Fever accompanied by chills, body aches, runny nose, sore throat or cough? You probably have Covid, and are likely over it.
After only recording a handful number of new Covid-19 cases for the last few months, Nepal registered nearly 400 in the last week. But these are only the official figures, doctors say there are flu-like cases recovering in almost every family.
The latest surge is once again in line with the rise of cases in India where the new sub-variant of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care">Omicron</a> has been found to be responsible. On 4 April, there were 3,637 new reported Covid-19 cases across India and seven deaths in the past 24 hours. Some 60% of the new cases have been attributed to the new variant circulating in the country, XXB.1.16, a subtype of the Omicron variant.
“This is proof that when it comes to Covid-19, we are not out of the woods yet, it is a reminder that we need to continue to be careful, especially with the elderly and populations with comorbidities,” says Buddha Basnyat, physician at Patan Academy of Health Sciences.
However, unlike in India, it is not yet known which strain is driving the new infections in Nepal. A genome sequencing in last 2022 found that there were 17 sub-variants of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/boosting-booster-jabs-against-omicron">Omicron</a> circulating in Nepal.
At Teku Hospital, virologist Sher Bahadur Pun has been observing a gradual increase in the number of Covid cases and old-age patients being admitted. Most symptoms are mild, but interestingly many are complaining of a lack of smell and taste, which was typical of pre-Omicron cases. Over time, Covid-19 symptoms have also gradually changed.
“What I’m seeing are breakthrough cases, these are people who have taken three shots, including a booster dose. This means we are likely to see a large number of such breakthrough cases in the near future,” explains Pun.
He adds: “This could very well be a new variant, a hybrid of these that were already circulating or XXB.1.16 like in India given there are no restrictions preventing the strain from travelling.”
But public health experts agree that while there has been a noticeable surge in the number of new cases being recorded, there has been no significant increase in hospitalisations and deaths.
In other words, while the newer variants are more infectious, they are less virulent and unlikely to cause complications, further helped by the fact the much of the population has gained some level of immunity due to natural infections as well as vaccinations.
Even so, it is important for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-nepal-s-elderly-from-covid-19-c6e60vp6">vulnerable populations</a> to be protected, and the best way to do that is by taking a booster. As of February 2023, 76.5% of Nepalis have taken two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine which is nearly 96% of the target population. But the booster intake is much lower at about 27%, as of December 2022.
“Given that it has been quite some time since the second dose or even a booster was administered, I urge the elderly, immuno-compromised individuals and frontline workers to take a booster shot or a second booster even,” says Pun. “If there is an option, take a bivalent booster, it will protect you against both the original coronavirus strain and the Omicron variant.”
Back in February, Nepal received 345,600 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent vaccine under the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hope-hyperbole-and-hypocrisy-of-covax">COVAX initiative</a>, the first of the 1.5 million doses promised in four phases. But officials say the uptake has been discouraging, even in Kathmandu and other urban centres.
The new surge is likely to pass before long and without causing much impact on the overall population. But not taking preventive measures may endanger the elderly and people with comorbidities.
Warns Buddha Basnyat: “This surge is a reminder to continue to mask up and maintain hygiene not so much for Covid-19 at this point but to protect ourselves from a wide range of other equally prevalent infections in our part of the world like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/pandemic-eclipses-nepals-tb-epidemic">TB</a>, typhoid and a host of diseases caused by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/warning-breathing-is-hazardous-to-health">air pollution</a>.”

Sonia Awale

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Another Covid wave, but milder

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100136/63bfd50f9c7e80680e0d30d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576"/><figcaption>Health workers transporting Covid-19 vaccines in rural Nepal. Photo: NARENDRA SHRESTHA/ADB NEPAL</figcaption></figure>It was exactly three years ago that the novel coronavirus first emerged from Wuhan. SARS-COV-2 has now come full circle as cases soar and hospitals are overwhelmed across China.Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid policy, and has stopped registering fatalities from Covid-19. Official case load and death figures are said to be underreported. International health experts believe more than 1 million people may die from the disease this winter.Several countries now require mandatory Covid tests from passengers arriving from China, after Beijing eased travel restrictions in the new year. Countries in the region including Nepal are on high alert.The Health Ministry last week made masks once again mandatory in public places while appealing to people to resume hand washing and social distancing. On 28 December Nepal reported only 8 cases and zero Covid deaths.The Ministry has also urged the public <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-there-vaccine-hesitancy-in-nepal/">to take booster shots, and second boosters</a> for people above 55 and the immunocompromised. The Drug Advisory Committee on 27 December granted emergency use approval for the Pfizer-BioNtech bivalent vaccine of which Nepal is set to receive 1.5 million doses from the COVAX global initiative by mid-January.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/three-years-of-living-dangerously/">Three Years of living dangerously,</a> Sonia Awale“What is of utmost priority now is to protect our elderly and vulnerable populations. We need to fully vaccinate them if they have not or give them a booster, bivalent would be even more effective as it can fight both the original and Omicron strains,” explains Sher Bahadur Pun at the Teku Hospital.Pun likens what is happening in China now to the Omicron surge in Hong Kong earlier this year which also saw a significant rise in hospitalisations and deaths. Nepal also suffered a spike in fatalities among the elderly towards the end of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/">Omicron third surge in 2022</a>. In both cases, the unvaccinated were victims.“Omicron might be less severe but in vulnerable groups who have not been vaccinated, even this strain can cause complications,” he warns.More than 80% of Nepal's eligible population (above 5) have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. But the booster uptake is much lower at only 27%. There is also concern that it has been more than a year since most Nepalis got their last shots, and their immunity might be waning. Officials recommend a booster even though memory cells could provide some residual protection.The WHO has asked China to reveal its true Covid figures, and the nature of the prevalent strain. Experts attribute its surge to vaccination hesitancy among the elderly, stringent zero-Covid strategy which suppressed natural immunity, and Chinese vaccines like Sinovac being less effective than mRNA jabs.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-there-vaccine-hesitancy-in-nepal/">Why is there vaccine hesitancy in Nepal?</a> Sonia Awale“China did great with lockdowns and restrictions but took it to unnecessary levels, which means the population is Covid naïve compared to other countries. When they reopened, the variants already present multiplied rapidly,” explains Buddha Basnyat, physician at Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “It also seems they did not learn from the rest of the world, did not vaccinate their elderly sufficiently and relied only on their own vaccines.”The efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines has long been debated, but there are no studies to prove their efficacy, or lack thereof. However, experts agree that all the available vaccines recommended by WHO considerably reduce the severity of the disease.Media amplification of the China surge has caused some panic in the neighbourhood. Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and India are the latest countries to require Chinese passengers to have Covid tests. India has also introduced nasal vaccine this week, those who had taken Covishield and Covaxin can take it as a heterologous booster dose.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-uneven-covid-19-deaths/">Nepal’s uneven Covid-19 deaths</a>, Ramesh KumarHowever, the BF7 Omicron strain has already spread around the world and it is not virulent, and does not seem to adversely affect vaccinated individuals. Experts also caution that although 1 million deaths sounds like a lot, it is a tiny fraction of China’s population. The Chinese government has accused the West of ‘hypocrisy and hyping the threat’.“The BF7 is not a new variant, it has been around for a while. It has been circulating in Europe, America and parts of Asia. It has been reported in India and chances are high it is in Nepal too, we probably just haven’t detected it yet,” says Sameer Mani Dixit of the Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal.He adds: “Nepalis have developed enough resistance through reinfections and vaccinations, especially as subsequent strains have been more contagious but less virulent.”The WHO says it is concerned about further mutations and the emergence of new variants, but mutations do not necessarily mean increased severity. Just like Omicron is more contagious but less severe than Delta.Says Pun: “There are at least 17 sub-variants of Omicron in Nepal. This means we have had enough immunity gained via reinfections. We also have protection from vaccination and the proof of this is how we marked our festivals, and elections without following safety measures and without any resulting surge.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/">Omicron may not be risky, but take care,</a> Sonia AwaleHaving said that, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rural-nepal-fights-back-covid-19/">pandemic is not yet over.</a> Parts of China including Hong Kong, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan which have high mobility of Nepalis are also seeing a Covid-19 surge this winter.The health desk at Kathmandu airport is not strictly checking vaccination or PCR tests anymore, and some experts say it should increase surveillance — especially when flights from Chinese cities resume on 8 January. After being locked down for so long, many Chinese are already booking holiday travel to Asian destinations.The Rasuwa border post also reopened this week to resume the cargo transport at Kerung and the trade between the two countries. The checkpoint which has been shut due to the pandemic since early 2020.Says Buddha Basnyat: “There is no harm in continuing to follow safety measures, it is now proven that masks and hand washing saves lives. It also protects us from a host of infections including typhoid and TB and more importantly from air pollution, all non-Covid silent killers.”

