Maury Mason was following a Shelduck gliding over the mirror calm water of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/two-women-in-a-boat-and-some-tea">Begnas Lake</a> through binoculars from his rooftop when a motorboat cut through the stillness. The startled bird flew away. Mason came to Nepal from Canada 52 years ago, travelling across the country before reaching Pokhara and promptly falling in love with the city. He remained enamoured by the beauty of the valley, its lakes and its rich diversity of birdlife. Mason lives by Begnas Lake, having fled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-shrinking-phewa-lake">Pokhara’s overdevelopment</a>. He was not so bothered by tourists on row boats on the lake, but then came the motorboats. Residents of the Pachbhaiya village near Begnas were also shocked by the motorboats, which were introduced by local businessmen of the Begnas Lake Boat Traders Committee. Without a hint of irony, Ravi Raj Kandel of the committee says the boats were brought to “develop tourism” in Begnas. The motorboat can carry 10 people at a time, and each passenger is charged Rs400 for the ride. The Committee is promoting the motorboats for groups larger than ten rather than paddle boats. “We have introduced the motorboats for rescue operations and so pilgrims can visit the Baraha Temple on the lake,” says Dhak Nath Kandel, ward chair of Pokhara Metropolitan City-31, which includes Begnas. The 250 wooden paddle boat operators as well as the local fishing committee were not consulted, and it has affected their livelihood. Along with residents, they have protested against the motorboats.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_0fafb32c6534f35522032838a47b145ba08b8a9d0d7267973220fbb258692bce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231116091140_0fafb32c6534f35522032838a47b145ba08b8a9d0d7267973220fbb258692bce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1307" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  Local fisher Tanka Jalari says the fish yield has decreased since the boats were introduced and his income has dropped from Rs30,000 a month to almost zero. Jalari adds that it is dangerous to go out on the lake when the motorboats are operating. “Our family has to constantly go back and forth across the lake, and those motorboats can easily capsize our small fishing boats,” he says. Manoj Gurung, a resident of Pachbhaiya, enjoyed the novelty of seeing motorboats in the beginning and thought it might boost tourism, but has now realised how harmful it is to the environment, livelihoods and tourism. On World Wetlands Day 2015, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-shrinking-lakes">Pokhara’s lakes</a>, including Phewa, Begnas, Rupa, Gude, Khaste, Niureni, Dipang, Kamal Pokhari and Maidi were included in the List of Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. The nine lakes are listed as the Lake Cluster of Pokhara spanning 64,514 hectares.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_a166f5d9022b272235524b23b690f24e71eaa53d7f27b8eea1789f74554ac117.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231116091140_a166f5d9022b272235524b23b690f24e71eaa53d7f27b8eea1789f74554ac117" data-rendition-name="original" width="1478" height="979" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  Wetland ecosystems are crucial habitats for migratory birds, fish, amphibians and vegetation. Nepal’s 10 wetlands of Nepal, including the Lake Cluster of Pokhara are lprotected under the Ramsar Convention. All nine lakes of Pokhara were already in danger due to pollution, encroachment and over development. Businessman Ganesh Pariyar frequently sees fuel spillage from motorboats on the previously pristine Begnas Lake. “The peace of the lake and surrounding areas is constantly disturbed by visitors shouting along to music blaring from the speakers of the motorboats,” Pariyar adds. Nepal’s Local Government Operation Act 2017 stipulates that the local government has the authority to permit and regulate tourism business operations. However, the Begnas Lake Boat Traders Committee only applied for a permit three months after it began to operate the motorboats. There are concerns over the local government’s commitment to protecting the lake’s wetland ecosystem as Pokhara Metropolitan City wants to introduce 20 kinds of water sports to promote tourism in Begnas — including the operation of three-tier engine-powered boats on the lake.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231116091140_89ff0a993ac15baa68e22516dc256c008a2bf12ce2c44eda98fa62bca3b5a15d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231116091140_89ff0a993ac15baa68e22516dc256c008a2bf12ce2c44eda98fa62bca3b5a15d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1478" height="979" loading="lazy" alt="Boating in Begnas"> </figure>  The National Wetland Policy 2012 states that environmental impact assessments be done before plans for development and construction in and around wetland areas. No such report was done at Begnas Lake. Bishal Ghimire, secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of Gandaki Province, admits that even small-scale projects like motor boats on lakes require a basic environmental study. However, there is little communication between the local and provincial governments, and Begnas residents complain that the local government does not care about what is happening to their pristine lake. Begnas is not as well known as Phewa Lake, but that is now changing. Says Manoj Gurung: “It is really important for us to protect Begnas to leave it for the next.

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Begnas going the way of Phewa

