Come May, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-turns-into-flower-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s streets will be abloom</a> in jacaranda and bougainvillea. The street below Ghantaghar clocktower will turn purple and pink and the iconic images will make it to everyone’s feed.But few passersby will stop to look at the crumbling Rana-era building behind the trees that was once the country’s pioneering institution for higher studies.Since the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2015 earthquake</a>,  Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus (‘TC’) has silently awaited restoration, even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/patan-secondary-school-built-back-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">schools around the country were rebuilt</a>. Six years after the disaster, the century-old buildings are crumbling, with trees growing out of the walls.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e2b9c7e80680e0af3f7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="828" height="621"/><figcaption>Photo: SAHINA SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>Students of the Geology Department attend classes inside these dilapidated structures — ironically studying about Himalayan seismology. There are 150 students crammed inside this dark room that has a capacity for only 60.“Looking around the condition of this building and our classroom, I often think of an earthquake and casualties if the next big one happens to be on a school day,” says geology student Sanam Oli.The students have aptly named their building ‘bhoot bangla’, a haunted house. Between classes, the corridors are eerily empty, with missing bricks on the side, crevices on ceilings and walls, and the plaster peeling off the roof.“It resembles a building, but it is falling apart,” says Saurabh Koirala, a fourth-year student at TC. “When it rains in the monsoon, we get wet at our desks with water dripping from the ceiling.”Inside the classroom in the south wing of the building that is accessible through a dark corridor, past a dusty room resembling a storehouse more than the geology museum it is meant to be, the high ceilings have cracks, and the walls are mouldy.The neo-classical Rana era building currently houses eight departments including Geology, Psychology, Statistics, English, and Nepali. Anywhere between 2,000-4,000 undergraduate and graduate students attend classes here in different shifts throughout the day.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e2d9c7e80680e0af3f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>While the north block of the building is still functioning despite the crumbling walls, the southern side adjoining the Jame Masjid has been completely abandoned.The plaster has fallen off the façade, and there are deep fissures on the wall, a tree grows out of the bare exposed bricks of the second story. In the corner of the ground floor, bricks dating back over a hundred years and inscribed with ’श्री ३’ lie in a pile. Weeds, dust, rubble, and clutter cover what used to be a centre of learning.“In all my four years here, I haven’t prepared a single thin section of rock, mineral, soil used for analysis,” says student Ashwin Duwadi. “For a geologist, it is important we learn how to make one, but I think I will graduate without having seen a thin section machine.”Tri-Chandra does have a thin section lab, but it is on the ground floor on the back of the damaged wing along with the two other practical labs. “But that section can collapse any time. There is no way to have classes there,” says Duwadi.Inside the lab, as elsewhere in the building, there is structural damage — tables, chairs, and other equipment are strewn around and pigeons roost on the rafters. The staff has not been able to take the equipment out because it is too dangerous, and even if they could, they say there is nowhere to put the machinery. Buying new ones is out of the question due to the high cost.“The government and donors fund other educational institutions, but not Tri-Chandra,” says Campus Chief Sunil Adhikary, looking out of his office window at Darbar High School across <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/building-back-rani-pokhari-even-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rani Pokhari that was recently rebuilt </a>with Rs850 million Chinese aid.The two institutions, the oldest school in Nepal and the oldest college, are separated by Rani Pokhari, which has also been restored to its former glory after the earthquake.Adhikary himself is a former student of TC, having graduated in science from here. He then left for Japan to obtain his master’s and PhD, and returned to Nepal and rejoined Tri-Chandra as a lecturer.“I have taught in the same classes where I once sat as a student,” he says pensively. “But things have changed since those days, it is sad to see it in this state.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e319c7e80680e0af3f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e359c7e80680e0af3fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e399c7e80680e0af3fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The college offers a wide variety of subjects, and students from across the country have enrolled here because it is much less expensive than private colleges. A master’s student only pays Rs7,000 a year, about a quarter of which goes to Tribhuvan University (TU). While this is an advantage for students, the college itself does not have enough money for its upkeep.Even as the number of students and programs have grown, the physical infrastructure has remained largely the same for a century. In fact, like in many other public institutions housed in Rana-era buildings, things turned for the worse after the earthquake.“Tri-Chandra has the potential to become a respected institution of higher learning again, but we need the support and resources,” says Adhikary.To be sure, on 25 April, when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/remaking-of-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">newly-reconstructed Dharara</a> was inaugurated on the sixth anniversary of the earthquake, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/rebuilding-five-years-after-2015-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Reconstruction Authority (NRA)</a> unveiled the Greater Tundikhel Master Plan. The Finance Minister’s budget has allocated money for this ambitious revival of Kathmandu’s city centre.Under this project, various sections from Narayanhiti Palace to Dasrath Stadium will be turned into open spaces, and within it the Tri-Chandra campus will also be fully restored.Except for Saraswati Sadan that currently functions as the administrative block, all other structures on the Rani Pokhari side will be demolished.  A four-storied structure complete with an underground parking area will come up behind the neo-classical building, which will be retrofitted and restored.