China’s surge: should Nepal be worried?

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205539c7e80680e0b28adjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Frontline workers waiting for their booster dose at a hospital in Kathmandu last week. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>As elsewhere in the world, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/3rd-covid-wave-infects-nepals-frontliners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omicron-led third wave</a> in Nepal is starting to peak, but experts say the pandemic is far from over. The Health Ministry had previously projected new cases to soar to 20,000 a day, and the Omicron surge to peak in mid-February. But the fact that the variant spread rapidly like wildfire right across the country giving a majority of the population milder symptoms meant that it equipped them with antibodies to fight the infection.At Nepal’s biggest infectious diseases centre at Teku Hospital, virologist Sher Bahadur Pun predicts that the third wave will most likely peak in a few days, or by the end of next week.“For the past week, I have observed that the number of people coming in for tests and consultation every day has decreased by a half,” Pun says. “Of course, not everyone is coming to the hospital, but this is the beginning of the end of this wave.” To be sure, the government’s daily Covid-19 figures are gross under-estimations. Mostly symptomatic patients are testing, thus registering a very high positivity rate. Infected people with flu-like symptoms are isolating at home without a PCR test. There are also people self-testing with kits available at pharmacies, and these infections are not in the official tally.Even so, figures from elsewhere show <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/3rd-wave-in-2-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Omicron surge</a> lasts only for a month or two. South Africa, where the variant was first detected in December, is over the hump. The UK and parts of the US have also passed their peaks. Many countries, including Australia, are now removing restrictions."It is too early to be sure about exactly when the high number of cases will subside completely," Andrew Pollard, of the team that developed the Astra Zeneca vaccine, told Nepali Times in an email interview from Oxford. "The main issue with rapid spread of Omicron is for the unvaccinated who may be at risk of severe disease, particularly if they are older adults and those with other health conditions."The spread of Omicron in Kathmandu Valley is expected to reach an equilibrium soon, with a steep fall in cases, says Bangkok-based public health expert Sushil Koirala. But he warns slower-moving outbreaks may continue outside the valley where the population is thinly spread. “These next 10 days are critical. It will tell us if the Omicron variant is indeed a quiet pass to a pandemic end-game, or we still have a big human cost to pay,” Koirala adds. “There is still little clarity on how severe this variant will be to those who are still unvaccinated and those who had the vaccines many months ago.” <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205569c7e80680e0b28aejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week issued an <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/12/1108932" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">optimistic projection</a> that the pandemic would probably be over during 2022 — provided inequalities in the vaccine coverage and treatment are addressed.  Global health researcher and economist Christopher J L Murray <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00100-3/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">writing for the journal Lancet</a> also said that after the Omicron wave, ‘Covid-19 will return but the pandemic will not.’ Pollard also explains that once health systems can cope with Covid-19, the pandemic could be considered over, but that doesn’t mean that the virus will be gone. "We have a pandemic because of pressure on health systems and deaths. With growing global immunity as a result of vaccination and previous waves of infection, both severe disease and deaths should decline during 2022," he says. Despite this, health experts in Nepal warn that severe infections needing hospitalisation have a lag of a few weeks after the surge in infections. And despite being a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">milder strain</a> that primarily only affects the upper respiratory tract, Omicron can still lead to serious diseases in the elderly and people with co-morbidities. Indeed, ICU admissions and those needing ventilator support in hospital have tripled in one month, although nowhere near the figures in April-May. Also, the seven-day average for daily fatalities have remained below five.  Says infectious disease specialist Anup Subedee: “It will still take some time and a few more variants before the pandemic comes to an end. So our health system should be ever ready with the management and treatment of Covid-19, isolation and contact tracing.” Virologist Pun at Teku agrees: “We are now moving from pandemic to endemic, but this does not mean that we can sound the all clear. We must continue mass vaccinations and safety measures.” The general consensus is that increased vaccine coverage with boosting, more testing, whole genome sequencing to detect variants, and public adherence to safety measures will determine whether there will be a new surge, or if the virus will taper off. Nepal has 20 million doses of vaccines in stock for those waiting for first and second jabs, and has started booster shots for high risk groups. However, communication on location, eligibility and requirements for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-vaccines-prevent-severe-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccination</a> centres is confusing and inadequate. With reports from India, Denmark and the Philippines of the even more transmissible ‘stealth Omicron’ sub-variant BA.2 that can evade PCR detection, Nepal needs to continue vigilance. This is also important to determine if the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delta-variants-wake-up-call-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delta variant</a> is still circuiting and how dominant it is. “Our Covid figures from the last four days strongly suggest that we have passed the peak,” confirms Sameer Mani Dixit of the Centre for Molecular  Dynamics. “But we must keep a close watch on next week’s numbers to know for sure if the cases are just levelling off, still peaking, or if it was just a momentary decline.”