Chandraa had to be carried down the hillside on a makeshift stretcher, as she went into labour. The pain she experienced at the time wasn’t taken away by the bright blueness of the October sky above her or the singing of the birds on the trees. As the men hurried her down the hillside on the stretcher, the jolts they made, only made her pain worse. She wondered if she would make it to hospital on time or if like her friend, Sukundara, she too would end up giving birth to her baby in a boat. She decided that to drip into the Begnas through the boat was not going to be her fate. And in response, her water broke as they scurried downhill and they halted and the women crouched beside her to help her and there, in the middle of the forest, in the Begnas valley, Chandraa’s daughter was born. “She’s 16 now and she’s in class ten,” Chandraa says. “My son is 12 now and he was born in the hospital. I wasn’t going to risk birthing in a forest the second time.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231105121156_36d1aa692742ad68e05029c77c5bfd361557dc2fc739ba3376f6d97cc9758e6c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231105121156_36d1aa692742ad68e05029c77c5bfd361557dc2fc739ba3376f6d97cc9758e6c" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Begnas Lake"> </figure>  The oars push into the water and away as Chandraa works her way across the lake. “You tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you there,” she says. I ask her to row closer to the thicket and we drift along the edge of the lake where the shore meets the forest— we’re far out in a deserted corner. No other boats in sight, it’s Chandraa and I, and the cicadas, at their loudest. A dragon fly perches on the oar and she pauses briefly, lets it alight on a bundle of grass parked on the side of the boat, and then rows again. “I don’t want my children to have to work as hard as I have had to and so they’re both going to go to college and work in offices,” she says. And so, Chandraa takes up extra work when it is available. She explains how rare a ride is during low-season, and that while she charges 800 per ride, she only gets to pocket 200. I ask if she spends some of that money on herself. “On my children,” she says. Chandraa is a full-time farmer, but on days when the field work is wrapped up, she picks her bag, umbrella and her hat, and sets downhill to the lake, in the hope of finding a tourist to ferry around. “This is easier than field work and sometimes I meet nice people who like to talk and ask questions,” Chandraa says. But the conversation quickly turns and she starts to dart questions at me. “What happened to your hair, madam?” she asks. Old age, I say. She laughs: “I can’t tell if you coloured your hair or if you’re really old.”&nbsp; I am old. We laugh some more.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023110513110_0f83af6a9a6ac5eb3207c727d78ca9098820cf8e121fb0e16d4c59ae7838480e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023110513110_0f83af6a9a6ac5eb3207c727d78ca9098820cf8e121fb0e16d4c59ae7838480e" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Begnas Lake"> </figure>  … Januka joins me on the park bench by the lake. “It is impossible,” she sighs. “They all owe me money and say they can only pay me tomorrow. And now I have no money.” At first, it sounds as though she’s talking to herself, but I soon notice it is directed at anyone who will sympathise. Once she is done settling her twin flasks on the bench, she looks at me and smiles. “Are you selling tea?” I ask. She says: “Yes. But I have run out of tea today.”&nbsp; By this time, I’m holding out some money in her direction. She looks at the money, smiles and shakes her head. No more tea. I make an offer: “How about you keep the money for two cups of tea and my friend and I will meet you here tomorrow so you can give us some tea.” She stares at the notes for a while and then takes them from me and repeatedly says: “Please make sure to come by tomorrow.”&nbsp; It is after two days that I am finally able to launch Mission Januka and scour the lakeside for her. When I finally run into her again, she’s sitting in a dark patch by the lake, under a tree, handing out teas in paper cups. Eh, she says when she sees me: “Why didn’t you come the other day? Right right, the storm! It lasted two days, no?” “Where’s your friend?” She tilts her head to check as though she were expecting someone to emerge from behind me. It’s just me, I say. Januka pulls out a paper cup, uncorks her thermos and pours me a cup of tea. The wind has started to gather around us again and we both have hair flapping across our faces. “It’s crazy weather again, no?”&nbsp; “Yes, makes me think of the year we had the earthquake,” she responds. “That’s right. My family is from near Barpak and we moved here after the earthquake. I go to school here now.” Januka says she makes around 400 rupees a day selling tea after school. “It’s not much, but the work is easy and the money is useful,” she says. I ask if it is safe for her to walk home at night. Januka explains there are other vendors like herself and they usually wait for everyone to finish the sales and walk back together to their rented rooms. I close my fingers over the paper cup. The liquid is warm against my hands. It begins to pitter-patter. I’ll head to my hotel now, I say. “Will you be safe walking alone, madam?” Januka asks me. “If you’re safe, I’m safe, I guess.” We exchange smiles. Hers is the smile of a child, awkward but generous. Almost suddenly, I’m filled with a sense of joy that only a cup of sweet, fragrant tea could have brought me on a rainy evening. I sip the tea and walk on in the drizzle, talking to random street dogs and thinking about Januka counting her money at the end of each day.