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e3c9c7e80680e0af3fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">But the plan is not without roadblocks. The NRA had consulted Tribhuvan University and Tri-Chandra college while designing the master plan and the three had come to an understanding to also use the land in Jamal formerly used by TU Examination Controller’s Office, to construct a building for Tri Chandra. The renovation and construction was to be financed with an Rs2 billion loan from India’s Exim Bank.However, in 2018 the government had decided to shift the National Library, severely damaged during the earthquake, from Harihar Bhawan to Jamal. The decision was later put on hold after the NRA proposed the Greater Tundikhel plan. But in October this year, the Cabinet again decided to resume the construction of the library in the same space, leaving Tri-Chandra hanging.“There was some confusion, but things were getting back on track when the government changed. Then everything stalled,” says Sushil Gyewali, CEO of NRA.With the term for NRA officially coming to an end this month, it has handed over the Tri-Chandra reconstruction project to the Ministry of Education. “We have laid the foundation for the project. Now it is up to them to complete it,” he adds.To run at optimum capacity, Tri-Chandra needs 20 additional classrooms, seven labs, two halls for the library, two research labs and a seminar hall, according to campus chief Adhikary. “Presently, we do not have enough space to conduct classes and practicals for the 12,000 students who are currently enrolled here,” he says.Established in 1918 by Prime Minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepals-rana-dynasty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chandra Shumsher Rana</a> during the reign of King Tribhuvan, it was initially called Tribhuvan-Chandra College. In 1924 it was renamed to Tri-Chandra College and classes for bachelors started the same year. The college was originally affiliated to the University of Calcutta, then to Patna University before finally being coming under Tribhuvan University in 1959.Classes took place in Majlis Ghar next to Darbar High School with eight students enrolled in the first cohort while a new building for the institution was at works near the Ghantaghar and Bir Library. The building with its Rana-Victorian style was completed within 14 months in 1919 at the cost of Rs70,000.“What set this building apart from the other neoclassical buildings of the time is that unlike the private residences of the Ranas, which were hidden behind tall walls, Tri-Chandra was very much an urban building,” says architect and educator Biresh Shah. “It was built for a specific educational purpose complete with classrooms and a theatre. Architecturally, it was very modern for its time.”Tri-Chandra is also significant because it is one of the last remaining public buildings of the period. Janasewa Hall in New Road is long gone, the Charkhal Adda in Dilli Bazar is in ruins, and likely beyond repair while Darbar High School across the royal pond has been rebuilt from the ground up after the earthquake by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-is-being-loved-to-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">China Aid</a>.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e409c7e80680e0af3fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e439c7e80680e0af3fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e469c7e80680e0af3ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">After the 2015 disaster, many of the buildings from the Rana-era that were reconstructed lost their originality. In their stead are now structures with no specific character. But activists, students and educators say that Kathmandu should do everything in its power to hold onto Tri-Chandra.“TC is an important part of Kathmandu, it holds the memories of the city, it bears witness to the way it has evolved. If we do not save it, a part of our heritage and history will be lost,” says Shah. “Tri-Chandra should be restored, and it should be done while the technique and skills required are still around. If we repair it now, it will have a long life.”In its heyday, Tri-Chandra was once one of the most sought-after educational institutions in Nepal.‘It wasn’t only me who thought Tri-Chandra to be the pinnacle of higher education, my contemporaries and those before me also agreed. From an early age Tri-Chandra for me was the top destination for higher studies,’ writes author Abhi Subedi, in Ghantagharmuniko Samaya, a chapter in the souvenir book Tri-Chandra Saya Barsha, published in 2018 to celebrate the college’s centennial.In page after page of the commemorative volume, former students, and teachers (many of whom were former students themselves) sing glorious praises of Tri-Chandra College. But they also lament its current condition. ‘Sadly, Tri-Chandra could not maintain its standard and develop into a model institution,’ writes Subedi.In its over 100-years of existence, Tri-Chandra has hosted thousands of students who have gone on to bear important positions and offices, including the current <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/deubas-long-and-winding-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba</a>. But none of them have looked back to help the institution that contributed to their standing.Inside a dark derelict classroom, student Saurabh Koirala voices his frustration: “Many students who once studied here run the country today. They pass by us daily on the road outside, but they don’t see us. Maybe they need to lower their tinted glasses and take a good hard look at the condition Tri-Chandra is in today due to their indifference.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161152/636d1e499c7e80680e0af400jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">So why do the alumni not look back at the college? The former VC of Tribhuvan University Kedar Bhakta Mathema who himself studied and taught at TC, says it is a problem of lack of ownership.“Tri-Chandra belongs to no one, no one thinks it belongs to them anymore,” Mathema says. “No one wants to take that responsibility, they just want to reap the benefits.” adds Mathema. “Maybe the reason is the politicisation of the educational sector. Political appointees run universities and student unions don’t work for the students. Things will not get better as long as this remains the case.”When the campus was first set up, it was independent, and staff and students alike felt they belonged. When the new education system plan was introduced during the Panchayat, the government took over schools and colleges, and that sense of ownership was lost.When Tri-Chandra started, the curriculum was adapted from the Indian universities it was affiliated to. The students memorised Sanskrit texts and learned the principles, culture, history prescribed in the Indian curriculum. They did not learn about Nepal and did not develop a sense of autonomy.Even today, students from all over Nepal study the same curriculum irrespective of their backgrounds or the needs of their community. Mathema suggests developing Tri-Chandra as an independent institution to restore a sense of pride, and help in its revival.He says: “When a college is independent, it is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. When it runs out of money, it will need to find ways to cover the differences. When the quality of education suffers, it will be forced to reform and improve.”