Omnipresent Omicron starts to lose its edge

<figure><img width="2002" height="1452" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205409c7e80680e0b28a7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: UNICEF NEPAL</figcaption></figure>While ‘long-Covid’ has come to mean lingering symptoms among survivors of Covid-19 infections, in Nepal it connotes the long-term socio-economic impact of the pandemic on children.Even as the Omicron third wave spreads across Nepal, the government is struggling to vaccinate children down to age 12 and protect this vulnerable and unvaccinated age group from the virus. No vaccination has been announced yet for those below 12.Side by side with that threat, more than one in five Nepali households continue to struggle for food due to lack of money and disruptions in supply caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest findings of a nationwide survey.The survey showed that in November, 21% of households struggled to obtain enough food, and nearly 10% of them had to reduce the dietary intake of children. However, while 60% of households surveyed in July 2020 said <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepalis-lost-jobs-in-past-month/">they had lost jobs</a>, this number had declined substantially to 33% by November last year. Still, this means one-third of Nepali families are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/pandemic-of-poverty/">at risk of poverty</a>, and this undermines Nepal’s steady success in reducing the rate of absolute poverty over the past two decades.The tracking survey has been conducted periodically by <a href="https://www.sharecast.org.np/">Sharecast Initiative Nepal</a> with support from <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/media/15281/file/Assessing_Secondary_Effects_of_COVID_on_Families_and_Children_In_Nepal_-_CFT_Endline_Report.pdf">UNICEF Nepal</a> since May 2020 to monitor household income, health and education during the pandemic. The <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/media/15281/file/Assessing_Secondary_Effects_of_COVID_on_Families_and_Children_In_Nepal_-_CFT_Endline_Report.pdf">Child and Family Tracker</a> has so far conducted 8 nationwide surveys to monitor and gauge changes in the livelihoods of more than 7,000 households. It tracks their access to jobs, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and children’s access to education, including food intake and health, breastfeeding and pregnant mothers. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-lockdown-may-cancel-gains/">Nepali Times</a> has partnered with Sharecast Initiative in analysing some of this data over the past two years. The latest survey shows that nearly one in three families are in need of financial assistance, and many families continue to be indebted. Disaggregated data shows that Dalit families are still more likely to incur debt, require food and financial support as an immediate need.The number of families reporting loss of jobs worsened in surveys conducted between <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-impact-on-food-and-school-in-nepali-children/">May and July 2020</a> (climbing to as much as 60%) but has now come down to 19% in the latest survey conducted in November last year.A similar situation is seen for other parameters like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-impact-on-food-and-school-in-nepali-children/">food shortage</a> and children out of school, with the impact of the lockdowns extending till late 2020, before improving in the past year. The most dramatic impact is seen in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/learning-during-the-pandemic-in-nepal/">proportion of children who were not studying at all</a>, which came down from a high of 41% in May 2020 to only 3% in November 2021. (See graph below). <figure><img width="2318" height="618" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205449c7e80680e0b28a8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Overview of Child Tracker Survey data for various parameters between May 2020 - November 2021.</figcaption></figure>Similarly, families which have members with disabilities, as well as female-headed households have said they have been reaching out for financial support, food, and money. Children of such families predominate in most deprivation indicators. The results in education are a bit more uneven. While 60% of parents polled were confident about sending their children back to school, 80% felt that their children are falling behind in their studies. Only six in every ten households said their schools had handwashing facilities, and only a quarter confirmed their children's classrooms practiced physical distancing.  As expected, the survey showed that children with disabilities were far more likely to face challenges with virtual learning, which has again returned to being the norm as schools stay closed after winter vacations due to the ongoing Omicron surge. Reports of domestic violence have gone up with 15% of households interviewed witnessing violence against women and children, including intimations, threats, insults and yelling. Girls are facing increasing pressure to marry early, and face discrimination in school enrolment.  One positive trend seems to be in the number of households that said they witnessed children working. Before the pandemic, a full 30% of families said child labour was present, this had gone down to 8% during the first lockdown in April 2020 and decreased further to 2% in the latest survey conducted in November 2021. Another positive trend was a higher level of awareness about Covid-19 transmission and precautions. Most families appeared to be taking the necessary precautions with 84% reporting that they wore masks during the holiday season, and 71% of those surveyed had already been vaccinated as of November 2021.  The rate of hand-washing and use of sanitisers also remain high. Together masking, distancing and hygiene could also have an impact on reducing other common water- and air-borne infectious diseases in Nepal like diarrhoea, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, etc. <figure><img width="1190" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205479c7e80680e0b28a9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Awareness about Covid precautions May 2020 and November 2021.</figcaption></figure>Unrelated to Covid, the survey also showed that among more than 7,000 households approached there appeared to be a high percentage of them with disabled members, with the highest proportion (21%) being in Karnali Province with Madhes Province and Bagmati at 16% each. (See graph below). <figure><img width="1604" height="1242" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372054a9c7e80680e0b28aajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Households with disabilities. </figcaption></figure>Similarly, the survey also gives a glimpse of male out-migration with data showing one third of households in Gandaki Province being female-headed families. Madhes Province had the lowest proportion of women-led households (12%), with all other provinces showing about a quarter of families being female-headed. (See graph below) <figure><img width="1810" height="1092" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372054d9c7e80680e0b28abjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Female headed households by Province.</figcaption></figure>Interestingly, the survey also showed that female-headed households had a disproportionately higher number of children living with them. Children made up 38% of the total members in households led by males, while in female-headed households children made up 43% of the members.  <img width="936" height="1324" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205509c7e80680e0b28acjpeg.jpg" alt="">Full report: <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/media/15281/file/Assessing_Secondary_Effects_of_COVID_on_Families_and_Children_In_Nepal_-_CFT_Endline_Report.pdf">‘Equity Focused Assessment of Secondary Effects of COVID-19 on Families and Children in Nepal’ by Unicef and Sharecast Initiative’.</a>

