<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e7c9c7e80680e0af410jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="1600"/><figcaption>A tourist enjoying paragliding against the backdrop of Machhapuchre in Pokhara this week. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>As <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara’s new international airport</a> prepares to open by mid-2022, paragliding and ultralight companies that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to the city will have to relocate. But given Central Nepal’s stunning terrain and scenery, there are plenty of even more exciting options.Pokhara’s Sarangkot Hill is a popular jump off point for paragliders but it falls within the 26 x 6km airspace that the new international airport will require for medium-haul twin jets that it will handle. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has now concluded that there is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-paragliders-to-relocate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no alternative but to relocate them</a>.“Air safety rules prohibit recreational flights inside this airspace which is why we have to move paragliding and ultralight activities elsewhere,” explained Dev Chandra Lal Karna of CAAN, adding that tourism operators have been advised to take their business to adjoining Syangja, Parbat and Baglung districts.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e7f9c7e80680e0af411jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="2268"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It is not just the parargliders that will be affected, but also the ultralight companies that currently operate from the existing airport. They, too, must move because of the heavier and faster aircraft that will be landing and taking off in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the new facility</a>.But local aerial sports operators have been reluctant to relocate, saying they can continue from Pokhara if proper safety guidelines are issued. They have purposed a flight curfew two hours a day either in the morning or in the afternoon to allocate that time for paragliding and ultralight flights.“CAAN says we can’t run ultralight and paragliding here but they haven’t told us how to proceed from here nor given us any alternatives,” complained Balaram Acharya of the Nepal Air Sports Association who is runs a paragliding company in Pokhara.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e829c7e80680e0af412jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2400" height="3168"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>However, aviation experts say flight curfews do not make sense and there are plenty of alternatives for the aerial sports companies – including <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Connecting-dots/Sano-Babu-paragliding-world-cup,1029" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Syangja for paragliding</a> and Baglung’s unused airfield for ultralights.International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards do not allow any aircraft to operate within the airspace of an international airport and neither is it safe to do so."It is technically impossible to fly paragliders and ultralights near what is going be a busy airport, it has to follow strict international safety guidelines," says infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya. “There should be no other activities within its airspace.”Indeed, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-to-do-with-pokharas-extra-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara’s existing airport</a> is already operating at maximum capacity with up to 40 domestic flights a day to Kathmandu, Jomsom, Bhairawa, Bharatpur, Simara, Biratnagar and Nepalganj. More flights are planned to Janakpur and Bhadrapur by private airlines.In addition to catering to increased domestic flight frequency, the new airport will also handle international flights to India, China, the Gulf and Malaysia. The current airport does not have night landing facilities, although the new one will.Acharya is also of the opinion that airports should be built away from populated tourist destinations. "Today we face paragliding problem, tomorrow it will be noise pollution," he adds. “A fast-track Butwal-Pokhara highway would have meant that flights would not be needed between the two cities.”Commercial paragliding started in Pokhara in 2001 and now has over 69 registered companies, collectively with an annual turnover of Rs1 billion. There are three ultralight companies operating from the current airport, and one hot air balloon operator.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e859c7e80680e0af413jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="608"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>All companies had been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collapse of tourism</a>, and business has just started to pick up with mainly Nepali adventure-seekers. There are 1,200 people employed by aerial sports companies.Paragliding operators are also reluctant to relocate because they think it will cause further losses, as they had already established <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6573#.Yb73lWhByUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara as the hub for adventure sports</a> in Nepal.Says Pom Narayan Shrestha of Pokhara Tourism Council: “Those interested in adventure tourism know Pokhara is the place to go but moving away means rebranding their products from scratch, and this would impact the entire tourism sector.”Tourism planners say it is economically viable to move adventure sports activities from Pokhara to sites in nearby districts, but no more than one and a half hours away and have already come up with some suggestions.The article was translated by Aryan Sitaula from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127236" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali original in Himalkhabar</a>.

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Pokhara’s paragliders must relocate, but where?