Sahina Shrestha

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Tri-Chandra's run down state is a microcosm of Nepal

<figure><img width="949" height="634" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be15e9c7e80680e083e43jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Rani Pokhari’s Bal Gopaleshwor Temple was opened to the public for the first time after the 2015 earthquake on Monday. The temple had been destroyed five years ago and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/building-back-rani-pokhari-even-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently rebuilt</a>  The picturesque temple in the middle of the historic pond is traditionally opened only one day in a year so that people without siblings can pay each other’s respects on Bhai Tika.The temple was built by King Pratap Malla in 1671 to console his wife Queen Anantapriya who was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl2v0YCPlbg&amp;t=28s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grieving the death of her son, Prince Chakrawatendra</a> and was rebuilt in the ancient Shikhara style.Brothers and sister across the Nepali world greet and respect each other on Bhai Tika, and tradition has it that those without siblings go to Rani Pokhari to put symbolic multi-coloured tika and garland on strangers and fellow-devotees.Despite a cold and overcast day and a pandemic surge in Kathmandu, devotees thronged the temple wearing latex gloves and masks. <img width="750" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1609c7e80680e083e44jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="750" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1629c7e80680e083e45jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="750" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1649c7e80680e083e46jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="750" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1669c7e80680e083e47jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img width="840" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1689c7e80680e083e48jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27DSJhsNLYg&amp;t=11s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bal Gopaleshwor temple had been rebuilt</a> after previous earthquakes (including the 1934 megaquake) in the Moghul stucco dome style by Rana prime ministers, and was going to be converted into a concrete-lined structure after it went down again in the 2015 earthquake. But today, the shrine, the causeway and pond perimeter gleam with russet brick.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27DSJhsNLYg&amp;t=11sKathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya’s attempt to surround the pond with cafes and shops was also <a style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/08/24/save-rani-pokhari/">vehemently opposed</a> by the local community. Today, the 350-year old royal pond more or less resembles its original look.

Rani Pokhari open for Bhai Tika

Walkabout with Anil: Gai Jatra

https://youtu.be/27DSJhsNLYgFive years after the earthquake destroyed its central temple, the 350-year-old Rani Pokhari royal pond at the centre of Kathmandu is finally getting back its original look.The temple had been rebuilt after previous earthquakes in the Moghul stucco dome style, and was going to be converted into a concrete-lined structure. But today, the shrine, the causeway and pond perimeter gleam with russet brick.Rani Pokhari has gone through many avatars in the past centuries. The earliest, an engraving commemorating the visit to Kathmandu by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/on-queens-pond-rani-pokhari,4092">Prince Waldemar of Prussia</a> in 1845, shows the Balgopaleswar Temple having a Shikhara style spire. After it came down in an earthquake, Jang Bahadur Rana had it rebuilt with the Moghul dome architecture of north India that he admired so much.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badea9c7e80680e077fbejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="612" height="451"/><figcaption>Rani Pokhari from the German publication ‘Die Reise Seiner KöniglichenHoheit des PrinzenWaldemar von PreußennachIndien in den Jahren 1844 bis 1846’ (The journey of His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar of Prussia to India: in the years 1844 to 1846). The temple is in the original Shikhara style spire.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badec9c7e80680e077fbfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="679" height="379"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badee9c7e80680e077fc0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="628" height="386"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf09c7e80680e077fc1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="627" height="384"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This structure came down again in the 1934 mega-quake, and Juddha Sumsher Rana had it reconstructed and whitewashed, adding a metal fence around the pond. This structure, too, was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, and Kathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya’s attempt to surround the pond with cafes and shops was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/08/24/save-rani-pokhari/">vehemently opposed</a> by the local community.Finally, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is giving Rani Pokhari more or less its original look. After delays due to the lockdown, reconstruction is finally nearing completion.The pond was built in 1671 by King Pratap Malla after his consort, Queen Anantapriya was devastated by the sudden death of her son, Prince Chakrawatendra Malla. The king could not bear to see his queen so distraught, so he built Rani Pokhari to soothe her, and memorialise their lost son.It was an exquisite architectural and ecological masterpiece showcasing the meticulous craftsmanship of the Malla era. The pond was consecrated with the crystal clear waters from 51 sacred sites from all over the subcontinent.On the south side of the pond there still stands a statue of an elephant bearing King Pratap Malla and his two sons Chakrawatendra and Mahipatendra. Four smaller temples protect the central temple from the four cardinal points.Besides its beauty, the pond was also an engineering feat. It was fed by an intricate underground network of channels to keep it full throughout the year. It also served to manage the surface water around in the area during monsoon, so that runoff from as far as Asan market would empty into the pond and overflow past farmlands down to Tukucha Rivulet in the east.Because Rani Pokhari recharged ground water, it kept the water sources like hitis and wells in the surroundings flowing even in the dry season. The pond bed was lined with semi-permeable black clay (dyo cha) so it retained water but also allowed some of it to seep through. The pond thus served as a rainwater reservoir that not just replenished groundwater, but also irrigated nearby farms.