Nepal’s ‘long-Covid’ impact on children

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204ac9c7e80680e0b2875jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"/><figcaption>Crowd of people lining up for Covid vaccination outside Teku Hospital on Tuesday. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>During the devastating second wave last year, hundreds of people were dying every day. Hospitals had <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">run out of ICU beds and oxygen cylinders</a>.This time, hospitals are running out of medical staff.As elsewhere, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/3rd-wave-in-2-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the third wave</a> in Nepal is infecting healthcare workers, endangering not only patients with Covid pneumonia, but also those suffering from pre-existing conditions like kidney failure, diabetes, cancers or cardio-vascular diseases.This acute shortage in medical staff across Nepal due to the rapid spread of Omicron has prompted the Ministry of Health to consider shortening the isolation period for doctors, nurses and paramedics to five days. The US and India have already done so.Hundreds of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">health workers</a> are testing positive daily in hospitals all over the country, turning health facilities themselves into a hotbed of the virus.On Tuesday, there were 10,258 new cases out of 22,828 tested, bringing the positivity rate up to 45%. This is the highest ever daily new cases for Nepal and also the highest positivity rate.International airlines flying out of Kathmandu are reporting a sharp increase in the number of passengers who cannot fly because of the PCR positive test results. So far passengers on domestic flights are not required PCR tests, only vaccine cards from next week.“Omicron is spreading like wildfire through all hospitals, in ours alone we have 35 staff testing positive,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-far-sighted-eye-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanduk Ruit</a> of Tilganga Eye Hospital in Kathmandu.One of the bigger facilities in Kathmandu, HAMS Hospital, has 16 of its clinical staff in isolation after testing positive. On 17 January, 52 staff of the Trauma Centre Hospital tested positive in one day, affecting emergency care of accident victims.Teaching Hospital and Bir Hospital in the Valley also have a similarly high number of doctors and nurses infected and isolating.“Health workers in every ward are infected, Covid has now spread from the emergency to the general ward, the blood bank, physiotherapy, ICU and even the administration,” director of the Trauma Centre Pramod Joshi told Nepali Times.The hospital is now primarily treating patients that need emergency care and surgery. “The hospital is full of patients and the ICU is packed as it always is,” he said.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204ae9c7e80680e0b2876jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1641" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The third wave has now even affected hospitals outside Kathmandu, which are struggling to cope due to a shortage of staff.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/state-of-the-art-rural-hospital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bayalpata Hospital</a> in remote Achham district has curtailed some critical services like C-sections because of sick staff. Charikot hospital in Dolakha district which had finally stopped reporting new Covid infections only last month is back to caring for an increasing number of coronavirus patients but with fewer staff.“Some of us have mild but manageable symptoms but we are still working, we had a shortage of healthcare workers even before this third wave,” Binod Dangal of Charikot Hospital said. “In fact, we have fewer people than we had during the second wave, we have equipment but no trained staff. We are no better prepared than we were before.”The only respite during the third wave is that the new strain is much milder. Because Omicron’s impact is largely confined to the upper respiratory tract, physicians say their patients do not need as much oxygen or ventilator support as was the case with the Delta variant which primarily affected the lungs.Most doctors in and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">outside Kathmandu</a> say they expect infected staff to be back at work in a week after another test. Even so, given Nepal’s largely unprepared and limited healthcare infrastructure which works on a shift basis, medical staff having to isolate just a few days can seriously disrupt medical care, especially in rural areas where hospitals and doctors were always few and far between.Indeed, this latest crisis reflects on a pre-existing chronic shortage of doctors, nurses and trained medical staff, says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/diary-of-a-covid-frontline-worker-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bikash Gauchan</a> of the Gandaki Province Infectious and Communicable Disease Hospital in Pokhara.“What we are experiencing now is both an acute and chronic shortage of healthcare workers, and this carries a lesson for our government, to strengthen and prepare its medical resources for future pandemics,” he adds.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/boosting-booster-jabs-against-omicron/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Booster shots for frontliners</a> including healthcare workers in Nepal  started this week, and the additional dose will provide much needed protection to doctors and nurses who work in close contact with possibly infected patients.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204b29c7e80680e0b2877jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204b49c7e80680e0b2878jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204b79c7e80680e0b2879jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204ba9c7e80680e0b287ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641">But crowded vaccination centres (pictured above) themselves risk being breeding grounds for infection. This time the queues are not just of the unvaccinated getting their first jabs, but also those waiting for boosters. Even if vaccinated, doctors say masks and physical distancing are mandatory.They warn the public <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not to be complacent</a> because they are vaccinated and that Omicron is milder. Binod Dangal of Charikot Hospital says: “Most people are treating Omicron as a normal cold but it is very important for us to monitor the progress of the disease in the next few weeks, and prepare for adequate critical care.”At Nepal’s biggest infectious disease centre Teku Hospital, virologist Sher Bahadur Pun cites scientific studies to say that the shortage of healthcare workers will not persist, and the isolation period can be reduced. Nepal has likely passed the most infectious stage of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-with-covid-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omicron spread</a> and it is now time to keep a close watch on people isolating at homes and in hospitals.Pun adds: “We must also investigate which strain is causing Covid deaths in Nepal because if Omicron had indeed replaced Delta, our figures for mortality should not be as consistent as it was before the third wave.”

3rd Covid wave infects Nepal’s frontliners

<figure><img width="971" height="487" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204179c7e80680e0b2842jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Daily reported Covid-19 cases and deaths since January 2020, when the first case was detected in Nepal.</figcaption></figure>It was on 23 January 2020 that the first Covid-19 case was detected in Nepal. Two years later, the country is on the cusp of a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vaccines-variants-and-a-third-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">third wave</a>.The time to sound an alarm about a new surge is long over. Action should have been taken months ago. All the government can do now is to launch a massive campaign to inoculate the unvaccinated, offer boosters to frontline workers, the elderly, and people in densely populated areas.Evidence elsewhere, including in neighbouring India, show that while the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/omicron-is-coming-to-nepal-be-prepared/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omicron strain</a> is 12 times more transmissible than previous variants, most of those infected do not need critical care in hospitals – unless unvaccinated or immuno-compromised.    Cases are rising fast in Nepal, doubling every 2 days to 3,075 new recorded infections on Wednesday. The positivity rate has soared 10 times in a week to 23.5%. At this rate, there will be 12,000 new confirmed cases by 16 January, which will be higher than the peak of the second wave in May 2021.“With Omicron now spreading in the community, we don’t need to gene sequence anymore,” says Epidemiology and Disease Control Division director Krishna Prasad Paudel.He is hoping Omicron will show a similar trajectory to elsewhere, and those infected will have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">milder symptoms </a>compared to Delta. The new variant mostly impacts the upper respiratory tract, with lungs largely unaffected, hence lessening the need for oxygen and ventilators.However, Nepal’s low vaccination rate (50% partially, 40% fully) means that individuals need to continue taking precautions with masks and distancing.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-has-all-the-conditions-for-an-omicron-surge/">“Nepal has all the conditions for an Omicron surge”</a>, Nepali Times <figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637204199c7e80680e0b2843jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>A double dose of the vaccine is not as effective against Omicron, and most Nepalis have passed six months since they were inoculated, meaning that their antibody levels have fallen considerably by now. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/boosting-booster-jabs-against-omicron/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Boosters would provide more protection</a>, but the government is only offering those to high risk groups from next week.Although Omicron is now the dominant strain, Delta is still circulating, and causing deaths. We know from the past two years that it takes a few weeks for mortality to pick up after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-needs-to-prepare-for-new-covid-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cases start rising</a>. This has been seen in India, and Nepal closely follows health trends there.“We need to keep a close watch on our mortality figures, find out which variant is causing most deaths, and we will have to prepare hospitals and healthcare workers once again,” warns epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa of IPAS.Across Nepal, many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rural hospitals are still understaffed</a> and do not have trained personnel to operate ventilators and run ICU wards. Not all new oxygen plants are functional yet.But Sangeeta Kaushal Mishra of the Health Coordination Division assures that the government is in a better position this time: “We are prepared for hospitalisations if cases are milder, but we don’t know how the virus will behave."The sheer transmissibility of Omicron could mean severe symptoms and even deaths among the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes.  Elsewhere in the world, even vaccinated health workers have been infected, overwhelming hospitals.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-vaccines-prevent-severe-covid/">“All vaccines prevent severe Covid”</a>, Nepali Times <img width="1594" height="986" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/6372041d9c7e80680e0b2844jpeg.jpg" alt="">The first line of defence against Covid is still masks and distancing. The second is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/vaccines-are-the-only-solution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mass vaccination</a>. Nepal still has a stockpile of over 10 million doses in refrigerated stores, and 6 million more doses in the pipeline. A syringe shortage reduced the vaccination rate, but Mishra expects the drive to pick up next week. More than 200,000 people were vaccinated on Wednesday.“We were lucky Omicron is mild, but we should use this  opportunity to inoculate both the unvaccinated and boost the  vulnerable on war footing,” says physician Buddha Basnyat of Patan Academy of Health Sciences.The government is starting mass inoculation of children from 12-17 years, and has shut down schools for three weeks until 29 January due to the new surge. Gatherings of more than 25 people have been banned, masks are mandatory outdoors, and people will need vaccine cards to enter public spaces from next week.“The fact that Omicron is much milder has made people even more careless, so we must once again reinforce the importance of masks, ventilation and distancing,” warns virologist Sher Bahadur Pun at Teku Hospital.Equally important is the institutional isolation of active cases and contact tracing. Experts believe official <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">figures are under-reported</a> and total cases and fatality figures are much higher. The Economist tracks ‘excess deaths’ across countries and estimates that 2.3 million people had died from Covid-19 by May 2021 in India, compared to only 200,000 official fatalities.Its calculations show that when Nepal recorded its highest daily Covid deaths of 246 on 19 May 2021, the actual number was 425. The real infection rate was also much higher than official data.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-with-covid-in-2022/">Living with Covid in 2022</a>, Sonia Awale