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

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

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94c09c7e80680e06f21cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2600" height="1733"/><figcaption>All photos: KRISHNAMANI NARAL</figcaption></figure>After raining every day for the past two weeks since the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monsoon rains arrived</a>, Pokhara got a rare respite from clouds on Sunday, bringing the mountains out in all their glory.Because of its low elevation and proximity to the mountains, Pokhara has some of the highest precipitation rates in Nepal, with 3,500mm per year. Nearly 80% of that rain falls in the three months June-August.This year, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-braces-for-monsoon-pandemic-double-hit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monsoon has been heavier</a> than normal. Swollen rivers have washed away homes in Manang and Mustang, destroyed roads and bridges, and damaged several hydro-electric projects, including the 44MW Super Madi plant that was nearing completion.On Sunday morning the view was best from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara's new airport</a> and the nearby stadium, which is being refurbished with a new roof and seats.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94c49c7e80680e06f21djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2100" height="1400"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94c79c7e80680e06f21ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2600" height="1733"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94ca9c7e80680e06f21fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2046" height="1104"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-locked-down/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara</a> is also completing a statue of Lord Shiva atop of dome in Pumdikot. The 20m high statue has been put up next to the temple on the peak, and locals hope it will attract tourists to the spot from where there is a view of mountains from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-clouds-are-lifting-below-dhaulagiri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dhaulagiri</a> to Himalchuli, including the entire Annapurna and Machapuchre massif, as well as the Phewa Lake below.The panorama from the Shiva statue on Sunday was all the more spectacular because it was on a monsoon morning.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94cd9c7e80680e06f220jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="894" height="1368"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b94d09c7e80680e06f221jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="894" height="1368">By afternoon, the heat in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-will-be-a-game-changer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pokhara</a> got oppressive, and people thronged to swim below the Phewa Dam that has just been repaired. The dam is  upstream from the popular Davis Falls, which had a few people on Sunday because of the lockdown (above left).

No visitors in Pokhara to admire view

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd8fa9c7e80680e092e72jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="845"/><figcaption>The forested hill on the eastern approach to the airport (red arrow) will have to be cut by 40m to allow landings on the 2500 m long 45 m wide runway of Pokhara's new international airport. Photo: SINOMACH</figcaption></figure>Work has finally begun to slice off a hill blocking the runway at Pokhara’s new international airport, however delays in government approval is likely to push back the 10 July 2021 target date for the project’s inauguration.The forested Rithepani Hill needs to be reduced by 40m because of its proximity to the eastern threshold of the runway at Nepal’s third aerial gateway that can <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616389111205000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCxSnPqTNKoxccRMDDtDq9E0mMwQ">handle direct international flights</a>.Excavators are at work on one side of the hill that is owned by private individuals, however the southern government-owned side cannot be levelled until the Department of Forest gives its approval to cut trees.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd8fd9c7e80680e092e73jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Work has begun on reducing the height of Rithepani Hill on northern slope that is private property. The other side of the hill is government forest, and delays in obtaining a permit to cut 600 trees is likely to push back the opening of the airport, slated for July.Photo: KRISHNAMANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>“We are still awaiting the Cabinet decision to go ahead with reducing the elevation of the hill, it is the last hurdle in opening the airport on time by July,” says airport project chief Binesh Munakarmi.While the government seems to be very eager to clear-cut 8,000 hectares of native hardwood forests in the Tarai for the proposed Nijgad airport despite a Supreme Court restraining order, it is dragging its feet on giving permission to cut 600 trees in Pokhara so that the height of the hill can be lowered.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9009c7e80680e092e74jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1126"><figcaption>The view from the eastern threshold of the runway at Rithepani Hill which needs to be cut. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Even though an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had been done before construction of the airport began five years ago, the Cabinet is Kathmandu has not approved the felling of the trees so that the airport work can be finished.According to Kedar Baral of the Kaski District Forest Division, the project needs to plant 25 saplings in a nearby alternative site for every tree that is cut. He added that the trees that need to be felled have already been marked, and his office is only waiting for a Cabinet decision.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9049c7e80680e092e75jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="736"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The project was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19515#.YFbGlS0RoWq" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19515%23.YFbGlS0RoWq&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616389111205000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEE-ZTZiyhWJZ3kpaCE12rHTjTaIQ">first planned in 1970</a>, but <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19254#.YFa_OS0RoWr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19254%23.YFa_OS0RoWr&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616389111205000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFKWMTkW2SKGRmTQsvmesOzoghimQ">had been delayed</a> by decades of turf battles, local opposition and lack of political will, construction of the $216 million facility that can handle 800,000 passengers a year is currently  getting finishing touches.Most of the work on the terminal building, runway, apron, taxiway and hangar have been finished. Although the Chinese contractor Sinomach was supposed to hand over the airport in December last year, the pandemic further delayed the project by a year.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9079c7e80680e092e76jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1001"><figcaption>Pokhara’s much-delayed new international airport has been delayed once more. Photo: KRISHNAMANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>Although tourism in Pokhara has collapsed due to the pandemic, businesses here hope that the airport will be a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/cleared-to-land/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616389111205000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFeDLHlRdkp21GuNH4Sg92jswuIMA">catalyst for the revival</a> of the economy of Central Nepal in 2022.UPDATE 23 MARCH 0700: The Cabinet on Monday approved the flattening of the top of Ritthepani Hill by 40m, as well as the felling of 600 trees. This removes the last hurdle for the completion of the project.

