<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86cf9c7e80680e067875jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1125" height="1500"/><figcaption>Photos: PRATIBHA TULADHAR</figcaption></figure>When I say, “Be safe”, I am asking you to be kind to yourself. I am asking that you remember to wear your mask right across your face without any gaps that are likely to expose you to the risks the world is now thick with.When I ask you to be safe, I am hoping you will remember that surgical masks are one-time use and that if you are using other kinds of masks, you know the extent of protection they offer, and do not stretch them beyond it.When I utter “mask” every time you step out on one of your short walks, it means I am whispering a reminder that you know to keep a safe distance from neighbours and acquaintances you might meet during your walks. It is me fervently hoping that when you run into someone, you will bring your palms together to greet them from a great distance, and keep to your side of the road and then walk away.When I say “safety”, the word is more than a synonym or a metaphor. It is a prayer. It is me hoping you will not have to repeat the experience I have had, wherein one is sequestered from the world for weeks on end, often at the end of the tether.It is a lonely place to be battling for breath and to have to be completely alone doing it, clinging to whatever remains of sanity when you are constantly in such a place— although, isn’t it true that each of us fight our battles alone?This loneliness is not the one of choice that introverts like me often make. It is layered in different moods and moments. It is mostly about staring from one wall to another, learning every single item in your room by heart. It is about thinking of friends and family and how long since you last held a hand or pressed someone to your bosom. It is about wondering if there might indeed be time for you to finish that story you were writing.It is also about learning by heart the views your room has to offer. In Kathmandu, it is the squalour, now donned in colours that range from pistachio to fuchsia. They stare back at you as you watch from the solitude of your room, observing neighbours, making a mental note of their daily activities, even though the last thing you want to do is to pry.Some nights, the solitude will come back to bite as it leaves you reeling, your lungs as if knocked out of breath. And then you grovel, your head scooped in your palms, coughing into bedclothes, sometimes cursing, sometimes reminding yourself that you cannot let the virus stay and that you’re going to do everything to exorcise it from your body. But the virus is a vicious one and it slams you down, compelling you to lie prone sucking in only as much oxygen as your lungs have the capacity for just then.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86d29c7e80680e067876jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1125" height="1500">You listen to the sounds of the night— they become an unending sad song as you try to calm a panic attack, reach for the can of supplemental oxygen and draw some puffs in. You wonder what might be the state of someone who has no access to such a can.When I say "be safe", I am hoping that you do not have to queue up in public spaces to get a PCR test done. That you may always have the means to not risk closed spaces and long lines. But I am also hoping that the vaccination queues where you go with the hope for protection does not turn you away with the beginning of an infection.I hope you do not have to lie in bed awake all night worrying about a cousin who is in the ICU or thinking about another cousin who passed away last week after weeks of battle against the virus.The virus—how commonplace the term and its presence—threatens our very breath, making us toggle from fear to fear. It gives us a start every time a loved one sneezes or coughs.“How terrible is this? I have to shun my own children,” the mother says, as she speaks from outside a shut door, through her mask at her child who is quarantined.She wants to cradle her child in her arms, but all she can do is fill the plate with food that she believes will nurse her babe back to health. She puts it down at the threshold, then steps away quickly before the child opens the door to pick the plate and shut the door again, like some criminal.I wish to shield you from experiences like these.I wish that after picking your plate, you never have to stare at the food for an hour, wondering if your sore throat will burn as you swallow, wondering why everything tastes like nothing. And then nibble slowly, not knowing whether to love or hate the act of eating food that is now sans taste, sans fragrance, but you must eat even though you have no appetite.I wish none of these to ever be your experience.When I say “be safe”, I wish you are not in a country where the government wrestles to stay in power as people struggle to find hospital beds and oxygen cylinders and to put food on the plate. I wish you never find yourself in a situation where there is no room to isolate, or the means to buy medicines or food that will nourish you back to health.“Be safe.” I want you to always have lungs that allow you breathe without having to lean on steroids or supplement oxygen. I want you to continue experiencing rain without worrying about catching pneumonia or bronchitis. I want you to outlive me.