3rd wave in 2 years

<figure><img width="1319" height="1975" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203ae9c7e80680e0b281ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: UNICEF NEPAL</figcaption></figure>For the first time in four months, Nepal recorded over 1,000 daily new Covid cases on Sunday. Of the 12,632 people tested nationwide, 9% were positive – proving that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-has-all-the-conditions-for-an-omicron-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omicron</a> has replaced Delta as the dominant strain.Reacting to the sharp rise in infections, Nepal’s Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) has imposed a ban on gatherings of more than 25 people in public spaces, and made it compulsory to show vaccine certificates before entering them. Schools that had just opened following winter vacation, will also be shut for another three weeks.“It will be foolhardy of us not to expect a surge now. But if the vaccination drive slows, we will pay for it dearly,” warns Buddha Basnyat, a physician at Patan Academy of Medical Sciences.But Nepal’s vaccination drive has hit a speed bump because of a shortage of syringes. Although <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-scarce-vaccines-to-storage-shortage-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">there is a stockpile</a> of 12 million doses in refrigerated stores across the country, and 6 million more doses on the pipeline, there are a limited number of needles to administer them.Nepal was one of the first countries in the region to start Covid vaccinations in March 2021, and has managed to fully inoculate only 36.8% of its 30 million population. Only half the population has received the first dose. The needle shortage is holding back first jabs, second doses and booster shots for the vulnerable groups including health workers, the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals.“Two doses of vaccines against Omicron is not as effective but a booster is. So we have to provide the third dose not so much to prevent mortality, but to stop Omicron from spreading rapidly and overwhelming our healthcare system,” says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa.She adds: “Yes, there is a moral dilemma to boosters. Given that a majority of Nepalis haven’t yet been fully vaccinated we have to consider the latest development as the doses are approaching their expiry date.” Nepal is planning to provide boosters only when 40% of the population has been fully inoculated. But studies have shown that the immunity afforded by vaccines wanes over time with a significant decline in the level of antibodies. And while most of the vaccines are not as effective against Omicron, they still <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-vaccines-prevent-severe-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">largely prevent severity</a>.Says Minister of Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada: “We are trying to sort out some final details and will make an announcement on boosters soon.”Studies have now confirmed that Omicron produces less damaging infections with impacts largely limited to the upper respiratory tract and does not multiply readily in lung tissue, leading many to believe that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the new variant is much milder</a> and hence likely to replace Delta.“We must provide boosters for the most vulnerable groups, I have seen many patients at my hospital who are fully inoculated but struggling with complications,” says virologist Sher Bahadur Pun at Kathmandu’s Teku Hospital. “Just because they have already received two doses we can’t leave them to die.” He adds: "In the meantime, we also have to identify groups who can’t access shots and those who are still hesitant to inoculate, and work out strategies that address them best to speed up the vaccination drive.”Most infected people are also experiencing much milder symptoms of Omicron, either because they have been vaccinated or have natural immunity due to previous infections that they were not aware of. Even so, the sheer transmissibility of the new strain will likely <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-with-covid-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">overwhelm Nepal’s understaffed and underfinanced healthcare</a> mechanism. <figure><img width="640" height="296" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203b19c7e80680e0b281fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Daily case load in India and Nepal (below). Source: WORLDOMETERS</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="327" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203b49c7e80680e0b2820jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In neighbouring India, the daily caseload is now nearing 150,000 a day, and it is doubling every 1.5 days in Bihar state across the border. During the Delta surge, Nepal’s cases peaked two weeks after it did in India, but with Omicron it may not even take that long. “We are prepared for hospitalisations if cases are milder and not as serious but we don’t know how the virus will behave. We are also better prepared than the last surge with oxygen, ICUs and other facilities,” says Sangita Kaushal Mishra at the Ministry of Health Health Coordination Division.That may be the case, but across Nepal many rural hospitals are still understaffed and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/donated-ventilators-gather-dust-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">do not have trained personnel</a> to operate ventilators and run ICU wards. Similarly, not all newly installed oxygen plants are functional yet.Then there is virtually no contact tracing, leading experts to believe that figures for Omicron are underreported, and only individuals with symptoms are being tested. “Given how contagious Omicron is, increased testing can go a long way in controlling the surge, so can institutional isolation of active cases,” says Bikash Gauchan of the Gandaki Province Infectious and Communicable Disease Hospital in Pokhara.Children all over the country are still largely unvaccinated, and should be prioritised during the time that schools are closed. There has been a worrying rise in paediatric hospitalisation in the US and Europe among unvaccinated children. And while people below 18 years have been largely spared so far, they are nonetheless an active medium for the virus to spread rapidly to more at-risk groups.The community spread of Omicron in Nepal is blamed on large gatherings of major political parties during their conventions in the past month. Such irresponsibility from top leaders has also led general populations to flout safety measures. Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, his family and many of his close aides have tested positive, and leaders of other political parties, including ministers are in isolation.The once-in-12-year <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/creation-to-destruction-then-revival/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Makar Mela</a> is expected to draw 6 million visitors in a month to Panauti starting next week, and can be a hyper-spreader event. So can the lead-up to the local elections slated for April. “The fact that Omicron is much milder can make people more careless, so we must once again reinforce the importance of masks, ventilation and distancing,” says Pun.Besides this, the second line of defence is to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible, and start giving boosters to the rest. Adds Buddha Basnyat: “We were lucky with Omicron that it is mild but we should use it as an opportunity to vaccinate both the unvaccinated and boost the vulnerable groups simultaneously on war footing to prevent stronger variants from arising.”