Cabinet indecision delays Pokhara Airport

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78a69c7e80680e0646b2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="763"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>With business coming to a grinding halt globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal’s migration and tourism-based economy is being severely impacted.Global stock markets are in freefall, the US has halted trans-Atlantic flights, Italy is in lockdown, India has stopped issuing tourist visas, schools in Japan are closed, Qatar has banned nationals from 14 countries, Saudi Arabia has halted travel to nine countries, and although the virus has stabilised in next-door China, there is a danger there of reverse infection.But as the epidemic spreads, Nepal has officially admitted to only one confirmed case of COVID-19. Public health experts say this does not mean there are no infected people, it just means suspected cases have not been tested yet. They say the country is not prepared to deal with an outbreak.“The situation around the world is getting out of hand, but Nepal has been able to dodge a full-blown health crisis till now,” says Sameer M Dixit, a scientist at the Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal. “In an ideal situation the country would be under lockdown, but right now Nepal should stop all direct flights from highly affected countries.”Even though there are no overt signs of a health crisis, Nepal’s economy has already been hit hard and the impact is expected to worsen in the coming months as tourism collapses and air travel is further curtailed.The Asian Development Bank’s ‘<a href="https://www.adb.org/publications/economic-impact-covid19-developing-asia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 Economic Impact Assessment Template</a>’ released this week lays out the best- and worst-case scenarios for countries in the region. For Nepal, the bank predicts a loss of up to $322 million.The tourism sector has been impacted by travel restrictions imposed by Nepal and other countries, and airlines cancelling flights.The government decision late Thursday, after the print edition of this paper had gone to press, decided to revoke visa on arrival at Kathmandu for nationals of all countries. Visitors will still be allowed to enter Nepal but they will require a visa from a Nepali mission abroad and also a Coronavirus-free health certificate. The visa rule be effective 14 March to 30 April for now.The move comes one day after China cancelled all expeditions from its side of Mt Everest. The Nepali government has also cancelled all climbing expedition permits including Mt Everest for the spring season.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-nepal-must-watch-about-coronavirus-but-not-panic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why Nepal must watch Coronavirus, but not panic</a>, Sameer M DixitEven before the government <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lets-call-off-visit-nepal-year-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called off Visit Nepal Year 2020</a>, the campaign was criticised for lack of international promotion and the money being wasted on domestic extravaganza. Although tourist arrivals saw only a slight drop to 101,400 in February, there was a 80% decrease in visitors from China.Official figures are not yet available for March and April, but the travel industry is reporting widespread cancellations. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-postpones-international-events-as-fear-of-covid-19-intensifies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Many international conferences and sports events have been postponed</a>. Hotel occupancy rates are dropping at what should have been peak season. Trekking and mountaineering expeditions have gone ahead but there has been a 50% decline in the number of clients. There are also reports of cancellations for April.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78a99c7e80680e0646b3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="981" height="497"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Hotel bookings are down by 60% in the 5-star hotels around Nepal,” Shreejana Rana, President of <a href="https://www.hotelassociationnepal.org.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hotel Association of Nepal</a>, told Nepali Times. “We had <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected a surge in bookings </a>after Chinese New Year and during the spring from American and European tourists but that isn’t the case.”The first airlines to cancel flights were the ones operating to Chinese destinations: Himalaya Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Tibet Airlines. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern are still operating flights, but with reduced frequency and smaller aircraft.