“Rani Pokhari shaped the water management system around the area at that time,” says Sudarshan Tiwari, professor at the Institute of Engineering and a conservation architect.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf19c7e80680e077fc2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="564"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf49c7e80680e077fc3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley traditionally had an urban-rural symbiosis with densely-packed towns situated on higher ground, with intensive farming in the fertile soil below. The pond is a reminder of the wisdom of Kathmandu’s rulers who understood this ecological balance, as well as its cultural significance.“Since the day of its inauguration the pond was already considered a sacred site due to the temple in the centre and because water from 51 holy places were ceremonially poured into it,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deconstructing-reconstruction/">heritage conservationist Alok Siddhi Tuladhar</a>.After it was damaged again in the 2015 earthquake, President Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the reconstruction of Rani Pokhari in January 2016. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City got a budget of Rs120 million for the job, but it started to line the perimeter with cement for shops, and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/09/01/unesco-concerned/">used concrete to rebuild the temple</a>. After opposition, the work was stopped and handed over to the NRA.“We wanted to make sure everyone involved had a say in the reconstruction, as the NRA is just a temporary organisation, so we formed a committee consisting of people from KMC, Department of Archaeology and local experts,” explained the NRA’s Sushil Gyawali.After much debate the NRA decided to rebuild the temple in the original 1671 Shikhara style, and also revive the original hydrological elements used in the pond. This was not an easy job. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/resurrecting-rani-pokhari-right/">Experts from Bhaktapur</a> were brought in to line the pond with black clay and bricks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf79c7e80680e077fc4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The biggest challenge was to revive the previous water management system. The artesian wells and underground channels that fed the pond have dried up or have been destroyed by surrounding building construction.“We will do our best to fill the pond through natural means but we will have to take extreme measures if the plan fails,” explained Gyawali.One of those “extreme measures” was to start filling the pond last week with muddy water from a nearby tube well. But this was also stopped after local opposition.“It was a mistake. Rani Pokhari is a holy site and using tubewell water diminishes its religious, cultural and ecological value,” said Tuladhar. The NRA stopped using the tubewell water, but Gyewali says that even the heavy monsoon rains will not be enough to fill the pond.Other options are to use the trial feed from the Melamchi tunnel, or rainwater harvesting from the reconstructed Darbar High School and Tri Chandra College.Another problem might be that the bed of the pond is lined with trapezoid dachhi appa bricks and the gaps between them could over time be blocked by debris and prevent seepage of water for recharging.“This will not only defeat the purpose of recharging the underground channels but it will also make the pond dirty, so money has to be spent in cleaning it,” says Sudarshan Tiwari.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/draining-the-swamp/">Despite the compromises</a> during its reconstruction, Rani Pokhari has become a symbol of what proper restoration should look like. Relentless activism and communities uniting to preserve this heritage has saved  Kathmandu’s past for its future.

Building back Rani Pokhari even better

https://youtu.be/aDKMAc6MxuYKing Pratap Malla built Nhu Pukhoo, the ‘new pond’ on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu in the 17thcentury CE to console his grieving wife. To sanctify Rani Pokhari, as the pond was eventually called, he toiled four years to bring water from 51 holy rivers, ponds and oceans of the subcontinent.Now, more than four years after the desecration of Ranipokhari by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) in the name of ‘beautification’, the pond remains unfilled. All is not lost, however. The ongoing rebuilding process of Rani Pokhari is to some extent fulfilling.The 2015 earthquake damaged the Bal Gopaleswor Temple in the middle of the pond. The water body itself and the embankment walls remained intact, but the KMC misguidedly drained all the water, demolished the centuries-old brick embankment and replaced it with reinforced concrete in an effort to ‘modernise’ the pond.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deconstructing-reconstruction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deconstructing Reconstruction</a>, Alok Tuladhar<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a50679c7e80680e04fd5ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Photos: Alok Tuladhar</figcaption></figure>Despite public uproar over the vandalism of this holy site, Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya refused to back down from the project, vowing to build a coffee shop and recreation facilities in and around Rani Pokhari. Outraged activists finally threw the construction workers out and locked the premises in December 2017. Mayor Shakya was forced to remove the concrete he had poured.The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) stepped in, taking responsibility for the reconstruction. It formed a local group to oversee the process and manage funds, and enlisted the technical expertise of Bhaktapur Municipality, which had recently revived several ponds on its lands that had dried up.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/12/28/reconstruction-of-rani-pokhari-halted/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reconstruction of Rani Pokhari halted</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a506a9c7e80680e04fd5bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">A team of 40 workers from Bhaktapur are now hard at work at Rani Pokhari every day. After clearing the overgrown vegetation, women are levelling the ground and lining the pond with a layer of impermeable black clay.  They are also building an embankment wall on the sides of the pond, using bricks specially manufactured with lime-and-brick-dust mortar.Subhadra Dhoju from Bhaktapur says the black clay (‘dyo cha’) has been chosen for its water retention capability. Dyo cha means ‘god soil’ in Newa. The large surface area of Rain Pokhari poses a challenge not faced elsewhere.