Pratibha Tuladhar

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"Be safe"

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181148/636be8269c7e80680e087841jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="747" height="600"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>As <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">part of my job as a journalist</a>, I have interviewed many in the past months who were seriously sick with Covid-19. On all those occasions, at the back of my mind was always the fear that I myself might be infected one day.Our work takes us to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-journalists-are-also-on-the-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frontlines of this pandemic</a>. When the lockdown was imposed, I started working out of my home in Butwal. Regardless, I had to travel to nearby regions to report. And while I tried to follow all the necessary safety measures, I never really found out where I caught the coronavirus.The infection hits patients with varying degrees of intensity. Some show severe symptoms, while others have milder ones, followed by a quick recovery. Mine were mild, and did not last long. I have since recovered.I experienced those 15 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-homes-and-hotels-turn-into-hospitals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">days of isolation</a> were different for me. As a journalist, I was constantly exposed to how the news, social media interactions and conversations with friends can affect the morale of those infected. It was on the day of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rani-pokhari-open-for-bhai-tika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bhai Tika</a> on (16 November, 2020) that I started feeling lethargic and weak. By evening, I was running a slight temperature. This was not unusual, I often had fevers and they passed.But these were extraordinary times, and I suspected it might be the dreaded coronavirus. So, I isolated myself at home.I took a paracetamol and managed to get some sleep, but at 3AM I was wide awake with 37.3° fever. This was not high, but I had a hard time going back to sleep.In the morning, I went to Lumbini Regional Hospital in Butwal for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-nepal-lags-in-covid-19-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PCR test</a>. At around 4PM, I received my report. I was confirmed Covid-19 positive.I had been preparing myself for it mentally, so I took it well. I had no other symptoms besides fever. Once I took a paracetamol, my fever would go down, but it would return every six hours. This went on for three days.I found my CT (cycle threshold) value to be at 14, which is considerably low, so I visited the hospital to get further tests done. The reports came back normal. After the third day I no longer had fever, but a blocked nose.But it was after Day 6, that I started to experience a sore throat. Gargling with salt water and hot water steaming with a dash of sancho twice a day, helped gradually reduced the cold and the soreness by Day 8.I had heard about how a positive mental attitude builds up physical immunity. From the beginning of isolation, I was careful not to let external factors influence me. I removed Facebook and Twitter from my phone, stopped checking online portals to keep myself away from news about Covid-19 deaths.I had noticed that negative news made me anxious. It made me sweat profusely and I had difficulty breathing. Because my oxygen saturation level was normal at 97, I was clearly overthinking. It was my exposure to media that was affecting my physical recovery.So, I tried my best to forget about my circumstance by watching travel and environmental documentaries. I listened to folk music and positive discourses. I took in the sun.I asked my wife to forward to me any positive news she came across. Politician Chitra Bahadur KC’s recovery, and news about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">successful vaccine trials</a> gave me hope.Throughout my career, I have heard people complain that journalists only report negative news. As a Covid-19 patient in isolation, I realised how true this is.Positive news is like the oxygen for those who are trying to recover from the coronavirus. Positive thoughts can be half the cure.While recovering, there were many who tried to give me advice. Not all of it reassuring. “Can’t say anything with coronavirus, even the healthiest have died just like that,” said one friend. Another called to say: “You should have had severe symptoms, but you seem normal.”Take it from me: trust only the experts.Doctors confirm that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dont-take-covid-19-lightly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impact of the virus is stronger in people with weaker immunity</a>. Many acquaintances have been severely affected. But because I was conscious about my diet and fitness, it seems I was able to fight back. More importantly, I was mentally prepared.It has been a week since I tested negative, but my health is still not back to what it used to be. I feel lethargic and listless, and cannot concentrate on work. But I am getting there because to be negative you have to be positive.Mukesh Pokhrel is the Himal Khabarpatrika and Nepali Times reporter based in Nawalparasi, covering the environment and development.

