connecting Jomsom, Bhairawa, Simara, Bharatpur, Nepalganj and Kathmandu.Out of 54 airports across the country 19 are currently inoperative, and locals have turned a majority of these into grazing areas for livestock. In addition, CAAN is not up to speed on the utilities, land, and infrastructure that remain in those airfields. This raises doubts about whether it can handle the vested interests that have eyes on the present airport’s valuable real estate.“The necessary infrastructure and staff of the closed airports have all been shifted and repurposed to the nearest open airport," says CAAN’s Raj Kumar Chhetri, who adds that it is necessary to prevent encroachment and pressure from the land mafia."Such expensive property in the middle of the city cannot go to waste," he says. "If pressure on the new international airport were to drastically increase, the old airport could be brought back into service for domestic flights and sports aviation," he says.Read more:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/">Cleared to land</a> <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-will-be-a-game-changer/">"Pokhara will be a game changer"</a><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14269c7e80680e0a9963jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1688"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Unfortunately, the delay in decision-making means the airport may be subject to the same misuse seen in other government properties. Examples like the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/legal-niceities/">Baluwatar land scandal</a> in Kathmandu show that politicians and legislators often have their eyes on cashing in on national property.Pokhara’s civil society wants to keep the airport as an open space in a city that is urbanising fast and losing its greenery. Indeed, municipalities across Nepal are fond of erecting concrete monuments, build shopping centres and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-war-tourism-is-a-scam/">view towers</a>, or just haphazardly selling the land piecemeal.Chhetri says Pokhara’s current airport will not be abandoned like other closed airfields across the country."After appropriate research, the airport can be used in the public’s interest," he says. However, these matters are yet to be discussed with local representatives and Pokhara’s businesses.Pokhara’s deputy mayor Manju Devi Gurung is adamant about preventing unnecessary development at the site. She says: “It should be preserved as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/open-spaces-and-open-society/">an open space</a>. Even if it is the property of the national government, it should be used for the benefit of the locals of Pokhara."Local stakeholders agree that the airport should be converted into a green area with a public park. Infrastructure expert, Suryaraj Acharya sees this as an opportunity to enhance the beauty of the city, and says: "<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-green-city-is-a-smart-city/">Open spaces are integral for families and communities.</a> There is no need to even think about adding more concrete to the area."Translated from <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/126704">the original</a> by Aryan Sitaula.

What to do with Pokhara’s ‘extra’ airport?