“We have brought in 40 truckloads of black clay so far from Sankhu and Bhaktapur, but we need another 3,000,” says Ajay Sthapit, who heads the local group overseeing the project. Even though the NRA wanted to use cheaper ordinary bricks for the walls of the pond, Sthapit insisted on high quality custom-made one.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a506e9c7e80680e04fd5cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">For now, Rani Pokhari reconstruction is progressing steadily, using appropriate technical knowhow and following ancient pond construction methods. But this is true only for preventing the pond water from seeping into the ground. Getting water into the pond will be another story altogether.In addition to rainwater, the NRA is thinking of drilling a deep well and a dedicated Melamchi pipe to fill the pond. But the long-term sustainability of this method is contested by Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, a historian and member of the expert committee formed by KMC in 2018 to guide Rani Pokhari rehabilitation.“According to Vastu principles, Pratap Malla must have dug separate wells to fill and to drain the pond in the northeast and southeast corners respectively,” says Tiwari. “This was the ancient, proven and sustainable way of keeping the water flow under human control. The present reconstruction method is not investigating this method.”Cultural preservation activist Sudin Manandhar feels Rani Pokhari is being turned into a traditional swimming pool. “If the ancient system of natural water flow is not revived, the valuable engineering knowledge of our ancestors is lost forever. That lowers the value of the historical pond,” he says.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/08/24/save-rani-pokhari/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Save Rani Pokhari</a>https://youtu.be/moY2eji6loETiwari’s committee had also recommended that the Bal Gopaleswor temple be rebuilt in Shikhara architecture keeping with king Pratap Malla’s original style. The Department of Archaeology, however, ignored that advice and went on to rebuild the temple with a dome roof following the Rana-era reconstruction model. Once more, sustained public pressure forced the government to correct its mistake, and the NRA has now published a design to rebuild the temple in the Shikhara style. This is another major win for heritage conservation.Maharshi Prasad Rajbhandari, a young heritage enthusiast from nearby Asan, sums up the resurrection: “We were about to forget what we stood on. But sustained activism prevented that from happening. From the Rani Pokhari episode, we have learnt that if we raise our voices and are persistent, we can bring even the most powerful government to heel and set things right.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a50729c7e80680e04fd5djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="532"></figure>Rani Pokhari with the Bal Gopaleswar temple in Shikhar style, before it was destroyed by the 1934 earthquake. The sketch was drawn by an artist who accompanied Prince Waldemar of Prussia on his visit to Nepal in February 1845.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/draining-the-swamp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Draining the swamp</a>, Sumana Shrestha

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Resurrecting Rani Pokhari Right

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

Chronic winter drought and decades of unmanaged forest biomass have turned wildfires into a systemic risk for Nepal. We need to re-learn to convert fire fuel in forests into fertilizer for crops.&nbsp; On 11 January, a huge forest fire spread rapidly from China into the forests of Sindhupalchok, 40km northeast of Kathmandu. The newly-opened Tatopani border checkpoint was closed. Smoke from the fire spread across central Nepal, blocking the sun.&nbsp; The fire burnt itself out within a few days, but the border stayed closed for longer. Such wildfires were once rare in mid-winter, and traditionally peaked between March and May as temperatures rose ahead of pre-monsoon showers. What is unsettling is not just the early onset of the fires, but also their scale. This shift is not accidental, the pattern has been unfolding over years due to winter drought, weakening post-monsoon moisture, and the accumulation of dry forest biomass as Nepal’s forest area doubled in the past 30 years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1055" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>A NASA FIRMS image of Nepal with red dots signifying fires in February 2025.</figcaption> </figure>  Together, these factors have made forests tinder dry in spring, just waiting for a spark. Nepal has experienced winter drought in eight of the past ten years (this winter was an exception). Winter rain and snow at higher elevations play a decisive role in maintaining surface moisture, recharging shallow aquifers, and keeping forest floors damp enough to resist ignition. When winter rains fail, forests dry out months earlier than usual. Satellite-based assessments show a steep decline in surface moisture across the middle mountains of Nepal, particularly in areas with dense forest cover but limited undergrowth management. Springs that once flowed year-round are now seasonal.&nbsp; More than half of the springs in the mid-hills have either dried up or show significantly reduced discharge, a trend closely linked to declining soil moisture and disrupted recharge zones. Dry soil does not just threaten water security — it helps the vegetation ignite. FUEL WITHOUT FUNCTION For decades, Nepal’s forests have been accumulating dry leaf litter, fallen branches, shrubs, and deadwood. Historically, this biomass was not considered waste because rural households regularly collected leaf litter for livestock bedding, which was later composted and returned to farms as fertilizer.&nbsp; Forest floors were therefore relatively clean while the mulch fertilized farms. That relationship has steadily eroded due to outmigration, changes in livestock systems, restrictions on access to community forests, and the growing availability of chemical fertilisers.&nbsp; Community forests across the country today are thick with dry twigs, branches and leaves — a highly combustible carpet. When prolonged drought dries this biomass, even a small spark from a herder’s intentional fire, a cigarette, or lightning strike can trigger massive fires.&nbsp; Under such conditions, the question is no longer whether fires will occur, but how intense and widespread they will be. Forest fires are often framed as an environmental issue concerning trees and wildlife. In reality, their impact extends far beyond forest boundaries.&nbsp; Smoke travels faster and further than flames. Fine particulate matter, especially harmful PM2.5, spreads across countries. In recent fire seasons, air quality monitors in Kathmandu have recorded air quality levels several times higher than WHO guidelines. The smoke adds to Kathmandu’s own pollution and lingers for days.