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78ab9c7e80680e0646b4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78ae9c7e80680e0646b5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3644" height="2429"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The tourism industry is very sensitive. The smallest problem has widespread impact, and it takes a lot of time to recover from it,” says Deepak Raj Joshi, former CEO of <a href="https://www.welcomenepal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tourism Board</a>. “We need to start preparing for the future right away.”The Tourism Ministry is now repurposing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-nepal-brand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a> towards a 2020-2030 ‘Tourism Decade’, and the hotel industry is relying on domestic promotion, encouraging Nepalis to travel to Pokhara and to go trekking during the new-year break in April.Nepal expects about 250 climbers from 24 expeditions on Mt Everest this spring, even though Korean, Japanese and some western expeditions have cancelled. This is half down from last year, when there was a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notorious traffic jam on the summit</a>. On Wednesday, China closed its side of the mountain due to the COVID-19 scare.“Everest expeditions are starting soon but we are still trying to figure out what to do if the mountaineers catch coronavirus during the trip,” says Sarita Lama of the <a href="https://www.taan.org.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN)</a>. “This is so bad it may take us years to recover from the crisis.” Trek bookings are also at half of last year’s numbers.Nepal’s main source of foreign exchange, its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/for-nepals-migrant-workers-good-news-in-small-bites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two million workers abroad</a>, will also be hit. Qatar this week imposed a ban on workers from 14 countries, including Nepal. Nepal is preventing workers from flying to South Korea.The High-Level Coordination Committee also decided on Thursday to stop issuing labour permits for Nepali migrants seeking to go abroad for work. It is uncertain when the migration ban will be lifted.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/crossborder-virus-and-nepali-migrant-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crossborder virus and Nepali migrant workers</a>, Upasana KhadkaNepal’s major infrastructure projects all face delays because of the reliance on Chinese contractors and workers. The start of the epidemic in January coincided with Chinese New Year, which meant that workers at new airport projects in Pokhara, Bhairawa and numerous hydropower plants under construction who had gone home could not return.Even among those who have returned, some have been quarantined, including 70 who work on Pokhara’s new airport. If given the all-clear, they will be released only on 16 March.“Although work has slowed down these past couple of months, we will work night and day to meet the target completion date of July 2021,” Pokhara airport manager Binesh Munakarmi assured Nepali Times.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78b19c7e80680e0646b6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1688"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Construction at Bhairawa airport, which was scheduled to open later this year, is expected to be delayed.“Many of our engineers and workers have not been able to come back to Nepal,” says Bhairawa airport project chief Prabesh Adhikari. “There are about 25 Chinese workers on site and we are trying to move construction forward, but we need the rest to return.”The timely completion of<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reservoirs-of-suspicion/hydropower-geopolitics%20,3991" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> hydropower projects</a>, of which 65 have the involvement of Chinese companies, looks more bleak. Construction at 25 of these under-construction projects have not resumed since Chinese New Year. Workers have not been allowed to travel out of China, and necessary electro-mechanical equipment has also not been dispatched from China to Nepal.“Even if one Chinese engineer is absent, or if one critical piece of equipment does not arrive from China, work stops,” says the <a href="http://www.ippan.org.np/public/page/ippan-committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President of the Independent Power Producers’ Association</a> Shailendra Guragain. “If the situation worsens, we may be seeing losses amounting to a billion dollars in our projects.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-connection-to-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The climate connection to Covid-19</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari

Nepal’s economy, already weak, takes direct hit

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70319c7e80680e060065jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1093" height="835"/><figcaption>Nepali Times #990</figcaption></figure>How ironic, when we destroy something created by man we term it as ‘vandalism’ but when we destroy something created by nature we call it ‘progress’ (‘15 points for and against Nijgad’, #990).Ajay LimbuThe government is set to revise the ratio of compensatory tree plantation from 25:1 to 10:1 for ‘National Pride Projects’. So, the government will be required to plant fewer trees now.Bibek ShresthaI hope the Nepal Government goes ahead with this project. Even our counterparts in South  and the Southeast Asia have moved ahead and we are still debating on building an airport or not. Just build the damn thing.Bali Hang SambahangpheDoes Nepal even need Nijgad after completion of Lumbini and Pokhara international airports?Chiran BasnetPokhara and Bhairahawa airports are built with regional standards for regional purposes. The Nijgad will be our first truly ‘international airport’. TIA is not even a regional standard airport as per modern requirements.Bibek LimbuNijgad airport to become an international hub is most likely the biggest propaganda ever created to justify the irreversible destruction of nature that will affect the entire region.Sanjaya Singh KCA somewhat madcap project that smacks of extreme hubris.Marcus CottonNijgad is a profoundly bad idea. Now that Pokhara and Bhairawa are nearly operational, Nepal needs to sort out the air traffic situation before taking any more steps.Joe NiemczuraPeople think that trees never grow once gone, and they would be right if new saplings are not planted. International airport I would say is a must but with minimal damage of the environment.Deepak RijalThe balance of social, economic and environment is essential for sustainable development. Therefore, it should be built minimising the environmental loss.Anjalee ThakaliThe human destruction of nature has crossed the tipping point. So many species are going extinct due to unwarranted development blinded by greed. The next generation will have a huge task undoing our folly. Could we not have smaller international airports at alternative sites?Prabir RanaGood news. Congratulations. Please avoid all the mistakes of Kathmandu airport at all cost (‘Pokhara: Nepal’s new aviation getaway’, Kunda Dixit, #990).Ramesh ShresthaThis is surely going to be the world’s most beautiful international airport.Sue ChamberlainIt’s absolutely great that some planes/tourists can bypass the air traffic congestion of Kathmandu airport and go directly to Pokhara. Still, bigger planes can’t land in Pokhara (and Bhairawa) and Kathmandu will continue to be the gateway for most tourists flying in to Nepal, and congestion will be worse. Nijgad airport needs to be built.Avani Mani DixitA crazy daft idea driven by greed for earnings and with no thought for the pristine environment of the Pokhara and surrounding valleys. Relax by the Fewa or Begnas lakes? Not anymore with jet aircraft blasting overhead.Marc McConnellIf Kathmandu Airport is operated 24 hours and the management is working effectively there is plenty of space for many more flights landing and departing.Stephan KocherNepal needs an international airport close to Kathmandu and Nijgad is the most suited. However, the  environmental impact is also real. If the airport is built, a forest three times larger must be created  elsewhere. This way we have airport with net gain of the forest. As we rely more and more on international air travel, which is rapidly growing, it’s imperative that we are ready for the future. Kathmandu airport doesn’t even meet today’s domestic airport adequate standard when comparing with other countries. There has to be an international airport somewhere in Nepal, which can act like Hub.Roger AdhikariYes environment is a big thing to consider here but Nepal doesn’t need a big airport as Nijgad. Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairawa should be expanded. The hub model has been replaced by point-to-point aviation, so Nijgad is obsolete.  The Air Asia X long haul low-cost carrier model is a perfect example of which way aviation is going in Asia.Aashik Pokhrel