Staying positive to become negative

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bef1f4b0ad905ca02ef8ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="747" height="600"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>As <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-stress-grips-nepals-journalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">part of my job as a journalist</a>, I have interviewed many in the past months who were seriously sick with Covid-19. On all those occasions, at the back of my mind was always the fear that I myself might be infected one day.Our work takes us to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-journalists-are-also-on-the-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frontlines of this pandemic</a>. When the lockdown was imposed, I started working out of my home in Butwal. Regardless, I had to travel to nearby regions to report. And while I tried to follow all the necessary safety measures, I never really found out where I caught the coronavirus.The infection hits patients with varying degrees of intensity. Some show severe symptoms, while others have milder ones, followed by a quick recovery. Mine were mild, and did not last long. I have since recovered.I experienced those 15 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-homes-and-hotels-turn-into-hospitals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">days of isolation</a> were different for me. As a journalist, I was constantly exposed to how the news, social media interactions and conversations with friends can affect the morale of those infected. It was on the day of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rani-pokhari-open-for-bhai-tika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bhai Tika</a> on (16 November, 2020) that I started feeling lethargic and weak. By evening, I was running a slight temperature. This was not unusual, I often had fevers and they passed.But these were extraordinary times, and I suspected it might be the dreaded coronavirus. So, I isolated myself at home.I took a paracetamol and managed to get some sleep, but at 3AM I was wide awake with 37.3° fever. This was not high, but I had a hard time going back to sleep.In the morning, I went to Lumbini Regional Hospital in Butwal for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-nepal-lags-in-covid-19-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PCR test</a>. At around 4PM, I received my report. I was confirmed Covid-19 positive.I had been preparing myself for it mentally, so I took it well. I had no other symptoms besides fever. Once I took a paracetamol, my fever would go down, but it would return every six hours. This went on for three days.I found my CT (cycle threshold) value to be at 14, which is considerably low, so I visited the hospital to get further tests done. The reports came back normal. After the third day I no longer had fever, but a blocked nose.But it was after Day 6, that I started to experience a sore throat. Gargling with salt water and hot water steaming with a dash of sancho twice a day, helped gradually reduced the cold and the soreness by Day 8.I had heard about how a positive mental attitude builds up physical immunity. From the beginning of isolation, I was careful not to let external factors influence me. I removed Facebook and Twitter from my phone, stopped checking online portals to keep myself away from news about Covid-19 deaths.I had noticed that negative news made me anxious. It made me sweat profusely and I had difficulty breathing. Because my oxygen saturation level was normal at 97, I was clearly overthinking. It was my exposure to media that was affecting my physical recovery.So, I tried my best to forget about my circumstance by watching travel and environmental documentaries. I listened to folk music and positive discourses. I took in the sun.I asked my wife to forward to me any positive news she came across. Politician Chitra Bahadur KC’s recovery, and news about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">successful vaccine trials</a> gave me hope.Throughout my career, I have heard people complain that journalists only report negative news. As a Covid-19 patient in isolation, I realised how true this is.Positive news is like the oxygen for those who are trying to recover from the coronavirus. Positive thoughts can be half the cure.While recovering, there were many who tried to give me advice. Not all of it reassuring. “Can’t say anything with coronavirus, even the healthiest have died just like that,” said one friend. Another called to say: “You should have had severe symptoms, but you seem normal.”Take it from me: trust only the experts.Doctors confirm that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dont-take-covid-19-lightly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impact of the virus is stronger in people with weaker immunity</a>. Many acquaintances have been severely affected. But because I was conscious about my diet and fitness, it seems I was able to fight back. More importantly, I was mentally prepared.It has been a week since I tested negative, but my health is still not back to what it used to be. I feel lethargic and listless, and cannot concentrate on work. But I am getting there because to be negative you have to be positive.Mukesh Pokhrel is the Himal Khabarpatrika and Nepali Times reporter based in Nawalparasi, covering the environment and development.