&nbsp; Flights are cancelled or delayed in cities like Pokhara, and poor visibility blocks mountain views affecting tourism. Health facilities report spikes in respiratory complaints, particularly among children and the elderly. Just as wildfires have multi-sectoral causes, the impact of forest fires go beyond forests. One critical dimension remains largely invisible: the soil. The fires cause silent damage beneath the ash, and the emergency does not end when the flames subside. Beneath the surface, soil suffers long-term damage. Organic matter burns away, beneficial microorganisms die. The soil structure weakens, reducing the land’s ability to absorb and retain water. The scorched earth is more prone to erosion, increasing the risk of floods and landslides once the rains return.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1717" height="2143" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Wildfire risk map based on the validated Random Forest model (a) Overall reclassified wildfire risk map of Nepal, (b) District level wildfire risk, and (c) Municipality wildfire risk map.</figcaption> </figure>  In many of Nepal’s agricultural areas, soil organic matter levels are already below 2% -- lower than what is needed for resilient and productive farming. Repeated fires push these levels even lower, undermining soil fertility and forcing farmers to rely more heavily on chemical fertilisers, unleashing a vicious cycle of higher costs and food insecurity.&nbsp; Climate breakdown is often cited as the primary culprit, and rightly so. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have intensified fire risk. But fires in Nepal are increasingly the result of human intervention.&nbsp; The response of all three levels of government remains too little, and too reactive. Each year, resources are mobilised to extinguish fires once they have already spread. Far less attention is paid to managing the fuel load within forest undergrowth that makes such fires inevitable.&nbsp; Meanwhile, forestry and agriculture policies are not coordinated, missing opportunities to address shared challenges. Forest fires are not natural disasters, but predictable outcomes of governance choices. National plans and climate pledges set an ambitious target of raising soil organic matter to 4%. The science behind this goal is solid. Higher organic matter improves water retention, stabilises yields, reduces fertiliser dependence, and enhances long-term food security. What remains unclear is the pathway.&nbsp; Where will the organic inputs come from? How will they be processed and applied safely at scale? Without practical answers, the 4% target risks remaining aspirational rather than achievable. Forest undergrowth can be turned into fuel and fertiliser. Biochar is produced by heating organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment, converting it into a stable form of carbon that can be added to soil.&nbsp; When properly produced and applied, it improves soil structure, enhances water and nutrient retention, supports microbial activity, and locks carbon into the ground for decades. In Nepal biochar addresses two interconnected problems: reducing the accumulation of combustible biomass in forests, lowering fire risk, while simultaneously rebuilding depleted soils. In doing so, it restores the broken link between forest management and agriculture.&nbsp; Done well, biochar is not merely an environmental intervention. It is an economic one, with potential to create local employment, reduce farmers’ input costs, and support climate-smart agriculture. But biochar propagation depends on improved governance. If promoted as isolated pilots or short-term projects, it will fail. What is needed is institutional clarity: standards for production and safety, quality control mechanisms, farmer extension services, and coordination across local, provincial, and federal levels.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Freshly prepared biochar under control tempature (350-600°C).</figcaption> </figure>  Community forest user groups could manage biomass collection. Local governments then support safe, decentralised production units. Agricultural extension services guide farmers on application, linked to soil testing and monitoring. Such an approach would reduce fire risk, improve soil health, and generate rural livelihoods.&nbsp; Poorly produced biochar or contaminated feedstock can harm soils and human health. Without training, standards, and oversight, good intentions can backfire. Nepal needs to move beyond fire-fighting to fire prevention and confront the structural causes that make them a growing risk. It is not just a technical choice – it is one that demands political will from newly-elected leaders after March. &nbsp;&nbsp; Ngamindra Dahal is a hydrometeorologist with the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation specialising on climate and water management issues.&nbsp;

RED ALERT: Get ready for the wildfire season

Early on Monday morning, a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged off the highway in Dhading killing 19 passengers. Two weeks ago, another bus fell into the Tama Kosi in Manthali, killing 12. A few days before that a bus crash in Baitadi killed 13 people.&nbsp; In just the month before Nepal's election, more than 50 people have been killed in road traffic accidents. Most of these cannot be called 'accidents'. They are a direct result of poorly maintained highways and lack of enforcement of traffic discipline. Political parties in Nepal have rolled out their election manifestos, and voters are once again presented with a flood of promises. Page after page, these documents list megawatts and microcredit, highways and airports, jobs and investment. In these manifestos, growth is quantified, projects itemised, revenue forecast — and there are even threats to beat up contractors who do not finish their jobs. But when everything is declared a priority the stale promises are empty. The voter is left confused as to where the party’s loyalties really lie. Will any of these plans and pledges actually ever materialise and help Nepalis live longer, safer, healthier lives? The main job of any accountable government is to protect its citizens, not so much from foreign enemies but from domestic mismanagement. And this means the most basic test the new government should be made to pass is whether it can ensure basic well-being and protection for all its people. The problems of safety, health, and survival remain unresolved for most Nepalis, and are quietly eroding their lives. In the past year alone, the country’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">roads and highways claimed more than 2,300</a> lives. An estimated 41,000 Nepalis die each year directly because of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-invisible-is-more-dangerous">air pollution</a>, and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/air-pollution-killing-season-starts-early">lifespans are lessened by 3.4 years</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health">Non-communicable diseases</a> now account for well over half of total deaths in the country. And even where survival has improved, deprivation remains. Chronic malnutrition continues to haunt communities in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mass-migration-from-muktikot">Nepal’s western mountains</a> despite progress in maternal and child health.