Pratibha Tuladhar

Two women in a boat and some tea

In 1960, during his second official visit to Nepal, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai sat on a boat on Pokhara’s Phewa Lake with Prime Minister B P Koirala for one and a half hours and was spellbound by the reflection of Mt Machapuchre on the water.&nbsp; King Mahendra’s chief adviser Gunja Man Singh and Chinese ambassador Yuan Zhongxian had signed the agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Nepal and China on 1 August 1955, only a year after Zhou became Premier.&nbsp; In the nearly 70 years since, China has financed and supported infrastructure projects across Nepal — but especially those with links to Pokhara, like the Prithvi Highway that first linked Kathmandu to Pokhara by road. Anand Raj Mulmi, former president of the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), notes that China initially wanted Pokhara to be its focal point in Nepal.&nbsp; “The Prithvi Highway was built to project China’s soft power, and advance its geopolitical interest to link Nepal to China through Korola in Mustang,” Multi explains.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023091313094_0e0bd60f12dc8ce1ea07bb38116ae1d8da359d06808774e980ae840766d435f6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2023091313094_0e0bd60f12dc8ce1ea07bb38116ae1d8da359d06808774e980ae840766d435f6" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara China connection"> </figure>  Indeed, China worked on road, irrigation, highway and hydropower projects in Pokhara. After the Prithvi Highway, it financed the construction of the Pokhara-Baglung road in 1988. The strategy was connectivity, long before the Belt and Road Initiative was even thought of. By 1980, China was also helping Pokhara’s irrigation sector, providing financial and technical assistance for a hydropower and irrigation project on the Seti River. All this&nbsp; Chinese activity made India suspicious, and Mulmi says things did not turn out like Beijing wanted.&nbsp; Even so, China’s love affair with Pokhara did not wane. The popular Chinese tv serial Deng Feng Lai (Up in the Wind) was filmed on location in Pokhara in which the two protagonists took <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19255#.XgmF09Iza70" target="_blank">a paragliding flight</a>. Since then, many young Chinese have started booking holidays in Pokhara.&nbsp; This dovetailed well with Rs 22 billion Chinese ExIm Bank loan for Pokhara International Airport which was inaugurated on 1 January 2023. The international flight to land there was a Sichuan Airlines Airbus 319 from Chengdu last month.&nbsp; The chartered flight on 23 June brought 130 Chinese passengers to Pokhara for the first Nepal-China Dragon Boat Race Festival organised by the Nepal Tourism Board, Pokhara Metropolitan City.&nbsp; “Events like the Dragon Boat Race Festival will bolster Pokhara’s economy, and enhance the socio-cultural relations between our two countries and its people,” said Chinese Ambassador Chen Song during the opening ceremony of the event.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023091313094_3e8d98945946e3368b5b5a360f9dad23253f680eee3d5e63049a47dd1d8a2861.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023091313094_3e8d98945946e3368b5b5a360f9dad23253f680eee3d5e63049a47dd1d8a2861" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="896" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara China connection"> <figcaption>A Chinese team participating in Nepal-China Dragon Boat race earlier this year.</figcaption> </figure>  Although the pandemic killed tourism prospects in Pokhara, Chinese tourists are flocking back. Lakeside restaurants in Pokhara once more have Mandarin menus and the city is still hoping that Chinese airlines will start direct flights to the new airport. Pom Narayan Shrestha, chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Council, says that Pokhara’s local as well as Gandaki Province government should push promotional activities.&nbsp; Pokhara first established sister-city relations with the city of Linzhi in the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2008. Since then, similar sister-city links have been established between Nepali cities and Kunming, Guangzhou, Yibin, Chiuchow, Haikou, Nanning and Yanji to promote bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including business.&nbsp; However, entrepreneurs in the region say that there have been no benefits to their business from such agreements.&nbsp; Experts also note that Pokhara has not been able to take advantage of the agreements, and the bilateral relationship has been limited to mayors and deputy mayors of Pokhara and the Chinese cities attending events in each other’s countries.&nbsp; “Pokhara’s sister-city agreements with various Chinese cities will only be relevant if Pokhara is promoted as a tourist destination there, and entrepreneurs from Pokhara can participate in and benefit from trade fairs in those cities,” says Mulmi. “Similarly, people from China also need to be invited to events in Pokhara, that is how all of the cities involved will benefit economically. Events like the Dragon Boat festival, and other Chinese cultural affairs represent a new beginning.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230913130920_a2059268ee3f3ff7fbb916cb47806e0710fbfb02e25595771c49a5f1ac26640b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230913130920_a2059268ee3f3ff7fbb916cb47806e0710fbfb02e25595771c49a5f1ac26640b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara China connection"> <figcaption>Pokhara Mayor Dhanraj Acharya with Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chan Song.</figcaption> </figure>  Kiran Prasad Koirala of Pokhara Metropolitan City, admits that the town has not been very aggressive in promoting &nbsp;sister-city relationships, but adds that Chinese cities have supported Pokhara, having provided financial, ambulance, and other aid during the pandemic. &nbsp; Bishwa Shankar Palikhe, president of the Nepal-China Friendship Association, has been actively involved in expanding exchanges between Pokhara and its sister cities in Kunming, Guangzhou and Linzhi. However, he admits a lot more needs to be done.&nbsp; Palikhe adds: “We must study the development and experiences of our sister cities and incorporate them into Pokhara’s development plans. Additionally, the entire world at present is trying to draw tourists from China, we must take advantage of our proximity.”&nbsp;

