<figure><img width="1482" height="947" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6af9c7e80680e07373ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>The confusion and chaos that followed the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/chaos-as-nepal-bans-repatriation-flights/">sudden cancellation of repatriation flights</a> on 16 August was just the latest proof that the Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) and the government are working at cross-purposes, thus deepening the misery of Nepalis already burdened with the pandemic and its economic fallout.The CCMC had already cleared the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to issue a schedule of repatriation flights till 31 August. Embassies abroad had drawn up the passenger manifest based on their priority lists. But it abruptly cancelled the permission, giving the lack of quarantine hotels as an excuse.Tens of thousands of Nepali workers who had been waiting for over five months to fly home, and families trying for flights out of Kathmandu were affected. In one glaring case, the ban came into effect while a Nepal Airlines Airbus was en route to Dubai to pick up passengers, and had to return empty on Tuesday. The 266 returnees who had already got expensive PCR negative tests and had been issued boarding passes, had to return to their dorms in the UAE.The CCMC is led by powerful Defence Minister Ishwar Pokhrel, who is a close confidante of Prime Minister Oli. Sources in the CCMC said Pokhrel took the decision to ban flights on his own without discussing it in a Cabinet meeting earlier on Monday. <figure><img width="960" height="452" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b29c7e80680e07373bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai was livid, and there was reportedly a heated exchange at a CCMC meeting on 18 August between Bhattarai and Pokhrel. The lack of coordination between the committee and line ministries has gotten so bad that critics have accused the CCMC of running a parallel government – even though the committee itself is made up of the prime minister, health minister, home minister, defence minister, supplies minister and the Nepal Army.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-grapples-with-bringing-workers-home/">Nepal grapples with bringing workers home</a>, Upasana KhadkaCritics say the CCMC is actually a government within the government that makes ad hoc decisions without consultations with public health and other experts. There have also been questions about transparency even since the committee in its previous avatar in April ordered the wrong test kits at inflated prices from middlemen alleged to be political cronies.As Defence Minister, Pokhrel then ordered the Nepal Army to manage the transport of arriving returnees from Kathmandu airport to holding centres and to their districts.He also got the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-accidental-leaders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Army involved in procurement of test kits and medical equipment</a> from China, but forced it to go through the same tainted middlemen. At a meeting last month, Army Chief Purna Chandra Thapa testily accused Pokhrel of tarnishing the military’s image by blaming it for delays.The CCMC has also been accused of bungling on enforcing and lifting lockdowns, not giving clear guidelines about what is allowed and what is not, issuing contradictory protocols for arriving air passengers, and not doing enough to control the movement of people from India.On the other hand, line ministries have gotten used to passing the buck to the CCMC on everything from permissions for international charters, the reopening of domestic flights, allowing long-distance buses, issuing no-objection letters for students going abroad, allowing private PCR tests, or making private hospitals treat Covid-19 patients. The Ministry of Health, which should be making the critical decisions on control measures, has been sidelined.“This is the time when the health ministry should be at the forefront, banging the table by lobbying for their suggestions to be implemented, it is unfortunate to see that it is taking the back seat,” says Gagan Thapa of the opposition Nepali Congress.Thapa puts the blame on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-virus-vortex/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spike in Covid-19 cases in the country </a>  squarely on the CCMC because it never had a concrete pro-active plan on solving problems like having better and adequate quarantine facilities, increasing the numbers of tests, and now making sure there are enough isolation and ICU wards for treatment of seriously ill patients.“Who is accountable for these lapses?” asks Thapa, who says that giving so much power without responsibility to the CCMC leaves it open to abuse of authority, and prone to making disastrous mistakes.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-is-too-big-for-ad-hocism/">Nepal is too big for ad hocism</a>, Anil ChitrakarNepal’s social media is also bristling with outrage against the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) for being preoccupied with its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-ruling-party-pulls-back-from-split-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">internal power struggle</a> and not giving enough attention to lessening the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable Nepalis like returnees from India and stranded workers overseas.“Our prime minister has all the time in the world for internal politics in Baluwatar, and he cannot even lead an effective Covid-19 response. It proves where his true interest lies, and the result of the negligence is here for all to see,” says Thapa.Anil Pokhrel, CEO of the National Risk Reduction Authority who is also an external adviser at the CCMC agrees that public trust on the agency has eroded largely because of the lack of coordination with implementation agencies. But he adds, “I am not inside in the meetings, but under the circumstances, the government is trying its best to respond to the pandemic the best it can.”  The National Risk Reduction Authority’s predecessor is the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) which was entrusted with reconstruction and rehabilitation after the 2015 earthquake. The NRA had the same problem of coordination.Because of frequent changes in government after the quake, the head of the NRA was changed three times in one year. There was political interference in its day-to-day operation, and it also functioned as a parallel government. <img width="1050" height="588" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6b39c7e80680e07373cjpeg.jpg" alt="">The only difference between the NRA and the CCMC is that while the NRA was a constitutionally mandated body, the CCMS is an ad hoc committee with unspecified powers. Also, line ministries did not cooperate with the NRA in implementing reconstruction plans because of turf battles, while the CCMC has emerged as an all-power super ministry headed by Ishwar Pokhrel, who it seems is in the habit of taking decisions without consulting experts.After the feud between Pokhrel and the Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Bhattarai spilled out into the open this week, and faced with widespread criticism, the CCMC is said to be reconsidering the resumption of repatriation flights this week.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/at-midpoint-nepal-pm-struggles-to-deliver/">At midpoint, Nepal PM struggles to deliver</a>, Ramesh Kumar