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2419c7e80680e033319jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1359" height="823"/>In 1994, when Nijgad was identified as the site of Nepal’s planned new international gateway, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Air-jam,4196">traffic congestion at Kathmandu Airport</a> was not as bad as it is today. It was difficult then to justify a new international airport so far from Kathmandu.So, Nijgad was projected to be not just an airport serving the capital, but a regional hub for international destinations like Doha, Dubai and Singapore. Like everything else, the war and political wrangling delayed the project for decades.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/gigantism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gigantism</a>, Editorial Today, ultra long-range airliners do not need refuelling and transit stops. The trend is towards point-to-point service with equipments like the Boeing 787 or Airbus 350. However, traffic volume today has exceeded the Tribhuvan International Airport’s current capacity, and Nijgad may be feasible as a destination airport for Kathmandu if there is a new expressway to cut travel time.The Communist government came to power with the promise of prosperity, and it is reviving the $6.7 billion Nijgad airport project as a catalyst for growth, and to take the pressure off of Kathmandu.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/groping-in-the-dark/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Groping in the dark</a>, Om Astha RaiLast week, the government approved the airport’s Environment Impact Assessment report, even though 2.4 million trees need to be axed in 7,000 hectares of hardwood forest where the airport will be. In his budget speech on Tuesday, Finance Minister Khatiwada allocated Rs19 billion for the aviation sector, including Nijgad.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2449c7e80680e03331ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="450"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In an interview with Nepali Times (see below), Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari announced that the bidding process will start in six months, and the construction site will be cleared and readied for construction in just two years.Adhikari claims Nijgad will be “bigger, busier and more advanced” than Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. “It will be a game changer for Nepal’s economy,” he said.Aviation analyst Hemant Arjyal says: “Nepal can build a hub airport, but whether it will actually evolve into a hub depends on how convenient international airlines find it.”Arjyal argues that any international airport needs a big enough catchment area, and for Nijgad that will be Kathmandu. “If passengers cannot reach Kathmandu within one hour after landing at Nijgad, this multi-billion dollar airport will fail,” he says. “So, the key to Nijgad’s success will be how fast the fast-track to the Tarai will be.”Minister Adhikari argues that only 10% of passengers flying into Nijgad will be to or from Kathmandu, the others will be using it to fly on to international destinations, or reach domestic points. But aviation experts are skeptical, and say the whole hub concept is outdated and misplaced.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2469c7e80680e03331bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1248"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Retired Nepal Airlines captain Y K Bhattarai calls the plan to develop Nijgad as an international hub 'a flight of imagination'. He says the government should have considered geopolitical realities, and the modern aviation market in the Asia-Pacific.“Let us build Nijgad, but only after taking into account that Nepal’s air space is enclosed by a country that does not give us anything easily or freely,” he says. “Nijgad’s future as an aviation hub is in India’s hands, and building a mammoth airport without taking air routes into account is like putting the cart before the horse.”Bhattarai is a member of a task force that will recommend ways to improve aviation sector. He has experience of Indian air traffic controllers restricting elevation and route clearance for flights to and from Nepal. India has refused inbound air routes through Bhairawa and Janakpur because its air force base is near the Nepal border. This is unlikely to be resolved in talks with the Airports Authority of India next month.Meanwhile, congestion at Kathmandu is being used as <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/incompetence-of-kathmandu-airport-magnified-during-shutdown,2086">a justification for Nijgad</a>. Some critics say the airport’s $100million ADB-supported expansion project is being deliberately delayed to justify Nijgad. Apron, taxiway and terminal building extensions and better air traffic management could ease the present congestion, and keep Kathmandu airport viable for decades more.Despite its cost, however, Nijgad now seems to be a political fait accompli. Even infrastructure experts like Surya Raj Acharya say: “We should have built Nijgad at least a decade ago.”<h1>The last patch of Char Kose Jhari</h1><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2499c7e80680e03331cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="844"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Char Kose Jhari used to be a strip of dense malarial jungle in the Tarai separating the Chure Range from the Indian plains. After the eradication of malaria, the forests were cleared by settlers from the mountains and from India. Construction of the East-West Highway in the 1970s, transmission lines, the 1980 referendum, all helped shrink this primary hardwood forest to a few remaining patches.Nijgad airport and the expressway linking it to Kathmandu will decimate the last remaining expanse of this once-vast jungle. In all, the Nepal Army is preparing to fell 2.4 million sal trees in a swath of 80sq km – wiping out <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/habitat-destrcution-of-tiger-in-Tarai,3423">the last remaining migration corridor for endangered wild elephants and tigers</a>, depleting the buffer zone of the Parsa Wildlife Reserve, and removing vegetation that recharges groundwater. Conservationists also worry that a huge busy airport right next to a nature sanctuary will also disturb wildlife.Although the government claims that selling the valuable timber from the site will fetch nearly Rs70 billion, it will prevent 22,500 tons of carbon from being sequestered in the vegetation annually, which in turn will deprive Nepal of earning Rs160 million annually from the global carbon fund. The economic value of oxygen lost due to deforestation for Nijgad airport is huge: Rs 230 billion, and that is not counting the airport’s own carbon footprint.Biodiversity expert Prabhu Budhathoki, a former member of Nepal Planning Commission, explains: “This is going to be the most serious deforestation of the Tarai in the last 50 years, it will affect wildlife, and also damage hydrological ecosystem and agriculture.”Budhathoki argues that clearing the forest for Nijgad Airport will set a bad precedent: and show that jungles are expendable and have to make way for new physical infrastructure.The airport is the latest example of the need to balance economic needs with environmental protection, even though the main argument against the project is its cost and economic viability. The airport has pitted ecologists against economists: infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya maintains that the airport is so necessary that felling 2.4 million trees is “nothing compared to its economic advantage”.