Pokhara’s China connection

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1255 shook the entire Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau and northern India. We know the exact date because there are historical records that one-third of the population of Kathmandu was killed, including King Abhaya Malla. At about this time, in central Nepal the entire western flank of Annapurna 4 broke off and fell into the glacier below, damming the Seti River gorge and covering the basin in pulverised rock and melting ice. Geologists have known that it was a debris flow on the Seti that formed the terraces of sediment in Pokhara Valley, but <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06040-5">a recent paper</a> in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06040-5">Nature</a> has for the first time described just how cataclysmic this event was and that it could happen again. The rockslide was so enormous that it chopped off 500m of the top of the paleo-summit of Annapurna 4, which means the mountain was at one time an eight-thousander. The peak is now 7,525m, and scientists estimate that 23 km3 of rock fell nearly 3,000 vertical metres into the Sabche Cirque with terrific kinetic energy. The study titled Medieval Demise of a Himalayan Giant Summit Induced by Mega-landslide has Jérôme Lavé of CNRS, Université de Lorraine in France as lead author, and includes among others Ananta Prasad Gajurel of the Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University. Although the study is an investigation into ways in which Himalayan mountains erode along their glaciers and headwalls, it takes as a case study the Annapurna 4 rockfall in approximately 1190CE. &nbsp;&nbsp; ‘Our data suggest that a mode of high-altitude erosion could be mega-rockslides, leading to the sudden reduction of ridge-crest elevation by several hundred metres and ultimately preventing the disproportionate growth of Himalayan peaks,’ the introduction to the paper notes, suggesting that the erosion of the peaks could happen in sudden ridge collapses and not just through mass wasting.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230718150720_d574c8ddc7596812293db6982abe17a0cb4005d5ed9c4c8d81b64f93af064c07.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230718150720_d574c8ddc7596812293db6982abe17a0cb4005d5ed9c4c8d81b64f93af064c07" data-rendition-name="original" width="1806" height="1698" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara Valley"> <figcaption>Nepali Times issue #704 of 2 May 2012 analysing the rockfall of 2012. Read the story: https://issuu.com/nepalitimes/docs/nepali_times__705</figcaption> </figure>  The scientists examined the debris in the Sabche Cirque which in the past 800 years has eroded into sharp limestone pinnacles with exposed glacier-polished bedrock below. They conclude that the breccia came down in the collapse of Annapurna 4. In their paper, Lavé et al have sketched models of the mountain as it probably existed before its collapse, showing where the immediate debris fell, and where it was eventually transported downstream by the Seti River to create the 200m deep sediment fan on which the city of Pokhara is located today. The deposits brought down by the river dammed side streams, creating Phewa, Rupa, Begnas and other lakes that make the valley so scenic today. The Nature paper says the catastrophic Sabche rockslide has lessons for present-day Nepal: ‘Giant rockslides also have implications for landscape evolution and natural hazards: the massive supply of finely crushed sediments can fill valleys more than 150 km farther downstream and overwhelm the sediment load in Himalayan rivers for a century or more.’ Indeed, the summit ridge of Annapurna 4 is still raw and sees frequent rockfalls, including a smaller one almost <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330">exactly at the same spot in May 201</a>2 and an ensuing flood on the Seti River that killed at least 70 people downstream near Pokhara. Although the authors do not seem to think the rockslide 800 years ago was caused by a seismic event, there are records of big earthquakes in central Nepal in 1223, 1255 and five years later in 1260, which approximately fit the timeline of the scientists for the Sabche event.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230718150720_be91b7bfe18290a2f0bbc16e263413ee5994d0bf2656a58719d4252cc306ef9a.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230718150720_be91b7bfe18290a2f0bbc16e263413ee5994d0bf2656a58719d4252cc306ef9a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1231" height="809" loading="lazy" alt="Annapurna Pokhara Valley"> <figcaption>Google 3D map of the Annapurnas, showing Annapurna 4 before its collapse in an event 800 years ago, as proposed by scientists recently in a paper in the journal Nature. This satellite image taken in October 2017 shows dust from a more recent rockfall in 2012.</figcaption> </figure>  Even if the rockfall was not directly caused by an earthquake, the differential in the pace of erosion of the glacial valley and the headwall could eventually lead to failure of overhanging slopes. Scientists have speculated that climate change-induced melting of the permafrost that cements rocks together above the 0oC isotherm could have been a factor in the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330">2012 collapse on Annapurna IV</a> and on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">Saldim Peak in the Makalu-Barun in 2017</a>.