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Who is in charge in Nepal?

<figure><img width="960" height="452" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba67c9c7e80680e073724jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepali workers in Dubai after learning of the last minute cancellation of their flight to Kathmandu early Tuesday morning. Photo: NRNA UAE</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s sudden decision on 17 August to cancel all repatriation flights in and out of Kathmandu has left in the lurch tens of thousands of Nepalis abroad waiting to return home, as well as families and students who had already bought tickets to fly out.The government’s Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) which is chaired by Defence Minister Ishwor Pokhrel abruptly announced the cancellation on Monday night, the day airlines had started a new phase of repatriation flights till 31 August. This extended the uncertainty for many Nepali workers in the Gulf, Malaysia, Korea and Japan who had registered with embassies to come home. In addition, students and families who had confirmed bookings have been told outbound flights have been cancelled indefinitely.The CCMC’s Mahendra Guragain said the reason was that hotels that had been set aside for quarantine were not yet ready. However, many have pointed out that this is not logical because the number of arriving passengers had been reduced to 500 per day from this phase of repatriation flights – half the number arriving till last week.Over at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, deputy secretary Buddha Sagar Lamichhane had a different reason about why the scheduled charter flights were cancelled: “It is because the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is rising and there are neighbourhoods going into lockdown.”So, is it the lack of hotels or the rise in number of cases? When we put that question to the CCMC, they referred us to the government, even though the committee is made up of government ministers. The authorities at Kathmandu airport said they had no idea why the pre-scheduled flights had to be cancelled, and told us to ask the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism said it was the CCMC’s decision. <figure><img width="590" height="753" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba67e9c7e80680e073725jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Letter from the CCMC abruptly announcing the cancellation abruptly on Monday night.</figcaption></figure>Amidst this confusion, there is growing anger – especially among Nepali workers overseas who have been waiting for nearly six months for flights to Nepal and have run out of money and patience. Many had to turn back from airports in Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur, and had already spent $50 carrying out mandatory PCR tests 72 hours before boarding. A Nepal Airlines Airbus 330 that had flown to Dubai to pick up passengers returned empty because of the government decision while it was en route.Nepali workers have been pouring outrage and scorn at the government for its mishandling and confusion. Many are threatening to start a campaign not to send money home via official government channels anymore to be taxed, and instead use unofficial hundi channels. Wrote one angry Facebook user in the Gulf: ‘We are not anymore going to let our remittance go to officials who will squander our hard-earned money.’Many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-grapples-with-bringing-workers-home/">stranded workers</a> say they have got no information at all from the government, the airline or the embassies about why the flights were announced and suddenly cancelled. They are even angrier about the mixed messages: is it because of the lack of quarantine hotels in Kathmandu, or because of government agencies working at cross purposes?“How can there not be enough hotels when the numbers flying in every day is going to be half of what it was last week?” asked one harried family member of a student booked on a flight later this week.Some flights, like Turkish Airlines, were allowed to land on Tuesday because passengers in North America and Europe had already boarded when the government made the announcement.“The government should just come out and tell the truth, that it is because case numbers in Kathmandu are rising,” said one airline source. ‘Why all this confusion? Also, if there are not enough quarantine hotels, why stop outbound passengers? Why stop people who want to leave?” <figure><img width="733" height="881" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6809c7e80680e073726jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepal Embassy in the UAE listing repatriation flights for Nepali workers which were later cancelled.</figcaption></figure>At a time when Kathmandu’s hotels are reeling from the collapse of the tourism industry, the government could have easily designated different categories of hotels for quarantine and set a room tariff for each. For international airlines, what is most frustrating is that the CCMC this time has not set a date on when charter, or regular flights can resume. International airlines are all in wait-and-watch mode, and have had to cancel up to 5,000 passengers who had been booked on outbound flights from Kathmandu in the coming weeks. Domestic airlines which were set to resume operations on 17 August have also been told to postpone the restart indefinitely. But the operators, whose planes have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/">grounded for five months</a>, say they cannot do so any longer and have threatened action if flights are not allowed to resume on 31 August. The government says the spread of Covid-19 has put Tarai cities under lockdown, so there will be no passengers anyway.  “The government should just allow flights, and let us worry about passengers. We have done our rehearsals with safety protocols and can operate safely,” says Birendra Basnet of Buddha Air, Nepal’s largest domestic airline.  Nepal Airlines which had 17 repatriation flights and Himalaya Airlines with 14 flights from the Gulf and Malaysia have cancelled charter flights scheduled for the next two weeks, leaving thousands of Nepali workers stranded. This phase of repatriation flights would have been from 17-31 August and would have brought in 7,000 passengers. More than 51,000 Nepalis have returned on repatriation flights since they started on 15 June, but there are still another 250,000 who have registered with various embassies to return home. Previous passengers all needed coronavirus negative certificates, and were tested again on arrival and allowed to go home to self-isolate if they were negative. Public health sources say the real danger of virus influx is from those coming unregulated across the land border, and not so much those who fly in because of the strict rules on having PCR negative tests 72 hours prior to departure.