For and against Nijgad airport

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67779c7e80680e0599dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1668"/><figcaption>Illustration: BHANU BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>Legend has it that the real reason Nepal stayed an independent nation state while all around us were colonised was that our powerful neighbours took one look at the terrain and people here and concluded that the country was ungovernable.In the three decades after 1990, Nepal’s elected leaders have shown even fewer smarts than past feudal dynasties. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/another-decade-to-get-it-right/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biggest let-down has been in the last two years</a>, after the unified Nepal Communist Party swept the country’s first three-tier federal elections. The strongest government in Nepal’s democratic history is showing itself to be more feckless than those fragile do-nothing coalitions.Perhaps the latest example of shooting ourselves in the feet has been the wrangling within the NCP over the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). If there was one vivid example of how not to look a gift horse in the mouth, this is it.The awkwardly-named MCC was launched by President George W Bush in 2004 after the 9/11 attacks to reorient American aid towards the kind of infrastructure projects that USAID or the World Bank would not touch. At first, with an ongoing war Nepal was deemed ineligible for the MCC.But by 2012, with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-will-nepal-develop-in-the-next-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">progress in health and education and economic</a>, political and press freedom, as well as prospects for the rule of law, Nepal qualified for membership. A threshold program in Kathmandu went about shortlisting investments in infrastructure that could jumpstart development.Nepali planners, working with their American counterparts, singled out transmission lines and highways as main economic bottlenecks. But they worried that Nepal did not have a governance track record, transparency or policy continuity to guarantee that the MCC’s $500 million could be effectively spent in five years.Finally in 2017, the Nepal government committed $130 million as counterpart funds, and the Hetauda-Damauli-Butwal 400kVA transmission line, as well as rehabilitation of 305km of highways from Itahari-Kakarvitta and Pokhara-Butwal, were selected for the MCC.These were not chosen arbitrarily — serious homework was done to find catalytic projects that could transform economic growth through quick returns on investment. This was a departure from the way planning is normally done in Nepal: ad hoc, whimsical, wasteful. The MCC also made provisions to ensure transparency and minimise the kind of delays in large infrastructure projects that Nepal has become notorious for.Any other government worth its salt, and one that knows what is good for its people, would have jumped at a deal like this. But not Nepal under the NCP. Members of the party’s central committee have objected that the MCC is part of the US <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/between-two-oceans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indo-Pacific Strategy</a>, objecting to a clause that would require Indian go-ahead on the transmission line, and at provisions for independent outside auditing.It is true that there is rarely a free lunch in official development assistance — even a grant is somehow tied to the strategic interest of the donor. But the MCC predates both China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Yes, there is a new cold war between Beijing and Washington, the two compete globally for political, economic and military domination, and both superpowers have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strategic concerns in Nepal</a>.But it would be in Nepal’s own strategic interest to take maximum advantage and get both the BRI and the MCC to contribute to Nepal’s infrastructure development. Instead, some sections of the NCP are doing their best to wreck both initiatives so Nepal is left with neither.The reason the MCC needs to be cleared with Delhi is because Nepal’s planners decided to upgrade the transmission line to 400kVA so it can also export electricity to India through Gorakhpur. And having Parliament ratify the compact would ensure political continuity and commitment.Last week in this newspaper we projected an optimistic scenario of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-in-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what Nepal may look like by 2030</a>. Infrastructure-led development is necessary because jobs will be created during construction, and improved connectivity will have downstream benefits into the future.However, there are good, bad and ugly infrastructure projects. The ‘excavator roads’ that maul our mountains are not just ugly, they are an environmental disaster.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara’s new international airport</a> is too costly for its capacity, but at least it is being built and may help diversify tourism while decongesting Kathmandu.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed airport in Nijgad</a> is an example of ill-advised megalomania. In fact, it is not an airport project but a timber concession. Yes, it is a game changer but only in the sense that it will <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wreck both our economy and environment</a>.Decisions on large, expensive projects must be taken by technocrats and planners who know what they are doing, not by ignorant, populist politicians with edifice complexes who want to commit <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">colossal blunders like Nijgad</a> and sabotage a worthy initiative like the MCC.<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>Go back 10 years to read <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times #482</a>, 25-31 December 2009, and its front page news roundup titled ‘<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16624#.XgRialUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End on a high</a>’. It shows us that the more things change in Nepal, the more they remain the same. An excerpt:‘A rollercoaster week of recriminations and reconciliations began with a three-day Maoist bandh marked by violence and intimidation across the country. It peaked with a massive Maoist assembly in New Baneswor. Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal then delivered a fiery anti-Indian tirade during which he labelled the rest of the political leadership ‘remote-controlled robots,’ who he would bypass to hold direct talks with Delhi.Amidst widespread condemnation, the Maoist supremo weakly argued the following day that his comments were meant to be a ‘satire’ on the shape of things in Nepali politics.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a677a9c7e80680e0599ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="506" height="807"></a>