Kunda Dixit

Pokhara 800 years ago

<figure><img width="2048" height="1366" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe12849c7e80680e0da529jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The first flights from Kathmandu on 1 January 2023 when Pokhara's new international airport was inaugurated. The Yeti Airline ATR-72 seen here is 9N-ANC, the same one that crashed two weeks later. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>Pokhara is where so much of Nepal’s tourism prospects rest, with its lakes, proximate Himalaya, indigenous culture, adventure sports, unique geographical setting, and enchanting geology.Residents look to riding Pokhara’s placement and possibilities to achieve prosperity. The past has shown the future, provided there is proper stewardship of this unique place.But the 15 January air crash of Yeti Airlines that took 72 lives was a blow at a time when tourism was in revival. This was the biggest air crash ever of a national airline in terms of lives lost, and its worldwide publicity combined to devastate prospects of Pokhara’s new airport inaugurated just two weeks previously. It was a blow to a country already in the European Commission’s black list for poor civil aviation oversight.Boat owners on Lake Phewa are dejected, many eateries and businesses along Lakeside are shuttered, one Pokhara hotel lost Rs6 million in business in the month following the crash. If the roads were good, Pokhara could recoup with domestic tourists, but approach highways are horror stories. Pokhara used to be the staging ground for trekkers, but tourism has declined with the expansion of the road network. Over the years, the kind of urban blight that defines Kathmandu Valley has overtaken the city as well. The natural terraces that define the valley floor are no longer visible.The Yeti aircraft crashed right into the narrow and serpentine Seti Gorge; this unique canyon is no longer touted as a tourist attraction amidst the concrete sprawl.For all the hype surrounding its opening, we cannot call Pokhara’s new aerodrome an ‘international airport’ as long as it only serves domestic flights. Kathmandu has been lax in economic diplomacy to get cross-border flights to Pokhara.A calibration flight was conducted successfully before the airport was inaugurated, yet there is no explanation as to why instrumental landing system has not been in activity, which would also allow night flights.For decades, the old airport had been in use without incident as far as the Kathmandu-Pokhara trunk route was concerned, even though aircraft were required to take a sharp starboard turn just before landing. The very aircraft that carried out the inauguration flight with the same captain was the one that came down on 15 January. The co-pilot was wife of the pilot of a Tara Air aircraft that stalled while banking left into landing in Jumla 15 years ago, and a left bank stall was what took her life and that of 71 others over Pokhara. The preliminary crash report says the propellers of both engines were found to have been feathered seconds before, and we need to know why the pilots did that.Regardless of the economic and social costs of the Yet Airlines disaster, the national media and social media did not dwell long over the Seti canyon. The sell-immolation by frustrated entrepreneur Prem Prasad Acharya on 24 January even as the Prime Minister’s motorcade exited Parliament grabbed attention. Even before the intense focus on the public suicide had subsided, the citizenship issue of then Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane reverberated across the national psyche, and thereafter the national concentration has been on the selection of the new President of the Republic.The Yeti crash was a blow to Nepal’s national economy as a whole, at a time when tourism as a mainstay was struggling to revive. In Pokhara, like elsewhere, the industry was finally recovering from the decade of conflict and political instability, followed by the April 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, which was trailed by the Indian blockade – and then came the back-to-back disasters of Covid and Dengue.Chinese tourists had started arriving in large numbers in the mid-2000s, and before long Pokhara was full of signage and restaurant menus in Mandarin. But the Chinese have stayed away, and even President Xi Jinping’s declaration during banquet address at Shital Niwas in October 2019 that Nepal was where Chinese citizens most wanted to visit among all South Asian countries has not helped in a revival of arrivals.Beijing has not included Nepal in its January list of 20 ‘approved destinations’ for Chinese travelers after its Covid closures of 2022. However, the list includes nearby Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.It is no exaggeration to say that Pokhara is one of the finest attractions for tourists in all of Asia, and the reasons are many. Sub-tropical Pokhara Valley is 300m lower than Kathmandu and sits less than 50km from the semicircle of the Annapurnas. The steep viewing gradient that makes visitors gasp is Pokhara’s primary attraction, and the reflection of Machapuchre on Phewa Lake has been the stuff of postcards for decades. <figure><img width="1400" height="280" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe12879c7e80680e0da52ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The geology of Pokhara is wondrous even if the tourism brochures pay no attention to it: massive lake outburst floods in historical time brought up to 5 cubic km of rock and debris down the Seti River, encasing the hills and dales like a viscous fluid.The earlier mid-montane hilltops ended up as ‘islands’ on Pokhara’s plains, Phewa and other lakes were formed when side rivers were blocked. The exceptional ‘natural terraces’ of Pokhara's debris plain were carved by water and gravity, and the Seti ultimately made its way across the plateau through a labyrinthine gorge cut through the boulders.Locals would do well to study the work of Harka Gurung, the multi-disciplinary scholar who studied and wrote on geography, anthropology, ecology, mountaineering, migration, and had a special place in his heart and mind for Pokhara Valley, the subject of his 1965 PhD thesis from the University of Edinburgh. He was also the person behind the International Mountain Museum at Rato Pairo, one of the few genuine attractions created in Pokhara over the modern era.Pokhara is the meeting ground of the Magar and Gurung communities, with their unique heritage that includes the mesmerising and meditative ghatu naach. The valley is further enriched by its mix of communities including the Newa of the bazars, the Bote fisherfolk and Gaine troubadours, the Thakali from up north who have sunk roots here, and the Chhetri and Bahun. Tibetan refugees were residents after the 1950s, but their presence is now much diluted.The environs of Pokhara are a bird-watcher’s paradise, and up below Machapuchre is a hill flank set aside as a pheasant sanctuary with five species. The promenade by the lake, boat excursions, eateries and tourist services have helped evolve a sophisticated ambience that South Asians travelers in particular find inviting. The café culture, the warmer climes of the relatively low valley, and quick escape to nearby  mountains has made Pokhara a cosmopolitan destination even for Kathmandu's recreation-minded.‘Trekking’ was a term whose modern meaning evolved in Nepal in the 1960s-70s under the stewardship of outfitters such as Col Jimmy Roberts and Mike Cheney. Pokhara was a staging point for treks to Jomsom and Mustang up the Kali Gandaki, ‘round Annapurna’ and down to Manang, straight into Annapurna Sanctuary, as well as midhill treks to places like Ghandrung, Sikles and Poon Hill.The road-building boom since the mid-2000s pulled the rug from underneath the trekking industry, with the roads mostly overlapping the trekking trails, and Pokhara was the most affected.For Pokhara to do good for itself and to benefit the national economy, it must understand the value of the prize it holds in its hand. It can start by plumbing the depths of history, geography and mountain lore related to the locale, with school children taught to distinguish between the peaks of the Annapurna range beyond Machapuchre – Gangapurna, Annapurna South, Annapurna II and of course the summit ridge of Annapurna I – to read up on Maurice Herzog as the first climber of a 8000m peak in 1950, or learn the geology that delivered ammonite (saligram) on the Kali Gandaki defile.Pokhara must protect its lakes from pollution and encroachment. The competition to place ever-taller statues and view-towers on hilltops is actually the path to hell, they attract picnickers rather than well-paying tourists, and distract from the indigenous culture and himal views that lie at the heart of what it means to come to Pokhara. Why not view platforms rather than view-towers?Let the homestays be welcoming for their warmth and comfort, rather than sheds masquerading as hospitality places. Respecting its own cultural depth, Pokhrelis should not let ghatu be the stuff of dohori restaurants, and require travelers to visit villages at appointed dates to watch performances in the community setting.For the sake of history, some of the simal dugout canoes must be retained on the Phewa amidst the rowboats and paddle platforms. The song-and-dance sequence from Maitighar film shot in 1966 must be studied for its adoration of Pokhara (‘Basanta nai basna khojchha yahan lolayera…’) and used to project what the valley has to offer.Let us remember Dharma Raj Thapa, who propagated Pokhara-based folk singing sensibility throughout the land. The great Pokhara panorama by Toni Hagen in his pioneer 1960 work Nepal: The Kingdom in the Himalayas must be put to better use, as also photographs of the DC-3s parked by the great pipal tree that used to serve as the terminal of old Pokhara airport. <figure><img width="956" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150240/63fe12899c7e80680e0da52bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It should not be difficult for Pokhara’s tourism entrepreneurs to wage a campaign to bring visitors from within flying range of narrow-body Boeing 737s, Airbus 320s that the airport can handle. This means marketing forays to Dhaka, Colombo, Lahore, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Also Chengdu, Kunming, Lhasa and Ulaanbaatar. Start with chartered flights before moving on to scheduled ones, but first pressure Kathmandu authorities for customs and immigration desks. The grand hang-gliding from Sarangkot allowing circles over Phewa Lake has been discontinued due to the new international airport, and the adventure travel companies need to quickly relocate to retain Pokhara's place as an international centre for the sport.Pokhara must push self-centric Kathmandu to wake up to the evolving needs of national tourism, such as the urgency for sub-regional understanding between India, Pakistan and Nepal to prevent the Indus-Ganga haze – which among other things is helping obliterate Himalayan views. The cost to tourism of soiled mountain vistas has not yet been calculated.Pokhara seems to be losing its charms before it gets to even fully understand them, as the city begins to urbanise. The fully empowered local government must develop a sewage system. As the capital of Gandaki Province, Pokhara must work on revival of surrounding farmlands to prevent the terraces from reverting to jungle.Many of the ‘hilltop islands’ on the Pokhara plain have been mined for stone, and one has just been decapitated to allow better approach to the new airport. The concrete jungle is covering up the Seti terraces. And there are harebrained ideas aplenty beyond more and taller hilltop statues – such as a local hotelier’s campaign to have Begnas Lake empty into Rupa Lake through a tunnel in order to create a waterfall. As if Pokhara needed additional attractions rather than nurture and project the heritage it commands.One identity marker of Pokhara used to be walls made of boulders and ubiquitous chautari of bar-pipal, but mostly they have not been preserved. Built as it is on a massive sea of stones and boulders, Pokhara must be attentive to seismologists’ warnings of the great earthquake that has been pending for 500 years along the western Nepal seismic gap.There are two large spaces in the centre of Pokhara’s urbanism that need to be kept open and un-encroached. Ratna Mandir, the royal estate on the banks of the Phewa, is an arboreal gem whose gates should be opened to the citizens and tourists alike. It will provide continuity to the lakeside walkway and add incredible texture to the Pokhara Experience, but already there are signs of encroachment – a military hospital has opened gates on one side, and the grove of trees that hosted hundreds of egrets by the lake shore has just been summarily chopped down. Whoever thought of that, and why?The prize that everyone is going to fight over is the old airport grounds. Most likely it will be apportioned between government entities and/or leased out to private developers in decades-long leases. Rather than such an abominable solution, Pokhara needs to decide on a ‘central park’, a large swathe of green within the urbanised valley. Only those with little imagination will be unable to see what an economic boon it would be for Pokhara, already attractive to the world, to have such a space.The old airport was small, but it had charm, and it was a less than ten minute drive from Lakeside. It had possibly the finest restaurant terrace in the world, providing views of the runway as well as the Annapurna ramparts. The new airport terminal resolutely turns away from the Himalaya, is an hour away from lakeside, and no restaurant seems to have been planned, with or without a view.Amidst the dislocating changes, Pokhara must take heart that the lakes will remain as will the mountains, even though the volume of snow and ice may reduce due climate change. And no one can take away the location. In fact, Pokhara is part of a touristic continuum that starts with Lumbini and Kapilvastu to the south, and the Kali Gandaki valley that leads right up to the Lo Manthang and the Tibetan plateau.Pokhara’s residents and planners must look to the future by incorporating the mindset that their valley is the true geographical mid-point of Nepal. Since historical time through the Panchayat era, down to the present, Kathmandu has perceived itself as the east-west centre of the country, and so the ‘Central Development Region’ was established in what was obviously the east.While Kathmandu was and remains the power centre, however, true geographical, demographic and economic balance is achieved at the Pokhara-Narayanghat longitude, and this scientific reality must help guide not just tourism, but equity-based economic planning. When the time comes that Pokhara understands its place and placement, we will all be richer. When Pokhara understands its riches and wonders, it will be appropriate to have a touristic slogan for worldwide marketing – simply put, ‘Only Pokhara’.