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  These are the lived realities of most Nepalis, and it is here that development can deliver its most immediate returns. A rising GDP, in and of itself, does not make roads safer, clean polluted air, or provide enough nutrition to children. Such outcomes demand intentional, granular policies that confront the specific, everyday problems shaping people’s lives.&nbsp; Macroeconomic growth, trade and investment are important, but these alone cannot guarantee improvements health and safety. The word ‘growth’, after all, is also synonymous with malignancy. Economic progress and human protection are correlated only when governance deliberately links them. Impact on life is the unit in which ordinary Nepalis calculate progress. What is needed, then, is a governing philosophy measurable in these same terms: a ‘life-first’ standard where every policy, budget, and reform can be understood and judged by its impact on protecting and extending human life. Such a ‘life-first’ approach would scrutinise three aspects of every policy. First, whether the policy prevents loss of life. A death is termed preventable if better, more coordinated response systems and regulations could have avoided it (vaccines, drugs, road safety, clean drinking water). A newly built six-lane highway <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/highway-accidents-are-no-accident-in-nepal">can be a death trap</a> due to poor design or lax enforcement of safety rules. If neonatal deaths continue in a district despite hospitals being present, or if malnutrition claims lives in predominantly agricultural regions, they too are failures. Preventable deaths also cluster where accountability is less direct. Just last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/suicides-a-pandemic-within-a-pandemic">Nepal recorded 6,866 suicides</a>, with nearly 20 lives lost every day, yet these deaths fail to prompt any serious examination of governance. The same holds for fatalities linked to domestic or communal violence, alcohol and substance misuse, or ‘natural’ disasters, which register as ‘tragedies without remedy’ rather than as outcomes policy can influence. But when avoidable loss of life recurs at scale, isolated incidents become patterns, and patterns reveal systemic neglect. Saving lives, however, is only the first step, and what matters just as much is the quality of years lived. Nepal’s life expectancy now stands at 71 years, yet many citizens spend years in avoidable disability, untreated chronic illness, or mental distress. A life- first government must ask not only whether people live, but whether they thrive. Are citizens able to pursue education, work, and family life without fear of preventable harm? Do communities have access to clean air and water, nutritious food, and basic healthcare? Can a teenager anywhere in Nepal imagine a future not foreclosed by premature marriage, or untreated depression?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940" data-rendition-name="original" width="2529" height="1427" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  Thriving requires policies that prevent suffering and promote well-being in addition to ensuring survival.&nbsp; Finally, governance must consider graceful aging. Elderly Nepalis should not be left to navigate disease, poverty, or isolation alone. Social systems, healthcare, and community support must enable their continued participation and dignified well-being. Adopting this three-layered standard would gradually reorient how success of any new government is defined. Transportation would be judged by fatalities reduced on the roads. Electricity generation would be measured by whether households can switch from firewood dependence to smoke-free electric stoves.&nbsp; Increase in annual rice harvest must translate into better nutrition, reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes. Accountability must follow problems rather than stop at Singha Darbar. Only then will politicians and bureaucrats eventually recognise that their work converges on the same human endpoint. Critics will argue that economies are complex, trade-offs are inevitable, and that governance cannot be reduced to a single metric.But, as Acemoglu and Robinson show in their book <a href="https://ia801506.us.archive.org/27/items/WhyNationsFailTheOriginsODaronAcemoglu/Why-Nations-Fail_-The-Origins-o-Daron-Acemoglu.pdf">Why Nations Fail</a>, the key difference between prosperity and poverty lies in inclusive institutions that empower citizens and create broad incentives for well-being.&nbsp; Extractive institutions concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few while keeping the majority trapped in neglect. Nepal’s governance has remained a striking example of extraction. If lawmakers in the new Parliament continue to resist changes that would save and improve the lives of ordinary citizens, the same systemic rot will persist for generations to come. A life-first mentality can cut through this inertia by clarifying the moral centre of governance and reminding policymakers that behind every policy failure lies human cost. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-hunger">Every mother in Bajura</a> with a child going hungry at night, every farmer in the Madhes unable to afford medical care, and every family that has lost <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-kidneys-to-save-nepal">a migrant son to kidney failure</a> understands the true <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/dirty-dangerous-difficult-and-dehydrating">value of a life saved</a>. Life is the one metric that transcends ideology, ethnicity, and region. Centering governance on this single, focused metric, can shift an election from a contest of rhetoric to a contest of evidence. Which party ensured access to safe water and basic healthcare? Which made work at home and abroad safer and less exploitative. Which measurably extended healthy years of life for ordinary citizens? Health is wealth. By improving the healthy lifespan of citizens economic prosperity would follow naturally. A ‘life-first’ governance model would therefore compel Nepal to address the underlying structural failures across all sectors, rather than merely alleviating their symptoms. The GenZ protest that toppled the government last September was, at its core, a demand for accountability and a rejection of politics as usual. But as the country edges closer to the polls, that clarity has started to dissipate. Parties are now echoing the language of reform, but the public discourse remains dominated by promises that feel disconnected from Nepal’s most immediate and basic priorities. Every preventable death, every hungry child, and every neglected elder becomes a direct failure of governance and a moral debt the state must answer for. It is how we can make sure we keep the next government in check. The writers are Nepali GenZ students of biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Nepal’s life or death election