Chaos as Nepal bans repatriation flights

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae289c7e80680e077fd8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="724"/><figcaption>Only one-tenth of estimated 300,000 Nepali workers stranded overseas who want to return home have come back in the past six weeks because of limits on the number of flights at Kathmandu airport.</figcaption></figure>Even though Nepal has decided to pay for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-kathmandu-airlift/">repatriation flights</a> for some of its workers stranded overseas due to the COVID-19 crisis, there are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/">just not enough flights</a> to bring back the estimated 300,000 workers in the Gulf and Malaysia who want to come home.Only 30,000 Nepali workers have flown back in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/after-10-weeks-first-overseas-nepalis-repatriated/">repatriation flights since 15 June</a>, and even employers willing to pay for charter flights to send laid-off employees home are not getting permission from the airport authority in Kathmandu.For example, 3,100 stranded <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/uae-threat-to-send-back-workers-including-nepalis/">Nepali security guards in the UAE</a> have been unemployed for four months. While their employer, Transguard Group, is willing to charter flights to send them home, it has not received permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to do so.“So far, only 300 employees from the company have been repatriated in government arranged repatriation flights with support from our employer,” said one worker <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-quarantined-in-qatar/">still stranded</a> in UAE. “There are just not enough flights for all of us who want to return.”The government has a cap on the number of daily repatriation flights because of the limited capacity to test, quarantine and transport workers on arrival at Kathmandu airport. On Tuesday, the Cabinet decided to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/">gradually lift lockdown rules</a>, with regular international flights allowed with limited frequency and destinations from 17 August.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae2b9c7e80680e077fd9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="661"><figcaption>A blunt notice by the UAE company Transguard Group to laid off workers that limited flights to home countries is delaying their repatriation.</figcaption></figure>Last week, Nepal issued a directive to pay for flying home some categories of Nepali workers stuck overseas <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/brokers-going-for-broke/">using the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund</a>. Even if this directive is implemented, it is not clear how workers will get home if there are not enough flights.The ‘Repatriation of Stranded Nepali Workers in the Course of Foreign Employment due to COVID-19, 2020’directive was prepared in response to the Supreme Court’s interim order earlier this month to judiciously use the Fund that now has over Rs5.7 billion in the kitty made up of contributions from all Nepalis going overseas for work.Nepalis with no means of returning to Nepal on their own, and without support from other stakeholders, deportation detainees, and amnesty beneficiaries will be eligible to return with support from the government (see box).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae2d9c7e80680e077fdajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="648" height="553"><figcaption>The Nepal government’s directive ‘Repatriation of Stranded Nepali Workers in the Course of Foreign Employment due to COVID-19, 2020’.</figcaption></figure>“We have set aside Rs750 million to fund repatriation of stranded workers, and we will add to it if necessary,” said Rajan Shrestha of the Foreign Employment Board (FEB), adding that it would not just cover international airfare costs but also domestic transport to home districts.The directive recognises that displaced workers in their first year of contract are some of the most vulnerable given that they are still struggling to pay recruitment costs associated with their employment, often borrowed informally at back-breaking interest rates.It tries to hold recruiters and employers who profit from foreign employment accountable. Shrestha explained: “For workers with valid contracts, employers have the primary responsibility towards workers including buying return tickets. The recruiter is also jointly liable. We have to exhaust these options and ensure everyone is playing their part.”Employers who breach contracts by not assuming responsibility for repatriation of  workersor clearing their salaries and other dues will be barred by the FEB from hiring Nepali workers for the next five years. It is not clear how migrant workers who were charged exorbitant recruitment fees but had to return prematurely will be handled.As with very thing else in Nepal, the challenge now lies in implementing the directive. It requires <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/preparing-for-nepals-returnees/">embassies and recruitment agencies</a> to be particularly responsive and proactive to help migrants who meet the criteria for repatriation support.Sujit Shrestha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Agencies (NAFEA) said: "We have a comprehensive Foreign Employment Act that holds all players responsible but a weakness is the lack of clarity when employers go into situations of force majeure invoking a situation like COVID-19.”He said the directive can be followed if the employer is still operating but has reduced workforce size, but it is not clear what happens when employers use the ‘circumstances beyond their control’ clause.“The Nepal government also needs to play a more proactive role via diplomatic efforts, especially with countries with which we have signed bilateral labour agreements,” Shrestha added.A downside is that workers who do not have valid labour approvals, and are some of the most vulnerable during this crisis, will not be able to benefit from this contributory fund. This includes domestic workers who traveled through irregular channels because of the ban, for whom an alternative like the Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Fund could be used.But there are also others could step in to set up a fund, like Nepal’s development partners and the private sector. Also, recruiters recently contributed Rs3.5 million to the Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Fund which could have been channeled for migrant-specific need if such a basket fund existed.The directive, if properly implemented, could serve as an example for other migrant-sending countries also facing challenges in repatriating vulnerable workers and have similar Welfare Funds. The pandemic has laid bare Nepal’s gross unpreparedness for emergency support to migrants.Previous attempts to set up a Rapid Rescue Team in the Ministry of Labour failed while lessons from earlier large-scale repatriations such as from Libya in 2011 are poorly documented and did not serve to inform the repatriation strategy during this pandemic.Like the Philippines, Nepal also needs a contingency plan for overseas workers and rapid response teams that activate during such periods for evacuation and welfare. The directive could be an important starting point.