Pokhara’s desperation and hope

<figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0229c7e80680e0d7022jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>A Yeti Airlines ATR72 aircraft from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday morning crashed near its destination. The plane had 68 passengers on board and four cabin crew led by senior captain Kamal KC. Six of the passengers are children, 15 foreigners, of which five are Indians, and 53 Nepali nationals, including eight members of a single family.The 72-seater took off at 10:30AM from Kathmandu before it crashed into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/setis-gorgeous-gorges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Seti gorge</a> between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport in Ward 15 near Sitaram Bridge. The plane was engulfed in fire immediately after.An eyewitness video showed the nose-up plane seemingly in a stall, banking in a steep dive before crashing.According to rescuers, 32 bodies have been recovered so far. But onlookers say it is unlikely anyone survived the crash given the accident site being in a deep narrow gorge. Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police teams had not been able to douse the fire even 2 hours after the crash.A crowd of spectators at the crash taking photos and videos with mobile phones have made the rescue more difficult and added to traffic in the area. <figure><img width="640" height="1241" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0269c7e80680e0d7023jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="750" height="796" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02a9c7e80680e0d7024jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This is a rare instance where a plane on a trunk route crashed during a good weather. The plane was landing at Pokhara's new international airport that was only inaugurated on 1 January 2023. One aviation expert who did not want to be named, told Nepali Times: "It is too early to pinpoint the cause of the crash, but from the eyewitness video the plane appears to be in a nose-up altitude prior to a stall."The expert said what needs to be determined is what caused the stall: either a bird strike, mechanical issue, or a steep nose-up that bled air speed at low altitude.One of the reasons the inauguration of the new airport was delayed was because Pokhara's landfill site, which is located in the Seti River near the runway, posed birdstrike danger to landing aircraft. <figure><img width="843" height="483" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02c9c7e80680e0d7025jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02f9c7e80680e0d7026jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0339c7e80680e0d7027jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0379c7e80680e0d7028jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-opposition-less-parliament/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a> and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane who had visited Kathmandu airport's control room for the details are going to Pokhara on Sunday itself. Dahal had previously called an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers while Lamichhane has directed authorities for immediate rescue and relief. Nepal is one of the most challenging countries in the world for aviation because of treacherous terrain and weather. It has seen 67 fatal air crashes in the last 60 years. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-jomsom-flight-with-22-missing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The most recent accident</a> was the May 2022 Tara Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom crash killing 22 passengers. But the nature of Saturday's tragedy would make it a crash with the highest number of casualties on a domestic flight in Nepal's aviation history. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">See: 60 years of Nepal's aviation history</a>. Most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aviation accidents in Nepal</a> between 1952-2022 were caused by planes flying into mountains hidden in clouds, known as Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). But this was in broad daylight, in good weather, near a new airport with modern navigation facilities.