<figure><img width="748" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba73e9c7e80680e07376ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>After the outrage over the government’s abrupt cancellation of scheduled repatriation flights on 16 August, the Cabinet has announced conditions for passengers coming to Nepal on chartered and scheduled flights.According to a set of complicated new rules, scheduled passenger flights will be allowed from 1 September, but all passengers will have to bear the cost of one week of hotel quarantine in Kathmandu which will be added to their air ticket.These regular flights will also be allowed only from countries where PCR tests are easily available, and these include: Malaysia, UAE, Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Australia, United States and Canada. There is confusion because no mention is made of European countries in that list. Announcing the new rules, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada gave no reasons why the distinction was being made for passengers from Europe, many of which countries are less affected by the pandemic at present than the United States. The Cabinet also decided that airlines cannot mix passengers with PCR negative tests and passengers without tests.Airlines coming from countries where PCR tests are not easy to get (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) will be allowed to operate only charter flights, or the Nepal government will operate special repatriation flights from those destinations. Further, only passengers on lists provided by embassies in those countries will be allowed to board, and once in Kathmandu they will have to stay in government-designated quarantine centres for a week while they get their PCR tests. Returnees with PCR negative tests from those three countries can go directly to home self-quarantine for 14 days. All passengers will need PCR negative certificates before boarding, and the tests must have been taken only 72 hours before their flights. Hotel costs in Kathmandu will vary from Rs1,800 to Rs9,000 per day. Only Nepalis, diplomats and UN officials will be allowed to fly into Kathmandu for the time being. Arriving foreigners will not get visa on arrival, and will also have to quarantine in hotels for a week. Earlier guidelines had opened hotels and trekking, but on Friday Khatiwada made no mention of tourists being allowed in.Meanwhile, a Nepal Airlines Airbus is flying to Dubai on Monday  to bring back 266 Nepali workers who were left stranded when the plane flew back empty on Tuesday after the government banned reptriation flights while it was en route. UPDATE, 22 AUGUST: The government has added European states in the list of countries where PCR tests are available and from where passengers can take regular flights to Kathmandu.

Nepal to open regular flights from 1 September

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baf719c7e80680e07804fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>The power struggle within the ruling NCP has overshadowed the country’s COVID-19 emergency. The government has no time to listen to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/social-movement-through-social-media/">young activists</a> who have been staging their second hunger strike demanding immediate measures to control the pandemic.The ‘Enough Is Enough’ campaign is led by 26-year-old activist who calls himself Iih (pictured above) who has refused to be moved to hospital. On Thursday he was on the 13th day of his hunger strike under a tent at Kathmandu Darbar Square, and says his team members are “putting their lives at risk to save lives”.They accuse the Health Ministry of breaking its promise on 26 June, and have among their demands: 100% PCR testing, timely results, safer quarantine facilities, full protection for frontline health workers, transparency in medical procurements, increased ICU capacity.Iih and fellow-activist Pukar Bam are on IV fluid, and say they are willing to lay down their lives if need be to save the lives of Nepalis who could die from government incompetence in handling the pandemic. Another activist, Samariaa Shrestha was taken to hospital on Tuesday after 12 days of being without food and water.On Wednesday, police arrested five Enough Is Enough campaigners near the Home Ministry at Singha Darbar, where they had gone to file a Right to Information application demanding details of how money for the management of the pandemic, as well as procurement of medical supplies, are being spent.The five were briefly detained at the Mahendra Police Club, but they staged a sit in on the street outside after release, and there was another demonstration at the site on Thursday morning.This is the group’s second hunger strike. The first in Patan Darbar Square was called off after 12 days on 7 July after the Ministry of Health <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/12-point-deal-after-12-days-of-hunger-strike/">agreed to fulfill all demands</a>.Nepal’s daily case detection is going up again after the government announced <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/">the lifting of the lockdown on 21 July</a>. While most of the case so far have been found in people travelling overland from India, in the past week there are growing numbers of positive cases among those with no travel history.The government has also started surveillance testing in some Tarai cities, and taking sample swabs from people entering Kathmandu Valley’s four entry points. The Ministry of Health still says Nepal is in the ‘cluster spread’ phase and has not yet entered the ‘community spread’.With hotels and restaurants allowed to open from 30 July, and long-distance buses and limited domestic and international flights from 17 August, public health experts fear a further surge in cases.