Too many stranded Nepalis, not enough flights

<figure><img width="595" height="842" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141136/636bad509c7e80680e077f88jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: SAMBHRANT BISTA</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s post-2017 federal structure was supposed to decentralise governance of the country’s migration sector because local units have closer proximity to workers aspiring to go abroad, returnees and their families. On paper, local governments have an elaborate foreign employment related mandate including data collection of migrants, including those in India, information dissemination on safe migration procedures, skilling and returnee reintegration. However, it took the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented reverse migration of the past few months to make local governments spring into action to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-grapples-with-bringing-workers-home/">manage returnee inflows</a>, especially the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-stranded-at-india-border-return/">unexpected influx from India</a>. “The volume of returnees, especially from India, has significantly dropped and is more manageable now,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-long-journey-to-nepal/">Uma Thapa Magar, Deputy Mayor of Nepalganj</a>. She says the chaos of the initial weeks has subsided but the longer term challenge of ensuring the reintegration of the returnees remains. Fortunately, the groundwork for multiple employment and entrepreneurship programs at local levels have been laid in the past few years. Coordinators under the Prime Minister’s Employment Program (PMEP) have been appointed in all 753 municipalities and placed in Employment Service Centers (ESCs). Admittedly, the PMEP has a checkered reputation because of allegations of wasteful spending, unproductive work and improper targeting of the unemployed. One employment coordinator told us: “The main issue is the lack of ownership by the local governments as it is still largely seen as a federal program. Employment is not usually a priority for local governments.”  This year’s budget doubled the PMEP allocation to Rs11.60 billion to create 200,000 jobs to address economic challenges brought by the pandemic.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/helping-hand-for-repatriated-nepali-workers/">Richard Howard</a>, Country Director for Nepal of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says, “The issue is how to manage the Prime Minister’s Employment Program so it creates valuable assets needed for the municipality to grow. Public infrastructure needs proper monitoring and planning to ensure they produce something useful for the communities.” Nepalganj Deputy Mayor Magar says that even if the PMEP is done right, it will not be attractive to a majority of the returnee migrants. “It is largely a social protection program and the jobs offered are all low-wage and labour-intensive such as road work, cleaning, pulling weed or making canals. Returnees who have had higher paying jobs abroad will not find this attractive,” she explains. Much more useful for returnees would be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-need-help-to-get-back-to-farming/">entrepreneurship packages</a>, Magar says. But local self-employment schemes  like Sahakarya only provide soft loans of Rs100,000 which is not enough to do anything meaningful. The Foreign Employment Board (FEB) in Kathmandu is said to be finalising a reintegration program for returnees funded by the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund to be implemented via local governments. Executive Director Rajan Shrestha says, “The program recognises that returnees are not a homogeneous group as has been evident during repatriation.” The plan includes a menu of services to increase job and entrepreneurship opportunities, like including skills training, business development training, psychosocial support, shelter support, financial literacy, grants, in-kind kits and referrals.Returnees have been categorised into four groups from those coming back with skills and some savings, and could benefit with just a little push such with business development and loans, to those who need more hand holding including shelter and counseling before they look for jobs. The Foreign Employment Board has been criticised for not using its welfare fund to repatriate those stranded abroad, and a guideline prepared after the Supreme Court order has yet to receive Cabinet approval. “This is a contributory fund tied to welfare programs such as compensation to the families of migrants who die abroad or disability compensation to injured migrants. The budget is limited, and it needs to be supplemented with funds from other line Ministries, development partners or the private sector,” says the Board's Rajan Shrestha. Additional money is also necessary because those who did not contribute to the Fund are not eligible for its programs, like undocumented workers, or returnees from India who need support with re-integration.  “The directive has opened the way for us to coordinate with partners to provide services to undocumented returnees ineligible for the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund, who may need the most support in reintegration. But we need to hit the ground running fast and test it on a pilot basis,” adds Shrestha.The tricky part about reintegration is that they are just part of Nepal’s larger employment challenge. Returnees may expect higher wages, or may lack the contextual knowledge that those who have not left have. While there is a Rs1 million soft loan program already in place for returnees, at lest seven other low interest credits are available to those who return. The ILO’s Howard explains: “As soon as they come back, returnees may have special, immediate needs  which need to be addressed but after a while, they are just like everyone else who need livelihoods and employment support and the burden falls on the local governments.”The Nepal Rastra Bank, for example, has made it mandatory for branches to provide at least 10 soft loans, and there Shrestha sees a coordination role for the Board to provide referral services and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ways-nepal-can-rebound-from-covid-19/">business development training </a>through local governments, so returnees can get collateral-free loans for projects.Lack of viable business plans was one of the reasons why out of 18,000 applicants, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/where-have-we-heard-that-one-before/">only 100 were approved last year</a>. Hari Thapa spent over a decade in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and returned two years ago with some savings, but did not know where to invest it and how. His first venture failed, but he learned his lesson the hard way and his clothing business was doing well till the lockdown. He says: “Not only did I not receive any support, there were hassles to apply for the soft loan for returnees. There was always the option of re-migrating if nothing else worked.”Now, Nepalis returning from overseas because of the pandemic crisis may get more attention than Thapa did if the new reintegration plans are implemented properly. About 150,000 Nepalis have returned from India since April, and some 25,000 Nepalis stranded in the Gulf, Malaysia and other countries have flown back on repatriation flights returned since 15 June. But this number pales in comparison to those who are stranded abroad, waiting for their turn to return, many still unable to afford their air fares home.