Boosting booster jabs against Omicron

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/6372030d9c7e80680e0b27e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1378" height="919"/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Be it by naïveté, misplaced optimism, or a great faith in the healing powers of Himalayan air and turmeric, no one in Nepal had expected that we would be in the global epicentre of the Covid-19 surge fuelled by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delta-variants-wake-up-call-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delta variant in the spring of 2021</a>.Our miscalculation and gross lack of preparation cost thousands of lives and left so many Nepalis bereaved during this Dasain and Tihar. Shortly after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Indian wave began in March</a>, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid cases per capita, and the worst viral transmission rates on the planet. While the world focused on India, Nepal's health system was overwhelmed in a matter of days.Remember how we <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">desperately searched for oxygen cylinders</a>, when every ICU bed was occupied and ventilators were in short supply? Remember rural communities where the situation was even worse, and so many Nepalis died without any medical attention? And there was the black market that forced many to pay exorbitant rates for life-saving oxygen, masks, and even paracetamol.We cannot afford to forget these terrible and deadly months. If we do, and do not prepare for the next wave, we will be bound to repeat them. With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-on-high-alert-for-omicron/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Omicron variant </a>now spreading like wildfire across the globe, let us remind ourselves that Nepal experiences a surge in Covid cases a few months after the rest of the world. The Delta variant (which has been proven to be less transmissible than Omicron) took more lives in just a few months than the 2015 earthquakes.The current low case numbers in Nepal are not going to last. Repeating our mistakes of under-preparedness and apathy has the potential to kill thousands of more Nepalis in the coming months.While preliminary data shows that the Omicron variant is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">less likely to hospitalise infected individuals</a> than Delta did, we need to take into account that this new variant spreads at a much faster rate. The relief we may feel from a smaller percentage of Covid patients needing life-saving care is cancelled out by there being an exponentially higher number of total infections.Our medical facilities will still be overwhelmed, leading to unnecessary loss of life on a large scale. In short, Omicron is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-has-all-the-conditions-for-an-omicron-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not to be underestimated</a>, especially for densely populated communities in Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203109c7e80680e0b27eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1221" height="814">We still have some time to prepare. Policy makers and individuals alike have important roles to play in the critical next weeks and months. We cannot squander this opportunity to save lives. National and local governments need time to act now on these critical areas:<ol><li><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-vaccines-prevent-severe-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vaccinate Aggressively</a>: There are varying statistics on the percentage of Nepalis vaccinated, but no more than 40% of the population have been fully vaccinated. Booster shots are now necessary to adequately protect a population, so we still have a very long way to go.</li></ol>The good news is that even if we cannot fully vaccinate and provide boosters for the entire population, clinical experience shows that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vaccines-variants-and-a-third-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccinated individuals</a> have less need for Covid-19 hospitalisations and are much less likely to die from the Omicron variant. Decision makers can make our limited vaccine supply go further by prioritising vaccines for densely populated cities and in areas where Delta infection was low, as people in these areas are less likely to have natural immunity.<ol start="2"><li>Border Control: The devastating wave of the Delta variant in Nepal began a few weeks after it had taken hold in India. This was largely attributed to a spillage of the virus through the open southern border. We can support municipalities along the border to help contain the Omicron by strict health desks to screen individuals crossing the border. This will require increased funding and other resources.</li></ol><ol start="3"><li>Isolation and Quarantine Centres: Delta spread from India and urban areas into the countryside because we could not properly accommodate and care for infected patients in quarantine and isolation centres. There is time to re-establish these facilities before the next wave hits, and train frontline health workers and local governments based on guidelines that already exist. Again, as the variants (and our knowledge about them) evolve, we need to remain agile and empower our managers and healthcare workers to address the changing ground situation.</li></ol><ol start="4"><li>Oxygen Supply: During and after the Delta wave last year, the Ministry of Health and Population made commendable efforts to expand oxygen plant availability in the country, with support from international aid groups. These new plants need to be brought online and tested in the coming months, and MoHP must accelerate its efforts to meet its own requirement of having an oxygen plant at every 100 bed-hospital in the country.</li></ol><ol start="5"><li>Using Female Community Health Volunteers: FCHVs have been a key for many of Nepal’s remarkable gains in public health, including reducing maternal mortality rates. This network of local health workers was not fully deployed during the last Covid wave. We can use FCHVs to disseminate public health information, vaccine knowledge, and to play a frontline role in enforcing community guidelines to reduce local transmission of the virus, and to care for the infected. These volunteers and other community-based health workers need to be adequately compensated, and equipped with materials, protective equipment, and training.</li></ol>Properly mobilising and empowering FCHVs is the fastest and most efficient way to support rural communities that lack other options for advanced care. This will have a ripple effect across the national health system, and may be a key factor in avoiding another total collapse. All of these steps depend on implementation by the government and private healthcare system. We commend recent steps taken by the health department to test Nepalis returning from India, and to establish quarantine centres along the border.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203139c7e80680e0b27ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="856" height="571">As individuals, we must <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-with-covid-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">continue to take responsibility</a> for protecting our loved ones by following public health guidelines for another few months at least. History shows we will not know for certain that Omicron has arrived in Nepal until after the variant is endemic in the population. These proactive measures can slow the spread, starting now:<ol><li>Mask up in all public places and when in close contact with members of at-risk populations. Doubling up on masks is a good idea, given the extremely contagious nature of Omicron.</li></ol><ol start="2"><li>Avoid touching the face with fingers, and frequently wash hands - at least 20 seconds with soap and water.</li></ol><ol start="3"><li>Avoid all public gatherings. If not, maintain social distance of at least 1m.</li></ol><ol start="4"><li>Support the local government by following protocols and encouraging elected officials to take proactive measures to protect the community. Volunteer to spread awareness or set up facilities if you can, and be ready to support your community when the next wave arrives. We Nepali are great at using ‘source-force’ to get things done - now is a great time to use your connections and networks to encourage people in positions of influence to take proactive steps to prepare for Omicron.</li></ol>In the age of Covid, it’ is every country and every community for itself. Delta taught us in Nepal not to trust promises of international aid to save us from the pandemic. We are on our own, and we only have each other to get through this.The Delta wave, like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/rebuilding-five-years-after-2015-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the 2015 earthquakes</a>, also taught us that when the going gets tough, Nepalis come together and achieve miracles. Remember the community groups that blossomed across the country to create isolation centres, distribute food and supplies, and invented improvised oxygen concentrators.Remember the FCHVs and community members who risked their lives to travel into every corner of the country to deliver vaccines to the most vulnerable citizens.  This time, we have an opportunity to harness this grit and compassion when it is needed most - before the disaster strikes.Ramu Kharel is an emergency medicine physician at Brown University and has worked extensively in the frontlines of Covid-19. He runs a non-profit organisation HAPSA in Nepal that is working on Covid response.Ben Ayers is an American citizen based in Nepal for over 20 years.