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Hunger strike on 13th day

The long journey back to Nepal

<figure><img width="1059" height="604" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121116/636b8cd29c7e80680e06b319jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Shekhar Golchha, Pashupati Murarka and Sudhir Mittal of Shree Airlines handing over PCR kits donated by Singapore's Temasek Foundation to Dipendra Taman Singh from the Ministry of Health on Friday after they were flown from Singapore to Kathmandu on special Shree Airlines flights. </figcaption></figure>Singapore’s <a href="https://www.temasekfoundation.org.sg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Temasek Foundation</a> has provided 10,000 PCR test kits to Nepal for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-extends-covid-19-testing-but-no-new-cases/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detecting COVID-19 cases</a> which will be deployed to frontline health workers to test patients all across the country.Called ‘Fortitude Kit 2.0’ the kits are designed by Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*START) to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The all-in-one 1-step RT-PCR kits come with all materials required for the reaction, which includes primer probes mix, enzyme mix, the positive control, negative control and internal control template. “In these difficult times, Temasek Foundation stands in solidarity with our friends from Nepal,” said Benedict Cheong, CEO of Temasek Foundation International. “We hope these test kits will be helpful to hospitals and medical professionals who are bravely managing the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 situation in Nepal</a>.”<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-rapid-tests-are-doing-more-harm-than-good/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why rapid tests are doing more harm than good</a>, Ramu SapkotaThe kits were flown from Singapore to Kathmandu on a special Shree Airlines CRJ 700 flight on Friday organised by Shekhar Golchha, Pashupati Murarka and Sudhir Mittal of Shree Airlines, and handed over to the Ministry of Health for distribution to hospitals across Nepal. Vijayendra Baral at Singapore General Hospital, and in Kathmandu Ranjit Acharya and Neil Pande facilitated the process. <img width="1116" height="1280" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121116/636b8cd59c7e80680e06b31ajpeg.jpg" alt="">Temasek Foundation had also helped Nepal strengthen public schools after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-two-disasters-in-west-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the 2015 earthquake</a> and in post-disaster recovery management jointly with <a href="https://www.singhealth.com.sg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SingHealth</a> and Ministry of Health in Nepal. The project built systems and capacity in the area of disaster healthcare training and management for the pre-hospital and in-hospital environments so as to improve preparations for future disasters. The project trained 432 specialist medical trainers and hospital leaders, 206 nurses and 38 physiotherapists in hospitals and venues across  Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Nepalganj and culminated in a mass disaster simulation droll in Kosi Zonal Hospital in November 2019. <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-to-test-covid-19-test-kits-from-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal to test COVID-19 test kits from China</a>, Ramu SapkotaA 30-member team identified by the Ministry Of Health Nepal as potential future master trainers were also travelled to Singapore in April 2019 for a 5-day training in disaster management.SingHealth has also signed an agreement with TU Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu to collaborate in Paediatrics and neonatology, liver transplants, orthopedics amongst other subspecialties. Friends of SingHealth also provided pediatric anaesthesia equipment for children having eye surgery at Tilganga Institute of Opthalmology.SingHealth is the largest healthcare cluster in Singapore with a network of acute hospitals, national speciality centres, community hospitals and polyclinics offering over 40 clinical specialities.