Upasana Khadka

Nepal plans to reintegrate returning workers

<figure><img width="2000" height="1260" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636bac7a9c7e80680e077f34jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepal Airlines jets preparing for repatriation flights at Kathmandu airport last week. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Fourteen crew members of Nepal Airlines, including three pilots involved in repatriation flights have tested positive for coronavirus, the carrier said on Monday.The crew are being kept in isolation and will be monitored for treatment, while other crew members will be tested and contact traced.“This happened despite all the precautions we took to disinfect aircraft, use personal protective equipment, and also not allowing crew to go home but keeping them at Soaltee Hotel,” one airline source said. “Our scheduled repatriation flights will not be affected.”Last week, a crew member of Himalaya Airlines also tested positive for COVID-19. The private carrier is also operating repatriation flights to Malaysia, the Gulf and Maldives.Nepal Airlines has been flying nearly non-stop to cities in the Gulf, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and on Tuesday is carrying Nepal Army Peacekeepers to the Central African Republic and Mali. The new cases detected in Nepal have been going down as the number of returnees from India has gone down. Monday saw only 180 new cases nationwide, down from an average of 400 every day last week. There were 264 patients who recovered on Monday, while the total number of recovered has gone up to 6,811.The total number of cases in Nepal has now reached 15,964, with 35 fatalities from COVID-19. There are approximately 29,250 people still in quarantine and about 9,120 in isolation.The Ministry of Health says it has increased the number of tests it is conducting per day with new equipment. On Monday, 4,721 RT-PCR tests were conducted. While earlier tests were on high risk groups through contact tracing and returnees, over the weekend the health authorities also started surveillance tests of people living in crowded areas of the Valley like Kalanki and Koteswor. There were 54 new cases detected in Kathmandu Valley in the past 24 hours. Home Ministry spokesperson Umakant Adhikary announced on Monday that security forces had been instructed to take action against anyone venturing out without masks, and urged citizens to take precautionary measures in crowded places.