Omicron is coming to Nepal, be prepared

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e259c7e80680e0af3f5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1524" height="1000"/><figcaption>The 4.1 million doses of Moderna and J&amp;J vaccines sent by Germany via COVAX facility arrived in Kathmandu this week. Photo: UNICEF</figcaption></figure>Till a few months ago, Nepal was struggling with a critical shortage of vaccine doses, and the situation was so dire that the 1.4 million senior citizens were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lonely-wait-of-nepals-elderly-for-2nd-doses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">waiting past the due date for their second doses</a>.How the tables have turned. Today, the vaccine stockpile is so large that there is a danger of vials having to be destroyed because of the lack of refrigerated storage — and there are millions more vaccines in the pipeline.“There is no shortage of vaccines anymore, there are millions of doses in stock and we now need to inject them into arms as soon as possible,” says Buddha Basnyat, a physician at the Patan Academy of Medical Sciences.“The best strategy now is to continue inoculating those who haven’t yet been vaccinated while simultaneously also administering boosters, given the decreasing antibody levels and the rise of new variants,” he adds.Health experts are now recommending that the Nepal government also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start booster shots for high-risk populations</a> such as the immuno-compromised, senior citizens and frontline workers. They urge better planning and clarity from the government about booster shots, and who should get them to prevent influential people from jumping the queue, or misusing the doses.So far Nepal has got 20 million doses of vaccines, and has used an estimated 10 million. In the next three months, the country will be taking delivery of over 34 million doses of AstraZeneca, Coronavax, VeroCell, J&amp;J, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. This week alone, Germany sent 4.1 million doses of Moderna and J&amp;J vaccines via the COVAX initiative. It also supported the procurement of ultra-low temperature freezers.But it is not only the lack of storage facility and nearing expiry date that validates the logic behind booster shots. Studies have shown that the antibody levels afforded by vaccines and natural infections wane significantly over time. The memory cells also provide immunity against the infection, but there is uncertainty about how long that lasts.“From the perspective of science, a booster dose is necessary especially with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-on-high-alert-for-omicron/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Omicron in the picture</a>, boosters have been shown to significantly reduce hospitalisations” explains Lhamu Yangchen Sherpa, an epidemiologist with IPAS Nepal.She adds, “However, we in Nepal have a moral dilemma because a majority of our population haven’t yet received even a single dose. We need to balance this and come up with protective mechanisms that will save the most lives.”Indeed, despite adequate vaccines in the stock and millions more in the pipeline, only 30% of Nepal’s target population have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Some 36% have been partially inoculated.Some of Kathmandu’s hospitals are starting to observe an increase in hospitalisations, severity and deaths among people who had been fully vaccinated six months ago. This makes the case for boosters, starting with those with co-morbidity, or those above 60.“This can be an early warning for what is in store for us, the best way to prevent future surge is proper management and distribution of the vaccines we have,” says Sher Bahadur Pun, a virologist at Kathmandu’s Teku Hospital.“Nepal’s priority remains <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/do-nepalis-need-covid-booster-shots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccination for all</a>, but this does not mean we leave those who have taken two doses to die. Individuals above 60 and those more vulnerable to Covid-19 must get boosters on time and that is now,” Pun adds.Going by this week’s figures, Nepal is registering on an average of 260 new Covid a day with the positivity rate at 2.3%. While this figure is not as alarming as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-real-cost-of-nepals-second-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the second wave in April-May</a>, the arrival of the Omicron variant is of serious concern.The new variant has been credited for a steep increase in the number of infections across the globe. The UK reported over 76,000 cases a day on Wednesday, and the WHO has warned that Omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate across the world.“The new variant while comparatively less virulent than the Delta is at least two to three times more transmissible, which means it can still cause a significant number of deaths given the higher number of infections and more morbidity, underwhelming our health infrastructure,” warns Anup Subedee, infectious disease specialist at HAMS hospital.“It may not lead to another big surge like the second wave but we have to be on a high alert,” he adds.Nepal’s poor health infrastructure is not <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-needs-to-prepare-for-new-covid-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fully prepared for another spike</a> in infections. While doctors and nurses may have experience with the pandemic, and city hospitals are mostly well-equipped, ventilators are gathering dust due to the lack of skilled workers to operate them. New oxygen plants have not been monitored properly, and ICUs do not have enough trained nurses.“Everything Covid wise is now under control, we haven’t had a single case in the last two weeks but we are no better prepared,” says Binod Dangal of Charikot Hospital in Dolakha District. “If there is another wave, we are done for. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/donated-ventilators-gather-dust-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Our equipment is not functional</a> and we don’t have trained staff either.”There is once again a false sense of security, and the public cannot wait to go back to pre-Covid days with marriage parties, political conventions, packed classrooms, and crowded markets. For the foreseeable future, experts say we must continue to mask up and follow safety protocols despite the vaccine rollout, especially with the rise of new variants.Says physician Buddha Basnyat: “The mask is the best vaccine. It is cheap and effective, while we attempt to vaccinate everyone and give boosters.”

From scarce vaccines, to storage shortage in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1db19c7e80680e0af3d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="767" height="575"/><figcaption>Security personnel and relatives of the deceased attend a mourning at the premise of infectious disease hospital in Pokhara. Photos: BARSHA KAFLE</figcaption></figure>A 79-year-old woman lay on the emergency bed, diagnosed with pneumonia due to Covid-19. Even as she was gasping for breath she had a smile on her face, handing over an invitation card to the attending doctor who was also her relative.Her grandson’s wedding was four days later. Family members from across the world had flown into Pokhara for the ceremony. She died of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome with multiple organ failure a day before the wedding, and it had to be cancelled.As her physician, I had sleepless nights when her condition worsened. We <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-health-workers-battle-covid-19-but-also-stigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">health-care workers are also human beings</a>. When we lose near and dear ones it takes a toll on our physical and mental health, we grieve when our patients die. We may hide our emotions but we suffer all the same.The woman was just one of many relatives I have lost during this pandemic. As I grieved with family members gathered at the hospital, we were once again reminded of the Buddhist teachings about impermanence. Yet none of us is ever ready.“But it must be easier for you to face death as a doctor,” one of the mourners said to me. No, it is just as difficult. If not more, because as a physician I had the added responsibility of saving her life.Army men dressed in PPE from head to toe had arrived to take her body for safe disposal. Relatives from across the world who had come to celebrate a wedding ended up attending a funeral.The Gandaki Province government established Nepal’s first provincial infectious disease hospital in July 2020. Since then, it has managed nearly 1,300 Covid-19 cases at a cost of Rs500 million.Tha Gandaki Province government established Nepal's first provincial infectious disease hospital in July 2020. Since then, it has managed nearly 1, 300 Covid-19 cases saving Rs500 million out of pocket expenditure of common people.We have lost 52 people to the coronavirus in the same period. The Covid-19 mortality rate in this provincial hospital is 4.1%, relatively high compared to the total number of people who were hospitalised.The global death rate now stands at 1.97% with a total of 5,318,277 fatalities. This figure is exceptionally high given it has only been two years. Even then, this figure does not include <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-real-cost-of-nepals-second-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the social, mental and economic consequences</a> to family and friends of the deceased.But each Covid death is also a lesson for us to learn from. Most of these deaths could have been prevented if only Nepal had a robust primary health care system, and if preventive measures were more strictly enforced.With the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rise of new variants like Omicron</a>, it is also advisable to up our vaccination drive and we should also start administering boosters to vulnerable populations given our stock of doses and those that are on the pipeline.A man in his late thirties was isolating at home in Pokhara after getting infected. He just had a common cold but I requested him to undergo hospital-based isolation as he was symptomatic. But just a few days after getting admitted, his symptoms worsened and his condition deteriorated. He was then transferred to another hospital, and died soon after.This was not a case that should have been fatal. Even after 12 years of clinical experience, some of the Covid-19 outcomes I have encountered in the past year have been unexpected and shocking. It must have been devastating for the young man’s family and friends.Earier this year, when a 86-year-old mukhiya from Mustang died at our hospital of Covid complications, hundreds of Thakalis travelled to Pokhara to show their respect to the deceased despite the coronavirus surge at the time. Young or old, the virus was indiscriminate.In November 2020, I myself had to self-isolate with an upper respiratory infection due to a coronavirus infection. I thought I would not survive the excruciating body ache, sleepless nights and high anxiety level. During those horrific 10 days at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bayalpata Hospital in Achham</a> I was battling an infection that I was treating my patients for.An elderly couple had been admitted to our hospital with Covid, both of them had severe symptoms. The husband died within a few hours of admission, but his wife was not aware of his passing until she became critically ill herself, and the family decided to tell her the truth. She passed away a week after her spouse. Medical staff usually have seen it all, but so moved with sorrow they mourned too.Holistic <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">health care</a> is the central core of modern medicine. But the caregivers can provide only acute biomedical care to alleviate the suffering of Covid patients. Their psycho-social wellbeing and that of their family members are often ignored. And we have not even begun to think about the mental health and trauma of the frontline workers.Over 800,000 Nepalis have been infected with the coronavirus and 12,852 have died of the disease. It is time we study this data, in particular the common causes of Covid-19 deaths in Nepal. Is it heart attack, blockage of vessels in the lungs, multiple organ failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome?We must reshape our health policies based on these facts and evidence. We must ensure adequate preparation with ICU beds, oxygen supply, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/donated-ventilators-gather-dust-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ventilators</a> and other equipment that were in short supply earlier this year.Only then can we design a robust and customised care system to protect our population from future surges.Bikash Gauchan is the Executive Director of the Infectious and Communicable Disease Hospital in Gandaki Province.