10,000 COVID-19 test kits to Nepal from Singapore

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

The streets of Patan are alive this month with lavender jacaranda trees under rain-washed skies as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-red-god-rises-again-in-patan">the chariot of Rato Matsyendranath</a> is pulled across town. This is the festival of the rain god, and inevitably the heavens opened up and pre-monsoon showers pelted the chariot as it started being pulled in Pulchok last week. Thousands of devotees, onlookers and the chariot procession organisers thronged the streets on the first day last week. The rhythmic cymbals and drums exuded a vibrant energy as the enormous four wheels turned and the chariot lurched.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  The<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Red-rain-god,3141"> red rain god</a> has Hindu and Buddhist antecedents, alternatively called Bungadya and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-gravity-defying-chariot-festival"> Karunamaya</a> — reflecting Kathmandu Valley’s syncretic mixture of the two religions.&nbsp; “Bungadya is a profoundly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/marketing-the-intangible">intangible form of heritage</a>,” explains heritage expert Monalisa Maharjan. “It embodies traditional knowledge,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reviving-nepal-s-craft"> artisanal skills passed down through generations</a>. Local communities and specific families have specified roles in being custodians of the heritage, ensuring their survival over the centuries.” There are many legends and stories about this annual tradition. Lichhavi king Narendra Dev is supposed to have brought Rato Matsyendranath from Assam to Kathmandu Valley to convince Guru Gorakhnath to lift a spell that created a two-year drought in Kathmandu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1503" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Matsyendranath was Gorakhnath’s mentor, and upon seeing him, the serpents were released, unleashing the rains. The chariot festival honours the return of this life-giving rain. The deity is seen as an icon for thriving agriculture, t<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon">he arrival of monsoon</a> showers, and the welfare of the community. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain">The reign of the god of rain</a>, Vidhu Prakash Kayastha Till this day, the Rato Matsyendranath festival is no ordinary celebration. Patan does not sleep for a month as the chariot is pulled through various neighbourhoods. It unfolds at a state level with the president (formerly the king) attending the climax of the Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel later this month.&nbsp; The intergenerational transmission of tradition is unique in the world, and the reason the festival is one of the most vibrant cultural expressions that thrives despite inroads of modernity. The other unique aspect is that it is a transnational festival, binding Patan with Guwahati in the Indian state of Assam.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  “Unlike Nepal, where the deity commands grandeur and devotion, many in Assam are unaware of Rato Matsyendranath,” says Khagen Sharma of Gauhati University, which convened <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-assam-connection-revived">a symposium in February in Guwahati on the rain god</a>. Attending was a delegation led by Lalitpur Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan, organisers of the festival, and builders of the chariot. After the symposium, a committee was formed to explore and revive the tradition in Assam as well. Although the team had planned to visit Nepal this month, logistical challenges delayed the trip. Still, there are plans to build a Guru Matsyendranath statue in Assam to reestablish regular worship practices in the Guwahati shrine.&nbsp; The vines used to build the chariot in Patan are sourced from the jungles of Assam. But Sharma notes that in recent years unclear regulations have blocked the official import of the vines, although they are still brought to Nepal informally. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204">chariot making</a> has also had a taste of modernisation in recent times. In the past, even a single nail or piece of steel was avoided. But over time, the wooden structure, particularly the shaft between the wheels, has been replaced with bronze. When that too proved unstable, metal clamps were introduced, which have become a pragmatic compromise.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="998" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Another welcome change is the focus on safety. Builders climbing the chariot’s tower now wear harnesses and there are efforts in crowd control. The most visible change in recent years has been the involvement of Patan’s enthusiastic youth in the festival — the tradition is now passing to a new generation. Says Matsyendranath expert Vidhu Kayastha: “There is more energy, the young people in red t-shirts this year were very organised, these modern touches aren’t diluting our culture, they’re keeping it alive in new forms.” He adds, “We are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home">reconnecting with our roots</a>, we have more resources, more awareness than ever before. We must not be swept away by western values that may not serve us, and in some ways, cause more harm than good. We must revive our own culture.”&nbsp;