3 pilots and 11 cabin crew test COVID-19 positive

<figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Nepali-migrants-come-home-from-Kuwait-in-repatriation-flights-NT.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="yes" data-elementor-lightbox-title="Nepali migrants come home from Kuwait in repatriation flights NT"></a></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0ee39c7e80680e0cd490jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="956" height="603"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIA DEUPALA/Infographics: KIRAN MAHARJAN</figcaption>Faced with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/homecoming/">criticism over ad hoc repatriation fli</a>ghts, the government has after nearly three months of lockdown finally announced a tentative list of chartered flights to bring back Nepalis stranded abroad. On Thursday, the first two flights following the government’s pre-planned schedule and chartered by the Kuwait government landed with female undocumented workers.There was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-kathmandu-airlift-begins/">outrage in social media</a> last week after the first flights on 5 June from UAE and Burma brought back passengers who were not on the priority list of those needing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-grapples-with-bringing-workers-home/">immediate evacuation</a>.  The list included undocumented and laid off workers, women, pregnant and disabled Nepalis and those stranded after short-term visas expired.The 324 passengers in two flights from Kuwait City who arrived in Kathmandu Thursday had spent 45 days in transit camps set up by the Kuwait government for amnestied undocumented workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Of the 7,000 undocumented Nepalis, half opted for the amnesty, and are being flown home phasewise on Jazeera Airways.Of overseas Nepali workers who have registered with embassies to return to Nepal, the UAE has the highest number followed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Malaysia. Many are documented workers who have been laid off because of the global economic downturn.In addition, there are also Nepalis on family visits to the US, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, those on short-term visitor visas, as well as students and expat Nepalis in Southeast Asia, who want to come home.The government had said the delay was caused because of preparing testing and quarantine facilities on arrival for them before allowing incoming charter flights, and on Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation finally issued a proposed schedule for flights for the next two weeks to urgently airlift 24,148 Nepalis abroad to be operated by Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines. In addition international airlines like Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines will also be allowed to fly in passengers from North America.From 14-25 June, Nepal Airlines Airbus330 will operate flights next week to Dhaka, Malé, Dubai, Melbourne, Bangkok, Bahrain, Narita, Kuwait, Nicosia, Sydney, Doha, Seoul, Oman, Osaka. Flights to North American destinations have not yet been decided. Its single-aisle Airbus320 will be flying passengers from other regional destinations. The carrier will perform 24 flights till 25 June.Himalaya Airlines will also be operating 19 flights to bring back stranded Nepalis back from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Phnom Penh, Dhaka, Doha, and even Lagos and Uganda in the next two weeks, according to the ministry’s flight timetable. International airlines will also be flying two flights a day solely for Nepali returnees. All passengers except those whose tickets are paid by employers or the host government have to pay their own fares. (Flight schedule 14-25 June below)The government has allowed more than 35 international charter flights to repatriate more than 12,000 tourists and expats trapped in Nepal, since flights were stopped on 22 March. However, Nepal Airlines, Qatar Airways and Korean Airlines have also been flying out Nepali nationals on work visas and permanent residents to Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea.The ministry has also fixed the price for tickets in each sector. (See table below)Besides Nepalis coming in, there are also those who were on their annual leave from work in Nepal and could not fly out because of the lockdown. A Nepali couple who had been in Kuwait form seven years came home for holidays on 24 February, but have been trapped in Kathmandu since. They had been hoping to be put on the flight going back, but the government is only allowing repatriation flights for foreigners stranded in Nepal.Passengers who arrived on Thursday will be swab tested at the airport and taken to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-readies-holding-centres-for-first-returnee-flights/">holding centres</a> in Kathmandu Valley set aside for each of the seven provinces. They will wait there for two days for  results, and if negative will be transported to their home provinces where they will have to quarantine or self-isolate for two weeks. If positive, they will be taken to isolation wards in Kathmandu.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAvNcm6-ttk&amp;feature=youtu.beOne way airfares for repatriation flights to KathmanduIn USD (includes taxes)Source: MoCTCADhaka  165New Delhi  205Mumbai   310Bangalore  335Bangkok    390Phnom Penh    400Dubai   500Abu Dhabi   500Sharjah   500Male   505Muscat   510Kuala Lumpur  520Doha   545Bahrain   545Hong Kong   550Kuwait City   570Damam    590Riyadh     630Jeddah    770Amman    815Nicosia    875Tokyo-Narita   935Khartoum   940Frankfurt   1,255London    1,340<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221202151240/638a0ee69c7e80680e0cd491jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4032" height="2346">Timetable for repatriation flights to Kathmandu14-25 June14 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Dhaka15 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Male, A320 from Kuala LumpurHimalaya Airlines A320 from Damam, Phnom Penh/SingaporeInternational airlines from Muscat16 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Dubai, A320 from DohaHimalaya Airlines A320 from Kuwait City, Colombo, Male17 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Sydney, Bangkok, A320 from BahrainHimalaya Airlines A320 from Dhaka, DohaInternational Airlines from 2 US cities18 June: Nepal Airlines from Riyadh, A320 from DubaiHimalaya Airlines A320 from Kuala Lumpur, Muscat19 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Narita, A320 from Kuwait CityHimalaya Airlines A320 from Damam, Lagos20 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Nicosia, Kuala Lumpur, A320 from Kuwait CityHimalaya Airlines A320 from Abu Dhabi, DhakaInternational carriers from 2 destinations in Europe21 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Seoul, A320 from MuscatHimalaya Airlines A320 from Kuwait City, Kuala LumpurInternational carriers 2 unspecified points22 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Melbourne, A320 from BangkokHimalaya Airlines A320 from Islamabad, Doha23 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Narita, A320 from MaleHimalaya Airlines A320 from Abu Dhabi, Kampala24 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from Riyadh, A320 from Kuwait City25 June: Nepal Airlines A330 from New YorkHimalaya Airlines A320 from Nicosia, Tel AvivTotal Nepal Airlines Airbus330 widebody flights: 14Total Nepal Airlines Airbus320 single-aisle flights: 10Total Himalayan Airlines Airbus 320 flights: 19Total flights by international carriers: 24Total repatriation flights 14-25 June: 67Conditions:<ol><li>Schedule may change</li> <li>Flights will operate only with 85% occupancy</li> <li>Passengers need PCR or RDT negative certificate before boarding</li> <li>Airlines to coordinate with Nepal embassies on manifest</li> <li>Passengers to go through Nepal quarantine rules on arrival</li></ol>