<h1>“Nijgad airport will be a game changer”</h1>Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari is a man in a hurry. He wants Nepal to make up for its lost decades in aviation infrastructure. He spoke to Nepali Times this week about why he feels so strongly about Nijgad. <figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e24d9c7e80680e03331djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="887"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepali Times: After 20 years, the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Nijgad has finally been approved. What is next?We will sign an MoU with the Nepal Army in a few days. The military will fell trees and build periphery roads. It may take two years to clear the construction site. But we will initiate the international bidding process within six months. We will finalise land acquisition and resettlement of the 1,400 families living at the site, either providing them with cash or a relocation site. We will even resettle those who do not have land titles. The project will not face any more delays, and the airport could be ready in less than 10 years.Why this sudden urgency?We badly need a second international airport. The only international airport we now have in Kathmandu is congested, and cannot be expanded.But there are two more international airports coming up in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19515#.Ww_5WFUzbIU">Bhairawa and Pokhara</a> …You cannot compare Bhairawa and Pokhara with Nijgad. Not even Kathmandu will match Nijgad Airport’s scale and scope. It will be an international air hub -- a real game changer for Nepal’s economy. International flights from over two dozen cities will be landing every day, tens of thousands of passengers will catch connecting flights. Planes will also be making stopovers for refueling. It will be bigger, more advanced and busier than any other airport in Nepal.Why not upgrade nearby Simara airport instead of clearing valuable forests?Nijgad is Nijgad. It is an ideal place for an international hub airport not just from a business standpoint, but also because of climate. This is one place in the Tarai which remains largely unaffected by fog even in winter.But Simara is just 10 km away from Nijgad.Yes, but even that short distance makes a huge difference.Over 2.4 million trees have to be cut to clear the site.We will plant 25 saplings elsewhere for every single tree that is felled. We are also looking at minimizing the felling. One option is to not build the adjacent airport city planned for the second phase.What is the economic viability of an airport so far away from the capital?Nijgad Airport’s future depends on Kathmandu-Tarai fast-track highway. But this airport will be a hub, as I said, and will not depend solely on Kathmandu traffic. In fact, we think only 10% of the total traffic will be for Kathmandu.Nepal has only one entry point for international flights from Indian air space. Don’t we need more two-way routes for Bhairawa, Pokhara and Nijgad?We are not just a land-locked but also air-locked country at the moment. But we are negotiating with India for more air routes. A technical team from the Airports Authority of India will come to Nepal next month for talks, India is amenable to new entry points through Biratnagar and Nepalganj, and we are are also seeking Mahendranagar, Bhairawa and Janakpur.Are you serious about a domestic airport in Kavre?I am serious because it will ease traffic congestion at Kathmandu Airport by 31% . I am also pushing for inter-provincial air connections with Pokhara-Bhairawa, Pokhara-Biratnagar and Pokhara-Nepalganj flights.People think I am connecting Pokhara to other cities because I am an MP from there, but Pokhara has huge growth potential. The airport will service flights to Lukla, Tumlingtar and other mountain destinations, and we can double the capacity for mountain flights, and help the tourism industry.Readers write<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/avista.rijal?fref=ufi&amp;rc=p" target="_self" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;;&quot;}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=100000986481016&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Atrue%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D">Avista R-Rizal</a> In my opinion after TIA one more international airport is far more than enough. But inter connectivity is required.<a id="js_axw" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/rkldeo?fref=ufi&amp;rc=p" target="_self" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;;&quot;}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=100001426015274&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Atrue%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" aria-describedby="js_axv" aria-owns="js_axs">Radhakrishna Lal Deo</a> By upgrading Biratnagar or Janakpur it can be postponed for few decades!<a id="js_b3s" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010222925192&amp;fref=ufi&amp;rc=p" target="_self" data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;;&quot;}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=100010222925192&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Atrue%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" aria-describedby="js_b3r" aria-owns="">Darryl Mason</a> Spend the money on TIA and the surrounding area and another airport won't be needed

Does Nepal need a 4th international airport?

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

Turkish Basketball

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

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

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

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

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The Everest Industry

Everest summiteers find new life in the US