Pokhara bound flight crashes in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/6372234a9c7e80680e0c0342jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>National Paddy Planting Day or Dhan Diwas is a celebration across the country. It is an even bigger deal here in Pokhara Valley which grows some of Nepal’s most famous indigenous varieties of rice including Jethobudo, Mansuli and Pokhreli.Famers gather, singing and dancing. Mud-splashing is a celebration-must, as is the feast on dahi chiura, a traditional post ropain meal of curd and beaten rice on Asar 15.What these pictures do not tell us, however, is how the local communities are having to cope with the increasing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-high-monsoon-alert-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impacts of the climate crisis</a>. Farmers, majority of whom are dependent on rain for agriculture, have either little too or little too much water pushing their planting schedules.This has also meant that many local <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-rise-of-rice-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rice varieties</a> are disappearing and others are being attacked by new pests and diseases. This has had a direct impact on further impoverishing the poor who are now migrating to the cities, across the border to India, or the Gulf or Malaysia for better economic opportunities.Paddy is Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-rice-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major crop</a> but the productivity has not kept in pace with the increasing population. As it stands, the country grows 5.13 million metric tons of paddy a year at 3.47 tons per hectare.Nepal was expected to record its highest annual rice harvest last year given the early start to the monsoon. But much of the standing crop was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-monsoon-rain-ruins-nepals-crops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">destroyed in an unseasonal post-monsoon cloudburst</a> in October.Back in Pokhara, photo journalist Amit Machamasi captures farmers as they transplant rice seedlings this week.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/6372234e9c7e80680e0c0343jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223519c7e80680e0c0344jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223549c7e80680e0c0345jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223579c7e80680e0c0346jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223599c7e80680e0c0347jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/6372235c9c7e80680e0c0348jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223609c7e80680e0c0349jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223629c7e80680e0c034ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223649c7e80680e0c034bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223669c7e80680e0c034cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/637223699c7e80680e0c034djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114121112/6372236c9c7e80680e0c034ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-affects-himalayan-rice/">Climate change hits Himalayan rice</a>, Erica Wu

Paddy planting in Pokhara

https://youtu.be/OqgYSpyn4OEA Tara Air DHC-6 aircraft with 22 people on board is missing while on an early Sunday morning flight between Pokhara and Jomsom in poor weather.The Twin Otter aircraft lost contact with Jomsom air traffic control at 4:21 UTC after reporting Ghorepani. Rescue helicopters from the Nepali Army and Fish Tail Air have turned back because of bad visibility in the mountains where the plane last made contact along the rugged Kali Gandaki Valley between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs. <figure><img width="1938" height="1510" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111132/6372194b9c7e80680e0baa8fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>A Flightradar24.com replay of the flight path of the Tara Twin Otter after departure from Pokhara for Jomsom. the aircraft lost contact with Jomsom ATC at 0421 UTC.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="3000" height="1694" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111132/6372194f9c7e80680e0baa90jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Weather over Central Nepal was particularly bad on Sunday morning with pre-monsoon storms building up over the mountains. </figcaption></figure>Among the passengers were 13 Nepalis, including the crew, 4 Indian nationals and two Germans, according to the carrier which is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines. Nepal has been hit by pre-monsoon rains and the en route weather on Sunday morning was said to be particularly bad.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2014/02/17/twin-otters-in-the-nepal-sky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Canadian-short takeoff and landing aircraft</a> with call sign 9N-AET was built 43 years old and had been in service with Tara Air since 1998. The plane has a seating capacity of 20 and was fully-loaded.Even by Nepal’s standards of air safety, the Pokhara-Jomsom route is regarded as being one of the most accident-prone even in good weather. The route takes planes from Pokhara, past Ghorepani Pass after which pilots have to make a sharp turn north into the Kali Gandaki Valley. <figure><img width="1210" height="686" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111132/637219529c7e80680e0baa91jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The Tara Air Twin Otter with call sign 9N-AET was 43 years old, seen here taking off from Jomsom a few years ago. Photo: TwinOtterWorld.com</figcaption></figure>Jomsom lies on the arid north side of the Himalaya, and has operations only in the mornings because of high winds and cloud build up during the course of the day. And Jomsom airport is the gateway for tourists visiting Nepal's Mustang District, and also for Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims going to the sacred shrine at Muktinath.The route has seen many fatal accidents in recent decades, most of them involving Twin Otters, and nearly all due to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=11168#.YpMuAxRBxpR" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)</a> during bad weather. In fact 90% of accidents in Nepal since 1960 have been due to disoriented pilots hitting mountains hidden by clouds.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/02/24/twin-otter-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous almost identical accident</a> on this route, also Tara Air, was of a brand new Viking Twin Otter near Dana in 2016 in which 23 people were killed. In 2012 an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2012/05/14/another-air-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Agni Air Dornier 228 crashed</a> while landing at Jomsom, killing 15 of the 22 on board.In 1997 a Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Twin Otter chartered by Lumbini Air crashed on a flight from Jomsom to Pokhara in, killing all 19 on board. In 2002 a Shangrila Air Twin Otter from Jomsom crashed just south of Pokhara killing 17 passengers and crew. In 2013 a Nepal Airlines Twin Otter had a runway excursion while landing in Jomsom, but there were no fatalities. <figure><img width="2358" height="1546" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111132/637219549c7e80680e0baa92jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A photo taken in clear weather in 2014 of a Twin Otter overflying Ghorepani Pass and into the Kali Gandaki Valley. Dhaulagiri in the background. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT.</figcaption></figure>Tara Air serves Nepal’s remote airports, and has had a disproportionate share of crashes because of the difficult terrain it operates in. A Yeti Airlines (now Tara Air) Twin Otter slammed into a cliff below Lukla in 2008 while attempting to land in bad weather, only 1 of the 19 people on board survived. Another Tara Air Twin Otter hit a mountain in 2010 in Ramechhap, killing all 22 passengers and crew.Nepal’s air safety record has been improving in recent years, but the crash on Sunday will once more highlight the dangers of domestic aviation in Nepal. CAAN has been lobbying to have Nepal lifted from the European Union (EU) safety list that bans Nepali carriers.