Stranded Nepalis start to fly home

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

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

That winter day in January 1664 marked an exceptional event in the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu. It was 15 Paush 784 of the Nepal Sambat and for the first time, a historical event was being immortalised on canvas for generations to come.&nbsp; The occasion was the grand Tuladaan ceremony of the King’s youngest son Chakrabartendra Malla from his wife Anantapriya, an Indian princess from Cooch Behar in present-day Assam.&nbsp; During the ritual, the prince was weighed against gold, silver, pearls, and other precious stones, which were then offered to Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the guardian deity of the Malla dynasty.&nbsp; The 170 x120cm painting captures the time of King Pratap Malla in all its splendour and is more than a personal tribute to his son: it is a significant visual historical document. It was evidently completed five years later in 1669, and could be considered a photographic record, with retrospective recreation of the event by the unknown artist. A Tuladaan ceremony is performed to purify one’s karma, quell impending bad luck, or as an act of charity and devotion. Chakrabartendra Malla was not well, and the ritual was performed in hopes of restoring his health. King Pratap Malla had arranged for each of his sons to take turns ruling Kathmandu so they got administrative experience. But Chakrabartendra died just two days after assuming power in 1670 (790 NS). This painting is considered the earliest known example in which the composition is dominated by an architectural landscape: the Taleju Temple. Given the stylistic features such as side-profile facial depictions and the rendering of human forms, it is believed that the Nepali artist was trained by a Rajput master.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051" data-rendition-name="original" width="3248" height="4395" loading="lazy" alt="Tuladaan NT"> </figure>  During that era, there were regular exchanges of artists between Northern India and Kathmandu Valley. The painting is also a melding of Nepali, Tibetan, Mughal, and Rajput art styles of the time. Pratap Malla could have been inspired by a painting of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s Tuladaan ceremony for his son Khurram in 1607. The Mallas and Mughals shared cordial relations, which is reflected in the cultural influences seen in the art and attire of the period.&nbsp; The clothing of the Malla ruling class, in particular, features colourful tunics, turbans, and jewelry that display strong Rajput and Mughal stylistic elements. The musicians in the upper tier are also dressed in Indian-style clothing, while the ensemble on the lower steps wear local attire, notably without turbans. Their hairstyles also differ, with the lower group wearing their hair tied in a bun at the front. This national treasure is currently in storage at the Collège de France in Paris, and has never been publicly displayed. Nepal’s art scholars like Gautam Vajracharya, Pratap Aditya Pal and Anne Vergati have written about this iconic paubha in the past, but the only detailed study is from the perspective of music history by researcher Richard Widdess who had access to high resolution copies of the original.&nbsp; Widdess from the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London describes the paubha as the most significant and richly detailed documentation of music in Nepali art. He identifies distinct musical ensembles on the terraces of the temple, and remarkably most of them are actively used today. One of them reflects the Mughal naqqārakhāna model — a loud outdoor ensemble typically composed of kettledrums, trumpets, and cymbals, traditionally performed from the gateway of the emperor’s palace to announce his entrances and exits. The depiction of such an ensemble in the tulādāna painting is likely the earliest known representation of a complete naqqārakhāna in Nepal — considered the forerunner of the panche baja, the traditional Nepali ensemble. On the stepped pyramid base of the temple are two groups of musicians playing local instruments: dhimey, bhushya, and dha. They are unmistakably Newar musicians, wearing short skirts and short-sleeved tops, with bare heads and legs—clearly distinguished as local performers.&nbsp; Higher still on the temple pyramid are musicians of apparently higher status, positioned close to the king, and his courtiers, possibly professional court musicians from India, well-versed in rāga and tāla. A dāphā group is also clearly depicted, identifiable by their characteristic instruments.