Diary of a Covid frontline worker in Nepal

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

Four international names in architecture, Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Louis Isadore Kahn, all left their mark in Nepal. But despite their best intentions, the ambitious designs fizzled out. Ban, Koolhaas and Ando won Pritzkers, the best known international award for architecture, and Kahn could have won it had the prize been given in his lifetime. But their designs fell short of transforming Nepali architecture and did not help inspire local architects.&nbsp; Why were these four ‘starchitects’ unable to pull off their Nepal projects and enrich the country with exemplary contemporary designs? The failure, especially the violation of Kahn’s design, also raises larger questions about how much contemporary architecture is valued in Nepal.&nbsp; Whereas Sri Lanka had Geoffrey Bawa and Bangladesh had Mazharul Islam, the pioneers of contemporary architecture in Nepal have had far less public appreciation. One wonders if Nepali architecture only refers to the monuments and heritage of the past. Nepal does have examples of outstanding modern architecture such as the &nbsp;पाङ्रे घर ‘Wheel House’ and खुट्टे घर &nbsp;‘House on Legs’ by Shankar Nath Rimal in the 1960s. These are the best examples of how some Nepali designers successfully tailored modern architecture to the Nepali context.&nbsp; Ten years ago, Nepal had three architecture magazines, SPACES, praXis and Business Architecture, but none of these survived. This newspaper has prominently covered contemporary architecture, and the built environment, but these are exceptions in Nepal’s media. There have been a few encouraging signs. The 2024 exhibition Modern Encounters in Architecture in Kathmandu Valley (1945-1985) at the Taragaon Museum had many visitors and its accompanying book is a seminal document.&nbsp; In 2023, the Mountain Architecture Dialogue (MAD) that focused on examples of good-practice sustainable contemporary architecture for the mountainous terrains of Nepal was a packed event with over 300 young architects, engineers, environmentalists and architecture students. <h2>Shigeru Ban</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  Shigeru Ban had already built a name for himself in post-disaster construction when he came to Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes in which 500,000 people lost their homes. The basic design and its 3D-rendered images were reviewed in upbeat articles on DOMUS, Architectural Review, Dezeen, and Arch Daily.&nbsp; But his signature cardboard tubes could not handle the monsoon and the roof structure had to be re-designed with timber. Only two shelters were completed in Sindupalchok, and only one of them still stands at the Hyatt Regency grounds today, as Ban’s souvenir to Nepal.&nbsp; <h2>Rem Koolhaas</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="722" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  The designs of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas have a specific signature: bold shapes and an intriguing architectural typology that challenges standard building blocks. Some designs even seem to defy gravity, like the CCTV headquarters in Beijing: an angular, continuous geometry of glass and steel.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1168" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Rem Koolhaas' design for Ullen's School in Khumaltar.</figcaption> </figure>  Koolhaas was commissioned by Belgian billionaire Guy Ullens to design a new building for Ullens School in Khumaltar. The most prominent feature is its vertical glass block staircase. Some interior spaces have lowered windowsills, which provide ample views and daylight. But the school building has gone unremarked in Nepal. <h2>Tadao Ando</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675" data-rendition-name="original" width="626" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> </figure>  Doctors providing aid to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 in Japan requested Tadao Ando, who had donated his Pritzker money to the victims, to also make a design for a hospital in Butwal.&nbsp; Ando’s contribution would be pro-bono and the construction was funded by the Hanshin Earthquake victims and by the popular Japanese newspaper Mainichi, as a tribute to Nepali doctors. The first block that Ando designed for the Siddhartha Children and Women’s Hospital (SCWH) was the out-patient department. He quickly realised that he would not be able to pull off structures with his typical style of smooth-finished, high-quality concrete.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579" data-rendition-name="original" width="1594" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Tadao Ando's Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital in Butwal.</figcaption> </figure>  Ando wrote in the online architectural catalog Architectuul, that the two main problems with the project were costs and the availability of local technology. ‘It became a facility that has a slightly different expression from the buildings I have completed so far,’ he wrote. He designed a colonnade for the west façade that would provide shelter from harsh sunlight, and the exposed brick walls were locally manufactured bricks.&nbsp; The hospital is characterised by modernist cuboidal massing, but the outer brick façades now appear unintentionally badly weathered by monsoons. The interiors lack both sufficient natural light and natural ventilation. <h2>Louis I Kahn</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  American architect Louis I Kahn had experience of projects in South Asia, and several were under construction when he died suddenly in 1974. Amongst these were the National Assembly complex in Dhaka, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and the Family Planning and Maternal Child Welfare Centre in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Kahn had started the USAID funded project in Nepal by developing a master plan for the government institutional zone in Kathmandu, which included a building for the Health Ministry. The building’s façade in exposed brick has deeply recessed vertical windows for shading.&nbsp; The balancing of accentuated horizontal lines in the brickwork with the verticality of the larger composition is the work of a master. The brick walls rise up into punctured parapet walls at the roof level. These square apertures ‘frame the sky’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1924" height="1242" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Louis Kahn's plan for the Ministry of Health.</figcaption> </figure>  When Kahn died, only the eastern half of the building was finished. The Western part was never built and Nepal’s bureaucrats decided that without paint, the exposed brick façade was not finished. Then in 1995, citing roof leakage and a space crunch, the Health Ministry added a floor.&nbsp; The frames-to-the-sky in the roof parapet were converted into windows and topped off with a sloping roof of corrugated steel sheets, whose only virtue was that it was cost-effective.&nbsp; Kahn’s orthogonal composition, which clean horizontal and vertical lines, was desecrated despite a public outcry and legal challenges from architects and cultural organisations. A version of this article was first published in HIMAL Southasian. Illustrations by Varun S Bapu.

Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

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