Divine chariot

In 2025, two seemingly disconnected acts of violence shattered the illusion of stability in the region. In March, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/16f7f947-1e96-4206-9844-891378adc683" target="_blank">militants hijacked a passenger train</a> near the Bolan Pass in Balochistan, executing soldiers in cold blood. A month later, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/world/asia/kashmir-terrorist-attack.html" target="_blank">gunmen in Kashmir’s</a> Pahalgam Valley massacred tourists. 
In both Islamabad and New Delhi, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/25/were-cursed-kashmiris-under-attack-across-india-after-pahalgam-killings" target="_blank">the reaction was reflexive:</a> condemn the violence, <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/04/22/india-and-pakistan-could-come-to-blows-over-kashmir" target="_blank">blame external enemies</a>, declare the situation contained. But South Asia’s leaders are not fighting terrorists alone. They are fighting the consequences of their own betrayals.
Across <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26272897" target="_blank">Balochistan</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11693674" target="_blank">Kashmir</a>, <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/india/346-finding-way-out-festering-conflict-indias-manipur" target="_blank">Manipur</a>, and beyond, decades of <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/projects/enforced-disappearance-in-south-asia/" target="_blank">enforced disappearances</a>, broken promises, and brute militarisation have hollowed out the social contracts meant to hold these nations together. The grievances that drove rebellions from the 1940s through the 1990s – demands for dignity, recognition, and political agency – were never meaningfully addressed. They were buried beneath asphalt and propaganda, paved over by development projects and security checkpoints.
States may claim victory. But their victories are mirages, dissolving the moment anyone looks too closely. South Asia’s unfinished wars are not relics of a violent past. They are live ammunition, loaded into the future.
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/24/he-only-wanted-revenge-the-bloody-insurgency-in-balochistan-gaining-lethal-momentum" target="_blank">Balochistan</a> has been at war with Pakistan for most of its modern history. Rich in gas, minerals, and coastline, the province has been plundered for decades under the language of national development. 
Projects like the <a href="https://eastasiaforum.org/2020/11/26/pakistans-three-evils-cpec-and-good-governance/" target="_blank">China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)</a> promise progress but deliver exclusion: minerals are mined, ports are secured, but Baloch homes are raided. 
The insurgency endures not because of foreign conspiracies, as Islamabad endlessly insists, but because the Pakistani state remains incapable of seeing its <a href="https://thebalochistanpost.net/2025/01/enforced-disappearances-in-balochistan-in-december-2024-tbp-report/" target="_blank">Baloch citizens</a> as anything other than a security problem to be managed.
In <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ranisingh/2016/07/12/kashmir-in-the-worlds-most-militarized-zone-violence-after-years-of-comparative-calm/" target="_blank">Kashmir</a>, the Indian government claims to have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/world/asia/kashmir-village-defense-committees.html" target="_blank">“normalised” the valley</a> after revoking its autonomy in 2019. It <a href="https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-between-india-and-pakistan" target="_blank">looks a lot like occupation</a>. Soldiers outnumber local leaders, dissent is criminalised, internet shutdowns suffocate public life. Tourism campaigns and investment summits cannot erase a generation raised under curfew and surveillance.
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66260730" target="_blank">Manipur’s descent into ethnic bloodshed</a> in 2023 exposed another fault line Delhi prefers to ignore. Long-simmering tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities erupted into violence that shattered any illusions of northeastern integration. The central government’s delayed, politicised response made clear what many Manipuris had always suspected: they are citizens of India only when convenient.
Even the <a href="https://msf.org.au/rohingya-worlds-largest-stateless-population" target="_blank">Rohingya, stateless and exiled from Myanmar</a>, find themselves entangled in South Asia’s ethnonationalist calculus. Fleeing genocide, they are criminalised anew in Bangladesh and India – trapped between the countries that reject them and the memories that refuse to let them go.
South Asia’s states have excelled at suppressing rebellion. But failed at extinguishing the reasons rebellions rise in the first place. And the wars South Asia tries to forget at home have found new life abroad.
Across <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-17/modis-indian-government-accused-of-spying-silencing-critics/103974414" target="_blank">Canada, Australia, Britain, and the United States</a>, diasporic communities have become memory-keepers and, increasingly, <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/khalistan-supporters-hold-protest-outside-indian-consulate-in-vancouver-123092600087_1.html" target="_blank">the agitators</a> for the struggles their home states would rather erase.