Party flags and banners wave from electric poles, houses and e-rickshaws are festooned with posters. Madhes Province is in the grip of election fever, and in a tour through four of its districts, there is the sense that any efforts by mainstream political parties at reforms have come too little too late. Among the banners, the sky blue of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/new-vs-new-in-nepal"> RSP is more prominent </a>here this time, and the rallying cry across the country for new and improved leadership is echoed on the ground. “For the people around here, whatever these old leaders are saying has become just noise,” says a lassi shop operator in Janakpur, waving a dismissive hand at flags with the NC’s tree symbol across the street. In Janakpur, UML nominee Raghubir Mahaseth was barred from canvassing door-to-door. Campaign posters of the mainstream parties have been torn from walls and replaced with RSP posters.&nbsp; In Inarwari village of Rautahat in the Madhes heartland, local elected officials whose parties have been merged into the Nepali Communist Party hope to retain enough supporters this election. But not many residents say they would vote for its candidate. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SHRISTI KARKI</figcaption> </figure>  A first-time voter in Sarlahi’s Haripur is home on a semester break from medical school in Kathmandu, and is waiting excitedly for 5 March. “You can’t really say out loud whom you’re voting for around here,” he says, as he mimes ringing a bell. “It is time for someone new to be in-charge." In the highway town of Bardibas, an elderly teashop owner says that all she hears are calls for घण्टी, the RSP’s bell symbol. “After all, bells are rung in the house of gods,” she says. “It seems like the right choice.” The RSP wave sweeping the nation after the GenZ movement is seen in Madhes, and the PR ballots might reflect that, notes political analyst Tula Narayan Shah.&nbsp; “But the socio-cultural networks, organisational setup, and legacy of democratic movement of traditional parties might still give them a fighting chance on the first past the post ballot,” he says. &nbsp;“The door-to-door campaign style of candidates has always been more prominent in Madhes than elsewhere.”&nbsp; Villages like Dhankaul in Sarlahi-4 where <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grand-split-in-nepal-s-grand-old-party">Gagan Thapa</a> of the Nepali Congress (NC) is running against incumbent Amresh Singh, is an NC stronghold. Singh won the election here twice before in 2013 and 2017 when he was an NC leader, and still had goodwill among NC voters when he ran and won as an independent during the 2022 election. “I voted for him twice before when he was in the NC, but he did not do anything for this or other villages. Once he is elected, he has not set foot here,” says Rajiv Yadav, a voter in Dhanakul. “The RSP will get more votes here than last time, but Gagan is sure to win. This village will vote for him.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  Madhes is in the spotlight this election because two prime ministerial candidates have focused their attention in the region. Balen Shah began his campaign in Janakpur (main picture, left) in January as a ‘Son of Madhes’, and Gagan Thapa chose Sarlahi-4 as his constituency over Kathmandu-4, from where he has been elected since 2013.&nbsp; The Madhes has always been the battleground for Nepal’s electoral politics, and candidates from here, like Krishna Prasad Bhattarai from Parsa, Pushpa Kamal Dahal from Siraha, Jhala Nath Khanal from Sarlahi, and Madhav Kumar Nepal from Rautahat, have all been prime ministers. Despite electing politicians to high office in Kathmandu, districts of Madhes have consistently ranked low in development and service delivery indicators, especially in basic healthcare and education. Socio-economic inequalities stemming from a lack of opportunities has also meant that Madhes districts have the highest rate of out-migration in the country.&nbsp; What is different this time is that the people of the province have a Madhesi prime ministerial candidate who will represent them in national politics, and the main competition ultimately will be between the NC and RSP prime ministerial candidates. Interestingly, voters seem to be looking beyond Madhes-based parties who have historically campaigned on identity and federalism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  “Leaders of Madhes parties have glorified their struggle for votes but failed to perform on good governance at local and provincial levels,” explains Tula Narayan Shah. “Now, Balen has become a PM candidate as a face of the region, and as someone who will deliver based on his work as Kathmandu mayor.” If the RSP wins, it will be governing in the absence of provincial leadership that would play a crucial mediatory role between Kathmandu and local units. On Wednesday, RSP’s Madhes province chair Mamta Sharma resigned from the party and joined the NC. There is also some underlying tension between RSP cadre loyal to Balen Shah and Rabi Lamichhane. “It is not prudent to predict who will win the election and whether parties will deliver on promises,” says Tula Narayan Shah. “But win or lose, there is little basis at this time to believe that the RSP will be committed to making the federal system and provinces more functional.” Voters here in the heart of the federalism movement, however, are willing to give the RSP the benefit of the doubt. &nbsp;Resident Brahma Dev in Janakpur told us: &nbsp;“The RSP, like parties that came before them, deserve a chance to prove their leadership in the next five years. If they do not deliver, we can always vote them out next time.”&nbsp; On Wednesday, NC leaders unveiled the party’s 10-point election manifesto at a large rally in Janakpur (main picture, right). Gagan Thapa began by addressing a cheering crowd in Maithili, and said the NC was reformed, adding:&nbsp; “The GenZ did not reject us, they told us to change our ways.” Also on Wednesday 800km away at the other end of the country in Dhangadi, Balen Shah, in a speech that lasted just three minutes, he said: “Don’t vote for us, give us work to do.”&nbsp;