Pokhara-Jomsom flight with 22 missing

<figure><img width="800" height="662" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101120/6372088b9c7e80680e0b54f0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KAT CENTRE</figcaption></figure>Nepal was declared an open defecation free zone for humans in 2019, but in Pokhara it is the dogs that are creating nuisance.Public complaints about streets strays using sidewalks as lavatories in this picturesque lake-side city have prompted Pokhara’s municipality to make dog registration and licensing compulsory – the first time in Nepal. If successful, the pilot project will be replicated in Kathmandu and other cities with strays and community dogs being microchipped and tagged to keep the canine population in check, and also help control rabies. “Registering in Kathmandu would be more challenging given the sheer number of dogs in the Valley. We will need a separate body for monitoring and proper documentation with microchipping,” says Khageshwaar Sharma of Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust (HART) in Pokhara.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bhaktapurs-dog-catchers/">Bhaktapur's dog catchers</a>, Monika DeupalaKathmandu municipality’s livestock division already has three years of experience registering street bovines and water buffalos by embedding microchips in them. It has now received Rs5 million from the Prime Minister Employment Program to bulk microchip dogs and cats this year. Officials will soon conduct door-to-door visits to do a canine census, and estimate the total microchips needed.“The census will also give us a more accurate figure for the total number of dog owners, pet shops and clinics, which in turn will allow for mass vaccination against rabies, spaying and neutering of the dogs and formulation of necessary regulations,” says Awadesh Jha, livestock division chief with Kathmandu municipality. <img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101120/6372088e9c7e80680e0b54f1jpeg.jpg" alt="">Ideally, registration and microchipping of dogs should be done by breeders but in Nepal, the government does not even have a record of the total number of breeders and kennel clubs in the country. In fact, there is no law stipulating breeders have to be registered, adding to the risk of animal abuse.Laws preventing animal abuse are relatively new in Nepal. The Ministry of Livestock Department developed the Animal Welfare Directive only in 2016 and even that has no provision to punish offenders.To be sure, animal abuse is criminalised under the Criminal Code of Nepal. Yet, specific laws for animal welfare are still missing such as the specificity of animal hospitals and clinics, breeding and shops. What this has done is proliferate so-called ‘animal hospitals’ that lack basic veterinary equipment and mostly function as breeders or pet shops.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/saving-chari/">Saving Chari</a>, Nepali Times“With increasing pet ownership, particularly that of canines, we need proper guidelines. Many first generation dog owners need to be taught how to treat their pets well,” says Pramada Shah of Animal Nepal.Diktel municipality in Khotang district became notorious two years ago for brutally beating and killing stray dogs. A video clip of the torture and killing of a dog named Khairey in Banepa last year provoked outrage and street protests. There have been frequent mass poisonings of street dogs. And in 2019, hundreds of street cows were pushed off a cliff in Surkhet by a contractor who was supposed to transport them to a shelter. Animal rights activists say that the central government needs to draw up uniform laws so that offenders, be they pet owners, locals, shops or breeders, can be held accountable.  <figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101120/637208909c7e80680e0b54f2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Caring for dogs is also important for rabies control. Nepal needs to achieve the World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘Zero by 30’ global strategic plan to prevent human deaths by dog-mediated rabies by 2030. Rabies is a completely preventable disease but has the highest documented case-fatality rate at close to 100%. Globally, it is responsible for nearly 60,000 deaths a year, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dog-bites-man-is-still-news-in-nepal/">40% of which are of children under 15</a>.And while rabies occurs in more than 150 countries, it is endemic in South Asia and Africa. India alone accounts for 40% of all annual rabies deaths in the world. Nepal on the other hand has an average of 125 cases a year, but this is a gross underestimation, say experts. Most cases in rural areas never make it to healthcare facilities.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dog-bites-man-is-still-news-in-nepal/">Dog bites man is still news in Nepal</a>, Sonia AwaleAn anti-rabies injection is often the only way to save a person bitten by a rabid dog and has to be administered immediately after a dog bite. But only a few government healthcare facilities in Nepal have a stock of free vaccines, and in private clinics patients have to pay a hefty fee for a jab.Preventive measures including vaccinating and controlling the canine population are the most cost-effective approach, and dog registration with microchipping can be the first step in ensuring this.For now, Pokhara is leading the way. Says Awadesh Jha: “With registration, owners can find lost pets, animals can be protected from diseases and the government can form plans to control the canine population and take action against irresponsible ownership, breeding or selling. We should microchip every animal so that either dogs or humans don't misbehave.”Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-nepals-last-wild-dogs/">Saving Nepal's last dogs</a>, Yadav Ghimirey<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/woof-of-fresh-air-for-street-dogs-in-kathmandu,4132">A Woof of fresh air</a>, Ryan Chang

Aria Shree Parasai

Microchipping Nepal’s dogs

<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.”

pokhara