&nbsp; Dāphā bhajan is likely the oldest surviving tradition of Newar devotional singing, and this paubha is the oldest visual record of it. Pratap Malla himself is believed to have composed songs that continue to be performed by dāphā groups throughout Kathmandu till today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="596" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="Priceless paubha in Paris NT"> </figure>  The artist’s thorough attention to musical detail may be attributed to King Pratap Malla’s own deep interest in music. His inscriptions on this painting and elsewhere proclaim his mastery of all branches of knowledge, including music. He is also known as the author of dance dramas and poems, penning his name as Kavindra (king of poets). Some noteworthy elements of new art techniques stand out: for example, the roof of the temple is filled with realistically rendered white doves, pigeons, and crows. This is a rare feature in paubha, where animals and birds are stylised, mythological forms. This remarkably talented unknown artist has managed to also render an orthographic projection: the front and side view of Nepal’s first architectural paubha. The Taleju Temple, with its staggering multi-tiered structure and numerous steps and platforms, is masterfully translated into layers within the painting. This represents a significant artistic achievement of the time, especially considering that dimensional perspectives had not started in deity-based paubha.&nbsp; The artist has also made a meticulous effort to capture architectural details such as the toran (ornamental arch) and temple struts with impressive precision. There are flickering lamps along the steps and some people carrying what appear to be oil pots.&nbsp; It is a full moon night and the dark sky is adorned with all the gods and goddesses, who are depicted as blessing the ceremony while seated on stylised thangka clouds. There is a lot happening in this painting, with people engaged in various activities. The artist has also rendered a forest backdrop behind the temple, complete with deer, trees, and flowers. Could there have once been a royal garden behind the Taleju Temple?&nbsp; More details and clarity can only be achieved if we are able to view the original or a high-resolution scanned version of the artwork. Many countries proudly display art depicting historical events in their national museums with great reverence. France, for example, has The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine by Jacques-Louis David (1808–1822), along with numerous paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Many were commissioned by Napoleon himself for future generations to remember.&nbsp; For Nepal, the equivalent is the Tuladaan paubha which is a visual record capturing a historic moment involving one of Kathmandu’s greatest kings, on the very day the event took place. Sadly, we await the day when this masterpiece is displayed, shared in high resolution for detailed study, or more rightfully — repatriated to its homeland, where it truly belongs. &nbsp; Shaguni Singh Sakya is the Director of the Museum of Nepali Arts (MoNA) at Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel. <h2>Gods homeward bound</h2> The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Nepal’s Department of Archaeology are convening the first international conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage from 16-18 June in Patan. The conference will address urgent issues of theft, illicit trafficking, the campaign to repatriate looted cultural artifacts, and explore how the return of sacred antiquities contributes to justice, healing, and reconciliation for communities and nations affected by cultural loss. American art crime professor Erin L Thompson and Saubhagya Pradhananga of the Department of Archaeology will deliver the keynote. Meanwhile, author and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit will lead a conversation on Illicit Trafficking: Public Opinion and Role of Media with Erin Thompson, Amr Al Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, as well as Bradley J Gordon, a lawyer based in Phnom Penh. There will be sessions looking at repatriation perspectives from Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Poland, international frameworks for repatriation, emerging digital technologies in the repatriation of cultural heritage, cultural property agreements, museums as well as trends in the art market, and heritage diplomacy and the role of media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Heritage recovery NT"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Some of the other highlights include James K. Reap, a professor in the Master of Historic Preservation Program at the University of Georgia who has a session on the US response to illicit trafficking. Art historian Lea Saint-Raymond is taking on “Gods at Auction: The Market for Himalayan Artefacts”, while lecturer of criminology at the University of Glasgow Emiline Smith is delving into transformative approaches to heritage ownership and repatriation. Helena Arose of Antiquities Coalition and Melina Antoniadis of NOSTOS Strategies that specialise on the return home of cultural heritage as well as Hao Liu of International Cultural Heritage Law at the School of Law at Shandong University are some of the others attending. The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign was set up in 2020 to develop a coordinated movement to reclaim Nepal’s stolen gods and goddesses, with an aim to ensure that recovered items are returned to their original shrines, niches or sanctums. Ahead of the conference opening organisers have arranged for a film screening of Loot &amp; Return: 4 Documentaries at YalaMaya Kendra in Patan Dhoka between 14-15 June. Following the conference is a multimedia exhibition titled Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage from 31 July to 4 August at Patan Museum.

Priceless paubha in Paris

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;