Khalistan flags fly outside Indian consulates in Vancouver and <a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/perturbed-over-waving-of-khalistani-flags-at-an-event-in-melbourne-india-warns-australia-of-khalistan-separatists-and-their-links-with-terror-groups-458320/" target="_blank">Melbourne</a>. Tamil activists march through London, demanding accountability for the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/19/grim-reminder-sri-lankas-tamils-mark-15-years-since-end-of-civil-war" target="_blank">massacres in Mullivaikkal</a>. Kashmiri protests in Washington and New York refuse to let India’s crackdown slip into diplomatic amnesia.
For host countries, these movements pose uncomfortable questions. Freedom of expression collides with fears of extremism. Clashes erupt between communities carrying wounds that their new homelands.
Meanwhile, South Asian states pursue their adversaries across borders. India faces allegations of <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/canada-says-india-home-minister-ordered-campaign-against-sikh-activist-rcna177972" target="_blank">targeting Sikh activists for assassination in Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/10/27/g-s1-29561/sikh-separatist-assassination-india" target="_blank">United States</a>. Pakistan continues to court Kashmiri separatists abroad while crushing Baloch dissent at home. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sri-lanka-tamils-civil-war-dead-5b372b0bba567837c5a4d94250040e7d" target="_blank">Sri Lanka</a> lobbies furiously to brand Tamil diaspora organisations as fronts for terrorism, even as it stonewalls investigations into its own wartime atrocities.
The old insurgencies have not been defeated. They have been globalised. South Asia’s governments have long mistaken silence for stability.
In Punjab, India broke the back of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/india/india-canada-sikh-khalistan-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">Khalistan insurgency</a> through brute force. The fields grew green again, the trains ran on time. But the wounds were never closed, the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-indias-khalistan-separatist-movement-on-the-rise/a-65081729" target="_blank">movement’s heart beats</a> not in Amritsar but in Brampton and Surrey.
In Sri Lanka, the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4738983/The_Man_Who_Destroyed_Eelam" target="_blank">military crushed the Tamil Tigers</a> with <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/17/death-of-the-tiger" target="_blank">overwhelming brutality in 2009</a>. <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3264148/we-want-our-children-back-sri-lankan-families-still-demanding-justice-their-missing-loved-ones" target="_blank">Tamil families still search for their missing</a>, still mourn their dead – and still organise across the diaspora for justice that remains undelivered.
In Kashmir, Delhi boasts of new <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/2/4/kashmir-is-bleeding-its-economy" target="_blank">highways and investment corridors</a>, showcasing the region as a trophy of unity. But when the visitors leave and the cameras are packed away, <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-134/from-domicile-to-dominion-indias-settler-colonial-agenda-in-kashmir/" target="_blank">the checkpoints, the raids, and the quiet despair remain.</a>
Victory parades fade. Grievance endures. Suppressing insurgency may end battles. It does not end the ideas that fueled them. In a region where <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/world/asia/kashmir-attack-india-pakistan.html" target="_blank">history is rarely past</a>, and memory is rarely voluntary, states that rule through repression are only ever buying time. And often, not very much.
South Asia’s unfinished wars are not accidents. They are the inevitable consequences of states that confuse conquest with consent, and erasure with reconciliation. They cannot legislate memory out of existence.
Every <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15qyyzz89lo" target="_blank">disappeared son in Balochistan</a>, every <a href="https://medium.com/the-wvoice/the-half-widows-in-kashmir-fef80c6b88e9" target="_blank">half-widow in Kashmir</a>, every <a href="https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/focus/rohingya-refugee-crisis" target="_blank">refugee child born stateless in a Rohingya camp</a> carries forward the memory of betrayal – a memory that outlives soldiers, politicians, and peace accords alike.
The region’s future will not be decided by GDP figures or infrastructure projects alone. It will be decided by whether its governments can summon the political courage to face the truths they have long suppressed – or whether they will continue down a path <a href="https://theconversation.com/india-is-using-the-g20-summit-to-further-its-settler-colonial-ambitions-in-kashmir-205166" target="_blank">where forgetting is demanded</a>, and rebellion becomes inevitable.
Shyam Tekwani is a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. This <a href="https://dkiapcss.edu/nexus_articles/ghosts-at-the-border-south-asias-unfinished-wars/" target="_blank">article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://dkiapcss.edu/security-nexus/" target="_blank">DKI APCSS Security Nexus.</a> The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of DKI APCSS, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) of the linked websites, or the information, products, or services contained therein. DoD does not exercise any editorial, security, or other control over the information you may find at these sites.

Balochistan to Kashmir

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

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Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village