A millennium challenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c32WjMV3InY&amp;feature=youtu.beBack in the 1950s, the people of Pokhara saw an aircraft before they saw cars. In fact, the first tyres they saw were on the undercarriage of the first DC-3 that landed on a flight from Kathmandu.Ever since, Kathmandu’s top tourist town has dreamt of an international airport that will connect Pokhara directly to cities in the region without having to fly to Kathmandu first. The existing airport has a north-south runway with mountains directly on approach, and was not appropriate for bigger jets.Fifty years after it was first proposed, the dream is finally come true. Pokhara’s new airport and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19515#.XgCTsdIza71">Nepal’s third international aerial gateway</a>, is on track to begin operations by December 2020.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19254#.XgCV_9Iza72">Delayed by decades of turf battles</a>, the lack of political will, bureaucratic hurdles, local opposition and corruption in high places, construction of the $216 million facility that can handle 800,000 passengers a year is currently  getting finishing touches.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67229c7e80680e0599c1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000"/><figcaption>The terminal building of Pokhara's new airport with its sweeping steel roof nears completion amidst a dramatic backdrop of the Annapurnas.</figcaption></figure>The sweeping steel roof is now taking shape amidst the dramatic backdrop of the snow-capped Annapurnas, in its green scaffold net the control tower soars above the surrounding terrain, and the concrete runway is now even visible on Google Earth.“This facility is going to be much more modern than Kathmandu airport, it will have state of the art navigation aids, and it will be a hub for tourism and domestic traffic of Central Nepal,” says Binesh Munakarmi, manager of the airport project.The airport is financed with a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/06/05/loan-deal-inked-for-pokhara-airport/comment-page-1/">loan</a> from the Export-Import Bank of China and the Chinese contractor Sinomach started construction in 2016, and made up for lost time by speeding up completion by next year.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67259c7e80680e0599c2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67289c7e80680e0599c3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlq4nSgWK-c&amp;feature=youtu.beThe airport was first mooted in 1970, when a Japanese company showed interest in expanding the existing airport by re-aligning the runway east-west so that it could take larger jets. After pressure from Pokhara’s business community, the government finally acquired 155 hectares in Lekhnath muncipality. The government made a call for proposals, Korean companies bid, but negotiations with the government failed.Finally in 2009, after Pushpa Kamal Dahal became prime minister he gave the go-ahead, and got the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Pokhara-waits-for-take-off,4136">Chinese bank interested in a financing deal</a> that also included the Upper Trisuli hydropower project. However, the deal was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19517#.XgCT5NIza70">mired in controversy over its high co</a>st – it is twice the cost of a similar airport in Bhairawa that will be completed in July 2020 – and allegations of kickbacks shared by top Nepali politicians.When it goes into operation, Pokhara’s airport will have a 2,500m runway with parallel taxiway that can accommodate medium range jets like Airbus 320s and Boeing 737s and connect Pokhara directly to cities in China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Gulf.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a672b9c7e80680e0599c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2250"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a672e9c7e80680e0599c5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1583" height="776"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67319c7e80680e0599c6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1645" height="488">The airport terminal building will have two air bridges, apron for three jets, four ATR-72 size turboprops and four smaller STOL aircraft. Experts say the apron capacity seems small for an airport with a price tag of $26million, and designed to be an alternative to take the pressure off Kathmandu.Surrounding terrain, especially to the west does not allow for larger jets like the Airbus330 or Boeing 777 to operate here, which means Pokhara can only serve as an airport for regional and domestic flights.Munakarmi notes that there is room for expansion, and there is land west of the apron for later expansion if traffic picks up. He is confident the Chinese contractor will finish the project by December 2020 if there is no local opposition to reducing the height of high terrain on the east, and acquiring extra land for instrument landing equipment.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151124/636a67349c7e80680e0599c7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1688"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Credit for expediting the airport goes to the member of the Constituent Assembly from Kaski and later Tourism Minister <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/pokhara-airport-takesoff,2965">Rabindra Adhikari</a>, who was killed in a helicopter crash during a blizzard in Pathibhara in April. His wife won the by election and has replaced him in parliament, and there is a proposal to name the airport in memory of Rabindra Adhikari.The hope now is that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">Pokhara and Bhairawa</a> can now serve as alternative gateways for tourist and pilgrim traffic from the region, make it possible for Nepali migrant workers to bypass Kathmandu, and also allow domestic flights directly to other cities besides Kathmandu like Biratnagar, Nepalganj or Bhadrapur. It can also serve as an alternative for flights that have to divert from Kathmandu due to poor visibility.

Kunda Dixit

Pokhara: Nepal’s new aviation gateway

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

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

Turkish Basketball

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

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